Chapter 94
The first thing that came to mind were the demons one should never face.
Next were the names and locations of the high-level demons that one would prefer not to encounter.
The plan was to avoid demons with tricky patterns as much as possible.
'If we make even the slightest mistake, a companion could die.'
In the game, it was merely a regrettable event, but here, it was not.
It would hurt. The mental scars. That companion...
The sound of snoring.
...Even if it was Luna blatantly sleeping during class.
Perhaps I would come to miss this sight.
Hmm, excluding the drooling part, of course.
'Well, no need to worry about it right now.'
After Chapter 3 in the storyline.
No matter how fast, the first encounter with a high-level demon would be then.
There were times when avoiding the dangerous routes, one could first encounter them in Chapters 4 or 5.
Meaning, there's absolutely no need to worry at this moment.
While I was lost in thought, the class ended.
"The midterms are coming up, aren't they?"
"Yes~ Yes."
"Hehe, if you don't give up and do your best until the end, you will see good results. Well then."
As soon as Elester left the classroom, the students started to grumble.
It seems children in this world also dislike exams.
"Zero, did you pay attention in class?"
It was Yuridia.
She, sitting in the seat in front of me, started to chatter.
"Ah, here comes that noisy one again."
"Luna, did you pay attention in class? The weather is perfect for having tea with classmates. Isn't it?"
"Yeah~ Not at all."
Luna made a ridiculous face while covering both ears, but Yuridia just laughed heartily.
'She must be under the mistaken belief that Luna and I are in a relationship.'
Perhaps the desire to protect is stronger.
No matter how much Luna pushed away, she did not reveal her true colors.
"Are you not interested in magic? If you come to me, I could teach you a bit."
Ho-ho, a thrilling private magic lesson with a magic prodigy.
Definitely an enticing offer. But.
"Keke, for me, magic is synonymous with murder."
"Ahaha, is that so? You're amazing."
Taking my sincerity for a poor joke.
This is why Yuridia won't do. Teron would have believed me.
Anyway, as you can see, Yuridia has yet to give up on me, whereas.
Teron had cleanly given up on me.
After the proxy duel incident, Teron's faction showed no particular movements.
It seemed they firmly believed I would not join Yuridia's faction.
'Well, they're right.'
I could pretend to get closer to Yuridia to surprise Teron,
But I didn't want to stir up a hornet's nest for no reason.
Well, there are parts where Teron is a million times more appealing to me than Yuridia, who shows no empathy.
'He may be a villain... but he's a good guy.'
I knew the reason why Teron was obsessed with grades.
Thus, I could understand every one of his actions.
"..."
While ignoring Yuridia's words from one ear and letting them out the other.
I accidentally made eye contact with Teron. He slightly nodded.
A nod.
It meant, "Are you at peace?"
I also slightly nodded back.
A nod.
Teron let out a faint smile.
It meant, "As you are, so am I."
"Let's go."
Following Teron's lead, the kids around him rose up all at once.
Teron passed by us without a word, not wanting to stir Yuridia into a defensive stance.
'We're avoiding a situation that would be bothersome for both of us.'
My thoughts exactly. Indeed, he's someone I can't hate even if I wanted to.
Thus, with Teron...
"Love?"
"Keke, indeed. Our love is deepening..."
No, not love, but friendship.
My words were interrupted by Luna chiming in.
"Your eyes are burning with passion when you look at him. Yeah, keep going. What's love?"
"...Keke, I've never thought that way."
"Zero, let me give you one warning."
Luna stood up from her chair and came close, pressing her face near mine.
Close enough to hear each other's breathing, Luna whispered softly in my ear.
"It's not a problem if you fall for me and love me. After all, I won't accept it."
So, I like you, huh?
Imagining something that will never happen?
"But if you don't love me, that could be a problem in itself. It would mean I lack charm, wouldn't it?"
Luna, Luna, what are you talking about?
It's a problem whether I love or don't love.
Are you crazy?
"Hurry up and say it."
"...Say what?"
"Say, I, love, you."
Luna articulated each word clearly.
She couldn't possibly want a real confession from me. Luna doesn't see me as a male.
This was merely Luna's strategy to boost her self-esteem as a woman.
By making me say I love her, she could feel like an attractive woman.
An act of a supreme pervert among perverts.
'It seems she has a complex about being petite.'
Even if I say a million times that she's flat, it won't make her flat.
But since I can't handle Luna's anger, I occasionally played along.
I also liked that kind of joke.
Right. Normally, I would have played along with Luna's rhythm.
But now was a difficult time. Why?
Bang-
The children were still in the classroom.
Some were blatantly staring at us.
"..."
And it was eerily quiet.
They were carefully breathing so as to hear our conversation, a natural outcome.
So, Luna was making a love confession in front of everyone.
The problem was Luna's lack of awareness was desperate.
She had no idea the children were watching us.
From Luna's perspective, it was just innocent fun, but from mine, it was no different from social suicide.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and say it."
I thought about it a bit, but it was impossible.
Lying was too harsh for the innocent me.
"Keke, do we really need to say such things? You know well that I always have such feelings."
"Don't beat around the bush. I'm really going to get mad?"
Love, love...
I don't, you crazy woman! Just kill me!
When I firmly shut my mouth to show my refusal, Luna let out a deep sigh.
