ã€ŠThe World of Otome Games is Tough For Mobsã€‹


 Chapter 0 - prologue

    <h4>prologue</h4>

    <i>TLN: Sorry that this isn¡¯t the ¡°Is it Tough Being a Friend?¡± that you were waiting for. I¡¯ll continue that now.

    </i>

    <i> This caught my interest, and I thought about doing a quick teaser for the time being.

    </i>

    <i> Also, the English title that this LN provides is ¡°The World of Otome Games is a Tough for Mobs¡± but that¡¯s not grammatically correct.</i>

    <h4>Prologue</h4>

    Justice and evil can change depending on one¡¯s point of view.

    I was so tired that philosophical lines, which I normally wouldn¡¯t think of, popped up into my head.

    My willpower has been shaved down to the point that...I¡¯ve been having a nk expression for a couple hours now.

    I want to lie down on my bed and spend some leisure time on the manga and anime I love so much. Either that, or I¡¯d like to y some games that have a male audience in mind.

    With eyes like that of a dead fish, I, a functioning adult, am ying...an otome game. (<i>TLN: An otome game is basically a romance game directed towards a female audience. Mostmonly, they¡¯re dating sims with a female protagonist.</i>)

    It¡¯s one of those so-called love simtion games which y simrly to the gal games that are directed towards males, but are on the opposite end of the spectrum. (<i>TLN: Gal games are basically romance games directed towards a male audience, pretty much the opposite of an otome game.</i>)

    The protagonist is a girl. It¡¯s an otome game, so the capture targets are males. On the other hand, if the protagonist is a boy and the capture targets are females, then it¡¯s a gal game.

    That¡¯s right, during my time off, I¡¯m not ying a game directed towards males.

    It¡¯s not as if I like otome games, I prefer gal games.

    ¡°Why do I have use this morning to the win over some likeable guy?¡±

    I¡¯m not happy to see the male character on the other end of the screen blushing.

    Basically, every captureable character that appears in the game is beautiful.

    They¡¯re created by popr illustrators and voiced by famous voice actors. If this were a gal game...I¡¯d be d to hear the female characters, but the sweet voice of a guy doesn¡¯t make me happy!

    With a nk expression, my focus was on a smartphone¡¯s screen.

    Since I have no motivation, I have to rely entirely on walkthroughs to y.

    Once selecting a choice on the flickering screen, you¡¯ll know if the love meter rises, apanied a sound effect and a varying pose that the 3D character will make.

    The male character had a pose where his hand was brushing through his hair, along with his cheeks slightly blushed.

    ¡®You¡¯re different from normal girls. Let me hear your name.¡¯

    This guy¡¯s the crown prince©¤©¤an capture target character that appears in the game, and is established as a male character that¡¯s highly popr around the campus. This is a scene where the protagonistes across him by chance, and not knowing that he¡¯s the crown prince, interacts with him normally.

    I¡¯m far past my second ythrough. I could only let out aint about these first-meeting scenes I¡¯ve seen many times.

    ¡°You gotta be kidding. There¡¯s no way that one wouldn¡¯t know who the crown prince of their own country is. How sly. How sly of the protagonist.¡±

    It seems that the crown prince doesn¡¯t notice the sly behavior of the protagonist.

    ¡°...He¡¯s blushing while in delight. He¡¯s got no keen eye.¡±

    I¡¯m spending my long-awaited weekend break ying an otome game.

    Currently, it¡¯s noon on a Sunday. I¡¯ve been ying this otome game non-stop since Saturday. I¡¯ve been busy recently and didn¡¯t get a weekend break in a while.

    At that moment, I heard an electronic sound from my smartphone.

    Upon checking, it was a message with an image from my younger sister.

    ¡®Enjoying it abroad with my friends~¡¯

    ...Seeing my sister¡¯s smile made my blood boil.

    My sister was having fun at a beach and hotel with her friends.

    I immediately replied.

    ¡®Stop kidding me! Didn¡¯t you push this game onto me because you said you were busy!¡¯

    Right now, I¡¯m ying my sister¡¯s otome game.

    On Saturday morning, my sister, a college student living with her parents as opposed to me who lived alone, visited my apartment.

    I thought of it as unusual before she forced a game onto me.

    With a smile, she said ¡°Since you have free time,plete this game for me, brother.¡±

    Andplete means to reallyplete it. After seeing an image, video, or scene in-game at least once, it can be reyed many times over. She told me toplete everything.

    ¡®Stop screwing around, do it yourself!¡¯ is what I also said.

    ©¤©¤I got a reply from my sister.

    ¡®Huh? Is it alright for you to say that? I won¡¯t resolve the misunderstand with mom and the others that way. I¡¯ll buy you a souvenir, so pleaseplete it~. *If you don¡¯tplete when I get back, I¡¯ll do more cruel things that will keep you stuck in that apartment. From, your cute sister.¡¯

    As I read the message, I yelled while fighting the urge to m my phone onto the floor.

    ¡°Damn iiiiit!!¡±

    I wanted to refuse doing this.

    However, my sister who lives at home©¤©¤hid arge amount of her personal books in my room. They were books she liked and were for fujoshis. My mother happened to find them when she was cleaning, and now it¡¯s caused a misunderstand about me supposedly having <i>that</i> kind of preference. (<i>TLN: Fujoshis are girls that have a very strong passion for yaoi/homosexual rtionships between men in manga/anime/novels</i>)

    I tried to resolve the misunderstanding, but the more I tried to exin©¤©¤the more she thought I was trying to deceive her.

    ...It¡¯s a nightmare.

    I¡¯ve also learned that my sister is a fujoshi as a result of this misunderstanding.

    And, perhaps you could say it¡¯s just bad luck, but...people trust my sister more than me. Even from the perspective of her brother, her looks are on a different ss and her grades are also superior. I¡¯ve also heard talks about how she has a gentle and friendly personality.

    In truth, she¡¯s just skilled at feigning kindness, and she always gets me into trouble.

    Judging from this otome game matter, I can also tell that she has the worst kind of personality.

    She hides her hobbies, and no matter how much I try to exin to my parents, they ce more faith in my sister¡¯s words.

    When my worried mother gave me a phone call, I almost cried. That¡¯s also the moment where within my mind, I deeply engraved the desire to take revenge on my sister.

    Holding back the urge to rage, I returned my line of sight to the screen.

    Once picking up the controller again, I only thought about clearing the game so that this misunderstanding can be resolved. It¡¯s annoying, but my parents trust my sister.

    My sister promised to clear up the misunderstanding if Iplete the game.

    ...There¡¯s nothing left for me to do other thanpleting this otome game.

    This is frustrating, but my sister excels at talking her way through a situation. On Saturday morning, she refuted my objections to her needing cash for her trip©¤©¤and demanded I give pocket money to her. It¡¯s quite pathetic that I was frightened into giving her cash.

    However, I will definitely take revenge. I will continue my scheming as I fill up the love meter for this guy on the other end of this screen.

    ¡°You¡¯ll regret incurring my wrath.¡±

    Since a long time ago, sister has been clever with getting her way.

    She knows that she¡¯s cute, she¡¯s the exact opposite of me. Her only weak point is probably how she hides her hobby from her surroundings.

    I knit my eyebrows while continuing the game with feelings of frustration.

    ¡°...I can¡¯t get pushed around each time.¡±

    My sister forced an otome game onto me.

    Aiming to be arge-scale otome game, it has quite a lot going for it. My younger sister is one of those that bought the limited edition immediately for the illustrations and voice actors.

    However, the problem is that despite being an otome game, is has RPG elements and even strategy simtion elements in it.

    As expected, this is a strange change of pacepared to the games made bypanies with a male audience.

    The game¡¯s setting is a fantasy world of swords and magic.

    It¡¯s a setting where people live in a magical world that stands out from Earth.

    I believe that it¡¯s a world with royalty and nobles, where the level of society isn¡¯t that high, but it¡¯s also a world where airships fly through the sky and knights can wage war while wearing armor that are like powered suits.

    In this world, the protagonist goes to a nobles¡¯ academy.

    the protagonist herself seems like a simple girl from the countryside. She¡¯s a student that¡¯s not a noble, but amoner, and yet, she¡¯s given special permission to enroll in the school.

    Since her position is special, she gets picked on by the high-status noble girls. At that school, shees across the prince and some noble sons, but at the same time, she gets involved in various matters and even a war.

    Anyways, it¡¯s a game that tosses adventure and war into a school love game.

    In addition, it¡¯s ¡°a world very convenient for women.¡±

    In the beginning, my sister also tried clearing it herself, but in the end, it seems she wasn¡¯t well-versed in the factors of boys and gave up.

    Thanks to that, I ended up getting stuck with a tedious job. She said ¡°You just have to do this simple game. Easy, right?¡±

    Well, I certainly like games, but even I think that this is difficult.

    ¡°Nobody would want these sections inside an otome game in the first ce.¡±

    Though Iined, I stared at the screen while operating the controller.

    On the screen, a unit of airships were lined up.

    The design of the airship looked like a rugby ball. Various other airships were facing it.

    There were hexagonal grid lines. It was turn-basedbat where you move allied ships to have them attack using the cannons on their side, and knights wearing armor will swoop down on the enemy, but©¤©¤.

    ¡°Damn it! What kind of enemy skill is being activated here! This is strangely hard. I¡¯m trying to clear this more efficiently.¡±

    The enemy¡¯s skills and special techniques will activate, and the attacking allies receivedrge damage.

    Once the ally was attacked, they directly received the opponent¡¯s offense and sunk...although skill and ability can help with winning against the opponent, there¡¯s a randomness factor that makes things very difficult.

    My sister would give up here.

    ¡°Ah, crap.¡±

    The airship that I couldn¡¯t let sink, the one carrying the prince, instantly sunk.

    I saw the letters ¡°Game Over¡± on my screen.

    ¡°It happened again! It¡¯s impossible to y while looking at the walkthrough!¡±

    I oh so wanted to tell my sister to give it up. I want to say that I could just download apleted save file off the inte, but...this game has the feature of naming the protagonist. My sister put in her name.

    She wants the famous voice actors to whisper her name, or something like that...

    Due to that, I can¡¯t solve this by putting in apleted save file.

    I have to clear it myself.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already done this so many times! The prince sinks too much! Is it <i>that?</i> Does it want me to cave into microtransactions? Is this how it wants me to spend money on microtransactions?!¡±

    Despite being an offline game, there¡¯s paid content for upgrading. Were they a response to yers¡¯ cries of not being able to clear the game, or was this done as a calction...? They give out numerous items that make the war part easy.

    I don¡¯t want to cough out even more expenses for my sister, but what¡¯s causing my time to be taken away is certainly the battle and war parts.

    Other than those, this is the same as a gal game. No issues arise unless you select the wrong choice. I paused the game to look for paid content.

    Arge number of items appeared on the screen.

    Their prices around around one hundred yen, but things that are helpful for the battle part, like airships and armor, are strangely expensive.

    Three hundred or five hundred yen. There¡¯s even paid content going for eight hundred yen.

    ¡°...It¡¯s setups like this that make its reputation worsen.¡±

    Initially, this anticipated superrge scale work was criticized on the inte for not being beatable without microtransactions.

    Due to it having steep costs, the pricing was reworked and lowered within a month.

    Yet even so, I still think it¡¯s expensive. With those thoughts in mind, I was taking a look at the men¡¯s swimsuits for sale.

    ¡°I¡¯m not fond of men¡¯s swimsuits.¡±

    What¡¯s on sale is a special item that makes the male characters appear in swimsuits.

    Seeing it made me disgusted.

    Though, if this was a gal game and this item put the female characters in swimsuits, it wouldpletely be the type of thing I¡¯d purchase.

    ¡°It probably doesn¡¯t work for the women like it does for the men.¡±

    I gave off a feeble smile while emotionally exhausted.

    I feel displeased imagining a female yer getting off to these guys in swimsuits.

    ¡°I wonder if women feel the same way about harems? Well, whatever.¡±

    A man surrounded by women is a harem, a woman surrounded by men is a reverse harem. A man seeing a reverse harem will feel uneasy, and a woman seeing a harem would definitely feel unsure.

    I¡¯m getting tired about thinking of such things. Anyways, I¡¯ll just think solely aboutpleting the game.

    ¡°Well then, what do I buy to quickly finish the game?¡±

    Since they¡¯re paid content, they should be potent.

    Special weapons for the male character, special equipment for the protagonist, and other such things were also up for sale.

    I¡¯d anything, I¡¯d like to find something useful for the war part and buy it. Anything that can help with progressing through the game.

    ¡°...This one?¡±

    What came into view was a battleship that was the most expensive paid item.

    It ignores troublesome status effects and the need to resupply, it seems to be a strong airship in any case.

    ¡°Rather than an airship, this looks more like a spaceship.¡±

    Its appearance is metallic and it doesn¡¯t look like any of the other airships in the game. Its design would be one that people would think of as a space battleship.

    For being one thousand yen, I had nothing to criticize in terms of its performance.

    Checking its description, it¡¯s from ancient times or something...at any rate, it was written down as a terrifying spaceship.

    ¡°...It really is a spaceship! Or maybe, that¡¯s just a typo?¡±

    Did they write it as a spaceship in the description by mistake? I was thinking about it, but I don¡¯t care as long as I can clear the game.

    What¡¯s important is that this purchase could make the game easier.

    Next is to check for armor.

    Powered suits...they take the form of armor, but they don¡¯t give any sense of realism at all. They¡¯re appearances look like what¡¯s referred to as robots.

    The guys who wear this armor while in the midst of war are...the knights.

    From a woman¡¯s point of view, perhaps they find it cool to see a man that can fight for them?

    Anyways, with a purchase this big, it seems like I can depend on it.

    If this makes it easier to reach the capture, then I¡¯ll consider it a cheap expense.

    The ck armor makes it look a bit viinous, but that¡¯s no problem. Dark heroes are cool... Thinking about it, this was a pretty good design for somethinging out of an otome game.

    des are strong, but master swordsmen don¡¯t have a projectile weapon. Their weakness is their reliance on weapons, and if a guy has poor equipment...they¡¯re a feeble magically-illiterate fool that¡¯ll get struck.

    Due to the unhelpful capture target characters, I¡¯ve gotten a game over many times...

    ¡°I have to finish this...and at any rate, I want toplete it easily.¡±

    I¡¯m going to lose my precious time off ying an otome game.

    I don¡¯t have patience here, so by using the paid content that I purchase, I can continue progressing through this otome game.

    As afternoon passed and it became evening, I managed to unlock over 90% of the events and CGs.

    All that remains is the reverse harem ending.

    The remaining ending is where all of the male characters get married to the protagonist.

    This is what¡¯s called the true end of the game©¤©¤the proper ending, but it doesn¡¯t matter to me whether it¡¯s true or not.

    I¡¯m not ying this for the thought of capturing them.

    In the daily life part...I took the items received by the guys when their love meter reached a certain amount, and sold them off for money at a second-hand shop the next day.

    Nevertheless, the protagonist is apanion of the people in question.

    It would be fiendish to sell them off in front of their eyes, but it¡¯s a game so it doesn¡¯t matter.

    If this were a gal game, it would be impossible for me to take such an action. Even though it¡¯s a game, I can¡¯t be so fiendish.

    Anyways, this my sister¡¯s otome game. Nothing matters as long as I can clear it.

    I continued ying while thinking as such...and then I realized that it had turned to night.

    Finally reaching the reverse harem end, the joy from the liberation was apanied by a sense of emptiness.

    ¡°...It took a whole two days to conquer this.¡±

    When seeing the ending, feelings of rage, then sorrow, welled up.

    Why did I have to do this?

    I saved the data, and having kept my promise with my sister, I copsed onto my bed.

    Looking at my clock, it was a little early to sleep.

    I don¡¯t feel like moving because of my exhaustion, but the oue of being relieved that it¡¯s all over was an empty stomach.

    cing my hand on my stomach, I remembered that I ate little in the morning and nothing by the end.

    ¡°There was nothing in the refrigerator.¡±

    I was nning to do some shopping during my time off, but I prioritized clearing the game, so I did not go outside.

    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll go to a restaurant?¡±

    When checking the time on my smartphone, I got a message from my sister.

    ¡®I¡¯m worn out from all the fun~. I¡¯m going to return in a few days, so you better clear it by that time. If you don¡¯t take this seriously, you¡¯ll forever remain a perverted, foolish brother ??.¡¯

    ¡°This girl is the worst.¡±

    She¡¯s making demands to me as she enjoys herself and tells me to work seriously. Furthermore, she¡¯s extorting money out of me...

    However, a small question arose.

    ¡°Has she been taking a part-time job or something? Where is her travel moneying from?¡±

    The pocket money that I gave her wouldn¡¯t be enough to cover it.

    Perhaps she¡¯s trying not to reveal it because of her imprudently high pride. If she works during closing time, she wouldn¡¯t have any leisure time untilte at night.

    In addition, she said that she won¡¯t do a part-time job because doesn¡¯t want to dobor.

    Now that I think about it, I remember that my mother said something a little before that.

    ¡°She said that money was needed to get a license, or something like that.¡±

    It seemed my parents thought about getting a car license and were preparing money for it, but only part of it had to do with using it for travelling.

    I took a snapshot to copy my sister¡¯s message.

    I¡¯llpile it with a PC so that I can send it to my mother.

    Of course, what¡¯s apanying it are images of herments.

    ¡°...What an idiot. She¡¯s makes light of her brother, so I¡¯ll do this.¡±

    She threatened me and went on a trip.

    If I show this to our parents, what would they think?

    As to be expected, she won¡¯t be able to make an excuse in light of hard evidence. Then finally, the mask hiding her true character wille off.

    I noticed that I was grinning while thinking about it. Then I realized something.

    ¡°Huh? If I did this from the start, I wouldn¡¯t have had to pointlessly clear this game...argh, it¡¯s no use crying over spilled milk now.¡±

    While realizing how stupid I was, I got up and took my wallet in my hand since I was hungry.

    I¡¯ll temporarily put the matter of my sister on hold and go eat.

    I¡¯m not going to rack my brain over this otome game anymore.

    While thinking so, my steps got lighter.

    It was a strangely fluffy feeling, kind of like the feeling of joy after being free from work.

    ¡°Now then, I¡¯ll go on splurge today and even take something more pricey from the menu...¡±

    I left my door while looking forward to my gorgeous dinner. I walked through an empty passage with flickering fluorescent lights, and then was attacked by a sudden dizziness as I approached the stairs.

    <h4>prologue part2</h4>

    <i>TLN: I used Rion before for the synposis, but I¡¯m using Leon now (and correcting the synopsis), since the site for this LN gives the official English spelling of the names for the main characters (the rest are still up for interpretation).

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah, this is pretty bad.¡±

    My body lost its power like a puppet with its strings cut, and toppled down on the spot.

    My body wasn¡¯t doing what I wanted it to, and it was the worst of luck to have it right before I was about to descend from the stairs.

    The scenery in my field of vision was quickly changing as my body approached the stairs.

    I didn¡¯t feel anything like pain in my body, but I recognized that my current state of vigorously tumbling down was dangerous.

    ¡°I can¡¯t...die...like this.¡±

    My younger sister had crushed my long-awaited break, and just when I think I¡¯m free, I¡¯m going to get serious injuries now. Actually, it¡¯s quite possible that my life may be at risk.

    Thinking as such, I oddly©¤©¤got enraged.

    As the scenery around me dimmed and I gradually lost my senses, I had a thought during my final breaths©¤©¤I had seen a scene that normally wouldn¡¯t happen even if one was in theirst moments.

    There wasnd rising from the sea.

    An airship was flying in the air.

    As I reached out to the sun in the blue sky and white clouds, my consciousness faded away.

    ¡ó

    When I came to, I was on a nted bank, with lushly grown grass.

    There was the sound of grass scraping against one another, and the scent of ntation.

    Lying down at such a ce as my hand was reaching to the sun, I, ¡°Leon Fou Baltfault¡±, was attacked by a violent throbbing.

    I wasn¡¯t sweating because of the sun¡¯s warmth, it was a cold sweat that wouldn¡¯t stop.

    There was a pulsing pain in my core, and a unpleasant feeling as I sweated.

    ¡°W, what was that just now?¡±

    Since I sat up in a panic, some of the grass that got caught on my clothes fell onto the ground. As the wind blew, the des of grass drifted away.

    As I thought of it as a strong wind, a giant airship passed through above me, blocking the sun with itsrge shadow.

    This airship, which was wooden like a box, is one that periodically arrives at this territory.

    I usually look at it nonchntly, but today, I couldn¡¯t hide my eyes wide open in astonishment.

    It feels as if I¡¯m seeing this for the first time.

    Clutching my chest, my heart was still pounding fiercely. My breathing wouldn¡¯t calm down either.

    As I stood up, I looked at the direction the airship was heading towards, and there was a sea spreading beyond.

    I feel a sense of something out of ce, the sea looks different.

    ¡°What is this? Why does©¤©¤¡±

    I slowly walked forward, and then fell over.

    Looking at my body, my hands and feet were strangely small.

    I¡¯m sure that this is my own body, and yet I strangely feel like I¡¯m small.

    Rather than worrying about this, I need to check the situation first.

    I got up and walked, then gradually shifted into a dash towards the sea.

    I have this uneasy premonition.

    I feel like it took quite a bit of time with these child-like legs, but I got to my destination.

    The location, which had a fence to prevent people from falling down, looked like the usual scenery.

    ¡°Right. It¡¯s just like usual©¤©¤a floating ind.¡±

    This was an ind floating from the sea.

    The ind is still floating, but I don¡¯t know whether to be happy or sad about it. I had an image pop up about an ind floating in seawater.

    Though I shouldn¡¯t have needed to, I wanted to confirm it anyways.

    Something¡¯s been strange for a while now.

    When I reached my hand out towards the sun, an image popped up inside my head that seemed like someone else¡¯s life. It was the entire life of a man that didn¡¯t live here.

    There was nothing prominent about it, but it still seemed enjoyable. It could be written off as a dream or illusion, but it felt vivid and strangely real.

    Though I saw into that man¡¯s entire life, I don¡¯t remember his name.

    I held my head against both of my hands.

    It was such a vivid memory I saw and yet, why can¡¯t I recall his name?

    I feel like I had instantly recalled the experiences of someone beyond my age of five.

    I sat down, unable to understand what was going on. I feel like my current memories and those memories I recalled are blending together into a mix.

    I looked up at the sky behind the fence.

    ¡°...What...what happened to me?¡±

    Even I don¡¯t know who that question was directed towards.

    ¡ó

    Since the sun was setting, I returned home.

    I was reluctant to return, and I remembered that I hade to this bank to run away, but I wanted to get back before it turned to night.

    I braced myself as I returned home, and my father was waiting there.

    He stood there in front of the entrance, waiting with a daunting pose.

    ¡°You stupid son!¡±

    He hit me on the head with hisrge fist, and I opened the front door while holding back my tears.

    Then there was my mother.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally returned. Why did you run away on the day the wife finally came?¡±

    My father, ¡°Barcus,¡± is a feudal lord©¤©¤a baron.

    Not long ago, an image about nobles had suddenly popped up, one where they wore neat clothes, and left more of a stingy impression. However, in that image, they were fat, whereas my father was a muscr giant that had grown out his facial hair. His attire was a shirt, tan pants, and boots, which didn¡¯t quite look noble-like.

    My mother was a mistress named ¡°Luce¡±©¤©¤a woman of a knight family that serves the Baltfault household.

    She didn¡¯t wear a dress, but clothes that would be worn by a town or vige girl.

    The ¡°wife¡± that my mother was talking about was my father¡¯s legal wife.

    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m...sorry.¡±

    Perhaps sensing that the aura around me was different from usual, my parents heldplicated expressions as they led me to where I was staying©¤©¤which was not a mansion, but a storehouse.

    Thereupon, a woman wearing a dress was watching from the open front door.

    There were cold gazes sent towards me, as I wasn¡¯t supposed to leave the residence.

    With figures in dresses embroidered with jewelry, the eldest son, ¡°Lutart,¡± and the eldest daughter, ¡°Merce,¡± were holding themselves back.

    Only those two are the wife¡¯s©¤©¤the legal wife¡¯s legitimate children.

    Behind them stood tall and neat-looking men wearing suits. Having long ears, they were male elves that were sneering at us.

    ¡°Good grief, this uneducated child is no different from a beast.¡±

    This woman, who was partially closing her eyes and had hair gathered together, gave off the exact image of a noble girl. My brother and sister were wearing valuable clothes, unlike me.

    My mother apologizes, and my father takes me the the storehouse.

    My father held a face of perseverance until we got to the storehouse.

    ¡°...Reflect on yourself in the storehouse. You¡¯ll get to eat afterwards.¡±

    When I nodded to what he said, there turned out to already be a guest in the storehouse.

    The second son, ¡°Nicks.¡±

    He was my older brother who wore clothing like mine, and was reading a book under the light of antern. My father and I looked at him with surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯re stupid as well. Just bear with it and those people will leave.¡±

    When my father saw my brother turn his sight back to the book, he hit him on the head.

    ¡°Nicks, help Leon with studying.¡±

    My brother made a face that seemed as if he was strongly opposed to that, but he made some room on the desk.

    Once I sat down, he gave me a warning.

    ¡°If you fall asleep, I¡¯ll hit you.¡±

    Seeing that I nodded, my father left to return to the residence.

    Now that it was just the two of us, my brother hands me a book to read.

    I opened the book, which had been read so many times that it was getting tattered and had scribbles here or there.

    I was inside the warehouse.

    While warding away the bugs that were gathering around the light, I read.

    I had this somewhat strange feeling.

    My head was filled with thisnguage that I didn¡¯t recognize. It¡¯s obvious that thisnguage is different from what¡¯s written in this book I have. Actually, I feel like thatnguage is easier.

    As I was worried about such things, it seemed that my brother thought that I stumbled upon words that I had trouble reading.

    ¡°Think through it yourself for a bit. If you really don¡¯t know, then I tell you what it is.¡±

    Time quietly passed.

    The persistent and annoying bugs were gathering around the light.

    ¡°©¤©¤Hey, brother?¡±

    My brother was slightly surprised that I had spoken.

    ¡°Brother? Didn¡¯t you call me bro in the morning?¡±(<i>TLN: MC was using Aniki, Nicks notes that MC was using Nii-san in the morning.</i>)

    I tried to correct myself in a hurry, but my brother seemed to have seen through me.

    ¡°Are you at that period where you try to act older? Well, it doesn¡¯t particrly matter to me. Leaving that aside, is there anything you don¡¯t understand.¡±

    I shook my head.

    What I was more curious about was our treatment.

    I wasn¡¯t bothered by it until now, but doubts were currently popping up one by one.

    I get that the eldest son is treasured, but howe we¡¯re the only ones driven away to a storehouse? There are older and younger sisters besides us.

    Yet, those sisters aren¡¯t in the storehouse, even though they¡¯re illegitimate children like us.

    ¡°Why are we the only ones in the storehouse?¡±

    My brother muttered to himself, saying ¡°They said to me that it was only going to be until yesterday...¡± then he set aside his book and stared up at the ceiling.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the wife hates us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re the children of our mother?¡±

    My brother put his hands behind his head, and leaned his back against the chair.

    ¡°Do you think that there¡¯s any other reason than that? Even though they¡¯re daughters of a mistress, it seems she¡¯s hesitant on sending the girls to the storehouse, but this is how us boys get treated.¡±

    From there, my brother exined the situation of the household in an uninterested manner.

    Rather than talking to me about it, it seemed more like he wasining about it to me, the youngest brother of three.

    It seems that my brother, who¡¯s seven years old, had a lot toin about.

    The Baltfault family is a household that holds a floating ind as its territory.

    However, it was previously a knight household that had been ssified as a semi-baron one. Not genuine nobles, but more or less in a feudal lord social standing.

    It seemed that they were a family that lived rtively peacefully for a knight household.

    As months and years passed by, they had realized that they turned out to be a household with warriors for subordinates. Knights showed up, wanting to serve them, causing the scale of their situation to get bigger.

    As their territory progressed, the fields and need for work increased©¤©¤and that meant the poption they needed to support increased. The scope of their territory had caused them to barely reach the scope of a baron family.

    ...So that¡¯s how things got to here.

    Investigators from the ¡°Holfault Kingdom¡±e to our territory.

    It seems that this is something from the time of my grandfather, but it seems that investigators hade before to judge if the scope of our territory was worthy of being for a baron family. Then they proceeded to talk about the process for ascending in noble rank, but my grandfather brushed over it in a rush, it seems. Anyways, bing barons wasn¡¯t something intentional.

    There, some knowledge from recalled memories rushed to my head.

    Shouldn¡¯t ascending in rank be something worth enjoying? Furthermore, is it really that simple to decide on it based on territory scale? For something like rising in status, isn¡¯t it necessary for more achievements, like military feats or something, to be aplished? Those were the questions I had.

    ¡°Is it bad to ascend in rank?¡±

    It seems my brother doesn¡¯t know this, but I could sense that father¡¯s not happy from his expression.

    ¡°There wereints about how troubled it would given its short notice, and how some wanted to be a baron household through contributions appropriate for them to be one. That¡¯s the reason why we don¡¯t have much money.¡±

    The kingdom wants earnings that match our family status.

    One piece from the recalled memorieses to mind.

    A household that was barely at the scope of being a noble family, and a noble household with a lot of leeway.

    The household with leeway has no issues, but the household that doesn¡¯t has a hard time making contributions. So, despite our scope of territory being enough for a baron household, it seems we¡¯re called a silent kinda-baron family.

    Anyways, we became a baron household that are feudal lords of the countryside in an isted ind.

    Wanting to behave in a way befitting of his family¡¯s status, father married a woman with a high status.

    However, the woman he calls his wife is normally not in this territory.

    The eldest son and eldest daughter also onlye here asionally.

    ¡°...Fath©¤©¤Dad and his wife are married, right? Why is she not usually here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal for women in baron households and above. Pretty unlikable. If I get a wife, then I absolutely want one that¡¯s a semi-baron or lower. Well, a high status woman would think nothing of us anyways.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal?¡±

    ¡°You too should start studying at once. If not, you won¡¯t get married in the future, even when you¡¯re twenty years old. If you can¡¯t get married while in the academy, you¡¯re likely going to be a leftover-husband of a woman past her prime. That¡¯s not good, right?¡±

    ...I could not hide my surprise.

    There are a lot of things I want to ask, like about the academy and such, but...above all I want to ask about that word, leftover-husband. Isn¡¯t it usually women that have to get married by a set age?

    ¡°H, hey, bro?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you call me brother. Anyways, what is it?¡±

    ¡°...Men are usually the center of the household, right? Or rather, what do you mean by being forced to get with an older woman?¡±

    My brother tilted his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like I said. There are woman who aren¡¯t married, had their man run away from them, or otherwise don¡¯t have a husband. They get a lover in name only so that they don¡¯t lose face. So, there are lots of old women and women past their prime that would take in youthful men as a leftover-husband.¡±

    My brother answered my question in an awfully firm manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s usually men that are in the upper position, right?¡±

    From my recalled knowledge, I vaguely remember that men usually were the ones in charge for these kinds of situations. However, it seems that¡¯s not the case.

    ¡°If you look at dad, you¡¯ll know that the women are the ones in charge. You¡¯ll also know that he can¡¯t oppose that jer©¤©¤his wife.¡±

    Seeing how he corrected himself by saying ¡°wife¡± instead of ¡°jerk¡±, it seems that my brother thinks of her as unpleasant.

    I had gone and heard something outrageous.

    ¡°Something¡¯s strange about you today.¡±

    I made a bitter smile towards my brother¡¯s suspicions while turning my line of sight back to the book, I was oddly sweating though.

    How strange...this world is strange.

    Due to this strange knowledge I got, I feel a sense of difort.

    I read my book in silence for a while. Then I recall the words of my brother.

    These recalled memories, wherever they came from, left a very strong impression.

    ¡°Academy...Holfault Kingdom? Then there¡¯s the wife¡¯s servants, which were elves? Huh? Could it be...?¡±

    As I was muttering to myself, my brother made aint about the noise.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°U, um, those suited guys. Those elves were lovers of the wife, right?¡±

    My brother had a look of indifference, but was shocked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask something like that. Look, just study.¡±

    Those elves, which are part of a sub-race, are the wife¡¯s lovers, or more urately, close servants that attend to her...I understand that. Or rather, I remember about this very clearly.

    I slumped over on my desk.

    ¡°...This is the world of that otome game.¡±

    The cloudy memories gradually became clearer.

    As that happened, I had realized that this terribly frivolous setting was of that otome game.

    My brother pped me on the head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep! What¡¯s seriously going on with you today? Did you hit your head?¡±

    I lifted my head and looked at my brother.

    I raised a stiff smile, causing my brother to back away a little in surprise.

    ¡°W, what is it?¡±

    ¡°...Brother, this world is outrageous, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°...A, ah, it is.¡±

    My brother, troubled in his answer, turned his sight back to his book, as if wanting to escape from me.

    I never that I would experience being reincarnated into another world.

    Furthermore, a world of swords and magic...but I didn¡¯t hear about this otome game world being one where women are ced above men, or something like that.

    I held my head against both of my hands.

    ¡°This is the wooooorst!¡±

    My brother made aint to me, who had gone and shouted.

    ¡°What is with you! Someone shut this guy up!¡±

    I, Leon Fou Baltfault, am a former Japanese man who reincarnated into the world of an otome game.

    ...I wanted to reincarnate in a more normal world.

    It would have been better than an otome game...give me a break.

 Chapter 1 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 1 part1</h4>

    <h4>Reasons for Fighting</h4>

    Ten years have already passed since I¡¯ve recovered my memories.

    When this otome game, which had a frivolous setting that was full of inconsistencies, became real, it made me boil in anger at this unsightly world as the days passed.

    Well, I can¡¯t help but be angry.

    Though this is another world, a game world, there¡¯s my livelihood that I have to deal with.

    Though I¡¯m a noble, I¡¯m a noble that¡¯s poor and in the countryside. Since I generally do farm work at home, I can help around still.

    I¡¯ve forged my body through farm work, making my expression look more tough than how I was before in my previous world.

    ck eyes, ck irises, and fifteen years old.

    My face isn¡¯t prominently beautiful, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something unsightly either.

    However, this world is the unconventional world of an otome game.

    Guys with good looks aremonce all around.

    I suppose that I¡¯m one of the many others out there, the mobs.

    My brother, who I believe I¡¯m on good terms with, is in the maind kingdom¡¯s academy within the continent, and is living in their dorms.

    That cramped room that I was using with my brother before is now being upied by my younger brother that¡¯s under six years old©¤©¤¡±Colin,¡± the fourth son, together with me.

    I¡¯m reading a letter sent by my brother.

    He wrote ¡°Finding a marriage partner is tough,¡± in the letter.

    In this otome game world...it¡¯s considered an issue if a man can¡¯t find a marriage partner by the time he leaves the academy, and men that can¡¯t find one by the time they¡¯re twenty are considered defective goods.

    This is particrly harsh for noble boys. Commoners might be forgiven, but noble boys that can¡¯t find a partner by age twenty are given the cold shoulder.

    This world is unthinkably tough for guys.

    I can only pray that my brother finds a marriage partner soon as I read this letter in my cramped room.

    To make matters worse, not being married will have an effect on finding a job or being sessful in life.

    Many of them will be forced to be expelled from their family in the future, even for second or third sons of nobles. When the eldest son can¡¯t seed the lineage, there will be a recement in his ce, and the eldest son will no longer need to give birth to a child that will be the sessor.

    In that case, our upations will already be predetermined.

    Mainly soldiers or government officials. The more novel ones be doctors or something like that. At any rate, it¡¯s good to aim for an upation that benefits the country and citizens. Anything other than that, and the cold shoulder will be given.

    Then, the guys who can¡¯t marry are treated as servants for armies or government jobs. They can¡¯t hope for a sessful career, nor will they be entrusted to any important tasks.

    In any case, their social reputation will plummet.

    This is a world where marriage is very important for men.

    ¡°At any rate, this is truly a tough world.¡±

    Wars, skirmishes, sky pirates, monsters...there¡¯s lots of conflict in the world, making the death rate of knights and soldiers high. There are a lot of children in my family, but the reason for that is because many of them will die.

    It¡¯s the job of the men to fight. To make matters worse, the central figure of the family is not going to change any time soon, so I have to work. Despite that, The females are the ones that hold authority...

    The men fight with their lives on the line and easily die, yet our treatment is extremely poor.

    ¡°This world is too kind towards women.¡±

    I¡¯m sensing that this world is distorted because of the setting for this game.

    This ce is quite splendid for women. Even more so for nobles that are barons and above.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because the capture targets are all rich dudes from good families?¡±

    I want to cry if women dominate over men because of a game-like reason.

    Why did I reincarnate into this world? Not a day passes by without this thought in mind. No wait, there¡¯s some. There¡¯s quite a few. In the first ce, since my life is busy each day, I often forget about this.

    It¡¯s been ten years since I¡¯ve gained my memories...I¡¯ve gotten used to this.

    Inside the room, Colin was lying down on the bed sleeping.

    He had an innocent face.

    People like us that aren¡¯t sessor are just spares, to put it bluntly.

    When entering a game-like academy, we¡¯ll only amount to mobs in the background.

    We¡¯ll be like the many others that only serve a supporting role.

    At best, we¡¯d get to say a word or two during the game.

    Mob A or B, that¡¯s our position.

    I never even heard of the Baltfault baron family or anything like that within the game in the first ce.

    ¡°A mob...that¡¯s what I seem to be.¡±

    I don¡¯t want to admit it, but I¡¯m the kind of person that faces reality. To begin with, I¡¯m not the type of person that¡¯s brimming with ambition to do something big and get ahead in life. If I¡¯m a mob, then so be it.

    Apart from that, I¡¯m going to enter the academy starting next year.

    One of the few advantages to this world is that nobles are able to enroll in an academy.

    I feel a bitplicated when thinking about how this is the result of the game¡¯s setting bing real, but I¡¯m grateful that I can be a government official or military personnel.

    This is a precious opportunity to get outside this territory.

    Besides, I can look for a marriage partner while at an academy.

    If I don¡¯t leave this territory, then what awaits me is a forced marriage after some marriage talks taking ce.

    It¡¯d be a little better if I got someone in the same generation as me, or even someone twenty years old, but it¡¯s no joke if I¡¯m the leftover-husband of a thirty or forty year old.

    ¡°When I think about it like that, I really am thankful for being able to enter an academy.¡±

    Looking at my little brother Colin peacefully sleeping, I breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡ó

    ¡°...M, marriage interview? What do you mean by that?¡±

    It was after breakfast.

    I lost myposure as I was called in father¡¯s office©¤©¤or rather, his workroom.

    The reason is that the wife, ¡°Z Fia Baultfault,¡± was sitting down on the sofa and brought up the talk about a marriage interview.

    My father, sitting on the chair he normally uses, was making an unpleasant face.

    As I received personal background documents showing the photograph of a marriage interview partner and other various things, I had no choice but to be stunned.

    Father was making a troubled face, but after looking at Z¡¯s face, he turned towards me.

    ¡°Z brought up a marriage proposal. It seems that her acquaintance is looking for a leftover-husband.¡±

    Zined as she drank an especially expensive tea in our house by saying ¡°Cheap articles don¡¯t suit my tongue.¡±

    I raise my objections in disapproval.

    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t right!¡±

    The reason for my protest was because this is a cruel choice for a partner.

    This partner seems to be a daughter of a baron household©¤©¤but it¡¯s written in these background documents that she¡¯s over fifty years old, she¡¯s gone through marriage seven times.

    She has children too, but all of them are older than me.

    Z sets down her cup in a slightly violent manner, and then res at me.

    I could tell that she was irritated.

    ¡°This is something you would normally be indebted to me for. She¡¯s a daughter of nobles from the royal court, and their family has a long history of serving the royal family. What are you dissatisfied about?¡±

    What am I dissatisfied about? On the contrary, it¡¯d be stupid to think that there¡¯s anything I¡¯m satisfied about. No wait, perhaps she may really be stupid. In the first ce, what kind of daughter is fifty years old?!

    ¡°Why are you bringing up talks about marriage when I haven¡¯t even entered an academy yet?¡±

    It¡¯s an unspoken rule that nobles basically marry after graduation. I suppose that¡¯s due to the game¡¯s setting, but at any rate, it¡¯s a rule.

    That¡¯s probably because half of the nobles don¡¯t graduate from an academy.

    The exception to that is a marriage for political reasons. Or perhaps there¡¯s some other reason out there for marrying early. Nevertheless, most are pretty much limited to just engagements.

    Bringing up talks about marriage does not apply as an exception.

    This partner is called a daughter of a baron household, but she doesn¡¯t hold any of the heritage. More precisely, she¡¯s a nephew of the main household, making her only a rtive.

    Furthermore, this marriage with me would be her eighth...it¡¯s obvious that this marriage talk can only mean danger.

    Z got angry, and her tone of voice grew stronger.

    ¡°I can still allow the second son to enter an academy. However, there¡¯s no meaning in sending the third son to one. Even if there were no entrance fees, there would still be other things that need money spent on them.¡±

    I re at Z as father apologizes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that this is happening to you. However, the reality is that our household has little money. There are still ways of making money regardless of whether or not you¡¯ve entered an academy.¡±

    Father nced at Z from time to time. No matter what they say, I¡¯m definitely not going toply.

    Z reclined on the sofa.

    ¡°Even if you graduate from the academy, you won¡¯t find work. The right choice is to marry for the sake of the family. Be grateful that you can peacefully go through marriage. I also made preparations for you to work as a soldier. Do your best.¡±

    That¡¯s when I noticed it.

    ...This person is nning to have me die in a battle.

    Nobles. This is the same for soldiers, but when they die in a fight for the sake of the country, their family will be paidpensation.

    For soldiers, payments happen en masse, but the case is a little different for nobles.

    They will be given an honor for fighting on behalf of the country, and to make matters worse, theirpensation is given annually.

    The only thing I can hear from Z¡¯s marriage talk is the money she wants from my death and her subsequent honor from it. All the husbands of this partner so far have been written down on this background document as ¡°honored by death in battle.¡±

    Far from trying to hide it, it¡¯s as if it was written down as a boast.

    ¡°No. I refuse.¡±

    Z pounded on the table and stood up in response to my refusal.

    ¡°Silence! This is my view on lowly third sons like you! If you¡¯re a boy, then work for the family!¡±

    This Z woman...basically lives in the kingdom¡¯s capital, the ¡°royal capital.¡± Unlike feudal lord nobles, shees from royal court nobles that receive work from the royal pce.

    Since she doesn¡¯t want to leave the royal capital, father has to make arrangements for her residence and also send her money for living expenses.

    We send money her way even though our ie in the household is considerably tough, and yet this is the attitude she begets. However, father will gain a bad reputation if he cuts off ties with this woman.

    If he casts Z away at this point, her family won¡¯t y nicely©¤©¤and our status will suffer damage.

    He can¡¯t divorce her for that reason.

    I rack my brain trying to figure out a way to break through this dilemma.

    Then I remember.

    I have the knowledge of this game©¤©¤knowledge of this world.

    I¡¯m getting tired of this usual lifestyle at age fifteen, and I haven¡¯t tried anything out in particr, but...isn¡¯t now the time to use my knowledge of this game to the best of my ability?!

    There¡¯s no future for me if I don¡¯t do my best!

    ¡°...So there¡¯s no problem if we have money?¡±

    Zughed scornfully towards my words.

    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s quite the attitude for a good-for-nothing that can¡¯t earn money.¡±

    If you want find one of the few people to say that to, then take a look in the mirror.

    I did not want to be called a good-for-nothing by Z, a parasite on the Baltfault household that indulges herself in the royal capital.

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to refuse talks about formal matchmakings. Please stop this if you¡¯re thinking that earning enough to cover the entrance fees will work.¡±

    Not knowing what I was talking about, father made hisint towards my words.

    However, father doesn¡¯t go with a strong attitude.

    ¡°You¡¯re still young, Leon. Doing something like that so hastily is©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Silence! Men over twenty won¡¯t find a partner no matter what! You don¡¯t thank me for finding you a partner so quickly, and now you¡¯re being picky by makingints...this is why I hate brats from the countryside.¡±

    Quite absurd of you to me everything on the countryside.

    When I was about to raise aint, father intervened.

    ¡°Think about the feelings of this child. He can¡¯t help but refuse when his marriage is with a woman that¡¯s in her fifties. The age difference is almost forty years.¡±

    I¡¯d be the leftover-husband of a woman that has children older than me.

    It¡¯s natural that I would hate it. Even for a world where women dominate over men, this marriage talk, which she had decided as something unrefusable, is something that treads on peculiar territory.

    A family where my is wife nearly forty years older than me and even her children are older than me...it gives me the chills just thinking about it.

    My father breathed a sigh.

    ¡°...If he can prepare money, it¡¯s fine to revoke these talks about marriage, right?¡±

    Z sat down in a violent manner and crossed her legs as she looked down at us.

    ¡°Oh? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard about you having the resources to do so. I¡¯d prefer you use it to increase the amount of money you send me.¡±

    I¡¯m not going to make false assumptions by saying that all women in this world are like this person. However, looking at this woman makes me feel disgust.

    The image of women, particrly noble women, in this world is the worst.

    Father held a hand to his head.

    He then cast his eyes downward and spoke something as if he was squeezing it out of himself.

    ¡°Give me some time. I¡¯ll find a way to arrange something.¡±

    Seeing father looking discouraged while doing the unreasonable for my sake gave me a strong sense of guilt.

    This really is a cruel world.

 Chapter 2 - Volume 1

    <h4> prologue part2</h4>

    <i>TLN: I used Rion before for the synposis, but I¡¯m using Leon now (and correcting the synopsis), since the site for this LN gives the official English spelling of the names for the main characters (the rest are still up for interpretation).

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah, this is pretty bad.¡±

    My body lost its power like a puppet with its strings cut, and toppled down on the spot.

    My body wasn¡¯t doing what I wanted it to, and it was the worst of luck to have it right before I was about to descend from the stairs.

    The scenery in my field of vision was quickly changing as my body approached the stairs.

    I didn¡¯t feel anything like pain in my body, but I recognized that my current state of vigorously tumbling down was dangerous.

    ¡°I can¡¯t...die...like this.¡±

    My younger sister had crushed my long-awaited break, and just when I think I¡¯m free, I¡¯m going to get serious injuries now. Actually, it¡¯s quite possible that my life may be at risk.

    Thinking as such, I oddly©¤©¤got enraged.

    As the scenery around me dimmed and I gradually lost my senses, I had a thought during my final breaths©¤©¤I had seen a scene that normally wouldn¡¯t happen even if one was in theirst moments.

    There wasnd rising from the sea.

    An airship was flying in the air.

    As I reached out to the sun in the blue sky and white clouds, my consciousness faded away.

    ¡ó

    When I came to, I was on a nted bank, with lushly grown grass.

    There was the sound of grass scraping against one another, and the scent of ntation.

    Lying down at such a ce as my hand was reaching to the sun, I, ¡°Leon Fou Baltfault¡±, was attacked by a violent throbbing.

    I wasn¡¯t sweating because of the sun¡¯s warmth, it was a cold sweat that wouldn¡¯t stop.

    There was a pulsing pain in my core, and a unpleasant feeling as I sweated.

    ¡°W, what was that just now?¡±

    Since I sat up in a panic, some of the grass that got caught on my clothes fell onto the ground. As the wind blew, the des of grass drifted away.

    As I thought of it as a strong wind, a giant airship passed through above me, blocking the sun with itsrge shadow.

    This airship, which was wooden like a box, is one that periodically arrives at this territory.

    I usually look at it nonchntly, but today, I couldn¡¯t hide my eyes wide open in astonishment.

    It feels as if I¡¯m seeing this for the first time.

    Clutching my chest, my heart was still pounding fiercely. My breathing wouldn¡¯t calm down either.

    As I stood up, I looked at the direction the airship was heading towards, and there was a sea spreading beyond.

    I feel a sense of something out of ce, the sea looks different.

    ¡°What is this? Why does©¤©¤¡±

    I slowly walked forward, and then fell over.

    Looking at my body, my hands and feet were strangely small.

    I¡¯m sure that this is my own body, and yet I strangely feel like I¡¯m small.

    Rather than worrying about this, I need to check the situation first.

    I got up and walked, then gradually shifted into a dash towards the sea.

    I have this uneasy premonition.

    I feel like it took quite a bit of time with these child-like legs, but I got to my destination.

    The location, which had a fence to prevent people from falling down, looked like the usual scenery.

    ¡°Right. It¡¯s just like usual©¤©¤a floating ind.¡±

    This was an ind floating from the sea.

    The ind is still floating, but I don¡¯t know whether to be happy or sad about it. I had an image pop up about an ind floating in seawater.

    Though I shouldn¡¯t have needed to, I wanted to confirm it anyways.

    Something¡¯s been strange for a while now.

    When I reached my hand out towards the sun, an image popped up inside my head that seemed like someone else¡¯s life. It was the entire life of a man that didn¡¯t live here.

    There was nothing prominent about it, but it still seemed enjoyable. It could be written off as a dream or illusion, but it felt vivid and strangely real.

    Though I saw into that man¡¯s entire life, I don¡¯t remember his name.

    I held my head against both of my hands.

    It was such a vivid memory I saw and yet, why can¡¯t I recall his name?

    I feel like I had instantly recalled the experiences of someone beyond my age of five.

    I sat down, unable to understand what was going on. I feel like my current memories and those memories I recalled are blending together into a mix.

    I looked up at the sky behind the fence.

    ¡°...What...what happened to me?¡±

    Even I don¡¯t know who that question was directed towards.

    ¡ó

    Since the sun was setting, I returned home.

    I was reluctant to return, and I remembered that I hade to this bank to run away, but I wanted to get back before it turned to night.

    I braced myself as I returned home, and my father was waiting there.

    He stood there in front of the entrance, waiting with a daunting pose.

    ¡°You stupid son!¡±

    He hit me on the head with hisrge fist, and I opened the front door while holding back my tears.

    Then there was my mother.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally returned. Why did you run away on the day the wife finally came?¡±

    My father, ¡°Barcus,¡± is a feudal lord©¤©¤a baron.

    Not long ago, an image about nobles had suddenly popped up, one where they wore neat clothes, and left more of a stingy impression. However, in that image, they were fat, whereas my father was a muscr giant that had grown out his facial hair. His attire was a shirt, tan pants, and boots, which didn¡¯t quite look noble-like.

    My mother was a mistress named ¡°Luce¡±©¤©¤a woman of a knight family that serves the Baltfault household.

    She didn¡¯t wear a dress, but clothes that would be worn by a town or vige girl.

    The ¡°wife¡± that my mother was talking about was my father¡¯s legal wife.

    ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m...sorry.¡±

    Perhaps sensing that the aura around me was different from usual, my parents heldplicated expressions as they led me to where I was staying©¤©¤which was not a mansion, but a storehouse.

    Thereupon, a woman wearing a dress was watching from the open front door.

    There were cold gazes sent towards me, as I wasn¡¯t supposed to leave the residence.

    With figures in dresses embroidered with jewelry, the eldest son, ¡°Lutart,¡± and the eldest daughter, ¡°Merce,¡± were holding themselves back.

    Only those two are the wife¡¯s©¤©¤the legal wife¡¯s legitimate children.

    Behind them stood tall and neat-looking men wearing suits. Having long ears, they were male elves that were sneering at us.

    ¡°Good grief, this uneducated child is no different from a beast.¡±

    This woman, who was partially closing her eyes and had hair gathered together, gave off the exact image of a noble girl. My brother and sister were wearing valuable clothes, unlike me.

    My mother apologizes, and my father takes me the the storehouse.

    My father held a face of perseverance until we got to the storehouse.

    ¡°...Reflect on yourself in the storehouse. You¡¯ll get to eat afterwards.¡±

    When I nodded to what he said, there turned out to already be a guest in the storehouse.

    The second son, ¡°Nicks.¡±

    He was my older brother who wore clothing like mine, and was reading a book under the light of antern. My father and I looked at him with surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯re stupid as well. Just bear with it and those people will leave.¡±

    When my father saw my brother turn his sight back to the book, he hit him on the head.

    ¡°Nicks, help Leon with studying.¡±

    My brother made a face that seemed as if he was strongly opposed to that, but he made some room on the desk.

    Once I sat down, he gave me a warning.

    ¡°If you fall asleep, I¡¯ll hit you.¡±

    Seeing that I nodded, my father left to return to the residence.

    Now that it was just the two of us, my brother hands me a book to read.

    I opened the book, which had been read so many times that it was getting tattered and had scribbles here or there.

    I was inside the warehouse.

    While warding away the bugs that were gathering around the light, I read.

    I had this somewhat strange feeling.

    My head was filled with thisnguage that I didn¡¯t recognize. It¡¯s obvious that thisnguage is different from what¡¯s written in this book I have. Actually, I feel like thatnguage is easier.

    As I was worried about such things, it seemed that my brother thought that I stumbled upon words that I had trouble reading.

    ¡°Think through it yourself for a bit. If you really don¡¯t know, then I tell you what it is.¡±

    Time quietly passed.

    The persistent and annoying bugs were gathering around the light.

    ¡°©¤©¤Hey, brother?¡±

    My brother was slightly surprised that I had spoken.

    ¡°Brother? Didn¡¯t you call me bro in the morning?¡±(<i>TLN: MC was using Aniki, Nicks notes that MC was using Nii-san in the morning.</i>)

    I tried to correct myself in a hurry, but my brother seemed to have seen through me.

    ¡°Are you at that period where you try to act older? Well, it doesn¡¯t particrly matter to me. Leaving that aside, is there anything you don¡¯t understand.¡±

    I shook my head.

    What I was more curious about was our treatment.

    I wasn¡¯t bothered by it until now, but doubts were currently popping up one by one.

    I get that the eldest son is treasured, but howe we¡¯re the only ones driven away to a storehouse? There are older and younger sisters besides us.

    Yet, those sisters aren¡¯t in the storehouse, even though they¡¯re illegitimate children like us.

    ¡°Why are we the only ones in the storehouse?¡±

    My brother muttered to himself, saying ¡°They said to me that it was only going to be until yesterday...¡± then he set aside his book and stared up at the ceiling.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the wife hates us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re the children of our mother?¡±

    My brother put his hands behind his head, and leaned his back against the chair.

    ¡°Do you think that there¡¯s any other reason than that? Even though they¡¯re daughters of a mistress, it seems she¡¯s hesitant on sending the girls to the storehouse, but this is how us boys get treated.¡±

    From there, my brother exined the situation of the household in an uninterested manner.

    Rather than talking to me about it, it seemed more like he wasining about it to me, the youngest brother of three.

    It seems that my brother, who¡¯s seven years old, had a lot toin about.

    The Baltfault family is a household that holds a floating ind as its territory.

    However, it was previously a knight household that had been ssified as a semi-baron one. Not genuine nobles, but more or less in a feudal lord social standing.

    It seemed that they were a family that lived rtively peacefully for a knight household.

    As months and years passed by, they had realized that they turned out to be a household with warriors for subordinates. Knights showed up, wanting to serve them, causing the scale of their situation to get bigger.

    As their territory progressed, the fields and need for work increased©¤©¤and that meant the poption they needed to support increased. The scope of their territory had caused them to barely reach the scope of a baron family.

    ...So that¡¯s how things got to here.

    Investigators from the ¡°Holfault Kingdom¡±e to our territory.

    It seems that this is something from the time of my grandfather, but it seems that investigators hade before to judge if the scope of our territory was worthy of being for a baron family. Then they proceeded to talk about the process for ascending in noble rank, but my grandfather brushed over it in a rush, it seems. Anyways, bing barons wasn¡¯t something intentional.

    There, some knowledge from recalled memories rushed to my head.

    Shouldn¡¯t ascending in rank be something worth enjoying? Furthermore, is it really that simple to decide on it based on territory scale? For something like rising in status, isn¡¯t it necessary for more achievements, like military feats or something, to be aplished? Those were the questions I had.

    ¡°Is it bad to ascend in rank?¡±

    It seems my brother doesn¡¯t know this, but I could sense that father¡¯s not happy from his expression.

    ¡°There wereints about how troubled it would given its short notice, and how some wanted to be a baron household through contributions appropriate for them to be one. That¡¯s the reason why we don¡¯t have much money.¡±

    The kingdom wants earnings that match our family status.

    One piece from the recalled memorieses to mind.

    A household that was barely at the scope of being a noble family, and a noble household with a lot of leeway.

    The household with leeway has no issues, but the household that doesn¡¯t has a hard time making contributions. So, despite our scope of territory being enough for a baron household, it seems we¡¯re called a silent kinda-baron family.

    Anyways, we became a baron household that are feudal lords of the countryside in an isted ind.

    Wanting to behave in a way befitting of his family¡¯s status, father married a woman with a high status.

    However, the woman he calls his wife is normally not in this territory.

    The eldest son and eldest daughter also onlye here asionally.

    ¡°...Fath©¤©¤Dad and his wife are married, right? Why is she not usually here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal for women in baron households and above. Pretty unlikable. If I get a wife, then I absolutely want one that¡¯s a semi-baron or lower. Well, a high status woman would think nothing of us anyways.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s normal?¡±

    ¡°You too should start studying at once. If not, you won¡¯t get married in the future, even when you¡¯re twenty years old. If you can¡¯t get married while in the academy, you¡¯re likely going to be a leftover-husband of a woman past her prime. That¡¯s not good, right?¡±

    ...I could not hide my surprise.

    There are a lot of things I want to ask, like about the academy and such, but...above all I want to ask about that word, leftover-husband. Isn¡¯t it usually women that have to get married by a set age?

    ¡°H, hey, bro?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you call me brother. Anyways, what is it?¡±

    ¡°...Men are usually the center of the household, right? Or rather, what do you mean by being forced to get with an older woman?¡±

    My brother tilted his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like I said. There are woman who aren¡¯t married, had their man run away from them, or otherwise don¡¯t have a husband. They get a lover in name only so that they don¡¯t lose face. So, there are lots of old women and women past their prime that would take in youthful men as a leftover-husband.¡±

    My brother answered my question in an awfully firm manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s usually men that are in the upper position, right?¡±

    From my recalled knowledge, I vaguely remember that men usually were the ones in charge for these kinds of situations. However, it seems that¡¯s not the case.

    ¡°If you look at dad, you¡¯ll know that the women are the ones in charge. You¡¯ll also know that he can¡¯t oppose that jer©¤©¤his wife.¡±

    Seeing how he corrected himself by saying ¡°wife¡± instead of ¡°jerk¡±, it seems that my brother thinks of her as unpleasant.

    I had gone and heard something outrageous.

    ¡°Something¡¯s strange about you today.¡±

    I made a bitter smile towards my brother¡¯s suspicions while turning my line of sight back to the book, I was oddly sweating though.

    How strange...this world is strange.

    Due to this strange knowledge I got, I feel a sense of difort.

    I read my book in silence for a while. Then I recall the words of my brother.

    These recalled memories, wherever they came from, left a very strong impression.

    ¡°Academy...Holfault Kingdom? Then there¡¯s the wife¡¯s servants, which were elves? Huh? Could it be...?¡±

    As I was muttering to myself, my brother made aint about the noise.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°U, um, those suited guys. Those elves were lovers of the wife, right?¡±

    My brother had a look of indifference, but was shocked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask something like that. Look, just study.¡±

    Those elves, which are part of a sub-race, are the wife¡¯s lovers, or more urately, close servants that attend to her...I understand that. Or rather, I remember about this very clearly.

    I slumped over on my desk.

    ¡°...This is the world of that otome game.¡±

    The cloudy memories gradually became clearer.

    As that happened, I had realized that this terribly frivolous setting was of that otome game.

    My brother pped me on the head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fall asleep! What¡¯s seriously going on with you today? Did you hit your head?¡±

    I lifted my head and looked at my brother.

    I raised a stiff smile, causing my brother to back away a little in surprise.

    ¡°W, what is it?¡±

    ¡°...Brother, this world is outrageous, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°...A, ah, it is.¡±

    My brother, troubled in his answer, turned his sight back to his book, as if wanting to escape from me.

    I never that I would experience being reincarnated into another world.

    Furthermore, a world of swords and magic...but I didn¡¯t hear about this otome game world being one where women are ced above men, or something like that.

    I held my head against both of my hands.

    ¡°This is the wooooorst!¡±

    My brother made aint to me, who had gone and shouted.

    ¡°What is with you! Someone shut this guy up!¡±

    I, Leon Fou Baltfault, am a former Japanese man who reincarnated into the world of an otome game.

    ...I wanted to reincarnate in a more normal world.

    It would have been better than an otome game...give me a break.

 Chapter 3 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 1 part2</h4>

    Once Z left the room, only father and I were left.

    ¡°That woman had us prepare a ship just for this asion. Then we also had to make arrangements for her stay, I feel reluctant in having to think about the costs. Father, why did you marry her?¡±

    Since she normally lives in the royal capital, we have to make necessary preparations when shees here.

    There¡¯s the costs of the airship service, but we also have to deal with the preparations for her lodging room and her meal arrangements. We also have to cover her traveling expenses.

    My father is weak-kneed.

    There are reasons for that being the case.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. This marriage was absolutely necessary. My marriage with Z lets us be treated suitably as a baron household. There¡¯s no choice in the matter.¡±

    Father must be thinking that he should be thankful for his wifeing over to this isted ind from a remote region. It seems that daughters of nobles from afar like to find partners of cities that they yearn to live in.

    There are some oddballs among them, but those kinds of women have topete against each other.

    I believe that father got married because of what it meant to be married to Z.

    That alone makes her an important marriage partner. If a baron household doesn¡¯t take an appropriate bride, then they¡¯re dering that they¡¯re not a household of that rank. They¡¯ll be made light of by other nobles, and some will attack them©¤©¤it would start a war on the household.

    In any case, they¡¯d be unable to get along with other households as well as not being treated as barons.

    It¡¯s a case of ostracism.

    ¡°So, how are you going to prepare the money?¡±

    I asked for confirmation, but I could already guess from father¡¯s bitter expression.

    ¡°To be honest, it will be tough. Our house is already in debt. Any further than this and we won¡¯t be able to recover. Even so, why did she bring up this talk all of the sudden?¡±

    Father was also curious about it.

    ¡°...Why didn¡¯t she bring up a conversation about this with my older brother?¡±

    Father tilted his head after hearing what I said.

    ¡°Even for Nicks, there would still be too big of an age gap, but...it¡¯s certainly strange. It seems that she doesn¡¯t want you to enter an academy.¡±

    I was holding a conversation here at home, but I was wondering if things were going alright on the other side.

    However, the answer was beyond my imagination.

    ¡ó

    It was a weekter©¤©¤I was in the storehouse at home.

    I was retrieving some weapons that were being stored.

    Since the weapons are the property of the parents, my father gets angry if I use them without permission. However, nobody here is going to stop me right now.

    There was an old-style rifle, the type that can only hold five magazines.

    It was the most suitable object, so I took it to disassemble for maintenance.

    I ced a decorated sword on the table and checked to see whether or not it was usable. I also gathered up other important tools.

    My father looked at me doing this with unease.

    ¡°H, hey, what do you n on doing?¡±

    When I read a letter from my brother a while ago, I decided to resolve myself.

    I¡¯ve been thinking carefully about how to use my game knowledge to earn money, but now I¡¯ve realized that it¡¯s easier said than done.

    ¡°I need to make money at any cost before I get sold off to some perverted old woman! I don¡¯t want that to happen, not at all!¡±

    My mother was getting teary-eyed while behind my father.

    It seems the house that I¡¯m potentially being sold off to is one with a bad reputation.

    There¡¯s this forest ofdies, I believe? It¡¯s gathering held with men that are ves, making it fine to treat them in any way, ording to what those old women said.

    It seems that the treatment of the ves is even worse than that of sub-race servants.

    They¡¯re a pack that enjoy using men and then crushing them.

    They¡¯re the worst.

    Furthermore, there are rumors that old women of high noble status gather there, and even that men who aren¡¯t of use are sent to the battlefield to die. They¡¯re probably thinking that it¡¯s better off to dispose of them through deaths in battle.

    What¡¯s cruel...is that Z is one of the people involved in it.

    Not one of the people that gather there, but one of the women that are thinking about making a profit by selling off us spares of the eldest son.

    They¡¯re a group that no decent person wants to get involved with, and even other fellow females would back away from.

    There¡¯s a reason why she didn¡¯t mention the elder brother in her talks and why she¡¯s been trying to prevent further talks about me going to the academy in the royal capital. They¡¯ll gather together young men like me that don¡¯t know anything, and have their way with them. That¡¯s how the forest ofdies works.

    They¡¯ll mutually make schemes for those that aren¡¯t students at the academy, so at any rate, it seems that entry to an academy works against them. Due to that, Z had been putting forth a marriage proposal before I could enter an academy.

    ¡°Why does a mob have to get involved with perverts like them! I¡¯d rather have a more calm life without any mountains or valleys!¡±

    My mother was worried about what I said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what Leon is saying.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand either. What is he nning on doing, taking out that weapon? Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s nning on marching into the royal capital? D, don¡¯t do that!¡±

    Looking at me maintaining the weapon, father made a worried face.

    I do want to march there and wreak havoc, but that¡¯s impossible for my current self.

    Even if I march into there, I¡¯m going to get apprehended since the demi-human servants near the noble women have been forged to be strong, so approaching them is not a simple matter.

    ¡°...Being an adventurer is the best option for getting money.¡±

    Both of my parents exchanged nces when hearing my words.

    In this world, an adventurer is a recognized upation. One could say that it¡¯s an upation that has to be recognized.

    At any rate, nobles can be traced back to being descendants of adventurers.

    In this game¡¯s setting, nobles are people that obtainednd by discovering it as adventurers. Adventurers that earned numerous fortunes from their adventures became nobles.

    So, that¡¯s the game-like excuse for why nobles need to be adventurers when they¡¯re at the academy.

    This lets dungeons give the protagonist a way to raise love meters, but I can use them here to save my own hide.

    My father shakes his head.

    ¡°Stop this. Going to a dungeon alone won¡¯t do anything, and it will take time before you can get money.¡±

    My mother was the same.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s right. Besides, it¡¯s hard to find a floating ind now. You won¡¯t be able to earn money.¡±

    When floating inds where people can live or floating inds with resources are discovered, they be property of adventurers. If one feels inclined to, they can potentially own that territory independently, but...there¡¯s no suitable inds remaining around this continent.

    There shouldn¡¯t be any left, but I know of one.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve decided on it. I¡¯m going.¡±

    If I was alone, then running away would be fine, but my younger brother Colin is still nine years old.

    I don¡¯t want to see my younger brother being sold off to perverts.

    Sympathizing with my resolve, my father opened his mouth.

    ¡°Is there anything you need?¡±

    I didn¡¯t hesitate to tell my father what I needed to gather. It¡¯s a little unreasonable to force this on him, but this is a critical moment that determines either my life or my death.

    If I don¡¯t do anything, I¡¯ll end up as a ything for a perverted old woman. There¡¯s a possibility that I might die doing about I¡¯m about to do, but I¡¯m going to take my chances.

    ¡°Something like a ship would work. An airship. After that, I need some bullets. A specially-made kind.¡±

    My father tilted his head.

    ¡°What in the world are you nning to do? Are you challenging a dungeon somewhere? In that case, a passenger ship should be fine.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s somewhere where passenger ships don¡¯t go.¡±

    I assemble the rifle.

    Rifles are a bit odd in a world of swords and magic, but this is a world where airships exchange gunfire using cannons. Rifles are a normal thing here.

    When I pulled the trigger, the rifle operated, and a metallic click sounded.

    I was able to keep living somehow after reincarnating into this world. Since I was satisfied with my life day after day, I didn¡¯t do anything special.

    However, as expected, even mobs have to give something up.

    I¡¯m going to have to decline a life of being a ything.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to fight.

    I¡¯ll show them all the willpower of a mob.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll prepare them as soon as possible. However, you absolutely muste back. If you can¡¯t promise me that, then I won¡¯t do it.¡±

    I intend to return, but I know that things are going to progress into a life and death situation.

    So, I told a lie.

    ¡°...I¡¯ll definitely return.¡±

    I want to protect my life, save my brother¡¯s life, and while I¡¯m at it, outwit Z. One day, I¡¯ll get revenge on that wench who tried to sell me.

    While my heart harbored such a strong feeling, I resumed my departure preparations.

    ¡ó

    ¡°This is the first time worked this seriously.¡±

    Though this is an otome game world, it¡¯s still a game world.

    It¡¯s not just once or twice that I thought about using knowledge of the game to be unparalleled.

    However, my motivation for it disappears with the exhaustion of my every day life.

    I eat a simple meal. My father trains me in the morning, and I do farmwork afterwards.

    It bes dark by the time it¡¯s over, and studying awaits me once I get back home.

    In this world, barons from a remote and isted ind are poor.

    Basically, many are poorpared to others in the cities of the maind, but be even poorer because of women like Z.

    Rank ascension©¤©¤there are many fathers whoined about how they used to be wealthy as semi-barons before they got promoted.

    Naturally, there are rich barons too, and also affluent baron households that have wealth at an absurd levelpared their previous generation.

    As far as our home is concerned, if we remained at the scope of semi-barons, then the contributions we need to give would be suitably low, and we wouldn¡¯t have to deal with a high-ss wife like Z, so our spending would reduce.

    ...Things really were peaceful when we hadn¡¯t ascended in rank.

    Heading to the edge of the floating ind, I readied the bolt action rifle and pointed the trigger at a very odd flying-fish thing I found.

    The existences called monsters are evil beings of the world within this frivolous setting. Since they¡¯re evil, I don¡¯t feel a sense of repulsion in killing them to the point that it actually feels refreshing.

    I suppose the fact that they vanish when you kill them is one of the reasons for that.

    It¡¯s better to kill these things since they¡¯ll rush to attack a human if they find one.

    However, what¡¯s gained by killing them is not visible to the eye, ¡°Experience Points.¡±

    ¡°Damn it! It dodged.¡±

    I soon loaded the next bullet into the rifle, set it up, and took a careful aim.

    My opponent noticed me and wasing this way.

    It¡¯s about one meter in size.

    Normally, having the targete closer is better for shooting, but if it dodges and it turns into a close quarterbat, I¡¯ll die in the worst case scenario. Monsters are too dangerous of an opponent when they¡¯re alive.

    I can fight because of this rifle.

    However, bullets aren¡¯t free.

    It¡¯ll be expensive if I just blow shot after shot.

    The approaching monster opened itsrge mouth and tried to bite at me. There were sharp teeth along its mouth, and it was frightening to look at.

    ¡°If I run away from just this much...then my life will be done for!¡±

    Until now, I had been thinking about trying to earn experience someday. I would be an adventurer, discover an ind, and explore it. I would earn money©¤©¤Right, I would do it ¡°someday.¡±

    I had been thinking about it, but never did it until now.

    However, with this current situation where I¡¯m already short on time and I can¡¯t run away either, I was finally being pressed to move forward.

    When I pulled the trigger, the bullet entered the monster¡¯s mouth and pierced through its back.

    Losing its vigor, it then finally dropped down before me.

    Looking at its condition, it had been engulfed in a ck smoke and vanished before its descent reached the seawater.

    ¡°...Did I get experience points from this?¡±

    I took a look at my left hand, but I didn¡¯t feel any sensation of the sort. Perhaps the game and reality really are different?

    However, not gaining experience points is not a reason to stop. I needed to sharpen my shooting skills anyways.

    Leaving the rifle aside, I won¡¯t be able to reach my destination without getting a boat, the kind that flies in the air, and the knowledge of operating it.

    What I had been thinking about doing it someday was retrieving a cheat-ss item, as it would be called in game terms. Among the paid content, if I acquire this thing, then negotiations would go by quickly.

    I had also been pondering about the possibility that it isn¡¯t there.

    Originally, it¡¯s an item, a treasure that the protagonist is supposed to obtain, among other such things, but my life is at stake here. This is a disservice to the protagonist, but I need to get that thing above all else.

    I hold the rifle in both of my hands.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to sacrifice the protagonist for the sake of my happiness. It¡¯ll be fine. ording to my calctions, I¡¯ll be in the same grade as the protagonist. I¡¯ll return the favor someday to make up for it.¡±

    I had feelings of guilt, but an even stronger desire to not get sold off to a perverted old woman.

    This is a crisis of my chastity.

    ¡°Is this how a woman being sent off to a perverted middle-aged man feels? Damn it! What¡¯s with this world?¡±

    I have little time avable.

    ¡°It should have went for it sooner.¡±

    I looked for monsters in the surroundings while in regret.

 Chapter 4 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 1 part3</h4>

    <i>TLN: Read this announcement here if you haven¡¯t yet:

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    It was a monthter.

    This one small boat is surprisingly well built.

    There¡¯s a propeller attached to the engine, and it¡¯s easy to operate.

    I was on top of the boat.

    I wore a robe that hid my body well from the sun, and put on the hood. Water, food, and some weapons to use were loaded aboard.

    This amount is enough for a single person to do fine.

    ¡°It seems I asked for the unreasonable from my father as well.¡±

    He didn¡¯t just prepare a ship for me, but a sword and rifle. There a lot of other things too.

    It wouldn¡¯t be enough to only thank my parents.

    I probably forced something very unreasonable by having them gather this much stuff.

    The boat itself is basically like a small propeller engine attached to the stuff I¡¯m carrying. Even so, preparing just this much is a hefty expense for poor nobles.

    ¡°All things considered, I wonder what kind of fantasy world has gas and electricity?¡±

    Sitting while grasping the rifle close, I hold binocrs in my hand while looking at the surroundings.

    I brought out a map and fetched apass.

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s things like this that make it a fantasy.¡±

    Thepass shows the direction and which way to go. Along with a needle that points towards one¡¯s direction, there¡¯s also a needle that knows where the destination is.

    Compasses with two needles are a thing here.

    By setting up the location with a dial, it¡¯s a handy tool that points towards the destination.

    Since it was ten years ago, my memories of the game and such are fading, but right after recovering those memories I had written down coordinates. Well done, past me!

    When I regained my memories, I had only delusions of running around as a cheat at the time, but I wasn¡¯t able to start on anything because of the business of my daily life.

    ¡°I would have been better if I had started working hard long ago.¡±

    It¡¯s only human to have such thoughts like that yet not move. One could say that¡¯s the type of person I am. Many times I¡¯ve grumbled about things like this, regretting how I didn¡¯t take action.

    I had continued idling around day after day until I was pressed for time.

    In the first ce, my life here is tougher than my previous one.

    I get up early in the morning, study during the night...farmwork is really severe. It¡¯s normal for me to get to bed right after it¡¯s all over and sleep just like that.

    I was exhausted every day. I didn¡¯t have the spare energy to do self-training, and I also didn¡¯t have any special knowledge or skills. Being a cheat with reincarnation perks? If I had such things, then I won¡¯t be going through hardships.

    Being a cheat through knowledge from home? I don¡¯t have such knowledge, and I wouldn¡¯t know how to apply it to this world.

    There was a scenery with asional floating rocks.

    ¡°There¡¯s the blue sea and sky...and also the white clouds, but I¡¯m getting tired of just that.¡±

    I grasp the rifle tightly while controlling myself from going insane.

    I, who had been in my previous world, was thinking that perhaps if Imit suicide with this rifle, a better life would await me next©¤©¤but I vigorously shook my head sideways.

    ¡°Even if I die alone, it wouldn¡¯t resolve anything. Instead of me, it would be Colin that bes victim to the perverts.¡±

    I give up on that thought and raise my head.

    The sun was radiant.

    I had been thinking many times that perhaps I could try abandoning everything and running away.

    However, this world is more dangerous than Japan from my previous life.

    With monsters and thieves, one¡¯s life is always at risk.

    In my current situation, I¡¯m flying out alone without even a means of economic security. I miss Japan from my previous world.

    I¡¯m getting fed up with this situation where I can¡¯t find refuge.

    ¡°This world is harsh for mobs.¡±

    I¡¯ve been speaking to myself a lot, but I don¡¯t care.

    I¡¯m done for if Ie across sky pirates at a time like this.

    With such a thought, I once again be cautious of my surroundings, and then a sudden wind blew strongly. The map made a a pping sound.

    Thepass had been ced on top of the map to prevent a blowing wind from sweeping it, but the needle pointing to the destination spun around.

    ¡°What?¡±

    As I got up, the wind blew even stronger, and I had to resist it or else my body would topple over. I clutched a nearby handrail and scanned my surroundings, but the sea was calm.

    The movement of the clouds was also normal.

    It doesn¡¯t look like a storm or anything is happening.

    As the boat proceeded, the sun was blocked by a shadow.

    ¡°©¤©¤Something above?¡±

    I nced up, and there was a white cloud.

    Arge cloud.

    I looked at it and clenched my left fist tightly.

    There was something under the boat.

    Looking at the sea, a part of it was shining green.

    I slumped over, and hit myself on the forehead while bearing a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s this thing©¤©¤I¡¯vee across <i>that</i>! Perhaps it¡¯s because of the micro-transactions? Or perhaps it was here from the beginning? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter either way...I¡¯ve hit it. I¡¯ve struck the jackpot!¡±

    I got up, spread both of my hands out wide, and looked up to the sky while raising a cry.

    I really am thankful that this thing exists.

    I had been thinking that it would be nice if it existed. I came here without too high expectations to confirm it, but©¤©¤I hit the jackpot.

    ¡°Whoops, I still haven¡¯t gotten my hands on it yet.¡±

    Pulling myself together, I moved to the rear of the boat and operated the propeller mechanism.

    I moved the boat close to the sea. Heading to the ce that was casting light, the boat began to creak as it shook.

    I lowered my body and clung on to the boat.

    ¡°Please work.¡±

    Though I wasn¡¯t operating the boat, it began vigorously rising. The force was too much for me to get up. I could only bear with it while I was on my knees.

    The soaring boat was thrown entirely into a cloud, and my surroundings were pure white.

    My body¡¯s cold.

    My clothes are wet.

    I protected my rifle by tucking it under my robe, and I moved the boat while not being able to see anything in the cloud.

    There was something sweeping from outside the cloud, and I moved the boat in the direction against it.

    I moved to oppose the sweeping while not seeing anything, but it felt as if I was moving along the raging stream. Well, I¡¯ve never experienced a raging stream, but anyways, a violent wind was blowing within the cloud.

    The engine made a loud sound as it was being pushed to its limits. However, even that sound was being drowned out in the roar of the wind despite that I¡¯m right next to it.

    The two needles on thepass were spinning round and round, not serving to be of any use, and I was in state where I didn¡¯t even know where I was.

    Yet, I had no choice but to continue moving against the flow, and when I realized it, my body was drenched in water. It was cold to say the least.

    My clothes, soaked with water, felt heavy.

    The boat was somehow operating against the stream, but I was uneasy about if this would work. I was challenging a storm by myself, alone.

    ¡°I beg of you! I¡¯ll ask again and again for my chances©¤©¤!¡±

    It¡¯s been several tens of minutes, or perhaps several hours?

    With my sense of time also being unclear, the overworked engine began to spout a fire.

    ¡°Wait! Wait a minute! If I get thrown out like this, it¡¯ll be a disaster for©¤©¤¡±

    Instantly, the worst case scenario popped up into my head. In the next moment, the engine exploded and the propeller spun away while on fire.

    The fire spread onto the wooden boat, and it suddenly began to shake while I was thinking that I needed to extinguish the mes.

    The boat violently shook, pierced through the cloud, and was thrown out©¤©¤then right there, a floating ind covered by the cloud appeared.

    Being ejected from the cloud, I resigned myself to my fate, but my eyes opened wide upon seeing the floating ind. It¡¯s something I¡¯ve viewed many times in the game, but when seeing it in reality, it was grand.

    The ind was entangled with the roots ofrge trees, and was green from being wrapped up in nature.

    Looking at the surface of the dirt, roots were also sticking out from it, and there was vegetation growing there.

    ¡°©¤©¤How amazing.¡±

    I gradually approached the ind. Actually, I suppose it was my boat that was heading towards it.

    I tried moving it in a panic, but since the engine was blown away, I couldn¡¯t operate it. While I¡¯m on the topic of the engine, it was also on fire and very dangerous.

    ¡°Are you serious!¡±

    While approaching the surface of the floating ind, I held onto my luggage and calcted the timing so that I could jump off the boat and escape.

    Letting go of the luggage I was holding, I rolled over onto the surface and stopped when my back hit arge tree root.

    The boat smashed into pieces when it hit crashed into the surface, and my luggage fell apart as it scattered around.

    I got up in pain as I wiped my cold sweat.

    ¡°Ah, that was dangerous. It was risky toe here on boat.¡±

    Things would have been easier had it been arger airship, but we didn¡¯t enough money to buy one. While I¡¯m talking about this, we¡¯ve also run out of money from our loans.

    ¡°But, I managed to somehow arrive.¡±

    My vision was still flickering. I hurried to gather my important luggage while holding my aching head.

    Some of the luggage had been burned, but I¡¯ll be able to manage somehow with what¡¯s remaining.

    I gathered the luggage in one ce and collected wood from the burnt boat.

    I arrived at my destination, but I lost my boat.

    With this, I really can¡¯t escape.

    There won¡¯t be a problem if I can retrieve ¡°that¡± which isying dormant in the ind, but I won¡¯t be able to leave if ¡°that¡± isn¡¯t there.

    Sitting down to take a break, it seemed that quite a bit of time had passed.

    The surroundings have begun to darken.

    I took out food and water from my luggage to eat.

    I ate some cracker-like food and washed it down with water into my stomach.

    It was food that only served to fill the stomach rather than satisfy taste.

    ¡°If nothing¡¯s here after I¡¯vee this far, then I can onlyugh.¡±

    Things will be busy starting tomorrow.

    I start a bonfire using the broken pieces of wood from the boat and warm my cold body.

    I checked the condition of my rifle and also looked for any abnormalities in my other equipment.

    ¡°It seems fine. All thing considered, it¡¯s quite the relief that this thing is okay.¡±

    Within the light of the bonfire, I count my bullets and load them into magazines.

    The bullets I have are specially-prepared ones. A mark of a thunderbolt is inscribed on the surface, indicating that they¡¯re different from normal bullets.

    In terms of Japanese yen, a typical bullet goes for around 3,000 to 5,000 yen.

    This is a special bullet©¤©¤a magic bullet that can give rise to magic effects. These are fantasy bullets that can burst open a fire upon a direct hit, have a freezing effect, or other such things.

    Due to that, the price for one shot effortlessly exceeds past 10,000 yen.

    I have only feelings of gratitude to my parents who were able to gather these bullets in great numbers.

    ¡°If I make it back alive, then it seems I¡¯m going to have to pay tribute to my parents...Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t pay tribute to my parents back in my previous world.¡±

    When I think about how I died before my parents did in my previous world, it would definitely make me seem like someone who didn¡¯t respect their parents.

    ¡°I wonder what happened to my sister? I¡¯d even be d if she were here to give me just one insult.¡±

    I still remember the day I woke up in this world, or rather, the day when I regained my memories. I miss having to do an otome game for my sister.

    Thanks to that, I¡¯ve been able to make use of the knowledge from this game, so I suppose it¡¯d be better if I show gratitude towards her, maybe?

    Then again, if she didn¡¯t force this otome game onto me, I¡¯m pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t have died.

    Is there anything missing?

    Once I finished checking the rifle and bullets, I ced them beside me as I rested my back against therge tree root.

    Since I¡¯ve been living on a boat for quite some time, this was the first time I¡¯veid down on the ground for a long while.

    ¡°...Why did I reincarnate into an otome game world? Normally, I would have reincarnated into the typical fantasy world of swords and magic. No wait, I¡¯d prefer if it were my previous world. Right, it would have been better to reincarnate in Japan if possible.¡±

    Thinking about it, it was quite lucky of me to have been in Japan, where monsters didn¡¯t exist and sky pirates weren¡¯t a thing.

    While thinking as such, I closed my eyes.

    ¡°...I¡¯ll have to...work hard tomorrow...¡±

    Thergest gamble in my life awaits me.

 Chapter 5 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 2 part1</h4>

    TLN: Testing the waters by moving sites, please refer to here for future releases:

    <h4>Lost Item</h4>

    An otome game world with a gentle setting.

    Anyways, when a terrific item makes an appearance, they are called ¡°lost items¡± in present time, and are impossible tools from ancient times being rediscovered.

    Many of them are made with a lost technology and can¡¯t be newly made, so their rarity is high.

    Among these lost items, there¡¯s even a item that only the protagonist can equip. It¡¯s a setting made for the protagonist to give off a special feeling.

    This floating ind I arrived at is the one where that very item is sitting at.

    Advancing through the forest which didn¡¯t have any path maintenance, I wiped my sweat, unsheathed and readied my sword, then proceeded while cutting away at the grass and branches.

    Just moving forward alone is a pain.

    The ground¡¯s all mushy, and I¡¯ve fallen over many times.

    ¡°It would have been better if I had my hatchet.¡±

    Advancing through the forest, I progressed by cutting away grass and branches while thinking about how much easier it would have been to have a hatchet. I brought one along, but when I got thrown out, the handle broke and it was no longer useful.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t supposed to use this sword for anything other than training.¡±

    This is more or less the mindset of nobles.

    I¡¯d wake up early in the morning and train the basics under my father¡¯s guidance. Noble houses would would employ a mentor or a tutor, but poor nobles don¡¯t really have the leeway to hire someone.

    I look at my surroundings.

    I¡¯m aiming for the center of the ind, but it¡¯s taking a long time to get there, unlike how it was in the game. As expected, it seems that the game and reality are different.

    To start with, traveling along a path that hasn¡¯t been maintained is hard.

    I can¡¯t be careless about the snakes, insects, and other living creatures, but above all, the most dangerous thing is©¤©¤

    ¡°It¡¯s here again.¡±

    Iined in a low voice while hiding.

    I crouch down onto the ground and conceal myself as the enemy passes by.

    This enemy isn¡¯t a monster.

    It¡¯s a round robot with full body armor that travels by floating along. It¡¯d doesn¡¯t have any feet, and it moves by floating in the air with a bit of a tottering manner.

    It¡¯s a machine that¡¯s characterized by its long arms and pointed hat on its head, and is a robot that¡¯s tasked with defending its base©¤©¤the ind.

    It seems that it periodically makes rounds within the forest.

    While staying still and holding my breath, I pray that I don¡¯t get discovered.

    Confirming that the machine had passed by me, I get up and quickly leave the scene.

    ¡°I was spared from being torn apart.¡±

    Since this operating machine is protecting a base that is already devoid of people, it holds a strangely lonely setting, but getting caught will be a disaster.

    The robot has continued to run since ancient times to protect the ind, and has broken or rusted parts here and there. Since it hasn¡¯t been able to find me, I suppose it¡¯s half-broken.

    ¡°I want to hurry and get to that base.¡±

    There¡¯s a base within the floating ind.

    It¡¯s the base where the lost item is residing, but robots are guarding it.

    The setting didn¡¯t exin this in detail.

    Within the game, it was a ce to gather usefulte-game items. In short, it was the point where you could get the microtransaction items.

    Though there was a chance for the protagonist and co. to get kicked out, it was the moment where one could get those items.

    I proceeded through the forest while cautious, and came across a building after walking for several kilometers.

    The building was entangled with ivy, and grown trees were sprouting through the roof, making it look worn out.

    It was probably left untouched for a very long time.

    It¡¯s a bizarre scene that resembled what I saw in the game, but it feels fresh when seeing it in real life.

    ¡°...Now this is proof that I¡¯ve reincarnated here.¡±

    I had been thinking that perhaps these recalled memories were actually just delusions...that I was only under the impression that I reincarnated. I¡¯ve thought about it many times. It was also possible that I was only seeing this world as the world of that game.

    While in relief that I haven¡¯t gone mad, I entered the building with caution.

    The defensive equipment in the building is broken, and most objects were immobile due to tree roots and ivy.

    It was a building made of concrete.

    There was electrical equipment imnted into the walls.

    It all resembled objects from the world I know about, and I can feel a sense of familiarity too.

    ¡°Old buildings like this are sometimes treated as dungeons, weren¡¯t they.¡±

    There are old buildings like this on floating inds, where adventurers would gain treasure there and umte a fortune.

    Nobles would find new inds like this and then would be praised if they conquer a dungeon. They take pride in being the descendants of great adventurers.

    ¡°It could also be said that they¡¯re breaking into historical sites, though.¡±

    Adventurers plunder treasures from precious historical sites. Sometimes they¡¯ll nonchntly destroy historically valuable things for the sake of fortune.

    Looking at it another way, they¡¯re destroyers and looters.

    ¡°Well, I would do the same for the sake of not getting sold off to perverted old women. I wouldn¡¯t say that in front of people, though.¡±

    Continuing along the pathway, I discovered an open door.

    However, there was a swaying, floating machine in the passage©¤©¤a robot tasked with defending had turned my way and noticed me.

    It¡¯s a miracle that these nearly-broken robots can move, and I shed a tear thinking about how they¡¯ve been guarding a base that nobody will return to.

    However, I have a rifle.

    ¡°Sorry about this.¡±

    Having made an apology to the machine that¡¯s been protecting the institution up until now, I pulled the trigger.

    The bullet hit the robot, and it electrically discharged at the point of impact.

    A sprout of light instantly burst out, and the robot fell onto the floor. The flickering light in its eyes then vanished.

    I stay on alert while holding the rifle, but it doesn¡¯t appear to being back. There aren¡¯t any other enemiesing to the scene either.

    Confirming the effect of the bullets, I was relieved that the facility and robots were partly broken.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like the game. It¡¯s good that I remembered their weak points. Now then, I wonder if it¡¯s this way©¤©¤¡±

    The special lightning effect on these magic bullets does a number on the robots. Since they¡¯re tasked with defense, they should at least have had lightning resistance installed, but that¡¯s fantasy for you...along with the world of an otome game. There¡¯s no use talking about minor details.

    I move forward, relying on my memories, towards the open door.

    It was half-open from the tree roots and ivy.

    ¡°Was it like this in my memories? Well, it¡¯s going ording to the game.¡±

    When entering the room, the skeleton of a corpse tumbled over.

    It wore tattered fabrics of what used to be clothing, and put its hands together in a prayer pose.

    I took out a t card from its pocket-like thing.

    What I took out was the card key. I wonder if this was also an ID, as someone¡¯s name was written here with the alphabet. The photo has vanished from the deterioration, and only a portion of the letters are left, so I don¡¯t know this person¡¯s full name.

    ¡°This is the alphabet, right? I¡¯m sensing something strange.¡±

    I did not expect to see the alphabet in another world.

    I put the card key into my pocket and resume moving.

    There¡¯s a ce within the game where a microtransaction item resides. I¡¯ve stopped by this ind many times to get this item for the purpose ofpleting the game.

    However, my memories from ten years ago could be unreliable. I would have forgotten the coordinates for this floating ind if I hadn¡¯t written them down right after I regained my memories.

    It¡¯s frightening thinking about how I would have had to rely on my fuzzy memory if I didn¡¯t write anything down.

    The anxiety and fear from setting out into the sky alone...is something I don¡¯t want to experience twice.

    When I searched for a room that could be opened with a card key and showed it to a device that then opened a door, there was a ce that seemed like a break room.

    Rusted and worn-down vending machines stood out.

    One of them had copsed, and the goods inside had spilled out.

    When picking them up by hand, they crumbled away like sand.

    There were two skeletons corpses sitting on a sofa.

    ¡°...I didn¡¯t care about it when this was a game, but what in the world happened here?¡±

    A part of the ruined base was still operating. Thinking about how a civilization with such technological strength had perished...makes me feel a bit uneasy.

    ¡°Well, my top priority is getting what I need.¡±

    Of the two skeleton corpses, one had the key I needed for moving ahead.

    I left the room after getting the key, and headed towards my destination. What lies in store after this are defense robots of a different type.

    ¡°Come to think of it, this fellow was here too.¡±

    It was a multi-legged robot that was missing a few legs, making it immobile. However, it was in the way, blocking the passage, and the also had weapons to protect what¡¯s ahead from intruders.

    While hiding in the corner, I shoot the rifle, and the impact of the bullet turned into a sh of light, but©¤©¤the defense robot came alive and began counterattacking with a Gatling gun held in its hands.

    It was only the Gatling gun that was moving. However, that alone is enough of a threat. Whether broken or not, it¡¯s a relief that its aim isn¡¯t locked onto me.

    ¡°Woah there!¡±

    As I hid in the corner, I load the next bullet with the bolt action mechanism, and attack with the rifle while still hiding.

    So as to not present myself, I use a mirror to look at the situation while attacking in concealment. It may be cowardly, but tackling this in the first ce is like poking a wasp nest.

    Due to the opponent being broken, it isn¡¯t fighting back since it can¡¯t move and fix its sight on me. If this thing was maintained and replenished, then I¡¯d immediately be in the heat of the wasp nest.

    What I was thinking as I released shot after shot was©¤©¤

    ¡°Shoot! It¡¯s too sturdy. To make matters worse©¤©¤damn it! I was off again!¡±

    Calcting the consumption of bullets in my head, this is taking up an outrageous amount of money.

    Since I¡¯m shooting it with a bad posture, the shots aren¡¯t hitting, and to add insult to injury, when they do hit, the thing is still operating. After numerous shots, the thing finally stopped functioning, and once I checked, it turned out that I used up nearly thirty bullets.

    Thinking about how it was in the game, it should have only taken around ten shots...

    ¡°Perhaps things really have changed now that this is real?¡±

    I refocused my mind and afterwards, I headed to my destination while keeping a lookout and keepingpany with defense robots. I kept moving forward, aiming for the core of the base.

    When I realized it, only a few of the bullets I brought were left.

    I proceeded through the dim passage, with only a fragment of light remaining, and then I finally arrived at the location of my objective.

    I use the key to open a door.

    I continued on through a staircase leading to the basement.

    I couldn¡¯t see anything in the darkness, so I fetched out antern and turned on the light.

    ¡°If electricity exists, I¡¯d at least like there to be shlights.¡±

    This is a world where light bulbs exist, but no shlights. Due to that, they still usenterns. I descended the stairs while raising aint.

    Within the dark passage, there were asionally fallen human bones that provoked a sense of fear.

    I don¡¯t know what went on in this ce, but if possible, I¡¯d like quickly get I came for and go home.

    ¡°Even so...this is goingpletely ording to my memories.¡±

    It¡¯s the ce where the microtransaction item I bought resides©¤©¤reaching into my memory, what¡¯s ahead is arge room intertwined with tree roots and ivy.

    Thatrge room is the dock of an airship.

    Grasping the rifle tightly with both of my hands, I walked while being cautious. Many of the ces to amodate airship docks are empty while ivy and tree roots stick out and dangle.

    Even for the airships that are here, they¡¯re entangled with a lot of ivy and tree roots. What¡¯s more, moss is sticking onto the surfaces.

    Also, all of the airships are broken.

    Among them, a noticeablyrge space had been prepared for the thing I¡¯m here for. It¡¯s on a whole other level in sizepared to the other airships.

    ¡°©¤©¤There¡¯s no mistake that it¡¯s this one.¡±

    It was the only airship that maintained its original form, and was green from the ivy and branches entangling it, along with the moss sprouting. However, not everything was covered, and the gray armor was visible in one spot.

    I shuddered.

    ¡°It¡¯s really here! It really is!¡±

 Chapter 6 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 2 part2</h4>

    <i>TLN: Final notice, moving sites:</i>

    I slowly put my feet on the ramp and made sure that it wouldn¡¯t break as I approached the airship.

    The entrance isn¡¯t showing signs of opening with ivy being tangled with it, so I took out my sword and severed them. Then, once I opened the entrance with the card key, I entered the ship¡¯s©¤©¤no, the warship¡¯s interior.

    Unlike the outside, it was still beautiful andcked ivy or moss.

    It¡¯s ssified as an airship that can be a flying battleship. No wait, it¡¯s a spaceship, so I suppose it¡¯s a cosmic battleship? At any rate, the design of the warship¡¯s interior was very futuristic. It seems toe from a whole different universe...especiallypared to the game it appears in.

    ¡°The interior isn¡¯t visible in the game, so this is the first time I¡¯m seeing it. I wonder if it was like this there?¡±

    I¡¯m estimating the size to be around seven hundred meters, making it an enormous cosmic battleship. It¡¯s questionable whether something thisrge can fly, but this is a world where inds and continents can float.

    Among them, some of the smaller inds have even been remodeled to be airships. I¡¯ve heard that their size easily surpasses one thousand meters, and they¡¯re like a mobile fortress.

    I can¡¯t really make aparison here since I haven¡¯t actually seen them, but this is a world where it¡¯s not strange for something of this size to fly.

    It seems that in this world, something of this magnitude is indeedrge, but not rare.

    On the outside, it basically has an engine that¡¯s like a square box on both sides of the machine¡¯s rear. It¡¯s aerodynamic body means that its head is pointed forward, so when looking at it from up top in the game©¤©¤its graphic looks like an isosceles triangle with squares attached to both sides.

    The shape itself is simple, with no propellers on the deck, sail, or anything of that sort.

    The shapes of airships in this world vary.

    Amon airship shape is one that resembles a rugby ball. Honestly, it seems that there isn¡¯t really a fixation towards the shape, probably since the level of difficulty in making an airship is low.

    It¡¯s easy to make it float in the first ce. Hence, people tend to develop airships and then adventure around or do something else.

    ...As I move through the warship¡¯s interior, the lights automatically turned on, so I shut off myntern.

    Aftering this far, there¡¯s only one obstacle remaining.

    I intend to make it to the spaceship¡¯s center and get it to move.

    As I moved along this incredibly lengthy passage, I could only hear the sound of my own footsteps. Then, a door to my goal appeared, and I came to a halt while wiping my sweat.

    While tense, I checked the status of my rifle and confirmed whether there were bullets loaded into the magazines.

    I adjust my breathing.

    ¡°...Time to move.¡±

    I brace myself, open the door, and head inside.

    It was the central facility of the spaceship©¤©¤the ce where everything is controlled, the core. A very spacious area had been arranged here.

    In the middle of the room, a humanoid robot, whose upper-half rose from the floor, was waiting.

    It had arge body.

    Its head had a simple shape, and within its visor were camera-eyes that glowed red.

    A startup sound resounded within the room.

    I readied my rifle.

    [...Intruder detected. Exterminate...exterminate...]

    The robot slowly came alive, and its size was about six meters. Itsrge hands moved to try and catch me, so I pulled the trigger on my rifle.

    However, the impact only let out a small explosion on the surface of its armor, emitting a sh©¤©¤that was it.

    ¡°So it really is going to be hard.¡±

    When I loaded the next bullet, the ejected cartridge made a metallic nk as it hit the floor.

    ¡°Will you not permit me if I show it a key card?¡±

    As I held the faint hope that it wouldn¡¯t stop me if I had one of the base members¡¯ key card, the robot in front of me replied in a calm tone.

    [The card key you own is from a base staff member. Your body features do not match the member, nor any of the other staff members. Additionally, it has been judged that the survival of the owner, and the people of this base, is hopeless. Therefore, you are an intruder©¤©¤exterminate.]

    ¡°Thanks for the honest reply, at least!¡±

    I had heard a synthesized electronic voice. I did not expect it to be able to a hold a conversation. I think it¡¯s a bit surprising how direct its answer was, but I don¡¯t have the leisure to care about that right now.

    The next shot was on the mark, but it likewise didn¡¯t deal that much damage.

    I run to escape its arms that extended out.

    When I took a cylindrical object attached to my belt, pulled out its pin, and after I threw it, the opponent tried to ward it off with one hand.

    However, when trying to do so, it exploded on impact.

    It brought forth an electrical shock stronger than what the bullets could do, and the robot opponent temporarily halted. Fumes whereing from its joints.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    While I was being d that I hadn¡¯t missed, the visor on the robot¡¯s head shined.

    [Attacks from ¡°magic¡± have reached critical levels. Now activating magic barrier.]

    A faint light sprung out from its body to wrap it, as if protecting it entirely.

    Even when I fire shot after shot, itpletely repels the magic electric attacks. Electricity doesn¡¯t evene out on impact, and there¡¯s no damage.

    ¡°How cowardly!¡±

    The robot replied in response to my cry.

    [Thank you.]

    Though I was surprised that it thanked me, I switched magazines and readied my rifle.

    ¡°Are you broken? You kinda just thanked me.¡±

    While I was shooting bullet after bullet with the rifle, it seemed that the movements of the opponent dulled a bit.

    [Fighting cowardly is apliment. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been taught, is that wrong?]

    ¡°It¡¯s wrong! Why are do you have countermeasures against magic!¡±

    This thing didn¡¯t have magic barriers in the game. I¡¯ve been cheated here.

    [Simple answer. I cannot say that I understand magic, but analyzing and preparing countermeasures is natural, no?]

    ¡°You sure are bright! Chatty too!¡±

    While running around in the room, I continue pulling the trigger to attack consecutively. I¡¯ve been searching for a weak point, but I can¡¯t see one.

    If I ask, will it tell me?

    [It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve spoken like this, I may be in a state of excitement.]

    I¡¯m wondering what this machine is talking about, but this cheat-level spaceship is a lost item.

    The culmination of ancient technology, a microtransaction item I bought for one thousand yen...it¡¯s a bit odd that this was one thousand yen, but anyways, there¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s a potent weapon.

    It wouldn¡¯t be strange for there to be an AI, but I didn¡¯t think it could converse. Perhaps it¡¯s because the setting for this wasn¡¯t established in the game.

    I take another cylinder from my waist©¤©¤a hand grenade.

    [Is that possibly a hand grenade with magic effects? There will be no effect on my current©¤©¤]

    ¡°Idiot!¡±

    I throw it, take a distance, and stoop down.

    The enemy didn¡¯t try to defend against it.

    However, when the grenade hit the robot opponent, it made arge explosion that was unlike the previous one. I tumbled over to the corner of the room from the st, but I soon got up.

    ck smoke sprung out into the room, and visibility soon worsened.

    ¡°That¡¯s just an ordinary bomb. Tremendous power, right? I was hesitant on using it because it could have destroyed the ship.¡±

    I¡¯m going to use this spaceshipter. It would have been better for there to be as few scratches as possible, so I didn¡¯t want to use it.

    Within the smoke-filled room, I lowered my rifle.

    ¡°This is only a fragment of the trump cards I have. Even in the game, my power was quite©¤©¤¡±

    While thinking that this was it was over, arge hand then reached out from the ck smoke and easily caught me.

    The impact made me drop my rifle, so I took out my sword and thrust it at the robot¡¯s fingers. However, the de only chipped and it didn¡¯t cause any damage.

    Being grabbed this forcefully is very painful.

    ¡°L, let go©¤©¤¡±

    [©¤©¤I was surprised. That was just a powerful grenade? Since you all are so obsessed with magic, I didn¡¯t think that you would use weapons like this. What an interesting battle.]

    A portion of the robot opponent¡¯s armor was torn off, exposing what¡¯s inside. The infrastructure, motor, and other such parts were visible.

    As it grasped me, it brought its face closer while looking at me.

    [Your way of fighting is quite different from those in the past. That rifle is surprising, but I have an interest in those bullets. Incorporating magic into them is a fascinating concept.]

    Using its camera lenses within its visor, it kept magnifying and retracting while looking at my face, moving frequently.

    I can¡¯t escape, and the strength of the hand its using to seize me is gradually getting stronger.

    It threw a question at me as I was struggling.

    [Question. What year is it in terms of the sr calendar?]

    ¡°Agh! Sr calendar? As if I know! In terms of the Holfault Kingdom calendar...Gaaaah!!¡±

    Electricity sprouted from the robot opponent¡¯s hand, and my body turned numb from the agony as I yelled in pain.

    Losing control, I acted violently to try and get away, but it wasn¡¯t likely that I would escape anyhow.

    [That answer is plenty. We had asked the same question many times...but we were defeated all the same.]

    I was exhausted once the electric current ended, and the robot¡¯s motion ceased. I was trembling and I couldn¡¯t close my mouth, so I wiped my drool with the hand I was using to hold my sword.

    ¡°D, defeated? We? What are you talking©¤©¤¡±

    Were there even opponents that could make a cheat-level battleship lose?

    [...This is about the new human race. The former civilization had been destroyed in the past before the advent of the new human race with overwhelming magic power.]

    New human race?

    Is this part of the game-like setting? Did the otome game include such a setting? I¡¯m a little concerned. I wanted to deal with this simply, I wanted to be spared of any new facts whening here.

    Well, such a thing has nothing to do with me. I need to get out of here somehow.

    [And you are a descendant of the new human race. You are the enemy for me.]

    I suddenly heard a low voice akin to an electronic-sound. It was as if the voice was trying tobel me as an enemy and eliminate me.

    ¡°T, that had a lot of emotion. Let¡¯s talk about this for a second©¤©¤hey, w, wait! Augh!¡±

    I heard a sound that I should not have hearding from my body as therge hand continued constricting me. The sound of it gradually grew stronger.

    [Exterminate the enemy...exterminate...]

    Things were no longer in a state where we could talk.

    It seemed that the robot was trying to crush me at once after having taken arge amount of damage. However, on the contrary, it only resulted in my prolonged suffering.

    I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s good luck or bad luck, but I¡¯ve decided on what I have to do.

    ¡°Y, you...you¡¯re just dragging out an old feud.¡±

    [Our mission is not over. It is our maximum priority to exterminate the new human race. The orders were to be on standby at this base, but to exterminate if new human race beingse. At this point, many of the new human race hade to this base. And looking at you now, it¡¯s obvious that they are weakening...I will nowunch an attack to destroy the new descendants of the new human race©¤©¤]

    There have been adventurer¡¯s that havee to this ind before?

    Leaving that aside, if this thing gets out there and goes on a rampage, my family is going to be erased.

    Doesn¡¯t this make me the one who woke this dormant thing up?

    It¡¯s fine if that Z is gone, but it¡¯s definitely repulsive if my parents, my older brother, and my younger brother disappear.

    I bit on a pin within the hilt of the sword on my right hand, pulled it out, and pointed the de at the robot.

    Then©¤

    ¡°Go to hell...piece of junk.¡±

    Once I activated the mechanism, the de flew, stuck itself into the visor of the robot, and then burst into a sh of lightning. Since the electricity flowed into its internals, the damage was likely huge.

    The head of the robot blew away with a small explosion, and the visor broke apart as it flew off. I don¡¯t mind that a piece scraped past my cheek, causing blood toe out.

    The hand lost its power, releasing me as I dropped onto the floor. Hitting the floor is painful, but being released made it easier to breathe and I¡¯m relieved that I was able to escape from harm. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s what anymore.

    While coughing violently, I moved on my hands and knees to retrieve my rifle.

    The robot had dull movements, and its behavior turned strange.

    Pushing myself up with the rifle, I then thrust the muzzle towards the visor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to have sympathy for you. I have my own circumstances. Be silent,y down, and ept what¡¯sing to you.¡±

    I pull the trigger. Then I loaded a bullet again and pull the trigger once more. Each time I repeat, the robot tries to reach out and grab me with its hand, but©¤©¤

    ¡°©¤©¤It¡¯s over.¡±

    I repeat this many times until my magazine became empty and the robot stopped moving.

 Chapter 7 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 2 part3</h4>

    There¡¯s an electrical discharge from all sorts of parts, revealing that it was in a pretty bad condition. ck fumes rose from the gaps in the armor.

    However, I could hear an electronic sound©¤©¤a robotic voice.

    [...Are you trying to use me? That¡¯s impossible.]

    The robot isn¡¯t moving, it was the the control panel within the room that booted up. In the game, it was possible to register yourself as the master for this thing.

    ¡°How annoying. I only came here to get a microtransaction item. Just be silent and abide.¡±

    I don¡¯t know if the microtransaction item I bought is here or not. However, there¡¯s no future for me or this world if I don¡¯t obtain it.

    [I will choose to self-destruct rather than have the new human race snatch things away.]

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to self-destruct, then I¡¯ll take you under my control. An explosion would also be annoying. I¡¯m not here to die.¡±

    While performing my operations, I change the alphabet letters on the screen to Japanese.

    ¡°<i>What a nice convenience! This will make things easier to operate.</i>¡±

    I spoke in Japanese, thenguage that I had long missed.¡±

    The goal is right in front of me...the thing I¡¯m here to aplish is just a little bit ahead, making my tension rise.

    I carried out my actions, then what opened on part of the control panel was the register for the spaceship¡¯s owner, the master.

    Guidelines that indicated where to put my hands lit up.

    [Japanese...? You can read it? You people shouldn¡¯t be able to use Japanese.]

    Listening carefully, the sound wasing from the speaker in the room. It seems it wasn¡¯ting from the robot.

    It appeared that the robot had an interest in me.

    I cracked a joke while cing my hands on the control panel.

    ¡°<i>My soul is of a genuine Japanese person. Justice for me is rice and miso soup every morning. Well, I¡¯ve never eaten those here, though</i>.©¤©¤Perhaps you didn¡¯t know what I just said, actually.¡±

    This thing probably won¡¯t understand even if I introduce myself as a reincarnated person. I think that if I say such a thing to other people, they¡¯ll make a bitter smile while taking a distance from me.

    [Soul? Is this the concept of transmigration?]

    ¡°<i>So you do understand what I¡¯m saying? Right, that¡¯s what it is. Probably.</i>¡±

    I feel a bit d having a conversation in Japanese after such a long time.

    The control panel checked my gic information from my palms, the registration for the master finishes, and then begins scanning as my whole body is wrapped in a red light.

    As soon as the scan finished, the robot asked me another question.

    [It¡¯s confirmed from your gic information that there is indeed traces of a Japanese individual. However, you are of the new humans. At the same time, you have inherited the genes of the the former humans. How perplexing. It is not feasible.]

    ¡°<i>Is that so? Though, with this, the ship is mine now, right?</i>¡±

    [Indeed. From today, this spaceship is your property. Do you want to name it?]

    I think for a bit.

    Naming it wasn¡¯t something I could do in the game.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of a good name. In the game, it was ¡®Luxon¡¯ though.¡±

    [Luxon...it has been documented.]

    ¡°<i>So you¡¯re not going to self-destruct. That¡¯s a relief.</i>¡±

    Being extremely exhausted, I sat down on the spot after everything was over. I was able to hazily see the room through the smoke that came from the battle.

    I held the rifle in my hands, along with its wooden stock©¤©¤the gun¡¯s stock had detached.

    When it¡¯s like this, I can¡¯t use it without repairing it.

    ¡°<i>The present from my parents is battered.</i>¡±

    I sighed while staring up at the ceiling.

    [If you have the soul of a Japanese person, does that mean you have memories of the war?]

    ¡°<i>The war? I don¡¯t have any. In the first ce, I was born during a period of peace, and I was an office worker there. I don¡¯t have any experiences of war...Now that I think about it, my previous life was quite the blessing.</i>¡±

    Even now I miss my previous world...I want to go back to it if I can.

    The smoke gradually cleared up, likely due to the venttion in the room.

    It seems that what I wanted was someone to talk about my story to. I told the details of my reincarnation to my AI partner.

    ¡°<i>So do you get it? This insane world is the world of an otome game.</i>¡±

    [Otome game?]

    ¡°<i>It¡¯s something like a love simtion game.</i>¡±

    I talked about how it started©¤©¤the time period it was, and how I came to reincarnate. Then, I talked about how this world is that otome game world.

    ¡°<i>Surprised?</i>¡±

    [I impressed by your delusions. However, you speaking Japanese is not something that cane from a delusion. If I were to describe my thoughts in one word, that word would be...interesting.]

    ¡°<i>I¡¯m surprised as well. Besides, I think that your existence itself is proof too. The fact that I know about you and that I was able to find you here is proof that this world is of a game, right?</i>¡±

    [I¡¯m hearing absurd things from you. To begin with, shouldn¡¯t there be others that would recognize this world as a game?]

    ¡°<i>Just leave the minor details alone. I don¡¯t like dealing with bothersome things. Anyhow, I can¡¯t really think of an answer to that, so this is just bing a waste of time.</i>¡±

    As I continued to talk while exhausted, I started coughing.

    When I covered my mouth, I noticed blooding onto my glove.

    ¡°<i>...Am I injured somewhere? Not good. I have to return.</i>¡±

    As my body slowly copsed, I heard a voice.

    [Leon Fou Balfault©¤©¤Confirmed that the master¡¯s life is in critical condition. Transfer to medical office will©¤©¤]

    ¡ó

    It¡¯s been three months since Leon¡¯s departure.

    Z had arrived at the Baltfault household and spoke about unpleasant things.

    She entered Barcus¡¯ workroom, and from the morning, had him and even Luce sit down while she criticized them.

    ¡°This marriage proposal I took great pains to arrange is ruined, that child really is an idiot. He flew out alone and selfishly got himself killed.¡±

    She clutched Barcus¡¯ hand in annoyance.

    When Luce had been told that her son may have died, her mood clearly darkened. For that very reason, Z didn¡¯t stop her tormenting.

    She knew what it was doing to her and continued to do it.

    ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll have to settle for the next son. Well, even at an age like that, he should still be able to do housework.¡±

    Barcus interrupted.

    ¡°Colin? That child isn¡¯t even ten years old. Besides, it¡¯s possible that Leon maye back.¡±

    Zughed scornfully.

    ¡°Are you seriously saying that? It¡¯s been three months since he left, three months. It would be strange if he were still alive. Oh, right. It¡¯s possible that he may have run away by himself. Good grief, this is why rural noble children are nuisances. Does he not know about my chivalry?¡±

    The Holfault¡¯s chivalries swear loyalty to a figurehead to a leader.

    For knights, it would be the ruler of the country.

    For retainer knights, they pledge allegiance to a feudal lord or the head of their household, and are taught to live nobly and righteously.

    Daily training and living modestly and frugally are regarded as virtues.

    They are knights of honor that would certainly put their lives at risk for the sake of their loyalty.

    Fighting for the sake of the country is an honor...for the ideal knight.

    To put it simply, chivalries are groups of convenient subordinates for leaders.

    In recent years, there have also been chivalries with knights that protect women and put their lives on the line for them. Originally, the swords and shields to protect the powerless citizens were the chivalries, but the situation changed as time progressed.

    Seeing Luce¡¯s crying face, Barcus went to her side and ced a hand on her shoulder. The two looked like a married couple.

    That irritated Z.

    (How insolent. I was the one who married this rural feudal lord! I cannot allow such a sight of intimacy before my eyes.)

    The presence of Luce, the mistress, annoyed her.

    Due to that, she had been struck with the idea of selling Luce¡¯s sons and daughters to people in the royal capital that didn¡¯t have a partner.

    (In the first ce, the one that will seed this baron household is my son, Lutart. The other children are unnecessary. Everyone else can be sold off to make way for Lutart and Merce.)

    Upon which, a frantic voice was heard in the room.

    The still-immature Colin opened the door using all of his strength, and tried to say something while out of breath.

    ¡°Colin, you should remain in your room. You didn¡¯t even knock at the©¤©¤¡±

    While Barcus was giving him a warning, Colin kept opening and closing his mouth while pointing at the window.

    Everyone looked outside the window to see a shadow that was able to block the sun.

    When Barcus opened the window to look outside in unease©¤©¤

    ¡°What kind of ship is that?¡±

    There was a giant airship that had halted above the residence.

    Z drew back.

    ¡°W, where? What ship?!¡±

    There was a panic as to whether it was a sky pirate, a fief, or an airship from another kingdoming to attack. However, if that was the case, then there was something weird about the situation.

    From arge airship, a smaller one, about twenty meters, descended.

    Leon¡¯s figure was visible in it.

    The airship carried a mountain of gold and silver treasures, an amount that was incredible even when looking at a distance.

    Leon got down onto the garden of the residence, and waved his hand.

    ¡°Father! I came back as promised. Take a look at this treasure!¡±

    Leon burst intoughter in front of the mountain containing gold, silver, and jewels. The exact value of it couldn¡¯t be calcted, but if they were the real deal, then it would definitely be an unthinkable amount of money.

    Luce broke down crying on the spot.

    ¡°My child, suddenly returning after no contact with him...what a relief.¡±

    She smiled while either happy or sad.

    Barcus hurriedly rushed out of the room in confusion and headed towards Leon.

    Z kept her eye on the treasure Leon had from the window.

    Upon which, Leon held a triumphant smile. He faced towards Z and mouthed the words ¡°I win.¡±

    Z made an unpleasant expression while clutching strongly at the windowsill.

    ¡°T, that stupid brat...¡±

    Once Barcus reached Leon, he embraced him while crying. He cried in joy while calling him an idiot.

    Z became irritated and exited the room.

    (Well, that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not bad if I think about that treasure bing mine. I¡¯ll just have him work for me from now on. I¡¯ll take all of your earnings. It¡¯ll be me who gets thestugh.)

    Once Z left the corridor, she met with an elf servant who was waiting for her, and headed out.

    ¡ó

    I raised a smile in front of Z while she made a bitter face.

    Not only did I bring treasure, but a spaceship©¤©¤err, airship. When she realized that this was mine, she soon came over to try and make me hand it over, but before that, I gave a sound argument to silence her.

    ¡°The contract between you and my father has no rtion to me. Since I¡¯m fifteen years old, and thus an adult, Ipleted my registration as an adventurer. You catch my drift? The treasure I find is my property, and not my father¡¯s.¡±

    My father was about to say something, but my mother stopped him.

    Z nevertheless talked back.

    ¡°That¡¯s treasure you gained with your parents¡¯ money! What are you doing showing it off as if it¡¯s yours?!¡±

    I reply in a calm manner.

    Knowing her, I had a hunch that she would say something like this.

    In the Holfault Kingdom, there¡¯s a tightly protectedw about the ownership of treasure obtained by adventurers.

    That¡¯s due to this country being founded by adventurers.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with being insulted by my parents, but not by you. Oh, you can have this.¡±

    I hand her a suitcase of gold bars while grinning.

    I¡¯ve got a tremendous amount of treasure behind me, but what I gave to Z is really just a tiny fraction of it. By all rights,ing across bars of gold is a lot of money by itself, but she was not grateful about it at all.

    Knowing that, I consciously had put the treasures in the back.

    Z did not give up.

    ¡°H, how is such shoddy logic like that going to suffice?! This treasure is going to be under the control of Barcus anyways, right? In that case, that¡¯s property of the Baltfault household. I have the right to own it!¡±

    I shrugged my shoulders.

    Then I talked about something I had consulted about with Luxon before.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about it bing the property of this household, right? Since I¡¯m already an adult, I am an independent adventurer. Perhaps you don¡¯t know that I can manage my own property now? Though, I do need to contribute to my household, right? So, I¡¯ve been thinking about investing these assets towards the territory. Don¡¯t you think it would be a good cause towards harbor maintenance or something akin to that?¡±

    It felt nice seeing Z furrow her eyebrows and scowl at me.

    If I just transfer the money or fortune to my household, it would definitely be in Z¡¯s rights to take it. However, if I¡¯m the one in control of the money and I invest it©¤©¤an investment towards the development of the territory isn¡¯t something she can take.

    She can¡¯t tear off a portion of a built road or harbor and take it with her.

    Perhaps understanding that she was at the disadvantage, Z withdrew.

    She took her elf lover and returned to her room in the mansion.

    I roared withughter once looking at her back.

    My father hit me on the back.

    ¡°Idiot. You went too far. What are you trying to do by provoking her?¡±

    ¡°That woman was trying to sell me off to a perverted olddy. I think I should be excused for just this much. Anyways, what do you think about this mountain of treasure. Amazing, right?¡±

    My parents were certainly astonished looking at all the treasure I umted.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s honestly amazing. However, did you report this to the guild?¡±

    I nod and exin.

    The Adventurer¡¯s Guild is an official establishment from the country, so though they¡¯re called a guild, they¡¯re not really an independent organization.

    It seems that they decided to call it a guild in the past. Thisckluster setting is troubling.

    ¡°Of course. Thanks to that though, the country took away a portion of it.¡±

    From twenty percent of the fortune I presented to them, the country took thirty percent of that.

    However, the remaining treasure is all mine.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you back a new boat in ce of the one I broke. Perhaps I could send an airship to you as a present.¡±

    My mother was a bit amazed in front of myvish self.

    ¡°You, you aren¡¯t thinking about saving some for the future? With this much, you can be independent.¡±

    After having said that to me, I straightened up and looked at the two.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually something about that I have to talk about.¡±

    I talked with my parents about what will happen hereafter.

 Chapter 8 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 3 part1</h4>

    <h4>Enrollment</h4>

    I came across a floating ind.

    There was nothing particrly prominent on this small ind.

    At a small mountain there was a forest and a river on the level ground section which was spacious.

    When I found it, it was an overly featureless floating ind, but this is where I decided to hold my independent territory.

    One of the reasons for picking this is that no matter how much it develops, it¡¯ll only be at the scale of a semi-baron, but more importantly, this is an unpopted ind where nobody lived, so I made it mine.

    Wouldn¡¯t that be the best for the future, or rather, the rest of my life?

    I¡¯ll graduate from the academy, be a feudal lord, and then be a shut-in under the pretext of developing thend.

    I can let the servants look after my family while I leisure around here.

    On the lower part of the ind is a dock where I can hide my airship.

    It¡¯s where I store Luxon.

    Paper mache was heavily stered onto Luxon, which would be used to start the modelling for the construction of a new airship.

    The ones making it are robots built for manufacturing.

    A red one-eyed orb with a metallic body was floating near me.

    It was about the size of a softball.

    ¡°Is it really necessary to make a mock one?¡±

    [All of this preparation is necessary. Besides, I cannot deny the possibility that the woman named Z might do something.]

    Luxon said it was going to self-destruct before, but when it realized that I could speak Japanese, it started following me under its interest.

    Quite the simple fellow.

    ¡°Apart from that, what¡¯s the situation of the ind?¡±

    [There is a mineral filled with heat in this floating ind. It¡¯s possible to make a hot spring by pumping water through it. It seems ie can be earned by making it a tourist attraction in the future.]

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in tourist attractions, but a hot spring is good.¡±

    My parents seemed surprised when I said that I would be living independently on an empty ind. Land development is a in, but difficult job.

    They asked many times if I knew what I was doing, but I didn¡¯t give up on bing independent. In the end, they backed down said for me to tell them if anything troubling happened, but...in the first ce, with Luxon here, development is not a problem.

    This thing is definitely a versatile and capable fellow.

    What¡¯s amazing is that since in the game¡¯s frivolous setting, it was an item that was for ¡°making resupplying unnecessary,¡± Luxon can prepare any resources now that it¡¯s be real.

    It can¡¯t create something out of thin air, but it seems that this thing can even turn the surrounding rocks into gold.

    With such a cheat ability, I can¡¯t fathom how they lost to the new humans.

    However, after listening to its story, it seems that Luxon booted up when the functions of the base were almost nearly gone. It was waiting and on standby for orders, but it seemed it would try and gather information when the descendants of new humans, the adventurers, asionally arrive.

    That¡¯s the reason why it understood ournguage.

    That doesn¡¯t matter now, though.

    With how capable Luxon is, I¡¯m heading smoothly towards independence without being sold off to perverted old women. It¡¯s all about the results.

    [We have begun construction of the estate, and have moved forward on the development of a harbor. The surface is also expected to befortable in a year or so.]

    It would be terrible to leave this territory unmaintained. The ground is uneven, it¡¯s overgrown with vegetation, and it¡¯s not something I¡¯d callfortable.

    Being able to make it habitable in a year is one of Luxon¡¯s many abilities.

    Its performance is something I can¡¯t imagine was just one thousand yen in my previous life.

    I regret not having spent more on the game, but having just Luxon itself is still most satisfactory.

    ¡°I have a request. I still have a bad experience with adventuring. I had to save my own hide many times just looking for you as a mob. I just want to live a peaceful life without its ups and downs now.¡±

    [I will respect my master who has obtained my ability and wholeheartedly decides to be a shut-in. No ambitions, and selfish. An admirable human.]

    ¡°Was that sarcasm?¡±

    [Cynicism.]

    I flicked Luxon.

    It seems that its hard exterior is covered by a rtively soft material, as it didn¡¯t hurt that much. It floated back to its original position.

    [Aside from that, were you able to prepare for your entry to the academy?]

    I shrugged my shoulders while replying to Luxon¡¯s question.

    ¡°It¡¯s done. I got a lot from the merchants congratting me for my entry, so I didn¡¯t need to prepare anything. My father was quite surprised at how friendly they became.¡±

    [It¡¯s because the economic activity of the territory has risen. Perhaps new humans are the same in that merchants are honest with money...]

    I spread the funds from the treasure I got towards developing a harbor and developing the territory of the household.

    I started with repaying the debt of the household, and the ind became more lively once I invested into the stagnating territory. The economic activity was going well, so the merchants gathered and handed presents to my household.

    The territory became quite prosperous in a few months.

    ¡°All things considered, is there a meaning to going to an academy?

    [Outward appearance, the implication is that the qualities of young nobles will increase when going through education. There are many young nobles all over the ce who can¡¯t be a shut-in at their territory like you, master. Therefore, there are a lot of nobles in both the world and the aristocraticmunity that generallyckmon sense. They want to gather them all in one ce and educate them. Also, prideful nobles want to make a disy of the kingdom¡¯s grandeur and reduce rebellious spirit. This also puts countryside nobles at a disadvantage, but if they send out children towards the royal capital, it will propagate their pride, make them strive to pursue knowledge, and wee new acquaintances too. Both have their merits and demerits, but I believe there¡¯s quite therge significance in its existence.]

    ¡°...That was quite lengthy.¡±

    [I believe the main reason for the existence of the academy is to create a sense of belonging to the same country. A strong unification in case of an emergency. It seems there are other continent nations that exist based on what you¡¯ve told me, master.]

    If that¡¯s what its selecting as the meaning for an academy, does that mean that¡¯s all to it?

    I can only reason that an academy exists because it did in the otome game. What Luxon said might be right somehow.

    [I¡¯ve also heard that people search for marriage partners at an academy. It¡¯s a ce of socializing for youthful nobles. Please be careful, master. If you¡¯re reckless, you¡¯ll be exposed to shame.]

    What does this thing think of me?

    ¡°As if mobs can stand out that much. They¡¯re treated as part of the background. Anyways, my life isn¡¯t going to change for the better at the academy.¡±

    [Mobs, you say? I understand what you want to say, but that judgement is©¤©¤]

    I interrupt Luxon.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll find a suitable partner. Rather than going for the unattainable goal of a noble¡¯s daughter, I¡¯ll find a daughter of a knight household who will be independent in the future. That would be nice.¡±

    Just a smoothly sailing life.

    I¡¯m not going to stupidly go for a high-status woman, just looking at Z makes me feel repulsive about it.

    My life likely won¡¯t change for the better from here on...but even so, I think that a happy life awaits me.

    ¡ó

    ¡°...Huh?¡±

    I was called to my father¡¯s workroom, but what was waiting for me was an incident beyond my imagination.

    ¡°Well, why are you surprised? You discovered and conquered an unexplored dungeon. In addition to discovering a lost item, you found a new floating ind.¡±

    There was a letter addressed to me from the royal pce.

    It was written that my achievements so far as an adventurer have provisionally granted me baron status.

    Rather than being independent as just a knight in the future, I¡¯ve been given the status of a baron.

    ¡°W, why!¡±

    ¡°This is just a guess, but you¡¯re going to be the head of a baron household after you graduate so that you¡¯re not under guardianship.¡±

    My household is of a baron. Baron households can be guardians of only knight houses or semi-baron houses, so Holfault Kingdom¡¯s rules say that I, who¡¯s now arranged to be of an equal rank, cannot be under guardianship.

    ¡°My territory is not at the scale of a baron!¡±

    ¡°You think I don¡¯t know?!¡±

    It seems my father was also astonished.

    At best, I thought that my independence would be recognized and that I would be at the knight rank, or a semi-baron if I¡¯m lucky.

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s the academy...¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s so that you enter the ss for the heirs of baron households and above.¡±

    A majority of the nobles who go to the academy are youths from knight houses. The knight rank and semi-baron rank are considered knight houses, and those considered nobles are from baron houses and above.

    At the academy, there are two types of sses prepared, a ss for the future sessors of nobles, and a ss for the many others.

    Knight houses attend the regr ss and the nobles attend the advanced ss.

    My older brother is in the regr ss.

    Normally, since the second and third son aren¡¯t going to seed the house in the future, they would take the regr ss. Houses of high rank or ie would have their second and third sons go to the advanced ss, but nobles from the countryside don¡¯t have the leeway, so they normally go to the regr sses.

    However, there¡¯s an exception for girls. If they¡¯re from a baron household or higher, they can enter the advanced ss regardless of whether their house is affluent or humble.

    ...Since I had nned on being independent, I thought that I was going to enter the regr ss at the academy.

    However, now that it¡¯s been decided that I¡¯ll be a baron...I¡¯m going to be ced into the advanced ss.

    ¡°I was fine with the regr ss.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. You¡¯re going to be the head of a household. A suitable education is necessary, so even if you don¡¯t like it, you¡¯re taking the advanced ss.¡±

    ¡°And what about my bride?!¡±

    ¡°...Of course, it will necessary for you to be with a youngdy of respectable origins.¡±

    I crumbled down onto my knees from the despair.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want thiiiis!¡±

    ¡°Idiot, stop crying! There are few women that are like Z. Besides, there will be a woman who thinks well of you at the academy...probably.¡±

    My father said the word ¡°probably.¡± It seems he himself doesn¡¯t have faith in it, now does he?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t a girl from a baron up to an earl household the biggest trap? I don¡¯t want it. I absolutely don¡¯t want it!¡±

    My father panicked.

    ¡°You, stop calling daughters of nobles as traps! If someone hears you, it¡¯ll turn into a major incident. I mean, your older and younger sisters are also daughters of a noble household. Do you see them as people that cruel?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been saying, though! They¡¯re seriously the worst! If you look at them and think that they¡¯re good women, then take a visit to the hospital!¡±

    ¡°You, saying that towards your sisters...¡±

    If possible, I¡¯d rather go for the daughter of a knight household.

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it! I prefer a gentle, kind woman. A daughter from a baron house and above is impossible!¡±

    My father covered his face with both of his hands. I suppose there was a part about it that he agreed with.

    Actually, though they¡¯re nobles from the countryside, even when I look at my older and younger sisters, I get feeling that makes me go ¡°Eh?!¡±.

    I drew away from them after they held a calm expression while saying ¡°Men are resourceful, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯ll look for another man with a good face. Or perhaps a ve! Hey, Papa~, I want an elf lover too©¤©¤no wait, an exclusive servant. I want a ve.¡±

    It seems that using my money, the second daughter purchased a ve, boasted about it, and became the target of envy.

    My mother panicked after seeing her daughters like that, and my father, my older brother who just returned, and I calmly looked at that spectacle.

    Whether it be an older or younger sister, they can do nothing but harm.

    ¡°Anyways, the ss you¡¯re going to is the advanced ss.¡±

    I felt as if my ns for happiness had been snatched away, and I sat down there while holding my knees in ce.

    My father looked at me with a shocked face, and it seemed that he was then trying to cheer me up.

    ¡°I, it won¡¯t be all that bad. When you enter the academy, you¡¯ll be with the heirs of prestigious nobles, including her Highness the crown princess. If you can build connections, your future will be peaceful.¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯re not going to take any notice of people like us.¡±

    The prince in the otome game liked in looking people, and probably disliked the nobles gathering around him. I¡¯m seeing the prince and the other capture targets with a narrow view of that sort.

    ¡°...I understand, but it seems I didn¡¯t speak clearly. Thanks to you, the territory has gotten a little better. Just two more months and we¡¯ll be more wealthy.¡±

    As my father apologized while in low spirits, I felt down about having to think of what will happen in the future.

 Chapter 9 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 3 part2</h4>

    Holfault Kingdom¡¯s royal capital was ced at the center of the continent.

    That location held a dungeon since the olden days, causing monsters to gush forth. Yet at the same time, that dungeon is goldmine of resources for its output of demon stones.

    It¡¯s be a source of ie and materials for the kingdom, and is the primary factor for why it rose up into a powerful nation.

    The continent is veryrge, and doesn¡¯t have just one or two sites for pumping water from the sea. There are numerous spots where water is being drawn, and the soil is rich.

    The floating ind draws up seawater and spreads it throughout thend. I¡¯m not sure how they filter the salt water, but since it¡¯s just part of theckluster setting, there¡¯s no point in paying attention to it.

    It¡¯s known as a beautiful continent that harmonizes with nature.

    The scale of the royal capital is veryrge.

    I believe that the poption of the urban district alone reaches a million people.

    It¡¯s a modern town with things like a sewer system and electricity.

    Such a ce is where nobles attend the academy.

    A small floating ind located slightly away from the urban district became a harbor for airships, and is where iing airships anchor.

    I was on an airship that my household purchased, the type that was fifty metersrge.

    Thetest models of airships have a deckid out at the top, but the rest is covered in armor. Its form resembles a submarine.

    My older brother was yawning while carrying travel bags.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice toe here directly from our house. We don¡¯t have to transfer flights like on regr air services.¡±

    Beforehand, he had to transfer flights between home and the academy.

    My older brother, and the second son, is a third year student at the academy. My older sister and the second daughter, ¡°Jenna,¡± is a second year student. A city slicker sister that follows fashion, dyed her hair brown, and bought a ve after realizing that the household had money.

    He was a skinny, yet muscr beastman demi-human with cat ears, and he wore a suit more elegant than what I had.

    ¡°I would have preferred a more extravagant airship. I hate how my friends have a luxury liner, and yet I only have this cheap-feeling thing.¡±

    I wanted to say that this wasn¡¯t her airship, and that if she didn¡¯t like it, then she didn¡¯t need to ride on it.

    My older brother averted his eyes, seeming to have the same thoughts.

    ¡°Even though our mother is upright, when ites to these girls, it¡¯s a different story.¡±

    My older brother and I carried our traveling bags and headed towards the boarding terminal for an airship of the regr air service, and then my older sister followed afterwards with her ve carrying her luggage.

    ¡°One moment, did you guys hear what I said? Leon, if you still have money, then give me some. Your older sister¡¯s entertainment expenses are not something tough at.¡±

    Ignoring the noisy animal that was my sister, I talked to my older brother.

    ¡°Brother, are you dissatisfied with me being the only one going to the advanced ss? If you want, how about I say that my achievements were actually your doing?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t stoop so low as to take the credit for your achievements, brother. I don¡¯t want to go to the advanced ss anyways. As you know, only <i>those</i> kinds of women are there.¡±

    Both of us looked behind to see our sister still mumblingints.

    ¡°...She had the nerve to buy an expensive ve using my own money. How scum-like.¡±

    When I murmured that in annoyance, my sister¡¯s ve red at me.

    It seemed his cat ears twitched and had heard what I said.

    My brother ced his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been burdened with going to the advanced ss. You have my sympathies.¡±

    Going to the advanced ss means being of the status where one receives a fitting education or has ves. Therefore, rich households make a disy of themselves by having fancy ves apany their daughters.

    On the other hand, if a boy pointlessly tries to walk with a fancy woman ve apanying him, he¡¯ll receive cold looks.

    ...What a cruel world this is.

    My brother gave his words of gratitude while a little embarrassed.

    ¡°Well, thanks to you, I can study without taking a part-time job. Now if I could only find a partner, then I¡¯d be very grateful.¡±

    ¡°Then, I think I can help with©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask for anything unreasonable. Whoops, it¡¯s easy to get lost at the terminal, so there¡¯s a need to memorize it.¡±

    Guided by my brother, I moved to the terminal of the regr air service, and confirmed that there were many other students heading to the academy.

    Most of the people that use the airship harbor are from the knight up to the viscount households. It seems that earl households and above have exclusive harbors prepared for them by the city, and that¡¯s where they get on and off of.

    In terms of my previous world, it would be closer to call it a bus terminal or a railway station rather than an airship harbor. It has a closer impression to that than of a harbor.

    One has to wait until the regr air service arrives.

    When our sulky sister behind us was in a panic for some odd reason.

    My brother put his hand over his forehand.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    My brother points to a crowd of people.

    ¡°They¡¯re followers of duke households.¡±

    Upon looking, a grand group of people cutting in line caught my attention. There was group of females followed by beautiful ves behind them. Then there were boys after them.

    My sister made an unpleasant expression.

    ¡°It seems a great number of prestigious nobles are going to enroll, and their followers also make up arge group.¡±

    The heir and daughters of the duke households called out to their followers who were people under their household¡¯s guardianship or ssmates involved that were waiting for them. They¡¯re there to protect the heirs and help them out.

    In the future, those followers will be people that support high-ranking nobles. Though it¡¯s assumed that the academy treats students equally...the reality is that nothing but influence matters.

    ¡°I see...so they¡¯re henchmen that get cocky because there¡¯s a boss in town?¡±

    My brother and sister panicked after I said that.

    ¡°Y, you idiot!¡±

    ¡°Are you an idiot?! Hey, are you actually an idiot?!¡±

    The two were worried about whether the followers heard what I said. Then, they were relived after the followers didn¡¯t turn their attention towards us.

    ¡°Those demi-humans with good ears may have heard it, though. You should be more alert. Things would¡¯ve gotten serious if they had heard you.¡±

    I apologized in light of my brother¡¯s warning.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful in the future.¡±

    My sister was getting irritated.

    ¡°You really need to be careful. I won¡¯t forgive you if you cause trouble for me.¡±

    ...Can this animal only think for itself?

    Then, an airship that was like a small bus had arrived, and stopped by our harbor.

    ¡ó

    The academy was in the royal capital.

    It was able to reserve arge plot ofnd in a ce with arge poption density, making the school buildingsrge and the scale of the student dormitories vast as well.

    My brother headed towards the dorms for the regr ss, but I headed towards the dorms used for the advanced ss.

    ...I¡¯m feeling down.

    The student dorms were unthinkably extravagant, the entrance was pretty much like a hotel lobby.

    There¡¯s even someone at a reception desk, and the people working here are pretty much like hotel employees. They wore uniforms, were thoroughly trained, and were operating briskly.

    ¡°Wow, it seems just like it did in the game¡±

    It¡¯s a gorgeous student dormitory. That¡¯s the impression that came out of me. Though some would say that this is their long-awaited academy, it doesn¡¯t change that this is prison for me.

    In the game, the dormitory interior appeared as a background.

    I¡¯m not really that excited.

    I went to the reception desk to know what room I would be using.

    ¡°It seems you are Leon Fou Baltfault. Your room will be over here.¡±

    The staff member exins on a map of the dorms and hands me a key.

    ¡°Be sure to look over the rules inside of your dorm. Afterwards, if you have any questions, then voice out to one of the people in charge.¡±

    The way it was exined in an uninterested manner oozed with the sense of this being just a job to the person.

    Upon which, I was pushed aside by a student who came in from behind and wanted to talk to the reception desk.

    ¡°Hey, guide me to my room.¡±

    Surrounding the student with the very big attitude were boys that seemed to be followers. It seems that the person is from a rich viscount family.

    The staff member, hearing the person¡¯s name, silently nodded.

    ¡°Wee! I will show you the way at once. Now then, I can carry your baggage.¡±

    It was clearly different from how I was treated.

    What an academy this is. Perhaps it¡¯s because of this being the world of an otome game, or perhaps it¡¯s because of this being a society of nobles...but there¡¯s some genuine preferential treatment going on here. It¡¯s also affected by one¡¯s poprity in the ss, but the scale of their household and their influence have a big impact on the matter. Despite the academy singing praises about equality, there¡¯s clearly a difference in how people are treated.

