Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Your Heroine is Awesome
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"I want to go with you."
"Okay. See you."
As I tried to walk past her, Liche grabbed my arm and linked hers with mine.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"I'm going with you."
"Stop talking nonsense and go."
There's someone else you should be saying that confession-like line to, not me.
Save it for later.
"No. And I can't go back now."
"What do you mean you can't? The academy is right behind you, you crazy bitch."
"I dropped out."
Her casual remark, as if it were nothing, was the most shocking thing I'd heard since I arrived here.
Why? Because the heroine of an academy novel just dropped out!
'Seriously? After all the trouble I went through to get her unclogged, she drops out? Fuck.'
This wasn't just a deviation from the original story; it was the complete destruction of it.
*Smack.* My hand hit my forehead and slid down my face.
All my hard work had gone to waste.
"Hurry up and get lost to your social gathering. Go put on a pretty dress and cling to Arthur."
"No."
*Tsk.*
Characters like Liche are all the same.
The moment a character who can't open up to others shows affection to someone, they shower that person with a boundless amount of it, to the point where it's overwhelming.
'But why the hell is it me?'
All the affection that should have gone to the Plunger came to me instead.
Honestly, from my perspective, it was just absurd.
Someone else was busting his ass trying to raise her affection, so what did I do to deserve this?
Even now, Liche showed no intention of letting go.
I glanced over to see what Luna and Yui were doing, hoping for some help, but they were just staring blankly.
I guess they were just as dumbfounded as I was.
"Liche!"
Just then, a man's voice called out from behind me.
It was the Plunger's voice, one I was sick of hearing by now.
Looks like he was late to come pick up Liche.
"Huff... huff..."
The Plunger bent over, hands on his knees to catch his breath for a moment, then scowled when he saw Liche still stuck to my side.
He's the one who couldn't manage his own harem, creating a victim, so why is he scowling at said victim? It makes me want to kill him.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Tia told me. That you dropped out."
The two of them then started talking, treating me like a piece of scenery.
"If you tell them now, you can probably withdraw your resignation."
That's right, that's right. Go back. Your boyfriend even came to pick you up, didn't he?
"I have no intention of withdrawing it, so could you just go back?"
"The social is about to start, isn't it? Tia and Stella are waiting."
Right, right. Hurry back, get all dolled up, and go suck up to him or whatever, okay?
"They don't have to wait."
Seriously, why do I have to listen to a conversation that sounds like a cheating girlfriend and her boyfriend who just caught her?
"I know you have feelings for me."
Liche hugged my arm even tighter.
The Plunger's eyes were fixed on Liche's chest, pressed against my arm.
With my free hand, I grabbed a large handful of Liche's breast.
-Squish.
"Kyaa?!"
"Wh-Where are you touching, you bastard!"
"Well, she kept rubbing her chest on me, so I thought she wanted me to touch it."
She's still clinging to me even while she's screaming.
Isn't this a green light?
I turned my head to signal Luna to make a run for it, but I saw that she and Yui had backed away and were watching with fascinated eyes, as if they were at the theater.
Their master is caught by a viper, and his slaves are just watching the show? Unacceptable. I'll have to punish them later. In bed.
Oblivious to my thoughts, the two continued their ridiculous soap opera.
"A-Ahem. Anyway, there's someone else I like. So could you give up?"
"..."
"Your heroine is awesome, dude."
For some reason, it felt like the right thing to say.
I'm a pro, after all.
"You... you son of a biiiitch!!!!"
Arthur's face turned red like a bomb about to explode as he suddenly flew off the handle.
You two were playing hot potato, so why are you blowing the bomb up on me?
Is this guy completely nuts?
I had just resolved myself to cut off his arms and legs and throw them to the Saintess as feed, but...
-Fwoosh!
It wasn't me who stopped the Plunger.
"L-Liche...?"
She had created a wall of fire, separating Arthur from us.
If it were ordinary fire, the Plunger could have broken through, but the flames Liche conjured weren't their usual red or white, but black.
Originally, Liche was only supposed to be able to use black fire, an application of her dark attribute, after the Blood Moon event. It seemed she could use it now.
Those black flames meant only one thing. Liche, who had been hovering around B-rank, had grown another level and was now close to A-rank.
Staying at the academy any longer would be of no help to her.
I'd raised a good plunger. The only problem was that it wasn't doing its job.
"Please stop bothering me and go."
"No, you go too."
Why was she excluding herself from the conversation?
The Plunger was just opening and closing his mouth, unable to find the right words.
He was probably thinking, *I'm the protagonist and she's the heroine, this can't be right.*
That's what you get for acting like an idiot and racking up negative points.
'Tsk. Whatever, let it be.'
If she was going to follow me anyway, I might as well make use of her since I'd already raised her.
Otherwise, it would be my loss.
I wasn't planning on raising my own bride, but here we are. I guess I can use this to tease the Plunger later.
"Hyaaawn..."
I never watched dramas to begin with, and watching this pathetic excuse for one was making me yawn.
