I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 2 Part 3

As with most temples, Stellas boast an even more vertical hierarchical relationship. This is because, in many cases, they adopt a military-like structure when deployed into battle.

Due to this, superiors never used honorifics when addressing juniors.

“I came to return your belongings.”

What he handed me was the handbag I had lost at the Liche Temple. Surprised, I accepted it with an ‘Ah’ sound, realizing I had forgotten about the item.

“Thank you. I’ll return the handkerchief soon!”

“It’s okay.”

He lightly smiled and headed straight out of the dining hall. Seeing him move without any lingering feelings right after finishing his business, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Well, he can’t be my man anyway.

As I caressed the leather of my bag, enjoying the lingering sense of it, Leila, who had been covering her mouth all this time, burst out loud.

“That’s awesome!”

“……”

Feeling like I had somehow caused a new misunderstanding, I looked at her with a bitter expression. My face suddenly felt incredibly itchy.

Only then did I realize that not only Leila’s but the entire dining hall’s attention was focused on me.

“Ah.”

It was a morning when I had a strong feeling that I would be tired.

* * *

“So, which one is it?”

The sight of her long smile was quite unpleasant.

Despite the fact that the priest was wandering around with a light in his eyes, Leila skillfully continued to talk to me.

Pressing my twitching forehead, I repeated the same line at least ten times now.

“It’s not like that.”

As I said it again and again, my tone had turned mechanical without my realizing it. But Leila was truly persistent.

“From now on, you are my idol! Quickly teach me your secret techniques.”

“Sigh….”

I tried explaining how I met Sir Peidos, but it was useless. Besides my belongings, she was only concerned with the handkerchief.

Leila’s perspective was this: she didn’t think he would bother giving a handkerchief to a woman he had just met.

But Sir Peidos was a nobleman and a gentleman before becoming a holy knight. It was hard to believe that he had any personal agenda behind his actions, at least in my opinion.

“Who doesn’t want to have some hope.”

If he wasn’t the male protagonist, I would have sneakily offered him water, aiming to advance our relationship. Since the first time we met, I have been attracted to him.

I’m not one to rub salt in my wounds, but I’m probably the one who regrets it the most.

“Still, when I think about your lover, I feel bad. He’s so handsome.”

“…..”

Does Keene know that he’s being pitied? He might find the situation amusing since he’s generally a crazy person.

There’s also the possibility that I personally caused Leila to have this misconception. As I inadvertently imagined the unfortunate, beautiful tabletop, a sudden surge of anger rose within me.

“Argh!”

I struck it once again, seeing my unchanging energy. Though my frustration briefly subsided, my fist started to ache from hitting the marble too hard.

I had a moment of regret for doing something unnecessary. Then the dimly lit magic circle suddenly became brighter.

“Huh?”

The brightness at the edge of the circle didn’t stop and, along with an unfamiliar resonance, created a large semicircular barrier. The translucent blue color felt incredibly unfamiliar.

Not knowing what was happening, I stared wide-eyed, and from afar, the priest approached with her ceremonial robe fluttering. She had a rare smile on her face.

“There’s quite a talent this year.”

She, who once said there was no hope, now spoke words completely contrary to before, praising and telling me to work harder. It was only then that I realized I had successfully created the barrier.

“Du, isn’t that amazing?”

From the side, Leila clapped her hands while smiling with a somewhat proud feeling.

“Hmm?”

When our eyes met, Prim, who was sitting about five rows ahead of me, looked at me fiercely, seemingly glaring at me.

As soon as our eyes met, she quickly turned her head. Her movement was so abrupt that her long hair, which was strongly swaying, moved from one shoulder to the other.

“What the…”

I stared at the pink hair tie with a gloomy feeling for a long time.

That recent action seemed like she was keeping me in check¹?? means to keep someone from acting freely or becoming stronger. It involves restraining or curbing the actions or power of someone.

In the original work, the person who excessively kept her in check was undoubtedly the rival-supporting character, Duna Valorem, not the protagonist, Prim.

Actually, considering my personality as a child, it wasn’t an unrealistic development. After all, I used to hide in the closet for an hour playing hide-and-seek, determined to beat my six-year-old younger brother.

However, since recalling the content of the original work, that competitive spirit within me has diminished greatly. After realizing that my position was nothing more than a supporting character, something that was burning inside me seemed to have been extinguished.

Not a bad family. Not bad skills. Not bad looks.

That was Duna Valorem’s life. She’s a second-rate character who can never be the main character.

So, there was no reason for me to try to restrain the top-ranked person, who was no match for me anyway.

“I must have seen it wrong.”