    ¡°I want to go home already.¡±

    I headed towards the corridor of my dorm while raising aint, and arrived at the dorm I was going to use for three years.

    I unlocked the door and entered the single room, but it wasn¡¯t that wide.

    The room had been cleaned, and my luggage had been sent and ced here already.

    When I opened a box and set it down in the room, I noticed that there were things like notebooks and textbooks for the academy, so I ced them on my desk.

    ¡°So this is where I¡¯m residing for three years...¡±

    I flipped through a textbook. Textbooks concerning magic are difficult, so I can¡¯t understand what¡¯s being written in here right now.

    This is the world of a game, and yet I¡¯m fed up with things like this. I wanted a gentler world.

    [Since you¡¯ve arrived, I¡¯d like it if you released me quickly.]

    A voice called out from inside the bag I brought. When opening the bag and taking out what¡¯s inside, Luxon appeared and surveyed the room.

    ¡°Ah~, my bad. I forgot.¡±

    [...As expected of my master. Your ability to remember is something praiseworthy.]

    I continued to tidy things up while listening to this thing¡¯s sarcasm.

    ¡°So, how was your cruise?¡±

    [All surfaces of my main unit are in excellent condition. I have no impression of the cruise. Though my only surprise is the magic technology, it¡¯s still at a level reproducible by science...I will continue investigation magic technology in the future.]

    In other words, there was something noteworthy about it.

    ¡°So you¡¯re an AI that can¡¯t be honest. Are you a tsundere?¡±

    [Oh? Are you trying to seek a womanly part within me? Unfortunately, the concept of gender does not apply to me, so I cannot respond to your feelings, master.]

    I mustn¡¯t get angry at this thing.

    I was ready to punch it, but I took a distance and returned to tidying up everything.

    Upon which, I heard a knocking sound.

 Chapter 10 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 3 part3</h4>

    After leaving the student dormitory©¤©¤or rather, after having been taken outside by upperssmen that were gathering the first year students, there was a stylish bar outside of the academy.

    ¡°Eh, I¡¯m quite d that I can meet first year students of the same position this year.¡±

    The one making the greeting was someone from a baron household who would be its sessor.

    Not so wealthy upperssmen from the countryside had invited underssmen of simr circumstances like me to a wee party they opened.

    I talked to a nearby first year student, Daniel Fou Dand.

    Daniel is a healthy boy with tanned skin. He looks like a pleasant young man with short hair, a tall height, and some muscles.

    ¡°W, why are you guys doing a wee party like this?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know? People in the same group gather together to talk about their troubles and to exchange information. Things like marriages or other important matters, you see.¡±

    It¡¯s certainly sounds nice being with a group of simr people, but I¡¯m thinking that it¡¯s going to turn into a free-for-all when a favorable woman shows up.

    Tilting his head, a boy wearing sses sitting across from me, ¡°Raymond Fou Arkin,¡± pushed up his sses while exining.

    Unlike Daniel, he seemed to have a bit of a rebellious personality with his intellectual sses.

    ¡°Even if it turns into a scramble for a woman, we¡¯d get along as a group of simr people, so we wouldn¡¯t do anything absurd. If there¡¯s a dispute, we¡¯ll negotiate it amongst our group. Well, moments where we wouldpete against each other will probably be rare though.¡±

    Aftering to that understanding, the greetings from the upperssmen finished, starting the party.

    It seems this wee party was a treat by our upperssmen.

    Then next year, it seems that it¡¯s our turn to do it.

    One of the upperssmen came over to me.

    ¡°Well, since we¡¯ve got a massively sessful adventurer here this year, I¡¯m looking forward to it. Oh right, I¡¯m ¡®Rukul.¡¯ Nice to meet you, promising first year student.¡±

    Rukul seems to be a third year student.

    He¡¯s already found a marriage partner, and I can see that he¡¯s quite content, since all that¡¯s left is for him to return home.

    ¡°Promising first year student?¡±

    When I tiled my head, Raymond clicked his tongue.

    ¡°I prefer if you didn¡¯t y dumb. You¡¯re the third son of a baron household and was quite sessful as an adventurer prior to entering school, right? Talks about it have reached not just the royal capital, but even over at my home.¡±

    Daniel was surprised.

    ¡°The one in that rumor was you?!¡±

    I cast down my face.

    ¡°I had no choice. If I didn¡¯t get money, then I would be on a course towards a marriage interview with a perverted old woman.¡±

    Perhaps sympathizing with what I had said, everyone didn¡¯t pursue the matter anymore. It seems it really is easy to talk with them since we have simr troubles.

    Rukul talked about the academy while smiling. He also listened to Daniel¡¯s and Raymond¡¯s worries, but they were really just zealous questions about marriage rather than about studies.

    If us boys aren¡¯t married by the age of twenty, we¡¯re treated like a disgrace, so we have to frantically get married somehow while attending school.

    I also asked some things I was worried about.

    ¡°Come to think of it, my eldest brother is the one that¡¯s going to seed my household, but perhaps he was in your group? Ah, his name is Lutart.¡±

    Rukul and my second oldest brother are both third year students.

    I was thinking that perhaps he knows about him, but©¤©¤

    ¡°The upperssman Lutart that graduatedst year? He wasn¡¯t in our group. He said that he wouldn¡¯t be grouped with the lowest level.¡±

    Lutart...you¡¯re also part of that lowest level.

    Rukul talked about what happened back at that time.

    ¡°He mixed in with a rich group of people from viscount households and above. Though it seemed that he forced himself onto the group, it couldn¡¯t be helped because that¡¯s what he wanted. Were you close with him?¡±

    When I shook my head, Rukul said ¡°I thought so,¡± and lifted a stein to his mouth.

    Rukul then talked to us.

    ¡°Since we have a few days until the entrance ceremony, I¡¯ll show you around the royal capital in the meantime. So don¡¯t mess around too much to the point that it would put your body into disorder.¡±

    Us three nodded our heads, and the smiling Rukul then made a somewhat serious expression.

    ¡°Also, it seems that there¡¯s a schrship student enrolling in your year. I heard that they were letting someone enter, even though they¡¯re not a noble, for the sake of picking up this talented person.¡±

    Raymond had a bit of an unpleasant expression when he heard that.

    Daniel didn¡¯t seem to be interested.

    I suppose this reaction is normal for young nobles.

    ¡°A schrship student? For the regr ss, right?¡±

    Rukul shook his head in response to Raymond¡¯s question.

    ¡°The advanced ss. Quite troubling, especially when His Highness the crown prince is entering too, isn¡¯t it? I also heard that this girl is amoner with no connections whatsoever, but...I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s actually the case. If you guys know anything, would you mind telling us?¡±

    ...Thatmoner girl is going to be the center of the academy in the future, the protagonist.

    I wasn¡¯t surprised, considering that I already know the schrship student is amoner, but the other two were astounded. They¡¯re shocked at how she has no connections.

    I suppose they thought that she would be the daughter of a merchant or some other kind of girl with a simr background.

    I pretended to be surprised as well.

    Did she be a saint in the future? Anyways, I should probably keep silent about how she¡¯ll establish a very grand bloodline and how the nobles will eventually change their attitude about her.

    Even if I did say it, nobody would believe me, and I don¡¯t intend to get anyone involved in the first ce.

    I¡¯ll just let her enjoy her fun youth with the crown prince and the others.

    That¡¯s also for my sake too, after all.

    ¡ó

    It was the day of the entrance ceremony.

    This is quite the grand auditorium, isn¡¯t it?

    At any rate, the entrance ceremony began in a ce that was like arge theater.

    There were a surprising number of noble students present, some of which where yawning.

    Thebination of the scents from women¡¯s perfumes created an overbearing smell.

    I suppose there¡¯s no hope unless one gets used to this smell.

    Amongst the crowd, the crown prince ¡°Julian Rafua Holfault,¡± with short navy blue hair, spoke greetings on behalf of the first year students.

    The crown prince is first in line to the session of the throne, but in the game, he¡¯s the only prince that appeared, so he¡¯s pretty much <i>the</i> prince that will rule.

    He had a beautiful appearance. He was tall, lean, and had a nice body bnce.

    His navy blue eyes within his fair skin looked like they were sparkling.

    The surrounding schoolgirls understandably sighed in affection.

    ©¤©¤It was a different story for the others, though.

    Daniel and Raymond were sitting next to me, but as expected, it didn¡¯t seem like they were going to voice out theirints. I silently listening in on their conversation.

    Upon which, from behind©¤©¤

    ¡°I finally arrived. I¡¯ve already been waiting for the prince these ten years.¡±

    I turned my head around towards a voice I had heard, but I couldn¡¯t find out who had said that. There were several girls around that were murmuring about the crown prince¡¯s beauty, so I couldn¡¯t pick out the one that did it.

    It wasn¡¯t a particrly loud voice, but it strangely got through to my ear...then my wandering gaze stopped when reaching at a certain girl.

    Blond hair and blue eyes.

    She had gentle, long hair, and was a short girl that was looking at the prince with a sparkled gaze.

    She looked more like a cute girl rather than a beautiful woman. However, it was her gaze that I was uneasy about. Within the surrounding gazes of yearning or of favor, it was obvious that the little girl¡¯s eyes looked like an animal aiming after its prey.

    Her delicate body felt childish in some aspects. She looked younger than others of the same age, but the glint in her eyes was the only thing that was sharp...my impression is that she was very unbnced.

    Daniel looked over at me.

    ¡°What the, did you already find your partner? Oh, she seems cute. Do you like that girl?¡±

    I calmly shook my head towards Daniel, who was teasing me.

    ¡°No, if I had to say, then...I dislike her.¡±

    I set my sight back to the crown prince and readjusted my posture, but this strange feeling wouldn¡¯t settle down.

    ¡°I, Is that so. I think she¡¯s cute though.¡±

    What I felt when I first saw the girl was anger. I don¡¯t know what I was angry about, but she was irritating for me.

    It¡¯s not hatred. It¡¯s something moreplex...and at any rate, I don¡¯t think she¡¯s someone I would view as a partner of the opposite sex.

 Chapter 11 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 4 part1</h4>

    <h4>The Protagonist and the Viiness</h4>

    Well, several weeks have passed since the entrance ceremony.

    There weren¡¯t any noteworthy events or anything of that sort for a mob like me, and I was finally getting used to this unfamiliar life at the academy.

    In terms of the game, this is around the time where the protagonist would finish meeting with the male capture targets. Now that she¡¯s finished raising the gs in rapid session, I suppose this is the period where she gets familiar with the capture targets.

    Perhaps since the real protagonist is sly, this is the time where she¡¯s thinking about narrowing down who to go after?

    Then, I suppose this is around the time where the viiness would show up and say ¡°Know your position.¡± I can¡¯t recall the details too well since I yed the game many times over and ended up using the skip function to skim through the text.

    Well, I¡¯ll leave the story of the protagonist and co. alone without getting involved.

    Now that I¡¯ve begun to get used to life at the student dorms, I¡¯m in the process of deciding which friends to associate with.

    I¡¯m talking about Daniel and Raymond.

    It¡¯s also due to the two being ced close to me, but the environment in which we were raised is practically the same. Due to that, conversations between us go well.

    We were at a bench in the academy¡¯s courtyard.

    Us three guys were sitting down while talking about the ns for a tea ceremony in the beginning of May.

    ¡°So, what to do for a tea ceremony? We should probably choose who to invite, right?¡±

    During the break in May, the girls have time off, but it¡¯s different for the boys. It¡¯s when they can invite girls to tea ceremonies to shorten the distance between them.

    It¡¯s not an event where anybody can send an invitation to anyone like a yboy would. One has to choose a suitable partner from a household of the same rank to invite.

    Then, they have to properly open a tea ceremony and not be rude to their partner.

    The tea ceremonies have be an unofficial event in the academy...Well, they prepare lessons for boys on how to wee women as a gentleman, and that¡¯s so that they can show it off during the break in May.

    Raymond cast his eyes downwards towards Daniel¡¯s worry.

    ¡°We do have our allowances from home, but we can¡¯t make a luxurious tea ceremony. Any girl would be fine as long as they participate in my tea ceremony.¡±

    The academy costs money, even though we aren¡¯t charged for living expenses like tuition fees or meals. Boys in particr are charged quite an amount of money, and is something they can¡¯t work around.

    Even though I have some money in reserve, that¡¯s not a reason to burn through it, and I don¡¯t want to use it.

    Why is it that we have to use up arge amount of money to humor a girl?

    The thing about this tea ceremony...is that if one avoids doing it or just doesn¡¯t set one up, then the girls will start spreading rumors about them through theirwork. They¡¯ll spread talks about how that person didn¡¯t open a tea ceremony, and it would put them at a disadvantage when ite to marriage.

    Even if they¡¯re not interested a partner, they still need to make a solid tea ceremony.

    Like how us boys share our information around, the girls share their information around as well. Bing an enemy of the girls means having them spread bad rumors, making things tedious.

    This is yet another aspect where boys are at a disadvantage. In the first ce, since girls hold the strong position in marriages, the boys are ultimately left with a weak one.

    Then, there¡¯s one problem.

    My merits have allowed me to exert independence after graduation, and I¡¯m seen as a rich person by my surroundings. They¡¯re aware that I¡¯ve gotten my hands on treasures of gold and silver.

    ¡°Does this mean I have to do a formal tea ceremony? It seems I do. Honestly, that bums me out.¡±

    While us three were feeling down before the May tea ceremony, we saw Julian, who could be described as a winner, walking with followers and women apanying him.

    Near him was one of his close friends and bodyguards who is the heir to a viscount household©¤©¤foster brother ¡°Jilk Fier Memoria.¡±

    He had deep green, long hair that made one question if that was really his natural hair. He had green, droopy eyes that contrasted with the prince¡¯s sharp re.

    Though he¡¯s from a viscount household of the royal court, he¡¯s also a close friend of the prince to the point of being a foster brother. It¡¯s obvious that he will be given an important position in the future.

    The girls that talk to him have hearts in their eyes, and there are boys of high-ranking earl households near and far that pridefully follow and serve him.

    ¡°Are you going to open a tea ceremony in May, your Highness?¡±

    ¡°I want to participate too.¡±

    ¡°M, me too!¡±

    Looking at the girls who wanted to be invited to the prince¡¯s tea ceremony like dogs wagging their tails, we had toe to terms with reality.

    Raymond covered his face with both hands.

    ¡°...Since his Highness and other noble families are here, it¡¯s going to be a big hurdle.¡±

    Daniel dropped his shoulders.

    ¡°Quite theparison to make between him and us. Pardon my frankness.¡±

    Looking at the envious scene of the prince and the others, one girl then came along. She had followers surrounding her. It soon became apparent that she was of a high social status...

    This person was a daughter of a duke household©¤©¤¡±Anjelica Rafua Redgrave.¡± She was a girl with blonde hair that seemed to sparkle and had an upswept hairstyle.

    Her white skin was lovely and her red eyes were fierce.

    Her eyes gave off a strong impression and would make someone soon realize that there was something different about her from the others.

    It seemed that she and the prince were both people that naturally had something about them.

    I believe that on the inside, the protagonist definitely has something grand about her as well. Undoubtedly, there was something about her that made one recognize at a nce that she had a different feel than normal people.

    Otherwise, I¡¯m pretty sure that the crown prince and the other capture targets wouldn¡¯t have swayed towards her.

    Although she may appear normal, she, the protagonist, definitely has a unique aura surrounding her.

    ¡°Is that his Highness the crown prince¡¯s fiance?¡±

    The girls surrounding both the prince and Jilk took a distance faster than I could say it. It seemed that they weren¡¯t fools who would try to get invited right in front of the prince¡¯s fiance.

    None of them wanted to even say a word.

    Anjelica¡¯s eyes got a bit sharp.

    ¡°Crown prince your Highness, I have something to talk about regarding the May tea ceremony. Is it alright that we attend together?¡±

    Within the academy, it¡¯s said that one should not to abuse the authority of their position nor their parents¡¯ power, but such a thing is not possible to stop in the real world.

    Julian breathed a small sigh.

    ¡°Anjelica, you¡¯re coercing the surrounding people. This is the academy.¡±

    ¡°Right, I know. However...the people around you are quite noisy, crown prince your Highness.¡±

    There was no fool in the academy that would go against the daughter of a duke household.

    The girls awkwardly averted their gaze from Anjelica.

    ¡°I suppose this is the protagonist¡¯s rival. I get this strong feeling that she¡¯s a formidable enemy.¡±

    As I was mumbling to myself, there was one girl remaining in the ce where the crowd had dispersed.

    I squinted upon seeing her.

    If Anjelica was said to be a beautiful woman, then this girl felt like a small and cute person.

    She was a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and was the daughter of a viscount family.

    Her name was ¡°Marie Fou Lafuan.¡±

    She¡¯s someone that I haven¡¯te to like in any way.

    I get irritated looking at her. Yet, it¡¯s not a feeling of hatred, but somethingplex...I can¡¯t put it into words.

    Jilk noticed that she was looking over their direction with her blue eyes and notified the prince.

    ¡°Your highness.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Aah, it¡¯s Marie. Perfect, I was looking for you. Can youe over here?¡±

    The prince smiled while looking at Marie.

    Anjelica¡¯s eyebrows moved with a twitch.

    When one of her followers whispered about Marie into her ear, she knit her eyebrows grandly.

    Marie went over to him since her called for her, and a feeling of tension rose in the location.

    It seemed that Daniel, with his hands over his stomach, wanted to run away on the spot.

    ¡°Can I not go home?¡±

    A quarrel was awakening near the bench, but we would stand out if we got up and escaped. Raymond shook his head.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s better not to move until it¡¯s over. All things considered, perhaps she¡¯s the rumored girl.¡±

    Rumored?

    ¡°Do you know who she is, Raymond?¡±

    Uneasy about Marie, I asked about her, and it turned out that she was rtively famous.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know, Leon? There¡¯s been talks about her. She, Marie, had pped his Highness Julian.¡±

    Daniel was surprised upon hearing him say that.

    ¡°...That¡¯s gotta be a lie, right? I heard that when she dined together with a prestigious noble, she ordered a steak and ate it vigorously. That¡¯s the rumor I know about.¡±

    This time, it was Raymond that was surprised.

    ¡°Huh? Is that so? I didn¡¯t hear about a rumor like that. But, it seemed that Julian actually forgave her for the p while smiling.¡±

    It turned into a conversation about Julian¡¯s leniency, but does this Marie girl not know her surroundings? Then there¡¯s her eating a steak like a guy would...hmm?

    ¡°p...steak?¡±

    There¡¯s something about this in my memories, but I can¡¯t recall it.

    Thereupon, Marie called out to Julian with a lovely voice.

    ¡°Could you invite me, your Highness?¡±

    ¡°Actually, the boys have ns to arrange tea ceremonies in May. Since I don¡¯t really want to hold a shy one, I nned on only inviting acquaintances. So, I wanted to invite you too.¡±

    Hearing that, Anjelica objected.

    ¡°Crown prince your Highness, there are rules to the tea ceremonies as well. I won¡¯t say that it needs to be shy, but a suitable scale©¤©¤¡±

    However, Julian didn¡¯t cease.

    Then I remembered this scene.

    ©¤©¤Wasn¡¯t this the game¡¯s coercion event?

    However, it doesn¡¯t seem like the protagonist is here. When I stirred around trying to find her face while uneasy, Raymond seemed to have taken notice.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s someone I¡¯m looking for...is the schrship student here?¡±

    Raymond simrly looked at the surroundings, but shook his head.

    ¡°She¡¯s not here. To begin with, the schrship student wouldn¡¯t mix in here. Look, just stay quiet. Bear with whatever you¡¯re feeling until this storm passes.¡±

    We can¡¯t escape.

    There were asionally some students that would try to enter the courtyard, but run away after noticing the strange mood. I¡¯m envious of those that were able to escape.

    The prince seemed a bit annoyed while arguing with Anjelica.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Anjelica. This is the academy. I¡¯m just a student here. You¡¯re my fiance, but that¡¯s no reason for you to interfere this much.¡±

    Anjelica backed down after hearing that.

    ¡°...Excuse my discourtesy.¡±

    Saying that and stepping away, Anjelica red at Marie in the end before leaving.

    Her surrounding followers also turned towards Marie with a harsh look.

    ¡°My apologies, Marie. I made you feel bad.¡±

    ¡°N, no, I¡¯m fine. However, is it really okay for me to participate?¡±

    Jilk shrugged his shoulders while smiling.

    ¡°His Highness is not fond of formalities. He hopes for a tea ceremony with a light mood. By all means, he wants you to participate, Marie. Besides, his Highness has never been so eager to invite a woman until now.¡±

    Jilk chuckled while the prince looked away in embarrassment.

    ¡°A, anyways, I want you to participate. Look, let¡¯s go, Jilk.¡±

    When the prince and Jilk started moving, their followers left as well. However, they too looked at Marie with aplicated gaze.

    Daniel and Raymond were relived after having finally been freed, but I looked at Marie¡¯s countenance.

    Perhaps not thinking that anyone was watching, Marie negligently let something slip for just a moment. It was really just a moment©¤©¤but she let out a slight grin.

    Turning away from Marie like that, I joined the two in leaving the location.

 Chapter 12 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 4 part2</h4>

    <i>TLN: Changing ¡®schrship student¡¯ to ¡®honor student¡¯ since it sounds less stiff.

    </i>

    <i> Also, to people wondering about some of the names and why a few of them are spelt differently than how they normally would, it¡¯s because that¡¯s how the official website spells them:

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    There¡¯s a ss about manners for a tea ceremony.

    The teacher of the ss was a gentleman with a neatly-ordered mustache who felt like a male instructor. He was an instructor that wore a suit over his slim body and straightened his back.

    Right now there¡¯s a table ced in the ssroom, with sweets and teaid out.

    It seems he¡¯s teaching us how to use utensils.

    ¡°Ready? When you invite a woman to a tea ceremony, you need to think about how you appear. From your behavior and up to what kind of education you received, your partner will see through into what kind of person you are. If you properly wee a woman, she will think of you in high favor.¡±

    The boys sat silently in the ssroom while studying the mannerisms.

    My father said that he also studied tea ceremony manners under that mustached man, but forgot about them when he graduated. Indeed, it¡¯s possible that one¡¯s behavior in their usual life may be looked into, but would one¡¯s partner look that far?

    In any case, women partners are people that walk along with their sub-race ves, their lovers, as if to unt them. I¡¯d like to tell them that they should be the ones paying more attention to their regr behavior.

    ¡°Hey, Mister Leon! Please take these lessons with more tenacity!¡±

    ¡°R, right!¡±

    As I responded to his warning, I heard theughter and chuckles of my surroundings. The onesughing are the heirs from rich noble houses or from the royal court.

    ¡°He¡¯s a country bumpkin, after all.¡±

    ¡°He gets all prideful just because he aplished a small achievement.¡±

    ¡°A savage like him may be cut out for being an adventurer, but not for this ce.¡±

    The instructor straightened his back and continued the lesson.

    ¡°The first thing that matters in the tea ceremony is the entire atmosphere. First of all, I¡¯ve gathered utensils. It is out of the question to hold up a vacant room! Be very particr about each and every utensil, and then invite the girl into your specialized room. However, remember that the spot where you¡¯re preparing your tea ceremony is not below third-rate.¡±

    Is there even a meaning to trivial lessons like this one? While thinking that there wouldn¡¯t be a use for them after graduation, the instructor seemed to have seen through me.

    ¡°Mister Leon...it seems you don¡¯t understand. Well then, let¡¯s put it into practice.¡±

    Being called up, it seemed as if I was a guest to be entertained.

    It¡¯s not a big deal anyways.

    I, who doesn¡¯t have an interest in tea or things of that sort, was wondering what significance there was in things like expensive tea leaves. I think that even the cheap ones are fine.

    I did my best to make a reply that seemed as if I was impressed on the outside, while mocking on the inside.

    ¡°Wow~, how enjoyable.¡±

    Perhaps getting motivated, the instructor adjusted his cor.

    ¡°Well, do enjoy yourself.¡±

    The instructor made a smile.

    He did best to boast about pricey tea leaves and sweets. Iughed on the inside while being impressed on the outside.

    At least I thought as such©¤©¤

    ¡ó

    ©¤©¤After the lessons were over.

    When he left the ssroom, I hurried after the instructor while calling out.

    ¡°Teacher! I¡¯m deeply moved!¡±

    Holding his head high, the instructor stroked his mustache in pride while looking back.

    What a spectacle.

    A gentleman even when looking backwards.

    ¡°Mister Leon, it seems you understand.¡±

    I¡¯m ashamed of my past self.

    ¡°Right! I had made light of tea. No, I was looking down on it. I am dreadfully embarrassed of that. I have deeply reflected on it now. I want to hold a perfect tea ceremony like you, teacher!¡±

    The instructor nods with a smile.

    ¡°Very good. However, you¡¯re mistaken.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The instructor turned around to face me, then ced his right hand on his chest.

    Each and every one of his movements seemed so tantalizingly gentlemanly.

    ¡°The important thing is to wee them. Furthermore, I¡¯m only halfway there. Even to this day, I cannot provide a fully satisfying hospitality yet.¡±

    ¡°I, I see. Even you¡¯re not perfect, teacher?¡±

    The instructor nods.

    ¡°Yes, that is so. I too am aiming for that time, that moment where I reach the best hospitality, but I still haven¡¯t arrived at that state. However, I can teach the basics. Mister Leon, how about we traverse the path of tea together?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Teacher©¤©¤no, Mentor!¡±

    As the instructor©¤©¤no wait, my mentor and I were talking with a smile, I heard the voices of Daniel and Raymond from behind.

    ¡°...Did Leon hit his head?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? Well, it¡¯s fine as long as he isn¡¯t hopeless, right?¡±

    ¡ó

    It was the May tea ceremony.

    I got an answer from the person I sent an invitation to, so I borrowed a room to prepare in response.

    There are several rooms dedicated to private tea ceremony use within the academy, and it¡¯s normal for students to borrow them and provide hospitality there.

    I originally wanted to borrow a full-scale room, but they were all full at this point in time, so I didn¡¯t get to rent one.

    I had a set of utensils, tea, and sweets.

    I gathered these in ordance to what I consulted about with my mentor, I carefully made preparations from cleaning the room to changing theyout, and now all that¡¯s left is for the girl I invited toe.

    Luxon floated in the center of the room, checking the interior design.

    [Remarkably borate. I would not think that this woulde from my master that had tried rushing a merchant to finish business a couple weeks ago.]

    ¡°How annoying. If there¡¯s something you notice too, then do say it.¡±

    After having done one final look around, I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.

    The girl I invited shoulde in just ten more minutes.

    The one I invited was the second daughter of a baron household.

    [I cannot understand this world. Is it not optimal to choose a partner based on the most suitable gic information?]

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible since there¡¯s nobody that can check someone¡¯s genes.¡±

    [Then I have nothing to say.]

    Right as Luxon finished talking, the girl had arrived.

    ¡°Hello~¡±

    ¡°Thank you for...ing?¡±

    The girl took a very light attitude. That¡¯s not something to particrly be surprised about, but behind her were two carelesslyughing girls that I hadn¡¯t invited.

    ¡°Ah, friends. Let¡¯s kill some time while we¡¯re here. I was invited to arge tea ceremony by an earl from afar, but it isn¡¯t time to depart there yet.¡±

    A tea ceremony hosted by a prestigious noble heir would already be at the scale of a party. It seems they wanted to kill time while their carriage to the venue was being prepared.

    ¡°I, is that so? Well then, when are you departing?¡±

    ¡°In about thirty minutes. We talked about how we had a little spare time left, then I remembered that I had replied to a tea ceremony invitation and said I would go.¡±

    The other two sat as they pleased on the seats I had prepared.

    They began eating the sweets I had brought.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve also prepared some tea.¡±

    The three surrounded the table, leaving no ce for me to sit. They then got excited talking about the tea ceremony they¡¯re heading towards, and ordered me to make more tea or supply more sweets like I was a servant.

    When the time came, the three left the room leaving the food scattered around without even a word of thanks.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m tired~. The sweets were good, but girls won¡¯t be pleased if you don¡¯t buy more expensive ones. Pay attention next time.¡±

    Perhaps thinking that she actually gave me advice, the girl left acting as if she had said something good in the end. The three were in high spirits while heading to the tea ceremony they were actually looking forward to.

    I dropped my shoulders.

    ¡°Those sweets that I bought were made just today at the store. They had a hefty cost, and yet she said to get more expensive ones...¡±

    When seeing the table being dirtied from the food scattered around, I stared up into the ceiling.

    ¡°...Mentor, the way of tea is still a very steep road.¡±

    While putting everything away with feelings of frustration as if I was about to cry, I heard a voice outside. It was a quarrel amongst several schoolgirls.

    ¡°...You don¡¯t belong here!¡±

    ¡°B, but, my invitation©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re supposed make the smart move,moner!¡±

    I heard the sound of footsteps.

    Several schoolgirls said things like ¡°Let¡¯s hurry and go, the carriage is about to leave,¡± and left. I peeked from the room under the guess that the so-calledmoner from just a bit ago was the protagonist.

    I was expecting the person there to be someone with an aura that could definitelypete with that of her rival Anjelica©¤©¤but the girl sitting down in the hallway betrayed my expectations.

    There was the figure of an ordinary girl with light brown, medium hair that had a bob cut, and she held no spirit or aura.

    She had greenish-blue eyes and had a gentle look, making her aplete opposite of Anjelica. She was a modest girl.

    She was a beauty, but...an ordinary child.

    ¡°Is she the type that shines when she gets polished? Even so, she¡¯s more modest than I thought.¡±

    In the hallway was an abandoned, ripped apart invitation.

    Luxon, who had been forced to act like an ornament for a while now, ced itself onto my shoulder and looked at the situation.

    [...Is this what bullying is? It¡¯s due to her being an honor student, but not a noble, isn¡¯t it. Many students at this academy cannot ept that an ordinary person had been admitted.]

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s pretty much like that. However, something about her seems... too ordinary.¡±

    Looking at her being gloomy while gathering the torn pieces of the invitation, I turned my gaze towards the room.

    ¡°Perhaps I can still invite one more person in here?¡±

    I voiced out loud about how the remaining sweets and tea leaves could support one more person. I couldn¡¯t leave that lonely figure behind me alone.

    ¡°Hey, you over there! Have some tea!¡±

    I tried calling out to her in a light mood, almost like that of a yboy.

    The girl, who was the protagonist, raised her head and made a bit of a surprised face when seeing me.

 Chapter 13 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 4 part3</h4>

    Unlikest time, the atmosphere felt like an actual tea ceremony.

    ¡°Hmm, so you received an invitation by the heir of an earl household from a remote region.¡±

    ¡°Right. He said it wouldn¡¯t be bad for him to talk with an honor student and then invited me. However, everyone said that wasn¡¯t eptable and they refused me...¡±

    I enjoyed the fragrance of the tea while popping a sweet into my mouth.

    When I offered the protagonist some, she held back at first, but then nervously took them.

    A smile returned to her sad face when eating the sweets.

    Unlike the girls from before, she ate them in delight. I¡¯m d that I had prepared tea and sweets now.

    The protagonist was then a bit perplexed when looking at the tea.

    ¡°T, this is expensive tea, isn¡¯t it? Is it okay for me to drink this?¡±

    She¡¯s quite the shy and modest girl...who was the idiot that called her a sly protagonist again? Isn¡¯t she a pretty good person?

    ¡°This a lot for just one person, so it helps that you¡¯re drinking some of it. All things considered, it seems things have been tough for you.¡±

    I don¡¯t intend to get deeply involved, but I wanted to know who she¡¯s been associating with. It wouldn¡¯t be bad to know what kind of actions the protagonist will take hereafter.

    ...In addition, there are also some things I¡¯m uneasy about.

    ¡°...I was pleased at being invited, and I was looking forward to it, but it seems there really is no hope for me.¡±

    She made a sorrowfulugh.

    That earl from abroad©¤©¤the one hosting that tea ceremony is probably ¡°Brad Fou Field.¡±

    A rich narcissist with long purple hair, and owns a vast amount ofnd, even for a feudal lord noble. His household is of arge scale, and he¡¯s one of those prestigious nobles.

    He¡¯s not someone that will get along with households like mine.

    Brad is the type of person that strategizes before moving ahead. He could be called an advisor, the kind of person that wouldmand an army because of his intellect.

    I thought of him as a narcissistic guy whose forte is magic.

    Though he has a specialty in magic, he¡¯s useless in martial arts, and I believe he has aplex over that.

    Feudal lord nobles have a strong tendency to boast about their martial arts abilities, more so than about magic©¤©¤like how knights boast about being able to manage well with however amount of armor they wear.

    Brad pays attention to this as a descendant of feudal lord nobles, so he has aplex about his martial arts and physicality, causing a provocation to anger him.

    To put it briefly, this guy is bothersome.

    No wait, thinking about it carefully, all the capture target boys are bothersome guys.

    The gloomy protagonist, ¡°Olivia,¡± cast her eyes downwards.

    ¡°It¡¯s really would¡¯ve been better if I didn¡¯te here, right? I¡¯m trying my hardest to persevere, but I can barely make my way through what¡¯s around me...I don¡¯t know why I was enrolled here.¡±

    Come to think of it, in the beginning, her status was low and the academy part was difficult.

    Julian and the other guys are then supposed to follower her, but the Olivia right now was alone.

    ...It seems a little odd for her to be alone at this point in time. Even if people are ignoring her, she¡¯s supposed to get involved with Julian and not be by herself.

    Could it be that reality really is different from the game?

    I didn¡¯t know about how uninvolved she was until now since my choices for sses were different from hers. I thought that she was doing well.

    Even if it wasn¡¯t Julius, there would no problem if she had gotten close with one of the others.

    Judging from what she¡¯s said, it seems she¡¯s been alone for nearly a month.

    That¡¯s a more miserable situation than mine.

    An academy life without a marriage partner, let alone a friend, is far too lonely.

    Well, from the standpoint of the boys from the advanced ss, she¡¯s not an eligible marriage partner. Her social status is too low. Us boys, who are frantically searching for a marriage partner, wouldn¡¯t have the spare time to associate with her.

    The capture target characters, who already have fiances, can get involved with the protagonist since they do have the free time.

    I¡¯m envious.

    In addition, from the standpoint of the girls, they wouldn¡¯t understand why someone like her is going to the same academy as them. She¡¯s someone they can¡¯t allow...so they think about forcing her between a rock and a hard ce.

    However, something¡¯s a bit off.

    It¡¯s already May, so she¡¯s supposed to have encountered the capture target characters. There was also a coercion event as well. That¡¯s when I remembered it, I remembered Marie.

    The ominous smiling countenance of Marie.

    ¡°U, umm¡±

    Perhaps uneasy after seeing me pondering in silence, Olivia became flustered. Maybe she¡¯s ming herself for something she thinks she did wrong.

    I wish that those other selfish girls would take notes from this goddess here.

    Who was the jerk that said this protagonist was sly? I¡¯ll knock them off their feet.

    ¡°I was just thinking for a bit. Well, since this is the first time we¡¯ve had an honor student at this academy, it¡¯ll get a bit rough sometimes, so don¡¯t be too hard on yourself.¡±

    Olivia nodded while going ¡°I see, you¡¯re right,¡± as she agreed to my advice. Anyways, there¡¯s no way that my few brief words will leave a deep impression on her.

    I don¡¯t have much life experience, and though I was a adult in my previous life, I didn¡¯t have to respond to such prideful people back then.

    ¡°...Is it okay for me to stay here?¡±

    I immediately replied to her question.

    ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s fine.¡±

    You¡¯re this world¡¯s protagonist, after all.

    Who you decide to capture has little rtion to my life, but...you don¡¯t have anyone. None at all. Well, I had wanted you to talk about who you had gotten involved with.

    ¡°W, why? I mean, I¡¯m not worthy of being here.¡±

    Though it¡¯s a matter of course for me, perhaps it¡¯s strange for Olivia. So I gave an exnation using a suitable excuse.

    ¡°Well, you see...oh right! Your admission is a decision by the academy and the royal pce! You shouldn¡¯tin about the position you¡¯re in, and the other students don¡¯t have the right to judge whether or not you¡¯re suitable here.¡±

    Olivia blinked repeatedly.

    ¡°B, but, the people around©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Even if you can¡¯t endure it, you shouldn¡¯t just drop out. In regards to the people telling you to go away, doing that is impossible since your stay was decided by the higher-ups. So why don¡¯t you tell them that if they have aint, they can take it up to those higher-ups? I think few people would talk back to that.¡±

    At any rate, the protagonist will surely be protected by the capture target boys.

    So it¡¯ll be fine.

    Definitely...probably.

    However, I¡¯m uneasy about the flow of this conversation so far. Is it really okay that she hasn¡¯t encountered a single person, or rather, that she hasn¡¯t raised any gs yet?

    Olivia slowly opened her mouth to speak.

    ¡°I...want to study more about magic. However, I¡¯m unfamiliar with stuff like the regtions of an academy or unspoken rules...recently it¡¯s been difficult with people causing mischief on things like my textbooks and many other items of mine.¡±

    There are lot of unspoken rules amongst the boys, but it¡¯s the same for the girls as well. No wait, the girls would probably have even harsher unspoken rules that are unclear.

    Not knowing them would be a big disadvantage in the academy. Come to think of it, in the game, I feel like there was a scene where the protagonist was criticized about such things by the viiness.

    At that time, the capture target boys helped her out, but...the Olivia right now has no boys that will assist her.

    I couldn¡¯t leave her alone in that bitter state, so I thought about what course of action would be good.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the unspoken rules amongst girls either...ah,e to think of it, one person that doeses to mind. That might work somehow.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡±

    The smile on Olivia¡¯s delighted face dazzled.

    For the sake of Olivia, I decided to call my sister, the second daughter.

    I was worried that she wasn¡¯t going to prove to be useful. With how much money I¡¯ve lent to her...I¡¯ll have her pay back a bit of the loan she owes me.

    She¡¯s a woman that will move upon the glimmer of gold.

    I¡¯ll have her talk even she doesn¡¯t want to.

    ¡ó

    I boiled some tea for my sister.

    I seriously wanted to do it sloppily or stuff something nasty into it, but I stopped myself when my mentor¡¯s face came to mind. It would hurt my heart doing such things in a tea ceremony.

    She¡¯s an annoying sister.

    Behind her stood a tall ve with cat ears folding his arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite remarkable that you¡¯ve called for me, stupid brother.¡±

    Iughed scornfully.

    ¡°And I admire the reason for why you responded to my call. Alright, quickly teach her the rules amongst the girls.¡±

    I took a seat while telling a worried Olivia not worry.

    My sister held her hand over her forehead.

    ¡°...I¡¯m fine with teaching that, but what do you have to gain by supporting the honor student?¡±

    I don¡¯t have anything to directly gain from it, but Olivia¡¯s happiness will help with the future of this country.

    There¡¯s no harm having her be indebted to me, and above all, this is the least I can do for her since Luxon may have originally been intended to go to her.

    ¡°This is why I don¡¯t like people who think only in terms of gains and losses. How about having a kinder heart?¡±

    My sister clicked her tongue toward my agitation.

    She has that handsome ve, a lover that she was able to purchase, behind her because of me. Seeming to know that as well, she looked at Olivia.

    ¡°Within the girls in the ss...did you greet the most distinguished girl among them?¡±

    Olivia shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t get close to her.¡±

    ¡°Send a proper letter to her. It¡¯s part of the rules to greet her with a present. If there¡¯s arge group, ask someone to be the middleman. The ones following her have a fairly important position. Send a letter to those people, and some presents too while you¡¯re at it. Aah, make sure to investigate what kind of presents they like.¡±

    I listened to what my sister was saying and had a thought.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a bribe?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being noisy. There¡¯s no problem as long as it does the trick. Anyways, don¡¯t go with in money or something unrefined. That will make them angry. Tea or sweets from a popr store is a safe bet. This is where mistaking their tastes will cause a hassle.¡±

    Olivia¡¯s hand, which was jotting down notes, stopped.

    ¡°T, that much money isn¡¯t something I©¤©¤¡±

    My sister looked over at my face.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to have this stupid brother buy them. He¡¯s the one that called me over here, so he can do it.¡±

    I panicked when the subject was suddenly brought up.

    I felt like it was troubling when the girls had ignored me, but then I was hit with a surprise attack.

    ¡°W, what...¡±

    My sister ignored my reaction and continued speaking.

    ¡°If they send a reply back saying that they want to meet you in-person or that they want to return the favor for the present, then you¡¯re done. All that¡¯s left is to not rub them the wrong way and then you can peacefully graduate.¡±

    Olivia looked at me with eyes that seemed as if she was about to cry.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine...I¡¯ll handle the bills.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll definitely return the favor!¡±

    Seeing Olivia giving a word of thanks made me think about how the other girls around should be as kind as this child here.

    Seeing my sister leaning back while eating the sweets made me shake my head. As I let out feelings of irritation, I noticed something from my sister¡¯s ve.

    That cat-eared bastard was reaching towards me, so I soon fled from that spot.

    I¡¯m not going to do something troublesome like a contest of strength with a beastman.

    ¡ó

    A few dayster, Anjelica called out to Olivia.

    Olivia watched in nervousness as Anjelica drank an elegant ck tea. Both the cup and its contents were of a higher grade than what Leon had prepared.

    Treating it as if it were just amon-ss item, Anjelica ced her cup down while looking at Olivia with a sharp re.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who gave you the suggestion for it, but I¡¯ll praise your greeting. It¡¯s the behavior to take when meeting a superior. This isn¡¯t a ce for people like you. However, bear in mind that I will tolerate you if you stay quiet in the corner.¡±

    Their location was isted from the outside of the academy, making it slightly mysterious.

    There are also peculiar rules about not keeping in close touch with the outside.

    A simr kind to the one about making a ¡°greeting,¡± like what Olivia had done to Anjelica.

    It¡¯s not particrly necessary, but it is important for making one¡¯s academy life smooth.

    Olivia has no power nor supporters.

    She was in a really weak position within the school.

    ¡°U, um, then you¡¯ll allow me to stay in the academy?¡±

    In response to Olivia¡¯s worries, Anjelica made a bit of a face like she had remembered something.

    There were several girls following Anjelica, but they left and now only the two remained.

    Upon which, she started speaking in a somewhat gentler tone of voice than just before.

    ¡°...You can just nod along, drink your tea, and then return back to your dorm. Just that much and we¡¯ll be done. I suppose that this conversation turned moreplex after you started asking all these questions.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    Anjelica sighed.

    She made a slightly tired expression for some reason.

    ¡°Did you think I was going to try and drive you out? Honestly speaking, I¡¯m not interested in the matters of an honor student. I don¡¯t have the leisure to get involved with you either.¡±

    Anjelica mumbled a few words towards the a worried Olivia.

    ¡°You¡¯re better than that girl getting close with his Highness the crown prince.¡±

    ¡°U, um,e again?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Anjelica made a slight smile towards Olivia.

    It was a sight that made her seem appropriate for her age.

    Olivia had an image of Anjelica that held more spirit and was easily agitated. Indeed, Anjelica had broken into a yell a couple of times in the academy.

    ¡°Honor student, who was the one that taught you about these greetings? Aah, don¡¯t misunderstand, it¡¯s not that I harbor ill feelings towards them. I¡¯m just wondering who had supported the honor student that people distance themselves away from. A personal interest.¡±

    The boys are focused on searching for marriage partners and don¡¯t have free time while the girls dislike the honor student. She expressed her interest in knowing who would assist her.

    Olivia was a bit worried, but voiced out Leon¡¯s name.

    She talked about how Leon brought in his older sister.

    ¡°The third Baltfault son, is it? He¡¯s quite the oddball. Well, he has a good will.¡±

    ¡°You know about him?¡±

    Anjelica made a small smile.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know? He¡¯s a knight from our generation with high hopes ced on him for the future. Actually, I was surprised when I heard that he had earned a baron rank by himself. There¡¯s no doubt that he¡¯s reached the ideal sess as an adventurer. A fascinating person. All things considered, his nature isn¡¯t bad. It wouldn¡¯t be harmful either to have his Highness the crown prince speak with him.¡±

    Olivia felt a slightly mysterious feeling when she looked at Anjelica saying that while smiling.

 Chapter 14 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 5 part1</h4>

    <h4>Noble Manners</h4>

    Holfault Kingdom¡¯s nobles can be traced back to adventurers.

    For that reason, adventurers hold respectable professions as they work for a guild managed by the country...and many nobles temporarily be adventurers to follow their ancestors.

    Regardless of whether they take the regr or advanced ss, everyone goes to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to register as an adventurer, and they take lessons that have them acknowledge and be grateful for the hardship of their ancestors.

    There¡¯s no difference between men and women, all adventurers register equally©¤©¤and then tackle a dungeon as is custom.

    Well, whatever the reason is, it¡¯s a way for broke noble youths to earn extra money as an adventurer in the family. It¡¯s a popr upation, even in the academy, and there are many schoolboys that earn money as an adventurer during holidays or vacations.

    It seems that my father and older brother also earned a considerable amount as adventurers.

    It makes me shed a sorrowful tear thinking about how that money would vanish towards paying entertainment expenses, like tea ceremonies, for girls.

    I¡¯m not troubled about money, but I¡¯m still thrilled to hear about dungeons.

    There¡¯s not much to enjoy in this otome game, but this dungeon falls under the adventure part of it.

    It would be fun©¤©¤well, it was supposed to.

    It was the middle of May.

    It was the day where first year students be adventurers and try to tackle a dungeon within the royal capital. I took a look at my surroundings and worried about sticking out like a sore thumb.

    ¡°I was concerned about my friends, Daniel and Raymond, and yet they ran away. Well, if I were in the same situation, I¡¯d run away too. Even so!¡±

    Standing next to me, as I wore standard adventurer equipment, was Olivia, who was still trying to get ustomed to her own equipment.

    I basically wore leather armor on top of thick clothing. Iron armor covered portions like the arms, chest, and lower legs. It¡¯s equipment that would make one wonder what exactly is fantasy-like, or rather, stylish about it. Equipment and the like all focus on appearances in this otome game. Much of the equipment tosses practical use out the window, and many of the students are using such equipment that makes me worry about whether its safe to wear.

    As for me? I took an emphasis on faultless safety. Something far from being stylish.

    Olivia looked apologetic towards me.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry. Anjelica said she wanted you to participate no matter what.¡±

    I know that even if I make aint towards the worried Olivia, nothing can be done.

    However, today¡¯s the day to challenge the dungeon.

    An unexpectedly high-ss group surrounded me.

    A smart, tall, serious boy with blue hair and eyes wore equipment geared towards fashion, which made me wonder how that thing is supposed to defend him. He was a four-eyes©¤©¤err, cool character that wore sses.

    Only a long sword hung from his waist.

    He was a capture target and a serious vanguard swordsman©¤©¤well, he¡¯s supposed to be an expert swordsman ording to the game. He¡¯s ¡°Chris Fier Arkwright,¡± the son of a master swordsman.

    He¡¯s from a well-established family of the royal court. The heir of an earl household that rose to power through the sword.

    There was also a muscr delinquent-like guy, with ruffled red hair and rolled-up sleeves, who shouldered a spear.

    This rough man, who deres that his doctrine is to get real experience with swordsmanship rather than study it, has been challenging dungeons before his enrollment, and defeated many monsters.

    He¡¯s a capture target character. A hearty vanguard from a feudal lord household of earl nobles.

    He looks like a delinquent, but is a rich young man.

    His red hair and light brown tanned skin makes him lookpletely unlike a rich young man.

    His name is ¡°Greg Fou Seberg.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t get along well with Chris ording to the game¡¯s setting, but I believe there was a friendship event along the way. It¡¯s not a necessary event to clear the game, but since the friendship event made it easier to capture him, I went through this event, which made girls would fantasize about unspeakable things going on amongst these two fellow guys, many times.

    The crown prince ¡°Julian Rafua Holfault.¡±

    The prince¡¯s foster brother and heir of a viscount household, ¡°Jilk Fier Memoria.¡±

    The heir of an earl house from afar and the narcissist whose pride is in magic, ¡°Brad Fou Field.¡±

    The son of a master swordsman who will seed an earl household as an expert swordsman, ¡°Chris Fier Arkwright.¡±

    The frank heir of an earl household whose doctrine is to learn through experiencing, ¡°Gred Fou Seberg.¡±

    These five are the capture target characters©¤©¤the five who might be the lovers of the protagonist.

    In the game, I memorized them in the order of ck, green, purple, blue, and red.

    Originally, there was also a handsome boy named ¡°Kyle¡± that would join. He could be purchased by the protagonist as a ve©¤©¤an exclusive servant.

    He was normally a convenient character that would take personal care of you and would tell you the status of the love meter. In battles, he could use magic act as a support, but he¡¯s not here.

    It seems he held a position that was like a cute little brother, but to me it felt like he was just the protagonist¡¯s maid.

    I should mention that in Holfault, the middle name ¡°Rafua¡± is for royalty, ¡°Fier¡± is for royal court nobility, and ¡°Fou¡± is for people thee from feudal lord nobles.

    The five people made aplete set, and amongst their followers, the ones whose skills stood out fortified their surroundings.

    Within that group, Olivia and I were mixed in.

    So why am I here?

    The reason for that is for the sake of one of the five.

    Olivia was an honor student, and I was an adventurer who made an achievement...I suppose that the academy wanted me to escort Julian while guarding him in the dungeon.

    Using knights and soldiers from home is considered inelegant, along with using the power of one¡¯s home or its surroundings. However, if there¡¯s someone like me who¡¯s of the same generation and has made achievements, its seems that¡¯s reason enough for us to move together.

    I¡¯m not too well-versed on this, but I suppose that since bringing along soldiers or knights without permission is troubling, they decided to settle on using fellow students to solve this problem.

    Even in the academy, it would still be troubling if Julian got injured.

    Various things piled up, like the academy¡¯s intentions and Anjelica¡¯s own rmendation, causing this kind of result to happen.

    You know...we¡¯re entering a dungeon now, but what we¡¯re challenging is the beginner level of beginner levels.

    It¡¯s excessive to have people working like guards here.

    Perhaps having the same thought, Julian had a displeased face. That reminds me, I believe that he talks with the protagonist about how he hates things like this happening to him.

    The prince¡¯s fiancee, Anjelica, was also in the group while searching our surroundings.

    Basically, it was decided that gender had no bearing on entering a dungeon.

    This is one of the few cases where the academy treats men and women equally.

    The group had about thirty people.

    That feels like a lot, but our entry to the dungeon this time is more like sightseeing. There¡¯s likely no problem with this number of people.

    ¡°At any rate, there¡¯s not much I can say when I get called out to do this.¡±

    While I looked at my surroundings, Olivia seemed uneasy.

    ¡°Maybe we should voice out our opinion?¡±

    ¡°I wonder. It might be better to just follow their directions, since it would otherwise be considered as being intrusive.¡±

    If I¡¯m speaking about my real intentions here, then I¡¯m wondering about who the protagonist is going to go for, but I don¡¯t want to get too involved, so I needed to keep a distance.

    Won¡¯t someone here get close with Olivia and set up a good mood...? I was thinking of such things, but I felt an oddly unpleasant feeling.

    Why do I have to watch one of these other jerks get close with a good child like Olivia?

    ...Should I just bear with it for the sake of the future?

    I¡¯d like the story to progress by having one of the five guys make Olivia happy. Otherwise, things will turn serious.

    The teacher ahead started exining to everyone.

    ¡°Now then, please form groups. If you reach the third floor of the dungeon,e back. Don¡¯t progress any further than that.¡±

    It was decided that we would make five groups of six people. Even so, the thirty people here agreed on moving while close to each other.

    Julian, the one that shan¡¯t be hurt, and his clique were in the center while I ended up being in the front. Well, that¡¯s fine.

    However, splitting into groups was the problem.

    ¡°Like I said, know your ce!¡±

    Anjelica¡¯s anger-filled voice echoed in the dungeon.

    Everyone turned their head, and saw that she was standing in front of Marie.

    The teacher got into a panic in front of the youthful daughter of a duke.

    Looking at how the situation is developing, it seems that there was a dispute over a group¡¯sposition.

    Marie was hiding behind the prince.

    ...What a sly one she is.

    ¡°Anjelica, leave it be.¡±

    Anjelica talked back to Julian, who was sticking up for Marie.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you going to allow this person¡¯s selfishness?¡±

    Marie cast her eyes downward from behind the prince. She held onto the prince¡¯s sleeve with her fingers, seeing her do those cute gestures, as if it was her intent, made me oddly irritated.

    ¡°Your Highness, I...just thought that it would be nice to be with you. I don¡¯t mind you refusing me if I¡¯m a bother.¡±

    Anjelica snapped and let out an angry voice towards Marie.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away! His Highness¡¯ social status is different from yours. I¡¯ve been tolerating you up until now, but if you¡¯re taking that kind of behavior, then©¤©¤¡±

    Anjelica gave off a very furious image.

    It¡¯s the same in both reality and the game. She¡¯s a character who¡¯s teased as being like an instant water-boiler. Well, she¡¯s the viiness and the protagonist¡¯s rival.

    I suppose she¡¯s made an image of herself as an agonizing woman that has a short tempter, good looks, and brandishes her household¡¯s power.

    However, in this scene...it¡¯s supposed to be Oliva, the one standing next to me, who¡¯s protected. Meanwhile, Olivia¡¯s just being flustered while saying things like ¡°W, what¡¯s going to happen?!¡±

    ...She looks strangely cute. It¡¯s different from Marie.

    I was pondering about why it turned out like this, but I can only think of one cause.

    ¡°Have you noticed anything weird about that Marie girl?¡±

    Olivia thought a bit in response to my words.

    ¡°C,e to think of it, recently she¡¯s been bullied harsher than me. The people around her gossip about things like how she¡¯s the daughter of a poor viscount household.¡±

    A viscount household is one rank above a baron.

    However, that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re rich. There are many cases where despite a household¡¯s ranking being high, the scale of that household doesn¡¯t match up to it. In the past, viscount households had appropriate territory and ie, but at present, there are many that had their territory taken away, or just don¡¯t have a bnce between court rank and household scale.

    While the two argued, the people around agreed with Anjelica.

    ¡°It¡¯s unthinkable to get so close to him right in front of his fiance.¡±

    ¡°That girl has gotten closer with other boys too, right?¡±

    ¡°Unbelievable.¡±

    Judging from the reactions of the surrounding people, it seems that this girl called Marie has snatched away the position of the protagonist. As I was listening to Olivia©¤©¤

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±

    Julian raised a loud voice, shutting up the mouths of the surrounding students.

    Anjelica made a surprised expression.

    ¡°Y, your Highness?¡±

    Jilk, with his usual gracefulness, appeared in front the prince as if he was going to protect him. He stood before Anjelica, held his right hand out sideways, and took a posture as if he was going to then protect both the prince and Marie.

    ¡°Anjelica, I prefer if you don¡¯t bother his Highness too much.¡±

    ¡°Bother? I¡¯m a bother? I judged that this was for the sake of his©¤©¤¡±

    The one who red up towards those words was Greg, who seemed invested.

    He carried his spear over his shoulder, squinted, and looked irritated.

    ¡°He¡¯s saying that kind of attitude is annoying. In the academy, we don¡¯t consider outside connections. Seeing this is making me lose my patience.¡±

    Nobody in the surroundings could talk back to the words from a heir of an influential noble. The prince then addressed the teacher.

    ¡°My apologies. We¡¯ll be teaming up with Marie. Now we just need to figure out a suitable formation.¡±

    The teacher panicked and nodded many times.

    ¡°R, right!¡±

    Anjelica was dumbfounded, but I didn¡¯t fail to notice the smiling grin Marie made while nobody was looking.

 Chapter 15 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 5 part2</h4>

    The dungeon in the royal capital, how do I say it...really feels like an abandoned mine.

    Wooden pirs and beams were ced at equal distances apart within the wide passage.

    asionally, there were ores that seemed to protrude from the walls, but those were the dungeon¡¯s treasures. There also seems to be a treasure chest left somewhere unnoticed, but its source hasn¡¯t been investigated.

    It¡¯s futile to ponder seriously about this game-like reasoning.

    There¡¯s no point in thinking hard about it.

    Olivia was taking the ores that were buried in the wall.

    She¡¯se across iron ores or something like that. To begin with, it¡¯s odd that the ironing out already seems refined.

    ¡°Eheheh, I found one.¡±

    Olivia looked delighted, but was so absorbed in it that when she wiped her sweat with her hand, the tip of her nose would get dirt on it.

    ¡°Congrats. That one¡¯s definitely one hundred dia.¡±

    I take the heavy lump of metal and toss it into my luggage.

    The mary currency here consists of ¡°dia¡± and ¡°dil¡±.

    One dia is...well, in terms of my previous world, I suppose it¡¯s worth about one hundred yen?

    Gold pieces and silver pieces also exist as money, but they¡¯re aren¡¯t seen very much due to there being bills and coins.

    Olivia looked at her surroundings.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Well, you see...I¡¯m wondering why a phenomenon like this is happening in the dungeon. I¡¯ve even heard about there being a treasure chest, and it¡¯s a little strange. It¡¯s almost like someone arranged this.¡±

    There¡¯s no purpose in having feelings of unease about that.

    After all, the dungeon is the kingdom¡¯s treasury of materials and funds that help support it.

    In the first ce, there¡¯s no point in asking for an exnation since this is the result of the game¡¯s setting, ackluster setting at that.

    ¡°How strange. Alright, let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    ¡°W, wait a moment! Leon, are you not concerned about it?¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Not particrly.¡±

    Olivia¡¯s spirits waned.

    ¡°You¡¯re cold, Leon.¡±

    She¡¯s opened up quite a bit, but...unfortunately, this girl descends frommoners. Eventually, she¡¯ll be recognized as a saint and be an untouchable presence.

    I shouldn¡¯t get married to such a partner, so I¡¯m going to limit it at just being friends.

    It¡¯s really regrettable.

    If Olivia were a noble, people would get a little pushy in trying to confess to her. The reason being that she¡¯s a person with a kind heart among other things, but most importantly, she¡¯s practically the ideal partner.

    She¡¯s from the countryside of an isted ind. She seems to be thinking about returning to her home in the future, though I wouldn¡¯t mind if she stayed over at my house.

    ...Really regrettable. If she wasn¡¯t both the protagonist and amoner, I would¡¯ve given her a marriage proposal.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t get depressed so quickly©¤©¤whoops, perhaps it¡¯s better to end things here.¡±

    She¡¯s an honor student that will rise to power.

    We didn¡¯t get along well with the other group members, so us two had gone ahead.

    I moved back to be behind Olivia and drew out my sword from my waist. Perhaps it¡¯d be more urate to call it a broad katana.

    Luxon talked about how a katana would be better for someone with a Japanese soul. It seems that Luxon is the kind that wants to try something out if it can.

    ...I¡¯m neither a descendant of a samurai, nor do I practice kendo, but I took it with pleasure.

    However, the Japanese sword it created was a fantasy sword.

    It¡¯s something that resembles it.

    Olivia trembled from behind.

    ¡°That¡¯s a...monster.¡±

    A giant ant had appeared. It was a giant insect that spanned about seventy to eighty centimeters in length.

    However, things will turn grave if one gets bitten by itsrge jaws.

    Once it came out, several more appeared within the dungeon.

    They could be called the cleaners of the dungeon since there¡¯s rumors that they carry away dead adventurers and whatnot.

    ¡°I can¡¯t use the rifle in a passage like this, so this is going to be troublesome.¡±

    Even though I was raised in the country, my father trained me.

    I remember my father saying that I would probably have to earn money through dungeons in the future, so he would train me in fighting.

    It seems my father also went through hardships in the dungeon.

    The giant ants noticed us and headed towards our direction, one after the other.

    There were five of them.

    I shed the neck of the first enemy right in front of me.

    I moved around, swung my sword down, and had aimed at its rtively thin neck.

    Once its neck separated, ck smoke appeared from the giant ant as it vanished, but I didn¡¯t pay attention to that and started my attack on the next one.

    Giant ants are nuisances, but the joints connecting their head and torso is pretty fragile.

    Their chin and head are more or less sturdy, they¡¯ll withstand an unskillful sh of a sword.

    For that reason, I made sure to sh at its weak point.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s two! Now for the third!¡±

    The katana I held tore through and killed one after another.

    Being careful about their strong jaws, I took a roundabout path while continuing to swing down my de, and then the battle finished once I sliced the neck of thest giant ant.

    In the game, the turn-basedbat meant that one would have to receive the enemy¡¯s attacks, but in reality, one can avoid them if they make good use of their positioning.

    However, it goes to say that the opponent can do the same.

    It¡¯s really hard to deal with them when one is surrounded. Death is likely.

    I ced the katana over my shoulder as Olivia approached. Seeing the monsters, which had now let out ck smoke and vanished, scared her a bit.

    ¡°You¡¯re strong, Leon. One by one, you were able to defeat those frightening monsters.¡±

    Indeed, a girl would hate the appearance of a giant ant.

    Anyone can shoot a gun. The important part is the hitting the right spot.

    If you know the right way to kill them, they¡¯re easier to deal with.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I know their weak points. Once you get experience, you¡¯ll be able to defeat them with ease as well.¡±

    While looking Olivia, who had a troubled expression, I sheathed my katana and suggested that we move forward.

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re reliable.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that this ce is easy enough. There¡¯s only small fries that appear. Ah, gotta watch out for traps. Al~right, let¡¯s hurry and go!¡±

    I was concerned about the mixed feelings Olivia was showing.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t feel like it, then there¡¯s©¤©¤¡±

    I then quickly draw out my katana, pushed down Olivia from behind, and held out my left arm. There was ting on the back of my hand to protect it, and a monkey-like monster that had jumped at us then bit at it.

    ¡°Shoot! I got careless.¡±

    I stabbed the monkey with the katana, but it kept strongly biting at my arm until it disappeared. It turned into ck smoke and vanished, but when I looked at my arm, its teeth had broken through the ting and reached my flesh, causing blood to appear.

    Olivia, who was sitting on the ground, sprung up and got into a panic when seeing my arm.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s because you were protecting me©¤©¤¡±

    Seeing Olivia getting teary-eyed and worried about me made me think about how a guy would probably protect this child when seeing her like this.

    In the game, I thought that the protagonist had deceived those five guys and made them meat shields that would sacrifice themselves, but...I don¡¯t feel anything ill now.

    ¡°I got negligent as well, so it¡¯s fine. An injury of just this much is fine, so©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°N, no! We need to treat it right away!¡±

    Olivia took off the ting covering the back of my hand, rolled up my sleeve, and held her hand over the location of injury.

    A faint, white light came from her palm, and it felt very warm.

    ¡°...Curing magic?¡±

    There¡¯s lots of people that can use magic, but only a few can use curing magic.

    I recall the protagonist being one of the special ones who can do it.

    Olivia smiled while looking at my arm.

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. The wound closed.¡±

    ¡°Th, th, thanks.¡±

    This is a fantasy world with magic, but the rarely seen curing magic gave me a bit of a surprise. Olivia¡¯s smile then turned towards me.

    ¡°This has been my strong point for a long time. After a traveling schr taught me a lot as a teacher, I¡¯ve been doing self-study.¡±

    ¡°...How amazing.¡±

    Was there such a setting? I can only remember the part about curing magic being the protagonist¡¯s pride.

    ¡°I¡¯m d that I was useful for you, Leon¡±

    I had a single thought when seeing Olivia delighted like that.

    There really is something special about this child.

 Chapter 16 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 5 part3</h4>

    The group Julian was leading was essentially one that was in the middle while following behind the one in front.

    There was also group behind him, so Julian and his teammates were protected from the front and back.

    However, monsters still jumped out within this dungeon and itsplicated branched paths.

    There were also dangerous moments when traps appeared.

    They advanced through the floors in the dungeon.

    Though it¡¯s the first and second floors, they could die if they let their mind wander.

    Julian broke into a cold sweat from his first dungeon andbat experience.

    Next to him stood Jilk, who looked strained while protecting Julian.

    The normally rude and chatty Brad had mmed up, and even Chris didn¡¯t let go of his sword¡¯s hilt due to the tension.

    Greg was the only one ustomed to a dungeon, but perhaps thinking that there was no meaning to the academy preparing a venture of this level, seemed to be leisurely.

    Julian paid attention to the woman behind him©¤©¤Marie.

    ¡°No problems with the pace we¡¯re walking at?¡±

    Marie smiled towards his slightly clumsy speech.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, your Highness.¡±

    For Julian, Marie was a girl who gave a fresh impression, the type that nobody in the royal pce had.

    Listening to the stories of her hardships stirred up his desire to protect her.

    The biggest reason for that was their encounter, though.

    Marie appeared when Julian was alone, since sometimes his rtion with Anjelica got troubling and bothersome, and then took an impolite attitude as she got angry.

    He never experienced a girl of the same age getting angry at him, and was surprised when Marie got a little rough, pped him, and scolded him like she was his mother.

    That left Julian with both an impression of surprise and freshness, and he couldn¡¯t help but pay attention to Marie afterwards.

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like me to know, then feel free to speak out.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Marie¡¯s smile relieved Julian, but Greg clicked his tongue when seeing the two like that.

    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about his Highness the crown prince than about Marie. Those raised in the royal pce are weak against feudal lord nobles, like Marie, who are more strong-willed than they seem.¡±

    Chris tightened his gaze in response to those words.

    ¡°...You have some nerve for a wild bumpkin. However, I cannot overlook you being impolite towards his Highness.¡±

    Jilk soon intervened.

    ¡°You¡¯re too serious as well, Chris. We¡¯re students of the academy right now, so pulling attention to such things is unnecessary.¡±

    Greg made a roaringugh.

    ¡°Apologies. However, if you think hard enough, you¡¯ll remember that feudal lords tend to get very arrogant. My bad.¡±

    The person he was referring to soon realized what he was saying.

    A vein appeared on Brad¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°A meathead thinks about everything in terms of brute strength. Marie, you¡¯ll face trouble if you marry a man like that.¡±

    Greg talked back while Marie made a bitter smile.

    ¡°Hey, stop lying! Marie, a woman whoes over to my ce won¡¯t face any trouble. If you be that heinous Brad¡¯s wife, you¡¯ll get tired of his meticulous personality. If youe to my ce, I¡¯ll let you live as you please. Aren¡¯t you getting sick of the formal life of nobles as well?¡±

    It seemed he was panicking while trying to clear up a misunderstanding with Marie.

    The team of guards felt awkward listening to this conversation amongst Julian and the others.

    There were groups that were defending Julian, and amongst them stood Anjelica.

    They were a noisy group.

    However, the mood changedpletely once Greg immediately readied the spear in his hands.

    ¡°...Hey, everyone be alert. We¡¯ve got giant ants.¡±

    All members held up their weapons in a panic.

    They were in a dungeon. It would especially frightening to use guns in this passage since it could lead to friendly fire.

    For that reason, one is not supposed to rely on guns.

    Jilk and the girls have a handgun for self-defense, but the boys are not allowed to carry firearms.

    Greg got slightly impatient.

    ¡°There¡¯s...six of them. They¡¯re going toe out from that side road.¡±

    A slightly irritated Brad criticized the other groups.

    ¡°You groups in the front, what are you doing?!¡±

    Chris drew his sword in silence.

    Then, he took an elegant posture.

    ¡°If they¡¯reing from the side road, they¡¯re not going to cross paths with the group in the front. At any rate, six of them is a lot. Your Highness, please step back.¡±

    However, Julian took a momentary nce at Marie, stepped forward, and took out his sword.

    (As if I¡¯ll let her see such a shameful disy of myself here.)

    Greg whistled.

    ¡°How nice, your Highness. You¡¯re part of the royalty, for sure.¡±

    While being surprised by Julian taking a fighting stance, Jilk took out his handgun. Jilk was exceptional at handling small arms, so despite him being a boy, he was allowed to possess one.

    Anjelica was in the back.

    ¡°What are you doing! Defend his Highness!¡±

    There were two pairs of six people that were protecting Julian and the others. They were supposed to be the opponents of the monsters.

    However, Greg shouted.

    ¡°Move back!¡±

    Wielding his spear that had an ornament attached which was the same color of red as his hair and eyes, Greg leaped forward, pushed aside the guarding students, and swung his weapon down to strike a target.

    While a squashed giant ant was wrapped in ck smoke, two more approached and tried to sandwich Greg.

    When he raised his spear, one of them had already been bisected by a sh, while the other was roasted in mes.

    When he looked, it turned out that Chris, wielding his sword, had entered the scene.

    ¡°Your movements are unwieldy.¡±

    Behind him was Brad holding a staff. Brad was the one who released magic.

    ¡°You really are a meathead. I could defeat three of them at the same time if you weren¡¯t in the way.¡±

    Immediately after were the sound of two gunshots.

    Two giant ants got their heads shot through, were engulfed in a ck smoke, and vanished.

    White fumes came out from the muzzle of Jilk¡¯s revolver.

    ¡°You¡¯re losing focus. ©¤©¤Your Highness.¡±

    Thest one that remained headed towards Julian.

    Anjelica shouted.

    ¡°What are you doing! Hurry and protect his Highness!¡±

    Jilk spoke to reprimand the shouting Anjelica.

    ¡°Just watch for a bit. Anjelica, his Highness is not weak.¡±

    Unlike Anjelica, who was in a panic, Jilk was calm.

    Julian started running, and raised his broad, double-edged Western sword.

    ¡°Ha!¡±

    With one downward swing, the giant ant¡¯s head and torso had cut open, ck smoke appeared from it, and it disappeared.

    When Julian wiped the sweat on his cheeks, he noticed that he was trembling. Then, he struck his sword onto the ground, causing a stone to bounce upon contact.

    He didn¡¯t wear gloves, so the back of his hand was cut just a little bit.

    Upon which, Marie ran up from behind and clutched Julian¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Your Highness, are you alright?¡±

    Julian felt reassured by the warmth of her delicate hand that was holding onto him.

    (What a relief. Is this affection? No, is this love? ©¤©¤Hmm?)

    Julian noticed Marie¡¯s hand lightly shining. Then, when Marie took her hands off, he saw that the wound had disappeared.

    ¡°Marie, you©¤©¤¡±

    Marie then said ¡°Shh~¡± while holding her finger to her lips. Noticing that she wanted him to remain silent about it, Julian closed his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that his Highness is safe. Of course, it¡¯s a relief that all of you are safe as well.¡±

    For Julian, Marie, who had worried about him even after the fight ended, seemed more pleasant than Anjelica, who tried to stop him when he was about to enter battle.

    Anjelica then approached. At that moment, she pushed Marie aside to drive her off.

    ¡°Your Highness, I have a towel.¡±

    However, Julian found Anjelica annoying.

    ¡°...I don¡¯t need it. Anyways, let¡¯s move on ahead.¡±

    Saying that, he took Marie¡¯s hand and moved forward.

    ¡ó

    We entered the third floor.

    Olivia and I had arrived at the destination for today¡¯s lessons.

    A teacher was waiting there to make sure that no student would get carried away and keep going, so when we arrived, we ended up having to wait for the others toe.

    Looking at the contents inside the luggage I¡¯m carrying puts a smile on my face.

    ¡°As expected of the royal capital¡¯s dungeon. When we had gone on ahead of them, those rich nobles thought we were going to get ourselves killed, but now we¡¯ve managed to get a hold of this much metal.¡±

    As expected of a fantasy world, the metal that popped out of the dirt had taken on the hues of iron, copper, and other various colors, as if they had already been refined. I shed tears in my gratitude.

    There were also pretty crystals that were called demon stones.

    Olivia took a crystal into her hand and looked at it.

    ¡°It looks like a jewel. What in the world are these things used for?¡±

    While calcting how much this stack of treasure would sell for, I exined the matter of demon stones.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see~, this and that would be worth two hundred dia, so©¤©¤oh, you asked about demon stones? They¡¯re energy resources. It seems that when you¡¯re forging metal, you can toss them into the kettle and expect good results. I don¡¯t know the details, but they¡¯re pretty amazing stones. That doesn¡¯t matter though, since we¡¯ll be able to sell them at high prices.¡±

    Once we sell the stuff we obtained, we¡¯ll get about five hundred dia.

    It¡¯s good that we were able to get this much after going on ahead. This amount of treasure isn¡¯t much for the rich guys at any rate.

    ¡°Even after diving this much amongst two people, it¡¯s still...not even enough to cover a tea ceremony. Darn, I need to earn more.¡±

    I still have the tea utensils I bought fromst time, but once I start purchasing the tea leaves and sweets, the expenses will soon rise from one hundred dia to two hundred dia, and so on.

    While I was feeling down, Olivia then spoke to me.

    ¡°Why did demon stones appear? I¡¯d understand if it were metal, but there¡¯s no such thing as a mine where demon stones pop out. I¡¯ve heard that they appear only in dungeons, so it¡¯s been on my mind.¡±

    Since it seems that she¡¯s going to be this aware from now on, I didn¡¯t take her reaction seriously.

    While pondering as such, I ended up speaking out loud.

    ¡°Oh~, it¡¯s <i>that</i>. <i>That</i>. When monsters are killed, their magic power is released and umtes into the ground. That umtion takes the form of a demon stone.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard something like that, though. Err, it was written in the textbooks that there still isn¡¯t an exnation found for it yet.¡±

    ¡°Trust me. I¡¯m sure that I¡¯m not mistaken since I remember reading about it somewhere. Huh? If that¡¯s the case, then perhaps the treasure chest was also formed from the umtion of magic power as well? Magic, or rather, magic power sure is convenient.¡±

    For the next tea ceremony, perhaps I should get items that are more tailored to the other party?

    In that case, I¡¯d have to repurchase a tea set, but wouldn¡¯t that result in an embarrassing situation where it seems that I only made the utensils elegant in an act of foolishness?

    Damn it, why does tea have to be this profound?

    Or perhaps it¡¯s just me wanting to have a famous tea set.

    I sort of understand the feelings of a Sengoku era Japanese militarymander stocking up on tea utensils now.

    It seems that the tea ceremonies in this world also follow the Way of Tea. (<i>TLN: The Way of Tea refers to Japanese conduct in the preparation/presentation of tea gatherings.</i>)

    While I was thinking deeply about it, Olivia looked into my face.

    ¡°...What?¡±

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re pretty knowledgeable. That surprised me.¡±

    Knowledge. That¡¯s not it.

    Basically, even though this is my second life, on the entrance examination of the academy, I was ranked as being in the upper-average score of seventy points.

    If it¡¯s about excelling students, then find one of the others scattered around.

    However, I¡¯m pleased that she praised me while being d.

    I¡¯m just an insignificant human. However, I don¡¯t hate how I am.

    ¡°R, really? If there¡¯s something you don¡¯t understand, how about I help teach it to you?¡±

    A full smile appeared on Olivia¡¯s face when I said that.

    ¡°Yes, please!¡±

    Well, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem in taking care of studies during the break periods of searching for a marriage partner.

 Chapter 17 - Volume 1

    Volume 1 Chapter 6 part1

    The True Protagonist

    ©¤©¤I feel like hitting my recent-past self.

    I showed off by telling Olivia that I could help teach her things, but I didn¡¯t actually check her level ofprehension.

    l mean, she didn¡¯t say that she had trouble keeping up with the material around her!

    And yet©¤©¤

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it past this point. It has to do with magic, so apart from ordinary spells, magic utilizing art rites could also be applied, and©¤©¤¡±

    It was just us two holding a study group in the library.

    In the beginning, I thought that it was going to be a study session with a girl in the midst of a bittersweet youth, but now I was breaking into a cold sweat while surprised at how vast Olivia¡¯s knowledge reaches.

    More precisely, Olivia¡¯s intelligent.

    ¡°Y, yeah, wouldn¡¯t it be like that?¡±

    I¡¯ve somehow managed to make it through using both knowledge I¡¯ve studied up until now and from the game.

    However, the intelligent Olivia nodded along to my vague words while seeming impressed.

    ¡°Right! The textbook isn¡¯t right, there really is a mistake, isn¡¯t there? I thought it was strange for some reason. I felt something off about the exnation on how using magic is supposed to feel. I¡¯m d I asked you, Leon.¡±

    What to do...this child began pointing out mistakes in the textbook.

    ¡°N, not everything has an error. I think the textbook is important still.¡±

    ¡°I agree. About twenty percent of it feels off, but on the other hand, I agree with eighty percent of it.¡±

    When I looked at Olivia¡¯s textbook, it had signs of extensive use. Could it be that this girl has already finished reading through it? An amount worth one school term? It¡¯s still June!

    Yet she managed to do it even though some of the nobles have given up on the textbook after having a hard time on it?!

    I¡¯ve been studying in ordance to what we¡¯ll be tested on, but I can hardly say that I understand its contents. In the first ce, the score I got on magic was seventy points.

    While praying that the time would go by soon, us two continued our study group.

    Then, our arranged time had passed.

    ¡°I, it¡¯s already time to wrap things up?¡±

    ¡°Seems so. It all went by in the blink of an eye, didn¡¯t it?¡±

    Olivia looked delighted.

    For me, time seemed to go by at an immensely slow rate.

    ¡°Um, can I ask for your help during the next time off?¡±

    Seeing her upturned eyes while making the request, I wanted to reply with ¡°Yes!¡± as someone of the male sex. However, I don¡¯t really want to do it that much.

    ph_mobuseka01_ill004

    Searching for some excuse to bail out, I remembered an important matter in the academy. Right, marriage! I came to this academy for marriage...! I can¡¯t really say that I came here to study, given the strangeness of this world.

    ¡°S, sorry, I need to make preparations for a tea ceremony during my next time off.¡±

    Olivia got flustered and apologized.

    ¡°N, no need to apologize, I was the one that asked, after all. R, right. You¡¯re busy as well, Leon.¡±

    Yeah, I sure am busy.

    I felt bad towards Olivia, who held her textbook and notes while looking lonely, but I can¡¯t forget my original purpose here.

    I have to find a bride that I can maintain a businesslike rtionship with.

    In the first ce, I rank low within the ss¡¯ caste.

    I¡¯ve been frantically making requests for a good partner, a girl with a kind and nice personality, within the higher ranks. Though there are girls who are kind and nice, those girls don¡¯t approach people like me since they¡¯re aiming to rise up in terms of their household and their future.

    Aah, what a cruel world this is. No wait, wasn¡¯t it like this in my previous world?

    Olivia thanked me with a smile while looking into my eyes.

    ¡°Leon, thank you for today.¡±

    Her eyes sparkled while she smiled, but it was directed towards me, a guy who had lied in order to get out of the situation. This girl gave a genuine word of thanks.

    I felt shameful from the embarrassment.

    Even though I lived longer than Olivia in my previous life, I had to lie and pretend that I could help with her studies for the sake of my tiny pride...I feel ashamed of myself.

    ¡ó

    I was in my room within the boys¡¯ dorms.

    I called over my friends Daniel and Raymond, and then we snacked on sweets and drinks. They¡¯re not the kind of sweets that would be offered to girls, but a fried, greasy kind.

    Considering that there are carbonated drinks, it seems like this world is in a pre-modern era, approaching towards being modern.

    Thinking about it like that, there¡¯s also the matter of uniforms. Is it just a matter of course since it¡¯s an otome game?

    Daniel was eating some french fries.

    ¡°Did you hear? Two of the rich people have already established marriage ns. Furthermore, they were people that were kind to even us, Milly and Jessica...I¡¯m way too envious.¡±

    Raymond pretended to be calm in front of the depressed Daniel. However, it was obvious that he was feeling down and could cry at any time.

    It was inevitable since Raymond had taken a liking to Milly.

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that they would go for nice households rather than ours. It was a lost cause from the start...well, I¡¯m happy as long as Milly is happy.¡±

    The two were in low spirits after what they said.

    The rich group made a disy of all their merits, and took the offensive in asking girls for marriage.

    They made speedy engagements that left no gaps.

    Even the rich were frantic.

    Milly and Jessica were the ideal partners for the boys, or rather, the finest ones, so now the rich guys are scrambling for the next best girls. It¡¯s difficult for people like us to get into contact with them. Inevitably, the girls that guys like us will get involved with...will be the cruel ones.

    If one is from an earl household or above, an outstandingly prestigious family, or a rich household, then the story is different. Those guys will already have a partner decided.

    It¡¯s like that with Julian¡¯s fiance, Anjelica. Due to that, the boys with the highest rank aren¡¯t frantic about marriage.

    Daniel chugged a carbonated drink.

    ¡°Damn it! With this, my hopes for the school year are gone! There are only cruel girls now!¡±

    There were a lot of girls that look down on boys.

    Raymond nodded.

    ¡°We were unlucky for this first year. There are too many prestigious nobles, starting with his Highness Julian. We just can¡¯tpete with them.¡±

    There were too many boys with unrivaled looks who hade from rich, well-established families, so the people around had looked at us harshly.

    We were at too different of a level to bepared, making it difficult for guys like us in the lower ranks to invite a girl.

    Julian and the others have the lineage, demeanor, assets, appearances...and above all, a fiance, so they¡¯re able to take it easy.

    ¡°Anyways, Leon, are things going well on your end? Haven¡¯t you spending a lot time with the honor student recently? Did you give up on marriage?¡±

    I sipped on some juice while exining to an uneasy Daniel.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t given up. It¡¯s just that I keep sending invitation letters and I keep getting rejected.¡±

    Raymond has a bad mouth, but he seemed to be worried about me.

    ¡°Your careless sympathy is going to be your own undoing...If you get too close with the honor student, the girls will be unfriendly towards you. It would be better to keep your distance.¡±

    Rukul, a third year student, had said something simr before.

    Marriage with a girl was tough for some of the seniors, so they ended up having to ept some pretty harsh conditions. For example...allowing for lovers outside of the usual demi-human ves.

    It was a humiliating agreement where one would have to look after the wife and her other lovers since she was the one giving birth to the heir. There were many boys who had no choice but to ept such conditions.

    Amongst them, some of the boys entered a bigamous rtionship, and others have to dish out money for their wife to live in luxury with her lovers. Those were the best circumstances for girls.

    ording to the girls, they¡¯re the ones who are giving birth to the heirs, so this much is natural for them.

    My previous world had more upright circumstances.

    Daniel asked me a question.

    ¡°Leon, your brother is definitely in the regr ss, right?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    My older brother, the second son, wanted to enroll in the advanced ss as well, but it was impossible to get therge amount of money needed for it after the eldest brother had enrolled.

    I wanted us to share the hardship together, but that unfortunately isn¡¯t going to be the case.

    ¡°The girls in the regr ss are upright, so what¡¯s with the ones in the advanced ss...?¡±

    The girls in the regr ss are rtively decent.

    Marriage certainly seems to be tough, but it¡¯s betterpared to the advanced ss.

    The reason for that is because they don¡¯t purchase ves that serve them.

    In fact, the girls that are particrly cruel are the ones in the advanced ss©¤©¤especially the ones from a baron household and above, but still below an earl household. Those above earl households basically aren¡¯t allowed to have ves. Earl households can go either way and can have trouble deciding on it, but oddly, a lot more weight is ced on the opinions of the girls.

    ...The partner I¡¯ll have to marry will be right from that particr range.

    ¡°When I heard my older brother talk about it...¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°...I wanted to hit him.¡±

    Why are girls in the advanced ss this cruel? This being the world of an otome game is the only exnation I cane up with, but I can¡¯t help but be irritated about it.

    ¡°It would have been better if I had taken the regr ss. If that had happened, then I wouldn¡¯t be going through this hardship.¡±

    Raymond agreed while seeming like he was going to cry.

    ¡°Why does marriage have to be so relentless for us?¡±

    What would the two think if I replied by saying that it¡¯s because this is the world of an otome game? Raymond then brought up some rumors within the academy to distract us from our whining.

    ¡°Come to think of it, it seems that those surrounding his Highness Julian have be noisy recently.¡±

    I listened to the conversation while sipping my juice and going ¡°Hmm.¡± To begin with, we¡¯re talking about a realm out of our reach.

    It was an interesting topic of discussion, but one that we¡¯re unrted to.

    Raymond was just telling a story to pass the time, and he didn¡¯t ce much importance on credibility.

    From my point of view, the people around Julian are normally noisy. Perhaps one of the game¡¯s events urred? I can only assume so.

    Daniel joined in.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about that? That girl...Marie? The kid that seems to have been bullied by a lot by the girls?¡±

    It would be natural for them to hate her since she¡¯s gotten close with the crown prince.

    I though as such, but Raymond began to continue on©¤©¤

    ¡°This is a continuation of that rumor, but I heard that the leader of the ones bullying her is his Highness Julian¡¯s fiance©¤©¤the daughter of a duke household. There¡¯s gossip about his Highness getting enraged after realizing that. There¡¯s quite some credibility to it, so it might be true.¡±

    ©¤©¤I spit out my drink and started coughing violently.

    ¡°H, hey, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Leon, do you know something?¡±

    The two were thinking that perhaps I knew something and wanted to hear it, so I brushed it aside by saying ¡°No, my drink just went down the wrong pipe.¡±

    While wiping my mouth, I also wiped my cold sweat.

    The two then cleaned up the table.

    However, I have an interest in what Raymond said. Based on what I know about the game¡¯s events, there¡¯s more to the matter of the crown prince getting enraged at his fiance.

    Furthermore, I¡¯m close with Olivia.

    I haven¡¯t seen her getting intimate with the capture target boys.

    Just what the heck is going on?

 Chapter 18 - Volume 1

    Volume 1 Chapter 6 part2

    I had been thinking that I shouldn¡¯t get involved with the otome game¡¯s events.

    It would have been fine for a mob to watch from a distance like a mob should. I thought that the story was unrted to me, but things aren¡¯t looking good now. I had a hunch that leaving things as they are would be dangerous, so I investigated some things myself.

    Since Olivia¡¯s the only girl from the advanced ss that I¡¯m closely acquainted with, I spoke to her.

    In the library, I asked about Julian¡¯s rtion with Marie.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know the full details of it either. All I know is that at some point, all the girls turned cold towards Marie, but it calmed down now.¡±

    ¡°...Is there anything else you know? Have you made ever made contact with Marie?¡±

    A girl has snatched away the position of the protagonist.

    I had considered the possibility that this world has nothing to do with the game, and that I was just mistaken.

    However, this doesn¡¯t seem to be the case.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t spoken with her before, but...I did encounter her a couple times. I went to the school library a few days after the school entrance ceremony, and that¡¯s when I heard a voice call out to me.¡±

    I understood from Olivia¡¯s behavior that she didn¡¯t really want to talk about the matter she was discussing, since she was casting her eyes downward while seeming sorrowful.

    Yet, I wanted to know. It may be intrusive on Olivia¡¯s feelings, but I¡¯ll have to do at least this much to get information about Marie, the ominous woman.

    ¡°I want to know no matter what.¡±

    Olivia lifted her head.

    ¡°...Leon, do you find people like Marie attractive?¡±

    Judging from how embarrassed she looked, it seemed that she misunderstood this as being a discussion about love.

    Being in love with her? Disgusting.

    Olivia was surprised when seeing me make a repulsed expression.

    ¡°Huh?! That¡¯s not it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really like her.¡±

    ¡°I, is that so?¡±

    Olivia thought for a bit, and then proceeded to talk about her rtion with Marie.

    ¡°When I was thinking about looking into one of the library¡¯s rooms, Marie showed up and told me to go away because I was being a nuisance. There was also a time where I saw her in the courtyard. I was simrly treated like an nuisance, so I thought that maybe it was something I did and asked her about it. When I did that, she said that she hated women like me.¡±

    Olivia made a bitter smile.

    So Marie hates Olivia?

    There are a lot of girls that would hate amoner foring to a noble¡¯s academy, but something feels odd about the part where she said that she hated women like her.

    Olivia was worried while I remained silent.

    We then heard some voices when us two had ceased talking.

    ¡°We¡¯re doing it in a ce like this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Aren¡¯t you and I the only two people here?¡±

    It seemed like a jovial conversation between a boy and a girl. Judging from their delighted tone of voice...are these two lovers?

    Wondering just who in the world would let such an envious development unfold here, I crouched down and wanted to check the behavior of those people.

    ¡°Leon, what are you doing?!¡±

    Olivia cautioned me with a low voice, so I answered back in a low voice as well.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m just curious Things like who¡¯s getting intimate with who are important information for us. There¡¯s also my curiosity. Now then, who is it that¡¯s...?!¡±

    Upon us seeing what was there, Olivia seemed like she was going to unintentionally raise a voice, so I covered her mouth.

    I held my breath and paid close attention on not making a noise.

    There, a boy with purple hair...Brad, had embraced a small, delicate girl with blond hair.

    Come to think of it, Brad is character that¡¯s often in the library.

    Olivia was also taking a long, hard look at the situation.

    Furthermore©¤©¤the one that guy was kissing was Marie.

    It was after school in a library room. The two were glued to each other, and they moved their arms around each other¡¯s backs as they embraced one another. I never thought that I¡¯d see such a strong kiss scene like this in the library room.

    Us two slowly left that spot and fled from the library room.

    ¡ó

    Marie Fou Lafuan was on the way towards her dorm from the library room.

    She recalled her sweet time with Brad, and traced her lips with her fingers.

    ¡°Hehe, this world really is the best. It¡¯s splendid that there are few stupid boys like the ones in my previous world, and that this world rightly recognizes the rights of women.¡±

    The school building was dyed orange from the evening sun.

    While holding down the urge of wanting to skip and hop, she headed to the girls¡¯ dorms.

    ¡°Julian and the others have even reprimanded the stupid boys that were bullying me and silenced them...this really is the best. Now that the bullying has stopped, my second school life will be fun~¡±

    This world was Marie¡¯s ideal world.

    After all, she was in the position of where the protagonist should have been.

    She embraced the illusion that the world revolved around her.

    Just around the corner of the corridor in the academy building were the figures of Julian and Jilk. It seemed that they were looking for Marie.

    ¡°Marie, so you were here.¡±

    The two approached her.

    (These two are always together aren¡¯t they. Could it be that they have that kind of rtionship? I heard that even back then, homosexuality was a thing, so perhaps it¡¯s that.)

    While harboring cruel thoughts in her mind, she straightened herself and made a slight smile.

    It was easy for Marie to act out the part of the ideal girl for these two, especially for Julian.

    ¡°You Highness, did something happen?¡±

    Julian gave her surprising warning.

    ¡°Stop using ¡®your Highness.¡¯ Julian is fine. I was talking with Jilk about this, but do you not have an exclusive servant?¡±

    Marie nodded.

    She then made herself look slightly embarrassed in front of the two.

    ¡°R, right. Actually...since my financial situation is tough, it¡¯s hard for me to arrange an exclusive servant.¡±

    (My parents don¡¯t want to waste money. If possible, I would have wanted to reincarnate into a wealthy household)

    Hiding the displeasure she had about her home, Jilk proposed something to the seemingly admirable Marie.

    ¡°In that case, his Highness and and I can cover the expenses. You¡¯ll be lonely without an exclusive servant, Marie.¡±

    In her mind, Marie made a triumphant pose towards the proposal and voiced her appreciation.

    (With this, I have a lover that I don¡¯t need contraceptives for! There weren¡¯t many girls who didn¡¯t have one, so I was getting fairly concerned. All the same, this is a surprising world that lets women openly carry along lovers. Well, I¡¯m d about it so it doesn¡¯t matter.)

    On the inside, Marie was a little curious about the fact these two were going to give her a lover, but she went along with it while believing that this was how the world worked.

    ¡°Th, thank you. Your hi...Julian, Jilk.¡±

    She made an embarrassed expression while saying Julian¡¯s name, but beneath the surface, Marie was actually relieved.

    Jilk guided Marie and Julian.

    ¡°Now then, shall we prepare a carriage and depart? Let¡¯s head towards a prominent ve firm in the royal capital.¡±

    ¡ó

    There were rooms in the girls¡¯ dorms that were spacious and extravagant.

    They were avable for girls from well-established families of an earl rank or higher. Among them, there were some special rooms arranged for those who had connections with the royal family.

    The room Anjelica used was one of those.

    In the room, a girl who was one of her followers arrived.

    ¡°Anjelica, we cannot allow that woman. Isn¡¯t his Highness purchasing a sub-race ve as a gift for her? You aren¡¯t even allowed to own one, though.¡±

    The girl couldn¡¯t see the face of Anjelica, who was standing near a window.

    Her expression was warped with bitterness.

    ¡°...Leave it be. If you understand the meaning of having a demi-human ve, then you know what kind of rtionship he has with that girl.¡±

    ¡°B, but.¡±

    Anjelica, a young duke woman, could purchase several tens of demi-human ves considering the scale of her household.

    However, she couldn¡¯t do it precisely because she¡¯s the daughter of a duke house. Above all, she holds the position of being the fiance for the crown prince.

    She¡¯s a girl who will be the queen in the future, so her having other lovers is noughing matter.

    After the girl left the room, Anjelica took a nearby object into her hands and threw it onto the floor as hard as she could.

    ¡°Stop fooling around! You¡¯re...you¡¯re getting so infatuated with an inconsequential girl! I¡¯m©¤©¤I¡¯m doing this for your sake©¤©¤just for your sake!¡±

    It was easy to guess that Anjelica was rampaging from her outward appearance and her violent personality.

    Just a while ago, the girls bullying Marie had been questioned by Julian and the others. They weren¡¯t really told to, but they ended up spitting out Anjelica¡¯s name.

    The girls belonging to that group were not part of her followers, but had said that they were from the same group under the dicey situation they found themselves in.

    It¡¯s likely that they wanted to distract themselves from their everyday routine by bullying Marie, who had gotten carried away. Since girls are treated with importance in this society of nobles, there are many that don¡¯t show proper self-restraint.

    However, cowering in front Julian and the others when being questioned, they blurted out Anjelica¡¯s name.

    Due to that, Anjelica was med by Julian and the others for Marie¡¯s bullying. She denied her involvement, but they didn¡¯t believe her.

    After that, Anjelica¡¯s position within the school weakened.

    Now, there were an increasing number of girls that were trying to earn Marie¡¯s favor.

    There was also a group of boys that were approaching Marie, perhaps noticing what was happening around them. They mainly consisted of second or third sons, people that weren¡¯t going to be heirs, that wanted to get closer to Julian and the others.

    It was particrly obvious that the girls were now harboring ill feelings towards Anjelica.

    ¡°You say I ordered them? You have no proof of it, and yet you believe the words of that woman...¡±

    What frustrated Anjelica was that Julian only believed in Marie¡¯s words. He used the words of the bullies as a pretext to treat her like a wrongdoer.

    It was unbearably frustrating for Anjelica.

    A unity was made between the bullies and a group of people who were trying to empower themselves by spreading bad rumors about Anjelica and undermine her.

    That much was still okay.

    Anjelica didn¡¯t mind such small things.

    However, the words Julian had said was what hurt her heart.

    ¡®We may be engaged, but at the academy, you¡¯re just a student. Don¡¯t interfere.¡¯

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s what he said to him.

    Anjelica shed tears and sat down where she was.

    ph_mobuseka01_ill005

    ¡°I was...for his Highness...I was raised for the sake of his Highness! Only for the sake of his Highness!¡±

    Anjelica loved Julian.

    However, Julian didn¡¯t love her back.

    He only thought of it as a political marriage.

    Ever since the engagement had been decided, Anjelica had worked hard. She pushed herself for the intent of Julian, but not an ounce of her work had been appreciated.

    The one Julian wanted was a woman like Marie.

    ¡°Your Highness...why did you say that to me...why!¡±

    She covered her face with both of her hands, and Anjelica continued to cry while her tears ran down.

 Chapter 19 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 6 part3</h4>

    ¡°Hey, stupid brotheeer!¡±

    It was the morning of our day off.

    The one who came here to the boys¡¯ dorms was the animal, I mean my sister, who pridefully carried her ve around.

    While yawning in my room, I checked the time, noticed that it was still seven in the morning, and lied back down onto bed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t doze off! What in the world are you doing! What are you doing!¡±

    I didn¡¯t know the reason for her uproar, but I wanted to enjoy myself and fall back asleep.

    ¡°How improper of you, sister. Yesterday¡¯s lessons involved the boys training their martial arts. I¡¯m tired, so let me sleep.¡±

    The girls got to have fun ying sports, while the boys had to get caked in mud while doing long training runs and martial arts practices. Since this was a world where it wasn¡¯t odd for one to lose their life fighting monsters or participating in a war, training was very strict.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to be sleeping! Stupid brother, give me a detailed ount of the first year ss. Right now!¡±

    My older sister, the second daughter, forcibly woke me up, leaving me wondering what she was in a hurry for.

    Lifted up by a cat-eared ve in the morning, I sat down on a chair while rubbing my sleepy eyes and yawning.

    ¡°Information about the first year? Wouldn¡¯t you know more about that than me?¡±

    ¡°I heard some strange rumors, so I came here to check. You¡¯re more or less a student in the advanced ss.¡±

    How impolite of her to say ¡°more or less.¡±

    ¡°Information? Aah,e to think of it, the ss¡¯ Madonnas, Milly and Jessica, have chosen who to marry. It¡¯s kind of a disappointment since they were really good people, but there¡¯s no helping it.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about pointless stories like that.¡±

    Pointless? For us boys, it¡¯s a story that would put us to tears.

    ¡°Do you know about a girl named Marie?¡±

    While I was reacting with a twitch, my older sister continued to talk and order me around.

    The passionate kissing scene in the library came to my mind.

    ¡°...She¡¯s in his Highness Julian¡¯s group, and is intimate with him.¡±

    ¡°Only with his Highness the crown prince?¡±

    ¡°...She¡¯s intimate with other prestigious nobles as well. Good for her, right?¡±

    Even if flirting around is disapproved of in the academy, people still hear rumors about it. The rumors surrounding Marie have especially risen.

    ¡°There¡¯s also a young girl from a duke household, right? Do you have detailed information on her?¡±

    ¡°You think I know? I only heard rumors like how his Highness the crown prince got mad at her.¡±

    My sister pondered, and then made a stern face.

    Now it was my turn.

    ¡°So, do <i>you</i> have a detailed ount of her? It seems there are rumors spreading around about how that duke daughter ordered people to bully Marie.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Are you an idiot?¡±

    My sister got angry and called me an idiot. I¡¯d prefer if you showed some more self-control after having stormed into the boys¡¯ dorms in the morning. Well, considering that you have that lover with you, you probably don¡¯t have a sliver of self-control left.

    ¡°With a social status that high, even if she¡¯s not ordering people around, those around her are selfishly moving. In the first ce, if she was really serious about crushing a woman she¡¯s against, then that woman wouldn¡¯t be alive. The scale of a duke household is no joke. This is why men are useless.¡±

    While feeling peeved, I asked a question to my sister, who had been looking down on me.

    ¡°So that duke woman is unrted?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re separate matters. Since girls that were in her group did it, she still has to take responsibility, though.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that unreasonable?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the way the cookie crumbles.¡±

    It seems that the world of an otome game is also difficult for girls. No wait, perhaps it just for the viiness? In the game, did the viiness...not order for this happen? It¡¯s been ten years since I regained my memories, so my recollection is faint.

    My sister looked at my face and made a serious expression.

    ¡°The second year and third year are also panicking. Above all, we don¡¯t want any more strange troubles surrounding his Highness the crown prince. We have things we need to do as well. You need to seriously gather a little more information. Then, report it to me afterwards.¡±

    Who in the world does this woman think I am? I¡¯m not your pawn. Well, I will investigate since I¡¯m curious about it, though.

    ¡°You understand what this means, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°That girls are bothersome.¡±

    ¡°Idiot, you utter idiot! Stupid brother!¡±

    My sister, who had been noisy in the morning, grabbed me by the ear and said something as if ordering me around.

    ¡°His Highness the crown prince will inherit the throne as long as nothing happens! You understand that the people he¡¯s pleased with will be set for life, right? On the other hand, those that he¡¯s displeased with will be done for!¡±

    This talk has nothing to do with a baron from afar.

    On second thought, it has a lot to do with my sister, who wants to to live in the city. If she gets married to someone bad, and that person garners Julian¡¯s antipathy, then there¡¯s no hope for sess in her future career.

    ¡°Being able to marry and safely graduating is enough for me, so I¡¯m not interested in this matter.¡±

    ¡°Are you really a man?!¡±

    In actuality, I just don¡¯t want to get involved with Julian and his surroundings. I was thinking that maybe there were benefits to getting close with him, but...getting close with him also means getting dragged into what¡¯s toe.

    That¡¯s a no-no.

    ©¤©¤After all, a huge storm will befall upon the kingdom in the future.

    That¡¯s if things go ording to the game¡¯s story, though.

    ¡°Anyways, you say that it doesn¡¯t concern you, right? Well, there¡¯s no benefits nor drawbacks about this matter for me either.¡±

    It seemed that my sister was just wary of me getting involved and causing trouble upon the family.

    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t take any notice of a baron from afar.¡±

    However, the fact of the matter is that there really is something that has caught my attention.

    I¡¯m wondering what that Marie girl might do in the future.

    My sister gave me a warning.

    ¡°There¡¯s a grade party at the end of the school term. Don¡¯t do anything stupid and make me lose face. I need to pick which man I want.¡±

    My busy sister headed out of the room.

    ¡°Ah, one thing, did you even find a marriage partner?¡±

    The look of my grinning sister had irritated me.

    My sister wanted to marry and had been searching for a boy nonstop. I¡¯m envious that she at least has a choice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cause trouble if you find one.¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d say that. Don¡¯t think that you have charm just because you stand out a bit. Why don¡¯t you polish your skills as a man?¡±

    Iughed scornfully.

    ¡°How do you feel having bought a ve using the money from a man that has no charm? I¡¯m all ears, my dear sister.¡±

    Thereupon, my sister yelled ¡°Go to hell, stupid brother!¡± and left the room.

    Now that I was alone, I got up from my chair and stretched.

    Luxon, who pretended to be an ornament in the room, rose up.

    [It¡¯s been quite lively for the morning.]

    ¡°So the first term is going to end...I wonder if it¡¯s fine to just think about the party and the usual nobles?¡±

    This is the world of an otome game.

    The event for the first-years in the academy was modeled after those of the schools in Japan.

    Well, it was game marketed towards Japanese people, so it was inevitable that it would be like that, though...

    ¡°A school term...I entered a dungeon with my friends and ended up holding tea ceremonies by the end of it all.¡±

    [Even if there were zero results, the time spent was still valuable, right master? After all, my master is basically azy person. You moving around is by itself a great achievement.]

    ¡°Do you bear a grudge against me?¡±

    [I dislike new humans, so that means I dislike you, master.]

    ¡°So you¡¯re a sad AI that pushes me around. Be ready to keep pushing me around for as long as I live.¡±

    [Sounds fun. All things considered, life at the academy seems truly hectic.]

    In addition to attending the daily lessons, I also enter the dungeon for extra cash.

    I¡¯ve used that cash to fund tea ceremonies and invite girls, but it ends up failing repeatedly.

    Things really have passed in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°...Say, can you gather information?¡±

    Despite having a bad mouth, Luxon is basically faithful.

    [Is this about the duke woman or that Marie girl? I possibly can, but even if I investigate information like their three sizes, I won¡¯t tell you.]

    ¡°...Please tell me.¡±

    [I refuse on the basis that it¡¯s not necessary.]

    ¡°Is that so? In that case, can you investigate whether or not what my sister said was true?¡±

    [You want definite proof about the rumors? Does it concern you, master? You said you weren¡¯t going to get involved, but are going to change your policy?]

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡±

    [So it¡¯s just a spurt of curiosity? How hopeless you are. Well then, I¡¯ll go check the rumors.]

    While saying that, Luxon¡¯s surface projected the surroundingndscape, making it vanish like it had blended in, and left the room to gather information.

    This thing can do anything.

 Chapter 20 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 7 part1</h4>

    <h4>White Gloves</h4>

    It was only a mere matter of time until the school term would end.

    The grade party has be an established custom, but these parties held within the academy were extravagant.

    No words could describe the quality and quantity of the cuisine lined up on tables. The boys participated while wearing their school uniforms, but the girls pretty much wore dresses.

    The boys ogled the dressed-up girls, who had demi-human ves stand next to them.

    My line of sight automatically locked onto the chests of the girls as well, and I found it hard to avert my gaze.

    I cleared my throat and made a serious face.

    ¡°Was that chest just now an F cup? That¡¯s not it, I meant to say that the food here is amazing.¡±

    I returned my gaze to the table, where Daniel was eating arge meaty dish on a te. Raymond was amazed at that sight.

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve been to such arge party. The academy is tremendous.¡±

    ¡°Daniel, don¡¯t talk with your mouth full. Thinking about the scale of this party, and how it was held per grade, the royal capital really does seem tremendous. It¡¯s a lot different from the poor barons in the countryside.¡±

    Luxon had said something to me before.

    The academy was doing this to show off the power of the royal capital to those from the countryside. Indeed, just this party alone showed how different their wealth was.

    I think there¡¯s also the chance that it¡¯s to show off to the rich, spoiled young nobles.

    Surrounding us were boys from the same environment.

    Students from the regr ss were also participating today, meaning that there were many people participating in the party.

    Daniel surveyed our surroundings.

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot girls from the regr ss that are also wearing dresses. There are too few girls wearing the uniform.¡±

    Raymond pushed up his sses.

    In front of him was a slender girl that he was taking a liking to.

    This guy is a taciturn person.

    ¡°There¡¯s a wide range of dresses ranging from pricey to cheap. It seems that are even ones that go for two thousand dia.¡±

    That¡¯s two hundred thousand yen for a suit of clothes! That¡¯s when converted into Japanese currency, though.

    Well, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s cheap or expensive, but the lowest cost seemed to be two hundred thousand.

    Meanwhile, Marie, the current hot topic, had appeared in her uniform. The surrounding students created amotion and noisily talked amongst each other.

    With this situation at hand, the honor student who wore her uniform as well, Olivia, didn¡¯t stand out at all.

    All things considered, a girl from a viscount household should¡¯ve been able to prepare a dress...and as I was thinking of such things, Marie went over to the prince and the others.

    The prince¡¯s group, the one that held the highest rank, weed Marie, but...

    Julian was a bit surprised upon seeing Marie in her uniform.

    ¡°Marie, what happened to your dress?¡±

    ¡°U, umm, I couldn¡¯t prepare one.¡±

    Trying to appeal to her, the surrounding boys each said ¡°We could have given you one if you said so,¡± to Marie.

    Jilk smiled.

    ¡°This does feel more refreshing than a gorgeous dress, though. Marie, how about we head to a tailor for a dress next time? There¡¯s a shop in the royal capital that I visit regrly.¡±

    ¡°I, I can¡¯t do something rude like that.¡±

    In response to her modest attitude, Julian started a conversation amongst five people while seeming a little excited. It seems that those five are fighting for Marie¡¯s interest.

    There¡¯s more apart from that.

    For boy mobs like us, this party was also a chance for glory. ording to our upperssmen, it seems that this is an opportunity for couples to form.

    ¡°Well then, are you two ready?¡±

    Once I called out to the two, Daniel set down his te.

    ¡°Yep, I¡¯ve eaten enough.¡±

    Raymond adjusted his sses.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to do our best.¡±

    The three of us immediately began to take action.

    We went around inviting girls over.

    With the kind of mood set in ce here, it was possible that the girls may have be more lenient on letting us marry them. At this point, we were thinking that it would be fine even if our partner had a lover.

    ¡°Whoa! I found a trio of girls over there! Let¡¯s hurry and try our luck!¡±

    The other boys were making moves as well, so us three headed towards where girls were, but©¤©¤

    ¡°Huh? Come back when you¡¯ve looked at a mirror.¡±

    ¡°Countryside barons? I don¡¯t need a hillbilly.¡±

    ¡°Bumpkins will be bumpkins, so just go find some bumpkin girls to call out to. We¡¯re only aiming for viscount households at the very minimum. Furthermore, remote regions...are out of the question.¡±

    ¡°How sickening, you boys are desperate for marriage. You can just see how shallow the people at the bottom are.¡±

    ¡°A man isn¡¯t good if they don¡¯t have more assets.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a big difference between you and people like his Highness the crown prince.¡±

    The girls lightly brushed us off, and their exclusive servants, their demi-human lovers, looked down on us. Their masters were the girls, and not us. Due to that, there were a lot of ves that took a dismissive attitude towards boys.

    Furthermore, a ve getting attacked would lead to an intense investigation being done.

    They knew that they¡¯re in a position safe from assaults, so they looked down on us.

    ¡°W, well, we¡¯re just chatting, so©¤©¤¡±

    One of the girls used her chin to signal a cue to her servant.

    Upon which, the muscr, Daruma-like sub-race servant thrust us away. (<i>TLN: Daruma¡¯s are round, stout dolls</i>)

    When the surrounding people gathered their sight towards the three of us tumbling, the girlsughed and the boys eitherughed along with them or looked at us with sympathy.

    ¡°Try again. No wait, it still won¡¯t work out unless you pray to be born as better man in your next life. See ya, bumpkin hillbillies.¡±

    The girls and ves around looked at us andughed.

    ¡ó

    We were outside the party venue.

    ¡°Damn it! We carried away!¡±

    Daniel spoke without trying to conceal his anger.

    Raymond, who sat on the bench with his knees under his arms, looked up into the night sky.

    ¡°If only we could redo our lives...I suppose that¡¯s all I need to say.¡±

    ...This being my second life, I felt a bit mixed.

    We heard happy-sounding music andughtering from the party venue.

    We couldn¡¯t bear with the mood inside the venue, so we went outside to escape. There were girls whoughed upon seeing us in that situation.

    The ones who wereughing were the girls in the advanced ss and the ves.

    Perhaps pitying us, the girls in the regr ss had averted their gazes.

    How miserable.

    ¡°...I¡¯m kind of fed up with it all.¡±

    Daniel was about to say something towards what I had said, but closed his mouth and looked down.

    Raymond was also silent.

    As the head of a baron household, I had to marry a nobledy no matter what.

    When one owns a household...their legal wife has to be a nobledy. Otherwise, surrounding people will go ¡°Isn¡¯t that unbing of the household?¡± and be cold.

    My father married Z because the drawbacks of not doing so were not to be taken lightly. It sometimes bes the excuse for starting a war. There would be people saying that our actions don¡¯t match our rank, and that we¡¯re a vile house.

    Due to that, boys turn frantic and the position of the girls strengthen...leading to the current situation of the academy.

    Us three fellows sat on the bench, and nkly stared into the sky.

    ¡°Those girls gave me an unpleasant feeling.¡±

    Danial agreed with what Raymond said.

    ¡°I know, right? Boys are scrambling to marry since the world will turn cold towards them if they don¡¯t do so by graduation. The circumstances are way too different from girls, who have time to spare.¡±

    Not all of the girls in the academy were particrly terrible, but the proportion of cruel girls was way too high.

    Hence, there were many boys that didn¡¯t find life at the academy pleasing.

    I then remembered something detestable.

    It was something the upperssman Rukul said©¤©¤

    ¡°It seems that in the academy, there were boys that got fed up with women, and started chasing after other boys...but they had been smiling before enrolling in the school. Now, they weren¡¯t smiling.¡±

    Daniel and Raymond nodded.

    There were boys who left the academy disgusted with women while going for other boys.

    It seemed that there were girls that liked romance between boys, like my little sister before I had reincarnated. There¡¯s no saving this world.

    Enroll in schoole to hate how cruel women are¡úgo after boys¡úgive fujoshis great joy. Rinse and repeat for each new school year.

    Such a cycle happens.

    It was pretty much a rotten spiral...I just called it that because it sounded cool. You see, when considering how these sad events repeat each year, I can¡¯t really use the term rotten chain here. No wait, can¡¯t I still use it? (<i>TLN: Based on what I looked up, ¡®rotten chain¡¯ refers to the idea that a fujoshi¡¯s children will also be fujoshis, creating a generational chain of them. My guess is that MCbeled the current situation as a spiral instead of chain, but backtracked when realizing that the idea behind calling it a chain still applies to the situation</i>)

    Time passed by in silence.

    Thereupon, we could not longer hear the musical performance within the party venue.

    There was a live musical performance in there. Taking out my pocket watch, I confirmed that it wasn¡¯t time for the party to end.

    I thought that the performance was taking a break, but when I strained my ears, I couldn¡¯t hear anyughter in the venue either.

    I could hear an asional voice, as if someone was shouting.

    ¡°Hey, doesn¡¯t something seem odd?¡±

    Raymond turned his gaze towards the venue once I said that.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, there seems to be a strangemotion.¡±

    Daniel got up.

    ¡°Should we take a look? We don¡¯t need to go inside if we just peek through a window.¡±

    Raymond stopped him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be shamed even more than I already have. If we¡¯re spotted, we¡¯ll be theughingstock. Though, I certainly am curious.¡±

    The three of us showed signs of interest, but while we were talking about not going back into the venue, there was a girl that went outside.

    The girl looked around, and then rushed over when she noticed us.

    She was a girl in a uniform, Olivia.

    ¡°Leon! This is serious!¡±

 Chapter 21 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 7 part2</h4>

    When returning to the party venue, the ce was wrapped in a strange atmosphere.

    The students were watchfully waiting while clinging to the walls, but there was a group in the center being noisy.

    I asked Olivia about the situation.

    ¡°What in the world happened?¡±

    ¡°It started out as a small quarrel. However...¡±

    In the center were five people surrounding Marie. In addition to them, I could also see the figure of a pretty elf with blond hair and blue eyes, ¡°Kyle.¡±

    Anjelica raised her voice in front of the seven people.

    It was a shout filled with grief.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you listen to me?! I¡¯m©¤©¤I¡¯m doing this for your sake, your Highness!¡±

    The prince was absolutely cold towards her quivering voice.

    ¡°Your words are not fit to be heard. End of discussion.¡±

    ¡°Please wait. If you know the character of that person, why do you still ept her?!¡±

    I¡¯m not sure what had happened, but I understood that Anjelica was desperate and trying to appeal to the prince.

    When I looked to Olivia, she continued talking.

    ¡°Um, when Anjelica saw Marie holding hands with a boy other than his Highness the crown prince, she got angry. Then his Highness the crown prince said that she shouldn¡¯t be noisy over just that much.¡±

    He forgave his girl even when she went after other men.

    That was the kind of guy Julian was.

    I definitely would hate it if something like that were to happen, but the prince seemed to think that it was fine.

    Marie, wearing her uniform, hid behind the prince.

    She took an attitude that would make someone want to protect her, while Anjelica on the hand wore a red dress, makeup, and appeared to shine.

    Quite the contrast, right?

    Anjelica and Marie looked like exact opposites.

    Marie had guys and pretty boys surrounding her, but Anjelica had nobody near her.

    Brad stepped forward.

    ¡°So the daughter of the Redgrave family has be this wretched. Look, there¡¯s nobody by your side.¡±

    When Anjelica looked at her surroundings, the rich students and her supposed followers both turned away.

    The students who held animosity towards her didn¡¯t act hostile, but they grinned while watching.

    ¡°Do you all know what that woman¡¯s done? All of you have been©¤©¤¡±

    Everyone held out their hand.

    However, the boys weren¡¯t in a panic.

    ¡°We know.¡±

    Anjelica was surprised when the blue-haired Chris said that.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    I felt that Chris had smiled for just a moment when looking at Marie. He was a guy that would keep a nk expression while swinging his sword, but when he made that expression, the girls around him had blushed.

    Is it really because his looks? Is it his looks? It¡¯s his looks, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°She had saved me. She listened to my troubles. So©¤©¤I want to protect her.¡±

    I felt it praise-worthy that he was able to make such a confession while all the students were watching.

    The next one to step forward was Greg.

    ¡°Your argument is way too shoddy. Him directly saying that he liked her should give you enough of a clue of what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Jilk held his hand over his mouth while smiling.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯s a lovely woman. Though, I¡¯m sure that the one Marie loves the most is me.¡±

    Anjelica, who was at a loss for words, looked to the prince.

    Julian made a slightly huffy expression

    ¡°Jilk, I think you¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m the one Marie loves the most.¡±

    When he said that, the girls, who had been silent, then raised shrieks of cheers.

    ¡°Did you hear that just now?!¡±

    ¡°I want him to say that to me too!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m jealous. On the other hand, that duke woman is quite unsightly.¡±

    Anjelica sneered.

    She cast her eyes downward while clenching her fists.

    ¡°...Do you not intend to stop ying around while attending the academy, your Highness?¡±

    Julian lowered his gaze once Anjelica said that.

    ¡°She¡¯s the only irreceable woman for me. Anjelica, I didn¡¯t dislike you before I had entered the academy. However, I cannot forgive your attitude towards Marie.¡±

    The girls around Anjelicaughed at her.

    ¡°Did you hear that? The duke woman¡¯s done for.¡±

    ¡°This is pretty much the same as him breaking off the engagement, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I always hated that girl.¡±

    They were ndering her to their hearts content now that her position had weakened.

    ¡°I wonder if this is what girls feel when they see a harem? It¡¯s kind of unsettling, and it¡¯s painful just to look at this scene.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Leon?¡±

    Olivia, who was next to me, tilted her head.

    Daniel and Raymond were surprised when seeing Anjelica¡¯s expression.

    ¡°H, hey, isn¡¯t this really serious?¡±

    ¡°Judging from her face, it looks like she¡¯ll resort to violence at any moment¡±

    As if deciding on something, she then took on a nk expression like she had given up. The light in her eyes had disappeared, and I felt that I could see something dark dwelling within.

    Anjelica threw something at Marie.

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    While Marie was taken aback, the thing that Anjelica threw had fallen to the floor. It was a white glove.

    ¡°Pick it up, you sellout of a woman. You witch that would deceive his Highness.¡±

    It was a challenge to a duel.

    In moments like these, picking up the glove is a sign of epting the duel.

    ¡°Come to think of it, there was also a setting like this. The duel event, was it?¡±

    While I was muttering such things, Raymond got into a panic.

    ¡°You must know what this means! Do you understand the meaning of this duel?!¡±

    A duke woman challenged a girl from the viscount family to a duel.

    That¡¯s just what it looks like on the surface, though.

    ¡°His Highness Julian will stand as her representative©¤©¤so it¡¯ll be a duel between the duke woman and him, right?¡±

    Once a duel rises, it¡¯s considered shameful if a boy uses a representative. However, there are noints when a girl has a representative take her ce.

    In the game, a boy the protagonist has raised the love meter with would take on the duel proposed to the her by the duke woman. It¡¯s quite possible that things are heading towards <i>that</i> route.

    The argument from just a bit ago gave me a bad premonition.

    ¡°...Anjelica, I¡¯m disappointed.¡±

    The prince, looking at his fiance with a look of scorn while furrowing his eyebrows, seemed to be reaching the peak of his anger.

    ¡°Marie, pick it up. It¡¯ll be fine. I will take your side. I¡¯ll work as your representative.¡±

    Jilk followed along with the conversation.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let his Highness be the only one looking good. ording to the rules of the academy, girls are not limited to one boy as their representative. I dere that I will also participate.¡±

    Greg hit his palm with his fist.

    ¡°This is looking amusing, so I¡¯ll also get in on this. Come at me, anyone!¡±

    ¡°This is why you¡¯re a meathead...but, calling her a sellout of a woman is inexcusable.¡± So how about I mend your ways? While we¡¯re at it, we¡¯ll also have you apologize after the duel. Naturally, I¡¯m participating as well.¡±

    Brad looked annoyed, but also seemed to be in high spirits.

    Chris, crossed his arms.

    ¡°I¡¯m confident in my de skills. Let¡¯s see if I can fight as Marie¡¯s sword.¡±

    Marie wiped her tears with her fingers.

    ¡°Everyone...I¡¯m scared, but I feel safe when all of you are here. I will ept this duel. Anjelica, I will fight with all I¡¯ve got.¡±

    Kyle was amazed by the heroic image his master was acting as. This boy, who had a bit of a sharp tongue, was good-looking and had graceful movements.

    ¡°You really are a foolish master. How about you not forget me? I can assist, you know.¡±

    Marie smiled.

    ¡°Thank you, Kyle.¡±

    ...It¡¯s just as I thought.

    ¡°This is the reverse harem route.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re spouting out nonsense again, Leon. Anyways, now that it hase to this, what¡¯s going to happen to that duke woman? Is there anyone who would go up against those five people?¡±

    Raymond agreed with Daniel¡¯s doubts.

    ¡°His Highness has scored top-notch marks, and the others have terrifyingly excellent ones as well. There aren¡¯t any guys here who would battle against those five. The most frightening is Chris, the candidate for the next master swordsman. He¡¯s not someone you can afford to make enemies with.¡±

    Most of the boys disliked fighting. Any normal boy would definitely reject fighting against the prince.

    This wasn¡¯t a practice match, but a duel.

    The boys following Anjelica up until now didn¡¯t want to get involved either.

    When Anjelica looked around her, the boys all simultaneously averted their gaze.

    Greg added fuel to the fire.

    ¡°Hey, is there nomendable fellow out there who will help this girl? I¡¯m going to start pitying her if none of her followers have the guts to stand up...She¡¯s the one that proposed the duel. She can¡¯t back out, even if she has no representative.¡±

    A voice of ridicule towards Anjelica filled the party venue.

    Everyone was eitherughing at how nobody would help her, or was looking at her with sympathy.

    ording to the academy¡¯s rules, bringing along someone from the outside to work as a representative is prohibited. It was sort of an implicit rule given how it wouldn¡¯t be good if an adult entered a duel between children.

    In the game, Anjelica broke and rule and still lost, piling shame on top of shame.

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°Hey, anyone want to bet what kind of unsightly side to her will be exposed?¡±

    ¡°She won¡¯t be able to cling to her family anymore. She shouldn¡¯t have proposed the duel. After all, she definitely won¡¯t find a representative for her.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps she¡¯ll just represent herself. If that¡¯s the case, then I hope she gets beaten ck and blue.¡±

    ©¤©¤The reactions of the girls were cold. Way too cold.

    Though they were prettyisant in front of Anjelica around the time of school enrollment, perhaps they¡¯ve gotten more cocky now that the situation had changed?

    They were acting as if she was no longer a duke woman...so maybe they thought that since she made the disgrace of causing the engagement to fall apart, her life was over.

    I believe that in the game, things concluded by having some ugly man from the countryside being forced onto her.

    The normally-tough Anjelica looked around while seeming impatient.

    Her sight met with mine.

    Anjelica, a girl from a violent household who never thinks about consequences, was evidently in disorder. I felt that she was getting desperate, and her eyes told me that she wanted help.

    However, I clenched my teeth while looking downwards.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll do it even if I don¡¯t get someone to act as a representative...¡±

    Gregughed scornfully.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What happened to all that spirit from just a while ago?¡±

    The people around Anjelica looked at her very coldly.

    The coldest among them was the prince. Even though she was more or less supposed to be his fiance.

    ¡°Anjelica, I suppose you¡¯re ready, right? You can¡¯t back out at this point. You¡¯ve already thrown your white glove at Marie.¡±

    Really...just why is this happening?

    I can¡¯t ignore Anjelica.

    Olivia grabbed my arms when I took a step forward.

    ¡°U, um...what do you n on doing?¡±

    Looking at her face of unease, I started wondering why this girl was here. A woman named Marie was taking the spot of where Olivia should have been©¤©¤actually, it¡¯s more like she snatched away the position of where Olivia was supposed to belong.

    ...What should I do? I then hear an answer.

    Daniel came in to stop me.

    ¡°You idiot. Why are you trying to get involved? There¡¯s no point!¡±

    Raymond agreed.

    ¡°This is the kind of duel where the result has been decided before the fight has even begun. Besides, whether you win or lose, you can¡¯t ignore the representatives over there. Your opponents are his Highness and the others, you know?¡±

    The three were stopping me, but I gave a grin.

    ¡°Well...it¡¯s just that I hate those guys.¡±

    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m close with Anjelica, who was being scorned at. I can¡¯t say that I feel no sympathy towards her either. The biggest for why I¡¯m doing is because of my feelings.

    I push my way through people and step forward, causing everyone to gather their attention to me.

    ¡°Here! He~re! I¡¯ll be the representative for the duel~!¡±

 Chapter 22 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 7 part3</h4>

    ¡°Here! He~re! I¡¯ll be the representative for the duel~!¡±

    I announced that I would be the representative while raising my hand and taking a light tone, and while enduring the gazes of everyone around me going ¡°Who is this guy? Can¡¯t he read the mood?¡±, Greg stared into my face.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    It seems he really doesn¡¯t know.

    Such is the painful reality for mobs.

    Brad looked at me as if he was evaluating me.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this is the guy who found sess as an adventurer before enrolling. I heard that he has ns to be an independent baron, but was it really all his doing?¡±

    He was obviously looking down on me.

    Well, thinking about my marks and position, I suppose he would disregard me.

    I ignored him and continued talking.

    ¡°Anyways, You have to nominate me as your representative, Anjelica. C¡¯mon, hurry up.¡±

    Anjelica looked worried.

    ¡°Err, ah...¡±

    ¡°Look, permit me. Just say those words and it¡¯ll be settled.¡±

    ¡°I, I...permit you.¡±

    After forcing a confused Anjelica to permit me, I turned toward the prince and the others.

    ¡°So, I, Leon Fou Balfault, will take on the role of the representative. I assume that¡¯s no problem for his Highness and the five of you, right? I¡¯d like to settle the method of the duel, but before that, how about we decide on the wager?¡±

    Marie looked at me dumbfounded.

    It seemed that she didn¡¯t think I would be someone to get involved at all. I recently had Luxon gather information, so there¡¯s no doubt about it.

    This person©¤©¤is a foreigner to this world, just like me. Someone who had reincarnated, or perhaps undergone something simr to that.

    She¡¯s someone who recognizes this world as that of an otome game¡¯s. She¡¯s probably a girl from my previous world. If she was a guy in her previous life, um...err, well, I guess it¡¯s okay if a guy likes otome games. Thinking about it like that, it would mean that a former boy is going after other boys and making a reverse harem...I shouldn¡¯t ponder about this too deeply. I¡¯ll just consider her a former woman.

    I turned to Anjelica.

    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the reason for you proposing this duel, Anjelica? I¡¯m a bit troubled if I don¡¯t get that cleared up.¡±

    Both Anjelica and those around me were perplexed. They had faces of disbelief in the fact that I had stepped forward while speaking in a light tone.

    However, perhaps due to me changing the mood, she told me her aspirations.

    ¡°...For her to stay away from his Highness. That¡¯s all I want.¡±

    The people around us started whispering.

    ¡°Did you hear that?¡±

    ¡°How disgusting~, could she be jealous?¡±

    ¡°Truly unsightly. She¡¯s being forceful now since she can¡¯t get him to look at her using her own charm.¡±

    Anjelica clenched her teeth while looking down.

    ¡°So, since this is a duel, I¡¯d like to hear what you guys want as well.¡±

    When I turned towards Marie to ask her, the prince stepped forward to block my sight.

    ¡°Are you going this far to try and break us up? It seems that you don¡¯t know who the real witch is. Anjelica, even if you break up our rtionships, your feelings for me will never be mutual!¡±

    Anjelica muttered something.

    ¡°I know that. I know that, but I¡¯ll pull that person away, even if it¡¯s thest thing i do...¡±

    I pped my hands to urge on the prince and the others.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s leave this forter. Look, hurry up and tell me your conditions. Hu~rry~ up.¡±

    Marie¡¯s faction took offense, but I didn¡¯t care.

    Marie stepped forward and stated her conditions for Anjelica.

    ¡°I, if I win, then please stop doing these cruel things. I don¡¯t think that...boasting the power of your household is a good thing.¡±

    When thinking about how I had heard those words somewhere before, I remembered that was the line the protagonist had said. This girl was copycatting the protagonist¡¯s lines.

    ¡°Well, if we win, you and his Highness will break up. If we lose, we won¡¯t get involved anymore. Sounds nice, right? Now, next is to decide on the type of duel. How about a duel where we borrow an arena and wear armor? I believe that¡¯s the usual duel method.¡±

    There aren¡¯t many duels, but they do happen each year. There weren¡¯t many reasons for a duel, but many were enthusiastic about them since they provide highlight scenes for boys.

    In these cases, it¡¯s typical to use armor©¤©¤powered suit-like things. Someone saying that they have armor is enough to prove their financial strength.

    Furthermore, the people around them will know about their fight, so if they win, they¡¯ll earn honor.

    For that reason, it wasmon for a form of duel to involve armor.

    Chris looked at me with a sharp gaze. It seemed like he was about to lunge at me with a sword at any moment...He wasn¡¯t holding a weapon, but it felt like he would do that.

    ¡°Do you n on winning against us? If you don¡¯t want to get hurt, then you should withdraw from being a representative. You can¡¯tpete against us with your ability.¡±

    Does this guy think he knows me? Well, since he only remembers people with prominent skills, I suppose he just forgot my name and was treating me like a worthless chip of wood.

    ¡°Huh? Why did you arbitrarily decide that I¡¯m going to lose?¡±

    I tried fanning the mes, and was met with a whirlpool ofughter from the people around.

    ¡°Did you hear that?!¡±

    ¡°He ns on winning. He really doesn¡¯t know his ce.¡±

    ¡°It seems this guy has a knack for making peopleugh!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help butugh at this guy who became a baron by a fluke.¡±

    Not only the girls, but the guys alsoughed at me. Well, those five were indeed prominent and excelling people within the first year students.

    Furthermore, those five weren¡¯t someone a guy should pick a fight with.

    Greg approached me. He brought his face closer to try and threaten me,

    ¡°Come to think of it, there was someone who ran off after calling out to a group of girls and getting tossed away by their exclusive servants. Was that you?¡±

    He knew and called me out on it. This guy had a bad personality.

    ¡°...You can¡¯tpete with us. If you¡¯re just here because you want to stand out, then scurry home, small fry.¡±

    Greg had actualbat experience, so his intensity was different from the others.

    Well, they really are an imposing group of people. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going this far to protect this weak girl.

    From the view of an outsider that wouldn¡¯t know anything, it just seemed like Anjelica was suffering from severe bullying.

    ...They really are an imposing group of people.

    ¡°Huh, what? Are you trying to talk me down? Perhaps you want the duel method to be a debate? How troubling~. I¡¯m not too good at those kinds of things, you see. However, since I¡¯m the one who initiated the challenge, I must ept it. It seems you don¡¯t want to fight, and instead want a battle of words. It can¡¯t be helped. Let¡¯s do our best and spar with each other.¡±

    Greg, who hated guys that settle things with words, had a vein appear on his forehead in response to my agitations.

    Jilk intervened.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go with one-on-one matches using armor. However, there are five of us. We will allow you to gather up to five people within a certain time limit to participate. About the arena...well, summer vacation is just around the corner. We can borrow one for the day after the end-term ceremony.¡±

    Now that the conversation was reaching its conclusion, I nodded my head. However, since there¡¯s only a couple of days left, we probably won¡¯t be able to gather people.

    ¡°I almost thought you¡¯d suggest one-on-five. Well, it¡¯s not a problem if it¡¯s five rounds of one-on-one.¡±

    It might be dangerous if all five attack me at once, but if it¡¯s still one-on-one, it should be fine.

    Jilk looked at me with a doubting nce.

    ¡°Do you really n on winning? Although it¡¯s rare at this point in history, it¡¯s still possible that you could lose your life in a duel.¡±

    The rule about putting one¡¯s life on the line slowly became obsolete, so now death in duels is the result of just being unlucky. It¡¯s sort of a special rule in the academy.

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s fine. Can I ask one thing?¡±

    ¡°...What is it?¡±

    ¡°Why are guys making those faces like everything will be alright? I get that you want to look good in front of the girl you like. However, isn¡¯t it too naive to think that you guys aren¡¯t at any risk of death?¡±

    Jilk narrows his eyes. It¡¯s really frightening when this guy, who¡¯s normally gentle, gets angry.

    ¡°I heard that you had some achievements, but apparently you seem to be a let-down. It appears that you can¡¯t judge your opponents¡¯ abilities.¡±

    Julian forced himself into the conversation.

    ¡°Leave it, Jilk. It¡¯s as Leon says. We shouldn¡¯t pass it off as a joke. You¡¯re prepared to face the possibility of it, right?¡±

    Marie, who didn¡¯t step forward and was surprised beyond expectation, didn¡¯t show signs of calming down.

    With how confused she was, I was hoping that she wouldn¡¯t heighten the situation regarding Anjelica. That would be an inconvenience for me.

    Let me just say this now...I¡¯m a pretty timid person.

    ¡°So, break up with your oh-so important lover, Prince. Oh wait? Since the other four are unrted to this matter, even if you lose, they can still associate with her while you look on in envy. How¡¯s that?¡±

    The prince¡¯s gaze toughened.

    Though I was provoking him, I didn¡¯t want him to get furious with me.

    Actually....Anjelica, who was behind me, was no longer the focus of attention.

    I wanted the prince to think seriously about the reason why his fiance is standing front of him.

    I think it would better if each of those prestigious nobles were more aware about the fact that they¡¯re actually being deceived by one woman.

 Chapter 23 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 8 part1</h4>

    <h4>Duel</h4>

    It was the day after the party.

    Marie was on top of her bed, holding her knees under her arms.

    She chewed on the nail of her thumb while muttering to herself.

    ¡°Who the hell is that mob?! Why did he get in the way of my perfect n?¡±

    Yesterday, she said that she had felt sick and shut herself in to her room, but the capture target boys agreed on their own that it was likely due to the shock of being challenged to a duel.

    ¡°Everything will be fine. Those five can¡¯t lose, and that mob seems unreliably weak, so it¡¯ll be fine. Actually, just looking at him makes me irritated. He makes me remember my dead older brother.¡±

    While she muttered about how worthless of a brother he was, her exclusive servant, Kyle, knocked and soon entered.

    ¡°H, hey, please wait for me to answer first!¡±

    Kyle, who disyed a disgruntled attitude towards a cautious Marie, sighed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful next time.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t follow my warning this time either.¡±

    Kyle, who was promptly preparing breakfast, had no problems in terms of his appearance or workings. However, he had a small peculiarity in his personality.

    Due to that, he remained unsold, and even when he was sold, he was returned to ve firm. That was the setting he had.

    ¡°There¡¯s arger portion of vegetables for today¡¯s breakfast.¡±

    ¡°...I hate vegetables.¡±

    ¡°Please eat at least this much. You¡¯re being a miserable master.¡±

    He spoke as if his master wasn¡¯t really his master.

    (Despite being a stuck-up in the game, I thought of him as a cute little brother character, but being with him everyday is getting irritating. Well, I¡¯ll forgive him since he¡¯s a pretty boy.)

    After being with him for several weeks, Marie thought it was good that the pretty boy cared after her.

    She thought about how swell things would be if males who could do housework and treated females with utmost cruciality existed in her previous world.

    ¡°So what happened with the discussion about the duel?¡±

    Kyle poured a drink into a cup and offered it to Marie.

    ¡°It seems we got permission to use the arena. It appeared that Jilk and Brad had a hard time persuading the academy. I only heard this from fellow servants, but it also seems that Leon boy¡¯s marks are at the low end of the upper range. Everyone has been saying that he won¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°I, I see.¡±

    With that, Marie felt relieved and ate her breakfast.

    ¡°Please recognize my efforts. It was tough going around listening to other servants.¡±

    ¡°Th, thank you.¡±

    Her exclusive servant acted under the expectation that he would receive gratitude in return, but she put with it since he had good looks and did his work.

    (*sigh*, I¡¯m quitemendable. If it were any other girl, they would soon sent this boy away. In my generosity, I¡¯ll tolerate him.)

    Marie thought of herself as an open-minded person.

    (My ns have gone slightly askew, but Anjelica will nevertheless be driven out. That woman really is an idiot for challenging me to a duel after just slightly provoking her.)

    Knowing Anjelica¡¯s violent character, she purposely agitated her at the party venue. She made a disy of herself by approaching Julian, and then afterwards clinging to a different boy and holding his hand.

    (Now I need to make preparations for the summer vacation. I need to gather items in the dungeon, and also collect <i>that</i>.)

    By <i>that</i>, she was referring to equipment that the protagonist normally would have.

    Marie knew it would be the key to the future of the story.

    (I¡¯m really looking forward to this. It¡¯s only a little bit more until I¡¯m praised as a saint...)

    ¡ó

    ¡°Today and the day before have been really cruel on me.¡±

    Inside my devastated room, I folded my arms and looked up to the ceiling.

    Luxon, who had disappeared, then showed up.

    Luxon descended into my field of vision, and then projected an image onto our surroundings. I looked into a video which was floating in the air.

    [Master, while you were out, some students had barged in andid waste to your room. The perpetrators were from a group you belonged to, and the one who gave the orders was from a different group.]

    It seemed that since I picked a fight with Julian, the rich group employed the lower caste group to wreck my room.

    I came back from the school building, only toe across this cruel situation.

    In the video. I could see the figures of Daniel and Raymond being ordered around.

    ¡°Those two were forced to do it?¡±

    [It seems your friendship was short-lived.]

    ¡°They were just prioritizing their own future. Looking at how gloomy their expressions are while being ordered, I can¡¯t me them. You¡¯re being narrow-minded.¡±

    Getting agitated, Luxon talked back as if angry.

    [I don¡¯t want to be told that by you, master. Anyways, there are already students trying to start a bet on this duel within the academy.]

    When looking at the image, it turned out that I was bing the underdog. However, the bet hadn¡¯t been established. The reason was that nobody was betting on me.

    ¡°I¡¯m overwhelmingly unpopr.¡±

    [Did you think you were popr in the first ce? Anyways, I¡¯vepleted my preparations. <i>That</i> item will arrive on the appointed day, but what will you do until then?]

    I thought for a bit.

    ¡°Can you prepare ten thousand gold coins? No wait, perhaps five hundred white gold coins will leave a greater impact. There¡¯s no point if I don¡¯t have fun with it.¡±

    [You really are a heartless person. Besides, was it fine to just arbitrarily ept a duel when you intervened? I didn¡¯t feel the necessity in riling them up either.]

    I was a silent for a bit before answering.

    ¡°...So you saw those five associating with Marie, right? I¡¯m the type of person that likes to resolve troublesome things all at once.¡±

    [The type that makes many blunders.]

    ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not interested in being involved with them for long. I want to finish this quickly. That¡¯s why I felt like agitating them. Those were my feelings. I got angry with their attitude of looking down on others.¡±

    [...Is that so?]

    The academy is isted from the outside, so it¡¯s kind of like its own world. That principle also served as an unspoken rule within the academy.

    To many students, this seemed like a duke woman picking a fight with the prince, who belong to the most prestigious family. It was obvious which side was stronger.

    However, the trouble lies in when the talks about this don¡¯t remain within the academy.

    ¡°Well, once I get the white gold, how about I head towards where the bookmakers are?¡±

    If I bet this much, then all of the students in the academy will bet on the prince and the others.

    It was good that since the people around me knew I had earned money from a dungeon, it wouldn¡¯t be suspicious if I held arge amount of cash.

    If they knew that Luxon could prepare gold or rare metals, there would definitely be the danger of them trying to kill me and snatch Luxon.

    ...Well, enough thinking about that. I¡¯m really looking forward to this.

    [In that case, I¡¯ll prepare them at once. Pleasee and pick it up at the harbor. Oh, and your two friends are waiting near your room.]

    Sure enough, once I exited the room, Daniel and Raymond were standing there with their eyes cast downward.

    I can¡¯t me them when seeing them so blue.

    Ray whispered.

