Through all sorts of winding corridors, into lavish hallways, into lush gardens that all inhabited various corners of the academy campus, I chased the Protagonist for what felt like an eternity.
'The hell, why is this place so huge?! I swear I saw her come down this way somewhere... ah!'
Finally, glimpsing a tuft of pink hair peeking out from behind a long, manicured hedge, I let out a small exhale to catch my breath.
"Hh... You really came a damn long way, didn't you?"
Found at the distant corner of a garden located over a hundred metres away from the main school building, and then even further behind some trees and other gardens that came before it. I thought this was only proof that there was an exceptional squandering of educational funds going on, but well, I guess that type of thing wasn't all that uncommon, even in other worlds.
Although, this was originally a fictional reality in the first place, so I suppose it only made sense for certain things to be so exaggerated.
Thankfully, most classes seemed to have already started by the time the Protagonist ventured outside, so I'm pretty sure nobody saw us as we ventured up and down the entirety of the academy campus... hopefully.
Well, either that or she took a path she knew was likely to be unoccupied by anyone who might see. Either way, I didn't see anyone, so I guess it didn't really matter.
Slowly approaching the hedge, I leaned my head over the top―There, I found a quietly weeping girl, her head buried in her knees.
Pausing for a moment, I calculated what to say.
"Miss? Are you alright?"
I started simply, putting on a voice of curious concern.
"E-eh...? Who-- ah... it's you..."
Vaulting over the hedge to land on the same side as the Protagonist, I sat down beside her, our backs pressed lightly against the backside of the trimmed foliage. Here, we were completely isolated.
Again, the temptation to use the Black Wisp crossed my mind―and again, I reminded myself not to be rash. In the back of my mind, that #HidingTruePower Tag was really messing with me. Still, I couldn't let it get to me.
"I never introduced myself earlier. I'm Enki. You are Miss Tichá, aren't you?"
Suppressing all negative emotions and thoughts that swirled around my mind, I put on a gentle smile―an awkward expression I wasn't used to wearing―and spoke in a relatively measured voice.
I wasn't certain if it was thanks to the other party's overwhelming emotions, the assistance of Professionalism, or the influence of Charismatic, but for one reason or the other, and perhaps even a combination of all of the above, I spotted no sign of overt vigilance in her eyes.
No sign at all that something was amiss in my presence here.
"Y-yes... Oh, but you don't have to speak honourably with me! I... haven't been a noble for-- for long, so... just Ayla... would be fine..."
Even just looking at her, stifling almost every other word with a sniffle, it was obvious how hard she was trying to not burst out in tears. At least, I could tell she was holding something in, regardless of what it was exactly. Such a pitiful appearance almost made me feel bad for her for a moment as I was close to forgetting what she really was.
Of course, that didn't last long.
Knowing what fate awaited her, and reminding myself both of that and of what would happen if that fate were somehow avoided, any feelings of sympathy were immediately erased.
That, too, was the sort of emotional cleansing the origin of which was muddled.
Discarding unnecessary thoughts, I opened my mouth with that fabricated smile, infused with a warmth only I could tell was artificial.
"Really? I'm not a noble either. Then, is it alright if I just call you Miss Ayla? I think it would be better to be more polite in public, though."
"Ehe... Yes, that's okay..."
Through snot and tears, she managed to puff out a laugh one might have been excused to call cutesy, but I didn't really think so. Because I was here for one purpose only, and I couldn't forget that.
"Sir Enki... you're much different than th-the Young Lady, um... Archduchess..."
"You mean My Lady?"
Bearing rounded eyes akin to that of a despondent puppy's towards me, she weakly nodded her head.
"Mmn... Pardon me, but... L-Lady Lucretia is horrible, and... and... she's so... she's so me-heeeaaan...!"
Suddenly, evidently unable to hold it together any longer, the Protagonist bawled once again.
You could say I was out of my depth or whatever, but although the times I had consoled a crying girl were not few, this felt like a different sort of situation, the kind I wasn't used to. The girl here was not the same age as me or older, but in fact a few years younger, so I didn't really know what to do or say in this case.
Even Gil didn't get comforted by me much since that was mostly Ina's thing...
All I could do was consider how to act in the best way possible to get her to warm up to me and trust me, just as I had done all the way up to now with the previous Protagonists. Or at least, for the first two.
I guess, for starters, I could take a page from my sister's book and do use the same tactics she did to comfort me, and in recent days, my younger brother.
"E-eeh...!?"
In that case, I basically just needed to continue exactly as I was planning.
"S-s-sir Enki...?!"
With a swift and smooth, yet exceedingly mindful action, I brought the girl into my arms.
Flustered and puzzled as to what I was doing, it seems the goal was accomplished, with her overwhelming dejection being blown away. Instead, I'm sure her feelings were replaced with the likes of confusion and embarrassment, along with some measure of subconscious relief. At least, I hoped so.
