"Oh? Were these yours? You do know that it's forbidden to bring food in the library, right? Though I can't imagine a burglar would care about following the rules," said the girl in a contemptuous tone.
Her eyes scanned me from head to toe in less than a second and then she turned her head back to her holo-comp.
I blankly gazed at her for a couple of seconds in confusion until I realized what happened. She took a single glance at me and registered my existence as a non-threat.
The way she glanced at me was the same way I would've glanced at a roaming ant in the wild. Insignificant. Mindless. Weak. Not worthy of any more attention than a purveying look. In essence, there was nothing to be gained from observing a lesser creature.
Don't engage, Katché, it's not worth it. You know they get a kick out of provoking you. Don't give her the satisfaction and ignore it.
"...Excuse me, but did you just call me a burglar? Isn't that a bit rich coming from you? In any case, fork over those fifteen credits and make yourself scarce, Miss Thief. I found this spot first; Go find your own damn haven."
The girl took another swig of her stolen Titan-Dew and said, "So you can understand my words? Impressive. But it seems that you're still lacking in terms of comprehension, though. How unfortunate. I pity you, Mr. Burglar. Nevertheless, I am still going to have to ask you to leave. This room is occupied."
She continued tapping away at her holo-comp, as she voiced her lamentations in the most monotone way possible.
...Don't fall for it. Hold it in. Just let it go. Easy does it...
She's one of the elitist types, from the look of it. High and mighty, as if she owns the world. Probably raised with a golden— no, probably a platinum spoon from her attitude. She's not even remotely afraid of being in the same room with an unknown man in an empty building. That, alone, speaks volumes about her upbringing.
Either she seriously thinks herself skilled enough to handle me or believes it to be unthinkable for her to ever be assaulted on the basis of some other factor. Presumably her family's name and the authority it possesses.
Not that I needed to deduce that to figure that this girl's a princess. I just don't know which one she is — there are plenty of royal twats in this academy, too many to count. Either way, it makes no difference to me.
I'm the goddamn King of Goldfish. I'll never bend the knee.
I know how to handle types like her very well. I've handled plenty of assholes like her before, so I know how to get their attention fast. It's super easy, too.
You just need to give them a good, old reality check.
With an elegant smile on my face, I walked up to the honey-blonde princess and I...
Pressed the power button on her holo-comp and closed it shut with a vigorous slam. And to follow it up, I shoved my face right in front of hers, completely violating her personal space.
I gazed at her dark azure eyes with a fearless expression and said, "I don't think you understand the situation, Princess. I'm not on your payroll. I'm not on anyone's payroll. And I couldn't care less what your goddamn name is, by the way. So don't even think about uttering it to me as if it means something."
It was a foolproof triple combo that was super effective on rich, entitled assholes. Push in their shit, invade their personal space, and then break the illusion that their family name has any authority on you. Make then understand that you can't be bribed, threatened, or ordered around by them.
The girl's eyes widened for a brief moment before she regained her composure and gazed at me with a thin smile on her face. Her eyes narrowed into half-moon crescents filled with amusement and a chilling coldness that left me a bit uneasy.
I had never seen that type of response to my stunt before. Furious expressions, contemptuous sneers, and offended glares are what I usually got from the entitled assholes I tried my act on. Negative reactions, to put it bluntly — as one would expect.
Not smiles. She was the first person I've met go react like that. It was an unnatural reaction that caught me off guard. What kind of person smiles when they're threatened?
...I think I already knew the answer at the time, but I was too scared to admit it.
It was a smile that made her glow underneath the window behind her as if she were posing for a masterpiece in the making. And yet, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine our eyes locked.
There was something buried within her gentle smile and amused eyes — my instincts were screaming at the top of their lungs that there was a monster beneath her charming facade.
When I started to back away, the girl took the offensive and grabbed my necktie as if it were a leash and pulled me back into her personal space. She was unexpectedly bold for a little princess, such that I was at a loss for words when she countered my stunt with her reprisal.
"Where are you running, Mr. Thief? I pegged you the fearless sort considering your heated declaration. Don't tell me you're just full of hot air after everything you've said. A free, noble spirit like you need not fear... a single girl." The girl's smile broadened when she saw the uncertain expression on my face, which only exacerbated my uneasy feelings.