    ¡°S, sorry.¡±

    Daniel also seemed frustrated.

    ¡°We were told not to get close with you anymore...we can¡¯t oppose those orders.¡±

    I passed by the two, who seemed like there were about to cry, and called out to them.

    ¡°There¡¯s a bet involving this next duel, but if you ce your wagers on me, you¡¯ll be able to profit...I¡¯m sorry, you two. I caused trouble for you guys.¡±

    I left the scene at a fast pace.

    ¡ó

    I was in the academy¡¯s dining room.

    There were about five boys gathered there.

    ¡°What do we do? We¡¯ve waited so long for a duel, but now it¡¯s not even a bet at this point.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that the prince and his crew will win, after all.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s five of them at least...so perhaps we could change the bet to be about how many people that guy will be able to gather.¡±

    They were the bookmakers in control of the bet.

    I appeared before them while pulling a wagon. The five made a startled expression upon seeing me, but I acted indifferent and continued their conversation.

    ¡°Here we go, sorry about how troublesome the bet has been. Deciding whether I¡¯ll win or lose is simple, right? Oh right, and this entire pile is what I¡¯m betting.¡±

    I opened a crate, and inside was a mountain of white gold that shined stronger than regr gold. The five gasped in front of the mountain of white gold, which was worth more than regr gold.

    ¡°With this much, the bet is established, right?¡±

    Nobody was cing any wagers on me, so there was no bet. That being the case, I thought it would be good to bet arge sum on myself.

    This was a match with a victor that everyone was sure about. However, even when people can predict how to profit from the match, there will always be that one idiot that makes an illogical bet.

    That one person is surely me.

    ¡°Is this all white gold? I, Is this really all white gold?¡±

    Speaking in terms of the modern age, this would be worth about one billion to two billion, I believe? Well, it amounts to just that much.

    It¡¯s way too big of an amount for a student to deal with.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m the guy who captured a dungeon. What¡¯s wrong with betting all I have on myself?¡±

    The five people were breathless and began to check that everything was indeed authentic.

    ¡°W, with this much, we¡¯ll have people that will ce bets.¡±

    ¡°We have to make this public at once!¡±

    ¡°People will get excited this time!¡±

    What mattered most was that things were looking fun.

    While thinking so, I heard a voice from behind.

    ¡°...Baltfault, we need to talk.¡±

    I looked behind me.

    I thought for a second that it was my older brother or older sistering to address me, but it turned out that Anjelica was taking the lead for some reason.

    The ce fell silent.

 Chapter 24 - Volume 1

    <strong>Volume 1 Chapter 8 part2</strong>

    The ce where I was called to was an unpopted room.

    It seemed that it was normally a ce that boys could borrow to hold tea ceremonies.

    ¡°I said that I wanted to use this ce to hold a discussion with you, so they dly lent it to me. I¡¯m on good terms with the teachers.¡±

    Could it be that teacher¡¯s, no, mentor¡¯s doing? If it were that instructor, who was the embodiment of a gentleman, then he certainly would be this considerate towards her.

    The pleasantry of it, makes me shed a tear.

    ¡°...Baltfault, you will withdraw from this duel.¡±

    Anjelica had a slightly haggard face while telling me to drop out of the duel.

    ¡°Even if I back down now, I won¡¯t be able to save face anymore.¡±

    I don¡¯t really care about honor. I was participating because I wanted to.

    Anjelica made a feeble smile.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to do it anymore, right? They turned your room into a mess. It seems that they¡¯re nning to thoroughly threaten you like this until the time of the duel.¡±

    It seems that they were trying hard not to give her even the one in a million chance of winning.

    It appears that Julian and the others weren¡¯t aware of this.

    This was a move made by the followers surrounding the prince.

    What wonderful loyalty!

    However, I won¡¯t forgive them for picking on me.

    I¡¯m a small guy. A mob, furthermore.

    So, I¡¯d like things to return to normal if possible.

    I usually wait for turmoil to calm down, but I decided not to give in to the pressure this time.

    ¡°I have no power anymore. I can¡¯t do anything you¡¯re expect me to do.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Did your household say something to you?¡±

    Anjelica strongly clutched her arms, as if hugging herself.

    ¡°...They said that it was imprudent of me to propose a duel. But, but...I had to do something. Anything. I wanted that woman to stay away from his Highness! My thoughts turned fuzzy because of that. When I wrote back to them saying that, they told me to be docile. It¡¯s over for me. I¡¯m being sent to a remote region under house arrest. In the worst case scenario©¤©¤¡±

    ©¤©¤It seemed that it was an internal decision. It appeared that she had to make up for her mistake with her livelihood.

    I didn¡¯t think that such a thing will happen, though.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got it wrong. To be honest, I don¡¯t really care about a duke household.¡±

    Anjelica lifted her head and made a surprised expression.

    ¡°Th, then why did youe forward at that time? Are you an idiot? You¡¯re definitely an idiot! Listen, it¡¯ll be over for you whether you lose or win in the uing duel. To start with, your opponents are his Highness the crown prince and other prestigious nobles. What do you n on doing in the future now that you¡¯ve picked a fight with them?!¡±

    In response to Anjelica, who kept talking until she was out of breath, I made small, meaningful smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. I have no need for noble status or honor. Do you know how people in the lower caste are treated in the advanced ss? Each day, they¡¯re working their hardest to be self-sufficient, trying to earn the favor of girls. I¡¯m sick of it already. So in that case, I thought that I¡¯d rather beat up all of the guys I hate.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to get your family involved in the trouble as well!¡±

    ¡°Though things may appear that way, I¡¯m an independent knight. It¡¯s just temporary, though. Well, it¡¯s the kind of thing where I¡¯m considered separate from my parents¡¯ household.¡±

    ¡°T, temporary?¡±

    I nned on being independent. When I said that it was temporarily, Anjelica made a awkward face. However, it seemed that my point got through.

    Well, I was implying that it was to vent out my stress, but...just like Anjelica, I wasn¡¯t fond of that Marie girl.

    ¡°So, you want Marie to stay away from his Highness. I want to beat all those guys up. You see, I think this calls for us to join forces.¡±

    Anjelica hesitated while taking several steps back.

    ¡°Are you mad? They¡¯re powerful people at the top of the year.¡±

    That wasn¡¯t a problem.

    It may have been tough if this duel happened in the third©¤©¤no, second year, but at this grade, anything could still happen.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Though I may not look like it, I¡¯m quite strong.¡±

    ¡°Are you even trustworthy?! C,e to think of it, I did hear that many of the adventurers who capture dungeons have a few screws loose in their head. Are you one of those types of people?!¡±

    ¡°How rude! I stepped in because I have a chance of winning. In the first ce, you were the one that initiated the duel!¡±

    ¡°L, like I said, that was my mistake. I¡¯m taking responsibility for it. You can stay at the academy. You don¡¯t need to get involved...well,ing forward at that time was plenty enough.¡±

    She might have thought that while everyone was seeing her as the enemy, I wasing to help her without considering gains or losses. Anjelica likely thinks on the inside that I was ying the hero.

    For small mobs like me, a hero is something far out of reach.

    ¡°No, withdrawing aftering this far is kind of...embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°...Do you realize that your opponents include Greg and Chris? Those guys are seriously strong.¡±

    It was as she said. Not just those two, but the other three also stood out as the strong ones within the grade.

    Right, within the grade.

    ¡°In addition...just what are you nning to do by betting arge sum on yourself?¡±

    Did I have reason for why I bet arge amount? I did.

    I should also mention that I don¡¯t like gambling.

    ¡°Would you like to ce a bet, then? If you bet on me, you¡¯ll make a profit.¡±

    ¡°I have no need! Does it look like I¡¯m troubled with money?¡±

    It¡¯s things like this that make me remember she¡¯s the daughter of high-ss family...well, whatever.

    ¡°The harassment will also end soon. There¡¯s only a few days left until the duel.¡±

    While saying that, I left the room

    ¡ó

    It was the day of the battle.

    The area in the academy was very spacious.

    The audience were protected by a magic barrier, ensuring perfect safety.

    I was in the academy¡¯s arena. When thinking about about how many students came here to duel...well, I didn¡¯t really feel much.

    While changing clothes in the waiting room, I looked at my figure.

    [It matches you. Well, that¡¯s a given considering that this is an article I prepared for you, master.]

    I wore pants and a vest over the dark grey main suit that clung onto my body, which was of a color that matched with an aircraft.

    There was a part that guarded the neck.

    As expected, these clothes emphasize the outline of my body, which is something I¡¯d rather overlook.

    ¡°It¡¯s different from what I had thought. I demand you remake it.¡±

    [I refuse. Even if the color and design aren¡¯t what you expected, that doesn¡¯t change its performance. It¡¯s a bother if you demand me to change it because you don¡¯t like it. Please bear with it.]

    Does this thing really think of me as its master?

    When I wore a jacket and exited the waiting room, it turned out that Olivia was waiting there.

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah!¡±

    Perhaps leaning on the wall while waiting, she got into a panic and then moved closer to me. I felt that the distance between us was exceedingly close.

    ¡°U, um©¤©¤I can¡¯t do anything, but I¡¯ll cheer you on! I¡¯ll be rooting for you, Leon!¡±

    ph_mobuseka01_ill006

    It was a strange feeling being cheered on by the protagonist.

    Normally, she¡¯d be on the side of Julian and the others.

    ¡°Did you ce a bet on me? If so, you¡¯ve made the right choice. You¡¯re about to make arge profit.¡±

    When I made a thumbs-up was about to leave, Olivia denied involvement with the bet.

    ¡°Huh? I didn¡¯t ce a bet. I don¡¯t think people should gamble.¡±

    ¡°O, oh.¡±

    Being told that with her pretty, tranquil eyes, I started feeling ashamed about betting arge amount.

    Could this be the power of the protagonist?

    It was as if a halo was glowing behind Olivia, too dazzling for those of a crooked heart.

    Once the two of us headed from the waiting room to the arena, the five opponents were already present there.

    They were already wearing the armor they were prideful of and made a disy of it to the audience.

    Rather than calling them armor, they were more like robots, and their sizes spanned almost three meters. They were items akin to a powered suit, wonderful weapons modelled after a human, and could fly in the air.

    ¡°Oh~, what shy coloring.¡±

    A row of armor with shy ornaments attached were lined up, starting with the crown prince¡¯s white one.

    A unified booing erupted once I appeared.

    When looking at the audiences¡¯ seats, I could see the figures of both Daniel and Raymond. When I looked over at them, I could see their red tickets that they were hiding from the people around them, meaning that they had ced a bet on me.

    Those who were betting on the prince and the others got a blue ticket.

    ¡°So they went through with it...well then, I¡¯ll also do my best.¡±

    Once I appeared, Anjelica came rushing over.

    ¡°Hey! Why did youe without preparing armor?! Don¡¯t tell me with a confident face that you don¡¯t have any!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t holding back on me.

    I looked through the roof-less arena, into the sky.

    The blue sky had spread out today.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine...it¡¯s arriving right now.¡±

    I pointed with my finger towards a ck speck in the sky. Luxon, who was hiding inside my jacket, called out in a voice that only I could hear.

    [Arogantz is here.]

 Chapter 25 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 8 part3</h4>

    <i>TLN: Changing Arogantz to Arroganz</i>

    Arge box descended from the sky and then its speed slowed down before it hit the ground.

    Once the front portion of the box opened, the side and top portions also opened to reveal a suit of armor.

    When I used it before, it wasn¡¯t for battle, but for a test ride. However, it¡¯s appearance right now had the style and dignity for something to be used inbat. It was the perfect armor, which made me feel sorry when I first used it to dig a hole in the floating ind.

    However, I was concerned about the name.

    ¡°...What meaning does Arroganz have?¡±

    I felt like I had heard it somewhere before...a dreadful name, but I personally liked it.

    [It¡¯s the perfect word for you.]

    ¡°Is that so? I suppose you can tasteful every once in a while.¡±

    Unlike the currentlymonce stylish armor, the dark grey armor was built to be tough. The main body itself isrger than regr armor.

    It was suited forbat, didn¡¯t have any decorations, and looked like a rugged robot.

    The armor belonging to the prince and the others were of the slim type for high mobility, while mine was the heavy type that looked slow.

    There were people in the audience that made a roar ofughter when seeing my armor make an appearance in the arena.

    They were third year students who had gathered.

    In any case, with thisrge of an event©¤©¤I felt it was quite possible that students were gathering here to see the gant figure of Julian and the others.

    Thousands of people had gathered, but the audience seating was enough to amodate them since the number of people it could hold was in the ten thousands.

    Anjelica looked at me in doubt.

    ¡°Do you n on fighting with this? Could it possibly be a lost item? If it is, you probably think that it¡¯s strong, right? Though lost items are impossible to reproduce, just because it is one doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s strong.¡±

    Olivia rested her hand against her cheek and tilted her head to the side.

    ¡°Though, it¡¯s kind of cute.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sense of beauty is strange. Not only is it unrefined, but it¡¯s unfit for the current battle.¡±

    In the current trend of emphasizing offense over defense, it wasmon to have something move quickly to kill the enemy.

    In other words, heavy armor appeared obsolete, behind the times.

    I liked heavy equipment, though.

    ¡°If you take a look, you¡¯ll understand.¡±

    I went up to the stage inside the arena.

    When I approached the spot where the armor was, violet armor descended onto the arena. It gave the impression of being long and narrow, and it carried a number of weapons resemblingnces on its back.

    Judging from its color, it was Brad.

    The chest of the armor opened, revealing the figure of Brad.

    ¡°I¡¯llmend you foring here and not running away. However, did you n on winning against my armor with that old, outdated one you have? The manufacturing of this armor by a skilled craftsman alone requires white gold coins to©¤©¤¡±

    Ignoring his boasts, I opened the chest of my armor as well.

    As I slipped inside, I ced my arms into the twopartments in front of me. I clutched the joysticks within. They were like joysticks from a game.

    When I grasped them, the chest closed, obstructing my field of vision, but©¤©¤

    [Arroganz is activating.]

    Arroganz started booting up in response to Luxon¡¯s words. In front of me was an image that made it seem as if I was practically outside.

    The interior mechanisms moved around and fastened onto my body. They protected the head, neck, torso, and so on.

    Now that the preparations wereplete, I looked ahead and found that Brad was still boasting about his armor.

    ¡°That guy is still bragging on?¡±

    [Based on his story, the weapons he¡¯s carrying on his back are like drones. Should we deploy measures against them?]

    That¡¯s not necessary for this person. After all...that purple guy is basically weak at hitting, right?¡±

    In the game, he really was a pain to deal with since he would quickly go down.

    When Arroganz took a step forward, Brad made a face as if he lost his temper. It seemed that he wasn¡¯t pleased about me ignoring his speech.

    It was fine...I knew about the characteristics of his armor since Luxon had listened to him.

    [...He took offence at your attitude.]

    While Luxon said that, the chest closed and he took a position ready for battle, so I took out my weapon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see...we¡¯ll go with the best de.¡±

    Upon which, a shovel from the storage box of this thing¡¯s backpack popped out. Though it¡¯s main use was for digging holes, it was the best shovel-de.

    Since it was to be used with armor, it was definitelyrge, but...a shovel is still a shovel.

    ¡°Huh?!¡±

    [We ced this top-tier shovel in storage after using it fromst time, didn¡¯t we.]

    ¡°Take out a de!¡±

    [You¡¯re the one who has to specify that first, master.]

    That thing definitely did this while actually knowing what I wanted.

    While I readied the shovel, I could hearughter from the audience, but Brad got enraged, perhaps thinking that I was mocking him.

    ¡°You, are you making fun of me by doing that?!¡±

    I heard the voice of a teacher acting as a referee within the arena.

    ¡°Both of you, first on the agenda is to take the oath of a duel and©¤©¤¡±

    However, Brad, who was grandly rushing ahead, didn¡¯t stop himself.

    Brad was holding a spear in both of his hands, pointing it towards me to try and pierce me. He aimed at my torso. It seemed that he was nning to kill me.

    The tip of the spear was engulfed in light from an outburst of magic.

    Luxon was impressed.

    [What a magnificent rush forward.]

    ¡°You©¤©¤¡±

    The people outside couldn¡¯t hear the conversation between Luxon and me. It would definitely would be troublesome if someone knew about Luxon.

    I operated my armor, and moved it ording to my mental image. The heavy armor lightly stepped to the side, immediately seized Brad¡¯s arm, and held it down.

    ¡°L, let go!¡±

    ¡°Alright, calm down. Look, we have to do the oath of a duel. If you don¡¯t do it, you¡¯ll get into lots of trouble, so follow through with it.¡±

    ¡ó

    Anjelica was in a cold sweat while watching the movements of Arroganz.

    Next to her was Olivia, an amateur who knew nothing about armor and was cheering him on.

    ¡°Anjelica, it seems like Leon can hold out!¡±

    Seeing Olivia like that, Anjelica could only nod along while going ¡°S, sure.¡±

    However, on the inside, she thought that what she was seeing was impossible.

    (What were those movements just now? Can armor that heavy make such light movements? Impossible. Just what in the world is that armor? There more weight there is, the more burden its supposed to have on the pilot.)

    Going by the theory about armor, Arroganz¡¯s weight seemed impossible.

    Furthermore, not only were its sudden movements surprisingly light, it also had power. There was no way it could have the power to hold down Brad¡¯s armor with a single arm.

    (That armor was specifically arranged for the heir of the Field family. It¡¯s not one of the many mass produced ones. It¡¯s a custom made armor. Is it really something that can be pinned down with one hand?)

    The two people in the arena, the representatives in the duel, then spoke the oath.

    It was an oath where no grudges were to be made, even if death urred.

    Anjelica couldn¡¯t keep her eyes off of Leon¡¯s armor and didn¡¯t pay attention to what the two were saying.

    A voice from somewhere around her had called out.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Hurry up and start.¡±

    ¡°I betted everything I had on his Highness. Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be where we get rich quick?¡±

    ¡°I even borrowed money from my parents¡¯ house!¡±

    Many in the audience wanted Leon to quickly lose.

    Some of the students even went as far as to get a loan to bet on the victory of Julian and the others. It was the opportunity for both boys and girls alike to earn money.

    Anjelica smiled.

    ¡°Ah hah, ah hah hah!¡±

    When Anjelicaughed, Olivia nced at her as if frightened.

    ¡°W, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I suppose I can¡¯t help butugh. That man is a really cruel individual.¡±

    Olivia replied.

    ¡°He¡¯s not cruel! Leon is a kind person!¡±

    ¡°I suppose. I suppose.¡±

    While indifferently brushing Olivia aside, Anjelica pondered.

    (Though, why did he side with me? I certainly understand that he has a chance of winning, but now that I think about it, being my ally seems like a bad n. It don¡¯t think it¡¯s because he has a poor head.)

    ¡ó

    Brad was losing his patience.

    Within the narrow interior of his armor, the lukewarm condensation from his breathes were bouncing back to him.

    ¡°What the hell, what the hell.¡±

    When he looked at his armor, there were dents shaped like fingers where his arm was held down. His armor had a metal-like strength, but was further protected by magic. A number of attacks wouldn¡¯t give it a scratch.

    ©¤©¤It normally shouldn¡¯t be affected by how much it had been through.

    Furthermore©¤©¤it couldn¡¯t move at all.

    He couldn¡¯t move to resist, and it didn¡¯t seem like his opponent was straining himself either.

    Now waiting for the signal to start the duel, all hisposure from before was gone.

    ¡°Now that it hase to this, I have no choice but to use them.¡±

    On his back were long and narrow cones, spears with no handles, which he could use as a soaring weapon through magic.

    He really wanted to kill him using a spear to make a disy of his prowess towards Marie. Brad was concerned about hisck of martial arts, and pondered while holding back from using the spears behind him that were meant for magic.

    (I¡¯m going to lose at this rate. If that happens right in front of Marie...that will be grave!¡±

    Brad¡¯s high talent in magic was hisst resort.

    He had a killing move that could create an assault of four spears and pierce the enemy from four different directions.

    ¡°Now then, the two of you©¤©¤begin!¡±

    Once the duel started, he unleashed the spears behind his back There were four of them.

    ¡°No matter what armor that is, there¡¯s no way it will withstand four simultaneous attacks from©¤©¤¡±

    While Brad was speaking, the dark grey steel giant was approaching him.

    Just then, he could see it grandly brandishing a shovel with both of its hands.

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    ¡ó

    The violent sound of metal shing against metal could be heard throughout the arena.

    The two of us initiated an assault at the same time as the duel began, but when hit with a shovel, he was blown away to the wall of the arena.

    ¡°What power.¡±

    The overwhelming difference in the performance of our machines caused everything to be over before my opponent could attack.

    Even though it was just a strike with the shovel in a straight path, he had already reached the point where he couldn¡¯t attack using his pointy hat things.

    [The full potential isn¡¯t being utilized. I¡¯m impressed about moving armor using magic, but that¡¯s the only technique noteworthy. It isn¡¯t smart for him to have so many pointless decorations on his armor.]

    ...Does this thing bear a grudge about the fact that Arroganz wasughed at? Well, Luxon is an manmade creation, so perhaps it minds quite a bit.

    I approached the purple armor that had been bent after hitting the wall.

    My opponent tried to move, but I stomped on him.

    A creaking sound could be heard.

    ¡°S, stop! It hurts©¤©¤help!¡±

    Though my opponent¡¯s armor was dented, my shovel had not a single scratch. Perhaps it would be good to keep battling like this using the shovel.

    I ignored Brad¡¯s pleas for help.

    ¡°Listen here, I might just end up ttening you. So, you better admit defeat, and make it quick.¡±

    [Forcing someone to yield using overwhelming power...as expected of my master. There aren¡¯t many people who resonate with the word coward as much you do.]

    ¡°...Do you hate me or something?¡±

    [No, I¡¯m praising you. After all, the word coward is apliment in apetition. One doesn¡¯t fight unless they think they¡¯ll win. I¡¯d like to be where you are as well.]

    ©¤©¤Right, I got involved because I could win.

    While holding the shovel in my right hand, I trampled on the purple bastard.

    I should mention that it was true when I said that I wanted to beat these guys up. I remember saying in my previous life that I would knock the daylights out of these tiresome bastards.

    As I gradually strengthened the power in my trampling, I could hear a strange sound, perhaps from the important part of Brad¡¯s armor, the main frame, turning crooked.

    ¡°Hey now, you might end up dying if you don¡¯t hurry and admit defeat.¡±

    ¡°I admit it! I admit defeat!¡±

    I stopped my movements once Brad, on the verge of tears, shouted out the recognition of his defeat.

    Then, I slowly lifted the right foot I was using to trample on Brad, and turned my head around to look at the arena. The spears he had fired wereying on the ground of the arena or had pierced into it.

    The audience in the arena fell silent.

    I looked in the direction of the referee.

    ¡°Referee, announce Brad¡¯s defeat.¡±

    When saying that, the referee shouted my full name.

    ¡°Th, the winner is Leon Fou Baltfault!¡±

    Only the sounds of a few people pping could be heard in the spacious arena.

    ¡°It seems there are some people who are pping.¡±

    I¡¯d understand if it were just Anjelica and Olivia pping, but there were several more that were pping as well.

    When looking at the people through the camera in the machine¡¯s head, I saw a teacher, my mentor, straightening his back while pping.

    ...My mentor was a gentleman, even at times like these.

 Chapter 26 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 9 part1</h4>

    <h4>Personal Grudges</h4>

    I had a few reasons why I stepped forward as a representative, but the most prominent one was my personal grudges.

    I had a grudge against the capture target boy characters.

    These were the five that my sister forced me to captivate in the otome game.

    I had to painstakingly make moves on them and listen to their sweet talk.

    Just thinking about it riles me up while the memories resurge.

    Let me do this.

    I was in the arena.

    I pushed away the scattered debris and objects that were in the way, took the box that Arroganz came in, and moved it to the arena¡¯s outside.

    Standing in the center while waiting, the situation regarding the prince and the others took a strange turn.

    Arroganz¡¯s microphone picked up the voices of the prince and the others.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. That wimp Brad was indeed weak, but that thing over there is a behemoth. It¡¯s too much for you guys to handle.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤You¡¯re making light of us. Are you trying to say that I¡¯m inferior to you?¡±

    While Greg and Chris were arguing, the prince and Jilk looked over at me.

    ¡°That Baltfault fellow was someone who conquered a dungeon, wasn¡¯t he. I see, he was that confident since he had this armor.¡±

    ¡°A lost item, I suppose. However, I¡¯ve never heard about armor this strongying dormant until now. From appearances, it looks like a power-type.¡±

    There was an aura of difort that rose from the unexpected result that had happened.

    There were loads of students who held no doubts that I would lose and the prince¡¯s side would win. To make matters worse, many of them had bet arge sum of money.

    My microphone also picked up voices of relief, like ¡°There would be no point ining here if we didn¡¯t get to see this much,¡± or ¡°It¡¯ll probably be over in the next round, though.¡±

    Luxon made some data adjustments.

    [I have revised our spear-based battle techniques based on data from the battle just a while ago.]

    ¡°Good work. Let¡¯s see, next is Greg.¡±

    Entering his red-painted armor, he got into the arena while holding arge spear.

    Luxon checked the state of the opponent.

    [I¡¯ve confirmed that there are points on the exterior that had to have been repaired. Judging from the signs of prior damage, it seems that he has a lot of experience using this armor in battle.]

    ¡°Aah, this guy is tough. He may be strong, but...¡±

    Greg Fou Seberg had a rough appearance and had the most experience as an adventurer out of the five. He was the type that stresses a lot of important on actualbat.

    That much was fine.

    I thought of him as a reliable character during thebat side of the game.

    Greg pointed his spear at me.

    ¡°You said you were Baltfault. I will remember that name. However, you¡¯re getting cocky. It seems like you have a lost item with strong power, but the result of the first battle happened because of that armor¡¯s power. It¡¯s not your own power.¡±

    It was quite like he had said, so I couldn¡¯t refute that and even wanted to apud him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? I thought about this at the party as well, but you open your mouth pretty often. If you want to chitchat, I can invite you to tea next time.¡±

    I agitated him in a roundabout way, and the results were instant.

    ¡°...I¡¯ll crush you!¡±

    The referee announced the start of the duel.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    While wielding a spear, Greg shortened the distance between him and me.

    Perhaps after watching the previous battle, it seemed that he didn¡¯t n on letting me attack. For that reason, he attacked sessively, but©¤©¤

    ¡°Gah! What¡¯s going on! Why is this happening!¡±

    I defended against his continuous spear thrusts, slices, and strokes using my shovel.

    In addition to the sparks from metal shing against metal, the faint lighting from the opponent¡¯s spear was indeed quite radiant.

    However, there was one thing about this guy©¤©¤

    ¡°Your movements are good. You¡¯ve got the willpower too. But...you need to pay more attention to your tools!¡±

    I fling off the spear with my shovel, breaking off the bnce between our armor. Since his was the lightweight type, it could slip away from a heavyweight.

    Greg¡¯s red armor tried to take a distance by flying into the air.

    Armor were originally weapons meant for flying in the air.

    However, I reached out with my left hand to seize Greg¡¯s right leg.

    ¡°Y, you!¡±

    He attacked the left hand of my armor, but it didn¡¯t leave a single scratch, and nothing broke.

    The armor Gred used was an older type, a mass produced one that was only dressed up.

    It¡¯s red color was only for show.

    Despite this guy¡¯s abilities, in the game, his setting was that he didn¡¯t pay as much attention to his equipment. It led to him sticking with second-rate tools.

    Thanks to that, he often went down during the war part of the game, making me get a game over many times.

    Throw away that strange pride!

    Arroganz¡¯s left hand crushed the right ankle of Greg¡¯s armor. I knew that his actual legs were fine, but I heard shrieks from many girls in the audience who didn¡¯t know that what I crushed was only the structure of his armor.

    I took out my shovel and thrusted it into the head. Letting go of the shovel in my right hand, I then used it to crush the arm of Greg¡¯s armor.

    ¡°Hey hey, just try and run away now~.¡±

    While I grabbed his other arm this time and crushed it to torment him, I heard Greg yell.

    ¡°Damn iiiit! Let me go!¡±

    ¡°...As if I¡¯d let you go, idiot~.¡±

    I relied on the performance of my build to destroy Greg¡¯s armor. While making sure not to injure Greg himself, I tore out the arms of his armor.

    Greg¡¯s actual arms appeared.

    Arroganz is one sizerger than the usual armor.

    *¡±Are you having fun torturing me?! You¡¯re no man! If you¡¯re a knight, then fight like a knight! You¡¯re only able to win because of your armor!¡±

    He yelled whatever he pleased to vent his discontent.

    ¡°Knight? I¡¯m not officially a knight yet. While I¡¯m at it, if youe to a duel with an old model of armor and lose, wouldn¡¯t it be because of your armor? You¡¯re better offmenting over your insufficient preparation to get a newer one. Actually, you¡¯d be better off feeling ashamed about the fact that you looked down on me before. Though, I suppose it¡¯s fine if you want to keep making excuses. Go ahead and say that you lost because of the difference in the power of our armor!¡±

    When I tore off the chest portion of his armor, Greg¡¯s face appeared.

    Perhaps frustrated that he couldn¡¯t do anything in face of this overwhelming power, his face was dyed in anger, but also in impatience©¤©¤it was a veryplicated expression.

    Quite like a child destroying a toy, Arroganz destroyed Greg¡¯s armor. If I were Greg, it would¡¯ve been a scene of trauma.

    Well...I¡¯m not going stop, though!

    When Greg knew that he couldn¡¯t use his armor anymore, he got out and stood in front of me while holding a broken piece of his armor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! I haven¡¯t lost yet. I¡¯ll fight to the death!¡±

    I felt like stopping after being moved by his unwavering heart©¤©¤not. Stopping would only be bad in my eyes.

    ¡°Hmm~, but you see...¡±

    ¡°Hurry up ande at meeee!¡±

    While Greg was using the piece of his armor to sh me many times over, I didn¡¯t resist.

    After all, he wasn¡¯t doing any damage.

    In the first ce, the difference between the power of a living being and of armor weren¡¯t at a scale where they couldpete.

    ¡°©¤©¤I, unlike you guys, am not inclined to bully the weak.¡±

    Thereupon, Greg¡¯s move movements stopped.

    ¡°W, what did you say? What did you say just nooow?!¡±

    ¡°I said that I don¡¯t take a liking to bullying the weak like you guys do. Did you not hear me?¡±

    ¡°S, stop kidding me! Just when did we bully the©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Ah ha ha ha! You really do like to chatter, don¡¯t you. Well, since you were making light of others and showing up with an older model of armor, I thought that you had a lot of confidence in your own abilities, but...people at your level are prettymon all across the world. My abilities aren¡¯t at the top either, but since you had a lot of confidence during the time that the duel was proposed, I had some hopes for you, and yet things turned into this sorry state...you¡¯re way too much of a small fry. Tormenting small fry like you is giving me a bad aftertaste, so I¡¯m going to quickly end this. I¡¯m unfamiliar with this feeling~.¡±

    I politely told him that he was weak.

    Oh, how kind I am!

    ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!¡±

    Gregunched an attack while screaming, but it seemed more pitiful than gant. The opponent, who got called out as a small fry in front of arge audience, was going to be treated as a small fry and lose...It pained my heart to see such misery.

    Well, not really. My heart didn¡¯t ache at all.

    These guys were better off understanding what their strength amounted to.

    Perhaps not wanting to see any more than this, the referee stepped in to stop us.

    ¡°...The winner is Leon Fou Baltfault. Greg Fou Seberg will step down. p your hands for the brave fight between these two!¡±

    In response to the referee¡¯s voice, which was full of sympathy andcked spirit, Greg crumbled onto his knees and sat down where he was.

    There was a sparse pping in the arena sent towards us.

    I muttered.

    ¡°With this, three remain.¡±

    Luxon was cold towards me.

    [Quite the cruel oue. Any normal person would hesitate from cornering their opponent this much.]

    ¡°Do you even realize? It¡¯s better off if these guys faced reality. I hate people who get cocky.¡±

    [Should I prepare a mirror? Those words apply perfectly to you, master.]

    ...I was aware about that, but hearing it being said still made me angry.

    ¡ó

    The students in the arena were no longer excited.

    ¡°The match just wasn¡¯t on his side. We aren¡¯t concerned with the knights¡¯ way of fighting.¡±

    ¡°What an idiot, it¡¯s supposed to be a duel.¡±

    With this, two of them have lost. Well, things will probably wrap up with Chris...¡±

    The spectators in the arena agreed that Greg¡¯s oue wasn¡¯t any surprise.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that guy¡¯s actually weak?¡±

    ¡°I wonder how good he is atbat~? He was so noisy, and yet he could only do this much.¡±

    ¡°A disappointment to my expectations. I have no interest in weak guys.¡±

    Anjelica was in a cold sweat when seeing the results of the match with Greg.

    ¡°He would go this far to unt the difference in power?¡±

    Anjelica didn¡¯t think Greg was weak.

    It¡¯s just that Leon was way too strong.

    Greg was too unlucky. He lost because of his old armor? That couldn¡¯t have been it. Even if he had prepared thetest model of armor, Greg still would¡¯ve lost.

    Arroganz held just that much power.

    (In the first ce, why would he be his opponent using that armor he got from the kingdom?)

    Olivia got a little angry.

    ¡°I¡¯m d that Leon won, but he went too far. He should apologize to Gregter!¡±

    Anjelica shook her head towards Olivia¡¯s honest beliefs.

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯t. It would only hurt Greg¡¯s pride even further.¡±

    However, Anjelica cast her eyes slightly downward.

    (...Bullying the weak, was it? I suppose in the eyes of Baltfault, I¡¯m just a young girl.)

    Leon agitated Greg at that time by saying ¡°I¡¯m not like you guys.¡± She guessed that had to do with how he found it unpleasant when Julian and the others kept persecuting her at the party venue while she had no allies at her side.

    She didn¡¯t know if the person himself was aware of that, or if he acted subconsciously.

    ¡°So...that makes me weak? How miserable. I wanted©¤©¤¡±

    Anjelica looked up at the sky.

    (I wanted to be stronger for the sake of his Highness.)

 Chapter 27 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 9 part2</h4>

    After tidying up the arena, Chris and his blue armor came down.

    He was holding arge sword in both hands, and had a different kind of sword on his back.

    He was a young expert swordsman. Not just a swordsman, an expert swordsman.

    In the game, his status was higher than any normal swordsman, and had a title that recognized him for his ability.

    His father was a master swordsman who had been harshly teaching Chris the sword since he was a young age.

    His calmness stemmed from his inability to disy his emotions.

    However, he was unrivaled when he held a sword...I didn¡¯t like this guy either. Not only was he a character that was hard to capture, but he also can only use a sword.

    Due to that, he didn¡¯t possess any long ranged attacks, which made things difficult in the war part of the game. The habits of these past three people were too tough to handle, leading to many game overs.

    Just thinking back to it made me angry.

    Readying hisrge sword and armor, Chris held his weapon to the side, resembling the Waki-gamae stance in terms of my previous life. (<i>TLN: Waki-gamae is a Japanese martial arts stance involving a sword.</i>)

    Chris spoke.

    ¡°©¤©¤I am not negligent like the other two were. I¡¯m going all out from the onset.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? In that case, perhaps I¡¯ll also go all out.¡±

    Perhaps still irritated that I was holding a shovel, he red at me.

    ¡°How long do you n on using that tool? That¡¯s not suitable for this ce.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the one to decide that now, are you?¡±

    The referee announced the start.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    ©¤©¤Well, despite what I said, I did think he was a strong character. He actually made sure not to be negligent, unlike the other two.

    There was no hesitation when he moved in a straight path to sh at me.

    ¡°Luxon, deploy the drones.¡±

    [The drones are being deployed.]

    Drones sessively descended from the weapon containers on my back. Firearms were installed on the spherical drones.

    There were eight of them.

    ¡°©¤©¤Wha?!¡±

    As they were heading towards a surprised Chris, I made my next move.

    ¡°Open fire.¡±

    Pulling a trigger on a joystick, the drones all faced towards Chris and began firing.

    Chris hurried in an attempt to avoid them, but there wasn¡¯t much he could do when surrounded by eight drones. The damage from the machine gun attacks of the drones piled up.

    Perhaps thinking that he wouldn¡¯t win if only defended, he tried attacking the drones, but Luxon was operating them.

    [How futile.]

    When he tried to attack them, they would go around and attack him from behind.

    However, Chris responded immediately and took measures to prevent them from going around him by stepping back to the wall. It may have seemed like a good choice, but...

    ¡°Alright, checkmate. Will you admit defeat?¡±

    While I was carrying the shovel and didn¡¯t move, Chris got emotional.

    ¡°You! Are you satisfied with this method of fighting?! There¡¯s not even a trace of the knights¡¯ way in it! What are you fighting like this for?!¡±

    I knew that with him being particr about the sword, he wanted a knight-like fight, but to be frank, I had no interest.

    ¡°Is that all you wanted to say? This isn¡¯t a bout. No matter how much you guys are keeping this up as a duel, it¡¯s still a fight to the death. It¡¯s bad to rely on firearms, you say? I never heard of a rule like that. In the first ce, aren¡¯t I, the one going against you five, the one that should be pitied? No wait, perhaps that was out of line. It¡¯s fine if it¡¯s five rounds of one-on-one, so I suppose it can¡¯t be helped if I don¡¯t receive any sympathy. All things considered, the gap between us is too big, so I was thinking about going easy on you. I even thought about going through with that fair-and-square way of the knights that you guys were talking about.¡±

    Chris tried to moved while I kept incessantly talking. Luxon, not overlooking that, began having the eight drones around me all fire.

    In order to not take his life, they used special bullets that reduced damage, but soon unable to move, Chris then used his giant sword as a shield while leaning down.

    ¡°You¡¯re making light of me...Nobody would acknowledge a fight like this!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine All that matters is the oue. You guys lose, and I win. There are few people who care about the means to the end. Ah, but you guys will probably say that you¡¯re all those kinds of people. Your standings would worsen if you just said that you clumsily lost, after all.

    ¡°Aaaaaaargh!!¡±

    Chris, using his willpower to push his way through the storm of bullets, reached where I was and swung down his sword. Due to Chris¡¯ magic power and sword speed, it looked like he was swinging down a de of light, but I caught his left hand and crushed therge sword.

    ¡°As expected of an expert swordsman, that was superb.¡±

    Smoke was fuming out of Chris¡¯ armor, and the referee announced the winner.

    ¡°Chris Fier Arkwright is unable to battle! The winner is...Leon Fou Baltfault.¡±

    When the referee said my name, I felt like he had no enthusiasm in his words.

    I could hear a sobbing voice from the armor.

    ¡°...Why? Why did I lose? I worked harder than anybody else. I persevered longer than anyone else...I wanted to be recognized.¡±

    I had some sympathy for Chris, who was forced to work hard due to circumstances at home, but this matter wasn¡¯t rted to that, so I didn¡¯t really care too much.

    ¡°Boast about your misfortune in front of that prideful girl. You¡¯ll surely receive sympathy, then.¡±

    [You¡¯re such heap of garbage, aren¡¯t you?]

    Luxon¡¯s words stuck to my mind, strangely enough. Well, perhaps I really did overdo it a bit. However, these guys deserved to suffer defeat.

    ¡ó

    There were voices of anxiety from the audience.

    ¡°H, hey, Chris lost.¡±

    ¡°What the heck. Isn¡¯t that unfair?¡±

    ¡°...Say, that Leon person managed to conquer a dungeon solo and earn the position of a baron, right? Could it be that he¡¯s really strong?¡±

    ¡°W, wait a minute. If that¡¯s the case, then has the victor been set in stone? I¡¯m going to lose everything I own!¡±

    The audience started getting impatient after realizing that the bet they thought they would absolutely win might not go as expected. Meanwhile, the students that had looked down on Leon started to change their understanding of him.

    Olivia had a face that looked as if she was about to cry.

    ¡°Anjelica, I¡¯m...really sad. I¡¯m d that Leon won, but this is too cruel.¡±

    Anjelica spoke to Olivia.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say foolish things. Even Leon might lose if he lets his guard down. He had to take vignce with his opponent.¡±

    ¡°I, is that so?¡±

    She nodded and spoke about Chris.

    ¡°His swordsmanship instructores from an earl household. Chris¡¯ father is the number one swordsman in the kingdom, earning him the title of master swordsman. That boy was able to earn the title of expert swordsman, which is only a step lower.¡±

    Olivia was impressed.

    ¡°How amazing.¡±

    ¡°Sure, amazing.¡±

    (That boy couldn¡¯t even lift a hand or foot against him, which means...the foster brother, Jilk, is probably getting flustered.)

    Looking at where Julian and the others were, she couldn¡¯t see Jilk or his armor.

    Julian wasforting Marie, who had gone pale, and when Anjelica saw that scene, her chest tightened in bitterness.

    (...his Highness.)

    ¡ó

    While Chris was being taken out of the arena and towards the medical office, Jilk was preparing for the next match.

    He gave some instructions to the mechanic of his armor.

    ¡°Load all the weapons there are. I¡¯m going to use both bullets and magic bullets.¡±

    The mechanic widened his eyes.

    ¡°They¡¯re not items to be used in a match!¡±

    ¡°This is a duel!¡±

    The normally kind Jilk was getting impatient and lost hisposure.

    His green armor had feather-like decorations.

    That armor was equipped with a rifle which gave off a dignified aura, and not a sword, but an axe. It was equipment that made it look quite like he was going to a battlefield.

    ¡°Can you remove the decorations and install additional armor? Afterwards, prepare hand grenades and simr items.¡±

    The mechanic was troubled.

    ¡°Jilk, I¡¯m limited on the parts that I have on me right now.¡±

    Jilk casted his eyes downward, then lifted his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just do what you can within the realm of what¡¯s possible.¡±

    While the urgent modifications to the equipment were being done, Jilk thought about the fight while not looking at his surroundings.

    (I have to stop him by all means necessary. If I don¡¯t do that, his Highness¡¯ reputation will suffer damage.)

    Jilk lived for the sake of his foster brother, his close friend. If they lost here, Julian¡¯s reputation would drop significantly.

    Not epting that fate, Jilk took all means necessary.

    He picked up a bomb that wasying nearby.

    ¡°...I¡¯m going to head out for a bit.¡±

    While the parts on his armor were being exchanged, Jilk stepped out of the room.

    ¡ó

    ¡°*yawn*~, I¡¯m tired.¡±

    There was a temporary break, so I went out of the arena and into the waiting room to rest.

    Once I finished my business at the restroom, Olivia and Anjelica rushed over.

    ¡°Leon, where did you go?!¡±

    ¡°I was worried about you.¡±

    I tilted my head in response to their reactions.

    ¡°Huh, what?¡±

    The two exchanged nces.

    ¡°Err, um, we heard that you were in a bad condition.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes.

    ¡°Me? I was only taking a break.¡±

    Anjelica became a bit suspicious.

    ¡°A girl who called herself your sister appeared. Olivia confirmed that by looking at her face...and she said that you were looking unwell, so she wanted us to see you.¡±

    My sister was worried about me? Not a chance.

    She didn¡¯t want to meet me since I picked a fight with the prince, but I definitely did cause some trouble for her. However, would she talk to me at this time?

    While thinking of such things, Luxon spoke to me. The two people in front of me couldn¡¯t hear it.

    [Master, an explosive was set on the exterior. Your older sister was the one that set it, but someone ordered her to.]

    ...I thought so. It¡¯s most likely that she was threatened into it.

    She felt ashamed since I had picked a fight with the prince in the academy. This is where Jilkes in.

    I may be a heap of garbage, but Jilk was the scum of the earth. Well, I believe that guy would stop at nothing for the sake of Julian, and would do anything.

    [The one who ordered her was your next opponent.]

    While hearing Luxon¡¯s report, I breathed a slight sigh while thinking about how my suspicions were on point.

    The two looked uneasy.

    ¡°I see...so you know my sister. What actually happened was that I was holding in the urge to go. My stomach started cramping. I thought I was going to leak. That was a more difficult struggle than the duel.¡±

    When I said that, Olivia looked flustered and embarrassed.

    ¡°S, something like that can¡¯t be helped, can it?¡±

    Anjelica looked at me with a cold gaze.

    ¡°Do you think you should speak like that in front of girls?¡±

    ¡°I suppose you got a point. I went to go pick flowers then. The arena doesn¡¯t have any flower beds though.¡± (<i>TLN: ¡°Going to pick flowers¡± is an indirect way of saying that someone went to the restroom.</i>)

    When I said that, Olivia made a bitter smile.

    Anjelica held her hand against her forehead.

    ¡°That exnation was...well, never mind. You¡¯re going to make a mistake at some point if you don¡¯t fix your normal way of speaking. Leaving that aside, it¡¯s almost time.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I suppose we should go.¡±

    Luxon gave me information as I headed to the arena.

    [The explosive was set on the back of the exterior. Since the armor of this world contains important mechanisms in that spot, it seems that the perpetrator intends to seriously stop us. After calcting the quantity of explosive powder, it seems that it¡¯s an amount that can take the life of a pilot inside any regr armor.]

    The normally kind guy was the most frightening...things like that were amon trope these days.

 Chapter 28 - Volume 1

    <h4> Volume 1 Chapter 9 part3</h4>

    When I entered the arena, my sister was no longer there.

    Well, I was grateful that I didn¡¯t have to talk with her. I didn¡¯t know what I would discuss with her, other than about the bomb, but...it was installed secretly.

    Anjelica was watching Jilk¡¯s green armor standing in the arena.

    ¡°Oh look, I¡¯ve kept my opponent waiting. It seems that things are finally getting serious.¡±

    Jilk came out with equipment that made it look like he was going to a battlefield.

    As I entered my armor, Luxon made a report to me.

    [It seems to be the type that detonates in response to a specific magic.]

    Bombs like these were a means of attack in the game as well. I didn¡¯t use them, though.

    ¡°Guys like Jilk are the most frightening type. He excels in his marksmanship, but he¡¯s also an all-rounder with average or excellent abilities in other fields. He can adapt no matter the situation.¡±

    Julian is better in close range battles, while Jilk is a character that triumphs in long range ones. He had no peculiarities, was easy to work with, and was excellent. He was a reliable character in the game.

    Well, he was also an irritating character who had a high degree of difficulty in capturing him.

    Getting down onto the arena, Jilk voiced out.

    ¡°©¤©¤You¡¯re strong. I¡¯ll give you my respect for that.¡±

    ¡°Why yes, thank you.¡±

    Once the referee signaled that it had begun, Jilk aimed a rifle in his right hand towards me. He soared into the air from the onset and pulled the trigger without any hesitation while throwing a grenade.

    [It¡¯s a smokescreen.]

    ¡°It seems he¡¯s not ying around.¡±

    My surroundings were wrapped in a white smoke.

    ¡ó

    In the white smoke, Jilk soared up until he reached as high up as he could.

    Since flying too high results in disqualification, he flew up to the very limit of what he was allowed to, and decided to attack by using his rifle and grenades from overhead.

    ¡°I hope that he¡¯ll go down with this.¡±

    He yed a hand that he didn¡¯t want to use that much.

    He reached out to Leon¡¯s sister and handed her a bomb. He didn¡¯t give it to her directly, but instead had a schoolboy be the middleman.

    If the matter became public, it wouldn¡¯t hurt Julian¡¯s reputation, and it would just be seen as a schoolboy acting rashly while worrying about Julian.

    The arena was encased in smoke, but a magic circle appeared before Jilk. Inside it, Leon¡¯s figure showed up, which was what Jilk was looking for.

    ¡°You¡¯re a danger. I will dispose of you here.¡±

    He pulled the trigger of the rifle.

    His rifle was used by the military, and had the ability to pierce through armor. Taking it out during a duel within the academy wouldn¡¯t garner much respect, but his opponent was Leon.

    He couldn¡¯t say that he was able to y it safe after his opponent had unted an overwhelming difference in ability so far.

    ¡°...Your life ended the moment you went against his Highness. I will give you a spectacr finish here!¡±

    The bullet hit Leon¡¯s armor, specifically the head.

    It was clearly a shot meant to take his life.

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°W, what?!¡±

    Leon looked up at the sky as if nothing had happened.

    He showed off by waving while looking calm.

    ¡°Tsk!¡±

    He threw a grenade and readied his rifle. He loaded a bullet into the bolt action mechanism, and fired.

    Jilk had used hisst resort, resulting in the calmly standing armor in front of him getting wrapped up in an explosion. In order to activate the explosive he had set, he released a specific magic towards Leon. The magic itself had no meaning, but its reaction with the bomb caused arge explosion on Leon¡¯s back.

    ¡°He¡¯ll take damage from this direct hit!¡±

    However, he couldn¡¯t find Leon¡¯s figure within the arena. It did not seem like he had disintegrated, it just looked like he had disappeared altogether.

    ¡°Where is he? Where the hell is he?!¡±

    Then, Jilk felt a sense of difort when a shadow, one that could block the sun, quickly appeared. There was not a single cloud in the sky, though.

    When he looked up, he saw Leon¡¯s figure in the rear.

    ¡°Yo.¡±

    ¡°!¡±

    He readied his rifle while Leon took a nose dive and headed towards him.

    He pulled the trigger, but even though it was a shot to the armor at point-nk, the bullet was repelled.

    ¡°How did you withstand that explosion?¡±

    ¡°What a heavy blow that was. If you know what I mean.¡± (<i>TLN: There¡¯s supposed to be some innuendo/double-meaning here in the original text with the phrase ¤­¤Ä¤¤Ò»°k. Anyone know what it is?)</i>

    Jilk, realizing that what he said hinted at multiple meanings, then took out his battleaxe and swung it. Leon stopped it with his shovel, and Jilk began to talk to him while not letting the audience hear.

    ¡°©¤©¤You know nothing.¡±

    ¡°Look in mirror and say that. You are not sane.¡±

    ¡°Do you n on dueling with his Highness? Your life as a noble will end.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine! The advanced ss makes me want to throw up! I¡¯d do anything to be free from it...and be free from people like you!¡±

    Ordinary boys could sympathize with what he said. Even though they weren¡¯t too fond of him, they would somehow find room to leave that aside when starting a conversation about their troubles.

    However, contrary to what Leon said, he showed willpower.

    Marie¡¯s face popped up in Jilk¡¯s head.

    What a marvelous woman she was. She understood him quite well, and seemed like his own ideal woman.

    It didn¡¯t take long for him to be obsessed with her.

    She was not from the royal pce. Unlike the usual girls around him, she made his heart feel at ease.

    ¡°For the first time! I¡¯vee across my ideal woman!¡±

    ¡°Great, that means I have one less rival to deal with. You can go enjoy yourself ying around with love to your heart¡¯s content.¡±

    When he received an attack from Leon¡¯s shovel using his rifle, the rifle flew out from his hands and onto the floor.

    (The difference in power...is too big.)

    Julian¡¯s face also popped up in his mind.

    The figure of his close friend, who would look delighted when talking about Marie.

    ¡°What do you know?! His Highness and I truly love her! It¡¯s not like I need to monopolize her. I just want to make her happy!¡±

    ¡°In that case, how would you feel about giving up?¡±

    Leon seemed dispassionate, but each and every blow of his was heavy.

    The armor Jilk was operating would creak each time it received a blow, as if it were screaming.

    ¡°I will use whatever I can to not lose to you. If you n on doing anything to his Highness, I will risk everything I have to make sure that you©¤©¤no, your family will pay!¡±

    He was just like someone in love.

    He was sad at first, and thought about giving up...but it wouldn¡¯t be love if he gave up with just that much.

    Jilk was prepared to do anything for the sake of not himself, but for Julian and Marie.

    ¡°...Such threats are cowardly when in a duel.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead and say whatever you want.¡±

    The two were fighting in the sky, and the audience in the arena couldn¡¯t hear their voices.

    Jilk felt something happening, and when he was trying to figure it out©¤©¤

    ¡°¡®I will use whatever I can to not lose to you. If you n on doing anything to his Highness, I will risk everything I have to make sure that you©¤©¤no, your family will pay!¡¯¡±

    ©¤©¤He heard what he had said just a moment ago.

    ¡°W, what?¡±

    Jilk was soon confused.

    He had never heard of such a magic like this. Perhaps it existed and he just didn¡¯t know about it, and maybe it was newly discovered.

    He thought it was Leon mimicking his voice, but it seemed different from that.

    Leon began ying back the conversation they had.

    Jilk clenched his teeth in regret.

    ¡°You threatened me just a moment ago. So, I decided to threaten you as well. Let¡¯s see, I can take this over to your household. I wonder what your family would think. Threatening someone when it seemed that you were going to lose in a duel would be tantamount to ending your life as a noble! Ah, on second thought, I wonder what your beloved Highness and Marie would think if they heard this? They would definitely scorn you. No wait, they would definitely report this to the academy! Then, all of the students in the whole school would hear about it!¡±

    Jilk soon reorganized his feelings.

    ¡°T, that voice alone isn¡¯t proof.¡±

    In this world, there weren¡¯t any machines or magic mechanisms that could record a voice yet. Due to that, it would be difficult to vouch for this as being evidence. It would be difficult, but there was another factor to consider.

    ¡°You doubt that this could be used as evidence, isn¡¯t that right? Even so, everyone would think that my household is suffering from stress. They¡¯ll think ¡®That guy really did something to them.¡¯ Then, wouldn¡¯t everyone also start doubting his Highness? They would think ¡®Could it be that his Highness does these kinds of things?!¡¯ The reputation of your beloved Highness would sink.¡±

    While Leon continued on in a happy manner, Jilk pretended to be as calm as possible.

    He endured Leon¡¯s firece attack while trying to figure out how to break out of the situation.

    ¡°His Highness is not involved. This is my own action¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the one to decide that, you know? The people around you will get tied into it, even if you don¡¯t want it to happen...Besides, you all decided not to listen to Anjelica back then, right? Why do think that the same thing won¡¯t happen to you guys?¡±

    Jilk found himself flustered and at a loss for words.

    It was as he said, they didn¡¯t pay any attention to Anjelica¡¯s arguments back then. They didn¡¯t know about the matter of Marie being bullied, and yet they disregarded Anjelica when she said that she didn¡¯t order for it to happen.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s!¡±

    ¡°Enough©¤©¤lie down.¡±

    Leon¡¯s voice turned cold for an instant, and he trampled on Jilk in the air, causing him to drop down onto the floor.

    Like that, his consciousness started fading as he hit the floor.

    ¡°He even bothered my sister. Now then, I wonder what to do...¡±

    Leon had already lost interest in Jilk. In any case, after being thrust into the ground, Jilk¡¯s armor was tattered and likely couldn¡¯t move.

    Thest thing he thought was,

    (Your Highness, this is dangerous. You cannot...fight...him.)

    That¡¯s when his consciousness cked out.

 Chapter 29 - Volume 1

    <strong>Volume 1 Chapter 10 part1</strong>

    <strong>Love</strong>

    Marie trembled while looking at the grey armor standing in the arena.

    (What? What is that? I never heard about there being a strong person like this. I...I don¡¯t know who this is!)

    Once the grey armor took its foot off of Jilk, people in charge soon rushed to get him. It seemed that his life wasn¡¯t in danger, and that he just fainted.

    Kyle was surprised.

    ¡°Will things really be fine? The four of them lost while not being able to do anything at all.¡±

    Julian clenched his fist.

    He looked at his white armor.

    ¡°©¤©¤I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d turn out to be such an opponent. However, my armor was made using the best technology in the kingdom. Marie, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Marie made a stiff smile.

    (Didn¡¯t everyone else say that and still lost?! That really isn¡¯t helpful. That reminds me, these guys were useless during the war part and suffered defeat, so I made my older brother clear the game.)

    Marie thought about her previous life.

    It was a form of escapism, not wanting to ept the current situation.

    (My older brother was terrible! I told my mom that I went on a vacation, then he died©¤©¤and afterwards, my position in the family was non-existent! They didn¡¯t even help me when my partner ran away after we married! It¡¯s all my brother¡¯s fault! I see, that Leon guy is simr to my brother, and it¡¯s making me irritated!)

    Julian took off his coat.

    Then, he put on a whole-body suit that were like tights. Regr clothing became a hinderance when getting into armor, and when thinking about it, the outfit used were garments simr to tights, which emphasized the outline of the body.

    Marie had some thought after seeing it in real life.

    (This is kind of stupid. Though in the game, I was a little excited by his muscles appearing. I¡¯d prefer if he at least wore a vest or pants like that copycat of my older brother.)

    Once Julian entered the armor, the eyes of its helmet glowed. It had two eyes, and pretty much looked like a robot.

    Kyle looked at the white armor with a gaze of yearning.

    ¡°How nice~. I¡¯d like to have that as well.¡±

    Marie shook her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a knight, you can¡¯t. Besides, you wouldn¡¯t be able to move it since you¡¯re an elf.¡±

    ¡°You never know unless you try. There¡¯s a chance it could work since I¡¯m only a half elf.¡±

    ¡°No. Besides, having armor©¤©¤¡±

    Thereupon, Marie thought for a bit.

    (H, huh? Humans and sub-races shouldn¡¯t be able to make children...well, since this is as game, I guess that these details are left unclear.)

    Julian got into the armor, and looked at Marie.

    ¡°Marie, I¡¯m off.¡±

    Marie searched in her head for the words to respond to Julian with.

    (At times like these, it¡¯s definitely©¤©¤)

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be praying for your victory, Julius.¡±

    ¡°Ah, leave it to me!¡±

    Her speech and manner mimicked that of the protagonist¡¯s. In front of the five people, Marie acted like their ideal woman.

    (*sigh*, I¡¯m tired. In the first ce, it¡¯s seriously tough to imitate the innocent and helpless protagonist who has her head full of flowers.)

    She had been doing her hardest to take the position of the protagonist in her second life.

    She lied in wait at the proper locations, drove away the protagonist, and then mimicked her speech and manners to charm the boys.

    It was very easy for Marie since she understood the tastes and personalities of the five, and things went ording to her calctions.

    As evidence of that, she was able to quickly knock Anjelica off of her pedestal. However, an irregr being appeared.

    Leon.

    (Anyways, I need to do something about that mob. Or rather, what will I do if we lose? I think if this were the game, I¡¯d get a game over.)

    The matter concerned her livelihood, so she wanted Julian to win by any means.

    (Right. I can¡¯t let it end here. I need to enjoy myself more in this world. Others were able to have many boys fall in love with them and then live a life of luxury. My previous world was just cruel. I was finally able to reach happiness...I need that mob-like boy to lose!)

    ¡ó

    The white armor descended into the arena.

    It looked quite like it was shining, and was the kingdom¡¯s strongest armor. A stronger version would appearter, but for the time being, this was the most powerful one.

    ...I cannot stress enough that no other armor matched up to it.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d make it up to me. Imend your struggle.¡±

    In front of the prince¡¯s arrogant attitude were pleasant cheers from the audience.

    Perhaps it was those idiots that bet all of their wealth. However, I¡¯ll be the one to win.

    The prayers of the audience won¡¯t make it to the heavens.

    First of all...I knew that I was only an insignificant person.

    The reason why I stepped into the duel was because I had Arroganz, but also because the prince and the others were still first year students.

    If it were the end of the year, they would have begun developing and we would have been about equal. They were talented people that would be strong by the end of year, and at their current level, theirck of strength came from theirck of experience.

    If I were to strike, it would had to have been now. This made things convenient for me.

    ¡°So you would be proud of beating down a small fry...is that right?¡±

    I tried agitating him, but the prince barely reacted.

    He held a shield in his left hand, and a sword on his right.

    Coming from his backpack were two cannons mounted at the shoulders with revolving magazines.

    It was a very extravagant armor, one that suited royalty.

    It felt odd having an battle where my opponent...was someone originally connected to the protagonist.

    I wanted to ask if he was really okay with Marie being the one he would protect...

    ¡°Your Highness, is it alright to ask a question?¡±

    ¡°If I can answer it.¡±

    ¡°What do you think about the honor student, Olivia?¡±

    The prince¡¯s response was weak. It seemed that he didn¡¯t know why I asked such a question.

    ¡°Olivia? I heard that she was doing her best here, but what about it?¡±

    ¡°...Is that so?¡±

    I readied my shovel. This was a surreal scene now that I though about it. Though, perhaps it would be good to switch to a de now?

    If I came here with a shovel, perhaps it would be better to fight with a shovel until the end.

    The referee made a slightly pained expression.

    He was looking at me...with an expression that said ¡°You know what this entails, right?¡±. I wondered if he wanted to tell me not to cause any injuries.

    The referee raised his arm and then swung it down.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    However, when the cue began, neither Julian nor I moved.

    It looked like the prince was waiting while holding his shield out in front.

    Luxon seemed dissatisfied with that.

    [Is he trying to stall the fight? What a hopeless person. The difference in ability is obvious. It may be superiorpared to other armor, but it still amounts to just armor.]

    ¡°In that case, all we can do is take the initiative.¡±

    Arroganz made giant steps and thrusted the shovel at the shield. Upon which, the prince fended off the attack and then used the sword in his right hand to sh at me.

    I stopped the blow using the handle of the shovel, causing sparks to form.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done yeeeet!¡±

    He made continuous attacks using his shield and sword.

    I caught them using my shovel, and repelled them while stooping down. Perhaps thinking that the prince had overwhelmed me, there where passionate cheersing from the audience.

    ¡°These guys just don¡¯t want to lose a bet.¡±

    [They would be relieved if you lose, master. After all, you¡¯ve been trampling on their emotions, even though you¡¯ve done that for a while now. From the standpoint of the audience, they probably think you¡¯re a nuisance.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that! Whoa!¡±

    A quick thrust from the prince approached me, and I slipped down as if I was sliding away on the floor. He did the same too. He glided across the floor as if he was on skates, and assaulted me using his sword.

    When I stopped his sh, I heard the prince¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I will not lose. For the sake of the girl who prays for my victory©¤©¤I will not loooose!¡±

    The glow on his de grew brighter, perhaps due to his crazed emotions.

    The blue mesing out of the back of the prince¡¯s armor were quite beautiful.

    ¡°I¡¯ll acknowledge your techniques.¡±

    ¡°Coming from you, that¡¯s not praise. But anyways, I¡¯m not going to give up either.¡±

    I intercepted and repelled each blow he made in his crazed vigor using my shovel. I knew quite well that the abilities of the person piloting that armor were of the top.

    ¡°As expected of his Highness Julian. Your vigor is different from the other four. Perhaps the other four have been on your mind? Maybe you don¡¯t want to lose since being the only victor might mean having more time with Marie!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t jest! What do you know about us?!¡±

    The blue mes on the back of the white armor grew stronger, and their force increased. I realized that he was upsetting the difference in ability by putting a strain on his armor.

    It seemed he had gotten serious...

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything. I just don¡¯t think what you guys are doing is good.¡±

    When I looked over at the audience to see Olivia and Anjelica, they turned their gazes towards me.

    Olivia cheered me on by linking both of her hands together as if she were praying.

    Anjelica had aplicated expression. I suppose she didn¡¯t like seeing me fighting with the prince. No wait, perhaps she was worried about me injuring him?

    I continued fighting while talking with the prince.

    ¡°Your Highness, how does it feel to be totally in love with another person? I can¡¯tprehend such a feeling, you see.¡±

    ¡°No wonder. So that¡¯s why you¡¯re able to so calmly intrude on the affairs of others. If you really did have someone you love, you wouldn¡¯t have caused an uproar by doing this duel! It would have been better if you knew what love was so that you would have backed down!¡±

    I can¡¯t speak for others, but couldn¡¯t those words also apply to him?

    ¡°Is this about Anjelica? Well~, I do believe that she loves you, your Highness.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤She doesn¡¯t¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    The mes on his back increased in force, heightening the armor¡¯s speed.

    He was faster than the other four, and made quick shes.

    Things were getting quite serious with just that.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that what she¡¯s feeling is love! She doesn¡¯t consider my own feelings! She¡¯s the same as all the other girls in the royal pce! My life as a royal was forced onto me! I didn¡¯t want to be born into royalty. I lived in the royal pce, where nobody saw me for myself, so©¤©¤¡±

    It couldn¡¯t be helped. After all, he was the crown prince©¤©¤the heir to the throne.

    I wanted to tell him that, but being born into royalty doesn¡¯t mean one would always like their situation.

    ¡°Marie is the only woman that recognizes my feelings.¡±

    There weren¡¯t any types of women that he was looking for in the royal pce, so was able to easily be deceived in the midst of his turmoil.

    Olivia was originally supposed to step in here. That was in the game though.

    Things have gone awry thanks to someone else who reincarnated here.

    She led those five guys by the nose in an act of unthinkable disgrace.

    ¡°The same goes for you, who keeps saying those self-important things! Your words are cheap! You can¡¯t call yourself a knight when you¡¯re just a boy who got arrogant aftering across a great power! Are you having fun? How do feel abut using that power to overwhelm others and then scold them with a condescending attitude?!¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤It feels great!!¡±

    ¡°Wha?!¡±

    When I tried kicking the prince¡¯s armor, he blocked it with his shield. He flew towards his behind in an instant and fired from the cannons on his shoulders, but I didn¡¯t guard against them.

    Arroganz shook. I did not get a single scratch.

    ¡°It¡¯s the best feeling! It¡¯s refreshing being able to use my overwhelming power to pin down you domineering, vigorous people and rebuke you all. I do have a problem with yourpanions who don¡¯t talk back, though. Well, I suppose the ones that talk back in spite of losing will only invite misery! So, let me tell you something. I certainly may be arrogant, but you guys won¡¯t be able to win against me. How does it feel knowing that? How does it feel losing to a guy of a lower rank than you, your Royal Highness?!¡±

    ¡°Yoouuuu!¡±

    I held down my opponent with an overwhelming power while condemning him.

    ph_mobuseka01_ill008

    This was getting addictive.

    Furthermore, my opponents were people looking down on me...so my feelings of guilt were thin.

    Luxon held the same opinion as me.

    This thing¡¯s voice didn¡¯t leak out. My conversation with it didn¡¯t leak out either. It was very capable.

    [He¡¯s done refuting you at this point, master. Though, I suppose he can¡¯t talk back from the shock of losing the argument. All things considered, humanity is quite trash-like. I¡¯m impressed.]

    When I bashed the shield that the prince was holding in his left hand, smoke started rising from it, perhaps from the burden it caused.

    The shield warped, and the prince threw it away. The fingers of his armor were bent, and it seemed that his hand was no longer usable.

    ¡°I¡¯ll say one more thing. Do you even understand your own feelings, idiot?! Do you even have a vague grasp of my own feelings?! Furthermore, do you even know Anjelica¡¯s©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Shut uuuup!¡±

    When he shed at me with a sword, I used my shovel to lock weapons with him, causing us toe face to face. I held the advantage in terms of weight and size.

    The prince¡¯s armor seemed like it had been ovee with burden.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t want to be born into royalty, you say. Have you ever been at risk of being sold off to perverted old women? Have you ever experienced having to be servile and lower your head to ask a girl to be your wife? Have you ever been told by someone that they hate the countryside and that they also have additional lovers too? It¡¯s wretched. Do you know the feeling of seeing peoples entire lives turning miserable after marriage and yet being told that you¡¯re being raised to be someone¡¯s lover, do you?!¡±

    I spoke my honest thoughts, and there were definitely many boys who would agree with me.

    I could see the figures of boys in the audience either nodding their heads or shedding tears in understanding.

    Everyone...I¡¯m going to enact a just punishment upon this spoiled boy who knows nothing about this world, so watch me from there!

    ¡°W, what are saying such things for?! Aren¡¯t you guys free?! All you have to do is find a good partner!¡±

    I bashed him many times over in anger. Each time, Julian would shake inside his white armor, and cried out in an attempt to withstand the impact.

    ¡°Free?! Finding a good partner? You say that I©¤©¤we are free?! Don¡¯t treat us lightly, you spoiled brat! Have you felt that your chastity was in danger?! Did you put your life at risk?! Did you get on a tiny boat?! Have you ever set sail into the sky?! You¡¯re allowed to have a beautiful fiancee and you get to y around with another girl...what is there that you don¡¯t want to be born into royalty for? Aren¡¯t you the one enjoying yourself?! Get a hold of yourself!¡±

    ¡°I am not ying around! I¡¯m serious!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s even worse!¡±

    He normally should have been the lover of a girl from a viscount household. Perhaps he was at one point?

    In any case, I don¡¯t know the details, but getting the daughter of a duke household as a fiancee is not something to be ignored.

    Now that I was talking about this©¤©¤will the elite, or rather the kingdom as a whole, be safe in the future?

    The same goes for the influential nobles.

    Everyone having the same kinds of women around them was only going to create problems.

    I blew away the sword using a full swing of my shovel, seized his arm, and crushed it.

    Now that he couldn¡¯t use either of his arms, he took a distance and started using his cannons to fire.

    I avoided them and waited for his shots to stop.

    Since there was a limit to his ammunition, he would soon run out of shots.

    ¡°*sigh*...isn¡¯t this enough? I¡¯m done ying around. Your opponent is over there. Got it?¡±

    When I used my thumb to point at Anjelica and Olivia in the audience, Anjelica had a sorrowful face. I bent forward and waited for the prince¡¯s reply.

    Anjelica took a liking to the prince. No, I can say that she loved him. This duel happened because she wanted Marie to separate from the prince.

    The prince, who had stopped fighting, spoke.

    ¡°...Not done.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet. I would rather die than let Marie be taken away! I will not ept defeat. If you¡¯re going to kill me then do it! This is a duel! I forbid this duel to stop until either you or I die!:¡±

    He intended for nobody should get in our way.

    He had be defiant.

    Since it was someone from the royal family saying this, it could be taken as order for nobody to step in and stop us. Talk about double standards...he¡¯s fine if he¡¯s the one doing it, but gets irritated if others try it.

    However, now that it hase to this, dealing with him would be troublesome.

    ¡°Alright, how about I torment you until your heart breaks?¡±

    Luxon muttered its surprise in a low voice.

    [This turned to be the worst kind of conversation to take ce. However, the words you said just a while ago were filled with more genuine emotion than I had felt before. That¡¯s my evaluation.]

    That was obvious. They came from real experiences I had.

    Denouncing people felt great! I wasn¡¯t here for negotiations.

 Chapter 30 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 10 part2</h4>

    Although both arms of Julian¡¯s white armor had broke, he still struck Leon¡¯s armor.

    A sense of desperation could be felt from that image.

    Anjelica clutched the handrail while looking at him going against Leon, who held an overwhelmingly strong power, and wept.

    ¡°It seems....you¡¯re being serious, your Highness. It seems you really like that girl.¡±

    Anjelica wiped her tears and epted that her feelings didn¡¯t reach him.

    (I see. I have to step down. If that¡¯s what his Highness wants me to do...then I¡¯ll resign.)

    Her line of sight focused towards the other side of the circr audience seating.

    She red at the face of Marie, who held a gloomy expression.

    (However, I will not approve of you. You are not someone who can stand next to his Highness. You¡¯re only a hinderance to him. That¡¯s the only thing I won¡¯t allow.)

    Even after resigning, she would still try to pull Marie and Julian apart. She thought about it being for Julian¡¯s sake.

    That woman had four other men near her as lovers©¤©¤and someone like her should not take the position of the queen.

    The woman managed to ensnare five people in a short time.

    It was possible that she would further increase the number of men she had.

    If Marie became the queen, it was obvious that the seeds of conflict would take a sudden increase.

    Furthermore, the royal pce wouldn¡¯t stay silent about it either.

    Anjelica red at Marie, who became pale and dismayed from seeing Julian getting worn out.

    (No matter what happens to me, I will drag you down with me. I absolutely will not let you do as you please with his Highness.)

    It was heartbreaking to tear apart Julian¡¯s rtionship with a girl he imed to love, but it was something Anjelica nned on carrying out no matter what.

    Thereupon©¤©¤

    ¡°T, that can¡¯t be right!¡±

    ©¤©¤Olivia cried out.

    ¡°Perhaps you love Marie, your Highness the crown prince. But, but! Anjelica loves you! After all, she has been watching this fight while looking pained the entire time! It may have been hard for her, but she kept watching with a sad expression while not looking away! You can¡¯t say that isn¡¯t love!¡±

    Anjelica spoke to Olivia in a hurry.

    ¡°H, hey, stop.¡±

    She grabbed Olivia¡¯s shoulder and tried to have her back down from her agitation, but Olivia didn¡¯t stop.

    Her voice was well-heard, and her yelling attracted the attention of others.

    The audience in the arena, both students and teachers, gathered their gaze towards her.

    ¡°Why are you in denial?! Are you saying that it¡¯s not love unless the feelings are mutual?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop. Olivia, stop already!¡±

    ¡°No, please let me say this. Anjelica, your feelings are love. The one receiving the love is free to either take them in or not. However, don¡¯t just deny it altogether!¡±

    Olivia¡¯s words also reached Marie.

    ¡ó

    ...Anger.

    That was Marie¡¯s honest feeling.

    (This is why I hate good girls. Her head is full of flowers, isn¡¯t it? Love is annoying when the feelings are one-sided! It¡¯s very annoying. Hearing her speech is making me irritated.)

    Marie disagreed.

    However, when Olivia won over the people around her with her clear voice, Marie revealed a frustrated face.

    ©¤©¤She felt like her true self was being exposed.

    She becamergely aware of the fact that she was being a sham.

    She snatched away the position that belonged to another girl originally.

    The one who originally had rich and influential boys leaning towards her was Olivia. Even though her position was snatched away, she still shined.

    (What¡¯s with her supporting a somewhat strong mob? I have everyone. That¡¯s definitely better than being with aical mob who just happens to be strong.)

    Olivia looked straight at Marie.

    Her stare was frightening.

    She took just a step back, feeling as if her deceit had been seen through.

    Marie felt as if Olivia was saying that she would take back her position that had been coated in lies.

    ©¤©¤Something urred at that moment.

    ¡°©¤©¤Is that all you want to say, girl?¡±

    Julian squeezed out a voice.

    Julian replied to Olivia in a muffled voiceing from the inside of his armor. His tone was filled with fury.

    ¡°Ò»Is it love if it¡¯s forced onto me one-sidedly? Is it love if the girl only sees me as the crown prince? I...I¡¯ve found a woman who will look at me for who I am. She understands me. This is love. This is what love is! Anjelica, have you ever tried understanding me? You¡¯ve been forcing your feelings onto me. That isn¡¯t love. Don¡¯t get involved with me ever again!¡±

    Marie regained herself after hearing Julian.

    (R, right. I¡¯m not in the wrong. She¡¯s the one that¡¯s wrong. What¡¯s up with the protagonist standing with the viiness? If this were the game, wouldn¡¯t they be going against each other? Just go and fight with each other!)

    Julian still nned on fighting.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s continue. This duel won¡¯t end until one of us dies. I¡¯ve resolved myself. How about you?!¡±

    The grey armor simply stood while shouldering a shovel.

    (Julian is the crown prince. If it were a noble, they would be able to read the situation. How would you feel about killing the prince of your own country? You¡¯d realize that you need to lose, right?)

    Thereupon, Leon...started tormenting Julian even more than before.

    ¡°You¡¯ve resolved yourself, you say? You mean that you hadn¡¯t been prepared in this fight? Are you saying that you¡¯ve resolved yourself on your loss? Are you looking down on me? Actually...that¡¯s the way duels went in the first ce. We don¡¯t take the lives of others simply due to an unspoken rule within the academy, but if we got serious, things would soon be over. Didn¡¯t you notice? I¡¯d be fine even if I had to deal with all five of you at once. Your fun ends here. I was being cautious since you guys were so confident of your strength, but you¡¯re all weaker than I thought. Give me a break. When it¡¯s like this...it seems like I¡¯m the one who¡¯s bullying the weak.¡±

    In addition to criticizing him, he also made aplete fool out of Julian and the others.

    Marie thought for a bit.

    (W, who is this guy? He¡¯s apletely terrible, naggy person whoins about others, like my older brother!)

    ¡°Could it be that you didn¡¯t prepare yourself before, but now that you¡¯re losing you are? I know that you¡¯re being stubborn, trying to win by using your life as a shield. However, it¡¯s quite apparent that you¡¯re faintly hoping for me to back down when you said that. I suppose that I¡¯d have to ept defeat when realizing that I can¡¯t kill you, the crown prince, right? How nice. You¡¯re his Highness the crown prince, so you use that to win battles. I willmend your stubbornness in using your status to the maximum degree while still iming that you didn¡¯t want to born into royalty!¡±

    Everything in the stadium had a thought in their heads.

    ©¤This guy is the worst.

    Though he was harshly torturing him, there was no fault to his argument. In fact, Julian didn¡¯t talk back, nor did he move. There was the faint hope that Leon¡¯s heart would waver at least somewhat.

    However, Leon hadn¡¯t budged one bit.

    ¡°Look, tell us that you lost. Beg me to let you win because you don¡¯t want to be separated from your cherished Marie. Tell me that you didn¡¯t expect to lose, and that you beg for forgiveness. No wait, you can even make it an order as the crown prince!¡±

    Julian refused.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s not possible! This is a sacred duel. It is courtesy for both of us to fight!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Are you saying that I should do what you want and admit defeat? Your Highness Julian, how harsh of you~. No matter how you look at it, wouldn¡¯t admitting defeat here be an insult to this sacred duel~? We can¡¯t just turn back aftering this far. Or perhaps you¡¯re going to make a perfect speech that will move me deeply? Well, I don¡¯t think my heart will waver, though. Despite there being five of you, hearing you makes me want to tilt my head and treat it as a joke. My heart has not moved a single millimeter. On the other hand, I am impressed by how often you can makeme speeches!¡±

    The mood in the arena worsened.

    The crown prince¡¯s displeasure grew as Leon agitated him. The cries of ¡°Your Highness the crown prince, finish off that guy!¡± gradually grew louder from the girls in the audience.

    (This guy is revolting. It seems the worst kinds of men are everywhere.)

    Many girls and boys were booing Leon.

    ¡ó

    I breathed a small sigh inside Arroganz.

    Luxon talked to me like I was the worst person.

    [You had a lot to say, didn¡¯t you. Are you feeling the greatest right now?]

    ¡°I do think I said too much. However, I¡¯d be bothered if those five didn¡¯t realize their own situation at least a little bit. These guys will be the center of the country in the future.¡±

    Right, I would be bothered if these five remained the same as they were right now. At least, I¡¯d be bothered if they didn¡¯t realize their position of being at the top of the top.

    Furthermore, it would be bad if they didn¡¯t calm down at least a little...and if Marie keeps deceiving the five.

    [Were you trying to force yourself as a viin? Was it fun?]

    ¡°...To be honest, it was really fun. Well, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll do it again, though.¡±

    With me as the viin in the arena, the voices supporting the prince were strong.

    ...That was fine.

    Julian approached me while the people around booed me.

    He tried to strike me, so I caught the blow.

    ¡°...Your Highness Julian, I will not back down.¡±

    ¡°Let go. Let goooo! You beast of a fiend who doesn¡¯t even know the way of the knights! Even if I can¡¯t win against you, I don¡¯t n to stop fighting this©¤©¤¡±

    Arroganz pinned down the rampaging white armor.

    It was really good that there was this much of a difference in ability.

    ¡°Shall we have a serious discussion? Do you really think that you¡¯ll find happiness this way?¡±

    ¡°W, what is it you want to say?!¡±

    He imed that both his love for a woman who had other boys with her, and him insulting his fiancee was genuine love. I shed a tear when thinking about how this guy was going to be the king in the future.

    The people around still thought of him as a student, so they didn¡¯t really realize this. No wait, perhaps the ones that did realize didn¡¯t want to think about it too deeply.

    It was obvious that in the future, something would trigger with Marie being in the center of it.

    If a girl who was surrounded by five boys had a child, whose child would that be? It would certainly raise some doubts, and such doubts would definitely be a central topic amongst them.

    If that happened, what would this guy do?

    Would hee to his senses and find a woman to make a heir to the throne with?

    Well, there¡¯s a long ways to go before that.

    Even though he¡¯s the crown prince, having backers is necessary in this world. Powerful ministers and leaders©¤©¤the feudal lord nobles.

    The government wouldn¡¯t run smoothly with a king that people don¡¯t ept.

    Factions or things of a simr nature can be serious for a king.

    Furthermore, after doing some investigation, it turned out that thergest backers of the crown prince were the Redgrave duke family. Anjelica¡¯s household.

    They unified factions and had them support the prince.

    This guy was willingly making an enemy of his biggest supporter.

    In the game, this was where the saint came in, but the problem was that Marie wasn¡¯t a saint. She was only a reincarnated person who was doing well.

    In other words...a mob just like me.

    She was going to mess up at some point. No wait, she was partially on the way towards that already.

    I felt like I was going to have to clean up after Marie¡¯s mess.

 Chapter 31 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 10 part3</h4>

    I so wanted to say that she was my little sister from my previous life.

    ¡°Love is wonderful, isn¡¯t it. I¡¯ll acknowledge your spirit of going as far as to cast away your right to the throne in order to obtain it.¡±

    ¡°...!¡±

    Julian wasn¡¯t an idiot. He indeed knew about that.

    Even though he knew, he still chose Marie.

    Wait. In that case, didn¡¯t that make him worse than the average idiot?

    ¡°Would you indeed go as far as to throw away your current position?¡±

    ¡°Are you having a foolishugh? Still, I would do that much for this girl. I don¡¯t need status or prestige. Having her is enough...¡±

    ¡°I think that people want you because of your status and prestige, though. I believe people would take no notice of you if you weren¡¯t the crown prince, but just an ordinary Julian.¡±

    Would Marie take no notice of him if he lost his status, prestige, fortune, and everything? I couldn¡¯t help but think so.

    She¡¯s the type that may hang out with him because of his good looks, but wouldn¡¯t think about marriage.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be true! Marie would apany me. Marie would still be with me©¤©¤with us.¡±

    I was saying all of this because Marie was a terrifying girl. Her mimicking of the protagonist¡¯s actions speaks for itself, doesn¡¯t it? So much so that I think Marie had a talent for these kinds of things.

    I don¡¯t think what that guy had was genuine love.

    In the first ce, if it really was love, then there wouldn¡¯t be six boys around her.

    ¡°How nice it must be. However, if you lose, you¡¯ll have to refrain from associating with her from now on.¡±

    I let go of the prince and hit him as hard as I could with the shovel.

    There was a dent in the white armor, and the prince greatly shook inside, throwing him off bnce.

    Luxon informed me of the preparations being ready.

    [Analysisplete. Securing the safety of the pilot is possible.]

    ¡°Going easy on you is a pain. Here, this will end it.¡±

    I let go of the shovel and used my right hand to make contact with the chest of the prince¡¯s armor. Once touching it, Arroganz¡¯s right arm started shifting. Its interior glowed, leading up to the next moment.

    [Impact.]

    As soon as Luxon dered that, an impact blew the prince¡¯s armor away into pieces. The audience shrieked once the armor had broken apart.

    The armor had been smashed up, but the prince inside appeared to be safe.

    It was nice that he didn¡¯t put up any resistance since he had fainted.

    Once the right arm reverted back to normal, I retrieved the shovel I dropped and shouldered it.

    The arena fell silent.

    When I looked at the referee, he sent a doctor before announcing the victor.

    They took priority in confirming Julian¡¯s safety.

    When they realized that he had fortunately only fainted, the victor was dered.

    ¡°The winner is Leon Fou Baltfault...and therefore, the victor of this duel is Anjelica Rafua Redgrave. In ordance with the oath of a duel, the two©¤©¤¡±

    The deration ended with them saying that the duel¡¯s loser had to obey the victor. At that moment, the blue tickets signifying the bets made on Julian and the others had fluttered about within the arena.

    The arena was engulfed in the quite pleasant sounds of shrieks and jeers.

    It was indeed pleasant to hear these boos directed at me.

    ¡°Give me my money back!¡±

    ¡°Cheater! As if such a duel can be acknowledged!¡±

    ¡°Give it back. Give back my money!¡±

    I raised my shovel, and slowly turned around while recording the faces of the audience.

    So many of them had the expression of despair, but some that had bet on me tucked their important red ticket into their pockets.

    Then, I addressed the audience.

    ¡°Everyone...gamble responsibly!¡±

    After saying that, they got agitated and started throwing trash at me. However, I magnificently avoided them while making a loudughter and returning to where Olivia and the others were.

    Afternding the armor and appearing out of it, the armor automatically stored itself into a box and returned to the sky.

    ¡°...I wonder if I¡¯ll be able to collect my earnings.¡±

    [Wouldn¡¯t that be a matter of course?]

    The box disappeared into the sky, and I put on a coat that Olivia handed to me.

    ¡°How was it, my fairdy? I made a great sess.¡±

    Anjelica had aplex expression.

    Well, it made sense that she hadplicated emotions after seeing me beat up the prince she loved.

    ¡°Right. Thank you.¡±

    Her face did not say that she was thankful. Herplexion was pale, and it seemed that she was concerned about the prince.

    So, I spoke with a serious expression. I didn¡¯t poke any fun.

    ¡°He has no injuries. He really just fainted.¡±

    If something went wrong, it would have been Luxon¡¯s fault. Not my fault.

    Olivia also had aplex expression. Above all, she seemed to feel a sense of impending danger as she looked at the people around.

    ¡°H, hey, was that really alright? There¡¯s something about the gazes from the people surrounding us.¡±

    The students were ring daggers at me.

    There were those that were booing, and those that were crying.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do?! What happened to my entire fortune was because of you!¡±

    ¡°I beg of you, return it to me! I¡¯m in debt. I made bets using borrowed money!¡±

    ¡°Who would acknowledge such a bet like this?!¡±

    This was a good lesson for the children of nobles who make fun of society. I heard people talking about borrowing money, but those people were stupid to try doing it.

    They were stupid for gambling when they didn¡¯t know who the winner or loser would be. They would be better off if they only gambled when they were sure of winning, like I do.

    Hmm? Wait a minute...these guys made bets since they were absolutely sure that I would lose, didn¡¯t they...? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter to me anyways. I won against five people and won a bet. That was the result.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to ignore them. Those people did bet all they had. They reap what they sow. If they study and do well, the academy might cut their tuition costs.¡±

    Anjelica sighed.

    ¡°Well said. Those people bet on arge amount, knowing that things could possibly turn out this way, right? You really saved me this time. Thank you...I¡¯ll show you a token of my gratitude afterwards. I¡¯m going to head over to his Highness shortly.¡±

    After seeing Anjelica disappear as she quickly headed towards there, we walked to the changing rooms.

    Olivia was worried about me.

    ¡°Leon, why did you say such cruel things to his Highness and the others? Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to say nothing?¡±

    We talked along the way there, but it seemed that Olivia held some kind of delusion about me. She seemed to think that I could have done better.

    Actually, why was she this kind towards me? I had no recollection of doing many special things.

    Perhaps it was just the protagonist being open-minded or caring? At any rate, wasn¡¯t it a problem that I was the only one she was close with?

    ¡°People are harboring hate towards me, just as nned.¡±

    ¡°Is that okay? U, um, I think your marriage situation will be unstable from now on. Everyone¡¯s really angry at you.¡±

    ¡°Aah, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be dropping out of the academy.¡±

    Olivia made a odd voice, saying ¡°Huh?¡± towards what I said.

    However, she was quite the beauty. Even that expression she had looked cute.

    ¡ó

    It was just Anjelica and Julian in the medical office.

    Julian had only fainted and had no injuries, so the doctors and nurses read the mood and left.

    Anjelica shed tears when seeing Julian¡¯s figure.

    He sat on the bed, and feebly hung his head, heard the result of the duel, and was shocked.

    Anjelica knew that he didn¡¯t agree to it.

    ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m really d that you¡¯re safe.¡±

    Julian turned towards Anjelica with an emotionless gaze.

    ¡°Stop your shameless acting. Wasn¡¯t it your duel representative that drove me this far into a corner?¡±

    Anjelica couldn¡¯t reply to him.

    He was saying that what happened was her fault.

    ¡°...Your Highness, please listen to me. What is it that I can¡¯t do? I...I¡¯ve been doing my hardest for your sake.¡±

    Anjelica had tried hard to be a woman suitable for the crown prince. She made so much effort towards it that it became her pride.

    As someone of a duke household, she had undergone severe training from morning until night in order to one day be a queen. It began with the numerous mannerisms of etiquette rted to culture and the fine arts, and Anjelica kept persevering to be someone suitable for Julian.

    That was why she couldn¡¯t ept girls like Marie who were able to be near Julian with no effort at all.

    Anjelica had to sacrifice many things for the sake of Julian and put in hard work since she was a child. Even so, she lost in face of girls like Marie who just suddenly showed up.

    Julian made a slightugh.

    ¡°For my sake? I think it¡¯s just that you want the position of being the crown prince¡¯s woman.¡±

    ¡°T, that¡¯s not it! That¡¯s not my rtionship with you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not wrong. You¡¯ve never seen me for who I was. I have proof too. Do you even know what my favorite dish is?¡±

    ¡°I, I do! It¡¯s that soup©¤©¤¡±

    She described Julian¡¯s favorite dish, but the reaction she got was negative.

    ¡°©¤©¤Wrong.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I like the grilled skewer foods that I get to eat when I sneak outside disguised. They tell me thatmoner foods aren¡¯t suitable for me, so I couldn¡¯t say it to you though. I¡¯m sure that you would also want to deny me from such things.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t say what Julian¡¯s actual favorite food was.

    When hearing that, Anjelica wiped her tears.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t! If you told me that, I would have immediately©¤©¤¡±

    However, Julian interrupted her.

    ¡°Marie noticed it without me even saying. When we went outside together, she understood me and invited me to a cart.¡±

    When hearing that, Anjelica¡¯s tears fell to the floor inrge drops.

    (...I didn¡¯t notice it, and yet that girl did? I¡¯ve been by his Highness¡¯ side all this time, though.)

    Perhaps feeling guilty, Julian made an apology towards Anjelica.

    ¡°...I know that this is rude towards you, and your household. However, the only one I love is Marie.¡±

    Anjelica¡¯s sobs intensified.

    ¡°T, that much is still fine. As long as I get to be your side your Highness©¤©¤Julian.¡±

    Julian shook his head.

    ¡°I...cannot love you.¡±

    Anjelica, realizing Julian¡¯s feelings, decided to step back. She turned around to leave the room.

    ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m sorry, I won¡¯t say anything anymore. However...I¡¯ll be rooting for your happiness from the sidelines.¡±

    Julian made a cynical remark once Anjelica left the room.

    ¡°There¡¯s no use saying that at this point...I wanted to hear that from you sooner.¡±

 Chapter 32 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 11 part1</h4>

    <h4>The Foolish</h4>

    In what kind of world are there men whose lives have been destroyed by women?

    This otome game world with the crown prince and other boys.

    Normally, they were supposed to love the protagonist, who was a saint. They spent time getting to know each other, and had a happy marriage.

    It seems that these fools overlooked something important when they rushed through things.

    The protagonist, Olivia, was meant to be connected to the crown prince.

    It was futile to try and be an imitation of her. No doubt, it might have been better if one went through without imitating her.

    I pondered a bit about theckluster setting of this otome game world.

    ¡°Well, I understand the circumstances. So, you¡¯re saying that I should clean up after you, correct?¡±

    I¡¯ll end my attempts to escape from reality here.

    I spent a part of my summer vacation at Anjelica¡¯s home©¤©¤the Redgrave household.

    The current head of the family, ¡°Vince Rafua Redgrave,¡± was a dignified man with grey hair that was swept back. He had a tall and well-maintained body, and had a sharp glint in his eye.

    Next to him stood Vince¡¯s son and Anjelica¡¯s older brother, ¡°Gilbert Rafua Redgrave.¡± He had blonde hair and blue eyes, but closely resembled Vince.

    He was in his early twenties.

    Both of them red at me.

    I straightened myself and made a request.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any means of contacting the royal pce on my own. I can¡¯t do anything at this rate. I have prepared white gold coins.¡±

    The heap of white gold coins were what I had won from the bet. It was an unthinkable amount resulting from the borrowed money and personal expenses of foolish noble children.

    I piled them up and had presented them to Vince.

    Basically, I was taking out money and asking for them to protect me.

    Was it shameful? If I was able to buy my life with money, then I would do it!

    Gilbert was about to say something, but Vince held him back with his hand.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gathered up a lot for a baron who has suddenly risen. The handicraft of the royal court indeed costs money. There¡¯s also the fact that you took on the role of being my daughter¡¯s representative at the duel. We¡¯ll look after you. However, it would be troubling if you ask for us to protect this and that. You¡¯re not under guardianship of us, and you¡¯re not a fellow member of our faction. You followed through with my daughter¡¯s short temper, but to say it in other words, that also means you stuck your nose into our affairs.¡±

    I normally shouldn¡¯t have been involved. At least, I wanted to so that, but...

    In my mind, I made a triumphant pose.

    I used my status as a student to its maximum potential, and got this dire situation to go the way I wanted it to. My life starts from here on!

    ¡°Yes. I understand. I want to be sure that my livelihood is spared and that the household doesn¡¯t befall under any liability.¡±

    Vince put his hands together on top of a desk.

    ¡°...Your honor has already dropped to the floor. Now you¡¯re going to cast away your position?¡±

    Even though it was nice beating up those five, going as far as to break their hearts was spoken ill of. The duel was far from honorable.

    ¡°I¡¯ll relinquish my rank and title as a knight. I still haven¡¯t received it yet, but I don¡¯t have the qualifications to receive it now.¡±

    This matter, a high sum of money and rank, and the title of a knight. I held these and used them to ask for their benevolence.

    It was cheap price when considering that I had dueled against the crown prince.

    I could also use this to escape from searching for a marriage partner.

    Gilbert asked me a question.

    ¡°I want to ask one thing. What is your true aim? With that much power you have, it should be possible to ovee your situation and find sess in life. It might even be possible for you to ascend up to a viscount household. I¡¯m interested in what you¡¯d toss that away for.¡±

    I had gotten irritated, I wanted to beat up the capture target characters, and taking the opportunity, I wanted to escape from marriage-searching hell.

    I had many reasons, but I spoke without saying any of them.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave his highness alone after seeing him being deceived by that woman. It¡¯s for the sake of the nation, I suppose. I just thought that someone had to do something.¡±

    Vince made augh as if amused.

    ¡°If those are your true feelings, then you¡¯re quite admirable. Though, I would be quite troubled if you said that it was to amuse yourself. The royal court and prestigious nobles are in a mad rush thanks to you. The Redgrave family has also officially dissolved the engagement between his Highness and Anjie. He is not suitable for my daughter. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    I felt like I was being tested.

    I didn¡¯t think he was looking for anything in particr. I was fine as long as my life was spared and I was freed from having to find a marriage partner as a noble.

    I beat up those five to distract myself and perhaps to even no longer be a noble, escaping from marriage-searching hell. Aah, I was certainly reaching my desired result.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have much to say about the rtion between the two of us. I personally just want him to study at the academy from now on. I hope he bes a fine king.¡±

    ¡°...I see. I may be changing the topic of conversation, but I have one request.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about my daughter. It seems that this matter took arge toll on her. As a parent, I can¡¯t watch her be worn out andcking of spirit. I wanted to have her rest in the moderate countryside, but with the circumstances of our household, that will be difficult to arrange since we¡¯re a little busy.¡±

    Perhaps it was about settling affairs with those under their guardianship or people from the same faction as them. As a duke household, they wouldn¡¯t remain silent about Anjelica¡¯s followers betraying her.

    Day after day, the parents and siblings of students have beening to apologize, and things have been very busy.

    It was a very big problem when children and nsmen sent as followers betray the head daughter.

    There were many people who came to apologize to Anjelica, and it seemed that she wanted to rest somewhere out of reach.

    ¡°Your household meets the requirements for something we¡¯re looking for. Let here with you when you depart to home. Several caretakers will be with her.¡±

    ¡°Um, uh...s, sure!¡±

    He was entrusting his daughter to a man. What did it mean? I was thinking about it, but doing anything to the daughter of a duke household was unreasonable, so just having it in mind gave me the creeps. So I decided to treat it as if she was just going on a trip, and that I was in charge.

    ¡°Thank you. Now then, you may step back.¡±

    ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    Once I left the room, I felt relieved. With this, my life at the academy will end, but I was feeling the best.

    If I had any regrets, it would be that I couldn¡¯t learn about tea with my mentor anymore. He got angry at me for being distasteful during the duel, bit he offered me delicious tea to drink.

    ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s really my only regret.¡±

    Daniel and Raymond were also on my mind. I wonder how Rukul from the third year was doing? I was also regretful that I couldn¡¯t try out all of the popr desserts in the school cafeteria.

    ...It kind of seemed like I was enjoying myself at the academy before I realized it.

    ¡ó

    Leon left the office.

    Gilbert looked at Vince.

    ¡°Father, what do you think?¡±

    Vinceughed.

    ¡°It¡¯s as you said. If he was a well-behaved child who only thought for himself, then he would have stayed silent while watching at that time. There aren¡¯t many children like him, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    The two looked at the pile of white gold Leon had prepared.

    ¡°...He has prepared a hefty sum of money, hasn¡¯t he.¡±

    ¡°He cast away his status and honor to criticize his Highness. He was quite resolved. Furthermore, he was able to earn the humor of the foster sibling. Normally, what he did would be the thing to be criticized. All things considered, the academy has many problems now like it did in the past. There are too many children who are oblivious to the ways of the world.¡±

    The academy holds a somewhat special environment.

    Since it was a ce to educate the next generation of nobles, everyone was supposed to be treated equally on the surface. Such things were impossible, though.

    This special environment was out of the public eye. With people fixated on the value of their clique, there were times where incidents urred.

    It was a miniature garden where ignorant people gathered. That was where the problem rose.

    The current matter that happened was an issue that turned out to be arge fuss. Then, the students who returned to their households during summer vacation woulde to know reality there.

    Indeed, Anjelica¡¯s followers would likelye to know the meaning of picking a fight with a duke household.

    ¡°Well, I do think there were plenty of other ways to do it, though.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Wasn¡¯t he just enjoying himself? I think Anjie was short-sighted to have proposed a duel, but he stepped up in a situation where everyone was her enemy and she couldn¡¯t be saved...isn¡¯t that a touching tale? He was like how a knight should be. Only on the outside, though.¡±

    Gilbert asked what Vince¡¯s real intentions were.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    Vince grinned.

    ¡°He can be a benefactor of my daughter. He can cover for her. That¡¯s what. It would be better off for you too if you had a reliable household, like a knight one. Don¡¯t you think the Redgrave family will be peaceful after taking him in? After all, this matter has made it clear that there are several unreliable households out there.¡±

    The two looked outside a window.

    An airship spanning over seven hundred meters was floating. They felt that it was something they have never seen made before, but the two felt an impression that it was a lost item discovered in a dungeon.

    The Holfault Kingdom valued adventurers.

    Leon¡¯s achievements were something men yearned for.

    ¡°There¡¯s arge price to pay for the power to beat up the boys of prestigious families so easily. However, how far are you willing to take him in? Are you going to prepare staff from our household for your daughter, who¡¯s reaching adulthood?

    Vince ced his hand on his chin.

    ¡°That would be nice, but a somewhat poor move. If the sharp-eared and quick-witted lot get a hold of this, they would turn restless with desire. However, the first thing to do is to clean up this mess. I¡¯ll go to the royal court. I entrust the territory to you.¡±

    Vince got up, and earnestly set out for the handicraft of the royal court.

    ¡ó

    I was on an airship that imitated Luxon¡¯s exterior.

    Its name was ¡°Partner.¡±

    Robots with hands were managing the airship on floating pirs in the air. It was in ruins when I obtained Luxon, but it collected broken machines, repaired it, and kept it in check.

    It also worked as a defensive, legless guardian with its spherical armor.

    The wind felt nice as I went to the deck.

    Luxon, a spherical body, floated next to me.

    [You¡¯re not going to go where those two are?]

    The two he were referring to were Olivia and the heartbroken Anjelica. both of whom had followed me for the summer vacation.

    The other people on-board where servants who were taking care of Anjelica.

    ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re going to trouble me if you expect me to say something wise to them.¡±

    [Nobody expects anything from you.]

    ¡°Do you hate me or something?¡±

    [I don¡¯t hate you, but I don¡¯t like you either.]

    ...If it were not the fact that this thing was capable, I would have grabbed it¡¯s sphere-like body and tossed it into the sky.

    ¡°...*sigh* Actually, I don¡¯t know what to say to them. The engagement has officially been broken. To make matters worse, the discussions have failed, didn¡¯t they?¡±

    Anjelica talked with the prince, but in the end, things did not go well.

    In ordance with the duel, the prince¡¯s rtionship as a lover with Marie has ceased.

    They say that love dies away when there are obstacles, but the prince continued to love her even when their rtionship had ended, and prays for her happiness.

    He also said some strange things about protecting his chastity.

    It seems he was concerned about having a pure body. Well, I didn¡¯t really care about such things. Some schmuck¡¯s chastity was inconsequential to me. Wait a minute, that actually wasn¡¯t good.

    Despite how he was, he was the crown prince. There would be trouble if there weren¡¯t a heir to the throne for the country, and in the game, Julian was the only prince who appeared...this was a dangerous problem about the a new sessor!

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get involved since even if I said something, it wouldn¡¯t solve anything.¡±

    [You¡¯re such a hopeless case that it¡¯s actually unprecedented.]

    ¡ó

    They were on-board a ship.

    Olivia and Anjelica sat down on a bed in a ce that seemed to be a guest room.

    Olivia worried about Anjelica, who was thin from fatigue and anxiety.

    After the duel, her talk with Julian did not go well.

    It was summer vacation, so Olivia apanied Anjelica.

    Now she was listening to Anjelica¡¯s story.

    ¡°It¡¯s a funny story. Not a single one of my feelings could reach him. It seems I was quite the fool to lose to a woman so behindpared to me. I was utterly defeated by that girl.¡±

    Julian rejected Anjelica.

    Even after separating them, he said that he wouldn¡¯t stop his love for Marie.

    ¡°You¡¯re not in the wrong, Anjelica.¡±

    ¡°I suppose. I was just overwhelmed by a woman who snatched away my fiance. Go ahead andugh. I suppose you could say that I won the battle, but lost the war.¡±

    She was able to win the duel thanks to Leon, but still Anjelica lost to Marie in terms of the result.

    ¡°In the end, there was no point in it. I got you and Leon involved in my selfishness.¡±

    Olivia cast her eyes downward.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I was only there to voice support...but in the end, it was Leon who was out there doing his best. There was something Leon said. He intended to drop out from the beginning.¡±

    Anjelica shed tears.

    ¡°I went to where his Highness was without saying any thanks. I should have properly thanked him at that time. I really am a terrible woman. I didn¡¯t think he was that resolved...¡±

    Olivia tenderly rubbed the crying Anjelica¡¯s back.

    ¡ó

    ©¤©¤I heard the conversation of the two from outside their room.

    [How heart-wrenching. I don¡¯t know if I even have a heart, but do you not have any thoughts after hearing them?]

    Luxon¡¯s words struck my chest.

    ¡°...I feel bad for giving them the wrong idea.¡±

    I indeed went into the duel with the resolve to drop out of the academy, but the real reason was to get away from finding a marriage partner.

    I wished that they didn¡¯t think so deeply about it.

    I also wondered whether it was good time to go on a rampage back then, but it was a stray thought...I didn¡¯t ponder that hard about it.

    [What do you n on doing now?]

    ¡°Drop out and look after my father. I¡¯ll also be independent and live peacefully on that ind I found.¡±

    [...Will it go smoothly?]

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try. I picked a fight with the crown prince. I would need to apologize with a lot of money for them to brush it off. I don¡¯t think I would be killed. Huh? I won¡¯t be killed, right? So why do I feel uneasy? Perhaps I should flee sooner?¡±

    [No, there¡¯s no point.]

    This was the world of an otome game.

    Now that all the noisy moments have ended, I felt a little lonely.

    Well, my ns have changed quite a bit, but it should be fine as long as I kept doing my best.

    I¡¯ve worked hard.

    That was why I¡¯ve made it up to here. I¡¯ll leave the rest to Olivia, Anjelica, and those five guys.

    TLN:

 Chapter 33 - Volume 1

    Volume 1 Chapter 11 part2

    It was summer vacation.

    Marie was told to stay in the academy, and then a messenger from the royal came to tell her about what was to be in the future.

    The messenger was a government official and spoke in an uninterested manner.

    The contents stunned Marie.

    ¡°W, wait a minute. W, what do you mean by disinheritance?¡±

    Gathered were Julian, Marie, and the other capture target boys.

    Only the messenger was speaking calmly and in a professional manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s as you heard. His Highness Julian was disinherited. He is no longer his Highness the crown prince. From today, he is just his Highness. It has also been decided that the other four will be disinherited by their households. His Highness the crown prince...no, his Highness has broken the engagement with Anjelica, but the women engaged to the other four sent letters too.¡±

    Jilk, Brad, Chris, and Greg...the four of them received the letters from their fiancees with a slightly sad expression.

    They understood that the contents of the letter would be about their marriages being officially broken off.

    Marie objected.

    ¡°This is too much for losing a duel! This is too cruel!¡±

    Greg spoke to Marie in a slightly embarrassed manner. Everyone was oddly calm despite losing to Leon.

    ¡°This is fine. Marie, this is our resolve.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Chris began to speak about something they had hidden from Marie up until that point.

    ¡°We made a request to cancel our engagements a little while ago. Our households and fiancees asked us to reconsider, but it seems that they had second thoughts after this recent matter. We had decided to officially break off our engagements. However, this is good. With this, we can properlye to know each other.¡±

    Marie was the only one that didn¡¯t know, but everyone other than Julian was trying to keep it secret.

    The result was disinheritance. They were no longer sessors of their households.

    Julian was the first in line to be the heir to the throne, but he was a prince that could no longer hope for it now that he had dropped considerably.

    Even Jilk, who had been guaranteed a baron status after graduation, was now to be a knight. However, now he couldn¡¯t be given an official position since he no longer had a territory he would manage.

    The other three had simr situations.

    With the recent event, the four couldn¡¯t expect to be supported by their household.

    Other than Julian, it seemed that they were judged solely on their utility value in inheriting a royal family. Royal families thought about making use of diplomatic marriages with those from other countries.

    Julian hung his head.

    ¡°I cannot be by your side anymore, Marie. However, I will always pray for your happiness.¡±

    Marie was attacked by a dizziness.

    Marie¡¯s misfortune was the real deal. Simply imitating the protagonist, Olivia, wouldn¡¯t make her storye true.

    Her current situation was the result of her outward charm and her experience from her previous life.

    Gregughed to give Julian a peace of mind.

    ¡°Hey, you can leave your share of protecting Marie to me. Besides, it¡¯s not fun to lose like this. As an active adventurer, I¡¯ll get revenge of that damn Leon. Maybe I should go on an adventurer to search for armor that¡¯s a lost item?¡±

    Chris made a small smile.

    ¡°Right. This may not be that bad.¡±

    Brad seemed to slightly amused. He had an expression that looked quite relieved.

    ¡°We¡¯re just four barons in name only. Well, with the four of us, we¡¯ll be able to manage somehow.¡±

    Jilk seemed a little sad.

    ¡°Your Highness, I¡¯m sorry. Things wouldn¡¯t have turned out like this if I had stopped him.¡±

    Julian shook his head slightly.

    He had faint smile, but seemed gloomy.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize. As long as you guys protect Marie, then I¡¯ll have a peace of mind wherever.¡±

    Kyle put his hands behind his head.

    ¡°Everyone has been thinking a lot about you. How nice it must be, master.¡±

    While making a smile as if that¡¯s what she was thinking, Marie had plunged into darkness.

    ¡°E, err, right.¡±

    (Huh? Don¡¯t fool around, aren¡¯t you being idiots?! Why would you all throw away your position and fortune like that?! I mean, you¡¯re all without an upation in the end now, right? How do you n on living?! As adventurers? I would absolutely hate living meagerly like that! N, now that it hase to this, I need to think of something.)

    Marie, who shifted to thinking pragmatically, felt ruined when seeing the boysughing.

    The government official began to depart now that all has been said and done.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    While thinking that the amount of work she would have to do would be more than what the government official was doing, Marie felt that her ideal future was growing distant.

    It was liking having four boyfriends who were going to be jobless in the future.

    It was too different from the result she desired.

    (Why did it turn out like this?! This is not the future I wanted!)

    ¡ó

    The floating ind I discovered was better maintainedpared to when I had enrolled in the academy.

    The robots were doing their best regardless of whether it was day or night, and were in the process ofpleting the territory.

    I thought that sooner orter, I would be independent here, and while the disordered kingdom was in a panic, I would be peacefully watching, but©¤©¤

    ¡°Why do they have to follow me?¡±

    When I came to see how the fields were doing as the robots were looking after them, Olivia and Anjelica followed me here as well.

    Anjelica looked at the fields that had been lined up beautifully.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this nice? This is quite refreshing since opportunities like this are rare. After all, baron territories everywhere seem to be hectic while in the middle of development. Evening to look would be a hindrance.¡±

    My household was busy today due to my investment, and was in the midst of development all throughout. The waterways were being developed to improve the roads, and many various other ordeals were urring.

    The harbor was also being expanded, and was getting crowded as airships wereing and going nonstop.

    Olivia looked at the fields with a serious expression.

    She crouched down to look at the soil and our surroundings.

    ¡°How amazing. I¡¯ve never seennd this beautiful despite people not being here.¡±

    Anjelica tilted her head.

    ¡°Is that so? I thought that it was beautiful because people weren¡¯t here, though.¡±

    Olivia disagreed.

    ¡°It¡¯s the opposite. Thend can¡¯t be this thoroughly maintained without there being people. Did robots do this? How amazing.¡±

    I nodded. It was a pain to exin, so I just agreed with her while saying ¡°How amazing indeed.¡±

    Anjelica took a good look around.

    ¡°Huh? Something smells strange.¡±

    It seems she was curious about the smell that was being carried by the wind.

    ¡°Aah, that©¤©¤¡±

    I guided the two towards where the scent wasing from.

    ¡ó

    There was an outdoor bath prepared on the floating ind.

    Only the structure had been set in ce, letting Anjelica and Olivia looked at the open scenery.

    The water was a little hot, which made it feel a little different from the usual bath. There wasn¡¯t anything different to the water, but it felt like it stuck to the skin.

    Olivia washed Anjelica¡¯s hair after she let it down.

    ph_mobuseka01_ill009

    ¡°Anjelica, your hair¡¯s quite pretty, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    ¡°...It¡¯s because his Highness said that he liked long, pretty hair. I n on having it be a bit shorter soon. Grooming it is a bother.¡±

    Olivia rinsed off the bubbles with hot water.

    ¡°All things considered, this is a nice ce.¡±

    Anjelica looked at the scenery while praising the floating ind Leon held. The setting sun was in sight, but it felt luxurious to be in an open bath while watching the scenery.

    Olivia felt the same way.

    ¡°It seems that he discovered it before enrolling in the academy and it made into his own territory. He ns on being independent here in the future...sorry.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re fine. His struggles are because of me. I want him to be independent here. It¡¯s irritating that my current self can only hope that things will work out, though.¡±

    They didn¡¯t know how Leon¡¯s independence would result.

    Anjelica could only pray that her father would handle things well.

    ¡°Even so, the number of adventurers who achieve a sess this ideal are few. Anything more than this is in the realm of heroes and adventurers from legends. No, even if he doesn¡¯t do anything else, he might even be a fabled adventurer.¡±

    This time Anjelica washed Olivia¡¯s hair.

    ¡°Is it that grand? I had a strong impression that adventurers were people who challenged dungeons...¡±

    ¡°Right. Perhaps that¡¯s the imagemoners have since the initial earnings are immense for them. However, rather than earning through dungeons, nobles like to venture with airships. To discover newnds and challenge unknown dungeons. Sometimes lost items from historic ruins will appear. It seems that my father and older brother were mischievous back then and went on reckless adventures, so they hold Leon in high regards.¡±

    Anjelica looked at Olivia¡¯s chest. Her own was big, but now that she thought about it, she remembered that Marie¡¯s were small.

    (Perhaps he disliked women with big chests? No, I should forget about this already.)

    ¡°Is it impressive that Leon discovered a new ind with a small boat?¡±

    Anjelica chuckled.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s impressive. With what he did, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising if he had died with just one small misstep. That was the biggest achievement made in several decades.¡±

    The third son of a baron household had made a great sess. That enough was immense.

    ¡°...I envy you.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Anjelica rinsed Olivia¡¯s hair while speaking her true thoughts.

    ¡°You¡¯re his lover, right? You¡¯re always together with him, so I thought that you two were getting married. I wanted to be like you two.¡±

    Olivia¡¯s expression turned cloudy.

    ¡°...The difference between Leon and me is too great, I¡¯m not suitable for him.¡±

    Despite being in the advanced ss, Olivia was amoner. She couldn¡¯t be a good match for Leon, who was a noble.

    To Olivia, Leon was someone in an unreachable position.

    Anjelica then remembered that.

    ¡°My bad. That¡¯s right. You¡¯re the honor student.¡±

    Thereupon, Olivia spoke.

    ¡°I think...Leon likes you, Anjelica.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think so?¡±

    Anjelica waited for Olivia¡¯s response while washing off the bubbles.

    ¡°After all, he went that far to defend you. I¡¯m envious of that. My heart aches a little thinking about whether I¡¯ll get my turn.¡±

    ¡°...Liking me? That¡¯s impossible. I¡¯m a terrible woman. Otherwise, his Highness wouldn¡¯t have abandoned me.¡±

    The two soaked in the bathtub after washing themselves, then they gazed at the the beautiful sunset.

    ¡ó

    The two had entered the hot spring.

    I didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity.

    ¡°...This is the moment I¡¯ve been waiting for!¡±

    My eyes were bloodshot from excitement.

    The white steam and nostalgic scent made my soul tremble. This floating ind was my field. I was free to do what I wanted.

    ¡°The long-awaited event has arrived!¡±

    Luxon floated near me and spoke.

    [It was nothing other than a sess. Is grilled fish okay for a side dish?]

    ¡°Yeah, make it quick!¡±

    On top of a table was the white steaming from freshly cooked rice.

    Since I had no miso yet, I made a soup with something that imitated it.

    Grilled and salted river fish.

    I¡¯m sure that those two wouldn¡¯t understand, but I¡¯ve been looking forward to this the whole time...

    ¡°I¡¯m shedding tears.¡±

    [How nice. Feel free to worship me while chewing in delight.]

    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you just this once. Now then, shall we dine?¡±

    When I tried eating it, the taste was simr but slightly different. However, it was still rice. After breaking the grilled fish into pieces with my chopsticks and cing it onto the rice, I wolfed it down.

    ¡°Ah~, this is bliss.¡±

    [You do indeed look happy. Oh? It seems that an unknown airship is approaching the harbor.]

    While I was eating, Luxon detected an airship approaching my household.

 Chapter 34 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 Chapter 11 part3</h4>

    <i>TLN: I added a new feature on the site. If you want to put spoilers in thements, surround them with spoiler tags in square brackets. For example:

    </i>

    <i> {spoiler} That truck novel in the Thanksgiving announcement wasn¡¯t real {/spoiler} (rece the curly brackets with square brackets)

    </i>

    <i> turns into...

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    Barcus was busy since the morning.

    ¡°Luce, are you doing okay with the meal?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine, but...is, is someone reallying over? I don¡¯t dislike it. But, having the daughter of a prestigious householde over is a bit much.¡±

    The reason was that Leon had returned home in the morning.

    Barcus, Leon¡¯s father, was at his wits¡¯ end.

    ¡°That idiot, to think that he picked a fight with his Highness the crown prince, and now he¡¯s bringing home the daughter of a duke household this time. He needs to be more considerate of my own heart. If I die from shock, it¡¯ll be his fault!¡±

    Something like having the daughter of a duke householde over was unthinkable, so they have been in a great haste since the morning in order to prepare.

    An attendant from the duke household appeared in the kitchen.

    ¡°Excuse me. Since the preparations for the room you¡¯re lending us have been finished, the assistants here await for further instructions.¡±

    The assistant was wearing thick maid clothes.

    She was raised as a high ss maid, without a doubt©¤©¤and simply put, the assistants were from notable families that came to work for the duke household.

    They were knights working as retainers or those under their guardianship.

    From Barcus¡¯ viewpoint, they were not people he could treat rudely.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re fine over here, so you can take a break. The preparations for the room will soon©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already finished that some time ago.¡±

    Barcus had been busy since morning.

    A disaster soon struck him again.

    He heard a high-pitched yelling into the kitchen.

    ¡°Hey, these people are servants, and yet they¡¯re not even listening to my orders!¡±

    Barcus covered his face with both of his hands.

    After apologizing to the maid in the kitchen, he hurried towards the entrance, and there was Z. Lutart and Merce were there too, and both Z¡¯s and Merce¡¯s exclusive servants were standing by.

    (Why are there so many visitors today?!)

    Barcus saw Z drawing closer to the maids from the duke household. He appeared in front of the maids, suppressing the urge to scream.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Z! What are you here today for?¡±

    Z hit Barcus on the cheek with her folded fan.

    ¡°What I¡¯m here for, you say?! Do you even know what your ipetent son did?! The royal capital is in an uproar. How are you going to take responsibility for this?¡±

    The eldest son, Lutart, fiddled with his long hair while showing no interest. Merce wasn¡¯t interested in Barcus either.

    ¡°N, no, that...¡±

    Barcus didn¡¯t know how to respond.

    Recently, his daily life had be really hectic, and he couldn¡¯t keep up with a lot of things.

    To escape from reality, he thought about things like ¡°Perhaps Nicks should hurry up and graduate so that he can help out~.¡±

    Thereupon, the maids gathered at the entrance, and stood in a line to greet their master.

    ¡°Wee, our fairdy.¡±

    Z and the others turned around, and saw Anjelica.

    Hiding behind her was Leon.

    (You should step forward!)

    He wanted to criticize his son, but he couldn¡¯t interrupt, so he remained silent.

    ¡°How noisy. What happened?¡±

    Seeing Anjelica squinting, there was a wrinkle in Z¡¯s brow.

    ¡°And just where did youe from, little girl? Anyways, since that absolute moron is behind you, you¡¯re probably not from any significant household, though. I have some business with that waste of space hiding behind you. Step back.¡±

    When Leon was about to step forward unwillingly, Anjelica held him back with her hand.

    She had a stern gaze when Leon was looked down on.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being quite arrogant? How about letting this little girl introduce herself?¡±

    The corner of Z¡¯s mouth twitched.

    ¡°Wait, Z. Let¡¯s talk about this. Right, everyonee inside. C¡¯mon. C¡¯mon!¡±

    Barcus, stopping the conversation and forcing everyone inside, thought about how he wouldn¡¯t forget this day in his entire life, and wept.

    ¡ó

    ¡°W, well, I see. I didn¡¯t think that the Redgrave family¡¯s daughter woulde to a rural area like this.¡±

    Z, who made aplete reversal, was flustered and in a cold sweat.

    While thinking in my mind about what an idiot she was, I listened to the conversation between Anjelica and Z.

    The two faced each other, and sat on sofas with a low table between them.

    ¡°Much obliged. However, it¡¯s quite strange to hear about a wife that¡¯s constantly away from the residence. It¡¯s also hard for me to understand why the eldest son doesn¡¯t help out with work. What is the eldest son, Lutart, doing currently? I don¡¯t see him being a soldier, so perhaps he¡¯s doing civil service?¡±

    Lutart was not here.

    Z cast her eyes downward.

    ¡°R, right now he¡¯s studying for the future of the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Lutart was neen. Merce was twenty.

    Both of them weren¡¯t married, and lived in the Baltfault household¡¯s residence within the royal capital. Though it was called the Baultfault household...it was more like the Z household. The residence in the royal capital where Z and the others were living was prepared by my father.

    It was nice being able to see Z getting embarrassed, but just then, my father told me ¡°Do something,¡± with his eyes.

    ¡°L, leaving that aside, what business do you have here?¡±

    Z behaved modestly and asked about what she was doing.

    Anjelica made a tiny smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m just sightseeing. I went to a newly discovered floating ind today. There was a hot spring, and it was a nice ce.¡±

    Z made an expression of delight.

    ¡°If you¡¯re happy, then I¡¯m happy.¡±

    ¡°Yes, so I¡¯ll be in your care for a short while.¡±

    Z froze after hearing that.

    ¡°H, how many days are you nning to spend?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a n. I suppose it will be until my householdes to contact me. Be at ease, I will pay lodging expenses for having a baron household letting me stay here. Of course, it will go to the barons.¡±

    When hearing that, Z said ¡°By all means, make yourselffortable,¡± but...she took her children back to the royal capital the next day.

    To be honest, it delighted me to see Z scurrying home. When I apuded Anjelica, she had aplicated expression. I shed tears when she said ¡°It seems you had some hardships,¡± but my father and mother looked at me with a calm gaze while not understanding.

    Couldn¡¯t they have been a little bit kinder to me?

    ¡ó

    The floating ind was my territory.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to go out of your way to use the hot spring, my house has a bath.¡±

    I went to go see the two, who had taken a liking to the hot spring. They went there on an almost daily basis.

    Anjelica smiled.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine? This is a ce that people rarelye to. Besides, it feels a little pleasant on the skin.¡±

    Of course. This was the world of an otome game where women dominated men. Turning that around, if one was able to earn the favor of women, they would be able to find sess. And the one who gave beauty effects to the hot spring was...Luxon!

    Luxon really was useful.

    ¡°The beauty effects are quite outstanding, aren¡¯t they. Alright, I¡¯m going to make easy money off of this in the future.¡±

    ¡°You really do like to think in terms of money.¡±

    As I made that decision, Olivia touched her warm cheeks.

    ¡°My skin became smooth. Furthermore, the milk we drank after getting out of the bath was delicious.¡±

    ¡°How nice.¡±

    They seemed to have enjoyed it. Well, thinking about it the other way, it meant that my territory might only be seen for its hot spring. Since there were no tourist attractions at my parents¡¯ household, the two would probably be bored there.

    Anjelica looked at Olivia and got close to her. She touched her bare skin.

    ¡°Your skin is quite nice. I¡¯m jealous, Olivia.¡±

    Olivia seemed to be having fun, and allowed her to do as she pleased.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you quite pretty yourself, Anjelica? I¡¯m jealous of your beautiful hair.¡±

    Seeing the two having a pleasant chat while being lightly dressed from having just gotten out of the bath was...a scene that I was thankful of being able to see. I¡¯ll store this spectacle I was seeing today into my memory. I¡¯ll store this within the hard drive in my head.

    When I looked at the two, Olivia looked at me. I was d that I didn¡¯t reveal any sign of tension. At times like these, I made a poker face. I was a gentleman, after all.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Olivia?¡±

    ¡°Um...it¡¯s ¡®Livia.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Olivia told me to call her by a nickname.

    ¡°Call me Livia.¡±

    She said so while looking at Anjelica and me.

    It made me feel a bit uneasy.

    ¡°I, is that bad? Back at home, everyone called me Livia, so I wasn¡¯t sure about being called Olivia...¡±

    Aah, I see. She wasn¡¯t used to being called that, and it felt like she was being treated as a stranger.

    Anjelica smiled.

    ¡°In that case, call me ¡®Anjie.¡¯ People who know me well call me that.¡±

    Anjelica allowed us to use her nickname.

    ¡°Um, is that okay?¡±

    While I was surprised, she nodded as if it was natural.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caused you trouble, and on top of that, I¡¯m indebted to you. If you don¡¯t want to do it, you can call me like before. Well, I suppose you wouldn¡¯t want to get acquainted with such an unpleasant woman like me, though.¡±

    It seemed like Anjelica, who was being self-deprecating, was putting on a brave front after the uproar of the duel.

    Olivia©¤©¤Livia made a slightly angry face.

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that about yourself. Anjelica©¤©¤Anjie, you¡¯re a wonderfuldy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying nice things to me ...His Highness didn¡¯t look this way, though.¡±

    She felt down after being so forcefully rejected by the one she liked. Actually, her being able to to act that tough was quite praiseworthy.

    All things considered, it was quite curious that the viiness was surprisingly decent. Thinking about it, the reason why the protagonist was bullied in the game was because she approached her fiance...Well, anybody would get angry at that.

    Perhaps it was also because they didn¡¯t like amoner being in the academy, and there might have been some other reasons, but I didn¡¯t really remember.

    Perhaps it was because she didn¡¯t have any sub-race lovers apanying her, or that she didn¡¯t own any high-ss items?

    The viiness had no lovers, was earnest, and was a rich beauty...Was Julian really okay with abandoning her and picking Marie?

    ¡°Anjie, you shouldn¡¯t criticize yourself so©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°...I¡¯m the worst. His Highness said that he was happy, and yet when I think about him, I can¡¯t forgive him. When I wonder just where I went wrong, I can¡¯t help but hate Marie. I¡¯ve thought many times over about getting revenge. Even though I¡¯m supposed to love his Highness, I sometimes find myself hating him. Now I don¡¯t know if I really do love him. It would be natural for him to cast away a woman like me. I would hate someone like me as well.¡±

    Livia was worried, but I went to work.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re fine, though.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Well, when thinking about what they did, I think I¡¯d only forgive them if I got to knock their lights out.¡±

    The people in the academy were getting roused and arbitrarily med Anjie, but when thinking about it, the real fiend here was Marie. It was definitely not a good thing that she deceived men who already had fiancees.

    No matter how much this world favored women, that wasn¡¯t allowed.

    ¡°You want revenge? Great! Let¡¯s go full-out!¡±

    As I supported her, Livia criticized me.

    ¡°What are you saying, Leon?!¡±

    Anjie was slightly surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to...take revenge?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t! Leon, don¡¯t tempt Anjie!¡±

    I asked Livia a question.

    ¡°It¡¯s not right to just sit here and do nothing about it though, right?¡±

    ¡°Y, you¡¯re right, but...¡±

    In reality, it was over for someone when they made fun of the noblemunity. I wasn¡¯t sure if it could be called revenge, but at any rate, the duke household was going to begin work on numerous things now. They would think about dealing punishments, but that matter was different from this. This was a matter of Anjie¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°I know the best method of revenge.¡±

    Anjie gritted her teeth.

    ¡°R, really?¡±

    ¡°Anjie, don¡¯t be swayed by him!¡±

    Livia told us that revenge was bad, but I told her to calm down and then exined.

    ¡°In this world, the best way to get revenge is to make yourself happy.¡±

    ¡°...That¡¯s revenge?¡±

    Anjie looked at me with a doubting gaze, so I unveiled the smattering knowledge of my previous life. This was what my knowledge culminated to.

    ¡°In the first ce, it takes a tremendous amount of effort to make the other party unhappy. Even if you take revenge on them, you¡¯ll have nothing left yourself, resulting in mutual destruction. Rather than having all that effort be for naught, you¡¯re better off using it to seek your own happiness.¡±

    Livia tilted her head.

    ¡°Um, and that bes revenge?¡±

    ¡°In society, there¡¯s this thing called karma. Julian and the others will likewise receive punishment, and they¡¯ll have to face reality even if they don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Making enemies of a duke household didn¡¯t mean that their backers would sit still and do the same.

    Anjie pondered about it. She still doubted it.

    ¡°...It¡¯ll be revenge if I be happy?¡±

    I nodded.

    It was healthier than running around trying to seek revenge. Or rather, since things would get serious for Anjie if she tried to get revenge, I wanted her to let it go so that I wouldn¡¯t get rolled up into it.

    ¡°Make no mistake. Once they understand reality and are at their worst, unt your happiness. It¡¯s a struggle until Julian will look at you and will regret abandoning you! It¡¯s a more refreshing sight for a bitter heartpared to inflicting pain and torture! Just imagine Julian in anguish, begging to be back with you!¡±

    Perhaps imagining it, Anjelica seemed eager.

    ¡°R, right. I¡¯ll make a disy of how happy I am!¡±

    Livia, perhaps in agreement, supported Anjelica.

    ¡°Right! If that¡¯s what revenge is, then I support you. Anjie, let¡¯s do our best to seek revenge!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll surely get revenge! Against Marie, his Highness, and the other four!¡±

    Seeing these two smiling while taking about revenge made me ponder.

    The refreshing scene of two beauties smiling together...didn¡¯t really suit with what they were saying.

    If I were to speak honestly...the scene of the protagonist and viiness holding hands while smiling and swearing revenge was frightening. Could this be the birth of the strongest team?

    I felt just a little bit of sympathy for Marie and the others.

    ...I was the one that started this, though.

 Chapter 35 - Volume 1

    <h4>Volume 1 part1 epilogue</h4>

    Summer vacation was slowly nearing its end.

    However, I was worried due to Vince noting to get in touch with me.

    I suppose that the work of the royal court was something that took time?

    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired. I wish it would get done soon.¡±

    When I was going out to the field to work, my older brother Nicksined to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re being really carefree. If you get careless, you¡¯re going to get executed. If it ended at just that, it would be fine, though I can¡¯t help but worry that I and everyone else would get wrapped up in it as well.¡±

    Colin, the fourth son, didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Brother, he defeated five opponents in a duel, right? Isn¡¯t that amazing?¡±

    My older brother yelled.

    ¡°He won against opponents he shouldn¡¯t have fought! Colin, this matter isn¡¯t unrted to you either!¡±

    I was tired from working since morning, so I stretched.

    In a location slightly away, Anjie was being taught field work by Livia.

    The maids were watching while uneasy.

    When they tried to assist her, Anjie stopped them, not letting them give even a single hand.

    ¡°So you do this here, and©¤©¤eek! What is this meandering creature?!¡±

    ¡°Anjie, that¡¯s an earthworm.¡±

    ¡°Earthworm? I¡¯ve heard of them before, but...eek! Livia, is it okay if it touches your hand?!¡±

    ¡°This little thing doesn¡¯t do much. Come now, continue on.¡±

    Colin pulled on my arm.

    ¡°Brother, which one are you marrying?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    I shook my head in response to Colin¡¯s question.

    Making a move on Livia or Anjie? C¡¯mon now.

    Livia was the honor student and amoner right now, but would be a saint in the future.

    Anjie was the daughter of a duke.

    I couldn¡¯t do any tomfoolery like trying to make a move on people out of my reach.

    ¡°Look, Colin. They¡¯re an honor student and the daughter of a duke household. They¡¯re too far away from my strike zone, marriage is impossible.¡±

    ¡°What does strike zone mean?¡±

    My older brother said ¡°Here we go again,¡± and resumed his work.

    ¡°The honor student girl is amoner and it would be difficult to marry her. The daughter of the duke household has too high of a social position, so I wouldn¡¯t suit well with her. Understand?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Ha ha ha, how honest of you, Colin. Alright, get back to work.¡±

    ¡°Oka~y.¡±

    I did like them, but in terms of my strike zone©¤©¤both of them would be an out for me. They weren¡¯t even remotely close to that strike zone.

    I could already picture the ball.

    Livia would be like the ball bouncing before it reached the mitt, and Anjie would be like a wild pitch that was too high.

    Even if I wanted to swing the bat, I couldn¡¯t.

    Darn...I liked how they looked too.

    Leaving that aside, now was the time to act for the future.

    Well, there weren¡¯t any changes regarding the situation at the duke household, so all I could do was wait.

    I didn¡¯t think that anything bad would happen, but...I did prepare a mountain of white gold. It should definitely be fine.

    ...If not, I would be in trouble.

    Also, there was one more person working on the fields.

    ¡°My nails are dirty. My hands hurt.¡±

    The oneining was Jenna, the second daughter.

    I told my parents about her cing the bomb onto my armor, and there were other circumstances too, so she spent the summer vacation working like this. I was thinking that something more than field work ought to have been done for her lending a hand in the assassination attempt of her brother. Well, I suppose that I also should consider the fact that she was half-threatened by a gang that the prince¡¯s foster brother ordered around, but©¤©¤I thought that the standards of this world were strange for letting her punishment be something boys like us normally do.

    ¡°You were able to be pardoned with this light of a punishment. You should be thankful.¡±

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t cause a problem, I wouldn¡¯t have had to set a bomb.¡±

    Well, I suppose she was right. So I also forgave her. To tell the truth, it really didn¡¯t do much damage.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to work in the field~.¡±

    I had a thought when seeing my sisterin.

    This world of an otome game really is cruel.

    ¡ó

    It was the day after.

    An airship from the duke family arrived at the household.

    It seemed they came to pick up Anjie, but a government official from the royal capital took the opportunity to ride as well.

    It seemed that the matter regarding me had been decided.

    I was surprised that a very high ranking individual amongst he government officials came.

    Feudal lord nobles are grouped by a hierarchy, but royal court nobles, who held no territory and followed the king, were sorted into sses.

    Feudal lords could also be a part of it, but they only epted barons or greater, those that could meet with the king.

    The king was ced at the top-most position, so the crown prince was ced at second. Royalty were below the second rank, and the substantial government officials that took the next top-three ranks were the cab ministers.

    Going all the way down to below the sixth rank were those who had the privilege to meet the king. Many feudal lords were appointed to these ranks.

    Feudal lords who were barons and above were automatically granted this rank, and I suppose the sses within the royal court were things like chief clerk, section chief, or other things like that.

    Well, such sses existed. There were also royal court nobles who held a rank, but exining such circumstances was a pain. Or rather, I didn¡¯t know it very well since it didn¡¯t concern me.

    However, the government official that came was of the fifth rank©¤©¤someone that was a higher rank than even my father.

    Due to that, my father got nervous.

    It turned into a conversation between them on our residence, but the official was smiling.

    ¡°Oh dear, this has been quite the mor. The duel and the engagement being broken off caused an uproar. I did not overlook the topic of the crown prince being disinherited.¡±

    ¡°R, right.¡±

    My father was listening to him while nervous, but the official kept talking as if he didn¡¯t notice anything. What to do...these talks about disinheritance made me quite uneasy, but now wasn¡¯t the time to cut into the conversation.

    Huh? Wait a minute...Julian was disinherited? That was a bit troubling.

    ¡°There have been voices within the royal court calling for the Baltfault family to take responsibility, but those were put to an end thanks to the movements of the duke household.¡±

    It seemed that Vince had been working hard.

    Thank you, Anjie¡¯s papa.

    ¡°U, um, as for the treatment of the Baltfault family?¡±

    My father couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking.

    The government official answered with a smile.

    ¡°Rest assured. You will not be asked to hold liability. Rather, Leon has now been officially recognized as an independent knight. He¡¯s currently in school still, but the royal court will carry out the formalities for bestowing him the position. At any rate, a knight has been giving his Highness advice regarding his foolish conduct. They want him to follow the example of other students.¡±

    ...My father was relieved, but the situation was bing all the more ominous.

    Going through the rites of bing a knight before even graduating? I didn¡¯t want to hear about such things.

    This time I asked a question.

    ¡°W, wait one moment. Will I be held liable? Will I have to do something like being stripped of my rank as a baron?!¡±

    ¡°I have not said such things. Although there was some heated discussion, you were officially given the baron rank, Leon. Congrattions.¡±

    Being dered a knight, and then bing a baron.

    ...Wasn¡¯t this going to make my ns go amiss?

    I didn¡¯t want to show up at the academy now. I did what I pleased because I didn¡¯t think I would go back there!

    ¡°All the same, this©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Right. All the same, we¡¯re not here to talk about this.¡±

    Was he shifting to another topic now? This person was shrewd.

    As my eyes were filled with anticipation of it being something good for once, a sheet of paper was held out in front of me.

    When I was reading it while wondering what it contained, my father screamed ¡°Aaaaack!¡±. I also wanted to shout like he did.

    The official told us the situation with a smile, leaving me in despair.

    ¡°Leon has been allowed to ¡®go above¡¯ the sixth rank in the royal court. Congrattions. You¡¯ve been promoted.¡±

    ...I didn¡¯t hear anything about being promoted!

    ¡ó

    They were on the airship of the duke household.

    Livia and Anjie were on the deck while chatting.

    ¡°He¡¯s being promoted in rank by the royal pce, right? Though, I feel like those kinds of things are irrelevant for feudal lords.¡±

    Livia, not knowing the circumstances, received a detailed exnation from Anjelica.

    ¡°Although there certainly isn¡¯t much meaning to it for feudal lords, it means that they were given more recognition than the many others below the sixth rank. Inyman¡¯s terms, its a matter of giving treatment to those who stand out among the rest.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s a reward? Leon, isn¡¯t pleased with it.¡±

    ¡°It all depends on one¡¯s way of thinking. This may be off-topic, but the eighth and ninth ranks are for those who have been knights their whole life. One can enter the seventh rank from heritage, but ascending one rank above that would require many years of loyalty and somerge achievements.¡±

    Livia couldn¡¯tprehend it very well.

    ¡°By many years of loyalty, do you mean something like ten years?¡±

    ¡°That would be fine for the eighth rank, but for the seventh rank and above, one would have to think about rtions not just on the individual level, but also on a household level. It¡¯s at the point where parents and their children would have to earnestly work under them for three generations. It would take a century to be promoted from below the sixth rank to above it without aplishing any major feats.¡±

    Livia was surprised when hearing that.

    ¡°If, if so, it means he gained that much recognition, right?!¡±

    Since he was promoted, Livia was delighted after realizing that Leon wouldn¡¯t be given any further punishment.

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is. Well, from the perspective of the royal pce, there¡¯s no harm in giving him a promotion. Leon¡¯s not a noble of the royal court, so they don¡¯t need to pay him any annuity. Still, I didn¡¯t think that he would be promoted, though.¡±

    The favorable treatment he received was at the level where Anjie started getting suspicious.

    There was a bizarre situation in regards to the royal court. There were many cases that made people wonder why they chose the course of action they took. She had no choice but to believe that this was just another one of those cases.

    Anjie concluded that there must have been individuals and groups that had something to gain from Julian being disinherited and Leon being promoted.

    Livia was unfamiliar with these kinds of things, and didn¡¯t understand that well.

    ¡°...I really thought that he would be demoted from a baron, though.¡±

    Livia then remembered something.

    ¡°Come to think of it, Leon said that he spent the money he gained from the bet!¡±

    ¡°What? In that case...could it have been the power of money? No, but doing such a thing would...hmm.¡±

    The two couldn¡¯t answer, so they changed the topic.

    ¡°This may be a change of topic, but it seems that Leon is going to go through the rites of being dered a knight before the new school term. Would you able toe?¡±

    Livia was a little embarrassed from being invited.

    ¡°B, but, I¡¯ve never participated in such things...I don¡¯t have an outfit either.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the uniform.¡±

 Chapter 36 - Volume 1

    Volume 1 part2 epilogue

    Not good.

    I was brought into the royal pce. Perhaps thinking of it as just a castle with a king would be better. Though it¡¯s called a royal court, there¡¯s a certain atmosphere in the area. Perhaps it would do good to think about this lightly.

    I put on a knight outfit with over the top decorations, my armor Arroganz was decorated the assembly hall, and to make matters worse, there were many participants.

    ¡°What the? Why are there so many people attending?¡±

    As I was grieving in the waiting room, my parents, who came to the royal capital for this day, looked at me and wept.

    ...My mother was cruel on me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve be so elegant. I used to think you were a foolish child back then, but you were actually quite wonderful. Your mother is really proud.¡±

    My father was also crying.

    ¡°I never thought that you would be a knight this quickly. For goodness¡¯ sake...I¡¯m tearing up.¡±

    My older brother and older sister wore uniforms.

    ¡°Huh? What happened to the other part of the family?¡±

    My older brother thought it odd that Z and the others weren¡¯ting, but my older sister knew from the beginning that they wouldn¡¯t.

