OHNIR – Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Confusion

Kelusta felt like she was already done for.

But she couldn't just shove Musen away... It was hard to say if she could earn back the Favorability points Gloria had just deducted, but if she dared to push him now, there was no doubt Musen would suffer additional injuries on top of his current ones.

Wearing a pained expression, Kelusta peeled the black-haired boy out of her embrace and steadied him. She stole a glance at Gloria through her lashes, only to lock eyes with her.

That exquisite face held no expression. No anger, no joy—just like before. If the Favorability Detection System didn't exist, Kelusta would suspect the System was pranking her again.

Musen leaned against the wall to steady himself. He looked up, stared at Kelusta's profile, and slowly muttered a thank you.

Kelusta didn't have time for him. She gave a perfunctory nod and walked toward Gloria. Blinking her large eyes, wearing a guilty yet ingratiating smile, she tentatively reached out and tugged at Gloria's sleeve.

Luckily, she didn't dodge.

Gloria raised an eyebrow, following Kelusta's pull to let the girl hug her arm. However, even while permitting such an intimate action, the Duke's daughter remained expressionless and silent.

"Senior," Kelusta said, "I like you so much, why are you still angry?"

Gloria smiled faintly, though her eyes held little warmth. She curled her knuckles and affectionately knocked on Kelusta's forehead, her expression as gentle as if she were stroking a swan's feather.

But the actual knock nearly made Kelusta cry out in pain.

She pouted, looking at Gloria with teary eyes. Resisting the urge to let go and rub her head, she feigned anger. "Why did you hit me—do you not like me anymore!"

Gloria wasn't thrown off by her preemptive accusation. The noble girl slowly retracted her hand and leaned in slightly. Her exquisite, beautiful face was mere inches from Kelusta's. Kelusta felt she could almost count every single one of the other's thick, silver eyelashes.

"...It is precisely because I like you too much that I need to teach you a lesson."

An angry Gloria showed none of the shyness she displayed before saving Musen. As if infected by Kelusta's shamelessness, she spoke the word "like" without skipping a beat. She said indifferently, "Do not casually touch anyone other than me, Little Shell. If someone accidentally picks you up and takes you home, where would I go to find you?"

Her voice was slightly lower than usual. Kelusta felt her legs go weak just hearing the name "Little Shell." She bit her lip, involuntarily gulped while looking at that face, and whispered nervously, "...T-then you should just pick me up and take me home first."

"..."

Gloria's gaze darkened instantly at those words. Her previously cold smile gradually warmed. A strand of silver hair slipped from her shoulder and fell into the hollow of Kelusta's neck. The brown-haired girl shrank back, ticklish, her golden eyes wet and dewy. Just looking at her made Gloria's throat tighten.

She hesitated for a long while. Even Kelusta could vaguely see indescribable, complex emotions in those cornflower-blue eyes—impulses mixed with restraint. After a long internal conflict, it finally resolved into two gentle pats on the top of her head.

"Alright," Gloria said. "Then come home with me."

Ding. Gloria Favorability +2.

Kelusta's cheeks flushed a light red, finally feeling a bit self-conscious. For a moment just now, she firmly believed Gloria was about to lower her head and kiss her forehead...

Honestly, she still felt that way even now.

The reason Gloria didn't kiss her was probably out of consideration for Musen, who was not far away—even though she hadn't given the black-haired boy a single glance from start to finish, acting as if he didn't exist.

A few steps away, the battered boy held onto the wall and looked at them. His gaze was particularly strange. The stiff, cold expression he had worn since waking up was now filled with an indescribable subtlety.

Likes and dislikes... is this how girls interact with each other...?

Truly confusing.

Before leaving, he turned his head to look at his shoulder. The torn shirt revealed a pale shoulder, the skin smooth and clear, with the bony protrusion of a thin frame visible.

On that spot, not only had the wound disappeared, but even the bruising was gone without a trace.

---

Perhaps she had been too indulged in beauty. Kelusta didn't know what she was thinking, but by the time she snapped out of it, Musen had already quietly dragged his scarred body away.

Now, she was sitting in her dormitory, hugging a pillow, lost in thought.

Both her previous goal of "brainwashing the Great Demon King" and the little conscience she had left were fiercely condemning her villainous behavior of abandoning a heavily injured child in a corner just to flirt with Gloria.

