Episode 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 4
“A… a ban…”
“Huh?”
“A Band-Aid!!! Now!!!”
“Ye-yes?!”
“The first-aid kit! The, the first-aid kit, hurry up and give it to me!”
Elysia snatched the first-aid kit from Adrian, who had frantically rummaged through a bookshelf drawer to find it, and quickly wrapped a bandage around her fingertip.
Normally, she would have used a Heal Pack to restore her HP, but there was no way something like that existed in this world. So, she figured she’d try to recover by at least performing first aid.
If this doesn’t work, am I really going to die from a paper cut? She squeezed her eyes shut. What kind of death is that? How humiliating! How disgraceful!
<SYSTEM: Treatment complete! HP has been fully restored. Continuous Damage effect has been canceled.>
I’m… alive…
Having narrowly escaped the jaws of death, she collapsed into a chair. Adrian, seeing her face turn deathly pale over a tiny cut on her finger, clicked his tongue.
“Seriously? You made all that fuss over a little thing like that?”
Elysia shot him a glare, feeling utterly wronged.
A little thing? She internally swallowed a curse. She had almost lost her life because of that ‘little thing.’ What the hell do you know, you bastard… It wasn’t ‘just a little thing’ to me, you know?
But if she tried to explain, all she’d get in return was a look you give a crazy person. She kept her mouth shut and stared down at the bandage haphazardly wrapped around her fingertip.
She could hear Adrian muttering.
“She goes berserk when it’s time to fight, but she’s so precious with her own body…”
Was I just imagining the words that followed? ‘I guess her empathy only applies to herself…’ Probably just my mind playing tricks on me. After tidying up the first-aid kit and putting it back, Adrian spoke with a firm expression.
“Anyway, Senior, you have to apologize.”
“What? Why should I? Why do I have to guess what he meant when he couldn’t even explain it properly and then apologize? Why?”
“Wow, I knew it, but you have a really nasty tem—no, no…”
As she narrowed her eyes at him, Adrian shot up from his seat as if he’d had a seizure. She followed him, ducking to get through the door. It was uncomfortable enough for her; the thought of Evan, who was on the taller side, also having to bend over to get through this door was a little funny.
“Agh! This damn door… I’m gonna get it widened soon.”
“Please do. It’s a pain in the ass for us too.”
Adrian took a key from the inner pocket of his school uniform jacket and locked the door. Then he let out a short, “Ah.”
“Come to think of it, you’ll need a key too, Senior. I’ll get one copied for you soon, so just wait a bit.”
“We’re both central clubs, so why is that place over there gilded in gold while we’re living like beggars? I’m planning on staying, but I’m just curious.”
“Uh… I thought you were just a freshman who didn’t know this was an unpopular major and would apply for a transfer right away…”
As Elysia stared at the glittering door of the Student Council office across the hall with a displeased look, she noticed Adrian’s expression, which was strangely emotional, and flinched.
What’s with him? His eyes were sparkling as if someone had sprinkled glitter on them, and it was seriously annoying to look at.
“I thought even if you didn’t transfer, you’d run off to another club immediately, but to think you’d stay… You’re so loyal, Senior…!”
♥ SYSTEM: Adrian Campbellton’s Favorability +10 ♥
“Get off me, you crazy bastard.”
Elysia shoved Adrian in the chest as he tried to leap into her arms. As she cursed him out, he pouted and started struggling to fit the key into the keyhole of the doorknob, which looked like it was about to fall off.
“Ugh, it’s acting up again.”
Elysia stood next to Adrian as he kicked the door in frustration and twisted the key back and forth. Her gaze drifted to a group of students who were streaming out of the Student Council office.
The contrast was stark. They were both central clubs, both essential departments for any school, yet here one person was kicking a dilapidated door in frustration while on the other side, people came and went with their heads held high through a door someone else opened for them.
Where did this difference come from?
Just as Elysia was about to turn her head away, she froze. A chill ran down her spine, as if the tip of a blade were pointed at the back of her neck. She shuddered, then slowly raised her head to look at the other end of the hallway.
Among the many shadows, she saw a man.
She imagined the whine of a siren echoing in her ears, and the fine hairs on her body stood on end. The man’s blood-red eyes felt like they were digging into her very soul, and it made her skin crawl.
It was then that the man, who wore a mask of artificial kindness over his unpleasantness, spoke.
“So the Prefects got a new member.”
The tall, handsome man walked toward her with an elegant, unhurried pace and smiled, his eyes curving gently. He was impeccably aristocratic, but it all felt deliberate, artificial. Her body was frozen stiff, so she could only move her eyes to look up at his face.
A terrible arrogance and obsession with purity were frozen over him like a wall of ice.
“Ah, Senior Ror!”
