The main story of Trinity Star Online was an infamously complicated mess, clocking in at a staggering 300 hours just to clear the fastest route. Naturally, the narrative was riddled with pitfalls—decisions that could, with horrifying certainty, lead to a bad end.
Furthermore, given the game's target demographic of male players, the main protagonist was a guy. And, unsurprisingly, the story leaned heavily into a harem-style progression. The male MC would recruit "princesses" from various powerhouses to bolster his forces for the grand finale.
Now, here's the kicker: some of these so-called "princesses" were critical to avoiding certain bad-end routes. Fail to recruit them, and you'd be practically guaranteeing disaster.
And the situation before me now? It reeked of trouble.
The player standing in front of me was a woman—the player who had apparently replaced the main character of the original story. Which meant…
'Our doom was practically certain.'
I felt a bead of sweat roll down my temple.
'No,' I snapped at myself, shaking off the creeping dread. 'There's got to be a way to avoid that bad-end route!'
Sure, I don't have a solution right now. But that crazy woman's storyline wasn't set to trigger until Chapter 13. There was still plenty of time to figure something out… hopefully.
"... Hey, are you listening?"
The player's sharp, high-pitched voice yanked me out of my spiraling thoughts.
"I asked if you were paying for my ship's repairs or not. If you're not, I'll be taking legal measures against you!"
"Ah, right. Repair costs." I waved her off, trying to sound nonchalant. "Don't worry, I'll cover it. It's just a cheap repair, nothing to stress over."
In the game, fixing even a completely wrecked frigate would set you back a measly 500 Credits. Pocket change compared to the costs of repairing this monstrosity of a Battlecruiser, the Range Falcon.
And as luck would have it, Gerard—the original owner of this body—had a hefty 4 million Credits stashed away in his account. That was more than enough to not only cover the player's ship repairs but also upgrade this ship from its current dumpster-fire state!
"Cheap?" Her voice dropped, chilling the air between us. "Did you just call my ship—Eva Beastol's ship—cheap?"
"...Ah."
My brain stalled.
That definitely sounded like an insult, didn't it?
I didn't mean it that way—I was just stating facts. But judging by the storm brewing in her golden eyes, it was too late to take it back. Or rather, her name's Eva? That's quite close to the original MC's default name: Evan Beastol. I guess this further enforced the fact that she was the player.
For a full hour—yes, an entire sixty minutes—I endured a relentless barrage of insults. Rather than getting angry, I found myself weirdly impressed. Didn't she ever run out of curses? Every few sentences, she invented new ways to drag my name, my parents' names, and even my ancestors into the dirt.
Honestly, it was kind of an art form now.
Still, I kept my silence, nodding occasionally to feign politeness. Escalating the situation wouldn't do me any favors, especially since I was trying to build a functional partnership with Eva. After all, she was the player now. Burning bridges with her could have far-reaching consequences, especially with that bad-end route looming in my mind.
Finally reaching the ship's bridge, I noticed that we had come to a halt, having completed the earlier command to salvage loot from the pirate debris. I wasted no time issuing the next directive.
"Percy, continue on our previous itinerary."
[Command received. Last waypoint: Narlia Commercial Hub. Resuming travel...]
As Percy's mechanical voice overshadowed Eva's rant, I opened the inventory window to inspect the loot. A small grin tugged at my lips as I spotted a few items that made the whole ordeal worthwhile: a rare Jump Drive Jammer, 5 tons of radioactive materials, and other valuable goods.
"These alone could net over 100,000 Credits!" I whispered to myself, unable to hide my excitement.
But before I could savor the victory, Eva's voice—sharp and unrelenting—cut through the air.
"You got those from the pirates, right? Then I should get half as my fair share!"
I froze mid-click and turned to face her, my expression blank. Was this woman serious? Sure, it was fair to give her a cut, but half? That was pushing it.
"You just acted as bait, at most," I replied, keeping my tone as calm as possible. "I did all the heavy lifting. 10% is my limit."
"50%, final offer," she shot back, crossing her arms.
