Transmigrated into Eroge as the Simp, but I Refuse This Fate

Chapter 230: Small talk

The Langley estate was quiet that Saturday afternoon, the kind of poised silence that filled its halls like perfume—expensive, curated, and cold. Victoria’s room was no different. The only sound was the faint scratch of pen against paper, the rustle of textbook pages, and the soft hum of the wall-mounted lamp beside her.

She was studying.

Not for a test. Not for review. Not even for any particular subject.

She just needed the noise.

The structure.

The distraction.

Her pen glided across the page as if it had purpose, but her thoughts weren’t on the formulas, or the annotated political theory notes she was recopying by hand. Her eyes flicked to the side of the desk where her tablet sat, dark screen showing a faint reflection of her pinched brows and too-tight lips.

Because something wouldn’t leave her alone.

Something she couldn’t process.

Damien Elford.

Ranked 23.

Top 25.

It wasn’t possible.

Not for him.

She hadn’t wanted to believe it—not when she heard it from the whispers in class, not even when she saw Isabelle standing there like someone had flipped her whole sense of order upside down. But when she’d checked the rankings herself—gone into the official platform and scrolled past each verified name, one by one—there it was.

Rank 23: Damien Elford.

Her hand slowed over the page.

‘How?’ she thought again, chest tightening.

Damien had always been at the bottom. Always. It was a known fact. Even when he’d started changing physically—even when his confidence returned, his mouth sharpened—he still wasn’t the type to study. He never even looked like he was paying attention in class. He used to nap through lectures. And now?

Now he had outscored dozens of students who had spent years at the top. People with private tutors, family legacies, system-boosted resources.

She gritted her teeth.

‘Was it the notes…?’

That thought annoyed her more than she expected. It shouldn’t have mattered—she’d only given them because he blackmailed her. She owed him nothing.

And yet…

She remembered how confident he’d looked before the test. Not fake confidence. Not smug barking.

Composed.

Calm.

Serious.

She remembered laughing when he said he would climb the ranks. Hadn’t even considered it possible.

And now… here she was. Studying out of spite. Out of need.

Just to suppress the endless reel of questions biting at her pride.

How did he do it?

Why now?

Why her?

Victoria exhaled, tossed her pen down, and leaned back in her chair. The chandelier light caught in her hair as she tilted her head back, closing her eyes against the weight building behind them.

‘This is insane…’

But even then—

She remembered his expression.

That look he gave her when she turned to glare.

That maddening, casual smile.

‘What if I do?’ he’d said.

Like he knew.

Like he knew she’d already started counting the seconds before she saw his score.

And now that he’d done it—now that he’d climbed?

Now what?

And then she will send the text.

ChatGPT said:

Her eyes opened slowly, the ceiling above her swimming back into focus. But the unease didn’t leave.

It was supposed to fade. Now that she had seen the rankings. Now that the shock had settled.

But it didn’t.

Because a question kept echoing behind her ribs—louder than her pride wanted to admit.

How?

She stared at her desk. The notes she’d recopying by hand were flawless. Clean. They always were.

And Damien had them.

But that alone wasn’t enough. Not for twenty-third. Not in three weeks.

Not unless—

“No,” she whispered aloud, immediately sitting forward. “No. He couldn’t have cheated.”

It was a national-tier system. The exams were integrated, proctored, triple-verified by external servers. No hacks. No cracks. Not even system-enabled students could manipulate results without setting off alarms across every division.

And yet, he—of all people—had risen.

Victoria’s throat felt tight. Not from fear. From curiosity. The dangerous kind.

Because part of her wanted to know. Needed to know.

Had he studied?

Or was there something else?

‘It doesn’t make sense,’ she thought bitterly. ‘Nothing about him ever made sense.’

And before she could talk herself out of it—

Her hand was already reaching for her phone.

She didn’t hesitate this time.

The message opened.

The name burned at the top of the thread.

| Victoria [15:24]

| What are you doing?

Sent.

She stared at the screen, heart steady—but her jaw clenched, and her knuckles went white around the edge of her desk.

And the answer came soon enough.

| Damien [15:26]

| Why ask? Missed me?

Victoria’s eyes twitched.

The nerve.

She exhaled slowly, counting three full seconds before typing. Her thumbs danced across the screen with the practiced precision of someone holding back the urge to throw the device across the room.

| Victoria [15:26]

| Don’t flatter yourself.

| I’m just trying to understand how someone with a brain made of bricks managed to pull a 23rd rank.

The reply was immediate.

| Damien [15:27]

| You think I’m made of bricks?

| I’m touched. You’ve been thinking about me that much?

She nearly growled. But no—this time she wouldn’t rise to it. She’d fish what she came for.

She paused, shifted her tone.

Victoria [15:28]

| Did you get tutored?

| Someone from outside the school? Or some hidden system-trained genius?

The dots blinked.

Once. Twice.

Then—

| Damien [15:29]

| Yes.

Victoria’s pulse quickened. So she was right. There was someone. Some kind of savant he had access to. But who—

| Victoria [15:29]

| Who?

A pause.

And then—

| Damien [15:29]

| Myself.

| I am the genius.

Her jaw dropped a fraction.

And then clenched.

| Victoria [15:30]

| A genius, huh?

| What kind of genius needs someone else’s notes?

She smirked to herself, resting her chin in her palm, the faintest flicker of satisfaction warming her chest.

A beat later—

| Damien [15:31]

| I can’t just pull knowledge from the air, Langley.

| If that’s your standard for a genius, then everyone’s just ordinary.

Tch. Slippery bastard.

| Victoria [15:31]

| So you’re not that special, after all.

| If it weren’t for my notes, you wouldn’t have ranked at all.

This time the reply didn’t come as quick.

But when it did—

| Damien [15:32]

| True.

| I won’t deny that.

| Your notes were… impressive.

| Clean, logical, methodical. Even the margins were efficient.

| Honestly? Better than half the textbooks we’ve been handed.

Victoria blinked. That was… unexpected.

| Damien [15:32]

| They served me well.

| I made good use of them.

Her breath caught. It wasn’t the compliment itself—it was the way he said it. Calm. Undermined by no sarcasm or mockery. Just… sincere.

And somehow, that made it worse.

Because it meant he meant it.

He didn’t deny her value.

He acknowledged it.

And it still ended with him winning.

Her fingers tightened around the edge of her desk.

| Victoria [15:33]

| …Tch.

| Don’t think this means you’ve earned a lifetime subscription.

| You got lucky. Once.

| Damien [15:34]

| A lifetime subscription, huh?

| I’d say it lasts as long as my currency holds value.

| And you know exactly what that currency is.

Victoria stared at the screen, her thumb hovering, expression darkening.

He didn’t need to say it outright.

He didn’t have to.

Because she knew.

Her secret.

The one tied like a noose behind his smile.

And he was reminding her—gently, almost lazily—that it still hung there.

Still waiting.

| Damien [15:34]

| And as for luck—

| I’d say I’m lucky most of the time.

| Especially lately.

The screen pulsed with smugness. She could practically hear the grin in his voice.

And the worst part?

It wasn’t empty bravado.

He had been lucky lately.

“Pffft…”

Though strangely, this talk was fun.

———-A/N————

I have an exam tonight, so the chapters will most likely be late again.

The chapters that I had written previously were bugged because of the one-drive, so I needed to write them again. For some reason, my school’s domain got buggged zzzz….

I hate it when this happens.

But then, it is time to pace things up. Interesting things shall start to happen now.

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