Chapter 60
“I’m sorry, okay~”
“…”
Maybe she wasn’t pleased with the earlier intimacy, as Stella puffed her cheeks and walked a step ahead. I couldn’t help but hug her out of joy.
Perhaps that was a bit too much; after all, Stella is a girl. Excessive skinship from me might be burdensome, so I ran ahead and stood in front of her.
“Stella, I’m really sorry! I won’t do it again.”
“…”
However, Stella didn’t even glance my way and quickly turned her head away.
Then, she abruptly changed direction and resumed walking.
‘Oh no… This is bad.’
She seemed quite upset, but if I wanted to make it up to her, I’d probably have to buy her something to eat.
“Stella! Wait for a moment!”
If she got too far, there’d be no way for me to keep up with her brisk pace.
As I was passing by, I noticed a certain place catching my eye.
“This place is…?”
I never thought there would be a Game Center in this world. As an ex-pro gamer, I couldn’t just pass by; I was compelled to step inside as if enchanted.
From fighting action games like Tekken to bullet hell games, and even shooting games featuring semi-automatic rifles—truly, it was overflowing with entertainment.
“What’s this… Why isn’t she following me…?”
“Stella, let’s play here for a bit!”
“Huh? Is this a Game Center?”
It seemed that it was Stella’s first time here, as she tilted her head doubtfully, staring at the game center with a puzzled expression, mumbling, “Is there really a place like this?” After all, she hadn’t visited a department store before, so she wouldn’t know about such places.
While exploring, Stella challenged me to a match.
“Look! They have Air Hockey; how about we bet on drinks?”
“Are you challenging me right now?”
Even though I might lose in knowledge or sparring, I couldn’t lose in a game. My pride was on the line, and I wouldn’t be merciful this time.
“Alright, watch closely! If you put a coin here, a puck comes out!”
As I was about to show her how, Stella looked at me with a weird expression.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? I was just going to tell you…”
“Are you treating me like an idiot? I know what this is about!”
“Uh…?”
I thought she wouldn’t know how to play games like this, but Stella naturally positioned herself ready to play.
“Stella, have you been to a Game Center often?”
“No? This is my first time.”
“Then how do you know about this?”
“…Maybe I did in my past life?”
What was that vague answer supposed to mean?
“Should I go first then?”
However, this Air Hockey was different from what I expected.
“Ha!”
Stella lightly served the puck for her first hit; it exhibited power that exceeded any imagination.
‘Did the puck just vanish?’
The moment I recognized the puck, it was already a goal.
“…Are you kidding me?”
Seeing my dumbfounded face, Stella wore a mischievous expression like a little devil.
“What’s this? You thought you could challenge me with just that? Pfft!”
“…”
“Ah~ You’re too weak; this isn’t even fun… Should I just give you five points to start?”
Crack
She’s treating me like a fool! I’ll show her that snobby attitude of hers!
Kiiing!
“This time, I won’t go easy on you—be prepared!”
“Sure~ If you’re able to, then go ahead!”
I assessed the angle and fiercely shot the puck to the side.
The puck zigzagged before approaching her side.
“Get back!”
But perhaps due to repeated encounters, Stella effortlessly sent it away.
That attack was, of course, incredibly powerful, speeding towards my goal in an instant.
Yet, using my Insight Eye, my reaction speed was top-class even in the Academy.
‘It’s fast after all.’
“But I can still see it!”
I countered the incoming puck with a swift move.
Triggered by my desperate efforts, I noticed something.
Stella (Lv.???)
Power (A+ -> SS)
“Ugh!”
Stella was putting strength into returning the puck.
Unable to withstand the extraordinary power, the puck soared into the air.
I certainly hadn’t predicted this, swinging wildly.
“What? Where did it go…?”
The puck passed right by me, bouncing off the wall behind.
Instead of losing momentum, it continued on,
“Ugh!”
And struck me squarely on the back of my head—a totally unexpected ambush!
‘What a hit… this hurts. My consciousness is…’
As I teetered on the brink of collapsing, I caught a glimpse of her face looking at me in disbelief.
“Um… Nova, are you alright…?”
‘Even so… this is such a fun time with Stella, who invited me out for the first time…’
“I can’t… let it end like this…!”
I desperately clung onto my consciousness.
However, the puck that had hit me flew up and surprisingly tumbled back toward Stella’s goal.
“Um…? Oh! Wow, amazing! Whoa~ I can’t stop that!”
“…Huh?”
“Nova, you’re incredible! I can’t win! Yes! I lost!”
“What? Already over? Hey, wait a moment, this isn’t…”
“Okay! Let’s go play another game!”
