A Kind Tsundere (Illustration Included)
After a storm had passed.
Only Evangelin and Beatrice remained in the hospital room.
Ichiro, Rin, and Olivia, along with the other heroines, had stepped outside.
Surprisingly, this agreement was reached peacefully.
Evangelin, who was a short-term exchange student, wanted to see my face before she left, and the other heroines accepted her request.
“Fufufu. The girl is monopolizing Kim Deok-Sung!”
Crunch crunch.
Evangelin skillfully maneuvered the knife, carving the apple into the shape of a rabbit.
I was a little worried she might mess up the apple or pour spicy chicken sauce on it, but fortunately, her taste buds hadn’t gone that far.
By the way, is that rabbit apple a genuine light novel cliché? Sometimes I just want to see a regular apple.
“Contractor, present the apple to her first.”
Beatrice, shining with excitement, interjected.
As usual, she spoke in a tone reminiscent of a middle schooler, but her eyes sparkled with anticipation like a child waiting for Santa with a sock placed at the head of her bed on Christmas Eve, suggesting she really wanted to eat the apple.
Why on earth does Beatrice have such a fondness for apples?
“That won’t do! Kim Deok-Sung is a patient, so it must be given to him first!”
“······Ah, I understand······.”
Evangelin’s reply was surprisingly firm, which made Beatrice’s face slightly sulky.
She nodded.
[Partner. Is it absolutely necessary to eat the apple?]
Her face looked so pitiful that even the Black Prince commented in my head.
“Now, Kim Deok-Sung······.”
“Just give it to her first.”
I pointed at Beatrice while smiling at Evangelin.
It’s not that I didn’t want to eat the apple, but I didn’t desire it that much to go through all this trouble.
“Ha, hawawa······.”
Evangelin’s face turned slightly red at my words.
Kachak.
She placed her hand on her left cheek, closed her eyes, and opened them with a sparkling gaze.
“Indeed, Kim Deok-Sung! To care about Trixie’s true feelings, how could you be so kind······!!”
Evangelin was overly flattery.
I expected this to happen, but hearing it directly felt unnecessarily embarrassing.
What on Earth did I do to deserve such nonsensical compliments?
Sigh.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.
“Ahem. Then present the apple to her, contractor!”
“Yes, yes, I will! Fufu. I must eat it with gratitude for Kim Deok-Sung’s generosity in giving it to me. Trixie!”
“······Hmph.”
Upon hearing the word “gratitude,” Beatrice puffed her cheeks slightly.
Beatrice puffs her cheeks slightly after hearing the words.
With her face turning red, Beatrice glances at me and slightly lowers her head.
[Hey, lady. You just greeted your partner, right? Am I right?]
The Black Prince flamboyantly exclaims upon seeing this.
It’s probably true that she did just greet someone.
“Well done! Hehe.”
Swish, swish.
Evangeline ruffles Beatrice’s hair.
“Uuuuh… She’s not a little kid, you know…”
“Now, eat this apple.”
Evangeline interrupts Beatrice’s protest and shoves a bunny-shaped apple into her mouth.
Beatrice, having accepted the apple from her, chews it adorably.
“…!!”
With exclamation points in her eyes, Beatrice’s face turns even redder.
Isn’t there a huge gap between her Chuunibyou speech and her expression of delight?
A satisfied smile appears on Evangeline’s face as she watches Beatrice eat the apple.
It’s like seeing an older sister looking at her little sister enjoying her food.
“Hehe. Then, Kim Deok-Sung, you should eat this too.”
Before I know it, Evangeline holds out a bunny-shaped apple in front of my mouth.
I take it and bite into it.
It’s delicious.
Way tastier than I expected.
I’ve tasted something like this before.
“Hehehe. This apple is from the icy valley of Miryang, specially delivered just for you, Kim Deok-Sung. Hawa wa wa wa! Is it to your taste?”
