Misaligned Bonds (1)
"...If I just wipe those bastards out completely..."
Mutter mutter mutter mutter—
Ever since leaving the restaurant, Adel had started acting like someone who'd completely lost her mind. How far gone was she? Even though Novena and Hino had subtly put some distance between themselves and were trailing behind, she didn't seem to notice at all.
At that, Novena started poking Hino's shoulder for no good reason, laying the blame squarely on her.
"It's because you lied so awkwardly that we got found out! Seriously, is it because you're some sheltered young lady? Wow, how can your acting be that terrible?"
"...I just did what you told me to."
"Hey, even so, you don't just straight-up ask if there's any medicine you can take! Aargh!"
Hino quietly turned her head away.
"Haaaah.... I can't tell if she's acting like that because she knows we figured it out, or if she's just high on drugs."
"She didn't notice."
"Good thing she's as dumb as she looks."
"She's pure."
"Oh my? Have you fallen for her completely?"
In truth, Novena and Hino were already certain. Hino had even told an uncharacteristic lie trying to get the drugs Adel had used from her. But the way Adel had thrown a fit, insisting she absolutely couldn't give them up—that wasn't normal behavior. It was clearly the desperate thrashing of a drug addict trying not to have her stash taken away.
"Yeah, we still can't be sure. You know how it is—plenty of noble trash dabble in drugs for fun. Maybe Adel just tried them out of curiosity."
"...Are you trying to deny reality?"
Even so, Novena didn't want to accept her own thoughts—the fact that Adel was a drug addict. This was a situation where she should have stepped in herself, restrained Adel's limbs, confiscated the drugs and burned them—and even that wouldn't have been enough.
What held Novena back was the fact that she and Adel weren't anything to each other—not even friends, but members of hostile factions. Would Adel even appreciate it if she stepped in and took action? Hino, who had no human relationships to speak of, might not care—but Novena carried the fate of her family on her back. If she made a wrong move and became a source of controversy, it wouldn't just hurt Adel—it would damage Novena, her family, and even the kingdom itself.
"Haaah..."
Novena couldn't bring herself to acknowledge what she truly felt inside. So she had to remain, to the very end, in the role of a watcher. If she got any closer to that recklessly kind and pure girl, she might truly lose control and do something she couldn't take back.
So instead of continuing that awkward conversation, Novena brought up the mysterious vision she hadn't been able to discuss properly because of Adel's sudden appearance.
"That vision I saw—you have some idea about it, don't you?"
"Yeah. Just a possibility, though."
Hino answered while still staring fixedly at Adel's back. How could that slender figure walking alone ahead, swaying in the wind, look so precarious?
"Tell me now. Adel won't hear us."
"I can't trust you."
"You really..."
"I can't trust the crown prince either."
"Fuck! Then don't bring it up in the first place! Getting me curious and then pulling this shit!"
It was a truly precarious situation, a precarious relationship. Just as Novena was bound by her circumstances, Hino had no choice but to be wary of someone like Novena.
"...So you're fine just leaving Adel like that? You're just like all the others after all. Pretending to be pure with your words, but in the end only caring about political fights and inflating your own faction. Selfish bitch."
"No. That's not me—that's you."
—Grit.
Novena clenched her teeth. She knew this wasn't a situation where she should be blaming Hino. She knew that simply giving the impression she'd act for Adel's sake would be enough. But the only thing she could do right now was pressure the other with this kind of absurd sophistry.
And so Novena and Hino—the two women fell into silence for the entire walk back to the Academy, quietly watching Adel's back.
The plan to wipe out the terrorists behind the first episode. It was a large-scale operation where Academy students would also participate en masse, thanks to the political reasons of the Unified Investigation Committee led by the four factions.
According to the game story, that day wasn't far off. And before the battle, you could receive free supplies—which for me was essentially a shopping day.
That day, I planned to grab as many supplies as possible, quickly clear the main quest, then track down the drug dealers settled in the Academy city and eradicate the drug trade. On top of that, it was an event where I might be able to rescue a new heroine—obviously not an opportunity I could just let slip by.
It wasn't that difficult to begin with. Those bastards were a cartel that interfered with the player at every turn, but I knew a very simple method to wipe them out.
Taking inspiration from the fact that the empire was endlessly fighting because it was divided into four factions—the From now on, kill each other operation.
