Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

If You Don’t Want to Get Screwed (2)

If You Don’t Want to Get Screwed (2)

‘Golden Apple’ is a cafe particularly frequented by the female students of Olympia.

Sometimes the students’ main topic is assignments or friends, but.

In the end, it inevitably turns to talk of romance.

Penell and Berry were the same.

“I have to play hard to get?”

“Yeah.”

Berry declares firmly, with a serious face.

Looking at her friend, who’s too pure and only knows how to shower affection.

She taught her the relationship theories from her database.

“It’s called ‘push and pull.’ In a relationship, you have to push and pull. But Penell, you’re only pulling.”

“Uh-huh. Is that so……? Isn’t pulling good? Why do I need to push?”

“Of course!”

Her friend, still so naive.

Penell answered with a loud burst, then quickly recalled.

All the numerous romance novels she’d devoured.

The heroines in those worlds were all women who knew how to play hard to get with the male leads.

“You’re the first woman to ever treat me like this!”

Even though it often happened on a first encounter, so what!

The important thing is that a woman shouldn’t appear easy to a man!

“Penel, think about it. Men don’t like women who are too easy. There has to be a thrill in conquering them. That’s why they pursue you more aggressively.”

“…Really?”

Her face is still puzzled, but she seems quite interested.

Let’s get Penel more engaged. Berry said even more passionately.

“For example, when a man wants something from you, you subtly play hard to get. Even if you’re going to give it to him in the end, you have to refuse at first.”

“That’s a mean thing to do. I don’t like it.”

“That’s the basic rule! Ugh. Penel, let’s practice a little. Think of me as Herak.”

This won’t do.

For this innocent friend’s sake, Berry has to play the villain.

Though she doesn’t look thrilled, Penel nods her head.

Berry began acting as Herak as Penel imagined him.

“Hey. Penel. Lend me some money.”

“Huh? How much do you need? Would about 10,000 gold be enough?”

What am I going to do with this girl.

A man asks for money and she offers an amount of five digits…!

“……”

A sheepish expression.

Penel also looks like she thinks she might have gone too far.

On the contrary, this makes Berry start to change her mind.

‘…She really likes him.’

At first, she thought her friend was hooked by a bad guy.

But Berry was starting to let go of that thought.

Herak’s been a completely different person lately, and his status has been rising.

Penel, on the other hand, has maintained her pure love for him since even when he didn’t shine.

‘…Am I the one who’s weird?’

That thought eventually crossed her mind.

Berry sighed and stopped.

“No. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Penel, I knew you were always that kind of person… maybe that suits you better.”

A perfect housewife, was it?

If there was one woman who fit that word perfectly, it would be Penel.

Finally, Berry fell silent.

Deep contemplation showed in her dark eyes behind the round glasses.

She was seeing and feeling a lot from Penel in her own way.

“…Are you lonely? Berry?”

“Wha-?”

At Penel’s question that hit right on the mark.

Berry almost spat out her drink.

“What are you talking about? Why would I be lonely.”

“Just… That’s how you seemed to me.”

“……”

They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation.

When Berry, feeling a pang of conscience, subtly looked away, Penel beamed.

“It’s okay. It can happen. You wouldn’t be completely indifferent to men either.”

“……”

“You’ll meet a good man someday, Berry. I believe it.”

“……Hmph.”

Berry pouted.

Penel, who had always seemed younger than her, was acting like an older sister.

“Oh, Berry. But let me say one thing?”

“Huh? What?”

“Herakles is off-limits, okay?”

“Pfft!”

This time, Berry finally did spit out her drink.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

Berry, choked by her drink, thumped her chest urgently.

But Penell just watched, a faint smile playing on her lips, utterly unfazed.

“Wh-what are you talking about. Cough.”

“You’ve seemed a little different lately. You used to be railing against Herak, but now you’re dissecting my mindset. I can feel the change in how you treat Herak, you know?”

“……That’s……”

A prickle of unease.

Berry was speechless at that.

‘When did I start changing?’

Thinking back, it had been quite a while.

Was it when Herak completed the [Elemental Studies 101] assignment?

When Herak pledged, with his life on the line, to win the inter-year competition?

Or maybe…

‘…When Herak helped me.’

Protecting me from the thugs, not belittling my doll, appearing like a hero…

“Eeeeh? Berry, are you sure?”

