Totally Close, Aren't We?
This was a perfectly close relationship, wasn’t it?
“Did you mess up because you were nervous? Try again.”
“Y-Yes. Teacher.”
The arrow flew once more.
But nothing struck the target.
“…Did he really copy the archery talent?”
Anin’s doubt was perfectly reasonable.
“Y-Yes, I did. B-But something feels weird. Uh… how was I supposed to use a bow again?”
Watching the protagonist flounder, I wore the same baffled expression.
What the hell? Why can’t the protagonist use a bow all of a sudden?
I ran through the information again.
The protagonist possesses a copy ability. He copies the talents of heroines who fulfill certain conditions and uses them as his own. He himself has no idea what those specific conditions are. Any reader of the novel, though, can guess them easily enough.
That condition is…
Affection…
A heroine developing feelings for the protagonist. Once she does, her talent is copied. The higher her affection climbs, the more proficient he becomes with that talent. That is how the system works.
The reason the protagonist started with archery talent in the first place was because his childhood friend Reina liked him.
But the fact that he can no longer use it means…
“Ah.”
So that’s it.
By possessing Reina, I erased the affection she once held for him. I don’t particularly like the protagonist, so the condition is no longer met. Of course he can’t use archery anymore.
“…I’ll treat this as you not having copied any talent yet.”
“…Yes.”
The protagonist answered Anin in a lifeless voice.
Seat assignments were finished.
I ended up in the very last seat of the second row—exactly middle rank.
And the protagonist…
The very last seat of the fourth row.
In other words, dead last.
He didn’t manage a single thing, so of course.
Knowing the protagonist was bound to come last, I had no choice but to give the archery test everything I had. If only to put as much distance as possible between us.
I… got better results than in the original.
After the possession I hadn’t done a thing. No special training, nothing.
The skill I showed today must simply be the power Reina originally possessed.
As a proper heroine she naturally had decent talent. It just got buried in the original story because the protagonist needed to shine. Reina herself preferred letting him use his strength rather than stepping forward.
Reina was timid.
So she never brought out her full ability. Unless the protagonist was in danger, she always ended up the captured heroine or the dead weight.
…I am never living like that.
Getting captured means putting yourself in that much danger. And I have zero desire to rely on a protagonist who no longer even has archery—who is practically useless now.
“Haah…”
The protagonist is useless…
Then how the hell are the upcoming incidents supposed to get resolved?
If the protagonist doesn’t act, my peaceful academy life is going to collapse.
The problem wasn’t only that the protagonist had become useless.
Lunchtime.
Tray piled high, I sat alone far from the protagonist and watched the scene unfold.
The early part of the novel is driven by the clash between the noble classmates and the commoner protagonist.
And the central figure in that conflict is that red-haired boy over there—Zen.
This exact moment was the historic starting point of their feud. Zen begins their bad blood by flipping the protagonist’s tray just to pick a fight.
So when Zen walked toward the protagonist I relaxed.
But then—
Why the hell…
When Zen sat down across from him and started eating, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
Why isn’t he flipping the tray?
Worse, Zen was chatting with the protagonist like they were old friends. Anyone looking would have thought they were close.
…Is it because the protagonist became useless after all?
Is there no forced plot armor left?
“Ah. Reina! So this is where you were.”
Ceryll appeared out of nowhere and plopped down across from me. I had deliberately chosen a corner seat—how did she even find me?
“…There are plenty of other seats.”
“But the seat across from Reina is only this one, isn’t it?”
Well… that was true.
“Reina, you eat a lot more than you look like you would.”
Ceryll eyed the mountain of rice on my tray.
“…Not as much as you.”
I glanced at the chicken stacked all the way up to Ceryll’s forehead. Can that even fit?
“I’m bigger than Reina, so of course I eat more.”
“No matter what, I’m still bigger than you.”
“Hm?”
Ceryll gave me a look that clearly said what are you talking about. That expression snapped me right back to reality.
Ah. I’m Reina now.
Reina was one of the shortest among the heroines.
“…I want to grow tall, so I’m going to eat a lot.”
I said it and shoved sausage and rice into my mouth.
“Reina likes Eastern food too, huh. Same as me.”
Ceryll smiled while poking at her bean rice.
Ugh, bean rice.
More importantly—was there even a setting that Ceryll likes Eastern food?
“Among them I like gimbap and rolled omelette the most.”