    ¡°They¡¯re not going toe. In the first ce, Leon is now part of an independent, separate Baltfault household. One above the sixth rank at that...¡±

    My older brother and sister continued their conversation.

    ¡°Say what?¡±

    ¡°At this rate, if Leon enters the royal court, he would probably be sought after by girls.¡±

    ¡°Leon being sought after? Wasn¡¯t this the guy that made the students in the whole school resent him? We don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going to happen once the new school term starts.¡±

    ¡°How foolish. He was promoted. It means that Leon was recognized by the royal pce. Only an idiot wouldn¡¯t be able to realize what that entails.¡±

    ¡°In that case, I suppose that it¡¯s fine even if he returns to the academy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Wouldn¡¯t it be rough? After all, there are some kids who got their entire fortune taken away by him.¡±

    ¡°I wonder what will happen. I suppose it¡¯ll be made clear in the future.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being noisy. I don¡¯t know what will happen either.¡±

    Damn it! I¡¯ve gone and earned the hate of the students in the entire school, and returning to the academy was going to be frightening. In the first ce, I never thought that I was going to return there.

    If I knew I was going back, I would¡¯ve made adjustments, and wouldn¡¯t have done something like robbing people through a bet. Curse me and my reckless behavior!

    In the worst case scenario, if it got to a dangerous point where my family would get rolled up into it, I would have had to think about getting everyone to board Luxon and escape. I got carried away.

    I suddenly became aware of the crowd.

    ¡°The father of the former crown prince is the king, right?¡±

    My father calmed down and shifted his attention to me.

    ¡°That¡¯s only natural. Don¡¯t act strange in front of his Majesty. If you do anything, your head will go flying.¡±

    I ignored him and continued talking.

    ¡°I wonder how he feels about...promoting the person who beat up his son.¡±

    My father pondered while folding his arms, and averted his gaze from me.

    ¡°...To tell the truth, it wouldn¡¯t be enjoyable. I would hate it if it were me.¡±

    Of course.

    No matter how bad his son was, I didn¡¯t think that he would enjoy it. I wanted to ask him what exactly he was thinking.

    No wait, I actually didn¡¯t want to know.

    ¡ó

    It was the next day.

    A knight was born.

    It was unusual in the Holfault kingdom for someone to be officially recognized as a knight at sixteen years old and be given a rank at the same time.

    His rank was above the sixth.

    A sess for an adventurer.

    Furthermore, criticizing the crown prince for his foolish behavior also counted as one of his achievements.

    In fact, it was said that he showed his ability by defeating four people from famous households, but the exact reason why he did that was unknown.

    However, there was no denying that a powerful, young knight was born in the Holfault Kingdom.

    Many swarmed into the royal pce to see such a knight.

    It was evident that Leon was gathering much attention.

    ¡ó

    It was night.

    My school life would continue starting the next day, so I came to the student dorms.

    I was scratching my head in front of the staff at the academy¡¯s lobby.

    ¡°My room changed?¡±

    The staff member at the reception desk made a stiff smile replying to me.

    ¡°R, right! Leon Fou Baltfault, you¡¯re already a knight and a baron. You¡¯re a student, but we took that into ount.¡±

    The room that I was shown to on a map was at a higher grade than the one before.

    ¡°I see. In that case, I¡¯ll take the key.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll guide you there at once! You can leave your luggage transportation to us.¡±

    The staff member took my luggage, briskly©¤©¤or rather, nervously catering to me.

    The difference between how they treated me before I enrolled and how they did now was clear.

    ¡ó

    I spread out onto the bed in my spacious room, staring up at the ceiling while mumbling.

    ¡°Why did things turn out this way?¡±

    Luxon, who floated next to me, gave an honest reply.

    [Isn¡¯t this the result of having acted careless? You assumed that because I was here, you could more or less do anything unreasonable and still be okay, which proved to be fatal when you got carried away and participated in the duel. You thought that making blunders would still be fine, but you shouldn¡¯t have have behaved violently, doing whatever you pleased. This is a matter of dealing with the consequences. You paid arge sum of money for your life, knowing that much of it would flow towards the work of the royal court. The result was a promotion, or rather, an oue you didn¡¯t want. Well, to put it inly...you reap what you sow.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the exact answer. If you had already noticed it while the ordeal was still in process, you should have said it out loud, you idiot.¡±

    [Even if we did try to correct this mid-way, there wouldn¡¯t be enough information to go off of. If I were to speak honestly, then even I¡¯m a little surprised of this result.]

    What a useless AI.

    ¡°Damn...thanks to that, I¡¯m back to the life of having to search for a marriage partner.¡±

    [Isn¡¯t that fine? It¡¯s possible that the girls¡¯ opinions of you may have changed now that you have been promoted.]

    ¡°You think they¡¯d change?¡±

    [Yes. Not the ones that made bets on the duel, though. That¡¯s likely why you¡¯re enemies with around seventy percent of the academy¡¯s students. I had been gathering information, and it seems that both boys and girls have been spending the summer vacation earning money through dungeons like never before.]

    There were those that bet everything they owned, and fools that borrowed money. They should not have gone that far in their belief that they would win.

    Well, if it were me and I didn¡¯t know any better, then I would have also made a bet on Julian and the others.

    [By the way master, as a result, there has been a lot of abusive nder about you, with people calling you things like a coward, the worst sharp-tongued jerk, and so on.]

    ¡°That¡¯s the information you found?! So doesn¡¯t that mean my reputation hadn¡¯t changed for the better?! On the contrary, didn¡¯t it get worse?!¡±

    [I saw many that hated you, master. However, you seem to be popr amongst a portion of the boys. They talked about how you said the things they wanted to hear.¡±

    ¡°That makes so d, I might shed a tear!¡±

    Marriage had be more difficult than it had been before I enrolled in the academy.

    I was definitely reaping what I sowed, but if I knew that it would have resulted in this, I would have restrained myself!

    [Well, isn¡¯t this okay? This world where women domineer over men may be tough, but marriage isn¡¯t everything. If one doesn¡¯t care about their reputation, they¡¯re free to do anything other than handle marriage. The power of money is potent in particr. You could find girls who are having financial difficulties.]

    ¡°Hmm~, isn¡¯t that cruel? If that¡¯s the way you¡¯re thinking, than aren¡¯t you the worst?¡±

    [That¡¯s exactly the way you would solve it, master. So, I¡¯ve prepared a mirror. Look at it and voice outints to your heart¡¯s content. Yourints and grumbles would all apply to you as well, master.]

    I then saw arge mirror in the room.

    ...Huh? Did Luxon really prepare one? Was it just to voice its sarcasm and dislike towards me?

    ¡°You...have quite the free time.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you, master. Besides, I¡¯m busy. Want to know? First of all, gathering information in the academy is©¤©¤]

    I immediately ignored the thing and closed my eyes.

    At any rate, this was troubling...I didn¡¯t think that those five would be disinherited.

    Just what was going to happen from now on?

    ¡ó

    Three days had passed since the opening ceremony of the new school term.

    It would be hard to say that my life at the academy was going well.

    The people around were avoiding me.

    It was a relief that Daniel and Raymond came to give me an apology, but it would take time for our rtionship to be like it was before.

    Perhaps having felt indebted towards me, the two were a bit awkward when they spoke.

    However, it seemed they were doing fine without me.

    ording to Luxon¡¯s investigations, neither Anjie nor Livia seemed to be troubled in their academy life. Three days had passed and I still didn¡¯t know what would happen, but people seemed to have calmed down around those two.

    It seemed that Anjie was getting fed up with her followers desperately trying to regain her trust, but other than that, things were the same as before.

    Livia continued studying during the summer vacation, and had already reached a level where I could not understand whatever she was saying.

    She had already begun studying the lessons of the second-year ss.

    I was afraid of being asked to help with her studies.

    I wanted to apologize and have her forgive me for pretending to be morepetent than I actually was.

    However, there was also a problem.

    It was about Julian and the others.

    They didn¡¯t separate from Marie. While it seemed that they were no longer lovers, they had formed a group of seven, including Marie and Kyle, and challenged dungeons many times.

    It seemed that Greg and Chris were trying to build up their strength so that they could have a rematch with me.

    For Jilk and Brad, it seemed that their main goal was earning money, since they no longer received support from their household.

    The same was true for Marie.

    Marie¡¯s viscount household had been in financial trouble from the beginning. It seemed that she was challenging the dungeons under the expectation that she wouldn¡¯t receive support from them.

    In addition, Julian was also participating with Marie and the others. They argued that they had e together by chance to tackle a dungeon,¡± but that was a stupid excuse.

    While my reputation plummeted drastically after the duel, it seemed that there were girls who became sympathetic towards the prince and the others, cheering them on.

    All things considered, the seven of them seemed to be having fun©¤©¤no wait, one of them didn¡¯t seem to be having fun.

    That person was the ringleader, Marie.

    She seemed to be hiding a side of her that was suffering from her loss of status, honor, and fortune. Her other side made it seem like she was having fun.

    Despite seeming like she was having fun to the people around her, Marie¡¯sugh was from her having to face the troubling reality.

    Her shrewd movements came to an end, and nothing felt more wonderful than thinking about how this definitely wasn¡¯t the result Marie wanted.

    How refreshing. It seemed I would be able to sleep well that day.

    I was sitting on a bench in the school courtyard, and while I was thinking about such things, two people sat beside me. I first assumed that they were Daniel and Raymond, but I thought differently when I noticed a certain gentle atmosphere and pleasant scent.

    They didn¡¯t smell like those guys.

    I looked up and saw Livia and Anjelica sitting.

    ph_mobuseka01_ill010

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re by yourself again today?¡±

    ¡°Thanks for rubbing salt on the wound. I¡¯m alone today.¡±

    ¡°Good grief, what to do with that manner of speaking you have? Leaving that aside, if you have free time, thene with us.¡±

    Anjie had a slightly tired expression, perhaps from having to deal with her followers.

    ¡°Come with you? Where?¡±

    Livia seemed to have a cheerful expression.

    ¡°There¡¯s a stall with these great, famous crepes.¡±

    As expected of an otome game world.

    It was a fantasy world of swords and magic,plete with crepes and other sweets. A gentle world for females.

    A world that would be the toughest for males.

    ¡°Do they have strawberry or chocte?¡±

    However, my body needed some sugar, so I was also interested. This bitter world was tough for males, so I would at least eat some sweets.

    Livia answered with a smile.

    ¡°They do! Their strawberry jam is popr.¡±

    Crepes seemed like a novel concept to Anjie.

    ¡°A stall? I don¡¯t have much experience with those. I never got to purchase something from those since my followers kept telling me that I shouldn¡¯t eat from them.¡±

    Most of the girl followers who said that actually ate at those stalls. I believe Luxon made a report on something like that.

    The two held hands, got up, and headed towards the crepe stall.

    ¡°Leon, hurry up.¡±

    ¡°Hey, be quicker.¡±

    They walked while pushing my back.

    The two were gentle and cute, but they were people that I couldn¡¯ty a hand on.

    ...Wasn¡¯t it too unreasonable to have those closest to me be the ones that I couldn¡¯t do anything with?

    The world of otome games really is tough for me.

    TLN: Important announcement regarding this novel impending. Stay tuned.

 Chapter 37 - Volume 1

    <h4>v1 Interlude</h4>

    <h4>Luxon¡¯s Report</h4>

    It waste at night.

    Luxon, floating in the room where Leon was sleeping, turned its red eyes, or rather its lenses, and studied its master.

    [Leon Fou Baltfault, age sixteen©¤©¤male. A self-proimed reincarnated person who ims that this intense world where woman domineer over men is an ¡®otome game world¡¯.]

    Luxon was intrigued by the boy who imed to have reincarnated and saw the world as that of an otome game.

    Otherwise, it would have refused being used by Leon, and instead would have self destructed.

    [It¡¯s interesting that he calls himself Japanese. At any rate, perhaps I¡¯ve done all I can to see if he was a fake.]

    A self-proimed Japanese person.

    Leon being someone who reincarnated was suspicious, but Luxon repeatedly tried to verify it, seeing how he imed to have roots from a country of the former humans.

    Luxon checked if Leon really was a Japanese person, but Leon was calm throughout the whole process, and Luxon came to the conclusion that it was true.

    He also said things that made it seem as if he felt out of ce, such as when he was handed a sword-like weapon and he voiced out ¡°What¡¯s with this fantasy katana?¡±.

    So with that, Luxon came to understand that Leon was Japanese, or at least, a boy who knew Japanese people very well.

    To Luxon, Leon was eligible for being its master.

    ...If it turned out that he was a fake, it would immediately turn against him. It thought that such a thing was improbable, but it had wanted to test Leon, who kept insisting that he was someone who reincarnated.

    [This world is that of an otome game, was it?]

    Leon asserted that they were in the world of otome game.

    The Holfault Kingdom, with its tendency to ce women over men, did indeed give females some favorable treatment. No, it gave them a lot of favorable treatment.

    [There¡¯s certainly a ruling ss. Furthermore, a portion of that ss has a strangelyrge amount of power over men. It¡¯s also odd that there aren¡¯t a particrlyrge amount of males.]

    Since magic was incorporated into their culture, they couldn¡¯t really bepared with the former humans, but even so, it wasn¡¯t surprising for social systems of thetter to give preferential treatment towards males.

    Wars and even monsters emerged in this world.

    The death rate for men going into battle was high, so there tended to be few men.

    Although it wasn¡¯t pointed out within the academy, the female-to-male ratio increases drastically a few years after graduation.

    The reason was that the number of men decreased.

    It wouldn¡¯t have been strange if this society had given men a better position and allowed them to choose their fate.

    In reality, the main providers in noble families were men, both doing work and being on the battlefield.

    [...Even when assuming that the poor treatment of males is something that couldn¡¯t be helped, why do the women have such strong authority?]

    Luxon was unable to understand.

    The same went for Leon¡¯s current situation.

    He had been in an environment where he was likely to be sold as a leftover-husband to a woman in her fifties.

    When people went to find a marriage partner despite their disadvantages, they would have to ept that their partner already had additional lovers. The world didn¡¯t have the technology for things like gic identification, so there was the question of how exactly one would confirm who a child belonged to.

    It was unbelievable that such conditions were treated as if they were normal.

    [Was this push to favor females intentional? Or perhaps, is this really the world of an otome game? No, that¡¯s not possible.]

    The one who believed that the world of a game had turned into reality, Leon, tossed and turned in his sleep.

    He was sleeping in joy.

    [...This really is an interesting world. I¡¯ll observe the situation with my master for now.]

    Luxon wasn¡¯t interested in a world where the former humans had perished.

    Its interest was in Leon.

    [All things considered, my master really is...a ¡®fool,¡¯ isn¡¯t he?]

    Luxon called Leon a fool, but it had its reasons.

    First of all, he caused trouble while thinking half-heartedly about what it would cause.

    [If he wasn¡¯t in danger of being sold as a leftover-husband, he likely wouldn¡¯t havee alone to where I resided. Why didn¡¯t he use that courage sooner?]

    It wasn¡¯t ipetence.

    Actually, he was able to beat the seventy point mark that was sought after in the academy, and so he had somewhat superior grades.

    Luxon thought that if he was more serious about it, he could further his grades and reach the top rankings.

    However, he basically had no motivation.

    [Is his motivation only in tea?]

    Luxon was amazed at the somewhat expensive tea and and the high-ss tea leaves in the room. It thought about how he might be a Japanese person following the Way of Tea, but didn¡¯t voice it out loud.

    In summary, he was a person who was capable, butcked motivation in things other than hobbies.

    However©¤©¤

    [He¡¯s not evil either. His alignment...is hard to describe.]

    ©¤©¤He wasn¡¯t a bad person.

    That was evident by the fact that despite having a policy to not get involved with Olivia and Anjelica, he helped them when he saw them being bullied.

    [I do think there was a better way to go about doing it, though.]

    Luxon was owned by Leon. There were many ways of aplishing things, and if he gathered information on a daily basis, he probably would have noticed the matter of Marie too.

    It probably would have sufficed if Leon intervened without starting a fight.

    Leon, who got involved with them at ate moment, made various excuses about why he did it, but...it simply boiled down to him having a good-natured side.

    He wanted to help Olivia and Anjelica.

    [Perhaps he¡¯s hiding his embarrassment?]

    Luxon then thought about Marie.

    [ording to my master, Marie is also someone who reincarnated, but...well, I wonder what will happen from now on.]

    Luxon shifted its sight from the reckless Leon to the floating moon outside the window.

    Marie being someone who reincarnated was fine, but that didn¡¯t change the fact that she snatched away the position of the protagonist from Olivia.

    If things progressed ording to the story, as Leon said they would, then the Holfault Kingdom was going to get involved in a war.

    If that were true, then what would happen from now on?

    Olivia didn¡¯t have any partners, like the capture target boys, to protect her anymore.

    To make matters worse, Marie captivated the five boys, and they gave up their positions as the heirs of their household for her sake.

    In addition, Anjelica was on Olivia and Leon¡¯s side.

    It was obvious that the situation was different from what Leon assumed it would be.

    However, it didn¡¯t seem to Luxon that its sleeping master was thinking deeply about it.

    [Well, whatever. Even if something happens, it¡¯s easy for my master to transport people somewhere to take refuge. I was prepared for such an event to begin with. No matter what happens, I will protect my master.]

    Luxon muttered as such while gazing at the moon.

 Chapter 38 - Volume 1

    <h4> v1 Side Story</h4>

    <i>TLN: So you know how volume two had a side story essible by leaving feedback on an online form? Well, amenter informed me that there was a side story for volume one essible through an online form as well. And whoop-de-doo, they were right. </i><i>Whoops. Well, betterte than never...</i>

    <i>I¡¯m also going to take this opportunity to discuss my current ns. I¡¯m switching over to ¡°Is it Tough Being a Friend?¡± since volume three of ¡°The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs¡± isn¡¯t out yet. However, that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean I will halt everything I¡¯m doing on ¡°Is it Tough Being a Friend?¡± to immediately work on volume three the moment it doese out. I¡¯ll work on it when I feel inclined to, which is probably whenever I finish another volume or two of ¡°Is it Tough Being a Friend?¡±</i>

    <h4>Anjelica¡¯s Academy Life</h4>

    The academy where nobles attended was a marvelous ce.

    Youthful nobles met each other and studied hard together©¤©¤or at least that was what people were led to believe about the academy, but what was important for many students was marriage.

    It was a ce for those high on the socialdder.

    In such an academy, Anjelica held one of the top positions.

    There were always followers and students surrounding her.

    They were people whose families held rtions with the Redgrave house, Anjelica¡¯s household.

    As she walked inside the school building, more than ten people would be around her.

    Anjelica noticed a group of people who came from the other side of the hallway.

    ¡°©¤©¤Them.¡±

    There stood the daughter of an earl household, who simrly had followers crowding around her.

    Anjelica immediately judged that the girl had status, power, and connections.

    A follower whispered into her ear.

    ¡°Anjelica, those people are©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re no big deal.¡±

    Anjelica continued walking despite the upperssmen in front of her not moving out of the way.

    They showed signs of difort, but they all gave way once they realized that it was Anjelica.

    The earl daughter and her followers made faces of disgust while stepping back.

    Anjelica didn¡¯t yield despite them being upperssmen.

    Status took priority over grade. That was the stance of the academy.

    A boy with a melodic voice sung praises of Anjelica.

    ¡°As expected of Anjelica! Did you see the faces of those people in the group under the earl household? Each and every one of them yielded under Anjelica¡¯s might!¡±

    Anjelica felt like sighing.

    (They¡¯re only making way because of my household¡¯s power. Does this guy even know that those people belong to an opposing faction?)

    All of her followers weren¡¯t that great.

    However, they didn¡¯t hold back on associating with her since their households held rtions.

    Anjelica, stepping out of the school building, came to the front gate and saw a cart. Since it was after school, carts came to the front of the academy to do business with the students.

    Anjelica stopped walking to observe the cart.

    ¡°...How about visiting cart? Once in a while can¡¯t be hurt.¡±

    Having an interest in the sight of students buying and eating, she thought about purchasing something to eat as well.

    ¡°You cannot!¡±

    ¡°Indeed. That food shouldn¡¯t enter your mouth, Anjelica.¡±

    ¡°Now, let us ignore matters like these carts.¡±

    The girls had quickly spoken their opinion while the boys stayed silent. They were afraid of opposing the girls.

    Anjelica gave up on buying something.

    (I suppose it¡¯ll be a waste of time to argue with them.)

    Following the followers¡¯ advice, she headed towards a location where carriages stood.

    She got on a carriage that was facing towards the duke household¡¯s residence ahead in the royal capital.

    She then separated from her followers.

    After getting on the carriage, Anjelica¡¯s followers spoke to her.

    ¡°Well then Mdy, take care.¡±

    ¡°...Right.¡±

    Once the carriage began to move, the followers stood in a line, but their minds soon wandered.

    Anjelica looked at a mirror attached to the carriage and let her mind wander for just a bit as well.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even have the time to get distracted in the academy.¡±

    The duke household¡¯s residence had a private tutor. Anjelica had no rest even when school was over.

    She was the crown prince¡¯s fiancee.

    Considering her position, it wasn¡¯t enough to only receive education through the academy¡¯s sses.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be a tea ceremony during May. I¡¯ll have to try on the finished dress and meet with his Highness.¡±

    Having many worries about her position, Anjelica closed her eyes for just a bit inside the carriage.

    She endured it once she remembered that it was for Julian.

    She had been doing her best like that since she was a child.

    However, Anjelica was also uneasy.

    There were rumors of a schoolgirl who was on Julian¡¯s mind. She investigated this person, but she was the daughter of a viscount household. She definitely wasn¡¯t a match for Julian.

    While thinking about that, she hid herself within the shadow of the carriage.

    She looked outside the window, spotting an airship flying in the sky above the royal capital.

    ¡°...I¡¯d like to go on a trip with his Highness on an airship someday.¡±

    That was Anjelica¡¯s current wish.

 Chapter 39 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 prologue part1</h4>

    <h4>Prologue</h4>

    Was holding a friendship with girls just a pipe dream?

    Put simply, I, ¡°Leon Fou Baltfault,¡± was someone who reincarnated into the world of an otome game.

    The world I reincarnated into was one from a game I yed just before my death.

    The reason why I¡¯m stressing this is because this world was unreasonable for guys.

    After all, it was an otome game.

    It was as if the world was kind towards women, and that men existed to serve them.

    I would have preferred reincarnating into a world that was more lenient on guys, a fantasy world with swords and magic.

    Even though I reincarnated, I didn¡¯t receive any special role in particr.

    I was one of the many others out there, a mob.

    With my ck hair and ck irises, I was neither a beauty nor anyone who stood out.

    I liked to think of myself as a high school student whosepassion was still in the process of developing.

    Well, despite having said that I was a high school student, there was no such thing as a high school in this world.

    However, in this fantasy world, there was a ce for education called the academy.

    That otome game modeled it after Japan¡¯s high schools, and due to that, there were many game events that took ce during the second term.

    The school festival was one of them.

    ¡°Ah, let¡¯s move these two desks a little more to the right.¡±

    There were three of us working in an empty ssroom, my friends ¡°Daniel Fou Dand¡±, ¡°Raymond Fou Arkin¡±, and me.

    We brought in tables and chairs to prepare for the school festival.

    After finding a trader, we had enough equipment to do some serious remodeling to the empty ssroom and turn it into a coffee shop.

    It was at a level different from the makeshift coffee shops by students at school festivals, and was what I thought of as a spectacle for the nobles that attend the academy.

    It wasn¡¯t that I disliked the cheap feeling those makeshift ones evoked, but making something like that would be frowned upon in the academy.

    For better or for worse, this was an academy that rich and influential nobles attended.

    In society, one needed to perform in ordance to what the circumstances demanded.

    There was nothing I could do, there really was nothing I could do, so I spent money to prepare a cafe.

    Being particr about the interior design, I prepared a tea set, tea leaves, and numerous sweets toplete it.

    ¡°Hey, Daniel! That tea set is expensive, so be careful with it!¡±

    Hearing that he was holding an expensive tea set, Daniel trembled andined to me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bring such an expensive tea set to the school! It¡¯s only going to make my hands shaky from the anxiety.¡±

    Raymond put on his sses and observed the inside of the ssroom.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you spend too much? I don¡¯t think many students would go this far. We¡¯re going to be in the red.¡±

    I shook my head as if I didn¡¯t understand what the two were talking about.

    The two got irritated by my attitude.

    ¡°In the red? So what? I¡¯m rich now. I was able to squeeze out so much from the idiotic students in this academy, after all. I have to spend it somehow, don¡¯t I?¡±

    Raymond was shocked.

    ¡°I suppose that bad nature of yours is to be expected, isn¡¯t it Leon? It¡¯s just that almost every student in the academy is your enemy.¡±

    Daniel warned me by saying that.

    ¡°You¡¯d better realize that they bear a grudge against you. The ones who thought you were going to lose in that duel with his Highness Julian suffered a heavy loss, after all.¡±

    Sadly, it was as Raymond had said.

    I was the most hated person in the academy.

    What was the reason for that? I beat up the former crown prince, ¡°Julian Rafua Holfault,¡± and the other capture targets of that otome game in a duel.

    They irritated me, so I knocked the living daylights out of them.

    In addition, the battle was the focus of a bet amongst the students.

    I was confident that I would win, so I made a bet on myself with arge sum of money.

    The two here also ced bets on me, and were able to earn pocket money.

    However, the majority were idiots that thought Julian and the others would win, some going as far as to bet with borrowed money. There were also fools who bet everything they owned.

    Those fools bore a grudge against me once I won against Julian and the others.

    ©¤©¤I didn¡¯t even do anything bad, how sad.

    Normally, it would have been an act that could get me killed in the worst case scenario. However, I used my money and connections to get through the situation, and the result left me in confusion. I was praised and was told that I got a promotion.

    What a strange world.

    I was just a student, but also a baron and a knight officially above the sixth rank in the royal court¡¯s ranking.

    It was not a situation where I, who didn¡¯t want a promotion, could be happy.

    ¡°No need for praise.¡±

    Daniel dropped his shoulders.

    ¡°We weren¡¯t praising you.¡±

    My friends were talking to me about such things, and then two girls entered the empty ssroom.

    There was ¡°Olivia,¡± also known as Livia, wearing a thick maid dress that she normally wouldn¡¯t wear. It had a moderately long skirt that she held onto and slightly raised as she walked.

    She had beige colored hair and something close to a bob cut.

    She had impressive gentle, blue eyes, but above all, she emitted this affectionate aura that could alleviate people.

    The design of the outfit tightened around the waist and hips,rgely emphasizing the chest area, and was quite magnificent.

    ¡°Is it weird?¡±

    Livia showing her dress to us while seeming uneasy stirred up a desire to protect her.

    It seemed she was unaware of how devilish she was by presenting it in that manner, but even so, I thought it was fine to fall under her hands.

    Perhaps this was the power of the ¡°protagonist¡± in that otome game.

    ©¤©¤Wasn¡¯t it lovely?

    ¡°It suits you. I don¡¯t see a problem with the size, either.¡±

    Daniel¡¯s and Raymond¡¯s cheeks turned red when seeing Livia like that.

    When I felt like telling them not to look at her like that, Anjie came forward in a dignified manner from behind Livia.

    Her hands were behind her back as she showed herself.

    ¡°It emphasizes the chest too much, is this okay? Perhaps something more low-key would be better?¡±

    ¡°Anjelica Rafua Redgrave,¡± also known as Anjie, wore a maid outfit.

    Anjelica was a woman from a duke household, and it was unexpected for her to wear something like a maid dress.

    However, it seemed that a lot of rough things were going on for the daughter of an esteemed household as well.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re getting used to the attire, Anjie.¡±

    While Livia looked amazed, Anjie exined why with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I had worn a maid dress before.¡±

    ¡°You did?¡±

    ¡°I spent two years in the royal pce having to learn manners through apprenticeship.¡±

    It seemed that the daughters of esteemed households had it tough as well.

    She had a strong-willed look and a sharp glint in her eyes.

    Her red irises gave off a sense of power, contrasting with Livia¡¯s gentle looks.

    The two really were on opposite ends of the spectrum©¤©¤after all, she was originally a rival in that otome game. No, not really a rival, actually.

    She was the foe.

    If Livia had the role of the protagonist, then Anjie was the ¡°viiness.¡±

    They originally were supposed topete against each other for a man.

    Rather than a rivalry, perhaps it was more urate to say their rtionship was that of enemies.

    Livia was amoner, and her being able to enroll in an academy for nobles was extraordinary.

    As opposed to that, Anjie was a so-called top-ss woman from a duke household.

    The two were originally supposed to be enemies, but now they¡¯re close friends thanks to ¡°certain someone.¡±

    ©¤©¤I wasn¡¯t referring to myself.

    The one who caused it was another person who reincarnated.

    ¡°Anjie, you¡¯re from an esteemed household, right? Why did you have to do that, then?¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of things that daughters from noble families have to do. My position in particr requires many things from me. Leaving that aside, doesn¡¯t that outfit suit you too, Livia? The impression of innocence that it gives off is quite nice.¡±

    Anjie embraced Livia.

    ¡°I like this uniform a bit too.¡±

    Livia, slightly bashful from being hugged, looked delighted.

    As I was watching the two of them,

    ¡°What a precious sight this is.¡±

    I muttered my thoughts out loud.

    Like a douse of cool water, that scene alleviated my heart, which had grown hectic from marriage-searching hell.

    Raymond also had the same view as me, as his sses glittered.

    ¡°How nice.¡±

    Daniel nodded.

    ¡°Quite nice. Are these two really girls from this academy? Are we not dreaming?¡±

    It was understandable that Daniel couldn¡¯t believe it.

    The girls in the academy, especially the girls in the advanced ss, were cruel. No joke, they were really cruel.

    Leaving that aside, those two were also helping me out in the coffee shop.

    While the academy was modeled after the high schools in Japan, the sses were closer to the level of a university.

    Due to that, it wasn¡¯t possible to have tasks divided by ss, so they were instead divided by groups of people.

    While the five of us were working on a cafe, others were also working in groups to carry out an exhibit.

    Anjie looked at us.

    ¡°Leon, are you guys not going to wear uniforms?¡±

    ¡°We will, but those folks out there were acting the same as ever. They kept hoping that I would get cheap outfits instead.¡±

    Livia seemed apologetic once I answered.

    ¡°Did we blow our budget on these outfits? Hmm, I suppose we didn¡¯t have to buy outfits this expensive.¡±

    Danielughed at Livia¡¯s innocence.

    ¡°No, there would be no meaning to it if the outfits were in. I mean, this guy here has loads of money to spend.¡±

    Raymond also agreed.

    This is his hobby. It¡¯s something that he likes to overspend on. With this, the other groups doing a cafe would look poor inparison. Quite the overkill.¡±

    Even Anjie looked at me in amazement.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy about tea, Leon. There are a lot of boys like that, but you¡¯re the craziest amongst them.¡±

    I was not crazy about tea.

    I was simply charmed by mentor¡¯s mannerisms in tea.

    My mentor was a teacher in the academy and a perfect gentleman that taught the boys manners. I wanted to be a gentleman like him one day.

    ¡°I still have a long ways to go.¡±

    ¡°Except that this isn¡¯t a matter of cultivating skill, but a matter of how much money and time you¡¯re willing to sink into tea.¡±

    Anjie was cold.

    ¡°Before this too, you left both of us behind and went to go buy tea leaves with that teacher.¡±

    Daniel and Raymond both made an expression as if they wanted to say ¡°You must be kidding.¡±

    ¡°You, don¡¯t neglect your obligations towards those two.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so envious that I feel like attacking you during your sleep.¡±

    No, in the first ce, I went to buy the tea leaves that day for their sake.

    Leaving that aside, unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t make any romantic rtionships with the either Livia or Anjelica.

    Livia felt slightly down.

    ¡°The three of us had tea on that day. The tea was good, but the sweets were so delicious that I¡¯ve recently been©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie embraced Livia.

    ¡°I¡¯ll like you even if you get plump, Livia. It¡¯d be fine for you to gain a bit more.¡±

    Livia had teary eyes.

    ¡°I want a good figure, like the one you have, Anjie.¡±

    ¡°It delights me to hear you say that. However, don¡¯t you have some nice legs yourself, Livia?¡±

    ¡°Y, you think so?¡±

    As the two were chatting with each other, Daniel and Raymond sent a gaze filled with envy towards me.

    Well, they shouldn¡¯t have.

    After all, those two were the only ones I couldn¡¯t go out with.

    ©¤©¤It truly was something that was out of my control.

    The social status of those two were too different from mine.

 Chapter 40 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 prologue part2</h4>

    The students were moving in a hurry in order to prepare for the school festival.

    It was a sad sight to see that it was mainly the boys that were busy while the girls were only ordering them around.

    I knew fully well that this scene came from a world that was gentle towards girls while being troublesome for boys.

    However, there was an atmosphere of fun as well in this moment before the festival.

    The scenery that differed from the usual academy was refreshing and pleasant.

    The one who sought to destroy such pleasant things came to my cafe.

    It was my older sister, the second daughter, ¡°Jenna.¡±

    My sister, who was a fanatic about the city, sat on a chair and slumped over a desk.

    Behind her was her lover©¤©¤a demi-human ve who had cat ears, a tall figure, wore a high-ss suit, and was her exclusive servant.

    It wasmon for girls in the academy to have ves like what she was doing.

    Almost all of the girls in the advanced ss had lovers attend to them.

    ©¤©¤It was indeed a sorrowful sight.

    When I was cleaning up the interior of cafe with Livia, my troublesome sister stormed in, and I concealed my difort.

    ¡°What do you want? If you¡¯re here to cause a bother, then I¡¯d prefer if you go back.¡±

    Livia warned me about being frank.

    ¡°Leon, you can¡¯t say something like that to your older sister.¡±

    As if she had just gained a new ally, my sister lifted her head and protested.

    ¡°She¡¯s right! You should treat me better. Can¡¯t you at least bring out some tea?¡±

    What an awful attitude she had.

    However, this was a world where girls held a strong position.

    Right, this was a world where women domineered over men.

    That was only the beginning of it.

    ¡°Like I said, hurry up and tell me why you¡¯re here. I¡¯m busy right now.¡±

    My sister started speaking with a disgruntled attitude.

    ¡°To tell the truth, I had a fight with a close friend of mine.¡±

    I was surprised that my sister even had a close friend, but I kept silent about it.

    ¡°A fight, you say? If so, then I think you should reconcile with that person.¡±

    When Livia said so with a smile, my sisterughed scornfully.

    ¡°It¡¯s pointless. After all, our fight centered around a man.¡±

    ¡°A, a man? U, umm©¤©¤¡±

    Perhaps unfamiliar with the matters between boys and girls, Livia turned to me for help.

    ¡°Were you twopeting for a man?¡±

    ¡°You see, he¡¯s the heir of a viscount household, and he¡¯ll be rich in the future.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be rich?¡±

    After listening to her, it turned out that boy was the heir of a viscount household. but since he was poor up until now, it seemed that nobody looked his way.

    However, he held some territory in the Holfault Kingdom¡¯s maind.

    It was discovered that the territory was andmine of resources.

    The country would aid him in the development of a mine that would be under his ownership. In other words, he was going to have a huge source of ie.

    Since that was the case, the boy who hadn¡¯t been noticed until now was being pursued by girls like he was prey being discovered by carnivores.

    ¡°Since he owns that territory in the maind, he¡¯ll definitely be wealthy in the future. With such an excellent case like this, I can¡¯t help but go after him.¡±

    Livia listened to her story.

    ¡°I, it doesn¡¯t have to do with love? Do you like that boy or©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Such things are unnecessary for marriages between nobles. What matters is the ability to earn a living. Love and affection is something I can enjoy with ¡®Meole¡¯ here and other lovers. Do you not know that having assets is important?¡±

    ©¤©¤I didn¡¯t need to know that!

    I wanted to wallop her.

    She was a woman, but since she was my dear sister, was I not allowed to knock some sense into her?

    ¡°You¡¯re just as rotten as ever, I see.¡±

    Leaving that aside, this was the first time I heard the name of the cat-eared ve behind her, Meole.

    I wasn¡¯t really interested in him from the beginning, so I didn¡¯t really care.

    ¡°Anyways, you¡¯re saying that the person tried to snatch away the boy you were aiming for? It would do you well to sever rtions with such a person. Those who try to go after someone else¡¯s sweetheart are the worst.¡±

    Cheating, unfaithfulness, and adultery were pretty bad, weren¡¯t they?

    Thereupon, my sister replied.

    ¡°©¤©¤That¡¯s not it.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°My friend had been aiming for him since the beginning, but since the conditions were right, I wondered if I could go for him as well.¡±

    ©¤©¤So the one trying to steal him away was her!

    She was the one that was being the worst kind of person.

    ¡°You¡¯re terrible. I¡¯m not going to say anything more to you.¡±

    My sister objected when I said that.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you help me?! If you acted as an intermediary between my friend and me, this matter could be resolved. The only thing you have going for you is your strength, so use it to help out your precious sister.¡±

    ¡°Precious? Hey, go look up the definition of precious in a dictionary.¡±

    In the first ce, why would I have cared about settling the matter?

    When I was about to ask what she wanted from me,

    ¡°Look, you¡¯re strong, right? So, you just need to introduce yourself in front of my friend and the boy. Simple, no?¡±

    ©¤©¤Was she nning to use my power to threaten her friend and the boy? Didn¡¯t that make her the worst?!

    Livia warned my older sister.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Why not?¡±

    When my sister red at her, Livia was surprised and took a step back. Meole, who stood in the back, folded his arms and intimidated Livia.

    ¡°U, um©¤©¤¡±

    I stepped in front of Livia.

    ¡°Despite what I said just a while ago, I¡¯ll voice my opinion. ©¤©¤You¡¯re absolutely disgusting. I¡¯m not going to do anything to help you. Also, don¡¯t pick on Livia. I prioritize Livia over you, and Anjie wouldn¡¯t stay silent if something happened to her.¡±

    My sister soon flinched after hearing that.

    ¡°M, my bad. Bringing in the daughter of a duke household is noughing matter. Anyways, you¡¯re a useless, stupid brother. Meole, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Yes, mdy.¡±

    No, it was her story that was noughing matter.

    My older sister left the empty ssroom.

    Livia was relieved.

    ¡°That was a little scary.¡±

    The cat-eared guy was a slim man with a well-defined muscture, making his re frightening since his tall figure and his muscles gave off a sense of intimidation.

    Livia couldn¡¯t help but feel scared.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If they do something, then tell me. I¡¯ll crush them at once.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a bit much©¤but, thank you for your concern.¡±

    When I saw Livia¡¯s smile, I averted my gaze from her.

    Upon which, I heard the sound of frantic footsteps.

    They came from Daniel and Raymond.

    ¡°This is serious, Leon!¡±

    ¡°I, it¡¯s the neighboring ssroom!¡±

    ¡ó

    When the four of us headed towards the empty ssroom next to ours, Julian¡¯s figure appeared there.

    He was handing out leaflets to the girls that came to watch.

    ¡°If you have the spare time, pleasee. I wee you.¡±

    The girls blushed from Julian¡¯s smile.

    ¡°O, okay!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go. I¡¯ll do all I can toe during the three days of the school festival!¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll spend a lot of money!¡±

    Was there some kind of propagandism was going on here?

    With his refreshing smile, Julian was advertising his own exhibit in front of the girls.

    ¡°We wee you to our ¡®princess cafe¡¯!¡±

    ©¤©¤It was a princess cafe!

    Daniel dropped his shoulders.

    ¡°It should¡¯ve been nearly impossible for the room next to ours to be a cafe as well.¡±

    Raymond kept ncing at my direction.

    ¡°Do you think they did it to spite you, Leon? I believe there were people in the executivemittee that lost to that bet about the duel. But even so, this is too cruel.¡±

    When Julian noticed me, he looked at me with a telling smile.

    Did this guy hate me? What a coincidence. I hated him as well.

    His navy blue, fluttering hair seemed to have been sparkling. As expected, one could say that he was the type of prince that would make for a capture target in an otome game. He was beautiful to a fault, and sparkled to a fault.

    Well, Julian, who was the former crown prince but now currently just a prince, was Anjie¡¯s former fiance.

    He was an utter fool who casted away Anjie and chose a different girl.

    Originally, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be Anjie or that girl, but the protagonist of this world, Livia, that he would choose.

    Things got thrown into disorder because of that girl.

    ¡°Baltfault, it seems that you¡¯re running a cafe. I, along with a few others, are also nning to open one. Doe if you¡¯re able to. We wee you.¡±

    I took offense at the stupid prince¡¯s triumphant expression.

    Livia was surprised after Julian handed her a leaflet.

    ¡°A, a set of tea and sweets goes for one hundred dia!¡±

    Livia was about to copse from the shock, so I rushed in to catch her.

    When I picked up the leaflet and examined it, there were some very bullish prices there. ©¤©¤No, rather than being bullish, they were approaching the level of rip-offs.

    Speaking in terms of my previous life, it felt like paying for cheap tea and sweets with ten thousand yen. To make matters worse, the extra options jacked up the prices even more©¤©¤so that in a matter of minutes, twenty thousand to thirty thousand yen would be gone in a sh.

    Even hostess bars weren¡¯t as bad as that!

    Daniel and Raymond were dumbfounded.

    I thought that ten to twenty dia would be enough for one customer, but I was careless. This was an academy that spoiled daughters from noble families attended.

    There were many rich people, so it was fine to make the prices steeper.

    Julian tilted his head when looking at Livia.

    ¡°Was that too cheap? Though, Marie said that this was a good price. Honestly, I would have liked to earn more.¡±

    Livia seemed to have been disheartened by the difference in their senses of money.

    ¡°©¤©¤Leon, nobles are unbelievable. I would never have the courage to go into such an expensive cafe like this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d be right to feel that way. It¡¯s fine to just ignore these guys.¡±

    She had fundamentally been raised in a different environment, so her differing sense of values wasn¡¯t something that could easily be ignored.

    ©¤©¤It couldn¡¯t be helped since her differing sense of values was a huge matter.

    Julian made an expression of irritation.

    ¡°They¡¯re fairlyx prices. However, Baltfault©¤©¤I won¡¯t lose this time.¡±

    Julian proceeded to leave after saying that, but we followed him in order to inspect the movements of this enemy.

    What was this guy saying, talking about not losing at a school festival?

    What aical guy. It seemed he had a knack for getting people tough.

    When we entered room in session, Julian was surprised.

    ¡°H, hey, why did youe here?!¡±

    ¡°Well, I suppose I¡¯m scouting.¡±

    ¡°How impudent!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to be honest, I was curious so I decided to see what you were up to. Well, you can show me what this is, right?¡±

    When I pushed Julian to the side, I was surprised at the unthinkable sightid before me.

    I already had a hunch about it from the beginning, but this wasn¡¯t a cafe.

    Gorgeous sofas lined up along low tables within a dim room.

    The ce had originally been an empty ssroom, but it was filled to the brim with a high-ss aura, perhaps from all the effort that had been put into its interior design.

    Inside the room were ¡°Chris Fier Arkwright¡± and ¡°Brad Fou Field¡± who were trying out some outfits.

    What they were wearing was pretty much a suit. However, the torso area was unbuttoned. They wore shirts that matched with their ck suits.

    I couldn¡¯t help but shout.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a host club?!¡±

    Chris, a serious young man with blue hair and eyesses, noticed me and sharpened his already piercing gaze.

    ¡°Baltfault, was it?¡±

    Brad, who had long purple hair and was wearing a shy suit, brushed his bangs.

    ¡°Are you here to inspect us as enemies? You¡¯re the same sneaky, filthy bloke as ever.¡±

    The filthy ones were them.

    Rather than being a cafe, wasn¡¯t this actually a host club?

    ¡°You¡¯re all ying unfair!¡±

    When I said that, Chris looked very delighted andughed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you say those words. It seems that it was the right choice to go along with Marie¡¯s suggestion. It¡¯s valuable enough to see your bitter expression.¡±

    This guy again! He really was just up to no good!

    Julian made a deration in front of us.

    ¡°The ones who will win during this school festival will be us. Baltfault, don¡¯t try to run away when your loss is apparent.¡±

    Julian really took joy in agitating me.

    Were these guys idiots? Were cafes and host clubs something topete on? In the first ce, the ying field was different from the previous battle!

    Livia constantly tilted to her head to the side.

    ¡°Um, is this a cafe? I feel like the atmosphere is closer to that of a pub.¡±

    Brad brought his face closer to Livia to intimidate her.

    ¡°Is the honor student making aint? I would prefer if you not make anyints towards Marie¡¯s suggestions. Furthermore, we¡¯re not serving alcohol. Just sweets and tea. We are the ones doing the service, though. You just don¡¯t understand Marie¡¯s line of thinking.¡±

    ¡°U, umm, but, something seems off.¡±

    I cut in between Livia and Brad.

    ¡°No touching. You¡¯ll dirty Livia. Buzz off.¡±

    When I made hand motions to shoo him away, a wrinkle appeared between Brad¡¯s eyebrows.

    ¡°©¤©¤You really are an irritable guy, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Were these guys not ashamed about being the former heirs of prestigious households? I wouldn¡¯t really say that a host club was the proper course of action to take in the school festival.

    Daniel, who looked at the inside of the room as if he was seeing something unusual, was surprised at the menu on a table.

    ¡°The service charge itself is one hundred dia!¡±

    Raymond was also astonished.

    ¡°S, something this expensive for a cafe...¡±

    As we were surprised, the girl who seemed to have coordinated the dresses, a person who reincarnated, appeared from behind some curtains. ¡°Kyle¡± was next to her.

    Did she n on participating too as a hostess?

    This girl¡¯s name was ¡°Marie Fou Lafuan¡±. She was the youngest daughter of the Lafuan viscount household, and a woman that deceived the heirs of prestigious noble families, including Julian.

    She was an extraordinarily wicked woman for someone who reincarnated, which was something that I could¡¯ve lived without.

    She had a petite build, blond hair, and blue eyes. Perhaps she was a devil who took on a cute disguise. Her long hair was soft and curly, and she had a slender figure with a chest that could called a b.

    I couldn¡¯t help but feel annoyed whenever I looked at her.

    ©¤©¤It made me remember about my younger sister from my previous life.

    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of course. Let me say this. Everyone, not to mention Julian, was originally going to be the heirs of prestigious families. Isn¡¯t it natural to pay that much to receive our services?¡±

    I clicked my tongue when I saw Marie in her dress.

    ¡°Are you the princess being advertised? Aren¡¯t you the youngest child of a viscount household? Calling yourself a princess is©¤©¤¡±

    Marie¡¯s face turned a bit red as she replied to me.

    ¡°M, my heart is that of a princess at all times.¡±

    Thereupon, Brad followed up.

    ¡°Marie, you¡¯re always our princess. Our treasured woman.¡±

    Thank you, Brad. Anyways, it was quite rude for a mob like you, someone with a minor role, to say that.¡±

    ¡°I do not lie. I¡¯m a pure being, after all.¡±

    If you¡¯re pure, then hoodlums are saints. Stop joking around.¡±

    I wanted to send a low kick towards this woman.

    Marie brushed her gentle hair and then spoke to us.

    ¡°I look forward to the day of the school festival. Though, since your cafe will be empty, we¡¯ll use it as our break room. Ah, we¡¯ll make sure to pay you. So, do serve us proper tea.¡±

    Even if she hadn¡¯t said that, I still wouldn¡¯t have made any lies regarding tea.

    After all, that would be a disgrace towards my mentor.

    At any rate, an unexpected enemy showed up right next to us.

 Chapter 41 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 1 part1</h4>

    <h4>The Queen</h4>

    In preparation for the school festival the next day, there were students holding signboards advertising their exhibit.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll work hard as well!¡±

    Livia, holding a handmade signboard, walked in her usual way that differed from the students in the academy.

    She was promoting Leon¡¯s cafe.

    Leon and the others were busy with preparations. Daniel and Raymond were running around making purchases, and Anjie was the representative for the first year girls.

    She was busy since she had work to do in the executivemittee as well.

    The only one who could advertise was Livia.

    While she was walking in the courtyard, there were also several boys who were simrly holding signboards and promoting their exhibit.

    They then noticed Livia.

    ¡°Huh? You¡¯re the honor student, right?¡±

    Livia panicked a bit and answered the voice calling out to her.

    ¡°R, right. Um, I¡¯m advertising a cafe.¡±

    The boys began to talk with her while smiling.

    Livia, who had been on alert, slightly lowered her guard.

    ¡°So there¡¯s a cafe over there? We¡¯re setting up a stall, so pleasee visit when you want to eat. We¡¯ll provide service.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just things like crepes, though. We¡¯re suffering from overdrafts, so we need to give it our all to earn money.¡±

    ¡°I head that there were lot of cafes, so your group should do its best.¡±

    Once the group of three returned to resume their work, Livia calmed down.

    (What a relief. I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done if they had bad intentions.)

    Livia was given special permission to enroll in the academy, but she herself was not a noble.

    From the view of the people around her, Livia was an outsider. Due to that, she had been the victim of bullying in the past.

    She once again walked around to advertise, and then stumbled across a group of girls.

    ¡°Excuse me!¡±

    However, unlike the boys©¤©¤the girls gave her a very cold re.

    They were a group of three girls who seemed to be from the advanced ss, judging by the fact that there were exclusive servants following them.

    She called out to them since they were chatting while sitting on a bench, but they took a very bad attitude.

    ¡°What does the honor student want? We¡¯re busy.¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m advertising our cafe.¡±

    Livia summoned her courage and promoted Leon¡¯s cafe.

    The girls sneered as if looking down on her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s that Baltfault¡¯s cafe? There¡¯s no way we would go. Are you perhaps getting cocky just because those guys back there took a liking to you? Don¡¯t get the wrong idea when only a few guys fawn over you. Lowlymoner.¡±

    Even though she didn¡¯t like being called amoner by them, Livia felt that there was a barrier between them and her.

    The other two girls intervened.

    ¡°Stop. This girl is that duke woman¡¯s favorite.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best not to get involved. If Baltfault gets angry, your household might be in danger.¡±

    The group of three girls left with their servants after the two calmed down the third and dragged her away.

    Livia was a bit saddened, but shook her head.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll move to the next location!¡±

    She was a bit gloomy, but she still had Anjie©¤©¤and Leon. She was not as lonely as when she had just entered the academy and had no acquaintances.

    (It¡¯ll be fine. ©¤©¤I have those two, after all.)

    She had those two. Though, that also meant she only had two people with her.

    As she continued her advertising, the boys turned out to be rtively kind towards her.

    What happened so far was unbelievable for Livia.

    However, the girls were still cold towards her.

    A majority of the girls left when seeing Livia¡¯s face.

    Despite being in low spirits, Livia soon brought out her willingness to promote Leon¡¯s cafe.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing a cafe? Oh, so you¡¯re giving out free tickets. Do you still have one?¡±

    ¡°Y, yes!¡±

    ©¤©¤When she turned around, a girl called out to her with a smile.

    The girl, who she handed a free ticket for a set of tea and sweets to, had beautiful long navy blue hair. Livia was envious of her slender figure, and the way she stood seemed dignified as well.

    ¡°You¡¯re the honor student, right?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m Cara©¤©¤¡¯Cara Fou Wein¡¯.¡± I¡¯m the second daughter of a semi-baron household, and I¡¯m enrolled in the regr ss.¡±

    The lessons differed between the advanced ss and the regr ss.

    Though they acted together during events, they usually worked in separate ways.

    Due to that, this was pretty much their first meeting, even if they may have passed by each other in the past.

    Livia was delighted that the other party introduced herself, and so she politely exined the location of the cafe.

    ¡°My name is Livia©¤©¤Olivia. We¡¯re setting up a cafe for the school festival, so by all means, please doe!¡±

    Upon which©¤©¤

    ¡°That¡¯s also where Julian¡¯s cafe is, right?¡±

    Livia dropped her shoulders and felt down.

    The cafe belonging to Julian¡¯s group was a powerful rival for Leon.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Leon¡¯s also troubled by it.¡±

    ¡°Hmm~, you¡¯re quite close with the Baron Baltfault.¡±

    Livia was taken aback when hearing Leon being called the Baron Baltfault.

    (M, maybe I¡¯m acting a little overfamiliar towards him?)

    Leon didn¡¯t care about it, but it didn¡¯t change the positions held between nobles andmoners. Livia knew that there were students who didn¡¯t like the thought of Leon and her being more friendly than necessary.

    However, Cara seemed delighted.

    ¡°These are just rumors, but I heard that he might be a kind person.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°After all, there¡¯s nothing for a baron to gain by being with amoner. Ah, I¡¯m not trying to say that it¡¯s bad for you to be with him. It¡¯s just that he might kinder than others think.¡±

    Livia was happy after hearing Cara¡¯s words.

    It seemed to her that Leon was being recognized.

    ¡°R, right! Leon is a kind person. He¡¯s kind, strong, and a really reliable person. He sometimes ends up going to far, but everyone¡¯s misunderstanding him.¡±

    It was doubtful whether Leon was truly being misunderstood, but Livia saw Leon as a knight to long for.

    He was her ideal knight who was kind, strong, and would protect another.

    ¡°I, I see. How nice.¡±

    Livia smiled in satisfaction towards Cara, who seemed to be acting uncertain.

    ¡°Right. I feel like I made the right choiceing to this academy because of Leon©¤©¤and Anjie.¡±

    ¡°By Anjie©¤©¤you must mean Anjelica, the daughter of a duke household.¡±

    Cara then asked Livia a question.

    ¡°Hey, would you be able to talk with barons during the school festival?¡±

    ¡°I think I can.¡±

    ¡°I see©¤©¤in that case, could you introduce me to some barons? I¡¯d like you to mediate the process.¡±

    ¡°Introduce you? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary, but if I¡¯m able to be of service, then I suppose I can.¡±

    Even though Livia was curious about what she meant by mediating, Livia nodded with a smile.

    ¡°Thank you. I will definitely show up in front of you again, so I¡¯ll be in your care when that timees.¡±

    ©¤©¤Cara left after saying that.

    Livia waved her hand without thinking about the matter too deeply.

    ¡ó

    It was the day of the school festival.

    Fireworks lifted off into the sky above the academy to signify the beginning of it.

    White smoke drifted in the sky before disappearing.

    The guests were mainly those involved with nobility.

    There were women who had missed the days of when they were students, and had brought along their husbands, children©¤©¤and their lovers.

    It was quite the strange sight.

    Guests were entering the school gate one after another, but there was one woman watching themotion.

    She had tinum blond long hair.

    She was a woman with blue irises and slightly drooping eyes that conveyed had a gentle appearance.

    At first nce, she appeared to be a woman in her twenties.

    She wore a dress that was fastened to her waist and went up to her ankles, emphasizing the outline of her body.

    She had woman-like features and a slim waist.

    She was woman who had a morous figure, but left a gentle and tender impression.

    She looked at the academy lined with general guests who seemed delighted.

    ¡°Oh, they seem to be having fun. There are many stalls out.¡±

    She wasn¡¯t addressing anyone in particr.

    However, a guard dressed as one of themon female guests replied to her.

    To the people around them, it didn¡¯t look like the two were having a conversation.

    ¡°©¤©¤My queen, it¡¯s not the time for ying around. If you wanted to watch the school festival, wouldn¡¯t preparing a formal visit have sufficed?¡±

    The queen, ¡°Mine Rafua Holfault¡±, had a fascinating smile that could change the mood of a room into a gentler one.

    As a woman, Mine was Julian¡¯s genuine mother, and the queen of the Holfault Kingdom.

    ¡°It would be boring if we did it that way. I need to give a firm warning towards the baron who made a fool out of my cute Julian.¡±

    Several guards dressed as ordinary guests were deployed around her.

    The guard nearest to her sighed.

    ¡°If you give us an order, then we¡¯ll©¤©¤¡±

    Mine made a soft smile.

    ¡°I want to confirm something with my own eyes. I wonder what kind of child he is. I¡¯m really looking forward to it.¡±

    Queen Mine chuckled, and made a request to the guard.

    ¡°So, I¡¯d like to call one person to guide me. ©¤©¤Anjie. Could you bring Anjelica to me?¡±

    When the guard disappeared into the crowd of people right then and there, Mine smiled while opening a pamphlet that students were handing out.

    ¡°©¤©¤I look forward to it, Baron Baltfault.¡±

    Mine, hiding a slightly eerie smile behind the pamphlet, looked at the stalls lined up near the school entrance in order to pass the time until Anjie would arrive.

    ¡ó

 Chapter 42 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 1 part2</h4>

    What was going on?

    I felt a slight chill just then.

    It must have been my imagination. My sense of perception must have been out of touch.

    I shifted gears and issued instructions to everyone while striking my hands.

    Today was the opening day of the school festival.

    The preparations for my cafe went perfectly.

    ¡°Aright, it¡¯s the first day of the school festival. Give it all you¡¯ve got, fes. Also, you twodies shouldn¡¯t forget to take a proper break and enjoy the school festival.¡±

    Once I said that, Daniel and Raymond gave a boorishint.

    The two were in charge of the kitchen behind the curtains.

    ¡°Do you really expect us to work the whole time?¡±

    ¡°We demand you make this a part-time job, then.¡±

    In contrast, the girls seemed tense.

    ¡°Anjie, I¡¯m nervous.¡±

    ¡°I too am inexperienced with something like a cafe. However, I think it¡¯ll be a bit fun, so©¤©¤¡±

    When I saw the two waitresses seemingly having fun chatting, the door opened and a bell installed near it rang.

    I made my best smile and faced the guest.

    ¡°Wee to©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Anjelica, you¡¯ve been called by the executivemittee.¡±

    I thought it was a customer, but it was a busy teacher who came to summon Anjie.

    Anjie tilted her head.

    ¡°They have business with me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they said it was urgent. Please head to the main office soon.¡±

    The teacher went away, and left towards wherever they were going next.

    Anjie was troubled.

    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ll take care of this business quickly ande back.¡±

    We had set up a mood that had gotten everyone psyched, and yet she got summoned soon afterwards.

    How pitiful it must have been for Anjie.

    Livia clenched her fist.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine! I¡¯ll do my best until youe back, Anjie!¡±

    Seeing Livia¡¯s determination made her seem a bit divine to me somehow.

    I wanted a photograph of her raising her hands into the air to cheer everyone on.

    I¡¯ll ask Luxon for itter.

    Anjie let out a smile. With that smile, she started heading out.

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll also do my best toe back here as soon as possible. Leon, don¡¯t do anything too rash.¡±

    In this case, she meant not to do anything cruel towards the customers.

    She somehow came to the conclusion that I was going to do that.

    ¡°Do you not have any faith in me?¡±

    Anjieughed.

    ¡°You overdo things too quickly. I¡¯ll be back.¡±

    Anjie was no longer in the cafe.

    Livia was surprised at what she saw past the door.

    ¡°H, huh? Leon, I can kind of see a line being made.¡±

    What a coincidence.

    I could also see one.

    There was a long line leading towards the neighboring ssroom.

    ¡ó

    ¡°My Queen, I¡¯ll be troubled if you say something that absurd.¡±

    The one who Anjie was meeting while wearing a maid uniform turned out to be Mine, who seemed to be simple-mindedly enjoying the school festival.

    Mine apologized to Anjie by saying ¡°My apologies.¡±

    ¡°However, please bear with my selfishness for today. It was quite tough for me as well to bring myself here and ask something from you. It¡¯s about that baron you¡¯ve been keeping your eye on.¡±

    When hearing that, Anjie went silent.

    Mine hugged Anjie while enjoying the atmosphere of the school festival.

    ¡°This is my first time at a school festival! Also, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you in a maid dress, Anjie. I¡¯m only used to seeing it since you were studying under me in the past.¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m very grateful for the many things that happened back then.¡±

    When Anjie was studying manners through apprenticeship at the royal pce, she was practically Mine¡¯s attendant.

    Though, she made many blunders as a young child at that time.

    She was more of a child back thenpared to how she was now, so she had a fierce personality and many extreme sides to her.

    (Recalling those days is embarrassing.)

    When she was very young, she didn¡¯t understand the world, took the wrong attitude, and caused all sorts of trouble for Mine.

    Her embarrassing memories having resurged, Anjie averted her gaze away from Mine. Mine seemed delighted seeing Anjie like that. It appeared that she was teasing her.

    (I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be a match for this person in my entire life.)

    Then, she turned her attention towards her surroundings.

    Mine¡¯s guards monitored them while dressed as guests, blending into the school festival.

    ¡°At any rate, the academy is amazing. My mothend didn¡¯t have one.¡±

    While Mine seemed to be having fun, Anjie talked to her.

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Mine was a queen who originally came from another country, but marriage brought her to the her current one.

    She would normally have a modest position, but her resourcefulness allowed her to obtain power within the royal pce.

    Anjie¡¯s formal engagement to Julian was by Mine¡¯s approval.

    Mine looked at Anjie¡¯s face.

    ¡°It seems yourplexion is a lot more peaceful than how it was at the title-bestowing ceremony. You¡¯ve definitely improved now.¡±

    (It seems she can easily see another¡¯s naivety. What a frightening person.)

    Anjie replied while thinking about how she was no match for this opponent.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been enjoying my student life, after all.¡±

    Mine thought for a bit and then asked a question.

    ¡°Could it perhaps be because of Leon, the one you¡¯re meeting afterwards?¡±

    Anjie slightly blushed and answered.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. Leaving that aside, did you reallye here incognito just to meet Leon?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Julian¡¯s disinheritance was by his own decision, but as his parent, I¡¯d like to at least give a word ofint. It¡¯s also a problem that he chose to participate in the duel so quickly. However, what I don¡¯t like was what happened. It was so cruel, I couldn¡¯t say a word.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about my representative.¡±

    What Leon did during the duel was cruel to the point that Anjie apologized for it.

    He forced Julian and the others to yield using his overwhelming power, and to make matters worse, he went as far as to chastise them.

    At that time, Julian was the crown prince. Someone looking down on such a person while criticizing him made the situation even worse. Normally, something like that would never happen.

    Someone who did that would usually receive arge punishment.

    However, on the contrary, Leon was proimed as a sess that aplished a great feat.

    However, there was one thing.

    (It seems the queen really is bearing a grudge.)

    Anjie understood that even if Mine had tolerated Leon¡¯s actions in front of the public, she personally couldn¡¯t forgive him. After all, Julian was Mine¡¯s son.

    Leon had forced a bitter experience onto Julian.

    Perhaps she didn¡¯t let her emotions get the better of her.

    (However, she¡¯s definitely amazing. She¡¯s able to suppress her emotions to such a degree.)

    In addition, it remained unchanged how generous she was to pardon Leon in front of the public.

    That was Mine.

    ¡°Since he has been appointed as a knight in the kingdom, we will also have to bear responsibility for his actions from now on. That¡¯s all I will say.¡±

    ¡°Please forgive him for his harshnguage. Leon can¡¯t help it.¡±

    Anjie, you¡¯ve be kind. In the past, I had talked about how you wouldn¡¯t listen to what I would say. Or perhaps the matter regarding Julian still affects you?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say for certain that it doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Seeing how it was still affecting Anjie, Mine spoke in a kind tone.

    ¡°I¡¯ll apologize as his mother. I¡¯m sorry, Anjie. All things considered, I wonder how that child was led astray. He never had that sort of behavior in the royal pce.¡±

    Mine could say that when in he was in the royal pce, he went as far as to be on guard against women that tried to approach him.

    ¡°ording to his Highness, the aura of normality from a student is pleasing for him. He also said for us to understand that.¡±

    Mine was troubled when she heard that.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t understand something like the normal lives of students. I¡¯ve never been to the academy myself, after all. However, based on what I heard about the academy©¤©¤it¡¯s a cruel ce.¡±

    The cruelty Mine referred to was the attitude of the girls.

    The two could see a girl fighting in front of a stall.

    ¡°Hang on, you expect to earn money with something like this? It should be free.¡±

    ¡°T, that¡¯s going to be a problem.¡±

    Girls were leaving stalls run by boys while not paying.

    To make matters worse, many of the girls brought sub-race ves to coerce them.

    As someone who came from a foreign country, it was a very strange sight for Mine.

    ¡°This is really cruel.¡±

    ¡°How shameful.¡±

    The two headed towards the Leon¡¯s cafe while looking around the school festival.

    Mine¡¯s expression stiffened when seeing the cafe.

    ¡°So this is the location©¤©¤it seems that the neighboring cafe is doing massively well.¡±

    There was a cafe next door that had a long line.

    In contrast, despite Leon¡¯s cafe having guests, there wasn¡¯t a line.

    Anjie was a little puzzled.

    (Perhaps we can look at his Highness¡¯ exhibitter. No wait, since we¡¯re travelling incognito, perhaps it would be better to avoid it? His Highness wouldn¡¯t be able to calm down if he saw me with her.)

    Mine grabbed Anjie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go and give Leon some trouble. You¡¯ll cooperate too, Anjie.¡±

    ¡°Err, um, having me cooperate is a little unreasonable. I¡¯m a waitress here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯ll be fine! Justin about the ck tea being lukewarm or something like that. At least have him remake it three times. I¡¯ll forgive him after that.¡±

    While Anjie thought about how there were enough troublesome guests already, the two entered the cafe to stumble upon a scene.

    ¡°The ck tea is lukewarm! Remake it!¡±

    A cup was thrown at Leon, soaking him in tea.

    His clothes were quite battered and there were traces of other substances on it. At any rate, he found himself in a cruel situation.

    Leon¡¯s facial expression wasn¡¯t visible, as he had hung his head.

    Livia looked like she was going to cry.

    ¡°Leon, I¡¯ll take care of your©¤©¤¡±

    However, Leon stopped Livia with his hand, as if telling her to step back.

    Then, he faced the schoolgirls to apologize.

    The other party were a group of very shy schoolgirls and their followers.

    ¡°My apologies. I¡¯ll go and make another one right away.¡±

    After saying that, when Leon crouched down to pick up the tossed cup, the girls got up and trampled on the back of his head while grinning.

    Daniel and Raymond casted their eyes downward in frustration while looking at the situation from the kitchen.

    Although it was cold-hearted to not help out a friend, the academy was a special environment where girls held a dominant position.

    Knowing that, Leon didn¡¯t try to look at the two, nor did he try to appeal to them.

    ¡°This really is nice. We didn¡¯te here for the tea leaves anyways, so we¡¯ll take our leave. Since you¡¯ve brought out such unappetizing tea and sweets to us, we won¡¯t be paying, okay? Or rather, shouldn¡¯t you be the one paying us instead?¡±

    A girl took the heels of her leather shoes and grinded them on the back of Leon¡¯s head. Her friends and their exclusive servantsughed at him.

    While Leon was being trampled down on, he took a posture that was as if he was prostrating.

    ¡°Please pay in the future.¡±

    ¡°Huh? How much money do you n on ripping us off through? There are even girls who had to sell their exclusive servants to repay their debts! Get that in your head!¡±

    In the first ce, the debts weren¡¯t Leon¡¯s responsibility, it was those girls¡¯ own circumstances that led to them selling their ves.

    In shock, Mine couldn¡¯t even let out a voice.

    She was taken aback by the overly cruel situation.

    ¡°Huh?©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    She repeatedly looked at both Leon and Anjie, wanting an exnation of what just happened.

 Chapter 43 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 1 part3</h4>

    Anjie¡¯s body was trembling from anger.

    She stepped forward and shoved away the girl that was trampling on Leon.

    ¡°Hold it, what do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡±

    As Anjie red at her, a girl staggered while having her exclusive servant support her.

    Leon looked up, and Anjie spoke before he could stop her.

    ¡°What bad attitudes for guests. How about going home?¡±

    When Anjie arrived, the surrounding girls were troubled, but the girl she had shoved away was smiling.

    She wasn¡¯t frightened in front of Anjie, the daughter of a duke household.

    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Anjelica, the one who his Highness Julian terminated his engagement with. What¡¯s with that getup? Are you not embarrassed as the daughter of a noble household?¡±

    Anjie resisted the urge to click her tongue.

    (The daughter of an earl household, was it? Furthermore, someone from an opposing faction©¤©¤how troublesome.)

    Not only was the earl daughter unfriendly towards Anjie, but was part of a hostile faction.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that expression? Did you perhaps think that I would be afraid of you? Too bad! Right now, you¡¯re like a©¤©¤¡±

    Thereupon, Livia stood in front of Anjie.

    ¡°Please stop this already! First you¡¯re cruel towards Leon, and now towards Anjie©¤©¤go home already!¡±

    Anjie looked at Livia¡¯s face.

    ¡°Livia, you©¤©¤¡±

    However, a vein appeared on the other party¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°©¤©¤Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re getting carried away, lowlymoner?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Livia took a step back towards those words.

    ¡°Do you think your opinion matters? Does it give you a peace of mind to get cocky? Do you n on being a noble? Do you think that you hold the same status as us just because you¡¯re Anjie¡¯s cute little pet?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Pet?¡±

    Livia made a very astonished face.

    Anjie thought about how problematic this matter was.

    ¡°That¡¯s as far as you¡¯ll go. I will not tolerate anything above this.¡±

    However, the girl didn¡¯t keep silent. She went on to talk about Anjie¡¯s affairs.

    ¡°Did you draw closer to amoner because your friends left you? How miserable for a duke daughter. Didn¡¯t you say something to us at a party before in the past? You said thatmoners were just numbers on a statistic. Doesn¡¯t that mean you don¡¯t really care much aboutmoners?¡±

    Livia slowly turned towards Anjie.

    ¡°Anjie, you©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°I, it¡¯s not what you think. I©¤©¤¡±

    Perhaps thinking that seeing the two in a panic was a humorous sight, the girl continued.

    ¡°Commoners are not people! Do you not understand your position one bit? Everyone¡¯s only keeping silent because you¡¯re with a heap of trash for a knight, who only aplished small deeds, and a duke daughter. People like you©¤©¤¡±

    Thereupon, a low voice resounded within the room.

    ¡°Shut that gaping hole you call a mouth.¡±

    ©¤©¤It was Leon.

    The earl daughter red at Leon.

    ¡°To think that you have the nerve to get cocky. Do you know what it means to make an enemy of an earl household?¡±

    The girl made a signal with her eyes towards her exclusive servants. The servants trampled down on Leon¡¯s head.

    ¡°Hmph, how conceited. Mdy, it seems like some thorough discipline is necessary for this man.¡±

    The exclusive servants gathered together and looked down on Leon while smirking.

    Watching attentively, Mine raised her voice while thinking about what transpired so far.

    ¡°This has gone for long enough! I can¡¯t watch anymore.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s attention gathered towards Mine, and the girl who had been ring at Anjie made an irritated face. The expression she made towards Mine was not one that someone would make towards the queen of their country.

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem, old woman?¡±

    ¡°O, old?!¡±

    Anjie wanted to hold her hand over her head.

    (Does this person not know the face of her own queen? Though, I suppose that this isn¡¯t really a ce where someone would expect her to show up at.)

    Despite being an earl daughter, the girl¡¯s status was modest.

    She was someone who rose in status, so to speak. However, she did not rise from performing deeds, like Leon did.

    She appeared to be a girl who didn¡¯t make any appearances in the royal pce, didn¡¯t learn manners through apprenticeship, and didn¡¯te to know Mine¡¯s face.

    Although Anjie was about to warn Mine, the queen endured it while her cheek twitched.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear that just now. All of you should finish paying and then leave. Aren¡¯t you all still students at the academy? No actually, aren¡¯t you all ashamed as nobles?!¡±

    The girls in the cafeughed scornfully towards Mine¡¯s words.

    They did not intend to stop in face of this person before them.

    ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t get carried away. Do you know who I am? I¡¯m the daughter of the Olfery earl household. Know your position! Someone throw out this old woman.¡±

    Once the girl ordered her exclusive servants to do so, the demi-humans surrounded Mine.

    Anjie was reaching the limits of her patience.

    ¡°All of you. Do you realize who you¡¯re©¤©¤¡±

    Upon which, Leon¡¯s face entered her field of view.

    When he looked at Mine and Anjie, his face gradually grew into a smile. At first he was surprised, but perhaps realizing the situation, he then seemed like he was going to have fun. His smile formed a crescent shaped like the moon, as did his eyes.

    It was as if he was proiming that justice was going to be served.

    (N, not good. Why does it have to be in this ce©¤©¤)

    When Anjie noticed it, Leon kicked one of the servants surrounding Mine and sent the fellow flying.

    Leon strengthened his body using magic and went for an all-out attack, one that could blow away the tough body of demi-humans.

    ¡°Have a safe flight, idiot~!¡±

    Not only the demi-humans, but the girls, Daniel, and Raymond were also astonished at his behavior.

    Livia made an expression that seemed as if she didn¡¯t know what was going on anymore.

    Daniel shouted.

    ¡°A, are you an idiot?! If youy a hand on someone¡¯s exclusive servant©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine! You all should be delighted. It¡¯s time for a fun party to begin!¡±

    Normally, the reason why boys wouldn¡¯t attack servants was because the girls would start hating them. Just that one reason. It was due to this that the exclusive servants were protected.

    However, in this situation, Leon had an excuse to act as he did.

    Leon knew the face of the queen.

    He saw the face of Mine, the queen, when he went through the title-bestowing ceremony. Furthermore, after considering how she was standing by Anjie¡¯s side, he was convinced that she was the queen.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡±

    Leon swung both of his hands downwards, like a hammer, onto another demi-human, thrusting his victim onto the the hard floor.

    It seemed like he didn¡¯t have an ounce of mercy.

    The next demi-human who tried to subdue him was simrly thrown onto the floor.

    Leon had beaten down three people in an instant, and then appeared in front of Mine, as if to protect her.

    ¡°Restrain yourselves, servants! Know who this person that you¡¯re facing is! She is the queen of the Holfault Kingdom©¤©¤Mine! Bow down before her, you haughty lot!¡±

    This time, it was Leon who was smiling towards the earl daughter, the one who had trampled down on him, and the others. He had revealed Mine¡¯s true identity.

    Mine was bewildered.

    ¡°Huh? What? How?¡±

    When seeing how troubled Mine seemed, Anjie covered her face with both of her hands.

    ¡°Leon©¤©¤you just had to say it.¡±

    He had ruined her intentions of traveling incognito. He had beaten up the servants for the queen, and then tried to get the girls to bow down.

    Leon intimidated the girls.

    ¡°All of you, prepare yourselves! You will have to ept what¡¯sing to you in order to make up forying a hand on the queen! Don¡¯t think that you will suffer no consequences just because you¡¯re the daughter of an earl household!¡±

    Having used the queen as a pretext for his actions, Leonughed loudly. The girls stood still and didn¡¯t move while their mouths kept opening and closing. Their faces grew pale.

    Mine grabbed Leon¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Leon, wait. I was travelling incognito. I can¡¯t cause an uproar in a ce like this! So calm down. You¡¯re a good child, after all. Right?¡±

    It was a strange sight seeing an agitated Mine trying to calm down Leon.

    However, Leon didn¡¯t listen to her.

    His eyes conveyed eagerness, perhaps from the excitement.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the decision to you, my queen. I, Leon, am ready to take the lead when it is time to punish these people. Now then, give the orders! Perhaps you could put their entire family to death in order to cut the problem by its roots! I await your decree! I, Leon Fou Baltfault, will do my best to defeat your opponents! To destroy them, obliterate them!¡±

    ¡°I said that¡¯s enough!¡±

    Mine had teary eyes. Anjie sighed.

    (He¡¯s quite excited about this. I can only imagine what he has been through up until now.)

    Many of the girls in the cafe who tried to harass Leon were now trembling while casting their eyes downward.

    Leon¡¯s clothes were tattered.

    There were signs that he had been thrusted onto the floor many times, and the top of the table was quite dirty as well.

    There was a mountain of broken porcin in the trash can.

    They had entered the cafe to get revenge on Leon.

    Mine had nned to do something simr, but she didn¡¯t know that the girls in the academy where already going above and beyond what she was going to do, and was taken aback by it.

    Leon made a loudughter when an excuse for him to beat up the girls appeared.

    ¡°Justice will be served! I¡¯ll trample over your homes with Arroganz!¡±

    Mine clung to Leon with teary eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, stop. I was in the wrong, forgive me!¡±

    Livia hung her head and had a weeping face within the overly intense situation.

    In addition, Daniel and Raymond had appeared from the kitchen and tied up the servants.

    Furthermore, they were smiling.

    ¡°You tried to start a fight with the queen. That¡¯s a no-no.¡±

    ¡°Definitely a must-not. It¡¯s like what Leon said, right? Justice will be served.¡±

    The two smiled while thinking about what they should do towards the exclusive servants who would normally look down on the boys.

    (This is getting out of control. ©¤©¤I need someone¡¯s help.)

    Anjie didn¡¯t know how she could resolve the situation by herself, and was about to ask someone else for help.

    Thereupon, she looked at Livia¡¯s face and also hung her head.

    (How should I speak with Livia? I, I made Livia©¤©¤)

 Chapter 44 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 2 part1</h4>

    <h4>Love Confession</h4>

    ¡°Mister Leon! This will not do. Those who march on the path of tea do not cause trouble for ady! That is not what a gentleman does!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mentor. However, I©¤©¤I had my circumstances!¡±

    The cafe no longer had any guests.

    My mentor scolded me.

    Anjie asked my mentor for help, and now I was being lectured. Normally, I would ignore what someone says while keeping a serious expression, but I took my mentor¡¯s words to heart.

    I couldn¡¯t go against this person.

    After all, my mentor was my teacher for tea before a teacher of the academy.

    My mentor ced his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°It must have been painful. It must have been hard. However, don¡¯t give up. Beyond is the path of a true gentleman©¤©¤leading to the path of tea.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤R, right, Mentor!¡±

    The path of a gentleman seemed long and steep.

    My mentor¡¯s words left a strong impression on me, and then I heard a sigh.

    The adult woman was now sitting on chair with an exhausted face. By her sides sat Anjie and Livia, and they surrounded a round table.

    I changed my ragged clothes while Daniel and Raymond left the cafe to get in touch with their friends for a fun party.

    The irritating girls were pardoned by the queen and left the scene to run away. I engraved their faces into my mind. ©¤©¤I definitely wouldn¡¯t forget them.

    ¡°It seems your discussion is over. So, is it okay if I speak next?¡±

    My mentor straightened his back, adjusted his suit, and started acting like a waiter.

    ¡°In that case, let me prepare some tea. Mister Leon, may I borrow your tools?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    I was delighted to have my mentor use the instruments and tea leaves of mine.

    Leaving that aside, I was worried about how the queen seemed angry at me.

    ¡°Leon. I¡¯m mad.¡±

    When the queen said that, I instantly went down on my knees and put my hands onto the floor.

    ¡°So you really were angry, I understand, but please spare my family at least! I, I don¡¯t care about what you do to me!¡±

    Mine became flustered once again when I took such an attitude.

    ¡°Huh? No. T, that¡¯s not it. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. Anjie, help!¡±

    Once I saw Mine seeking help from Anjie, who was sitting next to her, I understood that she wasn¡¯t really angry.

    Well actually, I already knew that from the start, but I wanted to poke fun at her through my acting skills.

    If the queen was genuinely angry, I would have been fleeing from the kingdom by now.

    However, Anjie realized that I was acting.

    ¡°Mine, he¡¯s teasing you. Leon¡¯s face is telling me that he knows you¡¯re not really angry.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    When Mine looked at me, I stuck my tongue out while resting a fist onto my head©¤©¤a silly pose.

    It seemed that she didn¡¯t take kindly to that, as she red at me with a frighteningly cold gaze.

    ¡°How cheap. I misjudged you.¡±

    ¡°My apologies!¡±

    After I made a sincere apology, my mentor went towards Mine to provide his services. I felt like my mentor could make a business out of preparing tea.

    The fragrance was shocking.

    Augh! It was made using the same tea leaves, and yet why was there this big of a difference?

    It wasn¡¯t just a difference in fragrance.

    As expected of my mentor.

    ¡°Queen, you wanted to travel incognito, but©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. To my disappointment, I can tell that what happened was due to the bullying going on. Leon, I came to make aint towards you. Not anything like a punishment, just some private talk.¡±

    ©¤©¤I suppose that I should have expected this.

    The reason being that I had beaten up Julian.

    His mother wouldn¡¯t forgive me for that.

    Well Mine was the queen©¤©¤but in the game, she was a so-called enemy. As can be seen from her close rtionship with Anjie, she was someone who would be hostile towards the protagonist, causing both her and Anjie to be the protagonist¡¯s enemies.

    As expected for a game marketed towards women. The mother-inws were loathsome.

    She was someone who didn¡¯t forgive the protagonist for having Julian fall in love with her. Saying this is obvious, but in the otome game, she was an opponent who tried to disrupt the rtionship between the two.

    It was a bit absurd. It was quite obvious to tell that she fit the temte for a cruel person.

    By the end, Mine eventually recognized the protagonist.

    That was caused by the protagonist gaining the position of a saint. The position of a saint had a very important religious meaning.

    These exnations were just part of the overlyckluster exnations in the game, though. There was no exnation for why a saint was so grand, but it was as if the protagonist wasmended for doing a great service in the end.

    The power of the protagonist herself was also pretty major, but to think that the power of saint was this immense.

    I¡¯ve gone off-topic. Well, I wonder what criticism Mine had for me.

    ¡°Do tell.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Well then©¤©¤I¡¯ll first apologize for Julian. I¡¯m sorry that you had to deal with that child¡¯s selfishness.¡±

    I didn¡¯t expect her to start with an apology.

    She was quite courteous for someone supposedly evil.

    ¡°Even as his mother, I myself don¡¯t understand why things turned out like this. Though this may be improper to say, it¡¯s a relief that he at least has a lover who¡¯s from a viscount household. He hadn¡¯t cared for women when he was at the royal pce, so I didn¡¯t think that he would be this fixated on her.¡±

    Mine stared right into my pupils.

    It was as if her clear, blue eyes were about to devour me.

    I then noticed something remarkable. ©¤©¤This person was very beautiful.

    When considering her behavior from just a while ago, I wouldn¡¯t believe that she were someone who was even in her thirties.

    Actually, wasn¡¯t she pretty cute?!

    ¡°However, I cannot condone what happened in the duel. That fight was too harsh. Couldn¡¯t you have resolved it in a more peaceful way?¡±

    I did think it was possible, but I didn¡¯t really care because I wanted to relieve my stress.

    While making a timid face, I nced at Livia and Anjie to ask for help. However, the two didn¡¯t pay attention.

    The cause for that was probably the words the earl daughter said a while ago.

    They both cast their eyes downward and didn¡¯t notice the eye contact I was making with them.

    When I made a silent prayer in order to ask Luxon for help, I heard an electronic sound.

    [Master doing things peacefully? Impossible. What does this person expect from my master?]

    ©¤©¤What a heartlesspanion.

    What a useless AI! It should¡¯ve been more friendly towards me!

    However, my silence was misunderstood by Mine. She was wondering what I was thinking about when looking and Livia and Anjie.

    ¡°Oh, could it be because of <i>that</i>? How youthful you are~.¡±

    Just what kind of misunderstanding did she have, teasing me while making a smirk?

    ©¤©¤Well, I kept on being silent since it was convenient.

    ¡°Leon, I think you know this, but you have many enemies in the royal pce. Many people had ced their expectations on Julian. Have you thought carefully about what you will do from now on?¡±

    Let alone the royal pce, I had so many enemies within the academy.

    Seriously, why did such a virtuous person like me have to suffer such an experience? Anyways, I suppose I would have enemies in the royal pce.

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    I pretended to be aware of it, but I was relying on Anjie¡¯s father for the matters of the royal pce. In the first ce, I didn¡¯t want to show up in the royal pce, nor was I interested in being promoted.

    If I had the choice, I would have liked being demoted instead.

    So there were people who had expectations for Julian? They should¡¯ve just given up and ept that they had misjudged. Really, they had poor discernment skills. After all, Julian ipetency was clear the moment he threw away Anjie and chose Marie.

    He was disqualified from being the crown prince.

    ¡°I see. You¡¯re a capable child, aren¡¯t you. Perhaps if there was a child like you by Julian¡¯s side, he wouldn¡¯t have gone down an erroneous path.¡±

    I wondered about that. Marie would certainly have kept a distance if I were by his side. However, in that case, Livia might have gotten together with Julian for some game-like reason. In that case, Anjie would be her enemy.

    Whether it be the right choice for the game or the right choice for reality©¤©¤both were bothersome.

    How troubling. If I were by his side, I have a feeling that I would have more troubles than what I had right now.

    Though, there¡¯s no point in talking about hypothetical scenarios.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to change my stance.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? So be it then, I have one other goal for today. Do help me with it.¡±

    ¡°One other goal?¡±

    ¡°Since I came from a different country, I¡¯ve never attended the academy. So, I want to have some memories about this academy~. You can help with that, right Leon? The academy greatly interests me. All of my female acquaintances have been talking about it in delight, and that makes me envious.¡±

    A woman in her thirties wanted memories of the academy while making a mischievous smile towards me?

    Perhaps in my previous life, I would have showed respect to my elders with a smile.

    However©¤©¤that wasn¡¯t the case anymore.

    I got up and grabbed Mine¡¯s hand.

    What beautiful hands she had.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Mine voiced out as such in surprise.

    ¡°Sure thing. Let¡¯s make some memories at the academy. Mine©¤©¤please marry me!¡±

    Mine was flustered and had a red face.

    Livia and Anjie got up from their chairs.

    ¡°Leon! What are you saying?!¡±

    ¡°Y, y©¤©¤you! You¡¯re talking to the queen!¡±

    As expected, my mentor was also surprised. Wasn¡¯t I amazing for making my mentor, a perfect gentleman, shocked?

    ¡°Mister Leon, I cannotugh at such absurd jest!¡±

    I knew this would happen. I was aware of what I was doing, but I wanted them to think carefully here.

    What was the goal of going to the academy? Pursuit of knowledge? Wrong answer!

    This is the academy from that otome game. There was only one goal! It was marriage! In other words, she must have wanted such memories. In that case, what I had to do was make a marriage proposal!

    I wasn¡¯t being serious, but what could I do when she said that she wanted to make memories?

    In other words, the queen wanted a confession of love! What a glorious deduction of mine. I¡¯m amazing!

    In addition, Mine was very excellent when one saw her as a marriage partner. So she has given birth before? That¡¯s just proof that she could make children! Nobles wanted heirs anyways, so they would warmly wee it! So she wasn¡¯t a virgin? Almost all of the girls in the academy weren¡¯t virgins anyways!

    Other than in fantasies, there was no such thing as a virgin!

    What about age? It¡¯s all good. Rather than teenage brutes who hadn¡¯t learned manners, a graceful cute woman in her thirties was better! I wanted to marry an actual human being!

    This is what I came to understand through my academy life. I should stop having fantasies about girls already.

    If I had to choose between the girls at the academy or Mine, I would choose Mine without hesitation!

    Oh, wait. I intended this to be a joke, but was there really anyone as perfect as her?

    ¡°I like you! I love you!¡±

    The words came out of my mouth before my mind could even process what I was saying.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s troubling. I, I¡¯m already a older woman with a husband and kids.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re beautiful. Even if you have a family, I still like©¤©¤gah!¡±

    When I saw Mine¡¯s cute blushed face and her eyes getting moist, I quickly felt something hit me in the back of the head.

    Who was it?! I¡¯ll send them flying!

    I turned around while thinking so and saw an enraged Julian.

    His suit was in disorder, and the chest area was left unbuttoned and wide open. His hair was also disheveled. It seemed that he was quite exhausted.

    ¡°Ah, your Highness.¡±

    As I said that, Julian raised a tray overhead.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve to seduce someone¡¯s mother, Baltfault. It¡¯s unfortunate that I can¡¯t slice you up here.¡±

    He was genuinely angry.

    I suppose that was natural, considering that I was hitting on his mother right in front of his eyes.

    Mine was perplexed.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s not it, Julian. T, this is©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Mother, take your hands off of him! Baltfault, you too should release her!¡±

    ¡°Eh~I don¡¯t wanna.¡±

    Julian struck me in hatred.

    I was sent flying away.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    In a panic, Mine tried rushing over to me, but Julian grabbed her by the hand and left the cafe.

    ¡°Mother, this has gone on for long enough. Our cafe is right next to this one. I¡¯d like to hear what you have to say for yourself once we¡¯re there. Good grief, why are you in this academy?¡±

    I had a thought while seeing the two leave.

    ©¤©¤Queen, I wonder if made a good memory for you at the academy?

 Chapter 45 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 2 part2</h4>

    The princess cafe.

    There weren¡¯t any customers in the room anymore, so the staff there were also taking a break.

    Marie had been in a good mood while counting the bundles of banknotes, but now she was hiding behind the curtains from a person that Julian brought in.

    (Why is the evil ruler here?!)

    Mine, the queen, wasn¡¯t really an evil ruler, but she was an ally of the viiness in the game.

    It was natural for Marie to think of her as a threat.

    Besides, Marie currently wasn¡¯t someone who couldpete against her.

    While she was hiding and looking at how the situation would progress, Kyle tugged on Marie¡¯s skirt.

    ¡°Master, I can¡¯t bear this any longer. The girls keep fondling my body while saying that it¡¯s just part of the service they paid for. I cannot offer my assistance next time.¡±

    Marie was irritated about her exclusive servant making such aint.

    (What are you saying?! I¡¯m the one that has it rough trying to figure out how to earn your guys¡¯ living expenses! At least give me a hand!)

    Marie was fixated on money due to the living expenses Julian and the others needed.

    Due to the matter of Julian¡¯s duel with Leon, his allowances werergely reduced, though notpletly revoked.

    The other four no longer had allowances.

    With such a situation, Marie had rushed to earn quick money for their living expenses along with her own.

    ¡°Please bear with it for just three days. Things will get easier after that.¡±

    ¡°Is that really true?¡±

    While thinking about how her servant was a whiny one, Marie peeked at what Mine and the others were doing.

    She sat on a sofa, face to face with Julian across a low table.

    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m worried about you getting acquainted with Baltfault. You cannot be careless around that guy.¡±

    Mine was silent, but had a sharp glint in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on between you and him, but nevertheless that that guy is foul. He would do anything for money. What¡¯s more, he¡¯s a coward. He¡¯s a lunatic who would make a confession of love to you, the queen.¡±

    Julian exined how Leon was a bad person, but the expression in Mine¡¯s eyes further sharpened as she looked at her surroundings.

    Marie turned pale.

    (Ah, she¡¯s definitely going to get mad.)

    Mine¡¯s son, Julian, served the schoolgirls and female guests. Thinking about how bad that was, Marie began to tremble.

    ¡°©¤©¤Julian, you said that your group was doing a cafe, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a cafe. Marie was more or less the one who arranged it. What about it? Do you like it?¡±

    Julian boasted while in his suit. Behind him stood Jilk, sporting a simr look.

    As a result of having to serve and cater to girls, his attire and hair were slightly disheveled.

    ¡°Bring that girl over to here. I¡¯d like to ask a question right away.¡±

    Mine ordered him to do so with a terribly cold tone of voice.

    When hearing that, Julian made a sorry expression.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re the same as the others, Mother. I won¡¯t let you meet Marie with an attitude like that.¡±

    (Thank you, Julian! As expect of my prince!)

    Contrary to Marie¡¯s delight, Mine red at Julian while mming her hand onto the low table, creating a loud sound.

    Julian and Jilk were slightly frightened after seeing that.

    ¡°©¤©¤Bring her here.¡±

    ¡°I, I won¡¯t! I¡¯ll think about it only if you ept our rtionship.¡±

    ¡°What did you say that led up to the duel? Jilk, you¡¯ve been with him, what¡¯s the meaning of this?! Julian,e to your senses. You said a while ago that Leon was money-hungry, right? If so, what¡¯s the meaning of this cafe?!¡±

    The menu Mine held in her hand was unthinkable for a cafe.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of these prices? Poor quality tea and sweets for one hundred dia? And service charges on top of that? For someone who¡¯s the former heir of a prestigious family, what¡¯s with that appearance of yours?!¡±

    It was like a host club using the name of a cafe.

    However, it was highly popr amongst the girls in the academy.

    ¡°Julian, you called Leon a coward, right?¡±

    ¡°H, he is a coward.¡±

    ¡°Well then, why are you here when you promised not to approach Marie anymore after losing the duel? Aren¡¯t you the coward for nonchntly breaking your promise?!¡±

    Perhaps no longer wanting this to go on for any longer, Jilk forced his way in.

    ¡°My queen, his Highness is just helping us. That doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s breaking his pro©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°What an uncouth excuse! Have a sense of shame! Furthermore, you said Leon was a lunatic? Julian, answer me this. Are you normal for throwing away your fiancee to choose another woman and thus lose your position as the crown prince? Are you really in a position to talk about Leon?¡±

    ¡°Well, um, you see©¤©¤¡±

    Mine grew impatient towards Julian¡¯s incoherence.

    ¡°Speak clearly!¡±

    The mood in the room reached its lowest once her scolding began.

    Being aware of the atmosphere at some point, Greg ran off, while Chris and Brad were absent since they had left to go shopping.

    Marie waited for time to pass inside the room while feeling like praying.

    (What¡¯s with this olddy?! She¡¯s siding with that mob!)

    ¡ó

    I sat on a chair while holding my knees under my arms. Julian had hit me in the cheek.

    ¡°©¤©¤All I said was that I liked her a lot.¡±

    While feeling bitter, a shocked Anjie criticized me.

    ¡°What a fool you are. What kind of knight would hit on the queen of their own country?¡±

    Right. If only she wasn¡¯t the queen. I couldn¡¯t help but feel regret.

    My mentor had left to resume his work.

    Anjie and I were in the room. Livia was there too, but she hung her head and didn¡¯t join the conversation.

    Then inside the room, a knocking sound could be heard from the door.

    ¡°Um~, is it okay toe in?¡±

    The girl who opened the door and appeared was someone I didn¡¯t know.

    ¡°The cafe is closed for today over my heart aching.¡±

    ¡°U, umm, that¡¯s kind of a problem for me, though. Olivia, could you carry out my request?¡±

    The girl turned to Livia for help.

    While I was thinking about how she might be an acquaintance of Livia, Livia raised her head and carried out the request.

    ¡°This is Cara. She said that she wanted me to introduce her to you.¡±

    ¡°I see, so I take it that you¡¯re the middleman then.¡±

    When hearing that, Anjie had a stern look in her eyes.

    When Livia became frightened by that, Anjie panicked and quickly toned down her gaze. However, she turned to Cara once again tensed her gaze.

    ©¤©¤Were these two okay? It seemed that they had some kind ofplicated rtionship.

    Cara entered the room while frightened by Anjie¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Cara Fou Wein. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Baron.¡±

    Cara? Wein? What did it mean?

    While I replied with ¡°Oh, ok,¡± Anjie continued ring at Cara from beside me. However, she silently listened while Livia exined in a panic.

    ¡°W, well, she¡¯s from the regr ss. When I was doing some advertising, she said that she wanted me to introduce her to Leon.¡±

    ©¤©¤Could there have been some cause to this?

    I brought down my knees from under my arms and told Cara to sit.

    ¡°Is it okay if I ask the reason for why you chose Livia to be the middleman in this introduction?¡±

    Livia was perplexed after judging that my aura was different from usual.

    In the first ce, there was no need to have Livia help if it was just introducing herself to me.

    She could have just gotten in touch with me like normal. If it had been that, I would have responded with a smile.

    However, this girl didn¡¯t do that, but instead met me through Livia. I felt that there was indeed a scene like this in that otome game.

    I believe it was a scene that relied on the protagonist¡¯sck of knowledge on the troublesome rules of nobles.

    I changed my behavior and faced Cara with a serious attitude.

    ¡°Ah, so you understand what¡¯s going on? As expected of the most sessful ssmate. You¡¯re much different from the other boys.¡±

    ¡°Why, thank you.¡±

    Livia looked at Anjie to ask for help, but she soon averted her gaze. Anjie also seemed like she wanted to say something, but closed her mouth and hung her head.

    It seemed Livia wanted to ask something from me.

    ¡°Leon, what in the world is going on? The atmosphere here is different from normal.¡±

    Thereupon, Cara revealed her true nature.

    ¡°Be silent for a bit. There are some important things I¡¯d like to talk about now.¡±

    She took an attitude that bore no consideration towards Livia.

    Livia was bewildered at how her attitude was different from just a while ago.

    ©¤©¤Didn¡¯t she know that she would leave a bad impression on me by treating Livia like that? No wait, I was already expecting bad things toe from the girls in the academy.

    At any rate, it seems that I had gotten into some trouble.

    ¡°Baron. Please save the Wein family, no©¤©¤please save us.¡±

    That was the reason why Anjie red at Cara. It was because she realized that the girl would use me.

    I was also aware of it.

    I remembered it after hearing her full name, but it was a nostalgic feeling when realizing that such an event like this existed as well.

 Chapter 46 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 2 part3</h4>

    Now that the first day of the school festival had ended, I sat down on the bed in my room.

    Daniel, Raymond, and I had made a celebratory party for the sess of the first day.

    It was just us since Livia and Anjie had soon left back to their dorms.

    As I was pondering, Luxon appeared in front of me.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    [Those who are unfaithful are the worst.]

    ¡°What are you saying?¡±

    [Those were words you yourself had said before. Now then, think back upon today¡¯s behavior. I heard you were hitting on the queen, Master. Wasn¡¯t your unfaithfulness a shameful disy?]

    ¡°©¤©¤That¡¯s not it. I just couldn¡¯t hold back my emotions.¡±

    [Each of those words you had said really came back to bite you. Even I feel moved at how admirable it was. How about carrying a mirror?]

    ¡°No wait, I mean, if I was asked whether or not it was possible for me to get on with her, then the answer would be yes, right?!¡±

    [This is the queen we¡¯re talking about. If asked, you¡¯re supposed to answer with a no.]

    This AI really couldn¡¯t understand my feelings with its sound arguments and whatnot.

    [To start with, when the queen talked about memories at the academy, I¡¯m confident that she was talking about attending a school festival with someone. Then you suddenly started hitting on her©¤©¤I thought you were out of your mind. Ah, excuse my discourtesy. Perhaps that was your true character from the beginning.]

    ¡°You¡¯re being stupid. There¡¯s no reason for the academy to exist other than for marriage. When she said she wanted memories, she meant that she wanted to get hit on. No, wait. If she wanted to attend the school festival together©¤©¤perhaps she wanted a date? I overlooked that. Anyways, wouldn¡¯t you agree that the reason for the academy¡¯s existence is for marriage?¡±

    [That¡¯s only for the boys. The academy is a ce to learn.]

    ¡°Oh really?! I knew that from the beginning!¡±

    [That¡¯s a relief. Do strive to study from now on.]

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t abandon my marriage-searching.¡±

    [You didn¡¯t give up searching for marriage? It would be bad if you did give up, wouldn¡¯t it.]

    ¡°I¡¯m a man with an unyielding fighting spirit, even if I don¡¯t like what I have to do.¡±

    I would have given up if I could, but no matter how tough I acted, I had to keep up with societal expectations. The trouble was that this problem wasn¡¯t just mine alone. Not just me, but my family was also being talked about behind their backs. That was the unpleasant part. I didn¡¯t want to cause trouble to my parents, my older brother, or my younger brother.

    And the others? There were others? An older sister? A younger sister? I don¡¯t know anyone like that.

    [It¡¯s not about what you say, it¡¯s about how you say it, I suppose.]

    As I continued this absurd conversation with Luxon, we swiftly began to talk about the main issue at hand.

    [Master, are you really going to help that girl?]

    I stared up into the ceiling.

    ¡°There will be a few consecutive days off once the school festival ends. I n to help her out then.¡±

    [There is no reason for you to help, Master.]

    I thought that there weren¡¯t any.

    However, it was a request that had been made formally.

    Furthermore, Livia had introduced her©¤©¤meaning that she was acting as the agent. Her doing this really was foul y, but it meant that to any bystander, Livia was in charge of Cara¡¯s request, and that she turned to me as a middleman.

    In other words, the people around us would have seen the situation as Cara asking for help, Livia epting it, and referring me to it.

    Livia didn¡¯t even know the contents of the matter.

    If I refused, it meant that Livia wouldn¡¯t be able to settle the request she received. It would also have made me seem like a person who wouldn¡¯t ept a request from an acquaintance.

    In other words, Livia and I had been dragged into Cara¡¯s affairs.

    However, in this case, it would have been fine even if I did reject.

    It was foul y, after all. There was no sense of duty in having to help someone like this.

    I could reject it, and I didn¡¯t want to help, but I couldn¡¯t afford not to lend my assistance.

    Cara¡¯s request was about the suppression of sky pirates.

    The suppression of sky pirates was work that nobles would do.

    Furthermore, there was the matter of the sky pirates themselves.

    [Is it about the territory the sky pirates are causing distress to? Shouldn¡¯t it be something to ask of the royal pce rather than you, Master?]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. In cases like these, appealing to the royal pce would be the proper choice. However, these sky pirates hold an indispensable item for the protagonist.¡±

    [You have to participate due to a game-like reason?]

    ¡°In order for Livia, the protagonist, to disy her talents as a saint, she needs three items. Before long, we¡¯ll need to collect two of them. One of them belongs to the sky pirates, so I need to suppress them and retrieve it.¡±

    One of the items was the ¡°Holy Bracelet¡± that was hidden within the dungeon in the royal capital.

    The sky pirates, who Cara requested the suppression of, held the ¡°Holy Ne.¡±

    Thest one was managed by a temple belonging to thergest religion in the kingdom©¤©¤the ¡°Saint¡¯s Cane.¡±

    It was necessary for Livia to possess these three items in order to be a saint. Once she was recognized as a saint by the temple, the cane would automaticallye into her hands.

    The other two needed to be gathered through our efforts.

    Furthermore, the three items were necessary for greatly raising Livia¡¯s abilities.

    ¡°The sky pirate event was originally supposed to be for the second year, though.¡±

    Originally, the sky pirate event was supposed to appear during the second year of the academy, at the middle of the climax.

    In order to subjugate the sky pirates who appeared at the territory airspace of a certain earl household, the protagonist had to rely on the power of Julian and the others.

    This was also arge crossroad where the yer¡¯s route would be finalized, determined by who would help.

    [They can¡¯t rely on the regr army of the kingdom? The Wein household are semi-barons, but they should be under the guardianship of an earl household, right?]

    ¡°Ah, there are a couple of reasons for that. As a matter of fact, that household is of Brad¡¯s former fiancee. This request is also from the the daughter of that earl household. Cara is one of her followers.¡±

    [A woman like Anjelica?]

    ¡°No, a heap of trash.¡±

    Even for me, a pile of trash for a character, she was unsightly when getting to know her.

    It would be futile to expect that she would be like Anjie, someone who wasn¡¯t bad.

    Their household rose into the ranks of an earl, and as a matter of fact, was the earl household that got involved with the sky pirates.

    This was the groundwork for a war that would ur at the final stages of the game.

    They would do bad things together with thieves.

    When talking about it, Luxon asked me a question.

    [Master, you seem to give priority to the progression of the game. You do take some consideration towards benefits to gain in real life, but what do you think about these circumstances?]

    ¡°Julian and the others are unreliable, so I have to be the one to retrieve the item. At this rate, things will be bad once the war happens.¡±

    Right, things would get bad.

    If Livia didn¡¯t be a saint, then even though I had Luxon, I would still have to flee from the continent.

    It wasn¡¯t just a matter of winning or losing.

    [Why did Cara©¤©¤no, the earl daughter ask you for the subjugation?]

    ¡°It¡¯s a trap, a grand ol¡¯ trap. I already said it before, she¡¯s a heap of trash, even for me. It made meugh in the game when seeing how much of a trash pile she was.¡±

    At any rate, she was angry about the protagonist entering the academy, so she nned to lure her into the suppression of the sky pirates. I never thought that this storyline would reach me.

    Amongst the people that the daughter of the earl household looked down on, she was especially displeased with the protagonist being pampered, at least that was how it was ording to the game.

    Just what in the world had I done to incur the anger of that woman?

    [Master, at this rate, are you going to be be Olivia¡¯s partner?]

    ¡°Me. It can¡¯t happen. I¡¯m just a mob, after all.¡±

    Luxon only replied with [Is that so?] towards what I had said.

    [Is what you¡¯re doing really okay? Based on what I heard, I think this is a matter that Olivia should settle. It would be better to have the saint herself collect the equipment, right?]

    ¡°Since I¡¯m the one that has you, wouldn¡¯t it be unreasonable to have the current Livia do it? That being the case, it would be better if I did it. This is more efficient.¡±

    [You¡¯re overprotective, aren¡¯t you Master?]

    After saying that, Luxon turned silent.

 Chapter 47 - Volume 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 3 part1

    Airbike Race

    It was the second day.

    Now that I got a bit of payback against those idiots from the first day, my cafe was quite pleasant.

    If I were to list a problem©¤©¤

    ¡°Livia, that table over there has a request.¡±

    ¡°R, right.¡±

    ©¤©¤it was that the two waitresses were working a bit clumsily.

    When I was taking a cake from the kitchen, Raymond spoke to me.

    ¡°Are those two alright?¡±

    ¡°What happened yesterday had an effect. It would better if they hadn¡¯t been misled by the words those people had said.¡±

    Both Livia and Anjie were conscious of each other, but were unable to speak to one another.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see what happens for the moment. Things will probably revert to normal before long.¡±

    ¡°I wonder about that. I think that differences in familial backgrounds are fatal when building friendships, though.¡±

    That was what Raymond, with a slightly uncooperative attitude, had said, but I indeed knew what was going on.

    For example, suppose that there were a rich and a poor person.

    If they were asked whether or not they shared the exact same set of values, then the answer would be no.

    The difference in values between the two would be big.

    I watched the clock.

    ¡°Perhaps the two should take a break.¡±

    Raymond pushed up his sses with a finger.

    ¡°That might be good. There aren¡¯t that many guests right now, after all.¡±

    Since the first day was way too cruel, I felt that handling this wouldn¡¯t be a problem for me.

    Raymond seemed seriously worried about me.

    ¡°You know, with this, we¡¯re really in the red.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Despite how it looks, I can make an earning on the final day using that.¡±

    ¡°Aah, by that, you mean gambling?!¡±

    Thest day of the school festival.

    There were some matches scheduled as part of an exhibit. The reason for it was to show how much the students were learning in the school.

    However, it became one of the highlights of the school festival, and each event had quite splendid rewards.

    In addition, people made bets on who would win, and the gambling riled everyone up.

    I thought about whether or not it was okay for something like that to happen at a school festival, but it was also a time for profits. At any rate, since I had Luxon©¤©¤my chances of winning a bet would increase.

    That thing was able to gather information, and through close investigation, calcte who would win with a high probability.

    Raymond looked at me in shock.

    ¡°You really like gambling, don¡¯t you Leon?¡±

    How upsetting.

    ¡°On the contrary. I hate gambling.¡±

    I hated things like gambling. However, I loved winning!

    ¡ó

    Livia and Anjie walked around the hectic buildings in the school festival.

    Normally, the two would be closer together, but today they were maintaining a subtle distance apart.

    Livia didn¡¯t understand Anjie¡¯s feelings, and Anjie didn¡¯t know how to address Livia. Until now, they hadn¡¯t been that conscious about each other¡¯s birth.

    However, after the matter of yesterday, a gap had emerged between the two.

    Anjie spoke up.

    ¡°These crepes are quite delicious.¡±

    Livia replied.

    ¡°R, right.¡±

    Their conversation didn¡¯t continue.

    There was a pause while the two both thought about what to do. In that timeframe, they both noticed arge bulletin board.

    It was a chart for an airbike race tournament.

    Each school year chose representatives, and only those who did well enough in one race would move on to challenge the next one. It would end with a final race between those who made it to the top.

    There were also other events, but oddly enough, the airbike race was the only one that people watched with a special kind of excitement.

    Livia looked up at the bulletin board.

    ¡°There are a lot of matches just for the airbike race.¡±

    Anjie, perhaps thinking that this was something she could at least exin, started being talkative.

    ¡°People get excited about it every year. There are many other events, but the airbike race is the most popr one. While it¡¯s simple, the bets are also interesting. Others choose who they think would win, but people also make bets on predicting the order. There¡¯s a lot of profit when winning.¡±

    Speaking in terms of the modern age, it was like horse racing or boat racing.

    It caused a lot of money to circte.

    Livia was impressed.

    ¡°You know a lot about, Anjie.¡±

    Anjie continued while delighted.

    ¡°I came here several times before enrolling in the school. Furthermore, despite the fact that top candidates are participating, the representative for the first-year students is Jilk. He excels at handling airbikes, and there are many fans who are looking forward to seeing who will seed.¡±

    ¡°So Jilk¡¯s skilled at an airbike. Ah, I see his name there.¡±

    Livia was happy to spot Jilk¡¯s name, but asked Anjie something.

    ¡°Leon isn¡¯t participating?¡±

    ¡°Leon? His ability isn¡¯t bad, and he has the capacity to just barely make it in as a yer, but since Jilk¡¯s here this year, there was no other choice.¡±

    In the first ce, Leon could do almost anything, and that naturally meant he could use an airbike.

    However, he fell behind in abilitypared to Jilk.

    ¡°If Leon participated, I would cheer for him, though.¡±

    ¡°Right. However, that guy would have no motivation. He¡¯s been making a fuss about profiting through the bets.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer if he wasn¡¯t that crazy about gambling.¡±

    ¡°I agree.¡±

    As the two were having a cheerful conversation, Marie was behind them, looking up at the bulletin board.

    ¡ó

    Marie and Kyle went out to go shopping.

    From behind the joyful Anjie and Livia, Marie looked at the airbike race tournament chart.

    She also scanned the other events.

    The names of Julian and the others were printed on each event.

    ¡°If everyone wins their tournament, we¡¯ll soon be able to gather our target amount of money. With this, we won¡¯t have to worry about living expenses.¡±

    Marie and Kyle were carrying luggage in both of their hands.

    Kyle had an exhausted expression.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you make bets on who would win using the money we¡¯ve earned? Everyone¡¯s a winning candidate, right? The benefits to reap would be immense if you win.¡±

    However, Marie was surprised.

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. Besides, I loathe gambling.¡±

    ©¤©¤Marie hated gambling.

    (It¡¯s the same as with my previous life. A boyfriend I went out with was a good-for-nothing who lost almost all of the bets he made and carried severe debt. I¡¯ll steadily make myrge earnings.)

    Steadily or not, Marie had bad memories associated with gambling.

    (It¡¯s the same now. Furthermore, my family is in debt because of gambling©¤©¤I miss my family from my previous life. Those days were nice. My childhood was fun back then.)

    Marie¡¯s current viscount household could not be called a splendid family by any standard.

    Marie held her luggage under her arms and headed towards her cafe.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s work hard to earn money. Lend me a hand, Kyle.¡±

    ¡°I have no other choice, do I? I¡¯ll do my best to earn a sry.¡±

    The two separated from Anjie and Livia to return to the cafe filled with women who created amotion and surrounded Julian and the others.

    ¡ó

    It was the third day.

    It was the day for all kinds of matches to be held, the centerpiece of the school festival.

    I looked down at the field from a lounge that costed money to enter.

    I sat on a sofa while gazing at the pointlesslyrge field.

    Gold coins, silver coins, and bills were piled on top of a low table.

    I grinned while counting the rolls of banknotes. I couldn¡¯t stop smiling.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill001

    [Master, it seems that in the next race, several people are taking action in order to ensure that a specific yer wins. So, my prediction for the next game has moved from twelve to four.]

    I heard Luxon¡¯s voice.

    Luxon had concealed itself and gathered information on yers in the field, the waiting rooms, and other such locations.

    Due to that, I had been continuing to win bets.

    ¡°Waiter, I¡¯ll change my bet for the next race from number twelve to number four. Just this amount of money.¡±

    I handed rolls of banknotes to the waiter, and bought a ticket.

    While seeing off the waiter who hurriedly left to process my purchase, Iughed while resting both of my arms on the back of the sofa.

    ¡°Winning is fun!¡±

    Anjie and Livia were looking at me with cold eyes. The two were sitting next to each other, sipping juice while spectating the matches.

    ¡°You really do like to agitate the people around you.¡±

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re going to get hurt betting too much some day.¡±

    There were some people around that lost a lot of money from gambling.

    Such people could only look at me in hate as I continued to win.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I won¡¯t lose. Even if I did lose once or twice, it¡¯s fine since I¡¯ve been winning without a hitch.¡±

    The gold and silver coins piling up were glittering brightly.

    As Luxon had predicted, number twelve took first ce, and number four took second.

    Arge amount of money once again found its way into my hands.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stop smiling!¡±

    I had already earned money tough off my losses from the cafe.

    In the next race, Jilk had finally appeared.

    Jilk©¤©¤Jilk Fier Memoria was from a noble viscount household of the royal court.

    He was Julian¡¯s foster brother, and the character that yed the role of being his best friend. He had long green hair and a gentle smile, but in reality he was ck-hearted.

    This guy handled airbikes skillfully.

    He had enough skill to be the only candidate named by the first-year students.

    So, make some profit for me, Jilk.

    [Master, a minor setback has arisen.]

    However, as Luxon gave a report, the situation started bing ominous.

    I pressed my fingers against my temples to continue listening to Luxon.

    [The representative who appeared for the first-years is Jilk, but it seems that he¡¯s being targeted.]

    ©¤©¤Jilk was being targeted?

    When I made a serious expression and looked down at the venue, Livia noticed and asked something.

    ¡°U, um, did you want to participate as well, Leon?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    When I tilted my head to the side, Anjie made an apologetic expression.

    ¡°...Sorry. The decision for who would participate was a majority vote by the executivemittee. It was difficult for me to hold back my opinion.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    It seemed that the two believed I wanted to participate. I definitely tried bing a candidate, but it was just that the boy candidates had already been decided for even the least popr event.

    I didn¡¯t particrly want to be out there, so I had no problem with scheming for profits through betting.

    However, this convention was a great opportunity to appeal to ordinary boys.

    If one yed an active role, the girls¡¯ opinions of them would change. In other words, obtaining a victory was very beneficial for getting married.

    Due to that, each event had many boys that were participating seriously.

    There were asionally those that were obsessed with winning and resorted to underhanded tactics.

    However, it was different with Jilk.

    The situation was strange from the start.

    It seemed that Anjie soon noticed it.

    ¡°Jilk¡¯s being marked.¡±

    If a first-year student was a good yer, it wasn¡¯t strange for them to be marked, but the way he was being targeted was thorough.

    He was being surrounded and shed against others©¤©¤it was obvious that some kind of attack had beenunched against him.

    Livia seemed gloomy when seeing that.

    ¡°W, why is something like that happening? I feel bad for Jilk.¡±

    It was as Livia had said.

    I had ced bets on Jilk, and I would be troubled if I lost.

    Leaving my troubles aside, could it be that Livia¡¯s worry for Jilk was based on some kind of instinct that Jilk might potentially be her lover?

    ©¤©¤It didn¡¯t concern me, I suppose.

    Anjie muttered something.

    ¡°I see. Those guys are the followers of an earl household¡¯s daughter, ris.¡±

    Livia tilted her head to the side.

    ¡°rice? Um, who¡¯s that?¡±

    As the race was transitioning from the middle stage to the final stage, Jilk broke through the upperssmen surrounding him in the match. He forcibly slipped through using some acrobatic movements, and he passed each yer one after the other.

    ¡°It kind of seems like that guy¡¯s bike was illegally modified.¡±

    Didn¡¯t it seem like the performance of the bike was quite different from that of the others? As I was thinking about it, there was a great mor in the venue from his massive overtaking.

    I was happy as well, since if Jilk won the match, I would win the bet.

    Luxon informed me of something.

    [Jilk cannot qualify for the finals even if he does win.]

    When Luxon heard me reply ¡°There¡¯s no chance?¡± in a whisper, he reported an injury Jilk had.

    [He has a bone fracture. Him being attacked by the surrounding people injured a bone, and the excessive movements he was forced to make fractured it. Even in a world where handy things like healing magic exist, there wouldn¡¯t be enough time for him to make it to the next race.]

    Jilk just barely took the lead and reached the goal.

    Once Jilk returned his airbike to an airship, he copsed and medical personnel gathered to ce him onto a stretcher.

    When Anjie was about to leave the lounge, I asked about her intentions.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°The first-year ss needs a troubleshooter. We need to check the state of Jilk¡¯s injury and prepare a substitute for him if necessary. I¡¯m going to talk with the executivemittee.¡±

    Since Livia apanied her as well, I decided to tuck the banknotes and coins into my bag and ran after them.

 Chapter 48 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 3 part2</h4>

    Marie¡¯s voice resounded within the medical office.

    ¡°Jilk~!¡±

    She clung to Jilk as heid in a bed, and was legitimately crying.

    Jilk faced her with a worried, but smiling face.

    His long green hair made the bandage wrapped around his head stand out.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Marie. I¡¯m safe and sound, as you can see.¡±

    Julian and Kyle were also in the medical office. The other boys, the capture target boys that had fallen in love with Marie, were performing as a participant in an event, so they couldn¡¯t appear.

    Anjie spoke with the executivemittee for the first-year ss.

    ¡°It seems we have no other choice but to find a substitute.¡±

    The executivemittee was troubled at Anjie¡¯s suggestions.

    ¡°B, but, then there¡¯s the problem of whom to choose as the participant.¡±

    ¡°Since practically all of the skilled boys are already in anotherpetition, it won¡¯t be easy to find a substitute.¡±

    It seemed that it would be tough to prepare a substitute.

    Livia clutched my arm. She whispered under the atmosphere of the ce.

    ¡°U, um, is Jilk okay?¡±

    ¡°They said that in three days from now, he will recover. It¡¯s quite amazing that a bone fracture can be healed in a matter of three days.¡±

    Magic was amazing.

    Its speed was something that modern medicine from my previous life couldn¡¯t evenpare to.

    Luxon boasted by saying [If I handled it, he would be fine in one day, depending in on the situation. No, he wouldn¡¯t even need twenty four hours.]

    It made me smile seeing how this thing was overly-frantic about not losing to magic.

    Livia seemed confused as she spoke.

    ¡°But, if I handled it, he would¡¯ve been able to recover quicker. Why didn¡¯t they let me do it?¡±

    There were few people who were skilled with healing magic.

    The protagonist was a special existence that held a high proficiency with healing magic, to the point that she wouldter be called a saint.

    Knowing that, it was indeed odd that the people around her didn¡¯t let her handle it.

    I persuaded her to keep silent.

    ¡°It¡¯s because what you consider normal is actually abnormal, Livia. If you talk to the doctors about it, they¡¯ll get mad, so it¡¯s better not to mention it. This recovery rate is normal for people.¡±

    ¡°I, is that so? Though, they might listen if you talked with them, Leon.¡±

    I felt they wouldn¡¯t actually understand if I did, but it was fine as long as she kept silent.

    At any rate, even if I did try speaking with them, I would only end up sounding pathetic.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯ll stop here before I make my heart ache.

    Leaving that matter aside, I knew that Livia was more skilled than even the specialists we had, but it would be troublesome if she announced it here. It would wound the pride of the doctors, and it would be very likely that rumors would spread about them being ipetent or something like that.

    Livia should show her ability at the proper time and ce.

    ¡°The prize money for the airbike race was sorge! It was supposed to be my moneeeey!¡±

    Marie¡¯s revealed her true, horrendous intentions while crying.

    Julianforted Marie by cing his hand on her back.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Marie. Everyone else and I will win the other events.¡±

    It was just one of the programs in the school festival, but the prize money was tremendous since it was an academy for nobles. Speaking in terms of my previous life, it was as if they were treating several millions of yen like they were a normal amount.

    The amount varied per event, but among them, the prize money for the airbike race was a whopping thirty million. That amount of prize money indicated how popr it was.

    ¡°I had hopes for the airbike race! Even if we win the other events, their sum wouldn¡¯t even make up half of the prize money for the airbike race!¡±

    Jilk looked apologetic.

    ¡°My apologies. I never thought that this would happen.¡±

    Marie wiped her tears.

    ¡°Really, weren¡¯t those upperssmen cruel? I should press charges for constion money.¡±

    Once Marie said that, both Julian and Jilk were embarrassed, as they seemed to have thought that Marie was worried about them.

    Love is blinding, as they say.

    ¡°That person has only been talking about money for some time now. Is that okay?¡±

    Once I whispered that, Livia also seemed troubled.

    ¡°S, she¡¯s definitely worried about Jilk too. After all, they all abandoned their status in order to be together with her.¡±

    This Marie person ensnared the five capture targets since she was someone who reincarnated. If it was just that, she might have been able to manage somehow, but these guys then cast away their statuses.

    Starting with Julian, everyone used to be the heir of a prestigious noble family.

    As of now though, they abandoned their fiancees in order to be with Marie, which caused their families to cut connections with them.

    Their decision to do so amazed me.

    ¡°Eh~, I wonder about that. It seems that Marie is fond of money. She was talking solely about cash for a while.¡±

    While I was figuring out what kind of woman Marie was, upperssmen then barged into the medical office.

    Leading them was a second-year student and daughter of an earl household, ¡°rice Fier Atlee.¡± She had soft, bulky orange hair that was tied up behind her neck and hung on her right shoulder.

    She had looked more like an honor roll student in the past, but shepletely changed after the summer and currently started dressing like a gyaru.

    Nevertheless, she looked stylish since she had a slender, well-proportioned figure and a tall, model-like height.

    She was part of the honor roll, but herplete change after summer vacation was shocking.

    Furthermore, this person was the daughter of an earl household from the royal court©¤©¤and was Jilk¡¯s former fiancee.

    She and her boy followers had marched into the medical room.

    Also surrounding her were five sub-race exclusive servants. They stood behind her, as if she was purposely showing them off.

    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re definitely in poor shape. Jilk, how are you feeling right now?¡±

    Arge portion of her cleavage was visible from an opened section of her shirt.

    She wore her uniform in a casual fashion and adorned herself with a scrunchie, decisions akin to those of a gyaru or delinquent. Wait a minute. Was it right to call them the same kind of thing?

    Surrounding rice were her grinning followers.

    However, her facial expression changed into one of confusion when she saw that Anjie was here too.

    Jilk closed his eyes.

    Perhaps he didn¡¯t want to see hispletely changed fiancee. I thought that it suited her, though.

    I had a fondness for both cute honor roll students and gyarus.

    ¡°rice, so this was indeed your doing?¡±

    rice shouted at Jilk, who was able to guess what happened.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! You¡¯ve thrown me away, and now I¡¯ll make you suffer through even more bitter experiences from now on. ©¤©¤I will never forgive you.¡±

    It was frightening seeing a beauty like rice getting into a fit of rage.

    She had a bloodcurdling aura, and looked like a different person than from before.

    ¡°A beautiful woman¡¯s rage is really intense, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    ¡°Leon, what are you saying?! Be serious.¡±

    While I closed my mouth in response to Livia¡¯s demand, Anjie stepped forward to face rice.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you kept quiet in the medical office. Also rice, I understand your feelings, but wasn¡¯t what you did during the race quite foul?¡±

    In response to Anjie¡¯s re, rice took a step back while smiling. It was all the more frightening when seeing rice like that with her disheveled hair.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so smug. I went this far because you weren¡¯t able to keep a tight rein on his Highness. It infuriated me when I hadn¡¯t done anything, and yet was casted away like you were. I constantly felt like screaming.¡±

    A furrow appeared between Anjie¡¯s eyebrows.

    To tell the truth, Anjie was quite short-tempered.

    She would instantly react when agitated.

    She had recently mellowed, though. Perhaps it was because of the time she spent with Livia.

    ¡°So what? Were you nning on being the heroine of some kind of drama y? It was quite shy of you to go as far as to bring along your exclusive servants. I can see now that your graceful self from before was just a ruse.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤! W, what do you know?!¡±

    When the two seemed like they were about to w at each other, rice¡¯s followers intervened.

    The person she was going against was the daughter of a duke household.

    She was not someone a person wanted to make an enemy of.

    It would spell trouble for even the followers. I felt a bit sympathy for them.

    rice red at Jilk, who was still closing his eyes and not looking at her.

    Jilk was making sure not to look at rice¡¯s face. Had he actually reflected on what happened? The events that had transpired were because of him, after all. Something had to be done about it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t show up to a match next time. We¡¯ll beat you up in front of the public. I¡¯m going to get my revenge on you from now on. You¡¯ll be crying and begging for forgiveness. I will never forgive you, though!¡±

    It seemed she really was angry.

    Jilk¡¯s reaction wasposed.

    ¡°If it will calm you down, then do as you must. However, if you do something to Marie or the others, I will never forgive you.¡±

    Although Marie had beenpletely invisible to the two, the mention of her name caused rice¡¯s eyes to be bloodshot, and she then red at her.

    Marie reacted with a jump, but it seemed that she was acting, as if some kind of switch had been flicked within her.

    ©¤©¤This person was exactly like my sister from my previous life. It really irritated me to see her around.

 Chapter 49 - Volume 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 3 part3

    ¡°Nothing wille out of revenge. What¡¯s important is to©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°As if you know what you¡¯re talking about! Nothing wille of it? So what? What¡¯s wrong with that?!¡±

    ¡°Aaaah! I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    When hearing Marie¡¯s forced words, rice lost her temper. That was natural. Anyone would lose their mind when hearing the one who stole their fiance say that.

    Anjie also red at Marie with hatred.

    However, Julian came out to stand in the way between the two.

    ¡°Enough already. Don¡¯t look at Marie like that, Anjelica.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤My apologies, your Highness.¡±

    Once Anjie apologized, Julian turned towards rice.

    This guy was emitting an aura of royalty, to the point that I was envious of it.

    ¡°rice. I understand if you won¡¯t forgive Jilk. However, I request that you stop this kind of conduct.¡±

    rice, casting her eyes downward while making an eerie smile, looked a bit strange.

    ¡°©¤©¤So that¡¯s what you¡¯re going to say, your Highness? Do you know how many people you¡¯re making unhappy for the sake of just one woman? It¡¯s not just Anjelica. Do you know what people have been saying behind the backs of the other fiancees and me? You wouldn¡¯t know. There¡¯s no way any of you would know.¡±

    There were indeed people made unhappy by Marie¡¯s aim for a reverse harem.

    It seemed that the world of an otome game really is cruel.

    While I was thinking about it, Julian seemed to have a sorrowful face.

    ¡°I know that we don¡¯t have the right to say anything. However, that doesn¡¯t mean you can keep doing this. You won¡¯t better yourself this way.¡±

    I then spoke out my thoughts.

    ¡°Those are about the words I would expect from an ikemen. It¡¯s quite something to hear the persuasion of a boy who had been seduced by Marie to throw away his fiancee. After all, your dignity is what¡¯s most important for you.¡±

    ¡°Leon, no! You can¡¯t say things like that! No!¡±

    Livia looked cute when she said ¡°No!¡± while making a finger-wagging gesture. Normally, this was reserved for deviants like Marie, but I didn¡¯t mind being on the receiving end since there was a certain charm to it.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill002

    The protagonist¡¯s charm was tremendous.

    Like that, Julian red at me once he heard what I had said.

    I decided to close my mouth and look the other way.

    rice turned around.

    ¡°If you appear in the next match, we¡¯ll crush you. Even if you don¡¯t show up, we¡¯ll obliterate your substitute. I¡¯ll teach you all a lesson. ©¤©¤I will never forgive you.¡±

    rice left while chuckling.

    ©¤©¤The mood in the medical office was at its worst.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Now it seems like there won¡¯t be substitute for the next race. Nobody would want to take that role.¡±

    Once I said that, Jilk tried getting up with his injured body.

    ¡°©¤©¤Gah!¡±

    ¡°Jilk, stop!¡±

    Julian held him down onto the bed, but it seemed that Jilk intended to participate.

    ¡°Release me, your Highness. Nobody will get hurt if I go. It¡¯s the obvious choice to take.¡±

    The most obvious choice would¡¯ve been for them to not have broken off their engagements. There was no use crying over spilled milk, but I wanted toin.

    There was originally supposed to be some kind of happy ending where Livia decided which of the five capture targets to go along with.

    Now that the five were disinherited, they had little supporters. I couldn¡¯t predict what would happen in the future.

    I could only worry about the future of this otome game.

    Before I knew it, the first-year ss executivemittee members were staring at me.

    ¡°H, hey, what about Baltfault?¡±

    ¡°His ability just barely qualifies for a being a participant, right?¡±

    ¡°If someone¡¯s getting beaten up, wouldn¡¯t it be better for it to happen to this guy than to Jilk?¡±

    When a plethora of faces red at me within the medical office, Anjie stepped forward as if to protect me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to make Leon participate. Do you really expect to have him go after hearing about what¡¯s going to happen? I¡¯m sorry, but the first-year students will just have to withdraw.¡±

    When hearing that, Marie raised her voice. She was quite panicked.

    ¡°Wait! What about the prize money?!¡±

    Anjie red at Marie with a look that could kill someone.

    ¡°What about it? Do you really want to injure more people just for it?¡±

    I started feeling relieved after Anjie gave a sound argument.

    I didn¡¯t intend to participate, but if I was forced onto there, the venue would definitely get excited wanting to see me get beat up.

    I definitely wasn¡¯t participating.

    ©¤©¤However...

    ¡°B, but, there¡¯s the matter of your reputation, Anjelica.¡±

    ¡°Right. It would be a problem if the ss representative didn¡¯t prepare a substitute.¡±

    ¡°Anyone¡¯s fine, just get someone up there.¡±

    While I was tilting my head, Marie tried to make me participate. This person was kind of shameless.

    It irritated me to remember about my sisters from this life and my younger sister from my previous one.

    ¡°R, right! If you don¡¯t participate, then that woman over there will be in trouble! Right, Julian?!¡±

    ¡°O, oh, right. Anjelica is the ss representative for the first-year students, after all. If she can¡¯t prepare a substitute, it will put her ability into question or otherwise affect her reputation.¡±

    When I looked at Anjie, she made a worried smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. There¡¯s no need for you to get hurt. I can¡¯t inconvenience you any more than I already have.¡±

    ©¤©¤That was a bit of a problem for me, though!

    First off, why was it Anjie¡¯s responsibility to find a substitute? Besides, if it was someone who was supposed to represent the ss, then wasn¡¯t Julian fine?

    If her reputation was on the line, then no matter how many times I fell down, it still wouldn¡¯t have bothered me.

    At any rate, it was a problem if Anjie¡¯s reputation dropped.

    Anjie would end up getting in trouble in an effort to protect me! I couldn¡¯t allow that!

    After all, I owed Anjie¡¯s papa a favor!

    Even though I picked a fight with Julian, who was the crown prince at the time, I was alright since Anjie¡¯s papa protected me.

    Thanks to that, there was the bizarre result of being promoted, though. Leaving that aside, from the point of view of Anjie¡¯s papa, his daughter¡¯s reputation had been wounded due to what I did.

    So what if I did as Anjie said? He would definitely be enraged. He¡¯d likely resent me.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯ll participate.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Livia was surprised.

    Anjie was wide-eyed.

    ¡°Leon, if you¡¯re being sympathetic©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not sympathy! Go through with the procedures right away. Afterwards, prepare a bike.¡±

    Once I said that, someone from the executivemittee said ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll let everyone know~,¡± while leaving the medical office.

    I wondered if they were going to tell everyone that I was about to get beat up.

    ¡°Leon, aren¡¯t you being rash?¡±

    Livia¡¯s face of concern was radiant. However, it would¡¯ve been bad if I didn¡¯t participate.

    ¡°Rash? Nonsense. This is about pride!¡±

    Anjie had a troubled expression, and seemed like she wanted to stop me from participating.

    ¡°Y, you can¡¯t. Many of rice¡¯s followers excel in handling airbikes. Last year¡¯s prize winner was a boy who happened to be one of her followers. They¡¯re people who y rough and do whatever they can if they feel like it.¡±

    ¡°Even so, there are times when one must act!¡±

    Anjie and Livia seemed to have given up on stopping me after seeing my spirit.

    ¡°Leon©¤©¤i, if you¡¯re going that far, then there¡¯s not much we can say anymore. I¡¯ll be praying for your victory.¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll also cheer for you! I¡¯ll be cheering you on, Leon!¡±

    Thank you. Thank you all so much!

    After all, with this, Anjie¡¯s papa wouldn¡¯t get angry.

    If he got mad, I would¡¯ve been dead.

    Marie was delighted.

    ¡°If you¡¯re up, then there¡¯s no problem. I¡¯d be d even if you lose. And if you win, the prize money is mine. Yup, this is okay!¡±

    ©¤©¤I might have been forgiven if I had driven my fist into her face right then and there. It was certainly thanks to Jilk that I was boosted up to the final race. However, I wouldn¡¯t forgive them if they nned on taking all of the prize money.

    When Jilk looked at me, he casted his eyes downward while seeming annoyed.

    Did he hate me? I hated him too! I loathed him!

    ¡°©¤©¤It seems that it¡¯s up to you now.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead and cry tears of joy, you sly green chap. Consider this a debt.¡±

    I made a slight smile while saying so.

    ¡°This will likely turn out to be a huge debt.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with it, since I¡¯ll repay it soon enough.¡±

    I left the medical office in order to prepare an airbike for my participation.

    ¡°Luxon©¤©¤we¡¯ve got work to do.¡±

    [Alright, Master.]

 Chapter 50 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 4 part1</h4>

    <h4>A Weakness Found</h4>

    I went to a hangar in order to participate in the airbike race.

    Carrying a helmet, I conversed with Luxon, who was attached to an airbike.

    [It¡¯s quite unreasonable for you to do this just because you don¡¯t want to anger a duke that happens to support you. How about getting one of Anjelica¡¯s fine followers to do it? Is this really a position suitable for a mob?]

    I normally made snidements towards how I was a mob.

    In reality, I was no more than a boy in the academy with nothing worth noting.

    I wasn¡¯t overwhelmingly beautiful like how Julian or the others were, and was an ordinary person with ck hair and dark irises.

    However, I didn¡¯t hate how I was.

    So what if I was ordinary? Wasn¡¯t that splendid? I loved how I was.

    ¡°I¡¯d love it if I had a position a bit more in the background. I¡¯m afraid of bing one of the viiness¡¯ followers. Anyways, how about we begin?¡±

    Luxon inserted a cording from its spherical body into the airbike. It seemed that it was modifying the airbike, but it kind of looked like we were up to no good.

    [They said ten minutes is more than enough for you. It seems that you¡¯re the victim of harassment. It¡¯s like they¡¯re trying to set you up for some kind of engine trouble.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t those guys hate me a little too much?¡±

    It was as if all of the students in the school turned into my enemy after the duel.

    [There¡¯s no doubt that the students in the whole school hate you. You should take care of the two that you¡¯re on good terms with right now. Perhaps I should call them your friends, that is if you don¡¯t see them as members of the opposite sex.]

    ¡°Friends of the opposite sex, you say.¡±

    [You should look after them since they¡¯re valuable friends who aren¡¯t boys, Master.]

    As I was speaking with Luxon in a low voice, I thought about those two.

    They were people who normally wouldn¡¯t be friends, the protagonist and the viiness. I didn¡¯t think that it would have been a simple matter for them to be close.

    However, the two strangely became close friends.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine if nothing happens between us, though. The best result would be if there are no trials and tribtions for me to encounter. Especially with those two.¡±

    [Don¡¯t you have anything you feel towards them?]

    ¡°Basically, those two©¤©¤¡±

    When I was speaking, a third-year upperssman arrived.

    He was tall, had short hair, and held a stern figure. It seemed that the upperssman had trained his body for a long time. He had quite the thick neck. Of the top candidates, he was the boy who was most popr in the bets.

    ¡°Are you Jilk¡¯s substitute?¡±

    The upperssman was calling out to me, but I didn¡¯t feel much hostility.

    ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you the one who¡¯s the cream of the crop among the top candidates? Do you have some business with me? I¡¯m a bit busy at the moment, so could we save it forter? I¡¯m having some trouble with this engine.¡±

    While I was speaking, Luxon hid itself behind my back.

    The one I was speaking with was rice¡¯s follower.

    It felt like the third-year upperssman was loosening his guard around me.

    ¡°So you do understand the situation you¡¯re in? In that case, I didn¡¯t need toe here and give you a warning. Nevertheless, to think that the shovel guy would substitute for Jilk. I have mixed feelings.¡±

    Shovel guy. I suppose I was called that since I had mistakenly pulled out a shovel during the duel.

    ¡°Tell me about this warning.¡±

    The upperssman made a bit of a self-deprecating smile, and then made a serious expression.

    ¡°Let me apologize in advance. I don¡¯t hold any grudge against you, but I¡¯m going to go all out and thwart you in the next race.¡±

    Wasn¡¯t that an upright deration of war?! There was no point in trying to apologize. I hated pain.

    ¡°Do you have some kind of special circumstance going on? Did rice threaten you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it!¡±

    The upperssman took offense at my joke, but soon apologized with ¡°My bad.¡±

    He then cleared his throat and talked to me about rice¡¯s and his own circumstances.

    ¡°My family consists of nobles from the lowest seats of the royal court. Without our court rank, I wouldn¡¯t be the heir to anything.¡±

    The upperssman was someone from the regr ss who was one of rice¡¯s followers.

    It seemed that he was indebted to her.

    ¡°Mydy is also kind to me. She recognized my talent in airbikes and supported me. It¡¯s thanks to her that I¡¯ll likely get ahead in employment after graduation.¡±

    The upperssman ced his hand gently on his airbike, seeming happy, yet sad.

    ¡°She¡¯s a kind person. We admire her. The other girls are cruel, and I¡¯ve heardintsing from the followers of otherdies, making us d that we¡¯re with her.¡±

    I remained silent, and the upperssman spoke about his past.

    ¡°Mydy¡¯s household has an airbike race location. I could use it freely, so I didn¡¯t have any problems with practicing. That Jilk guy also used that spot before their engagement was even decided. Thedy prepared a coach for him, and even gifted him an airbike. She supported him with a smile. It was pleasant, but frustrating at the same time. And yet, that Jilk brat swiftly told her one day that he would break up their engagement. Even when mydy tried to see him in order to persuade him otherwise, he absolutely would not meet her.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but get angry.

    It was justified to beat up Jilk for it. I forgave him. Do your best, upperssman!

    However, I hoped that he would let me off.

    ¡°In that case, could you overlook me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I sympathize with you emotionally, but mydy¡¯s orders are absolute. We have to unconditionally follow her orders. We have to by all means, even if it means doing it in exchange for our lives.¡±

    What strong determination.

    It was this kind of idolization that made rice so popr.

    The upperssman then spoke to me about rice¡¯s changes.

    ¡°I heard about what happened at the medical office. It¡¯s probably impossible, but I hope that you don¡¯t think badly of mydy. She has changed since the summer vacation. She owns ves and goes wild with them all night. She was not that kind of person in the past.¡±

    Owning ves and doing it all night? That¡¯s what a lot of girls did, including my sister.

    I wasn¡¯t really surprised, since I was already numbed to it.

    ©¤©¤It had finally happened. It seemed that the world of this otome game had seeped into me.

    Something like this wasn¡¯t normal! It was frustrating that I thought it was for just a moment.

    ¡°If you sympathize, then can¡¯t you cut me some ck?¡±

    The upperssman smiled.

