Chapter 5

“It’s time to get up.”

I had always understood the phrase “let’s meet in front of your house” to mean literally waiting in front of one’s house.

…But is that right? No matter how many times I arranged meetings with women in games, I could never fully grasp the nuances of their conversations.

So maybe this isn’t unusual. Either way, regardless of whether it’s strange or not, my body, weaker than my former one, groaned in pain as I found it difficult to rise.

“Are you not going to get up?”

“Ugh…”

The sunlight filtering through the curtains pricked my eyes painfully. Even though my body isn’t that of the mythical vampire, the sunlight still felt torturous.

I tried covering my face with the blanket on one side, while angrily kicking it away with the other. The woman who had come to wake me up not only ignored my struggles, but she even took away my last refuge—the blanket.

Even though the sunlight had disrupted my peaceful sleep, the woman, seemingly unaware, began shaking my body.

“Let’s eat breakfast quickly and go to school together, okay?”

“What time is it?”

“6:30!”

If it’s 6:30, it’s about time to start getting ready for school. Since I still don’t know the exact distance to school, it would be best to follow the directions given by the woman.

I attempted to shake off the fatigue while still keeping my eyes closed, trying to rise from the bed—but then something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, I felt my body being lifted and carried somewhere. Just when I wondered where we were going, the footsteps stopped.

“Do you want me to wash your hair or will you do it yourself?”

“Huh?”

Is it usual to have your hair washed for you? Normally, my extraordinary logic would have come up with a quick answer, but the lingering drowsiness made it difficult to process.

Whether she took my silence as consent or dismissed my confusion, I have no idea, but she proceeded to move me and set me upright. She bent me forward slightly, and shortly thereafter, my hair became wet with a cool sensation.

“The temperature isn’t too off, right? I made it neither too cold, as you might dislike that, nor too hot, which could damage your hair.”

Her hands were unsettlingly skilled at washing another person, combing through my absurdly long hair before pouring water over it again.

Since opening my eyes might have meant water or shampoo getting into them, I simply submitted to her care.

“I’ll prepare breakfast while you dry your hair. Be careful not to get water on your wrists to avoid splashing into your ears.”

Only as she dried my still-damp hair with a towel did I finally understand the motive behind her earlier actions.

Ah, so the reason for washing my dishes yesterday and washing my hair today was because of her kindness toward someone who’s unwell. It all made sense if we’re talking about caring for an injured person.

I thought my magnetic charm would still work on women despite my changed body—but I was wrong.

She even handed me a hairdryer, showing further care, and I began drying my hair slowly at the mirror in the bathroom.

I still couldn’t see myself in the mirror. But for some reason, my body remembered how to use the hairdryer. My hands naturally kept the right distance, dried the hair thoroughly, and even combed it while drying.

Since this body was acting more out of habit rather than conscious intent, I stayed in the bathroom until my hair was completely dry.

What do you need for going to school? A uniform to get through the gates, textbooks or assignments given by teachers, and a bag to carry them all.

However, when I took over this body, the uniform had already been torn to shreds, probably by the original owner, and I couldn’t find the bag despite searching everywhere.

In other words, I set out to school without anything, wearing random clothes from the wardrobe.

‘Here I am, going back to school again at this age.’

And unlike others who cherished happy school days, my memories of school were filled with bad experiences. For me, school was like the Demon King’s castle.

Surely even a hero wouldn’t want to enter the Demon King’s castle, but because the Demon King lived there, there was no escaping it. Similarly, because the protagonist was in school, I had to go.

With a solemn determination, I accepted that the other students might avoid me.

“Hey Inna! Hey! I went to the karaoke yesterday with the group, and it was so boring. Seriously, Eun-jung and Jin-woo were there…”

“Inna, why have you been coming so early recently? I wanted to play with you!”

“Yoon Inna! Let’s go together! Why do you always rush off without me?”

I hadn’t anticipated this level of friendliness toward Inna as we encountered students on our way to school.

There is always a Demon King in the Demon King’s castle.

I should’ve guessed it when she served the hellfire toast.

Slowing down my steps slightly, I tried to stay away from the group of humans surrounding her, but Inna noticed and turned back, giving me a surprised look.

Clearly, while I was excellent with one-on-one exchanges, I was weak in group situations. There’s nothing I can do…

Just then, Inna’s eyes turned hostile and she tried to move toward me but was intercepted by the crowd around her.

… Is there something over here? When I turned my head, there was a woman with the most vivid red hair I’d ever seen in this world.

“She always seems to have such great popularity.”

A voice that seemed both knowledgeable about Inna and somewhat distant greeted us. Hovering above the approaching woman’s head was text.

The one I had struggled to find yesterday among a crowd was right in front of me now.

The heroine.

The main character’s second-in-command, a woman usually integral in visual novels, acting as one of the pillars of the protagonist’s story.

[Seo-ra Lee]

[Ability: Wisdom]

[Role: Main Heroine]

The main heroine had appeared in front of me much sooner than the protagonist I had been searching for.

“It’s been a while, Miss Erica.”

As if recognizing me…

But that mattered little now. The moment her face registered, the information appearing in my vision became more important than anything else.

[Subject Goodwill Level: 57(70)]

Without doing anything, I already have a goodwill level of 57? Is this real?

…This system of yours deserves investigation someday. If ever there’s a chance to talk with the system, that is.