Chapter 127

‘Three days left.’

The Changsung Festival lasts for two days.

During that time, there are no classes.

It’s literally a festival.

You just enjoy the festivities.

But.

‘For me, it’s going to be busy.’

The festival period is the perfect time to increase intimacy between men and women.

Spending time together at the festival is essentially like dating.

If there’s no level of intimacy, spending time together is impossible.

That’s exactly how it was for the old Max.

He had no female companions during the festival, so he ended up drinking and wandering around with his gang, eventually hitting on Annette and getting beaten up by the protagonist.

Now, my concerns were completely different from those of the old Max.

‘…How do I allocate my time?’

To increase intimacy with heroines, spending time together during the festival is essential.

The problem is, there’s more than one heroine.

I was prepared to meet at least three.

This is what you call multi-tasking.

Am I doing this because I’m obsessed with women?

Of course not.

This is a necessary action for survival.

If I don’t build intimacy with the named heroines, surviving this game is impossible.

Moreover, my unique trait, ‘Lustful.’

A trait that increases my heroism in proportion to the number of women who adore me.

Especially if the woman is famous, my heroism increases even more.

This is another reason why I must aim for relationships with named heroines.

Anyway.

‘This game encourages multi-tasking.’

It’s understandable since it’s a game targeted at men.

But the consequences are quite severe for just an encouraging game.

It’s called the multi-tasker’s doom ending.

The most famous one is Annette’s bad ending, where she stabs the protagonist to death after catching him cheating post-confession.

Annette is an easy heroine to become romantically involved with, so this bad ending has shocked many beginners.

There are also many other endings like the poison ending, drowning ending, becoming human trash and being abandoned by all women, and so on.

Some players, scared of these endings, play as a one-woman man, but they end up with other bad endings.

This game requires taking risks and skillfully walking a tightrope.

Players who play it safe are the first to be eliminated.

There’s a reason why I’m navigating dangerous underground spaces, pretending to be a dark cultist, and acting like a divinely inspired human in the cult.

Although I haven’t started any serious relationships yet, it’s clear they will get complicated.

‘The important thing is.’

Not making any romantic relationships official.

Once it’s official, it’s over.

You must become a one-woman man.

Even if you become romantically involved, everything must remain private.

That way, you can maintain deep relationships with multiple women simultaneously.

Still, Max has it a bit better than the protagonist.

My unique trait requires women to have feelings of adoration for me.

In other words, I don’t need to be in a romantic relationship.

As long as the woman has a crush on me, it counts.

‘Maximizing this is key.’

As a game specialist, I already understood this.

But Max also had disadvantages.

He already had an officially recognized fiancée.

This could be deadly.

However.

‘Surprisingly, no one seems to care.’

Max’s character is such a notorious playboy that no one takes his engagement seriously.

Despite being the fiancé of the famous student council president, few people care.

It’s as if they’ve already broken off the engagement.

Well, they should have broken it off originally.

…Although Max was the one who ended it.

‘Well, it’s not a bad thing.’

I can use this atmosphere to my advantage.

It’s less noticeable when meeting other women.

“Phew, I need to make plans today…”

In fact, I’m already late.

Girls who know how to have fun likely have their schedules full.

But it’s okay.

I know the named heroines don’t have boyfriends.

Still, I can’t be too relaxed.

If they’ve made plans with friends, it’s all for nothing.

“Ah, whatever. Let’s just get moving.”

I decided to think while on the move.

* * *

“Huh? With me?”

Hiresia widened her eyes.

She hadn’t expected me to make such a request.

“Yes, I thought it would be nice to enjoy the festival with you, senior.”

“What? You thought it would be nice?”

Hiresia’s cheeks turned red.

…Was that such an embarrassing thing to say?

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmph… Hmph.”

Hiresia cleared her throat, trying to calm her flushed face.

“Alright. I am quite busy, but I’ll make time for you. Consider it an honor.”

“Yes, yes.”

As expected, the meat-loving high elf senior who had a good impression of me agreed immediately.

I nodded my head.

“Then, I’ll see you later. Thank you for making time.”

“Hmph, you’re welcome.”

“Yes, yes.”

I moved on to make my next appointment.

* * *

“Huh?”

This time, the person looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

Yeah, I might have lost my mind.

Why am I asking someone who’s not even a named heroine?

She’s not just any character; she’s a named boss.

“What are you staring at? Can’t I ask a classmate that?”

“You see me as a girl?”

“Cough, cough!”

Even though I wasn’t drinking water, I choked and coughed violently.

What is this?

A mental attack?