"...Who are you?" I spat out in a low voice.
"Ah, ah, ah. That's not how it works, Mr. Thief. Gentlemen have to introduce themselves first before they can hear a maiden's name. I would be honored to learn your name if you would be so kind."
"I'm... Katché Wisfern." I felt as if I had just given away a crucial piece of information that I shouldn't have. As if I had made a fatal error. I should have just kept my mouth shut, but I just...
"Wisfern... Is that so?"
The girl hummed out a little song as she gazed at my face with a scrutinizing expression and eventually released her grasp on my necktie.
"I've never heard of the Wisfern household, so you're aren't part of the Old World. Never have I heard of any main branch or minor branch bearing such a name."
Was that just a subtle diss or just her simply stating the facts? I couldn't give less of a shit whether or not I'm part of their little club.
"Yeah, I'm not some ultra-rich twat. What's it to you if I wasn't born into one of your oh-so-special families?"
The girl shook her head and said, "Nothing at all. If anything, you're better off... But I can't exactly approve of your reckless attitude when it comes to interacting with people like me. That's a terrible idea, Katché, if you don't mind me giving you a little piece of advice."
Piece of advice? From her? Miss high and mighty offering me advice from the top of her mountain?
Nah, I think I'll pass hard on that shit.
"I've been doing this since my first year in this cesspool, Miss-Hasn't-Told-Me-Her-Name-Yet. I think that I'll be just fine without your life lesson, thank you very much."
The girl shrugged her shoulders for a moment and appeared to have been ready to say something until she stopped herself. She paused for a second, tilted her head in confusion, and then snapped her fingers.
"Ah! I do know you! You're that fellow, no? The one that got in a fistfight with the heir of the Vaseon family two years ago! I remember hearing about that back then..."
Is she scatterbrained or just being evasive? She totally just dodged the topic about her name. What the hell's wrong with this damn girl? She was all about following the rules and now she's completely ignored them!
"I don't care what you remember. The only thing I care about right now is getting you to leave my beloved sanctuary!"
The girl sighed in disappointment and said, "How boorish of you, Katché. Is how you treat girls? I am not very impressed, to be honest. Raising one's voice to a lady is not gentlemanly at all."
"I'm not your damn butler, woman! And I'm sure as hell not going to change myself to accommodate a spoiled aristocrat like you," I retorted with all the poison I could muster.
"Now, now. I'm sure we can talk without resorting to name-calling. But I'll give you a chance to get what you want today. If you can guess who I am, I'll leave you to your brooding, okay? All you have to do is play a little game with me."
"A name guessing game? It's as if you want someone to feed your damn ego, huh. Typical aristocrat bullshit. Irredeemable narcissists, the entire lot of you."
The girl laughed at my insult and said, "All you have to do is guess who I am. You have as many tries you want and I'll be dropping you hints depending on how stuck you get. It'll be fun, I promise."
Fun for you, maybe. I just want you to pay me what you owe me already. Are you telling me you don't have fifteen credits on you or something?!
I sat down across from her on the other side of the only table in the study room and stared at her, trying to get a bead on who she could possibly be.
There are plenty of human students in Afon O'Mir, some of them commoners and others aristocrats. Children of famous politicians, CEOs of enormous international corporations, ancient heroes, and former human nobility of yore.
Dark golden hair like honey, dark azure eyes, a lovely face, and a slender, beautiful figure. A very princess-like appearance, overall. She could easily be a model if she wanted to be one, or an actress as long as she kept her annoying mouth shut.
"I don't know who you are. The spoilt daughter of some ancient noble from the Age of Worship? The difficulty's too high for me. I don't follow big families and their lives like sheeple in this academy. Celebrity worship rots the brain, after all."
"Oh come on, you can try harder than that. But I admit that it might be too hard for you, given your history."
That was definitely a diss. There's no way that wasn't a diss. This snarky little piece of work is insufferable.
"Hmm... Alright, I think you deserve a freebie considering the circumstances at play here. It'd be unfair if I didn't tell you, I suppose."
