A/N: This chapter’s title was inspired by a conversation between two characters from the anime Log Horizon about how there are only two types of perverts lol

 

Beta: Jeannette

 

Jun looked back and forth between Eli and Azel. There seemed to be a battle of eye sparks and lightning between them. Was this that legendary battle between two men over a woman? Oh, wait, the wrong gender.

 

“Azel you shithead, you sure did a fantastic job protecting Jun.” Eli sneered. “Since you did such a fantastic job, then Jun is completely mine from now on.”

 

“… What?” Jun turned to look at Eli.

 

Azel’s eyebrows narrowed, his eyes moving down Jun’s frame, stopping at his slender legs. “What are you talking about? Who’s Jun?”

 

“Good, very good.” Eli laughed mockingly. “You seem to have forgotten our deal. Whatever, if it means taking you out of the picture, then I can let things go since Jun is still safe and sound.”

 

Without another word, Eli dragged Jun away, leaving behind a confused Azel. Wasn’t the deal regarding Dahlye? As for Jun…

 

Azel felt a headache coming on. These days he had been trying to slowly enter Dahlye’s life again, but she was so different from what he remembered. Not only was she bossy and short-tempered, but she was also showering her affections on people like Charles Erwin and Gerard Narukami, and there were even two other men even though she had promised herself to just him and Eli long ago.

 

For the last 12 years, he had been keeping watch over Dahlye from a distance, making sure she was safe and that no misfortune would befall her according to the deal he made with Eli. After they parted with Eli, he and Dahlye grew apart after an argument. He still remembered her last words to him: “I’m Dahlye, not Jun! Why does everyone keep mistaking me for him!?”

 

Azel’s young and pure heart had been so shocked by her angry tears that he ran away, never to meet with Dahlye again in person until a week ago. There was someone he had mistaken for Dahlye around the same time. What had he said?

 

“Nope, wrong person. I’m her older twin brother.” 

 

Azel clutched his head. The memories from 12 years ago were so fuzzy and every time he tried to recall, his head hurt.

 

He remembered now that he used to call Dahlye Jun. When she threw that tantrum, he was so surprised he didn’t think. But if Jun is a boy, has he been protecting the wrong person all this time? The headache was getting worse...

 

Back in the barracks, Eli was sitting next to Jun with his arms around his shoulders, enjoying their closeness. After explaining things without withholding information this time, Eli said with a smirk, “Azel is a bit slow, but he’s probably figured out where he went wrong by now. But you shouldn’t forgive him so quickly, baby. After all, he neglected you for over 12 years!”

 

Though Eli appeared quite content with himself, Jun couldn’t help but mentally shake his head. Wasn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? With the addition of male lead #3, his survival chances would rise again, but wouldn’t stealing a harem member evoke the female protagonist’s ire? In that case, things would just cancel out and his survival chances would remain the same. Maybe he should just leave Azel alone. There was already one pervert to deal with.

 

Jun had been slowly rereading the plot of this world during his free time, to better deal with the female protagonist and her harem in case they came after him. From what he’d read, Azel was what you’d call a closet pervert, whereas Eli was an open pervert. Basically, Azel was a stalker. He secretly monitored the female protagonist, took pictures, and had people follow her at all times.

 

|Aiyah, isn’t that the obsessive type who randomly goes insane one day?|

 

|That's right, System.|

 

|But the harem already has a male yandere, male lead #4.| 

 

(A/N: yandere is a Japanese word for crazy obsessive male/female who would rather kill the one they “love” than to let them go or give them to someone else)

 

|That’s different. By the way, how does the female protagonist manage a harem with a yandere in it?|

 

|You tell me, dearest Host.|

 

|Do I look like a harem master to you?|

 

That night, Jun went to bed with a man-sized, man-shaped leech. In his tiny twin-sized bed, it was quite the squeeze as they were both fully grown men, despite Jun being only 175 cm at most. (A/N: about 5’9”)

 

“While this is nice, maybe we should go back to my hotel room,” Eli whispered, his hot breath on Jun’s ear sending tingles down his spine. 

 

“No, I want to stay on base.”

 

“Is it because of Azel?” Eli slipped his arms under Jun’s spaghetti strap, his fingers brushing against those soft little nipples.

 

“No, my sister is here,” Jun said through gritted teeth as he pulled Eli’s arms back out. Eli only smiled and rubbed himself against Jun’s perky butt.

 

‘This damn pervert.’

 

|But dearest Host, you’re letting him do it.|

 

|…| 

 

He couldn’t help it. Having been a virgin all his life, he was a little curious. But he should draw a line since he and Eli’s feelings were not on the same wavelength. There was also the matter of the female protagonist.

 

While it was safer to stay away from her, because the plot had changed in unpredictable ways, staying away wouldn’t necessarily raise his survival chances. The plot would find other ways to end him, so why not just face things head-on. The female protagonist being the biggest death flag, if he could handle her for just a little over two months, then things should work out.

 

So he thought, but the female protagonist and her harem didn’t come after him, and the next few weeks flew by somewhat uneventfully. Other than leaving base with Eli to complete missions, Jun’s everyday routine was too normal and boring. He didn’t even run into zombies as Eli would ward them away, and that made earning merit points very easy.

