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“I want to go with you too.”

“Yeah. Have a good time.”

As I tried to pass by naturally, Riche suddenly grabbed my arm and crossed her arms.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I want to go with you.”

“Stop talking nonsense and go.”

Isn’t there someone else who can say those confession-like lines? Just hold off right now.

“I don’t want to. And I can’t go now.”

“What do you mean you can’t go? The Academy is right behind you, you crazy girl.”

“I dropped out.”

Her casual remark was the most surprising thing I had heard since coming here.

Why? Because the heroine in an Academy story just dropped out!

‘No way, after all that effort to get in, you say you dropped out? Damn.’

This isn’t just breaking away from the original story; it’s destroying it.

Slap. My palm hit my forehead as I rubbed my face down.

All the hardship I went through turned out to be in vain.

“Just hurry up and get lost from the social gathering. Go put on a pretty dress and cling to Arthur.”

“I don’t want to.”

Tch.

That’s just how a character like Riche is.

The moment a character who can’t give their heart to someone shows kindness to anyone, they end up giving that person an overwhelming amount of affection beyond what they can handle.

‘But why does that have to be me?’

All the kindness that should’ve gone to the toilet ended up coming to me instead.

Honestly, it’s just absurd from my perspective.

While someone’s going to extreme lengths to raise their affinity, what did I do to deserve this?

Even now, Riche showed no signs of letting go.

Luna and Yui didn’t come to help, either; they just stood there, staring blankly.

They seemed just as bewildered.

“Riche!”

At that moment, I heard another man’s voice from behind me.

It was the voice of the toilet, the one I had heard far too many times.

Looks like the toilet finally came to pick up Riche.

“Haah… Hah…”

The toilet, who was kneeling down to catch his breath, made a face as he saw Riche still clinging to my side.

Why is he frowning at the victim when he couldn’t manage his harem? I felt like killing him right there.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I heard it from Tia. That you dropped out.”

Then the two of them started talking, using me like a folding screen.

“You could still withdraw your dropout if you say so now.”

Yeah, yeah. Go back. Your boyfriend has come to pick you up.

“I have no intention of retracting, so could you just go back?”

“The social gathering is about to start, right? Tia and Stella are waiting.”

Yeah, yeah. Go back already, get all dolled up, and do whatever you want!

“I don’t mind if they don’t wait.”

Why do I have to listen to a conversation that sounds like a cheating girlfriend talking to her boyfriend?

“I know you have feelings for me.”

Riche tightens her grip on my arm.

The toilet watches Riche’s chest, pressed against my arm.

I awkwardly squeezed Riche’s chest with my other hand.

Squish.

“Geh?!”

“W-What are you touching, you bastard?!”

“I thought you wanted me to touch it since you keep rubbing against me.”

You’re still screaming and sticking to me, aren’t you?

Isn’t this a green light?

I tried to glance back at Luna for a sign to escape, but now I see Luna and Yui were watching with interest as if they were watching a drama.

So the master is caught by a femme fatale, and the slaves are just watching? This won’t do. I’ll have to scold them later. In bed.

Unaware of my thoughts, they continued their nonsensical drama.

“Erm, so anyway, I have someone I like, so could you give up?”

“………”

“Your heroine really stands out, huh?”

I felt like I had to say that somehow.

Even if I seem like this, I’m a professional after all.

“Y-You bastard!!!”

At that, Arthur exploded like a bomb about to burst.

Why are you two playing with a bomb and then blowing it up in my face?

Isn’t that completely insane?

I was gathering my resolve to chop off his arms and feed them to the Saint when—

Whoosh!

It wasn’t me who stopped the toilet.

“R-Riche…?”

She conjured a wall of fire, separating Arthur from us.

If it was just regular fire, the toilet could break through, but Riche’s flames weren’t the usual red or white; they were black.

Originally, Riche could wield black flames after the Blood Moon event, and it seems she’s using them now.

The meaning behind those black flames was clear. Riche, who once hovered around B-Rank, had now grown to A-Rank.

Staying in the Academy any longer wouldn’t help.

I’ve grown a solid plunger. The problem is that it’s useless.

“Please don’t bother me and just leave.”

“No, you leave.”

Why does he get to speak freely about this?

The toilet was just standing there, struggling to find the words.

In his mind, he should think he’s the protagonist and Riche’s the heroine; that must be so confusing.

So why build up a dislike stack by acting like an idiot and doing this?

Tch. Whatever will be, will be.

If he’s going to follow me anyway, I might as well make use of him since I’ve raised him up.

Otherwise, I’ll only lose out.

I don’t really have any intention to harem, but that’s how it turned out. I’ll need to use this when I tease the toilet later.

“Yawn…”

I normally don’t watch dramas, but watching this absurd farce made me yawn uncontrollably.

Plus, since I just had dinner, drowsiness washed over me.

