The Virgin Hero Who Fought in the Dungeon for 20 Years Returned to the Surface Only to Find the Population of the World Has Dropped Drastically, with a Male-to-Female Ratio of 1:1000 - 74

Chapter 74: Delusional Date Plan

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“The classic date has got to be going to the movies. That’s the go-to choice, no question about it. I will accept no dissent.”

“Well, sure, I guess.”

Rion Nanami was listening absentmindedly to her friend Kyouka Kuonji, who had suddenly shown up at her apartment.

It was getting close to evening. Tomorrow was Saturday. No classes at the Explorers Academy. It was a perfect day to go out. Rion was feeling restless, anticipating what could easily be described as a once-in-a-lifetime big event.

A date with the hero, Ryuuto Sakazaki.

If she overlooked the fact that they’d be dragging along the extras, Kyouka and Haruka, there had never been an event in her life that thrilled her this much. Nope, not a single one.

“Aaah, I really wanted to go just the two of us, me and Ryuuto-san. But technically, this outing is also to celebrate Haruka’s promotion.”

Right. Haruka had just been promoted from Class E to Class D, thanks to her solo work paying off. This little get-together was primarily meant as a celebration for her. But since meeting Ryuuto was basically the highest priority in life for both Kyouka and Rion, it was no wonder their excitement was over the top.

“Ahh, me—Kyouka Kuonji, the gentle girl who puts her friend first even on a rare chance to meet with Ryuuto-san. So kind and loyal, he’ll definitely fall for me all over again. Hmm? What’s with that face? If you really didn’t want to come, Rion, you didn’t have to, you know?”

“Ugh…”

Rion had no comeback. Not because she was shy by nature, but because there was a reason she couldn’t refute Kyouka. Kyouka leaned back against the bed and let out a lazy voice.

“Aaah. I’m so tired. Seriously, I’m totally exhausted. Haruka and Rion, you’re both so shy. If you’re not proactive like me, there’s no way you’d ever get a date with Ryuuto-san, not even if you died and reincarnated.”

“What you do is just stalking though.”

Rion muttered it under her breath, a weak attempt at retaliation.

“Haaah? You say something?”

“Nope.”

“Hmph. Then fine.”

“You damn perverted stalker woman.”

“You did say something!! Don’t you have any gratitude for what I’ve done? Seriously, it’s your fault for getting all in your feelings just because he didn’t reply a few times on LINE.”

“Ugh, that’s because I need time to mentally prepare myself…”

“Mentally prepare yourself?”

“I mean… it would hurt if he rejected me.”

Rion placed her hand to her cheek, blushing shyly.

“You idiot! If we left the negotiation up to you and Haruka, we wouldn’t see Ryuuto-san again for a hundred million trillion years!”

“Ugh…”

She had a point.

Haruka and Rion had been messaging Ryuuto over LINE, but even when they casually tried to invite him out, his responses were either vague or didn’t come at all—probably because he was busy.

Kyouka, however, was undeterred. She had continued to fire off message after message like a woman possessed, regardless of whether or not Ryuuto replied. She was practically stalking him.

“Normally he’d have blocked you.”

“You’re so dumb. There’s no way Ryuuto-san would ever ignore a cute and sweet girl like me.”

Kyouka had an inexplicable confidence in herself. In reality, all of Ryuuto’s messages were handled by his bodyguard Sayaka, or by Sumire, who served as his stand-in shadow bodyguard.

Sumire, amused by Kyouka’s tragic, unrequited virgin obsession, had chuckled to herself and decided to go into a “watch mode,” deliberately ignoring her. She was just watching Kyouka wrestle herself into exhaustion. It was a pretty twisted hobby, to say the least.

The ever-increasing number of unread LINE messages, viewed with a cup of tea and snacks, warmed Sumire’s heart. But evil deeds eventually come to light. When Ryuuto found out about Sumire’s message-blocking, he rushed to reply himself—leading to the upcoming outing.

“Aaah, what should I do? Maybe I’ll just tell Darling that Rion suddenly got busy and had to cancel. After all, I’m the only one he communicates with~”

Who the hell are you calling “Darling,” you clingy little witch.

Rion thought that, but she couldn’t completely ignore Kyouka’s contribution. She decided to take the humble approach.

“My deepest apologies, oh merciful mother sea, Kyouka-sama. I beg you, bestow your compassion upon this pitiful Rion.”

“Fine.”

“Ugh…”

“But you know, I’m just so happy. Getting to see Ryuuto-san again—it’s like fate, isn’t it? Don’t you think so too, Rion?”

Kyouka’s eyes sparkled like blue gemstones. Even Rion, as a fellow girl, had to admit they were truly beautiful.

“Yeah. I think so too.”

I’m so glad I’m alive.

She genuinely thought so.

“Hey, Rion. Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m listening.”

To be honest, she just wanted Kyouka to leave already. Rion loved Ryuuto even more than Kyouka did—no matter how one-sided that love may have been. Rion had never known any other man but Ryuuto. He was her one and only. Her feelings were endlessly pure, to the point of being fanatical.

And since she was going to meet him, she had a whole checklist of things to do to ensure her condition was perfect. Picking the right outfit, practicing lively conversation to keep things interesting, skin care, and above all, enough rest and sleep. Too little sleep was bad. Too much was also bad. Rion needed exactly eight hours.

“Still, Ryuuto-san is pretty shy too, huh? Deep down, he probably couldn’t wait to see me again but held himself back. Hehe, time apart only makes love grow stronger, you know?”

“Tch.”

A click of the tongue slipped out before she could stop it. But Kyouka was lost in her own little world and didn’t seem to hear that.

“So, hey! Listen to this! I planned out the perfect schedule to make our day  tomorrow with Ryuuto-san totally unforgettable! Wanna see?”

“No thanks.”

“Aw, come on!”

“Don’t ‘come on’ me. We’re hanging out as a group of three tomorrow, remember? You do understand that, right? No? Thought so.”

“What’s that supposed to mean! C’mon, just take a look! I spent three whole days on this masterpiece!”

“So that’s why you weren’t at school.”

“Ahaha, it’s just my maiden heart, yearning for Ryuuto-san.”

“Right…”

Rion glanced over Kyouka’s handwritten date plan on A4 paper:

09:00 – Breakfast at Komeda Coffee

10:00 – Movie

12:00 – Sushi lunch

13:00 – Enoshima Aquarium

・Watch the dolphin show

・Get so excited we kiss

(*Feels good to be the target of envy. The other two go home.)

14:00 – Yomiuri Land → Giant Ferris Wheel

・Kiss at the top → then naturally ♡♡ happens

15:00 – Kasai Rinkai Park → Kiss → Outdoor ♡♡

16:00 – National Art Museum

・(No interest in the museum → Car ♡♡ instead)

17:00 – Fancy dinner

18:00 – Tokyo Skytree → Kiss while looking at the night view

・Then rent-a-car ♡♡♡

19:00 – Stylish bar → Get heated → Bathroom ♡♡♡

20:00 – Luxury hotel

・♡♡♡ until morning → Conception →HAPPY END

Without a word, Rion tore the schedule to shreds.

“Why’d you do that!?”

“Like hell any of that would ever happen!”

“Ah, my masterpiece…”

“Nothing about it makes sense! Everything is impossible! And besides, the second half is totally off the rails! Are you some kind of horny monkey!? And don’t just casually send us home halfway through! What, you think you can just do whatever you want!?”

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