Chapter 6

As soon as it began, she grabbed Harensys’s collar and hid behind his back, peeking out with just her face. Now she’d play the villain and make sure Harensys kept getting hit.

When a boy on the other team picked up the ball, she made herself an obvious target. As she expected, he threw the ball at her.

Harensys threw himself in front of her and blocked the ball. But why did he block it like that?

He shielded her by hugging her, prompting squeals and cries of “show-off!” from all around.

“The ball’s with our team now, so let go.”

“…”

“I’ll block the ball no matter where it comes from, so you don’t need to try and get hit on purpose.”  

She’d been caught. Since she’d been found out, she decided to throw herself wildly to block the ball.  

Harensys, as if determined to keep his word, blocked and caught every ball thrown from any direction, protecting her.  

Because of that, their team won. The opponents kept aiming for her instead of throwing to other pairs, frustrated by her annoying movements.  

Even then, she didn’t get hit by the ball. The opposing team, properly annoyed, threw the ball again. They could have aimed at someone else, but she was so irritating they kept targeting her.  

Trying to get friendly with the ball, she ran here and there, sweating as if it were raining. Harensys, running around to shield her, was also drenched in sweat.  

The other team members sweated profusely too. Everyone except their team headed for the sink.  

With magic, water poured out when you touched it. There was no need to go all the way to the bathroom—it was convenient and nice, but there was a downside. If you blocked the hole with your hand, the water splashed everywhere.  

She planned to use this to get revenge on Harensys.  

She purposely claimed the spot next to him.  

“Are you trying to wash up next to me? You’ll fall for me when you see me wet.”  

“Ugh.”  

She pretended to gag in earnest. What nonsense was he spouting? It made her want to throw up.  

She touched the spot where the water came out, making it flow, then blocked the hole with both hands. Just as expected, water sprayed everywhere.  

She tried to avoid getting splashed herself, but still got wet. At least Harensys, her target, got splashed too. If only she’d gotten wet, it would’ve been unfair.  

“What are you doing? Move your hands.”  

“Huh? What do you mean?”  

She could hear him, but pretended not to.  

When she kept pretending, Harensys forcibly removed her hands. The splashing stopped.  

“That surprised me.”  

When getting revenge, it’s essential to act innocent. She pretended she hadn’t expected it at all.  

Harensys shook out his wet hair and spoke.  

“You should be careful. You’re all wet.”  

“I’ll be careful next time.”  

“I guess you’ll have to change clothes.”  

Her clothes were mostly fine, but Harensys’s were wet—especially the sleeves, shoulders, and waist.  

‘S*xy.’  

Crazy! Seeing something strange had made her lose her mind. She shook her head quickly to regain her senses.

To clear her head, she needed to fill her stomach. Luckily, it was lunchtime, so she took Lea’s hand and went to the cafeteria, waiting her turn. After a short wait, it was their turn. Delicious meat side dishes, salad, grilled fish, baguette, and yogurt awaited her. The combination was always odd, but she liked them, so it didn’t matter.  

She smiled happily at her overflowing plate, then sat with Lea at a window seat away from the exit.  

As soon as she sat, she picked up the meat side dish with a gesture fit for nobility. The meat was tasty, with no smell and a good texture, filling her mouth.  

“Mmm, the seasoning is perfect today.”  

“Yeah.”  

She chatted with Lea while eating, when she heard someone sit down in front of her. She looked up to see who it was. Of course, it was Harensys.  

He’d sat right in front of her. Since he’d given her such a convenient chance for revenge, she took it.  

With skillful hands, she snatched a meat side dish from his plate and popped it into her mouth. Ah, food tastes even better when stolen.  

She made annoying noises of enjoyment. Even though he’d killed her, since she was going to die anyway, it was better to get proper revenge first. And now, she didn’t like Harensys; his behavior was strange, so things might go differently than before.  

And looking at how he’d killed her last time, he didn’t do it directly—so she just needed to never help him if he asked.  

“Do you like meat side dishes?”  

“Who doesn’t? And I like yogurt too.”  

She quickly grabbed the yogurt, opened it, and drank it in one go. There was probably nothing more annoying than that.  

