Shwaaa━!
It seemed like the sky had developed a hole as thick raindrops quickly filled our surroundings.
Naturally, since we were outside, we got soaked and hurriedly sought shelter.
The dormitory was a bit far, so we spotted a shabby warehouse nearby.
We immediately rushed in there.
“Phew, haha, that was a surprise when it started pouring suddenly, right? Mary…?”
“……”
I lightly chatted while shaking off my wet hair, but there was something strange about Mary’s condition.
Pat pat, pat pat.
The sound of heavy raindrops hitting the ceiling of the warehouse echoed, and thanks to the darkened sky, the interior of the warehouse was gloomy too.
And even in that darkness, Mary’s trembling shoulders were distinctly visible.
‘…Is she cold?’
“Please wait a moment! I’ll wipe you off and get you something to cover up!”
“……”
Mary just kept shivering silently, hugging herself like a soaked cat.
I quickly took out a towel and a blanket from my subspace pocket.
These pockets really come in handy at times like this.
Then I handed Mary a dry towel.
“Mary. Here, hurry up and dry yourself with this.”
“……”
“Mary?”
But Mary didn’t take the towel I offered.
She just kept shivering while hugging herself tightly.
As I was keenly observing her strange state, I heard her small voice amidst the sound of rain.
She was muttering so softly it was hard to understand.
“……I’m sorry.”
‘Sorry…?’
Focusing my mind to understand, I slowly began to hear her words.
“……Ah, Father, …I-I’m sorry. …I did, hic, wrong.”
She was apologizing.
Trembling, she kept saying she was sorry to someone who wasn’t even there.
That was unsettling.
‘…Could it be?’
I immediately checked Mary’s status.
[ Name: Mary Hydeia
Unique Skill: Blessing of Frozen
Unique Trait: Dual Personality
Owned Traits: Fear LV 1, Anxiety LV 1, Trauma LV 1 ]
‘She has some issues too….’
Sure enough, Mary’s status was pitiful.
It wasn’t to the extent of despair traits, but fear and anxiety traits along with trauma were clearly present.
Something was definitely off.
In the game, having both fear and anxiety traits activates a penalty of halting actions.
That’s probably why she wasn’t responding to me.
‘But what’s this dual personality thing?’
How many hidden settings have the perverse game developers put into the characters?
The more I knew, the more things I encountered that were completely new.
‘System, display detailed explanation of dual personality trait.’
At my request, a status window appeared before my eyes.
[ Unique Trait: Dual Personality
The trait owner’s personality switches upon fulfilling certain conditions. ]
It was a simple explanation.
But those certain conditions…
‘Could it really be the rain?’
I pondered for a moment and started drying Mary’s hair with the towel.
I might be seen as a pervert for this, but if I left her like this, she’d definitely catch a cold.
Her hair should be alright.
‘Or is it not the rain, but water itself?’
Now that I think about it, Mary wasn’t acting strange before the rain started pouring.
Until just before the downpour, she properly responded to ideas about avoiding the rain.
The realization that her state changed came only after entering this warehouse.
After she had completely soaked.
“Mary… Are you okay?”
After drying her hair a bit, I draped the blanket over her shoulders.
Through the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, I could feel her shivering.
As I contemplated what to do next, Mary’s hand started moving.
She grabbed the sleeve of my hand.
“Mary…?”
“…I-I’m sorry. Ken… I-I’m not feeling well right now…”
Fortunately, returning to her senses, Mary explained in a small voice before…
Thunder rumble━!
“Eeep!”
She suddenly screamed, sounding like a typical girl, and jumped into my arms at the clap of thunder.
“Are you alright?!”
“Ugh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I’m just so clumsy, I’m sorry.”
Burying her face in my chest, she kept muttering something.
When she finally looked up at me, she didn’t have her usual cool, stoic expression.
Instead, she had the tear-filled eyes of a frightened little girl.
‘…Is this the dual personality trait?’
This was a first for me after several playthroughs of the game.
While Mary often expressed emotions like anger or sorrow, she was mostly calm and collected.
She hadn’t even shed a tear in front of Ken’s corpse.
“Ugh, I’m sorry, Ken. My legs are giving out…”
Now, she had become a complete cowardly crybaby.
Her hands clutching my clothes trembled as she repeatedly apologized for no apparent reason.
“W-Well, should we calm down a bit?”
“…Y-Yes.”
So, we decided to take a moment to wait out the rain together.
A little later.
I began to understand why Mary skips the academy on rainy days.
“Are you feeling a bit better now?”
“…Y-Yes.”
She said she was alright, but she was still trembling.
We were sitting on the floor of the warehouse, wrapped in the blanket.
And Mary, looking scared, was clinging to me as if asking me to protect her.
‘She’s like a rabbit.’
She usually gives off the impression of an elegant cat, but just getting wet shifts her demeanor like this.
It seems she turns into a coward when wet.
I don’t know why.
