"No Marriage, Please! vs. Marry Me or Die: The Ultimate Love Showdown" - Episode 1

A Dream. I was dreaming.
I floated above it all, like I was having an out-of-body experience—watching the scene unfold from the sky.
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“Once this battle is over… I’m going to get married.”
He spoke those words with the utmost seriousness.
His companions cheered and celebrated the announcement, and he too looked more than a little pleased. That moment was undeniably filled with happiness.
But those words… they were a curse—bound by absolute causality.
Once spoken, only one fate awaited: death.
He fought through the war, driven by the thought of the one waiting for him. That was what gave him the strength to go on.
But in the end… he threw himself in front of the story’s protagonist and was mortally wounded. Bl00d scattered into the air as he collapsed, staring blankly at the pitch-black sky above.
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“Hey! Why…?! Why did you protect me!?”
“Heh… I wonder. Why did I do that…?”
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He looked to the heavens.
The war was drawing to a close. The hero’s side had emerged victorious—barely. A dramatic win, but far from a flawless one.
It came at great cost. And he… had become one of those sacrifices.
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“Yuri! Why… why did you do this?!”
“Teo… You’re someone this world still needs. But me… I’ve sacrificed too much. This is divine punishment.”
“No…! That’s not true…!”
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Tears poured from Teo’s eyes, dripping steadily onto Yuri’s broken body.
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“I’ll save you—no matter what! Yuri, you can’t die here!”
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Teo cast healing magic with all his might, but the bl00d wouldn’t stop.
Teo was a hero. The strongest adventurer in history. A man who would later be called a legend.
But even he… couldn’t save everything.
Yuri could no longer see. His breathing was shallow. His body was far beyond the reach of magic. The light of life within him was fading.
With bl00d-stained fingers, Yuri gently touched Teo’s cheek.
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“Teo… take care… of her…”
“Yuri! Wait—she’s waiting for you to come home, isn’t she?!”
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Teo gripped Yuri’s hand so tightly it hurt. They had a future they’d promised each other.
But that future… would never come.
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“Well… it was short, but fun. I’m glad I got to fight beside you one last… time…”
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Yuri’s hand fell limp. His pupils dilated. His heartbeat stopped.
There was no mistaking it—he was dead.
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“Yuri…? No. No, this can’t be happening! Wake up! Please! I still need to tell you—YURI!!”
“UAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
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Teo collapsed over his fallen friend, sobbing uncontrollably.
Beside the body of the friend now lost to him forever.
All around them, the world burned red. The land scorched like hellfire, the sky choked in black smoke.
And in that moment… all that remained was one man’s anguished cry.
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†
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“Hah…!”
I jolted awake.
Too real. That wasn’t a dream—that was something far more vivid and tangible.
My name is Yuri. And my best friend’s name is Teo.
But in that dream… we were both older.
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“No mistake. This face…”
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I stared into the mirror. My bangs hung slightly over my forehead, casting a shadow across cold, piercing eyes.
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“Don’t tell me… I’ve been reincarnated?”
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I touched my cheek.
And with that, the memories came rushing back.
In my previous life, I was a Japanese salaryman. Fresh out of college—already a corporate slave, working endless hours.
The one thing that kept me going… was a single game.
A masterpiece RPG known as Astræa of the Eternal Stars. It was legendary.
I played it into the early hours, sacrificing sleep and health—and then, somehow… I died.
Next thing I knew, I was reborn into this world.
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“But is this really that world…?”
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It still didn’t feel real. But as I searched Yuri’s memories, there was no doubt. This was exactly the world of the game.
Yuri… gets engaged to someone. Then, during the final battle, he sacrifices himself to protect Teo.
That part, I remember clearly.
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The problem is—
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“Who the hell am I supposed to be engaged to?”
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The game featured multiple heroines, but the story mainly revolved around Teo.
Not much was revealed about Yuri. There was a vague mention of him being engaged, but no clear identity was ever given.
Originally, Yuri was Teo’s best friend—but out of jealousy, he forced Teo out of the party. Teo then rose from the bottom, awakened as a hero.
Meanwhile, Yuri lost everything—including the heroine Sophia—and fell into darkness.
Eventually, the two reconcile, and Yuri fights alongside Teo in the final battle. That’s the basic outline.
Because the story was always told from Teo’s perspective, I never had much information on Yuri’s side of things.
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“Let’s break this down. I’m destined to die because I trigger the death flag. I get engaged to someone—but I don’t know who. Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”
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“Once this battle is over, I’ll get married.”
The most infamous death flag in all of fiction.
Well, maybe it’s not guaranteed—but it’s better to play it safe and avoid any uncertain factors.
Simple solution: don’t fall in love with anyone. Easy enough, right?
And ideally, I should become strong enough to survive that final battle.
Luckily, I understand Yuri’s abilities inside and out.
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“The real question is… what happens next?”
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I muttered under my breath.
In the original story, Yuri was proud and cold.
He was in a party with Teo and Sophia, the main heroine—but driven by envy, he expelled Teo.
That led to Teo’s rise as a hero, and Yuri’s fall into loneliness and darkness.
Later, Yuri confronts Teo as an enemy—but is defeated, and redeemed. They team up again for the final battle.
That’s how it goes.
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“Yeah. No need to follow that path.”
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I made up my mind. I would change the story.
I had no grudge against Teo. That event could be skipped altogether.
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Avoid the death flag = Don’t get involved with any heroine.
Survive the war = Get strong enough, or stop the war itself.
Those are my two goals. The first one’s easy—I’ll just avoid unnecessary interactions with women.
As for the second… I’ve got a plan for that.
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“All right. Let’s do this.”
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I left home, not planning to return.
Packed up my things, and set out. My destination—the Adventurers’ Guild.
When I arrived, as expected, Teo and Sophia were already there.
In the original storyline, this was the scene where Yuri expelled Teo from the party.
But instead—
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“Yuri! Morning!”
“Yeah.”
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Teo greeted me with a dazzling smile.
Blond hair, golden eyes—a ridiculously handsome guy. Like the sun itself. The perfect protagonist.
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“Good morning, Yuri-kun.”
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Sophia greeted me too. She had the aura of a noble lady—elegant, refined. The quintessential heroine.
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We’d been childhood friends, adventuring together in the same party for years.
But today, I steeled myself—and said the words that would change everything.
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“Teo. Sophia. I’m leaving the party.”
““—What?””