She’s not a named boss for nothing.

One thing was clear.

If she found a weakness, my mental state wouldn’t survive.

“…Okay, okay. I’m fine now.”

I said, finally calming down.

“What kind of relationship do we have to say that?”

“A very complicated one.”

…Did you have to emphasize it three times?

Honestly, even I’m confused about our relationship.

“Hmph, even so, can’t we have a drink together? We’ve fought back to back.”

“Drinking alone with a guy has a different meaning.”

“Cough!”

‘What is with this girl!’

Is she just pretending to be eccentric, and if you peel away a layer, a nine-tailed fox will come out?

“…Fine, whatever. I just thought of you because you like drinking, but if you’re not interested, I’ll just leave.”

I waved my hand and started to walk away.

“But I don’t really mind. Is it expensive alcohol?”

“…”

Riviera asked nonchalantly.

Now this is more like her…or maybe I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

“I’m Max Celtrine.”

“I’m the sickly genius magician girl.”

“…”

Do you like that newspaper headline?

Well, it’s certainly better than the weird nickname “Yawning Girl” you got during the Infinite Tower incident.

Anyway.

“That’s not what I meant. I have a lot of money, so it’s obviously expensive alcohol.”

“I knew that, but I wanted to try saying it.”

…This girl is a tough opponent.

I miss Allen.

He’s the easiest person in the world.

“Ahem, so what’s your answer?”

“Fine.”

I went through all that trouble just to get this answer…

I wiped the sweat off my forehead.

“Alright, then. I’ll see you then. I’m busy, so I’ll be going now…”

“Wait.”

What now?

You’re making me anxious.

“What…?”

“The snacks should be expensive too.”

“…”

As expected of a named boss, you have very refined tastes.

“Yes, yes, I’ll get you the most elegant, trendy, luxurious, and delicious drinks and snacks, so don’t worry.”

“Please add something classic too.”

I can’t handle this.

I shook my head and chuckled.

“Got it, got it. I’m really leaving now.”

“Okay.”

Riviera waved her hand.

I moved on to meet the next person.

* * *

“What brings you here?”

Seeing Elaine’s face kind of purifies my mind.

After all, having a sensible person around is the best.

But with Camian here, it’s a bit awkward to talk.

Let’s move somewhere else.

“Oh, I have something to talk about. Shall we move to the rooftop?”

Camian, who was swinging his sword diligently, suddenly perked up his ears.

Don’t be interested in other people’s love lives.

Just because you won with the help of your team?

“Oh…okay.”

Elaine nodded.

We headed to the rooftop.

But before that.

“Camian, take a break during the festival.”

I kindly advised him to take care of his social relationships.

Camian stopped his sword.

“I plan to.”

“Take good care of Annette too.”

“You should take good care of Elaine, senior.”

Whoosh.

Elaine’s face turned bright red in an instant.

Look at him.

I chuckled.

“I’ll take care of her, don’t worry about it.”

With that, we headed up to the rooftop.

I heard Elaine following me a step behind.

* * *

“…”

Elaine’s face was still flushed with embarrassment.

She still has zero immunity to men.

After a moment, I spoke.

“Actually, I wanted to ask…”

I looked into Elaine’s eyes.

“Do you have time on the second day of the Changsung Festival in the morning?”

“Huh? The second day? On the second day…”

Elaine seemed to be thinking hard, as if her mind was tangled.

Then she said.

“Oh, I have time. But why…?”

“I thought it would be nice to enjoy the festival together and have lunch.”

“R-Really?”

Elaine’s face turned red again.

Receiving an invitation to enjoy the festival together from the opposite sex must be both embarrassing and surprising.

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure about Elaine.

After reconciling, our intimacy has increased, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to enjoy the festival together alone.

Elaine seemed to be contemplating with conflicted eyes.

I waited quietly.

And then.

“…Okay.”

Elaine agreed.

My face lit up.

“Thanks for agreeing.”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

“Honestly, I was worried it might be too much pressure.”

“It is a bit, but…”

“Oh, really? Then I’m sorry.”

“…No, it’s just that I’m not good with dealing with guys.”

Elaine confessed honestly.

I already knew this, but hearing her say it made it feel like a barrier had been removed.

“Sorry, I’m good at dealing with girls.”

I joked on purpose.

I thought it would lighten her mood more than taking it seriously.

“I figured you would be.”

“Haha, I guess you know how I usually act.”

“Well…”

“Anyway, we have a date then. No backing out.”

“Of course not.”

“Me neither.”

I smiled brightly and continued.

“See you then.”