Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 195

Chapter 195: The Boy Who Rejected and the Girl Who Was Rejected

After returning to the surface through the power of the crystal, Sora and her companions reunited with the captain and quickly boarded the ship to depart the island.

After all, awaiting them back in the kingdom was the Great Calamity, ?Asmodeus?, which was ravaging the queen’s body. They needed to free her from her suffering as soon as possible and finally end this long-standing curse.

The people of the island saw them off as they set sail, allowing Sora and the others to finally take a moment to rest.

When Lucas came to offer her thanks, she suggested that, since there wasn’t much to do on deck, they should celebrate Laura’s successful awakening as a Songstress with a toast.

Though they agreed, the group was still exhausted from their battle with ?Helheim?. Since the ship would take a few days to return to the kingdom, they decided to rest and hold the celebration after a break.

As Sora headed back to her room, she noticed Laura walking off in a different direction instead of following her as she usually did. It seemed she was choosing to use her own assigned room this time.

Noticing Laura’s slightly downcast demeanor, Kuro and Inori, who had a feeling about what had happened, followed her. Sora knew she couldn’t say anything to her in this situation, it would only make things worse, so she quietly let them go.

Alone in her room for a change, Sora opened the door and stepped into the cabin, which felt a bit bigger than usual. Not in the mood to shower, she lay down on the bed and let out a long, deep sigh.

There were plenty of things she needed to think about.

There was the matter of why she was fated to fight the Demon Lord in the first place. Then there was the princess of ?Helheim?, who had left without doing anything despite having the chance. But more than any of those, her thoughts kept returning to one thing.

That was Laura’s confession inside the temple.

“…She said she liked me, huh.”

She was genuinely happy to have received her confession. To date someone like her, even if it was only in this world, would undoubtedly bring her happiness.

But she couldn’t return her feelings.

Sora thought she was precious, wanted to protect her, found her adorable, and thought of her as a kind girl. And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to be in a relationship with her.

If someone asked her why, the answer was—

“Wait… why can’t I be with her?”

Realizing that she couldn’t think of a single reason, Sora’s face showed surprise.

There’s always a reason for everything. Usually, if someone doesn’t want to date someone, it’s because they’re not interested in them or they like someone else. But at this moment, she couldn’t think of a single reason.

The only thing she could recognize was that a strange, large void had appeared within her heart.

This void… what exactly was it?

“??!”

The moment she became aware of it, she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her head.

And the more she focused on the void, the stronger the pain grew, until it became impossible to ignore.

??In a full-dive game, all sensations of pain are blocked. If players could feel pain from monster attacks, it would make normal gameplay unbearable and could even lead to fatal shock in the worst-case scenario.

Yet here, the barrier meant to protect the player was completely failing.

“Master! An unknown error has occurred, and your avatar is experiencing severe impairment!”

The support system, Lucifel, spoke in a panicked voice, alarmed by the sudden headache.

“How… in AsuOn, a game without bugs… could something like this…?”

“I… I don’t understand either. This is… emergency alert to the World Support System: a serious error has affected the adventurer ?Sora? due to an unknown bug! Immediate investigation and action required!”

For the first time, Lucifel’s voice, usually calm, sounded anxious as it reached out to the ?World Support System?, the system responsible for game management.

But no response came, no matter how long they waited.

Just as she considered logging out as a last-ditch effort—

A strange vision flashed in her mind.

A silver-haired girl, her face obscured, stood before her, saying something she couldn’t quite make out.

She couldn’t hear her clearly, but she tried to make sense of her words by reading her lips, a skill she’d picked up in the game. she managed to understand just one part of her message.

“Don’t forget… our promise.”

A promise? What promise…?

?External security breach detected. The World Support System will initiate action on adventurer Sora.?

A cold, emotionless voice spoke in her ear, and her consciousness was forcibly plunged into a deep darkness.

………………………

“She finally settled down and fell asleep.”

Inori and Kuro, who had followed a downcast Laura out of concern, stayed by her side, listening to her until her pent-up sadness finally broke free. They listened as she tearfully shared everything: her realization that Sora was the “God of War” from the royal family’s storybook, her confession of love, and the rejection.

After pouring out her broken heart, the princess fell asleep, exhausted from crying. As Inori watched Sue the slime wipe away Laura’s tears, she chuckled softly and said:

“Well, I completely understand how Laura feels. I confessed to Sora myself once and got rejected just as easily.”

“What, really?”

Kuro’s eyes widened as she stared at Inori, surprised. Inori nodded calmly, meeting her gaze.

“Yep, it’s true… Though, since Sora doesn’t have a girlfriend, I haven’t given up yet. I’m still working hard to raise my approval rating.”

“But I… I’m Sora’s partner!”

“Kuro, she probably doesn’t see you as a girlfriend.”

“Ugh…”

Kuro fell silent, seeming to sense the truth but not wanting to admit it. Her reaction was so adorable that Inori couldn’t help but laugh. As Kuro’s face twisted slightly in frustration, Inori continued.

“Well, honestly, I cried myself to sleep over it back then, soaking my pillow. But when I found out that even Ilya got turned down, I thought, ‘There’s no way I’ll let that game-obsessed guy ignore me forever!’ and it fired me up even more.”

“Even Ilya… Inori, you’re really strong.”

“Heh, well, I’m quite proud of my persistence… and my, uh, ample assets.”

“Ugh… Yeah, they’re really… big…”

Kuro glanced down at her own chest, comparing it to Inori’s, and shivered slightly with a sense of defeat. But it’s not like she said those things to put her down. She took on a more serious expression and, addressing the trembling Kuro, offered an important piece of advice.

“Just so you know, as things stand now, I think anyone who confesses to Sora will be turned down, so it’s probably best to hold off.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Sorry, but… I just can’t put it into words.”

“…?”

Inori looked at Kuro, thinking how endearing she was, while becoming more certain of her suspicions based on what she had just heard.

First, the real turning point in the game had been when Sora first encountered the Demon Lord. Then, there was the storybook they’d discussed. Its content was unmistakably from ?Sky Fantasy?, the very game they were playing.

If Sora’s selection was intentional, then it was likely that she and the game were linked in some deeper way.

As beads of sweat formed on her forehead, Inori reached a troubling realization. It was possible that Sora’s journey wasn’t a coincidence, but something planned by someone who knew her well.

A chill ran down her spine, prompting her to glance behind her.

But, of course—

There was no one there.