A faint calling voice reached my ears.
"…Dad."
I…
Who is my dad?
My head felt heavy, my vision blurry and unable to focus. The figures before me were indistinct, overlapping, and unclear.
"Onee-chan."
Something, shaped like a hand, darted past my eyes.
"Sister."
A warm touch appeared on my cheek, also shaped like a hand.
All my senses were dulled, like rusty gears. I slowly closed my eyes, trying to regain my normal breathing rhythm.
When I opened them again, my mind was much clearer. I sat up and stared at the person holding a syringe in front of me.
Soaked from head to toe, his bangs stuck to his forehead in wisps, looking comically plump – it was Miken.
"It seems it won't be needed," Miken said, raising his hand. The butler in a black suit behind him bowed and caught the syringe with a tray, placing it back into the medical kit by his feet.
Before I could observe further, two small forces pressed against my chest. Two fluffy heads, one black and one white, nestled tightly against me. Their voices merged, so indistinct it was hard to tell who was saying what.
It was a joke; I could tell. Of course, I could tell.
But it didn't really matter if I could tell or not, because they were saying similar things. In short, they were asking if I wanted to disappear forever.
I rubbed the heads of the two little cats to comfort them, while also chiding myself for my failure.
More embarrassing than giving up on life was thinking the game was over, only to be saved and forced to continue playing, enduring moral condemnation and soul-searching.
Useless Murus, stupid Murus, good-for-nothing Murus, failing at such a small thing, you're truly a waste.
Head bowed, I looked at the curve of my chest, confirming I was still a female character.
When I first woke up, my consciousness was unclear. For a moment, I mistook Miken for a black-haired beautiful young man, even thinking the game had restarted and I'd been reborn as his father. While not the worst scenario, it felt a bit strange. However, rather than marrying a beautiful woman, I'd much rather be a super beautiful girl myself.
Ah, failure, failure, failure, failure, failure, this familiar failure.
Let it be. I have no drive to live or die. I just want to do nothing and maintain the status quo.
"Onee-chan," the black cat in my arms looked up. "Why did we suddenly end up in the sea?"
"Yeah, why?" the white cat also looked up.
Two pairs of large, round, incredibly clear blue cat eyes focused on me simultaneously.
"..." I moved my lips.
"Fishing?" Killua, who could read lips, repeated my words.
"Eh?" Alluka asked with a hint of anticipation. "What kind of fish?"
I shook my head, indicating I'd caught nothing.
"Whatever the fish, it was very dangerous just now," Killua pouted. "Aniki said your heartbeat had stopped."
"I almost disappeared forever!" Alluka agreed with a forceful nod, hugging me tighter. "Onee-chan, don't go fishing alone, okay?"
Stroking the heads of the two little cats, I looked at Miken, who was drying his hair with a towel. Of everyone present, he was the only one drenched. He must have been the one who pulled me out of the water.
Wouldn't it be better for a fatty to just be a shut-in tech nerd? With such heroic actions, my reason for existing diminishes even further.
"..." My feelings were complicated.
"If resuscitation didn't work when your heartbeat completely stopped, I had no choice but to use a special injection," Miken interpreted the meaning of my gaze and explained the reason for holding the syringe. "It's good that you're alright, Dad."
Okay, okay, I know you're sticking to the game rules, but suddenly adding "Dad" at the end of your sentence is really jarring!
Wait, resuscitation, wasn't that artificial respiration plus chest compressions?!
No way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way, no way?
Miken, artificial respiration, me?
I stared intently at Miken.
"Hmm? Yes, it was me," Miken said.
"!" Please tell me this isn't real!
Raising my hand, I slapped myself. The pain confirmed it wasn't a dream.
"!!!" x5
The loud slap shocked everyone present.
The pain on my face was secondary; the mental anguish… was soul-crushing.
Rather than have a fatty give me artificial respiration, I'd rather die on the spot.
As a face-connoisseur, I apologize.
The thought of a fatty performing artificial respiration on me, potentially, no, very likely witnessed by my younger brothers and two butlers, made me unable to imagine the scene. I felt lifeless.
