Chapter 18

'At least it’s fortunate that there’s only one black heart…'

Nothing special happens until there are two black hearts.

It just means the characters become uncooperative.

But things get dangerous from the third black heart.

That’s when they start taking threatening actions.

I, being true to Tereza, instead of greeting with “What are you doing?! A commoner like you!” I smiled brightly.

“Hi, Damian. Long time no see. How was your summer break?”

Damian, seemingly surprised, widened his eyes slightly and greeted me with a somewhat bewildered expression.

“…I had a good one. You seem to be in a good mood today, Tereza.”

“Yeah, there’s a reason for that. By the way, this is my sister, Livi.”

Damian’s gaze moved in the direction I pointed.

“She’s my long-lost sister. She’s a new student this year. Livi, this is my classmate and vice student council president, Damian West.”

My natural introduction made Damian’s expression twist oddly, as if he had encountered an inexplicable error.

Livi, looking awkward, alternated her gaze between me and Damian before greeting.

“Ah, hello. I’m Livi.”

“…Hello.”

While responding to Livi’s greeting, Damian continued to observe me.

I don’t expect to prove to Damian that I have no ill intentions just by this change in attitude.

But if I consistently work on improving our relationship, I can avoid the death route.

They say a smile can disarm even the most hostile.

I tried to smile as harmlessly as possible.

“Damian, are you on your way to the auditorium to help with the new student orientation? Could you show my sister the way?”

“That’s not a problem, but… how did you know I was going to help with the orientation?”

“Everyone knows.”

‘How could I not know, being the game developer?’

However, even though everyone knows, it’s normal for Tereza to be indifferent.

Damian was well aware of this.

That’s why he looked at me, trying to gauge my unpredictable behavior.

Just as we were sizing each other up, a sharply hostile voice cut through the air.

“Can’t you get away from Damian, Tereza Squire?!”

Turning my head, I saw a girl with a distinctive short pink hair approaching.

Mimosa Bruny.

A noble lady from the Bruny ducal family and a fellow antagonist character like Tereza.

Even in Valhalla, which advocates equality, one’s status doesn’t disappear, so there are few people who can treat Tereza however they please.

But Mimosa could.

She’s not just a noble lady; her mother was a half-sibling to the emperor.

Mimosa has royal blood.

‘Her light purple eyes are proof of that.’

Those with a strong royal lineage have purple eyes due to their special magic.

So Mimosa tried to push me away without hesitation.

“Would you dare to flirt with Damian if you weren’t insane?”

“Hold on, Mimosa!”

Before Damian could stop her with a surprised look, I grabbed her outstretched hand as if to shake it.

“Oh, Mimosa. It’s nice to see you at the start of the term. How have you been?”

“…?!”

Mimosa looked startled, as if wondering what I was up to.

I calmly introduced Livi.

“This is my sister, Livi. If you bully her, your safety won’t be guaranteed in the future.”

“What? Are you crazy?! Are you threatening me now?”

“Absolutely. It’s for your own good, so remember that.”

‘Livi is the female protagonist, so if you mess with her, you’ll really be in trouble.’

My sincere advice made Mimosa look as if she was about to faint.

“How dare you… How dare you threaten a royal like me…!”

Even though she’s a royal, without the title of Highness, her rank is somewhat ambiguous.

She’s given a certain level of respect, but it’s more out of courtesy.

‘Like Mrs. Shati, for example.’

Despite appearances, I have learned [Intermediate Etiquette].

The commotion in the bustling lobby made the students stop and watch us.

“Tereza is causing trouble with Damian again. Mimosa looks really angry.”

Tereza hates Damian.

This fact is known by the entire school.

Another student explained.

“This time, it’s different. Tereza was greeting Damian kindly.”

“No way! Tereza is the president of the ‘Clyde’s Brides’ social club.”

‘Ah…’

I closed my eyes in shame.

<God’s Play> follows many of the conventions of school romance stories.

The highlight of school stories is the existence of the Four Great Kings, but that would mean too many male leads.

So, a compromise was made with a dual-top system of student council president Clyde and vice president Damian.

Both are handsome and charming boys with different charms, and their followers are divided into factions.

The members of these factions are 99% noble young ladies, who naturally form social clubs.

‘They’re just fan clubs, really.’

At this point, anyone would realize that Tereza is the president of ‘Clyde’s Brides,’ or ‘Clyde’s Brides’ for short.

Mimosa is the president of Damian’s fan club, ‘Mad for Damian,’ or ‘Mad for Damian’ for short.

Two suns cannot coexist in the sky.

Tereza and Mimosa are archenemies.

Isn’t it the fate of idol fandoms to clash with external forces?

‘My sister is a crazy fan who not only engages in online feuds but also stalks her idols, so I know a bit about that world.’

Thanks to this, I got the idea to incorporate a fan club system into <God’s Play>.

Honestly, I didn’t think much about it until I came to school.

The fan clubs and their presidents were just part of the setting.

Or rather, I didn’t realize I was part of that group.

But when I realized I was bickering with the president of the rival fan club, Mimosa, in front of Damian, and that many people, including Livi, were watching, I felt unbearably embarrassed.

It felt like my diary, filled with embarrassing fanfiction, had been exposed to the world.

‘Why can’t physical reactions be controlled by magic?’

I desperately needed a way to cool my burning cheeks.

I decided I needed a good reason to leave this situation.

That’s when I saw my savior.

“Huh?”

A man with a much taller stature than others, his long black hair tied loosely, caught my eye.

I smiled brightly and raised my hand.

“Professor! Professor Ilya!”

The man turned to look at me with a cold expression.

Despite his build, which would suit a warrior, he had a strangely fitting aura of an independent and antisocial magician.

Ilya Bernstein, the youngest professor at Valhalla and a genius magician from the Bernstein ducal family.

Like Damian, he is one of the male leads.

[The Seat ‘Face Identifier’ shakes his head, saying it’s not his type.]

‘Why? He’s such an alpha male.’

Ilya Bernstein exudes so much testosterone that he’s a perfect carnivorous male.

If he played baseball, he’d be a Major League pitcher who would win the Cy Young Award. If he played football, he’d be a quarterback, the field general.

I felt a liking for Ilya, who didn’t ignore me and stopped to wait.

“Look at me. I had something to discuss with the professor but forgot. Damian, could you take care of my sister?”

“Eh, sister?”

Naturally, Mimosa jumped up.

“What nonsense?! Why would you give your sister to Damian…!”

“Right, Mimosa. Let’s go to the professor together.”

This way, Damian and Livi can naturally be together, and the dangerous element, Mimosa, can be removed.

“What? Why should I!”

“The professor is the top genius magician even in the Bernstein ducal family. It won’t hurt to make a good impression, right?”

“No! It won’t!”

Mimosa, who was terrified of Professor Ilya, was horrified.

“Bye! See you later, Damian.”

I waved to Livi and affectionately linked arms with Mimosa, who was struggling to get away, and walked off.

“Let go! Are you really crazy?! You’re just strong…!”

“Tsk, no manners. Mimosa, act like a noble lady.”

Ding!

[The Seat ‘Soda Pass’ has donated 1,000 coins.]

[This is Tereza-style manners (physical)]

I stood in front of Professor Ilya.

“Hello, Professor.”

Professor Ilya glanced at me and Mimosa indifferently with his dark green eyes.

“What is it?”