Chapter 43: Act 1, Chapter 2: The Forest of Monsters 3 (Too many options)
“Lucas~? Can you be my partner for today?”
“…..”
As she waited for my answer, I couldn’t help but keep my mouth shut. Since when did she even get this close to me?
“Rose…” I started, my voice trailing off.
“Yes~ Hi ‘Lucas,’ long time no see, no?” she replied with a bit of sarcasm, emphasizing the name Lucas in a way that made it clear she was annoyed.
‘She really is mad, huh?’ I thought, realizing that my plan might not have worked as intended.
When I lied about my name to her last time, it wasn’t a random decision. There were two reasons behind it.
First, I wanted to ensure that Rose and Lucas would meet each other, as I was afraid I might have disrupted an important scene for Lucas during the event in the alleys.
Second, I hoped that she would become interested in Lucas as a whole, diverting her attention from me.
But now, standing in front of her, I could tell that my plan had backfired.
Instead of losing interest, she had become even more interested in me.
As I wasn’t constantly monitoring Lucas’s progress with both his overall specs and his interactions and progress with the heroines, setting her up in an encounter with him should have enticed some emotions within her, right? Considering that in the game she somehow fell for Lucas at first sight—a fact that you would later discover during the mid part of her route—it seemed like a logical move.
Rose was mad right now, and I could understand that. But as far as I knew, Rose wasn’t someone who held grudges.
Shouldn’t she at least be paying more attention to Lucas right now?
Did they not meet, perhaps?
No… Rose was always the whimsical and curious type among all the heroines.
Considering the weird interest her eyes glowed with when she saw me in the alleys, I’m pretty sure she was the curios and whimsical Rose I knew I the game.
That was why I was fairly certain she had called him out in a restaurant or somewhere of that nature.
But if not, then am I perhaps greatly fucked right now?
‘I really thought that her new found interest in Lucas would drown out any form If interest she had within me but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now.’
Thinking back to the intricate dynamics of the game’s storyline.
Rose was known for her unpredictable nature and insatiable curiosity.
If she had met Lucas, her interest should have naturally shifted towards him.
But standing here, facing her anger and insistence on partnering with me, I couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat trickle down my spine.
What if my intervention had unintended consequences?
In the game, Rose’s infatuation with Lucas was almost instant, driven by her unique ability to see the world in colors.
As far as I remember.
Lucas was the only person who brought vibrant hues into her otherwise monochromatic life. If she hadn’t met him yet, her attention was still solely on me, which was a problem at the moment.
Looking around, I tried to see where Lucas was. Surprisingly, it didn’t take me long to spot him. He was heading closer to me, with Janica tagging along as well. Why were they coming this way?
“Lucas~?” Rose called, snapping me back to my current situation. She seemed eager to hear my response, her hands clasped behind her back.
There was a subtle, angered smirk hidden beneath her kind and smiling face.
Honestly, it was quite scarier seeing her make a fake smile like that than seeing her actually angry because I knew just how pissed off, she was right now… and she had every right to be.
What should I do?
What should I even say in the first place?
Should I apologize?
Will she forgive me because of a simple apology?
Considering her nature, she might, but the chances of it angering her even more might be higher as well…
Should I just accept her request and let bygones be bygones?
Honestly, of the three main heroines I was planning to go with, Rose was the second in line I wanted to partner up with, so there wouldn’t probably be any problems whatsoever with my plans even if we partnered up…
As I kept pondering, ten seconds had already passed, and I had only stared at her in dead silence. I could practically feel the pressure rising in the air.
“…”
“…”
I could tell I was only making the situation worse.
So, after pondering a bit more, I ultimately decided to apologize instead.
Well, at least I wanted to, if I wasn’t interrupted midway as I was about to open my mouth.
“Riley…”
Suddenly, someone pulled my sleeve with soft nudges. Looking to my left, it was Seo, who had appeared out of nowhere.
