Gaming Guilt

Silveria, Leanna and Eleona all gulp loudly in unison, their female sixth sense is tingling.

“Girls? Are we sure we… want to stay here? They’re staring at us and judging us,” Eleona’s eyes get filled with apprehension.

“Are you reading it like that? No, they’re just glad they see some girls showing interest in board games,” Yutaka tries to reassure them.

Fantasia immediately runs towards the racks, marveling at the club's extensive collection of hundreds of games. “Wooow~!!! I’ve never seen so many board games! They look all so fun! And look at those cracks in walls, it really complements the atmosphere of such a club! How thoughtful!”

Ravel facepalms himself at the thought that they would actually make the cracks in the walls deliberately just to create the right atmosphere. No. That’s not it. It was simply a matter of limited resources and time preventing repairs. But of course, Fantasia would find it intriguing.

Returning to the group, Fantasia wears a delighted expression, her eyes shining like hearts. "So, what are we going to play? Huh? Huh?"

“I’ve only ever played stuff like ‘Don’t Be Angry, Man!’. I had no idea so many games even existed,” Silveria says before meeting a random guy’s gaze, which causes her to shudder.

“Aaah, Ravel! And the guys! You even brought some ladies into our dungeon! Good to see you all! My name’s Lordo and I’m the owner of Gaming Guilt, welcome!” A big man with brown hair and green eyes comes forward to greet the group. The distinctive feature on his face is a forked beard, intricately braided into three separate sections, evoking the image of the world's most renowned pirate.

“Lordo! Good to see you! Have you lost weight again? Ahah!” Ravel shakes his hand. “This is my girlfriend.”

“Diantha, good to see you! You may not remember me from the last time but I remember you!” Lordo approaches Fantasia, extending his hand, which Fantasia takes.

“No, no, no, you must be confused! Her name is Fantasia, she’s never been here before!” Ravel is terrified to look at Fantasia’s face after that mix-up but he has no choice but to do so.

“So you took Diantha here, eh~?” Fantasia mischievously narrows her eyes and smiles.

Silveria, having recovered from the initial shock at the sight of all those boys eyeing the girls with anticipation, is approached by Yutaka.

“Don’t worry, if anything inconvenient happens, I’m here to protect you!”

“Sure, darling, as if I needed your protection.”

Silveria gives him a cold shoulder and greets with Lordo, Leanna and Eleona follow her.

“You tried, but she probably realized there’s no danger here. All of them are just fun guys with no ulterior motives.” Seko remarks to Yutaka.

“Daamn, she’s pretty harsh towards you. Why don’t you say to her that it was you back then?” Zhang suggests but Yutaka gives no response.

***

The group settled around a large, round table for 10 people that Lordo reserved for them upon Ravel’s request. While the other guys continue playing games, their glances often veer toward the girls.

“So what game would you like to play? Some kind of a cooperation game where you have to work together to reach a common goal? Or area control game? Campaign? Deckbuilder? Party games? Social deduction?” Lordo lists multiple genres of games but all of them just stare at him, unable to grasp the meaning of his words.

“I liked the word ‘party’!” Eleona exclaims.

Just then, a female voice resonates through the shelter as a certain girl makes her entrance.

“Hewwooo everybody, how are youuu?”

“So she’s here…” Ravel accepts his fate.

The girl’s name is Bisha. Ravel’s ex-girlfriend he met in this very board game club.

“Lady B!” Seko blurts out without any concern for Fantasia.

“Oh, don’t call me that~, we’re already past that,” Bisha approaches the group’s table and adjusts her short pink hair behind her ear. “Wait, I said hewwooo~, everybody! Can you say it back??”

She’s always been an attention seeker, which is why she joined an all-male club like this as a volunteer, Ravel reflects on his time spent with Bisha.

“Hey Bisha…”

“Hello~!”

The whole club greets her with feigned interest, their attention still lingering on the other girls.

“Oooh, so you don’t care about me now that you have prettier ladies here? So rude!” Bisha notices how Ravel holds Fantasia’s hand, realizing the implications. “Ravel? Could you please come to the storage room with me for a moment?”

Storage room?! Is she crazy?? That’s where we used to do those … things!

“B-but why should we..? I don’t wanna…”

“Go with her, she’s your friend, right? No need to be rude,” Fantasia encourages him.

Ravel’s concerned eyes shift from Fantasia to Bisha and back to Fantasia.

He sighs.

“Okay… let’s go.”

***

Alone with his ex in the storage room, Ravel’s anxiety makes him stutter.

“L-listen Bisha, I have no intention of b-betraying Fant-“

“I’m very sorry for what I did back then,” Ravel is cut off by Bisha’s sudden apology, lowering her head in front of him.

“Oh.”

She looks up at Ravel with her silver eyes displaying a genuine regret, “It was very wrong of me to accept a date invitation from another man. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been assaulted by him and I wouldn’t have ultimately hurt you and left you because of my guilty conscience.”

“It’s true I was hurt by that… but I bear no hatred towards you. I forgave you. I won’t let the way our relationship ended define its entirety.”

“You truly mean it?” A glimmer of hope sparkles in Bisha’s eyes.

“Besides, you were the one who stood by me when I needed it the most. You were the one who helped me overcome the trauma from my previous relationship.”

“You’re emitting a much warmer aura than before,” Bisha starts smiling at Ravel whose voice has been filled with confidence. His face is puzzled. “It’s like all the missing pieces have been replaced inside of you. Does she really make you that happy?”

“Yes. You are amazing in your own way, but Fantasia is leagues above. Sorry to say it like this,” Ravel looks straight into her eyes.

Bisha’s a little startled by his directness, “I see. I don’t think she’s that beautiful but she’s undeniably cute.”

The way Bisha phrased it makes Ravel believe that she expressed her most honest opinion. Attention seeker? Yes. But a kind person indeed.

“And I noticed her boobs are bigger than mine so of course you like her, hehe,”

“Hey!”

***

While Bisha and Ravel were gone, Lordo has thoroughly explained the rules of ‘Accused’, a social deduction game the group chose to play. The players are secretly divided into two factions, light and evil darkness side, while only the evil side knows the members of their side, effectively knowing the members of the light side as well. Light side has no idea who any of the players are.

Each round, somebody acts as a Chief. The Chief chooses one of the three missions and sends agents to successfully complete it. That’s what the chosen agents are asked to vote for in secret. Once there is a single ‘fail’ card, the whole mission fails, giving points to the darkness. When two out of the three missions are cleared, the light side wins. If two of the three fail, evil darkness side wins.

There’s a special Detective character among the light side that knows all the darkness members. However, he cannot reveal himself because the darkness could kill him in the end, winning the game for the evil guys despite two successful missions.

Ravel and Bisha, the two players who know the rules, return to the table, while the guys give a smug look to Ravel.

“Hey, it’s not like that!” He defends himself even if nobody verbally suggested anything.

“Sorry for borrowing him, he’s all yours! Oooh, you’re playing my favorite game ‘Accused’! Well, I’ll join the other guys…” Bisha looks around for other people she could join.

“Why don’t you join us? This game is for up to 10 players and it’s just 8 of us!” Fantasia suggests with sparkles all over her face.

“Nooo, I don’t wanna impose~, it’s gonna be awkward~,” Bisha protests but she already grabs a chair to join their ranks.

She can’t resist a game of ‘Accused’, heh.

Lordo, acting as the game's narrator, punctuates the moment with a resounding clap of his hands, signaling the beginning of the game.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the world, where nobody can trust anybody! And you know what they say: If you’re not ready to lose a friend over a game, you shouldn’t have come here!”

CHAPTER 33: END