Ch.1919. Class (2)

In Elphante Academy, Trisha’s position as a healer in Elia’s “hero party” is somewhat delicate, as she rarely has opportunities to take action in combat. However, she’s never disregarded within the group because she has her own strengths—primarily maintaining harmony among everyone.

From this position, Trisha currently sensed a terrible crisis brewing.

‘This is bad…!’

While the effects of holy power vary greatly between individuals, it’s widely known that it awakens some special ability in each person. Trisha’s ability is to visually read others’ emotions.

‘What’s wrong with her…?’

She trembled inwardly as she observed Elia. Though Elia wore her usual bright smile, the emotions Trisha could see were violently churning inside her. Simply put, she was furiously angry!

“…And that’s the last one,” said Luca, cleaving a wolf-shaped phantom beast in two with his massive double-bladed axe.

“Seeing these strong phantom beasts stationed here means there must be something valuable nearby.”

“Precisely,” Falco responded, adjusting his monocle. His gaze was fixed on the blue stones scattered around the area.

“It’s a rare mineral zone. Taking just a few of these should guarantee us decent scores.”

“Oh, then Luca can move them all.”

“…Come help me, Grid.”

While Grid was being dragged along with a listless expression, Trisha quietly approached Elia.

Though Elia wasn’t openly expressing anything, she had clearly been lost in thought with her mouth shut for some time. Even now, her emotions were swirling with ominous colors inside. Watching this made Trisha too anxious to leave her alone.

“Hey, Elia.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have something troubling you?”

When Trisha carefully asked this, Elia smiled brightly and shook her head.

“No, nothing in particular.”

A lie. Black energy was still rising from within her.

“If something’s bothering you, I’m happy to listen. I wish you wouldn’t hide it.”

“Come on, we’re friends. I don’t have anything like that with you all.”

…Another lie.

Trisha inwardly broke into a cold sweat.

Emotions fundamentally reflect a person’s nature, so by observing what colors they typically display, one can roughly understand their “tendencies.”

Among the people Trisha had seen recently, the most unusual were the Tristan Duchess and Elia.

The Duchess was basically colorless gray, but occasionally black things would surge up from within her—an unusually dark, sticky blackness. She seemed to be deliberately suppressing it.

‘…I’ve seen it a few times.’

Though not common, Trisha had personally confirmed several similar individuals in the Tristan Dukedom.

In contrast, Elia was…

‘Truly strange.’

Usually, thoroughly malicious people have an overall murky emotional state, as they constantly emit such feelings.

But Elia typically maintained a nearly pure white color, yet occasionally displayed darkness that startled even Trisha.

Possessiveness, desire to control, exclusivity—something like that.

As if this seemingly benevolent person mixed in such feelings whenever thinking about “someone.”

She probably wasn’t even aware of it herself.

‘…She definitely wasn’t like this before.’

It seemed to have started after the freshman welcome party—that incident where monsters were released but fortunately subdued without casualties.

What could have happened there?

“Still, you’ve been worrying about something this whole time.”

And right now, those dark colors were prominently displayed, showing how angry she was.

If Trisha didn’t calm her down, she’d be too anxious to function.

“…Is it that obvious? You’re incredible, Trisha. You always catch me when I’m lying.”

Ah, this time she’s being sincere.

Trisha smiled with relief as she saw the white light surging from within Elia.

She wracked her brain to continue the conversation.

When did she start getting this angry?

“Ah, perhaps that Darwood Campbell person—”

Trisha immediately closed her mouth.

She could see Elia’s emotions being completely engulfed in black again.

It was even more frightening because her face still wore a bright smile.

“Well, it is about him.”

Fortunately, she seemed willing to talk about it.

“Recently, I’ve been involved with him in various ways…”

Elia began to explain. They became friends after he suggested they get along. Recently, she even played matchmaker for someone he liked, despite that person being from the Tristan Dukedom, his sworn enemy. After going that far, she felt he shouldn’t coldly reject their friendship…

As Elia poured out these sentences, Trisha blinked blankly several times.

This seemed like…

“Elia, you truly consider him a friend?”

“…Huh?”

Seeing Elia’s confused response, Trisha hastily closed her mouth.

She had spoken without thinking after seeing Elia’s emotions churning wildly inside.

When she was with them, her emotional colors never showed the slightest movement.

“Ah, it’s nothing!”

“…”

But seeing Elia fall silent after hearing those words, Trisha was experiencing almost suffocating tension.

