Magic Gems Gourmet - Chapter 1 - Such an idiotic way to die.

—WSA 2025 Entry—Melissa, a common salary woman, now Lillian Ker Arius, an extra she had never heard of, has to survive in a world based on a Rom-Com RPG game she played before meeting her untimely end.Finally, being able to meet a character she admired for so long due to their uptight, strict, but gentle personality, how will she fair when she finds out that this character she admires so much is secretly a yandere underneath all her coldness?===

There was once a hero.

Unique black hair. Excellent eyes. Contrary to his delicate features, he who had abnormal strength was called the Otherworldy Hero.

At the hero’s long adventure (up to the point where his wooden sword that had been kindly granted to him by the king was replaced by the holy sword blessed by the holy maiden) he saved the prince that had been kidnapped by the demon king, and so the kingdom was swept by worry.

The hero’s strength that could fell the demon king was deemed too dangerous to leave unrestrained.

One advisor spoke up. Why not marry him to royalty?

The king thought that was a viable option. Family, to an alien from another world would be the best of chains. There was one problem. The king was abundantly blessed with sons and had princes galore, but not a single daughter.

Ho, and it wasn’t like I could marry off two boys.

At a burst of inspiration the king slapped his knee.

That was it!

You just had to turn a prince into a princess!

And so the hero ended up in a position to be marrying a man.

This story, is a tale of the aforementioned otherworldly hero, and his bride, the former-prince-now-princess and their ridiculously hilarious marriage.

“For a long time, we humans have been like the chosen race, without any natural enemies, and have long been at the top of the food chain. Unfortunately, I have to tell you...” “When there is only one bird in a forest, then the forest is basically fake, and the bird was put there by someone...” “No matter how a fish swims, it can never meet any of its kind, which only means that the fish is kept in a fish tank...” “Yes, we are the birds in the forest and the fish in the tank.” “Yes, the world we live in is virtual!”

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.