“O-of course! Don’t misunderstand, Penell. It’s just that Herak asked me to alchemize an item for him….”

Her cheeks almost flushed for a moment.

Berry quickly composed herself, taking a deep breath.

To appease Penell, whose eyes were filled with suspicion, she was about to make an excuse about an objective request, devoid of personal feeling, when…

“Huh?”

*Clink*—

The door opened, and a customer walked in.

Herak, the very subject of their conversation, and a first-year student she didn’t recognize beside him.

*

‘What are they doing.’

The moment he stepped into the cafe, he spotted familiar faces.

Penell and Berry, sitting at that table over there.

They seemed to be subtly avoiding eye contact, which was suspicious.

Were they talking behind my back or something?

‘……Oh, well.’

Whatever they were talking about wasn’t a crucial issue.

The bit of Berry’s words I overheard mentioned something about the “werewolf’s lung” I’d asked for.

If she nails that, I’m good.

“Senior! Senior! What should we drink?”

“Pick whatever you want.”

“Whoa! That’s so like a champion!”

She’s a senior, and also, the prize money for winning the inter-school tournament had come in.

When I said I’d buy Ruby a drink, she jumped up and down, choosing from the menu.

Again, it’s a drink with strawberries in it.

Soon enough, we settled into an empty table and I got straight to the point with Ruby.

“The Chairman?”

“Yeah.”

*Sluuurp*

Ruby takes a sip of her strawberry latte, eyes widening.

A look that says she wasn’t expecting that name.

“Just tell the academic affairs office that I want to meet the Chairman.”

“Hmm. It is quite the request, certainly. Indeed.”

She nods, as if understanding why I’m asking her specifically.

Then, she puts her hands on her hips and puffs out her chest.

“Heh! Leave it to me. I’ll make sure to tell them. It should work out fine, I reckon.”

“Alright. Thanks.”

That’s that, then.

I don’t know how seriously the Chairman will take my request,

but the fact that I’ve secured a meeting is one less thing to worry about.

Now it’s time to grant Ruby’s request.

“Heh heh. What should I ask first? There’s never enough articles about Senior Herak!”

She’s practically bursting with excitement, pulling paper and pens out of her bag in a flurry.

She’s already shoved her strawberry latte aside, twirling a pen between her fingers, humming a tune.

“The inter-school tournament victory, the battle mage thing, the story about Senior Penel… it’s a goldmine! A goldmine.”

“Your choice of words is a little cheap.”

“Heh heh. Let’s start with the easy stuff, shall we? Senior, tell me all about the inter-school tournament.”

Grade exchange match, huh.

Don’t know what they’re gonna ask, but it probably doesn’t matter how I answer.

Ruby’ll just add her own spin for sales anyway.

I just gestured with my chin, telling her to go ahead, and Ruby immediately started firing off questions.

“First, your feelings on defeating Senior Jackson. How did you feel after the victory?”

“Nothing special, really.”

“Ohoho. ‘Jackson, you ain’t nothin’,’ I see. Got it…”

It’s not like winning against Jackson is something to be jumping for joy about.

Well, to be accurate, avoiding expulsion was great, but that’s too much to get into, so I shut my mouth.

“Next question. I heard that after the duel, you were summoned by Her Imperial Highness. What were your feelings about having a private audience with the Princess?”

“……”

This one’s a bit sharp, isn’t it?

If I said it was a burden, Helene wouldn’t like that.

If I said it was fine, not bad, they’d turn it into a news story and make the Academy all noisy.

So there’s only one appropriate answer.

“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”

“Kya! Just like a senior should be. You know how to deliver a line so it hits right.”

“Don’t go overboard.”

Ruby, ignoring what I said, was writing away with a wide smile.

Tell her one thing, and she makes up ten sentences, a journalist through and through.

Isn’t she in the wrong major, shouldn’t she be in the journalism department instead of magic…?

“Ahem. That’s about it. This much is good enough for this article.”

“So, is that it?”

“No. We still need a hook.”

…A what hook?

“To make people buy the next paper, we gotta make them curious about the next issue. Isn’t there anything that’s got a little pizzazz, Senior?”

“Like I would.”

Does she think I’m some machine that spits out news stories when you poke me?

But Ruby, still unsatisfied, kept twirling the pen between her fingers as she continued.

