Moon World Girlfriend Comes Knocking

If I hide it from her now and she finds out something later, it will only create a rift between us. Rather than that, it is better to just tell her the truth directly.

In any case, this goddess is a very well-behaved girl and wouldn't harbor any malicious intent.

After Lan Ze's explanation, Ereshkigal's eyes slowly widened, and she said in disbelief, "Eh?! So you mean... I am a character in this game?"

"Then... you are what they call a player from reality?" she continued to ask.

Lan Ze thought for a moment: "I think that's right."

"No wonder you disappeared so suddenly back then... so that's how it is." Ereshkigal muttered to herself. Although she didn't believe it at first, the scene before her left no room for doubt.

However, to be honest, it felt quite surreal to believe that she was just a character.

"Then, what is your mission? To protect Uruk?" Ereshkigal asked next. "If that's the case, you've got the wrong person. I have a contract with the other goddesses, and I am a villain standing on the opposite side of humanity."

"Are you talking about the League of the Three Goddesses?" Lan Ze smiled when he said this.

"What are you laughing at?" Ereshkigal frowned slightly, feeling mocked.

Lan Ze laughed: "You joined the League of the Three Goddesses simply to guide the souls of the dead into the Underworld and give them a place to rest, right? In short, you are a good person."

Ereshkigal's eyes widened slightly. "You, what are you spouting?! I am the Goddess of the Underworld, okay?! The Goddess of the Underworld who specializes in creating cages to imprison souls—"

She tried her best to defend herself, even putting on an "I'm super fierce" expression.

"Those cages are just houses, aren't they?" Lan Ze said.

The cages Ereshkigal created were, in reality, just houses where the souls of the dead could dwell.

This Goddess of the Underworld was kinder than anyone could have imagined.

Having her truth ruthlessly exposed, perhaps feeling that her image as the Goddess of the Underworld was completely shattered, Ereshkigal let out a small whimper, buried her head, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

Seeing this, Lan Ze couldn't help but show a knowing smile.

"What are you looking at?"

"Looking at you."

"Is there something on my face?"

"Hmm... no."

"Then why do you keep staring at me... could it be that you are interested in me—"

"Don't worry, I have no interest in the Goddess of the Underworld." Lan Ze shook his head.

Ereshkigal's voice cut off abruptly, and then she looked annoyed, humming softly: "I don't need you to be interested in me either—"

"But honestly, I am quite interested in Ereshkigal." Lan Ze said earnestly.

Ereshkigal froze, a cute blush appearing on her delicate face.

She hated this feeling of being "teased," but at the same time, she felt overjoyed by his sincere words. This complex emotion left the Goddess of the Underworld in an extremely conflicted state.

Lan Ze looked up at the clock in mid-air and said: "Although it's a pity, I have to go eat lunch. Can you wait for me here for a while?"

He had spent too much time in the Underworld earlier, and after checking the time, he realized that the time ratio between the game and reality was actually 1:1.

It was almost noon now; if he didn't log out, Sajyou Manaka would probably storm into his room.

Ereshkigal quickly regained her composure, crossed her arms, and huffed: "Whatever, you don't need to tell me where you're going."

As she spoke, however, her gaze remained fixed on Lan Ze.

"Log out."

As Lan Ze's voice rang out, he clicked the confirm button. Under Ereshkigal's incredulous gaze, Lan Ze really did disappear before her eyes.

Was he really a person from so-called "reality"?

Ereshkigal tilted her head slightly, her beautiful red eyes filled with confusion as she recalled Lan Ze's actions.

Then, she looked up and whispered: "Log out."

A menu option actually popped up.

"He clicked the second box earlier... was it called Log out?"

Ereshkigal raised her finger and tapped the Log out button.

Uruk, King's Hall.

Gilgamesh woke from his slumber and slowly opened his eyes.

With scarlet eyes, golden hair, and revealing attire, the majesty of the King was evident wherever his gaze fell.

Siduri, the priestess who assisted the Wise King, stood to the side, looking respectfully at Gilgamesh, and asked: "King, has something happened?"

"Just a small matter, no need to worry." Gilgamesh raised his hand slightly and answered absentmindedly, though his eyes were filled with contemplation.

It was truly incredible; had someone actually arrived in Uruk ahead of Chaldea?

And... they didn't even belong to this "world."

"This is truly interesting." Gilgamesh looked out through the hall toward the distance, whispering to himself.

Sajyou Manaka wore a turquoise dress, holding chopsticks in her hand. Beneath the hem of her skirt were a pair of slender legs wrapped in white silk, and she wore white low-heeled shoes on her feet.

Her feet dangled above the floor, swinging back and forth.

As soon as Lan Ze arrived at the dining room, the young girl immediately lifted her gaze to look at him, complaining, "You were playing for way too long, weren't you? I was waiting until I was nearly starved to death."

"If you were hungry, you should have just eaten by yourself. Aren't these dishes all made by you? Why wait for me?" Lan Ze retorted.

"I really don't get it. How can someone who makes such delicious lunch and dinner be so terrible at making breakfast?"

Although Lan Ze was just a tenant in this apartment, for the sake of convenience, Sajyou Manaka would occasionally take charge of the cooking. The food this girl made tasted quite good, but for some reason, the breakfast she made every morning was a complete disaster.

"In the terms of the games you play, it's probably because Manaka has a debuff in the morning. I'll still have to trouble you with breakfast in the future," Manaka said slowly. "So, you really should stop staying up so late, considering you have to get up early to make breakfast every day."

"Yeah, definitely next time," Lan Ze said.

