Ch.114114. What’s Wrong with This Person?

Waiting, depending on the situation, has a way of making people feel disappointed.

Especially for someone who has just gone through something difficult.

So, my steps back were a bit hurried.

“What’s the rush? Do you hate spending time alone with me?”

I ignored Celia’s grumbling complaints.

But despite walking quickly, it still took quite a while to get back.

We had wandered farther than I thought.

‘I’m going to get scolded for being late.’

What should I say?

With an apologetic heart, I opened the door, but…

“You’re here? Come, sit down.”

Surprisingly, Alkine greeted us with a rather good mood.

Why, really?

Glancing over, I could see Celia also had a puzzled expression, not understanding the reason.

“What are you doing? I said sit down.”

Figuring it was best to go along with it, I decided to follow her instructions.

When I sat down, Celia came and sat beside me, and then Alkine sat down on my other side.

Hmm. Yes. This must be the default position now.

…What happens if there’s a third person?

I wasn’t suggesting I wanted to add more people—it was a genuinely innocent question.

I’m already struggling to handle these two, so three would be…

Would they fight over positions? That might be funny in its own way.

Of course, that’s only amusing from an observer’s perspective; for the person involved, it would be nothing but trouble.

Whatever the case, that wouldn’t happen, so I decided not to worry about it.

Right now, checking on Alkine’s condition should come first.

With that thought, I looked at Alkine sitting next to me, and found her staring intently at my face.

When our eyes met, she smiled.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Just because. I have my reasons.”

I wasn’t sure what reasons she had, but having learned from my experiences with Celia, I wasn’t foolish enough to probe further.

I was now the kind of man who could casually move past such things and bring up what I wanted to discuss.

“Um, are you feeling better?”

“I’m fine. Why, were you planning to nurse me if I wasn’t?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What? You wouldn’t take care of me if I got sick?”

What’s wrong with this person all of a sudden?

“…Hey, Celia. Does knowledge entering your head change a person?”

“That’s not possible.”

“Then why is this person acting like this?”

“I don’t know either.”

Celia seemed just as clueless about this.

But Alkine, acting as if nothing was strange, continued to smile and started to snuggle up against me.

Seeing this, Celia asked what she was doing and also started to snuggle up, resulting in me being sandwiched between the two women.

In that position, Alkine continued speaking.

“Why, you ask? Isn’t it obvious? Because I personally felt that Ludion actually… no, that he actually likes us.”

What is she talking about now…

“You seem curious, so I’ll tell you. Celia, don’t look at me like that. You’ll have the same reaction as me once you hear it.”

That’s a very unsettling thing to say. What is she trying to tell us?

But since I was curious too, I didn’t stop her, and Alkine leaned slightly against my shoulder as she began her story.

“Actually, the ability I used earlier to immobilize Ludion has a side effect. I become immobilized too, to the extent that I restricted someone. But… the severity of the side effect varies depending on how much the person resisted, you know?”

By that point, I realized what she was saying and tried to cut her off, but Celia, who caught on remarkably quickly, covered my mouth, thwarting my attempt.

“Mmph?!”

“And then?”

“After you two left, I experienced the side effect alone, but you know what? The side effect was only as strong as the ability I used. Do you know what this means?”

“…Ludion never resisted from the beginning.”

“Correct. He only pushed back with words, but in reality, he just accepted it. I guess he doesn’t dislike us after all.”

In the end, Alkine’s words continued to the end, and soon Celia’s expression matched Alkine’s smile.

It was only natural since she had learned that I hadn’t properly resisted.

Really… I wondered why she seemed so happy since earlier, and this was the reason.

Seeing them grinning over something like this, it seems Alkine is gradually becoming more like Celia… well, that’s natural as favorability builds, so I won’t worry about it.

Anyway, Alkine was right. I didn’t resist at all when their lips approached.

I only protested verbally, but in reality, I was waiting for those lips to touch mine.

If I said I gave up in advance thinking it wouldn’t work… that would be an excuse.

Yes, I eagerly accepted it. So what?

But… even if it’s true, being called out so directly is still embarrassing. My face feels hot.

“Ludion, did you enjoy it that much? Should I do it again?”

“Celia, if we’re doing it again, I’m going first this time.”

I could feel their arms tightening around me from both sides.

Oh my goodness, Madam President… unlike Celia, if you apply force, everything will break…

They’re getting ahead of themselves. How much wishful thinking are they indulging in?