But it’s clear that when she gets wet, she becomes a scaredy-cat and thus avoids getting wet at all costs.
“So how do you take a shower?”
“…Oh, it’s okay if I’m not wearing clothes. …It’s the touch of wet clothes that I really hate.”
So, if she were naked, she could go outside even if it rained.
No, there’s no way that’s actually possible.
I found myself thinking something foolish.
The downpour quickly subsided after a while.
Fortunately, after the rain stopped and Mary had dried off to some extent, she looked significantly calmer than before.
“…I’m sorry, Ken. For showing you such a pathetic side today.”
“It’s nothing! I actually got to see a new side of you, Mary!”
And then Mary went back to her dorm, showing her slumped form.
‘…Dual personality, huh.’
I didn’t hear why that was the case, but at least now I understood why Mary avoids the academy on rainy days.
She is extremely afraid of getting wet.
To be precise, she rejects her cowardly self that appears when she gets wet.
‘So that’s why she fell for Adrian.’
After some events in the early part of the second half, she had her heart stolen by Adrian.
I still don’t know the exact reason, but I can somewhat guess now.
After all, Adrian also dislikes water.
‘That guy also avoided getting wet.’
Adrian’s weakness trait is the water element.
Adrian possesses a unique skill to freely manipulate fire made from the “Eyes of Ifrit,” making him dislike water because of that skill.
Although he doesn’t have a trauma like Mary, some event must have occurred that formed a connection on that aspect.
…。
“Hmm.”
“Ken, are you worried about something again?”
“…Just, planning to help someone a bit.”
“Of course, Ken… You’re so kind!”
I escorted Mary back to the dorm and then returned to Raphne’s tower.
Now I was pondering in front of the workbench.
‘How do I get Mary to come on a rainy day?’
I was thinking of ways to get Mary to come to the academy on rainy days.
‘Do I have to help her overcome her trauma first?’
In the game, most events regarding Mary were during confrontations with Emily, so I lacked information on these aspects.
‘Should I ask Adrian instead?’
From what I saw of Mary, it didn’t seem that their event had happened yet.
But if I asked Adrian with examples, maybe he would provide me with some strategies.
‘No, I’m not close enough to him for that.’
I was tangled up in my thoughts.
If anyone wondered why I was so intent on helping Mary, it was to escape from Emily’s harassment.
‘Now that I’ve ended the skill grinding…’
My physical resistance and mental enhancement skills had reached level 2 and showed no signs of growth whatsoever.
So, there was no need to continue indulging in Emily’s harassment.
It was starting to get tiresome.
But the problem was.
I was weaker than Emily.
‘Of course, using Calorie Burn would change things, but…’
If that happened, it wouldn’t just be a matter of winning; I might end up killing Emily with a normal hit.
What would I do by killing the protagonist?
Hence, I needed someone to protect me.
“Excuse me…, Ken.”
Raphne, who had been quietly observing me while I was deep in thought, spoke up.
What was it? Did she want to help me with something?
“What is it?”
I turned to Raphne.
She had leaned over, resting her hands on my work desk, peeking up at me.
Her dead eyes devoid of light stared at me intently.
Then she smiled and opened her mouth.
“You know, about that person you plan to help.”
“Uh, okay?”
Overwhelmed by her gaze, I stuttered.
“…Is it a girl?”
Why did I feel such pressure from her voice?
“…Hiccup.”
She couldn’t answer.
W-What? What’s wrong with being a girl? Why is the atmosphere like this?
Her cold smile pressed me for an answer, but I couldn’t open my mouth because my thoughts became complicated.
“…Are you really a girl?”
And then, Raphne, who had been looking at my dumbfounded face, wiped away her mask-like smile.
…。
“Of course not, I’m a guy!!”
“Liar! Liar! Liar!!”
Why does it always end up like this?
“Stop lying! You’re a girl! You want to give a present to a girl! Otherwise, you wouldn’t be thinking so hard, right?!”
“What are you talking about! There’s a guy friend I want to help!”
“Ken, you don’t have any friends!”
Grrr!
[ System: Your mental enhancement proficiency has increased. ]
Damn it, knowing that Ken has no real friends is a deep wound for me.
Maybe Raphne’s biting remarks are sharper than even the queen’s?
The original bully truly has a skill of her own.
“Well, regardless of whether it’s a girl or a guy, what does it matter! I’m just trying to do something nice!”
“I don’t want it! If you get a girlfriend, you won’t come here anymore! You’ll forget about me while drooling over some girl! Please… ugh, please don’t abandon me!”
Now, I was already used to Raphne’s ugly cries.
She used her “grab the pant leg” tactic.
“Waaah! No! Don’t go! Don’t abandon me! I’ll do better than that girl! If you need a girl, just send me! I can do anything you want!”
“So that’s not what I meant!!”
I wonder how long it will take to calm her down this time…
[ System: Raphne Bell Martinez’s despair level is rising. 98% …99% ]
Knowing this, I kept quiet.
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