On top of that, I had just finished dinner, and the food coma was making me drowsy.
So, to get some much-needed sleep, I shook off Liche's arm and leaped toward the inn I always frequented.
***
In the space Luke had just left.
Four people remained, including Liche and Arthur.
"Ah..."
The girl who had been linking arms with Luke just moments ago let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Luna, Yui. Let's get going now."
She hadn't intended to drag things out this long, but it happened anyway.
"Do you have anything more to discuss? We can wait."
"I don't mind staying a bit longer either!"
Luna and Yui had been watching as if it were an entertaining play, so in all honesty, they wished the situation would continue a little longer.
"No, there's nothing more to say."
"What a shame..."
"Aww..."
Sorry to disappoint the pouting Luna and Yui, but Liche wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
The mere sight of Arthur, who followed her around and meddled in her life, was enough to make her feel sick.
As she turned to walk away, that fool stopped her again.
"W-Wait...!"
"Stop."
Her voice turned so icy it was as if she were an ice mage, a stark contrast to her earlier demeanor. But she was a fire mage.
"How I live my life is my business. Stop meddling. It's annoying."
Hadn't she been patient enough?
He always acted as if he were her lover, but she had never whispered words of love to anyone, nor had she made any promises.
One might be on the horizon, but so far, there had been none.
So why did he keep annoyingly interfering in her life, trying to control it as he pleased?
"I'm not some character from a novel you like, so don't force your ideals on me."
"How did you...?!"
"Luke told me. Unlike someone who just hides things all the time."
Liche didn't know it, but in the world Luke came from, there was a saying.
-The fact that you like someone can sometimes hurt them.
If even liking someone could be met with such words, how would it feel to have someone you disliked constantly following you and forcing a connection?
Back in Korea, it would have been more than enough reason to file for a restraining order.
*Swish.* With nothing more to say, Liche turned and rejoined Luna.
"Then I will guide you."
"Yes. Please do."
Arthur didn't try to hold her back or follow her anymore.
If he had, after all this, he would have to be mentally ill.
And if he had followed, Liche had been prepared to kill him.
Luke had said Arthur was the protagonist of this world.
But if this world needed someone like him, then there was something wrong with the world.
On the way to the inn, Liche struck up a short conversation with Luna.
They would be traveling together from now on, so they needed to know a little about each other, and she happened to have many questions.
"Luna, how did you end up traveling with Luke?"
"Sir Luke saved me when I was about to be sold as a slave. It's less that we started traveling together and more that I forced myself on him, to be precise."
She had always wondered why Luna referred to everyone else with a simple "Mr." or "Ms." but only called Luke "Sir."
At the time, she hadn't felt the need to know, so she'd tucked the thought away. But to think there was such a story behind it.
Given Luke's personality, he was probably working her like a real slave.
"What about you, Yui?"
"It's a long story for me too, but anyway, Mr. Luke saved me! I think?"
The first time she'd seen Yui was in the Count's territory, wasn't it?
She'd only gone because Arthur had begged her to, so something must have happened there.
"So, what do you two think of Luke?"
"If you're asking whether I like him or dislike him... I'd say I'm closer to liking him."
"Me too. He was scary at first, but these days he even gives me snacks!"
The real intention behind this question was due to the problems that arose from polygamy.
The men and women of this world were used to the idea of having multiple wives or husbands.
However, not everyone accepted it so naturally.
She had often seen cases of multiple women fighting over one man, or multiple men fighting over one woman.
So, she had been probing to see what might happen if the people here started arguing over who was the main wife and who was the concubine.
Thankfully, it seemed there would be no trouble.
What Liche had just described was the so-called catfight, something no reader disliked.
But if such a thing were to happen...
-Say you like me! Or else I'm leaving!
-Okay. Get lost.
She could vividly picture Luke saying just that.
With his free-spirited nature, he wouldn't hold on to anyone who wanted to leave. That's what he would surely say.
"We have arrived."
Luna's words snapped her out of her thoughts. Before her stood the inn she had seen a few times before.
Luna and Yui walked into the inn and up the stairs with a practiced ease.
The room they headed for was at the far left end of the hall.
When the door opened, the first thing she saw was Luke, spread-eagled on the bed.
It seemed he wasn't lying about going to sleep; he must have drifted off to dreamland a while ago.
Luna and Yui entered the room, tidied their belongings, and then lay down next to Luke.
"Uh, uh...?"
It was so natural that Liche was the only one flustered by the sight.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, uh... shouldn't we be sleeping in separate rooms?"
"But we always sleep like this?"
Yui tilted her head, wondering what the problem was.
She said it so matter-of-factly that Liche began to question her own common sense.
Yui was naive, so that was one thing, but the fact that Luna acted the same way made it feel even more real.
'Wow... just wow...'
She knew he was free-spirited, but she hadn't realized he was this blatant about it.
Still, she couldn't just go get another room when everyone else was settling in so comfortably.
Liche slipped into a space by their legs, curled up, and closed her eyes.