My Friend and I Reincarnated Into a Tragedy Dating Game

Chapter 26: Not What I Signed Up For

We had met with and talked to the blood mage, Edward, early on. As it turns out, he hadn't become the crazed murderer he was in the previous game just yet. In fact, he was incredibly innocent and naive at this point.

But if nothing else, he had the desire to save people.

Assuming we could recruit him properly, then not only would he no longer cause trouble in the future, but instead the guy would be an ally.

Yet, right now he did not know he was a blood mage.

As such, I hatched a little lie to tell him earlier on.

"Wait a minute."

I put on a mildly surprised expression as I looked at Edward, which made him look confused.

"W-What?"

While maintaining a serious expression I walked over to him and held up his chin, looking directly at his eye.

"Your eyes..."

Edward furrowed his brows in worry.

"Is something wrong with them?"

I narrowed my eyes and pulled away with a frown.

"Those are the eyes of a blood mage."

They definitely weren't.

Edward tensed up. He looked down at his own hands as though they were fake.

"Blood mage? What is that?"

Nathan furrowed his brows intensely.

"What? I've heard of those, apparently, they use blood to perform magic spells. It's also well known that they kill many innocent people for the sake of their power."

Edward looked spooked. He frantically stood up, almost like he was getting ready to run away because he was scared of himself, but then stopped in place as though realizing that wasn't exactly possible.

"Am I really a blood mage? But I don't want to kill other people! Do I have to..."

He looked at the corpse of the girl next to him and began shivering. His eyes appeared to be filled with despair as he looked at the bloody knife in Nathan's hand.

"If I'm really going to kill people, then... I'd rather die."

I cleared my throat.

"I'm not sure if that's necessarily the case. It's just from what I've heard, but I believe blood mages kill people because they desperately want to get more power. In the end though, that just ends up getting them killed."

Edward blinked several times.

"So I just never use my powers?"

I gave him a glance.

"If you want to make a change in the world, you need at least a certain degree of power."

Edward shook his head violently.

"But I don't want that power if it comes at the cost of others' lives."

It was at this point that Nathan dropped the knife. While still bloody he walked over and crouched down to look at Edward at eye level. His expression was a little scary, but that might've been the blood giving off that impression.

"As the name implies, a blood mage needs blood. That means you can use animals."

Edward blinked several times. He seemed quite clueless.

"But where do I find the animals?"

Nathan responded immediately.

"Animals are killed every day to be prepared for food. They need to be drained first if they are to be preserved for longer periods of time. In other words, you can help other people drain blood and get magical power for it."

Edward looked like he had been enlightened.

"Ah, I can help people and become more powerful?"

Nathan smirked.

"Sometimes instead of picking A or B, you find a third solution."

Edward then looked at his hands.

"...But how do I use my powers?"

Nathan's expression fell. Considering that we weren't actually sure what activated it in the first place, that was a little difficult. Regardless, it seemed Nathan had an idea.

"I got some ideas. First off, let's bury this body and get out of here. We also can't keep Bryson here as he has things to do."

Edward looked at me and from his eyes, I could tell he was still in shock.

"Ah, goodbye Bryson."

I casually waved.

"See you later Edward."

With that, I left. Nathan worked on burying the body. It seemed he had no plans of using the corpse to test Edward's powers, probably because it would be too much for him.

After sheathing my sword, I went back to the table, where I had left without explaining a single thing. I noticed that the crowd had dispersed for the most part, though there were still a few people lingering around.

Minori was nowhere to be seen.

However, the table that seemed to usually be reserved for only me and the people with me, had someone new sitting at it.

Arianne.

She was slowly nibbling away and the food in her bowl, almost like she was too shy to actually eat any of it. Upon noticing my arrival, she shuddered before looking down at the pottage while freezing in place, almost like I wouldn't notice she was there so long as she didn't move.

Arianne sat one seat away from the one I was originally sitting at, evidenced by the empty bowl that was still there.

Though I could just sit next to her, I decided to refill my bowl and sit back where I was originally sitting and began eating. I essentially just pretended that she wasn't there the whole time.

