Chapter 255

Sometimes there are those kinds of people. They have no sense but a whole lot of pride.

Dealing with this type is usually a huge pain. They always expect everyone to match their standards and have zero consideration.

Even the “consideration” they try to show typically ends up being burdensome to others. Or infuriating.

Tommy, by objective standards, is not bad-looking at all, despite his hefty demeanor. If he lost a bit of weight, he could totally be a handsome guy.

But even though he has an off-putting way of speaking and indifferent actions, it’s clear he has no sense at all.

‘A person should know when to back off if they’re unwanted.’

Tommy has no such awareness. If he’d backed off when Kara was annoyed, he wouldn’t have been labeled as unlikable.

Kara might have found him somewhat amusing despite the awkwardness, although she definitely wouldn’t have married him.

Even if I didn’t exist in this world, Tommy’s lack of awareness would’ve kept their relationship from improving.

“Ha! No friends? You clearly don’t know how many I have. Hahaha.”

Tommy was taken aback by the question about lacking friends. I guess I hit the nail on the head.

For nobles like Tommy, friends are an extreme rarity. Especially those who connect on a personal level.

Most of their friends would be just calculated political allies, with very few sharing genuine hobbies.

Maybe that’s why it’s become a romantic ideal among nobles. To have a true friend, transcending status.

Especially guys need someone to do what they call “dumb stuff” with. That’s why they crave it even more.

“Yeah, I’ve heard people say I’m oblivious… But it’s not a problem for me.”

“Who told you that?”

“My friends. You know the social gatherings, right?”

Of course, I do. It’s a duty for anyone noble to attend those events.

Especially when it’s a high-ranking person’s birthday; practically all nobles show up.

The freshman parties can also be considered a type of social gathering. Tommy is a noble, so he probably attends them often.

“I made a lot of friends there. They’ve told me I’m clueless too.”

“….”

Is he really the only one who doesn’t realize how serious this is? I blinked and stared at Tommy.

He’s so confidently oblivious it’s almost audacious. Though I’m not a noble, I’ve got some knowledge from the Soul World.

In noble society, directly insulting someone is a major taboo. So they often deliver harsh words indirectly.

For example, telling someone they’re ugly but dressing it up as them being “unique” or calling someone fat as “plump” and so on.

But to outright say someone’s clueless? That’s a serious matter.

“…Is he really that unaware? I can tell that much.”

Kara, someone with even less experience at social gatherings, seemed to feel the gravity of the situation.

No wonder she didn’t give up on him until now; his obliviousness is off the charts.

“So, how many friends do you have?”

“I’m kinda curious.”

“Uh….”

I hesitated before answering the unexpected counterattack. First, I looked at Kara, then at Eli, who was watching from a distance.

Counting on my fingers, I realized the number is less than ten. And almost all of them are girls.

I wished I could include Antonio, but unfortunately, we haven’t spoken much.

‘I’ll skip Karas…’

I really didn’t want to get close to him; he’s a risky person in many ways.

“Did you count them all? More surprisingly few enemies.”

As I stopped counting, Tommy said with a triumphant expression. I was already running out of words.

What does he even think friends are like? It wasn’t so much frustrating anymore as it was pitiful.

Still, I couldn’t shake off the urge to punch him. I just didn’t want to get involved.

“Kara.”

“What?”

“Let’s just go.”

Ignoring a clueless person is the best way to handle it. You avoid the mess, not out of fear but simply because it’s filthy.

Of course, I really wanted to put my fist in his face, but I lacked a good reason. I needed him to blow up first for anything to happen.

I was about to grab Kara’s hand and head towards Eli when suddenly.

“What do you think you’re doing? Giving up because you can’t think of anything to say?”

Tommy’s sarcastic voice echoed behind me. It’s not that I couldn’t think of anything; it’s just that I couldn’t reach him.

Even with my ultimate attack, he’s still just going on like this… He’ll self-destruct without any help from me.

But I need to finish this off. I started looking around.

The number of people watching our argument has definitely increased.

I didn’t want to cause a scene here, but I had no choice but to hit the self-destruct button.

“Kara.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to apologize in advance.”

“For what?”

Kara tilted her head in confusion. Having apologized to her, I needed to move on to the next step.

I turned to Tommy next. He looked triumphant as if he already won.

I wanted to resolve this like a civilized person, but it seems this so-called civilized person can’t even grasp the situation.

How comical is this? I have no choice but to show through actions rather than words.

“Hey.”

“Why’d you call me?”

“You’ve never done this before, right?”

“What….”

Before Tommy could finish whatever he was about to say, I turned to face Kara, still holding her hand.

She wore a puzzled expression, but soon enough, it switched to confusion from my actions.

