Chapter 141

A chill began to fill the banquet hall.

The gaze of the crying girl and the stupid green-haired idiot staring at us was ruining what had been a ball full of laughter.

I ignored Ruin and kept stroking the girl's head.

[The favorability window cannot be used in this space.]

- Find Yuria.

- You can only make 1 choice.

- Once you complete your choice, the favorability window will become available.

The favorability window had been completely useless from the moment I entered the banquet hall.

There was no guarantee anywhere that the Yuria before my eyes was the real one.

I'd anticipated the absence of the favorability window to some degree, so I'd prepared the dress as insurance-but there wasn't anyone in the banquet hall wearing the pure-white dress I'd bought.

In the novel, Yuria came wearing an old dress.

I remembered the story where she wore a secondhand dress, not the one Ruin bought her, and received a lot of scorn at the ball.

Just like now, Ruin didn't recognize Yuria, and the episode concluded with Ruin searching for her near the end of the ball, finding her crying on the balcony, and finally realizing her face had changed.

It was a pretty touching story.

The illustration of him grabbing the crying Yuria's wrist and apologizing for not recognizing her was quite charming, but now... well, it's turned into a complete mess.

This moment right here was the difference between reality and the novel. In the novel, there was no friction between Ruin and Yuria after her face changed.

In the novel, Ruin had ignored Yuria and they had no conversation.

It was an episode that created a heart-wrenchingly poignant image, like a voiceless mermaid princess hiding behind a rock, stealing glances at her prince.

Hmm.

I get the feeling things have gotten thoroughly tangled.

I smiled at the crying girl before me.

"Don't cry."

"Sniff... I'm not crying."

"Liar. You're bawling your eyes out."

"I'm not..."

"Hmm. I want to scold you for not wearing the dress I bought you, but seeing you cry like this, I don't think I can."

A quest with the possessor's privileges sealed.

I'd thought it would be a difficult quest. One wasted chance would lead straight to failure.

I figured it'd be like trying to find someone named Kim Cheolsu in Alaska, but this turned out to be an absurdly easy quest.

Seeing this girl standing before me, unable to even speak up, crying so miserably-I couldn't help but laugh.

Who wouldn't know?

That this person is Yuria.

I can't deny that the many hints made her easy to find, but even without those hints, I think I could have found her easily.

Unable to speak up to others.

Hiding in corners whenever something happens, worrying alone, wearing a tearful expression-the only person I remember with those habits is Yuria.

In the novel.

During our academy days.

I remembered and stored away Yuria's image.

I was Yuria's friend.

And a possessor who'd transmigrated into the novel.

I suppose "couldn't not know" would be the right way to put it.

I smiled as I watched Yuria shake her head back and forth.

"No... I'm not the person you think I am."

See? If this isn't Yuria, then who is? Shaking her head when flustered, covering her face with her hands when sad-it was all exactly like Yuria's habits.

"Is that so?"

With a small "hup," I knelt down in front of Yuria.

Matching her eye level, I calmly looked into Yuria's face, lifted the corners of my mouth in a slight smile, and took her hand.

Yuria's trembling hand was delicate and cold. Grasping her slender wrist that seemed like it might break at any moment, I slowly began to pull her hand away from her face.

"Please don't..."

Yuria put strength into resisting, trying not to show her face, shaking her head vigorously once more.

"What are you hiding so desperately?"

"I'm not hiding anything... I'm not the person you think I am. I'm incredibly ugly and hideous. You've got the wrong person."

"Is that so? I have an eye for recognizing beautiful people, and that's not what I see."

"No. I'm telling you it's not me."

"Then you must be beautiful on the inside."

"Please don't do this. Please..."

Yuria murmured toward me in a voice that was barely audible. Her trembling voice was vehemently denying everything, yet at the same time it sounded so mournful that I almost had the illusion it contained a desperation for me to hold onto her.

I applied a little more pressure and slowly began to lower Yuria's wrist.

Seeing Yuria's hand covered in bandages, I smiled bitterly.

"That must hurt."

"..."

"Instead of telling me to get treatment, you should pay more attention to your own body."

