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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Class (2)
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Trisha's position as the priest in the "hero party" formed around Eliya was a bit ambiguous.
There wasn't much for her to do in combat or anything else.
But even so, the reason she was never ignored within the group was that she had her own strengths.
She was always the one handling mood-making to ensure everyone got along.
And in her role, Trisha was currently sensing an enormous crisis.
'This is bad...!'
It was common knowledge that holy power affected people differently, awakening some unique ability in each individual.
And Trisha's ability was to visually read others' emotions.
'What the hell is wrong with her...?'
She trembled inwardly as she looked at Eliya.
Her face wore the usual bright smile, but the emotions Trisha saw were roiling violently within.
To put it simply, she was fucking pissed...!
"...And that's the last one."
Luca said as he cleaved a wolf-shaped illusion beast in two with his massive double-headed axe.
"Seeing all these strong illusions placed here, there must be something nearby."
"Spot on."
Falco adjusted his monocle and followed up, his gaze fixed on the scattered blue-glowing rocks nearby.
"It's a rare mineral zone. Grabbing just a few should secure us a decent score."
"Yeah, then Luca can haul them all."
"...Get over here and help, Grid."
As Grid dragged his feet with a sullen expression, Trisha quietly hurried over to Eliya.
She wasn't voicing anything aloud, but it was clear she'd been mulling something over silently for a while.
Her inner emotions were swirling with ominous colors. Trisha couldn't just leave her be—it was too unsettling.
"Hey, Eliya."
"Yeah?"
"Got something bothering you?"
Trisha asked cautiously, and Eliya shook her head with a wide smile.
"Nah, nothing really."
A lie.
Black energy was still surging from within as she said it.
"If something's troubling you, I'm here to listen. No need to hide it."
"Hey, we're friends. I wouldn't keep anything from you guys."
...A lie.
Trisha broke out in cold sweat inwardly.
Emotions inherently reflected a person's disposition strongly, so by observing their usual colors, she could roughly gauge their "nature."
Among the people Trisha had seen lately, the most unusual were that Tristan Duchess and Eliya.
The Duchess was basically colorless gray, but occasionally pitch-black things surged from within—inky, viscous black rarely seen.
It looked like she was suppressing it herself.
'...I've seen it a few times.'
It wasn't common, but she'd personally confirmed a few similar types in the Tristan Ducal House.
In contrast, Eliya was...
'Seriously weird.'
Most people with dark tendencies had psyches that were overall murky. They constantly emitted such emotions.
But Eliya always maintained a near-pure white, only occasionally revealing pitch-black shades that even startled Trisha.
Possessiveness, dominance, exclusivity—something like that.
As if this incredibly kind person mixed in those feelings every time she thought of "someone" specific.
She probably wasn't even aware of it herself yet.
'...She wasn't like this before.'
It started after the freshman welcome event. The incident where beasts were released but suppressed without casualties.
What the hell happened there?
"Still, you've been brooding since earlier."
And right now, those colors were bursting to the forefront—she was seriously pissed.
If Trisha didn't soothe her, she'd die of anxiety.
"...That obvious? You're too good, Trisha. You spot lies like a pro."
Ah, this time it was sincere.
Trisha smiled in relief at the white light surging from Eliya.
She racked her brain to keep the conversation going.
When did she start getting this mad...?
"Oh, maybe that Dawood Campbell guy—"
Trisha clamped her mouth shut.
She saw Eliya's emotions drown in a wave of black again.
Her face still beamed with a smile, making it even scarier.
"Yeah, it's about him."
But fortunately, she seemed willing to talk.
"No, lately I've gotten tangled up with him in various ways..."
Eliya started spilling the story.
He suggested we get close, and somehow we became friends. Recently, I owed him a favor, so I even played love messenger to someone he likes. Even against someone from the enemy Tristan Ducal House, doing that much should mean he won't coldly brush me off, right...?
Trisha blinked blankly a few times as Eliya rattled off the details.
No way, but...
"Eliya, you really think he's a true friend?"