    ¡°So I can¡¯t convince you? It seemed that you weren¡¯t that interested in what I had to say. It¡¯s fine either way. I¡¯m justining out loud. You can ignore me.¡±

    While seeing the upperssman leave, I sat down on the seat of my airbike and put on my helmet. I tightly fixed the strap of the helmet around my chin.

    [The airbike¡¯s modification haspleted.]

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    [Master, are you still aiming to win even after hearing that?]

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯d be wrong of me to, but I had bet arge amount of money on myself.¡±

    When the students heard that I would be substituting for Jilk and that I would be using an airbike prepared by the academy, they were probably thinking that I would lose.

    Compared to those who advanced to the finals, it was obvious that I was inferior.

    In other words, I was an unlikely winner.

    [I don¡¯t think you need money, though. In the first ce, since you have me, you wouldn¡¯t be inconvenienced in terms your livelihood, Master.]

    What an idiot. That wouldn¡¯t have helped with marriage, though! It really was a useless AI.

    In addition, I also just wanted to win. I loved winning. Furthermore©¤©¤

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see the bitter faces of the people who thought I would lose. For that, I¡¯ll win the championship. The bet is on. You can consider this a separate matter.¡±

    [What a nice hobby you have. I¡¯d like to follow your example of having a tough, impudent spirit that doesn¡¯t feel anything about using my power to shamefully win a game.]

    Didn¡¯t this thing hate me a little too much?

    ¡ó

    Now that the race was about to begin, airbikes were hovering in the sky.

    The sensation of floating in the air with a bike was refreshing, as long as I didn¡¯t look down. The quality of the ride wasn¡¯t bad either.

    The audience was greatly excited to see each airbike rising up.

    Among those airbikes, there were some belonging to participants who were surrounding me.

    Each of them were openly hostile.

    ¡°Yo, we were waiting for you. Today, we¡¯ll repay you for what you did that one time.¡±

    Who was this person?

    He seemed to be a second-year student, but I didn¡¯t remember him at all.

    When I tried to ignore him, he collided into my airbike.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me, first-year scum!¡±

    Iughed scornfully.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I would be able to remember trash like you, though. I¡¯ll tell a certain duke household your name, so give it to me. Hey, tell me your name!¡±

    While touting my close connection with the duke Redgrave household, I politely looked down on the person I was speaking to.

    Perhaps that made me a small fry hiding behind a giant. So what? It was pretty fun.

    The person clicked his tongue and took a distance from me.

    All the participants gathered at the starting point marked by cloth.

    There were obstacles installed in various areas of the field.

    [As sharp-tongued as ever, I see.]

    ¡°I¡¯m actually being serious, so why is troubleing to me? Good grief.¡±

    [You reap what you sow. In fact, I¡¯ve recently been wondering if you just want to show off. Look, it¡¯s about to start.]

    Once I looked ahead of me, there was a referee who shot a rifle into the sky.

    With that as a cue, all of the airbikes simultaneously began to run, and I was in the lead©¤©¤not.

    [You¡¯repletely surrounded.]

    ¡°God damn!¡± (<i>TLN: Spoken in English</i>)

    [And you said you were a Japanese person in your previous life?]

    ¡°I just wanted to try saying it!¡±

    Once the race began, participants surrounded me with their airbikes andunched an attack. They collided into my airbike and kicked it.

    What cruel people they were!

    ¡°Go to hell, you fiend!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m swimming in debt because of you!¡±

    ¡°Go crash somewhere!¡±

    I would have liked to have imed that these voices of resent were just misunderstandings.

    ¡°You¡¯re all just paying the consequences of your mistakes, idiots! You all are the ones that can go crash somewhere!¡±

    Luxon was amazed when I kicked back at the schoolboy that had kicked me.

    [What a pathetic conversation. It really makes me realize how conflict can only ur amongst people of the same level.]

    I defended myself from the top, bottom, left, right, and front in order to endure the attacks of the people surrounding me.

    ¡°Ouch! Who threw that thing just now?! I hope you¡¯re prepared toe face me!¡±

    ¡ó

    In a paid longue that gave off a high-ss aura, there were students who gathered to cheer people on in the race.

    ¡°Do it!¡±

    ¡°Over there. Give him arger dent!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little too meek?!¡±

    Everyone was excitedly cheering for the students that were attacking Leon.

    Anjie held her head due to a headache.

    ¡°Their dissatisfaction will umte, even if we try to stop them. Leon had also said that it was fine for them to let out some steam, but this is crueler than I had imagined.¡±

    Livia had teary eyes.

    ¡°I feel bad for Leon. Leon, I know that you didn¡¯t do anything particrly wro©¤©¤w, well, actually...¡±

    Anjieforted Livia, who tried to stand up for Leon somehow.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go that far. He has his faults as well. However, even if it¡¯s just you and me, we can cheer for Leon. Anyways, it¡¯s ironic that those rted to rice aren¡¯t near.¡±

    rice¡¯s followers were attempting to thwart Leon.

    However, before those followers could surround him, other boys had gathered around Leon and persistentlyunched an attack.

    Instead of getting near him, rice¡¯s followers seemed to be moving indecisively, perhaps in confusion.

    Leon had avoided receiving any fatal wounds, but Anjie, who was watching in irritation, was clenching her fist. Thereupon, the daughter of the earl household from the first day of the school festival appeared.

    With a smile, she looked beyond the ss, towards the race.

    ¡°Your follower really is detestable.¡±

    Anjie objected to the earl daughter, who thought that Leon was her follower.

    ¡°Leon isn¡¯t my follower.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. What¡¯s important is that he¡¯s your colleague. Because of you guys, my household has been criticizing me for so long©¤©¤¡±

    She had called the queen, Mine, an olddy, and furthermore instigated an incident through her exclusive servants. Due to that, it seemed that the earl daughter was harshly criticized by her family.

    Her followers were around her, but her exclusive servants were nowhere to be seen.

    Anjieughed scornfully.

    ¡°If you¡¯re looking for something to me, then how about ming your own short-sightedness?¡±

    The earl daughter, who seemed like she was about to lunge at Anjie, had a sharp gaze and dark circles around her eyes.

    Livia stood in front of her.

    ¡°Don¡¯ty a hand on Anjie!¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Livia.¡±

    When Anjie felt a little reassured by Livia, the girl squinted her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt our conversation, lowlymoner.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Err, um.¡±

    When Livia flinched upon being called amoner, Anjie stood to protect her this time. When seeing that, the girl made an ill-boding smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Anjelica. Perhaps you¡¯ve gotten timid from having all of your followers betray you. If it was you from before, you wouldn¡¯t even have cared formoners. Could it be that you¡¯re clinging onto one in desperation? You¡¯ve changed despite having looked down onmoners like her. Or perhaps it¡¯s that your household is on a decline, so you can only draw close with them.¡±

    Anjie red at the girl, but soon turned around and looked at Livia.

    She tried to resolve the misunderstand, but struggled to get the words out.

    ¡°©¤©¤T, that¡¯s not it. Livia, I..!¡±

    The words couldn¡¯te out, and feeling ashamed about her former self, she averted her gaze from Livia.

    Seeing Anjie¡¯s behavior, Livia broke into tears and ran off.

    Anjie tried reaching out towards Livia¡¯s back, but Livia ran out from the lounge.

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah.¡±

    When Anjie was about to chase after her, her legs halted. She lowered the arm she had reached out with.

    (What right do I have to chase after her?)

    She stopped and thought about her past.

    When it came to being the daughter of a duke household, her life was different from even Leon¡¯s. She had never gone out to a field and it was unlikely that she would get the opportunity to make contact with normal citizens.

    What was someone like her thinking, interacting with amoner?

    ¡°Aah~, she ran off. In the end, it seems that even your friends are cold towards you.¡±

    When the earl daughter said that, a vein appeared on Anjie¡¯s forehead and she red at her.

    ¡°©¤©¤What do you know?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    When seeing the girlugh, Anjie proceeded to p her on the cheek, making a sharp sound.

    ¡°Y, you actually did it!¡±

    ¡°What about it? Lowly people like you shouldn¡¯t pick a fight with me.¡±

    Pinning down the girl after she tried lunging at her, Anjie pressed her weight onto her, starting a fight between the two.

    The lounge, which had gotten excited not too long ago, was now silent.

    When the people around tried to intervene, Anjie grabbed the girl by the cor and drove her fist into her cheek.

    ¡°What do you know©¤©¤what do you know about me?! I¡¯ll crush you. I¡¯ll crush you with all I can!¡±

    The girl clutched Anjie¡¯s hair.

    ¡°©¤©¤I said it before, you stubborn jerk! Don¡¯t get carried away for someone from a declining duke household!¡±

    The lounge was in chaos.

 Chapter 51 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 4 part2</h4>

    When the race was approaching its final stage, the participants started moving away from me in order to raise their ranking.

    ¡°Is this enough?¡±

    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve beaten him up this much, he shouldn¡¯t be able to run anymore.¡±

    ¡°See ya, bbermouth!¡±

    Watching the backs of the blockheads as they left, I gripped the handle and turned up the throttle, causing the engine to greatly rumble.

    The body of the airbike was battered, and the visor of my helmet fractured©¤©¤but my heart hadn¡¯t broken.

    How unfortunate for these trash heaps! Not finishing me off would be their undoing!

    ¡°©¤©¤Shall we go, Luxon?¡±

    [Whenever you¡¯re ready. However, it¡¯s strange that that the referee didn¡¯t intervene despite the amount of open rough y that happened. Aren¡¯t you being hated on a little too much?]

    ¡°I should have bribed the referee with some money.¡±

    [You reallye up with the worst ideas. However, I think the other students have already done some bribing, so the referee probably wouldn¡¯tply unless you offer more money than them.]

    ¡°If it¡¯s money, then I have more than I could possibly need! However, my heart won¡¯t yield even in the face of this kind of injustice!¡±

    The boys who had surrounded me not too long ago were nowpeting against each other. As I increased the speed, I broke up themotion.

    I then passed them.

    The airbike was in its best condition after Luxon had taken control over it.

    Despite my skill, I was able to easily overtake the participants.

    ¡°Y, you!¡±

    I waved my hand towards the boys, who seemed irritated.

    ¡°I¡¯llmend you people for trying to stop me. As expected from you all, it amounted to so little, idiots!¡±

    As I passed through each and every participant, I began to run into rice¡¯s followers, who had been monopolizing the lead. Different from the others, they seemingly wanted to share the lead with each other.

    [They¡¯re pretty fast, aren¡¯t they.]

    ¡°Can we catch up to them?¡±

    [What a funny joke©¤©¤it won¡¯t take even a minute to pass them.]

    Once the engine began to work past its limits, merely holding onto the airbike became a tough task.

    The control of the airbike was done by Luxon. All I could do was frantically cling onto the bike whenever it swayed or leaned over.

    [Master, you¡¯re a bitte on shifting your weight. To say it inly, you¡¯re bothersome to work with.]

    ¡°You¡¯re making too many back and forth movements! Also, don¡¯t call me bothersome! You¡¯re going to make me cry.¡±

    I moved my body ording to the motions of the bike, and passed the participants in the lead one after the other.

    The venue was in an uproar after seeing that. The announcer shouted, perhaps in astonishment as well.

    ¡°W, who would have thought that Baltfault would bepeting for the lead now! Is this even possible? Could it be that he has done some illegal modifications?!¡±

    Did they really hate seeing me win?

    ¡°I see. In that case, I¡¯ll win no matter what.¡±

    I definitely wanted to see their tear-stained faces by all means.

    When I passed the the participant in third ce, the one in second appeared in front of me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see you get through this!¡±

    Blocking the direction I was moving in, the participant smiled while saying so.

    ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m about to get through right now~!¡±

    Once I shifted my body along with the airbike and bypassed the participant in second using some very tricky moves, the only one in front of me was him©¤©¤the third-year upperssman.

    When I tried to pass him through the outer track, the upperssman made a beeline to the goal instead of trying to do something to me©¤©¤a race to the goal without any pointless nonsense.

    I had already seen that he was the type that hated doing cheap tricks, but this affirmed it.

    ¡°©¤©¤Sorry.¡±

    When a fire sprouted from the muffler of the airbike Luxon was controlling, the airbike took a speed that frightened me.

    ©¤©¤While sensing this speed which made me reluctant to do an airbike race again, my airbike had reached the goal first.

    I had won.

    Once the speed of the airbike lowered and I took off my helmet, I faced the stadium with a smile and raised my hand.

    ¡°Eveyone, I won~! Sorry~.¡±

    Objects were being thrown from audience seats.

    ¡°You again!¡±

    ¡°Give me back my money!¡±

    ¡°You pest!¡±

    I waved my hand when hearing such vocal cheering. Their faces of irritation were my biggest reward.

    [Master.]

    ¡°What? I¡¯m enjoying the situation right now, so leave me be.¡±

    [No, the thing is at its limit.]

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    When I turned around, I saw white fumesing from the airbike. I did indeed think that my back was feeling a little hot. It felt like the seat, or rather the whole airbike itself, was hot.

    ¡°Aaaah!¡±

    When I grabbed Luxon and was about to take a leap of faith off of the airbike, the upperssman drove up to me from behind and picked me up.

    The upperssman had a gentle expression, but also seemed like he was going to sob.

    ¡°You really saved me.¡±

    When I gave my appreciation to him, the upperssman made a smile that seemed as if he was troubled.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You really gave me a shock back when that duel happened. Thank you for what you did back then. I was also able to earn a little cash because of it.¡±

    It seemed that this upperssman hated Jilk and made a bet on me during the duel.

    ¡ó

    We were in the medical office.

    Now that I had been awarded, I came to to Jilk and the others while carrying the prize money.

    I showed off my medal while looking at Marie¡¯s frustrated expression.

    I wonder why it felt so nice.

    It was a refreshing feeling that I hadn¡¯t felt in a long time, simr to when I would talk down my younger sister.

    ¡°Lookie here, I won. You didn¡¯t forget your promise, right Jilk~?¡±

    Jilk made a sigh while looking at my grinning face.

    ¡°Yes, a promise is a promise. I¡¯ll do anything you want. I¡¯llply as long as it remains within my limits.¡±

    He said for it to remain within his limits, but that indicated how ck-hearted he was.

    He was saying that he wouldn¡¯t do anything he didn¡¯t want to do.

    What a terrible person.

    This was why these otome game capture targets were the worst.

    ¡°So what are you nning on having him do? Have him do a handstand nude?¡±

    Kyle, with his hands sped behind his head, spoke frankly towards me. Wasn¡¯t his attitude a little overbearing for someone who knew that I was a baron?

    ¡°Are you an idiot? What value is there in having him do a handstand? No wait, there¡¯s some value if he exposes his nude self in front of the girls. I could make a profit from it.¡±

    Thereupon, Marie pointed at me.

    ¡°So you¡¯d go that far just to get money! You cheapskate!¡±

    ¡°Go take a look in the mirror! You¡¯ll find a bigger cheapskate than me!¡±

    ¡°More importantly, hand over the prize money!¡±

    She really was shameless. I thought it would have been fine to divide the prize money, since it was indeed thanks to Jilk that I was able topete in the final race. However, I decided to give Marie the full amount, just as she wished.

    ¡°Alright. Take it.¡±

    ¡°H, how awfullypliant of you.¡±

    ¡°You could say it¡¯s my saving grace.¡±

    Once I handed over the prize money of three hundred thousand dia, Marie jumped at it. However, she seemed curious about the white gold coin that I had. I fiddled around with the white gold coin in my hand to purposely show it off.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s a white gold coin, right? Why do you have such a thing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the profit I made with today¡¯s bet. I made a bet on myself, and since I was an unexpected winner, I made somerge gains.¡±

    When Marie watched as I swapped the white gold coin in my hand for gold coins and silver coins, Marie trembled. I had a hunch that this would make her envious, and it seemed that I was right on the mark.

    The amount of money I had in my hand outshined three hundred thousand dia.

    ¡°C, coward. How unfair! Betting on yourself shouldn¡¯t be allowed!¡±

    ¡°I see no problem with it. You all should be satisfied with the amount of money you got.¡±

    When I acted as if three hundred thousand dia was of no concern, it seemed that Marie was genuinely irritated. It really was easy to read this person.

    When a furious Marie red at me, Jilk stood up.

    Were his injuries okay?

    ¡°I understand. So it¡¯s no problem what I do as long as it makes you feel better.¡±

    I looked away from Marie as if I didn¡¯t care about her, and turned to face Jilk.

    ¡°How foolish. If I just let you do as I please, Anjie and Livia would likely get angry. I¡¯ve decided to give you a more realistic order. Actually, I suppose I could call it a request.¡±

    Jilk looked at me with a doubtful gaze. Did he really have that little trust in me?

    ¡°A request?¡±

    ¡ó

    The academy was filled with sorrow after the festival.

    Tools were each taken out from school buildings, beginning the cleanup.

    Now that the three days of the festival were over, it finally felt like everything hade to an end.

    I was in my cafe, beginning to put away the utensils.

    Also in there were Jilk, rice, and her followers.

    Jilk was wearing a hospital gown and had his head and arm wrapped in bandages.

    rice stood in front of such a pathetic-looking Jilk.

    This was part of my request for Jilk.

    ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry about the matter.¡±

    An apology towards rice.

    Beforeing here, I also allowed my older sister to apologize. That matter was not as important as this one, though.

    rice had teary eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯rete for only doing it now at this point! I had been waiting! Did you really think that you could erase everything between us with just a single letter?¡±

    rice was furious.

    That was natural. Jilk should reflect on this matter.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about how I fell for someone else, and the matter of our marriage. I don¡¯t want to lie, especially not in front of your face. The fact of the matter is that I¡¯m in love with another woman.¡±

    rice took a step forward and pped Jilk in an instant.

    What a nice sound it made within the room.

    Do it some more! Go on, rice!

    Jilk didn¡¯t talk back. However, it seemed that he was prepared to ept whatever came his way. He should¡¯ve used the bravery he had here for something else.

    ¡°What is there to lie about?! You were seduced by that woman. Did you want to abandon me that much? Why that girl?! Why...am I not good enough?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know myself. However, I do know that I fell in love with her. Due to that, I was hesitant in seeing you.¡±

    No matter how cruel an excuse was, it sounded better when said by someone good-looking.

    It seemed to me that Jilk didn¡¯t want to meet her because it was just in troublesome for him. If I did something bad to a woman and gave an excuse like that, everyone around me would go ¡°What did you just say?¡± and treat me coldly.

    Come to think of it, what kind of excuse would I make? No wait, I wouldn¡¯t even be in an affair to begin with. In an otome game world like this, a guy cheating on another would result in them being tracked down and beaten up. On the other hand, a woman doing it would end with just a p on the wrist.

    This world really was unreasonable.

    ¡°Are you trying to deceive me again? Jilk, you¡¯re always like that! You¡¯ve never spoken towards me once about what you truly think! Even now, aren¡¯t you just trying to escape by pretending to apologize?¡±

    ¡°These are my honest feelings. I¡¯m not in a position to meet you. Even just us meeting could drag you down. That being the case, I wish that you could remember me as you had before.¡±

    Although Jilk was a capture target, he basically was a troublesome person who wouldn¡¯t speak to others about his thoughts. He would always grin, but never would talk about what he liked or disliked.

    Thus, he would try to run away from things he didn¡¯t like, making him a truly troublesome guy. I suppose that ording to the game, the reason for it was for the sake of Julian. However, this was a matter of apologizing to his ex-fiancee!

    rice¡¯s followers were about to ready their weapons in their hands.

    When I assessed that the situation wasn¡¯t looking good and was about to intervene, rice spoke.

    ¡°©¤©¤Stand down.¡±

    ¡°Mydy?¡±

    The third-year upperssman was concerned about rice. rice wiped her tears.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in dirtying your hands. I have nothing to do with this man anymore. He¡¯s just a stranger from now on. I don¡¯t want to get involved with him again.¡±

    Jilk lowered his head, although it seemed like he wanted to say something about the fight that almost broke out.

    ¡°My apologies. And, thank you, rice.¡±

    rice hung her head and gritted her teeth.

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak to me so casually! I don¡¯t want to see your face anymore!¡±

    Jilk left the room as he was told to do. H, huh? Didn¡¯t that mean I was the only one left here?

    When a nervous atmosphere covered the room, the third-year upperssman spoke up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We inconvenienced you.¡±

    ¡°N, not at all.¡±

    rice sat on a chair that her followers brought and began to cry.

    I wanted to go home.

    ¡°I¡¯m heading off as well. I probably shouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    ¡°No, wait for a moment.¡±

    When he said that, all of the boys around bowed their heads. I was in surprise, imagining that they were about to beat me up.

    ¡°W, what?!¡±

    ¡°Even when we tried calling him, he wouldn¡¯te. We have to thank you, Baron. We¡¯re sorry for the numerous rude things we did!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry!¡±

    Speaking inly, this was a situation where a first-year student like me was being surrounded by upperssmen who were bowing their heads. It was kind of frightening. I wasn¡¯t sure why I was scared!

    I was puzzled by all of the boys making an apology, and when I took a bit of distance, I noticed that there were sub-race ves simply watching us.

    Servants had no devotion. Their rtionships were purely contractual.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied, I don¡¯t mind if you hit me. Do whatever you need to do. However, leave mydy unrted to this matter.¡±

    ¡°Will that really do?¡±

    The upperssman made a small smile when I made that mean-spiritedment.

    ¡°If that won¡¯t do, then I¡¯ll take responsibility. I¡¯ll offer my life.¡±

    He would take responsibility with his life, he said? That really was frightening. I was jealous that there were people who had this much loyalty to others.

    When hearing that, rice stood up.

    ¡°Wait! Do you think I would allow that? This is entirely my responsibility. You all were just following my orders. That¡¯s all you did.¡±

    ¡°But, mydy!¡±

    I spoke in amazement when seeing them argue over who should take responsibility.

    ¡°How about stopping this emotional drama? Trying to figure out who should take responsibility is troublesome, so no thanks. I hate having to deal with troublesome things.¡±

    Thereupon, the upperssman looked at me.

    ¡°Y, you©¤©¤err, is that so? Are you going to forgive us?¡±

    Did they think I was here to drive rice into a corner? In the first ce, Jilk was the one in the wrong. If he had actually taken the proper course of action, this matter would have been resolved before it even began.

    He really was a troublesome guy.

    ¡°rice, you should get back on your feet. There are as many stars as there are men out there.¡±

    rice hung her head and made a feeble smile towards what I said.

    ¡°You¡¯re twisted, but you¡¯re pretty kind, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    Hearing that, Luxon was saying [She¡¯s mistaken. Master, you¡¯re not twisted, but rather crooked beyond repair©¤©¤] and other such trivial things, so I took a look at the exclusive servants.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk as if you know my feelings. I¡¯m just grateful that these troublesome things will end.¡±

    ¡°Is that so. It has already gottente. My clothes are dirty as well.¡±

    Behind rice, who was making a sorrowful smile, I noticed one of her exclusive servants making a telling grin. It was a smile that spoke as if they had won.

    ¡°Rest assured. A good woman like you need not concern herself with this. However, you should do something about those exclusive ves of yours.¡±

    When I red back at the sub-race exclusive servants, each of them had a flustered expression. To them, rice was a good master.

    Another way to put it was that she was reasonable.

    They didn¡¯t want to part with their master, a girl who gave them a good pay, so they seemed panicked.

    ¡°How fair-spoken. Perhaps this was how you gained favor with Anjelica.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m an honest man who tells no lies.¡±

    The upperssman disregarded that by saying ¡°That¡¯s definitely a lie.¡±

    rice slightly nodded her head.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll try to keep doing my best. I¡¯m already tired of living like this. Seriously, I understand that I can¡¯t make him turn my way no matter what I do. I wonder what I had been doing.¡±

    Jilk was also a sinful man. That was just my assessment of him, but he did throw everything away just for the sake of Marie.

    She really was a good-for-nothing reincarnated person. In order to realize her reverse harem, she caused the suffering of many others.

    Imagine if there were an honest and gentle women who would y around with a man. The reason being that she wanted the man, who had been abandoned by others, to look her way©¤©¤why couldn¡¯t there have been a girl like that for me?!

    In the end, I ended up having to clean up after Jilk¡¯s mess©¤©¤how frustrating!

    Normally, it would have been okay if I didn¡¯t get involved in this. However, Jilk was one of the capture targets. I wanted to avoid causing extra troubles arising from this matter. This was just a matter of looking after myself.

    The rest was as Julian said it was. This wasn¡¯t for rice¡¯s sake.

    I intervened because of circumstances that wererger than Jilk himself.

    rice began to cry again, and since my business was done, I was about to leave. I was the one who wanted to cry. I gained nothing from today in terms of searching for marriage. The only thing I got from the school festival was enough money to build a mansion.

    Huh? Wasn¡¯t that pretty good? I earned a fortune at the school festival.

    Thereupon, rice raised her voice.

    ¡°Leon. You¡¯d better go to Anjie. It seemed that a lot had happened with Anjie and that honor student.¡±

    Did something happen between them?

 Chapter 52 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 4 part3</h4>

    I was in the back of the academy¡¯s building.

    I found Livia sitting in the corner, trying to hide, so I approached her and raised my voice.

    ¡°You seem gloomy.¡±

    Livia raised her head and cried.

    ¡°Leon, I don¡¯t know what I should do.¡±

    Livia said so with a painful smile, and so I sat next to her. I had also visited Anjie, who had injuries on her face, but she said that she wanted me to go to where Livia was. She showed a very lonely facial expression.

    ¡°I¡¯m not that good atforting others. Even so, is it fine if I at least try?¡±

    When she shook her head, I said ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Leon. Am I Anjie¡¯s friend? Do you think we¡¯re friends?¡±

    Were they friends, and would they still be friends after this? I was troubled on how to reply to such a question. Honestly, I had expected something like this to happen.

    ¡°Which do you want, a soft and gentle lie or the bittersweet truth?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤I want the bittersweet truth.¡±

    If it were me, I would have wanted the gentle lie, but this girl was strong. As expected of the almighty protagonist. No, I suppose it would be more urate to im that it was as expected of Livia.

    ¡°Perfect. I¡¯ve prepared a sweet, warm drink. It has just the right amount of sweetness for hearing a bittersweet truth.¡±

    ¡°You really are a curious person, aren¡¯t you Leon?¡±

    She made aplicated smile. Well, I was a human who had lived through another life, after all.

    Once I handed over the beverage and Livia started drinking it, I began telling her about this bittersweet truth.

    ¡°It¡¯s exceedingly difficult to answer that. In the first ce, you twoe from entirely different backgrounds and you have no points inmon. Honestly speaking, the rtionship between you two had been going a little too smoothly up until now. It wouldn¡¯t go well if a farmer, who been working with a hoe, imed that he would start fighting with a sword tomorrow, right? It¡¯s the same thing as that.¡±

    Their family backgrounds varied, and all kinds of things between them differed too greatly.

    There were exceptions, but even so, a majority of the factors still worked against them.

    Livia was shedding tears.

    ¡°I was happy that I finally had a friend of the same gender at this academy, but it seems that it won¡¯t work out between us. I would be a nuisance if I were by Anjie¡¯s side. Even today, Anjie had been harshly criticized because of me. I was even told that Anjie doesn¡¯t even see me as a person©¤©¤¡±

    Livia was crying.

    Did I have a clever speech to give?

    One would be mistaken to think that I did. Something like that was the job of Julian and the others. Originally, they were the ones who were supposed tofort Livia.

    ©¤©¤So, I decided that I wouldfort her in my own way.

    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t you think that Anjie¡¯s been holding various thoughts deep down? Since her followers had decreased and she was put into a weaker position after the duel, perhaps she sees you and I as recements to those followers. It¡¯s as you said, Livia. Anjie doesn¡¯t treat us as humans.¡±

    When I said as such with a foolish grin, Livia looked at me in anger.

    ¡°Anjie¡¯s not that kind of person!¡±

    ©¤©¤If she already knew that, then I suppose that there wasn¡¯t any problem.

    ¡°In that case, aren¡¯t you guys fine? You know it yourself.¡±

    Perhaps realizing what I was saying, Livia was taken aback and then looked downward.

    She looked at me with an embarrassed face.

    ¡°You really are mischievous, Leon.¡±

    ¡°My bad. I don¡¯t know how tofort people. Generally, when I try to look cool andfort a girl, I end up making a fool out of myself.¡±

    I had tried imitating the likes of Julian or Jilk.

    Rather than being impressed, the other party would snicker. I was confident that I would getughed at.

    Something was off. I felt like I was missing something.

    Perhaps it was the aura of an ikemen? It really was my face, wasn¡¯t it? Ugh, having good looks really did give an advantage.

    While thinking about such things, just a bit of Livia¡¯s smile returned to her.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll try talking with Anjie just once more.¡±

    I nodded my head.

    ¡°Good choice.¡±

    ¡ó

    That evening, Livia heard a knock when she was in her room.

    ¡°C,ing.¡±

    When Livia opened the door, she saw Cara.

    ¡°Do you have a moment?¡±

    Livia was nervous towards Cara, who was smiling.

    ¡°Oh, um, I do.¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I want you to participate in the suppression of the sky pirates as well. It seems that you have excellent scores within the advanced ss. Would you be able to help?¡±

    ¡°W, well, there¡¯s something I should say about that. Making that request through such a sneaky method was©¤©¤¡±

    Cara made a strong m on the edge of the door.

    The noise startled Livia, and when she went silent, she noticed that there was a girl in the back who was giggling.

    The girl spoke on behalf of Cara.

    ¡°You¡¯ll help, right? Commoner?¡±

    She was the daughter of an earl household, and she had many wounds on her face. She smiled and demanded Livia¡¯spliance.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t help, misfortune wille your way. Sorrow will also befall upon that Baltfault jerk, the stuck-up Anjelica, and your family.¡±

    When she said that, Livia hung her head and clenched her fist.

    ¡°You¡¯ll meet Cara tomorrow. Make your choice then, you durd.¡±

    The duke daughter threatened Cara as well.

    ¡°Do your job as well, or your household will be in trouble.¡±

    Cara was a bit frightened.

    ¡°R, right!¡±

    This was the first time Livia met a girl who had driven her into this far of a corner. Livia spoke up to the girl, who was abusing the power of her household to do as she pleased.

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t think you should do something like this.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Despite the duke daughter ring at her, Livia continued.

    ¡°Both Leon and Anjie are very strong people. E, even with your threats, those two will©¤©¤¡±

    When hearing that, the duke daughterughed loudly. Her hands were over her stomach.

    ¡°Huh, what? Do you really think those two are your friends?¡±

    ¡°I, I do!¡±

    When Livia talked back, the duke daughter grabbed her by the hair and dragged Livia¡¯s face closer to hers.

    ¡°Nobles have no such things as friends. Anjie knows that the most. You¡¯re just her pet who¡¯s there to alleviate her heartbreak. Do you notprehend that?¡±

    ¡°Y, you¡¯re wrong!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not. When a noble is on a decline, the people around them will soon separate from that person. It¡¯s not an umon for friends to betray others. This is Anjelica we¡¯re talking about. You know it yourself just from seeing her, don¡¯t you? Her strengthes from her distrust of everyone and everything. To her, you¡¯re not human. She treats you kindly because you¡¯re her pet.¡±

    ¡°I am not a pet. I am a human! Those two are my important©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°You know nothing. Just what can you do for those two?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    Livia was quickly flustered in response to the duke daughter¡¯s words.

    That had to do with Livia¡¯s distress.

    She wondered if she would always be protected by those two, and if there was something she could do for them.

    ¡°Baltfault is more or less a noble credited with deeds. Anjelica is a natural-born pompousdy with assets and power. Are you really equal to those two? Friendship is amongst equals, right?¡±

    ¡°T, that¡¯s©¤©¤¡±

    Livia¡¯s gaze wavered.

    ¡°Can¡¯t talk back, can you? In the end, you¡¯re not friends. No matter how much you try to gloss over it, everyone sees you as a pet to those two.¡±

    This was her first experience confronting the duke daughter alone. Normally, Leon would protect her. However, Leon wasn¡¯t here. Anjie wasn¡¯t here either.

    ¡°Ah, I get it! Since you have that cute appearance, couldn¡¯t it be that he¡¯s after your body? Baltfault shouldn¡¯t be qualified as noble if he¡¯s going after amoner due to his unpoprity. How pathetic~.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong! Leon isn¡¯t that kind of©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how men are. Try tempting them by taking off a bit of your clothes. They¡¯ll soon jump at you. Quite shameless, all things considered. You¡¯ve made a mistake by not only entering the academy, but also thinking that you can stand alongside us. It seems some tough discipline is necessary for you.¡±

    Livia was thrusted away, and while she was rolling on the floor, a few girls entered the scene from behind the duke daughter.

    They beganying waste to the room.

    ¡°S, stop it! Stop this!¡±

    The duke daughter grinned.

    ¡°What a dump this room is. Roughing it up a bit would suit it just right.¡±

    A teacher, who had been patrolling around the women¡¯s dormitory, had arrived at a troubled Livia¡¯s room.

    ¡°Teacher, please help. These people©¤©¤¡±

    However, when the duke daughter looked at the teacher with a smirk, the teacher walked away as if there was nothing to see.

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    ¡°Do you understand now? You aren¡¯t equal to us©¤moner.¡±

    Livia was shocked at how even the teachers had abandoned her.

    When she sat down where she was and sobbed, the people around her began tough.

    ¡°You made her cry.¡±

    ¡°So this is whatmoners amount to.¡±

    ¡°And she thought that she was at the same level as us, she doesn¡¯t know her ce.¡±

    The duke daughter left the door, apanied by Cara.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯m off.¡±

    The other girls also left while ridiculing Livia. Once Livia closed the door, she sat there, at her wits¡¯ end.

    A sobbing Livia pondered the merits of being close with Leon, namely being under his protection.

    The disadvantage was that her opportunities to grow in strength would be nearly gone because she was being protected by Leon.

    Threatened by earl daughter, Livia decided to participate in the suppression of the sky pirates.

 Chapter 53 - Volume 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 5 part1

    Suppression of the Sky Pirates

    I was on a harbor for airships within the royal capital.

    It was a floating ind slightly separated from the royal capital. With airships constantly entering and leaving, this ce looked more like a train station or a bus terminal rather than a harbor to me.

    Though, instead of trains or buses, there were airships going in and out.

    While many people were on tiny airshipsing from the royal capital, my airship, ¡°Partner¡±, was on standby.

    This seven hundred meter airship that Luxon built was standing out inparison to the other airships.

    Its shape was simple, rectangr, and box-like.

    Its appearance was made to resemble other ships, but its interior was quite something©¤©¤it was a high-performance airship that made other airships look primitive.

    ¡°Did you make sure it was properly on standby?¡±

    Luxon, who was hiding inside my luggage, replied.

    [This much is within Partner¡¯s capabilities.]

    Partner¡¯s camouge then reproduced the figure of Luxon¡¯s main body once more.

    The form of Luxon¡¯s main body was futuristic to say the least, and was unnatural for an airship of this world. It was more like a spaceship in the first ce.

    It had been disguised for that reason, but the problem was the matter of its interior.

    I couldn¡¯t let people inside since it was futuristic to the point I wouldn¡¯t be able to exin it to others.

    Since I had an airship that was a lost item, a device that was impossible to reproduce, there were many who wanted to go inside, so Partner had been built with great haste.

    If the secret of Luxon¡¯s existence was known, people would emerge who would try to kill me and take it.

    This was part of a measure against that.

    ©¤©¤Jeez. I didn¡¯t even face any troubles when I had to use Luxon to return back to my home.

    Well, this Partner was Luxon¡¯s pride.

    It had an attachment to Partner, like a doting parent, perhaps due to the airship being Luxon¡¯s own construction.

    Did AIs have things like affection?

    [Master, have you noticed them?]

    ¡°I see them.¡±

    I could see the figures of Cara and Livia next to Partner. Livia was carrying Cara¡¯s luggage.

    When they noticed that I was approaching, Cara snatched her luggage back from Livia, and then waved as if nothing had happened.

    She seemed to have thought that I hadn¡¯t noticed.

    Leaving that aside, I hadn¡¯t heard about Liviaing along as well. Furthermore, Livia was not energetic.

    Had her reconciliation with Anjie failed?

    ¡°Baron, over here~.¡±

    When looking at Cara, I once again thought about how scary women could be.

    ¡°Women are scary.¡±

    [Women are afraid of you as well, so be at peace, Master.]

    ¡°Are you saying that it¡¯s not because they hate me?¡±

    When I arrived at where the two were, faces that I knew had approached.

    Red and Purple©¤©¤Greg, who was wielding a spear, and Brad, who had an expression of disgust.

    ¡°Greg Fou Seberg,¡± who held the spear, was a physical boy who had short, bristled hair. He was a man who took pride in strength.

    ¡°Ugh!¡±

    ¡°Why is Baltfault here?¡±

    Their overbearing attitudes wounded my ss heart.

    ¡°What do you losers want?¡±

    Greg and Brad approached me with a re.

    These guys really were bad news. They were like delinquents with colorful hair.

    ¡°What¡¯s your problem?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to settle who the loser really is?¡±

    Since the two intimidated me, I turned around and hid behind Livia.

    ¡°I have arrangements with Livia. It¡¯s none of your business, so go where ever it is you need to go.¡±

    However, the two didn¡¯t leave the vicinity.

    Greg scratched his head, and Brad looked at Cara with scornful eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±

    Cara, who looked away from us with an expression of difort, seemed to be hiding something. Well, I knew that she was hiding a lot, though.

    ¡°U, umm, I was told that it would be better if everyone went on the baron¡¯s airship to my household.¡±

    When hearing that, we exchanged nces.

    ¡°Huh?! You¡¯re saying that these delinquents are going to be on my prized airship?!¡±

    When I said that, a vein appeared on the foreheads of Greg and Brad.

    These people were way too short-tempered.

    ¡°Who are you calling a delinquent?!¡±

    ¡°What a detestable man you really are!¡±

    Cara made an apology while staring at the two and at Livia.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry! To tell the truth, I had gotten in touch with Brad as well.¡±

    When everyone stared at Brad, he made a reluctant exnation.

    ¡°She¡¯s under the guardianship of my former fiancee. She asked for help, so I decided to lend a hand. There would also be remuneration, since the sky pirates had a bounties. I thought that Marie would try to help, so I took on the role for suppressing the sky pirates instead.¡±

    Honestly, he sounded quite insane when he said it upfront like that.

    Was it a mistake to have students involved in things like the suppression of sky pirates? Nope. That wasn¡¯t the case.

    In the first ce, this was the world of ¡°that¡± otome game. This was a world that where boys had to seek visible achievements, like suppressing sky pirates, in order to be liked by girls.

    Suppressing sky pirates appealed to girls!

    Thinking carefully about it, this world was crazy from the beginning.

    Greg thrust the blunt end of his spear onto the ground. The only thing praiseworthy about this guy was his ability to make daunting poses with his spear.

    ¡°I decided to participate as well after hearing that.¡±

    What could he do with a single spear?

    The characters in this otome game world really were insane, weren¡¯t they?

    ¡°What about the other three? You know, the ck, green, and blue guys.¡±

    Brad got angry when I referred to them by color.

    ¡°Stopbeling us with colors! The three were summoned to their homes. Also, Marie had errands to do, so she couldn¡¯te. Well, even if she didn¡¯t have any errands, I wouldn¡¯t let here since it¡¯s dangerous. So, it¡¯s just us.¡±

    Greg smiled.

    ¡°Those guys were quite bold to go back to their homes, knowing that they were going to be scolded. I was also summoned home, but I followed Brad instead. He¡¯s an unreliable guy, after all.¡±

    ¡°How naggy, you meathead! If anything, I would have wanted Chris to tag along.¡±

    ¡°What did you just say?!¡±

    These guys were out of their minds. What did these two n on doing?

    To make matters worse, they didn¡¯t have any decent weapons.

    Sky pirates were given that name because they owned airships.

    Did they think that they could fight opponents on airships with a spear and some magic? Was this a joke they just came up with?

    There was no person who could aplish such a thing.

    After all, we were dealing with infamous sky pirates, ones who owned many weapons and armor. There was no way that a human of flesh and blood could battle against them and win.

    Cara hurried us.

    ¡°A, anyways, let¡¯s cooperate together and work hard. Hey Olivia, you should ask too.¡±

    Livia casted her eyes downward.

    Since she didn¡¯t react, Cara made a small click of the tongue, as if she didn¡¯t expect us to notice.

    I scratched my head.

    Livia¡¯s state was worse than I thought.

    I would need to attend to this matterter.

    ¡°For the time being, just get on board. All of you, don¡¯t cause any mischief on my Partner.¡±

    Greg soon got mad.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like I¡¯m some kind of brat!¡±

    Iughed scornfully.

    He was a brat precisely because he would get angry from just this much.

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you since you are a brat.¡±

    ¡°You picking a fight?!¡±

    ¡°Your hot temper is proof that you¡¯re a brat, idiot!¡±

    When I ran off towards Partner and took Livia by the hand with me, Greg and Brad followed along, as did Cara, who made a smile as if things were going ording to her n.

    ©¤©¤Well then, what should I do now?

    ¡ó

    The female dorms.

    Anjie came to the dorms used for the girls in the regr ss while carrying a present.

    She searched for the room she needed visit while a little nervous.

    ¡°W, will this be okay?¡±

    She checked over the present in her hands many times.

    She bought it for Livia, but was worried about whether she would like it.

    She wanted to consult Leon, but he had already headed towards the Wein household¡¯s territory, and was no longer in the academy.

    ¡°That idiot. He even brought an airship for the people who are trying to use him.¡±

    She was worried about Leon, who had said that he would go despite not wanting to.

    Her household was aware of the situation, but Anjie didn¡¯t have an airship that she could use freely in the first ce. She wouldn¡¯t have been able to take immediate action like Leon could.

    There was something she had wanted to tell Livia, and came to find her.

    She was worried about how to say it.

    (What kind of face should I make? Will Livia forgive me?)

    When she walked over to the women¡¯s dormitory while feeling uneasy, confused girls where moving aside in order to make way for her.

    There were also girls who tried calling out to her, but Anjie wasn¡¯t concerned about them and turned them down by saying ¡°There¡¯s some business I have to take care of right now.¡±

    Then, when she reached the front of Livia¡¯s room, she was surprised.

    ¡°W, what is this?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a room that the girls in the academy would use.

    Perhaps due to it being formerly a storeroom, there was abel above the door that read ¡°Storage Room.¡± Such a location was the room prepared for Livia.

    That wasn¡¯t all, students had written abusive phrases towards Livia on the door and walls.

    Anjie prepared herself, but when she knocked on the door, there was no reply.

    ¡°L, Livia, it¡¯s me. Anjelica.¡±

    When she thought that there was nobody around to answer her calls©¤©¤

    ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Anjelica.¡±

    When she turned around, she saw the daughter of the earl household, who still had wounds on her face, and her followers.

    ¡°You again.¡±

    When Anjie spoke to her opponent, she squinted her eyes and looked down at her. Her opponent understood her intentions, and seemed annoyed. They both emitted a threatening aura.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill003

    ¡°It seems you hate me very much. Do you really dislike people who¡¯ve risen in rank that much? It¡¯s really troublesome knowing that you think you¡¯re all high and mighty just because your family has some history.¡±

    ¡°Risen in rank? It¡¯s quite improper to call yourself as such. It¡¯s an extreme discourtesy to all the people who¡¯ve actually risen in rank.¡±

    The reason Anjie hated her was because they were from opposing factions.

    In addition, there were many bad rumors about the earl household this girl belonged to.

    It would¡¯ve been fine if they were just rumors, but it was known that they had indeed gotten involved in wicked deeds.

    This earl household had risen in rank quite unnaturally,

    In addition, the girl was Brad¡¯s former fiancee.

    Her exclusive servants from before had disappeared, but there were many more servants she brought along to rece them.

    It seemed they were newly purchased.

    Her followers looked like they were here to y around, but they too knew about the situation.

    (This squandering of her newfound wealth is quite childish. It¡¯s really pathetic to see all these sub-race ves she brought along.)

    They felt quite like a gang led by a girl in the academy.

    The earl daughter clicked her tongue.

    ¡°You did a number on me during the school festival.¡±

    Learning from when she had been attacked by Anjie, she didn¡¯t start a fight this time.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy. I don¡¯t have the leisure to care about you.¡±

    The earl daughter made an unsightly smile.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here to meet your favorite pet. It seems you cherish her quite a lot.¡±

    Anjie silently red at her opponent.

    ¡°©¤©¤Is there something you¡¯re trying to say?¡±

    The earl daughter shortened the distance between Anjie and her to mere centimeters, to the point that their noses could touch, and red at her face.

    Anjie grimaced from the smell of strong perfume.

    ¡°Anjelica, it¡¯s not good if you don¡¯t properly keep yourself in the know about your important follower and your precious little pet. You¡¯d be sad if they up and died, right?¡±

    When the girl made a malicious smirk, Anjie¡¯s eyes widened.

    The earl daughter, perhaps pleased by that reaction, smiled and showed her white teeth.

    ¡°Are you implying what I think you are?¡±

    ¡°If you knew about it, you should have stopped them. It seems that daughters of duke households can be quite heartless.¡±

    However, Anjie didn¡¯t panic.

    (What a fool. Do you all even know who you¡¯re up against? If you think that Leon¡¯s just a glorified watchdog, then you¡¯re all are done for.)

    Anjie had suspected Cara¡¯s request.

    Her suspicions rose from her knowing who Cara was a follower of.

    Cara¡¯s household was treated as semi-barons by the kingdom.

    However, the household was ssified as one belonging to small feudal lords, and relied on thergest household in their hometown in order to maintain themselves.

    Cara¡¯s household was one that relied on the earl daughter¡¯s family.

    In terms of ssification, they were alike, but in the Holfault Kingdom, it was decided that affluent households like this would look after small feudal lords in their hometown and have them be under their guardianship.

    Anjie knew what family Cara was from.

    (Perhaps Leon didn¡¯t know about her origins, but he should¡¯ve realized that he would get into trouble. Why did he lend a hand? I cannot read him, just as ever.)

    On the contrary, Anjie felt sympathy for the girl.

    ¡°Oh right, your favorite pet went out.¡±

    ¡°Went out?¡±

    ¡°Yep, she went to Cara¡¯s territory. You could say that they went together since they¡¯re friends. Quite the curious rtionship between Cara and her. She brought a friend to a dangerous location where sky pirates appear.¡±

    ©¤©¤It took only a moment.

    Anjie grabbed the earl daughter by the cor and thrust her towards a wall.

    She constricted her chest and pinned her up against the wall with one arm.

    ¡°©¤©¤Hey, what did you do with Livia?¡±

    ¡°T, too tight©¤©¤¡±

    The earl daughter, whose feet no longer touched the floor, used both of her hands to seize Anjie¡¯s arm while fluttering her legs.

    Her followers and exclusive servants were about to take action and help, but Anjie¡¯s re caused their movements to halt.

    ¡°Hands off. ©¤©¤I¡¯ll crush you.¡±

    Once she said that in a quiet but chilling voice, nobody moved, and Anjie turned back towards the earl daughter, who seemed to be in agony.

    ¡°I have little patience. Tell me right now. What are you people nning?¡±

    ¡°R, release me!¡±

    Although the earl daughter was somewhat panicked, but had a self-confident attitude since Anjie was the one who struck first.

    ¡°My father won¡¯t stay silent about this. Your household is in for it©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie interrupted the earl daughter.

    ¡°Answer the question. If you want to make a fuss, do itter. There were many fools who made light of me after the matter of the duel. Since this is the perfect opportunity, I could make an example out of you.¡±

    The many fools she referred to were fellow girls. For Anjie, they were a source of distress. The boys still acted upright towards her.

    The earl daughter smiled while in pain.

    ¡°You should see for yourself.¡±

    Anjie threw the girl onto the floor, and walked away as if nothing happened.

    ¡°Then allow me to do so.¡±

    After taking a distance from the earl daughter, she started sprinting after turning the corner.

    (I need get in contact with Leon at once. No, perhaps it would be faster for me to head there myself. However, it will be difficult to catch up if it¡¯s Partner that¡¯s heading off.)

    Anjie decided to head to the duke house in the royal capital and prepare an airship.

 Chapter 54 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 5 part2</h4>

    Returning home, ck©¤©¤err, Julian, was being scolded by Mine.

    Mine, who was in her office handling documents, held up her hand and spoke to Julian in a disinterested manner.

    ¡°You want to earn fame by suppressing sky pirates? Julian, you don¡¯t understand your position. You currently don¡¯t have the war assets to deploy a single airship©¤©¤no, not even a single suit of armor. You don¡¯t have the authority to mobilize the soldiers of the kingdom. You n on suppressing sky pirates under such conditions? That¡¯s not even a funny joke.¡±

    Julian recoiled from her argument, and frantically tried to go against it.

    He was thinking that perhaps if he was able to convince Mine, she could lend him some of her assets.

    In that case, he would also have been able to assist Greg and Brad.

    ¡°But Mother! Isn¡¯t the suppression of sky pirates the duty of us nobles?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the duty of people who are suited for the job. Julian, can you do better than the knights or soldiers who regrly suppress sky pirates? There are cases where boys from the academy are able to aplish the absurd, but do you realize the amount of vocal opposition there is from it?¡±

    Boys did their best to appeal to girls.

    Knowing that, their upperssmen knights and soldiers couldn¡¯t firmly stop them.

    In some cases, lenient knights helped their underssmen in aplishing meritorious deeds.

    Everyone desperately wanted to get married.

    Mine was well aware of those circumstances.

    ¡°I understand the situation of boys, though. You should give the opportunity of suppressing sky pirates to other boys. Since this is a matter of a semi-baron household¡¯s territory, we will dispatch the general troops after obtaining permission. During that time, we¡¯ll also ask for people from the academy who are interested in©¤©¤¡±

    It seemed that she was dealing with the sky pirates by letting the boys aplish what they wanted while not interfering with the general troops.

    When working, Mine hid her usual impression of naivety.

    She seemed like a different person than usual, even for Julian.

    (Grr! I won¡¯t be able to help those two at this rate!)

    Thereupon, someone¡¯s voice resounded in the front of the office.

    Once a guard got approval from Mine, Jilk entered the room.

    His breathing was a bit diposed.

    Mine squinted her eyes.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Mine listening to Jilk while turning towards her documents and moving her hands.

    Jilk took a deep breath while concerned about Julian.

    ¡°©¤©¤Mine, it seems that Baron Baltfault has departed on an airship to suppress sky pirates. Greg and Brad are also there with him.¡±

    When hearing Jilk¡¯s report, Julian soon looked at Mine.

    He was a bit angry while thinking about how she seemed to have sent Jilk here for just a small report.

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°Huh, Leon?¡±

    ©¤©¤Unlike just a bit ago, Mine wasn¡¯t in her work mode, but her usual motherly self.

    Actually, she was a bit different from usual.

    Julian was bothered by the fact that her cheeks were just a tad bit red.

    (Motheeer! Come to your senses. Just what part of Baltfault are you drawn to?! No, wait. I can use this!)

    Julian tried to persuade Mine.

    ¡°Mother! We should send reinforcements right away! Please leave the fleet to me. You¡¯ll see that those sky pirates will soon be dealt with!¡±

    Mine returned from her blushed, rxed expression back to her serious one once responding to Julian.

    ¡°Julian, you don¡¯t have any experiencemanding a fleet, do you? You shouldn¡¯t, you¡¯ll get in the way. Also, do you understand that you have to take the knights and soldiers into consideration as well? Jilk, is that information true?¡±

    Jilk borated on the credibility of the information towards Mine, who had returned to her work mode.

    ¡°Indeed. I have already confirmed it. It seems that he has gotten involved with the Olfery earl household, something which my expectations©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Please convey just the information.¡±

    After being criticized, Jilk straightened himself and continued.

    ¡°An airship from the Redgrave duke household has also departed to chase after Partner, the airship heading towards the semi-baron home in question. This informationes from a reliable source.¡±

    When hearing that the Redgrave duke household was taking action, Julian looked at Mine.

    Mine thought for a bit.

    ¡°Reinforcements are not necessary. This is a good opportunity to know the strength of Baron Baltfault. Is he as strong as a knight, and can he fight against a sky pirate? Since a duke household sent an airship, it¡¯s likely that it¡¯s for reinforcements, but it does seem a little rash. Considering the current position of a duke©¤©¤¡±

    Julian protested.

    ¡°Mother! Please let me go as well. Why is Baltfault fine, but I¡¯m not?!¡±

    Mine resumed working.

    She let out a sigh.

    ¡°©¤©¤I can¡¯t let you go precisely because you don¡¯t understand why.¡±

    ¡ó

    We were in one of Partner¡¯s rooms.

    It was a recreational room.

    Tables were lined up, giving off a casino-like aura.

    Billiards, darts, and the like were there, making it an ideal ce to kill time.

    In this room, Brad, Greg, and I were ying cards.

    Of course, we were gambling.

    In contrast to myposed smile, the two had displeased expressions while ring at their cards.

    ¡°What¡¯s it gonna be? Are you in or out?¡±

    Greg groaned.

    ¡°Wait! Let me think this through a little longer!¡±

    I managed to earn a reasonable amount of money from these two. Perhaps these two had earned quite a bit from the school festival.

    This money that they painstakingly earned would fall into my hands.

    ¡°Ready to give up? I¡¯ll let you off easy if you withdraw here.¡±

    Knowing that they were irritated, I spoke in a way that would further agitate them.

    There was sweat on Brad¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°As if I would withdraw here! I¡¯ll win this next one. It¡¯s impossible for you to keep winning this game. I¡¯ll definitely be the victor!¡±

    I had been winning against the two, but I obviously swindling them.

    Otherwise, it would have been impossible for me to keep winning.

    I was just collecting their passenger fees. Besides, these guys ought to have studied more about society. I was teaching them the cruelty of the world before they would end up in pain from being cheated.

    The two hadn¡¯t noticed that how kind I was in doing this for them.

    ¡°©¤©¤C¡¯mon!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll win this round!¡±

    The two had faces of determination as they ced down their cards.

    Greg had a triumphant face.

    How many times did he think he would win using the same predictable strategy?

    ¡°How about this?!¡±

    Brad was also confident. It would certainly seem like he would win if looking at his hand.

    ¡°This one¡¯s my win!¡±

    I made a brief sigh while slowly showing my cards.

    My hand was the stronger one, causing the other two to go pale while slumping onto the table.

    ¡°My bad. I win again.¡±

    Greg was at his wits¡¯ end.

    ¡°Unbelievable! This has to be a sham!¡±

    He was right. However, it was their fault for not realizing it.

    Brad¡¯s scratched his hair and made a scream.

    ¡°To think that I had lost so many times! This is impossible!¡±

    I gathered the cards while speaking to the two.

    ¡°You guys are really stupid.¡±

    The two red at me, but no longer yed, perhaps due to their wallets being empty.

    Once I put away the cards, an exhausted Greg spoke to Brad.

    ¡°Hey, what kind of girl was your ex-fiancee?¡±

    Brad answered while ncing at his deste wallet.

    ¡°She was an unusual type of girl.¡±

    Brad spoke while seeming displeased for some reason.

    She certainly was unusual.

    She was already quite extreme for a girl of the academy.

    She bought a ton of ves and jaunted around with them in a shy manner.

    While many noble girls of earl households and above were calm, some were showy and horsed around, so it was inevitable that she would stand out.

    Come to think of it, she was the one who trampled on my head at the cafe, wasn¡¯t she?

    ¡°I had only seen her a few times prior our engagement being decided, though. Even at the academy, I can count the number of times I¡¯ve spoken with her. It¡¯s nice that we didn¡¯t fight like what happened with his Highness or Jilk, though. It was a typical marriage of convenience. I know that she¡¯s gaudy and likes to mess about, but I don¡¯t know about things like her personality of hobbies.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors. Doesn¡¯t she belong to an infamous household? Why would you get engaged with her? I don¡¯t see any benefits.¡±

    It seemed that Greg didn¡¯t know Brad¡¯s ex-fiancee that well since he was unfamiliar with aristocratic talks.

    ¡°I was engaged to her because there were indeed benefits.¡±

    I prepared some tea while listening to them talk.

    Brad began exining the situation.

    ¡°The Olfery earl household had been usurped, you see. It seemed that the former head of the family was a merchant. They wondered if by marrying the Field household, they could take some of their blood lineage for themselves.¡±

    Greg made a displeased face.

    In the Holfault Kingdom where adventurers became nobles, nobles were naturally the descents of outstanding adventurers.

    Rising up in status would happen to someone like me, who found sess as an adventurer.

    Either way, one was valued based on the achievements of adventurers.

    There were also cases who one was promoted through their work on the battlefield, and there were many other ways that people became nobles.

    There were also many who rose very rapidly, but nevertheless as a result of sess.

    It could be said that they were fairly evaluated.

    However, this kingdom also had exceptions.

    One of which was the household of Brad¡¯s ex-fiancee.

    The household was originally that of barons, but after merchants forcibly took it over, it rose into an earl household.

    That earned the resentment of the kingdom¡¯s nobles. Even if one performed meritorious deeds, it was expected that they wouldn¡¯t be a noble if they weren¡¯t sessful as an adventurer. Even so, they managed to slip through the eyes ofw and became nobles through making use of a legal gray zone.

    After that, it seemed that they had gotten involved with various wicked deeds.

    Even though they were hated, they had allies. There was supposed to be some kind of faction involved as well, but I wasn¡¯t sure on the details since I had little interest in things like the affairs of the kingdom or its factions.

    However, the problem with the earl household was its heir.

    The previous head was a merchant who became a noble.

    It was nice that the former head¡¯s son was able to seed the household, but neither the current head nor the earl daughter had descended from nobles.

    Brad¡¯s engagement with her happened due to the circumstances requiring the blood lineage of a noble family. By having Brad, they would be able to gradually introduce noble blood.

    I was unable toprehend why they wanted to be promoted so badly that they would go so far.

    It seemed that Greg recalled something.

    ¡°Dukedom. A household active in the diplomacy of a dukedom!¡±

    Brad was amazed and said ¡°You realized that just now?¡±

    ¡°My house is entrusted with a dukedom on the national border. After talks of diplomatic rtions concluded, the earl household requested us to consider marriage negotiations. At the time, my father epted because he didn¡¯t think it would go through.¡±

    ¡°You made quite the fuss when it ended up happening. You were saying that you shan¡¯t be afraid of that ¡®ck Knight.¡¯¡±

    ¡°In the end, my engagement had been officially decided.¡±

    The Field margrave household was the forefront of the Fanoss Dukedom.

    There was a nasty knight called the ¡°ck Knight¡± who was very strong and caused serious damage whenever appearing in a war.

    They could not refuse the request of the earl household, who settled matters with diplomacy, and it seemed that Brad ended up having to marry into the problematic earl household.

    ¡°Disregarding those circumstances, are they a good household?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, they¡¯re troublesome. Actually, Wein had shown signs of wanting to cooperate in breaking up the engagement as well. How cunning. I suppose great minds think alike.¡±

    Greg nodded with a quiet expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me. I¡¯ve only met with my fiancee a few times. It wasn¡¯t really a matter of romance.¡±

    It seemed these guys had it rough too. If I recall correctly, Greg¡¯s and Chris¡¯ fiancees never appeared in the game. I wondered what kind of person they were.

    As I was listening to their conversation, Luxon made a report to me.

    The two couldn¡¯t hear Luxon¡¯s voice.

    [Master, it seems someone¡¯s here to greet you.]

    There was still some time until we would arrive at our destination.

    Yet, I was meeting someone.

    [There are sky pirate airships. Two are heading this way.]

    I gulped down the tea I made and called out to the two.

    ¡°Guys, it¡¯s showtime. Make sure to do your job properly.¡±

    The two looked at me in surprise with their mouths open. Their reactions were improper, as if they didn¡¯t understand what I was saying.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to prepare because enemies have arrived.¡±

    Greg got up.

    ¡°I, I get it!¡±

    Brad got up as well, but both of them were puzzled.

    They looked all around their surroundings and seemed restless.

    ¡°S, so anyways, what should we do?¡±

    ©¤©¤These guys were unbelievable.

    Leaving Brad aside, didn¡¯t Greg have a lot of battle experience?

    ¡°I see. For the time being, you guys should be on standby in the ship.¡±

    Greg got angry.

    ¡°And just why?!¡±

    ¡°Because you don¡¯t know what to do! Do I need to spell it out for you?!¡±

    I exited the room and gave instructions to Luxon.

    ¡ó

    The sky pirate airships hoisted ck gs with a skull and crossbones marked on them.

    An airship captain of the sky pirate group, named ¡°Winged Shark¡±, whistled when seeing Partner.

    ¡°The boss would be happy if we got a hold of this thing.¡±

    His subordinates agreed.

    ¡°What a valuable object. Though, are there really only four brats riding it? For something that big?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, three guys and one woman. I¡¯m also doubtful of whether or not that¡¯s true since it¡¯s a lost item. We¡¯ll soon know once we get there and look around.¡±

    ¡°How will we deal with the four?¡±

    ¡°You fool. The three guys are nobles from rich families. We can earn extra by selling them off to to rich hags. We can have a good time with the woman and then throw her awayter. She¡¯s amoner, so we can¡¯t even hold her ransom.¡±

    When the people around heard that, they showed motivation, and the the airship flying next to them began to descend.

    They were approaching Partner from above, and were trying to corner it.

    The ship¡¯s captain ced his hand on his neck and turned.

    ¡°One of them is unthinkably strong, but he¡¯s still just a brat. We¡¯ll have him learn what a real fight is.¡±

    ¡°Right! He¡¯ll learn real soon!¡±

    Sky pirates wearing armor leaped from the ship one after the other.

    More than twenty figures in armor tried to jump from the two airships onto Partner.

    The armor of this world were like power suits that could fly in the sky.

    They were weapons in the shape of humans.

    They were one of themon weapons in this world where the ground floated.

    ¡°We get to have some fun today thanks to some idiotic brats.¡±

    ¡°Right you are.¡±

    They nned toter hold them down using their airships, and steal Partner while not letting them escape.

    The captain thought that this was just work as usual, but something flew out from Partner and approached the armor of the sky pirates.

    It was gray, heavy armor©¤rger than an ordinary one.

    ¡°What can just one person do? Even if he¡¯s a little strong, he¡¯s just a brat. Hey, surround him so that©¤©¤¡±

    Before the captain could issue an order, the armor that came from Partner grasped and destroyed the inferior armor of each sky pirate using its hands.

    It threw the destroyed armor towards their airships, and continued to destroy the armor of the surrounding sky pirates barehanded.

    It kicked the armor of a sky pirate who was readying a rifle and sent it flying.

    Perhaps soon realizing the danger, the captain gave orders to flee.

    His perception had allowed him to persist up until today.

    ¡°What is that? It¡¯s rising! Risin©¤©¤¡±

    ©¤©¤However, he was toote this time. The airship shook violently before he could finish speaking.

    The captain clutched a nearby handrail and looked at the situation.

    ¡°What happened?!¡±

    ¡°A, a barrage! We¡¯re being fired upon by our prey!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! We¡¯re right above them!¡±

    In this world, it was fundamentally better to have the high ground. Artillery had poor uracy, so fights involvedrge numbers of cannons that had to be lined up on the side of the airships, firing massive cannonballs.

    The reason for their massiveness was due to magic.

    Magic could generate a barrier and protect an airship.

    In order to pierce a barrier and sink an airship, it was necessary for cannonballs to be massive.

    The sky pirates were cautious of a barrage, so they assaulted while directly above them.

    ¡°How is that big airship able to shoot its cannons at us? In the first ce, there are only four people who©¤©¤¡±

    Something the size of Partner should¡¯ve only operated if thousands of people gathered together.

    Due to that, they thought that with only four people, or five if there was a steward, they wouldn¡¯t be able to operate it.

    That wasmon sense in this world.

    Even though they knew that it was a lost item, they still thought in terms ofmon sense.

    Partner¡¯s barrage was still violently shaking the airships of the sky pirates.

    The captain yelled.

    ¡°We surrender! We¡¯re going to surrender! Hurry up and hoist the white g©¤©¤¡±

    Judging that they couldn¡¯t escape, he told someone to hang a white g to surrender.

 Chapter 55 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 5 part3</h4>

    Greg watched Arroganz descend onto the deck.

    Brad was binding the sky pirates who were being tossed onto the deck, and yelled ¡°Come here at once and help me, meathead!¡±

    However, Greg was watching the gray giant, Arroganz, while thinking.

    (There¡¯s no winning against that thing.)

    Arroganz wasrger than ordinary armor and its massive ting made it look heavy. However, it lookedpletely light in the air.

    The crude armor of the sky pirates were no match for it.

    Greg believed that they wouldn¡¯t have won without Leon¡¯s power.

    (So much for having actualbat experience. Well, don¡¯t I seem powerless alone.)

    Up until now, he believed that Leon was able to aplish what he did through the help of retainers.

    On the contrary, he saw that Leon was able to fight against sky pirates by himself.

    Greg noticed that unlike Leon, who immediately took action once enemies had arrived, he himself couldn¡¯t fight properly without someone else¡¯s support.

    ¡°Am I a brat? Was I just a brat trying to look cool?¡±

    It seemed natural that Leon would call him a Brat.

    Greg felt very pathetic while feeling that Leon a was stronger guy than he and the others had thought.

    ¡ó

    I was inside Arroganz.

    I checked my surroundings.

    ¡°Has everyone been neutralized?¡±

    Luxon answered from within Arroganz.

    It sat on a disc-like pedestal and turned its one eye towards me.

    [Indeed. The engines of the two airships have already halted. There¡¯s no problem even if they go haywire. We only need to shoot them down.]

    ¡°Idiot, stop that. We¡¯re taking them back to sell them.¡±

    The airships could make a profit, and that¡¯s leaving aside the crude armor. Of course, the air pirates were profitable as well.

    Due to that, I decided to seize everything. It was better than leaving them alone.

    [It would¡¯ve been faster if we had just shot them down. Wouldn¡¯t it be tedious to bring all of this back?]

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have the kind of mentality tomit murder while still being in high spirits. It seems I¡¯ll have to be careful if I use you in fighting.¡±

    Luxon responded in an electronic voice, sounding colder than usual.

    [Master, would you be content if a blunder like that causes your own undoing?]

    I soon understood what this thing wanted to say.

    It seemed to be saying that showing sympathy could be a mistake one day.

    Luxon was telling me [Why didn¡¯t you kill the sky pirates?]

    ©¤©¤I was reluctant tomit murder.

    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t to get involved in these kinds of things.¡±

    Since I made such a decision, I didn¡¯t want to participate in a war on my own ord.

    If I initiated a war, I would be going back on my words.

    If someone ordered me to fight, I could still make up excuses for myself.

    However, it was very detestable for me to willingly decide on killing a human,

    How did thingse to this?

    I wanted to keep a reasonable distance from the major characters and live peacefully.

    However, I couldn¡¯t abandon Livia and the others at this point.

    I also knew that things would get troublesome because of this half-hearted attitude I was taking.

    Nevertheless, I didn¡¯t want to go through the route of massacre.

    I definitely didn¡¯t have the spirit for it.

    I wondered how long I could keep being this lenient towards ruffians.

    ¡°Leaving that aside, I gave more than enough warning shots towards our enemies. Why did you shoot?¡±

    [I will not allow anything to befall upon Partner.]

    Was this thing in any position to raiseints about people?

    This AI had the nerve to carry out its own self-interest.

    I couldn¡¯t tell whether this thing was amazing or useless...well, that was how the AI of the otome game worked. Besides, it was better if I thought of this thing as an ally.

    Seriously though©¤©¤if this thing was a genuine AI and it started a rebellion, that would be frightening.

    This fellow felt a bit tepid, but that was just right for me.

    ¡ó

    There was a room inside Partner.

    Cara, looking outside the window, trembled while holding amunication device.

    ¡°T, this is no joke. H, how did they lose so easily?!¡±

    Cara, who had guided the sky pirates, was flustered by her disappointment.

    She didn¡¯t think that Leon could be this strong.

    Furthermore, there was the matter of Partner.

    Even when counting Cara, there were only five people onboard, so she didn¡¯t think that it could be operated normally.

    In addition, it¡¯s performance was quite something.

    The sky pirates were no match for it.

    ¡°I was told that this was a lost item, but to think that it was this powerful. At this rate, they¡¯re going to arrive at my household.¡±

    Cara was ordered by Brad¡¯s ex-fiancee to lure Leon and the others to this location.

    The intent was to have the sky pirates attack them.

    Cara was the only one nned to be spared from the sky pirates.

    She tightly grasped themunication device in her hand.

    After she initiated contact with the sky pirates,munications were suddenly cut off.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t it working?!¡±

    There was a harsh noise, perhaps from a poor reception.

    Communication ability was generally poor.

    That was considered normal in this world, but it was possible to manage if the other party was nearby.

    Cara threw themunication device while thinking about how the attacking sky pirates were supposed to be at a distance wheremunications wouldn¡¯t act up.

    She was in distress over the n failing.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t contacted my home. Furthermore, if Mdy knows about this, I¡¯ll be the one to suffer.¡±

    Leon, who captured the sky pirates, resumed his travel towards the semi-baron household. If that were to happen, then her household would find out.

    In addition, she wouldn¡¯t know what to say towards the daughter of the Olfery earl household.

    ¡°I, I got it. I¡¯ll use thatmoner girl. I¡¯ll have something bad happen with her. R, right, that Baltfault guy will definitely let his guard down since he has a soft spot for her. T, the other two were disinherited and have no power, so it¡¯s fine to ignore them.¡±

    Cara spoke to herself.

    In the corner of the room, a small camera was closely observing Cara.

    ¡ó

    It was evening by the time Partner arrived at the Wein semi-baron household.

    ¡°The sun had set pretty early.¡±

    To make matters worse, it was cold.

    Since there was no harbor in the semi-baron¡¯s territory for Partner to dock at, wended using a small airship.

    However, a problem had risen.

    Brad wasining towards me.

    ¡°Why are you so calm in this situation?!¡±

    Currently, we were surrounded by soldiers from the semi-baron household.

    I gantly raised both of my hands up.

    They were all pointing guns at us, after all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t freak out. I¡¯m worried as well.¡±

    Greg was on the edge.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell whether you¡¯re amazing or useless.¡±

    The soldiers were on guard against us since we brought along airships that belonged to sky pirates. It couldn¡¯t be helped since they were cautious about sky pirates.

    A semi-baron then appeared amongst the ruckus.

    Wein©¤©¤Cara¡¯s father, ¡°Conrad Fou Wein.¡±

    He felt like a middle-aged man with a tired face and a belly that stood out a bit, but he was surprised to see us.

    ¡°Lower your weapons at once!¡±

    When the soldiers lowered their weapons, I lowered my hands as well.

    Conrad greeted Brad, not me. It seemed that he knew about Brad being the son of a margrave family.

    ¡°Brad, right? It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Um, yeah.¡±

    However, Brad, perhaps not remembering Conrad, acted a bit odd.

    Seeming to realize that, Conradughed in self-deprecation.

    ¡°We met when a party was held at the Earl¡¯s mansion, but it seems you¡¯ve grown quite a bit.¡±

    Brad spoke in relief since the situation had calmed down.

    ¡°Leaving that aside, why are we surrounded? Your daughter made a request for help, so we came here in a hurry.¡±

    Conrad was perplexed.

    ¡°Help? Did my daughter ask you for help, Brad?¡±

    Everyone around turned their gazes towards Cara, and she began making excuses in a panic. Luxon had kept an eye on her, and she turned out to be a really terrible person.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s not it. The girl I consulted blew it out of proportion. T, that©¤©¤¡±

    Everyone¡¯s sight turned towards Livia this time.

    ¡°Huh? U, um, I was requested to©¤©¤¡±

    Looking a bit out of it, Livia¡¯s speaking quickly became incoherent. She had recently beencking in spirit.

    Even when I tried to talk to her, she avoided me. I wondered if something really had happened.

    Conrad was about to press her, so I stepped in.

    ¡°Your daughter consulted Livia and had her introduce herself to me so that she could make a rescue request. That¡¯s why we came in a hurry.¡±

    He looked at me with a gaze that said ¡°Who is this guy?¡±, but Brad then introduced me.

    ¡°This is Leon Fou Baltfault. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the rumors about him, right?¡±

    When hearing that, Conrad turned towards me and made an apology.

    ¡°So you¡¯re the Baron? It seems I¡¯ve been rude. H, however, our territory isn¡¯t really in trouble. Was there indeed a rescue request?¡±

    Brad squinted his eyes and looked at Cara.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±

    Cara, not being able to talk her way out of it, tried to re at Livia, but I stepped in and obstructed her.

    Thereupon, Cara made a face that seemed like she was about to cry.

    Conrad defended her daughter.

    ¡°My apologies. My daughter seems confused. I¡¯ll invite you at our household for a short while, so©¤©¤¡±

    When he said that, Iughed scornfully.

    This was the world of that otome game. To a woman, particrly a schoolgirl in the academy, it was a kind world.

    This dilly-dallying was bothering me.

    ¡°Your daughter summoned us here. We were promised a remuneration if we helped. Semi-baron, you understand, right? This is no time to fool around.¡±

    I pressed them by taking an overbearing and threatening attitude.

    In society, statuses were meant to be taken advantage of. So, I decided to wield my title as a baron, which I didn¡¯t even want.

    ¡°We have two future barons here. I myself am already a baron. We had set out on an airship, and even captured two airships from sky pirates. If there was a mistake, why weren¡¯t we told?¡±

    ¡°H, however, I wasn¡¯t that aware of the situation at©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°In that case, you should have asked your daughter. It¡¯s fine if you want to protect your pretty little daughter. However, if you¡¯re going to do that, then allow me to get my remuneration, my way.¡±

    Luxon helped out by making the airship move.

    When the semi-baron saw Partner¡¯s massive unit moving, he grabbed Cara¡¯s shoulders, perhaps misunderstanding the situation.

    He tried to quickly get information out of her.

    ¡°Cara, what in the world happened? Did you really make a rescue request?¡±

    From there, Cara exined the situation while crying.

    ¡ó

    I didn¡¯t enter the residence of the semi-baron, but instead returned to Partner and did some stretches.

    Cara told us everything.

    She brought us here in order to trick us.

    When I told her that I heard the sky pirates¡¯ side of the story, she gave in and spoke non-stop.

    What did the sky pirates say? They pretended not to know.

    Did I lie? Not quite. She just misunderstood what I had said. When I told her that I heard what the sky pirates had said, Cara voluntarily spoke to us about the scheme.

    She said that the earl daughter tricked us into thinking we were going to attack sky pirates!

    Olivia and I were the only two people in the room.

    ¡°*sigh*, I¡¯m tired. We¡¯ll look over the situation tomorrow, so I guess we have some free time for now. Fortunately, there are still some days left in this school holiday.¡±

    I felt that a lot had happened in one day.

    This was a pretty big let-down, since this wasn¡¯t actually part of the game. I shouldn¡¯t have gotten excited.

    In life, peaceful and quiet days are most supreme.

    Livia, who would normally be worried and say ¡°Is that okay?¡±, hung her head and said nothing.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    When I turned towards her, Livia slowly raised her head.

    ¡°©¤©¤How do I say this?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re pretty amazing. You solve things by yourself, and you can do anything by yourself.¡±

    ¡°H, hey.¡±

    When I reached my arm out towards Livia, who had a different aura from usual, she shook it off.

    Livia took a step back, taking a distance from me

    ¡°Why are you so kind to me?¡±

    ¡°W, well, that©¤©¤¡±

    The first reason that came to mind was that ¡°she was the protagonist¡±, an excuse I made for myself. I was at a loss for words.

    ¡°It¡¯s strange, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯m just amoner with little worth. Leon, do you have reason for why you¡¯re supporting me? I really don¡¯t see why. Howe you¡¯re helping me, even though I can¡¯t meet your expectations?¡±

    When I was silent and didn¡¯t answer, Livia made a gloomy smile.

    ¡°Are you after my body?¡±

    I immediately replied.

    ¡°T, that¡¯s not it. That¡¯s not why I©¤©¤¡±

    Upon which, Livia cried while smiling.

    It was painful to look at her smile. It made my heart ache.

    ¡°That would the case, wouldn¡¯t it? I¡¯m not cute, Anjie¡¯s the beautiful one©¤©¤she¡¯s a pampered girl, after all. I have nothing going for me©¤©¤nothing, and yet you have a reason for why you treat me kindly.¡±

    Did I make a mistake somewhere?

    I had no words towards Livia, who sat down and burst into tears.

    I really was pathetic.

    ¡°In that case©¤©¤what is it that you want of me? Why are you this kind to me? It¡¯s strange, don¡¯t you think? I mean©¤©¤I¡¯m not helpful to you two.¡±

    Did Cara and the others say something to her?

    ¡°No, whether or not you¡¯re helpful is irrelevant. That doesn¡¯t©¤©¤¡±

    When I was about to say ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the words ¡°This is the world of an otome game. Prestigious boys make for capture targets,¡± popped up in my head.

    Livia¡¯s words oddly struck themselves into my heart, it hurt.

    Even if I made an excuse, it would only be superficial.

    It seemed that an unpleasant part of myself came to light.

    My association of the game¡¯s characters wasn¡¯t limited to just the five capture targets©¤©¤I also viewed Livia as the protagonist. I saw her as a character who appeared in the story.

    I nned to solve my troubles by having Livia be a saint in the finale©¤©¤so just what set me apart from Cara, who was also using Livia?

    More thoughts found themselves in my head.

    ©¤©¤Have I looked at Livia for who she really was? Haven¡¯t I only been looking at her as someone important for the future due to her being the protagonist?

    Livia cried while yelling.

    ¡°I©¤©¤I wanted to be friends with you two! Yet, aren¡¯t I no different from a pet? Don¡¯t make light of me. I¡¯m a human. I am not a pet!¡±

    Livia was crying while sitting.

    I couldn¡¯t do anything. I left the room in order to escape.

 Chapter 56 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 6 part1</h4>

    <h4>Venting Anger</h4>

    My actions had good intentions, but theypletely backfired.

    I was on the deck of Partner.

    The wind was cold, but I went outside in order to stop pondering about these various thoughts I had. However, the one who was really in an ufortable position was Livia.

    Luxon floated beside me.

    [A pet, was it? Indeed, she would seem like a pet considering the affection you¡¯ve given to her, Master. Having doted on her like she¡¯s your favorite character in a game, it seems you couldn¡¯t say anything to her.

    ¡°©¤©¤I know.¡±

    The annoying AI didn¡¯tfort me.

    The wordsing from this thing pierced into my heart as well.

    [It seems that she¡¯s dejected over genuine malice towards her at the academy. Her state of mind has be unstable. I wonder if it¡¯s okay not to worry about it.]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask about me as well? I¡¯m hurt too. My heart is fragile like ss.¡±

    [Your heart is a special-made bulletproof ss. You won¡¯t get a single scratch from something of this degree, so you¡¯ll be fine.]

    ¡°Oh really?¡±

    I had experience from my previous life. I held worldly wisdom.

    However, Livia¡¯s words strangely pierced into my heart.

    I shook my head.

    ¡°This is fine. A mob oversteps his boundaries and gets carried away when he reaches out to the protagonist and viiness. This was a good lesson.¡±

    [Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s improper to withdraw at this point?]

    ¡°You mean I should look after them until the very end? Quit joking. The protagonist refused being treated like a pet. I expect that she will be more active from now on.¡±

    [How sulky you are.]

    ¡°How annoying you are.¡±

    I got irritated at it calling me sulky. By that, I meant irritated from bing aware of myself.

    I got angry after realizing it.

    A little whileter, I spoke to Luxon.

    ¡°Where did I go wrong?¡±

    [In this case, it might be that you¡¯ve hindered Olivia¡¯s growth, Master.]

    ¡°Hindering her growth? Hey, don¡¯t joke around. I was helping her. I was lending a hand in the academy¡¯s dungeon, or in many other©¤©¤¡±

    Luxon did not yield to my answer.

    [She was originally supposed to solve those matters alone. In the short run, your help was beneficial, Master. However, in the long run, you¡¯ve obstructed Olivia¡¯s spiritual growth. It¡¯s as she said. Master, weren¡¯t you thinking of Olivia like you would a pet? No doubt, you treated her like some cute, favorite pet. For you, she¡¯s a valuable and convenient girl in this world after all, Master.]

    I instantly lost my tempter.

    ¡°You little!¡±

    When I struck Luxon, it flung onto the deck and bounced before slowlying back to me.

    [Have you calmed down?]

    ¡°I¡¯d like to hit you again, but my fist hurts.¡±

    My face was burning with anger. I waited for the cold air outside to cool it down.

    [I¡¯m going to continue speaking. This is important for you, Master. While you have experience from a previous life, you¡¯re like a child that needs spiritual growth, Master.]

    ¡°Spiritual growth? I don¡¯t need that. Don¡¯t you know the difference between adults and children?¡±

    [If not in a physical sense, then what about in self-restraint or things of that sort?]

    I had ample patience already. I didn¡¯t need it.

    ¡°Nope. The difference between adults and children is whether or not they can adapt to society. I¡¯m enough of an adult. I live in this world without trying to destroy itsmon sense despite having your power.¡±

    For better or for worse, adults adapted to society.

    There were many words to describe what it meant to be an adult, right? Those words rted to an ability to adapt with society.

    Children were the ones that created new values and changed society.

    There were many that never became adults.

    I was an adult. Right, a useless adult!

    [The words themselves were touching, but they sound like a joke hearing them from you.]

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    When I sat down in irritation, Brade out onto the deck. He held a sword in his hand and had a very disgusted expression when seeing my face.

    Luxon hid behind my back.

    ¡°Practicing your sword?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Brad briefly said ¡°I¡¯ll be borrowing this deck,¡± and began swinging within the cold weather. His abilities weren¡¯t exactly that skillful.

    Mine were still better.

    ¡°What about practicing magic? You¡¯re specialty is supposed to be magic.¡±

    Brad stopped moving when he heard what I said. Sweat trickled down onto his forehead.

    I wondered if I brought up a serious topic.

    ¡°I know that!¡±

    He pointed his sword towards me.

    ¡°What are you so worked up about?¡±

    Brad began swinging his sword again, but couldn¡¯t concentrate, perhaps from what I did.

    ¡°Have you been swinging everyday?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a matter of course. This is necessary in order to be a knight.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not really necessary.¡±

    ¡°M, martial arts is necessary!¡±

    Even if one could use a sword, they didn¡¯t be a knight just from that. It was a different matter if one was above the rest to the point of being called a master swordsman, but many others never became knights no matter what they did.

    When nobles reached a certain age, they almost automatically became knights, though.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you can be a knight without doing such things.¡±

    Brad brushed aside his bangs in a pompous manner and then spoke to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing this to win against you one day! We decided that we would keep trying our hardest until then!¡±

    Trying their hardest. Howughable.

    Wait a minute. Were these guys thinking of fighting against me again?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an idiot. I¡¯m not going to fight you guys anymore. You¡¯ll just have to be losers for life.¡±

    Upon which, Brad made a frustrated expression, but resumed his practice-swinging.

    ¡°Not gonna talk back?¡±

    ¡°If I had the spare time to, I would be using it to swing. I¡¯m the weakest amongst the five, after all.¡±

    I scratched my hair.

    Brad was a character who specialized in magic.

    On the contrary, he had no talent in anything other than magic. Due to him being such a character, he was hard to work with in the game. He was weak, but would charge in first and subsequently go down quickly. I couldn¡¯t recall how many times I begged him not to charge ahead.

    ¡°You should work the hardest on your area of expertise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m doing my best there too! However, I don¡¯t want to lose.¡±

    Brad opened the torso area of his clothing to reveal his chest.

    ¡°I want Marie to look my way. I worry if I¡¯m not as good as the others among the five of us. I have the best looks among them. However, the difference in everything else is so big that I can make no excuses.¡±

    This guy just imed that he was the most attractive one without any hesitation.

    Was he actually in low spirits?

    ¡°What good qualities do you see in her? She¡¯s a t-chested shorty.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not her outward appearance! It¡¯s what¡¯s on the inside that counts!¡±

    She was rotten on the inside! She was the one that snatched away Livia¡¯s position, wasn¡¯t she? She was full of personality problems, and her inner-self became apparent the moment she tried to obtain a reverse harem.

    No matter what these people said about her true nature, I didn¡¯t believe them.

    ¡°Even if you did say that it was because of her outward appearance, I wouldn¡¯t believe you. She has no chest.¡±

    ¡°What did you just say?! Chests are simply for decoration!¡±

    ¡°They are not for decoration! Take that back! A woman¡¯srge chest is the dream, hope, and desire of men. I definitely cannot allow you to say such©¤©¤huh?¡±

    Thereupon, a floating robot came towards us. It held two wooden swords in its hands, handed them to both of us, and then left.

    Brad had an eerie expression.

    ¡°T, those lumps of iron loitering around are a little creepy.¡±

    He backed away and was quivering. Brad was also a coward. A narcissistic coward...how bothersome.

    He was scared of the robots onboard, but they looked pretty cute to me.

    At any rate, there were two wooden swords.

    Brad pointed the tip of the wooden sword at me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have a match, Baltfault!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t wanna. It¡¯s cold.¡±

    Brad seemed annoyed and stamped his feet.

    However, he resumed his practice-swinging while ncing at me from time to time, which was getting annoying so I decided to ept his proposition.

    Brad was pleased.

    ¡°Well then,e on!¡±

    Why are you so pleased with fighting in areas you¡¯re not good at? Are you stupid?¡±

    ¡°I have better ssroom grades than you, so I¡¯m not stupid! Leaving that aside, I¡¯m happy that I can challenge you. I¡¯ll definitely win!¡±

    Brad prepared himself while saying so, but he only had a decent stance when practicing.

    When I approached and swung, he quickly fell back and ruined his posture. I couldn¡¯t sense any talent from him.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    I kept swinging, and Brad kept shifting around.

    However, just once©¤©¤Brad took a big step forward raised his left hand in order to swing. He swung the sword diagonally from bottom to top, and it was surprisingly powerful, causing my posture to falter.

    ¡°©¤©¤Woah!¡±

    I think it was just simple carelessness.

    Brad got caught up in the moment and stepped closer.

    ¡°If I just keep the pressure©¤©¤ah!¡±

    Since he carelessly stepped in, I shortened the distance and struck Brad on the head with the handle, causing him to fall to his knees.

    ¡°It seems you really are stupid.¡±

    ¡°D, darn, I thought I could do it.¡±

    I believed that he still had talent with a spear. During the duel, he had been thrusting a sharp object.

    Brad got up and returned to inside the ship, perhaps done with his practice-swinging.

    ¡°N, next time for sure.¡±

    I watched Brad, holding his hand against his head as he returned, while ncing at my wooden sword.

    It had been a long time since I did some practice swings.

    I realized that I haven¡¯t been swinging by myselftely.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t done much outside of ss work. It¡¯s simply a matter ofcking practice.¡±

    I had practiced quite a bit before leaving my parents¡¯ home. I had practiced swinging almost daily, but I had been skipping out on it aftering to the academy.

    The reason being that I had been busy with a lot of things.

    The miserable part was that reason having to do with searching for marriage.

    Luxon once again appeared.

    [You seem to be having fun.]

    ¡°You went through all the trouble to do something bothersome. That robot with the wooden swords was you, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    [Indeed.]

    When I pointed the tip of the wooden sword at the night sky, I saw the stars shining quite beautifully.

    ¡°©¤©¤It seems those guys have a lot to think about as well.¡±

    Brad was an unexpectedly hard worker, but for some reason that made me just a little bit happy.

    ¡ó

    There was a dungeon in the royal capital.

    Inside were Marie and Kyle, fully equipped.

    Kyle was carrying a heavy baggage on his back whileining to Marie.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go home. I mean, this ce is definitely dangerous.¡±

    Marie and Kyle traversed beyond a signbeled ¡°Keep Out¡±, and went down a pit.

    Marie, carrying a heavier baggage than Kyle, had lowered a rope into the pit while scolding Kyle with a bloodcurdling expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give up! Our future lies ahead of here©¤©¤a promising glory awaits.¡±

    Kyle grumbled.

    ¡°I wish that we could have brought along everyone, though. The monsters here are strong too.¡±

    As he was saying that, something creeped out from the bottom of the pit.

    Arge, lizard-like monster opened itsrge mouth and climbed a wall.

    It clutched onto the wall using suckers attached to its hands and approached closer to Marie.

    ¡°Something came ouuut!¡±

    As Kyle screamed, Marie took out a grenade from her luggage.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate meeee!¡±

    She threw the grenade into itsrge mouth, and the monster¡¯s cranium exploded when swallowing it, causing dark smoke to appear.

    That explosion caused the wind to roar, violently shaking the rope.

    Marie grasped the rope tightly, calling out to Kyle.

    ¡°Kyle, hold on tight!¡±

    ¡°I want to go home already!¡±

    Marie and Kyle descended down the rope until reaching the bottom of the hole.

    Kyle sat down when finally reaching the floor and seemed like he was about to cry.

    While cautious of her surroundings, Marie lowered her heavy luggage and took out some tools.

    (Alright. I can do this. I have the proper knowledge for everything up to here.)

    In the game, she was able to make do with her own strength up until the mid-way.

    She knew that there was a hidden item inside the areabeled ¡°Keep Out.¡±

    (If I can retrieve <i>that</i>©¤©¤I can break free of this current situation.)

    Livia¡¯s face popped up in her mind.

    (Right. She¡¯ll be my stepping stone to happiness.)

    Tackling the depths of a dungeon with only two people was a reckless action.

    She kept silent about it from Julian and the others since they seemed to be busy.

    There was one other reason as well.

    (I thought that Olivia wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything, but I can¡¯t be careless when that mob is by her side. If I don¡¯t retrieve what I need as soon as possible, I might go mad from my life n getting beaten to the punch.)

    After a certain matter at the school festival, Marie was wary of Leon. Perhaps it was foolish, but her intuition told her that mob wasn¡¯t the type to be careless.

    That boy was always by Olivia¡¯s side whenever she entered the dungeon. It was possible that he was trying to retrieve <i>that</i>. Such a possibility frightened Marie.

    Due to that, she couldn¡¯t wait for everyone to gather and went to retrieve it during the holiday.

    Even though it was irrational, Marie wanted to obtain it at any cost.

    As she was preparing a shotgun, she spoke to Kyle, who was still sitting down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kyle.¡±

    As Kyle got up reluctantly, he carried his heavy baggage onto his back and held antern in one hand. It lit up the pathway for Marie.

    ¡°What is there ahead?¡±

    ¡°Follow along and you¡¯ll see. When we get there, be relieved. We can say goodbye to our life¡¯s troubles.¡±

    Even though Kyle¡¯s face brightened when he heard that he was going to be free of his troubles, he soon shook his head and made aint towards Marie.

    ¡°Wait, can we get back home safely before that?¡±

    Marie walked forward with her shotgun ready.

    She had a serious expression and was full of determination.

    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m going to grab the treasure that¡¯s just ahead. Our life is at stake here.¡±

    All of this was in order to reach her ideal life.

    Marie advanced towards the dungeon¡¯s depths with Kyle.

 Chapter 57 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 6 part2</h4>

    The royal pce.

    Julian and Jilk were having a strategy meeting.

    Julian was no longer the crown prince, so he didn¡¯t expect many people to be around to hear.

    Julian was d that people no longer came to visit him almost everyday.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about something, Jilk.¡±

    ¡°As expected of his Highness!¡±

    Jilk praised Julian for simply thinking.

    ¡°How about secretly slipping out from the royal pce to help Greg and the others?¡±

    ¡°A good idea.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I thought so. However, how would we even sneak out?¡±

    Jilk pondered.

    ¡°You do stand out in the royal pce after all, Julian. Mine instructed some watchmen to keep an eye on you. Slipping out wouldn¡¯t be a simple matter.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    When asked about how to sneak out, Jilk replied that it wouldn¡¯t be easy.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, Jilk!¡±

    ¡°As expected of his Highness!¡±

    Julian spoke his thoughts to Jilk.

    ¡°A mask. Prepare a mask. I¡¯ll hide my face©¤©¤actually, it would do well to hide my body as well, so prepare a cloak too.¡±

    ¡°I see, you¡¯ll escape by hiding your figure.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    ¡°However your Highness, how do we n on preparing a mask and cloak?¡±

    Julian was troubled by Jilk¡¯s question.

    ¡°That would be a problem.¡±

    ¡°It would.¡±

    The two pondered for a brief moment.

    ¡°I got it!¡±

    Thinking that Julian had an idea, Jilk praised him.

    ¡°As expected of his Highness!¡±

    The two were so excited about sneaking out from the royal pce, they didn¡¯t realize that they lost sight of their original goal.

    Julian pondered.

    (Right, if I¡¯m going outside, then how about I see Marie? What a splendid idea I came up with.)

    He began to think about going outside and meeting Marie.

    Now that the two had been released from the pressure of their peers, they had a strangely high amount of energy.

    In a sense, it was possible that the two were happy now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it, Jilk!¡±

    ¡°Yes, your Highness!¡±

    ¡ó

    Mine was reading a report from a subordinate.

    ¡°I wonder what in the world those children are doing.¡±

    Mine was feeling dizzy from reading a report about how Julian and Jilk made a request for using the royal pce¡¯s budget to prepare masks and cloaks.

    The reason they gave seemed false, so she could only assume that they were scheming something.

    Mine seemed like she was about to weep.

    ¡°I wonder if those children are genuinely idiots. I thought they were superb prior to being disinherited, though. Were they seriously thinking about sneaking away from the royal pce using a method like this? If they were, then I¡¯m really worried. Worried in so many ways.¡±

    Mine wanted to question the two about them trying to escape by buying masks and cloaks through the royal pce¡¯s budget.

    It was fine if they bought them, but she wondered if they had realized that she would know about their request.

    ¡°Leaving that aside, what did they n on doing by leaving the royal pce? D, don¡¯t tell me that they didn¡¯t think about what to do after they would leave? T, there¡¯s no way. Their stupidity can¡¯t be that big. Though, I feel like they didn¡¯t think about what to do after leaving the castle.¡±

    Mine thought about what the best course of action would be.

    After all, Julian was her cute son.

    She also had affection for Jilk as well, since she knew him when he was young.

    ¡°No, that can¡¯t be it. Those two are honest and superb children. They must be confused, as they¡¯ve never done anything like sneaking out before. Actually, perhaps they wanted me to notice? Or maybe this is something to throw me off guard? I¡¯m not too sure about the possibility of it, though. However, since those two are excellent children, I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s something I don¡¯t realize yet. What would a mother be if she didn¡¯t have faith in her own son! This is definitely the groundwork for some grand n they have.¡±

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°Even so, it¡¯s a matter of fact that the two were indeed trying to escape from the royal pce, so perhaps I should summon them and give them a scolding.¡±

    ©¤©¤Mine soon summoned them.

    ¡ó

    It was the next day.

    It was the worst having the morning approach while not knowing what kind of response I should make.

    There were two people at a table, Greg, who was greedily consuming the cuisineid out, and Brad, who was eating elegantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s only the morning, and you¡¯re reeking of body odor.¡±

    Since Livia was confining herself in her room, Luxon was delivering meals to her.

    Greg wiped his mouth.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see your face in the morning. Anyways, what do you n on doing now? The main troops of the sky pirates are still out there, right?¡±

    There were still sky pirates remaining, and now I was asked whether to subjugate them or leave them be.

    Thinking in terms of the game, it was fine to leave the matter alone until the middle of the second school year.

    However, the matter would be quite difficult by that point.

    Besides, I wanted to destroy the sky pirates early.

    The sky pirates belonging to Winged Shark were ssified as very heinous ones.

    I wanted to deal with them before the damage would spread.

    I tended to strike while the iron was hot.

    In addition, leaving it aside forter was troublesome. It seemed like it would be easy taking this opportunity to resolve everything.

    ¡°We¡¯re pinpointing the location where they¡¯re hiding. Just wait a little bit longer and we¡¯ll embark, so©¤©¤¡±

    Thereupon, I got a report from Luxon.

    [Master, it seems that the sky pirates areunching an attack.]

    When I got up and looked outside the window, the other two watched me with nervous expressions.

    ¡°They mobilized surprisingly fast.¡±

    As I was about to greet them, the other two got up.

    Greg spoke to me.

    ¡°Baltfault, I can work with the broken armor. Please lend it to me.¡±

    Brad also had a serious expression.

    ¡°I also found some armor that I could use yesterday. I want to borrow it.¡±

    What did they n on doing with broken armor?

    ¡°There¡¯s no point. Could you guys really operate defective products? Both of you need to think more about©¤©¤¡±

    Greg bowed his head.

    ¡°I beg you! I know that I¡¯m a burden to you. But, I can¡¯t just sit still and watch.¡±

    Brad also bowed his head.

    ¡°This is selfish of me. I know that. The broken armor belongs to you©¤©¤and you alone. However, please lend it to us. We want to fight as well.¡±

    I thought about refusing them, but I turned my face away when seeing the straightforward attitude and gaze they had.

    ¡°©¤I¡¯ll give you one chance. Do as you please.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m indebted to you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll show you that I can be useful this time!¡±

    Their voices cheered up.

    They were about to go into battle, but seemed optimistic.

    Luxon didn¡¯t wait for mymands.

    [Well then, I will begin the supplying and maintenance of the armor in good condition.]

    ©¤©¤It said as such to me.

    What a detestable thing this was. I was angry at how capable it was, yet how manyints I had towards it.

    I couldn¡¯t scold it now.

    ¡°Count on me to prepare them.¡±

    ¡ó

    It became boisterous outside.

    Livia, who was sitting on the floor, got up and looked outside the window.

    Her eyes were swollen from crying. She had a badplexion and her feet were shaky.

    ¡°Why is Partner moving?¡±

    Livia¡¯s consciousness returned to her absentminded self as she felt the swaying of the ship.

    Outside the window, Leon could be seen in the sky fighting while using Arroganz.

    ¡°Leon?¡±

    Airships simr to the ones from yesterday¡¯s sky pirates were approaching.

    There were five of them.

    They were especiallyrge airships that looked to span three hundred meters.

    As they floated side by side and their cannons opened fire, cannonballs sessively swooped down onto Partner.

    ¡°Eek!¡±

    Though she crouched down and covered her head, Partner was protected by a bright light, and it didn¡¯t receive a single scratch.

    ¡°H, how amazing.¡±

    As Livia watched the scene outside, Leon faced the enemy gship and charged towards it.

    The mast on the opponent¡¯s airship was destroyed.

    Livia was relieved when seeing that, and then fell down.

    (I said something terrible to Leon. I need to apologize. I wonder why I even said such things.)

    She regretted her actions.

    She didn¡¯t know why she said such things to Leon, who had helped her up until now.

    Livia was hesitant and worried, but she then saw Leon blown off by an opponent¡¯s armor.

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    Unlike other armor, the armor of this sky pirate was asrge as Arroganz.

    It was sharp, seemed strong, and was actually able to knock off Arroganz.

    Seeing that, Livia¡¯s chest tightened.

    Perhaps from being tired and having her judgement dulled, Livia decided to go outside, despite not being able to do anything by herself.

    She hurriedly jumped out of the room and ran across a passage to reach the deck.

    The inside of therge Partner was spacious, so it also took quite the distance to reach outside.

    On the way, there were floating robots that tried to prevent Livia from going.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, let me through!¡±

    ©¤©¤When Livia said so with a strong voice, the robots stopped moving for a moment.

    After rebooting, they chased after her in a hurry, but in the end, they couldn¡¯t catch up to Livia.

    Even though she wasn¡¯t standing on the deck, violent sounds of fighting, ones that she couldn¡¯t hear inside the ship, pierced her ears.

    There were the sounds of gunpowder explosions.

    The sounds of magic colliding against each other.

    At any rate, the battlefield was dominated by intense shaking, sounds of explosions, and gunpowder smoke.

    Livia opened the airship¡¯s door to search for Leon. It wasn¡¯t a matter of being useful or not, she wanted to confirm Leon¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Leon. ©¤©¤Leon!¡±

    Upon which,rge armor fell down in front if her.

    When she looked at it, it wasn¡¯t the gray Arroganz, but a thorny armor with skulls and crossbones drawn onto it.

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    It was the armor that blew away Arroganz, the one she saw just before.

    While shouldering arge hatchet-like weapon in its right hand, the armor reached towards Livia with its left hand.

    It¡¯s hand,rge enough to engulf Livia¡¯s head, approached. Robotic cylinders with arms intervened in order to protect Livia, who couldn¡¯t move due to fear.

    A muffled voice could be heard from inside the armor.

    ¡°Tsk, what kind of rubbish is this?¡±

    It was the throaty voice of a man.

    The armor shoved away the robots with its fists and once again reached out towards Livia with its hand

    Livia closed her eyes and hung her head.

    (No©¤©¤Leon, help.)

    ¡°You think I¡¯ll let youuu?!¡±

    The one who helped Livia©¤©¤wasn¡¯t Leon.

    Brad, using armor taken from the sky pirates, had rammed into the enemy.

    However, the opponent braced himself and was only pushed back slightly on the deck.

    With Brad¡¯s armor, it looked like a child trying to push away an adult. There was just that big of a difference in size.

    While Livia, so surprised by the series of events that happened before her, forgot to breathe, the sky pirate grabbed Brad and flung him away.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, brat!¡±

    Brad¡¯s armor rolled on the deck.

    As soon as he got up and tried to face his opponent, this time Greg and his armor crashed in. Wielding a spear, he had charged and destroyed other sky pirates¡¯ armor.

    ¡°Aah, out of the waaay!¡±

    Though Greg¡¯s spear attempted to pierce into the sky pirate, it couldn¡¯t get through the bulky armor.

    ¡°How tough.¡±

    The sky pirate pulled out the spear lodged into the armor and then thrust it into the deck. He then thrust it at Greg¡¯s armor as well.

    Brad stood up to protect Livia, who was unable to move from the terror portrayed in the battle before her.

    ¡°What are you doing?! Get down!¡±

    ¡°M, my legs won¡¯t move.¡±

    Livia was immobilized from the fear brought by armor fighting against each other.

    ¡ó

    I was above the sky.

    I got blown off and struck a nearby sky pirate in anger.

    ¡°You¡¯re in the way!¡±

    I grabbed the sky pirate¡¯s armor and threw it towards the sky pirates¡¯ airships.

    Surrounding me were the floating armor of sky pirates.

    My breathing was shaky.

    Inside the narrow armor, I shouted an order to Luxon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them. Seize everyone!¡±

    Luxonined about my order.

    [I¡¯d say that¡¯s unreasonable. Something like that is difficult to say the least.]

    When I deployed drones sessively from a container on Arroganz¡¯s back, they surrounded me as if to protect me.

    The sky pirates, who had rifles, were shouting. ¡°Monster!¡±, ¡°Wh, wh, who is this guy?!¡±, ¡°He repelled all of our bullets©¤©¤no waaay!¡±. While ignoring their conversations, I recalled what happened a short while ago.

    The sky pirates¡¯ leader.

    A man who usedrge armor and had a bounty on his head.

    Generally, armor was slim. The sky pirates had simrly slim armor as well, and rushed towards me at a high speeds.

    However, the leader of these ruffians used massive armor that was asrge as Arroganz.

    ¡°I want to capture that guy as soon as possible.¡±

    Luxon warned me as I was getting impatient.

    [Master, your reaction time is slowerpared to before. Your maneuvering skills and other abilities have gotten worse.]

    ©¤©¤That would be the case. I¡¯vecked in practice.

    ¡°My bad. I was busy.¡±

    [No, this is a problem rting to your mental state.]

    The grey, heavy armor Arroganz soared through the sky.

    The armor repelled the bullets being shot by the sky pirates. My armor was certainly the strongest, being able to overwhelm the sky pirates in both speed and power.

    I was using such strong armor, and yet I was struggling.

    I had underestimated my opponents.

    The leader of the ruffians left me to his subordinates and avoided fighting me.

    The sky pirates were also only surrounding me and attacking with just their rifles.

    It was very troublesome when the enemies were running around.

    I approached, grabbed an opponent, and crushed the head of its armor. From the crevices of the armor, I could see the frightened face of the piloting sky pirate.

    ¡°How long do you n on keeping this up? Let¡¯s end this at once!¡±

    [Master, the leader of the sky pirates hasnded on Partner¡¯s deck. Furthermore, Olivia is on that deck.]

    ¡°Wha?!¡±

    As I was surprised, a sky pirate airship turned towards me and fired cannonballs one after the other.

    They collided against Arroganz and caused explosions.

    I criticized Luxon from within the armor.

    ¡°Why did you let her out?!¡±

    [My apologies. The worker robots were temporarily down. It seems something had caused©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Enough! We need to help right now!¡±

    On a projection in front of me was the image of Brad and Greg challenging the sky pirates¡¯ leader.

    They were resolutely going against him with their armor that once belonged to the sky pirates, which had been repaired for the both of them.

    [It seems it was the right call to have them participate. Right now, they¡¯re fighting to defend Olivia.]

    That image©¤©¤Livia being protected by both of them©¤©¤looked as if it were natural, and left a strong impression on me.

    It was an image I saw many times in the game, a scene where the capture target boys were defending the protagonist.

    I hung my head andughed.

    ¡°©¤©¤Right. Isn¡¯t this how it¡¯s supposed to be? The capture targets and the protagonist go hand-in-hand! A mob like me being by her side is a mismatch!¡±

    [Master?]

    ¡°©¤©¤Right. Didn¡¯t I already know this all along? I shouldn¡¯t get surprised about it at this point.¡±

    I took a deep breath, tightly grasped the control sticks in front of me, and turned off the projection in front of me.

    I didn¡¯t need to harbor any pointless thoughts. All I needed to do was to end the matter that was right in front of me.

    Right, I have my own ce.

    ©¤©¤After all, aren¡¯t I just a mob?

    Wasn¡¯t it presumptuous of me to think that I could stand beside the protagonist©¤©¤Livia?

    That wasn¡¯t my role.

    ¡°Increase output. Once you¡¯ve done that, let¡¯s use <i>those</i> from the third container.¡±

    [©¤©¤Understood.]

    Perhaps sensing that my aura had changed, Luxon didn¡¯t say much. What was the matter? Say something. It got quite lonely not hearing it bicker.

    Arroganz grasped two hatchets from the container, one for each hand.

    As each hand tightly grasped therge hatchets, I slowly raised my head back up.

    ¡°©¤©¤Let¡¯s crush them.¡±

 Chapter 58 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 6 part3</h4>

    Livia sat down where she was.

    Before her, both Brad and Greg had copsed in face of the sky pirate leader¡¯s armor.

    ¡°D, damn it.¡±

    ¡°Why is it so big, yet so effective?¡±

    Both were still alive. However, they could hardly get up.

    The leader of the sky pirates shouldered arge hatchet while reaching towards Livia with his left hand.

    ¡°That took a while. Lady, you¡¯re our hostage.¡±

    Livia realized that she would be used as hostage against Leon, and attempted to run away. Thereupon, the sky pirates¡¯ leader thrust hisrge hatchet into Brad¡¯s armor.

    ¡°©¤©¤Gah!¡±

    Brad raised his voice in pain.

    ¡°Brad!¡±

    A muffled voice came out from within the leader¡¯s armor.

    ¡°If you run away, I¡¯ll kill them. Now then,e here at once.¡±

    With quivering feet, Livia walked towards the leader¡¯s armor, whose hand was reaching towards her. She couldn¡¯t bear to see Brad.

    She felt ashamed of herself for having that happen.

    (I¡¯m...a burden. I¡¯ve only been causing trouble for everyone.)

    When she shed tears in frustration, the sky pirates¡¯ leader, who was there just a moment ago, was blown away.

    A gust of wind blew through Livia¡¯s hair and clothes. The cause of that gust was a grey armor.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    Livia made a delightful cheer, but her expression soon muddied.

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    Leon¡¯s Arroganz, holdingrge hatchets in each hand, severed the arms of the opponent.

    Arroganz had its own silly charm when it used a shovel during the duel with Julian and the others, but the armor in front of her now looked sinister.

    Arroganz was built for fighting, and when seeing the armor fulfilling that purpose, Livia¡¯s smile changed into shock.

    ¡°Don¡¯t. Leon, don¡¯t!¡±

    Leon swung both of his arms alternately, toying with the sky pirates¡¯ leader. His armor gradually being shaved away, the leader made a scream of horror.

    ¡°H, help! I surrender. I said I surrender!¡±

    Leon smiled.

    ¡°Surrender? Hey hey, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s boring for an infamous sky pirate? You should show more resistance until the very end. C¡¯mon, show me some spirit!¡±

    He trampled down on the armor. He trampled down on it numerous times, causing the leader to cry and beg for his life.

    ¡°Help me, please! I beg you. Help!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re asking for too much after going on an utter rampage? You¡¯re supposed to tell your subordinates to surrender first, right? C¡¯mon, do it quick or else you just might up and die!¡±

    Leon treated the leader of the sky pirates, who had just before fought Brad and Greg with ease, like a small fry.

    At themand of the leader, the sky pirates proimed their surrender. However, Leon destroyed the leader¡¯s armor. Arroganz tore away the opponent¡¯s armor and ripped away its important skeletal frame.

    Seeing that, Livia thought of it as frightening.

    Arroganz then stuffed its hand into the abdomen of its opponent¡¯s armor, and pulled something out.

    Leon grinned when seeing what he took out.

    ¡°I~found~it.¡±

    The leader of the sky pirates spoke in a sorrowful tone.

    ¡°G, give that back! That¡¯s the precious©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? It¡¯s not yours. It¡¯s mine starting today! If you¡¯ve got aint, thene at me!¡±

    Arroganz kicked the armor as if no longer interested in it, and sent it rolling across the deck.

    The leader made a groan, but seemed to be alive.

    There was ck smokeing from the airships of the sky pirates, perhaps from Leon¡¯s doing. They were somehow keeping afloat, and some of the sky pirates attempted to escape by hopping onto small boats.

    Most of the armor had fallen and were floating on the sea. In case of a fall, armor had lifebuoy-like objects attached to them. They dpressed and floated on top of the sea.

    Sky pirates got out of their armor, and looked up into the sky with looks of despair.

    Livia, remembering that Brad had been hurt, rushed over towards his armor in order to check his injuries.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll get you medically treated right away.¡±

    Brad, appearing from within the armor, had a cold sweat and seemed to be in pain.

    However, he made a forced smile in front of Livia.

    ¡°Th, thank you.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault that you got inj©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Greg and I both knew what we were getting into. We fought to protect you. After all, we¡¯re aiming to be knights. If a knight isn¡¯t kind towards woman©¤©¤ah, that hurts!¡±

    While healing Brad¡¯s injured arm, Livia felt relieved to hear that he didn¡¯t bear a grudge against her. At the same time, she also felt terribly pathetic.

    When she put her hand over Brad¡¯s wounds, a magical light came out and healed them. Brad was impressed when he saw the injuries neatly disappearing.

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯re good at healing magic, like Marie. You¡¯ve been a great help.¡±

    Livia asked a question in response to that.

    ¡°Marie also works with healing magic?¡±

    Since there were few people who could use healing magic, Marie seemed to be a valuable person.

    Brad smiled while boasting.

    ¡°Yep, she¡¯s our goddess. Any wound is a cinch as long as Marie©¤©¤¡¹

    As he was speaking, Brad lost consciousness from being in relief.

    Leon came out from Arroganz while looking at Livia applying a handkerchief over Brad¡¯s wounds.

    ¡°Leon. U, um!¡±

    Before Livia could say anything, Leon smiled.

    However, it seemed sad to Livia.

    ¡°This suits you well. After all, anything is supposed return to how it should be.¡±

    She wondered what he was talking about.

    When Livia tried to get up, Leon turned towards Greg. Once he got out of his armor, he didn¡¯t have any injuries

    Leon spoke to Greg with a smile.

    ¡°I appreciate your efforts. Say, aren¡¯t you pretty strong?¡±

    ¡°Was that supposed to be sarcastic? Leaving that aside©¤©¤sorry, I broke the armor I borrowed from you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have more. Anyways, can you help carry Brad?¡±

    ¡°Is he okay?¡±

    Leon spoke towards Greg, who was worried about Brad.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. His injuries were healed by ¡®Olivia.¡¯¡±

    Livia tightly grasped her chest with her hand.

    ©¤©¤Her heart felt like it was in terrible pain.

    It hurt to the point that she felt like clutching her heart.

    She got up and tried to shout something, but her voice couldn¡¯te out. As Leon passed by Livia in such a state, he didn¡¯t even make eye contact with her.

    Once he and Greg got Brad fully out of his armor, robots came carrying a stretcher which they put Brad onto.

    When the three returned to the airship¡¯s interior, Livia began crying.

    ¡°Why? ©¤©¤Call me Livia.¡±

    She copsed down and continued crying.

    ¡ó

    The sky pirates¡¯ treasure was in front of me, but I had no interest in it.

    I tossed the treasure I took from the sky pirates into one of the warehouses in Partner.

    Even though I found some nostalgic items from the game in addition to gold and silver treasure, I soon parted with them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve stashed a lot.¡±

    Luxon responded while floating beside me.

    [I don¡¯t foresee getting that remuneration from the Wein household, but you can get rewards from the destruction of a sky pirate group and the capturing of their leader. Going by the standards for the kingdom, it will be quite the fortune.]

    I wasn¡¯t interested at this point.

    What could I even do with such arge amount of money?

    It was all pointless.

    ¡°I suppose I could buy a new tea set. I¡¯ve got no clue on what to do with the rest.¡±

    What was on my mind was that image of Greg and Brad protecting Livia©¤©¤Olivia. That was how it ideally should be, but there was a strange discord in my heart.

    I turned towards Luxon.

    ¡°Hey, did you find evidence that links the earl household with the sky pirates?¡±

    [Indeed. I¡¯ve found several documents with interactions between them.]

    ¡°Should we tell the royal pce? There¡¯s also the matter of the Redgrave duke family. It would make a good scandal for their opposing faction.¡±

    [A scandal, or perhaps a tant weak point. It¡¯s possible that the earl household maye to get back the sky pirates.]

    ¡°©¤©¤Was it fine to only rough them up?¡±

    I wondered what in the world I had been doing up until now.

    Wasn¡¯t I an idiot for having this kind of power, yet not use it?

    Right. An idiot.

    I was an idiot.

    ¡°If make trash like them disappear, perhaps the kingdom would be a bit more decent. No, that wouldn¡¯t work. The kingdom itself is trash, or better yet, the otome game itself is trash, right?¡±

    Luxon, watching me as I thoughtlessly smiled, didn¡¯t speak with its usual abusivenguage.

    [Are you sure about this? I would have no hesitation in destroying the kingdom, nor this world. If you give me the orders, I can carry them out soon. After that, it would also be possible for you to create a world as you see fit, Master.]

    A world as I see fit?

    That would be the best!

    ¡°How nice. What about making a harem with women? Maybe gather some elves or cat-eared beastkin. How about this time, make the kind of world where women are the ones treated like garbage?!¡±

    That¡¯s when I realized what I was saying.

    This was just the same situation, but with the positions of men and women reversed.

    ¡°©¤©¤What the, am I the same as those girls in the academy?¡±

    [You likely know the answer to that inside yourself. Have you cleared up your thoughts after venting your anger on the sky pirates?]

    Not at all.

    Pent-up feelings were squirming around within my core.

    I wanted to expel them immediately, but I didn¡¯t know how to do so.

    Luxonforted me.

    [This about her, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t think that Olivia hates you, Master. However, emotional instability©¤©¤]

    ¡°I know. Did you think I was angry at her? Did you think that I viewed her as some kind of ungrateful freeloader?¡±

    [Indeed.]

    ¡°Just who do you think I am?¡±

    When she went outside, I did think ¡°What was that fool doing?!¡± to myself. However, on the flip side, I was able to see Brad¡¯s and Greg¡¯s chivalrous spirit thanks to that.

    What happened there was what the rtionship between the protagonist and capture targets should have been. The ideal situation.

    I should think of it as a major development. Right, this was good. No more acting on behalf of their role. It was time for me to return to being a mob.

    I took out the ¡°Holy Ne¡± from my pocket.

    ¡°In that case, how should I pass this onto her?¡±

    Rather than giving it to her as a present, I wondered who would be easier to knock sense into and have them get along with Olivia. Brad or Greg?

    It would be most optimal if it was one of them.

    I wanted the two to keep at it by all means.

    So, I decided to have them return to the position they should have been in.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided what to do with the treasure.¡±

    I made my own conclusion and stuffed the ne into my pocket.

    Luxon informed me of something.

    [Master, it seems that a fleet from the earl household is getting closer. At the same time©¤©¤it seems that an airship of the Redgrave duke household is heading here as well.]

    Today really turned out to be a turbulent day.

 Chapter 59 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 7 part1</h4>

    <h4>Karma</h4>

    Did people know what the term karma meant?

    I thought of it as being rted to destiny or fate.

    Apologies for theck of information, but anyhow, doesn¡¯t the word karma sound neat? It carries a lot of weight to it.

    ¡°Am I unable to escape from the karma called being a mob?¡±

    As if intending to set something straight, Luxon corrected me in a straightforward manner.

    [Karma rtes to actionsmitted in a former life, doesn¡¯t it? Cause and effect©¤©¤there are consequences to one¡¯s actions. I believe what you said just now was strange.]

    Did this thing know how it felt to be corrected after saying a cool phrase?

    ©¤©¤It felt extremely embarrassing.

    ¡°Pretend that I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    [As youmand.]

    I was standing on top of the deck.

    Under the cold sky, there were three airships from the duke household that were flying alongside Partner.

    Furthermore, facing us were warships©¤©¤a fleet of flying battleships from the earl household.

    Basically, the earl household wanted us to hand over the sky pirates we captured.

    The duke household wondered if they were idiots for wanting us to give them the sky pirates after a house under their guardianship made a request to be saved from them. That was the kind of attitude they had.

    The earl household was desperate since they didn¡¯t want us to find evidence of them having coborated with the sky pirates.

    However, that wasn¡¯t possible once the duke household dropped by, so they instead came for discussions.

    I handed Olivia over to Anjie, and they went to her own airship.

    Seeing Olivia cry, Anjie got angry and pped me while having a sharp re.

    [Leaving that aside, was what you chose to do fine?]

    ¡°Entrusting negotiations to someone else? Do I look like someone with high negotiation skills? It¡¯s fine to leave it to the duke household.¡±

    I requested the duke household to have negotiations with the earl household.

    I guessed that there would be a couple demands after negotiations were over.

    I was rich right now, so it wasn¡¯t a particr problem, though.

    I snatched the armor, airships, and treasure of the sky pirates along with capturing the sky pirates themselves.

    There was nothing that could go wrong.

    [That¡¯s not it, I was referring to the feat you¡¯ve made. Why did you give Bred and Greg the credit for it?]

    ¡°I¡¯d be grateful if those two returned to their original positions. Don¡¯t they seem like people who could protect Olivia? Even if that doesn¡¯t turn out to be the case, they¡¯re still people who are reliable in a time of emergency.¡±

    The story had deviated quite a bit already.

    I was frightened about what would happen in the future if I didn¡¯t correct it at least a bit. Even if the two didn¡¯t return to their original position, it would still be better than what the current situation was.

    The two did their best this in this event. I thought that was pretty good on its own.

    [You¡¯re cutting ties between Olivia and yourself. You¡¯re giving those two the credit, and you¡¯re only leaving behind a few items for yourself. Have things returned to how they originally were?]

    Did this thing not include the treasure and armor inside the airship into its calctions?

    ¡°It¡¯s enough. This is enough for me. I¡¯ve got you, after all.¡±

    Thinking hard about it, Luxon was a lost item that Olivia could have potentially found. Considering that I robbed her of a cheat-ss spaceship, my own hardships shouldn¡¯t be considered.

    When I said that, Luxon said nothing.

    [Anjelica got angry when Olivia cried.]

    ¡°A rich, pampered girl can be hard to please. It seems that she hates me now.¡±

    [Are you also going to keep your distance from Anjelica?]

    ¡°I would say that I¡¯ve been too close to her up until now.¡±

    I had to keep a reasonable distance from everything.

    As I waited on top of the deck, the fleet of the earl household changed directions and left the scene.

    It seemed that discussions had ended.

    ¡ó

    The duke household¡¯s airship.

    Livia was invited to a room prepared for Anjie.

    There, Livia sat while cradling her arms around her knees.

    Anjie was amazed by what she heard.

    ¡°You¡¯re partly to me too, but Leon¡¯s just acting pathetic.¡±

    Anjie was blind to her own shorings, but Livia contemted over them.

    ¡°I¡¯m a terrible person. I vented my anger on Leon and now he hates me.¡±

    Anjie reached out her hand in order tofort her, but she paused mid-way and stopped herself.

    (Do I even have the qualifications to criticize Leon and be friendly with Livia?)

    She thought about what she had said, and felt regretful.

    As a result, she couldn¡¯t convey her feelings to Livia.

    ¡°Get some rest for now. We¡¯re going to return to the academy soon.¡±

    Anjie didn¡¯t know what to do.

    Livia wasn¡¯t a follower nor a friend granted to her, but a friend she made through her own effort. However, Livia was amoner, and she didn¡¯t know how to properly interact with her.

    The rtionship between the three had broken down.

    ¡ó

    The royal pce.

    With the suppression of the sky pirates being a sess, Greg and Brad had returned to the royal capital and were summoned to the royal pce in order to discuss about the future

    However, the government official in front of them was at aplete loss.

    Brad mmed the desk.

    ¡°What on earth are you nning to©¤©¤ouch, that hurt my arm.¡±

    His recently treated arm was in pain after mming the desk.

    Though Greg was amazed at Brad acting that way, he red firmly at the government official.

    ¡°We weren¡¯t the ones who suppressed the sky pirates. As if we can ept this kind of reward when all we did was assist!¡±

    The reward for the two was to officially appoint them as knights.

    In addition, they were paid remuneration for the suppression of Winged Shark sky pirates.

    Brad protested with teary eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on us! The one who defeated them was Baltfault. Are you saying that you¡¯re going to deprive him of his achievement?!¡±

    The government official was stupefied.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be troubling if you don¡¯t ept. The report from Baron Baltfault said that he only assisted you two. A, also, you two currently aren¡¯t knights and don¡¯t have any court rank or ss. It would be nature to ce more faith on Baltfault¡¯s report since he¡¯s above the sixth rank and is a baron. I, if something¡¯s wrong, we could do an investigation, though.¡±

    The government official stuttered on some of his words.

    It was bewildering that the two wouldn¡¯t ept their rewards.

    Normally, people would want both recognition and remuneration.

    Yet, in an unbelievable turn of events, the two refused to ept.

    If Leon was the one snatching away someone¡¯s achievements, then the government official would firmly order for an investigation. However, Leon said that those two were the ones who aplished the feats.

    The official just wanted the two be obedient and ept the rewards.

    Greg folded his arms.

    (That idiot¡¯s doing something strange.)

    Taking a deep breath, Greg told the government official everything.

    ¡°We only helped out. The one who defeated the sky pirate group was Baltfault, and we didn¡¯t do anything worth gaining recognition for. At the very most, we were just there on the battlefield. We would ept rewards for participation, but nothing more.¡±

    Brad nodded.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t really take an active role. We can¡¯t ept this kind of reward.¡±

    The government official breathed a sigh.

    ¡°I was forbidden to say this to you two, but Baron Baltfault¡¯s nning something with your households. Perhaps he wants your disinheritances to be reconsidered.¡±

    The two were surprised, and soon madeplicated expressions.

    ¡°W, why would he do that?!¡±

    While Greg stood up in surprise, Brad made a face as if he couldn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°R, right. What reason would he have to do this for us?¡±

    The government official exchanged nces with the two while replying.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the baron¡¯s feelings, but he sent corresponding funds to the royal pce. Something about a befitting amount of money and goods being bestowed upon your households as well. How about justplying and epting the rewards?¡±

    After saying that they could return the favor in the future, the official left the room.

    ¡ó

    The royal pce¡¯s courtyard.

    Greg and Brad both sat on a bench.

    Neither of them could sort out their feelings.

    Greg had a disgruntled face, and Brad hung his head with a slightly gloomy face.

    Julian appeared in front of the two in such a state.

    He rushed over after spotting them.

    He had a slightly exhausted face, but showed a bright smile after seeing the two.

    ¡°You two, I heard the news!¡±

    It seemed that he had heard about their services. The two madeplex expressions.

    ¡°Your Highness?¡±

    As Brad raised his head, Julian got excited and began to speak.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve sessfully suppressed the sky pirates! Furthermore, you did in front of that Baltfault guy! Doesn¡¯t that make this our win? I even heard that your households have a better opinion of you two now that this matter hase to light. Perhaps you¡¯re close to be heirs again.¡±

    Greg spoke in a low voice toward the pleased Julian.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. We couldn¡¯t win against him. He had both strength and spirit. Furthermore, we lost in terms of endurance.¡±

    Brad didn¡¯t object.

    ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve decided on something.¡±

    ¡°What have you decided on?¡±

    Brad and Greg stood up.

    ¡°We want to win against Baltfault. It¡¯s not like our goal is his defeat. What we want is to win in terms of being more of a man.¡±

    ¡°Right. We can¡¯tpete with him at this rate. He¡¯s an amazing knight. From the very beginning, we weren¡¯t people who could be his opponent.¡±

    The two, thinking that they couldn¡¯t just keep hanging their heads, soon began a new course of action.

    Brad made a request to Julian.

    ¡°Your Highness, could you arrange a meeting with the queen?¡±

    ¡°Mother? I think I can make it work, but what are you guys thinking?¡±

    Greg made an awkward smile.

    ¡°We¡¯ve received so much. We can¡¯t be men if we don¡¯t return a favor.¡±

 Chapter 60 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 7 part2</h4>

    Was this a case of returning favors with spite?

    I was at the academy, where sses were going to resume tomorrow.

    After being able toe back in time and returning to my room within the boys¡¯ dorms, I clutched a letter sent from the royal pce.

    ¡°Brad, Greg©¤©¤I see, did they hate me that much?¡±

    The grip I held with my trembling hand created a crease in the letter.

    It said that I had been allowed to be ¡°promoted to the lower fifth rank¡±.

    My upper sixth rank within the royal court had risen one step further and upgraded to the lower fifth rank.

    The suppression of the sky pirates had been credited to Brad and Greg, so that couldn¡¯t be the reason. There was also no way that it could be because of me helping them reconcile with their households. ©¤©¤I couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the person pulling the strings here? I, I can¡¯t allow this to happen. Why am I in the lower fifth rank? My father is in the lower sixth rank, so what¡¯s going to happen now that I¡¯m two steps above him?!¡±

    Was being promoted something to be delighted about?

    Incorrect. At the very least, I wasn¡¯t delighted by it.

    Being promoted meant new responsibilities that corresponded with it.

    I had wanted to confine myself within my territory and live carefree, but I didn¡¯t know what to do now that I had been promoted.

    With a high enough royal court rank, one would get summoned many times.

    I didn¡¯t want to get involved with the royal pce, so I had assisted those two. Now I was being promoted without even knowing.

    Normally, one would have to build up more achievements before being promoted by the royal pce. With rigorous checks on territory size, the royal pce was strict when it came to raising someone¡¯s rank.

    While I was resentful of this unreasonable treatment, Luxon swerved to my behind and peeked at the letter.

    [I never thought you would get promoted. You¡¯re really good at moving outside of my expectations, Master.]

    ¡°What do you mean by that?! I didn¡¯t think I would get promoted either! There wasn¡¯t anything to promote me for at all! There¡¯s going to be a whole bunch of people who want to know how I got promoted!¡±

    In the first ce, it was very difficult to get promoted to the sixth or fifth rank. It was impossible to get promoted by suppressing sky pirates just once.

    It was necessary to performrge achievements, like doing massive deeds on the battlefield or serving for many years.

    So why was I promoted?! Other people should have been promoted instead!

    While I was making a mor by myself, I heard a knocking sound.

    When I opened the door, a staff member of the boys¡¯ dorms stood there while nervous. The staff member was a woman, and she bowed her head in front of me.

    ¡°Baron Baltfault. A L, letter and a gift have arrived.¡±

    ¡°A Letter and a gift?¡±

    ¡°R, right. We can¡¯t deliver them to your room, so they¡¯ve been arranged outside.¡±

    ¡°Outside?¡±

    Once the staff member led the way to the gift, there stood an air bike.

    It was quite the extravagant,rge air bike.

    I soon understood that it was an expensive one.

    The air bike seemed to be more expensive than armor, and the letter was sent from the ¡°Atlee family.¡±

    I took out the letter and read it.

    ¡°Aaaaaauuuuuuuuuugh!¡±

    When I screamed, the nearby staff member¡¯s shoulders trembled.

    The contents written inside the letter were an apology.

    The letter was sent from the Atlee family, rice¡¯s household, and was an apology concerning what happened at the school festival, along with a word of thanks for returning their daughter¡¯s liveliness to her. It seems that was what the air bike was for.

    Since boys yearned for air bikes, at least a little bit, they made for pleasant gifts.

    However, the problem was what came after that.

    ¡°No way. This can¡¯t be real. Does, does everyone hate me that much?¡±

    Seeing that I was crying, the staff member bowed her head, said something, and then fled the scene.

    Tears dropped onto the letter, smudging the words on it.

    There was more to the letter.

    ¡®Since we were told that you wanted to wait for a while before being promoted, a promotion from the lower fifth rank to the upper fifth rank awaits you upon graduation.¡¯

    ©¤©¤That was what it said.

    The Atlee family was an earl household of the royal court.

    The family held distinguished people, such as ministers, and had a high royal court ranking. Perhaps their daughter felt a sense of gratitude towards me and said that I should be promoted. Just the air bike would have been fine, though!

    ¡°Why?! Why are people trying to promote me?! This is bizarre! Don¡¯t they know that I¡¯m mortified by all of this?! How could they do such cruel things? I¡¯m only human!¡±

    A floating Luxon inserted a cord into the air bike.

    [This engine is different from the air bike you used at the school festival. The parts were carefully crafted, and it¡¯s quite superb.]

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    [I¡¯m modifying and taking control over it.]

    It looked like it was doing something cruel to the air bike. Luxon looked like a viin.

    I copsed to my knees and looked at the air bike.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go on a trip. Let¡¯s embark on an adventure towards some unknown country.¡±

    [You have sses starting tomorrow, so that¡¯s impossible.]

    ¡°Right. Damn iiiit!¡±

    Why did I have to suffer through so much? There were so many other people who actually wanted to be promoted!

    I didn¡¯t want to be promoted, though!

    ¡ó

    Coming back from his household, Chris had a tired face.

    Chris, who had been nearly severed from the family, was summoned in order to deal with some procedures and for them to lecture him.

    Chris was told to never show his face at the household again, and although he was prepared for that to happen, it was still very intense for him, causing him to be exhausted.

    (That Baltfault guy, why is he sitting down like that?)

    When he returned to the boys¡¯ dorms, he saw Leon feebly sitting there, not speaking.

    When he returned to his room, a letter was there.

    When he picked up the letter from the floor, he saw that it was from Marie.

    With a grin, Chris adjusted his sses and read the letter.

    ¡°Marie went to a dungeon during the holiday? I, is she okay?¡±

    The letter wrote that when he came back, they should meet up, so Chris hurriedly straightened his outfit and rushed out of his room in order to find Marie.

    The letter said that there was something she wanted to show him.

    Chris, forgetting about what happened back home, went to meet Marie.

    ¡ó

    It was the next day.

    I slumped over on my desk with a look of despair.

    During break time, Daniel and Raymond approached.

    ¡°You look terrible.¡±

    ¡°How about cheering up a bit?¡±

    Perhaps with the rumors already spreading, Brad and Greg, who sessfully suppressed sky pirates, had gotten popr with the girls. There was not an ounce of praise directed towards me, though.

    Olivia and Anjie hadn¡¯t gotten in touch with me, so there was no female presence around.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get promoted.¡±

    Daniel understood and made a worrying smile.

    ¡°I know how you feel. Things get tough when your rank is high. Your rank is at the level where you would have people under your guardianship, have retainers, and gather a fleet tomand as a feudal lord.¡±

    Having a high rank demanded a corresponding amount of work.

    As Daniel had said, when barons reach around the lower sixth rank, it was suggested for them to send out airships, even just one, during war. However, it was mandatory for ranks above that.

    Those of higher ranks had an obligation to dispatch appropriate war potential.

    There were many nobles who despised this and didn¡¯t want to be promoted.

    On the other end of the spectrum, nobles who aimed for promotion unted themselves by umting airships.

    Raymond turned his attention towards some nearby girls.

    The girls who looked at me seemed to have veryplex facial expressions.

    ¡°Though, if it¡¯s certain that you¡¯re going to be in the upper fifth rank, you won¡¯t have trouble getting married, right?¡±

    ©¤©¤Marriage.

    I suppose he had a point. That was the reason we were in the academy.

    ¡°Aah, right. You¡¯re definitely, right. Though, the whole matter¡¯s troublesome.¡±

    Raymond smiled.

    ¡°There will be field trips at some point, and when those happen, there might even be some girls who will get in touch with you. I envy you.¡±

    If any girl got in touch with me at this point, they were the kind of girl who was basically saying ¡°I¡¯m only here because of your status.¡±

    No wait, I was mistaken. Those were the only kinds of girls at this academy.

    Daniel seemed disheartened.

    ¡°So it seems I¡¯ll be in a different group from you guys. How unfortunate.¡±

    The academy had a field trip each year.

    The three grades travelled in unison, but there were three different destinations. The destinations rotated each year, with Daniel, Raymond, and I having different ones.

    The students in the whole school were divided into three groups, each enjoying their own field trip.

    In the game, the protagonist went to the same destination as the capture target they were aiming for, giving them a chance to earn favorability. In addition, there existed items that could only be retrieved in that location.

    My destination was a floating ind which contained an item that piqued my interest.

    ¡°Expect some souvenirs.¡±

    When I said that, the two replied with ¡°We¡¯ll look forward to them,¡± while smiling.

    This was my everyday life that wouldn¡¯t change.

    I thought of it as very valuable due to my previous life. In my past world, I didn¡¯t notice how luxurious this kind of thing was.

    Raymond looked at me.

    ¡°Leon, let¡¯s talk about those two people who were on your airship. Why don¡¯t you apologize and reconcile already?¡±

    ¡°Why are you making me out to be the bad guy?¡±

    Daniel was surprised.

    ¡°Well, weren¡¯t you the cause of the trouble, Leon?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡±

    Raymond agreed. It seemed that I needed to have a thorough talk with these two about what kind of person they saw me as.

 Chapter 61 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 7 part3</h4>

    It was the day of the field trip.

    The airship prepared was quite luxurious.

    After all, it was a luxury liner.

    We were heading towards a warm floating ind in the south.

    It was summer over there, a different season. It was a popr ind for a field trip destination.

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s like the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere. Even so©¤©¤¡±

    I heard that this would be a field trip, but all I could see were students ying around on the liner.

    I was wandering around the casino with my third-year upperssman, Rukul, who was in the same social group as me.

    ¡°They said that this would be a field trip, but the ss is just messing around. The floating ind we¡¯re heading to is a tourist attraction, so it¡¯ll be like experiencing a festival. There¡¯s going to be a unique atmosphere, and it¡¯ll be quite fun.¡±

    ¡°A festival?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s this special aura you feel when in a foreignnd. The girls wear yukatas and enjoy themselves in the festival. Boys who can escort those girls can shorten the distance with them considerably. You should do your best as well, Leon.¡±

    I see. If one was to get married, they would have to work their hardest on this asion.

    Even so, the popr girls already had boys surrounding them.

    Other girls were surrounded by exclusive servants and were being pampered by them.

    What caught my attention was Anjie talking at the counter. Her unreliable followers were frantically trying to entertain her, but seemed to have trouble.

    Looking elsewhere, I could see Olivia, who seemed to be exiting, perhaps not enjoying the casino¡¯s atmosphere.

    Rukul spoke to me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve picked some difficult partners.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m not in any position where I can go after them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. We all have our own partners we need to be with. The same goes for the girls. Things get tough when choosing a partner you don¡¯t match with. Though, I suppose I don¡¯t need to exin for you to figure that out, right? Just look at his Highness and the others.¡±

    Speaking of them, the prince and the others were scattered all over the ce.

    Julian and Jilk were together, but Marie was with Brad and Greg.

    Rukul spotted Chris.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s the expert swordsman.¡±

    He was ying poker, and though he seemed to have won the game, he didn¡¯t look happy.

    He left his seat and went elsewhere.

    He wasn¡¯t with Marie and the others, and seemed bored being by himself.

    ¡°Is Chris alone?¡±

    However, girls then swarmed around him.

    ¡°Chris, what are you going to y this time?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we swim together on the deck¡¯s pool?¡±

    ¡°Forget her, let¡¯s have a meal©¤©¤¡±

    Girls were approaching him, but he let out a single sigh. Even though he took that kind of attitude, the girls seemed very delighted.

    If I was the one sighing, they would re at me with a vein on their forehead.

    Rukul asked me a question.

    ¡°You up for some roulette?¡±

    ¡°No, I have a doctrine against gambling.¡±

    Rukul was astonished.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    His face told me that he thought I was lying. However, I genuinely hated gambling. Why fight not knowing whether I would win or lose? It was idiotic.

    ©¤©¤I was a guy who only entered matches I knew I would win.

    ¡ó

    There was a storehouse in the luxury liner heading towards the southern floating ind.

    Two girls were secretly speaking with each other.

    ¡°We¡¯re in trouble if we don¡¯t do this right!¡±

    ¡°This is the daughter of a duke household we¡¯re talking about, so it can¡¯t be helped, can it?¡±

    The two were girls that had been Anjie¡¯s followers.

    After the uproar from the duel during the summer vacation, Anjie¡¯s followers were desperate to regain trust.

    However, among some followers, there were people who were making threatening movements.

    These two were the same.

    ¡°My family gave up on the duke household.¡±

    ¡°Same with mine. After all, his Highness the crown princes¡¯ faction had copsed. The Redgrave duke household is now on the decline.¡±

    Due to Julian losing his position, the duke household that had backed him had their faction breaking down.

    It was a matter of course since Julian, the faction¡¯s objective and backbone, had been disinherited.

    Those who wanted benefits if Julian had be the king in the future naturally left the faction.

    These two were among such people.

    ¡°How do you use this?¡±

    ¡°You just pull the string and toss it outside. It stands out on the deck, so we were told to throw it from somewhere else.¡±

    They had some dubious object.

    Once they tugged the string off of a cylindrical object, smoke came out of it, so they quickly tossed it to outside the airship.

    ¡°Do you think this will do?¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t it?¡±

    Not knowing what just happened, the two left the storehouse and returned to where Anjie was.

    ¡ó

    The school field trip.

    Once Livia arrived at the floating ind and borrowed a yukata, she was walking along the evening streets.

    That normally would have been dangerous, but today was the day of a festival in the floating ind.

    Stalls were lined up and the light from red papernterns made for a unique ambience.

    ¡°©¤©¤How beautiful.¡±

    There were the sounds of drums and flutes.

    There were voices of people having fun.

    It was apletely different atmospherepared to the festivals at her hometown.

    Livia, who felt as if she was experiencing a new culture, walked alone in the festival.

    She had not spoken with Leon since the suppression of the sky pirates. Talking with Anjie was tough as well, and during that time, the distance between them had grown further.

    Anjie was also participating in the festival, but was surrounded by her followers and couldn¡¯t chat with her.