“Do you have a partner, Riley?” she asked innocently, completely ignoring the honey-haired woman right in front of me.
Seo… I knew you were a klutz when it came to social norms, but I’m pretty sure you know it’s quite rude to suddenly chime in on someone else’s conversation, right?
She was even making subtle glances at Rose, so I knew she was aware of her presence.
And why is she even asking me that? Didn’t we already establish yesterday that we wouldn’t be partnering up?
As much as I wanted to partner up with a cheat like Seo, I needed her to take care of a very special boss inside the forest, so it wasn’t possible at the moment.
As per the game scenario, Seo needed to act alone in this one.
“Riley, partner up with me!”
A loud, rustic noise resonated from my left, and this time I saw the serious yet positive-looking face of Lucas. He seemed very expectant and excited, a slight grin spreading across his face.
“I know you may not think of me as someone worthy of your presence,” he began earnestly, “but I promise you, this time—no, this time I will clearly show you my dedication and improvement. Although it may not look like it, I’m fairly certain that aside from Seo and you, my skills with the sword have gotten way stronger, I will show you what it means to live with the sword with a knight’s honor in it, So, please become my partner”
‘Wtf?’
What is this guy yapping about? Dedication? Improvement? Knight? Partnering up as well?
Can’t he see my situation right now?
Rose and Seo were already problematic enough to deny, and now this fucker is suddenly trying to partner up with me?
Doesn’t he hold animosity towards me, considering the disrespect I showed him last time? Now why is he suddenly back to his demeanor from when we first interacted?
“Lucas, what are you talking about?”
Even Janica, standing by his side, looked confused by his sudden declaration as she looked at Lucas and me alliteratively.
Looking at her reaction, I could tell Lucas did this on his own. Seriously, what’s wrong with this guy? I’m not even a heroine, why is he so interested in me?
And wasn’t he following his scenario based on the few investigations I’ve done with him? Everything should’ve flowed out smoothly, right?
So why the sudden change in context?
As I observed the three of them, my brows slowly started to frown.
They looked at each other, though they didn’t say anything aloud. I could tell there was already a battle of wits going on among them.
“Hi~ am I interrupting something perhaps?” came a voice, breaking my train of thought.
‘Oh, my fucking god, who is it now?’
A woman with platinum blonde hair and eyes that seemed to be judging my value approached me, wearing a business-like smile.
She scanned the people around me with slight bows.
“Do you perhaps already have a partner Mr Hell?”
Hahaha…. This time it was this woman now.
‘Clara Luminaria…’
Why is she even here, how does she know my name? now a whole lot pf plethora of new questions suddenly raced in me again.
Shaking my head, I ignored the useless thoughts and let her walk closer.
Although I only caught a glimpse of her yesterday back at the auction balcony, seeing her like this felt new for some reason.
Considering she wore quite the revealing dress yesterday, seeing her in a normal school uniform like this felt weird yet somehow made her look even better.
Rose, Seo, Janica, Lucas, and now Clara… At this rate, I’ll end up gathering all of the main casts without even doing anything.
Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of me:
[Notice:]
[Skill: Monarch’s Will (Locked)]
[Passive Effect: Charisma + EX]
[Current proficiency: 5%→25%]
[Influence: +45]
[Effects: your words greatly influences, the decisions of those around you]
[Presence: +35]
[Effects: Your Charisma will always be at an all time high, when interacting with other people]
[Note: Effects may vary depending on skill proficiency]
Is Monarch’s Will acting up again?
Is that why all of this was happening?
Or are they just genuinely interested in partnering up?
Whatever the was case… one thing I can tell that is fairly certain was that each and every one of them had their own agendas they wanted to fulfill.
“Riley….”
Oh fuck me…. Upon hearing another voice, my mind stopped trying to process the whole situation.
I’m not even in the forest yet… but it felt like my god awful luck was already affecting me.
