"No, thanks."
"..."
I refused with a bright smile, speaking casually.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere shifted from a cool summer beach to an icy Arctic shore with biting winds.
Luna's faint smile from earlier disappeared, and she stared at me with a stiff expression.
Even the girls who had been hostile toward Luna earlier were now looking at me with wide, startled eyes.
The silent standoff between me, smiling at Luna, and her, glaring back at me, showed no signs of ending.
"...Isn't that a bit rude?"
Finally, Louis intervened.
"Ah, sorry. I can't eat with someone I don't know."
"Still, you didn't have to say it like that."
His intervention felt more like a one-sided display of hostility toward me.
He frowned and glared at me.
"And even though we've just met, what kind of etiquette allows you to speak so casually?"
"Ah… I thought it was fine since you didn't say anything last night. I'll be more careful."
"What? Last night?"
Hearing my statement, which could easily be misunderstood, Louis turned to look at Luna.
But Luna, unfazed by my provocation, calmly replied.
"I don't mind how you speak, but please refrain from making statements that could lead to misunderstandings."
"Ah…"
I smiled and said, "So I can keep speaking casually, then?"
"What…?"
Luna's face was filled with confusion.
This wasn't just a subtle change in her demeanour.
She was genuinely flustered.
'Hehehe, I wanted to see that expression!'
[Guardian, aren't you pushing too hard? I'm worried.]
'Well, I should stop here.'
I wiped the smile off my face and put on a serious expression, bowing my head.
"Sigh… I'm sorry. I couldn't handle being ignored and acted immaturely for my age."
"Huh…"
Only two people in the room understood what I was saying: Louis and Luna.
The others looked completely lost, unsure of what was happening.
My sudden apology left them baffled.
I bowed my head toward Luna and apologized.
"Luna, I'm sorry."
"Oh… it's okay. I'm the one who should apologize…"
Luna couldn't hide her confusion at my sudden change in demeanour.
'By now, she should realize that this situation is her fault.'
[But it seems like the others still don't understand what's going on.]
'It's fine. As long as Luna knows, that's enough.'
Given her sense of responsibility, the guilt would slowly start to eat at her.
Plus, her desire for growth would make it hard for her to avoid approaching me.
"I'm sorry for ruining the mood. I'll take my leave now."
With that, I stepped out of the group.
***
I sat on the outdoor terrace, just like the day before, watching the sunset.
The view was breathtaking.
"Wow, it's beautiful."
[It doesn't seem like Luna is coming.]
"Well, if she doesn't come, there's nothing I can do."
I might have been too optimistic, but what's done is done.
I had to trust what was written in her nature and push forward.
Maybe there was some conflicting nature we didn't know about…
"If she doesn't come, I'll have to think about what to do next…"
[Guardian, someone's coming.]
'Huh?'
The sound of low heels echoed from a distance.
The footsteps stopped behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder.
Luna Stadtfeld.
She stood there, quietly looking at me.
Her neat uniform made her look stunning.
The flustered expression she had shown earlier was gone, replaced by her usual stoic demeanour.
I ignored her and turned back to the sunset.
Her voice came from behind.
"...I'm really sorry."
I glanced at her again.
Her eyes reflected the sunset as she looked at me.
I stared at her and said, "Well… I wasn't exactly in the right either… Let's just call it even."
"..."
I deliberately switched to polite speech.
But she didn't respond, instead bowing her head as if deep in thought.
Luna's silence stretched on, and before I knew it, the sun had completely set.
The lanterns around us automatically lit up, illuminating the school.
"Well, I'll be going now."
"..."
I turned to leave, leaving Luna behind.
As I reached for the terrace door, her voice called out.
"If it's okay… I'll come here every day until you're no longer upset… Even if you don't come, I'll wait."
"..."
I walked into the building without responding.
***
A week passed.
The incident between me and Luna spread quickly, making me infamous.
But since the reason for the fight wasn't known, I ended up being the bad guy.
The guys saw me as the creep who did something weird to Luna, and the girls saw me as the creep who did something weird to Louis.
Thanks to that, no one paid me any attention, so I could live quietly.
The professor wrapped up the day's lecture and said, "As of today, you are officially students of the Stura Magic Academy. Starting tomorrow, your classes will increase significantly, so make sure to get your schedules from the teaching assistants."
After finishing some other minor announcements, the professor left.
We had only had morning classes so far, but now we'd have afternoon classes as well.
The magic circle practice classes, which we'd had every day for the past week, were now reduced to twice a week.
'God, that was so boring…'
[The new classes probably won't be easy either. I think the number of subjects will increase significantly.]
'Ugh…'
Studying is always tough…
I sighed to Armonia and glanced at the seat next to me.
Luna was packing up and getting ready to leave.
As she stood, she glanced at me.
After a few seconds of (one-sided) eye contact, Luna turned and left the classroom.