So, to find some sweet sleep right away, I broke free from Riche’s arm and leaped toward the inn I frequented.

*

Once Luke left, four people remained, including Riche and Arthur.

“Ah…”

She sighed, seemingly disappointed, after having just linked arms with Luke.

“Luna, Yui, let’s go now.”

I hadn’t meant to drag this out for so long, but I unintentionally did.

“Is there anything more you want to discuss? We can wait.”

“I think it’s fine if I stay longer too!”

Luna and Yui looked like they were watching some interesting play, wishing this situation would continue a bit longer.

“No, I really have nothing else to say.”

“That’s too bad…”

“Sniff…”

I felt sorry for Luna and Yui, who looked gloomy, but unfortunately, Riche wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Arthur, who was following her without permission and meddling in her life, had become so nauseating to her that just looking at him made her sick.

Just as she turned to walk away, that stupid guy stopped her again.

“Wait, just a minute…!”

“Enough.”

Her tone, once friendly, turned icy, which made her sound like she might use ice magic. She’s a fire mage, though.

“It’s my life, and I’ll live it how I want. Stop interfering; it annoys me.”

Honestly, I’ve already put up with a lot.

He behaves like he’s her boyfriend, yet he’s never whispered love to anyone or made promises.

Maybe that’ll change soon, but up until now, it didn’t happen.

So why does he keep annoying her by meddling in her life, trying to control things his way?

“I’m not a character from your favorite novel, so don’t impose your ideals on me.”

“How did you…?!”

“Luke told me. Unlike that person who hides everything.”

Riche may not know this, but there’s a saying in the world where Luke lived.

– The fact that someone likes you can be a wound for that person.

When you hear something like that, how would it feel for someone who dislikes you to constantly follow around and force themselves into your life?

If this were Korea, they’d definitely need a restraining order by now.

With a swift motion, Riche turned away and quickly joined Luna.

“Then I’ll guide you.”

“Yes, please.”

Arthur didn’t try to stop them anymore or follow them.

If he still did after all that, it would be concerning.

And Riche had even thought about killing him if he followed.

Luke said Arthur was the protagonist of this world, but if this is what it takes, then this world must be messed up.

As Riche followed Luna to the inn, they briefly chatted.

Since they’d be going around together, it made sense to know a bit more about each other, and Riche was curious as well.

“How did you end up hanging out with Luke?”

“I was almost sold as a slave, but Luke saved me. It’s more accurate to say that I forced my way to follow him.”

I’ve always been curious why Luna refers to everyone else formally with ‘씨’ but calls Luke ‘님,’ but back then, it didn’t seem worth asking.

But to think that there was such a backstory.

It must be that Luke is genuinely treating her like a slave.

“And what about you, Yui?”

“I have a long story too, but anyway, Luke saved me! I think?”

I think I first saw Yui back in the Count’s Territory.

She followed Arthur when he begged and pleaded back then, so there must have been something that happened there.

“So what do you both think of Luke?”

“If you’re asking if we dislike him or like him… it’s more on the like side.”

“Me too. At first, he was scary, but these days, he even gives us snacks!”

The intent behind this question was to probe the potential issues arising from polygamy.

For those living in this world, having multiple wives or husbands is a norm.

However, not everyone accepts it naturally.

There have been cases where multiple women fought over a single man, and it’s also common to see multiple men vying for one woman.

So if those present were to classify themselves as main wives or concubines, would anything happen? That was the intention behind this casual question, and thankfully, it seems nothing unusual is going on.

What Riche described was like a catfight without any readers who disliked it.

But if that were to occur…

– You better say you like me! If not, I’m leaving!

– Yeah. Get lost.

I could easily picture Luke saying that in my mind.

He’s the kind of free spirit who wouldn’t feel the need to hold onto anyone.

“We’ve arrived.”

Luna’s words snapped me back to reality, and I found myself in front of the inn I had seen multiple times.

As Luna and Yui entered and climbed the stairs, they seemed incredibly familiar.

The room they headed to was the leftmost one at the end of the hallway.

When they opened the door, the first thing I saw was Luke sprawled out on the bed.

He wasn’t lying—he really looked like he had long since departed for Dreamland.

Luna and Yui entered the room, quickly unpacked their things, and lay down beside Luke.

“W-What…?”

I was the one shocked at how natural it looked.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, um… shouldn’t we have separate rooms?”

“We usually sleep like this.”

Yui tilted her head in confusion, as if wondering what the issue was.

She spoke as casually as if it were the most obvious thing, making me doubt my own sense of common decency.

I could let Yui’s innocence slide, but having Luna do the same made it feel even more exaggerated.

‘Wow… wow…’

I knew they had a free-spirited nature, but I didn’t expect it to be this explicit.

With everyone settling down and looking comfortable, I couldn’t just head to another room by myself.

So, I curled up between their legs, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

 

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