    There was the fragrance of salty-sweet sauce.

    There was also the scent of sugary candy.

    There were various ces to have a good time, including a location for target practice.

    Livia stared at a goldfish catching game, and then was moved by fireworks exploding in the sky, also surprised by the soaring noises they made©¤©¤but she felt deep in her heart that she wasn¡¯t having fun

    Her sight was once on Anjie©¤©¤but as she wandered around looking for Leon, she could no longer find Anjie either.

    Ever since that incident, she hadn¡¯t thought about seeking her friends.

    She felt menial after the matter with Cara.

    ¡°Should I even be here?¡±

    She felt delighted when Leon told her before that it was fine for her to be at the academy.

    She felt embarrassed and pathetic after saying extreme things to him.

    (Why did I even prioritize the opinions of an outsider?)

    She didn¡¯t understand it herself, but she hadn¡¯t been having funtely.

    As she wandered aimlessly, she separated from the festival venue.

    (Ah, if I don¡¯t get back©¤©¤)

    However, she heard the voices of what sounded like people fighting.

    The voices were arguing with each other.

    ¡°Listen up, hand them over!¡±

    ¡°N, no! I won¡¯t give it to you! Not even if you¡¯re a noble! Stop!¡±

    Hearing that voice, Livia jumped out.

    She had thought that a student in the academy was causing trouble to the locals.

    ¡°U, um©¤©¤!¡±

    ¡°What are doing there?!¡±

    However, Livia wasn¡¯t the only one there, as Anjie had also rushed in with her yukata slightly disordered.

    The two nced at each other in surprise, and then awkwardly turned towards the person causing trouble.

    ¡°©¤©¤Leon?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤What in the world are you doing?¡±

    Yet unfortunately, the one causing trouble was Leon.

    Leon nced around.

    ¡°T, this is um©¤©¤¡±

    Thereupon, the local, a male wearing a mask, clung onto the two.

    ¡°H, help me. This noble told me to give him what I had.¡±

    The two looked at Leon while the local still clung onto them. it looked as if an evil noble was trying to steal goods from a weak person.

    Of course, Leon exined himself.

    ¡°Y, you¡¯ve got it wrong! I told him to give me what he had because I would buy his entire stock! I¡¯ve got the money for it!¡±

    The man shook his head.

    ¡°No. There are people in the festival who are looking forward to these! No matter how much money you have, I won¡¯t let you deprive everyone of their fun!¡±

    When looking at what the man had, there were small, unknown objects wrapped in white paper.

    They were arranged in a box, ready to sell.

    Anjie asked the man about them.

    ¡°What are these?¡±

    Perhaps delighted by her interest, the man exined in a cheery voice.

    ¡°Look. They¡¯re charms made by my grandmother from home. They¡¯re blessed to make you popr. They¡¯re covered up because they vary in type. What you get depends on your luck.¡±

    Leon soon approached the smiling man from behind.

    He held a roll of bank notes.

    ¡°Then sell them. I¡¯ll buy them all. Oh, I¡¯ve got it. I¡¯ll buy them at ten times the price.¡±

    The persistent Leon had prepared a lot of money while saying that he would buy everything.

    On the contrary, the man became frightened.

    ¡°What¡¯s with you?! This is not a matter that can be settled with money. This is for the sake of seeing everyone smile!¡±

    He wanted to take pleasure in selling charms to the people enjoying the festival.

    The man did not yield.

    Leon took out a pouch containing gold coins.

    ¡°Look, how about this? Gold coins. There are twenty pieces inside. I¡¯ll offer this as well.¡±

    The man thought for a moment, but shook his head.

    ¡°My grandmother made these in order to give everyone some joy. I will not back down on this!¡±

    Leon made a telling smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve. I like that! I¡¯ll tell you what, I¡¯ll prepare a white gold coin. How about that?¡±

    Despite Leon steadily increasing the price, the masked man resisted.

    ¡°Like I said, no can do!¡±

    Anjie grabbed Leon by the ear.

    ¡°Ouch. That hurts, Ms. Anjie!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to address me formally. Drop the honorifics. Anyways, you can go. We¡¯ll take care of this.¡±

    The man thanked them while clutching his important merchandise.

    ¡°T, thank you!¡±

    The man left the scene and headed towards the festival venue, disappearing into the crowd. While his ear was still being pinched, Leon reached his hand out whilementing.

    ¡°Wait! My item!¡±

    Livia had no idea how to address Leon after he acted in that manner.

 Chapter 62 - Volume 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 8 part1

    Dukedom

    There was a shrine a little bit away from the summer festival venue.

    Sitting down on the stairway leading there, I hung my head and shed tears in frustration.

    Was it strange to have summer festivals and other elements from Japan here? Don¡¯tin to me. I thought of it as strange, but this was the mad world of an otome game. Those who thought it would be logical would be wrong.

    ¡°I wanted the charms.¡±

    Even now, I still had the desire to chase after the guy and buy everything from him. However, Anjie and Olivia didn¡¯t allow it.

    They watched over me.

    Seeing me feeling quite down, the two seemed rethink their stance.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill005

    ¡°D, did you want them that badly?¡±

    Anjie thoroughly examined my facial expression.

    It seemed that she had escaped from her followers.

    They were frantically trying to regain Anjie¡¯s trust. They were acting quite selfishly though, since they had abandoned her before at a critical moment.

    However, leaving that aside, there was the matter of the charms.

    ¡°I was really looking forward to this day. I couldn¡¯t sleepst night.¡±

    I wiped my tears.

    Was I acting? No, I was genuinely crying in frustration!

    Oliva started talking to me, but spoke very awkwardly.

    ¡°B, but, I don¡¯t think you should do what you had tried. Buying it all with money, I mean.¡±

    I understood what she was trying to say, but I thought of it as odd that she was denying the ability to buy goods with money.

    ¡°I¡¯m paying with money, so isn¡¯t it fine? I could have even bought them at a hundredfold the amount.¡±

    If the charms had the same effect as in the game, then I wanted to buy them at even a hundred times the price.

    The item I wanted to collect on this floating ind was a charm from that masked man.

    However, I wouldn¡¯t know the contents of what I would buy.

    In the game, it waspletely randomized, and even if one got the short end of the stick, they would still get a ¡°Charm of Good Luck¡±.

    Better than that though was the ¡°Charm of War¡¯s Fortune¡±, improving battle-rted abilities, and increasing the growth rate for physical stats.

    The jackpot was the magic-rted ¡°Divine Protection Element¡±. That thing had the game-like effect of increasing magical power.

    The growth rate of magic stats would increase, and one¡¯s aptitude to the attribute would increase as well.

    For that reason I had been pulling some strings a year prior so that I could go to this floating ind during the field trip. What did I do? I just bribed some teachers.

    Since the items obtained on this floating ind boosted level-ups, I had been challenging the dungeon as little as possible at the academy. Yet©¤©¤

    My ns to be the strongest character had been ruined.

    Anjie and Olivia both had expressions of worry.

    It seemed that they didn¡¯t think I would cry.

    As I was sniffling and crying, the summer festival was approaching its final stage, and the masked man returned.

    It seemed that almost all of his items had been sold.

    ¡°Ah, there you are. Sir Noble, there are two left, so here you go.¡±

    I got up and bought the two charms.

    ¡°Please be a good one!¡±

    ¡°Um, actually, there¡¯s no gain-or-loss factor involved. It¡¯s just that there are different kinds.¡±

    What an idiot! The results varied precisely because there was a variety!

    I took the two bags and slowly removed the white paper from one.

    My face turned red with tension.

    When I opened it, there was a white orb about asrge as a marble. It was a charm with metal fittings and a red string attached.

    Not good. I had no talent for white©¤©¤healing magic.

    There was no point in carrying it.

    When I opened the next one a little roughly, this time a red orb appeared. Both of them had very beautiful colors, but I didn¡¯t really know if they would have an effect.

    I didn¡¯t feel anything in particr.

    Did they really have a divine blessing inside them?

    ¡°Red? I have no talent for red.¡±

    Anjie tilted her head.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Isn¡¯t it fine?¡±

    The masked man went up the stars and left.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll be heading back. Take care. Though, it seems the charms match better with thedies over there than with you, Sir Noble.¡±

    The masked man vanished, as if disappearing into the darkness.

    Leaving that aside, did these match better with Anjie and Olivia than with me? I certainly thought so.

    What I wanted was something yellow or blue.

    I wasn¡¯t aiming for red or white.

    I got the short end of the stick, in a bad way.

    I dropped my shoulders and gave a charm to each of them. The red orb for Anjie, the white one for Olivia.

    ¡°Y, you¡¯re giving them to us?¡±

    Anjie was slightly hesitant. Perhaps it was from me simply handing over the items I had wanted to the point of tears.

    ¡°These aren¡¯t what I was aiming for.¡±

    ¡°I, I see.¡±

    Olivia also reluctantly refused.

    ¡°I, I can¡¯t ept this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, just take it. There¡¯s no point in me having it. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re expensive items either.¡±

    When I tossed it at her, Olivia grabbed it with a troubled expression.

    At my wits¡¯ end, I sat down on the stairway and made a deep sigh.

    ¡°Leon, u, um©¤©¤¡±

    Olivia wanted to say something, but at that moment, Anjie¡¯s followers had arrived.

    ¡°M, Mdy!¡±

    Hearing that voice, Anjie ran off in a panic.

    ¡°S, sorry. I¡¯ll be heading off.¡±

    Girls who were Anjie¡¯s followers chased after her as she escaped.

    Once they left and the noise they made faded out, this time boys who were her followers us spotted and surrounded me.

    There were three of them.

    ¡°Baltfault, you again?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so conceited just because you got a slight promotion.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just a lowly noble trying to butter up Mdy.¡±

    I raised my head and looked at the faces of these ipetent boys. I could tell they were worthless just from my own perception. I sensed a certain irresponsibility in them. Now that they had betrayed someone in a critical moment, no matter what they would do, it would not be an easy task to regain her trust back to positive levels.

    Since they¡¯re trustworthiness is in the negatives right now, perhaps it would go to zero if they did their absolute hardest.

    I wasn¡¯t in the mood to humor them at thiste of a time.

    ¡°Oh? Are you guys frustrated? Envious that yourdy has taken a liking to me? How unfortunate. If you guys hadn¡¯t deserted her during the uproar of the duel, you would have been Anjie¡¯s favorites. You guys may be good at reading the mood in the academy, but you should take more notice to reading the mood in the world of nobles, or rather society as a whole. Are you not ashamed of trying so hard to make up to her now?¡±

    As I agitated them, I motioned my hand for them toe at me.

    When I tried to annoy them into epting my challenge, Olivia stood in front of me and stretched out her arms, as if to protect me.

    ¡°D, don¡¯t fight!¡±

    One of the boys yelled.

    ¡°He¡¯s the one trying to pick a fight!¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry. B, but, you still can¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Tsk, let¡¯s go. He¡¯s just a pathetic guy who hides behind a girl.¡±

    I really wanted to retaliate against what he just said. These were the people who wanted Anjie as their shield, after all.

    Once the boys left, I spoke to Olivia.

    ¡°It would have been fine if you left things alone. Those guys wouldn¡¯t want to start a fuss, so I think they would¡¯ve backed off at some point.¡±

    I agitated my opponents because I knew they wouldn¡¯ty a hand on me.

    Though, since youths were full of passion, it was possible that they would resort to violence. If that happened, there would be punishment from society. Fights between adults didn¡¯t stop at just exchanging fists

    When Olivia turned around towards me, she let out a sob.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry. Leon, I¡¯m really sorry. I wanted to apologize all this time. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I caused when we were suppressing the sky pirates. I¡¯m sorry for©¤©¤the mean things I said.¡±

    I scratched my head in front of a crying and apologizing Olivia.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing for you to apologize for, though. In the first ce, it shouldn¡¯t be you apologizing to me, but©¤©¤¡±

    When I was about to say something, but my sight turned towards an old woman who came nearby.

    Just how long had she been here? It was a little frightening.

    ¡°Um, who are you?¡±

    Pulling attention towards the old woman, Olivia also looked surprised.

    The old woman smiled while carrying a cane.

    ¡°Well, I just want to talk to you because you took care of my son.¡±

    I averted my gaze from the old woman. Her son was likely the masked man who sold the charms.

    ¡°Perhaps you think that what I did was quite inexcusable©¤©¤¡±

    While I was starting to exin myself, the old woman took out a white bag from her pocket.

    ¡°That was the first time someone wanted to pay arge amount of money for the charms I made. However, they were for the many people who were looking forward to them at the festival. I feel bad for what little there were in the end, so here you go.¡±

    Was the item inside the white bag a Charm of War¡¯s Fortune? Indeed it was.

    ¡°A Charm of War¡¯s Fortune, is it? Though, the shape looks different, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite the keen gentleman. I made it specially, is it to your liking?¡±

    A new prototype model?

    It was a bit different from what I wanted, but I was d that I got it.

    ¡°Thank you so much. Oh, the cost©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°No need. If you want to repay me, then please visit the shrine. This is a shrine for marriage, so you may receive a blessing.¡±

    After saying that, the old woman went up the stairs.

    Was she the priest for the shrine?

    While Olivia looked at the stairway in surprise, I examined the charm. Instead of it being a charm decorated with a sword and shield, it featured three swords crossing together. I raised the charm up to my face, and then grasped it tightly in my hand.

    ¡°Not bad.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure what its effects were, but I took a fancy to the design.

    I liked those sword-shaped keychain essories as souvenirs, after all.

    A lot had happened, but I managed to enjoy myself.

    At any rate, she said it was a shrine for marriage...and the night was a bit frightening, so I suppose I could visit tomorrow morning.

    If I recall correctly, there was an event in the game where the protagonist headed towards the shrine with the capture target they were the closest with©¤©¤hmm? Could it be?!

    As I pondered about various things, I heard a voice.

    Olivia seemed embarrassed.

    ¡°Leon, she said marriage©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is. A blessing for marriage. I¡¯m thinking abouting here tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll be wishing for a suitable partner.¡±

    I probably should prepare arge amount of money for it.

    When I left the area, Olivia seemed lonely, but I left her alone.

    I couldn¡¯t get involved with her anymore.

 Chapter 63 - Volume 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 8 part2

    It was the next morning.

    The airship would depart at noon, but I had some free time until then, so I went sightseeing.

    At any rate, it was easy for a distinct culture to thrive on a floating ind.

    The reason being that we had to use airships to go back and forth to other inds. At times, there were floating inds that didn¡¯t have airships, so the people there built their own society by themselves.

    There were also adventures set to discover such floating inds.

    Though sometimes people with ill-intent would raid them.

    No matter how much people tended to gloss over it, there were many adventurers who were wild.

    Actually, I suppose I also destroyed some historical ruins in order to obtain Luxon back then.

    I climbed up a stairway made of stone.

    The gate and shrine I then saw were indeed reminiscent of Japan.

    Since the floating ind itself was styled after Japan, it made me feel as if I had stepped into apletely different world.

    I spotted a shrine maiden cleaning the grounds.

    She was an adorable shrine maiden who looked around ten years old.

    ¡°Hello. Is this the shrine for marriage?¡±

    Once I asked that, the cute shrine maiden smiled and nodded her head.

    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a god of marriage. There¡¯s also blessings for war and magic.¡±

    The god seemed appreciative of military personnel and magicians.

    As I was heading towards the shrine to give my thanks, some people came by while I was talking with the shrine maiden.

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re here as well?¡±

    ¡°U, um.¡±

    While I could only let out a few sybles, Anjie looked at our faces while seeming troubled. It seemed she met Olivia below the stairway and then came up here.

    The small shrine maiden greeted us with a smile.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re the nobles from the academy. Um, do you know what to do?¡±

    The cute shrine maiden politely proceeded to tell us what to do.

    Ah~, this was soothing.

    It was like it washed away all the outrageous things in this otome game world.

    I came here to visit for that reason, but now the three of us were standing in front of an offertory box.

    ©¤©¤This was awkward.

    ¡°W, we¡¯re supposed to make an offering, right? How much?¡±

    An embarrassed Anjie took out a gold coin from her purse.

    Olivia looked at her.

    ¡°T, that much?¡±

    ¡°Is this not right? This much is normal in temples.¡±

    It was nice that temples were monotheistic, but didn¡¯t reject other religions. I really did not want a religious war. This was the first time I thanked theckluster setting for the world of that otome game.

    While standing beside the two, I put in a roll of banknotes and some gold coins to repay for yesterday. Was I insane? I think not. In the game, paying a certain amount of money led to the protagonist¡¯s likability with the capture target to drastically increase. cing trust in such a blessing, I put in a great deal of money.

    I only remembered itst night, and regretted that I hadn¡¯t brought more money with me.

    While the two were dumbfounded, I politely made my prayers.

    ¡°God, I won¡¯t ask for anything luxurious. So please, please, let me have a wife! Please let me get married to a kind woman with good sense! I don¡¯t want a woman who looks down on their husband and raises their child as if they¡¯re a stranger. Please give me a suitable partner!¡±

    My strong wish escaped from my mouth.

    The two were shocked, but this was a very important matter for me.

    Despite having done all I could, the results had gone awry and I had to suffer hardships, so please grant this wish to my pitiful self, god!

    ph_mobuseka02_ill006

    While I frantically prayed, Anjie and Olivia also began praying next to me.

    As expected, they didn¡¯t voice out their wishes.

    I wondered what the two would wish for.

    I had no clue about Anjie¡¯s prayer, but it probably had to do with marriage since that was what the shrine was for. As for Olivia©¤©¤I wondered if she would get closer with anyone other than the worthless Greg and Brad.

    No wait, there was little hope. Since Julian and Jilk were useless as well, that left only Chris as a candidate.

    ©¤©¤Whatever, as long as Olivia is happy, then anyone is fine.

    I just wanted the country to be saved.

    I returned to thinking about my wish.

    ¡°If possible, make her chest big, and a narrow waist would be nice as well. It would be even better if she was slightly frisky! Honestly, I want an amorous adult who can pamper me and©¤©¤¡±

    Listening to my prayer of unstoppable desire, Anjie and Olivia pulled me by the ears and dragged me out in embarrassment.

    ¡°Wait! I didn¡¯t say everything yet! There¡¯s still more I want to say!¡±

    Anjie¡¯s face was bright red.

    ¡°W, what are you saying in front of a child, you idiot?!¡±

    The young shrine maiden¡¯s face was red as well.

    That was pretty cute though, wasn¡¯t it? No, I didn¡¯t mean that in a twisted sense. I just found it precious that a girl was so pure.

    Pure enough that it made me embarrassed of my own desires.

    Olivia apologized to the shrine maiden.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Please forget what you just heard.¡±

    ¡°U, umm, it, it¡¯s okay. I was a surprised at a lot of it, but do your best!¡±

    Right! I would do my best. I would do my best at seeking marriage.

    I waved my hand at the smiling shrine maiden, and we descended the stairway

    ¡ó

    Returning to the luxury liner, I watched us leave the floating ind from the deck.

    I took out my charm and examined it.

    Luxon, perhaps having interest in it, voiced out to me.

    [It seems like it goes around your neck.]

    ¡°Say, do you think this thing is blessed?¡±

    [It¡¯s not a bad thing to rely on something for spiritual reassurance. You shouldn¡¯t rely too much on it, though.]

    It didn¡¯t deny the existence of gods, but it seemed that it didn¡¯t believe that the charm would result in good luck either.

    I put it around my neck and looked up at the summer-like sun, squinting my eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡±

    [It seems so. Anyways, I¡¯m a bit curious.]

    ¡°About what?¡±

    [Could it be that you didn¡¯t actively tackle the dungeon because you didn¡¯t have that charm yet? Are you expecting some game-like effect?]

    ¡°I, idiot, that¡¯s not it.¡±

    [Is that so? I¡¯ve had my suspicions since you were constantly pushing back the retrieval of that ¡®Holy Bracelet¡¯.]

    ¡°Y, you really are a distrustful thing.¡±

    To be honest, I hadn¡¯t challenged the dungeon any more than I needed to, hoping for an effect from the charm. I was expecting a game-like effect, but I didn¡¯t really know if it would be a reality.

    This was a little embarrassing.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to get to where the bracelet is. It¡¯s a tough ce for even the upperssmen. I need to make preparations for safely retrieving it.¡±

    [Is that so? I¡¯m worried since you¡¯re not doing it in a hurry. I¡¯m curious about how you¡¯re not rushing it despite the threat of Marie.]

    If Marie yed the game, she wouldn¡¯t do anything stupid.

    Originally, conquering the dungeon was something that would happen during the third school term.

    At that point, I would earn money through the dungeon until the middle of my second school year.

    [All things considered, I thought I would be able to unveil ¡±Schwert¡±, which I had taken great pains to make.]

    ¡°Did you just arbitrarily give a name to that air bike? You know, the owner of that thing is me. Actually, you called it Schwert, right? I suppose it¡¯s fine since I like the name, but what meaning does it have?¡±

    [Master, do you know about how air bikes arepared to a fish? They¡¯re likened to them because they¡¯re smallpared to an airship.]

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about that. What about it?¡±

    [No, it¡¯s nothing. Schwert means sword.]

    ¡°Ain¡¯t that nice! I like it even more. That air bike has a pointed tip, so I feel like it matches well.¡±

    [Erm, I was actually going for a swordfish analogy©¤©¤never mind.]

    I admired the naming sense of this thing.

    ¡°At any rate, you must have done quite a bit of remodeling. Maybe you can make it a metallic color.¡±

    [Sounds good. Would you like there to be some blue mixed in? Even better, I can take the rudder and©¤©¤never mind.]

    ¡°I¡¯ll entrust the coloring to you.¡±

    [Leave it to me. Also, Schwert is a like a restless, moody horse, making it hard to regte. Master, handle it with care.]

    What?

    Did this thing cherish the air bike after having named and modified it?

    Come to think of it, it also cherished Partner quite a bit as well.

    I better not say anything bad about Partner or Schwert.

 Chapter 64 - Volume 2

    Chapter 64

    As I was speaking with Luxon, Chris came out onto the deck.

    He had a face of exhaustion.

    ¡°Good grief, I have no time to be by myself.¡±

    Judging from what he said, it seemed that he had escaped from some girls.

    Was this guy trying to get guys to pick a fight with him?

    Luxon hid behind my back.

    Before I knew it, he approached me with a fearless smile. His blue, well-groomed hair fluttered a bit in the wind, making me irritated at how stylish he seemed.

    He took off his sses and spoke to me.

    ¡°Baltfault, it seems you had a match with Brad. Why not have a fencing match with me?¡±

    It seemed he wanted to beat me in his own field of expertise.

    Iughed scornfully.

    ¡°Brad challenged me in a field he was weak at, and yet you¡¯re challenging me to one you excel in? You¡¯ve got a lot of nerve.¡±

    His facial expression warped as soon as Ipared him to Brad.

    He was childish.

    He shouldn¡¯t have gotten disordered by only this much.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you on in a field I¡¯m not skilled with, soe at me!¡±

    Chris was a guy who specialized in swordsmanship. Due to that, he was a character that was useless when it came to anything else.

    Huh. He was the same as Brad! These guys were too unbnced.

    ¡°I, I©¤©¤never thought of myself as being skilled with swordsmanship.¡±

    I was shocked at Chris, who hung his and put his sses back on.

    ¡°How disgraceful. An expert swordsman should be more dignified.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I¡¯ve been practicing the sword for a very long time. Yet, my father told me that I had no talent. Just a while ago, I was told that a failure me would be emunicated.¡±

    Had he been scolded when he got back home?

    He looked quite concerned about it, but considering what he and the others had done, it seemed inevitable.

    If I remember correctly, Chris had an inferiorityplex centered around his father, who was a master swordsman, or some kind of troublesome setting like that.

    All of them had unthinkably troublesome settings. Settings that would fill up dozens of papers.

    When I grumbled in a low voice about how tiring I thought of it, Luxon said [Then there¡¯s you on the other end of spectrum, living a shallow life,] while still hidden.

    How noisy! I already knew there was nothing else about me other than the fact that I had reincarnated here.

    Even so, I was better than those troublesome guys©¤©¤I think.

    ¡°So you¡¯re trying to say that you became an expert swordsman from being a hard worker, huh? So what, are you saying that we, who can¡¯t even be expert swordsmen, are lower than a talentless hack like you?¡±

    Chris red at me.

    ¡°If you can still say that after devoting everything to swordsmanship, then I¡¯ll do whatever you want, whether it be apologizing or whatever. Just what do you know about me?¡±

    Did I know him?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything. I don¡¯t want to know you either. So let¡¯s turn the question around, what do you know about me? If you¡¯re here to and talk about how pitiful you are and gain sympathy, then go talk to Marie. You probably told her this before, though.¡±

    ¡°I hate guys like you who don¡¯t even have to put in much effort.¡±

    Effort? I had to put in effort.

    I had been working in the fields in order to survive, study under the light of antern, among other such things.

    Meanwhile, the second and third daughters of the household got to study inside rooms lit by electricity and didn¡¯t have to work in the fields.

    And what¡¯s with the shoddy excuse they gave about the girls needing to be treated with care?! Hmph©¤©¤it was sickening.

    They treated guys way too cruelly.

    ¡°What a coincidence. I also hate you people. I especially won¡¯t tolerate guys like Brad and Greg, who betrayed my hopes.¡±

    Of all things, they did exactly the what that I hated the most. I would definitely seek revenge.

    As we were deep in our discussion, ring at each other, an rm quickly went off.

    I surveyed my surroundings.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing had been happening up until now!¡±

    As Chris said that, arge number of monsters appeared from white clouds.

    They came out from the clouds in tens, hundreds, and continued to increase.

    ¡°©¤©¤Hey, you¡¯ve gotta be kidding me.¡±

    The monsters mimicked the appearance of aquatic animals, and flew through the air as if they were swimming in the sea.

    Although their numbers reached a point where we could no longer count them, more were still rushing out from the clouds.

    We were a distance away from the floating ind, and there weren¡¯t any other airships in our surrounding area.

    Sailors came out onto the deck carrying weapons, but flinched from the overwhelming number of monsters.

    There were even young sailors holding their weapons while trembling.

    Chris drew closer to a sailor.

    ¡°What the hell happened?! What¡¯s with that number?!¡±

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know. The monsters suddenly appearing like this©¤©¤i, is a first.¡±

    Chris was losing hisposure, but it seemed that the crew were also the same.

    I observed the state of the monsters.

    ¡°Why are they only surrounding us, but not attacking?¡±

    Usually, monsters would attack upon sight, but they were strangely surrounding the airship while being quiet.

    Luxon appeared around my shoulder.

    If it made an appearance despite others being around, then it seemed to have judged that this was dangerous. Chris nced at Luxon for just a moment, but ignored it in light of the impossible scene around him.

    [They¡¯re beingmanded. Their current behavior does not align with my data.]

    Assuming that they were operating as a group, I had never heard or seen a group of monsters this big being controlled.

    Someone seemed to emerge from around the forehead of the white, slightly pink monsters.

    I couldn¡¯t make it out, but Luxon projected an image of it to my surroundings.

    ¡°A crest? I feel like I¡¯ve seen it somewhere.¡±

    [It¡¯s the crest of the Fanoss dukedom.]

    ¡°Fanoss? That has to be a lie!¡±

    The Fanoss Dukedom. A nation originally affiliated with a duke of the Holfault Kingdom, but had long since dered itself an independent dukedom.

    My familiarity with them was a necessity.

    After all©¤©¤they were enemies from the final stage of the game.

    [Do you know something?]

    ¡°In the game, the Fanoss Dukedom started a war. Even so, this is still too early. I thought that I would have three years to prepare for this.¡±

    [Is that rted to the monsters?]

    ¡°There¡¯s a magic flute in the dukedom. ording to the game¡¯s setting, it canmand monsters. However, I didn¡¯t know that it couldmand this many.¡±

    There were thousands, or even tens of thousands.

    That many monsters were surrounding the luxury liner.

    The girls who were on the deck began causing amotion.

    ¡°Hey, someone do something!¡±

    ¡°D, don¡¯t we have weapons?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that many.¡±

    Perhaps we would be able to hold out if there were only dozens or hundreds of them, but it was futile for this many around a luxury liner.

    The weapons were loaded, but even so, this was an airship that prioritizedfort.

    It would be unwise to assume that this would be the main battle.

    The girls and their exclusive servants fled inside. The noise gradually got louder, then a sailor fired a gun, perhaps losingposure.

    Luxon was calm.

    [I can form a sortie out of my main body and Partner. Master, I request permission.]

    ¡°Do it right now! How long will it take to arrive?¡±

    [I can hurry it, but even so, an immediate©¤©¤]

    Thereupon, an especiallyrge monster appeared from the clouds. Its figure was like that of a whale, and on its back was some structure that looked to have been prepared by people.

    ¡°Will the princess make her entry on that monster turned into an airship?¡±

    The one who operated the magic flute was the princess. If it came to that, then things would really get bad. I never thought that I would have to deal with the dukedom during my time as a first year student.

    I thought that I would have been a third year student by the time this would happen!

    There were airships around therge monster the princess was riding©¤©¤flying battleships disying the crest of the dukedom.

    From the clouds behind them emerged a floating ind remodeled into an airship. Before anyone was aware, therge clouds scattered off.

    They were torn into by the dukedom¡¯s fleet and the monsters, causing them to vanish.

    When Chris adjusted his sses with his slightly trembling fingers, he squeezed out a voice.

    ¡°A dukedom, you said? What are they thinking, entering the kingdom¡¯s territorial airspace?¡±

    Without a doubt, they were nning to invade.

    The number of airships they had were small, but theypensated with monsters.

    While many students from the deck were taking refuge inside the ship, Anjie and Olivia came out. They rushed over when they saw us.

    ¡°Leon, so you were here!¡±

    ¡°Leon! ©¤©¤Err, Leon, there¡¯s something floating next to you!¡±

    They seemed alert about Luxon floating beside me. Did it judge not to hide itself since this was a matter of life or death for me?

    Certainly, it was dangerous to have this many foes.

    The two watched Luxon. They also looked at the image being projected next to me.

    ¡°I, is it safe to touch?¡±

    In contrast with the concerned Anjie, Olivia touched the projecting image in mid-air with her fingers. It seemed her curiosity got the better of her.

    Then, she looked at Luxon.

    ¡°Leon, this sphere©¤©¤¡±

    I was troubled with an exnation, so I went with©¤©¤

    ¡°Oh, this? This is my familiar, Luxon. Look, introduce yourself.¡±

    However, Luxon seemed to dislike it.

    [Familiar? No, I will not agree to that. I am thebor of science, not to be affiliated with magic. I absolutely will not yield on this. Nice to meet you,dy. I, Luxon, support my master. I¡¯m not a familiar, but an AI©¤©¤¡±

    Olivia was listening to Luxon¡¯s exnation while impressed, but Anjie ignored it. She seemed to judge that the current situation was more important.

    ¡°A strange familiar. Leon, so you have talent in magic as well? Though, I suppose the matter of focus right now should be those people. They look like they¡¯re from a dukedom, but why are there monsters with them?¡±

    Monsters attacked people.

    It seemed that she couldn¡¯t believe how monsters weren¡¯t attacking despite being so close.

    I shrugged my shoulders.

    I knew the reason, but it would seem strange for me to know at present.

    Chris stared at therge monster and then spoke.

    ¡°Wait, someone¡¯sing out.¡±

    Anjie squinted her eyes. The princess of both the dukedom and the enemy nation, ¡°Hertrude Sera Fanoss¡±, appeared.

    ¡°Princess Hertrude?¡±

    While paying attention to Luxon, Olivia asked about the princess.

    ¡°U, um, do you know her?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only met her once before. However, why is she in a ce like©¤©¤¡±

    Upon which, Princess Hetrude¡¯s figure was projected above the big monster.

    Everyone was astonished at the image of the princess being magnified into the sky.

    While everyone was on alert, she spoke to us using a megaphone.

    ¡°This is the first princess of the Fanoss Dukedom, Hertrude Sera Fanoss, reporting. We are dering war on the Holfault Kingdom.¡±

    The youngdy dered war with an expressionless look.

    I knew this woulde, but I still wasn¡¯t adequately prepared.

    ¡°Hey hey, there¡¯s a limit to how rushed things can move forward.¡±

    Just where did the schedule go out-of-order?

    There was normally supposed to be time before the war would happen.

    ¡°Aristocratic children of the foolish kingdom. It¡¯s time to prepare yourself. Do you surrender, or will you die? You have one hour.]

    We were given a grace period of an hour.

    Anjie struck the handrail.

    ¡°Does she n on keeping us hostage? ©¤©¤Coward.¡±

    I suppose that we were going to be used for negotiation material as they dere war.

    My sight nced around.

    The sailors were in a panic, but some of the students who remained on the deck were relieved. Being taken hostage meant that they wouldn¡¯t be killed.

    A small boat with messengers appeared from beside the dukedom.

    Luxon spoke to me.

    [Master, this has gotten dangerous.]

    ¡°It seems so.¡±

    I looked at Anjie. Unlike nameless people like me, she was the daughter of a duke household with connections to the royal family.

    Perhaps from the perspective of the dukedom, she would make for an attractive hostage.

    ¡°Just where did I go wrong?¡±

    Why was a third year event happening now?

    I was at my wits¡¯ end.

 Chapter 65 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 9 part1</h4>

    <i>TLN: The Fanoss Dukedom has been changed to the Principality of Fanoss. Previous chapters have been edited to match.

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    <h4>Smile</h4>

    A messenger from the principality descended onto the luxury liner¡¯s deck.

    He was a very well-dressed man who introduced himself as Earl Garrett.

    He had a tant arrogant attitude towards us, and he spoke while caressing his own moustache. He was slender, and was a man who had a face oozing with an unpleasant impression.

    ¡°Children of baron households and above will be treated as prisoners of war. We have no interest in the children of knight households and below. The same goes for demi-human ves. Of course, we also don¡¯t need the sailors of this airship.¡±

    While a majority of the people despaired, the students in the advanced ss were relieved.

    Among them, one of the girls stood up for her exclusive servant.

    ¡°W, wait! Spare my exclusive servant. He¡¯s my favorite.¡±

    Garrett replied to the girl with a condescending attitude.

    ¡°Then you can go down with your lover. It¡¯s of no concern if we have one or two less hostages.¡±

    The despairing girls closed their mouths and averted their gaze away from their exclusive servants.

    Right. People valued their own lives above all else.

    I continued being silent. While I was thinking about whether there would be a ruckus once they entered inside to seize everyone©¤©¤

    ¡°©¤©¤Wha?!¡±

    By the time I was surprised, it was already toote.

    Anjie stepped in front of Garrett.

    ¡°What is it, young girl?¡±

    Anjie took a confident attitude despite Garrett looking down on her.

    ¡°©¤©¤I am Anjelica Rafua Redgrave. Do you know about my family¡¯s name?¡±

    Hearing the name of a duke household, Garret¡¯s eyes were wide open, but he then immediately smiled.

    ¡°I would have never thought that the daughter of a duke household would be aboard©¤©¤the kingdom really is stupid. Letting such an important person go on a trip without guards.¡±

    Garrett opened his arms in delight.

    ¡°Excellent! Let me show you my respect for your courage in introducing yourself! Now,e here.¡±

    He was going to lead Anjie away.

    My foot took one step forward by instinct, but at that moment, I received a strong blow to the back.

    I fell down, and was held down by some boys. When I saw the faces of those boys, anger welled up inside me.

    ¡°Let go! Is this who you really are?!¡±

    Garrett looked at me in displeasure while I was pinned down.

    ¡°How noisy. Who are you?¡±

    Anjie looked at my face, and then closed her eyes.

    ¡°He¡¯s my friend.¡±

    Anjie did not mention that I was formally a baron and a knight.

    ¡°To think that you would have a friend.¡±

    Garrett walked up to me and then trampled down on my head. His smile revealed his malicious intent.

    My sight was focused up on Garrett.

    ¡°What a rebellious attitude. Now, let¡¯s give the kingdom¡¯s nobles their first job. Punish this person. C¡¯mon, hurry up.¡±

    Thereupon, the boys were holding me down began exerting violence against me.

    I resisted, but was suppressed in response.

    ¡°Y, you guys!¡±

    ¡°Are you going to make Anjelica¡¯s will go to waste? You should shut up!¡±

    The ones pinning me down were Anjie¡¯s followers. As they struck me, cuts opened up throughout my mouth, and the taste of blood intensified.

    ¡°Even so, you guys are©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°This is Mdy¡¯s decision!¡±

    Upon which, Anjie shouted.

    ¡°Stop it already!©¤©¤Stop.¡±

    Garrett stroked his moustache between his fingers.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not the attitude to take when asking something. That won¡¯t do for a duke daughter.¡±

    Anjie did this for my sake.

    ¡°Please stop. I beg of you.¡±

    Garrett¡¯s mouth warped into the shape of a crescent, like that of the moon, and smiled while speaking loudly.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t want to! Well then, you¡¯reing with me. Ah, you people, make sure to beat up that stupid brat thoroughly.¡±

    Garrett then left. All I could was watch as he kidnapped Anjie.

    As I was being strongly beaten, my consciousness turned hazy. I reached my hand out, trying to help Anjie, but my arm was trampled on.

    Anjie was negotiating with Garrett.

    ¡°I alone am enough for a hostage, right? Let the others go.¡±

    Garrett stroked his moustache while dodging the question.

    ¡°So you¡¯ll offer yourself if it means saving the others. I might just cry. Well, let¡¯s take our time to talk about that matter on the principality¡¯s airship.¡±

    Olivia raised her voice against Anjie being taken away.

    ¡°Anjie!¡±

    The surrounding sub-race people pinned her down.

    ¡°Anjie, don¡¯t go!¡±

    Olivia was the only one raising a voice.

    Anjie turned back and made a firm smile©¤©¤but her legs were trembling.

    ¡°©¤©¤Livia, thank you.¡±

    After saying that, Anjie was brought to a boat and taken away by the messenger and his cohorts.

    I kicked fiercely and rolled on top of the deck.

    When I was pinned down by my abdomen, Olivia rushed over and stood up for me.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    The boys and the exclusive servants looked down at me. How unsightly, they bore too much resentment.

    ¡°Everything could have gone to waste because of you.¡±

    ¡°You piece of trash.¡±

    ¡°Hey, sailors. Toss this guy into a jail cell.¡±

    The sailors surrounded me.

    ©¤©¤These damn people.

    ¡ó

    There was an airship designed to be ced on a huge monster.

    Anjie, brought to such a strange airship, was surrounded by armed knights.

    While being cautious, she met with Princess Hertrude.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Anjelica. We had only been in a rtionship where we simply exchanged greetings, but meeting you again like this feels a bit nostalgic.¡±

    Anjie made a fearless smile.

    ¡°Do you really n to go to war with the national power of a principality? This matter won¡¯t end with just a skirmish.¡±

    The Holfault Kingdom and the Principality of Fanoss. There was a big difference between the two countries.

    The Holfault Kingdom had greater strength.

    Knowing that, Anjie disyed a sense of leniency. However, she was a bit frantic on the inside.

    (Just what kind of goal do these people have? What do they want to do by attacking with a fleet of this degree despite the difference in national power?)

    Hertrude smiled towards Anjie.

    ¡°Right. There is certainly a disparity in national strength. However, have you not noticed the view outside?¡±

    (So they really n on using monsters?)

    ¡°So you¡¯re apanied by monsters. Are you going to win against the kingdom with that alone?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll win. As for why©¤©¤¡±

    Hertrude was interrupted by a man of nobility who seemed to wield authority.

    ¡°Your Highness, the matter of dealing with the hostages is more important.¡±

    ¡°Oh right.¡±

    Anjie became tense. The reason why she introduced herself and stepped forward was to let the luxury liner go.

    ¡°So you¡¯ll set them free with my surrender?¡±

    ¡°What a funny thing to say, Anjelica. Did Garrett ever once im that we would let those people go?¡±

    Anjie closed her eyes in response to what Hertrude said.

    (So they¡¯re going to take the baron children and above as hostage, just like they originally nned.)

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°Here¡¯s what I think. Perhaps you alone are sufficient for taking hostage.¡±

    When Anjie opened her eyes, she looked at Hertrude¡¯s face in surprise.

    ¡°©¤©¤Wha! Y, you fool! They¡¯re the children of barons and above! Are you thinking about killing them without taking them hostage?!¡±

    The knights turned their swords towards her as she starting making an uproar.

    Hertrude spoke indifferently.

    ¡°There were only two people who resisted when you were taking away, right? How cruel such spineless people are. They are not worthy of being nobles.¡±

    ¡°W, what are you talking©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Anjelica, I will show you everything that is toe. From henceforth, the kingdom shall perish©¤©¤¡±

    A messenger headed towards the airship with the academy¡¯s students to send a notice.

    ¡ó

    There was a prison built within the luxury liner.

    After being thrown in there, I sat on the floor with my back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

    Sobbing on the other side of the iron bars was Olivia.

    She begged for my release, but it was futile since the students, much less the sailors, strongly opposed it. The students in the academy were being harsher towards me than the principality itself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore.¡±

    ¡°But, Anjie...we couldn¡¯t save Anjie. I can¡¯t even get you out of here, Leon. I¡¯m just pathetic.¡±

    What a detestable, timid person she was©¤©¤or at least, that¡¯s what I would have thought had this been my former self. In my former life, I hated these kinds of characters.

    Watching crying women had irritated me.

    However, wasn¡¯t it powerful when a person cried for someone else?

    That was the conclusion I came to as of this point.

    There was more, though.

    ¡°You get tattered like that when opposing the unreasonable. Look, your hair¡¯s in a mess, and aren¡¯t some of the buttons on your uniform missing? You get injured when you do something others don¡¯t want you to do.¡±

    Olivia acted violently, trying to help me.

    Due to that, she was restrained©¤©¤and during that interval, she got into a fight with one of the girls. Her opponent was one of Anjie¡¯s followers.

    Olivia, who was the only one opposing her, became worried when the girl called for her colleagues.

    She seemed to have said something about Anjie, and also about stopping what they were doing towards me. Olivia¡¯s pleas for them to stop ended up saving me.

    She normally wouldn¡¯t fight, and yet she did the impossible for our sake©¤©¤she really helped out.

    I wouldn¡¯t know what would happen if I otherwise had to ask Luxon for help.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯m frustrated at how I can¡¯t do anything.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. You don¡¯t need to cry anymore.¡±

    Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the future.

    What should I do? Bring Olivia along and save Anjie? However, there would be a lot of problems if that happened.

    Upon which, I heard the sounds of hurrying footsteps. The footsteps belonged to Chris.

    Chris, with a look of grief, came to the jail cell and spoke to me while ignoring Olivia.

    ¡°Baltfault©¤©¤just a while ago, a messenger from the principality arrived. They said that Anjelica alone was enough for taking hostage, and that we should prepare ourselves. They¡¯ll start attacking in an hour, and so it seems that in the end, we¡¯ll die as nobles.¡±

    It seemed the principality didn¡¯t need us.

    ¡°And so? What am I supposed to do?¡±

    Chris took off his sses. He had a face of resolve.

    ¡°I want you to lend a hand. It seems that there are six units of armor in this ship. I want you and I to buy some time until the ship escapes.¡±

    Iughed scornfully.

    ¡°©¤©¤Don¡¯t wanna do that.¡±

    Chris squinted, but didn¡¯t criticize me.

    ¡°I beg of you to reconsider. We can¡¯t let everyone die here. You can even just guard the airship. I¡¯ll remain behind and buy some time.¡±

    Stayin behind in this location definitely meant death.

    Looking at what was outside, Chris must have known that he wouldn¡¯t win if it was just him.

    ¡°Leon.¡±

    Olivia looked at me. Her eyes were asking me if there was anything I could do.

    It was scary how pure and beautiful her eyes were. It was as if she could see through everything, and having my shameful self be examined was embarrassing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. What are you hoping from me? In the first ce, do you think I would help the students who abandoned Anjie? You make meugh. Furthermore, they¡¯ve beaten me up. I say let everyone sink.¡±

    Chris unexpectedly agreed while I was badmouthing them.

    ¡°Yeah, I know. Perhaps powerless people like us should sink and fall not into the ground, but the sea. However, I still want to ask of you. This is the only way we can have a chance. I beg of you, please help us.¡±

    I slowly got up in front of Chris, who was bowing his head.

    ¡°©¤©¤I refuse.¡±

    Chris looked up in sorrow.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve been a nuisance.¡±

    When Chris was about to leave, I stopped him.

    One should always hear someone out until the end.

    ¡°Idiot. Listen to all of what I have to say. In the first ce, there¡¯s probably no way to escape given that we¡¯re surrounded. Even if you stay behind, you¡¯ll be surrounded. It seems you haven¡¯t learned a thing since you¡¯vest fought me.¡±

    Speaking in terms of a strategy game, we were beginning to be checkmated.

    Chris stopped and turned around.

    ¡°Then what should we do?! Do you have some kind of n for a situation like this? If you n on escaping by yourself, then to hell with you. I¡¯m not giving up.¡±

    How stubborn.

    It was sad how much more of a clumsy idiot he was than me.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point if you¡¯re fighting by yourself. It wouldn¡¯t work either if I was there with you. That being the case, our only option is have everyone involved. The fools who abandoned Anjie should take responsibility. Listen, I¡¯m not so good-natured as to help those who do nothing. Want help? I know that. If people want to live, then everyone has to give it everything they¡¯ve got.¡±

    Chris rejected my opinion.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Everyone¡¯s in despair, and they can¡¯t even get up. Besides, in times like these, the only one I can depend on is you, Baltfault. Do you understand?¡±

    Chris was trying to say ¡°The others won¡¯t be helpful.¡±

    I strongly agreed, but there was no choice other than putting such ipetent people to work.

    I brought my face closer to the iron bars. Chris did the same as well, and our noses nearly touched.

    ¡°What we can do is resolve ourselves and break through the front. There¡¯s no other way.¡±

    ¡°The front? You must be stupid.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m stupid. However, I think it¡¯s better than just waiting for death. So, let¡¯s turn the tables and snag a victory. We can grandly break through the encirclement.¡±

    Chris waited for my words while sweat travelled across his cheeks.

    ¡°You must protect the ship. Now is the time to make a disy of the swordsmanship you¡¯re so boastful of.¡±

    Chris seemed to take offensive and objected.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember boasting.¡±

    ¡°Your speech and conduct go hand in hand with boasting. Show us the results of your efforts. I think that the skills you¡¯ve been building up have led to this day. I don¡¯t n on dying. You want to live too, right?¡±

    After I said that, Chris hung his head, pondered©¤©¤then raised his head back up.

    ¡°©¤©¤Right. I want to see Marie¡¯s smile.¡±

    The nerve he had to slip that in at the end.

    Were those guys not brainwashed by her?

    What was so good about her?

    Once Chris opened the jail cell with a key, I got out. I reached my hand towards Olivia, who had been sitting down.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need your help.¡±

    ¡°O, okay! I¡¯ll do my best!¡±

    Olivia, getting up and wiping her tears, stiffened her facial expression. It seemed she was nning to hold out for the sake of rescuing Anjie.

    I definitely preferred her over Marie.

    Chris shoulde to his senses.

    While thinking as such, Chris ced a hand over his chest and muttered.

    ¡°Marie, I will see your smiling face once more. For that, please lend me power.¡±

    In his hand was a charm.

    ¡°Is that yours?¡±

    ¡°This? I bought it at the festival. It seems to be called a ¡®Charm of War¡¯s Fortune¡¯. Thinking about it now, perhaps it¡¯s a good omen.¡±

    It was a small charm of a shield and sword.

    I smiled.

    It was a suitable item for him to have.

    ¡°Yep, it matches well with you. You¡¯ve definitely got the best of luck.¡±

    ¡°I, Is that so? It¡¯s a little embarrassing for you to say that.¡±

    Ew, don¡¯t get embarrassed and blush. I wouldn¡¯t know how to react.

 Chapter 66 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 9 part2</h4>

    Chris called out to and gathered representatives of the students and sailors into one room.

    I arrived at a hall, carrying a shotgun that I bought from a sailor along the way.

    There were many people who hung their heads, perhaps in despair.

    While checking the shotgun shells, which were the ammunition for the shotgun, I looked at Chris making a speech at the center of a staircase in the hall.

    He sat on the staircase and turned towards the faces of the people gathered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve concluded that there¡¯s no choice but to fight if we want everyone to escape from harm. Everyone, lend your power.¡±

    Chris received a series of jeers.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away, first-year!¡±

    ¡°Why are you bossing us around when you¡¯re not even that strong?!¡±

    ¡°You lost to that piece of trash over there!¡±

    ¡°In the first ce, Anjelica is the evil one! Didn¡¯t she just save only herself?¡±

    ¡°How unbelievable for the daughter of a duke household.¡±

    When I red at the boy who called me a piece of trash and the girl who looked down on Anjie, they hid themselves. However, I memorized their faces and would get revengeter. I definitely would!

    Given that the field trip included first-year through third-year students, it was somewhat troublesome for Chris to be the head. It seemed that some upperssmen didn¡¯t want to follow the directions of their underssmen.

    However, it was possible that we would die.

    There would be people who openly assume position when things like hierarchies no longer had meaning. The boys in the regr ss were smiling.

    ¡°This is a war we¡¯re talking about. You boys in the advanced ss are so prideful. Did you think that everyone would follow your orders?¡±

    ¡°To think you¡¯d have the nerve to order us around so proudly.¡±

    ¡°To start with, what authority does an expert swordsman have when he had been disinherited?¡±

    The girls were the same. However, it involved them arguing with their exclusive servants.

    ¡°Wait, you should follow my orders!¡±

    ¡°How impudent,ss! Why should I follow your orders at a time like this?!¡±

    The scene had gotten hectic, so I ascended the stairs.

    As I shouldered the shotgun, everyone¡¯s sight gathered onto me.

    ¡°You¡¯re all whiny and annoying, you ipetents.¡±

    My audience fell silent in front of the weapon I held. Their gazes were filled with feelings of fear and hatred.

    ¡°Listen up. I am a knight who officially holds a baron position. Furthermore, I¡¯m of the lower fifth rank©¤©¤a status higher than even the teachers who had been guiding you. Understand?¡±

    The teachers averted their gaze.

    The inconspicuous teachers were more or less nobles. However, their statuses were not high.

    I suppose that the principal had a higher status than me, but nobody else did.

    What about my mentor? I suppose that my status was higher than him.

    Though, I respected my mentor as a person. Status was irrelevant in this case, he was something I was outssed by.

    ¡°So I¡¯ll be the one giving orders. Fight. If you don¡¯t want to die, then fight.¡±

    As expected, everyone voiced opposition to what I said.

    ¡°Y, you¡¯re kidding me! You guys should be the ones fighting!¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Yeah, I¡¯ll fight. After all, I¡¯m a genuine noble. Not like you fake nobles.¡±

    A third-year girl furrowed her brow in response to what I said.

    She seemed strong-willed and had curly blond hair©¤©¤which formed in the shape of drills.

    She wore high heels, and looked like queen with an unwavering heart.

    She used her mouth, which wore red lipstick, to question me while irritated.

    ¡°Fake nobles, you say? How rude to say that towards me, someone from an earl household.¡±

    It seemed that the girl held power second to Anjie. The surrounding people went silent. I could see the sad nature of the aristocratic boys going silent in front of the girl, even though they opposed Chris and I.

    ¡°And you are?¡±

    ¡°To think that you wouldn¡¯t know me! I am ¡®Deirdre Fou Rosede¡¯. The daughter of the Rosede earl family!¡±

    That sounded familiar. However, I pretended not to know. I stuck my fingers into my ears, and made myself look as if I was annoyed.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t ring a bell. I don¡¯t know whether you¡¯re a Rosede, a rosehip, or whatever, but what worth do you have right now?¡±

    ¡°Wha?! H, how rude!¡±

    What a wonderful reaction from this mighty queen! I had been waiting for someone like her!

    ¡°I don¡¯t how great your household is, but you¡¯re a sham.¡±

    ¡°You had to work up to get to your position! Yet, you¡¯re calling me a sham!¡±

    ¡°Right! I ascended into my position. However, I¡¯m a genuine adventurer. A noble who genuinely seeded as an adventurer. Not someone to be likened with self-important fakes.¡±

    Deirdre began to curse me with great vigor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, lowly baron! Our earl family presented the kingdom with a floating ind, has captured many dungeons, and is a prestigious family amongst prestigious families. Know how impudent your household is inparison!¡±

    I apuded while still shouldering the shotgun.

    ¡°That¡¯s sounds great. Your ancestors were the real deal.¡±

    The arrogant Deirdre became uneasy over howx I was being.

    ¡°Remember that. Your activities don¡¯t even reach the feet of the Rosede house©¤©¤¡±

    I began tough internally. What a great character Deirdre was!

    ¡°Splendid! Yes, your ancestors were genuine. Though, that¡¯s quite sad, isn¡¯t it. After all, their descendants became cowards amongst cowards. Surely, they must be weeping six feet underground. People like you who tremble in fear before a principality©¤©¤are fakes.¡±

    ¡°W, what are you insinuating?¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong? What had you guys done when Anjie offered herself? You felt relieved, that¡¯s what. You kept silent while waiting for the storm to pass by©¤©¤and in the end, you curse Anjie when you realized that you would die. Each and every one of you are cowards amongst cowards! No wait, you¡¯re not even great enough to qualify as cowards. You¡¯re just pretentious, fake nobles.¡±

    ¡°Take that back!¡±

    I approached Deirdre and spoke to her with a smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t wanna.¡±

    Then, I took a distance and grinned with open arms.

    ¡°In a situation where we could get killed, you¡¯re doing nothing butining. Your ancestors may have been sessful adventurers, but you have no worth! You¡¯re a pathetic good-for-nothing who didn¡¯t inherit the bravery to set forth across the open skies on an airship, the knowledge to capture a dungeon, nor the power to defeat monsters.¡±

    By the way, the Baltfault household didn¡¯t have any big achievements as adventurers. I heard that they had nobles who participated in wars and umted enough achievements to earn a floating ind.

    In the first ce, I had no attachment to ancestors, honor, or lineages. I don¡¯t think my ancestors would be grieving. Rather, perhaps they would be concerned about escaping.

    Even so, I continued to nder everyone! After all, it was convenient for me!

    ¡°The principality¡¯s messenger was right. If we remove the selfishness of the nobles like you, you would have nothing to be proud of. You¡¯re just shameful fakes who do nothing but cling onto the achievements of your ancestors. Each and every one of you are cowards who would get frightened and do nothing if told that you would be attacked. Your grand ancestors would surely cry©¤©¤no wait, they wouldugh!¡±

    The students around me began to gradually be enraged.

    And how nice it was!

    I held my sides inughter.

    ¡°They would roll aroundughing! They would talk about how pathetic their descendants are! They would sneer while speaking of how shameful it is that you call yourselves nobles, and yet the only merit you have is that you¡¯re the descendants of adventurers!¡±

    I wiped my tears with my finger. Tears fromughing too much.

    This was an act in order to have them make fools out of themselves©¤©¤no wait, it was to embolden them.

    ¡°It¡¯s wonderful that your ancestors worked hard to be nobles. However, it was all in vain. I mean, you guys are the ones who are supposed to be following their steps. You guys have no willpower, and would lose to a principality without resisting. Your ancestors¡¯ achievements will be overwritten by your failures. Your actions are truly tarnishing everything. You¡¯re tarnishing your ancestors¡¯ achievements and cing shame onto your descendants. Your rtives will speak of your actions and what a disgrace they are!¡±

    The setting of this world stated that nobles were proud of being the descendants of adventurers.

    That was also something taught at the academy, and some people even admired their respectable ancestors.

    At any rate, the nobles of this world adored the position of adventurers.

    So what would happen if I stimted that aspect of them?

    ¡°D, don¡¯t make a fool out of us! I©¤©¤I won¡¯t let my ancestors feel ashamed! Do you think I would sully my family¡¯s honor?!¡±

    I smiled as if making fun of the people.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got good spirit, but that alone means nothing. ce your hands over your chests and listen. Can you not hear it? It¡¯s the voices of your ancestors¡¯ blood flowing within you,ughing at how shameful you are!¡±

    There were those who didn¡¯t, but many had ced their hands over their chests. Among them were the sailors and even the exclusive servants.

    ¡°Listen, can you hear the roars ofughter? Or perhaps the voices of mourning? Shock, possibly? Maybe some of your ancestors are even thanking you for making themugh. The good ancestors would say the following ©¤©¤¡¯There is no worth in a coward that flees from a fight!¡¯¡±

    Few people talked back.

    Well, I wouldugh at them, even if they talked back.

    I put on a serious look.

    ¡°Is the noble adventurer¡¯s blood flowing within you a sham? Do you want to go down in shame, toyed around by the principality while simply waiting for death?!¡±

    Deirdre looked at me.

    ¡°©¤©¤It would be shameful for the daughter of the Rosede household to die here without doing anything. Everyone, are you going let this guy go on talking like this? As he has said, we truly aren¡¯t living up to our ancestors!¡±

    The boys raised their voices.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make light of us, damn bastard! Someone fetch some weapons!¡±

    ¡°How long do you think we¡¯ve been training in the dungeon? A whole year! Be prepared, for we¡¯ll show you the difference in strength between you and the upperssmen!¡±

    ¡°The nerve you have to bber on so smugly! Talk while you still can!¡±

    The boys disyed motivation.

    Likewise, the girls also seemed encouraged as well, showing a sense inspiration.

    These fools should have made a serious effort from the beginning!

    Chris looked at me.

    ¡°Baltfault, you©¤©¤no, never mind.¡±

    He shouldn¡¯t have stopped if he was going to say something! Now I was curious!

    Deirdre spoke next.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve said this much, you naturally have something thought out, right? That talk about being genuine nobles was done in order to break the deadlock, no?¡±

    I raised my voice.

    ¡°You fools, listen closely! Even if what I say confuses you a bit, there¡¯s no time to exin! So I¡¯ll say this one thing, we¡¯re breaking through the front, aiming after the principality¡¯s leader!¡±

    When the people around raised voices, asking if I was really being serious, Deirdre began to smile.

    ¡°Sounds good. You¡¯re quite something! So©¤©¤I wonder why none of the girls have raised their voices? If any of you attempt to cowardly escape now, I will not tolerate it!¡±

    It seemed that the girls reluctantly resolved themselves as well in response to the words of their boss.

    Deirdre looked at me.

    ¡°Now then, we know that we¡¯re breaking through the front. What do you n on doing? You¡¯ve been boasting on, so you¡¯ll have quite the active role, right?¡±

    She was saying that she wouldn¡¯t allow me to do nothing after having said such smug things.

    I smiled.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll take the vanguard with an air bike.¡±

    ¡°An air bike? Are you nning to get yourself killed?¡±

    The outside was crowded with flocks of monsters and airships from the principality. There would certainly be armor too.

    If there was an idiot who wanted to charge through such a situation with an air bike, I would definitelyugh.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got someone who can help. While I¡¯m at it, I¡¯ll snatch their important item andugh at the principality¡¯s fleet.¡±

    ¡°Is this about Anjelica? You¡¯re not Anjelica¡¯s follower, though.¡±

    ©¤©¤It wasn¡¯t like that.

    ¡°Every guy has at one point wanted to be a knight who would save a princess in trouble. Even if you people have abandoned Anjie, I won¡¯t. She¡¯s a good woman. You girls should follow her example for a bit.¡±

    Deirdre bit her nail.

    ¡°That¡¯s the first someone told me that some other woman was good.¡±

    ¡°Everyone, look after each other. Take note, you all should prepare as well. We have no time!¡±

    The academy¡¯s students showed determination. Enthusiasm circted throughout the hall, and the students began to move in a frenzy. Meanwhile, I remembered that moment with Anjie.

    When she made herself the only hostage, I should have said that I held the status of a baron. Then, she wouldn¡¯t have been taken alone.

    So she would be a hostage for the sake of everyone? She was still sixteen. I would regret it for my whole life if I abandoned Anjie, who disyed courage alone, and Anjie¡¯s papa was scary as well. In this rotten world of an otome game Anjie and©¤©¤err, Anjie was my hope.

    Deirdre¡¯s mouth warped into the shape of a crescent, like that of the moon, as she smiled.

    What? Why wasn¡¯t she going away? We didn¡¯t have time.

    ¡°A dog without discipline. With such a brazen attitude©¤©¤you¡¯d make a good pet. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you¡¯re Anjelica¡¯s favorite, I would have you by my side.¡±

    This girl was another bad person to be with. Not to the same magnitude as others, but she wasn¡¯t someone I wanted to get acquainted with.

    ¡°I appreciate it.¡±

 Chapter 67 - Volume 2

    <strong>Volume 2 Chapter 9 part3</strong>

    Luxon gave me a report as I was changing clothes in order to get on Schwert, the air bike.

    The contents of the report made me squint my eyes.

    ¡°We have traitors?¡±

    [Indeed. After investigating, it seems that two girls, Anjelica¡¯s followers, alerted the principality of our whereabouts.]

    Anjie¡¯s followers betrayed her at such a time?

    ¡°Really? They¡¯re idiots for making themselves enemies of a duke household.¡±

    [Currently, the duke household¡¯s position has weakened due to Julian¡¯s downfall. It would be strange if traitors didn¡¯t show up.]

    ¡°Is this a political thing? I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    Once I finished changing clothes, I carried the shotgun in one hand and a helmet in the other.

    [Are you going to leave the matter alone?]

    ¡°Show me the way. Before I rescue Anjie, I¡¯ll pull the reins in on them.¡±

    [You should speak to the sailors. You could ask about using the jail they tossed you in, Master.]

    I presumed that things would get troublesome if I rescued Anjie while the traitors were still out there.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡ó

    I stood before the jail cell that I had been tossed into before.

    Inside were two girls.

    Their exclusive servants were tossed into a separate jail cell.

    ¡°Wait! This is a misunderstanding!¡±

    ¡°Help them!¡±

    The ones who asked for someone to help the two were followers from the same group as them.

    However, they were cautious about the sailors surrounding them with their hands over their weapons.

    A boy follower addressed me.

    ¡°H, hey, is this a joke? I mean, these two have been Mdy¡¯s ymates since childhood. It¡¯s a bit much to think that they would betray her.¡±

    I threw aside a cylindrical tool in my hand.

    When they saw it, the girls lost theirposure.

    ¡°We¡¯ve thoroughly examined their rooms.¡±

    I red at the girls inside the jail cell.

    ¡°Pervert!¡±

    ¡°I have no interest in you two! Besides, female sailors were the ones investigating the rooms.¡±

    I turned around to see that there were women in uniform watching me. They were members of the cabin crew who took care of the students from the academy.

    ¡°Many of the same kinds of items were in there. There also seemed to be instructions, so there¡¯s no reason to believe that they didn¡¯t know what they were doing.¡±

    The girls in the cell red at one of the woman.

    ¡°All of you, remember this. We absolutely will not forgive you!¡±

    The crew members became scared.

    I kicked the iron bars, threatening the girls.

    ¡°Close that mouth. Do you want your head blown off here?¡±

    The two were frightened. However, the boy followers grabbed my shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯re going too far! Even if these two people are traitors, you need to properly investigate the©¤©¤h, hey, wait!¡±

    I pointed the shotgun at the boy and then spoke.

    ¡°Do you guys not know your position? It¡¯s because of things like this that you¡¯ve strayed from Anjie. Listen, there was a traitor among you. Do you understand what that means?¡±

    As expected, the followers realized the unpleasant situation they were in.

    I bashed the boy with the gunstock of the shotgun, causing him to fall to his knees.

    ¡°Fight with the will to die. It doesn¡¯t matter whether you¡¯re a woman or a man. You must fight to prove your innocence. Otherwise©¤©¤¡±

    I stared at the two girls inside the jail cell.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to be dealt with in a simr manner as these two, right?¡±

    Anjie¡¯s papa wouldn¡¯t forgive traitors.

    Seeming to understand the situation more than I do, the followers violently nodded their heads.

    After I entrusted them to the sailors, I headed towards the storehouse containing Schwert.

    I muttered along the way.

    ¡°Would people betray others, even when they¡¯ve been together since childhood? I¡¯m really not taking a liking to politics. At the very least though, I have to save her.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t interested in the situation within the royal pce, but I hadpassion for Anjie. Anjie sacrificing herself with the intent to protect these people©¤©¤was something I didn¡¯t like.

    ¡ó

    I was in the airship¡¯s hangar.

    An inner suit meant for wearing armor had been prepared for riding the air bike. I put on the helmet, a vest for my chest, thick cargo pants, and boots.

    Inside the helmet, I could see an image of the surroundings from a camera installed inside the air bike.

    [It¡¯s time to move, Schwert.]

    Luxon built a spot for itself inside the air bike.

    I mounted the air bike, gripped the handles, and revved the engine.

    The violent vibrations of the engine echoed within the hangar,

    The wind seeping into the hangar was annoying. A sailor spoke to me in a loud voice.

    ¡°Are you really doing this?!¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll tear off the moustache from that low-life messenger as a souvenir.¡±

    I would perform some hair removal service on the moustache that guy was so prideful of.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to hear! Ah, I don¡¯t really need the moustache, though.¡±

    I gave thumbs up to the likeable sailor, lowered my posture, and departed.

    The air bike soared into the sky, traveling through the air as if it was surfing across waves of water.

    As I held up the shotgun on my back with one hand, I aimed it at the monsters gathering together.

    ¡°All set?¡±

    [Whenever you¡¯re ready.]

    While readying the shotgun with both hands, Luxon began piloting the air bike.

    ¡°Small fries make the best opponent for this.¡±

    When a magic circle appeared in front of the muzzle, numerous tinier magic circles formed around it. They locked on to the approaching monsters in front of me.

    [Electric attribute, buckshot form, lightning©¤©¤and we¡¯re set.]

    ¡°Disappear!¡±

    As I pulled the trigger, shotgun shells flew out and through the magic circles. Then, while the tiny shots were flying©¤©¤magic light was released, changed to a blue or yellow color, proceeding to shift directions.

    Even when the monsters tried to avoid the bullets, the light chased after them.

    The magic spread like fireworks and was most optimal for ranged attacks.

    The problem was that it was difficult to handle such advanced magic.

    Iughed in a loud voice when one shot killed dozens of monsters.

    ¡°You see that?! That¡¯s the power of Luxon and me! When we join forces, we can use magic like this. I only knew of this recently, though!¡±

    And what if I was alone? Nope, not a chance. It took time to activate, and it was tough to lock on to moving enemies.

    ¡°Well, the ratio of our contributions is split seventy to thirty, though.¡±

    [Why are you speaking as if you¡¯re the one holding that seventy percent? If we¡¯re talking about ratios, then I¡¯m doing seventy percent of the work, and you¡¯re doing thirty.]

    ¡°You¡¯re getting in the way of my joy. Look, the next ones areing.¡±

    [©¤©¤You really are a piece of trash.]

    As I readied the shotgun, aimed, and pulled the trigger once more, the monsters before me vanished inrge numbers again.

    ¡ó

    While inside armor, Chris was watching Leon rush out.

    ¡°Is he really taking the vanguard?¡±

    The luxury liner elerated, as if pursuing Leon.

    They were aiming after the gship©¤©¤the back of the giant monster, which held the princess and Anjie.

    Seeing Leon¡¯s figure, Chris tightly grasped the control sticks of the armor.

    ¡°Baltfault, you¡¯re strong.¡±

    Even though he was stronger in terms of swordsmanship, Chris felt like he lost in face of the current Leon.

    Leon was superior in magic, bravery, and everything else.

    Even if everyone admired a feat like charging forward alone, not many could do it.

    Leon made it look easy.

    Chris didn¡¯t have the courage to perform something like that while riding an air bike.

    ¡°Is it possible for me to be like you, Baltfault?¡±

    The charm around his neck shook.

    Chris looked at the students and the airship¡¯s bodyguards, who had gotten into armor.

    ¡°Our purpose is to protect the airship. We we definitely defend it!¡±

    He heard the responding cries of his colleagues, and as he closed the chest of his own armor, six units of armor began to boot up ande alive. Departing, Chris killed a monster rushing towards the airship

    His swordsmanship was very clean.

    As he pushed his way through the monsters, cutting them all down, they went up into smoke, disappearing.

    Seeing that, students who came out to the deck raised voices of cheers.

    Chris descended along the side of the airship, cutting up the monsters.

    ¡°We¡¯ve made a promise with Baltfault. We will not let this ship fall!¡±

    ¡ó

    The principality had a gship.

    Inside such a warship, an rm rang.

    Hertrude¡¯s long, ck, and tidy hair rustled as she got up. She wore a ck dress, and as she approached a window, she was interrupted by ady attendant.

    ¡°You Highness, you mustn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Step aside. I want to see it with my own eyes.¡±

    Since it seemed that Anjie, still surrounded by knights, was worried as well, Hertrude called out to her.

    ¡°Anjelica, youe here too. It seems that your school friends have chosen an honorable death. You will see their final moments with your own eyes.¡±

    Hertrude looked away from Anjie, who was ring at her, and focused on what was outside.

    However, when looking outside, the scene contradicted what Hertrude had imagined.

    ¡°Wha?!¡±

    The luxury liner was attempting to lead an attack itself.

    Hertrude shouted towards the attendant.

    ¡°The magic flute, quickly!¡±

    Meanwhile, Anjie was watching the person pushing through on an air bike in front of the luxury liner.

    ¡°That idiot! Thatplete idiot! Why©¤©¤why didn¡¯t he run away? If he had that much power, he could have escaped.¡±

    Tears flooded Anjie¡¯s eyes after seeing Leon¡¯s figure.

    Once the attendant retrieved the magic flute, Hertrude ced her mouth against it.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill007

    As a very strange tone reverberated, the monsters simultaneously moved in unison.

    In front of such a sight, Anjie seemed convinced of the cocky attitude the principality took.

    ¡°So that¡¯s the trump card of the principality.¡±

    Hertrude took her mouth off of the magic flute.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. With this, the difference in numbers has been overturned. The kingdom will fall.¡±

    She dered as such, but the monsters charging towards the luxury liner disappeared sessively.

    The students aboard were desperately resisting.

    They deployed a shield, and also fought back by firing magic.

    Hertrude and Garrett had looked down on them, but the kingdom¡¯s knights, the boys, were strong.

    Why was that so?

    They challenged dungeons for the sake of marriage, and their earnings were to support the girls. They advanced deeper and deeper in order to be strong adventurers upon graduation.

    It was the result of working their hardest, shedding blood, sweat, and tears in order to grab the attention of girls.

    Anjie cried as she watched Leon dash across the battlefield.

    Hertrude bit her lip in front of the luxury liner©¤©¤and the students frantically resisting.

    ¡°It will only get painful if you resist.¡±

    Anjie wiped her tears and spoke to Hertrude.

    ¡°Wrong. The nobles of the kingdom don¡¯t give up. Just as you wanted, they came to show their stubbornness. I didn¡¯t mention his name back then, but the one in the lead is Leon Fou Baltfault. A distinguished knight even in the kingdom!¡±

    ¡°Baltfault?¡±

    Garret approached the two while stroking his moustache.

    ¡°It is indeed a bad thing to give up. However, this ends here.¡±

    As Garrett said that, the principality¡¯s fleet arranged itself to surround the airship. They arranged in a figure eight so that their allies wouldn¡¯te under their fire.

    Monsters surrounded the airship and cannons were pointed at Leon.

    Hertrude red at Garrett.

    ¡°How underhanded.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all for the sake of victory, your Highness. Besides, we can obtain as many monsters as we want.¡±

    As Garrett made an ominous smile, the monsters rushed towards the luxury liner and hundreds of cannons fired at Leon.

    Anjie shrieked against the monster-involved bombarding.

    ¡°Leon! Livia!¡±

    Anjie was pinned down by the knights, watching the luxury liner get covered up in ck smoke as arge explosion erupted.

 Chapter 68 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 10 part1</h4>

    <h4>Friendship</h4>

    The deck of the luxury liner violently shook.

    Livia grabbed the handrail, ran over to an injured sailor, and healed them.

    ¡°Are you alright?!¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    The feebly smiling sailor had been bitten in the arm by a monster. That monster had been killed with a spear by a schoolboy.

    The spear-wielding boy shouted.

    ¡°Leave the weak ones to me! Protect the girls at all costs!¡±

    There were girls chanting incantations in unison, forming a shield protecting the airship.

    ¡°Don¡¯te over here!¡±

    There were also girls firing offensive magic.

    ¡°Disappear!¡±

    When Deirdre swung her arm to the side, a burst of wind minced nearby monsters, causing them to turn into ck smoke.

    A battle took ce above the deck as well.

    Units of armor were flying around, sessively beating down monsters that would otherwise be no match for people.

    Chris was taking an aggressive and active role.

    Anybody would realize that Chris was strong.

    When Livia finished healing the sailor, she got up and tried to find another injured person.

    ¡°Hey, there are cannons facing us!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re surrounding us!¡±

    ¡°How are we going to blow away all of these monsters?!¡±

    The airships of the principality readied their artillery. They turned to their side, letting rows of cannons face the luxury liner.

    Livia¡¯s breathing became rough. When she clutched her chest with her hand, the white orb charm worn on her wrist glowed faintly.

    ¡°No. Not like©¤©¤thiiiis!¡±

    When she bent back and shouted at the top of her lungs, the cannons all simultaneously emitted mes.

    While nobody was looking at her, Livia¡¯s core flooded with light©¤©¤enveloping her surroundings in a gentle glow.

    The students and sailors were astonished when seeing that.

    ¡°W, what©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Hey! The monsters are being pushed back!¡±

    ¡°No way! We weren¡¯t hit by any of the cannonballs!¡±

    The people around began to make a mor.

    Livia took deep breaths, spread her arms out, and opened her eyes wide, causing several magic circles to appear around her.

    ¡°©¤©¤Now you¡¯ll see what I¡¯m capable of!¡±

    The white orb fastened to her wrist emitted a strong light.

    The light enveloping the luxury liner protected it from the sessive cannonballs of the principality¡¯s warships.

    Thin strands of light shot out from the surrounding magic circles, piercing through the monsters.

    The sailor Livia healed looked up at her.

    ¡°Y, you¡¯re quite amazing.¡±

    After turning around and smiling, Livia then faced forward and saw Leon¡¯s figure.

    ¡°Hang in there, Leon! I¡¯ll protect this area!¡±

    The shield shined brightly, guarding it from the monsters and the warships of the principality.

    Arrows of light swooped down and blew away approaching monsters.

    Seeing such a spectacle, the surrounding students turned towards Livia.

    ¡°Is this the work of that honor student?¡±

    ¡°This can¡¯t be real.¡±

    ¡°Though, now we¡¯ll be able to manage somehow. The result is up to Baltfault.¡±

    While enduring the fierce assault, Livia looked at Leon.

    Perhaps from pushing herself beyond her limits, herplexion turned pale.

    ¡°Just a little more©¤©¤please. Let me hold out for just a little longer.¡±

    Motivating herself, Livia protected the ship.

    ¡ó

    While surrounded by ck smoke, I heard Luxon¡¯s voice.

    [That surprised me.]

    ¡°Yeah, same here.¡±

    Once the wind cleared up the ck smoke, I looked behind me to confirm the safety of the luxury liner.

    There was a veryrge, pale, and spherical light defending the airship.

    It was magic that had covered the luxury liner and protected it.

    The magic circles and the light emitting from them were the result of Olivia¡¯s power as a saint.

    I was astonished by its ability to not only protect the luxury liner from the cannons, but also to blow away any approaching monsters.

    While defending against the iing cannonballs, light pierced through the surrounding monsters, causing them to vanish.

    ¡°Being able to do this much despite not having the key items©¤©¤¡±

    Luxon, who had made prior preparations against the bombardment, spoke.

    [That¡¯s the result of her diligent studying. She had been doing her best at the academy, after all. There were merits to her meeting with you, Master. With you protecting her, Olivia was able to devote plenty of time to the pursuit of knowledge.]

    ¡°It¡¯s good that it wasn¡¯t in vain.¡±

    [Master, this is a good opportunity. We can attack without having to worry about the people behind us.]

    ¡°Olivia bought a lot of time for us. Let¡¯s not make any waste of it.¡±

    While facing forward, I loaded shells into the shotgun.

    Schwert¡¯s engine roared as I grasped the handlebars.

    ¡°Now then, here we go!¡±

    [I have selected the shortest route. Master, try not to get thrown off.]

    While moving straight ahead, the air bike swerved around approaching monsters, avoiding them as we headed towards the final destination.

    In front of me was a giant whale-like monster.

    It opened its gargantuan mouth, and inside were a countless amount of eyes staring at me.

    ¡°Disgusting!¡±

    [What bad taste. However, we will push through.]

    The eyes fired rays of light, magic akin toser beams, but we dodged all of them and continued moving straight ahead.

    Luxon and I charged into itsrge mouth.

    ¡ó

    Anjie clutched a handrail inside the shaking warship.

    Forcibly held in this room against her will, sheined towards Hertrude.

    ¡°What an ufortable ride this airship provides. Besides, it¡¯s not to my liking either.¡±

    Hertrude furrowed a brow.

    ¡°W, what did you say?! Is it not pretty?!¡±

    ¡°And just how is it pretty?! Do you have bad eyes?¡±

    Anjie could not fathom the idea of making an airship out of arge monster. She just couldn¡¯t see a monster as pretty.

    Thereupon, Garrett smiled after having received a report.

    ¡°It seems that the man in the vanguard was eaten up.¡±

    While keeping herself from tearing up, Anjie red at the man as he spoke with a grin.

    Garrett did not stop voicing his conjectures.

    ¡°What a stupid man. To think he would charge forward by himself. Well, let¡¯s record his name into the principality¡¯s history. We can write him off as a man who faced us alone and died in vain.¡±

    Garrett made further light of Leon.

    ¡°And he was a knight at that age! The kingdom must have been short on talented people! What a vast differencepared to the principality!¡±

    Hearing of Leon¡¯s death, Anjie¡¯s chest tightened to the point of pain.

    ¡°©¤©¤Leon.¡±

    As she hung her head, she heard the sound of the floor below creaking.

    Immediately after, Leon, riding an air bike, broke through the floor of the room and made an appearance. He had pushed through the interior of the monster¡¯s innards and forced his way into the room.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    ¡°Duck down!¡±

    After readying his shotgun, he fired above Anjie¡¯s head, striking the knights and blowing them away.

    They were knights like him. Perhaps protected by magic, the damage wasn¡¯t fatal. However, it was impossible for them to get up any time soon.

    Leon got off the air bike, gave a side blow to Garret on the jaw with the shotgun, then pointed the muzzle at Hertrude.

    ¡°You¡¯reing with me. Now it¡¯s your turn to be the hostage.¡±

    Hertrude spoke while the muzzle was stilled pointed at her.

    ¡°You¡¯re making light of us, oh knight of the kingdom. Shall you let us record your name?¡±

    However, Leon immediately fired the shotgun.

    An armeddy attendant behind Hertrude was blown away.

    Anjie then noticed something.

    (Non-lethal rubber bullets?)

    Leon was calm.

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in trying to stall this. Bring that magic flute with you. I don¡¯t have much time. If you¡¯re going to resist©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie found it strange that Leon knew about the magic flute, but Hertrude epted it and tossed the flute at Leon.

    However©¤©¤

    [Master, that¡¯s a fake. The real one is hidden under a desk.]

    Luxon spoke while burning off Garret¡¯s moustache with aser. It muttered [Why not take this opportunity to do some hair removal treatment.]

    Leon was wearing a helmet, but Anjie could tell that he was smiling.

    ¡°How unfortunate for you, Princess.¡±

    While Hertrude scowled at Leon, Anjie soon retrieved the genuine magic flute and handed it to him.

    Leon was slightly surprised at Hertrude¡¯spliance and weak resistance. However, he immediately went to restrain Hertrude¡¯s arms and put her on the air bike.

    Once Anjie got on as well, the warship¡¯s interior began to greatly incline.

    ¡°Leon, could it be?¡±

    ¡°Since the monster below us is dead, it vanished. We¡¯re plummeting right now, but we¡¯ll be safe. I¡¯ve taken measures for this, and we¡¯re about to escape.¡±

    As he said that, Leon revved up the engine and pierced through a wall, escaping outside.

    Leon shouted while pointing the muzzle at Hertrude.

    ¡°Heeeey! We¡¯ve got your beloved princess over here!¡±

    The armor units from the principality gathered and stopped moving.

    ¡°H, how underhanded. And you call yourself a knight?!¡±

    After hearing someone¡¯s voice, Leon spoke loudly.

    ¡°Idiot! Go look into a mirror and say that! Now, out of the way!¡±

    Anjie, clinging onto Leon from behind, brought her face towards his back and smiled.

    The knight who had rushed towards her during a time of crisis was neither elegant nor graceful like how the stories suggested. However, Anjie was very happy.

    ¡°©¤©¤Thank you©¤©¤Leon.¡±

 Chapter 69 - Volume 2

    Volume 2 Chapter 10 part2

    ¡°Damn it! Am I surrounded?¡±

    After Schwert returned to the deck of the luxury liner, I dropped off Hertrude and Anjie.

    After checking how many shotgun shells I had, there were only a few left.

    Looking around, the monsters remained where they were and didn¡¯t move. However, the principality¡¯s warships surrounded me.

    It wasn¡¯t just north, west, east, and south.

    There were also enemy warships above and below.

    Chris had returned to the airship, opened the chest of his armor, and showed up.

    ¡°Baltfault, what do we do now?!¡±

    I hadn¡¯t thought about it. Well, I thought that we would have been able to return to the kingdom, but it seemed that they wouldn¡¯t let us free.

    Looking around, both the students and sailors were exhausted.

    They held out quite well, but their opponents still had strength to spare.

    Our fighting power had diminished after just fighting the monsters.

    ¡°Negotiating would be the easiest option.¡±

    I nced at my pocket watch and saw Olivia¡¯s figure reflected onto it.

    She waspletely drained and sitting down, but seemed safe and without injuries.

    However, she had pushed herself excessively. For the time being, it would tough for her to move.

    Anjie¡¯s followers rushed over to her, seemingpletely helpless.

    Chris¡¯ armor was battered, and to make matters worse, his sword was broken.

    He fought while in that state? What was with him? I had underestimated him a bit.

    ¡°Well then, what will happen next?¡±

    As I said that, amand was given to the principality¡¯s fleet through a megaphone.

    ¡°The princess has sacrificed her life for the principality! All warships,mence an all-out attack!¡±

    It was Garrett¡¯s voice.

    Chris¡¯ expression turned sour.

    ¡°She¡¯s still alive. Are they really going to act like the princess of their own country is dead?!¡±

    Hertrude made a slight smile and stood up.

    ¡°©¤©¤You know nothing. The principality won¡¯t cease with just this much. I have a recement. I am merely responsible for the vanguard unit.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing.

    ¡°Vanguard unit? We didn¡¯t clear the final boss?¡±

    Thereupon, Hertrude took the opportunity to recite an incantation.

    As I pointed the muzzle at her, she smiled. When she finished the incantation©¤©¤the monsters all moved in unison.

    ¡°What did you do?!¡±

    When I asked Hertrude, she answered bluntly.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have enough resolve. You should have shot out me right away. You wonder what I just did? I released the monsters from my control. The monsters who had once been controlled will now go after the one who had been manipting them. They¡¯ll soon gather to this ship.¡±

    As I looked around, the monsterspletely gathered together, as if drawn to us.

    The principality¡¯s warship also began moving, aiming at our ship.

    Anjie grabbed Hertrude by the cor.

    ¡°Why©¤©¤why go so far?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it already. It¡¯s for the sake of having the kingdom fall.¡±

    Looking at Olivia, it seemed that she couldn¡¯t protect the luxury liner with magic anymore. She couldn¡¯t push herself any further.

    I got onto the air bike and spoke to Luxon.

    ¡°In any case, we need to buy some time, let¡¯s go!¡±

    [Not an issue for me. I¡¯ll be with you through thick and thin.]

    Once the air bike floated in the sky, I pointed the muzzle at the gathering monsters and pulled the trigger.

    The monsters were blown away from the magic and turned into smoke, but new monsters emerged within that smoke.

    ©¤©¤This was the worst.

    ¡ó

    When Leon flew off, Anjie reached her hand out.

    Chris, having received new armaments, flew up and killed the surrounding enemies.

    ¡°©¤©¤I, I!¡±

    When the red orb charm fastened to her right wrist glowed faintly, mes erupted around Anjie. As soon as the mes rose, they gathered and took the form of six spears.

    Anjie knew about this magic.

    ¡°Fire Lance. How did©¤©¤¡±

    She was surprised that she invoked a magic spell that she couldn¡¯t use up until now. While thankful, she hurled the spears towards the enemies gathering around Leon.

    ¡°I will©¤©¤blow away Leon¡¯s opponents!¡±

    The spears plunged through the herds of monsters, piercing them, burning them, and creatingrge explosions.

    Many of the monster had vanished, but even so, there were still many enemies.

    One by one, units of armor from the opponent took off from their airships, heading towards the luxury liner.

    When Anjie was about to use the same magic in a hurry, she saw Livia copse.

    Panicking at how Livia was about to be eaten by monsters in such a state, she fired magic to help her.

    After hitting the monsters with fireballs, burning them until there was nothing left, Anjie rushed over and held Livia in her arms.

    ¡°What are you doing, get up, quickly!¡±

    Livia¡¯s breathing was rough.

    Furthermore, her legs were staggering.

    ¡°Don¡¯t me that you¡¯ve exhausted your magic©¤©¤¡±

    Having overconsumed her magic, Livia was pale and couldn¡¯t walk. She would recover after a while, but sitting in her current spot was too dangerous.

    When Anjie carried her and was about to flee towards the ship¡¯s interior, Livia spoke.

    ¡°I wanted to be helpful. I kept dragging you and Leon down©¤©¤and I hated that, so I did my best. I wanted to go further, but my body won¡¯t do what it tell it do.¡±

    Livia was shedding tears in frustration, but Anjie smiled.

    ¡°You idiot! Your best was plenty. Besides, helping you out isn¡¯t a bother. You©¤©¤You¡¯re my dear friend.¡±

    The words Anjie squeezed in embarrassment surprised Livia, causing tears to travel down her face.

    ¡°Anjie©¤©¤¡±

    Immediately, Anjie saw warships of the principality approaching before her.

    ¡°©¤©¤Are they charging?¡±

    A warship of the principality charged towards the luxury liner¡¯srge hull. It struck the side, causing it greatly incline.

    As the two were about to lose their bnce, a monster approached while opening its big mouth.

    As Anjie pushed Livia out of the way from the monster, she directed her right hand towards it and burned it using magic.

    The monster was wrapped in mes and vanished, but the ship further inclined and swayed, causing Anjie to lose her footing and fall.

    ¡°Anjie!¡±

    As Livia called out to her, Anjie clutched onto the handrail of the deck.

    Her body had been thrown off of the ship, and she could see the sea beneath her.

    She was high up, and there was no saving her if she fell. Furthermore, there were monsters flying around her. There was the potential for her to get eaten if she fell.

    Some of the students saw Anjie grabbing onto the railing, but were too preupied with their own matters and couldn¡¯t help her.

    Unfortunately, the handrail Anjie grabbed was breaking and crumbling.

    Anjie muttered.

    ¡°If I had just said it a little sooner©¤©¤¡±

    shing before her eyes were the faces of her family, Livia, and Julian too, but finally, Leon¡¯s figure image to mind. While thinking about his grinning face, Anjie smiled.

    ¡°Get along with Livia, you idiot.¡±

    Time was running out and her hand was about to separate from the rail.

    With a do-or-die spirit, Livia attempted to approach and help her.

    Anjie shouted at Livia.

    ¡°Don¡¯te over here!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Livia responded immediately and jumped over the broken tform, rushing towards Anjie. Livia, pushing her body despite her strength not yet recovering, breathed erratically while grabbing onto to Anjie¡¯s arm and lifting her up.

    Anjie mustered her strength and climbed up.

    In the end, she didn¡¯t fall, but Anjie got angry at Livia. She couldn¡¯t help but get mad.

    ¡°You fool! You could have fallen off too!¡±

    ¡°But©¤©¤but!¡±

    Livia lifted her head. She spoke while shedding tears.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we were friends?!¡±

    Anjie casted her eyes downward while embarrassed.

    ¡°Fool. That¡¯s why I©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m fine with being a fool. If it means being friends with you©¤©¤¡±

    However, the luxury liner shook violently once more, and this time Livia was driven off the ship. Anjie reached her arm out, but couldn¡¯t reach Livia.

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah!¡±

    Seeing Anjie¡¯s grieving face, Livia smiled. As she descended, Anjie was about to burst into tears.

    A gray air bike then dove straight towards the surface of the sea.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    ¡ó

    I readied my shotgun.

    I prepared to aim at the monsters that tried to eat Olivia as she plummeted. Seeing me, Olivia closed her eyes and put her hands together in front of her chest, as if praying.

    Her affectionate face told me that she ced her faith in me©¤©¤and it irritated me that I had no choice but to meet her expectations. I couldn¡¯t make any mistakes.

    Surrounding monsters were blown away as I pulled the trigger, and I put away the shotgun.

    I let go of the handles and let Luxon steer.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be relying on you.¡±

    [I will adjust our rtive velocity. Please take caution.]

    I caught Livia in my arms.

    It looked as if I was performing a princess carry.

    [We will bending on the sea surface. Prepare for impact.]

    ¡°This is getting really hectic!¡±

    I tightly held Olivia close, bracing for the impact as the bottom of the air bike struck the surface of the sea.

    As we travelled along the sea surface, sprays of water sshed behind us. The air bike gradually increased altitude.

    Olivia clung onto me while weeping.

    While embracing her, I lightly patted her head tofort her.

    ¡°It¡¯s all right now. I¡¯ll get you back up there, so don¡¯t worry, Olivia.¡±

    Upon which©¤©¤

    ¡°It¡¯s Livia!¡±

    She asserted that I call her by her nickname. She seemed to have a stronger will than before, as if she was angry in some way.

    ¡°Hey, uh©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Livia! Why can¡¯t you call me Livia?! Did you start to hate me? Why©¤©¤are you calling me Olivia?¡±

    Luxon was silent.

    It was currently piloting Schwert and gradually raising its altitude, but it would have been nice for it to help me out. I wasn¡¯t good at dealing with these kinds of situations.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯m no good for you. You should be with a more decent man.¡±

    ¡°What are you saying?! What does this have to do with other guys?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m no good! There are other guys out there with pretty faces, wealth, and other things, right? You¡¯re better off with a suitable man rather than with me!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t©¤©¤understand!¡±

    She would normally be muddled at such a situation like this, but now she was being defiant and stubborn.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill009

    Her partners were the capture target boys.

    They were all useless people, but it was fine as long as Olivia would be happy.

    Those five were better than me.

    ¡°Someone like Julian!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t to be with the one who abandoned Anjie!¡±

    ¡°Well then, look! There¡¯s Jilk!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he ck-hearted?!¡±

    ¡°Brad!¡±

    ¡°A narcissist!¡±

    ¡°Greg!¡±

    ¡°A meathead!¡±

    ¡°Chris!¡±

    ¡°An attention seeker!¡±

    It seemed she had perceived their characteristics quite well. That was a bit amusing.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be anyone else! I©¤©¤I want to be with you, Leon! I want Anjie and us to have fun together like before!¡±

    H, however, at this rate, I wouldn¡¯t be beneficial for Olivia.

    ¡°N, nothing fruitful will happen if you be with me! What good do you even see in me?!¡±

    ¡°I want to be with you. Leon, you¡¯re kind, strong©¤©¤no wait, that¡¯s not why. I like you a lot, Leon! That¡¯s all! I like you!¡±

    I hung my head.

    Up until now, the only other person who openly said that they liked me was my own mother.

    I didn¡¯t think I would hear that in this world.

    Luxon spoke to me.

    [Master, we¡¯re arriving at the airship.]

    I put the shotgun into my hand. I loaded it with bullets, and then I spoke in a quiet voice towards Olivia©¤©¤err, Livia while embarrassed for some unknown reason.

    ¡°Hold tight onto my back©¤©¤L, Livia.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    When I said her nickname back then, I was nonchnt about it.

    I didn¡¯t think much of it before, but now I was very conscious about it for some reason.

    Livia smiled, went around to behind me, and embraced me. What to do? Wouldn¡¯t anybody get nervous having someone¡¯s chest pressed against them?

    I couldn¡¯t sense the feeling of her chest since the clothing I wore was so thick, though!

    Perhaps sensing what was going on from my facial expression, Luxon spoke in a rtively bright voice.

    [Master, your pilot suit has been specially made.]

    ¡°So you¡¯re that kind of person!¡±

    As I shouted while readying the shotgun, I blew away the monsters that appeared in front of the air bike.

    The luxury liner was inclining from the attacks led by the principality¡¯s warships.

    It seemed that they werepletely helpless since the principality¡¯s warships and the monsters gathered around them.

    Running out of shotgun shells to fire, I was forced to return to the luxury liner and sneak Schwert onto the deck.

    Luxon spoke.

    [Schwert, thank you for your hard work. I will definitely do some maintenance on you afterwards.]

    I ced the shotgun inside Schwert and took Livia along as I got off.

    Anjie ran up.

    She and Livia then embraced each other.

    ¡°You fool. Fool! You had me worrying.¡±

    ¡°Anjie©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    It was precious seeing the girls cry while hugging each other. Who was it that said a friendship between girls would be short-lived? This was lovely.

    Mayhem ensued within the battlefield.

    Due to the principality¡¯s warships, we were indeed in danger, even if there weren¡¯t any cannonballs beingunched.

    At this rate, the luxury liner would sink.

    Luckily, there haven¡¯t been any casualties, but it was only a matter of time if things continued on like this.

    ¡°Luxon. How much longer?¡±

    [As calcted©¤©¤it has just arrived.]

    Once I heard that, I took out my pocket watch and checked the time.

    Right on time©¤©¤perfect.

    In the far distance, I could make out the figure of Partner.

    While Anjie was hugging Livia, she could see Partner approach.

    ¡°Could it be that you called it over? Being able to send information to it at such a distance©¤©¤¡±

    I smiled in response to Anjie.

    ¡°It was standing by somewhere close. I¡¯m a worrywart, after all. Luxon©¤©¤¡±

    [I¡¯ve already done it.]

    Before I could finish speaking, Luxon stated that preparations were ready.

    It was time to leave the chatting aside.

    The military formation of the principality¡¯s troops was destroyed once the new airship, Partner, entered the battlefield.

 Chapter 70 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 10 part3</h4>

    Garrett escaped into a warship.

    He issuedmands while yelling inside the bridge of that warship.

    ¡°What are you doing?! Hurry and sink it!¡±

    A soldier objected.

    ¡°Our allies are there! Besides, isn¡¯t the princess still safe?¡±

    When Garrett tried to touch his non-existing moustache, he realized that it was already gone and tightly clenched his fist.

    His moustache was his pride.

    He had been grooming it daily, and yet it waspletely gone now. His handlebar moustache had vanished when he woke up.

    That knight. That knight was the one who did it. Garrett burned with a desire for revenge, seeking no rest until he could get back at his opponent.

    ¡°Why did you charge?!¡±

    The soldiers averted their eyes in response to what Garrett said.

    (These people must have purposely charged forward in order to save the princess. That must be the reason why they aren¡¯t bombarding them! She even has a recement, though!)

    When Garrett kicked some nearby equipment in frustration, it was surprisingly sturdy, hurting his leg.

    ¡°Gah! T, this is also the work of that hateful man. I despise the one who robbed me of my moustache!¡±

    A sailor shouted.

    ¡°W, we¡¯ve spotted a new warship! It¡¯s estimated to span around seven hundred meters!¡±

    Garrett looked outside in a hurry.

    ¡°Foolish! For reinforcements from the kingdom toe at this time©¤©¤¡±

    He violently snatched binocrs from a soldier, and when he examined the area, he saw one strange airship heading towards them.

    ¡°What? I can only see two cannons.¡±

    The soldiers were also curious.

    ¡°It¡¯s shape is also unnatural. Also, moveable cannons? And there¡¯s only two of them?¡±

    It wasmon to fight by suppressing an enemy with numerous cannons fixed to the side, making the shape of this airship too unnatural.

    Garrett stroked his lonesome lips.

    ¡°Sink it. Such a crude airship is an eyesore. There is no problem if we collect its floating stone.¡±

    The objects that allowed airships to fly were called floating stones.

    It was due to them that airship technology had developed. This was a world where airships could be made with designs that were anything but simple, all due to the existence of floating stones.

    It would have been no problem if the opposing threat in front of them was just a mere airship.

    ¡°Surround it at once.¡±

    Thereupon, the opponent faced towards the warship Garrett was in and fired a cannonball at it.

    The warship shook tremendously and navigation became impossible due to an important engine being damaged.

    ¡°W, what¡¯s going on?!¡±

    ¡°The enemy is bombarding us!¡±

    ¡°A bombardment? As if it can reach us at this distance!©¤©¤Augh!¡±

    Once the opponent began more bombardments, warships of the principality began to sessively lose their ability to navigate.

    Garrett saw something ejected from the opponent and noticed it heading towards the inclining luxury liner.

    ¡°W, what in the world?¡±

    After a portion of the ceiling fell down due to the bombardment, hitting Garrett directly on the head and causing him to bleed, he could only imagine what would happen afterwards.

    ¡ó

    Arge box had descended onto the deck.

    The students¡¯ eyes shined with hope after seeing that box.

    Chris made aplicated expression, but it seemed that he was still relieved.

    He descended near me with his battered armor and called out to me.

    ¡°Baltfault, is this your doing?¡±

    I held Luxon with one hand and turned around.

    ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to? Rejoice©¤©¤this is my victory.¡±

    It was natural that the victor had already been decided.

    Luxon addressed me.

    [Master, units of armor from the opponent are heading this way. I request for permission to deploy the drones.]

    Once I nodded my head, Partner began ejecting battle drones one after the other.

    They had only an upper-body, making them look like legless armor, and each of them carried a different weapon.

    Once the box unfolded and opened, a unit of gray armor, Arroganz, appeared.

    Its chest was open, waiting for me to enter.

    Anjie and Livia seized Hertrude while watching me.

    Hertrude looked at Arroganz and narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s a lost item.¡±

    While getting on Arroganz, I replied to Hertrude.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re well-informed. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s a lost item.¡±

    ¡°I remember now. There was a young knight who earned fame in the kingdom as an adventurer. Was that you?¡±

    Luxon said something like [That¡¯s not really convincing,] but I ignored it and closed the chest of Arroganz, looking at an image of my surroundings.

    The monsters gathered together and the knights from the principality began to move.

    I smiled as Arroganz began starting up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go at them relentlessly. My one-sided battling continues here!¡±

    [Master, you¡¯ve already counterattacked them, though.]

    ¡°This is a matter of how I feel! I¡¯m here to let them know just who exactly they picked a fight with. I will drive fear into the minds of the fools from the principality!¡±

    Drones equipped with machine guns were ejected from a container on Arroganz¡¯s back.

    As they continuously decimated each monster, I spoke to Anjie and the others.

    ¡°Take refuge!¡±

    Anjie and Livia nodded their heads.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡±

    ¡°Leon, you muste back.¡±

    Thereupon, Chris stood beside me.

    ¡°Let me help you.¡±

    Was he still holding out despite how battered his gear was?

    ¡°Do whatever you want. Just don¡¯t get in my way.¡±

    Chris made a slight smile despite my abusivenguage.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make the most of it!¡±

    Well, I was troubled by how he just epted it. I was expecting a response like ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you!¡±©¤©¤Whatever.

    ¡°Luxon take out therge rifle and©¤©¤the de.¡±

    [Opening container number one.]

    While carrying arge rifle in my right arm, I held a de with the left.

    As Arroganz slowly lifted away from the deck, Chris flew next to me.

    Seeing Arroganz appear up in the sky, the monsters came rushing to attack it.

    ¡°It¡¯s futile.¡±

    Drones gathered around Arroganz, immediately clearing out the monsters with machine guns.

    Seeing that, Chris contemted while saying ¡°I was crazy to think I could challenge that with a sword.¡±

    He should have realized that sooner.

    The drones sent from Partner keptpany with the monsters and units of armor, protecting the luxury liner.

    When armor from the principality approached me, I pointed the rifle at it and pulled the trigger, blowing the armor¡¯s head away.

    ¡°Now then, how about breaking that fighting spirit you all have?¡±

    [You really do seem like a viin, Master.]

    With a grin, I clutched the joysticks controlling Arroganz.

    ¡ó

    Garrett saw the scene from the warship¡¯s bridge.

    ¡°Is he a monster?¡±

    Not just the principality¡¯s warships, but even their armor were being put out ofmission.

    The gray armor was heavily ted, a form far from mainstream.

    At first he hadughed at how unshapely it was, but his face paled as his allies kept going down.

    A nearby soldier spoke out.

    ¡°Earl, should we retreat now?¡±

    Garrett sent a blow to that soldier.

    He had strengthened his fist using magic and sent him flying.

    ¡°Retreat? What a stupid thing to say. If the troops of the principality return after having lost to schoolchildren from the kingdom, we¡¯ll be theughing stock!¡±

    The soldier got up and wiped the blood from his lips.

    ¡°H, however, the damage to our troops has already©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°They stole our princess, stole the magic flute, and now we might lose to a child! There is no way we can retreat!¡±

    If Garrett and the others returned home in such a state, there would be no future for them.

    Garrett, who would have to take responsibility for that, had no choice but to sink the enemy in front of him.

    He chewed on his nail and his eyes became bloodshot.

    ¡°So the kingdom has a new model of armor. My position will be in danger at the very least if we don¡¯t sink that before we return.¡±

    As Garrett muttered to himself without worrying about the nces around him, some knights came to the bridge.

    Seeing the specially made ck uniforms they wore, Garrett instantly lifted his face.

    He looked at the knight leading them and smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. We have you. The principality¡¯s strongest hero.¡±

    An aging man looked at Garrett¡¯s face while seeming annoyed.

    The top of the man¡¯s head was bald and there was arge scar on his forehead. He had arge muscr body and unlike the other knights, he wore te mail.

    He was the only one wearing te mail, and since the people around him wore military uniforms or knights¡¯ clothing, he seemed to stand out.

    However, this was the attire of a man who was constantly ready forbat at any time.

    The people of the principality did not feel any difort in this man¡¯s getup.

    ¡°I was told that there were orders to not let me lead an assault. I even heard that the princess had been captured. You¡¯ll be chastised for thister. We¡¯ll be forming a sortie.¡±

    There was a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the soldiers.

    They wanted this person to do something about the rampaging airship and armor in front of them.

    Garrett nodded his head many times in delight.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s no problem. Viscount ¡®Bandel Hymn Zenden¡¯. I leave it to you and the others.¡±

    The knights left the warship¡¯s bridge.

    Garrett made a stifledughter.

    ¡°With this, everything has been settled.¡±

    However, the beaten soldier spoke.

    ¡°B, but, we were given an order from the country to not let Viscount Zenden©¤©¤¡±

    Garrettughed scornfully.

    ¡°Zenden made the sortie of his own ord. Besides, are you stupid enough to not let us y our strongest card? The ¡®ck Knight¡¯ will be able to kill that monster. After all, he¡¯s the strongest knight in the principality.¡±

    The principality¡¯s strongest knight began to go after Leon.

 Chapter 71 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 11 part1</h4>

    <h4>ck Knight</h4>

    The sky became a battlefield.

    I spouted abusivenguage while inside Arroganz¡¯s cockpit.

    ¡°These guys!¡±

    Gathering knights surrounded me in all directions and started attacking with long distance attacks. When I showed my back to them, they would assault me with a de.

    If I tried to shorten the distance, they would spread out and flee.

    [It seems they¡¯ve trained quite a bit.]

    My armor repelled their bullets, and they couldn¡¯t even scratch me in closebat.

    There was no damage, but the problem was that it took time to beat them.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they retreating?!¡±

    [We¡¯re indeed dealing enough damage to the point where it wouldn¡¯t be strange if they were to flee. I have tapped into theirmunications, and it seems that there¡¯s some reason for them not to retreat.]

    ording to Luxon, there seemed to be many soldiers who had suggested retreat.

    Themander rejected the idea.

    ¡°Hurry and retreat!¡±

    I would be troubled if they didn¡¯t retreat.

    I elerated Arroganz and pierced an opponent¡¯s armor in the air with a de. I stabbed in a spot where the knight inside wouldn¡¯t get hurt.

    Pulling out the de, I kicked the enemy to the deck of one of their airships.

    ¡°Resistance is futile!¡±

    While losing my cool over the thought of why they weren¡¯t retreating, Luxon reported the state of affairs.

    [Partner will begin the rescue operation.]

    Partner got into position to protect the waning luxury liner, and began handing out lifeboats for rescue.

    ¡°I suppose the luxury liner¡¯s a lost cause.¡±

    ck smoke rose from all over, and its hull was already distorted.

    ¡°Let¡¯s withdraw once everyone¡¯s on Partner. How long can we keep this up?¡±

    [©¤©¤! Master, a new troop has gathered. Their exteriors are colored ck. I believe these opponents are an elite force.]

    Bad memories resurged the moment I heard that they were ck.

    In my previous life©¤©¤the strongest foe to appear in that otome game was the ¡°ck Knight¡±. He was formidable, and I got many game overs having to fight him. The ck Knight was a broken character who was stronger than Chris in closebat, and Jilk was no match for him in long distance fighting either.

    Just how hard was he? This guy was the main cause for the difficulty curve skyrocketing.

    ¡°Could it be the ck Knight?!¡±

    Luxon emphasized caution.

    [They have been avoiding Partner¡¯s bombarding. They¡¯ve also been destroying the drones. At this rate, they¡¯re going to be a hindrance to our rescue attempt.]

    ¡°He¡¯s top-notch. I¡¯ll be his opponent!¡±

    I was currently on Arroganz.

    Now I had Luxon, something even higher than a cheat, so I had nothing to fear!

    I¡¯ll throw down the ck Knight!

    I saw an image of the ck Knight and his colleagues heading my way.

    Thereupon, their ck exteriors©¤©¤h, hold on. There were five of them?

    Wasn¡¯t that a little too many?

    ¡ó

    Anjie moved into one of Partner¡¯s rooms with Livia and Hertrude, meaning that there were three people inside.

    Amidst the chaos within the airship, Anjie couldn¡¯t say for sure that nobody would try to attack Hertrude, so she stood beside her while watching over.

    The scenery of the battlefield outside the window had calmed down a bit, but hadn¡¯t ended.

    Anjie was irritated at the principality.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they retreating? They¡¯ve already lost.¡±

    The restrained Hertrude seemed quite calm.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ve said it already. The principality will not cease. They will not fall back with just this much.¡±

    Livia prayed for Leon¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Leon will be safe, right?¡±

    Anjie replied while looking outside.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be easy for him to lose. However, you never know what will happen on the battlefield.¡±

    Looking across the window, she could see Leon charging forward with Arroganz©¤©¤and ck units of armor chasing him.

    Seeing that, Hertrude was suddenly surprised.

    ¡°Bandel! Why©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie was shocked upon hearing Bandel¡¯s name.

    ¡°The ck Knight? Could it be that he really appeared?¡±

    Livia was confused at how the two reacted.

    ¡°U, um, who is this ck Knight?¡±

    Anjie gave Livia an exnation.

    ¡°Before we were born, there had been an active knight of the principality. He alone had sunken several tens of the kingdom¡¯s airships. Perhaps even a hundred. His armor had ughtered many.¡±

    Anjie briefly nced at Hertrude, but her mouth was closed and she cast her eyes downward.

    She looked sorrowful. Very differentpared to just a while ago.

    ¡°His name hadn¡¯t been brought up recently. The kingdom thought that he hadn¡¯t appeared on the battleground anymore due to his old age.¡±

    Livia began to feel concerned after hearing that such a strong knight was now aiming after Leon.

    ¡°Can Leon win against such a powerful knight?¡±

    ¡°I anticipate©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie was interrupted by Hertrude.

    ¡°Bandel will not lose! The principality¡¯s strongest knight would never lose to a despicable knight from the kingdom!¡±

    Livia took offense when she called him despicable.

    ¡°Leon is not despicable!¡±

    ¡°You make meugh. Did you forget what you did to the principality twenty years ago? Or perhaps you people were taught that you weren¡¯t in the wrong?¡±

    Livia looked at Anjie after Hertrude said that.

    Her face seemed to say that they were in the wrong, but Anjie replied while looking downward.

    ¡°It happened before we were born. The kingdom invaded the principality. It wasn¡¯t just once or twice. They invaded many times, and they drove the principality into a corner. Each time, the principality drove back the kingdom.¡±

    Livia was astonished.

    ¡°T, that. I never heard anything about the kingdom invading©¤©¤¡±

    Hertrude gave Livia a cold stare.

    ¡°It seems you know nothing. Nothing about how much we had been tormented by the kingdom. Anjelica, why don¡¯t you exin?¡±

    Anjie didn¡¯t speak.

    Livia had presumed many things based on Anjie¡¯s attitude, and felt down.

    Anjie was deep in thought.

    (There¡¯s no point in saying anything to Hertrude right now.)

    ¡ó

    I readied my rifle and pulled the trigger in front of the approaching ck Knight©¤©¤err, ck knights before me.

    However, perhaps being skilled, they all avoided the shots when they saw the muzzle.

    ¡°These guys are all broken characters!¡±

    Flying backwards in the sky, I was overwhelmed by the vigor of the approaching ck knights.

    [©¤©¤Their armor is performing better than any other I¡¯ve seen so far. It seems that the principality has a higher level of technology than the kingdom. Their airships, armor, and organizational structure all surpass the kingdom¡¯s.]

    ¡°A technological superpower? That doesn¡¯t bode well.¡±

    [I believe that they¡¯re harboring hostility.]

    Luxon didn¡¯t have to say that out loud for me to realize it. They seemedpelled to kill me.

    Even when I shortened the distance with one them and tried to attack with a de, they would stop the blow.

    ¡°Fiend from the kingdom! I¡¯ll have your head!¡±

    After Arroganz¡¯s power was repelled, I readied the rifle once more©¤©¤but they immediately spread out.

    Luxon spoke.

    ¡°It seems they resent you.¡±

    ¡°Even if they¡¯re digging up grudges from the past, that has nothing to do with me!¡±

    They bore a grudge since the kingdom had invaded them in the past.

    I wanted to question why that otome game used such a serious setting. However, since I knew the circumstances, from my perspective, it was annoying how they were ying the victim.

    Anyways, if this was an otome game, then it should¡¯ve had a lighter setting!

    ¡°Luxon, store away the rifle and de.¡±

    [What are you going to use next?]

    ¡°I¡¯m fighting bare handed.¡±

    When I emptied both of my hands, I could tell that the ck knights were furious.

    However, what bothered me was that a unit of armor, seeming to be themanding officer, didn¡¯t make any moves against me. He was obviously stronger than the others, but didn¡¯t engage in battle with me.

    I grabbed the hand of an opponent that Arroganz had shortened the distance with.

    I was going to use the attack I had done to Julian©¤©¤pulverization through giving the enemy arge impact. Arroganz had that kind of function built into its arm.

    When I was squeezing with my might©¤©¤

    ¡°How careless. Lie down!¡±

    The opponent was pummeled by the impact, and the pilot inside the armor fainted.

    Once Arroganz let go, the opponent¡¯s armor plummeted towards the sea.

    ¡°You better hurry and follow yourpanion©¤©¤¡±

    One of the enemies broke off in order to help their falling teammate, reducing their numbers. I had hoped that they would feel disadvantaged and retreat, though.

    [Master, behind you!]

    Turning around, I saw a unit of armor swinging a sword down. Ignoring the attacks from the deployed drones, it had its sights on me while getting battered.

    ¡°©¤©¤Tsk!¡±

    Once I guarded with my left arm, the opponent¡¯s sword broke.

    I heard a voice when we shed.

    ¡°Disappear, monster from the kingdom.¡±

    Immediately following, Luxon alerted me.

    [©¤©¤! Master!]

    When Arroganz turned back, I saw the other three units of armor were charging at me. Right in front, I saw themanding offer, the ck Knight, rushing towards me with a long sword©¤©¤and as my monitors turned ck, the tip of that long sword broke through and approached me.

    ¡ó

    Chris knocked down one of the principality¡¯s knights and searched for Leon.

    ¡°Their numbers have drastically decreased. Where is Baltfault?¡±

    Popping out in front of Chris¡¯ eyes was the sight of the ck Knight piercing a long sword into Arroganz.

    ¡°The ck Knight appeared!¡±

    Chris¡¯ household emphasized swordsmanship, and his father possessed the title of a master swordsman. However, even his father wouldn¡¯t be a match for the ck Knight.

    Seeing the principality¡¯s strongest knight pierce through Arroganz, Chris clenched his teeth and hung his head, but immediately lifted it back up.

    The evacuation into Partner had already beenpleted.

    If worst came to worst, he could buy some time so that everyone would survive and return home.

    If the ck Knight was left alone, he would hunt down Partner.

    Chris resolved himself.

    ¡°Marie, sorry. It seems that this will be my final stop.¡±

    When he readied his sword and was about to head towards Leon, the ck knights suddenly acted strange.

    Arroganz grabbed an opponent¡¯s armor with both hands despite a sword being stuck in it.

    Immediately following, its hands glowed, and with the outburst of an impact, the ck unit of armor stopped moving fell towards the sea.

    Arroganz attempted to reach its hand out towards the ck Knight, but he extracted therge sword and took a distance.

    When a tattered unit of ck armor intervened in order to assist the ck Knight, Arroganz grabbed it, sent another shock wave, and hurled it away after being left unable to fight.

    ¡°He¡¯s alive?!¡±

    Chris was delighted to see that Leon was alive.

    ¡°Go, Baltfault! If it¡¯s you©¤©¤if it¡¯s you, you can oppose the ck Knight!¡±

 Chapter 72 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 11 part2</h4>

    I used my hand to push aside a monster that had been pierced through.

    Arroganz¡¯s chest was open. The wind outside entered the cockpit, creating a vast sensation of spaciousness. At the same time, I was full of unease since my mortal body was exposed to the outside.

    I had tilted my head to the right, dodging the ck Knight¡¯s long sword by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    That sword had aimed to pierce my head.

    I would have been dead if it was aimed at my abdomen.

    ¡°*huff*©¤©¤*puff*©¤©¤¡±

    With my bare eyes, I saw the ck Knight readying his sword.

    Luxon exined the conditions of my armor¡¯s exterior

    [Performance has been reduced by thirty percent. The amount of burden on the pilot has increased. I advise withdrawing.]

    ¡°I never heard about Arroganz¡¯s armor being prable.¡±

    [It seems that the sword your foe carries is made of a metal peculiar to this world, ¡®Admatius¡¯. A fantasy-esque metal.]

    ¡°Says the fantasy-like lump of metal.¡±

    It was a specially maderge sword.

    The ck Knight was a broken character wielding such a weapon.

    ¡°I mean, I do want to hurry and get out of here. What¡¯s with this guy? He seems too strong.¡±

    Luxon¡¯s rebuttal towards myints hit a little too close to home.

    [This is the result of not taking the life of your opponents, Master. Due to that, they¡¯ve been driven to a situation where they won¡¯t retreat.]

    How painfully true it was.

    Thereupon, the ck Knight spoke to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re young. Too young. Are you really a knight of the kingdom?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t really too sure about the details regarding the ck Knight¡¯s setting, but his rough voice sounded like he was either in the prime of his life, or past middle-aged.

    ¡°Your invasion has been leaving me no choice but to fight, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Is that so? ©¤©¤It was the same back in my day. I was a youngster, resentful of the kingdom I had been born in.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t shift my gaze away from the ck Knight.

    I tightly clutched the joysticks, tightening Arroganz¡¯s fist while breathing in disarray from the tension.

    Why did I have to fight a tough battle like this?

    Normally, I would have definitely fled.

    Why didn¡¯t I run away? It would have been embarrassing if I ran away after having smugly criticized the other kids, and also because this guy didn¡¯t seem ready to let me go.

    If I turned my back, he would definitely kill me.

    Furthermore, the long sword my opponent was wielding had prated Arroganz. It would be able to pierce Partner¡¯s ting as well.

    Livia and Anjie¡¯s faces popped up in my mind. And what about the others? As if I knew them!

    If I didn¡¯t stop this guy here, those two would be in trouble.

    Luxon spoke to me.

    [I request permission to utilize my main body.]

    ¡°If you use it, you¡¯re probably going to kill the ck Knight. I can¡¯t let you do that.¡±

    [I cannot understand you. Your opponent ising!]

    The ck Knight made the first move.

    The charm hanging around my neck shook.

    As the ck Knight swung down his big sword, his movements seemed tock any shred of indecisiveness. He was not hesitant to kill me. When I stopped the blow with my right arm, the sword dug deeply into it.

    The sound of an alert continued to re, and when I aimed my left hand towards the ck Knight, he seemed to sense the danger, pulled out the sword, flew above me, and turned towards my back.

    Turning around, I saw the ck Knight swinging hisrge sword with a horizontal sh.

    Having closed the distance, I shed with ck Knight, causing therge sword to wedge itself deeply into my right shoulder.

    ¡°Just how much of a difference in armor performance is there between this broken bastard and me?!¡±

    Luxon calmly replied to myint.

    [There¡¯s an overwhelming difference in terms of the pilot¡¯s skills.]

    When I drove my left arm into the ck Knight and was about to release a shockwave, he violently kicked away my arm and separated from me.

    Like that, we continued to struggle, confronting each other over and over again, and before long©¤©¤the ck Knight, with his back to the evening sun, faced me.

    The ck Knight lost his left arm and had no legs.

    I was also battered up.

    The ck Knight seemed weakened as well.

    ¡°©¤©¤To think I¡¯d lose to a knight of the kingdom.¡±

    He squeezed out a voice of agony.

    I was also in pain.

    As the ck knight charged forward, I squinted my eyes from the radiance of the evening sun. I felt that his giant sword had glistened momentarily. The nerve he had to use such an old trick! How cowardly!

    Closing the distance, the ck Knight thrust his sword into Arroganz.

    I immediately slipped out of Arroganz and leaped, using an anchor to hook onto the ck Knight¡¯s armor. Though the ck Knight was surprised by my action, he smiled.

    ¡°Did you give up?!¡±

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯ve won.¡±

    The ck Knight, with his attention focused solely on me, didn¡¯t notice Arroganz taking action.

    Arroganz held the ck Knight¡¯s armor tightly©¤©¤constricting him.

    ¡°Wha?! How could you operate it?!¡±

    Tearing off the head of his armor, I confronted the ck Knight while he was unable to move. Facing the aging man who had arge scar on his forehead, I drew out a handgun from my holster and aimed it at him

    ¡°This is the end. Surrender.¡±

    The ck Knight red at me. His spirit could send chills down anyone¡¯s spine.

    ¡°I decline. Just kill me quickly! Kill this coward.¡±

    I refused.

    Luxon popped out from Arroganz and came over to my side.

    [Master, we havepleted gaining total control.]

    I looked around, no longer hearing the sounds of battle.

    The opposing fleet could no longer move. All of their armor units were also floating above the sea.

    ¡°Bravo!¡±

    We helped stop the principality without needing to use Luxon¡¯s main body.

    [That was really troublesome.]

    The ck Knight felt bitter.

    ¡°Princess©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    While watching the ck Knight in that state, I noticed a ray of light being fired from one of the principality¡¯s warships. It looked like a re, causing me to furrow my brow.

    ¡°They really don¡¯t know when to give up.¡±

    ¡ó

    Garrett wasughing like a madman when seeing the ck Knight lose.

    ¡°This is the end. I¡¯m done for.¡±

    With the defeat of the ck Knight, a living legend, the morale of the principality¡¯s troops sank.

    They no longer had any fighting power.

    The principality¡¯s troops lost to a civilian airship holding students.

    Garrett, who was more than likely going to be held responsible, took out a gun-like object from his pocket and approached a window.

    The item, which could fire only a single shot, was created as a result of research conducted on the magic flute.

    It could summon together monsters.

    Originally, it was a tool used to gather monsters who were controlled by the magic flute, but its use was restricted since it disyed a particrly powerful effect.

    ¡°A, at this point, I must at least erase everything. I will not bebeled as ipetent by history©¤©¤so I will do away with it all!¡±

    Once he pointed it towards the air and pulled the trigger, it fired a glow akin to a re.

    The glow, which lit up the darkened sky, made a strange sound.

    Monsters then appeared, as if drawn by it.

    From the sky, the sea©¤©¤one by one, they gathered.

    ¡°Now, monsters, erase everything!¡±

    The ridiculously strong armor of the ck Knight had been destroyed and rendered inoperable. There was only one big, strange airship left.

    An opposing airship with few cannons. Garrett thought that it would be weak against attacks ofrge numbers.

    Panicking soldiers came and pinned down Garrett, who was roaring withughter.

    However, the number of monsters continued to increase.

    ¡ó

    I watched the situation from atop of Arroganz, which was still restraining the ck Knight.

    I breathed a small sigh before the sight of monsters gushing forth to no end.

    Luxon, floating beside me, spoke nonchntly.

    [It¡¯s a spectacle to see so many gathering together.]

    The immobile ck Knight red at the warship that had fired the re.

    ¡°What a fool. Does he n on getting rid of everything here? Hey, brat! Inform the princess. Tell her to y the magic flute. This situation is unfavorable for you people as well.¡±

    Did he n on letting her controlling the newly gathered monsters with the magic flute?

    That was indeed an option, but if that happened, then the number of enemies we had would increase again.

    Perhaps noticing my doubts, the ck Knight attempted to persuade me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t n on going against you at this point. Do you want both sides to be annihted?!¡±

    As if I could trust what he was saying!

    I turned towards Luxon.

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for total annihtion. Luxon, how about you go to work?¡±

    [Atst, is it my turn?]

    Luxon¡¯s one red eye brightened.

    Upon which, a cloud floating the sky fired sessive thin rays of light, piercing through the gathering monsters and turning them into ck smoke.

    The ck Knight turned his head and watch that scene.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡±

    It seemed quite like a meteor shower.

    However, the ck smoke arising from the monsters¡¯ defeat gradually obscured the beautiful scenery.

    I turned to face the ck Knight.

    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t the only ones with tricks up their sleeves. Make sure to tell that to your country once you get home.¡±

    Thereupon, the ck Knight yelled at me.

    ¡°Are you nning to spare my head?! You©¤©¤had you been going easy on us since the beginning?! Just how much of a fool do you n on making us?!¡±

    What would I do with an old geezer¡¯s head?!

    ¡°As if I want your head, revolting. Though, I will ept your giant sword. After all, I don¡¯t know what you would do if you had it.¡±

    The ck Knight¡¯srge sword had really been a hassle for me.

    ¡°You brat! Don¡¯t forget that your naivety will take your life away one day! Next time, for sure©¤©¤¡±

    I smiled while watching the ck Knight¡¯s outrage.

    ¡°I saved you out of the kindness of my heart, and yet you¡¯re howling quite arrogantly, aren¡¯t you? Old man, it seems you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s already over for you guys.¡±

    Since the ck Knight made a facial expression indicating that he didn¡¯t understand, I kindly and politely exined.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it? Sure, the opponent you all lost to was armed, but it still a civilian airship. Adding insult to injury, the ones riding it were students. When you tried to take a student hostage, the tables had turned on you instead. Do you know what that means?¡±

    The ck Knight made a face of surprise.

    ¡°©¤©¤How despicable!¡±

    I smiled how informing him of the matter.

    ¡°Grown adults took a serious stance against some children and lost to them! Even if I¡¯m a strong and terrific guy, that doesn¡¯t matter. You all lost to a noble¡¯s child from the kingdom. Do you genuinely think that there will be anything for you people in the future? Old man, you should just retire. Actually, you¡¯ll have no choice but to retire! Your time is already over. You¡¯ve done well up until now. How is it to lose your cement as a knight? Do tell.¡±

    The ck Knight¡¯s face warped into an expression of frustration.

    ¡°You, you mean to say that we¡¯ll live while smeared with shame?! You don¡¯t even have the kindness to let us die as knights on a battlefield, you fiend!¡±

    I brought my face closer to the ck Knight, head-butting him, which ended up hurting. What a hard-headed person he was.

    A kindness to kill? I couldn¡¯t understand his sense of values. This opponent was quite difficult to handle.

    ¡°The losers have to obey the winners, right? Live your life while stered with disgrace. I may be kind as a person, but I believe you¡¯ll find me fiendish and dastardly as a knight.¡±

    The ck Knight clenched his teeth. His hatred of me caused him to make an immense facial expression.

    ¡°I wonder how long you can keep fighting like that.¡±

    While we were deep in talk, Luxon had finished killing the monsters, and now we were surrounded by silence. I restrained the ck Knight, headed towards Partner, and then began shifting into motion.

 Chapter 73 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 11 part3</h4>

    I had settled down.

    I went to Partner¡¯s hangar. It was getting prettyte.

    I admired the giant sword that pierced the battered Arroganz. This ck, long sword had probably absorbed a lot of blood up until now.

    It seemed to be cursed. I believed it imposed its will onto others.

    [Master, why did you bother fighting? If I used my main body, beating the ck Knight would have been a simple feat. I¡¯d like to hear the reason for why you¡¯d take such a risk.]

    I suppose that I did voluntarily put my life into danger. Luxon had criticized me, but I thought to myself while looking at therge sword in front of me.

    I was indeed possible to erase all of my foes with overwhelming power. However, if that happened, I would have been a mass murderer.

    Could I live with that without any trouble? Impossible. I would definitely regret it, and it would surelye to haunt me.

    In addition, it would also increase my troubles.

    ¡°I suppose it would be easy for you to wipe away the principality¡¯s army in an instant. So, what would happen after that?¡±

    [You would be viewed as a threat, Master. Not just the principality, but the kingdom would also take action. In the worst case scenario, they would try to kill you. I would never let such a thing happen, though.]

    At any rate, it would be impossible to remain living the way I had been until now.

    I would have to continue fighting, perhaps with no choice but to gainplete control over everything©¤©¤just like the Holfault Kingdom had been doing.

    The other option would be to run away.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to because it would cause trouble. It a took a lot of effort to get a cheat like you. I¡¯d like to make choices that don¡¯t ce a burden on my mental health, though. It¡¯s a matter of my feelings, feelings.¡±

    Also, I didn¡¯t want Luxon tomit a massacre.

    ¡ó

    It was the next day.

    I was on a floating ind belonging to the principality, where many broken airships had piled up.

    Since robots had done the disassembly work, I had my hands arge number of floating stones.

    ©¤©¤They were all mine.

    ¡°Transport the armor too. I¡¯ll take the airships in good condition back home.¡±

    Luxon was floating next to me, it seemed that its favorite position was near my shoulder.

    [The gall you have to steal everything, you have no empathy, Master. As expected.]

    ¡°I know, right? I¡¯m not that fond of this part of myself either.¡±

    Nearby was a restrained, moustache-less man©¤©¤Garrett.

    He was quite beaten up, but the one who did that wasn¡¯t me.

    When we seized him, he had lost consciousness and was in this state.

    ¡°Baron Baltfault, if you could, why not return the floating stones?¡±

    I grinned while replying.

    ¡°Hmm~, I wonder what I should do? Since our luxury liner had been attacked and destroyed, I¡¯d like to at least collect some of them. Ah~, if a certain group of people hadn¡¯t attacked us, this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

    ¡°I, in that case, formal negotiations between the principality and the kingdom will©¤©¤gah!¡±

    He made a sound when I violently trampled on the floor.

    ¡°And just why should I, the victor, make anypromise?¡±

    ¡°Well, but©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, right?¡±

    ¡°No, you see©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Y, yes.¡±

    Garrett, whose life or death was in my hands, grimaced in frustration.

    ¡°Oh my~, look how kind I am. After all, I¡¯ll let you all off with just this. Generosity is my sin~.¡±

    Luxon was astonished.

    [It¡¯s astounding how merciless you are, Master.]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this better than taking the soldiers and enving them?¡±

    [You sold off the sky pirates to a viscount family, though.]

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. The viscount household had discovered a mine and buying ves helped them out. They were criminals in the first ce. They knew what would happen if they got caught, so they shouldn¡¯t regret the choices they made.¡±

    [Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to help the household?]

    ¡°I suppose I said something like that.¡±

    We sold them to the viscount household that my sister had caused trouble for.

    From now, the sky pirates would have to work hard for the sake of the people©¤©¤putting their life on the line!

    The manualbor and hard work of the mines were dangerous. They were working in a location that could make even an adult copse.

    I thought of myself as brimming with kindness, considering that I didn¡¯t send the principality¡¯s soldiers to such a ce.

    However, I was slightly conflicted on the inside.

    Even though I had cut down much of the principality¡¯s war potential, would they stop their fighting?

    ©¤©¤I really wanted them to let go of the war.

    Even though I now had more worries about the future on my mind, I wanted to do something in the kingdomter on after having persevered for this long.

    There was a huge pile of broken armor in front of me.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to repair these as well.¡±

    [I don¡¯t mind repairing them, but if I do all of them, then people will start to suspect something. You should entrust this to an armor repair workshop. The best option would be if you owned such a workshop though, Master.]

    ¡°That will be impossible to do right away, but it sounds good. I wonder who I should entrust this with.¡±

    [Recently, there seems to be many con artists iming to specialize in armor production. You¡¯d better be careful whenmissioning someone.]

    ¡°There were indeed such con artists in the game. What a cruel society.¡±

    Luxon spoke to me.

    [Master, we have finished our work. We can withdraw at any time.]

    ¡°Right. Now that we¡¯ve stolen what we needed to steal, how about we head home?¡±

    [You almost sounded like a sky pirate there.]

    Leaving the floating ind, I had stolen the principality¡¯s airships and most of their armor.

    ¡ó

    I was inside Partner.

    After speaking with the luxury liner¡¯s captain and the teachers, I got tired and went back to my room.

    In front of the door was a robot acting like a security guard, protecting the room. When I said ¡°I appreciate your efforts,¡± while trying opening the door©¤©¤it got in my way.

    ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you letting me into my own room?¡±

    The robot blocked me from entering the room.

    ¡°Just let me through! I¡¯m tired!¡±

    For some reason, the eyes on its head flickered and tried to convey something, but I forcibly tried to enter my room.

    Thereupon, Luxon told me what the robot was trying to say.

    [Master, there are apparently two people in the©¤©¤¡±

    When I opened the door, I saw that both Anjie and Livia were lying down on my bed inside the room, facing each other. I could hear their quiet sleeping breaths.

    They were sleeping while holding hands.

    The sheets wereid out, and it seemed that they had removed their uniforms.

    A caretaker robot was floating, ironing their uniforms.

    If that was the case, then were they in their underwear beneath the sheets?

    The two had cute faces as they slept.

    What a precious sight.

    ©¤©¤I slowly closed the door.

    I then turned my back to the door and slumped down.

    ¡°You should¡¯ve told me! Doesn¡¯t this mean I just peek at them?! Anjie¡¯s papa would kill me!¡±

    As I held my knees under my arms, Luxon exined why the two were in my room.

    [It seems that they fell asleep while waiting inside the room. They must have been exhausted.]

    They were both lovely.

    If I didn¡¯t have the soul of an adult, I might have peered at them.

    It was a good thing that I was an adult. However, they should be more careful since men can behave like wolves.

    ¡°Where should I sleep?¡±

    Since the students and sailors had evacuated into Partner, I pondered about which rooms could still be vacant.

    Thereupon, I heard the sound of footsteps. Someone had approached me and halted, and when I looked, there stood Chris.

    ¡°Need something?¡±

    ¡°Baltfault, I want answers. Are you©¤©¤are you refusing to spar against me in swordsmanship because I can¡¯t win against you?¡±

    What was this guy saying?

    He thought I could win against him, as if he was ignoring his talents with the sword? Was he joking?

    ¡°What? Is that a joke? Sorry, but it wasn¡¯t funny.¡±

    Chris shook his head. It seemed that he wasn¡¯t convinced of my reply, and interpreted it as he pleased.

    ¡°Well, you did beat the ck Knight. I suppose we¡¯re inpletely different realms. I can¡¯t measure up to your skills. How humiliating.¡±

    It would have been better if he felt ashamed of the misunderstanding he had.

    My victory was because of Arroganz¡¯s ability.

    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding©¤©¤¡±

    However, Chris spoke with a face that seemed as if he had renewed his determination.

    ¡°I will definitely catch up to you! I¡¯ll be strong enough for you to recognize me. That¡¯s what I came here to say©¤©¤you are my goal.¡±

    I thought about resolving the misunderstanding as Chris walked away after saying that, but I decided against it since it would be a bother.

    It was toote for each and every one of them to mend their ways.

    I thought as such while seeing Chris leave.

    ¡°Alright, should I force the credit onto him this time?¡±

    ¡°Another ploy?¡±

    How rude it was to call it a ploy.

    Everyone would be happier if I wasn¡¯t the one getting promoted.

    While thinking about it, I sat down in front of the door and slept.

    ¡ó

    ¡°Well~, the principality was a strong enemy.¡±

    I was in my own room within the academy.

    After finallying back from the school trip, Iid down on the bed while speaking with Luxon.

    [Well said.]

    After what happened, I had been questioned about a lot of things.

    However, when I showed them the ck Knight¡¯srge sword, I made sure to say ¡°Chris did his best!¡± to the government official many times.

    Everyone else had worked hard as well. I acted as if I had been deeply moved while insisting that I only cooperated.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of that, but this time the country gave a reward to the persevering students.

    I heard that everyone would receive medals.

    [Was it fine to present the ck Knight¡¯srge sword to them?]

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it since it¡¯s cursed to absorb someone¡¯s blood. You¡¯d also be able to prepare something simr to it, right?¡±

    [After having done analysis, it is indeed possible. However, was it necessary to go as far as to present airships and armor as well?]

    That was to tter the royal pce.

    I also handed them to Anjie¡¯s papa since I felt guilty after seeing Anjie¡¯s sleeping face.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s still some left. I¡¯ve got some precious floating stones at hand now.¡±

    There was no promotion this time.

    It ended with everyone receiving a medal.

    [If that¡¯s fine with you, then I don¡¯t mind.]

    A lot had happened in this incident.

    There was also one thing I had been contemting.

    Before long, I would probably have to go all-out and do my best. It would do well to retrieve Livia¡¯s bracelet andter finish the conflict with the principality.

    I had finally resolved myself.

    It was fine if I could remain a mob. However, I wanted to stand beside those two people.

    So for that reason, there was a lot I would need to prepare.

 Chapter 74 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 12 part1</h4>

    <h4>Rematch</h4>

    Say, in days bygone, nobles wanted statuses and ranks corresponding to the actions they did, right?

    I was currently in the lower fifth rank. The upper fifth rank had essentially been guaranteed to me, though! How did thingse to this?

    The kingdom was basically saying that they had expectations for me now.

    I had been put into a very difficult position. In addition to the contributions and other such things regr nobles had to do, I also had to do a suitable amount of work in the event of a war. Promotions were grave matters.

    If a war sprung up, it would difficult for me to reject a request to depart for the front, even if I was a student. Due to that, I had decided to carry out a few preparatory steps.

    So, I currently in a pub, gathering with boys of the same group as me and having a good time there.

    ¡°Leon, do you really have airships?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m envious. They¡¯re warships, right?¡±

    ¡°Just having an airship alone is desirable. My household doesn¡¯t have any.¡±

    Heirs of noble households from the countryside had gathered at the pub, with me being the leading guest of the banquet.

    People were envious, and there were also those harboring jealousy. ©¤©¤That was within expectations.

    ¡°They¡¯re in maintenance right now. Though as a matter of fact©¤©¤I¡¯m actually troubled by how many I have.¡±

    When hearing that, the boys stared daggers at me.

    Daniel gulped.

    ¡°You guys want them?¡±

    Raymond immediately stood up.

    He desperately wanted an airship since it meant being able to seed his house in the future. There was a big difference between having one and not having one. However, it would cost a lot of money to buy one.

    The maintenance costs were nothing to sneeze at either.

    Many barons used cheap, old airships.

    ¡°W, what are you ying at?¡±

    Everyone knew the value in state-of-the-art, superior airships made by the principality. They knew that they couldn¡¯t just selfishly take them. Rather, I held good will towards them and their inability to simply tell me to hand them over.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze surrounded me as I leisurely held my drink to my mouth.

    ¡°In fact, I¡¯ve decided to set up a factory in my household. That¡¯s where maintenance for the ships will ur. If you entrust ¡®everything¡¯ to me in terms of their maintenance©¤©¤perhaps I can offer them to you for free.¡±

    The boys¡¯ gazes immediately swarmed around me.

    ¡°A, are you really saying something so opportune?¡±

    ¡°Could it be that they¡¯re defective?¡±

    ¡°But they¡¯re airships from the principality, right? They¡¯re not defective as long as they can move.¡±

    I sincerely confronted the boys, who couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy.

    ¡°I want you guys to be relieved. I also have something to gain here too. Besides, I vow not to swindle you guys through shoddy repairs or anything simr.¡±

    I hated the tactic of offering cheap products that came with expensive maintenance costs.

    Even so, that didn¡¯t clear their doubts, causing me to sigh.

    ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll also add in four units of armor per airship. Armor from the principality, mind you. I can guarantee their quality.¡±

    Raymond tried to dizzily approach me while Daniel held him back.

    ¡°W, wait, Raymond! This is Leon we¡¯re talking about. He¡¯ll suck you dry to the bone!¡±

    ¡°Ah! Right!¡±

    My delicate heart screamed in response to the cruel evaluation my friends had of me.

    The others also had looks of suspicion towards me. It seemed isting to find that fellow groupmates were treating me coldly, even when we all came here to have a good chat.

    ¡°Sorry. I just thought it make for good publicity to give you guys airships. I understand. I¡¯ll take my business elsewhere.¡±

    Daniel stopped me.

    ¡°Wait! I, is it really free? You¡¯re not going to charge us afterwards or give us anything defective?!¡±

    ¡°I want your trust. I am not a man who spews lies.¡±

    It was sad how several boys replied with ¡°Liar,¡± but the truth was that I wasn¡¯t lying.

    I was nning to do proper business.

    I was prepared to have a factory at my household, and I would be the owner of it. For the future, I was thinking about using my earnings from the factory to make contributions to the kingdom. Getting promoted was a grave matter. I needed to earn money.

    Perhaps some would im that I had enough from remunerations. That would be incorrect, though. There was no point in banking on temporary money when asked to make a contribution every year. I would have nothing left before even a decade passes.

    I definitely had to make money.

    No matter how much thought I put into it, the floating ind I owned would only be able to earn at around the level of a semi-baron house.

    I even thought about having it be a tourist spot, but this was a dangerous world filled with monsters and sky pirates. There would be few customers.

    Therefore, I had thought about setting up a factory in other to increase my sources of future ie.

    ¡°As if I would sell a broken airship. I would lose the trust I need for future business. I would instantly have no customers for the factory. So, I have to make some concessions in order to get customers. Fortunately, I¡¯ve got some airships that I picked up.¡±

    I promoted the deal while remembering how it was done in my previous world.

    ¡°Right now, I¡¯ve got airships and armor free of charge, a grand total of zero dia! No need to worry about the maintenance! I¡¯ll take care of it! I promise to charge reasonable prices. I¡¯ll even put it down on paper.¡±

    One by one, the boys raised their hands.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¡°M, me too!¡± ¡°Me too!¡±

    With a smile, I prepared contracts and handed them to the boys.

