The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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Most of her actions have a reason behind them. It’s just that she acts first and explains later, and if you listen, you can generally understand.

So, I figured there must be a reason for her latest mischief. As soon as lunchtime rolled around, she gestured for me to follow her.

What else does she want to say? If that’s the case, was it really necessary to be so bothersome? I had various thoughts on my mind, but she remained silent.

Unable to contain my frustration, I asked her first. I signaled her to stop during class, yet she still insisted on bothering me with her tail.

“…You mean there’s no reason?”

“Yup.”

But she said there was no particular reason. Just as I was about to express my grievance over such unreasonable mischief, a single word flashed in my mind.

Test.

Putting aside why she was testing me, I had the feeling this was some sort of exam. Among women, there were indeed those who could be annoying like that.

The kind that wants you to read their mind perfectly or finds satisfaction in seeing someone try to figure out what’s on their mind—those were the really troublesome types.

I hadn’t expected her to have such annoying tendencies.

Thinking back, I remembered how the sweet, gentle older sister turned out to have a sadistic side. It was my own fault for judging her too hastily.

There must be some reason behind her actions. At the very least, she wasn’t the type to act without any reason.

That’s how she had appeared to me so far.

Then it meant I’ve done something to provoke her. The problem was, I had no idea what it could be.

She didn’t seem to think that I viewed her as a side dish…

Later on, it would be told that even if she screamed her head off, it would only sound like the footsteps of ants to the adjacent room, so I thought I could relax in my own space.

But no matter how good her hearing was, I never thought she would catch even those faint sounds.

So, when she asked me in the morning why I called her name, I thought my heart was going to stop.

If she found out why I called her name, I knew I would be cut off immediately.

I almost despaired at the thought of having ruined everything simply because I couldn’t control a fleeting desire, but Ho-yeon turned out to be more clueless than I imagined.

She understood how a man’s body operates, but was that really all there was?

That was fortunate for me. However, that wasn’t the reason, so I couldn’t grasp why she was causing such trouble. Was it because of yesterday’s incident?

Or perhaps she simply didn’t like a small action I took.

“If there was something I did that bothered you, I apologize as a friend.”

“Friend… Hehe. I appreciate the sentiment. But really, there’s nothing.”

Could it be that even after saying ‘friend,’ she still wouldn’t reveal it?

I figured asking further would only be harmful, so I couldn’t pry any more.

But it seemed too odd for her to cause such trouble without any reason.

If she had a personality that enjoyed tormenting others, I might get it, but she wasn’t that kind of person, so I was even more curious.

“Um… Sorry for bothering you with my tail during class. I apologize. If that’s the case, feel free to ask me for anything in the future!”

The way it slipped out so naturally after I had said it several times made everything even more baffling.

It sounded like she was saying I could ask for anything.

If she had scolded me for not understanding why she was acting this way or lashed out instead, I could have let it slide.

But this was something I couldn’t comprehend at all. After creating a situation where she needed to apologize, she then says I can ask for anything?

“…Why?”

“Why, you ask…?”

“Why are you doing this?”

I wanted to know the reason. Why had she committed an act that needed an apology and then chose to apologize? Why did she say I could ask for anything?

I needed to understand what was going through her mind, the principle of her actions.

“Well, it’s because I made a mistake…”

“That’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking why you apologized after doing something wrong in the first place.”

“That’s… um…”

“You said I could ask for anything. I want you to tell me the reason. Please.”

“Ugh…”

I felt like I was pushing too hard, but I just couldn’t hold back my curiosity. Since she had already said I could ask for anything, it shouldn’t be a problem.

“…Could you let it slide?”

She was looking up at me because of our height difference. Hearing her say that made me feel a little softer, but I still needed to know.

I was curious. I had to know how she came to that conclusion.

I knew it was a bad habit to judge others, so I had been holding back until now, but this time I couldn’t help it.

This was a completely new kind of person to me.

“No way.”

“…So, um, I thought maybe if I did this, you’d want to take me around with you…”

If I were to summarize what she struggled to explain in her timid state:

She didn’t like being cooped up in her room with nothing to do, but she also didn’t want to do things alone, so she wanted to hang out with me.

