The Day My Life Turned Into a Trashy Romantic Comedy

"DIIIIIEEEEEE!" screamed a red-haired adventurer with amber-colored eyes, swinging a battle axe at a three-meter-tall minotaur.

Beside the warrior, a female adventurer of the healer class accompanied him. Both were doing everything they could to defeat that creature, which was threatening the rest of the group that had fallen in combat seconds earlier.

"Honey! The boss is too powerful. I don't know if the two of us can beat him," said the green-eyed adventuress, doing her best to heal their companions who were already lying on the ground.

However, suddenly the amber-eyed adventurer froze completely still, not moving a single finger. This sparked panic in the adventuress, who tried everything to make her companion move while the minotaur dangerously approached the group.

The adventuress attempted to cast multiple spells at him, and when she came face to face with the minotaur, she couldn't help but let out a scream of fear.

"GAME OVER"

A computer screen lit up in the dark room. On the digital clock, it read 3:47 in the morning; supposedly, no soul should be awake at that hour.

In front of the monitor, with his face pressed against the keyboard and a thread of drool threatening the spacebar, was a boy deeply asleep.

His name was Sora Yamamoto, a 14-year-old kid who loved online video games and, above all, making friends.

From school to home, and from home to school; it was the only routine he knew and the only routine he liked. He was an asocial guy who had fun with strangers in an online game called "Frontier Online," a Japanese-style RPG.

On the internet, Sora was the leader of an adventurer guild called The Golden Star, a group of adventurers dedicated to rescuing other players abandoned by other clans—a noble act in these times.

Within his clan, there were several adventurers who accompanied him, and among them all, there was a small group of adventurers who were his best friends.

In Sora's infinite kindness and innocence, he had sworn protection to each and every one of them.
"If any of you ever have problems, or need help, don't hesitate to come to me. I'll protect you even if it costs me my body," Sora said in the group chat while enjoying an afternoon of gaming.

But... promises made on the internet stay on the internet, right?

They were a group that feared nothing and no one, and they would be together forever.

Or at least, that's what Sora thought.

Months later, the server had to shut down due to a dispute between the founding brothers of the game. Overnight, thousands of players were left with nothing from all the hours they had invested in that game.

And to Sora's misfortune, he didn't have the chance to say goodbye to his clanmates, much less leave them a contact where they could reach each other.

He tried searching for them in other similar games, on social media, on video channels, but nothing. It was as if each member of the clan had never existed; they weren't anywhere to be found.

But he didn't give up easily.

He searched for them for nearly three years without rest. However, as the years pass, a child becomes an adult, fills up with responsibilities, and has to set aside his hobbies.

Sora Yamamoto became burdened with responsibilities. He entered high school, and for his own good, he had to leave behind all those hours of gaming that had once brought him so much happiness, and those friends he still remembered fondly.

He had to forget that he was Aegis in Frontier Online.

But life's twists are sometimes unexpected.

Sora had just left school—Shinomiya Academy, a high school attended by many young people with economic problems in the area. It wasn't the best school, but it was the best he had.

"Aaaaaah, what a great day. I can't wait to get home and play video games," Sora said as he walked toward the school exit. His mind was wandering, thinking about a new game that had just gone on sale.

However, due to his distraction, he couldn't avoid bumping into a woman.

They collided head-on and both fell to the ground.

"Ah... sorry, I was a bit distracted and wasn't looking," Sora said, slowly getting up from the ground, trying to pick up his things that had fallen from his backpack, though he wasn't looking at who he had collided with.

"Sora Yamamoto...!" said a feminine voice, and although that voice still came from the ground, the tone it carried made Sora's blood run cold with fear, causing his gaze to shift toward where that voice came from.

On the ground lay Airi Kuroki, the student council president of the high school.

Airi was on the ground with her things scattered everywhere. She looked at Sora from the floor with an angry face because, thanks to him, she had stained her clean and immaculate uniform—an insult to her in every sense of the word.

Airi stood up with delicacy and elegance, then proceeded to brush some dust off her dress.

Once she finished cleaning her skirt, Airi raised her arm in the air and proceeded to point at Sora. "Sora! What kind of attitude is this that stains the school's reputation!" Her gaze was one of pure anger toward Sora.

"I-I'm very sorry, Superior. It wasn't my intention," Sora said, trembling with fear. Of all the people he could have run into, he had angered the strictest person in school: the disciplined Airi Kuroki. A girl who wore the high school uniform exactly as the regulations dictated. The blazer was completely buttoned, even if it was hot; the ribbon perfectly tied and centered; the skirt at the regulation length, which was down to the knee; and black tights that concealed the little visible skin she might show.

"No excuses, Sora!" Airi said, still pointing at Sora. "You'll have to stay until evening cleaning the entire main hall so you learn your lesson, and it's not up for discussion."

Airi turned abruptly, her back facing him. Her dark hair with blue streaks, smooth and shiny as silk, swayed, contrasting with her blue eyes.

"But... today was the game's release," Sora muttered as he watched Airi walk away from him. Her order wasn't up for discussion.

Because of that, Sora spent the entire afternoon at school until he could finish his punishment.

The sun was beginning to set, and as soon as he finished his duties, he ran home hoping to buy a copy of the game.

However, due to his recklessness, halfway there he almost collided again—this time with a silver-haired girl wearing glasses.

"Oh, sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry," Sora said, passing by the silver-haired girl.

"It's rookie day," Sora said from afar without stopping for a second. Nothing and no one would stop him again.

"Rookie... day?" That girl stood watching as Sora disappeared around the corner while adjusting her glasses. However, those words had confused her somehow.

Back at Sora's house.

He was in his room, excited and impatient. He had waited for this moment for weeks and would fight until the last second on the website to get a copy of the new game called "Dungeon Rookies," a game that, according to video reviews on the internet, was the new Frontier Online.

The sun had already set, and it was getting somewhat late, but Sora finally got his beloved game and was ready to start playing.

However, just as he was about to hit the play button, someone knocked on the front door.

For a moment, Sora ignored it, thinking he had imagined it, so he concentrated on the game again.

But then, they knocked on the door again, and then again, and again.

Far from getting angry, Sora grew worried because of it. Who would be knocking on the door late at night?

"Please, let it just be the wind and not the start of some absurd romantic comedy," Sora thought as he reluctantly went down the stairs.

Before Sora could open the door, they knocked a fifth time. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Sora said as he opened the door.

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested in buying any—" Sora couldn't finish the sentence.

Behind the door stood a woman. She looked disheveled and somewhat pale, with amber-colored eyes similar to Sora's. However, what caught Sora's attention the most was the paleness of her skin, making him wonder if that was her normal complexion or if something had happened to her.

But the words she said to Sora hit him like a bucket of ice water, sending a chill down his entire body.

"Hey there, honey... or should I say, Aegis?"