OHNIR – Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Side Quest
Kelusta felt there was something wrong with her.
She was the one who kept saying she had no interest in romance and only wanted to save the world. She wouldn’t even spare a glance for the male leads who took a full four playthroughs to capture. She thought of herself as a model, atypical otome game protagonist with a righteous upbringing and no time for such frivolous emotions.
And yet now, standing before the most dangerous behind-the-scenes boss in the entire game, her mind was a complete blank. Her heart was pounding like a stampeding elephant on the African savanna. Every last eyelash on her lids wanted to scream, “Damn, she’s so gorgeous I’m losing it, I’m so down,” or “Someone get her on the list of capture targets in the next ten minutes, stat…”
If not for the last shred of sanity she had left, she probably would have started drooling right there in front of Nobili’s greatest beauty, a woman whose heart was as black as her face was beautiful.
…My apologies to the higher dimensions. I have brought shame upon all protagonists.
Kelusta kowtowed and apologized profusely in her mind, but in reality, she couldn’t tear her gaze away, not even by a millimeter. She stared, dumbfounded, as Gloria gathered the hem of her skirt and, meeting her eyes, elegantly ascended the steps one by one.
“…A first-year student?” The duke’s daughter stopped in front of her. Her blue eyes swept over the grade insignia on Kelusta’s chest. “Studying so late,” she said with a smile. “What a diligent and excellent girl you are.”
Her voice is so lovely.
Her smile is so beautiful.
The way she praises me is so charming.
This scene was an exact replica of Kelusta’s first encounter with Gloria in Wend’s route.
Her mouth fell open as if in a trance, and she reflexively mumbled, “Yes.”
The moment the word left her lips, she realized her foolish reply meant she had just shamelessly accepted the other girl’s compliment.
This-this-this is so shameless!
“Ah! I-I didn’t mean it like that—”
The brown-haired girl before her flailed, her golden eyes filled with panic and embarrassment. Gloria’s expression, however, remained unchanged. She watched her quietly, the curve of her lips unwavering as she maintained her gentle tone. “Studying so late—if that isn’t excellent, then what is?”
“…”
System: “You’re blushing, temporary host.”
Kelusta: “Shut up.”
Seeing the girl before her fall silent, a lovely blush creeping up her cheeks, a flicker of warmth flashed through Gloria’s eyes. She gave her a thoughtful smile and said, “I have other matters to attend to, so I must take my leave for now, junior. The academy paths are difficult to navigate at night. Be careful on your way back to the dormitory.”
With that, she held her skirt and curtsied slightly in farewell before turning without hesitation and heading toward the library.
But she had only taken two steps when a low, timid voice came from behind her, so soft it seemed the evening breeze could carry it away. “…It’s already so late. What are you going to the library for, senior?”
Gloria’s steps faltered. She turned her head, her expression as cordial and kind as before.
“I left something behind during the day and only just remembered it,” she said. “You should head back soon, junior. First-years have a curfew, don’t they?”
First-years did indeed have a strict curfew. The moon was already high in the sky. If Kelusta didn’t return soon, a teacher might very well dock her academic credits.
The brown-haired girl, who looked rather like a squirrel, seemed to have a moment of realization. She thanked Gloria, turned quickly, and the hem of her simple dress fluttered in the breeze.
Gloria stood at the entrance, watching her scurry down the steps until she disappeared around a bend obscured by trees.
Under the moonlight, the noble girl with deep blue eyes slowly let her smile fade. She turned, her face expressionless, and her white high-heeled boots made crisp tapping sounds on the wooden floor. In the dead of night, the sound was inexplicably eerie.
And as she walked into the library, the towering doors slammed shut behind her with a loud bang, as if they had a life of their own.
Kelusta hurried on her way, pressing her hands, now chilled by the night wind, against her face to cool it down.
The System said coolly, “Temporary host, I have not detected any change in affection level.”
“It’s the first time I’ve met her. What kind of change did you expect?” Kelusta pursed her lips, let out a breath, and rolled her eyes. “Thank the Goddess of Light. The fact that I happened to discover the ‘library has a secret’ clue from her today is already a stroke of incredible luck.”
Clearly, Gloria’s excuse about finding something hadn’t fooled Kelusta. Instead, it made her even more certain that the “library” was a critical location, set in stone.
The ancient magic academy’s library contained nothing but eight thousand boring history books? Don’t be ridiculous.
There had to be a secret hidden inside that neither Kelusta—nor perhaps even Gloria herself—had truly discovered yet.
For once, the System agreed with her.
But the library’s secret was probably a hidden side quest. Since no task had been issued, it was likely optional.
The System didn’t pay it much mind. There was, however, one thing it needed to bring to the attention of its temporary host, who wasn’t fond of checking her status screen.
“I suggest you open the character panel now,” the System said. “While organizing data just now, I discovered that Gloria’s affection value on the details screen… seems a bit perplexing.”