This was a face she’d never seen before—a hesitant expression, as if she herself had never considered such a thought. The already turbid colors of her emotions became even more chaotically mixed.

“…Still, he clearly drew the line, saying we’re not close at all.”

When Elia painfully offered this response, Trisha’s face turned even more ashen.

Even darker things were creeping up from within the other person. Her emotions, usually white, were now transforming into an overall murky feeling.

She needed to say something to soothe her!

“I-I’m sure he didn’t mean it sincerely!”

“Then why would he say such a thing?”

How would I know?

But she couldn’t say that.

“Maybe… he’s being considerate of you?”

“…Considerate?”

“That Darwood person is from a baronial family with no background, right? If someone like him stays close to a Hero Candidate, it would surely draw complaints! Perhaps he’s trying to prevent that in advance…!”

“…”

Trisha squeezed out this excuse.

Though the reasoning was flimsy, she believed it wasn’t entirely wrong.

“…”

Indeed, Elia was now cupping her chin, considering this.

“…Do people usually go that far? I mean, he does seem to do things without telling others first… but still, between mere friends, to go that far…”

“N-next time you ask, I’m sure he’ll say he didn’t mean it when he said you weren’t close! Yes!”

“…You think so?”

“Like, he’s just drawing a line until his reputation is secure! But deep down, he feels tremendous…! closeness to you…!”

“…Really?”

Please stop questioning.

Just accept it and calm down.

Trisha thought this with spinning eyes.

“Hey, wait. Isn’t that Talion over there?”

Fortunately for Trisha, such words flowed from the group of men diligently harvesting minerals nearby.

“Where?”

“About a 30-minute walk from here.”

“…You can see that, Grid?”

The comment came from Grid, who was staring at a spot far in the distance.

That must be the eyesight of an archer responsible for ranged weapons.

“Talion… from the Armand Viscounty? The one good with spears?”

“But something’s strange. I’ve never seen him this angry before. He keeps muttering curses?”

“…Curses?”

“Yeah. Let’s see…”

Grid narrowed his eyes to focus on Talion’s lips.

“…kill him. I’ll kill him. That damn con artist. I’ll kill him. I’ll skewer him…. Wow, that’s vicious.”

Everyone tilted their heads at Grid’s words.

Talion of the Armand Viscounty was known to everyone as the epitome of exemplary behavior and self-restraint.

What reason could such a person have to be so angry during a mere class?

“…”

Only one person—

Elia, who flinched at the word “con artist”—reacted differently.

●

In truth, I hadn’t intended to provoke him that much.

I was just planning to tease him a little while experimenting with how far my Gift abilities could apply.

[Target ‘Talion’s’ anger has exceeded the threshold!]

[You have inflicted an indelible sense of humiliation!]

[Negative influence has been imprinted!]

[Receivable reward is given!]

[Skill: Dominion of Evil activates. You gain 1 command right usable on the target!]

“…”

That worked too well.

And I barely did anything.

The routes available to freshmen are quite predictable. That applies even to Talion with his beyond-freshman-level skills.

So I simply went ahead and consumed all the target objects he was aiming for.

Just to ensure the provocation was effective enough, whenever Talion arrived late, I threw lines at him like “How amazing! You’re late!” “Thanks for the good materials!” “Thank you for your incompetence!” “If you try a little harder, you might catch up!”

These were all voice lines that appeared when using priest skills in the original work.

The politely mocking tone is truly exquisite.

I repeated that about… 25 times.

“…”

Come to think of it, that would be enough to make anyone angry.

With that thought, I continue fleeing from Talion who’s chasing me.

He’s completely forgotten about class and is now in a state where his eyes have rolled back in his head with the desire to impale me with his spear.

[Crisis situation detected.]

[Judged as intent to inflict injury.]

[Skill: Dire Straits applied at C-rank.]

Things must be serious for this to appear.

I probably won’t die if hit, but it means that model student is angry enough to want to rearrange my face at minimum.

‘The problem is…’

If he keeps chasing like this, we’ll eventually have to fight.

I’m not particularly keen on fighting Talion right now.

Chancellor Atalante warned me that nothing good would come of drawing attention, and this guy is directly connected to the final boss, the “Purifier.”

Making him angry is one thing, but directly fighting and crushing him risks erasing the “connection” between him and the Purifier.

That would be problematic.

“Hey!”

So I try to initiate dialogue with Talion, who’s chasing me with a monstrous aura.

“Let’s just say I lost, and split the items I harvested fifty-fifty?”

