I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Shinji Kitahara looked at the strangely bewildered Alice in front of him and his lips twitched.

"Alice, calm down, you're making me a little nervous..."

"Don't be so nervous, Guinea Pig, I won't hurt you."

Alice sat there with a very gentle smile on her face.

"Or, if you're worried, I can give you all the potions I have on me, and I can also tell you where all the things hidden in this room are."

"If you're still worried, I have some medication here that can temporarily incapacitate the horse. The side effects aren't fully understood, but it should be fine..."

As she spoke, she suddenly pulled out a bottle of light gray potion from somewhere and was about to pour it into her mouth.

Shinji Kitahara, of course, couldn't let her do that, and directly reached out and snatched the bottle of medicine.

But before Shinji Kitahara could even catch his breath after taking the potion, a pair of small hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him into her arms.

"As expected, Guinea Pig, you're very kind. If you keep this up, you'll get scammed."

She hugged him, smiling happily.

Alice's arms didn't exert any force. After realizing what was happening, Kitahara Shinji easily broke free from her embrace, then stood up, took a small step back, and his expression gradually became serious.

"Arisuko, what's wrong with you?"

"Can't you see? Guinea Pig, you're really slow."

Alice smiled, intending to answer his question directly, but the words caught in her throat as she decided to play.

"Let's make a deal, Mr. Guinea Pig. Touch my ear, and I'll tell you the answer, okay?"

Shinji Kitahara hesitated for a moment, seeing her expression that said 'I won't tell unless you touch me,' then sighed, reached out, and carefully rubbed her ear twice before quickly withdrawing his hand.

"Okay, I'm done touching you. Can you tell me now?"

"Guinea Pig, you're so stingy! I usually don't let anyone touch me..."

Alice muttered softly, her face slightly flushed.

Shinji Kitahara glared at her, annoyed.

"Say it!"

"It's really not a big deal."

Alice blinked, looked carefully into his eyes, and smiled as she spoke.

"I just discovered that the drug's effect doesn't seem to be simply suppressing pleasure, but rather converting the excess stimulation into something else through a chemical reaction, like..."

"Good impression".

Shinji Kitahara was stunned for a moment.

"......What?"

He was a little unsure if he had just imagined what he was hearing.

Alice remained smiling, her tone calm.

"I mean, the side effects of the medicine I just drank will turn the excessive stimulation into a feeling of goodwill."

"Or, to be more precise, it's my affection for you, Guinea Pig."

Shinji Kitahara's eyes widened slightly.

"Wait, so that means..."

"You're right, Guinea Pig."

She looked up at his face, her eyes brimming with emotion that seemed almost overflowing, and her tone was sincere.

"Right now, it seems like I can't think of anything other than liking you."

Chapter 85: Isn't this going too far?

Excessive stimulation was transformed into positive feelings.

When he heard Alice's reply, Shinji Kitahara was completely stunned.

Sis, wait, you're my older sister now. Didn't you check the side effects before using this medicine? And isn't its effect a bit too fantastical?

He's starting to regret it now.

If he had known that Elizabeth's medicine would have this effect, he would never have used even half his strength...

No, let alone 50%, he would never even touch her.

but now......

"You know this feeling is fake, right?"

Feeling the undisguised, burning gaze, Shinji Kitahara braced himself and asked.

"Yeah, I know."

Alice nodded, still smiling.

"But what does it matter? I like you, that's a fact right now, isn't it?"

"But the problem is that this kind of love is itself fake..."

"Love is not an objective thing, so where is the line between falsehood and truth?"

Moreover, this is by no means entirely false; rather, it is a prosperity that has been fostered.

After all, even if pleasure is transformed into affection, if the heart itself is a barren wasteland, then no matter how much affection there is, it will have nowhere to stay and will only dissipate with the wind.

She blinked, looked at the worry in Kitahara Shinji's eyes, smiled, and reached out to poke his stomach.

"Alright, you silly guinea pig, don't worry about me so much. This effect isn't permanent, otherwise I would have definitely noticed it when I was testing it before."

"...How long will that take?"

"Hmm... another half hour or so?"

She turned her head to look at him, her eyes filled with undisguised love.

"So, could you please cooperate with me for the next half hour and act as my temporary lover?"

"No."

Shinji Kitahara flatly refused.

To be lovers? Are you kidding me?

