NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
He scratched his cheek as if he was too shy to suddenly talk to me. The awkward smile naturally could tickle another person’s heart, but it wasn’t for me. Because I knew that smile was fake.
I asked curiously. “You’re going to make me a coffee? Where?”
“I have a tool to brew coffee in my private lab. Would you like to come with me if you don’t mind?”
No matter how hostile Theresa was to Damian, she would have accepted such an offer, saying, ‘Hmm, the coffee made by commoners would be terrible, but I will drink it.’
I didn’t really like to refuse, but his offer was too doubtful. Because it was an event where you had to fill Damian’s heart. I rechecked Damian’s likeability, just in case.
[Likeability: 🖤🖤🤍🤍🤍]
What? His likeability is still black.
Damian’s offer would have been interpreted as a threat if there were three black hearts, but two weren’t numbers leading to the death route.
What should I do?
This event was essential in the game. However, it was an event that didn’t apply to Theresa. Because there was no reason for Damian to invite Theresa or for Theresa to accept Damian’s invitation.
Does he have any other purpose?
Damian is an assassin who only moves with calculating movement, so he won’t do something in vain. There was no way his action was to earn a favor.
Maybe he’s trying to use me to approach Libby.
But this was an opportunity anyway.
It’s not a bad sign for Damian to give me room like this.
Recommendations from existing executives or professors were required to join the student council. Even if they were recommended, if the majority of executives opposed it, they couldn’t join the student council. The setting I put in to create a special event where Libby unanimously joined the student council was like holding me back.
He has two black hearts, but I’m lucky because he gave me the lab invitation event.
“Thank you, Damian, but won’t you be troubled?”
Damian waved his hand in surprise at my concern. “No way. It’s because I want to drink the coffee too.”
Damian despised Theresa. The black hearts were the evidence. Nevertheless, I suddenly thought it was good to hear considerate words, so I didn’t feel burdened.
I knew it was a fake act that he learned to look like a good person so no one could even guess he was an assassin. But it was clear hypocrisy. I knew so well how hard this act was. Because I’ve done that before. In fact, Damian and I were no different.
We’re wearing a good child mask for survival.
Maybe that’s why I could understand him a little.
I even felt sorry and thankful for Damian, who acted kindly to Theresa, who was extremely rude to him and hated by everyone. My mouth, which had been stiff until just now, was loosened.
“Then I will gladly accept your invitation.”
Damian’s smile was strangely distorted for a moment in my answer. He seemed surprised by something. Then he turned his gaze to the front and muttered. “I’ve never seen you smile like that.”
“…Ah.”
I swept my lips unconsciously. Damian stared back at me with a lively smile.
“What time is the first lecture?”
He made this kind of chat properly so that the atmosphere was not awkward. I answered faithfully and occasionally asked him back, “What about you?”
Like any other friend, a calm atmosphere was flowing between us. As we got closer to his lab, the more I forgot the unpleasant feeling from Ozworld, and the more I expected the coffee flavor that Damian, who is good at cooking, would make.
“This is my lab. It’s a bit messy, right?”
Damian’s lab wasn’t messy. It looked rather desolate.
“It’s neat and nice.”
“Ahaha. I’m relieved that you think so.”
Contrary to Damian’s fresh smile, this place was really bleak. The space tends to reflect the personality of the character. In that respect, this laboratory was the place that most clearly revealed his duality.
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Detective’ has sponsored 1,000 coins.]
[I can’t feel the traces of people. Some artificial tools that seem forcibly equipped create a sense of incompatibility. Presumed as a space for doing secretive work.]
The constellation is sharp.
I looked around the lab and met Damian’s eyes, who were taking out a coffee dripper.
He asked with a habitual smile. “Come to think of it, is this your first time coming here?”
I was about to answer but hesitated.
Even if Damian had never invited her, Theresa could have come in on her own.
I had never put a specific description or dialogue about it, so it would have been better to gloss over it appropriately.
“Well, I don’t remember at all.”
“Really?” Damian skipped over the question, perhaps because he wasn’t particularly curious about it.
The lab was simply nothing to see. Rather than forcing myself to wander around looking for something to see, I decided to observe Damian brewing coffee.
As I sat across from him, Damian spoke again. “By the way, wasn’t the reason you and your sister went to the auditorium yesterday to congratulate her on being at the top of the admission?”
Judging from the way she spoke, it seemed like an affectionate interest. But Damian knew that Theresa wasn’t the type to celebrate the achievements of others. So, this was a deliberate attempt to test Theresa’s reaction.
He’s probably trying to find out exactly what I think of Libby.
“I was going to. But just because I don’t watch doesn’t mean Libby wasn’t at the top of the admission.”
The direct blood of the Squire family is uniquely gifted with a lot of mana. Libby is the pinnacle of that setup. No other than Clyde possessed more mana than Libby among the current students. A mysterious freshman who took the top spot with overwhelming mana. Well, it was a very typical female protagonist setting.
Damian nodded his head and continued. “Still, your sister looked a little sad yesterday.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Wouldn’t my future, whether I will be graduating, be more important than congratulating my sister? You know, my grades are really terrible.”
“…Ahahaha.” Damian couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.
Valhalla was run in a very strict system. You would be expelled if you couldn’t prove that you’re a good wizard. If your grades were too low, you would be expelled. If you couldn’t deal with demons due to injury, you would be expelled. If you didn’t fill out your graduation credits, you would be expelled. There were too many reasons to be expelled.
Just like Theresa’s death route.
Damian still spoke with a puzzled look on his face. “…We’re already in the fourth year, so it’s time to pay attention to that.”
I didn’t know you would care about that, but I guess you really want to say it.
I pulled forward a cup of coffee, which was hot and smelled deep, and recited pleasantly. “It smells good.”
Hot coffee was good to enjoy the scent, but I liked the iced coffee better.
Jujujuk—
I used the magic and froze the remaining water Damian used. Then, after cutting the ice floating in the air into cubes to fit the size of the cup, I dipped them into the hot coffee and drank it straight.
“Hua, this is it.”
After a cool drink, I put down my cup and saw Damian put on a strange expression. He had an expression of witnessing a human being enjoying weird food he couldn’t understand.
“Did you… drink cold coffee?”
“Yes. It tastes better when you drink it like this.”
Damian followed me with a doubtful look, tried to make iced coffee, and nodded lukewarmly. “Um, I think it’s fine. I don’t know, but I guess this is a trend in the society these days.”
“That’s not true. I’m just drinking like this. If you drink iced coffee at social gatherings, you probably won’t hear anything good about it.”
Maybe they would say the person who did it was so uncultured. Of course, no one would openly say that to Theresa.
…Wait a second.
I poured another cup of coffee and tilted my head.
Did Damian say it to ridicule me?
Damian is a person who socialites skillfully, so it wasn’t easy to tell if he was being sincere or not, even if you knew his personality.
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Rofan-Addicted Young Lady’ has donated 1,000 coins.]
[I think Damian was ridiculing your bad manners just now. Even though he’s a commoner, his ability to use socialite-style speech is top-notch.]
Ah. It must have been like that.
I put another ice cube into my coffee.
Ding!
[The Constellation ‘Cider Pass’ has donated 1,000 coins.]
[Yes~ If you don’t understand it~ It’s okay to interpret as you want~]