The sound of the car engine shutting off echoed through the quiet house.
Rio froze in the living room.
Her eyes were locked on the window.
"…My mom's home."
Ryota blinked.
"Oh."
Rio turned to him slowly.
"Oh?!"
She whisper-yelled.
"Why are you saying oh like this is normal?!"
Ryota scratched his cheek.
"…Should I hide?"
Rio grabbed her head.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"I don't know!"
Her brain spiraled.
Why did we come home now of all times?!
Why didn't I think this through?!
Footsteps crunched on the gravel outside.
The front door handle turned.
Click.
The door opened.
"Rio? I'm home."
A calm, gentle voice echoed through the house.
Rio stood there stiff as a statue.
Ryota stood awkwardly beside the couch holding one of the VR headset boxes.
Her mother stepped inside.
She looked tired from work but smiled warmly.
Then she noticed Ryota.
She blinked.
"…Rio."
Rio felt her soul leave her body.
Her mom tilted her head slightly.
"…Who is this boy?"
The living room went silent.
Rio's brain began racing at light speed.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Ryota bowed slightly out of politeness.
"Hello, ma'am."
Rio's mom looked between them.
Her expression wasn't angry.
Just… confused.
Rio swallowed nervously.
"Mom…"
Her mother placed her bag on the table.
"…Rio, can we talk for a moment?"
Rio nodded stiffly.
They sat at the dining table.
Ryota stood nearby awkwardly like a lost NPC.
Rio's mom folded her hands together.
Her voice was gentle but serious.
"Rio…"
"Yes…?"
"Why is there a boy in our house?"
Rio opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
Her brain was blank.
Her mother continued.
"Does he need help?"
Rio hesitated.
"…Kind of."
Her mom looked at Ryota again.
"…Does he have a place to stay?"
Rio quietly shook her head.
Her mother sighed softly.
"I understand wanting to help someone…"
"But Rio…"
Her expression became troubled.
"You know our situation."
Rio looked down.
"I know…"
Her mom continued gently.
"It's already difficult supporting you and your sister."
"Adding another person…"
She hesitated.
"…I'm not sure we can afford it."
Rio's heart started racing.
No no no no.
If Ryota couldn't stay—
He would be back on the streets.
And somehow…
She didn't want that.
Panic took over.
"HE'S MY BOYFRIEND!"
The room froze.
Rio's brain stopped.
Her mother blinked slowly.
"…What?"
Ryota choked on air.
"W-WHAT—?!"
Rio's face turned bright red.
But the words had already escaped.
There was no going back now.
Her brain scrambled to patch the lie together.
"H-He came here because he's transferring to my school next week!"
She pointed at Ryota frantically.
"He said he would find a job to help cover food expenses!"
Ryota stared at her like his soul had left his body.
Rio's mother looked surprised.
"…Your boyfriend?"
Rio nodded rapidly.
"Yes!"
"I… um…"
She forced a nervous smile.
"I was keeping it a secret…"
Her mom looked thoughtful.
"…I didn't realize you had a boyfriend."
Rio bowed her head slightly.
"…I'm sorry."
Silence filled the room.
Then her mother sighed.
"…Well."
She looked at Ryota.
"You seem like a polite boy."
Ryota immediately straightened up.
"Yes ma'am!"
She looked back at Rio.
"If he's willing to help with expenses…"
She paused.
"…Then he can stay."
Rio froze.
"…Really?"
Her mom nodded.
"But only if he actually looks for a job."
Ryota nodded rapidly.
"I will!"
Her mom smiled gently.
"Alright then."
She stood up and picked up her bag.
"I'm going to start dinner."
Then she walked toward the kitchen.
Rio and Ryota remained frozen at the table.
Three seconds passed.
Five seconds.
Then Rio slowly stood up.
"…Upstairs."
Ryota followed silently.
They entered her room.
The door closed.
Rio stood in the center of the room.
Then—
She collapsed onto the floor.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Ryota jumped.
Rio rolled around on the carpet holding her head.
"WHAT DID I JUST DO?!"
She slammed her forehead into the floor.
"WHY DID I SAY THAT?!"
Ryota scratched his head.
"…Boyfriend?"
Rio pointed at him dramatically.
"DON'T REPEAT IT!"
She curled into a ball.
"I just lied to my mother!"
"My sweet hardworking mother!"
"WHO TRUSTS ME!"
Ryota crouched down awkwardly.
"…Technically it worked?"
Rio slowly turned her head toward him.
Her eyes were empty.
"That was the dumbest decision of my life."
Ryota shrugged slightly.
"Well…"
"At least I didn't have to sleep on the streets tonight."
Rio buried her face in the carpet.
"…I can't believe this."
She groaned loudly.
"I have to keep pretending now."
Ryota thought about it.
