Jelasis sat down beside me in silence.
"..."
"..."
Wait, what?! Why was he sitting next to me?
I felt a surge of regret for letting Mariana wander off alone to search for her glasses. Left to my own devices, I was trapped in a stifling, awkward atmosphere. I stole a glance at Jelasis out of the corner of my eye.
He was staring blankly into the distance, his expressionless face exuding a dangerous aura—the look of someone harboring something dark deep within. However, because he was undeniably handsome, that "dangerous loner" vibe probably appealed to some twisted maternal instinct in others. In his game route, he had lines and scenes where he viewed the heroine as a surrogate mother; he was a character specifically engineered to exploit that trope.
"You have an incredible physique," he said suddenly.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I guess so. Haha."
I had resolved to stay away from the Capture Target Characters, so I was at a total loss. Since I never spoke to the other boys at the Academy, being addressed so directly turned me into a stuttering mess.
If this were a battlefield, I could communicate through strength. If he were an enemy soldier, I could communicate through interrogation. But House Brave hadn't taught me how to chat with fellow students, and I had no memories of being particularly social in my previous life either. I felt like the ultimate mob character.
"Where did you get those scars?"
"The Brave Territory."
I kept my answer vague and harmless. A veteran soldier’s body is usually a map of wounds received from the enemy; since those from House Brave had a higher survival rate than most, it was only natural to look like this. Of course, many of these came from monsters as well as soldiers.
I’d briefly considered wearing a hoodie like Jelasis to avoid scaring people, but since Alicia wasn’t hiding her scars, I couldn't very well skulk around and hide mine. These scars were my pride—the physical proof that I had survived.
"The territory constantly at war with the neighboring country? Your muscles are impressive too. You look strong."
"Same to you."
Up close, Jelasis's body was far more toned than the average, soft Academy student. He looked every bit the popular lead. The handsome Capture Targets were all depicted as having practiced swordsmanship and other arts alongside magic since childhood, giving them all athletic builds, but Jelasis was clearly a cut above. You couldn't tell when he was fully dressed, but he seemed sturdier than even the Prime Minister's son, who was supposed to be the group's sword specialist.
"I suppose mine is the result of my family's 'education,'" he remarked.
"We both have it rough, then."
"..."
"..."
And then, time ground to a halt again.
The silence was excruciating! It was so awkward I wanted to scream for Sebas. How was I supposed to handle this? I’d wondered how people made friends, but I had never anticipated someone actually initiating a conversation with me.
Mariana, Alicia, please come back. Though, honestly, Mariana would be too scared to get close, and Alicia wouldn't want anything to do with the Patricia Faction. Was there any way to end this? Should I just leave? But I was here first—giving up my seat felt like losing.
Just as I was weighing my options, Jelasis spoke again.
"Tell me, have you ever held hands?"
"Excuse me?" I blinked. Where was this coming from?
"Have you ever been embraced?"
"No."
"Have you ever been loved by someone?"
Suddenly, the interrogation began. As Jelasis turned his body fully toward me, a memory of the game version of him clicked into place. Oh, right. He was this kind of guy.
Once the heroine progressed Jelasis's flags, he would shed his distant persona and suddenly develop an obsessive interest in her, unleashing a barrage of invasive personal questions. In the fandom, this was known as "Jelasis's What-What Phase." It was a terrible name, but his tendency to completely bypass the natural flow of conversation made the term "What-What Phase" feel like an understatement. It was contextless to the point of being creepy.
And he always ended it with the same line: You're interesting.
"You're interesting," he whispered.
I felt a wave of despair. The fact that he’d reached this point meant that the "What-What Phase" event was progressing with me as the target. But why? I hadn't interacted with him once since enrollment.
The scenario was bugged. This was all Patricia's fault for occupying the Protagonist Position. She was breaking the world. Then again, my own existence was likely a contributing factor to the narrative decay. It was probably unfair to blame it all on that flat-chested runt, so I supposed I had to investigate the cause.
Still, he was the son of House Ignite—the family that had sent assassins after us. There was no way this didn't have a hidden motive.
"Is interrogating people a hobby of yours?" I asked.
"Sorry."
"..."
"..."
We were getting nowhere. I had clearly given the wrong response to his scripted prompt. I understood he was designed to be a "silent and mysterious" character with a dark past, but facing him in person was just plain exhausting.
"Shouldn't you... go back? Your friends are waiting."
Go home, Jelasis. You don't belong here. Go back to your Reverse Harem.
"I just found myself curious about you."
I told him to leave with a look of pure exasperation, but he responded with a line that sounded like it came straight from his maximum-affection voice tracks. In the game, the heroine would ask, "What's wrong all of a sudden?" and Jelasis would lean in close to her lips, nearly kissing her in a high-tension, heart-pounding moment. The heroine would usually rebuff him, leading to a scene where she taught him that "you shouldn't do things like that to people so suddenly."
