"Hey, are these really the only items available for purchase right now? There should be a search function, right?"
"There's something like a magnifying glass in the bottom right. Press it."
"Ah, you're right. Thanks."
The cheapest thing I could see right now cost 900 Coins, so... in practice, there was basically nothing I could buy.
"...Dokja, I don't think I can buy you anything. I don't have enough Coins."
"It's fine. You just have to move the way I tell you. While I shop, just get sponsorships or whatever."
"Thanks. Call me when you're ready."
It would've been nice if I had more Coins. I'd felt it since I was a kid, but being poor was fucking miserable in any era.
"The Constellations watching right now?"
"I don't have anything to do, so I figured I'd chat. 'Goddess of Love and Beauty,' you got here first. Anything you're curious about?"
"We're only four years apart, but... I don't know. I've just always been like that, so I can't really remember."
I really didn't know the reason.
Maybe it was just a vague sense of responsibility. Or maybe there had been some kind of trigger.
Maybe that bastard I didn't even want to call father died, and then our mother ended up in a situation where she couldn't take care of us either, so I tried to protect us on my own.
"As if I would! No way... ah."
...No matter how pretty Dokja was, how good her figure was, how gentle she was, how well she spoke, how she knew me better than anyone, how cute she was, how kind she was, how often she smiled, how well she listened, how full of affection she was...!
Even so, we were blood-related family. There was no way I'd see her that way, was there?
...Probably.
The Constellations' messages suddenly started pouring in at high speed.
I thought I saw something strange in the middle of them, but it probably didn't matter.
"Enough, enough! And what the hell is that crazy Greek goddess cheering for?"
"Of course you do! Isn't Greek mythology a complete mess? Incest... affairs... it was one train wreck after another!"
"Ugh. I shouldn't have even started talking."
Of course, myths reflected the values of people in the past, but even so, those myths were a complete disaster.
"Oppa, come here!"
"Okay."
.
.
.
"You don't need to know. Oppa, take this."
"...? Why are you giving this to me?"
"You have to use your body to make this work. You're not seriously going to make your little sister do manual labor, are you?"
The Constellations really did love butting in.
I'm doing this because I want to, so why were they acting like they were looking at some pitiful bastard?
When I'm fine with it, but other people call me pathetic, that's when it becomes truly pitiful. Truly miserable.
It seemed the Constellations had forgotten that because they were always up in the sky.
"You haven't forgotten, have you? I still haven't agreed to the contract."
"...Right. If we succeed in clearing this Scenario, we'll discuss the contract terms after that."
"Then I should be going now. Let's see you clear it properly."
The Dokkaebi was still arrogant, but compared to when I'd first met him, his attitude had softened a lot.
"May the blessing of stories be with you."
With those words, the Dokkaebi disappeared.
But this time, he definitely vanished with real expectations for us, not with a mocking face, but with a genuine smile.
"Oppa, coat the spikes carefully with this slime."
"Okay."
"The ichthyosaur's gastric acid is going to start secreting soon. So hurry."
We carefully smeared the slime over the spikes and approached the ichthyosaur's opening.
Pshhk
Shwaaa
"Oppa, it started! Hurry!!"
"Right!"
"Oppa!"
"What now?!"
"Let's survive together. No matter what."
I hadn't expected Dokja to say something like that.
I hadn't wanted to make her say something like that.
Because words like that meant we were both in danger.
But now I really had to accept it.
The foolish idea that it was enough for me alone to sacrifice myself would get not only me, but Dokja killed too.
So—
"Yeah. We have to survive together."