"...Huh?"
Trisha hurriedly shut her mouth at Eliya's startled reaction.
She'd blurted it out upon seeing Eliya's emotions churn wildly inside.
Whenever she was with them, her colors never even twitched, no matter what.
"N-no, nothing!"
"..."
But seeing Eliya go silent after hearing it, Trisha felt suffocating tension.
It was a face Trisha had never seen—like she'd never even considered it. Her already turbid inner emotions tangled into even more chaos.
"...Still, didn't he draw a clear line, saying he's not close to you?"
Eliya forced out the words, and Trisha's face paled further.
Darker things were creeping up from within her. Emotions that were usually white now felt overall dark and muddy.
She had to say something to calm her...!
"H-he probably didn't mean it sincerely!"
"Then why say it?"
How the hell should I know?
But she couldn't say that.
"W-well, maybe he said it to protect you?"
"...Protect me?"
"He's from a barony with no real background, right? Someone like him hanging around a hero candidate titleholder is bound to draw complaints...! Maybe to prevent that in advance...!"
"..."
Trisha spat out the excuse she'd barely scraped together.
The basis was thin, but to her, it wasn't wrong.
"..."
Eliya actually pondered it, chin in hand.
"...Does anyone go that far? No, he seems like the type to do stuff like that without saying a word anyway... But for just friends..."
"N-next time you ask, he'll say the 'not close' bit wasn't sincere either! Yeah!"
"...Think so?"
"Until his reputation's solid, he'll keep a little distance! But inside, his fondness for you is bursting... or something...!"
"...Really?"
Please stop asking questions.
Just accept it and cool off.
Trisha thought, eyes spinning.
"Hey, isn't that Talion?"
Fortunately for Trisha, the call came from the guys mining minerals nearby.
"Where?"
"About thirty minutes' walk from here."
"...You can see that far, Grid?"
It came from Grid, staring into the distance.
Fitting for a sniper handling long-range projectiles.
"Talion from the Armand Viscount family? The spear expert?"
"Yeah, but something's off. First time seeing him that mad. He's muttering curses nonstop."
"...Cursing?"
"Yeah. Let's see..."
Grid squinted, focusing on Talion's lips.
"...Kill. Gonna kill him. Fucking con artist bastard. Kill him. Skewer him... Whoa, brutal."
Everyone tilted their heads at Grid's words.
Talion of the Armand Viscount family was the epitome of model student restraint.
What could make him that furious over a class?
"..."
Everyone but Eliya, who flinched at "con artist."
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Truth be told, I hadn't meant to provoke him that much.
I just planned to tease him lightly and test how far my gift ability extended.
[ Target 'Talion's' anger has exceeded the threshold! ]
[ Inflicts irremovable shame! ]
[ Negative influence is imprinted! ]
[ Receive available rewards! ]
[ Skill: Domination of Malice activates. Gain 1 command token usable on the target! ]
"..."
It worked too well.
And I hadn't done much.
From a freshman's perspective, the optimal paths were predictable—even for Talion, who was beyond freshman level.
So I'd just beaten him to all his targets.
To amp the provocation, I'd tossed lines at Talion, always arriving late: "Truly impressive! You're too late!" "Thanks for the good materials!" "Grateful for your inexperience!" "A bit more effort and you'll catch up!"
All straight from the original game's priest skill voice lines.
The politely sarcastic tone was perfect.
I'd done it about... 25 times?
"..."
Now that I think about it, yeah, I get why he's that mad.
With that thought, I fled from Talion hot on my tail.
Class was irrelevant now; he was blinded by rage, desperate to impale me.
[ Crisis detected. ]
[ Judged as intent to injure. ]
[ Skill: Desperate Situation applied at C-rank. ]
How dire was it for this to trigger?
I wouldn't die from a hit, but that model student was furious enough to want to shatter my jaw at minimum.
'The problem is...'
If he keeps chasing like this, we'll clash eventually.
I didn't want to fight Talion.
