"Since we’re outside the academy today, and as we’ve gathered here to help Miss Fionis, I’ll speak a bit more casually."

"Yes, Senior Lilith! You can even call me Lyria if that’s more comfortable!"

"Then I’ll call you Miss Lyria. After all, we’re not quite close enough yet to drop the formalities entirely."

"Okay…."

Since Ethan wasn’t around, I naturally loosened up my speech a little, and before we dove into the plan, I asked her the most important question.

"Before we begin, there’s one important question I need to ask, Miss Lyria."

"Yes, Senior Lilith!"

"Among all the other female seniors, why did you come to me to ask how to seduce a man? There are plenty of women in the academy who are more... well, maybe not more beautiful than me, but I’m sure there are still some who are close."

Objectively, there were only two women I considered more beautiful than myself: Seraphina and Natalie.

Seraphina was the undeniable main heroine of Luminor Academy, while Natalie got bonus points for her healthy, energetic beauty, which was more of a personal preference.

There were others as well—like Silena, the only elf in the academy, who had a delicate charm, or Cerestina, who had a subtle presence but an alluring femininity. Then there was Rigi, who was popular and beautiful with a magnetic personality.

Lyria had plenty of options other than me, so she must have had a reason for choosing me as her advisor on how to seduce a man.

"That’s because... I heard a rumor that you’re a genius when it comes to seducing men, Senior Lilith!"

"...A genius at seducing men?"

"Pfft."

I was caught off guard by the absurdity of Lyria’s words, and Agnes, standing next to me, couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

"I don’t understand how I could possibly be considered a genius at seducing men…?"

"But didn’t you get engaged to Senior Ethan?"

"...Well, that’s true, but…."

"To go from being a maid to getting engaged to the noble you serve, it’s nothing short of genius! You made him fall so deeply in love that he overcame the difference in your social status!"

...Is that how it works?

Now that I think about it, it kind of made sense. Or maybe it was just nonsense that I happened to interpret as logical.

Considering that Lyria had feelings for the hero, it wasn’t so strange that she admired the love between Ethan and me, a relationship that had overcome a difference in social status.

Although the gap between a commoner maid and a duke’s only son wasn’t as large as that between a barbarian girl and a world-saving hero, there was still a notable difference in their statuses.

"A genius at seduction... Pfft, haha."

"...Well, I understand why you asked me for advice, though I don’t agree with the whole ‘genius at seduction’ thing."

"Why not?"

"Because there’s someone who’s truly a genius at overcoming social differences through seduction... right here."

"What?"

"Huh? Why are you suddenly looking at me...?"

Agnes, sensing something was off when all eyes shifted to her, muttered uneasily, but it was too late. I had already offered her up as the next "sacrifice" to Lyria.

"Miss Agnes here managed to make a prince fall head over heels for her after just one meeting! She’s a true genius at seduction, far surpassing me in overcoming social barriers. How could I possibly claim the title of ‘genius at seduction’ with someone like her around?"

"O-oh, wow! That’s amazing, Senior Agnes!"

"N-no...!! Lilith’s just talking nonsense...! Prince Antonio and I aren’t like that at all…!"

"But isn’t it true that Prince Antonio likes you, Miss Agnes?"

"Well, he does like me, but what does that have to do with me being a ‘genius at seduction’...?"

"Look, Miss Lyria. In my case, I made some effort to win over Ethan, but Miss Agnes here managed to seduce Prince Antonio without even realizing it! So, doesn’t ‘genius at seduction’ suit her better than me?"

"Oh, you’re right! Genius of seduction, Senior Agnes!"

"Miss Agnes is the genius of seduction!"

"S-stop it...! Don’t call me that!"

Agnes’s face turned bright red as she vehemently rejected her newfound title, but Lyria and I didn’t stop showering her with praise for her "genius."

"Master of seduction!"

"Expert of seduction!"

"Prodigy of seduction!"

"Maestro of seduction!"

"Stop it, both of you…!!"

Waving her staff around in frustration, Agnes tried to silence us, her face flushed crimson. She should’ve known better than to let us tease her.

