After waiting for Emilia to get dressed in her suit, I got out of the dorm and went to the academy first. I needed to fetch Eliza, or she would be sulking, especially after I didn't attend the academy without telling her yesterday.
As expected, Eliza was standing near the gate, looking around anxiously while pouting. She fidgeted around uncomfortably as many students looked at her, but she didn't care and only tried to find me.
"Dummy Arthur… where is he?" She muttered in a low voice, kicking the ground.
Because I was hiding in the shadow using [Shadow Cape] to see her funny reaction, she was unaware that I was behind her and continued grumbling.
"He suddenly disappeared yesterday, not even telling me! Hmph! I was kind to him because he was my childhood friend, but he hid many things from me! I don't know any more about him!"
Once again, she kicked the small pebble on the ground and cast her eyes down, mumbling in an inaudible voice.
"Dummy… What if he got hurt from fighting a monster? You are such a dummy, Eliza. You should go to his mansion to ask if everything is okay, not grumbling to yourself here. Uuuhh… Why can't you be honest?! I hate it!"
And I noticed tears falling down her face.
'Shit.'
"Ugghh… I really hate myself."
This was bad. I thought she would be fine due to her strong front and good mentality, but she only put that face up to hide her insecurity.
I should've known about this because I knew she was always dishonest with her own feelings. But I chose to ignore it because she looked cute when she tried to deny her own feelings, leading to her pouting at me.
'I should show myself now, or our relationship will be bent and not the same anymore.'
So I showed up behind her, softly wrapping my arms around her neck. When I touched her, she jolted a little but then turned around as if she knew whose arms were wrapped around her.
"Arthur?" She asked, still with tears dripping from the corner of her face. She tried to wipe it with her hand, but I beat her to it.
"I am here," I said softly. "You shouldn't say that, Eliza. Hating yourself is the last thing you can do. You are fine just the way you are."
"Sob… You're a dummy!" She shouted loudly and bit my hand that was close to her face.
It didn't hurt, but I certainly felt some resistance to it. To make her satisfied, I also faked a hurtful expression.
"Ouch! That hurts, Eliza!"
"Meh! That's your own fault! Why did you suddenly appear behind me, you idiot!"
"It's because you're crying."
At my words, she jumped at me.
Using her small hands, she punched my chest repeatedly. It was like a small animal trying to push a big human away and only tickled me.
However, Eliza's expression and mood clearly lifted up after I showed up and consoled her. Her tears stopped, and she smiled widely as her cheek turned red from embarrassment. After a few more hits, she stopped and leaned her face against me.
"You're really unfair." She mumbled. "Did you hear what I said?"
"What are you talking about?" I pretended to be oblivious, not wanting to embarrass her any further.
"Nothing." She said, backing away from me.
I felt that my clothes had become wet. This girl… she used my shirt to wipe her tears!
Then with a big toothy smile, she grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.
"Let's go, Arthur. We will be late for class!"
Well, that was something. If I made a wrong move, her insecurities could eat her from the inside, and her personality might change. The bubbly and cute Eliza might not exist anymore.
I underestimated her insecurities with her own feelings. I needed to work on this fast and give her the confidence she needed.
'Raising her Level will help her with that. Being strong will raise her confidence.'
Eliza kept pulling me until we reached the classroom, and only then did she notice Astro on my shoulder and the fact that I didn't wear the Royal Academy uniform. I told her that it was ripped apart from my training yesterday with the church knight.
Then I was asked many questions, including what I did yesterday. I answered skillfully while leaving some finer details, such as taking 2 female knights' virginity, one of whom was my older sister from an orphanage, until the first homeroom bell rang.
Some students had lost interest in me, although they were still looking at me with respected gazes, as they had already understood how I behaved. Their curiosity about me had died down considerably; what was left was their judgment. Whether they liked me or not was left to their choice.
Though I noticed the majority who liked me were from the female side, while from the male side, it was mostly those from the commoners' background.
Emilia entered the room shortly after, taking attendance of the students.
"Student Adam!"
And when it was Adam's turn, no voice answered back. That protagonist guy wasn't here, something really strange, considering he was supposed to be a model student back in the game.
'My action has affected the world greatly.'
That was my only explanation, and I realized it since the first day I arrived in this world. Beatrice moved more openly, and I broke Adam before he could even make a move.
"Well then, that's everyone."
Emilia tapped her binder against the podium and raised her head. Her sharp eyes surveyed the classroom before stopping on Eliza and me.
"Student Eliza Rose and student Arthur Vainglory. If I may take a bit of your time, can both of you follow me? I'll be waiting in the corridor." She said that and left the classroom without waiting for us.
Eliza looked at me curiously, "What does she want?"
I smiled at Eliza and stood up, "Who knows? Let's just follow teacher Emilia. We don't want her to get angry at us."
"Y-Yeah. She looks so strict and scary." My childhood friend nodded in agreement and rose from the chair. "Let's go."
Under the gazes of our classmates, we exited the classroom together. Emilia was waiting right outside and smiled softly when she saw me.
"I've done what you instructed me to do, Arthur." She said in a loving tone, dropping her teacher's act.
"Great work."
"Huh?" Eliza looked confused, looking back and forth between Emilia and me.
I had instructed her to do so. It would be better to make Eliza understand my relationship with Emilia. This would also make Eliza believe she was special to me, as she was my childhood friend, and then boost her confidence.
'It could also make her insecure about my relationship, but I just need to shower her with more love to counter that. I never thought my instruction to Emilia this morning would come in handy like this.'
"As you can see, Eliza." I turned to the confused Eliza. "Teacher Emilia here is in charge of helping me in the Royal Academy. Due to my position, I am free to do whatever I want, and she ensures that all my needs are fulfilled."
"I-I see?" She was still a bit confused, but she still nodded nevertheless. "So she's like your… supervisor?" She tilted her head, putting the finger on her chin. That animal-like gesture was cute, but she was wrong.
"No." I denied her by shaking my head. "Emilia is like my slave."
"I am his slave." Emilia nodded with a perverted expression, unbefitting her teacher's position. "In fact, he had dominated me."
At our words, Eliza's gaze turned blank as she let out a noise. "Eh?"
The only noise that followed suit was Astro's cute cry from my shoulder.
"Kyuu~"
Comments