Chancellor Atalante warned flashy moves wouldn't end well, and he was directly tied to the final boss, the "Purifier."
Teasing him was fine, but smashing him in combat risked severing his "connection" to the Purifier.
That'd be a problem.
"Hey!"
So I tried talking to Talion, pursuing with murderous intent.
"How about I forfeit, and we split my haul half-half?"
[ Crisis escalated. ]
[ Judged as intent for severe injury. ]
[ Skill: Desperate Situation applied at B-rank. ]
"..."
Nope, fell on deaf ears.
Not teasing this time.
I kept running as Talion morphed into an even fiercer demon.
'...But running forever will get me caught.'
No matter Desperate Situation, he was elite enough to tail Eliya. B-rank wasn't cutting it speed-wise.
If caught, real combat?
As I pondered, someone suddenly jumped in front—nearly collided.
"...!"
I stumbled to a halt, off-balance, and she caught my chin.
"What the hell are you doing, Teacher?"
Eliya sighed, hand to forehead. A panting priestess hurried up beside her.
'That's Trisha.'
Hero party priest. Users nicknamed her "Living Lie Detector" for visually reading emotions.
I glanced at the familiar face, and Eliya continued flatly.
"Trisha. Recognition block possible?"
"Y-yeah!"
A hemispherical barrier enveloped us, preventing casual detection.
Eliya tossed words my way, still expressionless.
"Why pick a fight in some harsh spot when you could've just chilled with us?"
"...No, circumstances."
Her head turned, displeased.
"What circumstances? I saved you—least you can do is explain."
Voice flat, but Trisha paling beside her meant intense thoughts inside.
Proof she was pissed at my evasion.
"..."
A spark hit me.
Angering Talion and her were worlds apart in importance.
Fresh off gaining a gift that piled weird effects on "negative tendencies."
Mid-chapter boss was one thing; tagging the scenario lead "protagonist" risked unknown butterfly effects.
So, yeah.
Trisha the lie detector was here too. Lame excuses would backfire.
Time for the truth.
"That guy started it."
"Started what?"
"He bitched why a guy like me hangs with you as friends."
Eliya and Trisha's faces twisted oddly in sync.
"...?"
That surprising?
"...No wonder he'd pick a fight over that. Makes sense with the con artist talk."
How does that even happen right away?
Eliya muttered, looking at me awkwardly.
"Then just ignore him. Why brawl with him? Talion's pretty strong. If we're not close like you say..."
"How could I ignore it?"
A perfect test subject for my gift popped up.
"..."
Eliya coughed lightly, turning away.
Her nape flushed slightly.
...Still mad?
I'd stuck to facts.
"..."
"..."
But Trisha's eyes sparkled. She poked Eliya's side, urging her on.
Eliya opened reluctantly.
"...Teacher, did you foresee this?"
"Foresee what?"
"Did you know he'd act like that from the start?"
Know Talion would rage?
Hell, I provoked him on purpose.
"Anyone with eyes could see it."
"...So you avoided me from the beginning? Worried guys like him would cause me trouble?"
"...?"
Wait, what?
No link between me baiting Talion and you getting hurt.
[ Target 'Eliya's' favorability increases! ]
[ Favorability rises to 'Interest Stage 2'! ]
[ Additional rewards available! ]
[ Good-aligned target: Rewards reduced! ]
"..."
And why this now?
Stunned, she sighed and turned to Trisha.
"Trisha. Drop the barrier?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Just do it."
She reached for her sword hilt.
"I've always hated nosy people. Especially in relationships."
"...Uh, Eliya?"
Trisha called tensely.
That face didn't suit a hero candidate.
"You gotta pay back anyone who messes with your friends, right?"
Haven't vented stress lately. Perfect.
I heard her mutter.
[ Target 'Eliya' influenced by you, harbors intense anger toward target 'Talion'! ]
[ Negative influence imprinted! ]
[ Rewards available! ]
[ Skill: Domination of Malice activates. Gain 1 command token usable on the target! ]
"..."
What the hell?
What's going on?
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