So, I decided to avert my gaze. Because Primis Starring was not in a position to keep someone like me in check.

She will continue to prosper like she did when she successfully created the barrier, and she will become a revered figure whom everyone admires, not to mention that she’s going to marry Peidos Carmel.

I felt bitter. I deliberately smiled, trying to remove the dark look that must have shown on my face, and turned to Leila.

Then, as if throwing it at her, I made a suggestion while glancing at the barrier.

“Why don’t you try hitting the ground hard once. Maybe that’ll do the trick?”

“Oh, really?”

Unfortunately, the same miracle did not happen to her. With a taut fist, Leila pinched her thigh, and so our practice session came to an end.

* * *

It has been about ten days since I stayed in the temple.

I studied the contents of the scriptures in my head every day and quickly exhausted my energy during practice, and before I knew it, time had passed swiftly.

Whether it was because of the spartan-style education or not, everyone succeeded in creating the barrier, even Leila, who seemed weak when it came to using her energy.

This was basic training, taking the first step to pull the energy from within the body and make it flow outward. From now on, I heard that we would learn how to materialize energy without using the barrier.

“I wonder how much more it will take.”

Just the thought sent shivers down my spine, but at the same time, I felt a small sense of anticipation. The current me, two days later, had reached a relatively stable stage where I could draw out my energy quite effectively, thanks to the barrier I created.

Even if I couldn’t surpass Prim, I was pleased with my own potential. I had secretly worried about not being able to demonstrate my abilities as in the original work.

“Come to think of it, he hasn’t been coming lately.”

I murmured under my breath as I looked at the empty living room.

Until the second day, Keene had been pushing his face into mine every day, making me tired of his presence. But lately, he hasn’t visited at all.

Did he finish his business at the temple? Of course I wasn’t waiting for him or anything.

Leila had met as many men as her previous hair colors, and she spent the nights with them until dawn. She rarely came back to the room, except for when she came to pick up clothes or when she prepared to go out in the morning.

Thanks to that, dinner time was solely mine. I still hadn’t become close with the other priests yet.

“Well, it’s not bad to enjoy alone time.”

That is, until I opened the door. I screamed in fear and surprise as a figure stood motionless in a place that should have been empty.

“Kyaaah!”

“Du, it’s me, it’s me.”

He rushed into me without stopping, covering my mouth and whispering affectionately.

“Have you been well?”

“……Hm, hmph!”

“Oh, sorry.”

Keene smiled as he removed his hand from my face. His hand was daintily smeared with the drool from my open mouth.

With a nonchalant heart, I grabbed his hand and wiped the saliva-covered palm on my sleeve. But for some reason, he let out a small sigh.

“Du, what does this mean?”

“Huh? What…”

“Are you teasing me?”

“……”

I let go of his hand abruptly.

I was the one who was wrong. I shouldn’t have acted thoughtlessly.

“Never mind, what’s the matter? I thought you finally left.”

“I guess I’ve left you waiting for a long time.”

“You have a knack for hearing things the other way around.”

Keene nonchalantly sat on the bed, ignoring my words.  I frowned when I noticed his outfit, which seemed to be for going out.

I never go to bed wearing anything other than my pajamas. The sleeping place is a sanctuary for me, even more sacred than a temple. It should not be tainted with a speck of dust from the outside.

“That, can you not sit on the bed wearing clothes you wore outside?”

The living room would probably be empty anyway since I had already confronted Leila, so if he was planning to stay here today, I was ready to chase him away to the living room.

But he seemed to hesitate for some reason.

“Are you telling me to go wash up?”

“…What?”

“You are quite proactive. I won’t be able to keep up.”

I, for one, am the one who can’t keep up with your baseless conversational patterns!

“…Just sit there comfortably.”

Having my bed dirty again would be better than listening to more nonsense. Yeah, I can just wash the sheets. Resigned, I decided to leave him alone, whether he sat down or not.

With a sigh, I ignored him and organized my belongings. I wanted to change clothes and go out, but thanks to him, I ended up going out just as I was.

But as he silently watched my every move, Keene spoke up.

“Did you eat?”

“I’m going to eat now.”

Leila said she would have snacks in her boyfriend’s room and have dinner together, whoever that may be. Ah, maybe he’s not her boyfriend yet.

So I would have dinner alone. The only good thing about it was that eating alone in the temple, where solemnity was required, didn’t attract much attention.

If it was food that was easy to take away, I wouldn’t mind taking it and eating it in the room.

But then Keene made an unexpected suggestion.

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  ?? means to keep someone from acting freely or becoming stronger. It involves restraining or curbing the actions or power of someone