Chapter 9: Woman, Go Away—You're Interrupting My Match-Three Game

Game Development: Starting by Healing the Players 

Chapter 9: Woman, Go Away—You're Interrupting My Match-Three Game

The next story featured a young lady from the Warring States era.

Her duty and purpose in life was to protect her family from destruction.

One day, she discovered a mysterious bronze mirror that transported her to an incredible world.

There was no war there. Everyone could live freely and happily.

She was dazzled by the prosperity around her, and before she knew it, she met him—

An otaku who, surprisingly, wasn't completely useless.

Their first meeting was anything but pleasant.

The two of them even got into a fight.

She lost.

According to the customs of her world, that meant he became her husband from that day forward.

When she became hungry, the otaku took her out for a meal.

A simple pork cutlet rice bowl.

She stared at it in astonishment.

"So much meat... This must have cost a fortune, right?"

In her own world, ordinary people couldn't afford to eat meat.

While she was there, she also tasted a drink called beer for the very first time.

"What is this? It's so delicious."

Clutching the bottle while tipsy, she laughed happily.

It was probably the most relaxed she had ever been in her life.

After waking from her hangover, she picked up the bronze mirror that had brought her to this world and took the otaku back with her to her own.

But it didn't change much.

Her world remained exactly as it had been.

The Yuno Clan was still the same family on the brink of collapse, with powerful enemies watching from every side.

Perhaps the only change was this husband of hers, who didn't seem especially impressive.

He became captain of her personal guard.

But that was all.

Even with his arrival, the destruction of the Yuno Clan could not be prevented.

Two months later...

She sat atop the city wall, covered in blood.

The endless flames of war and rivers of blood had stained the earth crimson.

Outside the walls, corpses were piled like mountains.

The thunderous cries of battle shook the heavens.

The enemy was on the verge of breaching the city.

Looking at the army advancing outside, she knew that she had ultimately failed to preserve the Yuno Clan through this age of chaos.

"It seems... the three hundred years of glory enjoyed by the Yuno Clan are about to come to an end."

The otaku desperately begged her to flee.

She merely shook her head gently.

"Makoto, you and I are different. From the day Father draped this armor over my shoulders, I swore... that I would protect the honor of the Yuno Clan with my life."

The otaku cited every example and argument he could think of, trying to persuade her.

"The world is always changing. Long periods of division are followed by unity, and unity eventually gives way to division. Yours isn't the only family to have fallen."

"Makoto... you won't understand. This place holds the dreams and hard work of generations of the Yuno Clan. Take this bronze mirror... and go."

She laid everything bare before him.

After hearing her resolve, he pleaded once more for her to leave with him.

But she had convictions of her own.

How could she possibly agree?

If she had been willing to abandon those convictions, she never would have returned to this world in the first place.

She closed her eyes.

Gradually, his voice seemed to disappear, leaving only the sounds of the enemy breaking through the city gates.

"Makoto... have you left?"

"So... you really did leave..."

"The truth is..."

"I wanted so badly... to leave with you."

"I wanted… to drink beer with you again."

"That beer… was really delicious."

"It really was..."

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Memories of the past resurfaced.

The illustration of her raising a mug of beer appeared in the center of the screen.

"Husband, this drink is wonderful! How about another round? Look, I've already finished mine! You should have a couple more too. Come on—cheers!"

Then, in her dazed state, she seemed to faintly hear his voice.

"Charge!! I am Yuno Anna's Captain of the Guard! Anyone who stands in my way shall be shown no mercy!"

The game returned to the main menu.

Jiang Ping couldn't help sniffing, then closed his eyes, which had grown slightly sore.

Only after a long while did he open them again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with this game?!"

"It's an adult game!"

"Why are the character illustrations so good?"

"Why is the voice acting so incredible?"

"Why is the match-three combat system so polished?"

"Did you have an unlimited budget or something?!"

"I just wanted to play an adult game!"

"So why are you making me this emotional?!"

Even as he continued "complaining," his hands never hesitated.

Of course, he wasn't reaching for tissues.

Instead, he exited to the game's main menu, opened the store page, and decisively left it a positive review.

Although he was still within the refund window, he knew that once he submitted a review, he would no longer be eligible for a refund.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Even without talking about the later content, Jiang Ping already felt the game was worth every penny.

In fact, he even thought charging only 10 yuan for it meant the developer was an idiot.

...

It wasn't just Jiang Ping.

On an obscure overseas forum, quite a few adult-game enthusiasts stumbled across the game and clicked on it out of curiosity.

When they finally finished it, every one of them came away deeply moved.

Some were touched by the stories themselves.

The tale of the elf and the demon made them reflect on the nature of good and evil.

Humanity willingly sank into corruption, while it was an elf—someone not even of the human race—who tried to save them, only to have her kindness repaid with betrayal.

The story of the otaku and the female general brought many players to tears.

He looked like nothing more than a useless shut-in, yet when the time came for him to escape, he instead displayed courage and resolve beyond anything anyone could have imagined.

The dragon maid and the knight's story became a long, wondrous journey.

At that moment, these players finally understood what those earlier forum posts had meant.

Now they truly empathized.

Of course, there were also plenty of impatient "gentlemen" who couldn't even reach the later content because they weren't good at match-three games.

These players began obsessively studying the game's match-three combat mechanics.

They repeatedly farmed points and money to upgrade their equipment and buy better items.

Eventually, they evolved.

Before long, they had completely stopped paying attention to the game's adult content.

Instead, they became hopelessly addicted to its match-three gameplay.

It was simple and intuitive, yet surprisingly engaging.

For an adult game, it was almost unbelievable.

The only problem was… 

The girl standing beside the puzzle board was honestly getting in the way.

"Lady, could you move?"

"Get out of the way already!"

"You're interrupting my match-three game!"

"This time, with my superior strategy..."

"I'm definitely going to beat my previous high score!"