Why the Solo Jealousy? (1)
Even when Eletra approached and sat beside Gilliam, the piercing stares were already sharp.
But they grew even sharper.
'That guy right now...'
'With Her Highness...'
'What the hell is he doing...?'
Eletra was renowned for her beauty.
And Maron, shunned because of her Hwanran Star, was no less stunning in pure looks—she rivaled Eletra.
The two most beautiful girls in the lecture hall now flanked Gilliam on both sides.
'What is Her Highness thinking? Is she seriously teaming up with that wastrel?'
'Trying to counter the crown prince's faction...? Or signaling she's above the power games...?'
Some pondered political motives.
'That wastrel...'
'Everchess...'
'With girls on both sides... Lucky bastard...'
'I liked him first... I liked him first...'
But plenty were just green with envy.
Especially from the guys.
An unexpected voice piped up toward Eletra.
"U-um... Ex-Excuse me... Y-You're Eletra, Her Highness... right?"
Maron's ultimate nerd-girl stammer.
Eletra shot her a less-than-friendly look.
"And you are?"
"M-Maron... Maron Clearias."
"Ah, sorry. Didn't recognize you."
A surface apology.
But the subtext? 'Who even are you? Not worth my attention.'
"...Her Highness doesn't know Liam-kun well yet, huh."
Liam-kun, emphasized.
"...Hm?"
"I sat next to Liam-kun from the very first class yesterday."
Translation: I claimed him first.
"Oh? He came to me first."
Translation: Turns out your claim likes me better.
"Plenty of people approach Her Highness."
Translation: You've got options—why steal my one and only? Who says he approached you because he 'likes' you?
"Hm... Stick your hand in the sand, and sometimes you pull out a pearl."
Translation: How many like me? And who I like? Totally separate issues.
"Hahaha..."
Maron's awkward smile.
"..."
Eletra's silent smile.
But neither pair of eyes was laughing.
A fierce battle of smiles.
Romance-fantasy staredown. Veiled barbs. A savage verbal duel.
The girl cadet seated right in front of them shrank back, fearing collateral damage.
Whispers spread among the cadets, laced with different emotions.
'Whoa...'
'Getting between those two sounds like hell.'
'Tch, maybe not so enviable after all.'
The glares at Gilliam softened from stinging to faintly pitying.
But then.
In the midst of that electric clash, Gilliam's response was...
"Yawwwn..."
A lazy yawn.
Not content with that, he stretched his arms wide, scratched his head vigorously.
"—"
"..."
Maron and Eletra both interpreted the yawn.
'H-He means stop with the pointless chatter, right?'
Maron's self-esteem was rock-bottom by default.
Lifelong outcast, her first... friend... maybe... if Liam-kun saw her that way... anyway, her one irreplaceable person.
She couldn't push forward after his hint to drop it.
And Eletra.
'...If you're gonna annoy me, just go somewhere else?'
She, too, felt oddly anxious toward Gilliam.
Strangely so.
Praising a princess was natural.
She could even bestow a minor reward if the flattery wasn't utter drivel.
Princess on top, praiser below.
But with Gilliam... maybe different.
His praise might be worth hearing again.
The two romance-fantasy heroines locked eyes.
"...Shall we prep for class?"
"Yeah. Sounds good."
One yawn sealed the ceasefire.
The softened stares sharpened anew.
'What the hell's with that guy?'
'...Kinda annoying.'
'Who does he think he is, dismissing two girls with a yawn?'
'I liked him first... I liked him first...'
Gilliam hadn't even noticed the war.
Still.
He had his own dilemma.
Maron on the left.
Eletra on the right.
He'd planned to farm points off Maron.
'This setup makes it tricky.'
One gem of wisdom from rolling femdom hellsites.
For some reason, women hate hearing you praise another woman in front of them.
'No clue why.'
Praising an enemy to piss her off? Fine.
Praise a friend to make her happy?
No?
She gets even more pissed.
Why?
Why resent your close one getting praised?