Kelusta stopped in her tracks. Her golden eyes darted around, and seeing no one, she reached out and tapped lightly on the system interface that only she could see.
On the character panel were many portraits, some as photos and others as silhouettes. A photo meant Kelusta had already made initial contact with that person, while a silhouette meant their data had not yet been collected by the System.
For instance, Kevit’s photo was shamelessly flashing a set of pearly white teeth at Kelusta, while the slots for the other male leads were just black shadows, not even worthy of a name, mercilessly replaced by “???”.
Now, the silhouette Kelusta had manually pinned to the top as “Number One Danger” was lit up. On the character panel, a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl with eyes like water leaned back in a golden, throne-like chair. Her expression was lazy, yet it held an undisguised coldness.
It had to be said, she was so commanding you couldn’t look away…
Kelusta subtly pinched the palm of her hand.
Get a grip, protagonist. You can’t be blushing at a photo!
She feigned composure and tapped to open Gloria’s detailed profile. Public information like “Second-Year Student at Holy Light Magic Academy” and “Daughter of a Duke” was already unlocked, but other details, such as “Interpersonal Relationships,” remained sealed due to insufficient affection.
But none of that caught Kelusta’s attention now.
At this moment, the brown-haired girl was staring, dumbfounded, at the line indicating the affection value. After a long pause, she finally came to her senses and asked the System with a trembling voice:
“Am I blind?”
Kelusta pointed at the glaring “Affection: 5” and said, stunned, “Or did you fail math?”
“…” the System replied. “My dear temporary host, I am, of course, aware that under normal circumstances, affection should start at ‘0’.”
It sounded annoyed—the System made its living through programming. To be openly questioned by its host about a potential bug was an insult to its dignity!
“Then explain this.” Kelusta crossed her arms, forcing herself not to glance at Gloria’s portrait. Her indignant expression was like that of an innocent customer at the Seaside Town seafood market who had ordered an eel, only to be handed a bag of loaches.
System: “…”
It felt like the dishonest merchant who passed off loaches as eels.
“This situation shouldn’t actually be considered a programming error—we call such errors ‘bugs’,” it explained. “The affection detection system has a setting for ‘initial affection’.”
“For example, on the day I entered your consciousness, when you first saw Kevit, he already had about 30 affection points logged. But since it wasn’t a fluctuation in affection, the System did not notify you.”
Kelusta was suspicious. “How come I don’t remember Kevit having any initial affection?”
She exited Gloria’s profile, switched to Kevit’s, and said mockingly, “See? If Kevit had initial affection, then why is it still 30 points with no change? I distinctly remember you telling me it went up by three points when school started!”
The System was silent for a moment before saying, “Temporary host, I can explain this.”
Kelusta didn’t speak, her expression unchanged.
But that mocking, “I-got-loaches” smirk finally cracked when the System rapidly displayed a long list of affection changes.
“…Temporary host rejected Kevit’s invitation to afternoon tea, affection -1; Temporary host ignored Kevit on his third attempt to start a conversation, affection -3; Temporary host fell asleep in class, didn’t wake up after Kevit pinched the back of her hand three times, and then blamed him for not reminding her after the teacher docked her points, affection -5…”
The otome game protagonist, the girl everyone adored, the pure and kind Mary Sue… whatever you wanted to call her, the current Kelusta was completely and utterly stunned.
She thought she heard the System let out a cold laugh, but upon listening closely, it was still the same rigid electronic voice, speaking in a steady tone. “As the temporary host has no interest in pursuing capture targets and is focused on the mission, capture target Kevit’s affection for you has been in a near-constant state of decline since you entered the academy. It has decreased by a total of 14 points, which happens to perfectly offset the increase to 44 points you gained while preparing for school in Seaside Town.”
Kelusta: “…”
The dishonest merchant had just slapped a biological analysis report on the bag of loaches, which clearly read “Miniature Eels” in bold letters.
At first glance, it seemed the merchant had the upper hand. But in most cases, the customer’s eye is sharper.
“But Gloria shouldn’t have any initial affection,” Kelusta said, getting straight to the point. “Her image wasn’t lit up before, which proves that I just met her for the very first time—so, System, I’m very sorry to say—it must be your mistake!”
System: “…” It had no rebuttal.
The customer’s confidence returned. She ripped the biological analysis report to shreds, threw the loaches in the merchant’s face, and walked away with her head held high.
In the end, Kelusta and the System couldn’t settle the argument, so the latter had to pinch its nose and accept it as a bug.
Besides, the extra five affection points lowered the mission’s difficulty for Kelusta. A bug was a bug.
But this protagonist was completely different from the one in the original game.
She was a first-class expert at getting a good deal and still acting smug about it.
