“Fine…”
Fina looked a bit disappointed, but Liuli had no other choice.
This wasn’t a game; she couldn’t just pretend to understand something she didn’t.
“But Liuli, I still want to keep using the bow and arrow…”
Fina thought about it and spoke up anyway.
Liuli had already expected this; after all, archery held a special status for Fina.
It wasn’t something she could just swap out on a whim.
“At the very least, you can learn the proper posture so you don’t get hurt so easily…”
Liuli suggested this after a moment of thought.
She wished she were a professional Teacher so she could help Fina.
‘Speaking of which, if I go learn archery now and master it, could I teach Fina?’
“Little Fox, what are you thinking?”
Seeing Liuli lost in thought, Serveyia leaned in and asked.
“I was wondering if I should learn archery myself first and then teach Fina,” Liuli replied, watching Fina vent her frustration on her prey nearby.
“Oh? It seems our Little Fox has finally wised up. Are you planning on chasing a girl?”
“No, it’s not like that. I just saw how disappointed Fina looked and wanted to find a way to make her happy.”
“That’s exactly what chasing a girl is. Besides, Little Fox, do you dare say you don’t like Fina?”
“Well, it’s hard to say I don’t like her.”
As a loyal Face-controller, Liuli had no resistance to beautiful girls.
To put it bluntly, if Fina wanted to, she could probably charm Liuli’s soul away in a heartbeat.
“If you like her, you have to take action. Can’t you see that Fina likes you too?”
“Well, I can feel that she’s close to me, but… why? Is it just because of my appearance and status?”
Liuli still had a mental hurdle to overcome.
Although liking someone should be straightforward, and logically, knowing someone liked her appearance should be a happy thing, Liuli felt that if the other person only liked her looks, it would be a bit shallow.
“But isn’t all of that a part of who you are?”
“What do you mean?”
“Beauty and status are both components of you. Liking those things is the same as liking you, isn’t it?”
“But I didn’t work for any of it. It just feels… unreal…”
Liuli didn’t know how to describe the feeling, and she wasn’t sure if Serveyia could understand.
Unlike Serveyia, who had been worshipped by everyone since birth, Liuli had once been an ordinary guy who wouldn’t get a second glance in a crowd.
Now, after turning into a girl, she was suddenly adored by everyone.
The feeling was strange—not necessarily bad, but certainly not good.
‘It’s like a creature that should have lived in a gutter suddenly being placed in the sunlight, burning with happiness until it dies.’
“So, Little Fox, do you feel like you don’t deserve everyone’s love?”
“It’s not that I don’t deserve it, I just feel a bit uneasy.”
“I see, I see. In that case, why don’t you try showing off your own charm?”
‘My own charm… I know what Serveyia means.’ She wanted Liuli to be more proactive and give back instead of just receiving.
“But everyone’s expectations of me are different, right?”
Liuli felt that what Serveyia wanted from her wouldn’t be the same as what Fina and the others wanted.
Even if she was willing to respond, how could she satisfy everyone’s expectations?
“If I show different sides of myself to meet different expectations, won’t people think I’m being fake?”
“Authenticity… Little Fox, what do you think is ‘real’?”
“I think I should be the same inside and out. At the very least, I should treat different people with the same attitude. I shouldn’t play favorites, right?”
“But isn’t there an old saying about speaking human to humans and ghost to ghosts?”
Serveyia watched Fina in the distance and whispered into Liuli’s ear, “As long as they can feel your sincerity, girls won’t care about that stuff.”
“Does that mean it’s the same for you, Serveyia?”
Liuli asked uncertainly.
Serveyia had been acting like a strategist by her side, and in stories, the person giving advice was often the one who liked the protagonist.
But Liuli and Serveyia were already a couple.
The scene of one partner giving advice on how to woo other girls was truly rare, and Liuli didn’t know what expression she should make.
“Me? I’ll let you in on a secret, Little Fox. While I think this method is good, you can’t say it out loud. If the other person finds out, they’ll feel deceived. So, you can use it, but don’t talk about it.”
“I—I don’t think I’m that stupid.”
“Don’t just avoid saying it; don’t let them notice it either. So, don’t try it on me anytime soon.”
‘Does that mean I can do it later?’
“However, what I said is just the basics. In reality, getting along with others isn’t something that can be explained in a few words. You’ve been around for so long; you should have some experience with this.”
Serveyia added this after noticing Liuli’s uncertain expression.
It was true. Liuli had lived for many years and handled various problems.
While interpersonal relationships were the most common, Liuli felt she hadn’t handled them well.
Many times, because of a slip of the tongue, her friends had left her, leaving behind only regrets.
“I have some experience, but I’m not very good at it. Can this… be improved?”
“Of course. You can study it systematically, or just pay more attention while chatting with close friends. It depends on what you want to do.”
‘What do I want to do?’ Liuli went silent.
She naturally wanted high emotional intelligence, as dealing with people who lacked it was a hassle.
But since Serveyia offered her a choice, it meant she was prepared for whatever Liuli decided.
“Just out of curiosity, if my emotional intelligence stays this low, will you get tired of me?”
“No. In fact, not just me, but most people wouldn’t hate you. With your status as the Princess of St. Laia, as long as you don’t do anything heinous that outrages both gods and men, you can basically be forgiven. Although, the punishments afterward certainly wouldn’t be light.”
“Out of curiosity, what kind of punishment?”
“Generally, it’s Etiquette Instruction, but the extremely strict kind. There was once a spoiled Young Lady who kept making mistakes after becoming a princess. After one session of instruction, she became gentle and kind. There are no records of what exactly happened, but for someone’s personality to change so drastically, it couldn’t have been simple. Knowing you, I don’t think you could handle it.”
“I… I think so too.”
Serveyia didn’t say what the instruction was, but for someone’s personality to change that much, it couldn’t be ordinary.
It might even involve some darker methods.
A living princess might be charming, but Liuli felt that since Saint Laia had such power, an obedient princess would be much more suitable for them.
‘It’s a terrifying thought. Even if it’s meant to “kill the chicken to warn the monkey,” I don’t want to be the monkey.’
“So, should I go talk to Fina now?”
Logically, Liuli shouldn’t have to ask, as Fina clearly looked unhappy.
However, the problem was that Liuli knew why Fina was upset but couldn’t fix it right now.
The only solution she could think of was learning archery and then teaching Fina.
“I can’t give you a definitive answer. Why don’t you treat this as your first trial?”
The trial wasn’t necessarily hard, but it wasn’t simple either.
It wasn’t hard because she had a solution, but it wasn’t simple because she couldn’t implement it immediately.
Learning archery would take an unknown amount of time.
If she hadn’t learned it by the time Fina moved on, wouldn’t she look like an idiot?
“Are you sure this trial is useful? I feel like Fina will get over it on her own even if I don’t comfort her…”
“Little Fox, I hate that you’re such a blockhead! Solving the problem is secondary; the key is comfort. Do you understand comfort? If not, you at least understand companionship, right?”
“Yes, I understand…”
Seeing Serveyia look like she was about to eat her, Liuli didn’t dare say no.
She vaguely remembered being sad as a child and wanting to be alone, but at the same time, she had wished someone would comfort her.
Even if she pushed her parents away, it was because she felt they didn’t understand her.
‘If Fina really likes me, then companionship is the best choice when I don’t know how to comfort her.’
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