Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Madwoman
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Liche showed up.
Just when I thought I could finally eat in peace.
"I have a favor to ask."
"No."
"Wait... at least hear me out..."
"I said no, didn't I?"
Why are you asking me for a favor in the first place?
There's someone nearby who would do anything for you.
"No, this time it's not about asking for information...!"
"No, I still don't want to."
"Can't you at least tell me why?"
Because it's a pain.
When I gave her that answer, Liche looked at me with an expression of disbelief.
No, if anyone should be dumbfounded, it's me.
Who would be happy when someone barges in on them while they're trying to eat and suddenly says they have a favor to ask?
They say you don't even bother a dog when it's eating.
If you have the slightest bit of courtesy when asking for a favor, this isn't it.
"Besides, you have nothing to offer me."
Putting aside whether I'd grant the favor or not, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
When you ask someone for something, you have to show some sincerity, right?
But do you have that kind of sincerity?
Liche fidgeted with her fingers, her eyes darting around, before giving a shocking answer.
"I'll... I'll do anything...!"
She can't be unaware of what that line implies.
She's surely not thinking of something like a massage.
In one way, you could say her passion for her goal is admirable. In another, you could just see her as a whore.
'Was she always like this?'
Not from what I remember. Or maybe this is her true personality.
That pushover protagonist, Arthur, is the type to indiscriminately hand out 'favors without expecting anything in return'—something that doesn't exist in this world.
In the novel, she never went this far because there was someone to help her, but maybe her true nature is to stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
As expected, the heroines these days are all a bit strange.
"Go to Arthur."
"He's too weak."
That's the first time I've ever heard someone call a transmigrator weak.
This isn't the beginning of his transmigration, either. In a few months, he'll be more than capable of taking the top spot at the academy.
"Besides, I don't like his personality."
"Well, it's true that someone as intelligent, wholesome, and educational as me is a rare find."
"......"
"What."
No, the premise is weird from the start.
I'm not a virgin, and if I wanted to, I could just grab one of the girls next to me. So why you?
"Are you a whore, by any chance?"
"N-No!"
"And yet, that answer just now doesn't sound like something the second daughter of a duke would say."
"...Because I have no choice."
"But you never offered money, did you?"
Someone from a ducal house wouldn't need to offer their body when asking for a favor.
She could have just thrown money at the problem like a noble, but the reason she made such a shocking offer of her body instead is...
"Well, you've been abandoned by your family, so it's not like your house would give you any money."
"......!"
At my casual remark, Liche's face twisted in shock.
Her expression shifted through shock, surprise, and sadness, as if asking how on earth I could know that.
Hex, the demon that a Winchester ancestor failed to defeat and instead sealed away.
That seal has been passed down through generations of Winchester women.
Naturally, Liche was no exception. Her mother is already gone.
But the fact that they're the ones who shoved it into a person's body and now treat her like a dangerous element is a fucking ridiculous setup.
Like looking at a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment?
That's how Liche's family sees her.
"H-How...?"
"I read it in a novel."
"......?"
Liche stared at me like I was a madman.
Well, I didn't lie.
After all, for a main heroine, a flashback spanning several chapters is practically mandatory, isn't it?
Naturally, there were descriptions of Liche's family, and it detailed how she was treated by them.
"Sir Luke...? Is that something you should be telling just anyone?"
"Shouldn't I be telling them more?"
When you think about it, isn't it funny?
All the transmigrators in novels try to hide the secrets of this world, but I think these people are the ones who really need to know the truth.
Isn't this whole world basically one big hidden camera prank on them?
Their way of life, their lovers, even their endings. It's all predetermined—a massive hidden camera prank that's only unpleasant for the ones being filmed.
And what's worse, if no one tells them, they won't even know they were pranked after it's over.
"Miss Luna, is that really true...?"
"...Unfortunately, yes."
I'm not the boy who cried wolf, so why does everyone ignore what I say and only ask Luna?
You're all going to be like this? Fine, from now on, I won't say a word, even if I know something.
"Then... by any chance, do you have that novel now?"
"Ah. It doesn't exist in this world."
At that cryptic answer, Liche treated me like a mental patient.
I mean, of course it's not here. There are no smartphones.
"So you have to be a little crazy to gain that much power... Yes. I'll be fine. I pride myself on my mental fortitude."
"Hey, my mind is perfectly sound, you know?"
I'm dying to flick her right under the nose. We can't even have a conversation.
And, come to think of it, she's ridiculous too.