“Eat up. I don’t really like meat or yogurt.”  

Who doesn’t like those? His annoyance was obvious, making her chuckle.  

“Is it fun?”  

“Not at all.”  

She lied, even though it was fun. She didn’t want him to figure out her sense of humor. And since she needed to get revenge, she wanted to say the opposite.  

After lunch, she left the cafeteria. Lea had something to do and hurried to class. She wandered around the Main Building to digest her meal.  

As she walked, she realized she was near Harensys’s friends’ lab. Rumor had it that someone had accidentally ended up as a frog for half a day just by passing by the lab.  

‘Wrong turn.’  

It was too far to go back, so she watched her surroundings and carefully passed by. She got past the lab safely and relaxed.  

Suddenly, a door slammed open behind her.  

‘No way…’  

She swallowed nervously. Then she heard a creepy, interested voice behind her.  

“Prezia, let us see you for a moment.”  

“What? I have somewhere to go.”  

“It’ll just take a moment, come on.”  

Harensys’s friends, three or four of them, dragged her into the lab. Their behavior was unmistakably that of Harensys’s friends.  

All but one surrounded her. Soon, one showed off a sparkling, translucent diamond ring. It looked expensive.  

“We made this ring, and we’re giving it to you.”  

Saying that, Mel slipped the ring onto her index finger. Everything about them screamed Harensys’s friends.  

“What is this?”  

“If you’re nearby, it lets you read his thoughts—but only Harensys’s.”  

“I don’t want to know what he’s thinking!”  

She wasn’t curious at all—why did she have to read his mind?  

She tried to take off the ring, but it was stuck tight. Mel grabbed her hand and smiled.  

“It’s locked in place. You can’t take it off until we do.”  

“Ha.”  

She let out a sigh of disbelief. Dragged in, forced to wear a ring, unable to remove it—she wondered why she had to go through this.  

“If you read Harensys’s thoughts, you’ll understand why we did this.”  

“I’m not curious.”  

She made her opinion clear, but after being forced to wear the ring, she walked the hallway, her mind in turmoil.  

Why would reading Harensys’s thoughts explain anything? And why make a ring just for reading his mind? Making such a ring meant his words and his true thoughts were different.  

Was Harensys’s real mind different?  

Why was she curious about this?

As the saying goes, speak of the devil, and Harensys appeared.  

She really didn’t want to run into him now.  

If she could just pass without looking at his face, maybe he wouldn’t speak, and she could avoid reading his thoughts. She kept her eyes on the ground.  

Thud. Her face bumped into a firm chest. A faint, fresh soap scent. Only Harensys smelled like this.  

She looked up and saw Harensys with his cat-like eyes. He placed his hand on her head.  

“Watch where you’re going. You’ll fall otherwise.”  

“Mind your own business.”  

She snapped, knocking his hand off her head. Harensys pretended to be hurt, clutching his hand, but it was obvious he wasn’t.  

Maybe realizing it wasn’t working, he dropped his hand and brushed her hair.  

“We’re partners. I care about you, and I like you, so I can’t ignore you.”  

“B*llshit.”  

She coldly slapped away his hand again. Harensys brushed his bangs aside and clicked his tongue.  

“Ha. Calling someone’s feelings b*llshit.”  

<That’s right. It’s fair to call it b*llshit.>  

‘Huh? Was that Harensys’s inner voice?’ 

For a moment, she heard his voice in the air. It seemed to be his true thoughts.  

His words and true feelings were so different it was confusing, but she tried not to show it and responded.  

“It is b*llshit. Someone who’s always cold suddenly says they care and like me—of course it’s b*llshit.”  

“Then at least let me show it. I won’t touch you without permission.”  

<Sorry for touching you without asking. I know you hate me, but I still want to show a little and stay near you.>  

What was with him?  

His inner thoughts were much softer and kinder. The cold image and harsh words were the exact opposite.  

‘Why doesn’t he speak his mind?’  

There was no need to act cold or strange toward her. Of course, these days he was a bit of a multiple personality case.  

Anyway, there was no reason for him to talk so differently from his true feelings. If he really liked her, his inner thoughts should come out.

Who would know why…