In a situation where dozens of cartels coexisted, all I needed to do was eliminate two or three of them. Then leave a cool note with a different cartel's name on it saying something like, This is your final warning. Don't cross the line again—
"What? Alpha Cartel got wiped out?!"
"They left a warning!"
"Kh, so those bastards chose war after all!"
"Boss! Make the call!"
"Let's go, boys. Grab your tools!"
That's probably how things would play out, right? Then at the very least, the heroines wouldn't have any reason to take an interest in drugs while attending the Academy.
And so, feeling omnipotent as if I'd become Zhuge Liang himself, I was working out my plans when—
—Goooooh.
Something—a gaze so chilling it was impossible to ignore—poured into me from behind.
"...?"
Wondering who on earth was staring at me so intensely, I casually turned my head—
"Eek!"
Novena and Hino were looking at me with glowing light in both their eyes.
Ah, no. It's nice that they're looking at me. But that gaze is a little—no, a lot—overwhelming? The kind of look that made me wonder what I'd done wrong.
"Uh, uheheung~"
I tried to pretend I hadn't noticed, forcing myself to hum a tune and keep walking forward—
"Adel!"
"Adel."
Ugh.
Voices came from behind at the same time.
"Come here."
"Come here."
Novena in a distinctly irritated voice, Hino in a rather cold one. Calling me over.
"Huuuuh..."
Wh-what should I do? This dreamlike situation! It was like Novena and Hino were fighting over me—a heavenly situation for someone dreaming of a harem! Wh-who should I go to? Why are they acting like this? Could they actually be interested in me?!
While I was fretting over whose side to approach to defuse this chilly atmosphere—ironically, what floated up in my mind at that moment was the scene right before a story branch where the player chooses who to give the Eternal Ring to.
That cruel moment when, no matter how high you'd raised affinity with many heroines, the game system's constraints only allowed romance with a single person. Was it mere coincidence that such a memory surfaced at a happy moment like this?
Probably not. Considering how vicious this game was, there was bound to be some fierce underlying intent even in this moment!
In that case...
"Hino! Whaat is it?"
I casually shifted my gaze away from Novena and approached Hino. Then a subtle smile slowly bloomed on her previously stiff face. And when I rushed in wanting to hug her, she wordlessly held out both hands and even intertwined her fingers with mine.
"Ehehehe!"
Hino's build was rather petite, but her embrace was endlessly warm. A toasty, cozy embrace.
Yes, my choice was Hino. It couldn't be helped. It was a thoroughly strategic choice.
If Novena was the bold delinquent, warrior type, then Hino was the classic distrust-of-humanity type. If I'd chosen Novena in this moment, Hino's sulking might have lasted for years.
Ugh, I feel so sorry I could die and I already regret it a bit. But this—this was the fierce battle for the position of principal wife that a harem queen dreaming of a harem inevitably had to face. Thinking of the heroines yet to be added, I couldn't afford to go soft over something this small!
So Novena! If you want my favor, try a little harder!
"...Ha."
Looking at Novena's empty eyes as she watched us, I wanted to apologize right then and there, but...
Ugh. It's these two charming people who are at fault! It's not my fault for falling for their charms, right? No matter how cute and pretty and kind and charming a girl I am, the ones trying to monopolize me are the bad ones! If they'd just shared me nicely, this sad situation never would have happened!
"Why'd you call me? Hmm? Hmm? Don't tell me you missed my face?!"
I tried putting on some cutesy act that wouldn't work at all, hoping to lighten the awkward atmosphere a little.
"Yeah. You went ahead alone, and I wanted to see your face."
"...!!"
Huh. Wh-what did I just hear?
Hino's beautiful voice seemed to reverberate and echo through my head over and over. Intoxicated by that voice, lost in this dreamlike situation, I blankly lifted my head and met Hino's eyes.
And then—
"Adel, want to sleep with me?"
Hino smiled with a subtle curve of her eyes as she tightened the arm around my waist.
Squeeze.
Our chests pressed together and I couldn't breathe, but that soft, yielding sensation was enough that I didn't care about such things.
"Ah, aaaah..."
In that moment—I couldn't even think about reading Novena's mood anymore. I just blankly stared at Hino's face, sinking into a hazy daze.
This—yes. This was love.
"Let's go home."
"...Yehet!!"