The Young Lady Weak to Praise
"Huh? Are you ignoring me right now? Does your master look like an idiot to you?"
Haha, that foul temper of hers. It was a scene I'd seen every day, but facing her directly and getting cursed out by my favorite character… Honestly, I wasn't thinking anything else. I was just really glad to see her. 'Is this what it feels like to meet family you lost as a kid…?' Yeah, maybe this was what those family reunion broadcasts on TV used to look like.
"Ha, you fucking bastard. Now you're even ignoring what I'm saying and acting like a complete moron…"
…Of course, the family member I'd met had quite the foul mouth. That ferocious look was just a mask. Once we slowly got closer and our hearts connected, Violet would say kind and cute things too. This time, we'd just take it slow and get closer, right?
"Hey, what's got you grinning like an idiot? Did you lose your mind because your master treats you well?"
Violet looked annoyed that I kept spacing out. She stood on her tiptoes, grabbed me by the collar, and shook me around. Even if this world had no labor laws, this was a bit much. Well, at least she wasn't slapping my cheeks—that was a small mercy. Her actions made her seem furious, but she wasn't actually that angry. When she was truly mad, she got far more vicious. And there was one surefire way to calm the young lady the moment she tried to go into savage beast mode.
"I must have lost my composure because you looked especially beautiful today. I sincerely apologize, my lady."
A direct, no-holds-barred compliment attack.
"Wh-what…?"
Most people didn't approach Violet. So no one ever complimented her either. If you asked why they avoided her, the answer was obvious, wasn't it? Who would willingly get close to a young lady who cursed every day and committed all sorts of misdeeds? Violet tried to push people away. She didn't want to show her wounds, and she hated hearing about other people's stories. But if you asked whether she disliked interacting with people…
"…What the hell are you saying! Are you actually insane?"
Well, her reaction right now made it clear, didn't it? Violet liked affection and attention too. She was no different from other girls her age who got easily embarrassed and happy from praise. 'It was impossible in the game, but… I guess it's possible here.'
In the game, the dialogue choices were fixed, so you couldn't compliment her at the start. You had to raise her affection first before you could praise her. Almost no one endured Violet's tyranny long enough to build that affection and compliment her, so very few people knew she was weak to praise. But if you knew that weakness, compliments became the most reliable weapon to handle her. And right now, since this was reality without fixed dialogue choices, I was freely using a weapon that was normally only available in the late-game stages after high affection.
"I-I'll let it slide for today! Hurry up and come out, then follow me!"
As expected, Violet's face turned bright red before she bolted out of the room with quick footsteps. Yeah, that was the reaction I wanted. Her flustered response was exactly the same as in the game. It brought back memories. From what Violet said, what I had to do seemed roughly the same as when I'd played the game. One of the butlers assisting Violet Floyd. Since Sebastian Floyd was the identity I'd mainly used in the game, the creator had at least prepared a decent background for me. With this, I could manage without any issues… 'No, wait… I was kidnapped in the first place…'
I shouldn't thank the creator. They were the kidnapper who dragged me into this strange world…! Still, maybe I could be just a little grateful that they let me meet Violet in person. I straightened my suit and tie, which had gotten crooked from Violet shaking me.
"The academy, huh… I hate that place because there are too many lunatics there…"
Being told to assist Violet meant I had to go to the academy with her. In other words, I had to set foot in Starlight Academy, the center stage where all sorts of incidents happened and the origin of the game's title. 'Well, I'd already done this plenty of times while playing the game…' But I had no idea what I'd do if I actually had to face all the disasters waiting there. I couldn't use combos like spamming flat-hit rolling items like in the game. I'd be lucky if I didn't get instantly killed like some extra.
"Hmm… Still, I guess there's no helping it…"
Well, dealing with those monsters was part of my job anyway. The creator had told me to catch the Demon Kings and offer them to some altar. 'That means I can't escape the academy, the core of the story.' So I'd have to handle all the minor incidents that happened at the academy myself. Either avoid them skillfully or… In the end, didn't that mean I'd have to push through the story and defeat the Demon Kings just like I did in the game?
"Haa…"
I sighed for a moment, but soon forced myself to accept it. With my current situation, I had no choice but to try whatever came my way. Letting out another sigh, I opened the door to the butler's room, painted black, and slowly stepped outside. I'd been thinking for too long. It was time to head to the academy. Well, surely nothing would happen on the very first day, right?
***
I couldn't breathe. It really felt like I was about to suffocate and die. In the game, these passing scenes were either handled with a few lines of dialogue or skipped entirely, so I hadn't known. Riding in the magic carriage alone with the young lady was far more burdensome than I'd imagined. 'But the principle is that a magic carriage is meant for four people…?'
The young lady and three butlers. That was the basic rule for a noble young lady riding a carriage. The reasons were obvious—her safety, security, convenience, and various other issues. But right now, she'd completely ignored all that, and not only was she riding with just the two of us, she was… 'Please, say something! Why do you keep staring at me like that?'
She hadn't said a single word. She was just staring at me with a face full of irritation. Violet was the type to speak her mind freely when she had something to say, so the fact that she was just silently staring made me even more nervous. We weren't even halfway there yet, and I was already worried about how much time was left until we reached the academy…
"Hey, you."
At that moment, as if trying to break the silence that had lasted for several minutes, Violet spoke to me.
"Yes, my lady. Is there something making you uncomfortable?"
I'd been desperately waiting for this silence to end, so I answered with a bright smile. The young lady frowned deeply, as if she didn't like that either, and carefully spoke.
"You… that… what you said earlier…"
What I'd said earlier? I put on the most confused expression I could manage, as if wondering what special thing I'd said.
"What are you referring to?"
"No, that… you know… what you said…"
I was playing dumb, but I knew exactly why she was acting like this. I wasn't some frustrating web novel protagonist. It had to be because I'd called her pretty earlier. I'd already sensed it from the moment we got into the carriage together. "I don't really know what you mean… Did I do something wrong with my work and get scolded for it?"
But why was I playing dumb? "Ugh… ughhh…!" Because it was cute. The young lady's reaction was fun too. Teasing someone who wasn't honest was the most entertaining thing in the world. Violet huffed and cleared her throat before returning to her usual cold voice and speaking to me.
"…You said I was pretty. Was that for real, you bastard?"
Of course, her eyes looked like she was hoping for a slightly good answer, and her hands were restlessly tapping her knees, as if she couldn't control them due to tension. Fortunately, since this was before Violet had completely blackened, she was still quite soft. I smiled in gratitude toward the creator for at least placing me in a decent time period and spoke to the young lady.
"Of course. In my eyes, you seem to be the prettiest among everyone at the academy."
"…!"
The moment she heard my words, Violet flinched in surprise and quickly turned her head away. It was obvious she was trying to suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward. '…What the hell have I been doing all this time?' In the game, I'd had to struggle through all sorts of hardships to raise her affection just to compliment her. But with one compliment calling her pretty at this early stage, she was this happy…? Thinking about how I'd worked like a dog in the game to raise her affection before I could even say one compliment made me feel incredibly annoyed. I'd thought she liked compliments because her affection was already high, but it turned out Violet herself just liked being praised?
"Hey, you…"
At that moment, Violet fanned her face with her hand and spoke to me. What was she going to say now? I looked straight ahead with a slight smile, signaling that I was listening.
"You… don't tell me you like me?"
"Yes?"
As if responding to my direct compliment attack, I'd been hit by the young lady's ultra-direct carpet bombing.