Episode 9
Translator: RaidenTL
Episode 9
When was the last time I’d heard an apology? I couldn’t even remember. It was probably before I got trapped in this game. It felt like a past life, that’s how long ago it was.
I was used to dealing with bastards who’d kill someone and then stand there defiantly asking what they did wrong, swinging a knife while insisting, ‘This isn’t my fault, it’s this rotten world’s fault.’
Far from demanding an apology from criminals, I was too busy snarling, ‘It’s not the world that’s rotten, it’s your damn head.’
Contrary to his helpless expression, his green eyes were utterly serious. As Elysia met Evan’s gaze, a laugh escaped her, like air hissing out.
The hand that had been hovering, ready to grab a potion bottle from the desk and bash his head in, froze. The fighting spirit that had been surging inside her fizzled out in an instant. Realizing this, Elysia was amazed.
Wow, my will to fight just vanished. That’s a first since I got trapped in this game.
Elysia found herself re-learning what the word ‘sorry’ even looked like.
“I apologize for treating you with prejudice simply because I dislike you.”
“…This easily? But you said you hate me!”
The man with the calm, green eyes replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“My dislike for you and the fact that I wronged you should be two separate things.”
I don’t know about this guy’s favorability score, but mine definitely just went up! At his surprisingly sensible words, I could feel the layers of resentment I’d built up instantly melt away.
After a long moment of hesitation, he stammered at Elysia, who was just looking up at him without a word.
“I’m… particularly sensitive when it comes to drugs. I’ve seen so, so many… incidents… I suppose my reason was clouded. I apologize again. I’m sorry.”
“Is there any part of you that isn’t sensitive?”
It was a prickly remark, practically picking a fight, but to her surprise, he burst out laughing. So he knew how to laugh?
Seeing the stunned look on her face, he laughed again, as if to say, ‘I know what you’re thinking.’
“There is. It’s just that from our very first meeting, you’ve had a knack for poking every one of my sore spots, so I never got the chance to show you…”
♥ SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester’s Favorability +30
Current Favorability: -20 ♥
She considered mentioning the reason he’d disliked her from the start—her own careless remark about him ‘looking like a soldier’—but she held her tongue. Things had thawed between them, but his favorability was still below zero. It was too soon to bring that up.
♥ SYSTEM: The ‘Let’s Get Closer’ event has been cleared! You have gained 140 favorability with Evan Sylvester. Keep up the good work capturing his heart! ♥
She discreetly reached for the doorknob behind her and gave it a turn. It rotated smoothly without catching. Wow, I actually managed to escape the locked room.
The system probably wanted some kind of heart-pounding physical contact, but doing that with this guy? He’d probably puke. This was as far as I was willing to go.
Elysia pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a low groan.
“…Alright.”
“Hm?”
“I won’t press you on why you hate me. You look like you’re about to collapse every time the subject comes up. If my first words hurt you for whatever reason, then I apologize, too. I’m sorry.”
♥ SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester’s Favorability +10
Current Favorability: -10 ♥
She was a little taken aback by how quickly his favorability was rising, but only for a moment. It made sense that once the misunderstanding was cleared, the negative feelings would dissipate just as quickly.
She shrugged and continued.
“So, we’ll just let that reason go. Are we clear on all the misunderstandings?”
“I think so.”
“Then I’ll be going. I don’t care if you keep hating me, but let’s just try not to get on each other’s nerves.”
Just as she was about to leave the infirmary, maintaining her blunt attitude, an equally straightforward voice spoke.
“…Thank you for understanding.”
♥ SYSTEM: Evan Sylvester’s Favorability +10
Current Favorability: 0 ♥
She’d never been so happy to see the number zero. He didn’t particularly like her, but he didn’t dislike her either. She was perfectly content with this lukewarm temperature.
Turning around with a small spin, Elysia met his eyes and asked with a smile.
“By the way, those guys I caught doing drugs—I can bust them using my prefect authority, right?”
Get screwed over and just walk away? Not a chance. She was planning to hunt those druggies down and make them pay, one way or another.
*
“That’s up to you, but wouldn’t it be better to start after you get a general overview of the school at the end of the day?”
He had a point. The human heart was a strange thing. Who would have thought that after clearing the air with a guy whose every word had previously annoyed her, she’d find herself nodding along, thinking, ‘Every single word you say is absolutely right.’