“My dear, as long as you’re okay,” Kelusta said to the System with deep affection. “It’s fine to make a mistake now and then. I won’t hold it against you.”
…Lies. I know you too well, the System thought. It’s a good thing this bug gave you initial affection. If it had docked five points instead, you would have eaten me alive on the spot.
This protagonist might really be broken, the System calculated viciously. The first thing it would do when it returned to headquarters after this mission was permanently delete Kelusta Breviou’s “pure and kind” tag!
And it would have to dock the higher-dimension game development team’s income for two months to vent its frustration.
Because of her argument with the System, Kelusta was late getting back to her dorm last night.
She was dejectedly docked another three academic credits and given a harsh scolding by the teacher, who threatened to apply to have her expelled if it happened again.
But Kelusta was unconcerned.
The laws of the Nobili Kingdom stipulated that anyone who awakened magic must become a student at the Holy Light Magic Academy.
The administrator’s harsh words were, at best, just an attempt to scare her.
However, even if she didn’t care about it, there were always others who did.
“—That’s too much. How could they threaten a student like that?”
The next day in class, Pascal, sitting to Kelusta’s right, grumbled indignantly in a low voice, “That young master from the Odo Viscount family didn’t even come back to the dorms last night… and the administrator didn’t say a single word.”
“Forget it, Pascal, let it go,” Kelusta yawned, trying to keep the peace. “It’s just a few points, no big deal.”
On her left, Kevit shot her a worried glance and asked tentatively, “Ruth, are you really okay?”
She had only been at the academy for a short time, but Kelusta had already been docked points many times.
The point-losing champion herself was completely unbothered. She just turned her head to look at him, her gaze meeting his green eyes, which were full of concern. A warmth spread through her heart, and she gave Kevit a rare, big smile. “Hey, I’m really fine… don’t worry so much.”
“Ding, Kevit’s affection +5.”
The smile on the brown-haired girl’s face froze for a second.
Kevit looked at her softly, about to say something more, when Pascal started grumbling again, his tone full of frustration. “Kelusta, you’re really too laid-back. This school clearly supports the nobles and suppresses the commoners. Honestly, if it weren’t for the kingdom’s law… Anyway, I already regret coming here.”
As he spoke, he sighed dejectedly. “I really miss Seaside Town.”
Kelusta fell silent as well.
She missed home, and she missed her father.
Pascal was right. The thick atmosphere of classism at the Holy Light Magic Academy was particularly hard to bear, especially for the simple people from Seaside Town.
“Fawning over the powerful, bullying and oppressing the common folk,” Kevit said in a low voice. “To change this situation, you either have to overthrow the powerful, or you have to become one of them…”
Kelusta jolted, whipping her head around to look at her childhood friend. His once-clear green eyes were now filled with a dark, gloomy fog, swirling within them like willow leaves falling into a swamp, slowly being eroded by the mud.
Alarm bells screamed in her head. In a flash of insight, she thought she might have guessed the root cause of why Kevit ultimately becomes Starangui’s spy in the childhood friend route.
That evil but high-ranking princess had deceived him, using the position of “the powerful” as bait, making the young man who grew up amidst discrimination willingly become the sword in her hand—a sword pointed directly at his own hometown.
“…Kevit.”
The young man from Seaside Town looked up, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at the brown-haired girl reaching out a fair hand to gently pat his head.
“Maybe there are more than just those two ways to eliminate discrimination and oppression?” Her golden eyes blinked, as full of life as a sunflower unfurling its petals.
The weight on his hair vanished in an instant. Kelusta pulled her hand back and gave him a gentle, sunny smile. “As long as we become excellent enough to earn the sincere recognition of every person in power, that’s enough.”
“Violence, conspiracy, mutiny… those might work, but once we start down that path, there’s no turning back.”
Kevit stared at her, stunned. The eyes that had been shrouded in black fog seemed to be suddenly washed by a clear spring, returning to the pure, willow-green of spring.
After a long moment, he gave his childhood friend a small smile and replied softly, “Yeah, there’d be no turning back.”
“Ding, Kevit’s affection +10.”
Kelusta smiled, pleased. Just as she was about to say something to enhance the wonderful atmosphere, a stern voice suddenly came from the front of the classroom, saying coolly, “Having a nice chat, Miss Breviou?”
Her face stiffened. She turned her head mechanically, only to see the potions teacher giving her a sinister smile.
“Congratulations, you’ve won an all-day library cleaning tour—I won’t dock your points, since it’s your first offense. Remember to report to the library entrance at three o’clock this afternoon.”
He tapped on Kelusta’s desk and said coldly, “Don’t be late.”
Kelusta looked despairingly at the teacher’s fake smile and said dryly, “Okay… I understand. Thank you, teacher.”
Sigh. She had just been thinking of slacking off for a couple of days to recover from her history-phobia…
And now that plan was down the drain.
Comments
Post a Comment