If she continued to be super stressed out by the earlier situation, it might inadvertently result in her hidden power to be revealed, and although that might be good for me in a vacuum, there was also a good chance it could result in something irreversible in another way.
Thinking of what to say next to continue the combo, I ran my brain in full force. Before I could even open my mouth, however, something absurd happened.
―In my ears, the sharp, mellow chimes of a piano resounded.
[E-Enki...!]
At the same time, the Librarian's distressed voice called out.
❖─────★★★☆☆─────❖
The moment I embraced the Protagonist, I froze.
Not because of anything she did, but rather because something incomprehensible happened, and piano keys pierced my thoughts.
It was the sort of frankly beautiful melody you would probably hear in some television romance drama series, but at the present moment, it only sounded sinister to my ears.
Combined with the Librarian's voice, packed with agitation, there was no way I could feel safe. Even still, I couldn't just break away from the Protagonist. If I freaked out, it might ruin things and unnecessarily cause further trouble.
The bottom line was, I had absolutely no idea what was going on or what I should do, so doing nothing was the safest move. Right?
Fortunately, the Librarian was able to promptly elucidate the situation.
[Fret not! K-keep acting as you were, Enki! The music originates from the source material―You can only hear it because you possess the Authority of the Library and exist beyond the veil of the Illusory World itself! A-anyway, it's an indicator that the Protagonist may have identified you as a 「target of interest」...!]
'Target? What?? Shouldn't I get the hell away from her then?!'
[Erm, not necessarily...? I mean, no! Fret not! Even if she recognises you as a 「target of interest」, your Authority will protect you from the Beloved's influence! You will be safe... I-I'm sure! Anyway, fret not!]
'Huh?'
[Certainly! Fret not! Fret not I tell you! Um, I will do my best to figure it out, so continue with your plan as is! Though you are being identified as a 「target of interest」, it appears to be working to gain the Protagonist's trust! Let us work hard together!]
'What the hell are you saying--"
"Sir Enki...?"
Hearing my name whispered from the side, I broke the hug with the Protagonist and met her eyes with a forced, probably wry-looking smile.
"Uh, sorry. It was sudden, wasn't it? I didn't know what to do, but I thought a hug would work to calm you down... was it uncomfortable?"
Her already red-dyed face flushed even harder as she averted her gaze, straightening her back in a manner I could only recognise as being stiff.
"No! D-don't... don't apologise, so... I-I mean, it was... fine..."
Silence ensued.
"..."
"..."
'Well, this is embarrassing...'
Though, strangely, it wasn't as torturous I thought it would be, maybe due to the confusion of the still-playing music dominating most of my mind.
However, perhaps the tense quiet proved to be too much for her, as the Protagonist's blush only grew stronger despite nothing happening, and she ended up blurting something out.
"Um...! So, I haven't really gotten any... hugs, or anything, ever since I became a noble... S-so... um... it was actually... q-quite nice, and... um. Nostalgic. So... um, anyway... thanks..."
Having said that, she thereafter kept her gaze solely pinned to the ground, raising her hands to her head to hide her face.
I had never seen a person act so glaringly sheepish like this, as if they came straight from a cartoon, but it was quite intriguing to study her cherry-shaded facial expressions and ever-shifting body language... And well, she did literally kinda come from a cartoon, so it made sense.
Observing her like this, the Protagonist really seemed no more than just a young girl, and it was wildering to imagine why such a Tag like #HidingTruePower existed here.
On one hand, it reminded me that Lucretia also wasn't someone I would typically expect to be an Antagonist, even if she was quite verbose in her earlier antagonising speech.
On the other hand, it only gave all the more reason for why I should be keeping my guard up around her.
"A-anyway...!"
Without warning, she shot up to her feet and announced in a raised, excessively high-pitched voice. Her face pointed down at me, but for some reason, her eyes were looking elsewhere, as if to avoid only me.
"I-I've got to get going now! I'm late for class, but um... it was nice to meet you! Thank you...!"
"..."
Words of gratitude fading as she hurriedly bolted away, I watched the departing back of that enigmatic Protagonist, a stir of conflicting emotions boiling in my heart.
At the same time, the lingering piano keys softly waned into nonexistence.
Finally, she rounded a corner at the end of the garden, vanishing from view, and all sound simultaneously ceased.
Immediately afterwards, I heaved an extensive sigh, falling back on the grass beneath me.
"...Bloody hell... Why did a damn piano give me such a jumpscare... My god..."
Lying on the short-cut grass, behind a hedge in the corner of an incomparably expansive garden, at the very end of the vast academy grounds, I remained still.
For a brief moment, I wished no more sudden, heart-stopping incidents would occur.
Just for one day, I had already experienced plenty of stress.
"..."
Closing my eyes, I remained in that spot for a while. I didn't have much to do until the classes of those '-agonists' ended anyway. And, besides, I could already tell.
They really were going to show me the meaning of agony, weren't they?
'...I can already feel a headache coming on.'
That's why, I already knew such a hope was impossible to be realised.
After all, it never is the hopeful wishes that come true, is it?