My eyes opened to a foreign ceiling.
A dull pain throbbed in my skull as I tried to move. My body felt stiff as I pushed myself up. It was as if someone had driven a needle of pain directly into my eyes, and any movement sent pulses of discomfort through my vision.
"...?"
I passed out... didn't I?
I groaned and pushed myself up. My body felt oddly heavy. There was an odd emptiness in my chest where my mana channels had been pierced.
A girl sat on the edge of the bed. Her long blonde hair fell to her shoulders, and a small beauty mark rested near the corner of her violet eyes. The white coat she wore blended with her calm, serene expression as she peered down at me.
I knew that face.
Ren Faire.
"Oh? You're awake?"
She gave me a glance.
"I never thought you could hold out against him. So you're braver than I thought."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"What do I mean? That's none of your business." She shrugged it off like it was nothing.
Of course. What did I expect from her? She was, after all, a minor character in this game.
'A student just got knocked out by the top student in this academy.'
To be precise, I know I can't win against him.
Then why is she here? She isn't the type to worry about a student getting beaten in her test...
Let alone the main character of this world.
Her violet eyes were still fixed on me as I tried to figure out what her deal was.
"I quite have an interest in you." She cut through the silence in the room as she spoke.
"Huh...?" I responded with confusion.
"Yes. I've taken quite a liking to you. To think you could hold out against my own student like that... it's impressive."
"So how about this. Work for me?"
"What do you mean, work for you?" I asked her again, wanting to know what she was referring to.
"I meant as a student. You'll be working for me."
"What if I refuse..?"
"Then that's your loss."
An offer handed to a student like me is suspicious... as if she was recruiting... for what?
That time I finally made up my mind.
"I refuse."
"Fucking bastard." She mumbled under her breath. But I could hear it clearly.
"Pardon..?"
That was unexpected.. I didn't know she could just say words like that out of nowhere.
She cleared her throat with a cough.
"As I was saying."
"Would you like to work with me?"
She clearly wasn't backing out.. What's her deal?!
"As I said, I refuse—"
"Would you like to work with me?" She repeated it again.
"No—"
"For fuck's sake, accept the offer already!" She stood up abruptly and looked at me with her violet eyes, which seemed to be glowing..?