'If this isn't love, then what is?'
Aisha reminisced about her past interactions with men.
─Aisha~ don't you want to go on a blind date? The guys are no joke! All of them are incredibly handsome!
─Oh, you're not interested...? Honestly, they said they won't go unless you're there. Can't you join just once?
─Hello, Aisha. You look beautiful today as well. What’s this about liking a junior? If there's anything you don't know or need, just tell me anytime! I'll mobilize all resources at my disposal to help you!
─Ah, you're not interested...? Okay, if you change your mind, feel free to ask anytime!
─Thank you for gracing this humble gathering, Aisha. Would you like to join me for a meal? I know a great restaurant. I didn’t know before, but it’s a four-star place, haha.
─Ah, you're okay with it...? Ahahaha... I know you appreciate good food, but I guess you're not hungry right now. Whenever you feel like it, just let me know. It usually has a three-month waiting list, but if you're with me, we can enter right away.
Numerous accomplished men had eagerly pursued her.
Aisha was quick to notice.
No, she had to be.
Always receiving a lot of attention from the boys around her, she could easily discern the feelings of a boy her age.
However, Aisha never responded to any of the men's advances.
There were two main reasons.
First, she strangely wasn't interested much in men, and second, she didn’t want to be seen as frivolous.
Since childhood, Aisha had been labeled a genius and grew up enjoying the attention, eventually becoming something like an idol.
And for an idol, image is everything.
Aisha, the idol with an approachable sister or girlfriend image.
Many dared to think that her real self must be as light-hearted as her fabricated image.
But that was far from the truth.
Even in an era where the custom of not marrying unless a virgin had been forgotten, and premarital chastity was buried under the notion of being outdated.
With no one paying attention to such matters, Aisha, a 16-year-old first-year student at Elinia Academy, was spending her unexciting youth without even a single blind date.
But now, her heart was pounding wildly.
The emotions she was feeling now were different from anything she had experienced before.
'Theo likes me, likes... me?'
It was the first time a man had ever shaken her emotions to this extent.
Aisha's cheeks turned as red as her eyes.
Eventually, her eyes lost focus, appearing slightly dazed.
'...A romance between direct and collateral relatives.'
It sounded like something straight out of a melodramatic novel.
Of course, marriage is legally possible, but it's a relationship that's hard to openly declare, given social conventions.
Of course, legally, marriage is possible, but it's a relationship that’s difficult to openly acknowledge due to social norms.
Boom─
These thoughts exploded in Aisha’s mind.
She couldn’t decide how she should act now.
“···Don’t make me say more. Take it, Aisha.”
Theo, seeing her like this, frowned and spoke.
“Oh, yes! Ah, no. Yes!”
Aisha, in a fluster, accepted the [Still Life] bow from Theo.
Theo felt puzzled by her unusual behavior.
‘...Is it that day?’
But he couldn’t voice such a thought.
He had decided to avoid such direct comments.
“Don’t carry it around from now on; people might find it strange. Be discreet and choose the right time to use it.”
“Uh, yes. Yes, yes!”
Aisha blinked rapidly as she replied.
Theo wondered if she understood properly but finished what he was saying.
“Carry [Still Life] with the dignity it deserves. You don’t look well, please take care of yourself.”
After parting with Aisha, I immediately headed to the Knight Department.
I had artifacts to give to Irene and Alphs.
Clunk, clunk─
Inside the Knight Department-bound carriage.
Many students glanced at me, but I was used to such stares by now.
Anyway.
─Yes. Yes, yes!
Aisha’s face and even her ears turned red, and she was stammering as if her speech mechanism was broken.
Her image suddenly came to mind.
Usually, she’s quite talkative, so why was she like that?
Whether it was that day or not, something was off.
Well, I gave her the [Still Life], so she should be feeling better mentally.
In every route of the game, Aisha’s signature weapon is the [Still Life].
It not only suits her well but is also the weapon she always wanted.
Now, using my status as a direct descendant of the Waldeurk Family, I managed to get it for her earlier than in the game, where Aisha wouldn’t have gotten [Still Life] for at least another year.
As I was lost in these thoughts, the carriage arrived at the Knight Department stop.
‘Irene is probably at the training ground...’
I decided to look for Alphs first.
Alphs is at the bottom of the school ranking, likely in Knight Department’s E class.
The classes at the Knight Department had already ended, but her whereabouts were predictable.
As I was walking towards the Knight Department.
“Ah, hello! Theo! Excuse me!”
A female student approached me.
She seemed to be from the Knight Department, but I didn’t recognize her.
“Who are you?”
“Oh! I, I’m from the Knight Department······”
She continued nervously.
To summarize, she was asking if I would take her as my aide.
Although she was a stranger, I listened attentively.
Perhaps due to my possession, characters like Noctar, who were extras in the game, sometimes played significant roles.
I couldn't make a hasty decision without knowing who she was specifically.
“I’ve heard you. Submit an aide application to the Hero Department, and I’ll consider it. Thank you for offering.”
“Oh, no, thank you, Theo! I’ll submit the application today!”
The female student bowed repeatedly to me.
I nodded and was about to leave when.
“Greetings, Theo! I am from the Knight Department’s Class A······”
“From the Magic Academy’s······”
“From the Exploration Academy’s······”
Perhaps the earlier interaction with the female student had set off a chain reaction.
Students began approaching me incessantly.
Of course, they all wanted the same thing – to be chosen as my aide.
Since there could be unknown talents among them, I couldn’t just dismiss them outright.
Trying not to offend anyone, I listened to each person, which immobilized me for over 10 minutes.
Maybe because I was paying attention?
At some point, students lined up in front of me, waiting for their turn.
As I continued to be non-committal, the students’ methods of persuasion evolved in real time.
One even flaunted a newspaper featuring articles about me, claiming to be a fan.
[“It seemed impossible...” Theo’s overwhelming influence: “Want an interview with the mastermind overseeing the intrusion affairs? Leave it to me”]
[“Theo Lin Waldeurk, already one of the top prospects at Elinia Academy,” high praise from a top guild’s official “An S-grade sponsorship wouldn’t be too much”]
[“No student caught my eye except Theo,” explosive statement by the youngest ever among the top 100 heroes of the continent]
‘...The journalists did their job.’
Although all the articles were positive, looking at those MSG-filled headlines made my head spin.
Thus, it took me an hour to reach the Knight Department building, a distance that should have taken less than 5 minutes.
Inside Class E of the Knight Department.
Although the day’s lectures had long ended, Alphs was studying alone in the classroom.
“When clashing weapons, if you properly use friction and acceleration, you can win even with a 3-point difference in strength stats... Hmm, stats aren’t everything after all.”
Being alone in the classroom, she naturally started talking to herself.
She was deeply focused in reading a theory book.
“Ah, right, Theo······ This seems to be an extension of the technique he taught me. Theo indeed fights very cleverly.”
During the previous violent intrusion, after unintentionally manifesting a large holy buff, her belief in herself had begun to grow.
─I, Alphs, am confident that you are a being with shining wings incomparable to someone like me.
Theo’s words to her echoed in her mind.
Whenever she recalled those words, she felt like she really could achieve something.
“······Thank you, Theo.”
As she said this, with her mouth wide open─
“What are you thanking me for?”
“!!!”
A familiar voice came from in front.
Startled, Alphs jolted.
‘Uh, aahhh······’
Surely not, it couldn’t be.
It mustn’t be!
With a nervous heart, Alphs slowly raised her head.
“······Ah.”
What she feared had happened.
