Episode 29. Plan (3)

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen this one too.’

The face of the new club member Lucy was introducing was familiar to me.

Because it was a Monster I’d killed countless times in the game.

Felix.

He was a crazy Monster who had fallen for Lucy at first sight and snuck into Victoria Academy.

You might think he’s surprisingly a pure love type, but this bastard’s goal isn’t romance, it’s lust-murder (姦殺). He’s an irredeemable piece of trash obsessed with the desire to rape and kill Lucy.

At first, I tried to get rid of him as quickly as possible, but a good idea came to me.

‘I’ll use this bastard for the strategy.’

In the game, the moment Lucy gets kidnapped is the bad ending.

There was no event to save Lucy when she was in danger.

What the protagonist could do was reveal his identity as a Monster before the incident happened, once Lucy had gotten somewhat close to Felix, and stop it beforehand.

But this is reality now, and I can sufficiently control the flow of events.

“Ah, right! We’re trying to recruit new members this time, so I called you to ask for your opinion too. What do you think? Doesn’t he seem nice?”

Seeing Lucy’s bright face, it seemed like they weren’t complete strangers, and they were already somewhat acquainted.

Good. This makes things easier.

Lee Hoyeon, the bad boy Lucy likes, makes his appearance after a long time.

“I don’t want to.”

My words, spoken with a smile while making eye contact with Felix, enveloped the club room in silence.

Lucy and Lumi, in particular, blinked as if they didn’t know how to react to my sudden, unexpected action.

Then, I added sternly,

“You, just by looking at you, it’s obvious Lucy and Lumi are your targets. Get lost while you still can?”

Lucy and Lumi might not have noticed, but I hadn’t taken my eyes off Felix since entering the club room.

Felix’s expression stiffened for a moment at my words before returning to normal.

‘Let’s see how he plays this.’

Felix seemed to ponder for a moment before abruptly standing up and saying,

“I-I’m sorry…. I didn’t know you’d hate me this much. I was waiting around cluelessly…. I’ll be going now!”

Kudangtang-

Felix stormed out of the club room, making a racket.

I watched the scene unfold emotionlessly.

‘He really is a good actor.’

The way he ran off, even shedding a tear, made it look like he was genuinely hurt and running away.

Anyone who didn’t know better would surely fall for that act.

“You… What are you doing!”

Just like Lucy now.

Lucy, who had been silently observing the situation, seemed to snap back to reality after Felix kicked the door open and stormed out, then confronted me.

“Why, why did you do that? Do you really think that guy came here targeting us? Even if you disliked him, you could have said it nicely. Why….”

Lucy poured out her words, unable to comprehend.

Well, objectively speaking, I guess I am the scumbag. It looks like I just drove away an innocent kid.

But even considering that, Lucy’s reaction is more intense than I imagined.

I looked around.

My [Mana Sense] reacted.

I felt an alien mana signature somewhere.

The flower vase on the desk.

Filthy, sordid Monster mana was flowing from it.

‘Looks like he cast some weak magic on it.’

Strong magic would be detectable by Lucy and Lumi, so it seems he cast a spell to subtly manipulate emotions.

Magic of that level wouldn’t be picked up by someone at Lucy and Lumi’s level.

But suddenly taking the vase away would be suspicious, and actually, the more agitated Lucy gets and the more friction there is between us, the better.

Deciding to leave it be, I continued naturally.

“What are you talking about? Can’t you tell? He came here targeting either you or Lumi.”

I couldn’t lose to a Monster, so I acted as frustrated as I possibly could.

“You… Ha, wait, is that it? Are you worried another guy joining the club might interfere with your own advances?”

“…?”

What kind of bullshit is this?

I don’t know exactly what, but it seems Felix laid the groundwork very well.

In the original work, he spread false rumors, lied about being hit, and slandered the protagonist in various ways.

Did he spread rumors that I’m a womanizer this time?

…He’s got a good eye, doesn’t he?

“I don’t know what strange things you’re saying. I just chased away a dirty pervert.”

“You, really, until the end…! Lumi. Do you think so too?”

“Uh, uh-huh?”

“I’m asking if you think Felix was a pervert too.”

“Umm, w-well…?”

Lumi darted her eyes towards me.

I got a bad feeling. Continuing this conversation would be dangerous.

Lumi’s affection level is currently very high.

