Switching to a Reverse Harem, But the Male Lead Changed the Genre

Of course, that didn't mean he blamed it all on women, or that he disliked them.

"It's not that I dislike them. I simply want the expedition to be run as efficiently as possible."

"That's a contradiction. You're claiming you'll choose inefficient members for the sake of efficient operations."

"For me, that is the efficient choice."

"Oh, come on, McLane. Don't make excuses. You're scared of going on an expedition with me and ending up in a romance, aren't you? Unlike what you so confidently promised, you're afraid you won't be able to reject me after all."

"I am not."

"Then take me with you. Wouldn't choosing me boost the synergy in every possible way, rather than dragging along someone lacking in both stamina and ability who'd only be a burden? In combat, in leveling up, in the expedition itself."

"That's—"

"And I promise you this: I will never develop feelings for you. Do you think I came all this way just to play the dating game, of all things? All I want is to wrap up my life here as quickly as possible and return to reality."

The man fell silent for a moment, regarding Natalie through narrowed eyes, before asking, "The ending you're planning is different from mine, isn't it?"

His voice made it plain he found her difficult to trust. Natalie shrugged, as if there was nothing to be done about it, and answered with perfect composure.

"What can I do when the male lead rejects me this stubbornly? If a rofan ending is impossible, then I'll just have to settle for a game ending. My ultimate goal is returning to reality one way or another. If we defeat the Demon Race together, some kind of ending is bound to trigger, don't you think?"

There was something strangely infuriating about the woman gazing back at him with those crimson eyes, the very picture of a harmless person without a shred of malice.

McLane rose from his seat and slowly closed the distance between them.

The moment she saw him approaching, the composed Natalie flinched and instinctively took a half step back. And here she'd been acting like nothing in the world could touch her. He suppressed a hollow laugh.

"Can you swear that you'll focus on the expedition and nothing else?"

"Of course. Try trusting me — I'm a far better option than Tommy McAvoy. Though from what I hear, he's already looking into other employment."

"Hm-m."

McLane let out a short breath and ground the words out between his teeth. "Then let's do this. If Tommy McAvoy fails to join the expedition, I'll extend you the opportunity as well."

Of course, there was never the slightest chance that Tommy McAvoy would end up joining the expedition.

The moment Natalie left the interview room, she took Tommy McAvoy — who had been waiting for her — straight to the Magic Tower. She declared her resignation to the Tower Master on the spot and recommended Tommy as her successor.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this! How can you quit so irresponsibly — what am I supposed to do about the projects already underway?"

"I'm sorry, Tower Master. Due to certain circumstances, I have to leave for the Northern Erosion Zone at short notice. In exchange, I've brought you a perfectly suitable candidate as my replacement. I'll ensure a flawless handover so that the research suffers no setbacks in my absence."

Fortunately, she had already organized all the relevant data and experimental procedures leading up to the results — a luxury made possible by the fact that she'd been deliberately pacing the research to keep the funding flowing for as long as possible.

"Here, I compiled all of this separately. Follow what's written here and you'll be able to carry every project through to completion without a hitch."

When she handed over the research materials, Tommy's eyes brimmed with tears as he stared at her in gratitude.

"How can you give away such precious data, all of it…. Thank you, truly, Natalie! I had no idea how I could ever repay this kindness. You really are…."

As Tommy McAvoy stepped toward her with his arms rising, quite possibly about to throw himself into an embrace, Natalie hastily retreated a step and added, as though it were nothing, "If you're grateful, then just pass along word of my parents now and then after I leave for the expedition. I'm sure they'll be worried sick about me."

"Of course! Anything!"

She had also requested that her severance pay — a modest but not insubstantial sum — be disbursed before the expedition's departure.

The joining contract would come with a decent upfront payment, but it was nowhere near enough for her parents to hold out under the pressure of debt collectors until she returned.

The largest investor in all of this was, of course, McLane Lindhardt. She hadn't raised the subject with him yet, but she planned to ask for an extension on the repayment deadline once she'd safely joined the expedition. As late as possible — and if she could manage it, full forgiveness would be even better.

