Compliment Barrage in a Romance Fantasy (4)
Truth be told, Maron's first impression of Gilliam had not been a good one.
Just as the rumors said. A real delinquent…
First day. First class.
While everyone else clustered together in little groups, already building the connections that would carry them through academy life, Gilliam was face-down on a desk, sound asleep.
In the very back row. Alone.
It was the posture of a man practically shouting, I have zero intention of taking academy life seriously.
And yet.
The place Maron chose to sit was right beside him.
I'm a loner anyway.
Wandering over to those chatty little circles would only make her solitude feel sharper. And maybe—just maybe—if she went over and talked to him, he wouldn't turn out to be a bad person after all.
Irises that shifted color with every flicker of emotion.
The mark of the curse and the blessing Maron Clearias carried inside her.
Because of them, she had never once managed a proper human relationship.
Maybe two loners could get along just fine…
With that selfish little hope tucked against her heart, she sat down beside him and pushed herself to call out, in her friendliest voice, "Liam."
"Miss Maron, your eyes are really beautiful."
A sudden, baffling compliment out of nowhere.
At first she assumed it had to be an insult.
—Maron… your eyes are so unusual.
—Your eyes… look interesting.
Words she had heard a thousand times.
Praise on the lips.
Contempt in the eyes.
Hostility. Rejection.
The elegant hostility of the nobility.
Of course she thought Gilliam meant the same thing.
"There was no hidden meaning in what I just said."
He told her he meant it. Looking her straight in the eyes, face endlessly serious.
"Miss Maron. I think those eyes of yours are as charming as they are unique."
Words she had never heard in her life.
Sparks went off inside Maron's head. Her mind went white, leaving only a pleasant, floating sensation behind.
And he didn't stop there. He kept the compliments coming, leaning gradually closer as he spoke.
Too close! You're too close!
Until that moment, Maron had never thought of Gilliam as particularly handsome.
His features were fine enough, but his gaze had always been as dull as a dead fish's, and the whole aura around him had been gloomy and heavy.
All of those flaws vanished at once.
His eyes were clear and upright now, as if his very soul had been swapped out—focused, bright, alive.
And then—
I-Is Liam this good-looking…?
The looks that had been buried under a rotten soul finally recovered their light.
Mysterious silver-gray hair.
Eyes the color of sweet honey, the kind you could fall into if you stared too long.
"I think your eyes are truly beautiful."
Maron's heart gave a single hard thump.
And from the next beat onward, it raced faster than it ever had before.
Why am I like this…!?
It was hot. Something searing was rising up from deep in her chest.
If no one else had been around, Maron would have been pressing both hands to her face, panting through deliberate breaths, and making all sorts of strange little noises. But she couldn't, so it all piled up inside her instead.
I feel like I'm going to explode…!
Gilliam Everchess.
Why was that infamous delinquent acting like this?
Don't tell me he decided to turn over a new leaf starting today?
Whatever the reason, the present version of him was clearly better than the old one… or so she thought.
Until she realized the truth.
The compliments aimed at her had been nothing more than a gentle breeze before the storm.
"Isn't it true that you, Professor, refuse to tolerate injustice—and that even if someone tried to pressure you into grade-fixing, you would never go along with it?"
"G-Gilliam!"
When Professor Kadisha cried out, Maron was screaming the same thing on the inside.
Gilliam!? What on earth are you saying right now!?
She glanced toward the students who belonged to the crown prince's faction. Sure enough, they were glaring daggers at him.
What are you thinking!? They're going to come after you and flatten you for this!
And, just as Maron had predicted—
"In this afternoon's mock duels, I will nominate you."
See!?
They were determined to make sure Liam could never show his face at the academy again!
And yet Gilliam himself looked completely unbothered.
Maron was dying of worry!
Huh…?
Why was she this worried about this man in the first place?
Coldly speaking, the two of them had only met today. And even more coldly speaking, what Maron ought to be doing right now was putting as much distance between herself and Gilliam as humanly possible.
He had just single-handedly picked a fight with the academy's most powerful faction.
If she didn't want to get dragged into it, she needed to walk away—now.
She should have. She really should have.
—I truly think your eyes are beautiful.
That one compliment had lodged itself deep in Maron's chest and refused to come free.
A fish that had swallowed the hook. A deer caught in a snare.
And Maron, who had been praised.
Caught.
Ah!
Maybe Liam had some kind of plan?
Well, of course he did. He must have thought this through before stirring up something this big.
