Playing Hard to Get

“Lord Luke, is something the matter?”

Despite thoroughly scorning him in her heart, Elia maintained an impeccably polite and gentle demeanor.

When asking about Luke’s condition, she deliberately tilted her expression toward concern and care, while feigning complete ignorance of the possibility that he might be captivated by her beauty.

She perfectly embodied the role of a pure, kind, and innocent Saintess.

[‘How’s that, how’s that? Captivated by my pitiful yet tender combo punch, aren’t you?’]

Too bad her true nature was that of a scheming green tea… Wait, weren’t you a man before? Is it really okay to be this natural at seducing men?

Luke was utterly speechless.
To his dismay, the crowd around them erupted in a chorus of mental exclamations at the sight.

[‘As expected of Saintess Elia! Even faced with such a lecherous Hero, she still shows genuine concern for him!’]
[‘Ah, Her Highness Elia is just too pure. She can’t even see how vile and shameless Hero Luke’s thoughts are…’]

A bit farther away, some people weren’t just thinking it—they were openly whispering their disdain for Luke.

Noticing this, the chibi figure in Elia’s mind flashed a smug “plan successful” grin.

[‘Perfect, keep this up, and the Hero’s reputation will tank. Then His Majesty will abandon the idea of sending me adventuring with him!’]

In Luke’s eyes, Elia’s plan was feasible.

But he had no intention of letting his own reputation be dragged through the mud.
More importantly, faced with this scheming, scummy Saintess, a fierce sense of defiance flared within him.

He wanted to make her suffer… No, correction—he wanted to thwart her schemes and make her deeply reflect on her mistakes. After all, he was a righteous Hero.

Luke quickly took a step back, speaking with earnest sincerity:
“It’s nothing. I was too forward earlier. My apologies.”

Much like Elia’s facade of a pure, unblemished bunny-like Saintess, Luke had his own public persona—hot-blooded and upright.

[‘Tch, what’s with the act? If you’re scheming after me, just say it. So unmanly.’]

The chibi in Elia’s mind sneered with disdain.

At least I’m more manly than you…
Luke mentally retorted while subtly turning away, keeping a deliberate distance from Elia and avoiding her gaze entirely.

[‘What’s this? Playing the gentleman now? That’s just hilarious!’]

His sudden shift caught not only Elia off guard but also the crowd, who found it hard to believe.

Yet, over the next hour, Luke consistently showed little interest in Elia, making his upright persona inexplicably more convincing.

After all, whether man or woman, anyone who could go five minutes without stealing glances at Elia upon first meeting her was considered exceptionally strong-willed.

The Magic Academy even used this as a test standard, identifying several promising students among commoners this way.

“Lord Luke, why not chat more with Elia?”

The duke, eager to see the powerful Saintess leave the kingdom so he could act freely, approached with the question.

“No, thank you. We’ve only just met today. If my rashness caused Her Highness Elia to be slandered, that would be unfortunate.”

In truth, the king had summoned Luke solely to form a Demon King-slaying team with the Saintess, with no intention of playing matchmaker.

However, a lone man and woman traveling together inevitably sparked romantic speculation among Messiah’s citizens, who idolized Saintess Elia.

By acting proper and speaking formally, Luke quickly won over a portion of the crowd.

[‘Hmph, at least you know your place! Remember, Lady Elia is merely deigning to assist you. You’re just a lackey to carry bags and pull the cart—a servant!’]

[‘That’s right! When Lady Elia returns after defeating the Demon King, she’s going to be my wife!’]

[‘Her Highness Elia is my spark, my light, my only legend. No one can take her away!’]

Of course, this was only a fraction of the crowd. A single statement wasn’t enough to sway the majority.

“Could it be, Lord Luke, that you’re dissatisfied with Lady Elia?”

The duke immediately saw an opportunity to stir conflict between the Hero and Saintess, hoping to cause trouble for the king.

