'Why on earth did I agree to this?'
Less than an hour ago, Soren had been ready to strangle the man now sitting across from him.
And yet, here he was, eating lunch with him.
"Hahhh…"
"What's wrong, little hedgehog?" Felix asked with a teasing grin.
"Just… shut up, trash."
"Is that what you're going with?"
"Why? Don't like it? I think it fits a pervert like you perfectly."
"Me? A pervert?"
"..."
Felix scratched his cheek, feigning innocence.
Soren stared at him blankly.
'Being around this guy will ruin what's left of my image.'
He sighed inwardly.
'I need to be careful… actually., speaking of my image…'
He frowned.
"Why is everyone staring so hard today?"
Normally, the occasional glare was nothing new, but today felt different, sharper.
He didn't even need to think long to figure out the cause.
The man sitting right across from him.
Human Trash.
Womaniser.
Scum.
Even though the school year had barely begun, Felix had already earned a mountain of rumours thanks to his talents in chasing women.
"…I knew having lunch with human trash was a mistake."
"You're being too harsh…" Felix said, pretending to pout.
Soren recoiled in disgust.
"Cut that out."
But Felix only chuckled.
"You know, doesn't it make sense that people are staring?"
"Not really?" Soren said, genuinely confused.
That only made Felix blink at him in disbelief.
"Well, you might not have heard, but Annie told me—"
Soren quickly cut him off.
"Wait. Who's Annie?"
"The girl I was with the other day."
"..."
Soren looked at him with a face filled with contempt, but Felix ignored the stare and continued.
"Anyway, she mentioned that at her tea party, the girls were talking about guys."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Felix grinned.
"Apparently, our names came up quite a bit. You should be flattered."
Soren blinked.
"...Why?"
"Are you being serious right now?"
"Yes?"
Felix exhaled deeply, rubbing his temples.
"Okay, Soren. Think. What do girls talk about when they're at a tea party and guys come up?"
"Uh…"
He waited.
Felix leaned forward, exasperated.
"It's obviously about who they're interested in."
Soren blinked again.
"Oh! …Oh? Huh?"
He pointed at himself, just to make sure.
"You mean me?"
Felix nodded.
Soren's brain stalled.
"But why?"
Felix just stared at him for a long second.
"…When was the last time you looked in a mirror?"
"Uh…"
Soren scratched the back of his neck.
"...Never."
Felix froze.
"You're joking."
Soren shook his head.
Felix sighed dramatically.
"I want to believe that isn't true… but that face says it all."
"..."
"Just… go look when you get the chance. You'll get it."
Soren didn't reply. He just nodded slowly, feeling a mix of shame and confusion.
'Has it really been a week since I got here, and I haven't looked at myself once?'
He frowned.
'That's… actually kind of depressing.'
"But still," he muttered, "if I really look that good, then why does everyone avoid me?"
Felix shrugged. "Why would I know?"
'Right. Expecting introspection from this guy was a mistake.'
"Well, whatever. I'm going to the bathroom."
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
Soren walked down the hall, lost in thought.
The more he tried to make sense of it, the less it added up.
If what Felix said was true, that people found him attractive, then why did everyone avoid him?
Even accounting for jealousy or intimidation, surely someone would have at least greeted him by now.
But no one had. Not once.
Not a single "good morning," not a single smile.
Nothing.
'But why..?'
"..."
He stopped mid-step.
"…Wait. Am I actually stupid?"
And then it hit him.
'Freya Arden.'
He whispered the name quietly to himself.
That was it. That was the missing piece.
The answer had been right in front of him this whole time.
A few months before the academy's entrance ceremony, Freya Arden, one of the greatest prodigies in the kingdom, had died in battle.
Her weapon was sitting in his dorm.
The fact that the weapon hadn't been returned to the main house meant that Soren, the original one, had probably been close to her.
He must've kept it as something precious, maybe as a memento.
And when he came to Stellaris, he brought nothing else with him.
No decorations, no personal trinkets, just her weapon.
'Of course everyone avoids me.'
He could picture it easily now: a grief-stricken boy dragging his late sister's axe to school, eyes empty, avoiding everyone who tried to talk to him.
He would've seemed unstable, dangerous even.
'They must've thought it was best to leave him alone.'
And since Freya was a known public figure, everyone probably understood the situation and stayed away out of pity or discomfort.
Soren exhaled slowly.
'...I can understand him, though.'
He knew what it was like to push people away when you were drowning.
The original Soren must've just… never stopped.
And now, weeks later, everyone still assumed he wanted to be left alone.
'So that's it, huh?'
A small, humourless laugh escaped his lips.
'People saw a grieving kid and thought, better not bother him. And others saw that same kid and felt jealous anyway because of his face.'
He clicked his tongue.
"People really are trash."
Still, it was a relief to finally understand.
'So the fix is simple enough. Just show people I'm fine now.'
Of course, that raised another problem.
'Do I even want to fix it?'
The less attention he got, the easier it was to live peacefully.
Thanks to the existence of Alex, he was able to live quite freely, but Soren was still worried that if he garnered too much attention, he might be dragged into the story, which was the thing he desperately wanted to avoid.
Sure, being in class F made that worry seem somewhat pointless, but after hearing what Felix had said, he couldn't just casually shake it off.
After all, in a world filled with narcissistic nobles who care way too much about vanity, there was a chance that even with his awful skills, Soren could still be roped into things depending on how good his appearance was.
He groaned softly.
"It's all so tedious…"
All Soren wants is to live a happy, comfortable life in this world.
••✦ ♡ ✦•••
When Soren pushed open the bathroom door, he felt an odd sense of anticipation.
'Why was I never curious before?'
It had been a little over a week since transmigrating, and Soren had yet to think about his appearance even once.
'Then again… I stopped caring about that kind of thing long ago.'
Back on Earth, he had gone months without caring how he looked; maybe that habit just carried over.
He took a deep breath and stepped up to the mirror.
The moment he raised his head, he froze.
His breath caught in his throat.
The person staring back at him wasn't just handsome.
He was otherworldly.
'This isn't just an attractive face… this is unfair.'
Snow-white hair fell to his shoulders, silky and soft.
His skin was smooth and pale, with a faint glow under the light.
Scarlet eyes framed by long lashes stared back at him, sharp yet strangely warm.
Two beauty marks stood out: one beneath his left eye, another below his lip.
His lips were faintly red, his features perfectly balanced, leaning more feminine than masculine; it was breathtaking.
Even his posture, even the way light curved around him, felt delicate, almost fragile.
Soren slowly raised a hand, touching his own cheek as if to check whether the reflection was real.
"This is… insane…"
He couldn't help but mutter aloud, disbelief heavy in his voice.
The almost S-rank Charm stat suddenly made sense.
Everything came together to create a beautiful yet delicate appearance.
'I take back what I said earlier, no wonder people were envious, I can't even call them trash anymore.'
He stared at his reflection for a long while before letting out a resigned sigh.
'Is this really a guy?'
He had always had a somewhat androgynous face back on Earth, but compared to this, his old self looked practically rugged.
Soren groaned quietly.
"I can already feel the future headaches…"
————「❤︎」————