Hiding a House in the Apocalypse - Chapter 23: The Junior

He was persuaded into playing the VRMMO 「Trailblazer」 or TB for short by his cheerful childhood friend Miyu.

But Wataru faced Miyu, who was full of motivation and said this.

「Then, I’ll be the rearguard. Shinto priest? I’ll take this one」

「What!? You are not going to fight next to me!? And you call yourself a man!?」

For some time she would become one of the top players and start getting called Hero.

So Wataru had to deal with being an extra.

But, during a certain PvP event, a strange nickname was attached to Wataru.

That, he was actually the 「Hero’s true self」.

Isabella was supposed to be sipping champagne at a luxury spa, not waking up in the middle of a forest. Worse, a SYSTEM had attached itself to her like some clingy ex, spouting nonsense about survival, quests, and—oh, hell no—manual labor.“System, I was NOT built for the wilderness! My ideal ‘roughing it’ experience involves a five-star hotel with bad WiFi!”Now, instead of lounging in silk robes, she’s being ordered to farm? To hunt?“A farming quest? You want me—a city girl—to grow food? System, I once killed a cactus by overwatering it. This is NOT my calling!”And don’t even get her started on the hygiene situation.“You want me to bathe in a cold river? Darling, I require warm water, scented oils, and an ambience! What do I look like—some barbarian?!”Unfortunately, the locals—big, muscular beastmen—don’t seem to understand the concept of self-care. The women? Neglecting their skin like it’s a crime to be radiant. The men? Walking hygiene disasters.“Ladies, if your man can smell you before he sees you, we have a problem.”“You see this? This is lotion. It exists so you don’t look like a dried-up leaf. Use it.”“A beard should be majestic, not tragic. Let me fix it.”And the beastmen? They don’t just stare at her like she’s an oddity. No, they hover. They smirk. They lean in too close, fangs flashing with amusement.“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” she huffed, crossing her arms.The panther grinned, his tail flicking. “Because you’re fascinating when you’re annoyed.”No, absolutely not. She was not here for this nonsense.“If you have time to stare, you have time to moisturize.”She didn’t ask to be here. She didn’t ask to be their savior. But if she has to suffer through this world, she’s making everyone around her suffer less—through skincare, style, and some serious attitude.“If I hear one more ‘We don’t season our food here,’ I’m launching a war.”“If you have time to gossip, you have time to do squats.”“You want to impress a woman? Start with not smelling like the battlefield.”Survival isn’t just about fighting monsters; it’s about looking good while doing it. So what if the System keeps throwing impossible quests her way?“What do you mean ‘you can’t skip quests’?! Since when?! Where is the skip button?! I demand a skip button!”But somewhere between dodging ridiculous quests and fixing these people’s tragic grooming habits, Isabella found herself in situations. Uncomfortable, heart-racing situations.Like being trapped against a tree by the red python, his red eyes half-lidded as he murmured, “You talk too much, little star. Should I silence you?”Like waking up with the lion lord’s fur-lined cloak draped over her shoulders, his deep voice gruff, “You shiver in your sleep. I’ll fix that.”Like the phoenix watching her every move, his burning gaze searing into her skin as he mused,“You cause chaos wherever you go, but I find that I don’t mind.”Oh, hell. No. She was not about to fall for four beastmen. She was too pretty for this much stress.“If you insult me again, I’ll make sure your soul needs a beauty upgrade.”“I refuse to be disrespected by anyone who dresses like an unwashed tree branch.”And yet, when a rival tribe came to challenge her, when danger lurked too close, those same beastmen stood beside her—smirking, taunting, fighting for her.“A beastman growled at me today. I growled back. He ran. I am the alpha now.”Isabella isn’t just surviving. She’s thriving. And this world better keep up.

Leo is an academic genius who enrolled in one of the top universities in the world for the rich and powerful, but he was born in a common family, which was more than enough of a reason for the other students to mess with him.

The country girl, Emily, was an orphan. She survived off the scraps that she could find from families around her. Every one of them despised her.

One day, a fairy-like little brother came to the city and brought her home.

At first, Emily wasn’t popular in other people’s homes, but she quickly awakened her god-tier learning talent. She could learn pretty much anything and everything in an instant.

Soon, Emily was regarded as a child prodigy. She was proficient in all sorts of arts, including zither, chess, and calligraphy, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The elders and older brothers who didn’t really like her in the past were all captivated by her and spoilt her like a little fairy.

Every day, her grandparents, parents, uncles, aunties, and brothers fought to pamper her.

Grandpa said, “Baby, can you help Grandpa take a look at this painting?

Grandpa liked to collect oil paintings, but his deteriorating eyesight couldn’t discern good paintings from bad ones, and he kept getting tricked by sellers . So he had to consult the seven-year-old Emily because paintings that passed through Emily’s hands were never wrong.

Her father pleaded, “Baby, help me. The chairman of the Gu Site Corporation wants to get a calligraphy painting from you. This will determine whether my company can land a deal with them!”

Her brothers pleaded. “Baby, are you busy today? When are you going to visit your brother’s school? I promised the principal that I would bring you there. You can’t go back on your word.”