NOVEL NEXT Chapter 96
“Wow, really popular, huh?”
“Well, that’s because you’re so open-minded.”
“Don’t poke me with your finger. Even if it’s a joke, you can pierce a person’s body with just one finger. I don’t want to be the target of your antics in this world, you know. Renny’s probably controlling her strength too.”
In front of me was Renny. To my left, Elisa; to my right, Millia.
And sitting on the bed, watching that scene was Karina. Being the only awkward one in a room surrounded by 80% women, I couldn’t help but feel out of place.
You might think it’s great to be surrounded by women, but at least for me, it wasn’t. My cute little dogs on either side were having a battle of nerves with their inadequately sized teeth.
“…You let go first!”
“…N-No way…”
“Both of you, stop it.”
I had no choice. I forcibly pulled my hands away and crossed my arms, tightening my face. It was a strategy to forcibly end their little skirmish. With my actions, Millia and Elisa stopped their fight and began to glance at me.
“Are you, um, angry, Johann…?”
“…”
“Uh, um, uh…”
What’s up with this atmosphere? Why has it suddenly dropped like a cold splash of water? I didn’t think I had such a heavy expression.
I tried to say something to break the strange situation, but before I could, the saintly lips of the saintess opened first.
“Johann. They’re just a little excited, so please understand.”
Why are you lecturing me? I’m not mad! But before I could even respond, Renny hit me with a double attack.
“Loosen your face; you look like you might dunk someone alive.”
Why are you hitting my innocent face? Do I look that scary? I brushed it off until now, but I guess it’s finally time to ask.
“Renny. Do I really look that scary?”
“I can’t say otherwise.”
That unhesitating answer almost broke my heart. I’d rather have a polite comment, like Karina did…
“It’s okay! What matters is the heart, not the looks!”
“Don’t say any more…”
If a guy said that, there’d be hell to pay, but when you guys say it, it just hurts my feelings.
“It’s alright! I don’t even see Johann’s face!”
“Y-Yeah, same here.”
Should I be thankful or not? The more they tried to comfort me, the more complicated my feelings became.
Should I just look up plastic surgery methods?
In the game, you could customize your character using items, so who knows, maybe I could replace my face with one that looks like the joker with a smile. Of course, since it was a game mechanic, the probability of it existing here is pretty low…
…But since screenshots clearly exist as items, it’s not definitive that such things are impossible.
There might be other ways to use it, so it would be wise to keep one if I could. I jotted down the Shadow Goddess’s Blessing in my mental notepad.
“I don’t really care, it’s fine.”
Just thinking I could change my look put me at ease. The Shadow Goddess’s Blessing isn’t easy to get, but it’s also not something impossible to obtain. Even though it’d be a bit of a waste to use it just for changing my face…
“Well then, you’re going to the market with me?”
“I’ll go, so stop shaking me.”
I don’t know how the conversation ended up there, but since I had business at the market, I needed to go anyway. I wanted to buy materials for research and see if any events from the market would actually show up.
Most of them are painfully sweet romance events, but there are a couple of events and side quests where you can obtain decent items, so I should give them a try.
To survive, I’ll have to scrape together every game element I remember.
“Millia, did you say tomorrow?”
“Yeah!”
“…If we’re going tomorrow, don’t we need to finish studying today?”
“Ah!”
At my words, Millia displayed a distinctly panicked expression.
“Right! There’s a mountain of studying left!”
With Karina’s following declaration, Millia looked like she was about to cry. Was studying that boring? Looking at the thick books piled on the desk, I could understand why. But she chose this path, so she had to bear it. I gently patted Millia’s back to encourage her.
“It’s the academy you wanted to go to. Tough it out!”
“That’s too harsh!”
“Is Millia also coming to our academy…?”
“Yes! It’s the Liberal Arts Department though!”
Since Millia doesn’t have outstanding magical talent, nor does she seem to have the qualities of a warrior or alchemist, this was the only department she could go to. Although it’s the Liberal Arts Department, you shouldn’t underestimate it.
