Chapter 21
Hildet of Pride.
A strong, terrifying, and lewd being.
Even within the <Abyssal Order>, she held the third-highest rank, yet even those ranked first and second couldn't treat her lightly.
And an incarnation of lust who could beguile people with a single gesture, a single movement.
A big-breasted woman in a lewd outfit curled up on the bed, acting cute.
“Ooh, y’know, Hildet really, really likes it when people think she’s cute, right?”
“I see. Our Hildet likes being seen as cute.”
“Mm-hmm! But everyone only ever says Hildet is sexy!”
“That’s true.”
“What?”
I think her real voice just came out.
“They’re wrong. Hildet’s actually this cute.”
“Ooh-ooh! Our oppa is amazing!”
Hildet of Pride giggled and clasped her hands together.
Q. What does it feel like to hear a mid-boss who could cut off my head whenever she wanted act cute?
A. Well, to start with, it’s bewildering.
But if you asked whether it made me uncomfortable, not really.
Hildet was one of the leaders of the <Abyssal Order>.
There was undoubtedly a gap between us that couldn’t be easily bridged.
If Hildet’s concerns had been about her ideology or what she planned to do in the future, listening to her might have made me uncomfortable.
But wanting to look cute was just a personal concern.
“Hildet wants people to think she’s cute, too….”
And she was sincere about it.
“Everyone only ever says Hildet is strong, or scary… or sexy….”
“That must be hard.”
“Hehe.”
Hildet gave a wry smile.
“Oppa, do you know what Hildet is mixed with?”
“No.”
“I’m half succubus and half vampire.”
Sex appeal multiplied by sex appeal. This really was a god-tier subculture game.
No wonder her teeth were sharp, and she had a heart-shaped tail, too.
“By the way, my father’s the succubus, and my mother’s the vampire.”
That sounded like the kind of setting that would set the player community ablaze with pointless arguments for about a week.
“So I have to wear clothes like these that can’t cover up my skin.”
Stroke, stroke.
Wow, bare skin.
“And my figure is like this….”
Jiggle, jiggle.
Wow, those tits.
“And since I mostly have to go out at night, people call everything I do sexy….”
Smack, smack.
Wow, that ass.
I kept almost blurting out all sorts of weird things.
I held on by sheer force of will.
I couldn’t forget.
Even though we were talking like close friends, this woman had originally come here to kill me.
If I offended her, there was a good chance she’d go back to her original plan and turn me into a warm, squishy mess.
“Cute, huh? If you want people to see you as cute at first glance, how about carrying around a cute accessory?”
“An accessory? Like what?”
“How about a teddy bear?”
“…A teddy bear.”
Hildet repeated after me, dazed, then suddenly stared straight at me.
“What’s your name?”
“Gilliam Everchess.”
“I like you.”
“…Thank you?”
“Yeah. I like you so much that I think I’ll have to take you with me.”
Huh?
Whaaat?
‘That’s a bit of a problem.’
I still had a lot to do at the academy.
There were so many relationships and events I’d miss if I didn’t take care of them here and now.
“Where exactly do you mean by ‘take me with you’?”
“My home by a secluded lake! No one will be able to threaten us or get in our way. Hildet and oppa can live happily ever after, just the two of us!”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!! This is a yandere kidnapping-and-confinement event!!!
“Hildet. You can’t do that. I have a lot to do at the academy.”
“Hm?”
Hildet smiled with her eyes.
“When did you start thinking you had a choice, Gilliam oppa?”
“…If you kidnap me, I won’t call you cute anymore.”
“…What?”
Hildet’s voice turned cold.
“Say that again. What did you say?”
“…I said I won’t call you cute again.”
What Hildet wanted wasn’t Gilliam Everchess himself.
She wanted someone who would think she was cute and praise her for it.
“Oppa.”
Hildet’s hand wrapped around my neck again.
Her fingers touched my carotid artery.
“Ghk….”
“You keep getting the wrong idea… So why should Hildet keep you alive?”
“If you let me live, I’ll call you cute the next time we meet.”
Hildet’s cheek twitched.
“But if you kidnap me, I’ll just die.”
“You think killing yourself is as easy as you make it sound?”
“Do you think I can’t do it?”
I could see the conflict filling Hildet’s mind.
She had three choices.
Ignore my threat to kill myself and kidnap me anyway, or kill me here so I couldn’t cause trouble later….