"…So I'm your fake boyfriend?"
Rio lifted her head slowly.
Her eye twitched.
"If you say that sentence again…"
"…I'm throwing you out the window."
Ryota immediately shut up.
Rio flopped back onto the floor dramatically.
Her biggest lie ever.
And it had only been Day 1 of their second life.
Rio lay face-down on the floor for a full minute.
Her brain was still melting from the lie she had just told.
Boyfriend.
BOYFRIEND.
She slowly lifted her head and looked at Ryota.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly watching her panic like someone observing a wild animal.
Rio groaned and rolled onto her back.
"This is bad…"
Ryota tilted his head.
"…You're the one who said it."
Rio sat up immediately.
"I KNOW!"
She pointed at him accusingly.
"And now we have to maintain the lie!"
Ryota blinked.
"…Maintain?"
Rio stood up and walked toward him with a serious expression.
"Which means we need rules."
Ryota sighed.
"…More rules?"
Rio grabbed the notebook from her desk and flipped it open.
"Yes."
She wrote a title across the page.
FAKE COUPLE RULES
Ryota leaned forward slightly.
"…You're really writing this down?"
Rio pointed her pen at him.
"Rule number one."
Her voice was serious.
"No physical contact."
Ryota nodded.
"Right, the prison rule."
Rio continued writing.
"Rule number two."
"In front of my mom, we act like a couple."
Ryota raised his hand slightly.
"…What does that involve exactly?"
Rio froze.
"…Good question."
They both thought about it.
Rio cleared her throat.
"Just… stand close to me sometimes."
Ryota nodded.
"Okay."
Rio added the final rule.
"Rule number three."
She looked him directly in the eyes.
"You do NOT tell my sister."
Ryota blinked.
"…You have a sister?"
Rio nodded.
"Yes."
Her expression became serious.
"If she finds out about this lie…"
She slowly dragged her finger across her throat.
Ryota gulped.
"…Understood."
Rio closed the notebook.
"Good."
Then she tossed it onto the desk.
"Now."
She sat down in her chair.
"Let's talk about Evermount."
Ryota leaned back slightly.
"You're still serious about speedrunning the game, huh?"
Rio nodded immediately.
"Yes."
She grabbed the notebook again and flipped to a new page.
Her pen began moving quickly.
"First priority."
"Early leveling routes."
"Second priority."
"Hidden dungeons."
"Third priority."
"Class specialization."
Ryota watched her write like someone taking notes for a military operation.
Then Rio suddenly stopped writing.
She looked up at him.
"Ryota."
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever actually played Evermount?"
Ryota shook his head.
"…No."
Rio blinked.
"…You're kidding."
Ryota shrugged.
"I've watched people play it."
"And I talked about it with customers when I worked at the bar."
Rio frowned.
"…Bar?"
Ryota nodded.
"I used to help serve drinks."
"Gamers came in all the time talking about Evermount."
Rio tapped her pen against the desk.
"…So you know the basics."
"Kind of."
Rio thought for a moment.
Then she began writing again.
"Alright."
"If you're starting fresh…"
She scribbled a title.
RYOTA — BUILD PLAN
Ryota leaned closer.
"…Build plan?"
Rio nodded.
"You're going to be a Swordsman."
Ryota blinked.
"…Why?"
Rio pointed at him.
"You're tall."
"You have good reflexes."
"And swordsman builds are strong in early game."
She continued writing quickly.
"Strength focused."
"Close combat."
"Fast leveling potential."
Ryota watched in amazement.
"You're really planning everything."
Rio didn't look up.
"Of course."
"This is how you dominate Evermount."
Then she paused.
Her pen stopped.
"…Wait."
Ryota noticed.
"What?"
Rio frowned at the page.
"…This won't work."
Ryota tilted his head.
"Why?"
Rio leaned back in her chair.
"In Evermount…"
"Your main skill determines your entire build."
Ryota blinked.
"…Main skill?"
Rio nodded.
"When players first start the game…"
"They receive a random main skill."
Ryota's eyes widened.
"…Random?"
Rio nodded again.
"Yes."
"That skill defines your entire playstyle."
She tapped the notebook.
"If we plan too much now…"
"It might not match your main skill."
Ryota thought about it.
"…So all this planning might be useless?"
Rio sighed.
"…Possibly."
She closed the notebook slowly.
"Which means…"
She looked at him.
"We'll finalize everything once we enter the game."
Ryota smiled slightly.
"So we're waiting until launch day."
Rio nodded.
"Yes."
Her eyes slowly drifted toward the two VR headset boxes sitting on the table.
One week.
Only one week left.
Rio felt her excitement slowly rising again.
Her lips curled into a confident smile.
"Evermount…"
"This time…"
"I'm taking the top spot before anyone else even knows what's happening."