What's she talking about now? This girl, I swear...
"I'm not a human. That's your first hint. What do you think my name is, now?"
Not human? Well, she's certainly not a demon, orc, or a dwarf. I wouldn't have ruled her out as being a succubus, but I don't see a tail popping out of her skirt.
She's got human features, so she might be a half-elf. That's the only possibility left that I can conceivably think would work with what's in front of me...
But she doesn't have any elf ears, though. Wood Elves have blonde hair, but they all have green eyes, too. She has azure eyes, so she can't be one of them.
Dark Elves have, well, black hair and golden eyes so that's out of the equation. Not to mention that they're all a delectable shade of caramel brown, too. This girl ain't got none of that Dark Elf sweetness that I—
I-In any case, she doesn't fit either category. Half-elves always take on the characteristics of their elven parents, so this doesn't make sense at all.
The conclusion I can come up with is that she's lied to me. Her story doesn't add up, no matter how I put the pieces together. It's a broken puzzle from the start. Presumably, to mess with me, I suspect.
Cheeky girl, making me run around in circles for her own entertainment. This is why I hate dealing with aristocrats — they're all like this.
I was done with this game, but even so, I couldn't help but want to verify if I was right all along — that she was a human from the start and just led me on a wild goose chase.
"Stay still," I curtly said and bent over the table toward her face with my hands in what should have been my triumphant discovery, but...
I was stopped. The girl, for the first time, actually moved out of my reach when I approached her.
How odd. How suspicious. How...very interesting.
"Why'd you move? I told you to stay still." I had no intention of backing down, so I stood up from my seat and approach her directly this time.
She looked a little bit uneasy and said, "...I don't know what you're looking for but I'm sure I can help you, so stop—"
How very, very, very suspicious. Oh no, it seems that I've added two too many words in that previous sentence.
Oh hey, I did an offhand word pun. Nice job, me!
I lunged at the girl like a feral animal and closed the distance between us in a split second. My Katché-senses are tingling! There's something worth prodding here and I'll keep at until I get to the bottom of this!
A flying left land quickly came at me, but I ducked underneath it and stuck to her like glue, preventing her from landing any more strikes on my handsome face
"What are you hiding beneath this long hair, Princess? Might my answer be past these beautiful locks, I wonder?"
The girl struggled desperately against my grasp and then did something I did not expect. Not in a million years.
She slipped out of my hold, reversed our positions and then grabbed my waist from behind me.
And then she defied the law of gravity.
The girl put her head under one of my shoulders and actually lifted me onto her shoulder and then followed through the move. She fell backward on the table next to us and slammed my back through it with all the force she possessed.
It was what was referred to as a 'belly-to-back suplex' in the professional wrestling community.
The moment I broke through the table, I knew that had fucked the goose.
My soul left its body momentarily before it returned to where it belonged. For a second, I met my ancestors. Old Granpapa waved at me from the pearly gates before I was brought back to the land of the living.
When I coughed roughly, I thought I heard a small, relieved sigh but it was probably nothing more than a delusion of mine.
The girl above me hovered over my face with an unamused expression and said, "You can't go about fondling a maiden, Katché. That was a terrible idea. Gentlemen only look and do not touch. You would be wise to remember this in the future, otherwise..."
I bitterly coughed out a laugh and said something in an imperceptibly low voice. I was going to have the last laugh, no matter the price today.
The girl squinted her eyes and said, "What was that? I can't hear you..."
And in an all too natural reaction, craned her face closer to mine on the floor to better hear me. She calmly gazed into my eyes with her lovely azure eyes and said, "Can you repeat what you said again?"
I could literally see my own reflection within her eyes, which momentarily stunned me. My breath left me, if only for a second until I regained my senses.
"...I said that I—"
My previously limp arms shot like javelins towards her face and buried themselves into her hair in pursuit of treasure. I had no regrets.
"... am not a goddamn pervert! I'm just curious!"
As I previously stated, our first encounter was not the most pleasant one, but it got better later on.
Sort of.
In any case, I'm no pervert. Never have been. Never will be. You can't describe a young man's innocent curiosity as perversion. It's only natural. It's healthy.
...I swear I'm not a pervert.