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CHAPTER 15
“Low pay, no chance to meet people, and I’m supposed to endlessly clean and manage supplies? So I came all the way here just to become some inventory-management slave?”
“I thought you said you were going to find me a job. I was expecting something like a street vendor or a restaurant server.”
“A vendor? A restaurant server? Hah. Ridiculous. Someone as frail as you could never do that kind of work.”
“I’m not that weak. I can carry crates of fruit.”
“Besides, street stalls and restaurants? Do you even know what kinds of people pass through those places? Drunkards, vagrants, travelers—half of them are troublemakers. You’ve got an easy face, no strength. If someone raises their voice, you’ll probably just freeze up and cry or scream. You’ve got no common sense either—you’d happily follow anyone who pretends to be nice, and you’d be lucky if you don’t get all your money stolen.”
What an obnoxious jerk. Does he think I’m a kindergartener?
If he hadn’t been so rude, I was even planning to thank him for helping me and finding me a job. But this is way too much. Just because he helped me doesn’t give him the right to insult me.
“Senes. You like me, don’t you?”
“…Pardon?”
Out of sheer frustration, I threw out the one thing that would annoy Senes the most.
“Try dealing with being misunderstood and judged however people want for once.”
He’ll be so frustrated he’ll lose his mind!
“You keep picking fights with me because of that, right? You want my attention, you want to see my reactions—but since you can’t speak nicely like Callion and get my favor that way, you just throw sharp words at me to watch me get angry, don’t you?”
I didn’t give Senes a chance to respond and kept firing away.
After all, in matters like this, strike first if you want to control the narrative.
Every time you say something rude like that, should I go, “Oh my, he must like me so much he’s trying to get my attention, hohoho”?
Let’s see who ends up more frustrated.
“You started picking fights with my name the moment we met, didn’t you? You were jealous of Callion calling me ‘master,’ weren’t you? When I didn’t praise your cooking, you got petty and insulted me again. And on the way up to the cave, you even casually touched me. Oh my. You must’ve been flustered, excited, and embarrassed being around me, so you ran off to take a bath. You thought I wouldn’t notice?”
I blatantly fabricated his past actions, attaching ridiculous interpretations to everything.
My goal was just to make him feel wronged, so truth didn’t matter.
He looks at me? He’s mesmerized because I’m too pretty.
He ignores me? He’s trying to get my attention.
Logic wasn’t necessary.
He’s been insulting me however he wants—why should I respond with reason and common sense?
I’ll just make things up too.
“If you like me that much, you could just say so. I really don’t understand why you’re so twisted and keep saying nasty things just to get my attention. Ah. Or is it that since you can’t appeal to me like Callion does with kindness, you’re pretending to be a bad, broken man so I’d try to fix you?”
“……”
Senes didn’t respond.
He stared down at me with wide eyes.
He looked so dumbfounded he couldn’t even speak, but I didn’t feel guilty or embarrassed at all.
You started it.
I’m just returning the favor. What, why, what?!
“I thought you were clueless, but—”
Senes tilted his head.
“You’re not completely clueless after all.”
…What?
What the hell is this guy saying? Was that a joke or serious?
I assumed it was a joke—but surprisingly, Senes didn’t look amused. He wasn’t mocking or scornful. His gaze was serious.
‘He really seems sincere.’
So does that mean he’s been saying all that rude stuff while actually liking me?
“….”
No, that can’t be right.
‘If he’s serious, isn’t he just insane?’
I don’t know what kind of age he’s been living. If you like a girl, you tease her to get attention—but you’re supposed to grow out of that after kindergarten.
Ah, maybe there are no kindergartens here.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not like Callion, so I have no intention of indulging whatever you’re doing.”
Who asked you to indulge me?
“I’m absolutely sick of it.”
Is there really a man who says something like that to a woman he likes?
‘Honestly, I’m the one sick of your attitude.’
I don’t even understand what I’ve done to deserve this kind of talk. Does he even know what he’s saying?
Hey, Mr. Rudeness. Did you think before speaking?
I truly cannot understand Senes.
Ever since we met, he’s looked at me like I was something unpleasant and started picking fights immediately. Not once has he ever spoken to me politely.
