I had no intention of provoking the guy that much.
All I wanted was to experiment on the gift's reach.
[ Target 'Tallion's anger has reached the threshold! ]
[ Giving indelible shame! ]
[ Negative tendency has been imprinted! ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
[ Skill: Evil Ruler has been activated. Obtained 1 command right over the target! ]
"…"
It worked so well.
Well, it wasn't really anything special in the first place.
It was an obvious route that any freshmen would take. A talent like Tallion would've done the same.
That's why I just went ahead and tried to hit all my targets.
I even threw in some of these lines, just in case the provocation wasn't enough; 'It's really amazing! You're always behind!' 'Thanks for the materials!' 'Thank you for your incompetence!' 'If you try a bit harder, you might catch up!'
All of which were from the original story.
The polite sarcasm was pristine.
""
That's roughly… I've repeated it about 25 times.
"…"
Well, he's really mad 'mad' right now.
Thinking so, I quickly ran away from the pursuing Tallion.
I couldn't care less about class, I'm about to get skewered by a damn spear!
[ Danger Detected. ]
[ Determined as attempt to injure. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to C Class. ]
This even came up.
I wouldn't die, but the model student was definitely angry enough that he'd break my jaw.
'The problem is…'
If he keeps chasing me like this, I'll eventually have to face him at some point.
I really don't want to fight Tallion right now.
President Atallante herself warned me to not stand out. Nothing good will happen, especially since this guy is related to the big boss, Purifier.
Angering him is fine, but if I fight and accidently hammered him too hard, I'm risking of losing the 'connection point' between him and the Purifier.
I don't want that.
"Hey!"
So, I tried to talk it out with Tallion, who's still chasing me with a hideous look from behind.
"Look, let's just say it's my loss and split the harvest in half. How about that?"
[ Danger Escalated. ]
[ Determined as attempt to seriously injure. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to B Class. ]
"…"
Well that didn't work.
I wasn't even trying to agitate him this time.
Right now, I just kept running away from the angry, demonic Tallion.
'…But won't I eventually get caught like this?'
After all, this was a man who could closely keep up Elijah. Even with the B Class Desperation, I feel like I'm losing terms of speed.
If he does catch up, won't I have to fight him?
While I was contemplating on my next move, someone suddenly appeared in front of me and I nearly crashed into them.
"…!"
I almost ate dirt because of my forceful stop. Fortunately, the person grabbed me before that could happen.
"What are you doing, sir?"
Elijah sighed, while patting her forehead. Beside her was a tired, panting priestess.
'It's Trisha.'
She was the Hero Party's Healer. She was nicknamed as the 'Natural Lie Detector' because of her ability to see other people's emotions.
As I briefly glanced at the familiar face, Elijah calmly said.
"Trisha, can you isolate us?"
"Uh, en!"
A hemispherical barrier then formed around us, which blocks people's perception.
Elijah continued.
"You could've just peacefully come with us. Why are you running around in a such place?"
"…No, there's a reason for this."
She turned her head in dissatisfaction.
"So what's the reason? We saved you, so you should tell us that much."
Although Elijah sounded normal, seeing Trisha's contemplative face on the side was indicating that she's having some… 'violent' thoughts.
It's clear that she's angry with my response.
"…"
That thought flashed through my mind.
However, making Tallion angry and her angry were on different levels of importance.
Who knows what sort of strange effects getting stained by 'negative tendency' brings.
It might not be a big deal for a mid-chapter boss, but something like that on the protagonist would undoubtedly cause a butterfly effect.
So, what now?
The lie detector Trisha was next to her so an excuse would just backfire.
For now, let's go with the truth.
"That guy started the fight first."
"Fight?"
"He asked why a guy like me is friends with you."
At this time, both Elijah and Trisha's expressions became strange.
"…?"
Was this really such a surprise?
"…Why would you fight over something like that, no. I guess he probably thought of you as a scammer or something."
After muttering that, Elijah looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Then why don't you just ignore him? Tallion is pretty strong. And you said that we're not even close…"
"How can I ignore that?"
It's literally a test subject served in a silver platter.
"…"
Hearing this, Elijah cleared her throat while turning her head slightly.
Her nape was slightly red.
… Is she still angry about this?
Am I not speaking nothing but truth right now?
"…"
"…"
Meanwhile, Trisha's eyes started to twinkle when she heard me and poked Elijah in the side.
Immediately after, Elijah asked.
"…Sir, did you know that this would happen?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you know that he would act like that from the beginning?"
Did I know that Tallion would be so angry?
I purposely agitated him so how could I not know?
"How can I not know? Anyone with some sense can tell."
"…Is that why you didn't come with me before? Were you afraid that he'd harm me too?"
"…?"
Uh, no?
I don't understand what me provoking Tallion has got to do with you being harmed.
[ Favorability of the target 'Elijah' has been increased! ]
[ The favorabilty level has been upgraded to 'Interest Level 2'! ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
[ Due to the good inclination of the character, the reward has been reduced! ]
"…"
I had no clue why this suddenly popped up here.
While I was at a loss, Elijah sighed and turned her head to Trisha.
"Trisha, would you mind removing the barrier?"
"Uh, why?"
"Nothing, it's just."
After saying that, she suddenly reached for her sword.
"I've always hated nosy people. Especially meddling in others' relationships."
"…Uh, Elijah?"
Trisha stiffly called out.
Elijah's current expression wasn't something a hero candidate should have.
"You have to return the favor of harming your friend in the same way, right?"
'I haven't been able to relieve some stress lately. This is good.'
As she muttered something like that, the following message appeared:
[ Target 'Elijah' has been influenced by you and is feeling intense anger towards target 'Tallion'! ]
[ Negative tendency has been imprinted! ]
[ Rewards Available! ]
[ Skill: Evil Ruler has been activated. Obtained 1 command right over the target! ]
"…"
What's this.
What the hell is going on?