"It's too big, Alex... I'm not sure it'll fit in my mouth."
Ken instantly turned off the television. Just one glimpse of that scene and his blood boiled—it was the one thing he hated most: NTR.
He was playing My Heroines Are in Another Harem. He knew exactly what kind of content to expect, yet he bought it anyway. Each time, he muttered the same coping mantra as he clicked through the betrayal-filled storylines:
"At least it has an interesting storyline."
But this time was different. He had just watched his favorite female lead cheat on the protagonist—with the villain, no less.
"Seriously, why do all the heroines have to cheat in NTR?" he thought, disgusted.
He grabbed his phone and checked the time.
6:30 a.m.
He was counting down the minutes to 8 a.m., when his local game store opened. He wanted to be first in line for the newest eroge in town. He had watched every trailer, followed every update, and participated in all the community discussions. He had even squeezed out a few bucks from his food-chain job to afford it.
"Can't wait for Erosalem: Crimson Rose of the Western Kingdom. That game's gonna be peak."
Excited, he grabbed his phone again and opened the game's official Disbard server. He checked the announcements channel, then quickly froze.
He was immediately disappointed at the latest announcement.
The release time had been changed.
[Dear fans, we are sorry to announce that the launch time for Erosalem: Crimson Rose of the Western Kingdom has been adjusted slightly due to logistics. The new launch times for various cities are as follows...]
Ken scrolled quickly to find his city.
8 p.m. instead of the previous 12 p.m.
It had been delayed by eight hours.
He collapsed back onto his bed and groaned,
"That's almost 14 hours from now..."
He wasn't going back to the NTR game—not after what he'd just witnessed. So, to kill time, he decided to read the synopsis for Erosalem:
'Follow the journey of Lloyd Dragonheart, a disgraced prince exiled from the Western Kingdom after a betrayal that cost him everything. From the scorching deserts of Ravun to the icy peaks of Frostham, he gathers allies—an elven archer, a dragonkin mercenary, and a runaway princess with a mysterious curse. Together, they battle goblin hordes, confront ancient dragons, and uncover the lost magic of the world, all while navigating the politics of a kingdom on the brink of war. Forge relationships, shape destinies, and reclaim your honor in this epic fantasy eroge adventure.'
"This is really good," Ken thought, feeling his hype return. He opened up the general chat on Discord to see what others were saying.
[Any NTR?]
[No.]
[Why not? NTR is really good. It gives women the—]
Ken stopped reading. His jaw clenched and anger surged immediately.
He fired off a reply:
[Don't tell me you're seriously trying to justify NTR.]
[I'm not. Let's just say I tried it out. How is that your concern? Everyone's entitled to their opinion.]
[You fucking pussy.]
A moment later, a notification popped up:
[Ken_Rider246 has been banned – Reason: Bad word count exceeded 50.]
"Fuck," Ken muttered, tossing his phone aside. Banned.
He scrambled to make a new account and rejoin the server, only to hit a wall: phone verification. And his banned account was already linked to his only number.
Now what?
Ken dropped the phone on his chest and stared at the ceiling. His heartbeat was oddly louder now, not from the anger, but from sheer thought of being banned. "Fucking NTR degenerates… ruin everything good." He groaned and turned over, smothering his face into the pillow.
He rolled onto his side and opened his browser. Maybe Jeddit? Maybe someone shared more details about the game. But even Jeddit betrayed him—another damn argument thread on why 'cheating is character development.'
He sighed. "I'm not reading this pseudo-intellectual garbage."
In a final act of desperation, he opened Vtube, typed the game's name, and clicked on a newly uploaded trailer breakdown. It had dramatic fantasy music playing over flashy cuts of sword fights and duels, a princess in a flowy white dress, a red-haired knight clashing with a dragon, and a dark-haired man—clearly the villain—with a smug smirk.
Then the camera slowly panned over a field of roses, and the voiceover said:
'When roses bleed and kingdoms fall, the heart chooses not the righteous… but the willing.'
Ken let out a sigh of awe. "Bro... actual chills."
Then the screen cut to black.
[ Available January 29th at 8 PM ]
He clenched his fist. "Just a few more hours."
In the silence that followed, his stomach growled.
"Guess I should eat something."
Ken walked to the kitchen, slapped together a peanut butter sandwich, and shoved half of it in his mouth before heading back to his room.
After a quick meal and a glass of water, Ken crashed onto his bed. He wasn't planning to sleep, just to close his eyes for a few minutes. But like all gamers know, "just a few minutes" can become a full-blown time warp.
When he finally opened his eyes again, sunlight crept through his half-closed curtains. He groggily reached for his phone and blinked at the screen.
7:56 a.m.
"Shit."
He sprang up, tossed on his hoodie, and grabbed the small camping bag he packed the night before. It was fully stocked: cookies, canned soda, energy drinks, chips, a portable charger, and some wet wipes—basically everything needed to survive the frontier of a game store sidewalk.
By 8:03 a.m., he was out the door.
Ken hopped onto the nearest public bus, the air reeking of morning sweat and cheap perfume. He clutched his bag like it was the Holy Grail. With every stop the bus made, his anxiety built. What if the line had already wrapped around the building? What if he wasn't in the first ten?
He stepped off at his stop and power-walked toward the store. As the place came into view, he could already see someone by the entrance.
One of them was your typical diehard. Middle-aged. Average height. Patchy beard. Wore a 'Make Video Games Great Again' shirt and sandals with socks. The kind of guy who's lived through five console wars and still picks fights in the Steam review section.
Ken sighed.
"At least I'm second."
He pulled out his mini tent from the side pouch of his bag, unfolded it like a pro, and staked his claim in the concrete jungle of nerds. Just as he zipped it open, someone near the store entrance caught his eye.
It was Rose, his high school crush.
Wavy shoulder-length hair, casual jeans, white sneakers, hoodie two sizes too big—it was unmistakably her.
And she was walking toward the store.
Ken instinctively turned around and ducked halfway into his tent.
"No way."
"Why is she here?"
"She can't be an eroge player... right?"
"No—she was always sweet, innocent, popular. There's no way she's into freaky stuff."
"Maybe she just wants to buy a farming sim... or a dating game... or something wholesome."
He peeked again, and to his disbelief, she was walking toward the same queue. Toward him.
"Ken?" a familiar voice asked.
He looked up. She was smiling.
"Rose... hey."
"Wow. I didn't expect to see you here," she said, shifting her weight on one leg.
"Yeah, same. What are the odds, huh?" he said, scratching the back of his neck.
"You still play games?"
"Pretty much," he replied. "And you?"
Rose giggled. "Not as much, but I saw that Life Ties: Blooming Seasons got a physical release today. I figured I'd swing by and grab a copy before it sells out."
"Life Ties, huh? Still into those slice-of-life farming sims?"
"Yeah," she said with a shy laugh. "I find them relaxing. Plus, the character designs in this one are super cute."
Ken nodded, relieved. Okay, so she wasn't here for that game.
"You camping out too?" she asked.
"Yup. Came prepared. Got snacks, soda, even a pillow," he said with a proud grin.
"Dedication," she said. "That's classic you."
They talked for a bit—about old classmates, high school clubs, teachers they hated, how weird it felt that time had passed so fast. It was easy. Natural. Ken felt like he wasn't just the guy who got banned from a Disbard server an hour ago.
And then she tilted her head and asked with a playful smirk:
"So, Ken… what do you want to get?"