Adrian, who had apparently managed to solve his struggle with the lock, stepped forward with a bright smile and gently pushed Elysia’s back as if to introduce her to the softly smiling man.
“Haha! We’ve got a new member now, too! Senior, say hello. This is the Student Council President.”
“Hello.”
Her confused, silver-gray eyes stared blankly at the white hand extended toward her before rolling back up to look at Ror. Her intuition was poor at reading hostility or goodwill, but she was incredibly sensitive to the unique aura a person gave off.
Completely ignoring the offered handshake, Elysia clenched her fists, which were already balled up from tension.
What is this? It was impossible for a person’s inherent vibe to be so completely fucked up. What the hell is with this guy?
“S-Senior?”
Flustered by Elysia’s behavior, which seemed to completely disregard the other party’s goodwill, Adrian tapped her on the shoulder, but she just continued to stare at the man.
What was this feeling of disgust emanating from this perfectly handsome man?
She trusted her senses, but this sudden intuition, which had appeared without any logical basis, was a bit bewildering.
Platinum blond hair, a fair face that looked like it had never known a day of hardship, and nails that were manicured to an obsessive degree. His outward appearance might seem arrogant, but not repulsive. So why?
Once again, the two pairs of eyes with their starkly contrasting hues met. The man’s expression, which had been staring into her cool gray eyes that pierced him like a spear, suddenly crumbled.
“You…”
A ragged gasp escaped the man’s throat. Adrian, who was only looking at his side profile, didn’t see it, but Elysia, who was facing him head-on, saw his horrified expression clearly.
Vicious contempt, bewilderment, anger, and hatred savaged the man’s distorted face.
The sudden loathing, as unexpected as her own intuition, felt like a slap to the face, leaving her stunned. She was sure they had never met before. When did we ever meet for him to hate me this much?
He bit his lip lightly, then seemed to come to his senses, forcing a smile as he returned to his composed demeanor.
“…Interesting. Your name?”
“Elysia Hemming.”
After Elysia managed to squeeze out a reply, he stared blankly into the air and rolled her surname around in his mouth.
“Hemming… Hemming, you say.”
His languid voice couldn't have sounded more threatening. He smiled, wearing a mask of kindness, and said something completely opposite to what the system was telling her.
“I like you. I look forward to working with you.”
♥ SYSTEM: Cain Ror’s Favorability -999 ♥
Even for someone like her, who was generally dense when it came to people’s hatred, facing a system window that went out of its way to inform her, ‘You just pissed this guy off,’ made rage well up inside her.
So what! I didn’t ask, and I don’t give a damn!
The thought of having to constantly see these favorability windows pop up was already exhausting.
She stared at the back of Cain Ror as he quickened his pace as if to get away from something filthy, and muttered.
“What the hell is this…”
Are dating sims supposed to be like this? This feels even worse than a crime game…
“Fucking hell, seriously…”
Seeing the anger flaring up in Elysia’s eyes again, Adrian grabbed her in alarm.
“Again, again, again! Seriously, what is your problem!”
“Let me go!!!”
She tried to stride forward and grab Cain but couldn’t move, letting out a frustrated shout. It was hard to take a step with a male student slightly taller than her clinging to her.
She stomped her foot irritably to tell him to let go, and Adrian yelped.
“You can’t! He’s our esteemed senior! Hitting a classmate is a fight, but hitting a senior is insubordination! And the Student Council is the one that decides the punishment for school violence!”
His voice was grating. She trembled with rage and looked at Adrian, who was still clinging to her. On and on… and on and on… Ugh, this bastard talks way too much…
“I don’t want to lose a new member to a school violence charge! Please, just hold it in, Senior!”
“That bast… No, I’m just trying to talk, just talk to him, okay? When have I ever been the one to start a fight—”
“Are you serious? Then was it someone else who tried to beat up a classmate the moment they arrived?”
She had nothing to say. Ugh, this damn hot temper of mine is hard to kill, even in a peaceful world.
In the game she came from, being hot-headed was a kind of advantage. Interrogating people and fighting criminal organizations were daily occurrences, and this fiery temper and her animal-like instincts were immensely helpful in not being looked down upon.
But here… Recalling the negative favorability window that had just appeared, she asked Adrian.
“…Do I seem really weird?”
“Uh… it’d be a little hard to call you normal, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re annoying. Get lost.”
“Huh?”
She snapped, shoving off Adrian, who was practically hanging off her shoulder, and started walking aimlessly. He shouted after her.
“Senior, do you even know the way?”
Without looking back, she flipped him the middle finger and leisurely went on her way. Adrian just shrugged nonchalantly and shouted at her retreating back.
“But your loyalty is really top-notch!”
♥ SYSTEM: Adrian Campbellton’s Favorability +10 ♥
A system window Elysia didn’t see blinked in the empty air.