Why is that?
“Hey, you scummy fortuneteller. What are you doing?”
“Uh, um. Liu, miss.”
Why do I feel like I did something wrong?
Strictly speaking, I’m also a victim here. I was just walking down the street when some random person suddenly tried to sexually harass me.
Anyway, that’s not the point!
“No, no, that’s not it.”
“Uh, Liu?”
“In my investigation, it turns out you don’t have any female family members or a girlfriend.”
…The misunderstanding is cleared up, but the fact that it was thanks to the investigation bothers me a bit.
Or is it good to know it’s good?
“And besides, you’re not smiling, so this isn’t a normal situation. When you’re flustered, your right eyebrow twitches, and it’s doing that now; and when you’re plotting something, your left lip curls up, and that’s not happening now.”
Uh, I don’t know why, but for some reason, it feels like Liu knows quite a lot about me.
Maybe it’s thanks to the investigation. It’s quite an unsettling feeling.
Anyway, Liu, who seems to have reached a conclusion, approaches the girl clinging to me forcefully.
“Hey, you. Do you even know whose underling you’re attached to? Before this gets ugly…”
Clatter.
“Huh?”
What was that sound?
Suddenly, I hear the sound of chains—
“Unbeliever.”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“Die.”
Wham!!!
—A mace comes crashing down where Liu was standing.
Liu narrowly dodges it, and the mace shatters the pavement, burying itself deep into the ground.
And then, the girl who was holding me suddenly swings the mace…
With a look of total indifference to guilt, she glares at Liu.
“Huh? Hey. You were really trying to kill me, weren’t you?”
“Die.”
“You’re really out of your mind. What is it with all these crazy girls surrounding my underling?”
Well, if I’m being picky, I think the craziest among them is you, Liu.
But I wasn’t going to say anything, so I just kept quiet.
Above all, the girl wielding that mace while holding me is really terrifying. I can’t break free from her one-armed grip…!
Liu! Help me out here!
“But, hey, did you think this would scare me?”
Just now, Liu almost got really smashed by that mace, but she’s laughing as if it doesn’t frighten her at all.
Buzz—
Rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, jewels embedded in clothes, belts.
The jewels and decorations hung all over Liu start to glow and make ominous sounds.
‘All of that… is an artifact.’
Ten rings on her fingers, three necklaces around her neck, four bracelets on her arms, and jewels everywhere else.
Every single one is an artifact, far beyond the value of this <Observation> necklace I found on my treasure hunt.
In the game’s setting, all those artifacts were classified as end-spec level.
In this reality, each of those items is worth hundreds of millions, but for a <Rich Tycoon>, that’s not a big expense.
That’s also why Liu could carry herself with such confidence.
‘Artifacts are an exception in Liu’s paranoia; I remember that she’s got a collector’s mentality.’
Liu Yan, glaring at the girl with the mace, looks like she could unleash the artifacts at any moment.
Uh, I really don’t want to get involved.
“Um…”
“Don’t worry, underling. I’ll smash that psycho’s head for you.”
“Namgoong Min, don’t worry. I’ll purify the unbeliever soon.”
“No, that’s not it.”
Setting aside the fact that they’re about to fight,
“Do you not realize we’re in the middle of the street…?”
“Ah.”
“….Ah.”
In the very middle of the Romance Academy, during a time when students and staff without classes might wander through.
The details of what happened get overshadowed, and to the outside observer, it looks like two girls are confronting one fortuneteller.
To a third party, it seems like a really funny scene, and people begin to murmur.
Click.
Oh, someone just took a picture?
Dammit.
“Well, shall we head back to my base?”
“….Okay.”
“As you wish, Namgoong Min.”
*
Some small building on the outskirts of the Romance Academy.
The basement of the building I bought using the 200 million I received from Liu, thanks to the Academy’s student discount, is my base.
While it’s only mine for the duration of my studies at the Academy, it’s a nice three-story building where I could rent out space or open a shop!
“It’s small, but please bear with it.”
“Oh, no. It’s not that small.”
“If it’s where Namgoong Min is, it’s like heaven to me.”
After thoroughly locking the door to my base, I made some instant coffee and presented it to the two girls.
Liu glanced around the base, while the unidentified girl for some reason was fondly stroking my bed.
To be honest, I didn’t mean to invite anyone over, so the hospitality is lacking. Please bear with me.
And please don’t swing any more maces or use any artifacts!
If it breaks here, I’d be in tears!
“Well, I have just one question.”
I looked at the culprit behind all this—the girl who was admiring the place with that weird look in her eyes.
She seemed to have noticed my gaze and, with a bright smile, stared back at me. She’s really pretty, but…
“Who… are you?”