"Maron, sorry, but I need to ask you for one favor."
Of course. I'll do it. So go on—tell me your secret plan, Liam!
"From now until the mock duels start, I want you to spend every break alone with me somewhere no one else is around."
"………Pardon?"
Maron seriously considered running for it right then and there.
"We're short on time. Is there somewhere nearby with no people—just the two of us?"
What was this man?
Was he simply insane?
It was a surprisingly persuasive theory.
But if that were true, then Maron herself had clearly gone mad too—because instead of fleeing from Gilliam, she grabbed his sleeve and stood up.
The stares of every student in the lecture hall burned against her skin. She ducked her head and hunched her shoulders.
Even so, she did not let go of his sleeve.
The thought that Liam might praise her again made it impossible to release her grip.
Somewhere Liam and I can be alone…
Maron herself had only arrived at the academy a few days earlier. She racked her brains as hard as she could.
A place students almost never visit… Ah!
A location surfaced in her mind.
"Follow me!"
They left the corridor and climbed two flights of stairs, heading for a place far enough from the lecture halls that students had no reason to go there.
"H-Here! No one will come here!"
Gilliam stopped short in front of the entrance.
"Wait, this is—"
"It's fine! There's nobody here but us anyway!"
She pulled. Gilliam was weak enough that he had no choice but to be dragged along.
Into a clean space that smelled faintly of disinfectant.
And just to be safe, she pulled him into an inner stall, locked the door, and only then lifted her head with proud confidence.
"Well? Perfect, right?"
Maron's eyes sparkled. Her irises shifted to a fresh, lively green with anticipation.
She had no idea, but she looked exactly like a large dog wagging its tail in hope of praise.
Large was the right word, too.
Especially regarding the two considerable shapes on her chest, among other things.
Gilliam, however, wore a thoroughly troubled expression.
"…It's true there probably won't be anyone else around."
Clean.
Disinfectant.
Individual stalls set further in.
"But that doesn't mean you get to drag me into the women's restroom."
"…."
"…."
"…Ah."
Maron's face went red all over again.
Guts: five stars, huh.
Hmm.
Somehow that tracked. Yes. This was peak five-star guts energy in every possible way.
No helping it.
There wasn't time to find somewhere else now.
"Let's just get this over with quickly."
"When you put it like that in this situation, it sounds… weird…"
"Is there something you want me to compliment you on?"
"I have to say it myself…!?"
Maron's irises turned orange.
"A-Anything is fine, so just… anything…"
"Anything? Really?"
"Yeees…"
Coming right up, Miss Maron—your order of anything.
"Our Maron has such big, pretty breasts. They're really nice to look at."
"Have you actually lost your mind!?!?"
The target felt a slight discomfort.
Compliment Points: −1(449 → 448)
Yeah, fair. Ordering "anything" and getting yuzu tea with whipped cream on top was on me.
But the penalty was only one point?
Why?
Don't tell me mild sexual harassment is free when it's aimed at me?
Nah. No way.
Maron stamped her feet in place.
"Something other than that… something… more normal. You must have normal compliments too."
Her eyes, maybe.
The source of her deepest trauma—her eyes, maybe.
But how am I supposed to say that out loud when it's so embarrassing!
Naming what you wanted was vulgar. Unbefitting of a noble.
That was how Maron had been raised.
So she couldn't say it. Instead, she slowly blinked her eyes.
And to send an even clearer signal, she leaned her face in closer—
Ah. He's handsome.
Her mind went blank.
He looked even better up close.
She was only just realizing what a good-looking face Gilliam had.
"Hey, break's going to be over at this rate."
"My eyes! Please compliment my eyes!"
"…Maron, your eyes are really beautiful."
"Haaahh…!"
The target felt joy.
Compliment Points: +20(448 → 468)
Good. Only thirty-two points left now.
At this rate, two more and I'll hit five hundred.
That was when someone entered the restroom.
"!?"
Translation: You said no one comes here!
"!?!?"
Translation: I thought no one would! I'm so sorry!!
They locked eyes, but it was already too late. Both of them held their breath.
"Haa…"
A woman's sigh.
And somehow, it sounded familiar.
No way.
He peeked through the gap in the door and caught a glimpse of silver hair shot through with blue.
Professor Kadisha.
"What on earth was Gilliam thinking… I was happy, but…"
"…."
"…."
His eyes met Maron's.
Looking at her irises, now a murky gray, he was fairly sure she was praying for the exact same thing he was.
Please, Professor—don't notice us. Just leave.