Chapter 73- The Protagonist's Charm
Elise didn't seem to be angry at all even when Rin recounted what happened to her in detail. In fact, he could see a flash of disdain appear in her eyes when she looked at the bullies. That made Rin sigh in relief as he thought that she will scold him because of it.
"That's why I had to beat them up a little bit."
"A little bit, huh?" She murmured as she scanned their injuries.
They were all unconscious now, two of them had their skulls literally broken while another one had his jaw dislocated. The last one was the luckiest as he only had a bruise on his stomach from the knee he got from Rin.
After that, she looked at Rin again silently.
"Hahaha! Maybe not a little bit." He scratched his head.
But then, he felt that something weird was going on. The whole place seemed to have gone silent completely. Even when Rin was beating up the bullies, there were still some whispers and gossip around them.
However, all he can hear now is the sound of the gushes of wind that moved around them.
"Hm?" With a confused expression, he looked around him. That's when he noticed the weird atmosphere that took over the people present.
They all had widened looks as they eyed them, or to be more precise, they were eyeing Elise. It didn't matter whether it was a guy or a girl, they all had the same stupified expression on their faces.
"Mmm, Elise?"
The latter didn't seem to be aware of the gazes she was garnering so she looked at him quizically. Rin merely pointed at the problem with the index finger.
Elise didn't take long to catch on but she just shrugged her shoulders lightly and started walking away.
"Let them be."
"Hmm, fine."
He can see that most of them recognized Elise. They were all Aviresion citizens after all. But, not even a single person dared to approach her or even talk to her. It was also the same case for Rin before and now.
The reason for that was something that neither Rin nor Elise were able to pinpoint at all. It was all because of their 'presence'. Everything about them, from their aura up to their demeanor as a whole, was just so strong, and oppressive. They had an air of royalty around them that far outmatched any other royal prince or even king.
It was as if these two were born to reign supreme over any other existence. It was a pure and raw presence that made everyone just ignore the idea of talking with them and merely admire them from afar.
After walking away, the two sat down on the soft grass.
"I think I know what happened to the protagonist." Elise suddenly said.
"Hmm?"
"See? He's still motionless. It's most likely because of the game's plot itself. The story starts exactly after he gets beaten up by the bad guys."
"Wait, really?"
"Yes."
"Damn, that sounds tough. But, why did he not at least say anything or move? He just stood there like a broken doll and took the beating silently. Shouldn't he look more… human?"
"I don't really know."
"It may be some kind of bug or maybe it was meant to be like that from the start. We will never know."
'Any idea, system?' He asked in his head as a last resort.
[You can't access this information, host.]
'Nice. You have been really useful with this stuff, system.'
[I will always be at your service, host.]
'Sigh. Yes, yes!' Rolling his eyes, Rin focused on Elise again.
"So, when is the test starting?" He asked.
"It should be one or two hours from now if I recall correctly. Are you ready? It won't be easy at all."
"You already warned me so I won't be that shocked."
After that, the two talked about many things, most of them related to what will happen when they get to the academy, their plans for the future, and how to deal with any possible inconsistencies in the plot that will surely occur
Meanwhile, slightly far away from them, a bloodied boy, Phillipe, finally woke up. He grabbed his head with a pained look on his face. Feeling the sticky blood on his hand, he frowned a little bit but then relaxed when memories rushed back to him.
'I got hit by bullies? Ugh, my head and ribs hurt.' He thought to himself.
Some people looked at him from afar but no one approached to help him stand up or check his injuries.
His eyes then wandered from his battered body to his surroundings. He scanned the place lightly but when his eyes caught a glimpse of a beautiful white color the shade of snow, his eyes widened and a myriad of emotions flashed across his face.
He felt his heart rate increase and his breathing went erratic as if he was running in a marathon. All of his being focused on the goddess sitting there. Every part of her attracted him immensely and played on his heartstrings as if they were the strings of a violin.
'She's… so beautiful.' He thought in his head.
After that, as if he was someone in a daze, he stood up and strolled toward her. He didn't even notice the person sitting beside the girl of his dreams. She was the only person he ever loved or even cared about. He could still recall the first time he saw her. Since then, his whole mind was occupied by her silhouette and her cold expression.
Without noticing it, he was already in front of Elise, looking at her intently.
Rin had already noticed this weird behavior and instinctively readied himself to move in case this soft-looking boy does anything stupid. He knew that 'lucky pervert' scenes are included in the plot and he frankly didn't want to see Elise being in one of those scenes. freew(e)bnove(l)
"Mmm." Waking up from his trance, the boy tried to say something but ended up fumbling with his own words. His cheeks turned red and he started fidgeting as if he didn't know what to do.
"What do you want?" Elise asked him coolly.
"Mmm… D-Do you remember me, your highness?" He asked awkwardly.
"You are Phillipe, the son of Duke Melinia, right?"
"Y-Yes!!" The boy's eyes brightened when he discovered that she still remembered his name. That was, for him, a great improvement he didn't imagine was possible.
But, sadly for him, Elise only recalled him just because he was the protagonist.
"So, do you need anything?" Rin was the one to ask this time.
When he heard his voice, Phillipe finally noticed the other person sitting very close to Elise. A complicated expression appeared on his face but he tried to hide it. When he scanned the dark-haired boy, he felt those complex emotions intensify.
Phillipe had met many people in his life because of his position as a noble, most of them were good-looking men who could flutter the hearts of girls easily. But, the person in front of him was by far the most handsome he had ever seen. It did not even concern his looks only, his whole being was oozing with such a strong aura that was extremely beautiful yet also weirdly alerting. Just like a wolf hiding in sheep clothes.
'Why is this person… sitting next to her highness?' He asked himself as his heart felt great unease and discomfort.
*Click* *Click*
"Oi! Are you ok? You get dazed a lot." Rin said as he clicked his fingers close to his face just to catch his attention.
"A-Ah! Yes! I mean no! My apologies!" He said hurriedly with a frustrated look.
'I can see why he attracts older women. This dude just looks too innocent and pure. Older women would eat him whole. He also has such a charming aura that puts everyone around him at ease. That's dangerous.'
It was indeed the case, the protagonist was extremely attractive but not in the normal sense. Looks-wise he was average at best but it was his whole aura that makes people unconsciously get attracted to him. That was, for Rin, the most lethal type of main character.
In his eyes, those characters are capable of attracting women more than good-looking protagonists. He didn't know why, but it has always been the case.
His gaze then shifted to Elise. The latter seemed calm and collected as if nothing was happening.
'Why am I even worried? Am I jealous or something?' He asked.
He did indeed feel uncomfortable imagining Elise getting with this fellow over here so he was sure at least that his feelings for Elise weren't merely 'partners' or surface-level acquaintances. She was at least an important friend to him at this point. A friend he was ready to protect at all costs.
As he was swimming in his own thoughts, Phillipe finally spoke.
"C-Can we please be friends?!"
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