Chapter: 213
So, what happens when a cute red-haired girl drops in front of you and knocks someone out?
It’s simple. They run away.
“Hey, teacher!”
“Crazy! Let’s get out of here!”
The weak little delinquents, who just look to bully anyone they perceive as vulnerable or hit up an adult for unlimited cigarettes, ran for their lives.
From the perspective of the residents in this dark fantasy world, it was comically easy for them to ditch their buddy. Jess, with her nose wrinkled, stepped off the unconscious guy.
“Uh, well…”
Lian stared at Jess with a dazed expression, unsure what to say. His power known as ‘Adaptation’ was kicking in, but it still wasn’t fully formed, causing him to stutter when situations changed suddenly like this.
If only he had a bit more time, he’d be able to ‘adapt’ to the scene worthy of a light novel.
“Did you get hurt?”
“Hmm?”
That was only if he had time to adapt, though. Having a stunning girl approach him closely and engage with eyes full of affection was a brand new shock, causing his power to weaken.
Jess found Lian’s soft-looking face so cute that she unconsciously opened her arms wide, resembling a butterfly spreading its wings, making Lian flinch.
“Whoa, ugh…!”
“So cute!”
Her ample chest pulled him right in. He felt a softness he had never encountered before and was overwhelmed by a soothing floral scent from her body wash.
He swayed like a paper doll in her strong embrace, feeling short of breath as he grabbed her shoulder and pushed away.
“Ah…”
“…!”
In his panic, Lian didn’t push her shoulder but rather the soft bosom that was tightening around him.
Not having touched anything like that his whole life, Lian felt a strange awe and unconsciously tightened his grip, subsequently sending Jess into a soft whimper before… he fainted.
“Ah! Lian!”
His power ceased its function entirely.
*
As Lian woke up, the first thing he saw was the white ceiling, and he let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes again.
‘It was just a dream after all.’
He often fainted from violent encounters with delinquents. When his vision turned black, he always opened his eyes in the health room, so he treated this incomprehensible scene as just another dream.
Though his still-budding power of ‘Adaptation’ couldn’t completely protect him, it was enough to shield his crumbling mind.
As his fragile spirit broke free from confusion and solidified its place, he oddly noticed that his viewpoint was higher than usual.
Had he been propped up on two pillows or maybe he’d gotten hit on the back of the head?
As such thoughts trickled into his mind, he began to sense a warm presence at the nape of his neck.
“Um…?”
Making a foolish sound, Lian opened his eyes and discovered a shock of red hair that he had missed while only looking at the ceiling.
“Are you awake?”
Generally, looking up at someone from below the chin reveals an embarrassing face shot. Yet he found himself at the mercy of a stunning girl, smiling lovingly as though he had strayed from the laws of the universe.
Lian finally realized that his head was resting on her plump thighs.
“Ah.”
Like an outdated computer booting up, his mind started buffering. Jess tilted her head in concern as Lian let out a short gasp and then froze.
Every time her hair swayed, her scent enveloped him—a soft womanly fragrance similar to fabric softener, and it sent his mind into chaos once more.
As someone whose immunity to women neared zero, Lian’s power failed him again.
“Do you feel any pain?”
While Lian was passed out, Jess had checked him here and there, concerned about… no, ensuring he hadn’t sustained any injuries.
Lian turned to stone under her gaze filled with affection and worry, unlike anything he’d ever received before.
Creaking, he startled awake enough for the health room bed to make noise, biting his lip.
“Th-thanks for bringing me to the health room.”
After tremblingly finishing his sentence, he scampered off the bed like a delicate rabbit escaping from a tiger’s den. Luckily, he found the slippers in the direction he jumped.
He crammed his feet into the worn slippers and tossed aside the curtain that partitioned the bed space. The health room teacher turned around in surprise, but he left without even managing a proper greeting.
Thud!
