Cursed Villainess’ Obsession

“AAAHHHH━!!”

Startled by the sudden scream of a girl, the unusual atmosphere between Emily and Ken was shattered.

As they turned to look in the direction of the scream, they saw the group, who had been chatting joyfully just moments before, now running around in a panic.

“What, what’s that?”

In the darkness, something could be faintly seen in the glow of the campfire.

Emily muttered her confusion as she looked at it.

But Ken didn’t panic at the sight.

‘It finally appeared.’

Ken had known this would happen.

He couldn’t see exactly what the students were running from, but he knew what it was.

[Giant Curex]

It was an insect-like monster the size of a fist, resembling a mosquito.

“What should we do? Ke-Ken! We should run too…!”

Feeling the danger, Emily clung to Ken’s arm and said that.

However, Ken smiled and shook his head.

“No, we’ll be fine here.”

“Huh? Why?”

“If we burn this firewood, the bugs won’t come near.”

This was precisely why following the strategy guide during the Monkey Stele event was a bad idea.

The Monkey Stele event sends Emily and a specific character to a deserted island to drift for a week.

During that time, they can survive and significantly increase their affection with each other.

However, there was a trap in this process, and that was the ‘攻略集’ (strategy guide).

When the event begins, there’s a screen that only the user of the Monkey Stele can see.

That screen contains useful information about the island's ecology and survival methods.

It lures users with phrases like, “Raise your affection by following this strategy guide!”

But if one follows it blindly, the worst-case scenario could lead to the death of the target character.

That was the trap of the ‘攻略集.’

‘That monster must have been drawn in by the scent of the ignition fruit.’

This incident was of the same type.

In a place where magic was unavailable, the strategy guide suggested using the easily ignitable ignition fruit.

But it only informed users how easy it was to light a fire without warning them of the associated dangers.

“AAAHHH━! KEN━!”

A girl, fleeing from the insect monster, ran towards Ken in tears.

Then she jumped into him.

“Ugh, whoa!”

“Ken! There’s a-a bug! A huge bug!”

“Ugh…”

Ken blushed in embarrassment as the girl clung to him, and Emily grimaced.

While it was understandable for a girl to cling to a man she could rely on in a dire situation, Emily felt displeased.

“Calm down, Lewis. You’re safe here.”

She grabbed the trembling girl’s arm, pulling her away from Ken.

“Um, um? Is it safe here?”