The Plan (3)

Well, well. Long time no see.

The face Lucy was introducing as their newest club member was one I knew all too well. After all, he was a demon I'd killed more times than I could count in the game.

Felix.

A deranged demon who'd fallen for Lucy at first sight and snuck his way into Victoria Academy. You might mistake him for some devoted, one-woman romantic. You'd be wrong. This bastard wasn't here for love — he was here for rape-murder. An irredeemable piece of garbage, consumed by the desire to violate Lucy and then kill her.

I'd originally planned to cut him out as fast as possible. Then a better idea hit me.

I'll use this bastard for the route.

In the game, the instant Lucy got kidnapped was a bad ending. There was no event where you swooped in and saved her from danger. All the protagonist could do was expose Felix's identity as a demon before anything happened — once Lucy had gotten reasonably close to him — and stop it in advance.

But this was reality now, and I could steer the flow of events however I wanted.

"Oh, right! I was thinking of taking him on as a new member, so I called you over to get your opinion. What do you think? He looks like a sweetheart, doesn't he?"

Judging by how bright Lucy's face was, this wasn't their first meeting. They'd already gotten somewhat close. Perfect. That would only make things easier.

Time for Lee Hoyeon, the bad boy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lucy had a thing for, to make his long-awaited return.

"I don't like him."

The club room fell dead silent at the words I delivered with a smile, locking eyes with Felix. Lucy and Rumi, in particular, just blinked at me, completely at a loss for how to handle a stunt they hadn't seen coming in a million years.

I dropped the smile and added one more thing.

"You. It's obvious you came here for Lucy and Rumi. Get lost while I'm still asking nicely."

Lucy and Rumi hadn't noticed, but I hadn't taken my eyes off Felix from the moment I walked into the club room. His expression hardened for a fraction of a second, then smoothed back over.

Let's see how he plays this.

Felix hesitated, then shot to his feet.

"I-I'm sorry.... I didn't think you'd hate it this much. I was just sitting here being totally oblivious.... I'll get going!"

With a clattering crash, Felix bolted from the club room in a noisy, stumbling rush. I watched him go without a flicker of emotion.

I'll give him this — the acting is good.

The way he tore out of there with actual tears welling up, you'd swear he'd genuinely been hurt. Anyone who didn't know better would fall for that performance without a second thought.

Lucy, for instance.

"What... the hell was that?!"

She'd sat there watching the whole thing unfold, and the second Felix slammed out of the club room she snapped back to herself and rounded on me.

"Why— why would you do that? Did you actually think that kid came here to go after us? Even if you really didn't like him, you could've at least said it nicely. Why would you..."

Lucy poured the words out in a rush, like she genuinely couldn't understand. Fair enough. Objectively speaking, I did look like the asshole here — like I'd just kicked out some innocent kid.

Even accounting for that, though, her reaction was way more intense than I'd expected. I glanced around the room.

My Mana Sensitivity had picked something up. There was a patch of alien mana somewhere nearby. The flower vase sitting on the desk — filthy, vile demonic mana was seeping out of it.

So he slapped a cheap little spell on it.

Anything stronger and Lucy and Rumi would've sensed it themselves. He'd gone with something small, just enough to prod at their emotions. Magic on that level was well below what either of them could detect.

Snatching the vase and walking out with it would look suspicious, and besides — the more worked up Lucy got, the more she turned against me, the better this played in my favor. I decided to leave it and carried on like nothing was wrong.

"What are you talking about? You can't tell just by looking at him? He came here to go after you. Or Rumi."

I wasn't about to lose an acting contest to a demon, so I poured everything I had into looking thoroughly exasperated.

"No, you— god. Wait. Is that what this is? You're scared some other guy joining the club is going to get in the way of you hitting on us?"

"...What?"

What the hell was she on about? I didn't know the details, but Felix had clearly been laying the groundwork. In the original, he'd spread rumors, faked injuries, used every trick in the book to smear the protagonist. Had he started a rumor this time that I was some kind of womanizer?

...He's got a good eye, I'll give him that.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just kicked out a filthy pervert. That's all."