 

By now, more people with abilities had started to appear alongside the variant zombies. Like many apocalypse stories, zombie nuclei quickly became the new currency in the exchange system. Though merit points were gradually becoming worthless, he had earned enough to put down a deposit for a private room lasting a year at Eli’s insistence. 

 

Because they completed so many missions in such a short time, Eli and Jun had gained some prestige with other teams and base management. More and more people were sending out invitations to join their teams, but all were rejected. There was no way Eli was going to allow his alone time with Jun to be taken away. 

 

During this time, he hadn’t seen a single hair of the female protagonist, her harem members nor her love rival, but he did hear news about them since they were naturally pretty famous.

 

Having displayed her strength using her spatial and healing abilities, the female protagonist had recruited all her harem members except for male lead #3 and then some. The transmigrator turned out to be even more proactive in collecting men than the original. 

 

Silver Base had expanded from the military buildings to some of the residential areas, so many teams, including hers, were able to claim houses as team bases. Once again, Jun was starting to feel it was the calm before the storm. Of course, it also helped to know that plotwise, Silver Base was about to face its first zombie tide. Just as he was calling forth rain, thunder, and lighting, the most unexpected prelude came.

 

“What are you doing here?” Eli asked the man standing at the doorway. Jun’s head was peeking out from behind Eli’s shoulders.

 

Unable to control himself, Jun let slip once more: “Male death flag #3.”

 

“Why do you keep calling him that?”

 

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

 

“… Because that’s who he is,” Jun said nothing more and let things dwindle down into a state of awkwardness.

 

Seeing that Jun had no plans to clarify himself, Eli asked the other man again: “What are you doing here?”

 

Azel only hesitated for one second. “I’m here for Jun. I need to talk to him.”

 

“If it’s regarding how you mistook his twin sister Dahlye for him, then you can just talk to me,” Eli said with arms crossed. 

 

“I…” Azel clenched his fists and eyes. “… It was a really stupid mistake.” Then he opened his eyes and stared straight at Jun. “I’m truly sorry. I failed you.”

 

Jun blinked. “… It’s ok.”

 

“How can you just forgive him like that!?” Eli shouted, indignant, making Jun cringe.

 

The truth was, it really was ok. Jun had no deep feelings for either Eli or Azel. They had met Jun Taylor when he was just 6, so chances were even the original didn’t have much of an impression of them. Little did he know that he had just made a huge miscalculation.

 

“Thank you, Jun.” 

 

With a seriousness of encountering his most precious possession for the first time, Azel shyly pulled Jun into a deep hug, one full of lingering yearning. The man didn’t forget to slowly run his hands down Jun’s spine. Jun felt a sudden sense of deja vu. They were the same kind, Azel and Eli.

 

“You fucking shithead—” 

 

Eli struck Azel with a fist but was blocked. Though he was a medic, Azel was a combat medic, so he had gone through the basic training. Eli was just the spoiled son of a diplomat. With a roll of his eyes, Jun shoved Azel off him and left the room. The combined oppression of those two was a bit much.

 

There were 3 days left before the zombie tide arrived, and Jun wanted to observe the female protagonist and her team, but when he turned the corner he bumped into another unexpected person, the love rival Oriana. This description had been bothering Jun for a while. Just who was Oriana a love rival for? Dahlye’s entire harem or was it a specific man?

 

“Little Jun! Long time no see.”

 

When they heard this nickname, both Azel and Eli, who had been following after Jun, stiffened, their expressions gloomy. Who was this woman?

 

“Oriana…” Jun hesitated. “You… Do you have someone you like?”

 

When they heard this question, both Azel’s and Eli’s faces darkened and the entire corridor froze over.

 

Oriana, oblivious to her impending doom, laughed. “Do you like me, little Jun? You’re not my type though…” Her eyes glanced at the two men standing behind Jun with interest. “Your friends, on the other hand…”

 

“I’m gay.”

 

Choking on her saliva, Oriana was unable to finish her sentence. After some time taken to regain her breath, she spoke again. “Oh, then why do you ask?”

 

“Just curious. What do you think of my sister’s fiancé, Charles Erwin?”

 

“A bit boring.”

 

“Gerard Narukami?” 

 

“I don’t do playboys.”

 

“Male yandere?” Jun had no idea that a different storm was brewing behind him the more he asked about various men.

 

“Huh?”

 

“The guy with white hair who’s always hiding in the shadows around Dahlye.”

 

“Oh, him. He’s kind of creepy.”

 

“What about him?” Jun pointed to Azel, whose face shifted from surprise to delight.

 

“He’s handsome but we just met…”

 

“Then do you have anyone you like?”

 

“Why are you so concerned about who I—Oh, are we having a girl talk about men?” 

 

“What? No.”

 

“I don’t get it.”

 

“Nevermind, you don’t seem to like anyone.”

 

Oriana leaned over with a smile and whispered, “Oh but I do—all the men in my team as a matter of fact.” Then with a wink at Azel and Eli, she drifted away. Whatever fleeting interest she had in them earlier had already disappeared. It was obvious they only had eyes for Jun.

 

— 

 

A/N: Don't get too excited guys. There won’t be any BL smut in this arc, but there will still be a lot of touching lol. Smut will still happen and when it starts there might be too much... D:

 

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