*Smack!*

A light kiss. But it’s definitely an act that speaks volumes.

It wasn’t as intense as the deep kiss Kara gave me before, but a kiss is still a kiss.

And there were people around us. Until now, it had been discreet, but this time it was right in the open.

“Uh…?”

Kara finally seemed to realize what had happened and touched her lips. Her green eyes trembled like a seismic shock.

Now, I wondered how the crowd would react.

“Wooooaaaah!!”

“Cool!”

“He’s a man! A man!”

A huge cheer erupted along with applause. Whether they knew or cared about my barbaric image, they went wild over a kiss.

This is an era that pairs well with the word romance. That’s why they react with such enthusiasm to every little thing I do.

And on top of that, I had just argued with Tommy and kissed? It was essentially like stamping my approval.

“Hey, hey… you, you….”

Kara’s face turned crimson as she stuttered. Judging by how she was fidgeting with her lips, it was pretty clear she was taken aback.

This was a far different response than when Sivar boldly declared me to be his first kiss!

Seems like the crowd of spectators was affecting her a bit. Maybe she actually has a shy side.

“I apologized.”

“Ah, no. Still… in front of others….”

“Embarrassed?”

“…Yeah.”

Kara blushed, unable to meet my eyes. Quite the surprise considering her usual bold personality.

It made her all the more charming in a way. A far cry from her often brash demeanor.

She was twisting and turning her body, her face all red. Is this really the same woman I’d called a fierce barbarian?

“Oh my. Are you really embarrassed?”

“Even as a barbarian, a woman is still a woman.”

“People are all the same.”

Not at all. Even the onlookers were gleefully watching this scene unfold.

With this, the scrutiny aimed at Kara will ease, at least somewhat. She becomes more than just a barbarian, but a person, a woman.

“But that barbarian is already cohabiting with a noble lady, right?”

“Yeah. I thought they were dating.”

“Just a bodyguard. They’re just together because of that.”

“True. She is the daughter of a duke, after all.”

I felt like the relationship with Grace was subtly shifting. I genuinely felt sorry for her, but it couldn’t be helped.

If I didn’t, that guy wouldn’t leave me alone. I was caught in a kind of trap.

What would Tommy’s reaction be though? I turned my head away from the shy Kara to look at him.

“Th-this…!”

In this world, purity is taken very seriously. A kiss would be no exception.

From Tommy’s perspective, witnessing his first kiss being stolen right in front of him must’ve hurt. Of course, it’s not like it was ever really his to begin with.

In fact, the one who took my first kiss was Kara. Meanwhile, Tommy was cluelessly spiraling out of control.

‘Can’t you just step away for a second?’

I thought to myself while quietly wrapping my arms around Kara. As if declaring she was mine.

Kara was relatively tall for a girl, but I was also tall enough to fit perfectly.

Knowing Kara’s personality, I expected her to shove me away, but instead, she just nestled quietly against me.

“You little punk…!”

“Oh.”

So you finally learned to curse. I could sense the tension rising.

When Tommy’s face turned beet red, he shouted,

“I…I’m gonna…!”

Boom!

The sky might have felt uneasy as thunder began rumbling ominously.

Looking up, I noticed dark clouds gathering that had appeared out of nowhere.

“I’m gonna touch you too!”

With that shout, Tommy charged at us, arms outstretched. Honestly, what a piece of work.

But I’d been waiting for this moment. I pushed Kara behind me and clenched my fist.

Tommy’s eyes had been out of it for a while. There was only one thing left to do.

*Bam!!*

I delivered a solid punch right to his face. He didn’t even get a proper counter in and flew backward.

I’d bet his nose must have broken. I really hoped this would finally teach him a lesson about awareness.

Otherwise, he might keep being this clueless or do something bizarre. It seemed I was destined to get yelled at by Rod later.

“…I really did hold back, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. That’s enough….”

Just as everything seemed to settle, Kara, who had stepped back, was about to approach when she suddenly flinched at the sight of me. Her reaction left me puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your hair….”

“My hair?”

As Kara mentioned my hair, my hand instinctively reached up to touch my head. It was then I realized why she flinched.

My hair was standing on end. It looked like I’d just walked through a static storm.

Even pushing it down, it just caused it to shoot up again…

Boom!!

It was a sign of lightning. The charge of lightning coursed through my body, spreading a jolt throughout.

Thanks to the lightning’s destructive power, my skin was singed black. My clothes were on the brink of tatters.

‘Seriously…’

That freaking God.

It’s not like my lips will wear out from a kiss, so why is it going this far?

Boom!!

‘…Oh, come on.’

Isn’t this a bit overboard?

[Your faith is rising!]

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