'Guess even in this life, I can't escape it, huh…'
Stiletto rode in a carriage alongside Lyria and the twins, with Olson at the reins.
They were headed toward Stiletto's and the twins' school. Having to keep up the lie that the Goddess was a friend from his academy, he'd made her come along.
The air outside was freezing, winter just beginning to bloom, the sky still dark as they trudged down the road.
He let out a quiet sigh.
'It's way too early...'
The du Life estate lay beyond the city, out in the countryside. It took roughly thirty minutes by carriage to reach Acerbus, where the academy they attended was located.
Mya's apartment was there as well, meaning she made that thirty-minute trip—likely more—every morning just to wake Stiletto before starting her own day, never once complaining.
When put in perspective like that, he felt guilty for complaining—and even more so for snapping at her earlier that morning when she woke him up at five o'clock.
Stiletto wasn't a morning person...
'Next time, I'll be more considerate.'
She truly was a good woman. Even just her effort alone was enough to turn him on.
Just what was her husband thinking, wasting a precious gem like that?
Oh, well… he'd make sure to take care of her nicely.
His thoughts were interrupted as Thomas leaned closer, whispering from the seat beside him as he glanced at the Goddess.
"So… did she confess to you too?"
Stiletto chuckled.
"Wouldn't you like to know~"
"Hey, that's not fair! As your brother, you should just tell me! I was totally caught off guard yesterday, you know?"
"Oh, yeah?"
Across the way, Elaine sat next to the Goddess. Initially, she remained silent, eyes fixed on her lap, but the moment Lyria started a conversation, they were suddenly talking nonstop.
Stiletto pointed toward them.
"I think that might be even more peculiar."
Thomas nodded, responding enthusiastically:
"I've never seen Ellie talk so much!"
It was nice watching the timid girl emerge from her shell. She clearly admired the Goddess.
For the remainder of the ride, a warm, pleasant presence filled the space as their sleepiness gradually faded.
***
Stiletto walked the halls, his feet naturally guiding him to where he was supposed to be.
The twins had gone their separate ways, each to their own class. As for the Goddess, Stiletto had instructed her to stay in the café across the street and not draw attention. He planned to come back for her after the day ended.
'This isn't ideal... I gotta find a way to make this whole thing less of a headache...'
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from somewhere behind him.
"Hey, loser! How was your break?!"
Strange. What kind of weirdo screamed that early in the morning? It was unpleasant.
And more than that—what idiot would allow someone to call them a loser without doing anything?
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Stiletto kept walking, nearly to his classroom, when he suddenly felt a hand grab his shoulder.
"Hey, dumbass! You already forget about me?!"
Turning around, a girl met his gaze, her smile beaming.
Staring down at her, it was immediately clear—this girl was wild.
And extremely out there.
She had lanky legs and a slender frame. At a glance, she almost looked like a pretty boy, her body lacking even a hint of femininity beneath a uniform meant for boys. Her hair was cut extremely short, nearly a pixie cut—blond with pink tips. Dyed hair was rare in this world, making her stand out even more.
Most engrossing, however, were her pitch-black eyes, dark enough to pull you in.
Noticing Stiletto's perplexed face, her own shifted to match as she muttered:
"Stiletto?"
He hesitated for a moment before jolting, causing her to lower her hand from his shoulder.
'Oh... so this is her, huh?'
Stiletto quickly forced a smile.
"Hey, Charli! Sorry—I was out of it for a second…"
The girl standing before him was his predecessor's one and only friend from school. Honestly, Stiletto felt a pang at the realization that even back on Earth, he'd never had a true friend his age from school—or anywhere else, for that matter—let alone a girl.
Not that Charli exactly counted as a girl. The previous Stiletto had been certain she wasn't into guys.
And seeing her for himself, Stiletto immediately agreed.
If anything, she was more like one of the bros.
So when his heart suddenly started racing at an absurd speed, he felt anything but pleased.
'Are you kidding me...'
It appeared that his predecessor had a major crush on her.
That damn inclination...
'Talk about a losing game...'
After Stiletto had apologized and greeted her, Charli immediately burst out laughing in the middle of the hall, hands on her hips as she bent backward emphatically.
Students walked past, whispering among themselves, all saying roughly the same thing: There goes Charli again, loud as ever and messing with Stiletto.