Evangeline says, her pink twin tails swaying as her pink eyes sparkle.
The icy valley apple from Miryang.
That’s the same apple Rin brought before.
“It’s tasty.”
“Hawa wa wa wa! I’m glad! Hehehe. I was really worried you might not like it!”
Evangeline giggles, covering her mouth with her hand like a lady.
“Now, eat more.”
She keeps feeding me more of the bunny-shaped icy valley apple.
Nom nom.
Eating the apple.
So tasty.
[Wow, partner. I’m jealous. Watching you eat the apple cut by the lady. The Black Prince also had times back in the day when ladies invited me for tea time and I got served desserts…]
The Black Prince starts recounting useless bragging in his head.
Ignoring his self-praise, I keep chewing on the icy valley apple.
Well, the school trip has turned out more or less alright.
But what’s resolved… isn’t really much.
If only luck hadn’t been so poor.
If I weren’t the master of Durandal.
If the Black Prince hadn’t been my spirit.
If we hadn’t achieved harmony.
If the Black Prince had not been willing to risk the danger of his own existence.
If we had failed in shaping our situation.
Any one of those scenarios going differently could have led to death for me, or worse, for everyone.
Just thinking about that still sends shivers down my spine.
Messiah has now clearly set me as a primary target and will go to any lengths to try and take me out.
To survive, or to return home.
Just like the Black Prince said, I need to get stronger.
That realization hits hard.
And then there’s the Undertaker.
Aris’ parents, Seira’s body.
And my mom’s illness too.
A person who possesses key items that can heal everything.
The title heroine of Volume 19 of the original novel, and the last heroine.
The character holding the key to leading Beatrice and I to the original story’s ending.
If I can reveal the truth to her like the original protagonist did and make her a collaborator…
That would be the most ideal scenario, but the problem is there’s no way to contact the Undertaker.
There was no way to do it.
Her location was the hidden headquarters of the New World League in Siberia, and she was one of Messiah’s closest aides.
At the same time, Messiah didn’t fully trust her either and was keeping her under surveillance 24/7.
No matter how powerful the National Intelligence Service was, it was impossible to contact her by breaking through the League’s information network and surveillance.
In the end, the only way to convey the truth to the Undertaker was to meet her in person right there on the field.
But the Undertaker was a villain character who only appeared in the end of the original story.
She wasn’t a character I could just meet because I wanted to. It was too risky to destroy the original story just to meet her, and there was no guarantee that I would actually be able to meet her that way.
Moreover, to persuade her, I needed solid evidence, but since I didn’t have any evidence yet, meeting her would likely just put my life in danger if she deemed my unproven truth as provocation.
I didn’t want to die.
However, the Undertaker had appeared in the association this time, so maybe I could meet her soon.
If that happened…
“Kim Deok-Sung.”
My chain of thoughts was cut off by Evangelin’s words.
I could see the empty apple dish now.
Evangelin smiled with a slightly flushed face.
“Dear Sir Kim Deok-Sung, I’m so happy to have spent this short time with you.”
Suddenly.
Evangelin grabbed my hand.
Evangelin Stewart.
In the original story, she was just another side heroine with no significance or popularity.
While Mayuzumi’s character surged in popularity due to some animation bust-morphing, Evangelin was treated as a blatant inferior to Olivia and was not popular at all.
But that was only the perspective of a light novel character.
The Evangelin who stood before me, alive and breathing, was objectively a sufficiently charming beautiful girl.
Except for her speech and eating habits.
“Hehe. Kim Deok-Sung, I would like to exchange letters with you even after returning to England…”
Evangelin carefully spoke with a red face.
“Go ahead.”
“Is it all right if I do?”
I nodded at her words.
Her face brightened up.
What’s a letter, anyway?
For a princess of England, it was a surprisingly modest wish.
“Hawawawawa! I’ve accomplished my wish! Hehe, to be pen pals with you, Kim Deok-Sung…! Now I can return to England with a light heart!”
