Ryuji returned to the store with an utterly dark expression. Even Kiri, who had been grinning all the way, finally started to restrain herself — mostly because the low-pressure atmosphere around him was almost suffocating.
It was so bad that she genuinely felt like he might just snap and start shooting at any moment.
Still, every now and then, she couldn't help but let a chuckle slip out, clutching her aching stomach from holding back her laughter for so long.
But the moment they arrived back at the store… Kiri completely lost the ability to laugh.
She stared at the massive M60 machine gun that had magically appeared in her hands, then glanced at Ryuji — who was now holding a heavy metal axe.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Kiri looked at Ryuji. Then at the unmoving, utterly expressionless merchant NPC — like a cold statue carved from stone. She just couldn't help but blurt out:
"…Do you two have some kind of personal grudge or something?"
Because seriously — how else could she even begin to explain the glaring difference in their treatment?
He was silent for a second. Then replied flatly:
"In a way… yeah, you could say that."
He glanced at the female merchant, inwardly convinced that this NPC absolutely did not have a soul.
His reasoning was simple — even someone like Tsunade, who barely had any emotional connection with him, could still generate a tiny trickle of energy points just by being around him.
But this NPC? After all this time working with her, not a single speck of energy feedback. Nothing at all.
Which could only mean one thing — the merchant probably had no emotions whatsoever.
Of course… his terrible luck wasn't just limited to quest rewards. It extended to pretty much every other aspect of this godforsaken world.
"But whatever, that's not important right now," he shook his head, exhaling slowly. "So what if I'm unlucky? At least you're getting good stuff out of it. What really matters is—were you able to get skill points too?"
That was his biggest concern. Luck was fickle, uncontrollable. But skill points? Those were real power.
"Huh? Yeah, I got one point… is that because I shared the rewards with you?"
Kiri scratched her head awkwardly.
Ryuji shook his head. "Nope. I only got one point too. Even when I did it solo, it was still just one point. Looks like these missions have a shared quota — the tasks the merchant gives out aren't individually counted for each player. There's only a limited number available. Which means…"
He narrowed his eyes, already calculating.
"Doing quests in a party is by far the most efficient strategy."
Without wasting another second, he took a deep breath and grabbed another level-one quest.
"Alright. Let's go again!"
There was absolutely no way he was cursed. No way his luck was just that bad. It had to be because he hadn't done enough missions yet!
That's right — this was clearly a numbers game.
Kiri watched him march off with that desperate-for-hope expression plastered on his face. She carefully followed behind him, quietly praying that he wouldn't just explode from frustration midway through.
——Ten minutes later——
Kiri was sweating bullets.
Ryuji had stopped talking entirely.
And not just because level-one quests had stopped giving out skill points to him altogether…
No, it was because — once again — Kiri had looted another M60 machine gun.
And Ryuji?
He got… a book.
A tattered, half-burned copy of "Wasteland Survival: Psychological Self-Adjustment Handbook".
As for the rest of his reward?
A bag of rusty nails.
At this point, Kiri was genuinely terrified he was going to shoot her in the back.
"Uhh… I-I think luck probably balances out in the end, right?" she stammered, trying desperately to find some kind of comforting words. "Like, maybe I'll be super unlucky later or something? I mean… I was born in a lawless wasteland after all…"
She desperately tried to come up with something—anything—to comfort Ryuji.
But he just silently reached out, took the M60 machine gun from her hands… and unloaded the entire thing into the merchant right in front of him.
The deafening roar of gunfire echoed in the tiny store. Sparks flared wildly from the muzzle, illuminating the sharp lines of Ryuji's face with every flash.
But the scariest part?
The female merchant was still smiling.
Not a single bullet could so much as scratch her.
The clinking sound of empty shells hitting the floor was the only response he got.
"…Haaaaah."
Finally emptying the entire magazine, he exhaled a long, heavy breath. Then—wearing the calmest, most serene smile imaginable—he turned around and picked up another mission like absolutely nothing had happened.
"Alright! I'm good now. Let's go!"
Kiri, who had been hugging the wall this whole time just to avoid catching a stray bullet, could only nod weakly and follow behind him, step by cautious step.
…And then…
Ryuji's nightmare officially began.
Task after task, run after run…
Whenever Kiri was the one to accept the quest, the inside of every building was practically overflowing with supplies—food, components, even fully functional workbenches just sitting there like gift-wrapped presents.
But when it was his turn…
Absolute wasteland.
Empty. Desolate. Dead zones.
In fact, some of the rooms he had already been through before? After Kiri accepted the task in those same rooms, he was suddenly able to find several fully-intact rifles lying around like Easter eggs.
By noon, when they finally met up with Tsunade…
What she saw was a completely hollow, dead-eyed Ryuji.
"…What the hell happened to you?"
