Chapter 176

PHA – Chapter 176 – This Is Just a Subconscious Reaction

When Alice thought about the information Luna had gathered on Ciel, one thing that stood out was that the catkin girl was incredibly fond of befriending others. Moreover, unlike Alice, who passively made friends, Ciel would often be the one taking the initiative.

Hence, Alice couldn’t help but wonder if the reason Ciel disliked her was related to this matter. Perhaps Ciel was upset over the fact that Alice was making friends without having to put in much effort while she had to bend her back backward to make so many friends.

“…So you noticed it.” After getting her thoughts seen through, Ciel did not bother hiding her jealousy anymore. Instead, she glared at Alice and confessed, “That’s right! I hate you! Why do I have to work so hard to befriend others while you get to receive everyone’s attention just by sitting in your classroom and doing nothing?!”

Hearing Ciel’s confession, Alice realized that the catkin girl hadn’t ignored her existence completely. Otherwise, the catkin girl wouldn’t have known that she rarely interacted with others in class. Typically, she would only ever initiate contact with others when she needed help with her studies. In doing so, though, she would also cause others to develop a good impression of her.

However, Alice wasn’t deliberately trying to get others to like her. Most of her attention was focused on improving her combat power. Her goal was to take care of the Demon King’s Power and return to her own world as soon as possible.

“This… It was never my intention to do so.”

Alice wasn’t deliberately trying to behave humbly to create a favorable impression on others. Others might see her as the princess, but Alice did not forget that she was merely an ordinary person from Earth. So, she naturally wouldn’t act like she was some lofty existence. Unfortunately, those unaware of the situation ended up taking her normal behavior as her having a humble personality. As a result, she became widely popular among nobles and commoners in the March Academy.

“If I were in your position, I would’ve definitely done much better than you!”

Ciel didn’t know what she should say when she saw Alice’s innocent expression. She might want to obtain the attention of others, but that didn’t mean she hated Alice down to the bone. She simply found their circumstances unfair. Thus, she ended up shouting those words out of desperation.

However, upon hearing these words, Alice couldn’t help but refute:

“I don’t think that’s necessarily possible.”

“Meow?” Ciel was momentarily stunned when she heard Alice’s words. “Why?”

“The reason everyone wants to approach me is that despite my royal status, I don’t behave like I am anything special.”

Alice was well aware that aside from Class Group A’s nobles, the students from Class Groups B and C were keen on talking to her because of her behavior that contrasted with other nobles.

“The reason Class Group C’s students approach me is that they don’t feel the pressure they normally experience when talking to other nobles. Meanwhile, the reason Class Group B’s students approach me is because of my great interest in researching magic despite being the princess,” Alice earnestly said. “As for the bunch from Class Group A, while it is true that they are approaching me because of my identity, I doubt you’ll want to have any interactions with those people, either, right?”

Ciel’s face quickly turned bright red. Although she wanted to refute Alice, she couldn’t think of anything to say.

Going by Alice’s reasoning, even if Ciel gained the identity of a princess, it was unlikely that she could be as popular as Alice was right now. Ciel was from Class B10, so she knew full well what kind of personalities the bookworms of Class Group B possessed. Unless one was using knowledge as a conversation topic, one would face great difficulty holding a conversation with them.

“So, there’s no real need for you to hold such hostilities toward me. We can still have a proper conversation,” Alice said as she looked at Ciel with a sincere expression. After reasoning with Ciel to such an extent, she felt that the catkin girl should have calmed down. “So, about the catkin tribe’s matter…”

“Sophistry! Who would want to pass on your words?!” Ciel immediately burst into a rage when she heard Alice bringing up this matter again, her hair standing on end. “I’ll never help you with anything in this lifetime!”

“Is there a need to react like this?” After seeing Ciel’s reaction, Alice finally realized how much of a provocation her rational analysis was. Revealing an embarrassed smile, Alice scratched her head and asked, “Should I apologize?”

“Save your apologies for yourself, you bastard!”

The more Ciel looked at Alice’s face, the more she found it displeasing. Cats were originally an unreasonable race. After hearing Alice’s words, Ciel felt her anger skyrocketing. Then, she raised her palm and swung it at Alice’s head in an attempt to vent her emotions.

It was common for arguments between girls to turn physical. However, Ciel wasn’t a ruthless person. She only wished to express her dissatisfaction with Alice, so she didn’t put a lot of strength into her hand.

However, Ciel probably didn’t expect that the little girl before her wasn’t some frail princess. The instant Ciel lifted her hand and swung it, Alice had promptly made a response.

Alice might not have fully developed as a Hero yet, but her extraordinary development speed had allowed her to gain strength and speed far surpassing people her age. At a speed beyond Ciel’s perception, Alice untied the Milu Rabbit from her waist and swung it at Ciel’s head, the Milu Rabbit hitting the catkin before the latter could even react to the situation.

“Meow—❤?!”

After letting out a strange and unexpected cry, Ciel collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.