Extremely dissatisfied…

Luke thought instantly but straightened his posture and shook his head, speaking openly:
“Of course not. Her Highness Elia is as beautiful and captivating as the rumors say, with a kind heart and formidable strength. It’s my honor to embark on a journey with her.”

[‘You’ve got good taste!’]

[‘Exactly! Our little Elia is just that powerful, charming, and holy. Ahhh, how can there be such a perfect Saintess in this world!’]

[‘As long as you praise Lady Elia, we’re brothers from another mother!’]

The effect was phenomenal!

Though about thirty percent of the crowd still harbored resentment toward him, Luke would be staying in the kingdom for some time. He had plenty of opportunities to fully turn his reputation around.

Besides, a person with no detractors whatsoever? Such a person hadn’t been born yet.

Unlike Luke, who was content to do his best, Elia was thinking:

[‘How is this guy holding back? Is he a eunuch? How can anyone resist my beauty for over ten minutes without looking?’]

In Elia’s mind, Luke should have been utterly enthralled by her from head to toe.

His unexpected composure led her to suspect he had… certain functional issues and was just stubbornly pretending otherwise.

As if!

Luke mentally roared in rebuttal. This was one downside of his mind-reading ability: even when someone’s thoughts irritated him, he couldn’t directly refute them.

His only recourse was to regain the upper hand elsewhere.

But with Elia being a Saintess, no matter how much he disliked her, he couldn’t confront her directly…

Just as Luke was puzzling over how to counterattack, Elia approached him.

[‘Let’s see if you’re really dysfunctional!’]

Seeing the chibi in her mind smirking with anticipation, Luke suddenly had an idea.

“Lord Luke, are you enjoying the ball tonight?”

“It’s wonderful… My apologies, Your Highness Elia, I have something to attend to.”

Luke answered perfunctorily and walked off to the other side.

After ten minutes of waiting, seeing Luke chatting happily with others and showing no sign of returning, Elia approached him again.

“My apologies, Your Highness Elia, Earl Andusia seems to be calling me over…”

After dodging her several times like this, just as Elia became convinced that Luke indeed had some… issues, she was stunned to see him accept an invitation from a young lady.

His gaze was evasive yet tinged with excitement as he danced with her.

The chibi in Elia’s mind widened its eyes in shock.

[‘What’s going on? This guy dares to ignore a heavenly beauty like me to flirt with those plain, tacky women? Is he face-blind or does he have a broken sense of aesthetics?’]

That was indeed a question.

But as Luke pondered how to prove his aesthetic sense was intact, Elia’s mind had already conjured up an explanation for him.

[‘No, no, that’s not it. The way he looked at me earlier was so smitten—he definitely knows beauty from ugliness… I get it! He’s playing hard to get to catch my attention!’]

Elia perked up her ears to catch the distant whispers, hearing people speculate whether she was being snubbed by the Hero.
She had a sudden epiphany.

[‘Could it be… he’s trying to make me chase him, lowering my status while launching a public opinion offensive to gain the upper hand in a potential romance? That’s definitely it! What a terrifying man—I almost fell for it!’]

Elia cast a gentle glance at Luke, then walked back with elegant composure.

[‘Hmph, if you want to play the patience game, let’s play. I’m not afraid! I refuse to believe you can go a whole night without glancing at me or listening to my angelic voice!’]

Where did this girl get her confidence?

Though everything was unfolding as Luke had hoped, Elia’s wild assumptions left him dumbfounded.
Dumbfounded to the point of wanting to burst out laughing.

Thankfully, his acting skills were top-notch, and he managed to suppress his amusement until the ball ended.

Of course, a certain someone was fuming by then.

[‘Unbelievable! This jerk actually ignored me all night! How can such a man exist in this world? Argh, I’m so pissed!’]

The chibi in Elia’s mind was furiously tearing apart everything in sight.

[‘Damn it, how dare he… Fine, if that’s how you want to play, I’ll play along to the end! I’ll make you fall hopelessly in love with me, then ruthlessly dump you, leaving you crying and miserable for life!’]