I watched her back as she left the spot, still in a daze.
*
“Movie theater?”
“Wow, I didn’t know a place like this existed.”
Despite being in the industrial age, movies weren’t in black and white but in color.
I heard they used magic to project videos stored in crystal orbs; it seems magic has an impact on everyday life in this world.
“Hmm… I get it, Nova is from the countryside, so this must be fascinating to you…”
“…You know I’m from the same village, right?”
“I was at the Magic Tower, so I mostly operated in the capital.”
“Have you seen any?”
“No… I haven’t been interested in that and didn’t have anyone to watch with anyways…”
“Well, isn’t that fortunate?”
“What do you mean?”
I smiled and pointed with my finger, saying,
“From now on, you’ll have someone to watch with.”
“Huh? What? Do you think I’m just going to watch it with you?”
“I’m sorry. I feel awkward watching alone too. Can’t you?”
When I asked quite casually, Stella grumbled but didn’t refuse.
“Don’t you have any friends? Now that I think about it, you only talk to us; you don’t have any same-gender friends?”
“…No, I didn’t come to the Academy to make friends.”
“Oh~ Really? Then what did you come to the Academy for~?”
“…”
This girl must be bragging about making friends; she is absolutely annoying.
Does she think I didn’t want to make friends? While I’m with these people,
People around me have stopped approaching due to awful rumors about dual relationships and such.
I don’t like being teased, so I guess I should give her a little jab.
“I came to see you.”
“…Huh?”
“I promised I’d come to the Academy to meet you.”
Upon hearing my words, Stella flinched, causing her to freeze.
Then her face turned red, and she shouted, bolting toward the counter.
“Wha, what are you saying? That kind of joke isn’t funny at all?!”
It wasn’t a joke—I said it half-seriously because, honestly,
There wasn’t anyone else I wanted to get close to besides Stella.
*
“Are you really dense? Saying something so embarrassing out loud…”
Could it be? Did I really come to the Academy to meet her?
Is this for real—does she like me? Ugh… What should I say to turn her down?
Should I reveal that I’m a Reincarnator? Or just say let’s be friends? Oh, this is driving me crazy.
My mind is really in turmoil. Whenever I’m with her, why do I get all flustered like this?
“What movie do you want to watch?”
At some point, Nova approached me, pointing at the posters.
…Yeah, let’s set aside the complicated subjects and just watch a movie while munching on popcorn.
I checked out the genres available; there were a variety of them.
From romance to action and horror—there was so much.
“Romance is… kinda awkward, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah.”
A romance flick with just the two of us would be super awkward. I’m skipping that.
“How about horror…”
“Pass on that, too.”
“…?”
Why? I can’t stand horror movies.
Especially ones with jumpscares.
I excel at dealing with surprise attacks in real combat, so much so that I can sense magic around me.
Any regular monster, unless specializing in hiding,
Can’t ambush me. That said, horror movies are downright distressing.
The thought of something scary unexpectedly popping up is just unbearable.
Then, Nova looked at me with a curious expression.
“Hey… Stella, you really don’t like scary stuff, do you?”
“That’s not true at all!”
“Then how about watching the Death Doll series?”
“Hmph! Those things are just false images; they don’t bother me at all!”
Ah… I just let it slip… But being teased for not being able to handle scary stuff is worse than death.
It’s obvious this guy would poke fun at me, and I can’t stand that.
“I was kinda curious about this movie…”
“Hmm, so you can handle scary stuff after all?”
What do I do? I absolutely hate this kind of stuff; I can’t bear it at all.
Should I just head out? But Nova went out of her way to suggest watching together…
If I left, she’d probably feel upset…
Not long after the movie started, a ghostly figure suddenly popped up.
“Ugh!”
From the side, I could see two people who looked like a couple cuddling.
When that surprise occurrence happened, the girl leaned over the guy, acting all cutesy.
“How scary~”
Whoa… I could never be like that.
It was one thing to have a hearty meal at the restaurant earlier,
But I’m not that kind of character to be acting all flirty.
At that moment, I felt a strange pressure on my shoulder and turned to see
Nova whispering to me with an indifferent expression.
“Ah… Sorry, I’m getting a bit tired; I’ll just rest my hand here.
And if you happen to get scared, you can hold onto my clothing or something…”
…Did she notice I was scared?
Just a while ago, she was shy just holding hands…
‘Maybe scary things won’t be so bad now…’
I breathed a sigh of relief and took hold of the cuff of her sleeve, whispering just loud enough for her to hear.
“…Thank you.”