There’s no way I’d forget someone like her if she existed in the game.
Who on earth are you?
“……Ah, I see. I’m sorry, Namgoong Min. I was so overwhelmed meeting you that I forgot to introduce myself.”
“Oh, no.”
“My name is Eileen Teddy Bear.”
…What?
Eileen Teddy Bear? The daughter of instructor Charles Teddy Bear?
Is she really?
“I serve Namgoong Min… your very own devotee.”
“Ah…”
Now that I see her, I notice Eileen’s necklace.
That necklace with the Teddy Bear motif—it’s the object that Charles always carried after he couldn’t heal Eileen’s illness.
A sort of… keepsake.
Now that I see it, I realize she is Eileen Teddy Bear. I get it, but…
“Wait, are you saying you’re the daughter of instructor Charles Teddy Bear?”
“Yes, unbeliever.”
“What? Why are you speaking informally only to me?”
“Don’t misunderstand; to me, everyone except my father and Namgoong Min is equal. I’m not speaking informally only to you.”
“What does that even mean…?”
Was she always like this?
In the game, I never had a chance to properly interact with Eileen Teddy Bear. It was essentially an event for Charles Teddy Bear.
The only time I ever saw her was when she’s laid up in bed, and after that, I never got to see her again, so I don’t know her well.
But it’s strange…
“Um, Eileen?”
“You can just call me Eileen with affection!”
“Eileen?”
“Eileen.”
“….Eileen.”
“Yes! What can I do for you?”
“I seem to remember you being a little smaller when I saw you last.”
Yeah, I don’t clearly remember, but I think Eileen was about 18 or 19 years old in her background.
She was relatively young, and since she mostly stayed at home in bed, I remember her being petite like Liu, right?
But now, she’s… got a killer body with curves and something to show off!
“Well, that’s… true. I apologize to you, Namgoong Min, but I can’t say too much while the unbeliever is around…”
“Hey, are you talking about me?”
“Then who else would the unbeliever be? If you have any sense at all, you should leave this place immediately.”
“You crazy girl?”
…So, is this related to the <Saint>?
After class, the Saint reached out to me separately regarding the saint’s issue. They said it was dealt with in secret.
So, only Charles Teddy Bear, the saint, and I, know that Eileen is a <Saint>.
Sorry, but there’s no way I can tell Liu about this.
“Then let’s save that conversation for later.”
“Okay!”
“…Hey, Namgoong. Are you really planning to meet this crazy girl alone?”
“What? Uh, yeah, shouldn’t I?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Liu?”
What the heck are you talking about, Liu?
Suddenly opposing me outright, Liu crosses her arms and glares at Eileen with fiery eyes.
“Weren’t you paying attention earlier? That girl is a real psycho who might swing that mace at any moment. If you meet her alone, you’d need at least three heads!”
“…Unbeliever, that’s way out of line. Do you really think I would do that to Namgoong Min?”
“You’ve been calling him unbeliever since earlier. Who are you, some kind of 14-year-old psycho? You’re not one of those fanatic religious types, are you?”
Uh, I was curious about that too.
It’s odd that she calls me Namgoong ‘Min’ and suddenly refers to Liu as unbeliever.
Is that related to her <Saint> class? There were no playable classes like <Saint> or <Saint> in the game, and I hadn’t completed any hidden events related to the <Saint> class, so honestly, I don’t know.
You generally have to pass the test called a pilgrimage to gain the church’s recognition, and once you do, you acquire authority even stronger than the Pope, right?
“An unbeliever is just an unbeliever. That’s all.”
“Hey, Namgoong. I’m telling you again, don’t meet this delusional girl. If you do, you’ll have to pay back every penny of the debt I owe you.”
“Didn’t you just say I didn’t have to pay it back?”
“I said that until just now, but that doesn’t apply anymore.”
I can’t shake the feeling that the ‘real’ issue is coming from Liu.
Liu, ignoring my incredulous expression, was having an intense eye stare with Eileen.
A clash of <Rich Tycoon> and <Saint>? What an exhilarating sight…
Ah, please don’t pull out the mace. Also Liu, don’t fidget with those rings.
This is my home, you guys!
“Alright, alright, I get it. Eileen, one last question.”
“Ask away!”
“You’ve been in the Romance Academy, so you’re a student, right?”
“Of course!”
Then at least the Vice Principal or the Principal must know that Eileen is a <Saint>. Those two are neutral figures, so there’s no way information about Eileen would leak out.
It’s probably safer for her to be in the Academy than out there.
I’m sure the Saint and Charles Teddy Bear managed to get her enrolled without any hassle.