However, she felt awkward just asking to go out together for no reason, so she thought that by creating a reason to apologize and offering me what was essentially a wish card of unlimited requests, I might take her around.

She noticed I seemed lonely too, and thought it wouldn’t be a bad deal. Why was I digging for details?

As I felt a sense of injustice stick to her words, I thought I should comfort her, but my curiosity had been satisfied, so that was fine.

To think she would propose such a ridiculous idea for such a silly reason.

“…What were you going to accomplish by asking me for money since you don’t have any?”

Even without money, she could easily make some excuse to come to my room every night. Or she could have just touched me like friends would.

Of course, I had no intention of doing that. But there could easily be someone else who didn’t know the situation, who might offer such “requests” as her friend.

I felt relieved that I was her first friend.

“Uh… Do you need money…?”

Oh no, that’s not it.

“I have plenty of money. So if you’re short, just let me know. I’ll give you some anytime.”

Suddenly, I became a scumbag asking for money under the guise of being friends. The trouble was, she seemed to genuinely mean it.

But then again, given her status, she was likely swimming in wealth. That wasn’t what I wanted to say.

“No, I’m okay. It’s not like I’m at the level of needing to borrow from anyone.”

“No, no! We’re friends, so…! Just accept it!”

As she handed me a bundle of gold coins without any hesitation, it stirred a feeling inside me that was hard to describe.

Could it be that she lived her whole life without friends and was so attached to her first one that she was acting like this?

“…Have you never thought about making other people your friends?”

With a hint of doubt and sympathy, I asked her. Since I hadn’t gotten a definite answer before, I was still curious.

How could she say such a thing? Just looking at her expression, I could see that the words nearly escaped her lips but didn’t.

It felt shameless for her to thank me for receiving the money while poking at my vulnerabilities, but I had to ask out of sheer curiosity.

Was it really that hard for her to reach out to others? Given her status, she could easily form groups, so I wondered why she hadn’t.

“…No, I’m sorry. I spoke without thinking.”

She was glaring at me with eyes full of hostility, so I felt it was too late to apologize.

“…”

—

“…Have you ever considered making friends with other people?”

The moment those words left her lips, it felt like the world had stopped.

Was that something she could say? Especially someone effortlessly socializing with friends while I struggled to even breathe around others?

It would have been fine if it were my parents. Seeing their child living without friends would raise all sorts of worries.

My mother didn’t care much, but my father tried to pair me up with various people, trying to get me to make friends.

Most would run away scared or worship me too much, so in the end, I couldn’t make even one friend.

Yet for a social butterfly to ask me if I’d ever thought about making friends? That crossed the line. Of course, I hadn’t put in any effort, but did she think it was that easy?

If someone were to speak to me first, I would probably run away, thinking they’d made a mistake and didn’t know me, preferring to escape at the first sight of a girl.

Of course, I had thought about it. I even tried attending club meetings and going to drinking parties just to say something.

But it just didn’t work.

When faced with someone else’s face, all I can think is how much I want to flee.

Now that I think about it, it really irks me!

I offered my apologies only to be subjected to interrogation while she was probing my wounds while asking for money.

“No, I’m sorry. I spoke without thinking.”

Even though she apologized, I wasn’t in a forgiving mood. No matter how much she was my first friend, I couldn’t overlook this.

“…”

Hmph. She knows, huh? But I wasn’t going to let this go.

…Maybe I’ll just give her the cold shoulder for about three days. No, just two days. If I ignore her for three days, she might try to make friends with someone else.

Ugh, why does everything fall apart whenever I try to do something? Back in my hometown, I could just leave everything to God.

But whenever I try to do something myself, it always ends up like this.

Still, I had no intention of retracting my decision. I would ignore her for two days. While I wasn’t planning on cutting ties, it would make her think twice.

As long as I was nearby, she wouldn’t consider making friends with anyone else.

Stopping my glaring, I started walking silently towards the dining area, and Dokan tried to keep a considerate distance while following behind me.

For some reason, I didn’t care about the gazes of the crowd watching me.

Eating something spicy should help ease this pent-up frustration.