Or just leave me be, so she could be praised for being cute next time.
At that moment, a loud alarm rang throughout the academy.
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
“Tch…! Did I let this drag on too long…!!”
“Hildet.”
I took her hand.
So she would know I meant it.
“Next time we meet, I’ll praise you even more than I did today. I’ll tell you you’re cute and pet you lots, so please go for now.”
“…Tch.”
Hildet frowned again, then drove the finger she’d had resting on my carotid artery—deep into my neck.
“—!!”
Ha.
So this was how it ended after all.
I still did my best.
“Fine. I’ll let you go this time.”
Excuse me? Your words and actions don’t match.
“Don’t worry. This is just a little link between you and me. It’ll only let me know whenever you do something specific from now on.”
You should’ve said that first, you crazy bitch! I thought my heart was going to stop!
Hildet pulled her finger out of my neck.
Not a drop of blood came out. The wound healed in an instant.
“But you have to keep your promise.”
Hildet perched on the windowsill.
“See you next time, Gilliam oppa.”
Whoosh.
Hildet’s figure softly disappeared into the darkness.
“….”
Even after I was alone again, I could only lie there on the bed, staring blankly for a long while.
“…Wow, fuck.”
Cold sweat seeped from my entire body.
I survived.
I barely survived.
With help from my Trait, I’d just managed to make an opponent I couldn’t possibly face with my own strength leave.
‘…So that’s the third-ranked Guide of the Underworld.’
But, conversely, that meant there were still first and second place above her.
And considering this was a subculture game, there was surely a final boss even stronger than the first-ranked Guide of the Underworld.
‘…I need to get stronger.’
I had to get stronger.
‘A lot stronger.’
Getting as strong as Hildet wouldn’t be enough.
I had to get strong enough to beat someone like Hildet with ease.
“Haaah….”
As I heard the academy guards running toward me, I let out a weary sigh.
——————
The next day, Saturday morning.
‘Today, I’ll get to Liam before anyone else!’
Maron set off for the infirmary early in the morning with an ambitious goal.
‘He’s still asleep, right? I hope I’m the first person Liam sees when he wakes up….’
She passed Professor Mela, who was sleeping face-down on her desk with an oddly tired look.
When she reached the bed where she’d squared off against Her Highness the Princess yesterday, Gilliam was still asleep, just as Maron had hoped.
“Hehe….”
Seeing his handsome face made her smile without thinking. Maron’s irises turned a bright yellow.
‘He really is so handsome.’
Strangely, though he’d slept all night, Gilliam’s face still looked terribly worn out.
‘Could Professor Mela have done something to him last night…? No, surely not?’
But then Maron noticed something else.
A woman’s hair was lying on the bed.
It was red, and didn’t look like Professor Mela’s hair.
Maron’s irises turned a murky, earthy brown.
“…Wow.”
At this point, she could only marvel. Had he flirted with yet another girl in the meantime? Who at the academy had red hair?
Gilliam blinked.
“…Maron?”
“Yes, it’s me. Liam, which woman were you with last night?”
“With a woman?”
“Hmph, there’s no point denying it. Whose hair is this?”
Maron picked up the red hair.
“You must’ve flirted with another girl last night, right? Did you have lots of fun all night?”
“…No, it wasn’t fun at all.”
“So you did flirt with someone—!!”
“Maron.”
Gilliam took her hand.
“Just hear me out first.”
And then Maron heard the whole explanation.
In other words,
She heard that instead of having fun with a woman last night, Gilliam had been in a life-or-death situation and had barely made it out alive.
And she realized that the moment he woke up, she’d gotten angry at him and interrogated him about whether he’d been with a woman and whether he’d enjoyed himself.
“I’m so sorry…!!!!”
On a bright Saturday morning,
Maron learned something new.
“I’m so, so sor-sorry!!!! I said such stu-stupid things when I didn’t, didn’t know anything…!!!!”
When a person felt too guilty, their chest hurt as if they were being crushed to death.
“It’s okay. You didn’t know. As long as we cleared up the misunderstanding, it’s fine.”
“B-but…!”
Maron lifted her face from where she’d been pressing it into the infirmary floor.
“Is there anything I can do!? I’ll do anything if it’ll make you feel better, Liam!”
“No, I’m really not angry or anything… Anything?”
“Yes!”
“Anything at all?”
“…Yes? I mean, yes!!”