Evangelin’s eyes sparkled.
I don’t know much, but if she looks happy, that should be fine.
She let go of my hand.
“Hehe.”
A meaningful laugh escaped from Evangelin’s mouth.
“Kim Deok-Sung, well then, I’m going to the nearby convenience store for a bit. I’ll have a little chat with Miss Trixie.”
Wink.
After winking at Beatrice, Evangelin left the hospital room.
Thud.
The door closed.
The only ones left in the hospital room were Beatrice and me.
[Partner. Is Lady Evangelin purposely clearing the space for us? To consider her friend?]
No, the Black Prince is also here.
‘Seems so.’
The Black Prince, after a long while, made a useful comment.
Just as he said, Evangelin was definitely clearing time for Beatrice.
Was it Beatrice’s request?
No need to overthink it.
Since the party involved was right in front of me, I could just ask.
One of the few advantages of living in a light novel world is that the characters tend to be honest and will answer most questions if you just ask.
“Hey, Trixie.”
“Hmm, why do you call me, human?”
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“Hyik!”
Beatrice hiccups at my words.
But I haven’t said anything yet, so why is she reacting like that?
“Did you ask Evangelin to step aside because you have something to say?”
“You are under a big misconception. The saintess of Scarlet Lotus wouldn’t have anything to say to a mere human like you······.”
The saintess stumbles while throwing out some middle school syndrome line.
My head is starting to hurt.
“Can’t you just get to the point without dragging it out?”
“Hyik!”
When I narrow my eyes slightly, the saintess hiccups again.
“…I-I didn’t ask her to step aside, okay? I-I don’t really have anything to say, though······.”
The saintess reveals her true nature with a flushed face as she looks down.
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.
“Really?”
The saintess nods at my words.
Since there are only the two of us here, this is actually going well.
“Then I guess I need to ask you something.”
“Hyik!”
“Are you okay not going back to the Cult?”
I throw another question at the hiccuping saintess.
The Cult.
The saintess’s body flinches at my words.
She nods her head.
“I-I really don’t want to go back there······. I-I like it best here now, okay······. T-They haven’t told me to come back yet either······.”
She says she likes it here the best.
Suddenly, I recall the dawn when we were roasting marshmallows alone by the campfire.
Back then, we had a similar conversation.
Even if it was a false identity, she wished for the current happiness to last.
A bitter taste lingers in my mouth for some reason.
“Got it. But just in case, if anything happens, contact me.”
The saintess’s eyes widen a little at my words.
Her face slightly reddens.
“D-Did you just worry about me?”
Worry about what?
The saintess is a key player in the original story along with the Undertaker.
It would become a problem if she suddenly turned to the enemy or got into a dangerous situation due to unexpected variables.
That’s all there is to it.
“Think whatever you want.”
Beatrice’s face turns even redder at my words.
What kind of misunderstanding is she having now?
[Oooh. Partner. A kind tsundere.]
A kind tsundere?
I suddenly feel a bit nauseous.
Just when I was about to refute the Black Prince’s nonsense.
“Kim Deok-Sung, the girl has returned!”
Clang.
The hospital room door swings open with a loud voice as Evangelin comes back.
Holding a convenience store bag in one hand, Evangelin’s pink eyes alternate between me and the flushed Beatrice.
“Hawaawaawa······. Trixie!”
She rushes over.
“Did you finally confess your feelings to Deok-Sung, Trixie?”
“N-No! Contractor! How could the saintess of Scarlet Lotus do something with a lowly human······.”
“Trixie!”
“Uwaaaaah! Can’t you let go of me?!”
Flustered Beatrice and Evangelin, who hugs her tightly.
It’s an extremely light novel-like scene, and I turn my gaze away.
Outside the window, the streets of Tokyo come into view.
Anyway, the field trip episode has finally ended.
The next event I need to prepare for is······.
Sports Festival.
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