Chapter 40

Since entering this world, I’ve hardly ever been treated as a woman. Aside from someone washing my hair and feeding me, Inna has never particularly forced anything on me, the president unexpectedly finds me burdensome and has never come close, and Kim Ha-neul kept her distance because I was wary of her side.

Therefore, ironically, the only person who treated me like a proper woman was Kim So-ra, whose face I barely even saw.

“Well, how about it? Don’t I look pretty? Don’t you suddenly feel like I look adorable?”

“It’s heavy.”

I frowned as the weight of the ornate hair accessories made my hair feel much heavier than before, but Sora, who was fussing over my hair while holding a mirror in front of me, clearly didn’t care how I felt.

The sensation of her large bosom nearly brushing against my back was awkward. This was a behavior possible only because she didn’t consider me a man, nor did she view herself as an object of s*xual attraction. Moreover, during every break, she would engage in such behavior, so how could I possibly focus on studying or revising anything here?

If the owner of the crowd that included Sora could have restrained her, surely she would have been able to…

“Hmm~. You look beautiful.”

Inna was simply smiling happily because she liked how Sora was styling me.

Both Sora and Inna were girls to me, but since they had greater physical strength than me, there was no way to escape.

Even though Inna, being a supernatural ability user, was strong, Sora’s sheer physical strength was impressive. With my protective blessing turned off, there was no way I could resist her. Now, I understood why Sora kept approaching me despite being neglected by me before.

“Right?! Don’t you think it’s adorable?! I’ve never seen such a sweet creature who doesn’t run away or refuse and just stays still!”

It must be because this body is incredibly cute.

It seemed her standards for beauty had been fully met.

Seeing Inna nod in agreement with Sora, I regarded her as a traitor and glared at her. Despite her promise to protect me, she wasn’t doing anything but watching idly.

“…Can you stop now?”

Surprisingly, help came from a direction I hadn’t expected—a tall woman.

Despite being the same age as the characters around me, she seemed more like an adult, likely due to her height making her appear older.

Since this was a romantic visual novel game, mostly featuring Korean protagonists with battles rated for adults, I hadn’t asked the age of the people in this world. However, I heard that supernatural abilities influenced genetics and cured diseases, extending life expectancy to 160 years. Additionally, middle schools and elementary schools lasted longer than the ones I was familiar with, and everyone attending high school was considered an adult.

The outfit I thought was a uniform was actually just what Inna mistakenly referred to as such. What I wore when going to school was just normal clothing.

Hence, these “children” around me could very well be adults, and even this tall woman was probably not much older than the rest, but her height created an intimidating presence.

“Honestly, that person did treat us coldly, but isn’t it strange to bring them into our circle so quickly? Actually, knowing you both might say it’s not strange, but from my perspective, I think it’s strange.”

The woman who had previously ignored me was now fixing her eyes on me. As she focused, subtle differences in the darkness of her eyes betrayed her anger.

“And honestly, given how you’ve ignored us until now, it’s disgusting that you’re suddenly trying to cling to us because some guy you liked wouldn’t follow through with you.”

“Hey! Song Gain! What are you badmouthing her for in front of her?”

Even though Sora reacted angrily on my behalf, her anger felt justified. There was no reason for Gain to irrationally lash out at me, someone her friends cared about.

I might not know what I did, but I clearly did something to anger her.

Thus, I didn’t plan to make any excuses and remained quiet.

…Truthfully, I thought it was Song Gain, not Inna, who might finally end these adornments being placed in my hair during every break.

“I just want this to stop.”

Despite fixing my gaze on Gain as a potential savior, the girl sitting next to me stood up, seemingly unwilling to just sit idly by this time.

“Gain, can we talk?”

Though her tone was gentle, it carried an eerie undertone. It seemed Inna was slightly irritated, despite thinking she had treated her friend well.

Black drops appeared to run down the woman’s face, who seemed to have a robust voice, but Gain quickly composed herself, resolving to speak.

“Yeah, let’s talk outside.”

I hoped for the best as Gain, seemingly prepared to reconsider how I was being treated, stepped out into the hallway with Inna, observing them with a hopeful gaze.

“Hmm, mind if I ask a question? I had the feeling you would approach me today, though you usually keep your distance. But the actions you’ve taken up to this point suddenly make sense to me, so could you perhaps explain them in a way that I can understand?”

Amidst the attention of a few classmates, Sora carefully questioned me. I assumed she wished to learn my perspective, not because Gain’s statements were entirely wrong, but rather to persuade Gain.

What should I tell her? I don’t want to spread my supposed memory loss around or imply to this woman, who seems unusually caring, that I’ve lost my memory, as I don’t want her to take further interest.

Pushing people away, like in the original story, is an easy option, but I’m hesitant to completely cut off all future relationships when the original owner returns. More importantly, I need to maintain connections to find the true heroine who will help me leave this body.

I have no idea when I’ll need their assistance, so for now, I should appropriately let them know I’m opening up.

“I just suddenly felt like doing it. Even if you don’t believe me and distance yourselves, it’s my karmic retribution for all the things I’ve done so far, so it’s fine.”

Given that I’m not good at lying, only ambiguous words came out. It seems my good-hearted nature can sometimes be a flaw.

Though I didn’t think my vague explanation would persuade her, she was moved to tears.

“Don’t worry too much. Gain talks big, but she actually loves cute-looking kids. If you convey your feelings clearly, I’m sure she’ll hear you.”

Please, don’t like me as much as you do.

Appreciating my restraint from saying things she wouldn’t want to hear, the girl who was sitting on my lap hugged me.

“Of course, Inna really likes you too, so she’ll convince Gain not to dislike you. Just wait patiently, don’t worry too much.”

Sora appeared to trust Inna a great deal, but because of the prompt in front of my eyes, I couldn’t trust her.

[The method to get close to Inna involves distancing yourself from others, making you rely solely on her. However, due to the changes in you, this tactic didn’t work. She doubts even the claim about your memory loss, given that you somehow remember a name you shouldn’t. While she observed your reactions as Sora was playing with your hair, your response was vague, showing no significant difference from before you supposedly lost your memory.]

[And if you lied about losing your memory just to put a little distance between her and you, then punishment might be due. The blessing she placed on you was her way of saying you shouldn’t be mistreated by others. However, inversely, it means her blessing wouldn’t protect you from those she permits to harm you.]

[Be careful of those who are close to Inna. Given that you cannot see extras (background characters), it might be the extras, rather than the ones with special powers, who could be more dangerous. The closer you get to Inna, the more influenced by her charm you become, and this charm likely strengthens their bodies. In short, Inna might allow those close to her to infiltrate your heart deeply, and if they break you, she might step in and play the savior.]

From the system’s words, it seems Inna took Gain away not for my benefit but perhaps to break me…

Unwilling to create discord between Sora, who firmly trusted Inna, and me, I remained silent, allowing her to stroke my hair.

Indeed, I wondered what Inna might do to me.

While pondering if she was worthy of my trust.