Ch.1111. I am uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable, at that.

“What the hell is a ‘color ghost’!!!”

“M-Master, didn’t we agree to spar gently!?”

“What on earth is a ‘color ghost’?! And…”

“Master!! What nonsense have you been spouting this whole time!”

I raised the wooden sword gripped in both hands above my head and brought it down with all my might toward Jawil Wilson.

“And where did ‘affection deficiency’ come from?!!!”

“Urgh-!”

Thwack!! Thwack-thwack-!

I was breathing heavily.

Beating Jawil Wilson instead of a training dummy somehow made my chest feel a little less constricted.

Just then, I overheard the whispers of knights passing by the training ground.

-Is the young master beating Jawil Wilson?

-What are you talking about! I heard he’s training him!

-R-Really? As expected… he was the first to bravely face those assassins before…

-Now he’s personally taking care of the knights.

-I’m actually jealous of Jawil Wilson.

Suddenly, a saying from my previous life came to mind.

Wasn’t there something like, ‘First become famous, then people will applaud even when you defecate’?

When my image was bad, I’d be badmouthed even when doing the right thing, but after the Great Assassin Victory, I could personally feel how people’s gazes had changed.

Jawil Wilson touched his head, checking for bumps while staring at me.

“Young Master, are you getting revenge on me!?”

“Revenge? I didn’t lose to you back then, so what would I need revenge for?”

“T-That’s true, but… you were hitting me while saying things about ‘color ghosts’ and ‘affection deficiency’!”

“Geez, how frustrating. Don’t you know that when sparring, you should always treat it like a real battle?”

“I do know that. Knight Commander Rain Breaker says it often.”

I glanced briefly at the knights who were perking up their ears around the training ground before continuing.

“Jawi Wilson, I have no grudge against you, so I’m just imagining you’re someone else during our sparring.”

“…It’s Jawil Wilson, not Jawi!!”

“Right! You bastard! You should also hold a grudge against me for mispronouncing your name and treat this like a real battle!”

“My name has always been wrongly—”

“Shut up and take this! Head!! Waist!! Abdomen!!!”

“Ugh, gah! Urgh!!”

Without giving him a chance to speak, I swung the wooden sword a few more times, and before I knew it, Jawil Wilson was sprawled out on the training ground floor.

Well, if he had just kept his mouth shut, he might have fared better.

“That’s enough sparring for today.”

Despite the cold weather, I was drenched in sweat.

Feeling uncomfortable, I took off my upper garment and was about to enter the mansion when a familiar voice reached my ears.

“Young Master, here’s a towel…”

When I turned my head, it was Luna.

She had just awakened yesterday after her awakening, so she must be disoriented, yet why was she here?

“It’s fine, I’m going to wash up and change clothes anyway.”

“No, you could catch a cold if you leave your sweaty body exposed.”

Her face was flushed red as her pupils darted around.

With her beautiful appearance and strawberry-like shyness, anyone else who saw Luna would probably drool with their mouth hanging open, but…

I feel uncomfortable.

Very uncomfortable.

When I checked with my Insight, I found that instead of “Murder Ghost,” the name “Color Ghost” was attached to her name, which was maddening enough, but what drove me even crazier was her passive ability.

Namely, “Affection Deficiency.”

Is it better than her original passive, “Murder Deficiency”?

I’m not sure about that either.

It’s the same as in the original work—if the desire isn’t fulfilled, the “Bloody Massacre” penalty activates.

So, how does the Bloody Massacre penalty get activated?

After checking yesterday, the answer was simpler than I thought.

“No, I said it’s fine?”

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have offered you the towel…”

*Ding* ♪

━Luna’s Affection Deficiency Level

= 20 → 25 changed [↑5 increase]

As Luna turned to leave with slumped shoulders, I quickly called her back and snatched the towel from her hand.

“Haha… I’m just kidding. It’s always fun teasing our Luna, isn’t it?”

“Heehee, Master, you’re always teasing me too much.”

*Ding* ♪

━Luna’s Affection Deficiency Level

= 25 → 20 changed [↓5 decrease]

Shit! See, it’s simple, right?

So, true to the passive’s name, I need to regularly lower her deficiency score by filling her with affection.

As a test, I had Rio talk to Luna and tried various things behind the scenes.

However, her affection deficiency level neither increased nor decreased.

This means that this damn passive only applies to conversations and actions with me.

