Chapter 29. Plan (3)
'Oh, it's been a while since I saw him.'
The face of the new recruit Lucy introduced was familiar to me.
After all, I had killed him countless times in the game.
Felix.
A deranged demon who had infiltrated Victoria Academy after falling for Lucy at first sight.
You might think he's a hopeless romantic, but his goal isn't love—it's assault and murder. He's an irredeemable piece of trash consumed by the desire to violate and kill Lucy.
At first, I thought about eliminating him as soon as possible, but a better idea came to mind.
'I'll use this bastard in my strategy.'
In the game, if Lucy was kidnapped, it was an instant bad ending.
There was no event where the protagonist could save Lucy once she was in danger.
The only way was to expose Felix's identity as a demon before the incident occurred and stop him early.
But this is reality, and I have full control over the flow of events.
"Oh, right! We're recruiting a new member, so I wanted to ask your opinion. What do you think? He seems nice, right?"
Judging by Lucy's bright expression, she and Felix weren't complete strangers. They must have gotten somewhat close already.
That's good. It makes things easier.
Time for the return of Lee Hoyeon, the bad boy Lucy likes.
"I don't like him."
The moment I locked eyes with Felix and spoke with a smile, the clubroom fell silent.
Lucy and Lumi blinked in confusion, clearly unsure how to react to my unexpected statement.
Then, with a serious expression, I added another line.
"You're obviously here for Lucy or Lumi. Why don't you leave while I'm being nice?"
Lucy and Lumi hadn't noticed, but since entering the clubroom, I hadn't taken my eyes off Felix.
For a brief moment, Felix's expression hardened before returning to normal.
'Let's see how he reacts.'
Felix hesitated for a moment, then suddenly stood up and spoke.
"S-Sorry… I didn't know you'd dislike me this much. I was being inconsiderate… I'll leave now!"
Crash—
With a dramatic noise, Felix bolted out of the clubroom.
I watched the scene unfold without a shred of emotion.
'He's a good actor, I'll give him that.'
The way he even teared up while running away made it look like he was truly hurt.
Anyone who didn't know the truth would definitely fall for his act.
"What… What are you doing?!"
Like Lucy, for example.
Lucy had been watching the situation silently, but as soon as Felix ran out, she snapped out of it and turned on me.
"Why—why did you do that? Did you really think he was targeting us? Even if you disliked him, you could have been nicer! Why did you—"
Lucy spilled out words in frustration.
Objectively, I must seem like the villain here. It looked like I had just driven out an innocent guy.
But even taking that into account, Lucy's reaction was stronger than expected.
I looked around the room.
My [Mana Sensitivity] reacted.
There was an odd presence of mana.
It was coming from the vase on the table.
A filthy, sinister demonic aura was leaking from it.
'So he placed a small spell, huh.'
A strong spell would've been detected by Lucy or Lumi, so he must have settled for something subtle that influenced emotions.
That level of magic was beyond Lucy and Lumi's detection abilities.
But taking the vase out of the room suddenly would be suspicious, and, honestly, the more upset Lucy was with me, the better for my plan.
Deciding to leave it for now, I naturally continued speaking.
"What are you talking about? Isn't it obvious? He was either after you or Lumi."
I couldn't lose to a demon, so I put everything into acting exasperated.
"You… Wait, is that it? Are you worried another guy joining the club will interfere with your flirting?"
"…?"
What kind of nonsense is this?
Whatever it was, Felix had done a great job planting this idea in her head.
In the original game, he would spread false rumors or lie about being attacked to ruin the protagonist's reputation.
Did he spread a rumor this time about me being a womanizer?
'Not bad. He has a sharp eye.'
"I don't know what weird ideas you've got, but I just kicked out a disgusting pervert."
"You really…! Lumi, what do you think?"
"H-Huh?"
"Do you think Felix was a pervert too?"
"Um, well… I don't know…?"
Lumi subtly glanced at me.
I could tell—I needed to be careful.
Right now, Lumi's affection for me was very high.
If she took my side and overturned all of Felix's work, it would ruin my plan.
I made a quick decision and spoke before Lumi could answer.