"...I'm."

"Stop."

I smiled as I looked at Yuria's face.

"I understand, so stop crying. It pains me."

Her puffy, swollen eyes.

Her glistening cheeks covered in snot-seeing them made me keep breaking into a smile.

"I finally get to see your face."

"..."

"Why are you hiding? What could possibly be lacking?"

"Because I'm ugly..."

"No, you're not."

"You're lying."

Yuria sniffled and shook her head. Biting down hard on her lower lip, she couldn't control her trembling shoulders and kept flinching.

"If there's anyone who called you ugly, tell on them to me."

"...There isn't."

"Liar."

"Really, there isn't."

I have a pretty good idea, though...

I smiled warmly and began scanning the banquet hall.

First, one female student next to Mikhail.

One female student hovering nervously near Ruin.

And lastly, the brown-haired girl talking beside the crown prince.

The female students who met my eyes began to turn deathly pale.

They were all familiar faces.

I remembered them as people I'd warned in the past not to act out. People I'd cautioned that crossing the line one more time would lead to an unpleasant situation.

"I've got a pretty good idea now."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

I wiped the tears from Yuria's eyes and roughly tousled her hair.

As her soft pink hair spread through my hand, the sweet scent of lavender lingered faintly on my palm.

'I could probably tell just from the shampoo smell.'

There seem to be more idiots in this novel than I thought.

Especially that green-haired head glaring at me with disapproving eyes right now.

Yuria slowly pulled away from my touch, rubbing her sniffling eyes as she hurriedly fled.

"I'm sorry. You're mistaken. I'm not the person you think I am..."

"I understand."

"Please believe me."

"I believe my own eyes, though."

"..."

Realizing she couldn't get through to me, Yuria ran toward the balcony as if escaping.

It must be complicated for her.

Wondering if I really noticed while simultaneously not wanting to show her broken state.

Maybe I lacked consideration.

It would've been better to quietly visit her when she was alone and talk to her then, but I was just so angry.

I waved slightly and smiled at Yuria, who kept glancing back as she ran.

"Don't cry."

Reading my lips, Yuria shed even more tears as she rushed to the balcony.

Taking in the lingering scent of her shampoo, I placed my hands on my knees and slowly stood up.

Time to get started.

Before going to Yuria, I needed somewhere to vent my anger.

I couldn't just leave alone the bastards who nearly corrupted the heroine.

I'm a reader too, after all.

Someone extremely sensitive about the story's progression, and wouldn't it be proper to leave an appropriate gift for those who disturbed my peaceful NEET life?

To do that, I should first hold accountable the person who hurt Yuria the most.

I smiled at Ruin, who stood with his hands in his pockets.

"You've really done it now."

Ruin let out a deep sigh.

"What a pathetic display."

The sound of him clicking his tongue echoed through the silent banquet hall.

"Ugly bitches making a scene together."

Ruin seemed displeased with the current situation. It appeared he still hadn't noticed Yuria's presence.

Ruin approached right up to me and looked up with cold eyes.

"Who the hell are you to come here?"

I smiled slightly and listened to what Ruin had to say. Let's hear how far he'll go.

"Just stay there doing that damn Olivia's dirty work. What did you miss so much that you came to the academy?"

"I didn't miss anything, though?"

"Talking back again. Fucking annoying. Get lost before I make you listen to more shit."

I asked Ruin, who was heading toward the balcony, in a gentle voice.

"Are you finished?"

"What?"

Ruin raised his eyebrows questioningly. To Ruin, who shot back at me with an expression that said my words were ridiculous, I kindly explained.

"I asked if you were done talking."

"Why would I waste time talking to you? Pointless."

"Haha. Is that so? Then it's my turn to speak now."

I opened my mouth with a cruel smile.

"Ruin."

There are several ways to torment Ruin.

Kill him with violence.

Make him feel inferior, kill him with talent, or kill him with words.

No matter how much I think about it, the method that would work most effectively on Ruin seems to be this one.

"What can you actually do?"

Destroying the foundation.

Ruin. You're disqualified as a side male lead.