…Now that I think about it, is there some sort of admissions fraud committee here?
“Then, if that’s the case…”
“Yes!”
“Do you have many friends?”
“Uh… Yes?”
Right.
Eileen is a Saint, and she’s addressing me with proper respect.
But more importantly, the most critical thing here is that my ‘acquaintances’ just expanded by one more!
“I think I have quite a few… Because there are people I usually hang around with.”
“Why? Don’t they call you unbeliever?”
“They do. But they just laugh it off.”
“………”
Maybe they think it’s all a concept. With her being a perfect beauty and also the daughter of instructor Charles Teddy Bear, it seems like she’s been accepted somehow.
If she truly has a fair number of friends, that’s excellent.
That’s more than enough…!
“Eileen, could you help me with something?”
“Of course! Wherever it is, if I’m with Namgoong Min…!”
“H-hey, Namgoong. You’re just gonna ignore my advice and be with that girl—”
“Liu! Please help too!”
“…….Oh, um. Sure. Yeah.”
Ah, I got a bit excited and unconsciously held her hand while speaking. Thank goodness Liu didn’t immediately snatch her hand away.
When I let go of Liu’s hand for my survival, the girl had a strange expression and began to caress her own hand.
From her reaction, it seems that if I held on a little longer, I might’ve lost my hand; what a relief.
“Hehe…”
An infinite loanable human bank, and having a friend already?
I never thought I’d clear all my worries in less than a day.
‘What luck I have.’
At this moment, I couldn’t keep back the chuckle that slipped out of me.
“………”
“…………”
Somehow, it feels like Liu and Eileen are both looking at me with strange eyes.
That must be just my imagination, right?
*
It’s already been 5 minutes since I left Namgoong Min’s base.
Patter.
“………”
Patter.
“…………”
The sound of footsteps, with both girls not looking at each other and walking in the same direction.
Since this is a rather secluded area, hardly anyone passes by.
The girl who was walking ahead, Liu Yan, suddenly stops.
“Hey.”
“………”
“Hey, psycho of a middle schooler.”
“…You have a loud tongue, unbeliever.”
Whether Liu stopped or not, Eileen, who was about to walk past her, came to a stop too.
Clatter.
The mace she kept hidden comes out with a metallic sound.
“Do you want to die?”
“I can kill you, you know?”
“Of course.”
Eileen looks at Liu with no hesitation, filled only with the intent to kill.
However, looking back at her, Liu’s eyes were dripping with suspicion.
“I’m suspicious of you.”
“Why’s that?”
“Shouldn’t I be suspicious of a whore clinging to my precious underling?”
“………”
Whore, huh?
In response to that coarse provocation, Eileen retaliated.
“I really don’t want to hear that from a stalker who memorizes everything Namgoong Min says and does.”
“……What?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Unbeliever, I see it all.”
The <Saint>’s job skill, <Eye of Insight>.
That skill allows the Saint to catch a glimpse of someone’s intentions, albeit fragmentarily.
That’s why Eileen can read the heart of Liu, the <Rich Tycoon>.
Because of that, she understands that Liu has been memorizing everything I do, say, and react to.
“Hah, fine. I’ll accept that.”
But even with all those facts laid bare, Liu’s heart remains calm.
As if the realization meant nothing to her.
“Do you like Namgoong Min?”
“………”
“That guy really seems oblivious. It’s like he doesn’t know that someone could like him at all.”
Eileen Teddy Bear clearly shows that she holds feelings more than mere platonic admiration for me.
Anyone could tell that if they looked closely at her for just a moment. But for some reason, I’m completely oblivious.
“You really love that fortuneteller, huh?”
“Love, you call it?”
“Isn’t that how it is?”
“Can we really call that love?”
“……What?”
As Liu questioned Eileen’s absurd answer, she looked up at the sky.
“This isn’t just a simple emotion called love. It’s reverence toward the divine.”
“Reverence?”
“Like sunflowers following the sun, like moths diving into flames, like how we submit to the great ones in the sky.”
Her eyes are filled with emotions that cannot be defined.
An overflowing sensation that seems to cover the ground.
“I’m just here to follow Namgoong Min.”
“Guess you really are a psycho.”
“You’re one to talk.”
At that moment, the two girls understood each other a little better.
One is a Rich Tycoon, suspicious of everything and memorizing all actions; the other, a Saint, with feelings thicker than love, devoted like a deity.
Even while they both loathed each other, they couldn’t help but realize that there was something eerily similar in their hearts.
Liu and Eileen had no choice but to deny one another.
“………”
“…………”
Thus, neither being able to acknowledge the other, the two girls stood facing each other for quite some time.