I haven’t figured out the reason yet.

The most likely possibility is that it’s because I used Insight on Luna and directly checked her information…

But that’s not important when you think about it.

What matters is that it’s made my life more exhausting.

The things I go through to try to make one crazy woman normal…

After finishing my shower, I entered the study.

I thought I might be misunderstood as always sleeping if I stayed in my bedroom, so this place, which I visited as regularly as eating meals, had become my only refuge.

‘Is it evening already?’

*Rustle*

Sitting in the study chair, I took out a book and a pen.

This was a notebook where I organized the order of tasks to handle, given that unexpected events kept occurring daily.

In case others might see it, I scribbled in a code that only I could understand.

Looking at what I had organized, the only remaining event in this territory based on the original work was the Monster Wave.

Strengthening the knights’ military power was essential.

By the way.

While consistently using Insight would increase my magic stat, I needed to acquire an attack skill as soon as possible.

If I got one, I could quickly raise my stats by hunting monsters.

*Knock knock*

“It’s Elina.”

I heard Elina’s voice along with the knocking sound.

I thought she would have left soon after the humiliation I gave her last time, but she’s still here?

Well, if she had returned to her territory, Padericks would have been jumping up and down asking why she was sent back.

“Come in.”

*Creeeeak*

I stared blankly in surprise for a while.

Elina was entering the study with a flushed face, staggering.

“…Do you think you’re so great?”

“W-What did you say?”

“I asked if you think you’re so great!!”

The strong smell of alcohol emanating from Elina’s mouth, her half-dilated pupils.

And her half-rolled tongue on top of that.

She was an adult by this world’s standards so drinking wasn’t an issue, but looking at her state, she was completely drunk.

“Is P-Padericks not outside!?”

Wasn’t there a saying about not dealing with drunk people?

Trying to escape the current crisis, I raised my voice, but Elina boldly placed her palm on the desk and thrust her face forward.

“Butler Padericks isn’t outside right now, you know?”

“W-What do you mean?”

“He went to have tea with our Butler Rigard!”

This bastard always waits outside the study even when I tell him not to worry, but how is it that he’s nowhere to be seen when I actually need him?

They say showing nervousness in an awkward situation is third-rate.

I leaned back in my chair as casually as possible and cleared my throat.

“When did I say I was great?”

“You spar with your upper body exposed, and before that, you led the knights from the front to deal with the assassins!!”

I pinched my nose slightly because of the alcohol smell and tilted my head.

“How do you know about that, Miss Elina?”

“How would I not know? Butler Padericks comes every day and brags about you so much… saying a hero has arrived!”

Indeed, people need to release their frustrations bit by bit.

Just look at me—how refreshed I felt after beating Jawil Wilson today.

Elina is a noble.

She must have had to maintain proper behavior since birth, so her stress must be immense.

“…So you were envious?”

“No! Do you know how many people I’ve seen die doing things like that?”

“Then were you worried?”

“N-No!? Why would I worry about someone who compared me to that scoundrel Tras!!”

And then.

“Waaaaaah-!”

Before I could stop her, she burst into tears.

Like a child who was abandoned after asking her mother for a toy, Elina lay on the study floor, wailing loudly.

Yet, after always seeing her maintain her dignity, there was something quite cute about seeing her slightly broken like this.

“Please don’t take what I said then too deeply. I was just using an extreme example.”

When I offered this mild consolation, Elina suddenly stopped crying.

“No. Thinking about it, you were right, Young Master Selden. I’m still a very inadequate person…”

And then she fell asleep right there on the floor.

I sighed and was just getting up from my chair to help her when—

*Knock knock*

“P-Padericks here.”

“Oh! Come in.”

Thanks to Elina’s loud crying, Padericks, who had gone for tea, opened the study door wide and immediately bowed.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect Lady Elina to enter the study while I was briefly having tea.”

“Never mind that, just call Butler Rigard.”

At that moment, a dark aura flowed through the open study door.

With an ominous feeling, I quickly raised my head to find Luna standing at the door, glaring at me.

And she was biting her lip hard.

When did she get here?

I opened my palm to explain the situation, and a notification sound rang in my ear as a message appeared before my eyes.

*Ding* ♪

━Luna’s Affection Deficiency Level

= 20 → 75 changed [↑55 increase]

Wait a minute…

Shit, this is a misunderstanding!!