Putting aside the fact that this thing is easy to make real, the risks are huge.

Even if things don't turn out for real, once she returns to normal, she'll probably hunt him down relentlessly, even if it means mutual destruction.

"Then you can wait here for half an hour, I'll go check on the eclipse..."

This is the best solution that Shinji Kitahara could think of for this situation.

but......

As soon as Shinji Kitahara finished speaking, Alice's smile noticeably faded.

"Um, Guinea Pig, you don't have to leave. It's okay if you don't agree to my request. The nursing work can continue; I'll be fine on my end..."

"No."

"Just stay here with me until this state ends. I won't use you as a guinea pig, nor will I do anything else. I just want you here..."

"...no."

"I won't do anything, I just really don't want to leave you right now, just half an hour, I just want you here, even if you're far away, it doesn't matter, please..."

"......no."

Although Alice's expression was clearly pitiful and her tone was pleading, Shinji Kitahara hesitated for a moment before deciding not to grant her request.

Because no matter how she behaves now, it's a side effect of the medication, not her own will.

Moreover, although what Alice said made sense, no one knew what she might do in this state. Whether for his own sake or for hers, he had a reason to leave.

After saying that, Shinji Kitahara started walking outside.

As he ventured further and further away, the light in Alice's eyes began to fade, her mood visibly declined, and her expression gradually became sad.

But she didn't try to stop Kitahara Shinji from leaving; she even slowly withdrew her hand, which she had instinctively reached out as if to try to stop him.

Then, she began to gradually gather her body together, slowly curling up and burying her head in her knees.

Because he was worried that she might lose control and cause an accident, Shinji Kitahara kept an eye on her even as he walked away. Naturally, he noticed her little actions and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

But all he could do was sigh.

Although he felt sorry for her, he knew very well that this was just a false emotion caused by the side effects of the drug. Doing anything would only cause problems, and leaving was the best option.

Clack.

Thinking this, Shinji Kitahara unlocked the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

But he hesitated to press it.

Because right behind him, a faint sob could be heard.

"As expected, the guinea pig hates me, doesn't it?"

"Self-centered, willful, a lot of trouble, and poor grades..."

"Even though she has no one to take care of her and can't even take care of herself, she always acts so arrogant..."

"Okay, okay, I got it. I won't go out, alright?"

Shinji Kitahara knew she was probably acting, but he couldn't take it anymore and turned away helplessly.

Then he realized that Alice's behavior didn't seem to be an act.

She curled up on the bed, and after he looked over, she turned her head away with red eyes. She took a few deep breaths, as if trying to suppress her emotions, but she could only suppress them for a few seconds before sobbing started again.

Shinji Kitahara was stunned.

No, I know it's fake, and you know it's fake, so why can't we just wait for this half hour to pass?

Where is your rationality? Save me!

Oh, wait, it seems he pinched too hard just now. At this moment, his goodwill might be suppressing his rationality and acting recklessly.

That's fine.

With a helpless sigh, Kitahara Shinji steeled himself and went back to sit down next to her.

"Okay, okay, I'll wait with you for the next half hour, please stop crying, okay?"

"...I didn't cry."

Alice answered silently.

"Ah, yes, yes."

Shinji Kitahara didn't know what to do in this situation, so he could only proceed as usual.

After a brief exchange, the two fell silent again.

So, when did things turn out this way?

Even Alice couldn't explain it clearly.

Initially, she learned of his existence by accident and went to see him out of curiosity.

At that time, she was very confident in her trainer skills and never thought of relying on others. So she just wanted an interesting guinea pig and used his name to step into the arena.

But gradually, things started to get a little strange.

In fact, she initially had no romantic feelings for him whatsoever. She even looked down on things like liking or being in love, thinking it was just a boring waste of life, far less interesting and meaningful than conducting research in the laboratory.

But everything changed after he appeared.

He easily shattered her seemingly perfect theoretical plan, mercilessly pointing out her problems, smashing her confidence to pieces, and denying her future possibilities.

If it were another horse girl, she might have thought he was talking nonsense, and would have thrown a tantrum or stubbornly refused to believe him.

But the problem is that she is Alice, so she quickly realized that what he said was true.

No racehorse girl doesn't thirst to run, and no racehorse girl doesn't yearn for victory, but the cold, hard facts are right in front of her, so she has no choice but to accept them.