Episode 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 3
Adrian was… a real talker. He had the kind of gift for gab that could let him talk for an hour about the feather color of a single passing bird.
And through his chatter, Elysia came to one firm conclusion.
It seemed she’d applied to a dysfunctional school. Well, she hadn’t actually applied herself—she’d been dragged into it—but still… this place was a mess.
Every single rule was bizarre. No matter how much she told herself this entire world was designed for romance, it was hard to understand.
“…So, you’re saying we can only join clubs affiliated with our own department?”
“It’s not mandatory, but, well, if you join a club from another department, the hazing is harsh and you’re not treated very well.”
“What… You mean they get pissed that a student from another department is trying to join their club?”
“That’s about the gist of it. There are only two central clubs that students from any department can join. All the others are department-specific.”
What a bunch of fucking assholes… she grumbled. Adrian, pretending not to hear, stopped in front of a shabby door.
Elysia glanced at the shoddy entrance, which looked like it had been torn off its hinges a few times and haphazardly patched back together. Then she pointed to a dazzling door across the hall and asked.
“What’s that?”
“The Student Council room. Ah, that’s a central club, too.”
Elysia stared with disgust at the white, gilded door that looked like it led to a shrine, then shifted her gaze back to the shabby one before her. It was shaped like a door people used, but…
She pointed at it with her index finger to confirm.
“…A dog hole?”
Adrian’s face flushed as he protested indignantly.
“It’s not a dog hole!”
“Oh, really?”
My bad. It was so ridiculously low you’d have to duck to avoid cracking your head on it, so I naturally assumed it was a dog hole.
With a creak, Adrian pushed the door open and gestured politely for her to enter.
She hunched over and shuffled into the room. The smell of books, like one you’d find in a library, and the strong scent of ink tickled her nose.
It was a cozy space, fitting for such a ridiculously low door. Warm-colored wooden bookshelves lined three of the walls, and the only wall without one had a window.
In one corner of the room hung a burgundy curtain. After scanning the room, she muttered to herself.
“…It’s damn small.”
“That’s because there are only three members.”
Huh? Did I hear that right? Only three members? Seeing as Adrian was avoiding her gaze, he was probably including her in that count.
“…Wow. How did this club survive without being shut down? Did you bribe the principal or something?”
“It can’t be shut down. It’s not just any club; it’s an important one.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean? As she took a step toward Adrian, he flinched and took a step back. She clicked her tongue and raised both her arms as if to show she had no intention of attacking.
What a wimp… I can’t even talk to the guy.
“Logically, if it were important, it would have more members. Are you kidding me? You just said it’s normal for students to join clubs affiliated with their department. Isn’t this one of those clubs? Where are the other chemistry students?”
“Uh… you don’t know?”
She was the one asking the questions, yet she was the one receiving a bewildered look. Adrian, looking completely blindsided, began to pace around the tiny room, fiddling with his lips.
Just then, a pleasant, low voice echoed from behind the curtain.
“You’re the only one who enrolled in the Chemistry Department this year.”
“Ah, fuck, you scared me!!!”
A black-haired man casually pushed the curtain aside and walked out. He frowned slightly, as if annoyed by Elysia’s startled cursing.
The man had a surprisingly rigid air about him. His posture was so perfect it seemed to scream, ‘Shoulders back, spine straight.’ She instinctively straightened her own body, which had been leaning casually to one side.
The right sleeve of his wrinkle-free white shirt was neatly rolled up, revealing a wrist that was unexpectedly thick-boned and sturdy.
Beneath the dark black hair that fell neatly over his forehead, a pair of green eyes stared at her impassively.
He had a gentle face with down-turned eyes, but for some reason, Elysia associated him with something else entirely.
“Are you… the president?”
“Just call me Evan. Or Senior.”
“Miss, remember how I said there were two central clubs? This is one of them. The Prefects.”
“…But the membership is this pathetic?”
It was starting to make sense why the club hadn’t been shut down despite its tiny roster. Every school needed a prefect committee, so they couldn’t just dissolve it, even with so few members.
But usually, a group like this would be swarming with people. She recalled the magnificent door to the Student Council room. It was probably a different story over there, right?
…Why?
She pushed that question aside for later and asked the most pressing one first.
“What about a club just for Chemistry Department students? And why am I the only freshman?”
“Y-You came here without knowing? The Medical Department was created because of this senior, and the Chemistry Department was created because of me. Minerva sometimes establishes new departments at a student’s request and dissolves them as soon as that student graduates. Students in these minor departments usually join clubs from other departments. So…”
“So… the Prefects is a gathering place for a bunch of loser bastards who pioneered unpopular minor departments, have no affiliated clubs of their own, and are too chickenshit to join clubs from other departments?”
At Elysia’s blunt and simple summary, Adrian shot a sideways glance at Evan and slowly backed away.
Evan’s face showed not a hint of insult or humiliation. He simply sat there, his expression an unreadable mask, maintaining an attitude that said, if you have questions, ask them.