Tsunade stared at him, who looked like he had lost every shred of his soul. She couldn't help but ask.
It wasn't that she cared that much about Ryuji personally—it was just… something about his current state was honestly kind of terrifying.
Sure, she could probably twist his head around like a bottle cap with one hand if she wanted to… but fear wasn't about logic.
Fear was fear.
"I'm fine," Ryuji replied listlessly. "But… can I borrow your lap for a second?"
He was exhausted.
He had never—never—realized until now… that the reason he and Erina had struggled so damn hard to survive all this time…
Wasn't because life was harsh.
Wasn't because the world was cruel.
No.
It was because…
He was just that unlucky.
"…Ha?"
Tsunade stared at him like he'd lost his damn mind, crossing her arms impatiently.
"Don't think just because we slept together that you can pull this kind of weird crap with me. Nothing happened between us, got it? Even if we went to a hospital for a full check-up, I, Tsunade, am still 100% pure!"
She declared her stance with absolute finality.
She didn't want to catch feelings.
Plain and simple — they were from two completely different worlds.
Even if Ryuji was her first — it didn't mean she was going to fall for him.
And besides, she wasn't going to stay in this world forever. No — they were destined to part ways eventually.
Best to keep things simple. Help each other out. No messy emotional entanglements. No weird labels.
"…I'll buy you a drink."
He pulled out a few beers he had scavenged from a nearby room and set them down in front of Tsunade. Then, using an excuse so childish even a kid wouldn't buy it, he tried to explain himself.
"Besides, this is... you know, building atmosphere. You wouldn't really want me to go at you like crazy, dozens of times, without any mood, right? A little drinking, a little vibe... maybe if the mood's right, I'll be able to gather more energy when we do it. After all, emotions matter in things like this."
Even as Ryuji said it, he didn't quite believe it himself. He could only feel the irony of his own situation.
The ability that required the deepest emotions to activate... had ended up in the hands of someone like him — someone least suited for emotional attachment.
"You're serious?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"Dead serious."
Tsunade sighed in defeat. "Fine... but remember — I'm only doing this because of the alcohol."
Watching Ryuji's pitiful, almost puppy-like expression, even someone as tough as Tsunade couldn't quite harden her heart completely. She crouched down, laid out a few wooden planks on the floor as makeshift seating, and sat cross-legged.
Honestly, she didn't really want to go along with this. Even her former lover, Dan Kato, had never asked her for something like this. Letting Ryuji use her lap like that... felt strangely guilty.
But faced with that miserably exhausted look in his eyes, she gave in.
"Much appreciated."
Ryuji walked over with the beer. Tsunade didn't hold back — she grabbed the beer and the food he handed her, opened the bottle with ease, and started drinking without giving him another glance.
Even so... she still left her lap available for him.
"You know... even Erina never let me rest on her lap like this," he mumbled with a wry smile.
Muttering things that were bound to annoy her, Ryuji shamelessly laid his head down on Tsunade's lap, expecting to stare up at the blue sky...
Except—there was no blue sky.
What filled his vision instead... was something much more magnificent.
Soft. Round. Warm. And faintly fragrant.
Honestly, just looking at those was enough to lift his spirits more than anything else had lately. The kind of view that could heal a man's soul.
"You know..." Ryuji started.
"I'm not in the mood to listen to you whine," Tsunade cut him off flatly.
Still, he continued like he didn't hear her. "I've come to realize... maybe I'm just really unlucky. Everything with Erina was such a mess. We almost died so many times. Maybe it's because of me... and thinking about that really sucks, y'know?"
Tsunade didn't respond.
Because, truth be told, she understood that feeling all too well.
Ryuji probably would've wallowed in that gloom a little longer... if not for the very distracting view gently swaying above him. That perfect, snowy-white softness right in front of his eyes made it absolutely impossible to stay depressed.
Almost without thinking, still staring at the "sky" above him, he reached up... and grabbed one of those magnificent treasures from underneath.
Then gave it a squeeze.
Tsunade — who had actually been feeling a little moved, even sympathetic a moment ago — froze.
A shiver ran through her body from chest to heart, then straight up to her head. What followed... was pure, burning embarrassment mixed with rage.
"You sure don't look depressed to me!!"
She practically ground her teeth as she spat the words out.
Ryuji, completely shameless, started sliding his hand further under her clothes like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"C'mon, what kind of man could stay depressed when something like this is right in front of him? No matter how unlucky I am... if I get to touch these whenever I want, I'm already winning at life!"
He meant every word.
Bad luck? Frustration? Despair?
All that could be cured — by boobs.
Of course, this was probably the kind of thing only a man at rock bottom would dare to say out loud...
Meanwhile, not far away, Kiri— still diligently working on crafting and repairs — suddenly felt a very bad premonition creeping up her spine.