But if I leave them be, it seems like they’ll never stop, so I decided to gently push them away…

“Stay still.”

…and I ended up staying still.

Though it was a much shorter moment compared to earlier, it was enough to make me lose the will to resist.

“Oh, looks like you’ve figured out how to use it now?”

“Yes. But after using it like this…”

Alkine’s body froze awkwardly as she spoke.

“I have to stay frozen like this too.”

She laughed wryly, saying she could use her ability in other ways, but considering the side effects, they wouldn’t be practical.

As Celia listened to this, she seemed to ponder something before speaking up.

“Alkine. Do you happen to have any other abilities gained from favorability bonuses?”

“Hmm? I do have one.”

“Could I possibly know what it is?”

“Behavioral causality manipulation—from what I can sense, it seems like a skill related to my movements. I haven’t tried using it yet, so I’m not sure.”

“That causality nonsense is causing trouble again.”

My head started to ache as I heard the same word again, when it hadn’t been long since Celia talked about the law of causality.

“But why are you asking suddenly?”

“Oh, I thought there might be a way to solve the side effect with that ability.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But let’s talk about that later when it’s just the two of us. We shouldn’t let Ludion figure out any countermeasures.”

“Right. Let’s do that.”

It seemed she had no intention of discussing it here and now.

I’m curious about the specifics of what ability Alkine gained… but from the way they’re talking, it seems I won’t find out easily.

“Um… if you’re going to do something with that, you know you have to include me too, right?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Hmm, if that’s your attitude, I have my own methods.”

“Sorry, I was joking.”

“That’s more like it.”

It seems I’ll have to learn through direct physical experience.

What should I do about these two people conspiring right in front of me?

…There’s probably nothing I can do. I should just accept it.

At least the digression gave me a chance to change the subject.

“By the way, when are we going to write our report?”

“Ah. Right.”

When I mentioned the original purpose of coming here, Alkine made a sound as if she had truly forgotten.

“We still have plenty of time, so can’t we stay like this a little longer before writing it?”

But Celia said such a thing.

I don’t know if she had forgotten or was just pretending not to know, but either way, it was an outrageous statement.

No, Celia. Aren’t you being too casual just because it’s not your responsibility?

Although we’re just writing up what happened in report form, it still takes time to organize everything, and when you have to write it all down word by word, time gets pretty tight.

Alkine knew this fact well, so naturally Celia’s suggestion would be dismissed…

“Why not? It’s not like anyone will complain if we start late.”

Listen here. Is that something a student council president should say?

Now that Alkine had been tempted, Celia didn’t miss the timing to press further.

“The timing is awkward anyway, so let’s start after lunch. What do you think?”

“Sounds good.”

With time being eaten up by various matters, it would soon be lunchtime. Alkine completely fell for the suggestion that exploited this fact.

I can’t believe this. Celia was definitely once an exemplary student who used even awkwardly remaining time systematically and diligently… how did she end up like this?

“I mean, couldn’t we at least organize what we’re going to write, even for a moment?”

“Overruled. Since when did you start enjoying work so much?”

“That’s right, Ludion. You always whined at me to write reports for you, so don’t pretend to be diligent now.”

I threw out a comment in desperation, but it didn’t yield any results.

In the end, we decided to write the report after lunch.

For now, I guess we’ll just kill time chatting like this.

The fortunate thing is that the atmosphere has changed enough that they’re not trying to make overt physical contact like before.

…Though being held from both sides like this is still physical contact.

My threshold must have risen, as I momentarily mistook this current state as natural.

‘Still, compared to forced kisses, this is relatively tame.’

I decided to look on the bright side.

Time passed moderately like that… and until then, I hadn’t even considered it.

How bold people can become when they have partners who can engage in the same behavior.

“…Are we really going like this?”

“I’m going.”

“Me too…”

Who would have thought I’d end up heading to the student cafeteria with two women clinging to me on either side?

“…Hey, Ludion. What’s going on here?”

“Just mind your own business and go on your way, Miss Lilith.”

“How can I ignore this when everyone is staring at you?”

“What are you to the student council president? You’re being quite disrespectful.”

“But…”

“Hmm, Lilith. I understand you have a lot to say, but right now I’d appreciate it if you didn’t worry about it, as Celia said.”

“Since I’ve already been labeled disrespectful, I’ll say this—don’t you realize how awkward you look saying that in your current position?”

Seeing how confident they remained even when encountering acquaintances along the way, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I’m so embarrassed. Really.