I couldn’t risk Lumi taking my side and ruining the setup I’d carefully created.

Having quickly assessed the situation, I spoke before Lumi could open her mouth.

“Ha, I did this thinking of you guys. If you react like this, I feel a bit hurt.”

“What? Hey, hurt my ass. Do you have the right to say that? Because of you, no new members joined the club, and even the decent one we found….”

“Enough, I’m leaving.”

I pretended to be as pissed off as possible, packed my things, and slammed the club room door open as I left.

Lucy was yelling something behind me, but I ignored her and walked away.

But what was that about no new members joining because of me?

More things to investigate. My head is starting to throb.

*

“Haa, this is exhausting.”

Acting like a bad boy is really tough.

Still, things are proceeding according to plan.

Lucy getting kidnapped by Felix, and me saving her at that moment, that’s the basic framework of this plan.

But the details need to be convincing.

The situation where neither Lucy nor I suspect Felix until he kidnaps Lucy, and then I come to save her,

versus the situation where I suspected Felix, but Lucy took his side, causing a fight between us, yet I still came to save her – these are worlds apart.

“This is the suspension bridge effect or something, right?”

Suspension bridge or whatever aside, it feels like about time for Lumi to contact me…

Ting-

Lumi: Hoyeon-ssi… Lucy is making a fuss about expelling you from the club and letting Felix join… Please come quickly and reconcile. ㅠㅠ. (Cat crying emoticon)

Me: Calm down, and for now, wait while siding with Lucy.

Lumi: …Is that okay?

Me: Yeah. I have my own plans, so it’s fine.

Lucy’s reaction was as expected. Lumi’s too.

They can’t expel me anyway.

Before coming to the dorms, I checked with the General Club Affairs department about any issues with our club, and it turns out the head of the General Club Affairs president had messed with things again.

Our club wasn’t listed anywhere, nor was it included in the club promotions posted on EveryDay.

That bastard was supposed to be fired by Surin noona, so why is he still here?

Anyway, I’ll deal with that later.

For now, I’ve created trouble with Lucy, so next, I need to meet Felix.

I need to coordinate with Felix to know when he’ll kidnap her.

*

The next morning.

It was Friday today. Once the theory class in the morning was over, there were no classes in the afternoon.

My morning routine had become completely familiar now.

I woke up to the unpleasant morning sunlight.

I prefer showering before bed, so I just quickly washed my hair and face.

I grabbed the cadet uniform I’d hung on the hanger.

────[ Hanger ]────

▶ Grade: Low

▶ A processed magic stone was embedded in the hanger, imbued with Clean magic.

▶ Clothes hung on the hanger are automatically cleaned.

────────────

The hanger is unnecessarily high-class; just hanging clothes on it handles ironing, washing, and removing foreign substances.

I put on the neat cadet uniform and left the dorm.

I needed to finish the theory class quickly and head to Class B. Felix belonged to Class B.

I didn’t run into Kim Yeong-han on the way, so I entered Class A alone.

Lucy and Lumi should have been in our usual seats…

‘They’re not here?’

Looking around, I saw Lucy and Lumi had taken the only two remaining seats in the corner of the classroom.

This was expected, so it couldn’t be helped.

It was a shame I couldn’t attend class with the cute girls, but as a second-best option, I found Kim Yeong-han and sat next to him.

“Good morning.”

“Huh? Yeah. Good morning. Aren’t you sitting with Lucy and Lumi?”

“There’s no rule saying we have to sit together every day. We just sat together occasionally.”

“You guys fought, didn’t you?”

This blonde punk. He’s unnecessarily perceptive.

“Lucy is the type with a lot of pride, so try approaching her first and apologizing. She’ll probably accept quickly. If you start getting stubborn with that type, it’ll never end.”

What is this, surprisingly useful advice?

“Thanks for the advice.”

It’s advice from an insider, so it must be correct.

Which means, doing the opposite of that advice would worsen my relationship with Lucy.

As I watched Lucy chatting with her friend next to her, she felt my gaze and looked my way.

Hmph.

‘Her lips clearly formed ‘Hmph’….’

Seeing her turn her head so obviously indicated she was still angry, but perhaps not severely.

She seemed like she’d cool down enough if I apologized.

It’s definitely like the advice said.

But this isn’t enough. She needs to be completely furious with me.