‘And he says he likes me? He’s insane.’
I was speechless.
Is this just some different-world mentality I can’t understand?
‘No, wait.’
No way.
Charm Lv. 1
You can seduce the opposite sex and make them your captive.
Is this because of the Charm skill? Is that why this jerk is acting like he’s gone crazy?
I sighed in disbelief.
‘Even though he finds me annoying and dislikes me, the skill is affecting him and giving him mixed feelings?’
So the skill’s forced influence comes before emotions or reason. People in this world must have it rough.
“Senes.”
“What is it?”
“You’re a pitiful person.”
“……”
I did feel a little sorry for him, stuck in denial and confusion because of a skill making him like someone he supposedly hates.
The Charm skill still had 31 hours left.
‘Senes is probably leaving the village in a day or two anyway, so I won’t have to deal with him anymore… wait.’
A chill ran through me.
Now that I thought about it, the way people were looking at me today was different from yesterday. Yesterday, Callion and Senes drew all the attention, so I probably just looked like baggage attached to them. But now…
I could feel eyes glancing at me.
‘Isn’t this dangerous?’
Does “seducing the opposite sex” mean not just targeting one chosen person, but drawing attention from any man nearby?
‘That would be a serious problem.’
No wonder the passive effect kept happening in strange situations while the duration kept increasing.
‘Better not walk around alone for now.’
Not certain—but better safe than sorry.
I moved a bit nervously and pressed closer to Senes. The men glancing at me quickly looked away.
When I looked up, Senes was glaring fiercely.
In situations like this, his intimidating presence is actually helpful.
But I haven’t forgotten his attitude. I’ll only thank him in my head.
“Master. Sir. You’re still here?”
“I’m going with Callion.”
Callion had finished packing, so we left the inn together.
Walking with two men made the surrounding attention obvious. With Callion and Senes—both absurdly handsome—on either side of me, and me under the side effects of Charm, it was inevitable.
Women’s gazes were clearly fixed on the two men beside me. I tried to hide between them to avoid attention from men at least.
Callion seemed uncomfortable with the attention and had his hood up, but I wasn’t sure if he realized that a large man wearing a hood attracts even more attention. Still, I didn’t mind since it helped me blend in.
Senes, meanwhile, had properly fastened his previously loose outfit. Well, he had been half-exposed before anyway—definitely inappropriate for public decency.
‘If Senes isn’t doing it, why should I be wearing a bra?’
Though bras here were actually quite comfortable—no wires, soft fabric, flexible material.
The first stop was a clothing shop.
“Callion, are we buying clothes?”
“Yes. Please choose what you like, Master.”
“Eh?”
They were buying clothes for me?
“If you’ll be staying here for a while, you’ll need something to change into.”
“Callion, I feel bad accepting clothes too. I’ll pay you back later.”
“Do you even have money for that?”
Senes hit me where it hurt.
“…No.”
Guess I’ll accept it.
The clothes here were comfortable and didn’t hold smell, though I didn’t know what material they were made of. Still, it’s better than wearing the same outfit all the time.
Fortunately, they didn’t take me to some overly flashy dress shop like in romance fantasy novels—it was a normal clothing store, which eased my mind.
Since it was a bit chilly, I was looking at long-sleeved clothes when the shop assistant recommended a hooded cape. Convenient, since I wanted to hide my face because of the Charm effect. It was lightweight despite its thickness and felt good to wear.
The only downside was that it was white.
“Master. You look very beautiful.”
Callion smiled warmly, and I nodded unconsciously.
I’ll take it.
“If it suits me, I’ll go with this.”
“You should choose clothes carefully instead of buying impulsively just because of a compliment. Judging by how easily you make decisions, it’s no wonder you lost your memory. It’s practically self-inflicted.”
I didn’t ask you, you rude jerk!
‘And my memory loss was just an excuse anyway. I’m perfectly fine!’
Senes kept insulting me without pause, as usual. Maybe it’s a clash between his personality and the skill’s influence?
‘What’s the point of forced affection if there’s no emotional exchange? It’s all meaningless.’
This is why you shouldn’t use cheat codes in games. Romance needs a proper story.