But two guys leaning in toward each other at the poolside was a recipe for disaster. If Alicia saw this and got the wrong idea, it would be a catastrophe. My reputation would be in the gutters. I decided right then that if he got any closer, I’d serve his pretty face a sample of my Brave-style Rejection Punch. Duke's son or not, he was the enemy.
"Tell me, what is it you like about Alicia?"
His face passed mine as he leaned in, his voice a low murmur in my ear.
"Why is it you? You're not even supposed to be here."
"Huh—?"
Before I could process his words, Jelasis's body began to thrum with magic power. That was when it hit me. I recognized this specific mana signature. I had felt it very recently.
"...You're the one from the bottom of the dungeon."
"And if I am? What are you going to do? Start a fight here?"
Now that I thought about it, when he had evaporated Ekaterina's water ball with fire earlier, he hadn't used a chant. I hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but the Academy didn't teach chantless magic. Even as a game character, he shouldn't have been able to do that. I should have been more suspicious from the start. I’d let the "event-like" atmosphere throw me off, distracting me with memories of his game persona.
"What's your point?" I growled.
"This is a declaration of war. Alicia is not suitable for you."
"Bring it on."
He smiled with a bewitching, almost demonic expression. I seriously considered killing him on the spot. But then, voices drifted over from the Reverse Harem.
"Jelasis-kun, you're not good with water either, right? Let's practice together!"
"Hey, Jelasis! What are you doing over there? Come on over!"
"I'm coming," Jelasis called back. "I hate swimming, but I'll try my best if it's for Patricia."
The eyes of the crowd were turning toward us. I couldn't cause a scene; it would reflect poorly on Alicia. I had promised to endure while we were at the Academy.
"I see... so you haven't even kissed her yet?"
As if he’d sensed my restraint, Jelasis whispered that parting shot before diving into the pool.
"Jelasis, what were you talking to that person about?" Patricia asked as he surfaced.
"Lady Ekaterina was bothering him again."
"I see. So you helped him? That’s so kind of you."
"Well done, Jelasis," the Prince added. "Discrimination has no place in this Academy."
The Reverse Harem group returned to their happy, bubbly world.
"............I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him right now."
My voice was terrifyingly low, even to my own ears. That declaration of war had been incredibly blatant. Why was a member of Patricia's harem aiming for Alicia? It made no sense. I’d been watching them since enrollment, and Patricia seemed to be following the Reverse Harem Route perfectly.
Dammit, but more than that...
—Haven't even kissed her yet? —Haven't even kissed her yet? —Haven't even kissed her yet?
The taunt looped in my brain, over and over. I couldn't suppress my murderous intent anymore. It wasn't that my "romance was unstoppable"—it was that my bloodlust was so overwhelming I felt like I could seize all the water in the pool and whip it into a lethal whirlpool.
Fine. Fine! Bring it on!
I was tired of people sniffing around in the shadows anyway. A direct declaration of war made things simple. It was much easier to deal with an enemy who looked me in the eye.
"I don't care anymore. Those people are the source of all this. I'll just bring Onyx here and burn their estates to the—"
"—Hey!"
Something smacked the back of my head, and the world snapped back into focus.
"Alicia."
I turned around to find an angel standing there. Even in a modest competitive swimsuit, her incredible figure was enough to make the "Beast of Brave" inside me start gnawing at the bars of its cage. Grrrr.
"What are you muttering about? You look dangerous."
"Nothing. I just found someone I need to kill."
"Was it someone in your class? You have to endure it, Ragna."
Whimper.
But I couldn't just take that lying down. Dammit.
Alicia, having missed the exchange with Jelasis, looked at me with judgmental eyes.
"Ragna, Mariana told me that a lot of boys in your class have been getting injured lately... You haven't been doing anything 'impulsive,' have you?"
I stiffened. The bastards who had tried to pull petty pranks on me had all suffered "accidents" that ensured they’d never try it again. Broken fingers, snapped arms—nothing permanent, just enough to learn a lesson. I thought I’d been discrete, but... how did she find out?
Was it Mariana? Dammit, snitching is a terrible habit!
"You mustn't. If you cause a scene, it'll ruin your reputation. You can't just throw your strength around. I can endure whatever they say to me, so you have to as well."
"Woof..."
She produced a collar from near her chest with a distinct boing effect, and I immediately slumped into a submissive posture. I’d willingly wear it today. But I wasn't letting that guy off the hook. There were so many guys in that harem; surely no one would notice if one went missing.
"...You look dissatisfied. Do you really understand?"
"Woof!"
"Good. And... you don't actually have to wear the physical collar, you know? There are people watching. The servants only gave it to me to use if you did something completely outrageous."
No, I was wearing it today. If I didn't, I wasn't sure I could stop myself from going on a rampage.
"Fueee! Alicia, have you seen my glasses? I just got new ones, but they're gone! They're gone!"
"Mariana, aren't they resting on your head like a headband...?"
"Oh! There they are! Oh, Alicia, you're a lifesaver! My hero!"
"You're so dramatic... Honestly, what would you two do without me?"
By the way, the collar was warm.