He picked up his chopsticks, his gaze falling on the food on the table. He sniffed the aroma, his eyes brightening slightly: "We have Squirrel Fish today. This must have taken a lot of effort."

This was a very complex dish, and the most fundamental reason was the need to debone the fish; furthermore, it required a significant amount of oil. However, the final result was the dish before him, which looked appetizing enough to make anyone hungry.

Lan Ze began to shovel rice into his mouth rapidly, feeling impatient to return to his room. Just then, his phone on the table suddenly emitted a text message notification.

Manaka said with a beaming smile, "When did you secretly save a girl's phone number? I really couldn't tell."

"I wish I could secretly save a few girls' numbers, but unfortunately, it's probably just some club announcement or something," Lan Ze said.

Half a year ago, Lan Ze entered university. When he first joined, he thought about joining a club to celebrate his youth, and it would be even better if he could happen to find a pretty girlfriend. At the beginning, he had indeed tried his best to show his enthusiasm.

However, enthusiasm is something that comes and goes quickly. After two or three months, he lost interest in the club.

He hadn't even checked in at the club he joined for several months now.

For a gaming shut-in like Lan Ze, socializing with people was really not as enjoyable as playing games at home.

While chatting, Lan Ze picked up his phone to take a look, and he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

It actually really was an invitation text.

Come to think of it, it seemed that a few days ago during an elective class, the female student sitting next to him dropped her pen. He helped her pick it up, and then the two of them chatted for a bit and exchanged phone numbers.

He didn't expect this girl to actually take the initiative to text him today.

In all fairness, Lan Ze's appearance was certainly not bad, but since he entered university, apart from the first two months when he was active in the club, he basically had no contact with the other students afterward.

No matter how good-looking you are, if you don't go out and socialize with people, it's very hard to get a girlfriend.

Regardless of looks, between a handsome but dull and boring guy and an average-looking but witty and humorous male, the latter naturally has a much higher probability of getting a girlfriend.

Therefore, some shut-ins aren't necessarily unattractive; they just talk too little and easily kill the conversation.

Lan Ze had already come to terms with it, but he didn't expect to have this opportunity today.

"What's wrong?" Manaka, sitting across from him, asked with confusion.

"You actually guessed right," Lan Ze said.

"A girl?" Manaka fiddled with her hair nonchalantly. "What does she want with you?"

"She's asking if I want to go shopping this afternoon."

"How do you plan to answer?" Her gaze was fixed on Lan Ze.

"I don't know how to reject her properly," Lan Ze sighed, holding his forehead. "I wanted to continue experiencing that game."

"Is it that fun..." Manaka repeated, then revealed a smile, reaching out her hand. "Then hand your phone to me. I will handle it properly for you."

"Are you sure?" Lan Ze looked at the young girl in front of him with suspicion.

"Don't make the other party feel too repulsed, okay?"

"Of course, I know. I'm still quite good at this aspect," the girl's smile was as warm as sunshine.

"That's a huge help, thank you." Lan Ze handed the phone to the girl without hesitation.

He knew that this girl was indeed very reliable and quite skilled at dealing with these kinds of things.

"When asking someone for a favor, if you say 'please, Manaka-nee-san'... it would be a bit cuter, you know?"

"Please, Manaka-nee-san," Lan Ze said.

"..."

"I'm full. Thanks for the meal, it was delicious." Under Manaka's speechless gaze, Lan Ze stood up.

"Are you going to continue playing games?" Manaka asked curiously. "I remember you still have class this afternoon, right?"

"The professor got sick and asked for leave, saying we'll see when it can be rescheduled later," Lan Ze sighed helplessly. "Can't he just think about his own health and not make us have a make-up class at all?"

"Every student thinks that way, but teachers have their own difficulties too," Manaka shrugged. "Remember to come out and wash the dishes in a while. That's our agreement, right?"

"I know, I know, I'll remember," Lan Ze said perfunctorily before walking into his room.

"If you forget, Manaka will be very angry, and the consequences will be super serious, you know?" Manaka looked at him and smiled.

"What consequences?"

"I'll kick you," she said earnestly.

"Is that a reward?" Lan Ze said.

"Eh?"

Aika froze, the luster in her bright eyes instantly fading as she silently pulled out her phone, looking as if she were about to dial the police.

"I was just joking, you wouldn't take that seriously, would you! It really was just a joke!" Lan Ze hurriedly explained.

"Who knows? I was already prepared to call the police." Aika wore a look of regret as she held up the phone in her hand.

"Please, spare me! It really was just a joke!"

"I'm just kidding. No matter what, I wouldn't go so far as to call the police right now." Aika triumphantly waved her phone, smiling faintly with the cunning of a little fox on her face.

"I hope you won't call the police in the future, either." Lan Ze sighed from the bottom of his heart.

"Then I'm heading back to my room."

Watching Lan Ze return to his room, she silently picked up the phone on the table.

Alright, now to help him clear out some unnecessary spam messages.

Returning to the game login screen, Lan Ze saw the Goddess of the Underworld huddled in a corner with her knees pulled to her chest, drawing circles on the ground, looking somewhat withdrawn.

He walked up and, seeing the dejected look on Ereshkigal's face, couldn't help but ask, "Why do you look so disappointed? Did something happen?"

"Why can't I press this button like you can!" Ereshkigal asked, pointing to the box that had popped up in front of her.

Lan Ze lowered his head to look at the text on the box: [You, an NPC, actually want to log out of the game? Keep dreaming, bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh (＃grimace)]

Lan Ze: "..."