She decided to start by finding and reading the books related to the research she would be assisting Adrian with. After asking several students for directions, she finally arrived at the library.
The pillars supporting the impossibly high ceiling were, in fact, living trees. When she tilted her head back to look up, she saw a canopy of lush green leaves.
“Are you done sightseeing? Can you tell me what book you’re looking for?”
“Oh, I don’t have a specific book in mind. I was just wondering where the chemistry books are.”
“Straight ahead, then right at the fourth bookshelf.”
Elysia took the yellowed slip of paper that was abruptly handed to her and bowed her head with a bewildered expression. The wrinkled old librarian gave her a once-over with a stern eye before starting to clatter away at his typewriter again.
The note listed various basic chemistry textbooks. So he’s grumpy but good at his job?
Following the librarian’s directions, she found a shabby door leading to a new archive. A nameplate read, ‘Science and Astrology, and Other Miscellany.’ Considering that and the fact that the chemistry department was undersubscribed, it seemed science was a discipline looked down upon in this world.
…For someone like her, who was used to the old saying, ‘Sorry for being a liberal arts major,’ this world was a breath of fresh air.
“A, B, C, D… eight hundred…”
While searching for the books on her list, Elysia spotted a head of pure white, platinum blonde hair sitting in a corner of the archive and froze as if struck by lightning.
The unblemished white fingers that had been turning the pages of a book stopped. A pair of crimson eyes, previously hidden by a blue cover, met hers.
Cain glanced from her face to the book in his hands, then back again. Elysia stared into his eyes, which were hazy as if in a dream. But she couldn’t fathom his intentions. Her mind raced.
‘Why does he keep staring at me?’
This was the man whose favorability had plummeted to an extreme -999. She had no idea what she’d done to earn his contempt on sight, but she was someone who could view herself objectively.
With her rough way of speaking and her quick fists, she was a terrible fit for this world. So, in a way, it was natural for him to dislike her.
But such an extreme change in attitude was not natural, and it was unnerving.
As if discovering her was a fascinating event, the man’s eyes curved into a smile, and he spoke in a languid voice.
“…Hello.”
A shiver ran down her spine. Her instincts screamed. Something is wrong with this man. He’s dangerous.
She completely ignored Cain’s voice and immediately turned her back to walk away. He was someone she didn’t even want to be in the same room with. She wanted nothing to do with a shady bastard who reeked of something foul despite his handsome face.
Her only evidence was her gut feeling, but considering the unparalleled sense of dread she’d felt the moment their eyes met, this revulsion was only natural.
She reached the archive’s exit and stretched her hand toward the doorknob. At that very moment—
♥ SYSTEM: ‘Let’s Get Closer’ event has occurred! ((っ´ω`)♥(´ω`⊂ )) Ba-dump, ba-dump! Spend some time with him in the locked room and raise your favorability! The exit will open when your favorability increases! ♥
“Oh for fuck’s sake, you crazy bastard… Don’t do this…”
Goddammit, why does this event always trigger at the worst possible fucking time?
Click, clatter, rattle. The quiet but desperate, rapid sounds of the doorknob turning echoed through the silent archive.
Hearing Cain’s footsteps slowly approaching from behind, Elysia flinched involuntarily. A hand reached out from behind her, brushed past her cheek, and then settled over her own hand on the doorknob.
I felt the blood drain from my face. The man must have felt her body tense up from the chilling cold, because she heard him let out a soft, mocking laugh.
Elysia barely managed to control her trembling jaw and forced the words out.
“It’s lock—”
The moment the man’s hand touched hers, the door creaked open. Frowning, she tried to turn and look at the man standing behind her.
But by the time she lifted her head, Cain had already left the archive. Elysia frantically looked around for the system window.
♥ SYSTEM: The ‘Let’s Get Closer’ event has been cleared! You have gained +999 favorability with Cain Ror. Keep up the good work capturing his heart! ♥
Elysia recalled the intense red gaze that had traced her features and managed to move her frozen body, leaning against a bookshelf for support. Every detail of the scene was seared into her mind, impossible to forget.
Those red eyes staring at her, the interest swirling within them. The fingers holding the blue book had been curled tight with excessive excitement.
And the coldness of his hand on hers, the numbers that swung to wild extremes. Everything was so sudden, so absurd.
Her mind felt blank, as if she’d hit her head on something.