Question: Is it wrong to fall in love with a game heroine?

Everyone has, at least once, been captivated by a character from a manga, anime, or game.

In this lovable nation of perverts and unique culture—Japan—every guy is born with at least one wife waiting for him.

One dimension over, sure.

And I was no exception. I fell in love with a game heroine.

What’s more, in a moment of impurity, I ended up liking two heroines at the same time.

If I told anyone, they’d call me an idiot.

What good is loving someone you can’t touch, you moron?

And two of them?

Snap out of your delusions and face reality, they’d say.

I know that already.

No one knows it better than me—not those talking heads who smugly link anime to the real world with their predictable faces.

It’s us, the ones who understand full well that pining away changes nothing.

But I did it anyway, so there’s no helping it.

How many times had I thought it? I want to go to that world.

What would I do if I actually went there?

But I know it’s impossible.

So today, like always, I boot up that artificial world with its mechanical startup chime to meet them.

Today, for sure. This time, I’ll save them.

From this garbage scenario.

Both of them.

…

“The winner is Player Name Sword!!”

I pump my fist quietly in triumph.

PN Sword—real name Kenya Mikazuki, that’s me—I’ve won.

“Woooo!!!”

“Insane! Winning with Takemikazuchi?!”

“How does he even dodge that?”

“As expected from last year’s world champ. Half HP left, too.”

A famous streaming site was broadcasting an online tournament for a certain game.

And with the champion—Japan’s top player—decided, the hype was real. Viewer count had topped 200,000 domestic alone.

The venue was going wild—or it would be, if there was one. Unfortunately, the cheers were confined to the chat log.

Today’s event was fully online, no physical location.

Great for me—no need to show my face. Tough on the organizers, though.

Blame it all on that pandemic virus.

Now came the victory interview for the winner—me.

“How are you feeling?”

A woman who looked like a net idol asked the safe, generic question over the stream.

She’d only said “Amaaaazing!” during the match. Probably not into games.

Least of all us otaku gamers.

Her outfit screamed “otaku princess at cons,” but she probably had a normie boyfriend anyway.

I was twisted enough to think that right off the bat.

“Yeah… about six years now, I think. Sticking with this game that long makes it really rewarding.”

“Six years! So you’re a veteran from KOG Season 2!”

“That checks out.”

Knight of the Giant, or KOG for short—the smash hit game worldwide.

Why so huge? Perfect VR execution, plus piloting giant robots—the dream of boys everywhere.

Strap on dedicated controllers and VR gear, pilot a robot, and fight. That’s KOG.

Started with 1v1s, expanded to 3v3s, even 100-player battle royales. Tons of PvP modes.

The robots themselves? Named after the game: Knight of the Giant.

Straight translation: Knight of the Giants.

Everyone just calls the mechs KOG. Cog, Kay-Oh-Gee—whatever.

“Today’s event was the 1v1 Japan rep qualifier, but no plans for 3v3 or other modes?”

“Nah, I like going solo.”

(Lie. No friends. I’d team up in a heartbeat if I could!)

I’m a loner.

Why? Truancy, maybe.

Or truancy because I’m a loner.

“I see…”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell. Chat filled with sad “read the room” messages.

The idol was stumped too. My heart ached. Change the subject already.

“A-anyway, that wraps up the interview!”

(It’s over already?!)

I sighed, went offline, and took off my headset.

Event done for the day. Been a while since I talked to anyone.

In front of me: my PC. This was my room-cum-home.

Home being a tiny 6-mat apartment rental.

“Second time winning… doesn’t hit quite the same.”

I took last year’s tourney too.

Middle school on, mostly truant, poured my life into this game.

High school? Might as well say all of it.

Talent helped, I guess.

Reflexes better than average. Net tests say top-tier.

Recognition-to-reaction time: 0.1-0.2 seconds.

Tested on those online reflex games FPS fans love.

So yeah, talent.

But no one to share the joy with.

I stood, opened the fridge.

Water, eggs, condiments. Lonely fridge.

Living alone? Kinda.

Not for some happy reason like “high school far from parents.”

My folks divorced.

Classic: both had someone else. Affair stuff.

They agreed to split. But the issue?

Me, supposed fruit of their love.

Love gone? Just baggage.

Still remember it.

Them yelling they didn’t want custody.

Never thought how the kid in the middle felt?

Last scraps of parental love: elementary school, maybe.

Felt cherished back then. Time’s cruel, twists people easy.

But those memories keep me from hating them fully. Weak of me.

Their compromise: split child support.

This shoebox room and a bank account for funds.

Their last “gift.”

Kid abandoned by parents? Path’s set.

No more nagging “go to school” from a happy family. Truancy inevitable.

(Well, dropping out had another trigger…)

So today, like always, holed up at home, diving into that world.

“Alright, time to play.”

Short break, then launch the game.

The game that’s eaten most of my life: KOG’s novel game.

KOG had cute heroines, but only in settings—no story mode originally.

Still, the PvP was addictive.

“Kenya! Do your best!”

“Kenya, help!”

“I love you, Kenya…”

Hearing that mid-match? Heroines blew up in popularity.

I fell hard too. Can’t be helped.

VR heroine power is unreal.

As if manifesting otaku pleas, they made a VR novel game.

Immersion like they’re really there. Enjoy KOG world with heroines.

Even story events where you pilot KOG to beat foes. Legit.