Ceryll talked a lot. Yet the enormous pile on her tray disappeared at an impressive speed. That was something else.
Anyway…
I’m full.
Reina’s small frame couldn’t take much food. I wanted to force more down, but something genuinely felt like it was about to come back up, so I stopped.
The real problem was—
…If I leave leftovers I have to pay a fine, right?
One of the academy’s rules: take only what you can eat. Leftovers mean a fine.
I’d seen similar warning signs back in Korea. Those had just been empty threats that were never enforced. Here it was different. They actually took the money. And not a small amount either.
I’m already broke as a commoner…
No money, and now more of it gets taken? Absolutely not.
What do I do…
While I fretted, Ceryll suddenly opened her mouth wide.
“Aah~.”
“…What are you doing?”
“Hm? I’m waiting for Reina to put the food in my mouth.”
“What?”
Why would I do something like that…
“I can still eat more.”
Ceryll said it with a bright smile. Only then did I understand her intention.
She’s offering to eat it for me.
I picked up my chopsticks and placed one sausage on her tray.
“If you don’t feed me yourself I won’t eat it for you.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
“…It’s not like you don’t have hands and feet.”
“I guess I was being too nosy then.”
Scrape.
Ceryll stood up with her tray. She moved so slowly it felt like deliberate provocation.
I’m leaving. Are you really okay with that?
That was the clear message. Her intention was obvious, yet I caved in the end. Money was precious.
“Here.”
I pinched a sausage with the chopsticks and held it out. Ceryll smiled and sat back down. The sausage disappeared into her mouth. Thankfully it was a perfect one-bite size.
“Delicious.”
She smiled again and opened her mouth once more. I repeated the process, feeding her the remaining sausages one by one.
“Of course it’s delicious. A chef born with cooking talent made it.”
“That’s part of it, but I think it tastes even better because someone is feeding me.”
Ceryll narrowed her eyes and smiled. The look was sexy and simultaneously irritating.
“There. All done.”
I popped the last sausage into her mouth and stood up.
Eventually dismissal time arrived.
And in the meantime the protagonist and Zen had become perfect best friends. They got along so well I almost thought Zen was the childhood friend instead of Reina. The two of them even left school together—that said everything.
“No. My eyes must be deceiving me… Yeah… That’s got to be it.”
I was muttering to myself when—
“Reina.”
Something touched my shoulder.
“Aaaah!”
I screamed before I could stop myself. My heart nearly dropped out of my chest.
“Ceryll?”
“Reina, aren’t you overreacting a little?”
“…It’s your fault.”
I glared at her resentfully. Ceryll pressed her palms together in apology.
“Sorry.”
“…As long as you know.”
Part of it was also because my attention had been elsewhere. Anyway, time to leave. I had zero desire to linger in the classroom after academy was over. I was about to head straight for the dorms when—
Hm?
I kept hearing footsteps. Looking back, of course Ceryll was right there.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m following Reina.”
“…Why?”
“Because I want to walk home together.”
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I shook my head.
“…I don’t want to.”
“Eh? Why not?”
The plot had already gone seriously off the rails, but it still wasn’t irreversible. Keeping distance from both the protagonist and Ceryll was still the smart move.
“…Just because.”
“Don’t be like that. Let’s go together.”
Ceryll strode right up and linked her arm through mine. Being girls seemed to erase any hesitation about skinship.
“…I said I don’t want to.”
I carefully extracted myself from her soft body and broke into a run as if fleeing.
“Let’s go together, Reina.”
Ceryll chased me the whole way regardless. Since I had no chance of outrunning her, I eventually gave up and settled for walking. Naturally she fell into step right beside me.
“…Don’t link arms.”
That was my compromise.
“Oh, so you’re embarrassed about linking arms.”
Ceryll’s teasing tone made me start to reply, then I stopped. Arguing would only tire me out.
…We eat lunch together, walk to and from school together.
This is totally a close relationship, isn’t it?
No. No way.
Ceryll and I are not close. Not close at all.
I was busy brainwashing myself when a voice reached me.
“That commoner… walking home with Lady Ceryll…! When did she get so close to Lady Ceryll! Uuugh! I’m so jealous!”
It was the slap girl, chewing on her handkerchief as she spoke.
No matter how hard I insisted to myself otherwise, in everyone else’s eyes we clearly looked close.