Chương 48: Him (part 1)
Ch. XXIV - Him (Elice)
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That… worked really well.
When I thought of the plan, I thought at least half of it would fail. Rake will have to use his powers and fight the guys at the very end if things do fall out of plan.
But, that worked out extraordinarily well.
I knew those guys are not going to be afraid of the whole 'Ghost' story, but I know what they will be afraid of. So, I told Rake to simply disguise himself as a scary sociopath with bandages and blood all over him, and I did not expect his acting to be really good.
"Your acting was really… good."
I said to him as a compliment, but the guy turned his horrified gaze at me.
We are currently taking the abundant amount of bandages out of his body, while only keeping some intact to actually close his wounds. And as we are doing that, I thought it might be a good time for us to discuss the thing happening just now.
"I-Is that so?"
"… Why the surprised face?"
Rake quickly turned away, as if trying not to answer it.
"Can you stop turning away when you don't want to answer me? You're really good at acting, but you suck at communicating."
"… Then, what do you suggest?"
Hearing him asking that, I began to ponder.
"Can you try and fix your whole 'terrible social skills' thing? You know, by putting up a whole act."
"… Act?"
"Yes. To cover up your terrible social skills issue, why don't you act as if you are a very sociable person?"
"Act as a… sociable person…?"
Technically, that is the right way to do it.
If someone is so terrible at communicating, or is very bad at talking to someone in general, the only way to fix that is to suck it up and put up an act. The trick is to fake it, forever, until it becomes natural.
Rake is very good at faking an act, so he should be able to fix that communication problem of his.
"Then… what should I do?"
"Remember that guy? The red haired guy?"
"… You want me to act like Jack?"
"Was that his name? Sure, why not? He seemed to be quite fun to talk with."
"… He is probably the most socializing person in the kingdom."
… Huh?
"That makes it perfect, then. Right?"
Rake gave this idea some thought, and while he agreed that it was indeed positive, he can't help but feel lazy just thinking about it.
"… Can I just not do it?"
"Nope. If you don't communicate, then I can't understand anything you are telling me. At least put up an act, so people can understand you better.
You have put on an act before, haven't you?"
That question suddenly made him look away again. This is the second time I brought that up, and he turns away every time.
Looks like that question made him realize something that he doesn't want to remember. But still, he is turning away from me without saying anything.
"Hey. Don't look away. Answer me."
I asked coldly, but the guy is still not facing me. My hands are still holding the bandages on his wounded arm, and I immediately had an idea.
GRPP!!!
"Khhh!! What the--Why!?"
I suddenly tightened the bandage that was covering his wound on his arm. He definitely felt quite the pain from that. But as a result, I can see the bandage turning heavily red again.
Oops… sorry about that. But he was pissing me off quite a bit, so…
Worth it.
"Now, act. Tell me to not do that again."
"… Don't do that again."
That is still terrible. Next!
GRPP!!!!
"AAak!!! Stop!! Blood is literally--"
"Then, say it like you mean it."
Rake let out a sigh and he turned his face to me. This time, he wore a really pissed off face and he opened his eyes wide.
W-Wait, not this kind of act--
"Do that one more time and I'll break your nose."
T-
Okay.
He is actually scary.
I lifted my hands away from his arm and turned away.
"W-Was that too much?"
Is he feeling guilty?
Why is he so… funny?
"That was good. Too good. But, please try to be friendlier..."
I tried reasoning calmly despite my heart screaming to oblivion, and he only tilted his head out of confusion.
"… Friendlier, like Jack?"
"Yes. Like Jack."
Rake turned his gaze away from my back and pondered by himself. I turned slightly to see him, and found him thinking so seriously over what to do.
The guy definitely understands that he has an antisocial issue, and he definitely wants to fix it as well. Which means he must be trying his best thinking of what is the best way to do it.
"Will that really be… a good idea?"
"Trust me. That is the best idea."
"I will try."
Rake then lowered his hand. He lifted his chin up, and he forced himself to smile.
W-Woah…
That was so sudden. He did the act perfectly.
The confident level of gaze, the confident smile. He did both perfectly.
"How's this?"
Even the vocabulary he used, they totally changed.
"… That is good. Can you continue doing it?"
"Hmm? Sure thing."
H-He is actually doing it…
Rake then suddenly stood up, but he noticed his entire body breaking down. He wrinkled from the pain and danced weirdly, and finally fell down in a weird sleeping position on the floor.
"M-My body is not helping…"
I really wanna laugh…
"Hmm… that's pretty good. Maybe once your body is getting better, we can test it some more. For now, just get some rest."
"Yes, ma'am…"
He really is fitting into the role… what the hell?
I turned away and began walking to the stairs, leaving Rake on the floor there. As I walked, I began to realize that Rake couldn't even stand. There is no way he can walk to his bedroom.
I turned my gaze back to him and found him still on the floor.
"D-Do you need help walking to your bedroom…?"
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