His hasty steps echoed down the quiet hallway. Had class already started? The corridor was silent. Normally, he would have moved at a leisurely pace like an NPC on a predetermined route to get to his classroom.
But that wasn’t an option right now. He hurriedly stomped onward without even knowing where he was headed.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart raced anxiously, and his palms grew hot. Breathing came faster than he could manage, tightening his throat. He felt dizzy, as if he had stood under the blazing sun for too long, with the floor seeming distant.
In a daze, he hurriedly made his way to the rarely visited music room’s storage room, the place where Jess had first arrived.
Clank, click!
Lian pulled out a small key he always carried in his pocket and unlocked the classroom door.
With a creak, light streamed into the dark storeroom through the drawn curtains. The curtains blocked the light to protect the instruments, so despite it being bright outside, the music room remained in gloom.
Dust danced in the beams of light that seeped through the curtain gap and the open door. Lian quickly shut the door behind him and locked it.
Click.
“Haah, haah…”
He pressed his head against the wooden door, panting heavily. Sweat streamed down his face. Lian sank to the floor, lightly thumping his head against the door.
“Seriously… why do they look at me like that?”
He had yearned for just a shred of affection for so long. A simple thank-you would have sufficed. He wouldn’t even mind if they were using him.
He loved this world and wished to be loved back, so he could welcome even fabricated love. But it seemed the world refused to grant him even a droplet of affection.
He had begged, despaired, and pitifully clung on until he finally let go of the ‘affection’ he had come to accept as a lost cause.
But now, someone appeared who held an unfathomably vast lake of affection—a deep one, not just a drop. The one who had given everything up.
Humans fear the unknown. It’s far more frightening to think that something lurks in the dark recesses of a hallway than to face some strange being right in front of them.
For Lian, isolated in this world, Jess’s boundless affection felt like both a lovely violence and a fear. His senses sharpened by the powers made Lian aware of her affection, and he found himself unable to cope, choosing to run away instead.
Caught in a whirlwind of confusion, Lian was jolted as if the world flipped upside down.
Like prime, well-cooked meat dangled before a starving man, Jess’s affection felt insatiably tempting. The emotions he had put aside due to resignation opened wide like a hungry mouth.
“Haah, urgh…”
Lian clutched his head, squeezing his eyes shut.
Why now? Who even are you? Anger, the desire to swallow her affection whole, fear of what it might feel like to gain and then lose her, and a dreadful turmoil that awakened his instinct, all rolled together as chaotic emotions flooded in.
All the emotions a human would typically feel tangled up and constricted Lian’s throat. Moaning softly, he ultimately collapsed to the floor, eyes squeezed tight.
He wanted to run away from this incomprehensible confusion and simply fall asleep. But sleep didn’t come easily. No, more accurately, he couldn’t sleep.
‘What if it’s a dream?’
Unlike earlier when he had thought everything was a dream with a peaceful smile, Lian now feared that the being pouring infinite affection onto him might disappear and couldn’t drift off.
As his eyes, which had been closed, slowly opened, he saw light filtering through the crack of the door. Small particles of dust swayed in the light. The dusty, muted scent of instruments filled his lungs only to leave again.
If he couldn’t sleep like he fainted, he needed to pull himself together.
Given his survival instinct that granted him these powers, Lian quickly steadied himself in a situation that would panic any normal person. His rough breathing began to ease, and the heart that had been racing found its rhythm again.
“Hmm… haah…”
Lian deeply inhaled, exhaling repeatedly, propping himself up against the wall.
“Calm down… let’s think this through.”
Just then, he muttered to himself in an effort to organize his chaotic mind.
Bang!
“Gah?!”
The classroom door, which had been firmly locked, rattled violently and made a noise like a bomb exploding. Lian jumped back in surprise as he pulled away.
Boom! Crack!
The door… shattered into pieces.
“I found you!”
“…!”
From the broken doorway, Jess’s playful smile met his gaze.
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