"Do you realize you're being greedy and deceptive right now?"
She's being so greedy, trying to get stronger when she's already the top student.
I haven't even heard her request this time, but it's obvious what it is.
I mean, ambition is a good thing.
But she keeps coming to me, spouting nuances about how she's weak and needs to get stronger. To the students who weren't good enough to be top student, it just sounds like she's mocking them.
"...I don't care."
Hmm. Good mindset.
If it were me, I'd also say it's their own fault for being weak.
"Anyway, my point is, I have no intention of helping you. You have nothing to offer me, so why should I bother listening to you?"
"......"
No matter how smart you are, you can't refute a sound argument.
Arguing against logic is just being stubborn.
"...You said you don't like being bothered, right?"
"Yeah."
"Th-Then if you don't help me, I'll keep following you around. Until you get annoyed."
Oh... now that's a crazy bitch.
Her method of asking has shifted from negotiation to blackmail.
For the record, my response to negotiation is a sword, and to blackmail, a severed neck.
"My wife... I'm sorry... I didn't want to draw you again..."
The moment I reached into my inventory and placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.
"Sir Luke, wait!"
"Th-That's right! Killing her is too much...!"
"Hey, let go."
Luna and Yui grabbed my arms, desperately trying to stop me.
Heroine or not, she's being a pain in the ass.
If one heroine disappears, it just means the protagonist loses one girlfriend.
It's a harem anyway, so what does it matter if one heroine is gone?
Everyone dies eventually. Liche is just going to die a little earlier because of an accident.
Or better yet, let's just kill all the heroines but one and turn this into a pure love story.
-Clatter! Clatter!
The chair rattled as Yui and Luna tried to stop me from getting up.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to enjoy the meal at your wake."
"Miss Liche, hurry and run away...!"
"Nah. She won't be able to run."
How many times is she going to run away?
She desperately avoided the reality of her mother's death, running away from her family to the academy.
She already has a history of it, and she's going to run again?
Given Liche's personality, she won't run, even if it means she'll really die here.
And given my personality, I'll really kill her.
"...I don't know how he knows, but just as he said, I can't run away, Miss Luna."
See? She came here ready to die. Wouldn't it be rude not to kill her?
"And why are you two protecting her like this?"
You just watched when I killed other people before.
Did you form some kind of bond with her behind my back after seeing her a few times?
"No, Sir Luke! We're professors now, remember?! If we kill a student, we might make an enemy of an S-rank adventurer!"
"I'll leave the consequences to my future self."
"No, no, if we cause a scene, we'll get kicked out of the restaurant, and you need to eat breakfast, right?!"
Hmm. She has a point. I can leave everything else to my future self, but my current self is reaching his limit with this hunger.
If this takes any longer, I might just bite the head off the person in front of me.
Tsk, I clicked my tongue, put my hand back where it was, and sat up straight in my chair.
"Phew..."
"Then I'll kill her after I finish eating."
"Just a moment, Sir Luke. Please listen to what I have to say."
"What is it? Your idea had better be good enough to change my mind, Luna. Otherwise, you're both accomplices."
Protecting someone I'm trying to kill?
That definitely makes you an accomplice.
Luna took a moment to gather her thoughts, and once she had, she continued.
"You said that Arthur person is the protagonist, right?"
"Right."
"But he's not very reliable."
Normally, things would have followed the original story on their own, but a dumbass had to go and transmigrate into him.
"So, wouldn't it be better if Miss Liche became stronger?"
"And why is that."
What she said next must have been something Liche couldn't hear, as Luna whispered into my ear.
"Seeing how Miss Liche is always involved with Mr. Arthur, she must be one of his lovers. If so, won't she be able to prevent the incidents that happen while she's with him?"
"Hoh..."
In other words, she's saying we should make a plunger in case the toilet gets clogged and stops working?
"That's a pretty good idea."
Alright, Liche. From now on, you're the plunger.
You can at least clean up the shit your future lover makes, can't you?
Her affection for him seems to be at rock bottom right now, but Arthur will figure that out on his own.
"Alright. I'll help you."
My eyes curved into crescents as I looked at Liche with satisfaction.
Noticing my strange gaze, Liche furrowed her brow.
"What did you two talk about?"
"That you're going to be a plunger... Mmph—"
Just as I was about to repeat what we had just discussed, Luna covered my mouth.
"Mmmph. Mmmph."
"......?"
"Sir Luke. It looks like the food is here, so why don't we talk while we eat?"
While Luna and I were bickering, the table had somehow become filled with food.