It had been too complacent.
It was a problem that could have been solved by just thinking a little more.
I was so happy on my date with Lily that I failed to properly notice the gazes around me.
If it’s already printed in the daily newspaper, it’s over.
The Academy’s newspaper club is a place that raises numerous complaints as they don’t give a second thought to people’s private lives, but no one can question the accuracy and reliability of their information.
There was one more issue though.
Something caught my eye among the text underneath the photo.
– Given that she’s wearing a school uniform, is she a current Academy student? Or a graduate?
…Didn’t I go out wearing a school uniform…?
Though it’s a natural assumption, Academy uniforms aren’t just handed out to anyone due to the various effects they possess.
Only current students and graduates of the Academy are allowed to wear the uniform.
It’s a precious outfit, impossible to smuggle out thanks to the Chancellor’s anti-theft magic.
And there I was, going on a confident date wearing it…
The idiocy of my ways was making my head ache.
“Arthur! Who is this woman? Is she your girlfriend?!”
Right here, I could think of a way out of this situation.
A method that could dispel this accusation instantly and wasn’t even a lie.
‘If I say she’s family…’
If we pretend to be close siblings, then we can casually link arms and even share indirect kisses without hesitation, right?
This was the best solution. I couldn’t think of anything better.
But…
I glanced at my right arm.
-YAAGH!
Lily was gripping my arm so tightly that the blood flow was being cut off.
Her eyes were flickering with a red glow.
If I say she’s family here… it would be like driving a stake into Lily’s heart.
It’s been less than half a day since I announced I would take a week to sort out my feelings…
In the end, I had to make a decision.
“Uh…”
“Uh?”
Lily gripped my arm even tighter.
I closed my eyes tightly and yanked my arm out with all my might.
Reeti looked at me with a baffled expression, and Lily… she truly looked hurt.
But my actions weren’t over yet.
I wrapped the arm I had just pulled free around Lily’s waist, pulling her close, and pressed my cheek to the place where I had marked her collarbone.
“We’re… not officially dating yet.”
“!!!!”
“!!!!”
Reeti and Lily both stared at me in shock.
Eventually, the similar expressions diverged.
Reeti’s face stiffened, while, on the contrary, Lily’s expression relaxed and lit up.
“You… you mean…”
Reeti stammered.
“…eh, someday you’ll date…?”
To Reeti, who let her sentence trail off.
“…Isn’t that probably how it’ll go?”
At this, Reeti opened her mouth and froze, while Lily embraced me with a cheer.
Making an effort to greet Reeti over Lily’s shoulder as she clung to me, I walked past the frozen Reeti towards the dormitory.
While I walked down the corridor and checked my surroundings, I could see people glancing at me as expected.
Even though I knew it wasn’t true, the idea that they were looking at Lily clinging to me gave me an unpleasant feeling.
Reaching the dormitory with quicker steps, I…
“Arthur!!”
Was tackled by Lily.
“Excuse me, just a moment!”
“I’ll make you happy for life~”
“Lily!!”
After saying you’d hold out for a week!
—
“…Honestly, wasn’t that already a confession?”
“…”
I couldn’t deny it. Anyone could see that it was a confession…
Still…
“…Could you just give me a little more time?”
At this, Lily gave me a slight glare.
“…How did I end up liking such a stubborn person…”
I’m sorry for being so stubborn…
“Still…”
Suddenly, Lily leaned in and kissed my cheek.
“Maybe… I like you even more because of it?”
I could feel my face heating up.
This… I might not make it through the whole week. I might not be able to hold out myself…
Indeed, the first time we met, she was a mature and alluring lady… but now, she’s transformed into a bundle of charm equipped with upgraded allure and cuteness.
‘They say a woman in love becomes a girl again. Who would have thought this applies even to outsiders…’
Looking back, Lily’s changes seemed to have progressed more rapidly with each passing day.
As Lily said, her growing feelings towards me every second were becoming manifest in her actions.
And I, too, seemed to be influenced by Lily’s behavior, liking her more today than yesterday, yesterday more than the day before.
It instinctively felt like the day my feelings would surpass a threshold was drawing near.
And that day would be the D-day.
—
Louis Gold Sun was grinding his teeth so fiercely that one might worry they would shatter if seen.
In his hand, he held a small newspaper.
Upon seeing the large couple photo on its pages, Louis bit his lip.
“Damn it…!”
In the photo was Arthur, smiling happily, towards whom Louis was hurling curses. Again gripped by intense pain, Louis rushed to the restroom.
“Pudd… pdd…”
“AAAAAAH!!”
While he was suffering like this, the real culprit was happily enjoying a date with a woman Louis had seen as surpassing all noble daughters in beauty.
