My lower lip trembled.
Don't! Don't agree!
You have to change yourself!
So what if the Hall brat is crying?
S-She deserves it!
Wait, no. Why the heck is she even crying in the first place? What is there to cry about, huh?!
I looked away from those large, enchanting violet eyes in an attempt to eradicate myself from their control.
And thankfully, it worked.
As long as I don't see the tears, I'm fine!
But just as I resolved myself to deny the girl's request in a warm manner—
"Asu! Boohoo…" Lancera changed tactics and sobbed into my arm. "You are such a kind person, you won't abandon me, right? I-I just wanted to be closer to you, who shines brighter than the sun. Your beauty is so plentiful that even goddesses are in envy of you… On the other hand, my existence is so minuscule…"
Ahh…
A prominent red as well as a subtle smile (that I tried very hard to suppress but to no avail!) crept up my face as Lancera finished her little speech.
My two weaknesses: compliments and tears…
… she grasped them all.
But even as I know that this was just to convince me to have lunch with her, I couldn't control my emotions as they spun out of control.
But!
I still have that little bit of willpower left!
I didn't completely become her marionette yet! Wait, no. Not 'yet'!
I will never become her marionette! Never!
In my newfound inner strength, I began to speak—more eloquently than I thought would speak. Though that's to be expected, cause I'm just that cool.
"Miss Lancera, again, unfortunately, I must—"
"Your other friends said they had something to do and can't have lunch with you today."
Eh?
Wh—
'My other friends said they had something to do and can't have lunch with me' my foot!
It's definitely YOU who convinced them to leave me with your sweet talking!
And for the other friends…
YOU ABANDONED ME AGAIN?!
WHY! MY POWER IS EQUAL, NO, HIGHER THAN THAT STUPID HALL BRAT'S! I'M ALSO SOOO MUCH BETTER, COOLER THAN HER. SO WHY WOULD YOU ABANDON ME????
I was about to explode. I could feel my hands curl into fists and my nails digging into my palms.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.
In fact, I could say with confidence that out of the 356 days of a year, something like this happened 340 days, where the remaining 16 days were when I went back to my family's mansion in the north for the holidays.
I'm usually not that great at math, but you know, I've been so burdened by this person that my mind forgot about my poor skill level.
But back to present now.
With no other excuse that I could think of, there was only one thing I could say now…
;-; <-- the only emoji that I can use to express my pain.
I mean, there's no way I could say I didn't want to eat with her cause I just don't feel like it, right?
Even now, I see the eyes of the other students watching excitedly at my every move. What in the world are they looking at?! This isn't a show, okay?
MY SOCIAL LIFE IS IN DANGER.
But even as I've always encouraged myself to step up against her tranny throughout the many years I've known Lancera, the words that came out of my mouth, as always, were quite different than what I wanted to say.
"Lancera, don't be sad! Since they said they didn't want to have lunch with me, I can eat with you! It is my pleasure to have lunch with you!" My voice was bright and cheery, full of sincerity.
I saw the gazes of the other students turn into stares of adoration, and my mood was uplifted by quite a bit.
But…
As soon as I finished my sentence, I felt the terrible weight that was leaning against me increase further, and I would've collapsed if it weren't for me switching to a stance that would carry more weight—Mhm. That's right. I've learned some combat and dance before. Hehe.
"Ohmygod!I'msohappy!Asexpected,Asuisthebest!" That weight shrieked as she jumped on me, rubbing her face on my shoulder.
Translation: Oh, my god! I'm so happy! As expected, Asu is the best!
Perhaps seeing that I couldn't breathe very well, the Hall brat FINALLY let go from her giant bear hug—thank goodness she was pretty perceptive, it was the thing I liked about her the most—
-- Bleh!
W-What am I even saying?! I don't like her at all! She's not fit for someone as great as me!
It was contradictory, the way that I helplessly trudged along with the girl in tow without any resistance yet I was cursing her in my mind.
But you know, contradiction is cool! It makes a person seem more mysterious and deeper than they actually are!
Yep! I don't have to feel bad, I'm just cool in a more radical way!
And being radical is good! The founder of our continent was radical too! So is God! Uh… No… Pretend I didn't say that.
I didn't say anything!
Gotta change the topic…
As I walked, enduring the curious looks of the bystanders and the oohs aahs, I couldn't help but think about how I got trapped by this one hell of a villainess.