'If I knew, I'd have survived that femcel company.'
So what now?
Symmetrical Flattery
Goal: Compliment each target on either side to earn Praise Points.
Reward: 1000 Praise Points
Time Limit: 1 minute
'1 minute? Cutting it close again.'
Last sudden quest gave just 10 seconds—generous this time with two targets.
But 1000 points? Too big to ignore.
No choice.
He whispered low.
"Maron, Eletra."
"?" "???"
"Gonna alternate compliments now."
"???" "???"
Time Limit: 54 seconds
No time.
Won't nail it first try in this setup. Gotta retry fast.
"Maron."
"Y-Yes?!"
Maron blinked.
Her irises shifted from dark red to bright orange.
"Maron's eyes are pretty today too. That fresh color just lifts my mood looking at 'em."
"E-Ehehe..."
Praise Points: +50 (150 → 200)
"And Eletra."
"..."
"Pretty at night, pretty in daylight too. Suits sunlight and moonlight alike."
"..."
Praise Points: +50 (200 → 250)
'Huh?'
Reward: 1000 Praise Points granted (Balance: 1250)
No way it cleared in one go?
I figured spam random compliments within a minute.
'Whatever, success is success.'
1250 points meant eyeing 2-star skills or items.
Just picking from the shop...
'With next week's dungeon events, gotta grab one essential.'
Cross of Reverse Night
An item that amps holy mana the darker the surroundings.
'Time to prep my main weapon too.'
Astra Radius had a clear top-tier weapon.
'Factoring in the build grind...'
He looked up, met twin glares from both sides.
"..." "...'"
"...What?"
"That's it?" "Nothing more to say?"
...Want more compliments?
Fine.
"Maron, I like how diligently you got here early and waited."
"Hehehe."
Praise Points: +30 (1250 → 1280)
"Eletra, your elegant poise is great."
"..."
Praise Points: +40 (1280 → 1320)
Maron nodded with hehe yes-yes.
Eletra stayed silent.
'Whoa...'
This system—how misogynistic is it?
Compliment a girl, points duplicate...
But then.
"And?" "That's all?"
Problem found.
Running out of compliment fodder.
'What if I repeat similar ones?'
"And... Maron, your eyes are still a sight. That yellow now is pretty too."
"Yes, hehe."
Praise Points: +20 (1320 → 1340)
"Eletra looks good in the sunlight too."
"..."
Praise Points: +20 (1340 → 1360)
Both gave points, but less.
'Familiarity dulled the joy?'
Rule 1: Praise Points scale with target's joy.
'Makes sense.'
Same praise repeatedly? Pleasant, but no first-hit dopamine rush.
'Two fixes then.'
One: Keep finding fresh praise angles.
Two: Keep finding new girls.
'Tch. If the system wasn't so anti-male, I'd praise everyone evenly.'
No helping it.
'Gotta meet as many girls as possible and compliment away.'
Life ain't easy.
But when the world itself nerfs you, what can ya do?
"...Done flirting, Cadet Gilliam?"
The professor had entered while he pondered.
Unfortunately, not a charmer like Professor Cardisha—just a balding old man.
Name was Orh, probably.
"Heh, women are all gold-diggers at heart anyway."
Potbellied, balding, nasty personality—zero credibility, but Orh seemed dead serious. Or brainwashed himself into it.
"No matter how prim they act, show 'em a richer man than their husband, and they pounce. Brains wired that way."
Orh tapped his head. Dandruff flew.
"That's why I'm unmarried."
Couldn't? Not chose?
"Living with the inferior sex just drags my life down."
Looked 100% like couldn't.
"Ah... yes, all done, Professor Orh. Please start class."
Orh's face flushed beet-red with rage.
'Wow.'
That furious over kids not focusing?
True teacher.
"Sorry. During class, I'll minimize talk with the girls on either side. Got it? No clinging, no whispering, no ear-leaning. That's to both of you."
Professor Orh's fists began to tremble.