Super fun. Chatting with heroines? Heart-pounding.

Or so I thought.

…

“I love you, Kenya… so much. Goodbye.”

The heroine died.

“Kaguyaaaa!!!”

Tears every time at this scene.

I know it’s coming, but they flow.

This heroine is my youth.

Restart, tinker, hunt new routes.

“Sorry, Kenya… live on. I loved you…”

Another heroine died.

“Reinaaaaa!!”

Don’t know how many screams today. My other wife gone.

Two heroines in this game.

Whichever route? The unpicked one dies.

Come out, writer of this crap scenario. I’ll kill you.

And it’s barely the start of the story. Can’t progress. Won’t progress a tale where heroines die.

Muttering curses, I challenge again and again.

“Maybe it’s impossible…”

About to give up, controller slipping.

I’m not a guidebook guy.

But desperate times? I search.

Checked this route before. No one’s found a both-survive path.

Might not exist.

Devs and writers? Total silence.

“Sigh… gotta quit… huh?”

Scanning KOG novel game thread for new info, spoiler-free.

One post catches my eye amid the sighs.

“That loss event…”

Kenya pictured the insane early 1v100 event.

Thread reactions were skeptical. No one thought it beatable.

My fingers froze at that post.

“Me, huh…”

Felt like it was calling me out.

Shook my head, dry laugh to deny it.

“Haha, no way that crap event…”

Kenya stared at his controller and VR headset.

Recalled his 2D wives’ tragic ends.

Hand reached out unconsciously.

“But if a harem route with both awaits…”

Kenya grinned.

His habit. For high-difficulty challenges.

Grin through the pain.

Not a masochist. Probably.

Just loves clearing tough missions.

So he gripped the KOG arm controllers.

Pictured a happy future with both heroines.

Course of action clear.

“I’ll show ya! The power of Japan’s champ!”

Reset to that event.

Hyped, hit start.

“I’ll save you! Kaguya! Reina!”

~Half a day later.

“No way no way no way!”

100th try. Controller hurled.

“No one could win this garbage game!”

Stared blankly at the ceiling.

Even 1v2’s brutal in fighters.

Imagine that.

1v100? Fights 5 at a time, sure.

But always tapped out around 10 kills.

Normies would quit.

Kenya gripped the controller again.

“Haa… feels like getting wrecked by smurfs in low ranks. But…”

Calls it crap, grabs it anyway.

“Never again,” then grabs it again.

Digital drug.

Addicted. Knows it, can’t stop.

Because.

“It’s fun!”

~Two months later.

The moment arrived.

Beard scruffy. No fresh high schooler vibe left.

Challenged endlessly.

Parsed enemy AI.

Scribbled strategies on paper.

1v100.

Impossible mismatch. Not even a fight.

Sole edge: unlimited retries.

Never quit. That’s his weapon.

Wielded it relentlessly, reeling in the slim chance.

Superhuman reflexes. Youth-honed skills.

“I can do it! I can do it! That’s… 90!”

90th down. 10 left.

In the VR world, Kenya hit peak focus.

“Kaguya! Too much tsun! Get to the dere alreadyyyy!”

91, 92, 93…

“Reina! Cool girl dere is my jaaam! Smile for me!”

94, 95, 96…

“If there’s a path where both survive…”

97, 98, 99…

“I wanna see it!”

100!!

Last foe exploded in a shower of parts.

“Beat it… I did it… I DID IIIIT!!”

Kenya fist-pumped.

Long haul. Thousands? Tens of thousands? More?

Day and night, non-stop.

Quest felt impossible.

But Kenya cleared it. On pure feelings for them.

“Congratulations on a fantastic victory…?”

Message switched.

I screamed at the sight.

“IT’S HEEEERE!!”

No hesitation. Hit Yes.

And the story began.

Of a socially inept high schooler good only at games.

Here, his tale switched to a new route.

To one where a world shift might make him a hero.

With that message, Kenya’s vision went black.

…

“Hm?”

Blurred sight sharpened gradually.

Brightened to a familiar room.

His home.

“What?”

Kenya was home.

But off. Slightly different from the home he knew.

“Huh? When’d I take off the headset? Wait, it’s not here?”

Looked around. No VR headset.

Desk held an unfamiliar envelope.

Sealed with an unknown crest.

Kenya grabbed it instinctively, opened.

“Certificate of enrollment… 2nd Class Earthguard Citizen, Kenya Mikazuki? What?”

Sudden roar like a jet engine.

Startled, opened window, peered out.

No familiar Tokyo skyline. Instead, a bizarre military base vista.

Processed that? Then something more unbelievable.

“Huh?”

Kenya blurted involuntarily.

Impossible. Jaw wouldn’t close.

Checked head—no headset.

Pinched cheek—hurt.

So, reality?

Dream? No clue.

But what stood there? Clear enough.

Kenya’s gaze fixed ahead: a 6-meter black giant.

The robot he’d piloted countless times.

True to its name, the Knight of the Giants.

“KOG?”

Knight of the Giant stood there.

“No way… what’s happening…”

The world he’d longed for.

The one from his dreams.

The impossible dream world.

What if.

What if he really ended up there.

What would you do?

Afterword

Hello, those coming from the comic version. I’m KAZU.

This work is complete, so please enjoy.

If you can support the manga too, the author and original creator would be thrilled.