With my teasing of Agnes done for the day, it was time to get serious and move on to Lyria’s confession plan.

"Miss Lyria."

"Yes, Senior Lilith!"

"Actually, I already know who the ‘close senior’ you want to confess to is."

"...Really?"

"Yes. And I’m personally acquainted with him, too. Would you like me to guess?"

-Nod, nod.

Lyria nodded at me, her eyes filled with doubt but also curiosity. With that, I calmly listed off traits of -***, making it obvious who I was talking about.

"First of all, I’d bet this senior is part of the swordsmanship club, right?"

"Th-that’s correct."

"And he’s one year ahead of you."

"That’s right."

"He’s skilled enough to be in the top five of his club, which gives him the right to choose his opponent in ranking battles."

"Yes…."

"He holds a high rank that makes it hard for you to approach him."

"That’s true…."

"And finally, the most crucial thing."

"......"

"The person you like is a man, isn’t he?"

"Oh, wow! Amazing! You’re right, Senior Lilith!"

After I listed all the traits of -***, Lyria grabbed my hands in excitement, nodding enthusiastically.

As expected of a muscle-brained character, once she set her mind on something, she wasn’t too hard to handle.

"It’s nothing. I figured out who you liked from the start."

"...Of course, it’s obvious her crush would be a man."

Agnes muttered, exasperated, from the side, but I ignored her. The key to these situations was maintaining the right atmosphere.

After all, fortune-tellers don’t rely on actual mystical powers; they succeed by gathering enough prior information to make educated guesses and appear insightful.

Once I gained Lyria’s trust, everything else would fall into place. She was the kind of simple-minded barbarian girl who never doubted someone she trusted.

"Your confession won’t be difficult, Miss Lyria. After all, you do have a pretty face."

"Thank you!"

"Don’t misunderstand, Miss Lyria. Aside from your face, there are a lot of other things we’ll need to work on before you confess."

"...Okay."

Lyria the barbarian.

Despite her pretty face, there were many aspects of her that were a bit overwhelming.

She had a slightly taller build compared to the protagonist. Some would describe her as slender, but to be honest, she was nearly flat-chested. She had six-pack abs and sun-kissed skin. Her voice was unnecessarily loud for a girl, and her brain was more muscle than anything else.

While I personally liked her character for her healthy, energetic charm, it was clear that, from the perspective of most men, she had a lot of qualities that could be divisive.

All the undeniably beautiful characters in Luminor Academy were already the main heroines. The only heroine with a somewhat unconventional appearance was Agnes.

It was only natural for supporting heroines, especially those with smaller roles, to have traits that were more polarizing. After all, the game company had to market the game using the main heroines, so they would prominently feature the conventional beauties on the cover.

And I highly doubted -*** would have a beauty standard much different from that of the average guy. Even someone like Seraphina, whose beauty was unparalleled, failed to capture his attention, so there was no way Lyria’s appearance would impress him.

In other words, Lyria’s confession was doomed from the start. Since it was destined to fail, my job was to ensure that she got rejected in a way that would leave her with no lingering feelings for -***.

This hero, surrounded by beautiful women, wouldn’t get any sympathy from me. He had to face the consequences of his actions. It was his karma, after all.

"For your confession, Miss Lyria, you’ll need two things: clothes and speech."

"Clothes, speech…."

"I won’t ask you to change anything about your personality or other physical traits. Those are things you were born with and can’t change. Besides, any man who would reject you based on those things isn’t worth your time, Miss Lyria."

"I understand, Senior Lilith!"

"So, the only things I can help you change are two things: wearing stylish clothes that will catch any man’s eye and crafting a romantic confession line that will improve your chances. If you do these two things well, the chances of your confession succeeding will increase dramatically."

"Th-that’s true."

"So let’s start by getting rid of that raggedy outfit you’re wearing."

"Raggedy...?"

-*** was probably already accustomed to seeing her in that worn-out attire.

So, we’d start by making a bold first impression with a change in her appearance.