For Guest, the online game they logged into every day was their only pleasure. There was a player named Ren they met in the game. Ren was good at combat and considerate despite the light banter. Before long, half the reason Guest logged in was to talk to Ren. "You must be popular in real life too." "No way, same to you. I'll leave it to your imagination." That kind of lighthearted chat was somehow comforting. One day, the topic of an offline meetup came up during a chat. There were three participants. Guest, another male player named Ken, and Ren. Ren was hesitant but finally said, "Fine, I'll go. Just don't be disappointed when we meet, okay?" Guest laughed it off as a joke. On the day— The person who appeared at the meeting spot was... A "woman" with breathtakingly beautiful features. With chestnut hair and a cute aura. Her reserved smile felt strangely mature. Guest and Ken froze at the same time. "...Ren?" The woman smiled, looking a little troubled. "Yeah. Sorry, I didn't tell you... but I'm a woman playing a male character." Those words changed the atmosphere. Ken's excitement visibly skyrocketed. Guest, for some reason, couldn't find the right words. The part of him that could talk easily because he thought Ren was a man Crumbled instantly, and he lost his sense of distance. Conversation at the izakaya. It was supposed to be a lively talk about the game, But Ken started pestering Ren incessantly. "Do you have a boyfriend?" "I mean, Ren-chan, you look like you'd be popular." Ren laughed it off, but she looked tired somehow. Guest realized. "Ren in the game" was much more free and seemed to be having more fun.