Kelusta did feel guilty, of course. After all, the calamity Musen suffered this time was fundamentally due to the conflict between her and Avia.

"What should I do, System..."

Kelusta plucked at the soft feather pillow in her hands, dejected. "Losing a bit of Gloria's goodwill is one thing, but I didn't get any back from Musen's side. What happened to the promised 'extreme one-for-one trade'?"

"I actually think his first impression of you isn't bad," the System said. "There is a record in the Danger Monitoring System showing that just before the Wood Mage ambushed you, Musen attempted to use Wind Magic to help you dodge the attack."

Kelusta paused, intrigued. She straightened her back and swiped on the virtual interface in front of her. Opening the Danger Monitoring System, she indeed found the record.

"Eh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "So he wasn't unconscious then?"

"Indeed," the System confirmed. Then it suggested, "For the sake of saving his life, he might look at you differently. Temporary Host, find time to go and show him some care. Since you've encountered such a golden opportunity, striking while the iron is hot is the right path."

The System's words made sense. Musen's favorability was notoriously hard to earn. In the original game, his tragic early life of wandering and academy abuse caused his friendliness toward the human race to hit freezing point. Otherwise, he wouldn't have insisted on returning to the Demon Realm to carry out his revenge plan even after developing feelings for Kelusta.

However, even understanding the logic, Kelusta still hesitated a moment. She stammered, "But on Gloria's side..."

"She is a second-year, while you and Musen are both first-years. As long as you intentionally avoid her, the probability of running into Gloria is infinitely close to zero," the System persuaded exasperatedly. "Temporary Host, think about it carefully. If you miss this chance, it will be very difficult to farm Musen's favorability later... If he returns to the monsters later with zero favorability, he will inevitably become a major threat to humanity—in short, your probability of achieving the Perfect Ending will be greatly reduced."

As soon as the Perfect Ending was mentioned, the career-driven Kelusta hesitated no longer. She slapped the table. "I'll go find him this afternoon! Even if I can't do much, I can at least let others know that this kid is under my protection now!"

By this time, news of the tea party had basically spread. She hadn't avoided anyone when viewing flowers with Gloria earlier. Soon, the message "The brown-haired, golden-eyed commoner girl has successively won the favor of two Highnesses and Lady Gloria" had flooded the nobles' public channels.

No sooner said than done. Kelusta pulled open her wardrobe. A whole row of long dresses in different color schemes and styles appeared before her. Although the dresses varied in material and applicable occasions, they all shared one characteristic:

Expensive.

Gloria was nothing if not attentive toward Kelusta. Since the latter had remarked on how comfortable Gloria's bed and clothes were, a first-year noble girl had knocked on Kelusta's dorm door the very next day. Wearing an indescribable expression, she directed a stream of servants to file in and organize countless dresses and a custom-made soft mattress into Kelusta's doghouse of a dorm.

These people came and went like the wind. Before leaving, the leading girl simply told her, "This is Lady Gloria's order," then turned on her high heels and clattered up the stairs in her gorgeous little evening dress.

The commotion woke Doris, who was napping. The little girl groggily rubbed her eyes and poked her head out of her room, asking dazedly, "Who were those people just now..."

Watching the noble girl's back disappear up the stairs, Kelusta said calmly, "Cleaning ladies."

"...Huh?" Doris froze. "Cleaning ladies wear such high heels?"

"Even cleaning ladies have hearts that love fashion," Kelusta said with a beaming smile. "Good afternoon, Miss Doris."

After speaking, she slammed the door shut, threw herself onto the soft bed, and blissfully took a nap that felt as comfortable as lying on clouds.

Now, she was wearing a snow-white casual dress sent by Gloria. Feeling thoroughly comfortable, she let her hair down loosely. The light brown strands fell over her shoulders, soft and distinct in color. Her honey-gold eyes were made even brighter by the dress. Her entire aura shifted from her usual liveliness to something much more gentle and steady.

"Full marks for the Duke's daughter's impeccable taste," Kelusta said with satisfaction.

"This is the benefit of having a girlfriend," the System agreed deeply. "To find a male partner with this level of fashion sense... a rough estimate puts the probability at no more than one percent."

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