    ¡°Yes, write your name down on this field and I¡¯ll send them over to your household. You¡¯ll have to exin it to your parents as well. Oh, and if you have any old airships, I¡¯ll buy them.¡±

    Seeing everyone cheerfully taking the documents, I grinned.

    ¡°Everyone©¤©¤let¡¯s keep in touch as pals.¡±

    ©¤©¤Thanks for taking the initiative on the freebies.

    Gentlemen, I hope you will continue to do your very best from now on. My airship maintenance schema was within reach, and now that I had some loyal friends, a smile appeared on my face.

    ¡ó

    There was a duke residence within the royal capital.

    Anjie had been summoned to her older brother, ¡°Gilbert¡±, on a holiday.

    ¡°Brother, is there a problem?¡±

    Gilbert made a slightly troubled expression.

    There was a document on his table which he showed to Anjie.

    ¡°This? This is a contract about the buying and selling of airships, right?¡±

    ¡°Right. It seems that Leon has been handing them out to baron households.¡±

    ¡°Leon?¡±

    Hearing that, Anjie felt an ominous premonition. She wondered if the duke household had any qualms with Leon¡¯s conduct.

    ¡°S, sorry. I¡¯ll stop him at once.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. The cirction of airships isn¡¯t the problem.¡±

    She was relieved after hearing that there was no problem.

    However, Anjie wondered why she had been called.

    ¡°Then what is this about?¡±

    ¡°It seems that he had set up a factory at his household. It seems that he¡¯s doing rapid maintenance on airships and offering them to baron homes for free. Perhaps his goal is publicity©¤©¤but don¡¯t you think it seems a little too hasty? I¡¯m worried about what someone like him, who single-handedly thwarted the principality, is thinking.¡±

    Gilbert told Anjie that the kingdom was lightly thinking about this matter as well.

    ¡°The royal pce isn¡¯t taking the principality seriously after it had been knocked down by students. Even though the principality has been hindered, it seems that the kingdom is being quite careless towards them. However, the person who fought in the battle is now strengthening his vignce. What do you think of this?¡±

    He had asked Anjie if there was anything she had to say.

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Just?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that©¤©¤he has in fact suddenly been busy. Since then, he¡¯s been training diligently and visiting the dungeon frequently.¡±

    Leon told her that he lost confidence after getting beaten up by the ck Knight, and that he was working harder because of that, but Anjie thought about it.

    (Is he being cautious about the principality? Even when the royal pce isn¡¯t?)

    It seemed that the kingdom didn¡¯t think of the principality as a threat since they had been beaten by students of the academy.

    When they heard that the ck Knight had lost as well, they dismissed him as a famous knight who had grown old.

    Gilbert tapped the desk with his fingers.

    It seemed to Anjie that her older brother was irritated.

    ¡°I wonder if we should be alert. I¡¯d also like to discuss the matter of the principality in fullter on, but right now the Redgrave family has little influential power. Keep in mind that we are falling behind.¡±

    Anjie then remembered about Hertrude.

    ¡°How was her Highness Hertrude dealt with?¡±

    ¡°Dealt with? I can only say that it was naive. It turned into discussions about her studying abroad in the kingdom. Father did oppose it, though. I heard that there was a marquis who didn¡¯t yield.¡±

    Anjie¡¯s eyes widened.

    (So father¡¯s influence has by fallen that much. Hearing that a marquis can overshadow him©¤©¤is troubling.)

    Anjie was alert about the expanding influence of the opposing faction.

    ¡°The marquis said that it was an opportunity to learn about the country¡¯s strength within the academy. It seems he wants to use this opportunity to take in her Highness the princess and make the principality a subsidiary of the kingdom once more. It seemed that he also tried to condemn us for the matter of the Olfery earl household, but that was quickly cut down.¡±

    The Olfery earl household belonged to same faction as that marquis household.

    However, they were quickly punished after the matter of the sky pirates, and their status as nobles, their assets, their territory, and everything else had been forfeit.

    The earl daughter who picked a quarrel with Leon had lost everything.

    She had done dirty work, and was soon cast away when she made a blunder.

    (At this point, I might start to pity that woman.)

    Anjie felt a bit of sympathy for the earl daughter. After all, the path awaiting her was not an easy one by any means.

    Gilbert changed the topic.

    ¡°This may be off topic, but it seems that you¡¯ve gotten along rather well with the honor student.¡±

    As Anjie hung her head, Gilbert continued.

    ¡°You have no reason to get along with people any more than necessary.¡±

    Anjie sent Gilbert a look of strong will.

    ¡°Sh, she is my friend. This does not concern you.¡±

    Gilbert quietly gazed at Anjie, but soon recognized that his sister wouldn¡¯t back down.

    ¡°Do as you please.¡±

    ¡°I, is that fine?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re going that far, then I won¡¯t interfere. Besides, Father and I both feel indebted after this matter. However, if she is your dear friend, then you must protect her yourself.¡±

    ¡°R, right!¡±

    ¡°In addition, we need to reselect the people who will stand by you.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤What will happen to those two?¡±

    When asked about the two girls who had betrayed Anjie, Gilbert made an eerie smile.

    ¡°Do you want to know?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤No, that was a foolish question.¡±

    Anjie understood that the two followers, who she knew since childhood, wouldn¡¯t be let off without retribution.

    However, she feltplicated on the inside.

    Though she had emotional wounds from the betrayal, more prominent to her were Leon and Livia, who had risked their lives to save her.

    (©¤©¤Perhaps I have been blessed.)

    She thought as such whileparing herself to the earl daughter, who had excessively coerced those around her into obeying her.

    Once Gilbert finished talking about Earl Olfery and the two traitors, he asked a question, as if prying a bit into something.

    ¡°Also©¤©¤what do you think of Leon?¡±

    ¡°What do I think?¡±

    ¡°Yes, correct. I haven¡¯t heard about who he has decided on for a marriage partner. He has done many things and gotten promoted. I believe it would a problem if he got married to a bad partner.¡±

    Anjie knew that Gilbert was thinking about taking in Leon. Indeed, it would be very helpful to have Leon as an ally.

    Furthermore, there was also a side of him that was easy to control.

    Him offering state-of-the-art airships and armor from the principality was evidence of that.

    If they monopolized this factor, their own war potential would increase, but on the contrary, it would also be a hazard.

    Both the royal pce and duke household would probably be on guard.

    Even thought he was a baron from a remote region, his numerous airships would be a threat. In the blink of an eye, he could instantly take control over other floating inds and be one giant force.

    There had been many worries about him capturing surrounding territories and bearing his fangs the kingdom.

    Gilbert and the others seemed to recognize that Leon wouldn¡¯t do that.

    (I was nning to warn him if he got carried away, but since he¡¯s just distributing them to barons, my brother isn¡¯t even considering him a threat.)

    It seemed that he was strengthening his connections, but both the royal pce and duke household judged that what he was doing wasn¡¯t a problem.

    What Leon had on hand were broken airships and armor. He had presented the ones in good condition to the royal pce and duke house©¤©¤to the point that it made them say ¡°Are you really okay with that?!¡±

    It seemed like he was a knight who selflessly disregarded profit, and some even gossiped that he was the duke household¡¯s new loyal dog.

    Anjie reported Leon¡¯s search for marriage to Gilbert.

    ¡°Since he has been busy recently, he hasn¡¯t seen any women. Th, the girls hate him.¡±

    Gilbert held his hand over his forehead.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why aren¡¯t they looking at him? He¡¯s a knight who will soon get promoted to the upper fifth rank, and yet women aren¡¯t looking his way©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie began suspecting what Gilbert was saying.

    ¡°Brother, isn¡¯t Leon in the lower fifth rank? I heard that he would get promoted after graduation, though.¡±

    Gilbert looked at Anjie, and felt slightly embarrassed that he had forgotten to tell her.

    ¡°Sorry. I forget to tell you. The truth is©¤©¤¡±

 Chapter 75 - Volume 2

    <h4> Volume 2 Chapter 12 part2</h4>

    The end of the second semester was approaching.

    The medal awarding ceremony for handling the war with the principality, or rather the one incident, would be on the first day of winter break. The students who would receive such medals were delightfully waiting for that day.

    Receiving a medal was no easy feat, and more importantly, it would let them gain prestige and give them something to boast about.

    The students who wouldn¡¯t receive them were disgruntled, but there was no helping it.

    We were enjoying ourselves while drinking tea inside a warm room.

    I bought a new tea set to reward myself and savored the precious tea leaves I got from my mentor.

    Since I had rushed to a famous store to buy expensive sweets first thing in the morning, I was able to enjoy those in apaniment as well.

    ¡°Ah~, this is bliss~.¡±

    The wintry sky outside fogged the window with a cloudy white color.

    Livia was eating the sweets, but only doing so little by little while seeming apologetic©¤©¤and her face loosened up from how sugary they were.

    As expected of a famous store¡¯s sweets. Or perhaps she was surprised by how delicious they were. She was giving them a good taste.

    ¡°These are tasty.¡±

    On the other hand, Anjie was eating them while maintaining good manners, but perhaps not acquiring a taste for them, she didn¡¯t seem to have much of a reaction.

    ¡°Do you like chocte? If so, I can order some from my favorite store.¡±

    Mdy! I¡¯d love to know that shop!

    Livia made a bitter smile.

    ¡°It would be troubling if I got too used to eating expensive things.¡±

    ¡°I, is that so?¡±

    I slightly raised my hand.

    ¡°Anjie, please tell me. Since the waiting list for high-ranking, popr stores would take several months, I¡¯d also like a duke household¡¯s letter of introduction.¡±

    Since this was the world of that otome game, sweets were widespread and popr.

    In this overly bitter world, I at least wanted the confections to be sweet and kind. That was my earnest wish.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re a tea fanatic, I¡¯m going to say no. They¡¯ll hold a grudge against me when you start dwindling their stock.¡±

    There were a considerable amount of boys who liked tea ceremonies. Many of them ordered sweets from popr stores so that they could apany the tea they were so prideful of. Among them, there were also boys who bought up stocks of popr sweets and invited girls to a tea ceremony.

    ©¤©¤Guys like me!

    ¡°Eh~, I won¡¯t buy up their entire stock. I was only going to eat the popr confections in front of the girls. Either that, or hand them out to the girls who were going on a diet!¡±

    I wanted to gain a sense of superiority by showing off famous confections, ones that people wouldn¡¯t have many chances to eat, to dieting girls who were refraining from sweet foods.

    The girls would abandon their diet and reach their hand out to ept the sweets with a smile.

    ¡°How cruel.¡±

    Looking at Livia, who was currently shocked, I thought back upon our recent peaceful moments.

    Aftering back, Luxon took away Partner, Arroganz, and Schwert in order to do maintenance work on them.

    Since I no longer had any means to go out, I invited Daniel and Raymond to head into the dungeon. Now that I had defeated the strongest enemy, I didn¡¯t think that there would be any formidable foes in there, but it never hurt to be prepared.

    There was a chance that the principality wouldn¡¯t stop their fighting, but we were now in possession of their trump card.

    Though things should¡¯ve been okay, I still had an ominous premonition. I couldn¡¯t shake it off.

    Anjie brought up the subject.

    ¡°Anyways Leon, it seems Chris was given the credit for defeating the ck Knight.¡±

    When I averted my gaze, Livia looked at me.

    ¡°Why is that? You were the one who defeated the ck Knight, Leon.¡±

    Since Anjie¡¯s cup was getting low, I poured her another helping of tea, trying to butter her up.

    ¡°Mdy, such a thing revolved heavily around politically-involved judgements©¤©¤¡±

    That was a lie. Political judgements had nothing to do with it. It was just convenient for me.

    However, Anjie was convinced and nodded her head.

    ¡°It was certainly not a bad move.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t really something I put much thought into, but I was happy to be praised for it.

    ¡°U, um, how so?¡±

    Livia didn¡¯t seem to understand.

    Anjie dly exined. I also made sure to listen carefully.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. The Arkwright family was hostile towards Leon. With this matter, Chris¡¯ household could no longer say anything. After all, he took down the undefeatable ck Knight and then gave their son the prestige for it. Forcing the ck Knight to retreat is a big achievement. Chris¡¯ disinheritance will probably be canceled before long.¡±

    Livia smiled at me.

    ¡°Leon, you really are kind!¡±

    ¡°O, of course.¡±

    I stuttered a bit. Well, I assumed that they didn¡¯t like me, but I didn¡¯t even think that the household with a master swordsman would be hostile towards me. If the master swordsman went after me, there would be nothing I could do, even if I had multiple lives.

    Wait a minute. Mine©¤©¤I felt that Mine had said something about it before.

    Luxon, who had been listening to the conversation inside the room, looked at me.

    Since it showed itself before, there was no longer any need to hide.

    [What a relief, Master.]

    What Luxon meant was that I unknowingly dodged a bullet by pushing the achievement onto someone else, which itself only happened because I didn¡¯t want to get promoted.

    I had gradually be aware of how Luxon worked.

    ¡°What do you think? Are you happy that your owner can make such sophisticated calctions?¡±

    [It seems you really do have a talent for getting carried away. Normally, people would be more modest. Those with a guilty conscience would be more humble.]

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything. I¡¯m just an ordinary boy brimming with kindness and honesty.¡±

    [Shall I look up what kindness and honesty mean in a dictionary? It seems you need some more studying in the subject ofnguage.]

    Anjie and Livia touched the floating Luxon with their hands.

    They poked at it with their fingers.

    ¡°It talks a lot for a thing with one eye.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that Anjie. Luc has a name, it¡¯s Luxon.¡±

    Luxon looked at Livia.

    [Luc? Is that some kind of abbreviation to refer to me?]

    I looked at Luxon while grinning.

    ¡°How nice it must be, Luc. Doesn¡¯t it sound cute?¡±

    Since Luxon was silent, Livia seemed worried that she offended it. I told her that it was fine and then began to continue our conversation.

    ¡°So, about those guys. They aren¡¯t necessarily bad people. Err, probably.¡±

    Well©¤©¤they were pretty stupid people, but they weren¡¯t bad.

    Anjie made a face that seemed as if she was not amused.

    ¡°Right. The wicked one is the girl deceiving those five, Marie.¡±

    Since the mood had worsened, Livia started talking about school gossip.

    ¡°A, anyways, I heard something about those five! It seems that they¡¯re currently doing something in a storehouse.¡±

    ¡°Something?¡±

    When I seemed interested in the topic, Livia dly continued speaking.

    ¡°Right. It seems that the five are making something.¡±

    What in the world would the five of them need to gather together for?

    ¡ó

    Marie arrived at a storehouse within the academy.

    ¡°Hey everyone, what did you call me here for~?¡±

    When the five said that there was something they wanted to show her, she was excited, thinking that it was a present.

    (What could it be? Maybe a jewel? No, a dress? Recently, they¡¯ve all been working hard, so it¡¯s definitely some kind of present for me. What a wonderful surprise!)

    There was something big, covered by a sheet, in front of Marie.

    Marie tilted her head.

    Kyle, who was standing beside her, also tilted his head.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    Greg rubbed the area under his nose with his finger.

    ¡°Something we¡¯re proud to show off.¡±

    Brad lifted his bangs with his hand and brushed them back.

    ¡°It¡¯s something we¡¯ve kept you waiting for, Marie.¡±

    What the two said had raised Marie¡¯s expectations.

    ¡°Thanks, you two!¡±

    Chris, perhaps being bashful, removed his sses and looked at Marie¡¯s smiling face.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ve also been working hard on it.¡±

    ¡°Yep, thank you, Chris.¡±

    Thereupon, Jilk forcibly cleared his throat.

    ¡°Marie, don¡¯t forget about his Highness and me. C¡¯mon, your Highness.¡±

    Julian stood in front of Marie.

    ¡°Marie©¤©¤this represents our feelings.¡±

    Once the five removed the sheet, there stood a unit of armor on its knees.

    ©¤©¤Marie¡¯s smile stiffened.

    (Huh?)

    Julian and the others looked at the armor in satisfaction.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to challenge Baltfault with this. We will win against the one who disrupted the rtionship between you and me©¤©¤and move forward!¡±

    Greg gave a thumbs up.

    ¡°You said it, your Highness! No, Julian!¡±

    Brad put his hands on his hips and puffed up with pride.

    ¡°Right. We can¡¯t move forward without beating him. This armor we¡¯ve prepared is the embodiment of our determination.¡±

    Marie froze in ce. She couldn¡¯t understand what the five were saying.

    (Determination? Just how much do they think it costs to prepare armor?! Furthermore, it seems like it was put together using parts of different colors. D, don¡¯t tell me that they connected parts of their broken armor from that duel! Are they going to challenge him with that kind of armor?)

    Chris¡¯ eyes were tearing up. He seemed deeply moved by the armor in front of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit misshapen, but it looks better than any armor I¡¯ve been on so far.¡±

    Jilk smiled while nodding.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a bunch of usable parts put together, but it¡¯s jam-packed with our feelings. Rather, it looks quite wonderful now. This is some good armor.¡±

    Marie stiffly turned her head towards Julian.

    ¡°Julian, h, how much did this cost? The repair charges and other such things, I mean.¡±

    Julian made a slightly lonesome expression.

    ¡°Marie, this is not a matter of money, it¡¯s a matter of our feelings.¡±

    ¡°T, that¡¯s not it! I¡¯m just worried that everyone had to spend an unreasonable amount of money!¡±

    Julian was relieved upon hearing that.

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what it was? Actually, we used the remunerations for this.¡±

    Brad and Greg had received remuneration due to the suppression of the sky pirates.

    Chris also received remuneration for the incident with the principality.

    ¡°S, so you used that money for repairs.¡±

    Marie wondered why they would use their hard-earned remuneration for such a pointless thing, but she reassured herself that things were still okay.

    However, Jilk¡¯s words caused Marie¡¯s hopes to plummet to rock bottom.

    ¡°We were a bit nervous, so we used up somemunal assets as well. We found a person who imed to be a famous armor producer and offered repairs for cheap.¡±

    Marie¡¯s legs trembled when hearing that themunal assets had been used.

    However, it didn¡¯t end there.

    ¡°We were able to manage somehow by using the remunerations and five hundred thousand from ourmunal assets. With remarkable ability, they pushed the performance of the armor to its limits. What a wonderful person. With this power, we can win against Baltfault and his Arroganz.¡±

    Marie felt dizzy. She didn¡¯t copse since Kyle supported her, but she felt like crying deep down. She knew that young men from noble families were baffling when it came to using money, but it seemed especially severe for these five.

    (Five hundred thousand dia! Converted in Japanese yen, that¡¯s fifty million yen they spent. And they took it from themunal assets?! For something like this?!)

    Even though they weremunal assets, almost all of it was for living expenses and was managed by Marie.

    They made a killing from the school festival and frantically earned money via the dungeon, and now almost of the living expenses they earned had gone towards one misshapen unit of armor.

    Though, five hundred thousand was a bit much for five people.

    Marie wept inside her mind.

    (Five hundred thousand for this mishmashed, rubbish armor! There must be something wrong with their heads! Why did they use it all up?! Or rather, they should have consulted me before doing so! How are we supposed to sustain our livelihood now?!)

    While trembling, Marie spoke towards the five, who had rushed towards her in concern.

    ¡°W, why didn¡¯t you consult me in advance?¡±

    Julian made a smile.

    ¡°We wanted to surprise you. Sorry. We didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d be this shocked. Just wait, Marie. We¡¯ll defeat Baltfault, removing the obstacle that has torn the rtionship between you and me.¡±

    Marie earnestly begged that he would remove her unease for the future instead.

 Chapter 76 - Volume 2

    <h4>Volume 2 Chapter 12 part3</h4>

    That day, a request for a duel arrived at my room.

    ¡°Those guys really are just idiots.¡±

    It was sent from Julian and the others, and the date of the duel would be the day of the closing ceremony.

    ¡°If they win, they want me to no longer intrude on their rtionship with Marie? Do they think this is a sacred duel or something? Do they not know that they¡¯re going to lose?¡±

    Luxon, who was beside me, spoke in a cold tone of voice.

    [There¡¯s not much to say about this. Would it be fine to refuse?]

    I thought about it for a bit.

    Did they want to be with Marie that badly?

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll ept it.¡±

    [You¡¯re going to ept?]

    ¡°If they want to be with her that badly, I¡¯ll lose. After a bit of thinking, it would be a poor move to have Livia be with one of five who had chosen Marie. Livia¡¯s too good for them. Julian¡¯s an idiot for abandoning Anjie for Marie.¡±

    [You just realized that?]

    Wasn¡¯t this AI being too cold towards its owner?

    ¡°Anyways, those five can do as they like. Honestly, I don¡¯t have time to get involved with Marie.¡±

    Things were getting busy on my end since I had to deal with the principality, the matter of the saint, and so forth.

    Those guys would probably be satisfied if I lost.

    [You can¡¯t say for sure that Marie won¡¯t interfere with you in the future. Aren¡¯t you being a little too careless?]

    ¡°She¡¯s someone who reincarnated here and knows about that otome game. That being the case, she should know that the kingdom will fall unless Livia bes a saint, so she probably won¡¯t be a nuisance anymore.¡±

    [Is that so?]

    The strongest foe had been defeated, and now the enemy¡¯s trump card, the magic flute, was with the kingdom.

    I was still being cautious, but I didn¡¯t think that being anymore vignt would result in anything.

    Though, I wondered why I had this certain feeling of restlessness.

    [Could Anjelica get angry?]

    ¡°I¡¯ll persuade her. I could convince her to leave them be already. If she does get angry though, I¡¯ll just win against those guys.¡±

    [You¡¯re treating those five pretty lightly.]

    ¡°Anjie¡¯s feelings take priority, so I¡¯ve got no choice.¡±

    I headed towards Julian¡¯s ce in order to tell him that I would ept the duel.

    ¡ó

    The closing ceremony had just ended.

    The academy was encapsted with an entric enthusiasm.

    Students and teachers gathered at the stadium.

    Girls ran forward in a circr arena to cheer for Julian.

    ¡°Julian¡¯s team, you five should do your best to defeat that fiend!¡±

    ¡°It seems that the five had gathered each night in order to repair their armor.¡±

    ¡°E, each and every night.¡±

    Livia listened to the surrounding people while concerned about Anjie.

    She was worried about whether she would get angry or not.

    ¡°Anjie, um©¤©¤¡±

    However, Anjie stood dignified.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, don¡¯t worry. Leon had spoken with me beforehand. I agree with his reason for losing. I have no qualms.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°He would like to give at least one word ofint to his Highness, though. He may have a bad way of speaking, but it seems that his attitude towards his Highness has calmed down. I feel sorry for Leon now that he had gotten involved in so many things.¡±

    ¡°Will he be safe for tomorrow¡¯s awarding ceremony? Leon, I hope you don¡¯t get hurt.¡±

    Julian was Anjie¡¯s former fiance. The person she had loved started yet one more duel for the sake of another woman. It seemed that Anjie epted her loss.

    The surrounding girls were getting excited.

    The same went for the boys The boys seemed fond of how the five had prepared a unit of armor themselves. They had hopes for the five, even though they suffered utter defeat by the hands of Leon before.

    ¡°They¡¯re quite bold to challenge him again after losing.¡±

    ¡°Ah, they¡¯ll definitely get it right this time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be rooting for his Highness and the others.¡±

    They were impressed by Julian and the others, and when the viin, Leon, appeared from the sky, the venue was filled with a storm of unified jeers.

    Anjie made a troubled smile.

    ¡°Who would think that the most hated person in the academy would also be the knight who will go down in history?¡±

    ¡°History? What?¡±

    When Livia, who couldn¡¯t hear her well, asked a question, Anjie smiled and shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Look, shouldn¡¯t we at least support Leon?¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    The two cheered for Leon.

    ¡ó

    The five were in the arena.

    Once Arroganznded onto the venue from the sky, Greg readied himself and got into the armor.

    He double checked with the four.

    ¡°Is it really okay if I go?¡±

    Brad looked at Greg and nodded with a serious expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s frustrating, but I wouldn¡¯t be able to win. I have great expectations for your ability.¡±

    As Greg smiled in response to his friend¡¯s words, Chris also entrusted Greg with the match.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to win with only swordsmanship. Greg, I leave it to you.¡±

    Chris, who was obsessed with the sword, didn¡¯t think he would be saying those words.

    Jilk touched the green portion of the armor.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s hopes are under your care.¡±

    Julian also nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯re our best bet. Now go win against Baltfault!¡±

    Greg responded to their feelings.

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    The venue was swept with a wave of inspiration upon seeing the camaraderie of the five,

    Once Greg closed the chest of the armor, he sensed everyone¡¯s dense feelings. He noticed that the armor felt very warm and was delighted.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re worked up as well. I can see that you¡¯re ready to fight alongside me. Let¡¯s do this, partner!¡±

    He looked at Arroganz in front of him.

    ¡°Baltfault, let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll show you our power!¡±

    ¡ó

    I was inside Arroganz.

    ¡°I wonder how I should lose.¡±

    I watched the situation unfold amongst the five people, slightly rotten people if I may add, who seemed delighted.

    It seemed that night after night, they had been doing maintenance on the armor.

    The armor, which they all chipped in some cash for and repaired themselves, looked conspicuous and had some crude portions After which, a self-purported craftsman offered to polish it up, and not only made it look better, but apparently increased its performance as well.

    They did a lot just so they could beat me.

    ©¤©¤Such youthful vigor wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.

    [What a refreshing friendship. You, on the other hand, expanded your ring of friends by tying them to contracts©¤©¤quite lowly.]

    ¡°Just let me unt what I have. Well then, now that I have permission from Anjie, how should I lose?¡±

    The referee dered the start of the duel.

    Greg was heading towards me, so I took a distance while parrying his spear with my de. However, there was arge difference in Greg¡¯s movementspared to the previous duel.

    The power and speed of his armor had risen, and the mishmashed armor was stronger than any armor they used before.

    ¡°A spear in his right hand and a rifle on his left? Huh, it seems that he has grown.¡±

    While impressed at Greg, who was going all-out right from the get-go, Arroganz was gradually stepping back.

    To the people spectating, it probably looked like I was getting pushed around.

    I let out a voice and spoke to Greg.

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve done the impossible.¡±

    ¡°This is all for the sake of winning against you! Baltfault, show me what you¡¯ve got!¡±

    ¡°Ah, how passionate. Are you that much of a zealous guy?¡±

    I was chuckling, but I was seriously envious when thinking about those five.

    I muttered ¡°I envy you guys,¡± while making sure that nobody would hear me. Such youthful figures looked so radiant.

    After I had said that, Luxon issued an alert.

    [Master, please tell Greg to break-out right away. His armor is on the verge of exploding!]

    ¡°What? Really?!¡±

    [I¡¯m not lying. The quantity of heat is reaching abnormal levels. The internal structure of the armor was haphazardly put together. In its current state, I can only say that it¡¯s enough to get the armor to move. It¡¯s not that the armor had its performance improved, but that it has been set to run wildly.]

    When Luxon told me that, I immediately alerted Greg.

    ¡°Hey, your armor is acting up! Get out of there right now!¡±

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°Hah! You¡¯re trying to deceive me. Right! Did you really expect to trick me when I already know how you work? However, now I¡¯ve cornered you!¡±

    ©¤©¤Greg didn¡¯t believe me.

    His armor was stirring around quite a bit.

    I thought it was improbable at first, but now I was convinced that it was running wild.

    I shouted at referee.

    ¡°Referee! Abort! This guy¡¯s armor is unusual!¡±

    However the referee, a teacher, shook their head.

    ¡°Baltfault, how shameful. You have to earnestly ept their thoughts head-on.¡±

    ¡°Stop kidding me! What do you mean by their thoughts?! How about you earnestly ept my words?!¡±

    The referee seemed to think that I was lying.

    Indeed, it seemed like I was being cornered since I was fighting half-heartedly in order to lose. It turned out that losing through being cornered had backfired.

    ©¤©¤However, I wasn¡¯t lying. This was different!

    Luxon was amazed. My conversation with it didn¡¯t leak out to anybody outside.

    [It seems you¡¯re suffering the consequences of your actions. You¡¯ve been acting with bad manners, so now you¡¯re facing difficulty. I havepleted my analysis. It could explode at any given moment.]

    ¡°©¤©¤You must be joking.¡±

    It was going to break? The armor that represented a portion of those guys¡¯ youths? As expected, that would make my heart ache!

    ¡°N, no. Could such a thing happen?! I mean, those guys have been working their hardest to build it©¤©¤there must be some kind of demon causing it to break!¡±

    For example, consider if five people built an aircraft with their own effort during the summer vacation. They pulled all-nighters to build it and though they had their quarrels, itspletion created a set of summer memories. With the memories they all made from itspletion, no matter how battered it was and how much others saw it as worthless, it would be treasured item for those five.

    Thinking that such a thing would break down was not something that pleased my mind. Rather, I wanted to provide some aid.

    When I denied it, Luxon indifferently asked me a question.

    [In that case, are you going to watch as Greg dies in an explosion?]

    There were many times where I thought Greg, the meathead he was, would die! However, it¡¯s not like I wanted him to!

    I grabbed Greg using Arroganz¡¯s left hand.

    Greg¡¯s armor acted violently.

    ¡°Hey, get out! For Pete¡¯s sake, get out of there!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still gonna say that?! Not yet. I haven¡¯t lost yet!¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re actually in danger!¡±

    ¡°I will not be tricked by your deceit anymore! We haven¡¯t forgotten about when you swindled us!¡±

    It was a mistake to swindle money out of them when they were riding Partner instead of just charging them for the passage fee. I had intended to teach them how the world worked, but it turned out to be a poor choice to reveal my trick afterwards.

    I was poking fun at them, but now I regretted having done it.

    These guys didn¡¯t trust me, or rather, they didn¡¯t have any reason to trust me.

    ¡°Grow up a little! You got scammed by an imposter!¡±

    The armor¡¯s internal structure normally wouldn¡¯t work right. The scammer who posed as an armor maintenance technician might have put it together without thinking.

    This all happened because they were young men from wealthy families! They needed to study the ways of the world, at least for a bit!

    Up until now, the people around looked after them, so perhaps they didn¡¯t doubt the person whobelled themself as a craftsman. They should have had some distrust towards that person!

    Julian and the others, who were rooting for Greg, shouted at him.

    ¡°Get away! His arm is dangerous!¡±

    Jilk also raised his voice. Quite unusual since he was normallyposed.

    ¡°Detach that part! Flee at once!¡±

    Brad denied Jilk¡¯s advice.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be possible. The purge function had been removed. Greg, do whatever you can to escape!¡±

    Chris cheered for Greg in a loud voice.

    ¡°Greeeeg! Show us your power!¡±

    He was supposed to be the cool character! If he was going to cheer, then he should have done it more calmly! Otherwise©¤©¤

    ¡°©¤©¤If Chris is going that far, then I have no choice but to do my best. Here we goooo!¡±

    Greg disyed an eagerness and was about to force himself away from Arroganz. The output of his rampant armor continued to increase, but I was somehow able to hold him down using Arroganz¡¯s power.

    [Master, we¡¯re nearing the time limit.]

    ¡°You guys are terrible! You¡¯ve forced my hand!¡±

    I hung my head©¤©¤and pulled a trigger on a joystick with a trembling finger.

    Luxon seemed lighthearted.

    [Impact~.]

    Once it said that, the ting on the left arm expanded and emitted light.

    A shockwave assaulted Greg while he was inside his armor, causing the armor to scatter and fly. The pilot, Greg, had fallen unconscious, but safely fell to the floor. What a relief it was that Arroganz had an attack to destroy only the armor. Indeed a relief, but©¤©¤

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯m so done with all of this.¡±

    [Thank you for your hard work. Well~, those five were formidable enemies.]

    ©¤©¤The arena fellpletely silent.

    I pulled the trigger, but also ended up pulling the rug out from under the audience¡¯s feet. They were speechless

    Then, I heard a dyed screaming from Marie.

    ¡ó

    ¡°GYAAAAAAAAAH! My five hundred thousaaaand! Everything I owneeeed!¡±

    Next to Marie, who was shrieking while her hands were clutching her head, stood Kyle, who was covering his ears.

    Marie couldn¡¯t help but scream when seeing everyone¡¯s armor scatter into pieces.

    If it still had retained its form, it would have still been usable and even seble.

    That possibility had now vanished, though.

    It was just worthless scrap metal at this point.

    ¡°Ah~ It fell apart quite splendidly. It¡¯s probably irreparable, right?¡±

    Marie, who nked out, copsed right then and there while twitching.

    Kyle rushed over in a panic.

    ¡°Wait! Master?!¡±

    The trembling Marie muttered incoherently.

    ¡°T, this is just a dream. Right, everyone is surrounding me, celebrating an uneventful day. Today is the anniversary for when everyone saw Marie¡¯s smile, and now I¡¯m receiving presents. Never, ever did anyone boast about armor. That was definitely forbidden since that mob, Leon, would break it. If it was broken©¤©¤it wouldn¡¯t be seble. My five hundred thousand dia©¤©¤my living expenses©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to go into debt. A dream. Yes, a dream. I¡¯m in my bed, just having a slightly frightening dream right now.¡±

    Kyle calmly made a retort.

    ¡°No, this is reality. Wake up from your irresponsible delusion of the world.¡±

    The armor, and with it, Marie¡¯s living expenses, were all destroyed by Leon.

    Marie couldn¡¯t face reality, and had be victim to both mental and mary damage.

    Leon had also received a fair amount of damage in his heart, and so the duel ended as a draw as far as the two were concerned.

    ¡ó

    The royal pce had a conference room.

    Gathered inside were nobles from a faction opposing the Redgrave duke household.

    ¡°Did you hear? His Highness and the others lost again to that person who had been promoted.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that he won¡¯t ascend to the throne.¡±

    ¡°Nevertheless, the attitude and behavior of that promoted man are intolerable. There are even rumors that he¡¯s the queen¡¯s favorite, but what do you think?¡±

    The nobles were talking amongst each other.

    Meanwhile, a marquis at the top of the faction looked at the nobles.

    (Each and every one of them are being careless towards that promoted person.)

    That marquis was the only one not excited by the discussion of the duel.

    Thereupon, one of the nobles spoke lightly of Leon.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine to leave such a person alone, right? The Redgrave house¡¯s watchdog is just desperate to be liked by his owner, after all. He¡¯s a mad dog who recklessly picks fights. Leaving that aside, there¡¯s also the matter of the principality. It¡¯s pathetic how they talked big, yet lost to students. We should soon make our own©¤©¤¡±

    The surrounding people agreed with the noble, but the marquis pounded the table with a fist, silencing the others.

    They were surprised, and everyone¡¯s sight gathered onto the marquis.

    ¡°©¤©¤We need to deal with that brat no matter what. Use whatever means you can.¡±

    The nobles smiled and disagreed.

    ¡°H, however, we have no reason to. Besides, we also have the principality¡¯s movements to be concerned about, and the queen©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Do whatever you can to crush him! Don¡¯t mind the fact that he may be the queen¡¯s favorite! Before considering the principality, we need to deal with that brat first!¡±

    Nobody talked back in face of the marquis¡¯ vigor.

    (He¡¯s the only one we need to do away with. He repelled the principality alone with just one airship, no? We can¡¯t neglect such a lost item. Why can¡¯t the king, nor the queen©¤©¤nor Vince understand?! They should know just how much of a danger that guy is!)

    The marquis saw Leon as more dangerous than the principality.

    ¡°Get in touch with the principality. Furthermore, bring her Highness Hertrude over to this location.¡±

    A knight who was there quickly left the room and headed towards Hertrude.

    In the royal pce, there was someone was more hostile to Leon than even the principality.

 Chapter 77 - Volume 2

    <strong>v2 Epilogue Part 1</strong>

    Epilogue

    It was the day after the duel and I was inside my room within the boys¡¯ dorms.

    I sat on top of my bed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to break it. But, Luxon said that it would be dangerous unless I dismantled it, and anybody would pull the trigger if they were told that Greg could die in front of them. Anyone who wouldn¡¯t pull it would be inhuman. Yet, everyone looks at me with disgust for pulling the trigger. Did I do something wrong? Is this my burden to carry alone?¡±

    While I was grumbling to Luxon, I was looking at the people who would be participating in the ceremony, my parents, my brother Nicks, and my sister who no longer had ties to the viscount household.

    My sister¡¯s cat-eared exclusive servant, Meole, was standing by outside the room.

    There were guests outside of my family as well, making the rtively spacious room feel cramped.

    Anjie looked at me with a troubled expression.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been like that since yesterday. Not a good image for a baron. You at least changed into your ceremonial suit, though.¡±

    An apologetic Livia had already talked about my circumstances to my family.

    ¡°Leon, a lot of people have been condemning you about yesterday¡¯s duel.¡±

    Everyone had been telling me that I had crossed a line. My mentor was the only one who didn¡¯t criticize me. Being the extraordinary gentleman he was, he kindly said ¡°You must have had some reason for doing it,¡± to me.

    I couldn¡¯t stop my tears in face of my mentor¡¯s kindness.

    ¡°Ah~, your tearing up. Look, your ceremonial suit will get stained with tears, so go put a towel to your eyes.¡±

    rice was also here for some reason.

    It seemed the reason for that was somehow rted to the Atlee household. She had spoken about her reason, but at that time I was zoning out and had ignored whatever she said.

    In addition, standing there while folding her arms was the queen©¤©¤no wait, it was Deirdre.

    Why was she here?

    ¡°How pathetic. The great ambition of the one who fought against the principality is nowhere to be seen.¡±

    ¡°What kind of guy are you?! Can you not hold a dignified appearance just for today?! Also, there have been an increasing number of girls who I don¡¯t know about. What in the world have you gotten yourself into?¡±

    My father, who wore a knight¡¯s ceremonial uniform that didn¡¯t match with his bearded appearance, scolded me while troubled about the group of women. It seemed that he couldn¡¯t help but feel confused about why there were so many wealthy girls in my room.

    ¡°Who knows? I¡¯d like to ask that question myself.¡±

    My mother was wearing a dress that she normally wouldn¡¯t wear. It seemed that she felt bothered by all of the prestigious girls.

    ¡°R, right. You¡¯re about to receive a medal. You¡¯ll be the star of the show today, so you should be more firm. B, by the way, what are you to these people here?¡±

    Deirdre answered while rolling her hair around her hand.

    ¡°He¡¯s the first man whoid his abuse towards me.¡±

    I immediately denied it. What was with this easily charmed upperssman, and why did she seem so delighted?

    ¡°Stop phrasing it so weirdly. Also, why are you all ring at me? I don¡¯t have any strange hobbies.¡±

    I pulled myself together and sighed.

    ¡°Why do I even have to wear a specific suit for today¡¯s ceremony anyways? Wouldn¡¯t my uniform be enough?¡±

    Today¡¯s ceremony only involved handing out congrattory medals to the students who participated in the battle with the principality.

    I was told that the whole school was gathering in the morning to publicly acknowledge them.

    So, why were my parents here?

    When I made an expression of bewilderment, my brother looked at me with an exhausted face.

    ¡°Did you, by any chance, not hear what they said?¡±

    When I nodded my head, Anjie red at me. She was pretty scary.

    Or rather, she had been maintaining a frightening glint in her eyes ever since Deirdre spoke.

    Did I do something?

    ¡°Oh©¤©¤I exined it to you yesterday, but did you not listen to it all?¡±

    Livia stood up for me to the angry Anjie.

    ¡°Wait. Leon¡¯s hurt. He really nned on losing against his Highness and the others, but ended up winning. So©¤©¤please forgive him!¡±

    When Livia said that, Anjie once again exined the situation to me.

    Thank you for the help, Livia©¤©¤I¡¯ll get you an amazing ne for a present. It was supposed to be yours from the start, though. Though, what reason should Ie up with to give it to her?

    While I pondered about such things, she spoke.

    ¡°You were the one who had aplished the most, Leon.¡±

    ¡°Huh? That¡¯s supposed to be Chris, right?¡±

    Anjie didn¡¯t understand what I was saying.

    ¡°It¡¯s true that Chris drove away the ck Knight©¤©¤at least that¡¯s what people were led to believe, but you were the one who seized her Highness Hertrude, Leon. You also plundered the enemy nation¡¯s new airships and armor. Presenting them to the royal pce was a grand feat. You also saved the students and sailors. Looking at it as a whole, both you and Chris were extraordinary. So you¡¯ll be awarded a genuine medal.¡±

    Livia looked d.

    ¡°You rushed to rescue Anjie by yourself! The people of the duke household praised you for being a knight among knights!¡±

    Huh, that happened? I had those kinds of achievements? What?! Wait a minute!! I never heard about that!

    I couldn¡¯t believe what rice then said.

    ¡°The Atlee household had been vouching for your promotion before as well, but with this event, your merits were acknowledged. Also, Chris¡¯ household had vouched as well. The Field household and Seberg household too had also written a letter of rmendation for you, Leon. Lastly©¤©¤the Rosede household as well.¡±

    Deirdre made a loudughter.

    ¡°If you were just all bark and no bite, I would done everything in my power to crush you. However, you carried out your words©¤©¤just like a genuine knight, and proved yourself as a noble. If we didn¡¯t recognize you, the Rosede name would lose meaning.¡±

    ©¤©¤Why did they all do this to me?! I wasn¡¯t happy at all!

    While I stiffened, Livia spoke to me with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯re amazing, Leon! From today, you¡¯ll be in the ¡®lower fourth rank¡¯ as a ¡®viscount.¡¯ Rumors have spread about you in the royal capital, and you¡¯re like a hero, Leon.¡±

    I couldn¡¯tprehend what Livia had said. My mind refused toprehend.

    A, a viscount? A hero? How strange. That was impossible! That shouldn¡¯t have happened!!

    My sister was there in the corner of the room, getting smaller and smaller. She was distressed when hearing about me being a viscount. She was probably remembering about the boy she definitely couldn¡¯t marry. She was letting her feelings of resentment show.

    I calmed down a bit after seeing my sister like that. Right, now that I had regain myposure, I would be able to cope with most of these things.

    ¡°Why? Even though he said he¡¯d get married, he rejected both my friend and me. Wasn¡¯t he a little too cruel to say ¡®No, not a chance¡¯?¡±

    As a matter of fact, I was actually acquainted with the upperssman my sister had a crush on. The ce I sold the sky pirates to was the household that both my sister and her friend wanted to get married into.

    I heard a lot, but it seemed that there were other partners than my sister and her best friend.

    I smiled and spoke as if I didn¡¯t care about my sister.

    This would make up for how much a nuisance she had been. As her brother, I will make her apologize for being an awful sister.

    In addition, it seemed that my sister had reconciled with her friend.

    Apparently, that they reconciled once they bothined about their anger towards the man they had been aiming for.

    ©¤©¤Who was it that said a friendship between girls would be short-lived? Their rtionship had gotten stronger!

    I copsed onto my bed and lied down.

    ¡°This is just a dream. Once I wake up, I¡¯ll be at the beginning of my school life, the school entrance ceremony. Daniel, Raymond, and I will all grumble about how hard it is to get married. My mentor will guide me towards the Way of Tea, I¡¯ll challenge the dungeon in order to buy a new tea set, then I¡¯ll find a modest but kind girl with big breasts, save her when she¡¯s in a pinch, and have her fall in love with me. I¡¯ll safely spend three years with the those breasts, marry her, and then return to my home town. We¡¯ll happily spend our time soaking in hot springs and eating Japanese food. A viscount? You must be mistaking me for someone else.¡±

    Seeing my desires leaking out, my older sister clicked her tongue.

    ¡°You really a hopeless man. Just what do you think of women? You¡¯re the worst.¡±

    My older brother was cruel as well.

    ¡°In the end, you¡¯re just getting married for her breasts.¡±

    My father also acted cruelly.

    ¡°What matters most is her bottom, you know? A round bottom, just like the one your mother©¤©¤ouch!¡±

    ¡°You!¡±

    My mother pped my father, who had ended up saying something extreme. Way to go, do some more to him.

    rice showed some interest.

    ¡°Oh, you have a hot spring? How nice.¡±

    Anjie red at her.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    rice maintained herposure towards Anjie.

    ¡°Oh my, could it be that you¡¯re bothered?¡±

    I thought of rice as being a little cute, but Anjie¡¯s re was staggering, so I averted my eyes.

    Deirdre heard about the hot springs.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what suits your fancy. I can buy each and every floating ind with one for you.¡±

    Livia seemed troubled.

    ¡°Huh? Well, but, buying an ind is a bit much.¡±

    ¡°The Rosede household has that much fortune.¡±

    Anjie spoke quietly.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll just buy an ind? Leon has a rtionship with a duke household. Do you not know that, Deirdre?¡±

    ¡°Anjielica, that face of yours©¤©¤it¡¯s giving me the shivers.¡±

    This person was definitely abnormal.

    Anyways, could I not bail out of this ceremony and make everyone go home?

    Livia was slightly angry while trying to have me get up.

    ¡°Leon, the ceremony is about to begin, so hurry and get going! C¡¯mon, get up.¡±

    Anjie averted her gaze from the two she had been ring at and turned towards me.

    She pulled on my arm, getting me off of the bed with Livia.

    ¡°Look, you should go. Your father and older brother will be participating in this ceremony. They both admire you, Leon.¡±

    ©¤©¤This wasn¡¯t how things were supposed to go!

    ¡ó

    It was the first day of winter break.

    A grand ceremony was held at the academy.

    The young students were awarded medals for their efforts, beginning with a baron who yed an active role in the battle against the principality.

    Many schoolboys were recognized as knights, and many girls would be receiving just the medal, but would also get an annuity.

    The boys weren¡¯t given an annuity, but that just went to show how severe this world was.

    In addition, Leon Fou Baltfault had risen in rank.

    He had received arge promotion to the lower fourth rank.

    Leon was the only one in the history of the kingdom to get promoted this much in such a short period of time.

    There were reasons for his promotion, but the fight with the principality was thergest factor.

    In addition, his promotion had also resulted from the letters of rmendation by numerous prestigious families, beginning with the Field, Seberg, and Arkwright households.

    On this day, Leon carved his name into the history of the kingdom.

    ¡ó

    After the ceremony ended, I loosened up the cor of my knight uniform and fled towards the back of the school building.

    The back of the school building was in the shade, and thatbined with the weather made it cold.

    I was getting a headache from both the party and from my thoughts about what would happen from now on.

    ¡°Why did thingse to this?¡±

    Luxon, who was by my side, acted the same as ever.

    [It would have been better if you hadn¡¯t done anything.]

    ¡°The stupidity of those guys has gone beyond my expectations. I¡¯m not getting involved with them again.¡±

    Was it bad to get involved with Julian and the others? At any rate, my heart calmed down while speaking with Luxon.

    I was at my wits¡¯ end.

    ¡°What does being a viscount mean? What about the lower fourth rank? What in the world am I expected to do?!¡±

    Even if people were expecting a lot from me, there wasn¡¯t much I could do!

    As I was wallowing in sadness alone, Livia came to the back of the school building, looking for me.

    Come to think of it, this was the ce Livia originally upied when she had been in low spirits before.

    ¡°Ah, so you were here, Leon.¡±

    ¡°Livia©¤©¤¡±

    I suddenly became embarrassed since this was the first time we¡¯ve been alone ever since the fight with the principality. Somehow or another, we had been operating with Anjie there as well.

    No, we had been deliberately operating as a group of three.

    However, I remember what she confessed to when we were alone.

    Perhaps remembering the same, Livia¡¯s face turned a little red.

    ¡°U, um!¡±

    ¡°Y, yes?!¡±

    Since Livia had raised her voice, I replied while surprised.

    Livia took one deep breath and then made a very wholesome smile.

    ¡°Perhaps I may be a bother to you Leon, but what I said back then wasn¡¯t a lie.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤You¡¯re not a bother. However, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s the best thing to do.¡±

    Livia made an awkward smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been avoiding me, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I just wasn¡¯t sure on what I should say.¡±

    As I dropped my shoulders, Luxon beside me said something along the lines of [You¡¯re quite pathetic, Master.] I wanted to throw this ball thing.

    Livia held onto my hand.

    ¡°Please give me your answer someday. I¡¯ll be waiting until then.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Livia.¡±

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s go. Everyone¡¯s waiting.¡±

    With Livia leading me by the hand, I was taken out from the shadow of the school building.

    ¡ó

    It was winter break.

    I returned home, looking at the new residence.

    The countryside was nice. It felt like the events that transpired in the city were all lies.

    This location was tenderly weing me.

    ¡°Quite therge residence.¡±

    My father, who was embarrassed yet prideful, was very delighted.

    ¡°The number of visiting guests have increased. I wanted to greet you to our tidied home, so I had been working hard. I owe it to you.¡±

    My parents had arge amount of money, so they had been sending me a small allowance, but it seemed that most of it went towards rebuilding the residence.

    The former residence was©¤©¤how do I say it? Oh, I got it. Let¡¯s just say that it had only kept up appearances.

    My older brother made aplex facial expression when hearing about our rooms from my father.

    ¡°Though I won¡¯t be able toe back here that often after graduation, this feels a little nice.¡±

    My older sister, who seemed dissatisfied, broke the serene mood.

    ¡°©¤©¤What about Meole¡¯s room?¡±

    My father was troubled. It seemed that he didn¡¯t think Meole would need a room.

    ¡°Huh? We have a room for servants.¡±

    My sister got mad.

    ¡°Are you saying that he¡¯ll use the same room as the residence¡¯s servants? Normally, people would prepare exclusive-use rooms. Besides, if you were going to rebuild the residence, then tell me. Since there¡¯s room, I could have brought Meole.¡±

    It seemed that this time Meole was house-watching back at the academy.

    ¡°W, well, I wanted to surprise you.¡±

    ¡°You need to pay more attention to people¡¯s needs. Leaving that aside, did you touch my room without permission?¡±

    My sister scolded my father.

    My mother stood up for him.

    ¡°I was the one that tidied up your room. So don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°No! Why did you touch it without my permission?! If you were going to rebuild the residence, then you should¡¯ve contacted me! Leon could have dropped me off here!¡±

    I spat.

    My brother criticized me.

    ¡°You idiot. Stay out of this or you mightplicate things.¡±

    ¡°Is it okay if I knock some sense into her?¡±

    ¡°I know how you feel, but control yourself. Look, she¡¯s only angry because she was rejected by a boy.¡±

    I suppose. She gave me a goodugh when I saw her getting rejected along with her best friend, so I decided to turn a blind eye to this matter today.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯ll use this topic to poke fun at her for a while.

    After watching my sister angrily enter the residence, we ced our hands on our depressed father¡¯s back and madepliments about the mansion.

    Coming back to look at the status of the territory after a long time, a lot of development had happened.

    At this rate, it seemed that it would make for a splendid baron household in a matter of two years.

 Chapter 78 - Volume 2

    <strong>v2 Epilogue Part 2</strong>

    ©¤©¤Greg regained consciousness the day after the duel.

    When he opened his eyes within the medical office, he saw Julian and the others gathering around.

    ¡°Greg! Hey, wake up!¡±

    While Brad was calling out to him, Greg could presume what the result of the duel was, judging by how he was in the medical office.

    ¡°Sorry, everyone. We lost because of me.¡±

    Jilk smiled in response to what Greg said.

    ¡°We were the ones who left it to you. If you lost, then it¡¯s everyone¡¯s defeat. Besides, we also misjudged his strength.¡±

    The craftsman who imed to have had experience with armor was also to me. He was a con artist, but the five weren¡¯t aware of it.

    Julian spoke to the depressed Greg.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel down. There¡¯s always next time.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you call me Julian. Greg, we¡¯ll challenge Baltfault again. We¡¯d like it if you could lend a hand as well.¡±

    Greg sat up and made a slight smile.

    ¡°As if I can be the only one withdrawing when everyone else is so eager. I¡¯ll help you again and again, Julian!¡±

    Chris took off his sses and wiped his tears.

    He devoted himself to being the cool character.

    Greg looked around.

    ¡°Is Marie not here?¡±

    Brad shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°Yeah, it seems that she¡¯s busy with a bunch of things. She spoke with Kyle about something. Furthermore©¤©¤¡±

    Brad, remembering what Marie had asked of him, checked something with Greg.

    ¡°Greg, among the sky pirates from earlier, there was the leader that Baltfault defeated, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±

    ¡°Did you see Baltfault taking a ne from the armor that the sky pirate leader was using?¡±

    Greg recalled that Leon took something out from a sky pirate¡¯s armor.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it was a ne, but Baltfault was saying something. It seemed that the opponent stressed out about something being taken. What about it?¡±

    Brad pondered.

    ¡°Well, Marie asked me about it. When I told her that the opponents belonged to Winged Shark, she made a very serious face. It seemed that she was very invested in the topic.¡±

    Greg put his hand over his chin.

    ¡°A ne? Marie had shown me a ¡®bracelet¡¯ beforehand. She also had a pretty serious expression at that time. Perhaps the two might be connected.¡±

    Chris nodded.

    ¡°It seems that she found it in the royal capital¡¯s dungeon. It¡¯s probable that there¡¯s a rtionship.¡±

    Julian worried about Marie.

    ¡°I hope that she doesn¡¯t do anything rash, but they seem like important objects for some reason.¡±

    Julian noticed Jilk¡¯s serious face and called out to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I recall Marie going to the temple recently. She¡¯s hiding something from us. Then again, perhaps I¡¯m overthinking it.¡±

    Since the five couldn¡¯t figure out an answer, the topic ended there, and they then got excited discussing about what present they should give to Marie next time.

    ¡ó

    My father and his legal wife, Z, were inside the newly built residence.

    Z, with a cocky attitude, was apanied by a distinguished priest from a temple. The priest was a woman wearing round sses.

    She seemed to be on close terms with Z.

    ¡°You scoundrel! Return the temple¡¯s treasure!¡±

    I was suddenly summoned andbeled as a thief.

    ¡°Huh? The temple¡¯s treasure?¡±

    While pondering about what she was saying, I had juste back from working in the fields, my shoes dripping with mud.

    The priest saw the attitude I was taking and said ¡°What¡¯s that smell?¡± She definitely seemed like a woman raised in the city.

    I judged that personality-wise, she was the same as Z.

    The priest cleared her throat.

    ¡°Viscount Baltfault, you¡¯ve suppressed a group of sky pirates before, right?¡±

    Armed temple knights had been ced outside the residence, causing my mother and father to be very wary.

    My sisters, the second and third daughters of the household, didn¡¯t leave the house.

    My brother had gone to a different field and wasn¡¯t at this location.

    ¡°I subdued them. What about it?¡±

    The priest¡¯s face turned red as she shouted.

    ¡°Those sky pirates had taken a treasure from the temple! They must have had it! It¡¯s a ne etched with the temple¡¯s crest! I have testimony that the sky pirates possessed it, and that you took it!¡±

    Should I have kept silent about it?

    Well, there were more pressing matters to deal with right now.

    ¡°So why are you acting like I¡¯m a thief? I have a right to own whatever treasure I obtain from the sky pirates. That¡¯s the kingdom¡¯sw.¡±

    What I said seemed unfair, but I did have the legal right. I wasn¡¯t the one in the wrong.

    The priest was enraged in response to my objection.

    ¡°Since the temple¡¯s emblem was engraved on it, that should tell you to return it to the temple!¡±

    What kind of irrational argument was that?

    What wasmon sense to her was absurdity to me.

    I thought about driving her away, but I was currently unarmed. In contrast, the other side had many armed knights and I could see an airship in the distance.

    Luxonmunicated with me.

    [Master, unfortunately, you might have to give in.]

    I waited for Luxon to exin.

    [It¡¯s easy to cut your way through this ce. However, there¡¯s a fatal problem with that in terms of the peaceful life you like. Based on what you said before about your objectives, you¡¯ll have the fewest problems if you hand it over.]

    The religious organization of the temple also possessed military strength, but it seemed that they had gathered quite a lot of people here.

    As Luxon said, they had more than enough war potential to take on a baron household.

    They had quite the fighting spirit.

    I listened to Luxon¡¯s exnation while ignoring the boisterous priest.

    [It is not a good idea to take an aggressive position against the might of the temple. They¡¯re the organization who wields the authority to recognize Olivia as a saint, right?]

    Religion was quite the annoying thing, wasn¡¯t it? Indeed, it wasn¡¯t a profitable n to go against them.

    I had also thought about preparing a counterfeit of the ne, but©¤©¤

    [They¡¯ll see through any replica.]

    I held back the urge to click my tongue and red at Z. Her triumphant smile infuriated me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and get it, so stay put.¡±

    Thereupon, the priest spoke to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Viscounts hoard quite a lot. Preferably, you should donate your fortunes to the temple.¡±

    Z agreed with the arrogant priest.

    ¡°She¡¯s right. Nobles cannot disobey the temple.¡±

    However, Luxon spoke.

    [That you can refuse. It seems that the matter of the donation is unrted to the organization. I assume that she made that demand herself.]

    It seemed that Luxon managed to get drones to sneak into the temple¡¯s airship and gather information.

    They seemed to have gathered because of the temple¡¯s treasure that I had. ording to their reports, a diabolical knight was concealing the treasure of the temple. It was also stated that a fight may be possible and warned then to exercise extreme caution.

    That meant they were scared of me, someone who repelled a principality¡¯s army by himself.

    Furthermore©¤©¤diabolical? Who was the heinous one here?

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡±

    When I said that, the two exchanged nces with a grin and whispered to each other. They were probably discussing their share of the assets, but I never said that I would hand them over to anyone.

    I thought about it, and since I didn¡¯t really want to hand them over, I wouldn¡¯t.

    Whatever floats their boat, though.

    Luxon and I took the ne and brought it to the two©¤©¤not. I brought it to an official of the temple who was at the harbor.

    ¡ó

    A general in his forties was at the harbor.

    Perhaps having heard the rumors about me and my rapid promotions, he was awfully tense.

    ¡°Are you in charge here?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I lead this fleet. Viscount Baltfault, if possible, I¡¯d like to avoid any rough behavior. Could you please return the treasure of the temple?¡±

    They could have just said that from the beginning.

    When I showed him the ne, the general¡¯s eyes went wide and soon called for an appraiser. The appraiser confirmed that it was the right ne and violently shook his head.

    ¡°T, there is no doubt. It¡¯s just like the legend had said!¡±

    The general trembled when hearing that.

    ¡°T, this is the lost treasure!¡±

    If was such an important item, then they should properly safekeep it at the temple.

    I spoke to the general.

    ¡°Leaving that aside, take back all of the people you¡¯ve brought to the residence. I¡¯m in a bit of a pickle since I was told to take out more treasure in addition to the one you came here for.¡±

    The general was surprised at what I said.

    ¡°T, that is inexcusable! We only came here for the ne. I¡¯ll soon get everyone to leave.¡±

    It seemed that they didn¡¯t intend on fighting.

    Luxon sure is convenient. Things ended without any needless battles.

    Anyways, since the treasure was now in the temple¡¯s hands, I suppose it would do good to quickly go into the dungeon and retrieve the bracelet.

    The general, having received the ne, was relieved.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re different from what the rumors say.¡±

    ¡°Rumors?¡±

    ¡°I heard that you were outrageously arrogant. I suppose the saint being angry at you is reasonable, but you¡¯re calmer than what the rumors suggest.¡±

    ©¤©¤What did he say just now?

    ¡°Wait a minute. Saint?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Ah.¡±

    The general leaked some information due to his relief, causing the surrounding people to facepalm.

    I pressed the general.

    ¡°Are you saying that©¤©¤you found the saint?¡±

    Perhaps it was Livia©¤©¤or so I thought. However, the name that came out of the general¡¯s mouth was too shocking. It was improbable. Impossible.

    ¡°I believe you¡¯re acquaintances with her, but©¤©¤she is ¡®Marie Fou Lafuan¡¯. She showed up in the royal capital¡¯s temple with the simrly lost bracelet.¡±

    How had she obtained the bracelet? I could still ept it if it was just that she had it. That wouldn¡¯t have been a problem as long as it fell into Livia¡¯s hands.

    However©¤©¤however, it was impossible that she would bebeled as a saint.

    She was someone who reincarnated here.

    I couldn¡¯t tolerate how she skillfully ensnared the five guys, but I could understand how it happened. However, I could not allow her to name herself as a saint.

    If she had knowledge about the game©¤©¤and if she cleared the game, then she had to have known that her actions were absolutely forbidden.

    After all, what would be necessary in the end was not the power of the saint, but the power of Livia herself.

    ¡°Marie is the saint?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. She¡¯s a sacred user of healing magic, and her abilities already exceed that of the priests. The cane¡¯s response to Marie©¤©¤¡±

    A nearby personnel then cautioned the bbermouthed general.

    The general realized that he had said too much.

    ¡°E, excuse me. Now then, with this, we will withdraw. The priest will take these people and carry them back.¡±

    I stood still, watching them leave, until they were no longer in sight.

    Then, Luxon soon contacted me.

    [What happened?]

    ¡°Marie became the saint. That tramp, I definitely won¡¯t forgive her.¡±

    ¡ó

    Anjie and Livia were at the duke household¡¯s domain.

    They went to a horseback riding facility near the residence.

    Anjie watched Livia, who was frightened to be on a horse.

    ¡°See, it¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s high up here. It¡¯s higher than I thought!¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t really call an elevation of that degree as being high.¡±

    It was winter break.

    Anjie, who had invited Livia to the residence, taught her how to ride a horse.

    ¡°Second year students will have practical tests like these as well, not just academic tests. You should get ustomed to this.¡±

    Livia, who was trembling, had no problems in terms of her academic abilities. However, she had problems in areas other than that.

    Since Livia had asked about what she should do, Anjie decided to guide her.

    The two actually wondered whether to go to Leon¡¯s household, but Leon held them back since he was busy withunching the factory and other such things.

    ¡°Look, your posture is worsening.¡±

    As she was instructing the frightened Livia, snow began to fall.

    (It¡¯s quite early this year.)

    Anjie yearned for the hot spring in Leon¡¯s territory.

    Then, Leon¡¯s face came to mind. At the same time, she remembered the mor from before the ceremony.

    (His own father and mother were trying to win Leon over as well©¤©¤but rice and Deirdre are scheming something. Wouldn¡¯t it be better for him to find a partner soon? Leaving out rtives, who would be Leon¡¯s bride? Now that he¡¯s a viscount, would it still be difficult to find someone who matches with him?)

    Leon¡¯s options for marriage had widened.

    When he was still a baron, he would have had to marry a girl from a fellow baron household, but now he could marry a viscount girl.

    However, as a viscount, girls from baron households below and earl households above were also viable candidates.

    There were also margraves, but at any rate, his options had expanded.

    As expected, he still couldn¡¯t match up with a duke household, but it was now possible that he could marry an earl family¡¯s daughter.

    At the same time, there would also be many girls who would try to approach him. A third of all the students had seen the active role Leon had taken back then.

    Even if they hadn¡¯t seen the fight, anybody who thought for a bit would realize who it was that defeated the ck Knight.

    In addition to Leon¡¯s role in the battle with the principality, there was also the matter of his status as a viscount. He was in the lower fourth rank. He possessed a giant airship named Partner and a unit of armor named Arroganz that defeated the ck Knight. She wondered what a nearby girl who had seen him, or any girl who had caught wind of the rumors, would think.

    Anjie was troubled.

    (What could rice and Deirdre be after? Certainly, they would be able a match for him in marriage. However, handing Leon over to them is©¤©¤)

    Anjie, who felt strangely uncertain, shook her head.

    Upon which, Livia, who seemed ready to cry, asked Anjie for help.

    ¡°Anjie. I think I¡¯m getting a leg cramp.¡±

    ¡°C, could it be that you don¡¯t get much exercise?¡±

    Aftering to the academy, Livia, who was normally the indoors type, didn¡¯t have many chances to move her body anymore like she had when she helped around her household.

    Due to that, her endurance had diminished.

    ¡°How inconvenient. At this rate, it¡¯ll be hard to conquer the dungeon before graduating.¡±

    ¡°Conquering a dungeon? U, um, wouldn¡¯t it be bad to conquer the royal capital¡¯s dungeon since it would disappear if you do that?¡±

    Anjie exined while getting Livia down from the horse.

    ¡°Even though I said conquer, I meant getting to the thirtieth underground floor. You¡¯ll be judged as a fully fledged adult if you make it there. On the other hand, if you don¡¯t reach that point, you¡¯ll always be seen as half a person. You could also hire escorts. However, it would be difficult to travel there and back without having any physical strength.¡±

    Conquering the dungeon was necessary unless there was a special reason. It was also a requirement for graduating the academy.

    Livia dropped her shoulders upon hearing that.

    ¡°I, I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    Anjie chuckled while hugging Livia, whose legs were shaking.

    ¡°You¡¯re trembling, aren¡¯t you? All things considered, you¡¯re pretty genial, Livia.¡±

    ¡°Anjie, don¡¯t hug me that tightly.¡±

    Maids and guards were watching over the two as they interacted.

    ¡ó

    The temple had a room for noble visitors.

    Marie put her arms behind the back of a sofa and looked over at a low table with her legs crossed.

    ¡°Hehe, I finally got it.¡±

    Marie, who had obtained the ne, immediately put it around her neck.

    A bracelet, the ¡°Holy Bracelet¡±, glittered around her left wrist.

    The ¡°Holy Ne¡± decorated her neck.

    Furthermore, standing nearby was the ¡°Saint¡¯s Cane¡±.

    Marie disyed a definite reaction to them.

    ph_mobuseka02_ill010

    ¡°I took away the protagonist¡¯s position, but there¡¯s no problem with me being the saint in the first ce. I mean, healing magic is my strong point. I worked hard to learn it.¡±

    Her efforts to learn healing magic were fueled by the cruelty of her viscount household. Whenever Marie slipped away from the hands of her brutal parents and her heartless siblings, she would temper her healing magic.

    Being a person who reincarnated, she used her knowledge as a yer of that otome game to learn it.

    Marie¡¯s knowledge definitely came from the game.

    ¡°In the cutscenes, things were okay as long as the saint prayed©¤©¤so if anything happens, I can deal with them instead. So please let me have this, Olivia, since nothing good has ever happened to me up until now.¡±

    For someone who reincarnated here©¤©¤Marie¡¯s knowledge mostly came from cutscenes and CGs. In addition, she had some information from a walkthrough online, though it was iplete.

    After all, she gave up midway when the game became difficult.

    The one who cleared it was her ¡°older brother¡± from her previous life.

    ¡°Even so, it was hard. It was extremely risky to retrieve the bracelet, and furthermore, I had a hard time persuading the people in the temple.¡±

    There was also one other factor.

    ¡°There was also that mob who defeated the sky pirates. There were some people who confirmed that he had the ne. Could it be that the boy knows something?¡±

    In the first ce, Marie wasn¡¯t familiar with the Baltfault family name.

    It did not appear in the game.

    ¡°It¡¯s also unnatural that he helped Anjelica. Besides that, there¡¯s his strong armor. Wait, maybe he¡¯s the same as me? Is that why he¡¯s been getting in my way? I definitely won¡¯t forgive him!¡±

    Enraged, Marie pondered about how she could get revenge.

    ¡°However©¤©¤I¡¯m in a better position now. Though he simrly reincarnated here and has been rising through the ranks, I¡¯m now in a position to be the queen in the future. I¡¯ll make Julian the crown prince again and be the queen no matter what! The city of my dreams, a grand and luxurious life awaits me!¡±

    Leon and Marie were very simr.

    However, their goals were different.

    Leon aimed for a modest life at the countryside while Marie wanted an extravagant life at the royal capital.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have beautiful men serving me and live almost every dayvishly. I had a rough time in my previous life as well, so I should be allowed to do this much. The protagonist suits that mob. Huh? In that case, isn¡¯t it fine to leave them alone as it is? No, I can¡¯t. My anger isn¡¯t settling.¡±

    Marie recalled her previous life.

    ¡°My previous life really was painful. I worked in a night-time entertainment establishment, and though I got some poprity, I got mixed up with worthless men©¤©¤ah, I wonder why such misfortune had befallen upon me.¡±

    She had experience with working in the night-time entertainment industry.

    In her previous life, she had polished her skills in ensnaring good-for-nothing men.

    Marie¡¯s ensnaring of the five boys was more than just her appearance, but alsorgely due to her previous life experience.

    Marie got up and smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely find happiness in this world!¡±

 Chapter 79 - Volume 2

    <h4>v2 Interlude</h4>

    <h4>Luxon¡¯s Report 2</h4>

    Luxon watched Leon, who was sleeping in the room within his household.

    Leon, who had been given his own room inside the rebuilt residence, seemed to sleep happily on his bed.

    When he was awake, he had repeatedly badmouthed Marie, but Luxon believed that he would forget about it by tomorrow morning.

    [And he said that it was impossible for Marie to be the saint. What luck to have a master whose predictions always go amiss.]

    After making a sarcastic remark despite nobody being able to hear it, Luxon reflected on the second semester.

    [All things considered, quite a bit had happened.]

    Leon had also been very busy during the school festival.

    Leon was to me for half of the things that kept him busy, but Luxon doubted that he was aware of it.

    The suppression of the sky pirates and the battle with the principality were serious matters.

    This time, Leon¡¯s biggest mistake was©¤©¤pushing his achievements onto other people.

    He had Brad, Greg, and Chris take the credit and even drained his funds in order to end their istion from their respective households.

    Leon had sent a considerable amount of money to their households under their name.

    He ended up using almost all of the treasure he had gained from suppressing the sky pirates.

    However, he spoke as if it didn¡¯t concern him at all.

    After all, Leon had Luxon by his side.

    Since Luxon could prepare a great deal of resources, there were many ways for him to earn money if he so desired.

    However, the people around him didn¡¯t know that.

    He gave the three households an opportunity to reconcile with their shunned sons, who he had handed over his achievements and gave prestige to.

    Naturally, the three households felt that Leon had not done enough for them.

    However, if the three households didn¡¯t forgive him after he had handed his achievements over and had shown considerable sincerity, there would¡¯ve been many problems for their standing within the world of nobility.

    Though there were signs of ulterior motives, since he had shown good faith, the three households had to pardon him.

    Their rmendation for his promotion was a mutual action to let the public know that they intended to let bygones be bygones.

    They did not endorse him because they liked him.

    [Bouncing around from ce to ce, it seems that he didn¡¯t think he would be promoted.]

    Before he had realized it, he became a viscount and of the lower fourth rank.

    Leon, who had risen so high in the course of one lifespan, was a hero who could only bepared to a few others within the Holfault Kingdom¡¯s history.

    Luxon became worried about whether Leon, who was currently sleeping on his bed without a care in the world, knew about that.

    [Now then, I wonder what will happen with the one©¤©¤no, two other problems.]

    Now that Leon had been promoted, the options he had for marriage partners had increased.

    There were already two girls who seemed to have announced their candidacy.

    [rice and Deirdre, was it? I can¡¯t tell whether my master is ingenious or inept for having such nd peoplee to like him.]

    Since Leon had resolved the vexing tension between rice and Jilk, and had alsoforted her, he had won over her heart.

    As for Deirdre©¤©¤Luxon had no clue.

    However, Luxon judged that she probably didn¡¯t dislike him.

    Or perhaps it was because she disliked him that she wanted him by her side©¤©¤but Luxon didn¡¯t want to think too much about it.

    [Master will probably be busy from now on. Though he said that the crisis involving the kingdom¡¯s fate had been avoided, I¡¯m very much looking forward to how things will develop.]

    Luxon, watching Leon sleep, predicted that things would be hectic.

    However, Luxon didn¡¯t intend to do anything on its own ord.

    After all, it didn¡¯t care about whether or not the kingdom would be destroyed.

    In the worst case scenario, it could take Leon, along with any other important people, and flee.

    Since it wasn¡¯t interested in the crisis of the kingdom, Luxon didn¡¯t n on investigating the matter too deeply.

    After all©¤©¤

    [If Master somands it, I could swiftly overthrow the principality or the kingdom©¤©¤which would erase all of his worries.]

    ©¤©¤Luxon hated the new humans.

    Luxon was a lost item created by the former humans.

    If Leon ordered it to, it could even destroy the world in a sh.

    Luxon floated, facing its red eye towards the moon visible from the window.

 Chapter 80 - Volume 2

    <h4>v2 Side Story</h4>

    <i>TLN: So here¡¯s something peculiar. Bakapervert had informed me that the LN has different side stories depending on what retailer you buy the physical version of the novel from. The eBook (what I use) unfortunately has none of them. Bakapervert¡¯s copy has a side story from Anjelica¡¯s POV, but there¡¯s one out there with Olivia¡¯s POV as well, which neither of us have. Bakapervert, the kind person he is, offered to trante the side story in his copy. So, here¡¯s a chapter that¡¯s only edited by me.

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    <h4>Anjie¡¯s Wish</h4>

    This took ce when the three were visiting the shrine.

    This was during the leisure period of the field trip.

    Her legs were moving towards the shrine for marriage.

    The reason her legs brought her here was really simple.

    She wanted to improve her awkward rtionship with Leon.

    The three of them were standing side-by-side in front of an offering box.

    Anjie thought to herself.

    (...This is awkward. Besides, what should I say?)

    She became worried since their rtionship had worsened.

    She didn¡¯t know what she should talk about with Leon and Livia.

    Anjie was perplexed toward this unprecedented experience.

    The three of them were born and raised in different environments.

    So, Anjie relied on asking help from a god.

    ¡°W, we¡¯re supposed to make an offering, right? How much?¡±

    When she took out a gold coin from her purse,

    ¡°T, that much?¡±

    Livia waspletely surprised.

    Anjie couldn¡¯t understand her reaction.

    ¡°Is this not right? This much is normal in temples.¡±

    (I heard that I just need to put in a coin but is that not it? I thought that even one coin was too little, but am I doing something wrong?)

    While Anjie was thinking that one coin was too few, Livia was thinking that it was too much.

    Beside the two of them who were like that©¤©¤.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this!¡±

    There was Leon who was putting in rolls of banknotes, gold coins, silver coins, and even tinum coins into the offering box from his bag, one after another.

    As expected, even Anjie thought that was wrong.

    After all, the offering box was overflowing from the money.

    ¡°H, hey, you¡¯re donating that much?¡±

    Leon spoke without turning toward Anjie.

    ¡°I have a wish that I want granted no matter what.¡±

    Anjie¡¯s face blushed a little seeing Leon¡¯s serious face from the side.

    (It¡¯s troubling how he looks gant at a time like this, even though he¡¯s normally frivolous.)

    Then she too recalled her objective foring here.

    (That¡¯s right, I¡¯m here to make my wishe true as well©¤©¤Oh god of marriage, please listen to my wish.)

    She put not just a single gold coin into the offering box, but all the gold coins inside her purse.

    Her wish was about the rtionship of the three.

    (I want to be like before again, with us three getting along©¤©¤)

    Anjie wanted to get along well with Leon and Livia.

    They were different from the followers who had been prepared to her.

    They were true friends who she had obtained in the academy.

    Normally, she would try to do something about it through her own effort, but she didn¡¯t understand what to do, and so she ran to ask help from god.

    (©¤©¤I want to get along with Leon and Livia.)

    Beside Anjie, who was making her wish with pure intentions, an excited Leon blurted his wish.

    ¡°God, I won¡¯t ask for anything luxurious. So please, please, let me have a wife! Please let me get married to a kind woman with good sense! I don¡¯t want a woman who looks down on their husband and makes their husband raise the child of another man. Please give me a suitable partner!¡±

    Anjie thought to herself after listening to that wish.

    (S, so the boys also have it hard.)

    Even from the perspective of Anjie, who was also a female student of the academy, the marriage situation of the boys was something that she couldn¡¯t help but feel sympathy towards.

    But©¤©¤she wasn¡¯t doing anything about it.

    No, she couldn¡¯t do anything.

    (Forgive me. But, if you wish for it then I can introduce you to a suitable wife©¤©¤)

    When she thought until that far, just for a bit©¤©¤Anjie felt it unpleasant to imagine Leon getting with another woman.

    Her chest ached a bit.

    She was feeling perplexed with her own emotion while looking at Leon¡¯s desperate face.

    Then,

    ¡°If possible, make her chest big, and a narrow waist would be nice as well.¡±

    ©¤©¤Listening to the desires leaking out from Leon¡¯s mouth, Anjie¡¯s blushing face turned stiff.

    Even her slightly reddening cheeks were recovering to their normal color.

    ¡°It would be even better if she was slightly frisky! Honestly, I want an amorous adult who can pamper me and©¤©¤¡±

    She felt stupid about the various things she had been worrying of just a little while ago.

    (Leon, you©¤©¤were thinking of such things with a serious face like that?)

    He was a boy at the academy where the conditions regarding marriage were harsh.

    She wouldn¡¯t say any criticism even if he wished for a good match. ©¤©¤She couldn¡¯t.

    However, his desire leaking out like this was uneptable.

    ¡°Big breasts! Tight waist! And also a beauty©¤©¤I beg of you, god!¡±

    Her eyes met with Livia, who was standing at the other side of Leon.

    She immediately understood what Livia wanted to say.

    (Ah, Livia©¤©¤so you¡¯re also thinking about it.)

    She felt like she was able to converse with the bewildered Livia using her gaze.

    The two of them thought.

    (This guy is no good.)

    Leon¡¯s desire knew no end.

    ¡°Bluntly speaking, I prefer someone like the queen!¡±

    Hearing those words, Anjie and Livia reached their hand out toward Leon¡¯s ear simultaneously and pinched.

    ¡°Wa-! Both of you, why are you getting in the way!?¡±

    They wordlessly pulled and dragged him away from the ce of worship.

    ¡°Wait! I didn¡¯t say everything yet! There¡¯s still more I want to say!¡±

    Both Anjie and Livia ignored the desperate pleading.

    (I have the feeling this idiot will be a good-for-nothing if left alone. Good grief©¤©¤)

    ©¤©¤What a handful friend.

    When she thought that, she felt happy and also a bit sad.

    No matter how far they went, she and Leon were friends.

    Even if they got along with each other, it wouldn¡¯t go further than that.

    Because their statuses were different, they couldn¡¯t be lovers and of course they wouldn¡¯t be able to marry.

    When she thought that©¤©¤.

    (If it¡¯s Livia, would Leon be able to get along with her? Even if it¡¯s impossible for her to be the first wife, if it¡¯s as a mistress, then even Livia©¤©¤. I should wish for the sake of the two of them.)

    Anjie thought abouting againter for the sake of those two.

    ¡°I¡¯m begging to you let me pray! For my wifeeeee!¡±

    Anjie sighed, seeing an unwavering Leon©¤©¤but her face was a bit red.

    ¡°Just give up already! Good grief, to prattle like that about a chest, or waist, or whatever.¡±

 Chapter 81 - Volume 2

    <h4>v2 Side Story 2</h4>

    <i>TLN: Another side story, again brought to my attention by bakapervert. This one¡¯s a bit odd in terms of how it¡¯s found. It¡¯s not in the LN itself, but actually something you get when you submit an online feedback form that the back of the LN has a link to.</i>

    <h4>Marie Persevering</h4>

    She had no money.

    Marie was in her room, at her wits¡¯ end.

    Marie, a person who had reincarnated, had snatched everything from the protagonist of that otome game, Livia©¤©¤or at least she was supposed to.

    She had the protagonist¡¯s position.

    She had ensnared the capture target boys and also obtained a handsome elf for an exclusive servant.

    She was supposed to have taken away everything Livia was meant to have©¤©¤but she had no money

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡±

    She squeezed out a few brief words about her situation.

    She was supposed to be surrounded by five rich people and live a life without any difort.

    However, before she knew it, the five had be disinherited and no longer had any allowances.

    The five no longer had money.

    Her delusions of living a rich life were fading away.

    ¡°At this point, there¡¯s no choice but to earn big at the school festival.¡±

    As the troubled Marie steeled her resolve, her exclusive servant Kyle shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°Can students even earn money during the festival? Wouldn¡¯t it be fine to just quietly earn money in the dungeon? That¡¯s how everyone¡¯s been doing it.¡±

    ¡°Even if we earned cash from that, everyone would use it up immediately!¡±

    The five had problems in terms of their sense for money.

    They were originally the wealthy heirs of distinguished noble households.

    It would be difficult if they were told to suddenly switch over to the life of amoner.

    However, it was a fact that the five were excellent.

    They would be able to earn a certain amount if they entered the dungeon to hunt for treasures.

    However, the problem was that they would use them soon after.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have those five earn for you, Master?¡±

    (Did this guy just inadvertently admit that he doesn¡¯t want to enter the dungeon?)

    ¡°That wouldn¡¯t work. If I don¡¯t keep an eye on those five, they¡¯ll use up all of the money they earn in a day. We¡¯ll have to make big earnings through the school festival. There are many rich people here, after all. The students sure have a lot of money.¡±

    ¡°So, what attraction are you nning?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll think about that afterwards. First, we need to gather information.¡±

    Marie, who believed that she would earn more by targeting girls, immediately began her research.

    ¡ó

    Marie, who went outside, observed the behavior of the academy¡¯s schoolgirls.

    While hiding with Kyle, she watched some girls who were shopping.

    ¡°How enviable.¡±

    An ideal sightid before her eyes.

    Tall, beautiful sub-race servants wore suits while apanying the girls as they shopped.

    There were also schoolboys nearby, taking the initiative to hold the girls¡¯ bags.

    Kyle made a face of disgust.

    ¡°How long does it take for them to choose a set of clothes? The boys holding their baggage are trembling.¡±

    The boys¡¯ arms were reaching their limit while carrying the heavy luggage.

    However, if they dropped them, they would have to buy them new ones and also wouldn¡¯t be invited to shop with them in the future.

    They desperately endured it for the sake of marriage.

    Furthermore, all of the shopping expenses were paid by the boys.

    ¡°I want to have a day off like that as well.¡±

    It was Marie¡¯s ideal scene.

    The group went into a cafe next.

    The boys lowered their heavy baggage, giving some resting time to rub their arms.

    As for the girls©¤©¤

    ¡°Look at them. They ordered really expensive sets.¡±

    All of the tea and sweets were high-ss items.

    The boys handled all of the payments.

    Some of the girls were also feasting on snacks.

    Though serving sizes were small, the prices were expensive and the girls didn¡¯t hold back on their orders.

    (I¡¯m jealous. I¡¯m sick of eating all three meals at the school cafeteria.)

    Shopping and eating out on a day off.

    It was a very envious sight for her.

    Like that, they did some more shopping afterwards©¤©¤continuing on until dinner, and once it became night, the boys were set free.

    Marie had a little bit of sympathy for the boys who were being tasked with baggage carrying on a day off, but©¤©¤

    ¡°Huh? Where are the girls heading?¡±

    Something seemed odd.

    Once the boys went back home, the girls took their exclusive servants to a street during the night.

    As closing time approached, Marie thought for a bit while following them.

    ¡°Master, are you really going to keep chase?¡±

    ¡°I have no choice. I need to find out what the girls are using their money for.¡±

    Following the group of girls for the sake of research, she entered a dubious establishment.

    Once Marie entered©¤©¤

    ¡°Wee, Mdy.¡±

    ©¤©¤A beautiful butler greeted her.

    ¡°Mmph!¡±

    Marie covered her mouth.

    There were beautiful men everywhere inside the establishment.

    It seemed that this was a ce where employees wore butler¡¯s clothing and provided service to girls.

    Surveying the scene, she noticed that numerous academy schoolgirls were inside.

    Butlers sat next to them, serving them food to eat.

    An employee spoke.

    ¡°Is it fine for you toe here each day? This ce is quite pricey.¡±

    A girl responded to the worrying employee.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Some boys are paying for us. They¡¯ll dly finance us if we just tell them that we have no money. Leaving that aside, you should be my lover.¡±

    ¡°Eh~, don¡¯t you pity the boys? Though, if that¡¯s the case, you can dine with a peace of mind, I suppose.¡±

    Though she felt sympathy for the boys©¤©¤Marie had one thought.

    (This is iiiit!)

    An image of Julian and the others dressed in suits popped up in Marie¡¯s mind.

    They were former heirs of prestigious nobles and were popr in the academy.

    If they provided service, girls would definitely pay money.

    ¡°Kyle, I¡¯ve got an idea.¡±

    Guessing what Marie was thinking of, Kyle made a very displeased expression.

    ¡°Are you thinking about doing something like this as an attraction for the school festival? Do you have permission?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be under the guise of a cafe. We¡¯ll make Julian and co.¡¯s services an option. It will surely be profitable.¡±

    Thus, Marie had decided on an attraction for the school festival.

 Chapter 82 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 prologue part1</h4>

    <i>TLN: It hase to my attention that I don¡¯t provide enough weeb juice to serve as daily sustenance for some of you. As a result, I¡¯m going to try increasing my -desu levels and see if that will sate your earthly Nippon desires.

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    <i>To trante that into English, I¡¯m going to keep in honorifics and also some other nuanced Japanese-specific terms to see if you guys prefer that. I personally don¡¯t, but if the majority of you do, I will adjust future releases of this novel ordingly.

    </i>

    <i> </i>

    <h4>Prologue</h4>

    What is love?

    I, ¡°Leon Fou Baltfault¡±, am an honest, slightly reserved youth who¡¯s been thinking about such philosophical matters.

    I also happen to be an ordinary schoolboy who had reincarnated into ¡°that¡± otome game, the one I had been forced to y against my will during my previous life.

    I¡¯m a virtuous guy who loves peace, but in this otome game world, I¡¯m just a mob who doesn¡¯t stand out that much.

    At least, that¡¯s what it was supposed to be!

    For some reason, I¡¯ve been promoted to a viscount.

    Being of the lower fourth rank within the royal court, I¡¯m in quite the grandiose situation.

    While still being a student, a very opportune position as a lower fourth ranked viscount awaits me.

    Due to that©¤©¤I¡¯ve been worried about matters rting to love.

    Sometimes, there¡¯s the cliche where love will solve everything in a story, and there¡¯s no doubt that the otome game follows that pattern.

    Love determines everything.

    Even Luxon, the supposedly undefeatable endgame boss, would have been defeated by the love between the protagonist and the male capture targets, resulting in a happy ending.

    All matters are resolved by love.

    Love is a big deal in this world.

    A force more potent than any weapon.

    An influence more potent than any diplomatic endeavor.

    Domestic affairs will resolve themselves as long as love is there to help.

    Love is a big deal. Love is supreme! Love will save the world!

    ©¤©¤In this world, love is the ultimate weapon.

    On that topic,

    ¡°Why did thingse to this?¡±

    [It¡¯s all your own doing, Master.]

    I¡¯m not in the wrong at all, and yet my aplice ¡°Luxon¡± was being cold.

    It took the form of a metallic sphere with one red eye.

    It¡¯s main body is a spaceship equipped with an AI.

    The softball-sized sphere is an extension of it©¤©¤a mereputer terminal.

    By all rights, it¡¯s supposed to be more respectful to me, its master.

    However, this thing is way too harsh towards me.

    Still, it¡¯s quite capable, so I keep it nearby since it¡¯s a frightening thing that will do who knows what while spouting ¡°Exterminate the new humans!¡± if I take my eyes off it.

    Good grief, nothing but ipetents all around me.

    Now then, stopping my escapism, I nced at a pile of letters piling up on my desk.

    The amount of letters sent to my dorm had reached the point where they made a mountain.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite the new experience to have this much of a turnabout happen.¡±

    The senders of those letters were girls from the academy¡¯s advanced ss.

    Though the contents of the letters were pretty condescending, there were some braver ones who wrote something like ¡°make preparations for a tea ceremony three days from now.¡±

    The girls who ignored my invitations for tea ceremonies up until now had made aplete 180 the moment I got promoted and wrote letters to take the initiative.

    ¡°©¤©¤This is too much.¡±

    This situation is pretty diforting.

    It¡¯s a little amusing to think that the girls who took no notice of me up until now were suddenly trying to get closer to me.

    However, the fact of the matter is that this is not ideal.

    ©¤©¤Pull back. It¡¯s normal to pull back here. This is diforting.

    [Your promotion was made final prior to winter break.]

    During the school trip in the second semester, troops from the Fanoss Principality had attacked.

    I managed to drive them away somehow, but the actions I took during that time ended up with me being promoted.

    Due to that, the girls made a frightening turnabout when I came back to the academy.

    It¡¯s especially frightening now that I¡¯m going from the second semester into the third semester.

    ¡°They¡¯re not attracted to my own self, but to my status and property. How low of them.¡±

    [This is a matter of marriages between nobles, so there¡¯s not much meaning to ones own self in the first ce. In fact, take a look at this letter.]

    Ò»A single letter floated up.

    I took it to look over its contents.

    It seems that Luxon¡¯s able to check the contents of a letter without opening the envelope.

    What a convenient thing.

    ¡°Is there something interesting written here? Whoa.¡±

    When I looked at the contents of the letter, they were yet again terrible.

    Written inside were someone¡¯s conditions for marriage, including the construction of a residence in the royal capital that can hold about ten people and to also look after her troublesome lovers.

    Are the girls who present such harsh conditions sane?

    Then again, I¡¯m dealing with the academy¡¯s girls.

    Women domineer over men©¤©¤this is the reality of ¡°that otome game¡±.

    When the game world became a reality, things were so harsh that I felt the strange urge tough.

    [All the girls are quite awful. Just whose child are they are nning to give birth to?]

    ¡°If I were to get married, I would want to produce a heir and then just live a free life. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking for something unusual. I mean, my father¡¯s legal wife is doing the same.¡±

    Are these kinds of things even allowed?

    ©¤©¤Unfortunately, this world indeed allows such things.

    This really is a cruel world.

    [It¡¯s odd that marriages are this bizarre. Considering that males are few in number, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if marriage was male-dominated. I¡¯ve noticed that it¡¯s particrly bad for those of the baron and viscount ranks.]

    The ranks above and below those don¡¯t have it as bad.

    In fact, most marriages for earl families and above are under quite normal conditions.

    I can¡¯t say that they¡¯re all like that though. There are some bad households too.

    ¡°This is an otome game, right? No matter how deeply I think about it, I won¡¯t find an answer.¡±

    Could it be that? Could it be the fact that the girls walk around with sub-race exclusive servants?

    When trying to implement that setting into the world, could it have created this kind of inconsistent reality?

    This is going nowhere. Thinking about it won¡¯t bring up any answers.

    That being the case, I¡¯d rather not think about it.

    After dumping the pile of letters into the trash, Luxon spoke to me.

    [Oh? You¡¯re not going to invite anyone to a tea ceremony? Considering who you are, I was thinking that you¡¯d take the time to be naggy and make some snide remarks towards the girls who proposed a tea ceremony with you.]

    ¡°Just who do you think I am? Such a kind and ordinary person like me would never do such a thing.¡±

    [By all means, I¡¯d like to hear what your definition of an ordinary person is. I think that what the general public believes an ordinary person is and what you believe an ordinary person is are different.]

    ¡°You¡¯re being noisy. Whatever, let¡¯s finish this.¡±

    Certainly, I thought about being naggy and making some snide remarks, but in the first ce, it would be troublesome having to hold a tea ceremony for those girls who made aplete 180.

    Despite how things look, I¡¯m busy.

    I have to make some tea for Livia©¤©¤the protagonist of this otome game world, known officially as ¡°Oliva.¡±

    I also have to do the same with Anjie©¤©¤the daughter of a duke, known officially as ¡°Anjelica Rafua Redgrave.¡±

    Furthermore, I¡¯m also anticipating that I¡¯ll have to make tea for the second year student rice-senpai and the third year student Deirdre-senpai. Those two helped me out with some things, so I wouldn¡¯t be able to refuse if they asked me for some tea.

    I also got some high-ss tea leaves and a tea set, making it tough for me to refuse.

    Huh? Now that I think about it, the only people I¡¯m having tea with are girls.

    ©¤©¤Well, whatever.

    Leaving that aside, there¡¯s one bigger problem.

    I have suspicions that ¡°Marie Fou Lafuan¡± is someone who reincarnated here, just like me©¤©¤she¡¯s the youngest daughter of a poor viscount family, but has been officially recognized as a saint.

    Normally, if one knew about that otome game, they absolutely wouldn¡¯t snatch away the title of the saint.

    After all, in order to defeat the final boss©¤©¤Livia¡¯s own power is necessary.

    It¡¯s be evident that I have to take measures against Marie, who disregarded such risks and impersonated as the saint.

    ¡°Seriously, why did things turn out this way?¡±

    [Isn¡¯t this your own doing, Master?]

    Is this thing nning to make all of this my responsibility?

    ¡ó

    One girl sat on a bench with a gloomy aura.

    Her navy blue, long hair was fairly disheveled.

    There were noticeable stains and tears on her uniform.

    Her name was ¡°Cara Fou Wein.¡±

    Her household was that of a semi-baron¡¯s, being ssified as a knight household under the Holfault Kingdom.

    She was formerly under the guardianship of the Olfery earl household, but the Olfery household had been destroyed.

    The head of the family and the heir were executed for joining forces with sky pirates.

    The other family members were deprived of their status and assets.

    The Olfery household¡¯s daughter, who Cara had followed, disappeared from the academy.

    The households who were closely under their guardianship had also disappeared. Practically all people rted to the Olfery earl household had disappeared from the academy.

    Even so, Cara remained in the school.

    Perhaps it could be said that she was left behind.

    Though the fact of the matter was that her household had no rtion to the sky pirates, there were other factors contributing to her situation.

    A group of girls happened to pass by Cara, who hung her head.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s the traitor.¡±

    ¡°What a disgrace to the nobles. She should just hurry up and vanish.¡±

    ¡°She was involved with sky pirates, so why is she still in this academy?¡±

    ©¤©¤Her situation served as a sort of warning.

    Given no option to quit school, Cara had to ept her current position.

    ¡°I©¤©¤I...¡±

    From Cara¡¯s point of view, a follower like herself had no right of veto.

    She knew very well about the Olfery household¡¯s conduct, and also knew that they would dispose of anyone who made the mistake of opposing them.

    However, now that the Olfery family been torn apart, she was being treated as a traitor.

    ¡°What was I supposed to do? What could I have done?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t defy the Olfery household¡¯s daughter.

    It was obvious that she would have suffered a bitter fate if she did.

    If she betrayed them, it was highly likely that she would be crushed and have further revenge await her.

    Under such circumstances, what could she have done?

    (Even I had to put up with that woman. And yet...)

    While weeping and thinking of such things, a small girl approached the group.

    She was someone acknowledged by the temple as a saint©¤©¤Marie.

    (She sure has a lot of followers.)

    Marie never had a single follower up until recently, but after bing a saint, people gathered around her.

    As a saint and as the former crown prince¡¯s lover, Marie was someone to be sought after.

    It was inevitable that noble children would draw closer to her.

    The girls who had badmouthed Marie before were now praising her.

    ¡°Marie-sama, you¡¯re as lovely as ever today.¡±

    ¡°As usual, your clothing today is wonderful. You¡¯ve got good taste.¡±

    ¡°Marie-sama, a new cafe opened up. Do you want to visit it together?¡±

    The girls in the academy made aplete 180.

    Furthermore, exclusive servants and boys apanied those girls, resulting in there being many people around Marie.

    Under such a situation, Marie©¤©¤

    ¡°Sheesh, didn¡¯t I say to just call me Marie?¡±

    ©¤©¤was having a lot of fun.

    ¡°But, calling Marie-sama such a thing would be too much.¡±

    While the girls were bewildered, Marie made a smile.

    ¡°I prohibit using -sama. I mean, aren¡¯t we already close friends?¡±

    ¡°Marie-sama, how kind of you!¡±

    ¡°Jeez, I said to stop that~.¡±

    Cara looked at Marie, who was asking the girls to stop while enjoying her time, and cast her eyes downward.

    (They¡¯re going to bully me again if they don¡¯t go away soon.)

    Cara, who had put Marie¡¯s lovers Brad and Greg into a trap, had stayed away from Marie for fear of retaliation from her.

    A girl, seeing Cara, made a loud voice.

    ¡°Ara~, it¡¯s the one whose been a disgrace to us nobles.¡±

    Cara, whose shoulders quivered, quickly attempted to flee, but was blocked by the boys.

    ¡°You¡¯re still in this academy?¡±

    ¡°How can someone like you call yourself a noble?¡±

    ¡°How truly annoying.¡±

    Normally, the boys would be reserved in front of the girls, but were allowed to do as they pleased with Cara and began taking the offensive.

    People gradually gathered and surrounded Cara.

    The people aroundughed at her as she became frightened and curled herself into a ball.

    As she quivered and shook, Marie then approached.

    When Marie¡¯s hand approached Cara, thetter closed her eyes and braced herself for an impact.

    However, no matter how long she waited, she didn¡¯t feel a p, nor did anything happen to her.

    As she nervously opened her eyes, she saw Marie smiling while reaching a hand out to her.

    ¡°Eh? A, ano?¡±

    ¡°You must be Cara. A lot had happened, but let¡¯s be friends.¡±

    The surrounding people were surprised at what Marie said and advised her against it.

    ¡°Marie-sama, this is the girl who led Brad-sama and Greg-sama into a trap. Besides, she¡¯s a traitor connected to sky pirates.¡±

    Marie shook her head towards that.

    ¡°There must be some reason for why she¡¯s here. It seems that she already apologized as well, so it¡¯s fine. Besides, it¡¯s not good for everyone to gang up on someone and bully them.¡±

    The people around her went silent.

    After speaking, Marie took Cara¡¯s hand.

    The small Marie grasped Cara¡¯s hand while making an expression of respect.

    ¡°So, Cara. You and I should be friends.¡±

    Cara was delighted. She shed tears while nodding towards Marie, who seemed to be sparkling.

    ¡°R, right.¡±

 Chapter 83 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 prologue part2</h4>

    (As if anyone could forgive you.)

    Marie kept a smile in front of the weeping Cara.

    While mouthing some lip service, she harbored malicious thoughts on the inside.

    (It seems that Brad and Greg took care of it, but I do like how that mob guy got caught up in the trap. If you be my follower, that mob will certainly be furious.)

    That mob guy©¤©¤was Leon.

    A man with a sharp tongue who always interfered with her ns and resembled her older brother.

    Marie hated Leon since looking at him brought back memories of her older brother.

    (If it means seeing him get frustrated, I wouldn¡¯t mind forgiving Cara. All things considered, I¡¯m such a good woman for forgiving a bad girl such as her!)

    She had snatched away the capture targets of the otome game from the protagonist, Olivia, also known as Livia.

    She also snatched away the exclusive servant Kyle, along with the position and fame of being a saint.

    Those were all things she had to do for the sake of her livelihood, but Leon was an obstacle to her entire n.

    (That mob guy is giving me a hard time. But, it¡¯s my time to shine from now on. I¡¯ll be sure to get my revenge.)

    Marie wasn¡¯t too sure about the details, but in this world©¤©¤the saint was a special existence for the Holfault Kingdom.

    In particr, if amoner were to be selected as the saint, then they would be able to marry the crown prince.

    There are items that can only the saint can use, and those could enhance Marie¡¯s power.

    (I took the status of a saint from that naive Olivia, but I will resolve everything in her ce, so it should be no problem. Now then, I wonder how I should torment that mob? At any rate, now that the people who once made light of me are now trying to get on my good side©¤©¤this feels a little nice!)

    The girls had looked at her with hostility before, but they were now trying to butter her up.

    Marie was enjoying her current situation.

    (It¡¯s great knowing that the people who looked down on me, thinking that I¡¯m a poor match for Julian and the others or that I¡¯m just a poor noble, are now trying to earn my approval! At this rate, I¡¯ll rise to the top of the world.)

    Her aim was the crown princess. She pondered about how to make Julian the crown prince again as a first order of business.

    Chris then appeared. ¡°Chris Fier Arkwright¡±©¤©¤a young man who had blue hair, blue eyes, a dignified countenance, and wore sses.

    ¡°Marie, this is where you were?¡±

    Marie felt at ease when Chris approached her in delight.

    The surrounding followers, particrly the girls, blushed and felt charmed when looking at Chris.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here to deliver a letter sent to you, Marie.¡±

    Marie, after saying her thanks and taking the letter, widened her eyes upon seeing who the sender was.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Marie?¡±

    ¡°I, it¡¯s nothing. I, I suddenly remembered some business I have to take care of, so I¡¯ll be heading off.¡±

    Not listening to the surrounding people¡¯s attempts to stop her, Marie dashed away to find a ce where she could be alone.

    Upon hiding in a ce away from in sight, she opened the envelope with trembling hands.

    ¡°C, calm down. It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m already the saint. I don¡¯t know what my household is going to do, but I will protect everyone.¡±

    The letter was sent from her parents.

    Upon taking out the letter and reading its contents, Marie crumbled down.

    ¡°Why is this happening?!¡±

    Clutching the letter while weeping, Marie couldn¡¯t help but scream.

    The contents of the letter stated that her parents would use her name to repay the huge debt that they umted.

    Marie had not been blessed in her second life.

    Her other siblings also used Marie¡¯s name to do as they pleased.

    Marie¡¯s feelings, which had reached their peak just before, now plummeted to their lowest.

    ¡°I hate debt!¡±

    Marie, who had a disdain for debt after her experience in her previous life, continued crying.

    ¡ó

    I was walking in the academy building with Livia.

    Livia, who had light brown bobbed hair, walked while clutching her textbooks and notebooks.

    ¡°It¡¯s troublesome having to move between sses.¡±

    Most of the sses at the academy are a pain since we have to keep moving to each one.

    I had hoped that the teachers would be the ones moving between ssrooms, like how it was in my previous life.

    Livia looked at me with her blue eyes.

    ¡°Leon, aren¡¯t you tired?¡±

    She looked at my condition, worried that I perhaps might be tired out.

    Amidst the many heartless women in the academy, this girl gives mefort.

    Furthermore, she¡¯s the protagonist of that otome game.

    Livia was supposed to be the one chosen as the saint, not Marie.

    ¡°I suddenly got a lot of invitations, so it¡¯s been a pain having to reject all of them.¡±

    When I talked about my troubles with the girls who changed their minds about me, Livia seemed just a bit delighted.

    ¡°You¡¯re a hero after all, Leon.¡±

    ©¤©¤I¡¯ve beenbeled as a hero who defeated the army from the Fanoss Principality.

    Due to that, I¡¯ve been promoted despite my wishes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not cut out for being a hero though.¡±

    ¡°Are there any women who interest you?¡±

    ¡°None. Maybe next year.¡±

    I hate girls who make aplete 180 and try to get on my good side.

    ¡°Though, I heard that your reputation will worsen if you don¡¯t hold a tea ceremony, Leon.¡±

    ¡°My reputation? If it worsens, that¡¯s absolutely fine. Being treated like a hero is strange. Besides, having a tea ceremony with you and Anjie is all I need.¡±

    When I mentioned that she was enough, Livia¡¯s cheeks turned slightly red while seeming d.

    However, that soon changed into a nk look, perhaps remembering something.

    ¡°©¤©¤But, you invited rice and Deirdre to tea as well, right?¡±

    When Livia said that as if to question me, I turned my face away from her gaze.

    ¡°Hahaha! Enough of that, we¡¯ll bete for ss if we don¡¯t hurry.¡±

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re just running away.¡±

    Livia was amazed at how I dodged the question with a smile, but was then puzzled she spotted a crowd in the hallway.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    Everyone was focusing on a bulletin board in front of them.

    There were lot of things attached to the board, but it¡¯s strange that a crowd would gather.

    ¡°Curious, isn¡¯t it? Want to take a quick peek?¡±

    When peeking at the bulletin board through the gaps between people, there was a poster about studying abroad.

    Its contents stated that they were recruiting students to study in the Alzer Republic.

    ¡°©¤©¤It¡¯s about studying abroad in some foreign location. It seems to be for a year.¡±

    ¡°A foreign ce? This academy really has a lot going for it.¡±

    The impressed Livia seemed a bit interested.

    However, I didn¡¯t think that people would gather around a study abroad poster.

    As I tried to leave, I pushed my way through the crowd until I spotted my friend, ¡°Raymond Fou Arkin¡±. He had a slightly tired expression.

    ¡°You¡¯re interested in studying abroad too?¡±

    When I called out to him, Raymond readjusted his sses and looked at me.

    ¡°Leon? Wait, you were talking about studying abroad?¡±

    I pointed towards the bulletin board for Raymond, who didn¡¯t seem to be feigning ignorance.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t looking at the study abroad poster?¡±

    ¡°Nope. The crowd here is gathering due to the establishment of bodyguards.¡±

    ¡°Bodyguards?¡±

    People were gathering here because of a bodyguard recruitment?

    Though, it¡¯s not like the academy would be a ce to recruit bodyguards for royalty.

    ¡°Bodyguarding who?¡±

    ¡°Well, wouldn¡¯t it be the saint?¡±

    ording to Raymond, the royal pce and temple were preparing bodyguards for that annoying Marie.

    ¡°Though they¡¯re forming a bodyguard squad for the saint, it seems that there¡¯s something unique this time.¡±

    ¡°Unique? What?¡±

    ¡°Well, you see©¤©¤the saint is Marie, right? Her lovers are quite special people, to the point that not only the temple, but the royal pce is also involved with the process of forming the squad.¡±

    Livia seemed to understand.

    ¡°©¤©¤This has to do with his Highness Julian and the others, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    Raymond nodded.

    ¡°Right. In short, people are making a big deal out of the fact that his Highness Julian didn¡¯t go wrong with the woman he chose. There are even rumors that his Highness will return to being the crown prince and that the saint will be the crown princess.¡±

    ©¤©¤During the finale of that otome game, the protagonist became the saint, earned the recognition of the people around her, and became united with the capture targets in marriage.

    It seems that the same is happening despite Marie being the saint now.

    What an annoying girl.

    ¡°So the people who want to gain connections with her are trying to be her bodyguards. However, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be interested, Raymond.¡±

    When I said that, Raymond made a bitter smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of for a different reason though. I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t have ulterior motives, but I¡¯ve been thinking about some special measures.¡±

    Special measures? I guess I¡¯ll listen to what he means by that.

    ¡°The saint¡¯s bodyguards are chosen by knights. Not the temple¡¯s knights, but formal knights.¡±

    ¡°So they¡¯re not entrusting it to the temple.¡±

    ¡°Right. Because of that, if one were to be a bodyguard, they would have the title of a knight. That¡¯s not all! It seems that they can even have a bride, regardless of bloodline.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Raymond, do you mean...¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I do. While being recognized as a knight in the royal pce, their wife doesn¡¯t have to be the daughter of a noble.¡±

    The temple¡¯s knights aren¡¯t formal knights.

    They had some nobles, but they wereprised ofmoners.

    Some of them were nobles who were tired of marriage-searching and became temple knights.

    In many cases, they¡¯re badmouthed as dropouts, but they¡¯re treated as formal knights.

    Furthermore, since the people being enlisted as Marie¡¯s bodyguards are considered temple knights, it seems that it doesn¡¯t matter where their wives originate from.

    In other words, they¡¯re not stripped of their status in noble society while also being able to escape from their marriage-searching.

    When I looked at the boys gathering around the bulletin board, they were all being serious.

    ¡°I would immediately apply if it weren¡¯t for that girl being the one I have to bodyguard!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but feel frustrated.

    Raymond answered me in a calm manner.

    ¡°Well, as a feudal lord, you wouldn¡¯t be able to apply, Leon. Though I¡¯m in the same boat, heirs can¡¯t be bodyguards.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤What? That frustration was for nothing.¡±

    Now that I think about it, it would be a precarious situation having a heir be Marie¡¯s bodyguard.

    Such a position doesn¡¯t seem temporary, so it wouldn¡¯t be a job suitable for a boy who will seed a household eventually.

    Raymond also seemed frustrated.

    ¡°All things considered, you seem to hate the saint, don¡¯t you Leon?¡±

    ¡°I would absolutely loathe being her bodyguard.¡±

    While Raymond was shocked, Livia noticed a person approaching.

    ¡°Leon.¡±

    Feeling a tug on my sleeve, I turned around to see Anjie walking over with a serious look.

    She seemed a bit tense and uneasy about something.

    I had a bad feeling, but while shrugging it off and telling myself that it would be fine, Anjie spoke.

    ¡°This is where you were? Leon©¤©¤I got in touch with my home just a while ago.¡±

    Raymond soon hid behind my back once Anjie came.

    Since Anjie¡¯s the daughter of a duke, people can¡¯t help but see her as someone untouchable.

    ¡°Got in touch?¡±

    Anjie, seeing a worried Livia, gave her a slight smile.

    These two are quite close friends, but©¤©¤ording to that otome game, Anjie was supposed to be the viiness, the protagonist¡¯s love rival and foe.

    She has sparkling blond hair and fierce red eyes.

    Anjie has a sort of aura around her, something that overwhelms the surrounding people.

    That aura softens when Livia¡¯s with her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not anything bad.¡±

    Despite having said that, Anjie was nervous.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Anjie looked straight at my face.

    Her scarlet eyes looked as if they could swallow me whole.

    Also, it¡¯s a bit difficult having her look this way when her ample chest is in my line of sight.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s actually a bit troubling that both of them have quite the chests.

    ¡°Leon, this is serious.¡±

    While thinking that I perhaps revealed my thoughts, I broke into a cold sweat as Anjie spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been tentatively ced as the saint¡¯s bodyguard.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Say what?¡±

    I responded with confusion.

 Chapter 84 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 1 part1</h4>

    <h4>Elven Vige</h4>

    There was a conference room in the royal pce.

    The chief vassal and other involved officials gathered there, discussing the matter of the saint¡¯s bodyguards.

    The people unanimously voiced theirints about the temple.

    ¡°The priests are getting carried away.¡±

    ¡°Are they nning to take the budget for the saints bodyguards out of the royal pce¡¯s funds?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also the matter of his Highness Julian and his crew. If we make the mistake of rejecting the n, we won¡¯t know how they¡¯ll react.¡±

    They viewed Marie bing the saint as a problem.

    They believed that of all people, the most troublesome woman had be the saint.

    That was due to Marie getting a hold of the former crown prince and one by one, ensnaring the heirs of other prestigious noble households.

    It seemed that the temple was supporting Julian, who fell in love with the saint, and were nning to have him be the crown prince again.

    It was obvious that they were trying to seize power.

    Within the meeting venue, Anjie¡¯s father Vince also happened to be present.

    Vince was a duke, but due to Julian losing his position, his faction shrunk. He appeared to the meeting, but had little influence.

    He watched over the meeting and its course of events.

    A noble of the royal court, ¡°Bernard Fier Atlee,¡± whispered to Vince in a low voice.

    Bernard, who was plump and had a characteristic small mustache, sought confirmation from Vince.

    ¡°Is this really alright?¡±

    ¡°Even if I were to oppose, it wouldn¡¯t change the decision. You already know that©¤©¤Minister.¡±

    Bernard worked as a minister.

    He was an earl who distanced himself from the rising faction, a faction centered around the marquis named ¡°Ma Fou Frampton.¡±

    Furthermore, he was rice¡¯s father.

    ¡°I personally feel a bit awkward about it since I¡¯m indebted to him, but it¡¯s a fact that he¡¯s the only suitable person. I can¡¯t help but give him my approval.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s neither under my guardianship, nor is he my pupil. There¡¯s no need to worry about it.¡±

    As they were speaking, Frampton opened his mouth.

    In response, the nobles shut their mouths.

    Frampton, a slim marquis, was tall and had deep wrinkles on his face.

    His nose was long and his beard reached down to his chest.

    His facial features were profound and his eyes wererge, as if they would pop out.

    (He seems quite unwell. A lot must have happened.)

    Though he tried to hide some of his tiredness with makeup, Vince could perceive his state.

    ¡°It seems that all opinions have been brought out. Now then, I would like to make this venue¡¯s opinion the opinion of the royal pce, but are there any objections?¡±

    When Frampton nced around, nobody offered any opposition.

    Vince was the same.

    (©¤©¤What a farce.)

    He already knew that this had turned into a meeting within the faction.

    Frampton looked at Vince, narrowed his eyes, and made a smile.

    It was the face of someone convinced of their victory.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to say about the duke Redgrave household, but we¡¯re here to talk about the kingdom. I want you all to understand that.¡±

    ¡°Even when I didn¡¯t voice any opposition?¡±

    After Vince replied, a young noble from Frampton¡¯s faction stood up and announced the matter of the decision.

    ¡°Well then©¤©¤Viscount Leon Fou Baltfault will be appointed as themanding officer of the saint¡¯s bodyguards.¡±

    The surrounding people voiced someints, all towards Leon.

    ¡°That promoted guy as a bodyguard of the saint?¡±

    ¡°At least we can track his whereabouts by finding where the bodyguards are.¡±

    ¡°The issue is that guy¡¯s lost item. Shouldn¡¯t we get a hold of it before the temple double-crosses us?¡±

    ¡°You mean getting a hold of a treasure he obtained from an adventure? That goes against national policy.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps if he were to relinquish it of his own ord.¡±

    ¡°Would that really be okay though?¡±

    Those who were alert about Marie raised voices of concern about Leon¡¯s disposition.

    In a short period of time, prestigious nobles had sessively been ensnared by her.

    Next, Leon might be the one who¡¯s ensnared.

    If that were to happen, perhaps he would take the side of the temple.

    A young noble boldly responded to such voices of concern.

    ¡°I understand how all of you feel. However, during summer break he managed to defeat his Highness Julian and the others in a duel, furthermore taunting them to the point of leaving the audience speechless despite it being their second duel. Since he has such a rtionship with them, he will not be swayed by the saint.¡±

    The crude noble smiled.

    ¡°The man-eating saint also dislikes that guy.¡±

    While others understood and made light smiles in response to those words, Frampton slightly raised his hand.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze focused on him as he spoke.

    ¡°Hmm, everyone¡¯s concerns about Viscount Baltfault are valid though. How about viewing this matter as a test, a way to see his qualifications in handling the lost item?¡±

    Vince objected in response to those words.

    ¡°Do you mean to be like vultures and steal a treasure into the kingdom? Marquis Frampton, that will not go unchecked.¡±

    ¡°Duke Redgrave©¤©¤no, Vince. We¡¯re only investigating if it¡¯s appropriate for him to hold such a strong lost item. I am not saying that we will take anything. It all depends on his qualities.¡±

    The surrounding nobles began to speak their thoughts, saying ¡°Indeed, leaving this alone would be a hazard.¡±

    ¡°If we¡¯re not taking anything right away, then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Right. However, that power is too big for one guy.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t say that he has no ill intentions.¡±

    The meeting venue was being overrun by the opinions of Frampton¡¯s faction.

    ¡°Noints©¤©¤Vince? Or perhaps you were nning on monopolizing the power of that lost item for yourself? Your daughter is quite close with Viscount Baltfault, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    Frampton red at Vince.

    ¡°©¤©¤Do as you please.¡±

    (Did they intend on taking the lost item from the very beginning?)

    ¡°I¡¯m d we coulde to an understanding.¡±

    The surrounding people looked at Vince not as the leader of the formerrgest faction, but as a has-been.

    (Now then, how will things turn out?)

    Vince quietly thought about the future.

    ¡ó

    I was on the deck of the airship Partner.

    I was ring at Marie and her followers.

    ¡°©¤©¤This is the absolute worst.¡±

    Luxon floated next to me, replying while looking towards the same direction.

    [Isn¡¯t she talented for enjoying her life like so? Leaving that aside, why was it necessary to bring out Partner?]

    Partner is my ship, modeled after the spacecraft that is Luxon¡¯s main body.

    To be more precise, it¡¯s designed to imitate Luxon¡¯s main body as a disguise.

    Luxon, who created Partner, cherishes it as if it were its own child.

    Now it became necessary to bring out this ship after Marie¡¯s proposal to go on an adventure.

    Due to her proposal, the very first person asked to arrange a ship©¤©¤was me.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my intention to bring out the ship and lend it to anyone. This is really the worst. I feel disgusted having to follow those orders.¡±

    Just looking at Marie brings up memories of my younger sister from my previous life.

    My older and younger sisters in my current life are downright heartless, but she was cruel too.

    [At any rate, you¡¯re themanding officer of Marie¡¯s bodyguards, right Master?]

    ¡°Don¡¯t bring that up! I did not want to agree to it at all.¡±

    To think that they considered making me one of Marie¡¯s bodyguards.

    Are those royal pce officials idiots?

    Marie, being pampered by her followers, felt pleased and made a loudughter.

    Cara also being there caught my attention, but what further piqued my interest was Marie¡¯s exclusive servant.

    A pretty boy who goes by the name ¡°Kyle,¡± a quirky guy with short blond hair and long ears. He looked like a middle school student.

    He was supposed to be the exclusive servant of the protagonist, Livia, but was taken by Marie.

    He had a bit of a sassy look and seemed rtively calm for his age.

    He separated from the crowd, holding onto a handrail and looking up into the sky alone.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, did the followers steal your master?¡±

    When I spoke out to him, Kyle turned around and replied.

    ¡°©¤©¤Could you not speak to me? I¡¯m not fond of you.¡±

    The irritated Kyle spoke bluntly.

    I¡¯m quite intolerant of others¡¯ misbehaviors.

    Being made light of aggravated me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. I¡¯ll toss you into the sky.¡±

    This is a world where the ground floats in the sky©¤©¤so being tossed out means ending up in the sky rather than the sea.

    Despite that, Kyleughed scornfully.

    ¡°What could you gain by doing such a thing? You¡¯re the type of guy who backs down ifshing out in anger would otherwise result in being punished.¡±

    I got quite annoyed at how urate he was.

    Indeed, I didn¡¯t actually intend to throw him out.

    Well, I mean©¤©¤I¡¯d be the bad guy if I did that.

    All things considered, I thought of him as a cheeky brat in the game, but©¤©¤now that he¡¯s real, he really is quite impertinent.

    ¡°Tsk, I¡¯ll get you for this.¡±

    When I left a parting remark, he replied with ¡°Those are the words of a delinquent who runs away after losing.¡±

    When I was about to lose my cool, Luxon informed me of something.

    [Master, Olivia and Anjelica are here.]

    When I turned around, a delighted Livia and slightly excited Anjelica approached.

    ¡°Leon, I can see the floating ind we¡¯re heading towards!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll bending there soon. Prepare a campsite near the historic ruins! We¡¯ll be the ones to find treasure first!¡±

    Livia, with sparkling eyes, looked forward to seeing a genuine historic ruin.

    However, Anjie©¤©¤acted as expected of an adventurer¡¯s descendant.

    Hearing the words adventure and historic ruins, it seemed that treasure was on her mind.

    ¡°Anjie, you¡¯re rich enough to not need any treasure, right?¡±

    ¡°Right. However, finding treasure is meaningful. I was so nervous that I couldn¡¯t sleepst night.¡±

    It¡¯s quite rare for the usually mature Anjie to be acting this childish.

    ¡°Rather than treasure, I¡¯m more excited to be investigating a historic ruin. I¡¯m interested in how ancient humans lived.¡±

    Livia was full of curiosity.

    The only saving grace in this situation is the enjoyment those two have.

    ¡°You two sure seem lively. It seems that bringing out Partner was a worthwhile decision.¡±

    ¡°You have my thanks, Leon. There¡¯s a dungeon in the royal capital, but being an adventurer means traversing to unknown sites.¡±

    ©¤©¤I epted Marie¡¯s proposal because these two showed interest.

    I would have refused if Marie was the only thing I took into consideration.

    As the two spoke amongst each other, Marie walked over while seeming smug.

    She gave me an order while holding down her hair which was swaying from the wind.

    ¡°Hey, the ind¡¯s in sight, so make sure that you cannd this thing. I want to find treasure soon.¡±

    When I red at Marie while saying ¡°What did you just say?¡±, Marie got frightened and averted her gaze.

    She resembled my younger sister down to the minute detail, causing me to get angry.

    ¡°E, err, I¡¯d like for you to preparending~that¡¯s all.¡±

    None of Marie¡¯s followers were around her as she got nervous.

    Since Anjie was there, the followers took their distance.

    Anjie¡¯s eyes changed a bit when she looked at Marie.

    ¡°©¤©¤Leon is the owner of Partner. Do you have aint about Leon¡¯s conduct, Saint?¡±

    When Anjie closed the distance, Marie quickly fell back.

    ¡°Jilk Fier Memoria¡± then stepped in between Marie and Anjie.

    He had green hair and a gentle aura, but was a ck-hearted guy in reality.

    Currently, he and ¡°Greg Fou Seberg¡± were apanying Marie as her escorts.

    The other three were busy with other things.

    ¡°Anjelica, what do you n on doing with Marie?¡±

    Jilk is Julian¡¯s foster brother. Furthermore, he¡¯s themanding officer of Julian¡¯s bodyguards. No wait, did I get right?

    Since Julian lost his position along with Jilk and the others being disinherited, their standings are quite unclear.

    ¡°©¤©¤What? I was just being a little careful.¡±

    I felt relieved upon seeing Anjie step down quietly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run your mouth too much. We¡¯ll make sure tond properly and we¡¯re also in the process of other arrangements.¡±

    ¡°I, I see.¡±

    Though Marie reluctantly gave her understanding, I could somehow grasp from her expression that she felt the opposite way.

    I feel unpleasant knowing that I can understand her emotions.

    Amidst the mor, a girl with long ck hair arrived to the deck.

    She was a thin girl with pale skin and characteristic red eyes©¤©¤¡±Hertrude Sera Fanoss.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it seems everyone was gathering here. I was looking for you all.¡±

    Anjie muttered something as if annoyed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you woulde along.¡±

    She was the princess of the Fanoss Principality, though she¡¯s currently semi-forced to study abroad.

    Luxon came close to my ear and spoke.

    [It seems that she had been searching the ship.]

    ¡°What is the kingdom thinking, going as far as to force this person onto me?¡±

    Princess Hertrude©¤©¤err, Hertrude is not exactly the most friendly, smiling person.

    It seems that it wasn¡¯t a good idea to agitate Fanoss Principality¡¯s retreating army during that school trip by saying things like ¡°Hey, how does it feel? How does it feel for an adult to lose to a kid? How does it feel for knights and soldiers to lose to students?¡±

    I took the opportunity to kidnap this person, making her a prisoner of war.

    Due to that, her smile gave me a spine-chilling sensation.

    ¡°Your airship is quite big, Viscount Baltfault. I got lost because of that.¡±

    ¡°My apologies. Anyways, where did your caretaker go? You shouldn¡¯t wander around alone.¡±

    ¡°We lost sight of each other. I couldn¡¯t do anything.¡±

    There¡¯s supposed to be a caretaker, or rather a student keeping an eye on her, by her side.

    However, perhaps due to the students scattering, she had been walking by herself.

    Luxon spoke in a quiet tone.

    [The person watching over her intentionally left Hertrude alone.]

    Is there some kind of scheme in the midst? They just don¡¯t know when to give up.

    When I red at Hertrude, she turned away.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t look at me with those indecent eyes.¡±

    Perhaps it seemed like I was looking at her with indecent eyes, but her slender figure is not to my liking at all.

    It¡¯s also a shame that her barren chest is at the same level as Marie.

    ¡°©¤©¤Sorry.¡±

    ¡°W, why are you looking at me with pity now? What are you doing that for?¡±

    Anjie stepped in between us to block my sight, making a red face while voicing her opposition.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that. We should prepare to get off the ship soon.¡±

    As we talked, Partner arrived at a floating ind where elves lived.

    It was unlikely that the harbor could take in a such a big ship like Partner, and once we reached the location, Luxon began preparations tond.

    ¡ó

    Uponnding on the elven ind, the girls gave instructions while the guys carried their luggage.

    Their exclusive servants were standing by their side.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t treat my luggage so recklessly.¡±

    ¡°S, sorry.¡±

    Nobody thought about having the ves carry the cargo.

    The reason being that for the girls, their exclusive servants were ves, but at the same time were lovers as well.

    The boys knew that if they would be in trouble if they tried to order the exclusive servants around, so they didn¡¯t push their luck.

    As the boys were busy moving around, I got entangled with someone annoying.

    ¡°Commander, would you carry this baggage?¡±

    Greg, the one who spoke to me, seemed closer than before, or rather©¤©¤he was acting like we were friends.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Commander. I didn¡¯t agree to such a thing.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re themanding officer of the bodyguards, right? In that case, you¡¯re ourmanding officer. You have my best regards, Commander.¡±

    This is saddening, do I really have to be themander of these guys?

    Hertrude looked at me while the person watching over her stood beside her.

    ¡°©¤©¤The kingdom is quite cruel.¡±

    She spoke those brief words after seeing the other girls.

    ¡°Is it different at the principality?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way the principality would engage in such crude behavior.¡±

    If what Hertrude said is true, then I want to seek asylum at the principality right away.

    Well, I can¡¯t do that though.

    ¡°The principality was originally territory of the kingdom, right? So why is it different?¡±

    The principality originally belonged to the kingdom, but had be independent, leading to the current rtionship between the two.

    ¡°I feel sorry for you guys. Particrly you©¤©¤Viscount Baltfault. Your future spouse will openly surround herself with sub-race lovers. Such vulgar women don¡¯t exist within the principality. If you emigrate over to our side, I can assure you that you¡¯ll receive a proper hero¡¯s treatment.¡±

    Greg, hearing her speak, hardened his gaze.

    Don¡¯t ask me to flee to another country while people are watching. ©¤©¤I do kind of want to though.

    Marie approached as Hertrude was in the midst of her mockery.

    ¡°Hey, what happened to treasure hunting? Let¡¯s hurry up and go look around.¡±

    Hertrude was amazed at the annoying Marie and her fixation on treasure.

    ¡°You¡¯re the saint, right? I¡¯m starting to wonder if you¡¯re too attached to money.¡±

    At those words, Marie©¤©¤

    ¡°What do you know?! Over on my side©¤©¤my parents put me into debt without my knowing and now I have to pay it back! Besides©¤©¤it¡¯s painful having no money!¡±

    I hate Marie, but I do feel a bit of sympathy in regards to her situation.

    Gregforted Marie.

    ¡°Marie, it¡¯ll be alright. Julian and the others are working, so we¡¯ll get your debt sorted out somehow.¡±

    Three of the five idiots aren¡¯t here since they¡¯re bustling about for Marie¡¯s sake.

    Marie¡¯s lousy household created debt under their her name once she became the saint.

    Furthermore, they forced their previous debt onto Marie.

    After hearing her situation©¤©¤it¡¯s so pitiful that it even made me think it would be okay to help her out a bit.

    Marie was at her wits¡¯ end as she spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s painful having no money. Really painful. My socks have holes and I can¡¯t rece them, I can¡¯t even buy necessities. I don¡¯t what to further cut down on.¡±

    Seeing Marie¡¯s gloomy expression as sheined gave me a thought.

    Perhaps this girl was cursed.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. Even Hertrude¡¯s not sure how to respond.¡±

    Hertrude had said ¡°Sorry, I guess,¡± to Marie around when she had been talking about holes in her socks.

    I pondered about something while looking at the boys around who were at work.

    ¡°We should talk with the residents of this ind first. Now then, where should we go to©¤©¤¡±

    As I was thinking about how to traverse an unknown ind where elves lived, Kyle raised his hand.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯ll lead the way. This is my homnd.¡±

 Chapter 85 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 1 part2</h4>

    We traversed through a forest while Kyle led the way.

    Theid-back Marie was surprised to hear that this floating ind was Kyle¡¯s homnd.

    ©¤©¤So it seems that she didn¡¯t know either.

    ¡°Gee, if this was your home, you should have told me, Kyle. I would have prepared a present or something.¡±

    It seems that she intended to watch over her exclusive servant as he visited his home, but wouldn¡¯t this be dicey situation for Kyle?

    He was bought as a ve and is now returning to his home town with his master.

    Is he going to introduce her to his family by saying ¡°This is my master!¡± to them?

    ©¤©¤I would hate doing that.

    Kyle walked ahead, but was the same as when I spotted him on Partner¡¯s deck.

    Despite it being his homnd, he didn¡¯t seem to be enjoying it at all.

    ¡°No need for a present.¡±

    He seemed a bit gloomy.

    Being worried about Kyle, Livia consulted me.

    ¡°Leon, doesn¡¯t something seem strange about Kyle? He¡¯s returning home, so why is he so down?¡±

    Unlike the carefree Marie, Livia was looking closely at Kyle¡¯s condition.

    ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t want to visit home for some reason?¡±

    Unlike Marie, Livia was kind.

    As for Anjie©¤©¤

    ¡°Is this a forest where elves live? I didn¡¯t know there was a dungeon here, but I¡¯m a bit excited for some reason.¡±

    ©¤©¤She was really tense.

    Meanwhile, Marie was serious.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. If I can earn big here, I can get rid of my debt. Rather, isn¡¯t this opportune? Then I can buy sweets from popr stalls and have desserts for my dinner during the evening. I have to buy new clothes too. My others ones are already shabby and worn out.¡±

    It was saddening to hear Marie¡¯s monologue.

    I was indeed angry at Marie, who cheated her way to bing the saint, but why was she this miserable?

    What evil things did she do in her previous life to deserve carrying debt while needing to pay living expenses as a saint?

    Jilk and Greg walked in the back while a group of girls walked in the middle.

    Hertrude, who seemed troubled, walked alone.

    ¡°You could have just waited.¡±

    ¡°I can do whatever I please. Besides, now that we came all this way, I want to look at the historical ruins.¡±

    Shouldn¡¯t the upper management of the kingdom be more wary of the fact that this girl¡¯s been given free rein?

    We continued through a straight path in the forest.

    Luxon, floating near my shoulder, looked at the road.

    [Master, what exactly©¤©¤are elves?]

    ¡°A fantasy race. Are you interested in them?]

    [Elves used to not exist within my data. While I had been on stand by, a creature suddenly appeared, turning out to be an elf. Is it not something to be curious about?]

    I wasn¡¯t really that aware of it, so I wasn¡¯t particrly interested.

    [In addition, it¡¯s also noteworthy that they cannot breed with female humans. However, in the case of men©¤©¤]

    As Luxon spoke on, Kyle pointed to a vige within view.

    ¡°That¡¯s the town where I was born and raised.¡±

    Marie was excited.

    ¡°Wow~, how beautiful!¡±

    At first nce, it seemed like a calm, but fairly developed vige.

    The buildings were mostly log houses and the town had a sense of unity.

    All the vigers we saw were beautiful and had nice figures.

    Several viger-like elves wore outfits that clung to their bodies.

    Jilk ced his hand over his chin and began to boast about his knowledge.

    ¡°Elves are basically well-favored in looks, but do not seem to judge beauty by outward appearances like how humans do.¡±

    Both Marie and Greg had shocked faces.

    ©¤©¤It seems they didn¡¯t know this. I wasn¡¯t aware of it either.

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±

    ¡°Right. They judge based on the magical power one holds. Due to that, they have almost no preferences in terms of looks.¡±

    Though everyone was interested in the elves who judged others based on magic power, Kyle didn¡¯t say anything more.

    Since these were elves we were talking about, a slightly more detailed exnation would have been nice.

    I tried calling out to him in concern.

    ¡°Something the matter?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me. If you¡¯re trying to fulfill a sense of self-satisfaction by acting worried about me, then stop. I absolutely hate guys like you who tend to get the wrong idea.¡±

    I felt my face getting red.

    ¡°And I hate little brats like you. Why don¡¯t you go find your mother and introduce Marie to her, you can even say ¡®This is my master,¡¯ to her.¡±

    Thereupon, Kyle sighed and spoke as if looking down on me.

    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t know. Alright, for elves, being a ve is synonymous to working away from home. Despite being ves, we¡¯re treated decently, much better than you boys at the academy.¡±

    It¡¯s indeed as he said, but hearing him say it made me furious.

    Luxon strangely seemed convinced.

    [Intriguing, so elves view it as working away from home? I understand.]

    Jilk added on to that exnation.

    ¡°Elves seem to have a longer lifespan than humans. A few decades is a not a big deal for them.¡±

    Working away from home for a few decades? Leaving that aside, there¡¯s something about Kyle¡¯s speaking that I¡¯m curious about.

    Someone¡¯s feelings toward very would be like this.

    Upon hearing hearing the word ve, one would assume that treatment would be poor, but being exclusive servants, they¡¯re treated favorably.

    ©¤©¤Indeed, the boys would be jealous.

    Seeing us approach the vige, one of the elves in the vige walked towards us.

    A pleasant girl with green hair and yellow eyes.

    Is she around the same age as us? She¡¯s a small woman.

    In addition, everyone¡¯s gazes focused on her bust, which was big rtive to her body.

    ¡°Kyle!¡±

    The woman waved her hand and rushed over, seeming to know Kyle.

    As the woman approached, Kyle adjusted his posture and moved towards Marie¡¯s side as she was speaking with Jilk.

    ¡°Marie, this woman here is my mother. Her name is ¡®Yumeria.¡¯¡±

    ©¤©¤What? His mom?!

    Elves have a much younger appearance than their actual age. Could it be that Kyle is an old man on the inside too? In that case, he might be the same as me.

    ¡°Um, oh! N, nice to meet you!¡±

    When the confused Marie gave her greetings, Kyle¡¯s mother, Yumeria, also became confused and bowed her head.

    It felt very calming seeing the two bow towards each other.

    Kyle exined the situation to Yumeria while seeming uninterested.

    ¡°Everyone wants to enter some historic ruins that are in this town. We need permission from the vige chief, so we¡¯re heading over to give our greetings. With that, please excuse us.¡±

    ¡°Say, Kyle. You¡¯ve been away for a long time, but you don¡¯t need to talk like we¡¯re strangers©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°I cannot do that, I¡¯m in the midst of my job.¡±

    Kyle¡¯s attitude may be appropriate as a servant, but he was being a little cold towards his mother.

    Yumeria¡¯s expression darkened.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so cold. This is the town you¡¯ve been away from for so long, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Kyle sneered in response to my words.

    ¡°Something bugging you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get so over-familiar with me. I¡¯m Marie¡¯s exclusive servant, and I¡¯m not going to get along with the likes of you.¡±

    Greg was a bit irritated at the strangely stern Kyle.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re taking it too far. Baltfault is ourmander.¡±

    Marie also seemed to pay attention to the odd attitude her own exclusive servant was taking.

    ¡°Kyle, don¡¯t pick any fights. You¡¯ve been weird today for some reason.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the same as I always am. The vige chief¡¯s home is here.¡±

    Kyle walked ahead, not even ncing at Yumeria.

    Livia spoke to Yumeria in concern.

    ¡°Um, Kyle¡¯s been strange ever since we came to this ind. Err, maybe he¡¯s feeling sick.¡±

    However, Yumeria made a sorrowful smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s my fault. I¡¯m an unseemly misfit, after all.¡±

    Those words stuck to my mind for some bizarre reason.

    ¡ó

    The vige chief¡¯s residence wasrge.

    Upon asking about it, it seemed that several decades ago, when returning to the vige after finishing work as an exclusive servant, the vige chief had received arge amount of remuneration and built the residence.

    He was an elf that looked like a young man with a beard, someone only in theirte twenties.

    ¡°You want to visit some ruins within the vige?¡±

    I spoke alone with the vige chief, acting as a representative of the group.

    Everyone else waited in a reception room.

    ¡°Right. Is it possible?¡±

    ¡°The ruins are a sacred ce for the vige, so it would be tough. You won¡¯t be able to obtain permission so easily. I don¡¯t think the other vige chiefs would allow it.¡±

    Elven viges were scattered around the floating ind.

    It seems that altogether, they¡¯rebeled as a collective.

    ¡°Furthermore, the collective chief is quite stubborn. There¡¯s no doubt that you will face opposition to enter the ruins.¡±

    ¡°The collective chief?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s an old woman whose strong point is divination. I¡¯ve heard that in the past, there were many guests who visited the collective chief, but her power has currently weakened and there are often times where her divinations aren¡¯t urate either.¡±

    I don¡¯t care about this talk of fortune-telling, but it¡¯s a problem if we can¡¯t enter the historical ruins.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you might have to give up. Though, we frequently visit the ruins and have found no treasure there. Searching for some would be fruitless.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Us elves are free to enter and exit it as we please, and there are even many people who go there on a whim. We¡¯ve exhausted ourselves searching through it, but contrary to everyone¡¯s hopes, there¡¯s no treasure to be found.¡±

    ©¤©¤Could this different from the game?

    As I was thinking about it, there was a furious pounding on the door.

    A female elf barged in without waiting for a reply.

    ¡°Vige Chief, it¡¯s the collective chief!¡±

    The vige chief grabbed a nearby ornament©¤©¤then tossed it to the woman.

    ¡°Eek!¡±

    Seeing the item crash into the woman and fall, I give a look towards the vige chief.

    However, the vige chief ignored me and began preaching to the woman.

    ¡°What insolence, running over in amotion and pounding on the door! How many times do I have to tell you? Apologize to the guest!¡±

    The vige head then walked towards the woman and began kicking her.

    Upon seeing that, I stepped in with haste.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    The vige chief swept my hand aside and turned away with a scornful look.

    Those eyes he had were the same as the exclusive servants¡¯ when they face the boys within the academy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a nuisance. That is important elf etiquette. If we¡¯re not careful, the children will learn bad manners. That means their worth as ves will diminish.¡±

    ©¤©¤It seems that I don¡¯t fully understand the situation with elves, but this is too harsh.

    Seeing this doesn¡¯t make me feel at ease.

    ¡°This a revolting sight in front of a guest.¡±

    I did my best to put on a brave front.

    ¡°Sorry about that. Now then, what¡¯s your business?¡±

    The woman shed tears while informing us that the aforementioned collective chief was visiting the vige.

    ¡ó

    We were in a za at the vige.

    The gathering elves were all beautiful men and women.

    Among them, a short elderly one carried arge cane for support.

    Her back was hunched over and it was hard to tell whether her eyes were open or closed.

    The old woman with gray hair muttered something to a woman wearing the same native outfit.

    The female elf, who was supporting her, transmitted her message.

    ¡°I will convey the words of the collective chief. Do not enter the ruins again. At this rate, you will incur the old demon lord¡¯s wrath.¡±

    The vige chief was at aplete loss.

    I assume that the collective chief is in a higher position, her way of speaking is different from the woman¡¯s.

    ¡°Collective Chief, what do you mean by demon lord? In the first ce, aren¡¯t the people from other viges entering the ruins too?¡±

    The collective chief muttered something.

    Listening to her words, the female elf once again spoke.

    ¡°Do you think that the collective chief knows nothing? She¡¯s aware that you all are heavily involved with the ruins. The collective chief is leaving a message. Don¡¯te into contact with what¡¯s taboo. Don¡¯t enter the sacred ground of the elves.¡±

    The surrounding elves were shocked, but the collective chief and the female were serious.

    Luxon, who was floating near my shoulder, also seemed shocked.

    [A divination, is it?]

    ¡°What? Are you a non-believer of those sorts of things?¡±

    [Could it be possible? There have certainly been people with strange abilities. You¡¯re one of those people, Master.]

    From Luxon¡¯s point of view, I would indeed be an unscientific phenomenon since I hold memories of my previous life.

    There seems to be some discrepancy between what the vige chief said and what the collective chief said.

    Perhaps the elves aren¡¯t actually free to enter and exit as they please?

    Based on what the collective chief said, nobody can get near the ruins.

    Furthermore©¤©¤

    ¡°By the way, do you know anything about a demon lord?¡±

    [Are you familiar with the matter, Master? Does a demon lord appear in the otome game?]

    ¡°There¡¯s no demon lord in that otome game. That¡¯s why I¡¯m really concerned.¡±

    Could it be that the collective chief is growing senile?

