At that moment, Paimon crossed her arms proudly, a smug little smile spreading across her face. Even her tiny, adorable head tilted up slightly—her pride was practically glowing.
"Hehehe…"
She let out a string of crisp, silvery giggles, squinting with glee as she looked at the shocked Traveler and said:
"Traveler, you didn't expect that, huh?"
"With my strength and abilities, it's totally impossible for me to knock someone out like that! So obviously, this whole thing has nothing to do with me, okay? No matter what tricks you try, you're not pinning this on me!"
Then she stuck out her tongue at him, playful and smug—proud of her clever little logic trap.
No matter how you shift the blame, you can't ignore the fact that I'm weak. For the first time, Paimon realized—being weak had its advantages!
The Traveler's eyes widened. Damn. He'd almost forgotten—Paimon was a total weakling.
But then… he smirked again. Because Paimon had forgotten one key thing.
That guy he knocked out—he was meeting Paimon for the first time. How would he know how weak she was?
Sure, Paimon was weak—but only he knew that. No way that dude could've guessed it.
The Traveler's face shifted to disbelief—eyes shimmering as if on the verge of tears.
"Paimon… you… you actually lied about being weak just to frame me! You… you're clearly a terrifying, muscular monster who hides behind that cute little body to deceive people!"
"Every time I see you play the innocent act, I stay quiet—but this time, you've gone too far."
"I—I'm just a helpless, innocent guy you kidnapped and dragged along on your journey!"
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sobbed like he'd just been betrayed by the world.
Otto, still half-cradled in his arms, was speechless. But he didn't interrupt.
Keep acting, go on. If I hadn't played Genshin, I might've actually believed you.
Your acting's impressive, that's for sure. You're not the canon Traveler, right? You're definitely fanfic material.
But just then, Otto's eyes narrowed. An evil thought flickered to life.
Something he'd always wanted to do.
His hand began moving. Slowly, stealthily, it reached behind the Traveler.
Toward that unusually firm, perky, round…
And then—squeeze. A quick, clean slap followed.
How to describe it? Very bouncy. Excellent hand feel.
Otto closed his eyes in satisfaction, savoring the sensation. As expected of the Traveler—springy and supple.
He couldn't help but wonder… what would Morax or Lyney feel like?
The moment that squeeze landed, it was as if a wild beast had been startled.
The Traveler instantly dropped Otto and leapt back, staring in pure disbelief.
This wasn't acting. This was real. He was truly stunned.
In just a split second… he'd had his butt groped.
Unbelievable.
He was a guy! His purity—gone! Ruined! Defiled!
How would he ever find a husband now? He wasn't a maiden anymore!
(Author: ? This Traveler is like… 11 kinds of wrong.)
The narrator, watching this disaster unfold, finally lost it. He muttered to himself—he was done with this story. He'd file a resignation with HQ tomorrow and beg for a transfer.
What do you mean he can't quit until the novel's finished? Some damn labor contract?
Amilos, Crazy Corp—truly a mad company.
...
Meanwhile, deep in the Abyss, Lumine—now the Abyss Princess—suddenly felt her eyelid twitch. A sense of foreboding crept over her, cold and persistent.
She immediately summoned some Abyss mages and told them to investigate—maybe someone had discovered their plans?
But after a full check, nothing seemed wrong. Perhaps… she was just overthinking it?
And yet, the ominous feeling wouldn't go away. Like a shadow hovering overhead.
...
Back with Paimon, already stunned by the Traveler blaming her for the knock-out blow, her brain now officially overloaded.
She froze, staring off into the void.
Was she still dreaming? Had she not woken up yet?
Meanwhile, Otto dusted himself off and quickly apologized.
"Don't get me wrong—I just thought your, uh, feel was great. Super bouncy. That's all, really."
?
Bro—you're making it worse.
Far off in the multiverse, Aha and the Author both watched the scene unfold, snickering to themselves.
"You bastard!"
The Traveler exploded with rage. Groped. As a man. And this creep was acting like it was no big deal?!
Unforgivable.
With a sudden flash, the Traveler vanished and charged Otto with a flying kick.
The attack was lightning-fast, brutal, and utterly silent.
But just as it was about to land—something incredible happened.
A barrage of gleaming metallic objects appeared in front of Otto, glowing so brightly they were nearly blinding.
But look closer—they weren't just bits of metal. They were phones. Piles of them.
Yes. This was Otto's power in action.
The moment the kick launched—
SWOOSH.
The phone in Otto's hand began duplicating at breakneck speed.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of identical phones appeared, forming a tight phalanx of screens—a solid wall of smartphones that absorbed the blow completely.
The kick landed—but Otto had already leapt to the side.
Because those weren't just ordinary phones. Oh no.
They were explosive.
Sure enough, a second later, the phones began to swell ominously.
These weren't tools. They were bombs.
Boom.
A massive explosion tore through the forest.
A blinding flash, followed by fire and smoke. The shockwave blew apart the ground, trees, and any nearby wildlife.
Animals that had just been cautiously returning after the earlier commotion were now sent running in terror—again.
This place was cursed. First the stink, now the explosions?
Nope. Never coming back here.
As the smoke finally began to clear, a black silhouette stepped forward.
The Traveler.
Unscathed.
Of course. Everyone knows the rule: if there's smoke, no damage was done.
With that much smoke? No way the Traveler was hurt.
He looked at Otto warily and spoke at last.
"You… who the hell are you?"
No way this was all just coincidence anymore. He'd thought Otto was just some guy—but then this?
Explosive phones from another world?
This guy had to be from a different world, just like him.
Otto didn't flinch. He just gave a calm smile.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm just like you."
!
The Traveler said nothing. He waited for Otto to explain.
"That day, I arrived in this world, ready to begin my journey. But then I suddenly remembered—I forgot to hang my laundry. So I planned to go home and hang it real quick."
"But then, a mysterious god stopped me. The next thing I knew, I passed out. And when I woke up, I was here. Then I saw you."
?
What kind of nonsense backstory was that?
Do you think I'm an idiot? No way I'd believe—
Wait. I actually do believe it. Because now that he thought about it… he'd also been stopped by a strange god.
And his sister had disappeared too.
…The only weird part was that whole thing about the laundry. Seriously? Laundry?
That's just absurd.