That way, when I save her, it’ll be more touching, won’t it?

Well, if I go find Felix, Lucy will react again.

*

After class ended.

Without sparing Lucy and Lumi a glance, I headed to Class B.

It seemed Class B had just finished their class too, as students were cleaning up.

Among them, I approached a small-bodied boy with striking platinum blonde hair.

“Hey. Felix.”

“…?”

“Come with me for a second.”

“Wh-why are you asking? I have nothing to say….”

Felix deliberately raised his voice, drawing the attention of those around.

Hearing the commotion, a few people looked our way.

This bastard is clever.

‘But this is exactly what I wanted.’

The more people who see this, the faster the news will reach Lucy’s ears. It’s even better if word gets out that I took him by force.

That way, Lucy will take Felix’s side and hate me even more.

For now, I needed to take Felix away, so I quietly leaned close to Felix’s ear.

“Listen, I know you’re a Monster, so hurry up and come out. If you don’t, I’ll expose you right here.”

“…!”

Felix’s eyes widened.

“I don’t plan on spreading it around. Don’t get any weird ideas and just follow me quietly.”

Felix shut his mouth tightly, then stood up with a determined expression, realizing it was over if he got caught anyway.

I quietly smiled and left the classroom.

The walking path behind the first-year academic building.

There wasn’t a soul wandering around right now.

I stepped off the path and into the bushes beside it.

Rustle rustle

I heard Felix following behind me.

I stopped in a clearing of a decent size and turned around.

“What are you planning…?”

Felix spoke to me while cautiously looking around.

Well, he must be flustered. Trying to talk to him alone like this, knowing he’s a Monster.

“Woah, woah, what’s wrong? Relax your expression.”

I released mana from my hand.

It wasn’t pure and clean mana, but the dirty, sordid way a Monster operated their mana.

After seeing the magic on the water bottle in the club room once, I could easily replicate it.

A destructive and impulsive way of using mana. It suited Monsters perfectly.

“No way… You too?”

“Yeah, to be precise, she was the one I had my eye on first, and you interfered.”

“…But no matter what, I can’t give up Lucy.”

Felix showed hostility towards me and raised his magic power.

This bastard thinks he’s some knight protecting a princess.

“Woah, woah, calm down. I’m not here to fight. I just came to ask for one favor.”

“…A favor, you say?”

At the word ‘favor,’ Felix lowered the magic power he had raised.

“I’m just saying I’ll help you with what you’re trying to do. In return, I’m fine with being second. Okay? Let’s get along.”

Originally, I hadn’t planned on lying about being a Monster, but the more I thought about it, the better this approach seemed.

Felix needed to reveal he was a Monster for him to join the kidnapping plan, but if a human said that, it would be too suspicious.

Trash recognizes trash.

Felix was contemplating my words.

He seemed to be weighing whether it was more beneficial to accept me or kill me right here.

“Weren’t you planning to escape after having your fun anyway? I’ll keep an eye on you while you have your fun, and then I’ll buy you time to escape. It’s a win-win situation.”

“If I only listen to you, that sounds right. But how can I trust you? There’s no guarantee you won’t betray me.”

“Then you can just deal with me then. Aren’t you confident?”

“Hmm….”

Honestly, facing Felix alone, I was a bit surprised.

This bastard got much stronger than in the original game.

I don’t know what changes occurred, but I don’t think I could match him in a direct fight.

“Fine. Well, I guess I can give you the scraps after I’ve had my fun.”

However, fortunately, due to that power difference, Felix accepted my proposal.

“I’ll decide when to execute the plan at the optimal time. I’ll give you a contact method, so find your way to me then.”

Thud.

A spherical magic tool dropped at my feet.

“See you later then.”

Felix left those words behind and returned to the walking path, glancing around.

Left alone, I pocketed the magic tool and suppressed my anger.

Perhaps because Felix mistakenly thought I was also a Monster, his guard dropped considerably, even giving me this communication device.

Things were definitely unfolding smoothly. And yet…

Felix’s words describing Lucy as mere entertainment.

He hadn’t acted on it, I’d only heard his words, but why did they make me so angry? Really.

Anyone seeing this would think I was already dating Lucy.

What can I do? Being pathetic is my charm.

“You son of a bitch. I’ll kill you.”

Over the weekend, I need to find a way to kill Felix.