Louis, who had been watching, glared at me and followed her.
I snorted as I watched him leave.
'That guy keeps doing this.'
[It's still surprising that he talks to you.]
As Armonia said, Lewis had been the only one to approach me every day since the incident.
I thought the incident would get me out of joining a club, but he kept pestering me to join one with him.
But in places where no one was around or where no one was watching, he'd show his hostility like this.
'What a psycho… Isn't it exhausting to live like that…?'
[At least he's considerate of others' opinions.]
That's definitely different from the hero.
The hero would've killed me regardless of who was watching…
Armonia changed the subject.
[I felt the power of the Sanctuary again after a long time.]
'…It's no joke. He's already drawing magic circles as well as I can.'
In just a week, Louis had become proficient at drawing magic circles.
In fact, he was almost on par with me.
We concluded that the Sanctuary's agent had poured energy into him to boost his abilities.
A question suddenly popped into my head.
'But Armonia, why is Zodiac so bad at this?'
[Zodiac is currently struggling financially.]
'Huh? So can they even pay the reward?'
Hearing about their financial troubles made me worried.
After all the effort I put into turning them to dust, what if they said they couldn't pay…?
[This planet is one of the few where the Zodiac holds an advantage. If they lose it, it'll be irreversible.]
'Wow…'
This place must be incredibly important if they're willing to pay ten million Enel to protect it.
That should be enough to cover the reward.
[And the biggest problem is…]
'What?'
[Zodiac has always hated spending Enel to nurture protagonists.]
'What do you mean? How else would they grow them?'
[They used the reincarnation system to carry over stats and grow them that way.]
'What about the Sanctuary?'
[The Sanctuary has always preferred to spend large amounts of Enel at once to grow protagonists.]
'…Wait, this sounds familiar.'
Isn't this the difference between free-to-play and pay-to-win players?
'So, they're in this mess because they refused to pay?'
[That's not the only reason, but it's the biggest one.]
'But if they paid, they could've gathered more Enel. Why didn't they?'
[…I heard they didn't do it because it hurt their pride.]
'Ugh…'
Now, the reason they can't pay is because of their financial troubles.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
I could understand since I also dislike spending money on games.
Though, to be honest, there weren't many games with pay-to-win elements, so I didn't have much to spend on.
But it's sad… The fate of free-to-play players is financial ruin…
'Even the agents are just like humans, huh…?'
[They weren't always like this.]
'Huh? What were they like before?'
[When they were first created by the gods, they didn't have emotions.]
Initially, when they were created by the gods, they didn't have emotions.
And they weren't divided into two factions like they are now.
But as they manipulated and nurtured protagonists across the universe, they began to change.
The protagonists' emotions flowed into them, and they started to feel them.
That's how they developed emotions and began to clash, leading to the current situation.
'Ah, so they're not just blindly manipulating things?'
[No. They don't feel or experience all emotions, but some do flow into them.]
That's how affection develops…
It's kind of like me, huh?
When I play games, I immerse myself in the protagonist's role.
While Armonia was explaining, a weak male voice called out from behind.
"Uh… student? Is something wrong?"
"Huh?"
I turned around to see a man with dark circles under his eyes standing there.
He looked like a clown in black makeup.
He was the teaching assistant here.
"We need to close the lecture hall now."
"Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought."
"Haha… It's okay. Here's your schedule."
The assistant handed me the schedule with a weak smile.
'Wow, I've never seen such a drained smile before.'
[Just looking at his complexion, you can tell how demanding the work here is.]
I took the schedule and stood up.
"Thank you. I'll be going now."
"Okay, take care."
I left the lecture hall, leaving the black clown behind.
***
As I passed by the terrace today, I glanced over.
Luna was standing near the chair I usually sat in, her posture straight.
'Wow, she's been coming every day for a week. She's really committed.'
[How long do you plan to leave her like this?]
'Hmm… As long as possible?'
[I'm worried she might give up.]
Armonia had a point.
Even if Luna had a strong desire for growth, if she decided that persuading me was impossible, she might choose to give up.
So, I needed to keep her on edge.
'Don't worry. That's why I keep making eye contact with her after every class.'
I'm letting her know that I'm still paying attention to her.
I don't plan to drag this out for months, though. I'll give it another week or so before making a move.
'No need to rush. In fact, the more time she spends alone, the better for me.'
[Why is that?]
'When people spend too much time alone, they start overthinking.'
Even bad connections are still connections.
Sometimes, when a character I dislike keeps appearing in my dreams, I suddenly feel like playing that game again.
Even if the character has no charm and the game isn't fun.
And sometimes, my dislike for them suddenly flips.
No matter how Luna feels about me, the more she thinks about me, the better.
After all, she probably feels guilty toward me now. And she wants something from me.
"Alright, let's head back."
I left Luna behind and headed to the dorm.
***
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