[Crisis situation escalates.]

[Judged as intent to inflict severe injury.]

[Skill: Dire Straits applied at B-rank.]

“…”

Well, that didn’t work at all.

I wasn’t even teasing this time.

I continue running from Talion, who has transformed into an even more demonic figure than before.

‘…But if I keep running like this, I’ll get caught?’

Even with Dire Straits, he’s an elite who can chase Elia down. I feel like I’m falling behind in speed with just a B-rank application.

If he catches up, will I really have to fight?

While pondering this, I almost collided with someone who suddenly appeared before me.

“…!”

As I stumble trying to stop abruptly, they firmly catch me.

“What exactly are you doing, teacher?”

Elia sighed, pressing her forehead. Beside her was a priestess running over, panting.

‘That’s Trisha.’

The priest role in the hero party. Players nicknamed her the “Living Lie Detector.” She earned this name for her ability to visually perceive others’ emotions.

As I turn my attention briefly toward this familiar face, Elia continues in a flat voice.

“Trisha. Can you disrupt perception?”

“Y-yes!”

A hemispherical barrier forms around us. It’s a barrier that prevents others from easily perceiving us.

Then Elia addresses me with the same calm expression.

“Why are you picking fights in strange places when you could just peacefully stay with us?”

“…Well, there are circumstances.”

Her head turns with dissatisfaction.

“What circumstances? You could at least tell me after I saved you.”

Though her voice remained level, seeing Trisha’s face turn pale beside her suggested some… “intense” thoughts were occurring inside.

Evidence that she’s angry at my way of answering.

“…”

That realization snaps me to attention.

Making Talion angry and making her angry are on completely different levels of importance.

I’ve just obtained a Gift that applies all sorts of strange effects when someone is “tainted with negative tendencies.”

While it might be fine for a mid-chapter boss, applying such effects to the “protagonist” of the scenario could cause unpredictable butterfly effects.

So, well.

Trisha, the living lie detector, is right there. Flimsy excuses would only make things worse.

Let’s tell the truth now.

“He started the fight first.”

“A fight?”

“He asked why someone like me was hanging out with you as a friend.”

Both Elia and Trisha’s expressions changed simultaneously.

“…?”

Is this really that surprising?

“…Why would he pick a fight over that—no. Considering he was calling you a con artist and such, I understand now.”

How did that actually happen right away?

Elia muttered, then looked at me with an awkward expression.

“Then why not just ignore him instead of fighting? Talion is quite strong. According to you, we’re not even that close…”

“How could I ignore that?”

When a perfect test subject for how my Gift works appears right before me.

“…”

Hearing my words, Elia turned her head slightly and cleared her throat.

The nape of her neck was slightly reddened.

…Is she still angry?

I’m just stating facts as accurately as possible.

“…”

“…”

But Trisha’s eyes began to sparkle after hearing my words. She then poked Elia’s side repeatedly, as if urging her to ask something.

In response, Elia reluctantly opened her mouth.

“…Teacher, did you know this would happen?”

“Know what would happen?”

“Did you know from the beginning that he would act like this?”

What, asking if I knew Talion would get this angry?

Of course I deliberately provoked him, isn’t that obvious?

“How could I not know? People have intuition.”

“…So that’s why you didn’t hang around me from the start? Afraid people like him would cause me trouble too?”

“…?”

Wait, no?

I don’t see the connection between me provoking Talion and you getting into trouble.

[Target ‘Elia’s’ affection increases!]

[Affection level rises to ‘Interest Level 2’!]

[Additional receivable reward added!]

[Reward reduced due to target’s good alignment!]

“…”

And I have no idea why this suddenly appears either.

While I’m dumbfounded, she sighs and turns her head toward Trisha.

“Trisha. Can you remove the barrier?”

“Huh? Why?”

“No reason.”

She then placed her hand on her sword hilt.

“I’ve always disliked meddlesome people. Especially in human relationships.”

“…E-Elia?”

Trisha called out to Elia with a stiffened expression.

The expression she’s wearing now is hardly suitable for a Hero Candidate.

“Those who lay hands on my friends deserve the same in return. Don’t you agree?”

I haven’t been able to relieve stress lately. This works out well.

I could hear her muttering.

[Target ‘Elia’ is influenced by you and feels intense anger toward target ‘Talion’!]

[Negative influence has been imprinted!]

[Receivable reward is given!]

[Skill: Dominion of Evil activates. You gain 1 command right usable on the target!]

“…”

What is this?

What situation am I in?