Her golden eyes burned with determination, but there was something else there—just beneath the surface. Fear? Desperation? This wasn't just greed. Something was driving her to fight this hard for the money.
I leaned back in the captain's chair, crossing my legs as I challenged her. "Alright, convince me. Why should I give you 50%?"
I expected her to plead her case, and maybe explain why she needed the money so badly. Instead, her response left me staring in stunned silence.
"Because if you don't, I'll report to the Militia that you used me as bait without my consent."
My jaw tightened. "…Fine. 50% it is."
This woman, always ready to throw legal threats at the drop of a hat! Not that I was scared of the Militia—they didn't have anything on me, after all—but dealing with them would be a colossal pain. Even if I walked away unscathed, I'd still lose up to 5 Adjusted Galactic Days (250 Earth hours) just proving my innocence!
In that time, I could've easily earned ten times what I'd lose to her now. So, as much as it stung to watch my hard-earned Credits slip through my fingers, I grudgingly decided to let her have her way.
For now.
Feeling exhausted all of a sudden, I decided it was time for a nap.
"Percy, lock the current command chain until I change it. If an emergency happens, wake me up," I instructed, standing up from the captain's chair. As I made my way toward the exit, I added casually, "Oh, and guide our guest to a vacant room."
Eva stayed silent the entire time, which was... concerning. Not that I was in the mood to psychoanalyze her. My body was practically screaming for rest.
I trudged to the captain's quarters, relying on my memory of the Range Falcon's layout. The moment I entered the room, I didn't even bother turning on the lights. I simply collapsed onto the bed, the soft sheets swallowing me whole.
"…I'm tired," I murmured to no one in particular.
It had been a solid 16 hours since I woke up in this bizarre situation, and I hadn't rested for a second. My body felt like it was running on fumes. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and surrendered to sleep.
"Ugh…"
When I woke up, I noticed that something was... wrong.
I couldn't move.
Groggily, I opened my eyes and immediately felt my heart sink. My body was wrapped tightly in the bedding, bound with what appeared to be... curtains? The fabric was knotted so expertly that even Houdini himself would struggle to break free.
"What the hell...?"
Lifting my head as much as I could, I froze.
On the other side of the bed, lying on her side while facing me, was Eva. Her fiery red hair spilled over the pillow, and her light, barely-there clothing left little to the imagination. A thin sando top clung to her figure, and those... curves... were impossible to ignore.
For a moment, my brain short-circuited.
"Wait, what's happening? Why am I tied up? And why is Eva in my room?!"
Was I attacked in my sleep? Was this some kind of prank? A honey trap? My mind spun as I tried to piece together the events leading to this absurd situation.
Before I could come up with more theories, Eva stirred. Her golden eyes fluttered open, her long lashes accentuating the sensuality of her sleepy gaze.
For half a second, I thought, 'Wow, she actually looks kind of—'
Then she sat up, and the spell broke.
Her hands moved beneath her, unintentionally emphasizing her… assets, before her expression hardened into something cold and accusatory.
"You think you can take advantage of me just because you helped me?" she spat, her voice laced with disgust.
I blinked, utterly dumbfounded. "Huh? What? I didn't even—"
"Shut your trap!" she snapped, baring her fanged teeth like a cornered animal. "You think I didn't realize what you were trying to do? Ordering your ship's AI to 'guide me' to your room and then locking the door so I couldn't leave? Ha! I saw through your disgusting little plan a mile away!"
I stared at her, slack-jawed. "…What."
So, in short, this was Percy's fault?
"I'm innocent!" I blurted out, squirming against the restraints.
"Yeah, right," Eva hissed, crossing her arms. "Let me guess—you're gonna say this is all a misunderstanding, huh?!"
"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying!" I barked back.
"Ha! That's exactly what a pervert would say!"
"..."
At this point, I seriously considered deleting Percy's AI core. But then again… considering the eye candy I got right after waking up, I guess I could forgive that piece of junk this once.
Still, tied up like a hostage, with Eva glaring daggers at me, I couldn't help but think: 'This is just the start of my problems, isn't it?'