I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Friday, July 21st, 2017.
The first semester of second year had ended, and summer vacation had officially begun.

After gathering on the field early in the morning to hear the principal’s speech, we returned to our classrooms, received our report cards from our homeroom teacher Matsuda, and were dismissed.
It was a remarkably simple process.
Once the closing ceremony was over, the girls all left together to buy swimsuits, so for the first time, it was just us guys hanging out.

“Uwaaaah! Goodbye, you damn school, at least for a while!”
As we walked past the school gate, Satoru let out a big stretch and shouted, and Sakamoto, beside him, shrugged his shoulders with a satisfied look.
“I’m planning to play all the games I bought during the semester but never had time for.”

“Oh, you’ve got a Switch, right? Let’s play Mar○o. Mar○o!”
“Not a bad idea.”
They’d known each other since middle school and had apparently visited each other’s homes pretty often.

As the only one among them who’d only met them in high school, I felt awkward and didn’t join in on the game talk. Maybe they noticed, because Sakamoto turned to me and started a conversation.
“Come to think of it, Kim-kun, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about games. Do you not like them?”
I shook my head.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a console at home. I just go to the arcade once in a while.”
As someone who used to be Korean, there’s no way I’d dislike games.
I’d considered buying one with my savings, but during the semester, I had a strict routine of home, school, and gym. I gave up on the idea, afraid it might disrupt that balance.

“Wanna come to my place, then? We live in the same neighborhood anyway.”
“Huh?”
I blinked blankly at Sakamoto’s unexpected suggestion.

No wonder—I hadn’t even imagined getting invited to the protagonist’s house.
Before I could say anything else, Satoru lit up and added excitedly,
“That sounds great! Let’s have an end-of-term party—just the guys, to bond before our beach trip!”
I asked again, just to make sure.

“Are you really okay with me coming?”
Sakamoto flashed a bright grin and gave me a thumbs-up.
“Of course! We’re friends now, right?”

Honestly, that was a little touching.
***
And so, our spontaneous end-of-term party was decided on the spot.

Of course, it wasn’t like a college drinking party where someone ends up passed out drunk. This was much more wholesome.
On the way to his house, we stopped by a supermarket and loaded up on snacks, dried squid, juice, and soft drinks, then headed to Sakamoto’s place.
“Whoa. Nice house.”

About a 10-minute walk from my own place in a residential area stood a massive high-rise apartment complex at a large intersection.
That was where Sakamoto lived.
We passed through the auto-lock entrance by tapping a card, then took the elevator. Sakamoto pressed the button for the 13th floor.

Whirrr…
The elevator rose smoothly and silently.
Ding!

The doors opened, and Sakamoto tapped the same card on the door lock to the unit immediately to our right.
“Come on in.”
He said that as he opened the door wide.

“Excuse me!”
Following Satoru, who entered like it was his own home, I stepped inside.
Whoa.

The first thing I noticed upon entering was how tall the ceiling was.
Unlike normal apartments, this one had a two-story loft layout, so the ceiling soared overhead.
I slipped off my shoes and stepped inside, thinking how much of a pain it must be to change the light bulbs in here.

“Make yourself at home.”
Sakamoto gently pushed us toward the living room.
The first floor was probably around 1300 square feet and had an open-concept kitchen and a spacious living area. Honestly, I’d only ever seen houses this fancy in movies or dramas.

Compared to Rika’s house, which screamed rich-girl energy, or Karen’s massive, intimidating mansion, this place felt expensive in a completely different way.
I guess most students at Ichijo Academy really were wealthy.
If it weren’t for the full scholarship program, I’d probably be struggling with tuition just like Ayase.

I sat down on the sofa while glancing around the room. Sakamoto said he’d grab some drinks and headed to the kitchen with the juice and sodas we’d bought.
Meanwhile, Satoru turned on the huge wall-mounted TV, grabbed some Switch controllers, and handed one to me.
“You know how to use this, right?”

“Who do you think I am?”
I might not own a Switch right now, but it’s not like I never had one before I got isekai’d.
As I strapped the controller around my wrist, Satoru chuckled and did the same.

“You weren’t planning to start without me, were you?”
Sakamoto, carrying drinks on a tray, hurried over when he saw us.
“As if we’d do that without the host.”

Satoru handed him another controller, and Sakamoto grinned as he took it.
“With this many people, we might as well play that game.”
“That game?”

I tilted my head at the vaguely ominous tone. Sakamoto nodded and opened a drawer beneath the TV.
“It’s boring with just one person, and something’s missing with two…”
What he proudly held up over his head was none other than Mar○o Party.

“Tonight’s game is this!”
***
There’s a common belief that Nintendo games are made for group play.

And it’s true.
They’re fun solo, but even more fun with two, and once you hit three or more players, it’s absolute chaos—in the best way.
The fun practically multiplies by the square of the number of players.

We started with Mar○o Party, moved on to Mar○o Kart, and before we knew it, we were playing Smash Bros.
“Graaagh! I lost again!”
“Hehe~ You’re still no match for me, Satoru.”

It was my first time playing with Sakamoto, but I could say one thing for sure: this guy was a serious gamer.
You could call him a Korean born in Japan—skilled at every game, with a burning competitive streak.
There was a time when I was just as immersed in gaming, but that was long ago.

Back in grad school, and then after getting reincarnated, I gave it up for training. All that muscle memory had completely faded.
“You know, I bet the Vice President would be a great match for you.”
When I said that, Sakamoto tilted his head.

“Vice President? She likes games?”
I nodded.
“She probably plays five or six hours a ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) day. Doesn’t even care about the genre. Her cousin, who lives with her, scolds her for playing too much.”

“Man, I get that. My little sister gives me that scary arms-crossed glare if I play too long too.”
Hearing that, Satoru tilted his head.
“Wait, where is your sister anyway?”

“Oh, Yuika? She’ll be back later. Today’s her violin lesson.”
“That so?”
Satoru glanced toward the entrance—then suddenly pressed the home button.

“Hey! What the hell! You just quit because you were about to lose!”
“Shut up a sec.”
Satoru pulled something out of his bag.

It was an action game with a cover that… prominently featured a female character’s chest.
“That’s—!”
Sakamoto clearly recognized it.

“My whole family uses the console, so I gotta be careful playing this stuff at home. Let’s play it here.”
Sakamoto swallowed hard.
“Well… Yuika doesn’t play games, so…”

He was seventeen, after all. No doubt he was curious about that kind of stuff.
Me? I had seniority. I didn’t react to that level of fanservice anymore. But these two? They were hopeless.
“…Yu-seong? What are you doing over there?”

“Swapping the game chip.”
When I held out my hand, Satoru handed over the case with a look of deep gratitude.
“You’re a bro, man.”

Even knowing it was probably half-censored, guys like us still fell for it anyway.
Click!
With the chip in, a new game appeared on the home screen.

I hurried back to the couch, ready to enjoy the view.
“Starting it up.”
Sakamoto swallowed hard and pressed the A button.

Pop!
The screen flickered black for a second.
Then it lit up, and the opening cinematic began.

Unlike your typical Nintendo game, this one clearly targeted the male demographic. The opening scene alone had jiggling everywhere.
It wasn’t outright porn—but it had that strange charm that made you forget everything else for a moment.
We quietly sat back and watched.

After about a minute and a half, the short opening ended. Sakamoto navigated to Story Mode, and fully voiced female characters began chatting in bubbly, cutesy voices.
It was clearly full of girl characters, but we weren’t here for the story, so who cared?
We all silently agreed—this was fine.

Ding-dong!
Without warning, the front door lock clicked open.