This is some kind of cruel reality horror film.
My eyes gradually lost their sparkle.
Given the presence of several onlookers, jumping back into the sea was impossible. I could only endure the pain and raise my hands above my head. A blanket taken from my game backpack appeared in my hand. I pulled it down, curled up, and brought my knees together. The blanket covered my entire body.
I, Murus, the darkest day of my RPG game life. It was so embarrassing; I might as well die.
[Secret Technique: I Want to Be Quiet]
"..." x6
"Sister?!" "Onee-chan?!" The two little cats tugged at my blanket, but their strength was too small to matter.
With "Nen" reinforcing the blanket, it wouldn't be torn unless someone else used stronger "Nen."
Resistance! I want to resist! Resist for my personal space!
I was prepared for a tug-of-war, but under Miken's command, the butlers directly carried me, blanket and all, back to the villa.
"...?!" I was treated like a package!
The presence of people around me was constant, so I remained tightly wrapped in the blanket, ignoring everything outside. The situation continued until the next day when my brothers called me for breakfast.
"..." I don't care about such things! More importantly, my wounded heart! I have no appetite!
Don't poke my blanket with your fingers! Ugh!
Why aren't they leaving? Hours ago, I planned to slip back into my room when no one was looking and retrieve the suicide note hidden under the vase. After failing to end myself, the existence of the suicide note was a joke. I had to retrieve it!
Leaving me, blanket and all, at the villa while they went out to play seemed outside their consideration. Their discussion primarily focused on whether to go home directly today.
In other words, they were discussing where to deal with my situation, here or at home.
Hey, please don't gather around me discussing how to deal with me!
Regardless of where they dealt with me, the primary issue was to find the cause. The two little cats, focusing on "fishing," engaged in childlike imaginations befitting their age. However, "fishing" was a fabricated reason, their starting point was completely wrong, and they couldn't possibly reach the correct conclusion. Miken, on the other hand, gave up thinking, deciding the most appropriate course of action was to send me home immediately and assign a specialized person for twenty-four-hour comprehensive observation.
"..." Are you treating me like a mentally ill patient?!
No, the two little cats were about to be persuaded by Miken to go home today. No, no, no, their precious vacation was only on its fifth day, how could I give up halfway?! Besides, I had to retrieve the suicide note; I couldn't leave behind this dark history.
Opening my game backpack, I "used" a memo pad and wrote on it with my mind. Since I was completely wrapped in the blanket, they couldn't know if the writing on the paper was handwritten. I moved the memo pad, which read "No, I don't want to go home early," out from under the blanket.
They immediately noticed the memo pad and fell silent.
I handed out memo pad after memo pad: "I will stay here," "You don't need to worry about me, go out and play," "We can't waste the remaining vacation," "I mean it, really," "If you don't believe me, you can have the butlers watch me too."
"No, in this state, it's better to go home first," Miken said, poking my blanket. "Which matter is clearly more important, Killua and Alluka must know, right?"
The two little cats had no objections and firmly stated that taking their sister home was more important. I felt a bit touched, but shouldn't normal family affection be "unanimously agreeing to take someone home for twenty-four-hour observation"? Am I a mental patient?!
I quickly handed out a memo pad that read "No."
To express the intensity of my opposition, I consecutively handed out dozens of memo pads, all reading "No," like a broken ATM machine spitting out cash frantically.
"No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No" "No"
"...Fine," Miken sighed. "But if the current problem isn't resolved, none of us will be in the mood to continue the vacation. Dad, what exactly do you want?"
I handed out a memo pad that read "Stop calling me Dad."
"Oh, okay, Sister."
I handed out a memo pad that read "Private chat, Miken stay alone."
"Mmm, no problem."
The presence of everyone else disappeared, leaving only Miken's.
I handed out a memo pad that read "Artificial respiration."
"Eh?"
I handed out a memo pad that read "Who?"
"Oh," Miken said, naming one of the butlers. "Is there a problem with her doing it?"
Recalling slightly, I remembered it was a young female butler. Her appearance was that of a typical passerby in an anime, decent, within acceptable limits.