Louis, whose lips were bleeding without him even noticing, was so enraged he felt the blood rush to his head as he writhed on the toilet.
‘You damn troll kid!!’
Louis thought he might really die from this anger.
Suppressing his rage, Louis decided to use a recovery spell and go for a walk.
He intended to divert his thoughts while taking a stroll.
Properly dressed, Louis wandered through the park, feeling the cool air which did clear his head somewhat, and decided he would come out for walks more often.
After some time, noticing the skies were slowly getting darker, Louis turned his steps towards the dormitory.
While walking absentmindedly, he suddenly felt—
“…Hm?”
Louis felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
The prickly feeling that he’d forgotten something made him frown.
Thinking for a moment that he might’ve forgotten some cleanup in the restroom, he panicked and felt the back of his pants but, thankfully, it wasn’t an issue.
Still troubled by the feeling of déjà vu, Louis walked forward, only to forget which direction he was going completely.
“…Which way should I go?”
Looking around, all sides were shrouded in deep darkness.
Louis, who had thought there was still time before it got dark, panicked and began chanting a spell.
Attempting to conjure a fireball, Louis exclaimed.
“Magic isn’t working?!”
Even after chanting the spell, there was neither a fireball nor a single spark on his palm.
Sensing an instinctive fear from this strange phenomenon, Louis instinctively stepped back.
It was then.
“Good evening.”
“GYAAAH!!”
Someone spoke to him.
Turning around in panic, there was nothing behind Louis but the same deep darkness.
“Wh-who’s there!”
“Please don’t be afraid. I want to help you.”
The voice seemed to come from all sides, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.
“What makes you think you can help me!”
“Hehehe. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
Louis blushed, realizing what the voice was implying.
“Shut up! You don’t know anything to be talking nonsense!”
Laughter rang out from all directions.
“Haha, I may not know everything, but I know a lot. For instance… the identity of the one who cursed you, perhaps?”
“…What?”
“Are you curious?”
Suddenly, Louis resisted the temptation, shaking his head to regain focus.
“That doesn’t interest me.”
“Aah, that’s right. You’re not interested… rather, you’re feeling—”
At those words, Louis felt someone behind him.
Spinning around forcefully, Louis fell on his bottom, startled by the tall figure looming in front of him.
The figure bent over him, its voice sending shivers down his spine.
“You desire vengeance, don’t you?”
Suddenly, lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the darkness.
Louis saw clearly.
A bald man with black skin but strikingly blue eyes.
His bizarre appearance made Louis flail to get away.
“Oh my, are you startled by my appearance? If this form isn’t to your liking… perhaps I have another.”
When the light flashed again, an abnormally bloated female figure appeared. Shrouded in darkness, the body was human, but the torso was something far from human.
“Hmm… does this one not suit you?”
Each time the light flashed, the figure transformed. Changes in gender, form, and even species, but the voice remained unchanged. The mismatch was unsettling, causing Louis to gag.
“UUUGH…UUUH…”
However, having not eaten properly, only stomach acid came up.
“AHAHA! Only stomach acid is coming out. That must be difficult.”
“Cough…Cough… What… do you want?”
“Not me, no. What you want is important.”
“What…?”
Breaking through the darkness, a corpse-like pale hand was extended.
Didn’t I already say so? You seek vengeance.
Louis swatted the hand away.
“Don’t spout nonsense. How would you know what I feel?”
“While I serve the most ignorant one in the universe, I do know quite a lot. Especially your heart—I know it very well.”
The voice came from all directions once more.
“Isn’t it unjust?”
“Doesn’t anger swell within you?”
“Just a lowly commoner.”
“An incapable maggot of a wizard.”
“A troll, nothing more.”
Gradually, the voice began transforming into Louis’s own.
Louis realized in horror that the words were now coming out of his own mouth.
“You… who are you?”
“Who I am is unimportant. The important thing is that I can help you.”
The pale hand was extended to Louis once more.
“Will you take it?”
“…”
Though the hand was grotesque to look at…
Louis felt an inexplicable pull.
-THUD
Louis decided to trust the voice within himself.
If he could take revenge on that damn troll who ruined him, he would make a pact with the devil himself.
“Muahaha… Excellent. Very good…”
“What do I need to do?”
“Ah, patience. Haste leads to failure. Tomorrow morning, return here and I will instruct you on what to do. Until then… Ah, in your dreams, don’t go down the stairs.”
“…What? What does that mean-”
Standing up abruptly to ask about the last words, Louis realized…
“…Huh?”
That he was back in the park.
The sky was still glowing with the sun’s twilight.
It was the exact scene he saw just before entering the darkness.
“…This is enough to make a ghost cry.”
—