I noticed that she would occasionally sneak a glance or two at me but still didn't say anything.

At some point, I decided to speak up.

"You said you were scared of approaching us?"

Arianne was a little surprised but gave a small nod.

"Y-Yes. I know it sounds stupid but..."

I let out a laugh.

"But you also stood in the center of a huge crowd and stated an opinion you knew all of them would disagree with. Don't you think that's even scarier?"

A small smile formed on Arianne's face as she began to laugh nervously.

"That was really scary. I-I don't even know how I was able to say all of that."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"For whatever reason, there was something you felt more strongly about that overpowered your fear."

Arianne looked up and blinked a few times.

"T-That makes sense. But... what was it that overpowered my fear?"

Why were you asking me that?

A bitter smile formed on my face.

"Should that be a question you should answer yourself?"

Arianne let out a small laugh.

"But I really don't know. And I-I'm still scared."

I let out a sigh and leaned back in my chair. With one arm resting over the back of my chair, I leisurely raised a finger.

"Then how about you think about it like this?"

Arianne looked at me curiously. With a smirk, I continued.

"You said you were scared of approaching people, right? Then what if you think about something you're more afraid of? Perhaps you never make any friends for your entire life."

Arianne pouted.

"That does sound scarier..."

I nodded.

"But people usually don't really think about that kind of thing, especially when it feels like they still have time to work on it, so you aren't really afraid. But then time passes, and it becomes too late."

My expression relaxed into a frown.

"And before they know it, it's already too late."

Arianne sat there silently for a few moments. Then, she stood up and moved one seat closer, so that we were next to each other. After Nathan, she was the first person that sat next to me at this table.

After moving over her food, she began eating normally.

From there, she didn't speak the entire time, and neither did I. Some people were curious and looked at us, but none of them dared to get closer than before.

Once Arianne finished her food, a smile blossomed on her face.

"Wow, I... had so much fun. Is that weird to say?"

It definitely was, considering we basically didn't do anything at all. But if that's how she felt, she must've been far too lonely for her own good because of her shyness.

With that in mind, I shook my head.

"Not weird at all."

Arianne put one hand over her heart and looked at me gratefully.

"Thank you so much for everything."

I waved my hand dismissively and told a tiny lie.

"The food isn't that expensive, don't worry about it."

Arianne let out a soft giggle.

"The food was nice, but it's not just that. I just feel so happy now."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's a two-way streak. Sure I put myself out there, but at the same time, it needs you to be courageous enough to approach. So I should thank you for that. I mean, you are the only one sitting with me despite all the people nearby."

With a bit of melancholy, I took a deep breath.

"If it wasn't for you, then I would've already given up by now. The way most people see me made me think that this was pointless. I kinda just felt like an idiot coming out here. But even with what you said, people are too scared. Yet, even if I wasn't able to help as many people as I wanted, at least there's you."

Arianne smiled.

"I'm really glad I stopped believing those rumors."

I stood up and gave her a wave.

"Well, it's time for me to go. I'm sure you also have places to be. Goodbye."

Arianne stood up and bowed.

"Goodbye, Bryson."

She helped out a little with the packing up, though she didn't really understand what to do, so she wasn't all that helpful. But at the very least, the gesture was there.

While in the carriage I began meditating once more, but I honestly felt quite tired from everything that happened today. When I finally did get back, it was only then I remembered I was supposed to take a shower with Jess.

I thought I would need to go to her room to tell her I was back, but before I got there, I saw her waiting outside of the showers. It looked like even if I forgot, she wouldn't have. There was still a stern expression on her face as she waved me to go inside.

I decided to do as told. Upon getting inside, I decided to go to a corner to change my clothes, but as I put my hand on a button-

"Wait."

Jess called out to me. I turned around, and she looked at me like I had done something wrong.

She gestured to me.

"Get over here."

Confused, I walked over. After which, Jess began unbuttoning my clothes.

...Is this what Bryson used to do with Jess?

I think I see why he had to forcefully distance himself from Jess.