I’m Really Not Trying to Be Chased by the Heroine as the Villainous Playboy! – Chapter 187

Chapter 40: Disdain

Roy wasn’t just throwing out accusations.

The reason the vicious girl attacked Alice was likely that she dared not go after him. This showed that she had some brains, just not much—going after the easy targets.

Nia was a Rank 8 herself, so she wasn’t the target for that girl, which made it straightforward for who would be in her sights next.

“I’m not afraid of being targeted…”

Halfway through her sentence, Nia suddenly realized the severity of the situation, and her face darkened.

“Tsk, I need to head back to the dorm.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Alice, you come too.”

It wasn’t curfew yet, so students could freely enter and leave the dorm areas.

In the dormitory building of the commoner district, things were just as Roy suspected. A few troublemaker girls had cornered Nia’s two friends against the wall, while others were storming into the room and smashing things on Nia’s bed.

Luckily, they returned just in time.

Nia slapped each of them twice, and the troublemaker girls cried out loudly and fled in a panic.

However, shaken from the encounter, Jenny and Amy saw Roy there and instantly developed a strange misunderstanding.

This was the girls’ dorm!

“Nia! Why did you bring a scoundrel in here?! It’s not like you’re having a… a silver party or something…”

“Shut it!”

Nia explained for a while before they finally grasped the situation.

Naturally, the two girls felt a wave of contempt for Yana. Clearly, the bullies were way more disgusting than some imaginary “scoundrel.”

Jenny rolled up her sleeves on the spot: “This kind of jerk deserves a beating. We have to fight her to the end!”

“With your skills, you’d scare even a fish half to death, so let’s not.” Amy ruthlessly quipped, then turned serious and said to Roy and the others, “If there’s anything else we can help with, just say the word. We’re ready to pitch in.”

However, hearing this, Nia couldn’t help but smile resignedly.

That smile had an extra layer of subtle distance and alienation compared to what Roy remembered.

“Stop talking nonsense. Yana’s after me, this has nothing to do with you.”

“As long as you all stay out of it, Yana won’t make things difficult for you.”

The two girls were taken aback, unable to imagine that the usually friendly and close Nia would present such a distant attitude.

Jenny wasn’t about to give up: “But… there must be something we could help with, like we could report her for bullying to the teacher?”

Nia shrugged: “Don’t even think about it. The teachers can’t do anything.”

Nia was right. Most students in this academy came from prominent backgrounds and had enormous potential. Crossing anyone was bound to bring trouble.

So, the academy turned a blind eye to such incidents, with ongoing conflicts between students, even forming factions, all while still maintaining the baseline of not violating school rules.

Unless someone really got killed, the academy’s teachers would always just sit back and watch.

Of course, there were always exceptions. Roy knew about that most terrifying woman, who might actually step in as an exception to help, but bringing her into this would only spell disaster for Roy.

“So you just want to cut us off and face this alone?” Amy frowned, glaring at her, seemingly unable to accept it.

Nia chuckled: “I want to protect you until I completely resolve the trouble she brings.”

She stepped forward and patted her two friends on the shoulders, her tone light as if discussing a leisurely dinner: “Anyway, I’ll be moving out for a few days, so don’t come looking for me. Just pretend we’re not friends.”

But as Nia left the dormitory with her backpack, she stopped in the pitch-black night.

Alice felt a bit guilty.

“I’m sorry, it’s all because of me that Nia got targeted too.”

Nia immediately gave her a light smack on the head, making Alice let out a small ‘ow.’

“What nonsense are you spouting? If anyone’s to blame, it’s Yana, not you!” Nia said, both amused and exasperated.

To her, regardless of the outcome, it was her own choice, and she shouldn’t blame others. Moreover, Alice was a victim herself.

“Exactly,” Roy nodded along.

“But as a girl, living alone on the outskirts doesn’t seem too convenient, does it?”

Honestly, Roy still felt a bit guilty.

At the heart of it, Yana was targeting him.

Nia finding herself in this predicament was partly his responsibility; leaving her to fend for herself would be rather unkind.

But Nia merely smiled warmly, her earlier forced expression softening a bit.

Regardless of Alice, Roy’s concern was enough to make her grateful.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been through the adventurer life. A few days of tent camping is nothing for me!”

If it were really like that, Roy wouldn’t worry as much.

The key point was, Roy knew Nia’s situation well; he knew she would have a rough time if she left the dorm.

Because she was poor. Not to mention, she bummed lunch off Alice and dinner off her friends in the evening. Without the dorm, she’d have no food at night.

Even with the risks of getting too close to the female lead, Roy simply couldn’t ignore the plight of this good-hearted girl who had helped Alice.

So Roy questioned her: “Are you sure? There are no magical beasts in the magic academy, so if you can’t hunt, what will you eat? The rivers are crowded with people; do you want your classmates to watch you bathe?”

At that, Nia’s smile froze instantly.

“So…” Roy flashed a friendly grin, “how about you come stay with me?”

Nia wasn’t shy or uncomfortable living with boys; after all, they wouldn’t share a room, especially with Alice around.

She simply didn’t want to be bothered by the master-and-servant pair showing off their relationship.

With a composed expression, Nia calmly replied: “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out on my own!”

Just as she finished speaking, a loud growl from her stomach echoed.

Nia’s expression stayed calm, but her cheeks turned slightly pink.

Roy stifled a laugh for a long moment.

“How about we go back and have a meal first?”

“…Sure. Let’s eat something first.”

That night, Nia praised Alice’s cooking endlessly and expressed intense jealousy towards Roy, who got to enjoy such meals every day.

Afterward, with a full belly, Nia lounged on the couch, no longer mentioning her plans to move out.

——————————

Meanwhile, in the noble district’s Golden Sand Mansion, the dinner atmosphere was unusually oppressive.

“Cousin, you need to help me!”

At the dinner table, Yana, nursing a bruised nose, began to cry.

“It’s all because of that despicable, shameless, ungrateful Roy! Cousin, that country bumpkin noble brought us in Golden Sand Country to this point, you absolutely must take my side!”

Meanwhile, the robust and handsome teenager whom Yana addressed as cousin was rubbing his temples in frustration.

Both were Rank 8, lying in ambush and outnumbering the opponent, yet not only had they not hurt a single hair on him, but he almost ended up disfigured.

Douglas deeply resented being stuck with such an incompetent cousin.