"Ha, I was just looking out for you two, but fine. If this is how you're going to act, I'm done."
"What? Hey, don't act like you're the victim! Because of you, no one joins the club, and now we lost a good recruit—"
"Whatever. I'm leaving."
I pretended to be furious, grabbed my things, and slammed the door behind me.
Lucy was yelling something behind me, but I ignored her.
Though, what was that about me being the reason people didn't join the club?
Looks like I have more investigating to do. My head's starting to ache.
*
"Sigh, this is exhausting."
Playing the bad guy is really tiring.
But everything is going according to plan.
Lucy getting kidnapped by Felix and me saving her is the foundation of this strategy.
But I need to make the details convincing.
If neither of us suspects Felix, the impact of the rescue will be much weaker.
But if Lucy sides with Felix and fights with me, then even after I save her, it will make a world of difference.
"Isn't this called the suspension bridge effect or something?"
Whatever it's called, Lumi should be contacting me any moment now.
86. Whether it was the suspension bridge effect or not, it didn't matter. It was about time for Lumi to message me…
Ding—
Lumi: Hoyeon… Lucy is going crazy, saying she wants to expel you from the club and replace you with Felix… Please come and make up with her. ㅠㅠ. (😿)
Me: Stay calm and just side with Lucy for now. Wait.
Lumi: …Are you sure that's okay?
Me: Yeah. I have a plan, don't worry.
Lucy's reaction was predictable. Lumi's too.
There was no way they could actually expel me.
Before heading back to the dorms, I checked with the student club office to see if there were any issues with our club. As expected, the student club president had been messing with things again.
Our club wasn't even listed in the registry, and the promotional post we uploaded on the academy board was missing.
That bastard—Surin said she would get rid of him, so why is he still around?
Whatever. I'd handle that later.
For now, I had stirred enough trouble with Lucy. Next, I needed to find Felix.
I needed to coordinate with him to determine when the kidnapping would take place.
*
The next morning.
It was Friday. After the morning theory class, there were no more classes for the rest of the day.
By now, my morning routine was completely familiar.
I woke up under the unpleasant glare of morning sunlight.
Since I always showered at night, I simply washed my face and rinsed my hair lightly.
I grabbed my neatly pressed cadet uniform from the hanger.
────[ Hanger ]────
▶ Grade: Low
▶ Embedded with a processed magic stone, infused with a cleaning spell.
▶ Automatically cleans and presses clothes when hung.
────────────
The hanger was unnecessarily fancy—it handled ironing, washing, and stain removal just by hanging clothes on it.
After putting on my pristine cadet uniform, I left the dormitory.
I needed to finish my theory class quickly and head to B-Class. Felix was part of B-Class.
On my way, I couldn't find Kim Younghan, so I went into A-Class alone.
Lucy and Lumi were supposed to be sitting in their usual seats…
'Not here?'
Looking around, I spotted them seated in the corner, at the only two remaining seats in the classroom.
I had expected this, so it was no big deal.
It was a shame that I wouldn't be sitting next to the cute girls, but as an alternative, I sat beside Kim Younghan after spotting him.
"Good morning."
"Oh? Yeah, good morning. You're not sitting with Lucy and Lumi today?"
"There's no rule that says I have to sit with them every day. I just sat there occasionally."
"You guys fought, huh?"
This blonde delinquent… He's way too perceptive.
"Lucy has a lot of pride. If you apologize first, she'll probably forgive you quickly. If you start being stubborn too, it'll never end."
…What's with this unexpectedly useful advice?
"Thanks for the advice."
Coming from a social butterfly, it was probably spot on.
Which meant, if I did the exact opposite, my relationship with Lucy would worsen.
As I watched Lucy chatting with a friend, she must have felt my gaze because she turned towards me.
Hmph.
'I'm sure she just mouthed "Hmph"…'
She turned her head away exaggeratedly, which meant she was annoyed but not completely furious.
If I apologized, things would probably be resolved easily.
Yup, Kim Younghan's advice was on point.
But this wasn't enough. She needed to be completely mad at me.
That way, saving her would be all the more impactful.
Well, interacting with Felix would definitely stir things up again.