"You are seriously—! Rumi. You think so too, right?"

"H-huh?"

"I'm asking if you also think Felix was a pervert."

"Umm, w-well..."

Rumi's eyes flicked sideways toward me. My instincts lit up. Letting this conversation go any further was dangerous. Her affection for me was extremely high right now. If she took my side and flipped the whole board I'd so carefully set up, everything would fall apart.

I made the call in a split second and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke before she could open her mouth.

"Look, I did that for you two. If this is how you're going to act, I have to say I'm a little hurt."

"What? Hurt? You've got to be kidding me. You don't get to say that. Thanks to you, nobody even wants to join this club, and the one decent person who actually showed up—"

"Whatever. I'm leaving."

I packed my things with as much manufactured anger as I could muster, yanked the club room door open, and slammed it behind me. Lucy was shouting something at my back. I ignored her and kept walking.

But what was that about nobody joining the club because of me? Great. Now I had something else to look into. My head was starting to throb.

"Haaah. I'm exhausted."

Playing the bad guy was harder than it looked. Still, everything was going according to plan.

Lucy getting kidnapped by Felix, and me showing up to save her in that exact moment — that was the foundation. But the details had to land.

There was a world of difference between a version where neither of us suspected Felix and I just happened to arrive in time, and a version where I'd warned them, Lucy had taken Felix's side, we'd had a real fight over it — and I still came to save her anyway.

"This is that suspension bridge effect thing, right?"

Whether it was a suspension bridge or a drawbridge, I didn't particularly care. What mattered was that Rumi should be messaging me any second now...

My phone chimed.

Lucy's reaction was exactly what I'd expected. Rumi's too. They couldn't actually kick me out anyway.

On my way back to the dorm, I'd stopped by the central club office to check if there was anything wrong with our club. Sure enough, that club president bastard had been messing with us again. We weren't even showing up on the club directory, and the recruitment post we'd put up on Everyday had been quietly dropped.

Surin noona had definitely said she was cutting that guy. Why was he still around?

Anyway. I'd deal with that later. I'd manufactured the fight with Lucy — next up was meeting Felix. I needed to get our stories straight so I'd know when the kidnapping was going down.

The next morning. It was Friday. Once I wrapped up the morning theory lectures, the afternoon was free.

I'd fully settled into my morning routine by now. I woke to the unpleasant glare of morning sunlight. Since I was the type who showered at night, I just gave my hair a quick rinse and washed my face. Then I grabbed the cadet uniform hanging on the hanger.

The hanger was unnecessarily high-end — hang something on it and it handled the ironing, the washing, even picking off lint. I pulled on the immaculate cadet uniform and left the dorm.

I needed to get through the theory lectures fast and head to Class B. That was where Felix was assigned. I didn't run into Kim Young-han on the way, so I walked into Class A alone.

Lucy and Rumi should have been sitting in our usual seats...

Not here.

I scanned the room and found them tucked into the last two open seats in the far corner. I'd expected as much, so there was nothing to be done about it. Missing class next to a pair of cute girls was a shame, but I went with the next best option and found Kim Young-han, dropping into the seat beside him.

"Morning."

"Huh? Oh. Morning. You're not sitting with Lucy and Rumi?"

"There's no law that says we have to sit together every day. We just happen to sit together sometimes."

"So you two had a fight."

This blond punk. Annoyingly sharp when it didn't matter.

"Lucy's the prideful type, so you should be the one to go over and apologize first. She'll come around pretty quick. Start matching that pride with your own and you'll be at it forever."

What was this, actually useful advice?

"Thanks for the tip."

It was coming from a social butterfly, so it was probably right. Which meant doing the exact opposite would drive Lucy even further away from me.

I glanced over at her. She'd been chatting with the friend beside her, but she felt the look and her eyes found mine.

Hmph.

That was definitely a 'hmph.' I saw her mouth move.

The way she turned her head so pointedly told me she was angry — just not so angry that it couldn't be fixed. An apology would smooth this over no problem. The advice had been spot on.

But that wasn't enough. I needed her genuinely furious with me. That was the only way saving her would hit as hard as it needed to.