“For example, how about your next target? Like saying someone from the Knight Department is your next goal.”

“Not really interested.”

“The top senior, you mean?”

“Why bother?”

I have no intention of deliberately poking at Apollo.

He’s not exactly a paragon of virtue, but he’s not someone I’d go out of my way to pick a fight with either.

We don’t have any real beef, not really.

“That’s a shame. Hmm. Feels a bit lacking, finishing like this…”

Just as Ruby was dragging her words, lost in thought.

“Penel!”

*BANG*, the door bursts open and someone strides in.

A man with long, slicked-back hair.

Apollo had come looking.

*

“……”

A silence settles over ‘Golden Apple’.

The cafe hushed by his rough entrance.

But Apollo doesn’t seem to care in the slightest, striding purposefully forward.

He has only one target in mind.

Penel Moira.

“Penel. Explain this. What the hell is going on?”

His stride shows no hesitation, completely disregarding etiquette.

With absolutely no consideration for the other students or the cafe itself.

Apollo stopped in front of Penel and demanded answers.

The full story of the rumors.

“……What is this about?”

Penel’s brow furrowed.

In the past, he might have gushed out a cheesy line about how even that looked beautiful.

But Apollo didn’t hesitate.

“Is that the important question? More important than what I asked you?”

“Please, quiet down. What is this, in front of everyone—”

“Is it true you touched that b*stard’s arm?”

“……”

Penell’s lips remain sealed.

No need to confirm who *that b*stard* is.

Herak.

They’re digging into what happened in [Theoretical Magic].

“Answer me, Penell. What the hell were you thinking? Why would a noble lady like you do something like that?”

“……I don’t know how you found out. But what does it have to do with you?”

“What…?”

Compared to the agitated Apollon, Penell is composed.

A composure laced with contempt.

That’s what Apollon hated to death.

‘Why you.’

Why, from childhood, do you always look at me like that.

I who should be a perfect match for you, as fellow nobles.

Why reject me so vehemently?

“Penell. Think carefully. You—”

“Leave Penell alone!”

A hand parts Apollon and Penell, who’d been caught in a moment of passion.

Berry, who’d been sitting with Penell, steps between them.

“Why do you keep doing this? Penell isn’t interested in you at all!”

Berry stands tall, as if protecting Penell.

But even she can’t hide the trembling in her body.

Compared to Apollon, the top of the Knight’s Department, Berry’s ranking in the Magic Department isn’t that high.

Her body shaking like this is only natural.

But Berry doesn’t back down.

For her friend Penell, she could do this much.

“Don’t lay a hand on Penell. A guy like you— ugh!”

* * *

*Slam!*

Berry’s mouth snapped shut, and her body was yanked into the air all at once.

“……You don’t know your place.”

Apollo’s hand tightened around Berry’s throat, lifting her higher.

A commoner, brazenly mouthing off in front of a noble.

He snarled, grinding his teeth.

“Do I look like a pushover? Enough for the likes of a commoner to talk back to me?”

“Hah, ugh─”

“This is a conversation between nobles. It’s not for a lowlife like you to butt in……!”

Unable to contain his rage, Apollo raised his hand.

Intending to slap Berry across the face.

He would be disciplined if he resorted to violence right here and now, but.

Apollo was the top student of the Knight Department and the son of a Marquis.

He could easily get away with it.

“……!”

Apollo’s face twisted into a demonic mask.

The hand gripping her throat, stifling her breath, and the other, coarsely reaching for her.

Tears welled in Berry’s eyes as she saw them.

‘I’m scared…!’

Was it this terrifying to stand up to a brute?

Like an extra, unaware of her station, about to be trampled, looking at the hand coming at her face.

It was the moment Berry clenched her eyes shut.

“……!”

*Slam!*

Apollo’s hand stopped mid-air.

His arm, which held such excessive force for merely a slap at a girl.

Grasped by someone, unable to move.

“Take your hand off her.”

The voice that spoke was male.

And also, a voice Berry knew well.

“……Huh?”

Tear-filled berry eyes lift.

Black pupils take in the scene before them.

A man with dull blonde hair.

Unusually boasting an impressive physique compared to his gaunt classmates.

Herak Leonhardt had a grip on Apollo’s wrist.

He’d seemingly stepped in to protect Berry.

He spoke clearly, so everyone in the room could hear.

“If you don’t want to die.”