"Ha, I'll let it slide. Then hug me. Let's compromise on that."
Yeah, right. You don't know the meaning of compromise, do you?
It's problematic that you're even asking for this.
'I spoiled you like a spoiled daughter from the start, and this is what it has come to.'
Such a brat. A fifteen-year-old brat at that.
The future looked bleak. I might have to carry her around forever.
'Wait, carry? Carry, huh...'
A good idea came to mind. I abruptly stood up and slung Luna over my shoulder.
Luna's voice came from behind my back.
"...What are you doing now?"
"Keke, don't you see? I'm holding you."
Anyway, as long as I make it so she can't escape by merely touching her, it counts as holding.
Everyone would nod, agreeing my approach was correct.
"This isn't holding! Hold me properly!?"
Luna started pounding on my back.
But this was bearable.
'After all the hits I've taken.'
If there were a stat for endurance, mine would have hit 9999 by now.
I quickly left the classroom with Luna slung over my shoulder.
As we departed, cheers erupted from the classroom.
"Kyaa-!!"
"Look at that carry!"
"That's a man!!"
Then I'm a man, what else could I be, a woman?
'I need to come up with a plan. This could really end badly.'
I might end up being responsible for Luna forever.
With that, I started running.
Carrying Luna, who was biting my back.
* * *
"Why can't you say it? That you love me! That woman is mine! Why can't you say it!?"
Words and spit flew mixed from Luna's mouth.
Due to the classic nature of the game, the dialogue is also classic.
"Keke, then can Miss Luna do it? There were so many kids around."
"Yeah, I can do it. Why, you want me to do it next time?"
...I lost.
It might be impossible to ever beat Luna in my lifetime.
If there were a stubbornness contest with the final boss, our Luna would undoubtedly win.
"Ts! That's overconfidence on your part. Nobody is interested in you. What's wrong with us talking?"
...Everyone there was listening to that conversation!?
Does the word 'tact' not exist in your dictionary?
"Keke, I'll be more careful from now on."
"Ts! Anyway, why hasn't she come yet? We need to go make friends quickly."
Luna grumbled.
We were currently waiting for Rezé.
Unlike us, who are in the advanced class, Rezé belonged to the regular class.
‘Well, she's already here though.’
While getting scolded by Luna, my [Hyper Sense] activated.
Rezé was currently beside Luna.
Though no human shape was visible, I could definitely feel Rezé's presence.
‘She must be waiting for the right moment to join in.’
She could just come out boldly, but instead, she chose to sneak in, invisible as if hiding in a box.
She really is a child destined for a hard life.
"Hmm, did she get lost or something? Shouldn't we go look for her?"
"Keke, she's already here."
"What? What do you mean... Eek!"
A girlish scream burst from Luna's mouth.
The box opened, and Rezé appeared.
Of course, I was shocked too.
To hear a delicate scream of a girl coming from our Luna, who I thought was a boy!
"Ah, hello..."
"What, what! Where did you come from?"
Our gaze shifted to the box from which Rezé had emerged.
A box shaped like grass. This box, like the training ground box, boasted perfect camouflage.
"Keke, the box is quite charming."
"Is, is that so?"
"Yes, I thought it was real grass. I've always thought, but you have an amazing talent."
"Amazing talent..."
Mumbling, Rezé put her hand into her pocket and began to fumble around, pulling out something.
It was a box. A grass-shaped box.
"This, this is Grass No. 3. And this is No. 2, this one is No. 1, and..."
One by one, boxes popped out.
What was fascinating was that each box had a slightly different design and color.
"There are different kinds of grass? I didn't know that."
"...Wouldn't it be stranger if you did know that?"
Perhaps proud of the boxes she made, Rezé smiled proudly as she put the boxes away one by one.
Rezé, did you not hear me calling you strange just now? That wasn't a compliment!
"But what are we doing today? They told us not to book the training ground."
Come to think of it, today was a very important day.
It was the day to tackle Lérang, the boss of Chapter 1.
A day to approach with solemnity and seriousness. But...
‘After being tormented by Luna since morning... my mind is completely elsewhere.’
I unnecessarily drained my energy.
However, the strategy couldn't be postponed.
I raised my finger to draw attention.
"Keke, today, we will play a game of tailing."
"Tailing? That sounds very much like Zero."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It obviously means it sounds perverted."
Since when was 'Zero=pervert' established as a formula?
Is that just your personal claim, Luna?
"Ta, tailing? I, I can't do that well. What if we get caught because of me?"
...That doesn't seem like something you, a master of stealth and camouflage, should say.
If I didn't have the [Hyper Sense] skill, I would never have found Rezé.
"Uh, I don't know what nefarious plan you're concocting... but I agree with Rezé. Do you think tailing is easy?"
Right. It's not easy.
For the master of stealth, Rezé, and the crazy stalker Luna, it might be too easy.
‘The problem is me.’
Unlike these strange kids, I'm an exceedingly normal child.
There's no way I could commit the crime of tailing.
But there was one simple solution to this.
"Keke, Miss Rezé."
"Yes, yes...?"
"May I take a look inside your pocket?"
As if curtains were drawn, Rezé's long bangs covered her face.
Below that, Rezé's face turned bright red.
--TL Notes--
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