Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 67: Cold (2)

After the first couple of weeks of being in this world, I felt I had adapted decently.

Well, if you asked me, I was already about 90% adjusted to it by the end of the first week, but admittedly, I was saying that from a position of bias.

I’d like to think that it’s all thanks to my own strong, adaptive mentality, but if anything, I also have to lend some, if not most of the credit to Professionalism; honestly, it’s impossible to know where I would be without it when I’m not sure how much of an influence it even has on me, but I don’t think the impact of its effect can be denied in any case.

Overall, I would currently say I am roughly 95% adapted to this world? Probably.

Nevertheless, if there was one thing that still made me uncomfortable, it would undoubtedly be that.

"Enki...!"

A high-pitched voice called my name. At the same time, soft piano notes began to fill the air in a tender pattern that had grown all-too-familiar, sparking a feeling of deep repulsion within me.

"Ayla?"

Turning my head, I saw the approach of the Protagonist, a radiant smile plastered on her face as per usual. As she got closer, I paused my set of sit-ups and stood up to wipe my sweat with a towel.

"Oh! S-sorry, were you exercising...?"

"I was just about to take a break. But, shouldn’t you be in class?"

"Um...! I-I skipped it―There’s something I really, really really needed to talk to you about, so I thought I might find you if I came out here... um, is that okay...?"

I glanced over her briefly, cogs turning in my head.

’It’s probably not anything to do with the hidden power, right? Even if that’s all I need...’

Putting on a smile, I finished wiping my sweat and took a seat on the nearest wooden bench, patting the spot beside me.

"I’ve told you before, haven’t I? I’ll always listen if you want to talk about something."

"Ah, yes, well, that’s right..."

Her cheeks flushed ever-so-slightly and she bashfully sat down.

"B-but anyway, it’s suuuper odd seeing you when you’re not wearing the fancy suit... Are you not cold...?"

"It’ll get dirty if I wear it while exercising. And no. I’m... used to the cold, so. It’s fine."

The purple Archducal suit was folded neatly on my side of the bench as I exercised with a spare tunic borrowed from the residence; working out like this whilst Lucretia was taking her classes had somehow become routine over the past weeks since I had nothing else to do during this time, and I was keen on improving my General Physical Ability rating.

Even though I never used to work out on Earth, I had gotten relatively comfortable doing so consistently surprisingly fast. Although, there were no real noticeable results just yet.

Again, I wasn’t sure if it was due to an influence of Professionalism that was making me more proactive, but whatever it was, I had no intention of complaining. It felt good to do something productive with my spare time for once.

"Really...? I’m surprised you can be out here for so long with just that on..."

The Protagonist gestured towards the single-layer thick tunic I wore; it was effectively just a loose, old-style undershirt, but I guess it was enough due to the sheer quality of the material.

Incidentally, ever since the first dance practice with Lucretia, she had given me a pair of thick gloves to wear so as to not arouse suspicion regarding my body temperature. They were sheer black, made out of some leather-like material with a fur lining on the inside and, of course, were of exceptional quality.

"It’s not that cold."

"Mmh, I don’t know... I don’t like the cold, so I like that it’s warm most of the time... I really like it when it’s sunny, though, so I’m glad to live in the capital! It’s a shame that it’s gotten quite cold recently... I guess, winter is coming soon, isn’t it..."

"Do you think so? I’m probably just used to it. Everyone in the Archduchy is."

"E-even still, I think it’s impressive that you don’t get cold! Honestly!"

Although the average temperature had certainly been decreasing over the past weeks, it was still the overly-idealistic weather you would expect to see in a fictitious world like this. The climate here was more or less in a permanent state of being ’perfect’.

Besides, ever since I got that Blessing from the Winter Mother... have I ever felt cold once since then?

It never occurred to me because the weather has always been so unchanging here, but now that I think about it, it wouldn’t be a surprise if that had something to do with it...

Of course, the piercing chill in my heart remained even now, and although it’s not something I would say was ever possible to ’adapt to’, I’ve more or less gotten used to enduring it; maybe the rest of my body has also adapted in that way.

Unfortunately, this kind of cold was cruel, and it wasn’t even possible to grow numb to it.

Like I thought, I’d definitely have to check out the description when I return to Earth.

Perhaps because I’m pretty scrawny, I always got cold easily, so it was strange. It’d always been the case for me that I froze up easily, my body temperature dropped easily, and that, although I never got sick that often, I was unfortunately well acquainted enough with the sensation of my bone marrow solidifying and turning into chunks of ice when standing outside in freezing winds and rain that, frankly, I’m surprised I’ve never contracted hypothermia from it.

Anyway, enough ranting.

"Then, are you feeling cold right now? Here."

Taking the Archduchal suit and draping it over her shoudlers, I stretched an arm around her, rubbing her arms lightly to warm her up. My body temperature itself wouldn’t help, but the science of friction would.

"E-Enki...?"

She flinched momentarily, but my ’affection’ had been raised to the point where she felt familiar with me; I could make friendly actions like this to close our distance without her feeling uncomfortable.

We were even addressing each other without any formalities like ’Sir’ or ’Miss’.

By now, we were already considerably close.

All I needed was that one, final step, and the Contract would surely be complete.

"Is it warmer now?"

"Mmn... I-I think so..."

Glimpsing her flushed face from the side, I watched as she leaned her body slightly closer to mine.

We then sat quietly for a few minutes. With the soft piano keys and plucked harpsichord strings that played subduedly in the background, it was unmistakably the sort of scene one would encounter in a romance drama, just like always. Well, that was exactly the sort of setting this world adopted, after all.

Of course, what I was doing here was effectively playing that sort of role of my own volition.

To someone I didn’t even like.

To someone who was fated to die by my hands.

"...Ah!"

Suddenly, the Protagonist exclaimed, turning her head to look at me.

"I almost forgot! Enki, there was something I wanted to ask you about! Could I have your opinion?"

"Of course. What’s up?"

Sitting up straight, she twisted her body to face me almost fully.

"My little brother is attending the academy next year, but he’s having trouble choosing what to study! What do you think?"

Staring at her evidently anxious face, I paused for a second.

"...Your brother?"

Hearing all of a sudden that the Protagonist had a little brother, my eyebrows shot up.

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