In that moment, after sizing him up, Evan was caught off guard by the sharpness in her silver-gray eyes, which now held a look of puzzlement. His heart sank, as if an owl’s talons had just pierced through it.
“Anyway, wait a minute. Medical Department?”
“Why do you ask?”
“…I thought you’d be in military studies or something, so this is unexpected. I figured you were a soldier.”
A dreadful silence fell over the room.
Elysia, looking unfazed, idly traced the cover of a book on the rectangular table in the center of the room before looking up.
“…What is it?”
The first thing she saw was Evan’s deathly pale face and, behind him, Adrian frantically shaking his head and crossing his arms in an ‘X’.
Did I say something I wasn’t supposed to?
“I just said that because your posture and expression have a military feel to them.”
No answer came. Instead, a pink system window popped up.
♥ SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester's Favorability -50 ♥
What had merely been a curiosity now became a frustration after seeing the system window. She couldn’t understand why he was reacting so sensitively to being told he seemed like a soldier.
She looked up at him with a tilted head, completely baffled.
“If I’m wrong, you can just correct me and move on. What’s with this reaction?”
She met his eyes without thinking and froze in shock.
Rage, contempt, shame, and countless other emotions swirled in his green eyes, making it impossible to even discern their original color.
Evan walked past the frozen Elysia with a look of utter disgust, rushing out of the room so quickly that he created a breeze.
The air he stirred made her brown bob sway. Only after the door slammed shut with a thud did she snap out of it.
I think I really… screwed up that first impression, didn't I?
Adrian walked over with a bewildered look, pulled up a chair, and sat down.
“…Miss, are you a ghost?”
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m human.”
“This is your first time meeting him, isn’t it? I-I didn’t even say his last name on purpose.”
“Of course it’s the first time. You think we’ve met before?”
“Whoa, whoa… Is this what they call a sixth sense? Like, a beast’s intuition? Something like that?”
“Ugh, stop dragging it out. Spit it out already, will you?”
When she irritably raised the side of her hand, Adrian yelped and scooted back in his chair. The sound of it scraping messily across the floor was jarring. Once he’d secured a safe distance from her, he whispered as if sharing a secret.
“That senior… he really was a soldier.”
“…Ah.”
Just as I thought. Seeing Elysia nod as if she’d known all along, Adrian looked like he was about to die from frustration.
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“God, you’re such a chatterbox! I told you, it was obvious!”
Adrian pounded his chest in frustration at Elysia, who was now staring sullenly at her fingertips, and fired off a stream of questions.
“How? He’s such a kind and considerate person! It’s normal for no one to notice until he reveals his last name! Everyone just thinks he’s a talented commoner who got in on a scholarship!”
“Just a feeling.”
It had been a while since what people called a sixth sense—or something like it—had developed to an animalistic level in her. It was only natural, since she’d always had to be on high alert, never knowing when or where a bullet might come from.
It wasn’t that she analyzed people using logic. It was just a feeling. Evan’s gait had reminded her of a well-trained military dog. Of course, the <Panic in the City> system window, which had followed her into this game for some unknown reason, had helped a little.
SYSTEM: A random piece of information about the character has been delivered via the passive skill 'Beast's Intuition.' Would you like to view it? Y | N
SYSTEM: Faint scar beneath the shirt collar → Assumed to have extensive combat experience
And so, she had blurted it out. ‘I thought you were a soldier.’
But hey, I was only half-sure. I didn’t think it was actually true. If I knew I’d be right, do you think I would have said it so casually?
“Is he a noble? That senior.”
“How did you figure that out, too?”
You don’t even remember telling me yourself that people mistake him for a talented commoner…
But the admiration in the young man’s sparkling eyes wasn’t entirely unpleasant, so she gave a little shrug.
Adrian looked at her with awe.
“Wow… Are you, by any chance, an animal?”
“Who are you calling an animal? I’m a perfectly good human, you wanna die? Anyway, what’s the big deal? Why’d he run off?”
Was being called soldier-like a good enough reason to flee?
Elysia felt a sense of unease as she recalled those green eyes, which had glared at her with something akin to murderous intent. The way he’d fled, so startled he couldn’t even control his expression, like a puppy that had just been exposed.
Adrian ran a hand through his messy hair with a troubled look and stood up.
“Ah… I don’t know. You two should talk it out yourselves. I’m staying out of it. For now, I’ll take you to the dormitory, so you should rest today.”
“What is it?! Are you going to tell me or not?!”
“It’s something I can’t talk about! Ah, and please don’t hit me!”
“I didn’t hit you. Why do you see me as some kind of thug? That girl from before deserved to get hit—Gasp.”
Come to think of it, the cute little bleeding from her fingertip must have been stacking up -50 continuous damage. She hurriedly opened her HP window to check her health.
SYSTEM: HP -900 (100 / 1,000)
Remaining HP has reached 100. You will now enter a ‘Combat Incapacitation State.’
Seeing her HP bar plummeting toward the floor, she grabbed the back of her neck. Soon, her vision began to blur with red.
Wait, hold on, am I going to die from a paper cut?