"I'm sorry... my personality is just so dark..." Hitori Gotou muttered gloomily.
Thin wisps of black smoke were seeping from her body—clearly, her skill had been triggered!
"It's just that the system assigns attributes based on each individual. You really don't need to take it to heart, Hitori..." Tsukikawa Shuu said quickly when he saw this.
Then he gently wrapped his arms around her.
"You have me now, don't you? Whatever's bothering you, you don't have to bottle it up anymore—you can tell me anything," Shuu said softly.
"That's right..." Hitori quickly came to her senses.
She had a boyfriend now—no, a husband! She was miles ahead of her friends in romance. What was there to be sad about?
"Hehehehe."
Hitori Gotou nestled back into Shuu's chest with a goofy smile.
This girl really was easy to cheer up. Shuu let out a relieved sigh.
Only someone like Hitori Gotou could be so easily convinced to become his wife. If it had been someone like Yukino Yukinoshita—one of those hard-to-handle characters—he probably would've died in this alternate world before ever activating his cheat ability.
The first night passed peacefully.
The two of them slept holding each other.
Even though Hitori Gotou was now his wife, Shuu remained respectful and didn't cross any lines.
She had accepted him, yes, but they'd only just met that day. Moving too fast would be too much for Hitori to handle.
Their fates were already bound together—there was no rush. Everything would come in time.
"Now that I think about it, marrying someone after knowing them for just a day... that really is fast," Shuu chuckled.
Wasn't this basically a real-life version of Tonikaku Kawaii? Meet in a day, get married, and shower each other in sweetness all day long.
The next day, they slept in until noon.
Mostly because Hitori had overexerted herself and was too tired to move, still clinging to Shuu's chest.
It wasn't until the sunlight hit her eyes that she groggily sat up.
She rubbed her eyes and checked her phone.
"It's already 12?!"
Hitori was stunned.
She loved sleeping in, sure, but sleeping this late during school time was a first.
"It's fine, there's no rush now."
Shuu smiled. "Rest up well so we can grind monsters properly today."
The two of them left the office building to scout for nearby monsters to farm XP from.
[You've taken a wife. Map upgraded.]
[Within a 10-kilometer radius, all monster information is now visible, and monster nests are automatically marked.]
Following the system's guidance, Shuu and Hitori arrived outside an abandoned subway station.
[Giant Spider:]
[Level: 5]
[Quantity: 3]
"This monster nest is perfect to test out the skills we got last night," Shuu said.
"Okay!" Hitori nodded.
She was only level 2, but she already had a skill—lending support shouldn't be too hard.
They descended the subway stairs. It was dark and damp inside, the handrails rusted and covered in moss.
The entrance was sealed off with thick webs, and three large spiders clung to the walls, motionless, seemingly waiting for prey to arrive.
Not counting their legs, their bodies alone were about the size of a tabletop.
Their black bodies were striped with crimson patterns, and all eight of their eyes locked onto the pair the moment they stepped inside.
"Go, Bocchi!" Shuu pointed at the spiders.
Right then, he looked just like a Digimon tamer sending his partner into battle.
"I-I'll do my best!"
Little Bocchi gulped, staring at the creepy spiders.
Shuu also used the system to scan the monsters.
Compared to the level 1 giant rats they'd faced earlier, the spiders had similar attack stats—but what made them truly dangerous was their venom. In a world with practically no medical support, one touch could be fatal.
That's why they qualified as level 5 monsters.
The spiders began to shift, inching toward them. Still cautious, they were waiting for a sign of weakness—but once they sensed the two humans weren't too strong or let their guard down, they'd lunge at them with terrifying speed.
"It's okay, little Bocchi. Just relax and unleash your skill fully," Shuu said, stepping back a few paces.
Not to throw Bocchi in front, but because her skill was area-based—and if he stood too close, he'd get caught in it too.
"Okay!"
Bocchi took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
What stared out were hollow, hopeless eyes—completely devoid of light.
On anyone else, that expression would scream mentally broken.
"I'm... a failure. A parasite of society..."
Hitori Gotou lowered her head, hair covering her face, and staggered forward like a ghost.
Thick black mist surged from her body as a wave of overwhelming negativity radiated through the space around her!