Not that she wanted it forgiven as a favor, of course. Since he apparently had no interest in a contract marriage, she intended to pitch alternatives instead: lifetime magical support, say, or a regular supply of enchanted artifacts.

Whether by fortune or misfortune, when she called on McLane again a few days later, the scene of her groveling for a repayment extension never came to pass.

Seeing Natalie walk into the interview room instead of the Tommy McAvoy he'd been expecting, McLane scrunched up his face as far as it would go.

He already knows I'm not the person my setting says I am. Does he really have to look that displeased about it?

Natalie felt her own temper flare in sympathy before she barely managed to smooth her expression back into place. Joining the expedition was one thing, but the repayment extension was still on the line.

"It seems I'm the only option left, so am I right to assume you'll be accepting me as well?"

"Hm-m…."

The man wore the expression of a man deep in deliberation, staring at some point in the empty air for a long while. Even the faint lines creasing the corners of his scrunched eyes were unfairly handsome, which only made it more irritating.

Whether he was reading a status window message or not, his gaze — which had been wandering aimlessly across the empty space — finally returned to her, as if he'd made up his mind. In a stiff voice, as if to confirm it one last time, he asked, "I have no intention of giving you special treatment for being a woman. I will treat you exactly the same as every other member, down to the smallest detail. Can you endure that? If you're planning to give up halfway through and turn back, then leave now."

"As it happens, I was about to request that very thing — that you treat me no differently. What a relief. If I'd intended to give up, I wouldn't have pursued this so relentlessly in the first place, now would I? So then…?"

"Very well. Then let me make a rather unprecedented decision."

"And that would be?"

"Let's do well together going forward. And…."

Having accepted Natalie into the expedition, the man added something she had never anticipated.

"I have no intention of reclaiming the funds invested in the Pereira family."

"You won't reclaim the investment? You don't mean an extension on the repayment deadline — you mean you're forgiving the debt entirely?"

When Natalie echoed the words back in disbelief at the unexpected statement, he gave a stiff nod, his expression plainly reluctant.

"That's the quest acceptance condition for putting you in the expedition."

Ah, right, this man is possessed by the game — so a quest popped up for him too. Which means: he'd love to squeeze the money out of me right now, but the quest conditions won't let him.

For a fleeting moment, Natalie felt a wave of doubt about the path she had chosen.

Could she really coax this man — whose head was stuffed with nothing but quests and level-ups — into producing a happily-ever-after ending? She even caught herself thinking that tearing the whole plot wide open and hunting down a different male lead might be the correct answer.

She barely managed to move the corners of her mouth — which wanted, at any second, to scream 'Forget it all. Let's just each fend for ourselves.' — into something resembling gratitude.

"I was actually planning to ask you about that separately, so this is a true kindness. Although — you're not, by any chance, planning to withhold the advance payment in exchange for not reclaiming the investment, are you?"

"The joining fee is paid by the imperial household. It has nothing to do with whether my personal investment is recovered."

Only then did Natalie let out an audible ah of complete relief and break into a smile.

The advance payment before departure was a fairly substantial one, and with the debt to House Lindhardt wiped away as well, her parents would be able to live free of debt collectors' harassment even in her absence.

McLane watched her for a moment, then rose from his seat at once, saying he would introduce the rest of the members.

"They should all be at the training grounds by now. We agreed to introduce you once your recruitment was settled, so they'll be waiting."

Following McLane out into the corridor and around the side of the building, they came upon a fairly spacious open yard.

When Natalie spotted the men engrossed in sparring, kicking up clouds of dust, her eyes went round. Some of the members were wearing rather embarrassing attire.

Two men — perhaps foreigners, larger than the rest, with sun-bronzed skin — were wrestling each other half-naked in the dirt, their garments little more than palm-sized loincloths that covered only the bare essentials.

McLane frowned at the two men rolling around on the ground and bellowed for the rest to gather.