What a relief, it was a false alarm. It wasn't Miken.
Reaching out from under the blanket, I "picked up" all the memo pads on the ground and placed them into my game backpack.
Lifting the blanket, and considering my appearance, I didn't lift it completely, only exposing my eyes. Without looking, I knew my clothes, dried by my body heat, were surely wrinkled, and my hairstyle was a mess. Disheveled appearance affects even high-level beauty.
Throwing a memo pad that read "I want to take a bath" at Miken, I turned and walked away, still wrapped in the blanket.
"Eh?" Miken caught the memo pad and immediately followed, walking ahead of me to open the door for me. To the two little cats waiting at the door, he said, "It's okay now. It was just a misunderstanding. Sister is going to take a bath now."
"Oh..." The two little cats nodded blankly and moved aside.
Under the guise of cleaning the sand from my hair, Miken instructed the butler who performed artificial respiration on me to accompany me to the bathroom.
This gave me an opportunity to observe the young female butler. The atmosphere in the bathroom gradually became ambiguous... no, that's not the case.
Ambiguity requires high颜值 (face value), face value, face value is very important!
The sand was cleaned in a businesslike manner, nothing more.
The sand stuck to my body was easy to clean, but the sand mixed in my long hair was troublesome. It took a lot of time, and indeed, help was needed.
Correspondingly, the transformation after cleaning was doubly satisfying. Raising my hand to brush through my smooth, lustrous long hair felt incredibly pleasant.
My mood improved, and then I felt hungry. I "took out" a pineapple bun from my game backpack and took a bite. The crisp crust on the surface of the bread exuded a rich buttery aroma, making me involuntarily squint my eyes.
When the butler opened the door for me, I had already eaten half a pineapple bun. My mouth was full, and I met the gazes of my brothers gathered in the hallway.
"..." Munch, munch, munch.
"..." x3
"See," Miken said, rubbing the heads of the two little cats. "I told you it was nothing."
"That..." Alluka raised her hand.
"?" x3
"It smells so good," Alluka said, her eyes shining as she looked at the pineapple bun in my hand. "...I want to eat it too."
"Ah, that's unfair, Sister eating alone!" Killua exclaimed as if waking from a dream, pointing at the pineapple bun in my hand. "It's a type I haven't seen before."
"..." Hmm, the pineapple buns from that store look different from the Zoldyck family's.
Biting into the half-eaten pineapple bun, I "took out" two more pineapple buns from my game backpack, one in each hand, and handed them to the two little cats.
"Thank you, Sister!" "Thank you, Onee-chan!"
Miken, standing aside and watching us eat merrily, looked a bit pitiful. After a moment's thought, I "took out" another pineapple bun and handed it to Miken.
"Eh?" Miken was stunned for a moment before taking the pineapple bun. "Thank you."
While my brothers were eating pineapple buns, I wanted to go to my bedroom to retrieve the suicide note. As soon as I took a step, my brothers followed, their three pairs of cat eyes fixed on me, their gazes tracking my every move, as if they had discovered a mouse that had wandered into a cat's den.
Alright, after all, my heartbeat had stopped last night. Their extreme tension was understandable. I couldn't leave their sight casually. I'd retrieve the suicide note later.
Before today, I never thought the two little cats would be so clingy. Wherever I went, they followed, almost following me into the bathroom and restroom.
Unexpected little cat welfare appeared precisely when I was focused on finding an opportunity to retrieve the suicide note. I couldn't feel at ease enjoying it, and my restlessness throughout the day only made my brothers more inseparable from me. At bedtime, the two little cats voluntarily held their pillows and wanted to sleep with me. Now, with Killua on my left and Alluka on my right (ignoring Miken), my cat-petting life had unintentionally reached its peak.
"..." Lying on the bed, with the two little cats hugging my left and right arms, my mood was complicated.
Some analyses suggest that people intentionally harm their bodies to seek attention.
Then, what do people seek by intentionally giving up their lives?
Is it to further seek "love"?
However, things obtained through twisted processes will also be twisted in their results.
For me, who is rotten, the fruit I can pick will ultimately be rotten fruit.