After all, the bureaucrats of the Empire are produced from the Liberal Arts Department. It’s possible to switch departments like in a university and sometimes professors pick up students who seem talented in other fields, so if she’s lucky, she might be able to shift to a different department.
“If you had faith, you could have attended the Theology Department with me… what a pity.”
Karina genuinely looked disappointed. It makes sense; having someone you can talk to freely is a big deal, naturally. It’s rare to find someone she could easily converse with like Karina.
“It’s fine! You can take a class from a different department as well! You can attend one class together!”
“The theology class might be difficult; are you sure?”
“It’s hard?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
“Hmm… I’ll still go!”
“Then, let’s start studying the basics of theology from today as a subject!”
“R-Really?”
You’re being crushed under the disaster you brought upon yourself, Millia.
I ruffled Millia’s hair while looking at her with a shocked expression as she stared at Karina.
Laughter erupted from everyone.
—————–
What do I need to prepare to go to the market?
Money? Well, of course. I’m not a beggar going to scrounge.
Self-defense gear? It’d be nice to have, but carrying a shovel on my back would be awkward. Since I can use my crafting skill without tools, it’d be better to cover that way.
Finally…
“Try this on too!”
I picked up the clothes Millia handed me and turned them around. It’s a suit… but with this body and appearance, I’d probably be mistaken for a hitman. I’m not even sure if the concept of a hitman exists here…
“Is my outfit that important?”
“You’d just wear whatever if I left you alone! Don’t you think black pants with a red jacket would look weird on you?”
…Is that so?
I think it should be fine to just wear whatever? Reading my expression, Millia puffed her cheeks and grabbed one of the clothes sprawled on the bed, bringing it towards me.
“If you don’t want to wear that, then wear this!”
“This is Gambison, huh.”
I received what looked like a soldiers’ outfit and examined it.
This looks exactly like those winter coats. I never thought I’d wear a costume I only ever saw in movies or dramas. It feels pretty strange. This might be a kind of romance, but a romance only remains a romance if it doesn’t come true. Still, it’s something I could pull off decently, so I might as well wear it.
I slipped on the medieval Gambison over my shirt. It’s kind of warm for the weather, but at least it provides minimal protection, so it’s efficient. Maybe I should buy a few more later to switch outfits. If I reinforce them with strong leather on the inside, I might also gain some decent defense.
“How does it look?”
“Um… you look like a thug!”
The evaluation hasn’t changed.
At this point, wouldn’t anything I wear look like that?
In the end, the completion of fashion is the face.
Unless I completely change my appearance, there’s no point in thinking about fashion.
“Elisa will be waiting, so let’s get going.”
“Okay… got it!”
Millia responded with reluctance and then hurriedly opened the door to leave. I followed her out the door. Outside stood Elisa, who had clearly put in extra effort today, leaning against the wall, fiddling with her hands.
“Elisa, I’m sorry. I took longer than expected.”
“It’s, it’s fine…”
Maybe it’s because she was wearing makeup today, but unlike her usual self, Elisa appeared much less gloomy. If she went around like that every day, she might even make a few friends.
But now, I could see her fidgeting nervously with her hands, clearly signaling that she wanted compliments. What should I say? After pondering for a moment, I decided to keep it simple and direct.
“You look pretty.”
“…Ehehe… thank you.”
Elisa’s face blushed like a blooming rose.
It might not mean much to say this, but she has a face that could charm a few classmates at least. Her gloomy personality could pose an issue, but that could be fixed with time.
“What about me? What about me?!”
Look at her whining because I didn’t pay attention to her! I ruffled Millia’s hair.
“You’re pretty too, so don’t worry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
“Hehe.”
Just like yesterday, one of them held my sleeve while the other held my hand.
She seems to have figured out her place in just one day.
…Is this how a father feels while caring for a child?
“Did you forget anything?”
“No, no way…”
“Okay!”
“Then let’s get going.”
I really hope nothing goes wrong.
With that hope, I took my first step.