Well. Once I went looking for Felix, I'd get another reaction out of her soon enough.

After class, I didn't so much as glance at Lucy or Rumi. I headed straight for Class B. Their lecture had just let out as well; students were still packing up. Among them, a slight boy with platinum-blond hair stood out immediately. I walked right up to him.

"Hey. Felix."

"...?"

"Come with me for a second."

"W-why? I don't have anything to say ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to you..."

Felix deliberately raised his voice, pulling every eye in the room toward us. A few students turned to stare. Clever little shit.

But that's exactly what I wanted.

The more people watching, the faster it would reach Lucy's ears. And if the story was that I'd dragged him off by force, even better. That would push her to take Felix's side and hate me that much more.

I still needed to get him out of here, though, so I leaned in close, my mouth at his ear.

"I know you're a demon, so get out here. Now. Or I out you in front of everyone."

"...!"

Felix's eyes went wide.

"I'm not planning to spread it around. Don't get any stupid ideas. Just follow me quietly."

His mouth clamped shut. He stood with the grim look of someone who knew that getting exposed here meant it was over. I left the classroom with a quiet smile.

The walking path behind the first-year lecture building was completely deserted. I stepped off the path and into the undergrowth beside it. Brush rustled behind me as Felix followed. I stopped in a clearing wide enough to move in and turned around.

"What are you playing at...?"

Felix spoke carefully, watching every direction at once. Fair enough. It had to be unnerving — someone who knew he was a demon, asking for a private conversation anyway.

"Whoa, easy. Relax your face."

I let mana spill from my hand. Not the pure, clean kind — the filthy, vile circulation method of a demon. I'd only needed to see the spell on that vase in the club room once to copy it. Destructive, impulsive mana work. Perfectly suited to a demon.

"Don't tell me... you're one too?"

"That's right. More precisely, I had my eye on that girl first, and then you butted in."

"...I don't care. I'm not giving Lucy up. Not for anything."

Felix let his hostility show and started drawing up his magic. This bastard really thought he was some kind of knight protecting a princess.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I didn't come here to fight. I just have one favor to ask."

"...A favor?"

The word was enough to make him let the magic settle again.

"I just mean I'll help you do what you're planning to do. I'll even take sloppy seconds. Okay? Let's keep this friendly."

I hadn't originally planned to pretend I was a demon, but the more I thought about it, the better this approach looked. Felix would only let me in on the kidnapping if he believed I knew what he was — and a human saying that out loud would sound way too suspicious.

Trash recognizes trash.

Felix was turning it over. Weighing whether taking me in was worth more than just killing me here and now.

"You were planning to enjoy yourself and then run anyway, right? I'll keep watch while you have your fun, and then I'll buy you time to get away. There's nothing in this for you to lose."

"When you put it like that, sure. But why should I trust you? What's stopping you from stabbing me in the back?"

"Then you deal with me when the time comes. What, you don't think you can take me?"

"Hmph..."

Honestly, standing across from him like this had been a bit of a shock. This bastard was a lot stronger than he'd been in the original game. I had no idea what had changed, but if it came down to a straight fight, I didn't like my odds.

"Fine. I suppose I can toss you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whatever scraps are left when I'm done."

Fortunately, that exact gap in power was why he accepted the offer.

"I decide the operation. I pick the optimal window and we move then. I'll give you a line — use it to find me when the time comes."

A small, spherical magic tool dropped at my feet with a dull tap.

"See you later, then."

Felix left it at that, scanned the area, and headed back toward the walking path. Alone now, I slipped the communication orb into my coat and swallowed down the heat rising in my chest.

The delusion that I was one of his kind had dropped his guard enough to hand me a comms orb like this. Everything was going smoothly. And yet...

The way Felix had talked about Lucy. Like she was just something to enjoy. He hadn't even done anything — I'd only heard him say it — so why the hell was I this angry?

Anyone watching would think I was already dating her. What was I supposed to do about it? Being a petty loser was part of my charm.

I had the weekend. That was how long I had to figure out how to put Felix in the ground.