Her laughter began to ease as she looked up at him, brimming with energy.
"It's okay! Were you just too busy thinking…"
She bent down, lightly brushing her fingers against his cock as she finished her sentence.
"...about me? Did you miss me on your break~?"
Then, without missing a beat, she broke into laughter again.
This was exactly how their dynamic had always been.
Stiletto and Charli had grown up together for most of their lives, with Charli being the only daughter of the Russelia household—a baron family residing in Acerbus.
Her father was close friends with Stiletto's, so they had always gone to the same schools, attended the same events, and shared countless childhood playdates.
Up until a certain age, they had both even bathed together. Plenty of times.
Because of that, they were incredibly close—close enough that Charli felt free to act as she pleased. Her behavior was simply her way of teasing him, and Stiletto knew she meant nothing by it beyond her own amusement.
A few times, his predecessor had mustered the courage to retaliate, doing things like slapping her ass. Yet she never reacted—not once. Of course, he'd played it off as returning her playfulness, but she was simply too dense to pick up on the fact that he genuinely liked her.
Charli was still laughing when Stiletto reached out and pinched her nipple through her uniform.
She yelped instantly, and he chuckled:
"And so what if I did~?
A brief look of surprise flashed across her face, followed by a wide grin as she reached forward and squeezed his ass.
"Oh? Did loser Stiletto find his balls while he was away~?"
Not letting a moment pass, he immediately reached down and returned the favor—though instead of a squeeze, it came as a light slap.
Both of them grinning, Charli was about to shoot back when the classroom teacher's voice rang out from inside:
"Stiletto! Charli! You may not think so, but that behavior is inappropriate for school! You're making everyone uncomfortable!"
The teacher lowered his head onto his desk, rubbing his face as he sighed and muttered to himself:
"I don't get paid enough for this… break just ended, damn it…"
Charli laughed, waving her hand dismissively as she apologized, her energy completely at odds with the moment.
"Sorry, Teach! It won't happen again!"
She glanced back at Stiletto, mischief dancing in her eyes as she tilted her head up toward him.
"You got lucky~ Seems like you came ready to play for once! But rest assured…"
The wild girl bent forward, one hand on her hip while the other tugged down her lower eyelid with her middle finger, tongue jutting out as she teased him further.
"…I'll be getting the last laugh!"
With nothing more to say, she walked past Stiletto and into the classroom, as if what had just happened was the most normal thing in the world.
In his memories, he'd been accustomed to this behavior—but experiencing it firsthand left him stunned. She truly didn't seem affected in the slightest.
'What a strange girl...'
Quickly, he observed her status page.
-----
[Watchful Eye]
(Charli Russelia)
Stage: 1
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Height: 5'8
Skills: None
Favorability: 100/100
-----
'100 favorability?'
Taking note of the score, Stiletto realized that the favorability meter might not be as straightforward as he'd first assumed. Initially, he'd believed a higher favorability meant stronger sexual attraction.
But Charli's being maxed out made it clear that wasn't the case.
Maybe it really was a combination of relationship factors—romantic, sexual, friendship, and so on.
Yet that didn't quite add up. If she felt no sexual attraction toward him, the total should have been lower.
Then perhaps it selected the strongest emotion from among the relationship categories and broadcasted only that one.
For example, Lyria's strongest feeling toward him had been on a base, human level—she hadn't known him long enough in this world to place him into a category like friendship, romance, or business. As a result, the system judged her by the raw emotion she felt in that moment, which was hatred, and assigned a -40/100 favorability score.
That could also explain Syril. When they first met, the favorability had been empty, likely because the system couldn't assign him to any category at all.
Still, there was no way to be sure.
Stiletto hoped that eventually he'd find a way to get a clearer gauge—ideally separating favorability into clear categories so he could be more confident in how he interacted with others.
It might even be smart to analyze more people—men included—to narrow down the possibilities…
'I'll keep that in mind.'
Overhead, the sound of school bells suddenly rang throughout the building.
Using magic, the people of Vesteia had invented a kind of speaker that relied on intangible magic currents in the air to produce sound.
It was complicated magic-tech—something he'd rather not try to wrap his head around.
The teacher stood up.
"Everyone to their seats! Class will begin now!"
Walking to his seat, Stiletto smirked, reminded of his old life.
'Still… otherworldly Bluetooth seems pretty cool~!'