*
After class.
Without glancing at Lucy or Lumi, I headed straight to B-Class.
It seemed B-Class had just finished their lesson as well, with students tidying up.
Among them, I spotted a small-framed boy with platinum blonde hair.
"Hey. Felix."
"…?"
"Come with me for a second."
"W-Why? I don't have anything to say to you…"
Felix intentionally raised his voice, drawing attention from the surrounding students.
Several people turned to look at us.
'Clever bastard.'
'But that's exactly what I wanted.'
The more people watching, the faster word would spread to Lucy. If rumors circulated that I was forcefully taking Felix somewhere, it would be even better.
That way, Lucy would take Felix's side and dislike me even more.
For now, I needed to get Felix alone, so I leaned in close to his ear and whispered.
"Listen, I know you're a demon. Come quietly, or I'll expose you right here."
"…!"
Felix's eyes widened in shock.
"I'm not planning to expose you yet, so don't do anything stupid. Just follow me quietly."
Felix clenched his jaw but, realizing he was trapped, stood up with a hardened expression.
Smiling slightly, I led the way out of the classroom.
Behind the first-year academic building, in the secluded walking path.
At this time, no one else was around.
I veered off the path into the bushes.
Rustle, rustle.
I heard Felix's hesitant footsteps behind me.
Once we reached a wide clearing, I turned around.
"What's your game?"
Felix eyed me warily, scanning the surroundings.
Understandable. Knowing I was aware of his identity but still bringing him here alone was probably confusing.
"Relax. No need to be so tense."
I let mana flow from my hands.
Not the clean and structured mana of a cadet—but the vile, chaotic mana of a demon.
After analyzing the spell he had placed in the clubroom, it was easy to replicate his mana signature.
A destructive, impulsive flow—perfectly fitting for a demon.
"You're one too…?"
"Yeah. Technically, I had my eyes on Lucy first. You just got in my way."
"…But I won't give her up. No matter what."
Felix glared at me, his mana flaring.
Does this idiot think he's some kind of knight protecting a princess?
"Calm down. I'm not here to fight. I just have a proposition."
"…What is it?"
Felix lowered his mana slightly, intrigued.
183. At the word "proposition," Felix lowered the mana he had gathered for now.
"I'm just saying I'll help you with what you're planning. In return, I don't mind taking the leftovers. Okay? Let's make this easy."
Originally, I hadn't planned to lie about being a demon, but after thinking it through, this was the better approach.
Felix had to believe I was a demon if I wanted to join his kidnapping plan. If a mere human made such an offer, it would be too suspicious.
Garbage understands garbage.
Felix was hesitating over my words.
He was weighing whether it was more beneficial to accept me or to kill me right here.
"You were planning to have your fun and escape afterward anyway, weren't you? I can keep watch while you enjoy yourself, and I'll even buy you time to get away. It's a deal with no downside."
"If I take your word for it, it does sound reasonable. But how can I trust you? There's no guarantee you won't betray me."
"Then you can deal with me afterward. What, not confident?"
"Hmm…"
To be honest, facing Felix alone, I was a bit surprised.
This bastard was much stronger than in the original game.
I had no idea what had changed, but if it came to a direct fight, I didn't stand a chance.
"Fine. I suppose I can spare you some leftovers."
Fortunately, the difference in our strength worked in my favor—Felix accepted my proposal.
"I'll decide the optimal time for the operation. I'll give you a communication device, so find me when I call."
Thud.
A small, spherical magic device dropped at my feet.
"See you later."
With those parting words, Felix cautiously looked around before heading back toward the path.
Left alone, I picked up the magic device and clenched it in my hand.
Because he mistakenly thought I was one of his kind, Felix had let his guard down significantly—even giving me this communicator.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. But…
Felix's words, treating Lucy as nothing more than a plaything…
He hadn't even acted yet—just hearing him speak was enough to enrage me. Damn.
Anyone would think Lucy and I were already dating.
Well, whatever. Being a petty bastard is just part of my charm.
"You son of a bitch. I'll kill you myself."
I needed to find a way to kill Felix by the end of the weekend.