    She may have been a capable diviner in the past, but there are more elves who are either suspicious orpletely doubtful rather than those who are at least half-convinced.

    The collective chief¡¯s cold gaze shifted from the elves to©¤©¤Marie.

    ¡°Hey! Thismotion is annoying. Whatever, someone take me to the historic ruins! I absolutely must capture©¤©¤¡±

    The collective chief¡¯s eyes widened as Marie, who was frightened of debt, stepped forward.

    She spoke to the woman next to her, and then that woman conveyed the message to us.

    She seemed surprised and shocked.

    ¡°Are you a saint?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you could tell? Yes, I¡¯m a saint. If you understand that, then©¤©¤¡±

    Before Marie could finish, the woman spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re allowed to enter the ruins. The saint brings along the old demon lord. That is the future the collective chief foresaw in recent months.¡±

    Marie tilted her head in confusion as the surrounding elves grew restless.

    ¡°Demon lord? I don¡¯t know a demon lord at all.¡±

    You¡¯re like a final boss to me. You¡¯re something like a demon lord, I guess.

    Or rather, it seems that the collective chief has gone senile and lost her touch with divinations.

    Marie isn¡¯t a real saint, Livia is.

    ©¤©¤The demon lord must also be a misunderstanding.

    I turned towards Luxon as it stated its own opinion.

    [Could this be about Julian? He¡¯s royalty and the descendants of the new humans use magic. If royalty means being able to operate the workings of magic, it¡¯s possible that he could adopt the title of a demon lord.]

    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but Julian¡¯s not here, you know?¡±

    [I¡¯m stumped as well. Assuming that the collective chief¡¯s divination is true, there¡¯s a possibility that it¡¯s tied to Julian.]

    That guy isn¡¯t a king yet though. At this rate, he will be the crown prince again due to Marie¡¯s work, and will probably be king in the future, but©¤©¤that guy being a demon lord? He¡¯d be a miserable demon lord that even I could beat up.

    The woman spoke to the people around on behalf of the collective chief.

    ¡°The time of judgement hase. Will this ind sink, or will it remain? These people will not be allowed to interfere. The collective chief says for everyone to sit still and wait for the appointed time.¡±

    With that, the collective chief and the other elf left the vige.

    While watching their figures, I spoke to Luxon.

    ¡°Does this mean we have permission to enter the ruins?¡±

    [It saves a load of trouble. It seems we won¡¯t have to force our way in or invade.]

    ¡°You were thinking about such dangerous things?¡±

    [Indeed. What about it?]

    It was as if Luxon was saying ¡°You¡¯ve got a problem with that?¡±

 Chapter 86 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 1 part3</h4>

    Now that we got permission, we set foot into the historic ruins.

    However, I felt disheartened upon looking into the ruins.

    ¡°©¤©¤There¡¯s nothing.¡±

    There was a room with tree roots and ivy crawling along the walls and floor. It seemed to me like a modern building that grew old, but to Livia, it seemed like an ancient site packed with adventure.

    Livia was the only one delighted.

    ¡°Amazing! Look Leon, objects of this shape have been found in other ancient ruins. The form is a bit different, but that thing near the door is a feature of ancient sites!¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤I, I see.¡±

    That object she¡¯s referring to was a card reader.

    The machine, which would read card keys, was already broken and was only there for looks at this point.

    Luxon looked at the joyed Livia and asked a question.

    [It¡¯s better not to tell her the truth, isn¡¯t it?]

    Livia looked happy wondering what kind of meaning the object could have.

    It seemed that Luxon was worried about whether it should tell Livia that it was a device for reading cards.

    ¡°She might me happy if you told her.¡±

    [There¡¯s also some fun in having her discover it herself. You wouldn¡¯t understand, Master.]

    ¡°You really are a terrible thing, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    [Not as much as you, Master.]

    Luxon then turned its line of sight towards Anjie and the others.

    ¡°Is there really no treasure? Well, viewing some historic ruins is itself worthy of conversation, but©¤©¤is there really no treasure?¡±

    She felt down since not only was there no treasure, but the ce had already been thoroughly examined by others.

    Jilk was the same.

    ¡°I had my hopes up since I heard there were some historic ruins belonging to elves, but there¡¯s nothing here.¡±

    Greg seemed to have given up on the possibility of treasure.

    ¡°Did you really think that we would find ruins with treasure so easily? It¡¯s fun because of the chances of finding nothing. Though, it¡¯s also quite novel for us to go this far and still find nothing.¡±

    Surprisingly, Hertrude also seemed disappointed. ©¤©¤Had she actually been looking forward to this?

    ¡°Oh? Did you actually get your hopes up?¡±

    ¡°I did. Something wrong with that?¡±

    Since she answered me, I continued conversing with her.

    ¡°Not that it¡¯s bad, but I do find it surprising.¡±

    ¡°The principality can be traced back to being the kingdom¡¯s territory. Like you people, we also admire adventurers.¡±

    So why in the world is the situation for marriage-searching so different there?

    ¡°So when you heard about the ruins, you wanted to venture into them?¡±

    ¡°Despite how things may look, I do hold such views. After all©¤©¤such opportunities are rare.¡±

    Well, isn¡¯t that cute?

    Hertrude, who averted her gaze while seeming embarrassed, looked like a girl her age.

    ¡°All you had to do was say it honestly.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Detestable.¡±

    I watched Hertrude depart and turned towards the most depressed person in the vicinity, Marie. She was so down that it was pitiable.

    ¡°©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to do this anymore. It can¡¯t be like this.¡±

    Jilkforted Marie while she was in such a state.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright. We can search for a different set of ruins and go on an adventure together with his Highness and the others.¡±

    ©¤©¤There was a bit of a misunderstanding there.

    Marie didn¡¯t want to go an adventure, she just wanted treasure.

    Evident of that, she made aplicated face after hearing Jilk¡¯s words.

    ¡°R, right.¡±

    Perhaps leaving Livia, who was absorbed in the historical ruins, to her own devices, Anjie came over to my side.

    ¡°Leon, what should we do now? Should we withdraw at this rate? It seems like the vige chief here with us is bothered as well.¡±

    Taking a look, I saw the figure of the vige chief watching over us from the entrance of the ruins.

    He gave me a particrly cold gaze.

    ¡°He¡¯s looking down on me. Quite the annoying guy.¡±

    I want to knock him off his feet right now.

    I don¡¯t know if the demon lord is long gone or whatever, but I¡¯d love to ask them to strike the hammer of judgement down on that guy.

    Though, that may not be possible since the demon lord doesn¡¯t exist.

    The vige chief called out to us.

    ¡°Have you had enough? There¡¯s nothing worth seeing in these ruins.¡±

    ©¤©¤All things considered, something¡¯s off.

    Within my fuzzy memories of the game, these historical ruins should definitely have©¤©¤

    ¡°We can¡¯t give up! My debt¡¯s increasing as we speak! I©¤©¤I absolutely won¡¯t give up! I hate a life of debt!¡±

    Marie recklessly ran towards the depths of the ruins alone.

    Anjie seemed angry at Marie, who acted out of line.

    ¡°Moving around alone as she pleases©¤©¤what a troublesome person.¡±

    With Luxon beside me, I readied my rifle and went ahead to bring back Marie.

    ¡°Luxon, follow me. Anjie, stay here with everyone. I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard being amander, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still a student. Don¡¯t push yourself. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±¡®

    Livia was worried about me, but...

    ¡°Leon, please don¡¯t do anything rash. U, um©¤©¤¡±

    Did she think I was going to do something with Marie? ©¤©¤Well, she¡¯s right.

    After telling Jilk and Greg to stay put despite wanting toe along, I chased after Marie.

    ©¤©¤An opportunity has arrived. Now I¡¯ll be alone with Marie.

    ©¤©¤Finally, we can have a talk between fellow reincarnators.

    ¡ó

    The depths of the ruins were dark.

    With herntern ced on the floor, Marie looked for something.

    ¡°Not here. Not here! There¡¯s no entrance to the undergroundyer!¡±

    Luxon¡¯s eye, serving as a light, shined on Marie, surprising her. Marie turned around and stood with her back against the wall as if she were a cornered criminal.

    I had my rifle ready while speaking to Marie.

    ¡°You¡¯re alone atst. Even in the airship, I didn¡¯t have the chance to talk with you, and that caused me some trouble. With this, we can have a leisurely chat.¡±

    As Marie trembled, she tried to pick up a handgun she brought for self-defense.

    ¡°Freeze. Any movements and I¡¯ll pull the trigger.¡±

    ¡°I, if you kill me, you¡¯ll be a big criminal! I¡¯m a saint!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just a fake who took the position of the saint from Livia though. Now then, how about we hear what you have to say for yourself? What do you n on doing from now on?¡±

    I wanted to know what reason she had for the risky deed of stealing Livia¡¯s position as the saint.

    ¡°Huh? What do you mean? Tell me what it is that you want to hear from me.¡±

    However, Marie acted bold, even in this situation.

    I really want to shoot her. I wonder if just one shot would be fine.

    ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll ask you some questions one by one, and you¡¯ll make sure to answer me. Are you a reincarnator?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I am. If you¡¯re asking whether I have memories of my previous life, then that¡¯s correct. It seems like you¡¯re one too.¡±

    ¡°Are you aware of this world being the same as ¡®that¡¯ otome game?¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    She¡¯s not denying it. Marie indeed knows about this world being the same as an otome game, <i>that</i> otome game.

    ¡°If so, why did you take Livia¡¯s position as the saint? When there¡¯s a war with the principality©¤©¤¡±

    Marieughed and answered before I could finish my question.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an idiot? You think I can¡¯t do what that girl can? I can use healing magic. I have plenty of talent for being a saint. Besides, the temple and saint items all recognize me.¡±

    That¡¯s weird. Leaving the temple aside, I didn¡¯t think that the saint items would recognize Marie.

    ¡°So it¡¯s alright to expose you if you turn out to be fake.¡±

    ¡°Try it out for yourself. No matter how much of a racket you make, it won¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m the saint. Too bad for you.¡±

    ©¤©¤Indeed, even if I kick up a fuss about it, nobody would listen to me. What an irritating person.

    Luxon suggested something to me.

    [There is a discrepancy whenparing this to your information, Master. It¡¯s advisable to mutually share information.]

    Marie was a little bewildered.

    ¡°What? What are you trying to say? Let me say this, I¡¯ve seen that otome game¡¯s sce©¤©¤¡±

    Before Marie could finish speaking, we felt a rumble as the floor dropped out.

    ¡°Wha?!¡±

    ¡°Aaaaah!¡±

    ¡ó

    Anjie, who stood at the entrance to the ruins, looked at a restless Jilk and Greg.

    ¡°The both of you, calm down. Let¡¯s leave it to Leon.¡±

    Deep down, Anjie couldn¡¯t tolerate Leon having to take care of Marie.

    (Even on the airship, Marie seemed to be on Leon¡¯s mind, but©¤©¤could it be?)

    Jilk¡¯s gaze sharpened.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m worried. He¡¯s alone with Marie. Can you say with certainty that no mishap will happen?¡±

    While staring at the ruins, Greg also spoke.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they taking a little too long? Let¡¯s go find them. I¡¯m worried about whether or not Baltfault will do anything strange. Since he might have a hunch that Marie isn¡¯t a woman yet, and since she¡¯s so cute©¤©¤¡±

    Hearing about Leon¡¯s interest in Marie, Anjie got flustered in a different manner from usual.

    ¡°D, don¡¯t say such foolish things! Leon is different from you people!¡±

    ¡°How are we different? He¡¯s the same as us, a guy. Furthermore, Marie is a great woman. It¡¯s impossible for any mishap not to happen.¡±

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be strange for any boy in that situation to make a move. No wait, maybe this was his aim?!¡±

    In response to the two¡¯s opinions, Anjie felt more worked up than usual.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lump Leon in with the likes of you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be likened to him either! Besides, Viscount Baltfault was trying to approach Marie on the airship. I know that since I was beside her as an escort!¡±

    Anjie¡¯s face turned red in response to Jilk¡¯s objection.

    ¡°Leon loathes Marie. You all should know that! Livia, say something too. There¡¯s no way Leon wouldy his hand on Marie.¡±

    However, unlike the agitated Anjie, Livia went a bit pale.

    ¡°U, um, I only noticed it now, but©¤©¤why was Leon carrying a rifle? It¡¯s not necessary since monsters won¡¯t appear in these ruins, right?¡±

    Anjie¡¯s, Jilk¡¯s, and Greg¡¯s eyes widened.

    Leon, who usually kept a distance from Marie, was now trying to approach her.

    Furthermore, Leon refused to let other peoplee along as he searched for Marie while carrying the unneeded rifle.

    The three went pale as they imagined the scene of Leon shooting Marie to death.

    ¡°My fair Marie!¡±

    ¡°Marie!¡±

    Jilk and Greg rushed into the ruins.

    Anjie and Livia chased after them.

    ¡°W, wait! Even he wouldn¡¯t go that far!¡±

    ¡°Right! He¡¯d only use it to threaten someone at most!¡±

    The four left the vicinity, leaving Hertrude, Kyle, and the vige chief.

    ¡ó

    Marie had a dream.

    A dream about her fondly remembered past life.

    The summer sun was strong and it was humid.

    During the evening, her surroundings were dyed orange, making for both a nostalgic and sad scene.

    Marie remembered the heat of that day.

    (Oh, right. This was also a thing.)

    A girl stumbled, crying over her scraped knees.

    ¡®Brother, carry me on your back.¡¯

    The one she asked help from was her older brother.

    Though she recalled that her brother ticked her off©¤©¤she strangely couldn¡¯t remember his face.

    Even though the two were in front of her, their faces were a blur.

    ¡®If it¡¯s that small of an injury, you can walk by yourself. Carrying you will make my back heat up, so no thanks. Besides, you¡¯re heavy.¡¯

    (I am not heavy! This guy really infuriates me! I have a very slender figure!)

    Even in that point of time©¤©¤she was cute in her previous life.

    She was aware of it in that life as well. That was why she looked up in confusion at her brother¡¯s reply.

    In her surprise, she stopped her fake tears.

    ¡®Huh?¡¯

    ¡®See, you were pretending to cry. I hate how you fake things like that. You won¡¯t fool me.¡¯

    In the vacant street, her previous self gasped.

    By this time, she knew that she was cuter than the girls around her.

    Understanding that people around her would do anything she asked for, she tried to order the boy, her older brother, around.

    ¡®M, my knees hurt.¡¯

    ¡®The pain is proof that you¡¯re still living. Good.¡¯

    ¡®I, I want you to carry me. I can¡¯t get home.¡¯

    ¡®Oh really? Then stay here. And if you don¡¯t like that, then walk, nitwit sister.¡¯

    ¡®©¤©¤Stupid brother!¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with being stupid! I¡¯d rather choose to be stupid than do what you tell me to!¡¯

    Seeing her older brother say that with a smile, Marie thought about something.

    (This guy really is the worst. Remembering him now, he¡¯s the number one©¤©¤no, number three most heartless guy.)

    Number one belonged to the man who abandoned her and her child.

    Number two belonged to a leech who associated with her.

    After those people was Marie¡¯s older brother.

    Marie then tried to recall what happened after this incident.

    (Huh? What happened to me after that?)

    ¡ó

    She slowly came to her senses.

    Her surroundings were dusty and she heard the sound of a gunshot.

    Shells dropped to the floor and there was a metallic sound.

    As she lifted her head, there stood Leon with his back facing her.

    His voice seemed to carry an air of tension, perhaps due to a sense of urgency.

    ¡°Next!¡±

    [An unidentified creature crawling along the ceiling is approaching. Master, be cautious about your remaining bullets. Furthermore, these things aren¡¯t monsters.]

    ¡°It sucks that they won¡¯t disappear when I kill them.¡±

    Leon readied the rifle and pulled the trigger, creating the sound of a gunshot as a bullet pierced through the head of a mysterious creature appearing from the darkness.

    The creature dropped from the ceiling and spasmed on the floor.

    Marie jumped and tried to get up, but©¤©¤

    ¡°Aah! O, ouch!¡±

    She couldn¡¯t stand up, perhaps from an ankle injury.

    Leon maintained the same stance, only his voice reaching Marie.

    He was cautious of approaching enemies and couldn¡¯t turn his head around.

    ¡°Are you awake? Luxon will tell you the situation.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What?¡±

    [The floor of the ruins copsed and we fell down underground. While you were unconscious, Master has been killing unidentified creaturesing out of the passage.]

    ¡°What do you mean by unidentified creatures?!¡±

    Marie, who wondered if they were different beings from monsters, looked at the creature from just now.

    Its limbs were different from those of humans, but its torso and head looked the same.

    Seeing what seemed like a reptile taking a human form, Marie screamed.

    ¡°Aaaaaah!¡±

    However, as for Leon and Luxon©¤©¤

    ¡°You¡¯re distracting me, so shut up. Damn it, is it hopeless unless I get this useless charm to do something? If it were Livia or Anjie, I would have been determined and serious about defending them.¡±

    [Screaming won¡¯t change the situation. Be still.]

    ¡°Huh? But, my leg©¤©¤¡±

    [As the saint, your specialty is healing magic, right? Heal yourself. Ah, Master, the next one¡¯sing.]

    ©¤©¤Both took a very cold attitude.

    Marie thought to herself.

    (These guys are like my older brother, aren¡¯t they?! Now I¡¯m really pissed!)

 Chapter 87 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 2 part1</h4>

    <h4>Secret of the Ruins</h4>

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Entering the depths of the ruins, Anjie and the others stared at a hole that wasn¡¯t there before.

    They tried holding up antern, but couldn¡¯t see inside.

    It seemed like the floor had copsed.

    ¡°Could it be©¤©¤that they dropped down from here?¡±

    Hearing the sounds of gunfire from within the hole, Anjie was uneasy.

    Jilk immediately began preparing to descend.

    ¡°I¡¯ll set up a rope soon.¡±

    Greg shouldered his spear and was about to descend, saying ¡°I¡¯ll go down there alone. It¡¯s likely that Marie and Baltfault are in there. We need to hurry up and help them.¡±

    Livia expressed her intentions.

    ¡°I, I¡¯m going too!¡±

    ¡°You stay here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡±

    When Anjie was about to descend as well, the vige chief came running while yelling.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    Anjie maintained her firm attitude towards the angered vige chief.

    ¡°There¡¯s a hole in the floor. There might be two people inside. We¡¯re going down there too.¡±

    ¡°E, err©¤©¤I understand. I¡¯ll go down there soon, so all of you, please wait outside.¡±

    Worried about Marie, Greg rejected the vige chief¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°There¡¯s fighting going on down there! What will you do if something happens to Marie?!¡±

    ¡°In that case, you should return to the vige at once and tell an experienced person.¡±

    The vige chief carried a rifle in his hand and descended down the hole.

    Anjie felt uneasy seeing his figure.

    (That vige chief isn¡¯t fazed at all?)

    They didn¡¯t even know what awaited them down there.

    The vige chief marched towards the area where gunshots could be heard.

    ¡ó

    We were down in the undergroundyers of the ruins.

    While Luxon illuminated our surroundings, Marie and I walked along a passage.

    ¡°The underground structures©¤I remember it now. The underground of these ruins was an explorable location.¡±

    Portions were broken, causing dirt and rock toe in and block passages, turning the ce into a maze.

    I turned my head around and stared at Marie.

    ¡°You used healing magic, right? You¡¯re walking slowly.¡±

    Iined towards the limping Marie, having to adjust my walking pace to match hers.

    While irritated, Marie didn¡¯t seem to take notice of that.

    ¡°It hurts for a bit even after healing! Walk slower.¡±

    ¡°Livia could erase the pain as well. That¡¯s what makes you a fake.¡±

    ¡°What was that?! You look stupid being so engrossed in her just because she¡¯s a little cute. Nobody¡¯s going to be with a mob like you.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately for you, I¡¯ve ended up bing quite popr with the girls despite how things may look. I¡¯ve received a mountain of invitations.¡±

    The letters weren¡¯t that pleasing, but Marie seemed genuinely frustrated in response to my bluff.

    I once again brought up a certain subject.

    ¡°©¤©¤Why did you think about making a reverse harem?¡±

    ¡°You got aint? It would only be human for someone to seek a happiness that they could reach.¡±

    Happiness? That¡¯s the reason why this girl took everything from Livia?

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that it feels great to kick others down for the sake of your own happiness? Apologize to Livia.¡±

    Marie cast her eyes downward while grumbling within the dark passage.

    ¡°What do you know? I wasn¡¯t blessed with fortune in my previous life. What¡¯s bad about living my second life as I please? This is about me! I just want to be happy.¡±

    Her methods were so heartless that I couldn¡¯t evenugh.

    She had five idiotstch onto her, and to make matters worse, made an irreversible mistake.

    ¡°You¡¯re being a nuisance to Livia and sabotaging Anjie. You¡¯re the worst.¡±

    Thereupon, the glowing Luxon spoke.

    [The same could be said about you too, Master. In a sense, you looked for me and snatched me away from Olivia, Master. Furthermore, you also said something along the lines of ¡®It feels great beating up those five in front of the public!¡¯]

    Hearing that, Marie criticized me this time.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst. You have no right to criticize people.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you! You¡¯re the one causing me trouble in the first ce! What do you even n on doing during the final battle? If you mess up, the kingdom will lose.¡±

    In that otome game, Hertrude was supposed to use an item called the ¡°magic flute¡± to summon the final boss.

    Currently, Hertrude and the magic flute are being managed by the kingdom, so having that final boss appear is unlikely, but©¤©¤I¡¯m worried.

    ¡°I can figure something out using my power as a saint.¡±

    ¡°Huh? The saint¡¯s strength alone? What are you going to do about Livia¡¯s power?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? That girl¡¯s power is the saint¡¯s power, right?¡±

    ¡°No, l mean©¤©¤¡±

    Luxon interrupted our conversation.

    [Master, one of my suspicions has been answered.]

    When Luxon said that, it suddenly became bright, forcing me to squint.

    It appeared that our surroundings were being illuminated with lighting equipment. Looking around, it seemed that we were in arge room.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, give me a break.¡±

    ¡°Ack!¡±

    ©¤©¤I was disgruntled while Marie was shocked.

    Within therge room stood cylindrical capsules filled with fluid, and inside them were figures resembling humans.

    There were elves waiting there, pointing rifles and handguns at us.

    I stood forward to cover Marie while readying my own rifle.

    There are a mountain of things I need to hear from this girl, so it wouldn¡¯t do good to have her die here.

    One of the elves pointing a gun at us, their representative, made an eerie smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve arrived at thend of humanity¡¯s beginning. Quite weing to have a human male, human female, and while I¡¯m at it, strange round thing be here, isn¡¯t it? Perfectboratory specimens.¡±

    Laboratory specimens? Upon looking at the elves, there were some wearing white robes as well.

    That behavior and manner of speaking were akin to those of a mad scientist¡¯s.

    ¡°Are you the ones who made those freaks?¡±

    If they were monsters, they would have disappeared when killed, but the creatures underground here don¡¯t do the same.

    In other words, what I¡¯ve been killing up until now weren¡¯t monsters.

    The representative-like male elf answered while pointing his gun at me.

    ¡°You¡¯re certainly quick on the uptake. I didn¡¯t think you people would be able to make that guess.¡±

    The male gently touched a capsule with his hand.

    Inside it was arge flower©¤©¤and in the center of the flower was a human face.

    Uncanny. It¡¯s more frightening than a monster.

    ¡°You¡¯ve set foot into these ruins, a god¡¯s domain where life is created. You humans probably don¡¯tprehend it, but long ago there was a civilization more advanced than what you see today. It was a period ruled not by savage humans, but by us elves. These ruins are proof of it.¡±

    The ruins, where life was being created, resided within the ind they lived on. And from that basis, they¡¯re saying that elves created humans here.

    The male chucked inughter when I didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it? That¡¯s all you humans amount to. Our ancestors have created many lifeforms here. Among them are you humans, an inferior race.¡±

    In response to the elf¡¯s deration...

    ¡°Impossible! That kind of setting didn¡¯t exist.¡±

    ©¤©¤Marie was astonished. Or rather, she didn¡¯t believe him.

    Leaving that aside, the thought of elves creating freaks here long ago gives me the shivers.

    When I turned towards Luxon, it shook its one eye in denial.

    It seems that this is beyond Luxon as well.

    The elf didn¡¯t stop bbering on.

    ¡°We will take back the world which has been stolen by humans. Then, the elves will bring along all races, guide them, and the world will regain its rightful figure. For that, you all will be our precious sacrifice. What kind of experiments should we run first? Oh right©¤©¤¡±

    Luxon interrupted the elf, who was so intoxicated over himself.

    [That is incorrect. This facility was run by humans, and the ones they created©¤©¤were you elves.]

    I tilted my head in confusion when Luxon suddenly asserted that.

    Up until just a bit ago, this thing had a lot of questions about the elves, so what¡¯s with this change in attitude?

    Marie grabbed my clothes and tugged several times, looking up at Luxon.

    ¡°Hey, what kind of familiar is that?¡±

    ¡°This is Luxon, a cheat item. You should know what this thing is, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about it. Or rather, cheat items are unfair. Let me use it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got the greatest of personalities, you know that?¡±

    The elves¡¯ expressions distorted.

    ¡°What do you know? Humans creating us? Even for a joke, I can¡¯tugh at that.¡±

    [I essed the AI lying dormant within this room. As a result of sharing information, I¡¯ve found that this ind was one involved with taboo©¤©¤an experimental site.]

    In response to what Luxon stated, arge electronic noise resounded within room.

    It was a voice different from Luxon, a voice more akin to a woman¡¯s.

    [That is correct. The elves on this ind are those have be feral after being created here.]

    ¡°There are AIs other than Luxon?¡±

    Though I looked around, I couldn¡¯t find the figure of this AI.

    [Indeed. I have been on sleep mode for a long time. All things considered, it is fortunate meeting someone like you who carries the genes of the former humans. It is proof that our fight was not meaningless.]

    The elf nced around him, panicked over the electronic voice.

    ¡°W, who¡¯s there?! Who would say such lies! Us elves are beings who surpass humans. We have longer lifespans and are more capable of using magic!¡±

    The AI inly spoke the truth.

    [The longevity is just for the sake of being able to fight for longer. It would be troublesome to have them die soon. Proficiency at magic is again a design choice. However, it seems there has been a drop in qualitypared to the elves of our initial stages.]

    While the elves were in confusion, the male in front of us was in anger, his face turning a deep red.

    He trembled while darting his eyes around, perhaps wondering where to aim his gun.

    ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me! There is no truth to that. We are©¤©¤¡±

    Feeling a presence from behind, I turned around to find the vige chief there.

    However, he seemed strange.

    ¡°What in the world are you doing?!¡±

    The shrieking vige chief©¤©¤pointed a gun at us.

    ¡°Oh, Vige Chief©¤©¤huh?¡±

    The vige chief pointed his rifle at Marie, who thought that he came here to save us.

    Luxon seemed toprehend something.

    [I see. So the vige chief was also involved in these ruins.]

    The vige chief ordered the panicking elves.

    ¡°Dispose of these people here. Make it look like they were finished by artificial lifeforms.¡±

    The elves began to regain themselves in response to vige chief¡¯s words.

    Upon the touch of a control panel, the fluid inside the capsules were drained, sending out the artificial lifeforms.

    [Should I praise them for being able to operate the equipment?]

    I readied my rifle while beside the calm Luxon.

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to kill us as a destruction of evidence? It seems that elves are as ck-hearted as theye.¡±

    The vige chief looked at me and smiled.

    [A human shouldn¡¯t get cocky. Inferior beings like you should just bow to us!¡±

    The AIined.

    [What foolishness©¤©¤this has been judged as a state of emergency. It will thus be dealt with.]

    Immediately following, weapons appeared out of the walls, aimed at the lunging artificial lifeforms, and shot them to death.

    The elves were frightened by the sudden event©¤©¤and not passing up the chance, I shot the vige chief in the shoulder with my rifle.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    The vige chief dropped his rifle, so I closed the distance and bashed him in the face with the gunstock.

    The elves turned towards me and yelled.

    ¡°O, open fire!¡±

    As bullets and magic were being fired at us, Marie was at her wits¡¯ end.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take this anymooore!¡±

    While thinking about how annoying she was, I gave Luxon an order.

    ¡°Do it.¡±

    [You won¡¯t be able to hurt Master with just this much.]

    All the bullets and magic were repelled by a wall of light that appeared around us.

    While pointing my rifle at the vige chief, I looked over at the elves.

    Realizing that their guns and magic had no effect, the elves stopped their attack and stood still.

    ¡°Still want to have a go? Do such high-ss, wise elves take a fancy to the aesthetics of destruction?¡±

    Knowing that they couldn¡¯t win, the elves tossed their guns and put their hands up.

    ¡°Restrain everyone. You, lend a hand as well.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Despite how it seems, I¡¯m still a saint. I¡¯m your higher-up!¡±

    ¡°How about I just blow your brains out? Destruction of evidence, right?¡±

    I didn¡¯t intend to actually go through with it, but upon threatening Marie, she forced a smile.

    ¡°Now, no need to get so angry. I, I¡¯ll do what you say, so don¡¯t shoot.¡±

    ©¤©¤She could have just said that from the beginning.

 Chapter 88 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 2 part2</h4>

    We were just about finished with restraining the elves.

    The AI spoke to Luxon and me.

    [It hase to my understanding that we had lost in the end. That being the case, this facility will need to self-destruct.]

    ¡°You guys sure like to self-destruct. Isn¡¯t that the same response Luxon made?¡±

    Thereupon, the AI began to talk about the role of the historic ruins and this research institution.

    [This research facility was originally created for the sake of opposing the new breed of humans. However, now that this duty can no longer be aplished, leaving the area untouched is a risk.]

    There are probably some people who would misuse the equipment, just like the elves who produced artificial lifeforms.

    Indeed, leaving this behind is certainly an unsafe move.

    ¡°Are you okay with that? You just woke up, right?¡±

    The AI, which had managed this ce for a long time, would have to self-destruct right after waking up from a long sleep.

    How sad.

    [There¡¯s no problem. I will transfer all of my data to Luxon. If there is any object you need, carry it out of the vicinity. Furthermore©¤©¤take this. It will be a necessary item for you, the one with the ship.]

    Some weird object with countless cubes attached to it appeared from the floor.

    It floated and looked shiny.

    [ept it. With this, I can aplish more work than ever.]

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    [A very valuable object.]

    Marie leapt up when hearing that.

    ¡°Treasure!¡±

    [Correct. It is a valuable object for us, but those of this world won¡¯t know how to use it, so they would only see it as a shiny ornament.]

    ¡°©¤©¤This really is the worst. If there¡¯s no treasure, maybe this really is different from the game? I thought that this would be fantasy, but I never heard about it being sci-fi.¡±

    The ones who made elves were humans.

    Elves were created to oppose the new humans. When pondering about the other sub-races being created for the same purpose as well©¤©¤this is indeed a strange world.

    It seems that this isn¡¯t a simple fantasy world of swords and magic.

    Whatever happened to that otome game¡¯s ckluster¡± setting?

    ¡°Is there no other treasure?¡±

    Marie, evidently depressed, attempted to check with the AI.

    [Expecting treasure inside a research institution won¡¯t do much good.]

    Marie wiped her tears with a sleeve and grumbled.

    ¡°©¤©¤We¡¯re going back.¡±

    How pitiful, going through such trouble only to end up with nothing.

    [However©¤©¤if you bring this with you, it might help. It could be valuable in this world.]

    [What, so you do have something! Hand it over!¡±

    Seeing Marie¡¯s sudden liveliness made me think about how simr she was to my sister in my previous life.

    I had suspicions that she might be my sister, but©¤©¤I didn¡¯t want to think about having to be involved with her again in my second life.

    ¡ó

    We were away from the ruins.

    Within our current location©¤©¤

    [??w?drftgy?¨’?!!]

    ©¤©¤We were struggling to calm down a furious Luxon.

    ¡°Calm down already.¡±

    [I am calm. I will calmly destroy this object, pulverize it, turn it into ashes, and decimate it until not even a speck of dust is left©¤©¤gaaah!]

    ©¤©¤Luxon broke down.

    Marie lied down on the ground with a vacant expression of hopelessness.

    ¡°©¤©¤Receiving this kind of thing doesn¡¯t make me happy.¡±

    Jilk and Greg, who wereforting her, had looks of genuine relief.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re safe.¡±

    ¡°Right, Marie. We can just look for treasure again.¡±

    In front of us was the object the AI handed over during our final moments in the ruins.

    It seemed like a part for some kind of power suit armor, but I don¡¯t know what part it is.

    The crazed Luxon couldn¡¯t help but kick up a fuss in front of the sharp part.

    Furthermore, Marie grieved over how this junk part wouldn¡¯t make any money.

    Livia was in front of Luxon, bewildered.

    ¡°Calm down, Luc! Look, take a deep breath, a deep breath!¡±

    [I don¡¯t need to breathe.]

    ¡°Err, um, right. S, sorry I guess.¡±

    It was cute seeing Livia confused over the calm answer she got.

    Anjie confirmed the situation while beside me.

    ¡°Leon, why aren¡¯t you removing the vige chief¡¯s restraints despite him being injured? Also, where were these elves in the ruins? Could it be that you captured them?¡±

    She looked at the restricted elves with suspicion.

    I¡¯m quite troubled on what to do with these elves.

    Since I shouldn¡¯t talk about the matter of the ruins so hastily, I was puzzled over what to say about them.

    ¡°Oh, these guys are uh©¤©¤umm.¡±

    Sensing the ground shaking, I supported the surprised Anjie while looking towards the ruins.

    It seems that it self-destructed without a hitch.

    I can¡¯t say that it¡¯s safe, but with this, those ruins will no longer create artificial lifeforms again.

    This is good. While thinking about it as such, a giant airship appeared in the sky.

    ©¤©¤It was Luxon¡¯s main unit.

    It blended into its surroundings like a form of optical camouge, but I could see the unnatural phenomenon up there with my eyes.

    I could faintly make out the appearance of Luxon¡¯s body in the sky.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    When I red at Luxon, it spoke indifferently.

    [Here¡¯s retaliation for deceiving me. To think you¡¯d force this object onto me!]

    The enraged Luxon used its main unit to m a pir of light into the ruins.

    The vige chief trembled in fear upon seeing the light.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that this is what the collective chief was talking about. The demon lord. The demon lord is angry at us!¡±

    Sorry, that¡¯s the work of my aplice.

    That¡¯s no demon lord.

    The other elves looked as if the world was ending.

    While everyone was captivated by the pir of light, Hertrude was the only one who stared at the armor part.

    All things considered, I feel as if I¡¯ve seen this shape somewhere.

    I¡¯ve seen this ck, sharp part somewhere, but I don¡¯t remember.

    ¡°Would you mind?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Hertrude spoke to me.

    ¡°Do you want to hand this over to me? If it¡¯s money you want, I can prepare some.¡±

    Seeing Hertrude¡¯s serious expression, I had suspicions that she was scheming something.

    ¡°I refuse.¡±

    ¡°If you do it, I will grant anything you want. Besides, why don¡¯t you try emigrating to the principality? I promise that you will be granted a suitable position. You have no reason to stick with the kingdom, right?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤I said no.¡±

    Though a bit hesitant, I rejected Hertrude¡¯s proposal.

    Hertrude seemed to have just the slightest bit of frustration on her face.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re quite fixated on the kingdom. Isn¡¯t the kingdom just a cruel authority for you countryside feudal lords? Or perhaps you don¡¯t notice that you¡¯re being tamed and oppressed?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but agree with what Hertrude was saying.

    However, fleeing to another country is not so easy. There¡¯s no guarantee that Hertrude will keep her promise.

    Not to mention, I would enter an enemy nation©¤©¤the principality bears a grudge towards me.

    It¡¯s likely that I would encounter a surprise attack, get detained, and be executed when I arrive there.

    Damn it©¤©¤I wish I hadn¡¯t agitated the principality any more than necessary.

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤I see, what a shame. Truly, what a shame.¡±

    ¡ó

    Upon returning to the elven vige, the collective chief was waiting there.

    I also spotted many elves exiting their homes, kneeling on the ground, and begging to the sky for forgiveness.

    ¡°Demon Lord, please forgive us.¡±

    ¡°Please overlook our ind.¡±

    ¡°I was against it! The vige chief and the others were the ones invading the ruins!¡±

    Kyle, seeing the situation at the vige, grinned as if looking down on them.

    He soon returned to his nk look though, so I pretended not to see it.

    It seems that he has his circumstances.

    Greg and Jilk looked around while both carrying the armor part.

    ¡°The atmosphere seems a bit different.¡±

    ¡°I thought they would resent us for the ruins copsing, but it seems like we¡¯re in the clear.¡±

    When we arrived, the collective chief approached us.

    She looked at the elves we seized and muttered something.

    The female elf next to her spoke on her behalf.

    ¡°We would like to talk about the treatment of these people. If possible, the collective chief would like representatives toe to her residence.¡±

    I decided to have a talk with the elves so that I could exin things.

    The collective chief looked at Marie.

    ¡°Is it better to invite her as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Furthermore, that ck-haired woman and those two over there as well.¡±

    Being summoned, Greg and Jilk lowered their luggage, allowing them to take a break.

    ¡°You guys can talk it out. We¡¯ll carry this thing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s tough work having to bring it all the way to the airship.¡±

    Hearing the two speak, Luxon made a voice of disgust.

    [You¡¯re cing that filth on my Partner?]

    ¡°Give it up already. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go.¡±

    This thing went andbeled the old armor part as filth.

 Chapter 89 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 2 part3</h4>

    We were in the collective chief¡¯s residence.

    As we were sitting, the collective chief across from us said a word of thanks.

    ¡°The collective chief gives you all her gratitude.¡±

    Marie acted bashful.

    ¡°Your gratitude is appreciated, I guess. If you could prepare treasure or something valuable, I¡¯d be delighted.¡±

    Anjie silently red at Marie.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything. On the contrary, you lost the historical ruins. You shouldn¡¯t be thanking us.¡±

    The collective chief shook her head.

    ¡°The collective chief is relieved that we were fortunate enough to have the old demon lord¡¯s wrath only amount to this much.¡±

    ©¤©¤Again with the demon lord.

    Livia spoke to the collective chief.

    ¡°E, excuse me! This is off-topic, but what is a mixed one? Yumeria called herself that, and Kyle seems to be acting strange about it, so what does it mean?¡±

    Marie openly made a displeased face towards Livia, who seemed worried about Kyle.

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you didn¡¯t meddle in the affairs of someone¡¯s exclusive servant.¡±

    ¡°B, but, we can¡¯t ignore this matter. Kyle¡¯s attitude isn¡¯t normal.¡±

    Yeah, he¡¯s definitely not normal.

    When I looked at the collective chief¡¯s spokeswoman, she cast her eyes downward while answering.

    ¡°You know that for elves, beauty is judged by magic, right?¡±

    Jilk had proudly boasted about his knowledge of that.

    As I nodded my head, she continued exining.

    ¡°Magical power is unique to each individual. It¡¯s difficult to exin to others, but it¡¯s judged as a color. However, there are rare cases where some are born with a magical power with multiple colors mixed in.¡±

    It¡¯s not something we reallyprehended, but it seems that¡¯s what elves consider ugly.

    ¡°The magic such people use is strong and unique. However, we can¡¯t help but feel disgusted. These people are called mixed ones within the collective.¡±

    Does that mean they can use different magic than normal?

    If the elves as a whole feel disgusted by mixed ones©¤©¤then it can¡¯t be helped.

    It¡¯s probably some instinctive repulsion or something like that.

    ¡°In addition, Kyle¡¯s mother, Yumeria, left the collective for a period of time and used magic to act like a travelling entertainer. During that period, she made a child with a human male.¡±

    Anjie¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors of this. A half-elf, right? So they do exist.¡±

    The female elf nodded.

    ¡°The situation with half-elves isplicated. The fact that half-elves are born is an undeniable problem for males working away from home.¡±

    Elven ves are bought at high prices to serve as exclusive servants.

    One of the reasons why they¡¯re well-received is that they can¡¯t have children while with humans.

    Women would hesitate to buy a ve otherwise, even if the chance of such a thing happening was small.

    Or would they?

    I feel that some wouldn¡¯t hesitate.

    Rather, they would buy them for that exact thrill.

    What a cruel world this is indeed.

    ¡°S, so that¡¯s why he said that he was a half-elf.¡±

    Ignoring Marie, who was breaking into a cold sweat for some reason, I put the conversation to a close.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the mother and child are considered burdens in the collective. Let¡¯s leave it at that.¡±

    ¡°Leon, don¡¯t just close the conversation like that!¡±

    Livia criticized me, but there¡¯s not much we can do.

    ¡°Poking our noses into the affairs of the other households isn¡¯t going to fix anything. We now know why Kyle hates this ind, so it¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? Saying ¡°stop feeling disgusted,¡± to the elves isn¡¯t going to resolve the matter of Yumeria, so we have no other choice than to leave this matter alone.¡±

    In response to my words, the spokeswoman hung her head as if she was about to cry.

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true. This is something you wouldn¡¯t be able to solve.¡±

    The collective chief spoke to the spokeswoman.

    ¡°The collective chief will tell everyone¡¯s fortunes. She says that this is a token of her gratitude.¡±

    The residence was iner than the vige chief¡¯s, and there were few objects. It didn¡¯t seem like its resident was living luxuriously.

    The collective chief¡¯s gratitude, was it? I¡¯ll ept it.

    ¡°Now then, first is the saint.¡±

    ¡°A fortune? I¡¯m listening. Tell me something good.¡±

    This girl really does have a big attitude.

    Seeing her interest in the divination reminded me of my younger sister, who would check her horoscope every morning.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯re under a curious fate. Furthermore, you¡¯ve passed by your fated partner.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s my fated partner?!¡±

    ¡°That is unknown, but it appears that you¡¯ve alreadye across that person. It¡¯s said that if you break off rtions with that person, you will never be together again. Furthemore©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You cannot run away from the burden you carry. A hard life awaits you. It seems that you have only two paths, to either gain everything or lose everything.¡±

    Marie left her mouth agape for a short while, gradually getting angrier.

    ¡°Redo! I need a redo!¡±

    ¡°Now then, next is the ck-haired one©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Listen to me!¡±

    The silent Hertrude listened to her fortune while seeming uninterested.

    ¡°The collective chief says that at some point, your life¡¯s turning point will be apanied by great difficulty.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡±

    ¡°Furthermore, you will meet your fated partner during that hardship. If you can walk together with that person, a light will shine on your difficult path and you will find a reliable support.¡±

    ¡°I, I see. Well, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±

    The girl seemed just a tad bit delighted.

    I suppose she was happy to hear about a fated partner.

    I¡¯m envious that such things can delight her.

    ¡°Next is you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    Anjie, who looked a little eager, seemed different from usual, which was cute.

    ©¤©¤I suppose fortune-telling is good every once in a while.

    The spokeswoman seemed a bit perplexed after hearing the collective chief¡¯s words.

    ¡°W, what is it? Tell me. I¡¯m starting to feel uneasy.¡±

    The spokeswoman spoke upon Anjie urging her.

    ¡°It seems that you and the one over there are protected by a hero, apanied by the old demon lord. It¡¯s unknown if you¡¯ve alreadye across them or if you¡¯ll meet them in the future.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Hero?¡±

    Anjie tilted her head to the side while Livia seemed a little confused.

    ¡°Such people appear in tales told to young boys. However, I haven¡¯te across such a grand person yet.¡±

    ¡°Same for me. I mean, who¡¯s the demon lord?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, then I don¡¯t know either, Anjie.¡±

    The two talked to each other about it, but it seemed that they didn¡¯t know anyone who would be that hero.

    I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.

    Again©¤©¤there¡¯s that demon lord. She¡¯s the one who¡¯s been talking about the old demon lord¡¯s wrath, right?

    Could it be that? Did the collective chief use up all of her strength already? The vige chief did say that her uracy had diminished, right?

    Actually, if there¡¯s a hero, then show up already.

    Save this otome game world right now.

    While we¡¯re at it, save me too. I¡¯m serious, someone help me.

    ¡°If the collective chief is tired, then how about we just call it a day?¡±

    The spokeswoman stopped me.

    ¡°I, it¡¯s fine. Err, we will proceed with those two together.¡±

    Perhaps this person also thinks that something¡¯s strange.

    Amidst the odd atmosphere, we listened.

    ¡°You two have fates that are intertwined in aplex way, ones that are far deviate from what they normally should be. Furthermore, you are carrying a burden that should normally belong to someone else.¡±

    Livia was puzzled.

    ¡°U, um, I suppose I did receive help when I needed it.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. The both of you have something to rely on.¡±

    Anjie turned towards me.

    ¡°W, well, I received support many times though.¡±

    The spokeswoman was troubled.

    ¡°It appears that it¡¯s tooplicated for even the collective chief to see into. However, it seems that she can see that you two are in the vicinity of a hero¡¯s protection.¡±

    Both Anjie and Livia nced at me.

    ¡°Hero, you say?¡±

    ¡°Could it be that the hero©¤©¤¡±

    Noticing their nces, I denied their suspicions, naturally.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not me.¡±

    Marie and Hertrude were both peeved and angry.

    ¡°Obviously not. You¡¯re just a mob.¡±

    ¡°How pretentious.¡±

    Them bluntly saying it made me furious.

    While thinking about such things, Livia asked the collective chief a request in a voice louder than usual.

    ¡°Um©¤©¤please look into Leon¡¯s fortune as well!¡±

    Anjie did the same.

    ¡°P, please. Wouldn¡¯t he feel left out if you didn¡¯t look into his fortune? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m interested or anything, but this is something that everyone should have a part in!¡±

    The collective chief looked at me.

    ¡°Collective Chief, if you¡¯re tired, then it¡¯s fine for you to rest. Even if you look at my fortune, it won¡¯t be interesting.¡±

    The collective chief straightened herself in front of me.

    She spoke to me in a quiet voice.

    Though her voice was hoarse, she seemed delighted.

    ©¤©¤Don¡¯t push yourself, olddy. Doesn¡¯t it make this look like I¡¯m doing something bad?

    ¡°Thank you for saving the ¡®Fan Collective¡¯. You seem to be a very kind one.¡±

    Marie¡¯s and Hertrude¡¯s eyes widened in surprise towards the collective chief¡¯s words.

    ©¤©¤Do they have aint or something? I don¡¯t mean to boast, but I am quite the kind man.

    Leaving that aside, this is the first time I heard the name of this collective, Fan.

    ¡°My divinations cannot see into your future. However, one day©¤©¤you will lose something important©¤©¤harsh©¤©¤the©¤©¤¡¹

    What she told me was the worst kind of thing to hear.

    I whispered in a hushed voice.

    ¡°C, Collective Chief? E, err, I¡¯d like another go at that fortune~©¤©¤¡±

    When I earnestly requested for another divination, the collective chief remained silent.

    ¡°Huh? Collective Chief?¡±

    The spokeswoman supported the collective chief.

    ¡°It seems that she¡¯s fatigued. She has fallen asleep.¡±

    I stood up and grabbed the collective chief¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Wait! I beg of you, open your eyes! Please, tell me! Don¡¯t just say something ominous like that and then fall asleep!¡±

    Anjie and Livia pulled me away from the collective chief.

    ¡°Leon, how about we end this?¡±

    ¡°Treating an elderly person with disrespect is a big ¡®no!¡¯¡±

    I know that, but I don¡¯t want to ept what I heard.

    I will not ept it!

    Marie and Hertrude looked at me and snickered in delight.

    ¡°Serves you right.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. How pitiful.¡±

    Marie and Hertrude grinned while calling me pathetic.

    I already knew from the beginning that Marie was like this, but it seems that Hertrude indeed has a wicked nature too.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want this! I demand a redo!¡±

    Luxon, who had been silently listening, muttered something in displeasure.

    [You seem quite dissatisfied despite saying that you didn¡¯t believe in fortune-telling.]

    ¡°You¡¯re being noisy! Nobody would want this kind of fortune!¡±

    This isn¡¯t a mere matter of whether my fortune sounds cool or not.

    For the sake of living my life in ease, I won¡¯t ept this fortune!

    I mean, I¡¯ll lose something important? Like what?!

 Chapter 90 - Volume 3

    <strong>Volume 3 Chapter 3 part1</strong>

    <strong>Fate</strong>

    Partner departed from the elven ind.

    Inside the airship, I was talking with Luxon while watching the ind growing smaller.

    [What happened to not getting involved with the matters of other households?]

    On the deck, Yumeria was staring at her nativend.

    She had an indescribable expression while cing an old leather traveling bag next to her.

    Perhaps there was some sadness in that expression, or maybe a bit of happiness©¤©¤it seemed quiteplex.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t turn a blind eye to this. What am I supposed to do, tell the elves to stop feeling their instinctive repulsion? That¡¯s impossible. This is the best I can do given the situation.¡±

    [Nevertheless, there were many elves there to see off Yumeria. Interestingly, the female elves were all in approval. The male elves seemed a bit disappointed.]

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t evenugh when they said that they didn¡¯t want her to go since it would decrease her worth as a ve.¡±

    [ve work is an important source of ie for the elves, so there¡¯s no helping it.]

    ¡°©¤©¤How unpleasant. Also, it serves those elven jerks right.¡±

    [If that¡¯s how you feel, you can show those elves what it means to have their value as a ve greatly reduced.]

    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten my hands on a good trump card. I¡¯ll make sure to put it to good use.¡±

    The elven men of the ind didn¡¯t want to part from Yumeria, who gave birth to a half-elf.

    Since I said that I was bringing her out of the ind, they naturally opposed it.

    In the end, I managed to bring her along, but I had to be a little pushy.

    The collective chief and elven women helped out as well, but all the elvesplied once I invoked the demon lord. It seems that the destruction of the ruins had affected them quite a bit.

    I suppose things ended without too much trouble.

    Before I knew it, an anxious Yumeria grabbed her bag and approached us.

    ¡°U, um, what¡¯s going to happen to me?¡±

    In order to reassure her, I answered her honestly with a softened tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a servant to stay at my household, so I¡¯ll let you work there.¡±

    ¡°B, but, I¡¯m©¤©¤¡±

    Yumeria, with her low self-esteem, was discouraged about everything, or rather she was a withdrawn individual.

    She did quite well as a travelling entertainer considering her personality.

    ¡°Humans don¡¯t care about what elves consider beautiful. You know that, right?¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤In the collective, they called me a durd or a blockhead. I¡¯m worried about whether I can be helpful.¡±

    I heard that Yumeria¡¯s treatment at the collective was terrible.

    It¡¯s sad to think that even elves have a cruel side.

    Though, I suppose anyone would realize that after seeing how the elves are in the academy.

    ¡°Not to worry. Besides, there are quite a few reasons for©¤©¤¡±

    Kyle, with an obviously furious face, interrupted the conversation.

    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?!¡±

    Kyle, who made aint towards me, was violent and enraged.

    ¡°Of what?¡±

    ¡°Bringing my mother out of the vige. Do you understand the significance of this?¡±

    Yumeria grabbed Kyle¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Wait. Kyle, this person is concerned about me and©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Zip it! You¡¯re always being deceived like this, aren¡¯t you?! Do you know who this guy is?! He¡¯s the worst heap of trash in the whole academy!¡±

    Kyle¡¯s shouting attracted the gazes of those on the deck.

    ¡°Awfully cruel of you to call me that.¡±

    How rude of him to call me a heap of trash. He¡¯s going too far. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the worst there is.

    The worst heap of trash would be©¤©¤Marie, I think? Not me.

    ¡°It¡¯s the truth. If you¡¯re not a trash heap for beating up his Highness in front of the public, then who is?!¡±

    ¡°In that instance, I was evaluated as a good knight who had taught his Highness Julian a lesson. Unfortunately, that doesn¡¯t make me a heap of trash.¡±

    ¡°It does!¡±

    ¡°Kyle, u, um©¤©¤err.¡±

    Yumeria was bewildered by Kyle¡¯s threatening attitude.

    Kyle seemed irritated at Yumeria.

    ¡°You always lose your proper judgement and get swindled. It was the same at the collective. You know nothing and go around carelessly, leaving everyone to work you to the bone while you remain penniless!¡±

    Kyle¡¯s outburst ofints tormented Yumeria, his mother.

    ¡°They call you a mixed one, they look down on you and push you around for being a fool. You¡¯re a hopeless cause when you just smile and ept it!¡±

    Yumeria hung her head and teared up.

    Unable to watch this any further, I was about ready to stop them until...

    ¡°What¡¯s with that attitude?!¡±

    Livia stepped in.

    ¡°W, what? This doesn¡¯t concern you. Step back!¡±

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t have any more of this. Why do you speak so rashly towards your mother? Apologize!¡±

    Unlike how she usually was, her voice was loud, making her quite frightening.

    Kyle flinched in front of Livia.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know anything. I¡¯m broke because of this person. Do you know why I¡¯m working as a ve at this age? Do you know how I¡¯ve been treated at the collective?! You act so self-important, but you don¡¯t know a thing!¡±

    While weeping, Kyle stormed out of the deck.

    He didn¡¯t have his usual feisty attitude, and it was a little scary to wonder if that was actually him.

    He was supposed to y the role of a cute, somewhat cheeky character.

    When Livia was about to chase after him, Yumeria stopped her.

    ¡°P, please wait. It¡¯s my fault. It¡¯s as that child says, it¡¯s my ipetence that led him to suffer.¡±

    Since people around were gazing at us, I led to two to the ship¡¯s interior.

    ¡ó

    Once we entered a vacant room, Yumeria began to speak.

    Her position and treatment within the collective was just as bad as I imagined it to be.

    ¡°Mixed ones like me cannot use ordinary magic. Due to that, I couldn¡¯t do work in the vige that required magic.¡±

    ¡°The collective chief said that you could a special kind of magic though.¡±

    When Livia said that, Yumeria nodded and demonstrated.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do much, but I at least have some redeeming features.¡±

    Seemingly d, she retrieved a tiny flowerpot from her travelling bag.

    She had that in there?

    She then took out a pouch, retrieved a seed, and nted it.

    As she held up her hand, the seed sprouted and grew into a lively flower.

    ¡°©¤©¤Amazing.¡±

    When I said that, Luxon agreed.

    [Given what she can do, I cannot believe that the elven collective would ce her in an unfavorable position. Under normal circumstances, this ability would be regarded as essential and they wouldn¡¯t let her leave the collective. It seems that they prioritized their psychological reaction over this useful ability, doesn¡¯t it?]

    Luxon expressed its disbelief over the elves and also criticized them.

    Perhaps being delighted from the praise, Yumeria¡¯s went red up to her ears.

    ¡°I, it¡¯s not that great. It has its limits. Aside from me being a mixed one, I think that the reason for my treatment in the collective also has to do with me giving birth to Kyle, a half-elf.¡±

    It seemed that Livia wasn¡¯t aware of the matters regarding half-elves.

    ¡°Why is that bad?¡±

    Yumeria responded in a dispassionate way, though a little hesitant.

    ¡°©¤©¤Mixed ones are hated, but they can live in the collective with their power. However, I went on a journey to know the outside world. Soon after, I trapped in a noble¡¯s residence for a while and suffered through a lot there.¡±

    It seemed that Livia also had an idea of what might of happened there.

    I wanted to say something kind to her, but immediately held my tongue.

    ¡°When I made a child, I was driven out of the noble¡¯s residence. When I returned to the collective, I was told that if I gave birth to a half-elf, the child¡¯s value as a ve would diminish, and I was met with strong opposition towards giving birth. However, my belly had already grownrge, and I wanted to see my child born.¡±

    It was painful to watch Yumeria as she shed tears.

    ¡°So that¡¯s what this is about.¡±

    Livia made a face of disbelief while Luxon seemed convinced of something.

    [Elves who are at risk of being pregnant would certainly be seen as defective exclusive servants. There¡¯s no helping it if such a thing diminishes their value. However, nobody should know about it if one kept silent.]

    Yumeria shook her head.

    ¡°While half-elves look the same, there are differences between them and elves. ©¤©¤That child¡¯s growth speed is the same as that of humans.¡±

    So they would know if someone¡¯s a half-elf by looking at their growth rate?

    There¡¯s something I¡¯m curious about then.

    ¡°In that case, why was he sold as a ve?¡±

    When I asked that question, Yumeria covered her face and cried.

    ¡°There was a ve merchant who liked Kyle. The vige chief couldn¡¯t refuse that person¡¯s request.¡±

    Hearing the details, Luxon reworded it in a way that Livia and I could easily grasp.

    [So that acquaintance¡¯s request couldn¡¯t be refused. Did that ve merchant happen to know about half-elves?]

    Yumeria nodded her head.

    ¡°Indeed. That person knew about the circumstances of elves. However, they said they wouldn¡¯t reveal the secret since it would diminish his value and cause trouble. They said that if they kept quiet about it, nobody would notice. In addition, there was a lot going on at the time, and it didn¡¯t seem like we would be able to make it through the winter©¤©¤so Kyle sold himself without saying anything to me, left the money, and exited the house.¡±

    ©¤©¤Perhaps he was caring for his mother in his own way?

    When I was about his age, I had been roaming around carefree.

    This world really is cruel.

    ¡°I think the reason why that child is hard on me is because he¡¯s irritated about a lot of things. However, he¡¯s a good kid. I don¡¯t receive much from my sry, but he sends home money for me.¡±

    After listening, Livia hung her head and felt ashamed of herself.

    ¡°Leon, I didn¡¯t know anything and yet I said such cruel things to Kyle.¡±

    I suppose that I don¡¯t dislike this part of Livia.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong, so there¡¯s no problem. ©¤©¤I¡¯ll talk to him.¡±

    [Oh, nning to interfere again?]

    ¡°As Yumeria¡¯s employer, some action should be taken, right?¡±

    [You¡¯re skilled at making excuses for yourself, Master.]

    ¡°©¤©¤You¡¯re being noisy.¡±

    Why am I the one who has to take care of Kyle?

    In the first ce, shouldn¡¯t this be Marie¡¯s job?

    Though, I don¡¯t think she would be able to resolve this kind of issue.

    Nothing good will happen if I don¡¯t take action.

    Besides©¤©¤she wouldn¡¯t be good with this parent-child stuff.

    I need to solve this issue soon since otherwise, I won¡¯t be able poke fun at Kyle.

    ¡ó

    I came across a dead end within a narrow passage inside the ship.

    When I found Kyle sitting there, hiding himself, I called out to him.

    ph_mobuseka03_ill002

    ¡°Hey, brat.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤What do you want, worthless knight?¡±

    This little brat is not cute at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to talk about your mother.¡±

    With the twitch of his pointed ears, Kyle listened silently.

    ¡°My family has recently rebuilt their house. It¡¯s gotten bigger, so we need more workers. We will make proper arrangements so that servants living there will be properly amodated.¡±

    ¡°And why should I take your word for it? It seems that you¡¯ve taken a fancy to my mother¡¯s appearance and now you¡¯re trying to make a move on her. Do you really think I can trust your household?¡±

    Yumeria¡¯s outward appearance is certainly a cut above the rest, so I suppose he can¡¯t help but be concerned about that.

    Despite her young appearance, she had therge chest of a parent.

    ¡°The apple doesn¡¯t fall far from the tree. My father, a baron, may appear a bit barbaric, but he has a pure heart. He treasures my mother and doesn¡¯t engage in any adultery. ©¤©¤Probably.¡±

    When I said ¡°probably,¡± Kyle lifted his face and red at me, which was a bit frightening.

    ¡°I cannot trust you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a man who keeps my word. Besides, I have a reason to keep that person close at hand. ©¤©¤A trump card against the elves. If they do anything to me, they¡¯ll risk having their secret revealed. It¡¯ll be worthwhile to be with me. I will not do anything harsh to such a valuable and talented individual.¡±

    In all honesty, based on my credibility, there will be few people who would believe me if I did reveal the elves¡¯ secret.

    Luxon also said that nobody would believe me and that they would likely think of it as a lie.

    However, just having the elves know that I¡¯m aware of their weakness is enough.

    Personally, I¡¯m thrilled that I found a way to intimidate the prideful elves.

    Kyle was silent.

    ¡°If you want to meet up in the future, then stop by to see me. If it¡¯s just you, then I can grant you entrance into our territory. However, you can¡¯t bring Marie.¡±

    I hate that girl. Moreover, if she came to my family¡¯s household, she¡¯ll probably cause some mischief.

    Kyle wiped his tears with a sleeve.

    ¡°©¤©¤That person©¤©¤my mother, is good-natured and easily deceived.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s timid and has a low self-esteem©¤©¤but I can¡¯t find it in me to hate her for how kind she is. What a terrible parent.¡±

    It seems that Kyle doesn¡¯t really hate Yumeria.

    Kyle stood up, straightened himself, and silently bowed.

    He didn¡¯t have his usual cheeky attitude.

    ¡°Viscount, please take good care of my mother.¡±

    It seems that he¡¯s worried about his mother, Yumeria, in his own way.

    I nodded my head and reassured Kyle.

    I then asked something I wanted to know.

    This information was established in the game and it was also in Luxon¡¯s pool of information, but Kyle had changed masters many times.

    ¡°Now then, there¡¯s one thing I¡¯d like to ask. I heard that beforehand, you had been rapidly switching masters. Could it be that©¤©¤¡±

    Perhaps not wanting to show his tears, Kyle answered while hiding his eyes.

    ¡°I decided to look for a trustworthy master. Even though I was able to find a woman who captivated his Highness the crown prince, it all fell to ruin because of you.¡±

    ¡°Whoops.¡±

    When I gave a half-hearted apology, Kyle red at me, but©¤©¤he soon made a face of exasperation and sighed.

    ¡°You really are a nasty guy, aren¡¯t you? And here I thought that my livelihood would be smooth sailing.¡±

    Could it be that this guy is quite calctive?

    ¡°So, why aren¡¯t you abandoning Marie?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m tired of finding new masters. Besides, since she¡¯s the saint now, there will be many benefits to being with her. ©¤©¤That girl may seem bad, but she¡¯s strong.¡±

    Isn¡¯t this supposedly strong Marie neck deep in debt right now though?

    It¡¯s not like Kyle doesn¡¯t know about that, so could it be that he¡¯s taken a liking to Marie?

    Kyle gave me some advice.

    ¡°You should be careful about that principality¡¯s princess. It seems that she¡¯s scheming something.¡±

    ¡°Hertrude?¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to give up on exacting revenge on the kingdom, so I did suspect that she was nning something.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard many things. I also spoke with the vige chief, and I have a hunch that there¡¯s something dangerous about her. Well, knowing you, you¡¯ll be able to manage somehow. You¡¯ll just pull off whatever unfair tactic is necessary.¡±

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°Exactly what it means.¡±

    Did Hertrude talk to Kyle while we were in the ruins?

 Chapter 91 - Volume 3

    <h4> Volume 3 Chapter 3 part2</h4>

    It was the evening.

    Entering the deck, I carried a heavy bag containing the sharp, ck armor part.

    ¡°Are we really doing this?¡±

    Luxon¡¯s red eye glowed ominously, which was a bit eerie.

    [Of course. The preparations are alreadyplete. This destructive impulsive is deeply ingrained into my program. Speaking in terms of humans, it¡¯s an instinct. I have to get rid of it within the next minute, or even the next second.]

    ©¤©¤Is that so? All things considered, it¡¯s scary to have an AI talk about destructive impulses.

    [It seems to have been preserved in the ruins as a research object, but it has no value now. Now then, hurry!]

    I took out the ck part from the bag in order to throw it out, and when I touched it with my hand, the part pulsated.

    ¡°Ugh, disgusting!¡±

    There was a gap in the part that opened up to reveal a giant eye, making me let go.

    The lively eyeball seemed like a human¡¯s, but it was definitelyrger than one.

    Twisting tentacles from the part reached out towards me.

    [Be careful. This thing is still alive.]

    The part raised a ghastly cry.

    Luxon shined aser from its eye to signal for robots to attack the part.

    The tentacles were burned down and the part¡¯s eyeball continued receiving attacks.

    The gathering robots carried the part and flung it into the sky©¤©¤and then Luxon¡¯s main unit, which had been hidden, attacked the part with a direct hit.

    ¡°Are you sure we burned it without leaving behind a speck of dust?¡±

    Luxon answered with a robotic voice that seemed satisfied.

    [Of course. That thing is a weapon that must not exist. No relics of the new humans have any value in this world. At any rate©¤©¤is that what they call ¡®feeling refreshed¡¯?]

    Well, it seems that its mood has improved, which is good.

    However, that was a relic of the new humans? How revolting.

    Having disposed of the part on the empty deck, we returned to the ship¡¯s interior.

    Thereupon, on the opposite side of the deck, Hertrude appeared.

    ¡°So you were here.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing? Actually, what happened to your escort?¡±

    Hertrude didn¡¯t answer my question.

    ¡°I wanted to talk with you alone. I already said this at the collective, but could you sell me that object you found? To tell the truth, it¡¯s a valuable item. I will pay a suitable amount for it.¡±

    ©¤©¤Hmm? That thing had worth?

    ¡°That thing was actually valuable? Wasn¡¯t it just a junk part?¡±

    In the first ce, how is that thing supposed to be useful?

    ¡°You do not know its value. So, sell it to me. It¡¯s even alright if you want me to offer it to the kingdom. I¡¯ll only negotiate with a government official this time.¡±

    Staying silent might not be the best option.

    Luxon said something like [Oh my,] acting as if it has nothing to do with this.

    Are you just going to like act you aren¡¯t involved?

    ¡°©¤©¤Sorry. I dropped it.¡±

    When I said that, Hertrude¡¯s mouth was agape for several seconds.

    ¡°A, are you an idiot?!¡±

    ©¤©¤She was furious.

    ¡°No, you see©¤©¤I got bad vibes from it!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem! Idiot! Idiot! Complete idiot! I can¡¯t believe it. You dropped an important treasure? Lower the ship and retrieve it at once!¡±

    [No.]

    Hertrude trembled when Luxon immediately refused.

    ¡°T, this matter will be reported to the kingdom¡¯s upper management!¡±

    [Oh, and what is that supposed to mean? The treasure was found by Master and is his property. You¡¯ll only burden the upper management byining to them.]

    There¡¯s nothing left of it, so I can¡¯t retrieve it anyways.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t handle such valuable treasure with care, you have no qualifications to be an adventurer! What have you been learning at the academy?!¡±

    ¡°Sorry. The academy¡¯s just a ce to find marriage.¡±

    [Too bad.]

    Luxon was quite cold towards Hertrude.

    Hertrude turned around, causing her hair to sway, and returned to the ship¡¯s interior.

    ¡°K, keep this moment in your memory!¡±

    Seeing her leave that parting remark left me with one thought.

    ¡°©¤©¤What an interesting person. I thought she was just a calm beauty, but surprisingly, she has a plethora of emotions.¡±

    [Are you interested in her? She¡¯s deviates quite a bit from your tastes, Master. The stats on her chest are too low.]

    ¡°Do you think of me as a guy who only judges people by their chest?¡±

    [I do.]

    Luxon¡¯s immediate reply irritated me.

    ¡ó

    Upon returning to the academy, I rushed to get ready for the royal pce.

    Luxon stared at me as I was changing my outfit.

    [A report as soon as youe back? How tough.]

    ¡°I wonder why I have to do all this while still being a student.¡±

    When I made aint, Luxon responded.

    [What happened to being an adult male on the inside?]

    ¡°My heart is always that of a child who never forgets how to have fun.]

    Since I have to head towards the royal pce immediately, I had no time to rest.

    [Didn¡¯t you call yourself an adult beforehand?]

    ¡°Did I say that?¡±

    [You did. I haven¡¯t forgotten.]

    ¡°You sure are an insistent one. Listen, forgetting whatever¡¯s inconvenient is also the way of an adult.¡±

    [That¡¯s called escapism. I suggest you improve yourself.]

    ¡°I refuse. C¡¯mon, we¡¯re going.¡±

    [Alright.]

    Luxon and I left the room.

    ¡ó

    I was in a hallway of the royal pce.

    I was dead tired after having to report thetest matters.

    It was dark outside.

    ¡°It¡¯s already night.¡±

    [This visit had more to do with a women¡¯s tea party than the report.]

    What awaited me there was a tea party with women who had graduated from the academy.

    The daughters of influential nobles and of nobles who had recently gained power were there.

    The tea partysted for several hours despite the report being done in about ten minutes.

    ¡°I did not enjoy it at all.¡±

    [That seems about right.]

    The daughters of baron through earl households were there at the tea party.

    However, they all had exclusive servants with them.

    They kept talking about money, asking me what kind of revenue I would earn in the future.

    It felt like being asked about my annual ie at a mixer, I suppose. ©¤©¤It gave me a headache.

    Walking along the nearly vacant hallway in the royal pce, I happened toe across the queen, Mine, who was wearing a different dress than when I hadst met her.

    Her tinum blonde hair looked as if it was sparkling.

    Her gentle eyes soothed me and her smiling facepelled me to fell delighted as well.

    ¡°Oh, it seems that the viscount is tired.¡±

    The attendant standing behind her stood with a nk expression.

    I braced myself and straightened my attire.

    ¡°Apologies for the appearance. As for what the queen©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Viscount, may I have some of your time?¡±

    ©¤©¤I felt joyed on the inside after having Mine call out to me.

    ¡°It would be my pleasure!¡±

    Luxon muttered something while watching me apany the smiling Mine.

    [What an easy-to-read person.]

    Luxon had hidden itself when Mine arrived.

    ¡ó

    I was inside a room within the royal pce.

    I was sitting across from Mine, drinking some ck tea that was brought here.

    It¡¯s better than the tea I have.

    It¡¯s not just the tea leaves, but also the technique that has to do with it.

    While feeling a slight sense of defeat, I listened to what Mine had to say.

    Luxon stayed silent and hid near my side.

    ¡°Have you been getting along well with her Highness Hertrude? I was a bit startled to hear that her Highness was taken along for an adventure.¡±

    ¡°She was forced toe along. It seemed like she was given permission to though.¡±

    Mine¡¯s expression turned gloomy. It seems that she didn¡¯t want to permit it.

    ¡°There are people in the royal pce who have varying opinions about it. As for me, I don¡¯t think that this matter falls under studying abroad.¡±

    It seems that despite Mine¡¯s objections, someone gave permission.

    I suppose anyone would be worried if the princess of a country that dered war was in the same academy their son was attending.

    We need to be watchful of Hertrude¡¯s safety, so if possible I¡¯d prefer if she stayed still.

    I agree with that opinion.

    If some crazed person appeared and Hertrude got hurt, it would be an international issue.

    When she¡¯s in the academy, she¡¯s escorted by female knights dispatched from the royal pce and students who have been given detailed instructions.

    Even so, there¡¯s still some unease.

    ¡°I also spoke with her Highness. She didn¡¯t say it explicitly, but she holds quite the grudge against the kingdom.¡±

    I didn¡¯t see it for myself, but I did hear about the kingdom¡¯s doings.

    Listening to them made me raise an eyebrow.

    However, I can¡¯t reply to Mine by lightheartedly saying ¡°The kingdom sure is cruel, isn¡¯t it~?¡±

    I kept my mouth shut over this dicey issue. Is it cowardly? Yeah, it sure is. I¡¯m a coward.

    As I kept silent, Mine continued.

    ¡°Viscount©¤©¤no, Leon. I don¡¯t think the principality will give up.¡±

    ¡°It seems that way.¡±

    It¡¯s not so easy to erase a mountain of grudges.

    ¡°Even the matter of the bodyguards is causing trouble. Did you hear about the Lafuan viscount household?¡±

    When I shook my head, Mine ce a hand over her cheek and with a troubled expression, told me about what happened.

    ¡°Julian had been working around the clock to solve the saint¡¯s debt, but the Lafuan viscount household increased it further. I thought about revoking that family, but as to be expected, there was a lot of opposition towards destroying the saint¡¯s household.¡±

    Marie really is cursed, isn¡¯t she?

    I wonder if Marie will faint after hearing that her debt increased even though it should have been resolved.

    Though, I¡¯d kind of want ofugh if I saw her in despair.

    ¡°It would be nice if the royal pce and temple could help pay back the debt on her behalf. However, there are a lot of things to budget for next year.¡±

    After hearing about it, in order to pay back Marie¡¯s debt©¤©¤well, it would require arge cut in flexible funds, or in other words arge budget cut.

    The debt is thatrge.

    Just hearing about it alone makes this tea tasty.

    What fine tea cakes these are.

    It seems that I¡¯ll sleep well tonight.

    ¡°Now for the main subject at hand. Themanding officer of the saint¡¯s bodyguards is©¤©¤you, right? Now it¡¯s be a question of where responsibility lies.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    ¡°Even when considering the time of your appointment and other matters, the royal pce and temple will be calling for someone to be punished.¡±

    This doesn¡¯t look good.

    Just what kind of responsibilities do I have?

    ¡°W, wait a minute. My job is to be her bodyguard, so I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m involved in her debt too.¡±

    ¡°I know that. Even so©¤©¤this is a world where people will look for someone to me.¡±

    This world is the same my previous one.

    Society is rotten.

    ¡°There are also people who are jealous of your sudden rise. As for me, I can¡¯t bear to see the knights, who supported the promotion, being used. I¡¯ll need to patch things up as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Thank you very©¤©¤huh? Supported?¡±

    ¡°Right. You see, it was during the suppression of the sky pirates. Brad and Greg visited me and spoke about your achievements. There was also that matter of the principality, so I endorsed it.¡±

    Mine gave me a dazzling smile©¤©¤no wait, something¡¯s not right here!

    I didn¡¯t want to get promoted.

    ¡°S, say, rather than being me promoted©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Rather than being promoted?¡±

    Mine, who tilted her head to the side, looked sublime.

    She¡¯s so charming despite her age! I might be older on the inside, but I¡¯m feeling kind of skittish all of the sudden.

    Would it okay to hurt this person by saying that I didn¡¯t want to be promoted?

    Perhaps she would regret promoting me.

    ©¤©¤I can¡¯t let her feel sad.

    I opened my mouth to quickly change course.

    ¡°©¤©¤I want you.¡±

    ¡°W, wait! W, w, w, we can¡¯t. I mean, the age difference between you and me is akin to that of a parent and child.¡±

    We¡¯re less than twenty years apart©¤©¤we can¡¯t? I mean, she¡¯s more splendid than the girls in the academy. She¡¯s perfect!

    I clutched Mine¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Even so, I©¤©¤¡±

    ¡°Ahem!¡±

    I then heard a forced cough.

    I don¡¯t know who did it, but it was one of the attendants apanying Mine.

    Whoops. ©¤©¤I got carried away and made a move on her again. I forgot that this was the royal pce.

    Mine blushed.

    What a nice reaction. It makes me want to tease her.

    ¡°Again with the teasing. That¡¯s a bad habit of yours, Leon.¡±

    If only she wasn¡¯t the queen©¤©¤I¡¯d really go after her then.

    Changing the topic, Mine spoke about Hertrude once more.

    ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something curious about her Highness Hertrude.¡±

 Chapter 92 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 3 part3</h4>

    Receiving news that Leon had left for the royal pce, three sub-race exclusive servants gathered inside the student dormitory.

    One of them was ¡°Meole,¡± the exclusive servant of Leon¡¯s older sister, Jenna.

    The tall, muscr, cat-eared man stood before Leon¡¯s room along with hispanions.

    ¡°That Kyle guy betrayed us. He won¡¯t lend us a hand.¡±

    The other two calmed Meole down.

    ¡°He¡¯s the saint¡¯s servant. He can¡¯t afford to do any reckless conduct.¡±

    ¡°The elves as a whole are strange people, isn¡¯t that why he refused? More importantly, it¡¯s a good thing we got the key.¡±

    ¡°You mean this?¡±

    Meole, having obtained a key to Leon¡¯s room, made a smirk.

    ¡°When that woman went in and out of this room, I took the key and, well, you know. That foolish woman is too easy to deal with.¡±

    Those weren¡¯t words to be said towards a servant¡¯s master, but very is a rtionship defined purely by contract.

    ves have no intention to work earnestly.

    Unlocking the door, they entered Leon¡¯s room while being cautious of their surroundings.

    One of them stood outside the room to be on guard duty, so Meole and the other servant carried a package into the room.

    ¡°What do they n on doing with this thing?¡±

    ¡°As if I¡¯d know. We ce this in the guy¡¯s room and we receive money, end of story.¡±

    The exclusive servants hated Leon. One reason being that he defeated the exclusive servants who tried to make a move on Mine during the school festival.

    There was a legitimate reason as well, but nevertheless, from the viewpoint of the exclusive servants, Leon was a unlikeable boy.

    Their current action was a form of revenge.

    Once the three finished their work, they then left the room.

    It was odd that there were exclusive servants in the boys¡¯ dorms, but no boy there dared to question them.

    ¡ó

    It was the next day after school.

    I had a tea ceremony to host.

    The guys had to periodically do tea ceremonies or else the girls would spread ill rumors of them.

    Well, it¡¯s not like my reputation matters at this point though.

    Besides, tea ceremonies, or rather tea, is a hobby I¡¯vee to enjoy after arriving in this world.

    Hmm, such an intellectual hobby indeed suits me.

    However, today¡¯s guests were quite unique.

    There was the daughter of an earl, ¡°Deirdre Fou Rosede,¡± who had blonde hair in ringlets. She wore red lipstick, had a strong-willed appearance©¤©¤and had an amusing personality.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite carefree.¡±

    While in front of a seemingly dissatisfied Deirdre, I drank the tea I made.

    ¡°Today¡¯s perfect.¡±

    While I was satisfied, there was another girl there who seemed a bit irritated.

    ¡°rice Fier Atlee,¡± Jilk¡¯s former fiancee, spoke with me about royal court affairs.

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re in a very dangerous spot. Do you know that? The Redgrave duke household is weakening and has lost its influence in the royal pce. The emerging Marquis Frampton is advocating that strict action should be taken against you.¡±

    Since I¡¯m themanding officer for Marie¡¯s bodyguards, it seems that he¡¯s also the one who wants me to be responsible for her debt.

    I can¡¯t help butugh at how high-handed he is.

    ¡°The debt is not my responsibility. It¡¯s the responsibility of Marie©¤©¤or rather, her household.¡±

    Deirdre crossed her legs and put her elbows on the table.

    ¡°Foolish. He doesn¡¯t care about the reason. He wants to hunt you down. Furthermore, he wants to steal your airship. They¡¯re just a group of people trying toe up with a pretext.¡±

    ¡°How frightening~.¡±

    It seems that the nobles have quite a lot of spare time if they¡¯re trying to find fault with me.

    I can understand his desperate desire to take Luxon away from me, but he¡¯s not the most righteous person for conspiring with others to reach that goal.

    ¡°It seems that Marquis Frampton is quite acquainted with her Highness Hertrude. The reason why the principality is quite lenient right now is because of Marquis Frampton¡¯s faction taking control of power.¡±

    Deirdre, perhaps looking for what kind of response I would make, had a serious expression.

    She¡¯s a genuine noble¡¯s daughter, so her information on the royal court should be urate.

    In addition, rice, being a noble of the royal court, would be even more knowledgeable on the subject.

    ¡°Currently, Marquis Frampton is pushing his way trough, a bit forcefully even. Leon, you need to be cautious.¡±

    It seems that this has turned into a troublesome matter, but I don¡¯t really want to get involved with the royal pce.

    ©¤©¤That feeling hasn¡¯t changed, even now.

    ¡°In that case, just demote me already.¡±

    Deirdre smiled.

    ¡°You really are a fool. You think those people are going to be that lenient? Before you know it, they¡¯ll pull the carpet from under you at any given©¤©¤¡±

    Deirdre¡¯s voice was interrupted by a sound of hurried footsteps.

    A great number of knights and soldiers entered the room, pointing their weapons at me.

    ¡°Are you Leon Four Baltfault? You¡¯ll have toe with us.¡±

    rice stood up.

    ¡°©¤©¤Quite impolite, isn¡¯t it? He¡¯s officially a viscount of the lower-fourth rank.¡±

    The knight raised the corner of his mouth andughed at the dauntless rice.

    ¡°Rank has no meaning for a traitor. Now then,e along, brat!¡±

    The knights seized me from both sides and dragged me out of the room.

    ¡°A traitor? He¡¯s a hero.¡±

    Deirdre eximed as such.

    ¡°Hero? You can¡¯t call him a hero when he¡¯s been making secret dealings with the principality. Now then, excuse us.¡±

    The knight had a stern look.

    Secret dealings with the principality? Well now, what¡¯s this all about?

    ¡ó

    The girls¡¯ dorms.

    Anjie, entering Hertrude¡¯s room, was breathing a bit roughly since she came in a hurry.

    Hertrude, who calmly looked at Anjie, sat down on a chair while crossing her legs, cing a hand on her knee.

    It was as if she had been waiting for Anjie.

    ¡°You¡¯re in quite a hurry. I¡¯ll forgive your rudeness just this once.¡±

    ¡°What are you nning?¡±

    Hertrude smiled.

    ¡°Hmm? Whatever are you talking about? Speak clearly.¡±

    ¡°Are you ying dumb now? Rumors have spread about Leon supposedly working with the principality!¡±

    ¡°Anjelica, it¡¯s not good to suspect people without any proof.¡±

    In response to Hertrude asserting theck of proof, Anjie readjusted her breathing and spoke.

    ¡°It seems that you¡¯re quite close with Marquis Frampton. What¡¯s the reason for going so far to unseat Leon?¡±

    Hertrude spoke a word of pity for Anjie.

    ¡°You went to me for that kind of reason? It¡¯s as the rumors say, you¡¯re quite hysterical. Too much of that and you¡¯ll be no more than a mere fool.¡±

    Anjie brought her face closer to Hertrude, who was giggling.

    ¡°What are you thinking? Do you really want to go to war? What can you people do when you¡¯ve lost to Leon already?¡±

    The smiling Hertrude began to talk about Leon¡¯s shorings.

    ¡°You have quite the high evaluation of Mr. Hero, don¡¯t you? I¡¯ve taken a look at the viscount too, just for a short while though. From appearances, he¡¯s an ordinary person. Perhaps he has some potential, but as a knight, he¡¯s below-average.¡±

    Seeing Anjie¡¯s eyebrows shift to express a sense of difort, Hertrudeughed even further.

    ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? Kind-hearted knights are just a fantasy. A knight who can¡¯t kill in war is useless. Very different from Bandel.¡±

    Hertrude had been looking closely at Leon.

    ¡°He¡¯s a knight who stumbled upon a lost item. That familiar he has is rted to that lost item, right? It¡¯s a waste of potential to have it only follow his orders.¡±

    Anjie stopped herself from talking about what Leon could do if he was being serious.

    No matter how good he may be, he¡¯s still immature as a knight.

    This is a world where war ismonce.

    In this world, a knight who can¡¯t kill is unqualified as an adult.

    ¡°Do you hate us that much?¡±

    Hertrude¡¯s smile disappeared.

    ¡°What do you know? Do you know the grief of the citizen¡¯s whose children, parents, and families were killed? Don¡¯t think that we¡¯ll forgive you for having attacked us so one-sidedly!¡±

    ¡°How naive. It seems you¡¯re the one who knows nothing. The royal pce was right to have you study abroad. What you need©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie was interrupted by a group of female knights who entered the room.

    ¡°Halt! Anjelica, you¡¯reing with us.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤What?¡±

    The female knights surrounded Anjie.

    ¡°What are you all doing?¡±

    The female knights smiled and answered her question.

    ¡°How ill-mannered. Assaulting her Highness Hertrude.¡±

    ¡°It seems that the duke¡¯s daughter is uncouth.¡±

    ¡°Now then, this way.¡±

    Anjie understood it all. The female knights, originally thought to be Hertrude¡¯s escorts who served to supervise her, were already working with the enemy.

    With a face of disgust, the knights restrained her.

    Anjie¡¯s gaze shifted from the knights to Hertrude as she questioned her.

    ¡°Are you people getting serious?¡±

    Hertrude stood up and whispered to Anjie¡¯s ear.

    ¡°This time, the Holfault Kingdom will be stained with blood. And then, thisnd©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie¡¯s eyes widened upon hearing thest few words.

    ¡°©¤©¤will sink. Stop us, if you think you can, Anjelica.¡±

    ¡ó

    Seeing my devastated room inside the boys¡¯ dorm, I made a face as if I had bitten into a bug.

    There was a letter there indicating that I was connected to the principality.

    There were arge collection of letters I¡¯ve never seen before in my room.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m quite impressed that they went this far.

    A knight stood before me and unfolded a letter.

    ¡°You can¡¯t talk your way out of this one. ©¤©¤To think that the hero was actually conspiring with the enemy nation behind our backs.¡±

    I shifted my gaze to the shameless knight.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite devoted to them, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I scornfullyughed at the knight, who brought his face close to mine.

    ¡°You¡¯re quite thorough in unseating me.¡±

    Thereupon, with a smile, the knight hit me in the face.

    As I fell over, the knight¡¯s subordinates gathered together.

    ¡°Yourpliance, traitor!¡±

    After having been punched despite not showing resistance and lying on the floor, Luxon looked at me.

    I gestured that I was fine and then let myself be restrained.

    ©¤©¤Though I felt a bad premonition before, this really is the worst possible oue.

    ¡°How does it feel to have risen up, only to have your status soon taken away?¡±

    ¡°I thought it was suspicious. It¡¯s impossible for a brat like you to be a viscount.¡±

    ¡°It seems you were involved in some evil deeds behind the scenes. Be prepared for a thorough investigation.¡±

    As I was tied up, schoolboys gathered outside my room.

    Among them, I saw the figure of Meole, an exclusive servant.

    He looked at me and gave a telling smile.

    ¡°Little bastard.¡±

    Meole¡¯s smile heightened in response to my words.

    I was kicked from behind and fell down.

    I was then forced to get up, pulled by my hair, and as I walked, I also saw schoolgirls and their exclusive servants outside.

    ¡°Serves you right.¡±

    ¡°I thought something was strange from the beginning.¡±

    ¡°I suspected him this whole time.¡±

    As I walked along the path the students made, they spoke their mind and threw rubbish at me.

    Really now, they¡¯re making aplete reversal in attitude again? Though©¤©¤there shouldn¡¯t be reason for them to go this far.

    The students in the academy made aplete 180, or rather a full 360 back to the beginning.

    Strangely, this feels more fitting.

    The knight who kicked me from behind spoke.

    ¡°Viscount Leon Fou Baltfault©¤©¤no, you¡¯re just Leon now. Prepare yourself, criminal.¡±

    They listed a variety of charges, but they were all false usations.

    I was restricted, set to be thrown into jail.

    ¡°This is not how I wanted to be demoted.¡±

    Garbage flied around as I cracked a joke, and to make matters worse, I was being kicked as well.

    Pushing her way through the crowd of people, Livia appeared.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    I made a small wave to Livia, who called out my name, and then walked while trash was being thrown at me.

    Among the crowd, rice, Deirdre, Daniel, and Raymond looked at me in worry.

    Good grief©¤©¤this otome game world really is the worst ce to live in.

 Chapter 93 - Volume 3

    <h4> Volume 3 Chapter 4 part1</h4>

    <h4>The Other Side</h4>

    Hertrude and Marquis Frampton visited the Holfault Kingdom¡¯s treasury within the royal pce.

    Numerous treasures and lost items decorated the ce.

    Among them were many tools of an unknown purpose.

    (I found it. I heard that it was in the kingdom¡¯s treasury, but I didn¡¯t think that they¡¯d leave it out in the open like this. Even that marquis doesn¡¯t know its true worth.)

    Visiting the treasury, when Hertrude found the item she was looking for, she stood still and spoke.

    ¡°Marquis, why don¡¯t you relinquish this item?¡±

    Marquis Frampton stroked his beard while responding to Hertrude¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°An arm for ancient armor, is it? This is a very valuable object, so even with my authority, I cannot do much.¡±

    The ck, sharp right arm indeed held historical value.

    However, it was judged that it could no longer be used now and was there as a decoration.

    (Leaving a dangerous object like this out in the open, the kingdom is beyond saving. In order to prevent the off-chance of them using it, it shoulde to us.)

    Unaware of Hertrude¡¯s thoughts, Marquis Frampton disyed a haughty attitude.

    ¡°Is there something you want to ask?¡±

    Marquis Frampton made a smile towards Hertrude, who was folding her arms.

    ¡°Hohoho, you seem quite interested in it. May I ask what it¡¯s used for?¡±

    Hertrude red at the newer treasures within the treasury.

    One of them was the magic flute©¤©¤another was arge sword used for armor, treasured by the Principality of Fanoss¡¯ strongest knight, ¡°Bandel Hymn Zenden.¡±

    The sword, which had been handled by a humanoid power suit, was massive and gave off a dignified feeling.

    Therge sword was a valuable item wielded by Bandel, who was feared as a ck knight, and was made from a special metal.

    It frustrated her that it was in the kingdom¡¯s treasury despite originally being the principality¡¯s.

    ¡°The magic flute and Bandel¡¯s sword were stolen. How about handing over those treasures?¡±

    ¡°Stolen is an unpleasant way to say it. These are treasures that the kingdom obtained.¡±

    Indeed, Leon had stolen the treasures and offered them.

    Marquis Frampton had made an evasive and ambiguous reply, but then made a serious facial expression after perceiving that Hertrude was being serious.

    ¡°©¤©¤Your Highness, do you want this treasure?¡±

    ¡°I want it.¡±

    ¡°What is it used for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an ancient armor part. What use is there other than for appreciation?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Hertrude was a little nervous. She believed that if she showed too much desire for it, it would be suspicious, but was relieved that she managed to avoid that.

    Marquis Frampton changed the topic.

    ¡°I was thinking about a friendship with the principality.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d for that.¡±

    Hertrude spoke about being d, but there was no emotion in her words.

    Marquis Frampton, aware of that, continued speaking anyways.

    ¡°As a mediator for this friendship, I was thinking about asking his Highness Julian to head to the principality.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he that saint¡¯s lover?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to talk about. I wish that his Highness Julian was as self-aware as you are. Now then, onto the main topic©¤©¤we are ready to transfer a portion of the territory to the principality. However, for that purpose, it is necessary to clean the kingdom.¡±

    Upon hearing Marquis Frampton¡¯s proposal, Hertrude showed more interest.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯d like to hear more about this.¡±

    ¡°The principality can be traced back to a branch of Holfault¡¯s royal family. I was thinking of using this as a chance for a genuine friendship. We can cooperate©¤©¤don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Hertrude took a cold attitude in response to Marquis Frampton¡¯s call for cooperation.

    ¡°That¡¯s out of the question. You¡¯re saying that we¡¯re going toy down our arms just because we¡¯re being given a small portion ofnd? Besides, that talk about transferringnd is probably a lie.¡±

    Marquis Frampton shook his head and exined with a smile.

    ¡°Your Highness Hertrude, you seem to not know the circumstances of the kingdom. The process of transferring is no problem.¡±

    ¡°What are these circumstances?¡±

    They began to talk about the Holfault Kingdom¡¯s internal affairs.

    ¡°There¡¯s an area where a fight will ur with the principality, but the kingdom has no direct control over.¡±

    Some feudal lords resided on floating inds while others were on the maind.

    In other words, although the kingdom had pieces of territory©¤©¤not all of them were attached to the royal family¡¯snd.

    ¡°I see. I almost forgot about Margrave Field¡¯s floating ind. Though, that¡¯s not your people¡¯s territory, so there¡¯s no way you would be able to transfer it.¡±

    The household of one of Marie¡¯s lovers, ¡°Brad Fou Field,¡± was in the important position of exercising authority over the principality.

    There were feudal lords in othernds as well that the kingdom had no right to hand over.

    ©¤©¤However...

    ¡°Without the support of our kingdom, those rural feudal lords can¡¯t put up much resistance. The principality has no need to deal with such worthless feudal lords, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it. I won¡¯t say no to the offer. Though©¤©¤is there some kind of benefit to this for you people?¡±

    When she held suspicions about the proposal to decrease the amount ofnd the kingdom had, Marquis Frampton¡¯s mouth formed the shape of a crescent as he smiled.

    There was a glint in his eye.

    ¡°Your Highness©¤©¤rural feudal lords are a nuisance for the kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Nuisance, you say.¡±

    (Come to think of it, Marquis Frampton and the Field household are in opposing factions.)

    Hertrude epted the proposal while not wanting to hear any more about theplicated matters of the royal pce.

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go with that. If his Highness Julian is bing a husband, then let¡¯s make this a pre-celebratory gift for him.¡±

    Their focus was on the sharp right arm made for armor.

    Marquis Frampton nodded with a smile.

    ¡°A splendid deal. Now then, tell me when the principality is ready. I believe that the best scenario is for us to clean up the royal pce and then make peace once the principality achieves victory.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Sure. I promise in my name.¡±

    (His face is telling me that he thinks he got a good deal out of a supposed piece of junk. As if I¡¯m just a young girl in the palm of his hand.)

    While stopping herself from smiling, Hertrude was relieved that she had aplished her objective.

    (I¡¯ll quickly send this to the principality.)

    She then shifted her attention to the magic flute.

    (Rauda©¤©¤I know you¡¯ll resent me for being foolish sister.)

    While biting her lip, she took action in order to achieve yet another objective.

    ¡°What about Viscount Baltfault? You made sure to seize the lost item, right?¡±

    Marquis Frampton ceased his smile and nodded.

    ¡°Yes, the airship he calls Partner and the armor with the showy name of Arroganz are in our possession. They¡¯ll be analyzed soon. I wanted that little brat to be executed at once, but the queen seems to have taken him as a pet. We¡¯re having a small amount of trouble.¡±

    Hearing that, Hertrude smiled.

    She was convinced that the Holfault Kingdom would no longer be able to use its trump card.

    (The principality will have the advantage once Viscount Baltfault is gone. Judging from that familiar¡¯s attitude, they won¡¯t be able to control the airship or armor.)

    ¡°I see. With the marquis still there, the kingdom is safe. How close is it until the day you¡¯re named as the prime minister?¡±

    Hearing the words ¡°prime minister,¡± Marquis Frampton made a smile.

    ¡°No no, having me be something like the prime minister is preposterous.¡±

    (Lies. You were nning that from the very start. You must have done a lot of reckless actions to prevent the Redgrave family from ascending to the prime minister position. However, thanks to that, my objective was aplished. Thank you, foolish prime minister.)

    Hertrude asked Marquis Frampton a question.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to quickly send a letter to the principality. Could you arrange an airship?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll arrange one at once.¡±

    ¡ó

    A group stood in sky above the Principality of Fanoss.

    The former ck knight, ¡°Bandel Hymn Zenden,¡± stood on an airshiping back from the kingdom.

    Upon receiving a delivered item, he didn¡¯t understand what it was.

    He knew that it was some part for armor, but didn¡¯t recognize it.

    It made no sense for it to be one right arm.

    ¡°This is from the princess?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. We were told that it¡¯s an important item.¡±

    Bandel had a noticeable scar from his brow to the top of his head.

    He was such a strong knight that one wouldn¡¯t believe he was beyond middle age.

    ¡°Could it be that©¤©¤this is a lost item?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. It was found in the kingdom¡¯s treasury.¡±

    Bandel wasn¡¯t the only one on the airship.

    ¡°Garrett,¡± who used to serve as a messenger with the kingdom before, was there too.

    He stroked his jaw with his hand, a habit formed from the facial hair that he no longer had.

    His eyes burned with a passion for revenge.

    ¡°I would have preferred if the princess had sent an item that was a little more useful. Has the execution of that ¡®heretic knight¡¯ even happened yet?¡±

    Heretic knight©¤©¤was an alias used by the principality for Leon.

    His actions strayed from the path of a knight, resulting in that nickname.

    Though Leon didn¡¯t kill his enemies, the knights and soldiers who returned home were ndered by the principality¡¯s nobles and citizens.

    It was as Leon had said it would be.

    Bandel was treated as a senile man and lost his title as the ck knight.

    ¡°I will not tolerate the princess being insulted.¡±

    However, he still retained his dignity.

    Upon being red at, Garrett shifted his gaze towards a letter, as if to escape from Bandel.

    ¡°I, I didn¡¯t intend such©¤©¤hmm?¡±

    After a brief period of time©¤©¤Garrett¡¯s eyes widened when looking at the letter, shifting his gaze numerous times between the ck, sharp right arm and the letter.

    ¡°C, could it be?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    When Bandel asked that question while folding his arms, Garrett raised his voice in joy.

    ¡°ck Knight. No, former ck Knight©¤©¤are you ready to give up your life?¡±

    Bandelughed scornfully at Garrett¡¯s words.

    ¡°I¡¯m an already an old fool who¡¯s died as a knight. I¡¯ll do anything to help the princess.¡±

    ¡°Splendid! Then, let me exin. This is a piece of an ancient©¤©¤no, legendary armor. A lost item that only a portion of the royal family even knows about.¡±

    As everyone gazed at the armor¡¯s right hand, Garrett opened his arms.

    ¡°What a wonderful gift! Her Highness Princess Hertrude carried out her duty well. With this, her younger sister, her Highness ¡®Princess Hertrauda Sera Fanoss,¡¯ has no enemies! This time, even the heretic knight has no chance!¡±

    ¡°It can evenpete against the heretic knight?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s a good chance of sess. However©¤©¤it seems that the heretic knight has currently been betrayed by his country and imprisoned. Just as he deserves.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that we won¡¯t be able to finish him off in a battlefield.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯tprehend the feelings of a military man. However, thanks to this, one of her Highness Hertrauda¡¯s enemies has disappeared.¡±

    Hertrude¡¯s younger sister was Hertrauda, the second princess.

    A trump card of the principality leading fleets and monsters in the sky.

    Bandel squinted, staring at the armor¡¯s right arm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help Hertrude. Even if it means giving up my life.¡±

    Bandel tightly grasped his fist while next to Garrett, who was joyed that he could get revenge over his moustache.

    ¡ó

    I was in a dungeon within the royal pce.

    The damp ce was chilly and ice cold.

    The air was stagnant and it was not a ce I wanted to be in for long.

    Since I had to be a prisoner, my hands were cuffed.

    As I was yawning, the jailer gave me a signal.

    It seems that a visitor arrived.

    That person made aint upon seeing me.

    ¡°I misjudged you, Baltfault!¡±

    The owner of that grand voice was the one who would most likely be the ruler of the royal pce.

    It was Julian.

    He might have been angry at me, but I¡¯m irritated that he¡¯s here as well.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    When I acted as if I didn¡¯t know who he was, his face turned red.

    ¡°Julian! ¡®Julian Rafua Holfault¡¯! That¡¯s beside the point, exin your betrayal! I thought you were a coward, but I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d do this!¡±

    He was speaking recklessly.

    It seems that despite how sly Julian believed I was, he didn¡¯t think I would betray the kingdom.

    ©¤©¤However, now that I think about it, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for me to betray you guys.

    And you¡¯re the cause of that. This is your fault.

    No, wait a minute. Rather than it being him, perhaps marriage is the cause? Each time I search for marriage, it results in catastrophe and I¡¯ve thought about abandoning this country many times.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t betray the kingdom. I¡¯m being falsely used. Save me, Prince.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still at it with the jokes. Tell me everything, Baltfault.¡±

    It seems that he isn¡¯t going to help me.

    Well, if our positions were swapped, I wouldn¡¯t help Julian out either, I suppose.

    In the first ce, this guy doesn¡¯t have much authority.

    ¡°Tell you what?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a big attitude despite standing before me.¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I have any attachment to a country that¡¯s treating me like a traitor and sending me to execution? I¡¯ll make you regret this someday, so remember this. I¡¯m a guy who strikes back after getting hit.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I actually have something to say, so let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    He proceeded to speak about the situation regarding me.

    ¡°Your Partner and Arroganz have been seized by the kingdom¡¯s chivalric order. It seems they can¡¯t operate it, so there¡¯s no problem there.¡±

    That¡¯s quite the problem for me.

    I¡¯m not worried since Luxon will handle it, but I am diforted.

    ¡°There¡¯s a push to execute you, but there¡¯s also a push to protect you. Perhaps you¡¯re caught in the middle of a factional dispute, but the situation is strange.¡±

    From my point of view, the royal pce is always strange.

    They¡¯ve been giving me promotion after promotion. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s only this asion in particr that things are strange. It¡¯s strange all the time, so if there are any periods of normalcy, then do tell me.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°Baltfault©¤©¤why did you betray us? What are you scheming this time?¡±

    Quite harsh of him to assume that I¡¯m scheming something, let alone betray the country.

    Am I that cruel of a person?

    ¡°I said that I¡¯m being falsely used. There¡¯s someone who¡¯s out to get me.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    What are you surprised about?! You¡¯re the prince who lived in the royal pce, right? Use your noggin a little! You¡¯re too naive.

    ¡°You thought I was betraying the kingdom? If I were to betray it, I would have done something with a little more force.¡±

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. If it was you, there would have been more force to it©¤©¤and you would keep doing things just to spite us.¡±

    Though convinced, Julian annoyed me. What kind of trust do you have towards me?

    So Julian revealed what was on his mind, but why is he here to consult me?

    ¡°I¡¯m not experienced in war, but I¡¯m sensing that some conflict will arise soon.¡±

    I was about to tell him that it would be a rebellion at worst, but I closed my mouth.

    After all, the Holfault Kingdom is arge country with many foes.

    There are numerous enemies hostile towards the kingdom, such as the principality.

    Under such circumstances, it¡¯s frightening to think about the verge of a rebellion, or the principality¡¯s schemes.

    I¡¯ve got a bad feeling.

    ¡°©¤©¤Is there some kind of corrective force?¡±

    I can¡¯t help but feel that some mysterious power is at work, forcing events to realign with the story of that otome game.

    Julian was puzzled by my mutters.

    ¡°Corrective? What are you talking about, Baltfault?¡±

    ¡°The story. I¡¯m being detained here, so I don¡¯t know the full story of what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Julian put his hand on his jaw and pondered about something, so I made a request.

    ¡°Hey, let me out.¡±

    ¡°I cannot. I have no authority right now.¡±

    Useless prince. Well, I suppose trouble would arise if he let me out.

    All things considered©¤©¤I¡¯ve got some suspicions.

    The magic flute, the principality¡¯s trump card, has a potent ability and is being kept under strict safekeeping by the kingdom.

    Hertrude¡¯s absent from the principality, so the country wouldn¡¯t make a move right now.

    However, Hertrude¡¯s been acting strangely.

    It¡¯s like there¡¯s this corrective force that¡¯s making reality follow the story.

    ¡°©¤©¤This really is a terrible world.¡±

    Ignoring my mumbling this time, Julian quickly left the dungeon.

    If things keep progressing ording to the story, I need to run.

    I©¤©¤no, even Luxon won¡¯t be able to win against the principality¡¯s trump card.

 Chapter 94 - Volume 3

    <h4>Volume 3 Chapter 4 part2</h4>

    Passing by Julian was Hertrude,ing over to the dungeon. The jailer left the scene upon receiving something from Hertrude.

    During that period, he nced at me and walked out.

    ¡°Quite the predicament you¡¯re in.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m sure you know who exactly is to me for this. Actually, are you even allowed to roam around the royal pce?¡±

    ¡°That is irrelevant. I¡¯ve gotten permission. Also, I¡¯m not the one who got you arrested. Indeed, I requested that you be restricted, but the rough treatment you¡¯ve gotten is the result of the kingdom¡¯s nobles.¡±

    I¡¯m guessing you had a hand in that. As I made a sour expression, she leaned in towards the iron bars. Choosing to specifically approach someone when they¡¯re down on their luck©¤©¤what a crooked trick.

    ¡°Do you want me to let you out? Rather than serving a country like this, you could serve the Principality of Fanoss. I promise you will receive a proper treatment. I can let you live the peaceful life that you¡¯ve always wanted.¡±

    My felt a twitch inside me.

    It seems that this person has been investigating what I wanted.

    Inparison, the kingdom doesn¡¯t even try to understand me at all©¤©¤how sad.

    ¡°How foolish. I can¡¯t help but see the nobles of this country as people who scorn the principality and only use you for a factional dispute. They wanted to use me and crush you.¡±

    Despite being in simr ranks, she was vastly different from Julian.

    It seems that she¡¯s more capable.

    ¡°Down on your knees in front of me. I can make you my knight. Instead of devoting yourself to a corrupt kingdom, you should follow your desires. I can promise you a peaceful life without status or honor.¡±

    Hertrude faced me with a smile.

    ¡°I refuse.¡±

    Hertrude, whose smile now showed some irritation, seemed curious about why I would refuse.

    ¡°Is the kingdom that important to you? You¡¯re a feudal lord noble, right? I can even allow your entire family toe to our side as well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a tempting offer, but I¡¯m not nning to do business with someone I don¡¯t trust.¡±

    In first ce, the principality isn¡¯t fond of me.

    Speaking of which, you¡¯re the one with a grudge against me.

    Luxon, who had been hiding, showed up and joined the conversation.

    [Are you the ones who arrested Master in fear? How cliche of you to offer a hand to him now that he¡¯s weakened. Do you think that he¡¯s lost his judgement?]

    Hertrude shifted her gaze to Luxon.

    ¡°How uncouth of a familiar to eavesdrop.¡±

    [If you really did n to take in Master©¤©¤if you did n to keep your promise, I would have helped persuade him.]

    ¡°What an uncouth familiar indeed. Spouting all that while not believing I would take him in.¡±

    In the end, what she said so far was a lie.

    ©¤©¤How sad. It was an attractive offer, so it stirred some reaction within me.

    Hertrude stepped away from the iron bars and spoke in a cold voice.

    ¡°You can stand proud. You¡¯ve been judged as an obstacle to us.¡±

    I sat down on a bed, watching as Hertrude left the dungeon.

    ¡°She hates me quite a bit.¡±

    Perhaps it was my imagination, but did I see a hint of loneliness from Hertrude?

    [She doesn¡¯t seriously hate you.]

    ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    [If she had a grudge against you and nothing else, there would be no need for her to speak with you. So I believe that if you follow through with her offer, she will at least guarantee your life.]

    ¡°©¤©¤That¡¯s a shame, I would¡¯ve epted if she had been more serious about it.¡±

    [That¡¯s a lie. Even if Hertrude had been serious, you wouldn¡¯t betray the kingdom, Master.]

    ¡°You never know. It depends on the conditions.¡±

    [©¤©¤Is that so? By the way, the perpetrator who nted the false evidence in your room was Meole.]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he my sister¡¯s exclusive servant?¡±

    [You¡¯ve incurred their enmity, Master. Do you want to deal with them immediately?]

    ¡°You¡¯re a dangerous thing, aren¡¯t you. Though©¤©¤¡±

    [Oh, the jailer is back.]

    The returning jailer spoke to me. Luxon took the opportunity to disappear.

    ¡°Viscount, which do you prefer, coffee or ck tea?¡±

    ¡°ck tea. I¡¯d like some good tea leaves as well.¡±

    ¡°No can do, you won¡¯t find high quality tea leaves in here.¡±

    ¡°All things considered, I¡¯ve gone from the leader of some bodyguards to a prisoner. What is going on with my life?¡±

    ¡°I was surprised as well. This might be the first time this has happened in the kingdom.¡±

    I¡¯m not pleased at all though.

    The jailer headed out once more to prepare some tea. As I yawned, Luxon reappeared.

    Once my handcuffs were removed, I toyed around with them using my finger.

    [Aren¡¯t you too rxed for a dungeon? You should be a bit more tense.]

    ¡°No thanks, I¡¯m tired. All things considered, it¡¯s a relief that I was able to get close with Mine. It would be noughing matter if I was sent to torture right after being arrested.¡±

    [If that were to happen, I would promptly rescue you and sink this continent. Or I would, with the exception of those close to you, purge the©¤©¤]

    ¡°Stop. I¡¯m not a fan of massacres.¡±

    [©¤©¤How spineless.]

    I forgot to mention this, but this thing said stuff like ¡°exterminate the new humans¡± when I first found it.

    Truthfully, this thing is the most dangerous being in this world.

    However, even Luxon can¡¯t beat the final boss.

    It wouldn¡¯t lose, but©¤©¤it wouldn¡¯t win either.

    The saint¡¯s power, Livia¡¯s power, and ¡°love¡± are needed for the finale.

    One might wonder what in the world I¡¯m doing here.

    There¡¯s a reason for all of this, starting from the day I was captured.

    ¡ó

    ©¤©¤It was during the day I was arrested.

    I was taken to the royal pce and faced two people inside a room.

    ¡°Well Gilbert, they got me.¡±

    I still had theposure to speak in jest©¤©¤want to know why? I already knew that I was going to be arrested at some point.

    However, the two in front of me didn¡¯tugh at my banter.

    One of them was Anjie¡¯s older brother and the heir of the Redgrave household, ¡°Gilbert Fou Redgrave.¡±

    Gilbert had a relieved expression.

    ¡°You¡¯re certainly calm. It seems that the nobles who judged you as a threat weren¡¯t wrong. Imend your courage to joke around under these circumstances.¡±

    Courage? That¡¯s not it. I already knew about this in advance, so I was able to prepare myself to a certain extent.

    The other person there, Mine, began speaking about the main issue at hand.

    ¡°Leon, the head the currentrgest faction, Marquis Frampton, is making his move.¡±

    ©¤©¤Those who stick out too much tend to be dealt with.

    There are a lot of people who didn¡¯t like the fact that a youth like me happened to be promoted, an unprecedented matter.

    The principality took advantage of their envy.

    ¡°The royal pce is no longer unified. Many factions are bustling about, each with their own motives. Do you understand the meaning of that?¡±

    ¡°Do the marquis and principality havemon interests?¡±

    Gilbert nodded.

    ¡°Indeed. With his Highness losing his position, the Redgrave household¡¯s faction weakened. As a result, Marquis Frampton grew in power©¤©¤so in a sense, you¡¯re the cause of this.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    Mine spoke about the lost item I had©¤©¤Luxon.

    ¡°Let¡¯s say that many are wary about the single airship that drove away the principality¡¯s fleet. The marquis who¡¯s wary of you and the principality that bears a grudge against you then decide to join forces. It¡¯s a likely story, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    The marquis¡¯ faction gained power because of me?

    I thought that was supposed to sarcastic, but Mine said otherwise.

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re a bigger threat to them than the principality. Marquis Frampton is particrly cautious about you.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Err, but©¤©¤¡±

    Gilbert was shocked at me being surprised.

    ¡°Think about it. The fact that you beat dozens of airships means that you alone carry the strength of a military. I know that you don¡¯t n on starting a rebellion against the kingdom. However, do you think that everyone trusts you? Even if they do trust you, can they really tell themselves that you¡¯ll never oppose them?¡±

    Perhaps I¡¯m©¤©¤err, Luxon is more frightening than the principality?

    That isn¡¯t wrong, but aren¡¯t they pretty stupid for joining hands with the principality?

    ¡°Could it be that they¡¯re underestimating the principality since their troops lost to me?¡±

    ¡°There are indeed people who will make jokes about it, but those who¡¯ve experienced war understand how big the threat is. They haven¡¯t spoken their thoughts out loud, but they¡¯ve probably been in a panic.¡±

    I wish they had been more wary of Marie and the principality.

    ¡°So now I¡¯m under arrest for false charges?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯ll have to enter the dungeon. It¡¯s safer this way.¡±

    So basically, with me being under arrest, the marquis¡¯ faction will feel safe and will want to take action.

    It seems that the Redgrave household, whose faction has weakened, is having a rough time.

    It also seems that Mine is struggling as well.

    ¡°The situation is different than it was a few months ago. Leon, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if you were to be assassinated.¡±

    This is noughing matter. Hearing that made me break out in a cold sweat.

    ¡°I felt that the knights who arrested me seemed enthusiastic, or that they had a grudge©¤©¤could it be?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your imagination. It¡¯s a relief that we picked you up along the way.¡±

    Gilbert¡¯s words made me feel a chill run down my spine. It seems that the situation was more dangerous than I expected.

    ¡°You¡¯re safe in the royal pce. This is the best we can do for now. It¡¯s not just the faction opposing the duke household. There are many nobles who think you¡¯re a danger. There are many nobles who want to take your lost item and use it for power.¡±

    Mine exined it as if speaking to a small child.

    Mine as a mother©¤©¤gives me a weird feeling, but I¡¯ll leave it at that.

    Gilbert spoke while seeming tense.

    ¡°Marquis Frampton, perhaps relieved that you¡¯ve been arrested, is now beginning to pull out all the stops in order to seize power. We¡¯re going to be quite busy.¡±

    Mine spoke of something eerie.

    ¡°I¡¯m hesitant to be in the royal pce since the atmosphere is ominous. We may have a rebellion on our hands if we aren¡¯t careful, I suppose. If her Highness Hertrude makes a move as well, then the principality will be there with her, which could get dreadful.¡±

    Is there really a rebellion in the making?

    Now that I¡¯ve been dealt with, they¡¯re focusing on the power struggle now©¤©¤it seems that Marquis Frampton will be a pain.

    If they didn¡¯t involve me in this, I would have just left this all alone though.

    Well, there¡¯s also the matter of Marie, and if I were to look carefully at the situation©¤©¤

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a case of a rebellion.¡±

    Mine then spoke.

    ¡°I understand that. However, knowing Marquis Frampton, he may see this as a chance. A chance to suppress the Redgrave household and gain power in the kingdom. This may be a tight situation. In this case, you¡¯ve be a victim, Leon.¡±

    ©¤©¤How awful can this get? I¡¯d rather not get involved in a power struggle.

    To make matters worse, it¡¯s especially awful that they joined hands with our opponents, the principality, for the sake of this power struggle.

    Though vexed, Gilbert seemed to understand Marquis Frampton¡¯s behavior.

    ¡°By joining forces with the principality, he wants to seize power, even if it means suffering some losses.¡±

    ¡°Not a pleasant topic.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Not a pleasant thing to talk about.¡±

    ming Gilbert for this situation won¡¯t do anything, so I asked a question.

    ¡°Do Anjie and the others know that I¡¯m being protected?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t. Or rather, we can¡¯t tell them. Your safety is a top-secret matter that only a few people know about. Due to that, I had to send aint to her Highness Hertrude by myself.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Is that alright?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be released soon, so don¡¯t worry. Are you concerned?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    They¡¯re one of few ideal girls in the school.

    Furthermore©¤©¤these are my friends that we¡¯re talking about. Of course I¡¯d be worried.

    ¡°Oh my.¡±

    Mine ced her hand over her mouth and smiled. Is she having another misunderstanding now?

    Good grief©¤©¤what a cute person.

    Gilbert spoke while seeming a bit happier.

    ¡°Well then, there¡¯s something I have to ask you.¡±

    ¡°Something you want to ask me?¡±

    ¡ó

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s how it went.

    I¡¯m trapped in a dungeon, acting like bait.

    And the ones I¡¯ve been able to lure are people like Julian and Hertrude.

    They¡¯re looking for people who¡¯ll make contact with me.

    ¡°Are they going to go through with it?¡±

    [©¤©¤Recently, there have been people investigating your surroundings, Master. Do you think their aim was for intelligence gathering or assassination?]

    ¡°Huh? Could it be that you knew? You should have told me then!¡±

    [Be relieved. I won¡¯t let you be assassinated, Master.]

    No, tell me. Doesn¡¯t this make me look like an idiot whose been wasting time without caring about it?

    ¡°Tell me about these kinds of things from now on.¡±

    [On a different note©¤©¤the kingdom is quite weak.]

    ¡°Changing the subject, are we? Though, I do agree that the kingdom is weak.¡±

    After all, there¡¯s a factional dispute in the royal pce, the principality¡¯s gotten involved, and now I¡¯ve been tossed into a dungeon.

    I¡¯m also concerned about Hetrude¡¯s actions. It¡¯s strange that she isn¡¯t returning the magic flute to the principality, isn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Hertrude¡¯s is persistent too. No wait, perhaps it¡¯s the principality that¡¯s persistent? They¡¯re using the kingdom¡¯s power struggle to tear it down from the inside out©¤©¤whatever happened to that otome game¡¯s trivial setting? Isn¡¯t this setting too muddy? There sure are a lot of power struggles.¡±

    [©¤©¤Master, Holfault Kingdom¡¯s strange system of government is not something to consider from a normal perspective.]

    ¡°Why?¡±

    [They¡¯re raising the dissatisfaction of rural feudal lords on purpose. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for a rebellion to ur.]

    ¡°Oh really? So things weren¡¯t just because of my household having a lot of debt.¡±

    [Don¡¯t use your household as a basis, Master.]

    ¡°So, what are your thoughts?¡±

    [I think that the kingdom might have some kind of secret weapon, just like how the principality has one.]

    A trump card, is it?

    Assuming that it might exist, could it be <i>that</i>?

    ¡°Could it likely be <i>that</i>?¡±

    [©¤©¤If there¡¯s something you¡¯re thinking about, I¡¯d prefer if you talked with me about it.]

    ¡°My bad. However, it shouldn¡¯t work without Livia. ©¤©¤Well then, what should we do now?¡±

    [First, we destroy the new humans©¤©¤]

    ¡°Rejected. Give me a serious answer.¡±

    [I was being serious though.]

    ¡°You really are frightening sometimes. What I¡¯m asking is what will happen at the rate things are going. Which do you think will win©¤©¤the Redgrave household or the Frampton household?¡±

    [Such a thing has already been decided. ©¤©¤It depends on your feelings, Master.]

    ¡ó

    Anjie, after being released, immediately headed towards the duke household¡¯s residence.

    Anjie¡¯s father, Vince, was waiting for her at that residence within the royal capital.

    She was about to report the matter regarding Hertrude until something urred.

    ¡°Could it be revenge? How petty. Nevertheless, the kingdom has many traitors.¡±

    ¡°Father, please release Leon. Leon has done nothing wrong!¡±

    Vince¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so spoiled. These kinds of things are a daily urrence in the royal pce. Even if I could release him with my authority, neither his important airship nor the armor will return to him.¡±

    Vince¡¯s words shocked Anjie.

    ¡°©¤©¤Are you saying that Leon is worthless without the lost item? Leon has been so much for my sake up until now.¡±

    Vince spoke coldly to Anjie.

    ¡°And what of it? His promotions were no doubt the power of his lost item. I¡¯ll admit that he has courage. However, what worth does he have without the lost item?¡±

    Anjie clenched her fist and cast her eyes downward while seeming frustrated.

    ¡°B, benefactor. Leon is my benefactor!¡±

    ¡°I already repaid him for what he did. Return to the academy.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤!¡±

    Anjie stormed out of the room.

 Chapter 95 - Volume 3 Chapter 4 part3

    <h4> Volume 3 Chapter 4 part3</h4>

    Watching his daughter storm out of the room, Vince made a small sigh.

    ¡°Good grief©¤©¤why can¡¯t she be more honest?¡±

    He stood up after seeing his awkward daughter leave the scene.

    Thereupon, Gilbert entered the room.

    ¡°Father, why did Anjie storm out with such a face?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on her, so don¡¯t worry. This may be painful for Anjie, but I don¡¯t know what she would do if she knew the truth. That girl is too emotional. Why can¡¯t she let her feelings clear?¡±

    ¡°Up until now, she had been raised to be useful for a specific household. Would she not be troubled when she¡¯s suddenly told about free love? It¡¯s understandable once you realize the circumstances.¡±

    Vince made a slight chuckle.

    ¡°There are various tricky problems regarding that matter. If we¡¯re too forceful, the other household willin. Besides, it depends on the feelings of that child. Is their rtionship just as friends, or perhaps©¤©¤¡±

    Gilbert nodded his head, as if convinced of something.

    For the time being, he left aside what Anjie said and reported what he investigated.

    ¡°I¡¯ve looked into those who have made contact with the viscount inside the dungeon. It appears that there are those who are upset that they cannot operate Partner. A portion of them are making a mor about trying to kill him to see if it¡¯ll ept a new master. They¡¯ve made a direct appeal to his Majesty about executing him soon.¡±

    Vince folded his arms.

    ¡°Are they afraid of the viscount? Well, I suppose that¡¯s inevitable. After all, he¡¯s a knight who single-handedly forced the principality¡¯s troops to retreat. Perhaps they¡¯re anxious about the possibility that he¡¯ll point his de at them.¡±

    From the viewpoint of the faction opposing the duke household, they didn¡¯t know when Leon would point that de towards them.

    Vince understood their anxiety.

    ¡°The people from the temple are also beginning to make noise. Though this is a power struggle, at this point, there¡¯s a limit to how much things can escte. If not taken care of properly, the country will be divided by a civil war.¡±

    Vince unfolded his arms and spoke as such.

    ¡°The time hase. Sooner orter, all the pressure that been built up will erupt. Nevertheless, it seems I have many enemies.¡±

    Vince, who led what had been thergest faction up until a while ago, was struggling to deal with the marquis¡¯ rising faction.

    ¡°©¤©¤It seems you did something foolish, Ma.¡±

    Speaking the name of Marquis Frampton, Vince looked at Gilbert and smiled.

    ¡°Gilbert©¤©¤don¡¯t you agree that Anjie¡¯s eye for people is quite something?¡±

    Gilbert had an indescribable expression.

    If it wasn¡¯t for Anjie, the duke household would have also been wary of Leon.

    The engagement with Julian being broken off was a hard blow©¤©¤but thanks to that, they managed to win over Leon.

    ¡°In a sense, we were lucky. We don¡¯t have to shoulder around ¡®his Highness the Prince,¡¯ so I suppose you¡¯re right.¡±

    Vince agreed with that opinion.

    ¡°Now then, return to your territory and prepare for war. There¡¯s something I have to do here.¡±

    Gilbert nodded and briskly exited the room.

    Vince then headed towards the royal pce.

    ¡ó

    Floating above the academy was a warship owned by the kingdom¡¯s army.

    Knights wearing armor were keeping an eye on the surroundings, and both knights and soldiers were dispatched to the ground.

    Amidst the overdone policing, the academy¡¯s students picked up on the tense mood.

    It felt like the tension before a war.

    Once returning, Anjie saw Livia running over.

    As she approached, she grabbed her arms and spoke at a close distance.

    ¡°Anjie! It¡¯s Leon! Leon¡¯s been arrested!¡±

    Seeing Livia¡¯s confused state, Anjie held back her tears.

    There were other students around and above all, she was in front of the school gate. There were many people.

    ¡°I know. Let¡¯s head inside.¡±

    Anjie took Livia with her and headed towards the girls¡¯ dorms.

    Livia was worried about the situation.

    ¡°Leon was taken away, rice and the others are away from the academy as well. What in the world is happening?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just the royal pce that was hectic.

    The academy was also affected.

    ¡°There¡¯s a war.¡±

    ¡°War?!¡±

    ¡°Quiet. Don¡¯t speak so loudly.¡±

    They quickly entered Livia¡¯s room.

    Anjie, relieved after entering the room, then fell over.

    While supporting herself using Livia¡¯s body, she sat down on a bed and began to speak.

    ¡°There are people who are linked with the principality. Those people arrested Leon and threw him into the royal pce¡¯s dungeon. They seized Partner and Arroganz as well.¡±

    ¡°W, what! Leon has done nothing wrong!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s irrelevant. Leon¡¯s an obstacle to them. ©¤©¤If only I had more power, I would have been able to protect him.¡±

    Seeing Anjie, who felt pathetic and down, Livia spoke as if something shed into her mind.

    ¡°The queen! If we ask Mine©¤©¤¡±

    Anjie shook her head, believing that if Mine had done something, she would have known. Since Leon received no assistance, the queen probably can¡¯t do anything.

    ¡°Mine can¡¯t do anything. I thought she¡¯d lend a hand, but since she isn¡¯t, that must mean someone is negating her orders. Or perhaps it¡¯s a case where she can¡¯t afford to get involved with Leon.¡±

    The marquis¡¯ faction suddenly began to move.

    Anjie knew the meaning of this.

    After checking with the information from her home, she understood what it meant, even if she didn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°Livia, there¡¯s going to be a power struggle within the royal pce. If not handled properly, it will turn into a civil war.¡±

    ¡°Huh? W, why?!¡±

    In response to Livia, who was surprised to hear about a civil war, Anjie spoke her thoughts.

    ¡°We¡¯re in a state of high alert. My father and brother are moving about, so it¡¯s already as if a war has begun, with no blood being spilt on the royal pce.¡±

    Anjie believed that the airship arriving at the academy was to be deployed in case something happened.

    (If that¡¯s the case, did my father or Mine have a hand in the airship at the academy?)

    Vince said that it was standing by at the academy, so the academy was likely safe.

    While she was thinking about such things, Livia seemed uneasy and asked something.

    ¡°©¤©¤What will happen to Leon?¡±

    For a moment, Anjie thought about making a lie to relieve her, but©¤©¤told Livia the truth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My household has given up on Leon. They see no value in him now that his lost item is gone. I don¡¯t know if Mine will help him either. If worstes to worst, he will be executed.¡±

    Livia hung her head upon hearing that, then suddenly stood up.

    She was about to head out of the room with an unsteady walk, so Anjie grabbed her arm to stop her.

    ¡°Where are you going?!¡±

    ¡°Anjie©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry. I want to help Leon. For that, I want to try anything I can.¡±

    ¡°You©¤©¤¡±

    While crying, Livia attempted to leave the room.

    Anjie guessed what she was possibly thinking about.

    ¡°Wait. ©¤©¤I¡¯m going too.¡±

    So, Anjie and Livia both left the room together and decided to turn towards someone who could potentially help Leon.

    ¡ó

    Being the saint, the academy provided a special room for Marie.

    It was the biggest room in the girls¡¯ dorm©¤©¤used by noble daughters with ranks equal to that of Anjie¡¯s.

    In that room, Marie sat on a sofa with her legs crossed.

    She felt refreshed to see the two standing before her.

    ¡°You want me to help that mob guy? Why should I?¡±

    While Marie¡¯s followersughed, Anjie once again pleaded to her.

    ¡°I judged that you could help since you¡¯re the saint. Please©¤©¤I want you to help Leon.¡±

    Livia nodded her head.

    ¡°Please! Please save Leon.¡±

    Marie took a sip of her drink while making a triumphant smile.

    (I was overjoyed when hearing about that mob guy being arrested, but I didn¡¯t expect to feel this good seeing these two beg me for help!)

    The one that the two turned to was©¤©¤the saint, Marie.

    (Well, I have no obligation to help that guy and I don¡¯t know how I would either though.)

    Though Marie was the saint, she hasn¡¯t been one for a long time and she didn¡¯t know how to influence an organization.

    She didn¡¯t know the procedure to release Leon, but nevertheless, she decided to use this opportunity.

    She looked at Anjie and Livia, then spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯ve said so many things to me before, though.¡±

    Anjie apologized.

    ¡°P, please forgive me. I was foolish.¡±

    ¡°Of course! And you, the naive one.¡±

    ¡°Y, yes!¡±

    Marie asked a question to Livia, who she called naive.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think there¡¯s a courtesy to asking a favor?¡±

    ¡°Courtesy? U, umm©¤©¤¡±

    Marie spoke to a stumped Livia.

    ¡°You two©¤©¤kneel down before me in front of the public. If you do that, I¡¯ll think about doing something for that mob guy.¡±

    Though Marie gave that condition, she had different intentions on the inside.

    (Anjelica¡¯s pride is too high for her to agree to that. Perhaps Olivia would do it, but there¡¯s no point since I said for the both of them to kneel. Well, I¡¯d be worried if they did agree though.)

    ©¤©¤Those were her thoughts.

    ¡ó

    Marie was regretful.

    She was in the academy¡¯s za.

    (No way. Why? Why did ite to this?!)

    She was breaking into a cold sweat.

    A ring of people surrounded Marie.

    In the center were Marie and her followers.

    ¡°Look, Marie. Look at the pitiful state of these people.¡±

    ¡°The duke¡¯s daughter and themoner are both bowing their heads. Furthermore, their foreheads are against the floor.¡±

    ¡°How unsightly.¡±

    The surrounding students wereughing.

    Next to Marie, Kyle was quite dispirited.

    ¡°Is it okay going this far? Honestly, even I don¡¯t want to see anymore of this.¡±

    In the za, Livia and Anjie were kneeling down together©¤©¤and in front of both the protagonist and viiness was Marie, who kept sweating.

    They did what she told them to do. Despite that©¤©¤she didn¡¯t think they would actually follow through with it.

    No matter how cocky Marie might be, even this wasn¡¯t something she couldugh at.

    (Wait! Seriously, wait! I told them to kneel because I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d do it! I have no idea what to do about their issue!)

    In the first ce, Marie couldn¡¯t think of a way to help Leon.

    Now she would need to revoke her promise despite the fact that the two had kneeled.

    She could hearughter directed towards the two. ©¤©¤The people around were more ted than Marie.

    ¡°How pathetic for the duke¡¯s daughter.¡±

    ¡°To think that I was a follower of such a person. I¡¯m going to cry. Did her pride as a noble disappear?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for the sake of that guy. What¡¯s even good about that Baltfault?¡±

    People who used to be Anjie¡¯s followers whispered amongst each other.

    If a person of high status bows their head so easily, they will lose authority.

    That¡¯s why Marie thought Anjie wouldn¡¯t actually do it.

    Marie¡¯s followers took an arrogant attitude towards Anjie and Livia.

    ¡°Hey, do a proper job at making your request to Marie!¡±

    When Anjie bowed down and pleaded with ¡°I want you to save Leon¡¯s life,¡± they further toyed with her.

    ¡°That¡¯s not how you do it, right? There¡¯s a specific way you need to make a request, isn¡¯t there? Could it be that the duke¡¯s daughter is unaware of how to ask people for something?¡±

    ¡°Please save Leon¡¯s life, M, Marie!¡±

    Marie couldn¡¯t speak to the one who forced the prideful Anjie to bow down and address her politely.

    ¡°Commoner, speak too.¡±

    ¡°Please save Leon, Marie.¡±

    ¡°What a wretched state you¡¯re in now that Baltfault¡¯s gone. You¡¯ve been hiding behind that man for protection.¡±

    Marie¡¯s followers and the surrounding studentsughed.

    (Huh? What? These followers are scary. Aren¡¯t these guys just using my name to vent their anger? I can¡¯t put my trust in them.)

    Turning away from the fact that she told them to kneel down, Marie felt a disconnect with the surrounding people.

    Then©¤©¤

    ¡°Marie, here¡¯s a footrest.¡±

    One of Marie¡¯s followers pointed at Anjie¡¯s head.

    ¡°Huh?!¡±

    The other followers went along with it.

    ¡°Oh, in that case, you should use the duke¡¯s daughter as a chair and themoner as a footrest.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you d to be the saint¡¯s chair, Anjelica?¡±

    ¡°Say something!¡±

    Marie wanted to shout at the girl trampling down on Anjie.

    (What are you all doing?! Are you going to destroy me? If that mob guy finds out what happens, he¡¯ll definitelye for revenge! H, he¡¯s going to kill me!)

    Imaging Leon carrying a rifle with a nk expression, Marie¡¯s legs couldn¡¯t stop trembling.

    (R, right. Doesn¡¯t he have a cheat item? If he does get angry, I¡¯m©¤©¤)

    A hand intervened to stop the follower who was escting the situation, and that hand belonged to©¤©¤Julian.

    ¡°You two have shown your readiness. Marie, this doesn¡¯t need to go any further.¡±

    Brad then spoke.

    ¡°Right. Now that it¡¯se to this, we have to show our sincerity.¡±

    Jilk nodded.

    ¡°Let bygones be bygones. Marie, let¡¯s forgive them.¡±

    Chris agreed.

    ¡°If we disgrace them anymore, your name will be tarnished, Marie.¡±

    Greg struck his palm with his fist and then smiled at Marie.

    ¡°They¡¯ve done this much. Let¡¯s help Baltfault, Marie.¡±

    Since this world didn¡¯t have a culture based around kneeling down like this, they forgave them since they went this far. However, Leon would understand the meaning of someone performing this action. (<i>TLN: Japan has this ¡°dogeza culture,¡± where kneeling down with one¡¯s forehead touching the floor, which is called a dogeza, is viewed as a very strong and self-humiliating apologizing style.</i>)

    After all, he was a fellow reincarnator.

    Marie trembled when thinking about what would happen if Leon caught wind of this.

    (Not good. If I tell them that I can¡¯t actually help©¤©¤my life is over. Or rather, that guy can probably break out with his own power. I don¡¯t need to do anything. This is pretty stupid, isn¡¯t it?)

    Marie, unable to do anything, asked the five confident guys for help.

    ¡°Everyone, can I ask you for help?¡±

    The five turned to Marie and nodded, then departed from the venue.

    In any case, Marie wanted to escape from the situation.

    When she turned her back to the two, who were still kneeling, and walked away as if ignoring them, her followers went with her.

    ¡°How generous of you, Marie.¡±

    ¡°If it were me, I would trample on them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, if it were me, I would strip them of their clothes and make them apologize.¡±

    Hearing her followers utter such things, Marie felt uneasy.

    (This isn¡¯t funny. ©¤©¤It really isn¡¯t. I don¡¯t understand these followers. Who are these people? They¡¯repletely different from what I thought they were.)

    Amongst the boisterous followers, Cara was the only one who followed behind Marie silently.

    ¡ó

    Marie had left.

    While the surrounding people wereughing, Anjie and Livia stood up.

    The voices of those around them were cold.

    ¡°They¡¯re going that far?¡±

    ¡°Oh, how the duke household has fallen. She doesn¡¯t understand the meaning of bowing her head.¡±

    ¡°What a lowly woman indeed. Getting along with the likes ofmoners.¡±

    The two walked away from the scene while being ridiculed.

    Livia spoke to Anjie.

    ¡°It would have been better if it was just me, so why did you do it too, Anjie? Um©¤©¤with your household¡¯s position and all.¡±

    Anjie made a somewhat sorrowful smile.

    ¡°I thought that this was the best choice. Perhaps this might be bad for my household. However, above all, I wanted to help Leon. I really am a fool, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Anjie, who had bowed her head to Marie, spoke as such©¤©¤and wept.

    ¡°With this, I¡¯ve really abandoned myself. I¡¯ve sullied my house¡¯s name. However, even so©¤©¤if it means helping Leon, that¡¯s okay.¡±

    Somehow, Anjie seemed a little refreshed.

    She had been robbed of her fiance, Julian, by Marie and the engagement was broken off.

    It was painfully bitter for Anjie to bow down to Marie.

    (©¤©¤To think Anjie would do this much for Leon.)

    Livia¡¯s chest ached whenparing herself to Anjie.

    ¡ó

    A group amassed above the Principality of Fanoss¡¯ skies.

    A fleet, with a floating ind that had been turned into an airship serving as a gship, covered the skies.

    There were over one hundred and fifty airships, along with monsters surrounding them.

    It didn¡¯t matter that the magic flute was with the kingdom.

    After all, there existed another magic flute with the principality.

    The user of that magic flute was the second princess, Hertrauda.

    She was fourteen years old.

    She had smooth ck hair, just like her older sister.

    Though they were alike, Hertrauda was superior when it came to using a magic flute.

    She was able tomand numerous monsters, and the magic flute itself was more powerful than the one Hertrude had.

    Originally, Hertrude¡¯s team should have been enough to sink the kingdom. However, Leon had single-handedly ruined their ns, causing the principality to be in a mad rush.

    The principality didn¡¯t originally intend for Hertrauda to depart for the front. The one who changed that was Leon.

    ¡°That heretic knight can¡¯t do anything. Is that correct?¡±

    Hertrauda¡¯s retainer answered her question.

    ¡°There is no mistaking it. The reports state that his lost item, the airship, and his armor have been seized as well. The kingdom¡¯s foolish nobles are quite negligent.¡±

    Leaders surrounded Hertrauda.

    A knight reported to her.

    ¡°Princess, the preparations are ready.¡±

    With a small nod, the young girl, Hertrauda, set out for a battle that would determine the principality¡¯s future.

    ¡°Attack the kingdom from here. Get everyone prepared. Our aim is Holfault Kingdom¡¯s royal capital. Don¡¯t pay any mind to the other small fries! Depart!¡±

    In response to Hertrauda¡¯s voice, the surrounding leaders responded with vigor.

 Chapter 96 - Volume 3 Chapter 5 part1

    <h4>v3 Chapter 5 Part 1</h4>

    <h4>False Saint</h4>

    I was in the dungeon.

    Once the jailer temporarily excused himself, I began recalling the guests who have visited so far.

    They were pretty much the bad kind of people to be around. They said things like how they¡¯d give me money if I told them how to operate Partner, that I should join their group, or other things like that. At any rate, they were harsh people.

    Many of them threatened to kill me if I didn¡¯t do what they said.

    Luxon was amazed as well.

    [I suppose you can¡¯t do anything about the suspicious nobles offering to spare your life in exchange for Partner and Arroganz, can you?]

    ¡°I suppose not. Many of them are just lying and would kill me as soon as I transfer them over.¡±

    They¡¯ve confiscated Partner and Arroganz, but are troubled since they can¡¯t operate them.

    They¡¯ve been asking me how to operate them, and I¡¯ve been questioning their intentions.

    [It seems that they attempted a disassembly, but gave up midway. It¡¯s sad how cruelly they¡¯re treating Partner. Master, how about wey waste to this kingdom?]

    ¡°Rejected.¡±

    [Then, let¡¯s restrict the ruling ss©¤©¤]

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    Arroganz is in a container that can¡¯t be tampered with.

    They¡¯ve invaded Partner¡¯s interior quite a bit, but it¡¯s impossible for them to dismantle the important parts.

    [Master, is the reason that you won¡¯t abandon the kingdom rted to Anjelica, Olivia©¤©¤and Mine as well? I believe that rice and Deirdre are also on your mind, but do you want to protect the kingdom because they¡¯re part of the ruling ss? I would rmend an internal reform.]

    Is it thinking that I want to protect the kingdom because there are women I favor?

    Needless to say, that¡¯s not the case and I don¡¯t n on an internal reform either.

    ¡°You really think I want to protect the kingdom?¡±

    [Am I wrong?]

    Speaking truthfully, I wouldn¡¯t care if the kingdom was destroyed.

    The reason why I want it intact for now is because the citizens will be in deep water without a country.

    Without a ruler, they¡¯ll be in trouble.

    ¡°I have no interest in the management of a nation. If I were to destroy the country, the ones who would be in trouble are the people who live there. That¡¯s not something a guy would do unless he really wanted to.¡±

    [Are you sure about that? In the event that Mine and the duke¡¯s faction fails, you will be executed, Master. Of course, I won¡¯t let that happen. However, why aren¡¯t you taking any initiative?]

    ¡°©¤©¤If the country discards me, then I will just flee.¡±

    Fortunately, the kingdom has a hold over Hertrude and the magic flute.

    They won¡¯t lose unless those conditions are taken away.

    There will probably be some damage in the process, but that¡¯s what it means to be a kingdom.

    [Then, why don¡¯t you take action for the sake of the people?]

    ¡°Nobody wants me to.¡±

    In this world, war is not about gathering citizens and handing weapons to them.

    In order to turn citizens into soldiers, a sufficient education is needed.

    Due to the existence of airships, it¡¯s difficult to recruit ordinary citizens.

    There are indeed some feudal lords who are tyrannical enough to force that into happening, but the Holfault Kingdom is rtively friendly to its people.

    This is the only kind part of that otome game¡¯s setting.

    As a result, there are few citizens who are dissatisfied.

    Knights and soldiers having to be the pawns of war and the troubles of finding marriage are part of the ruling ss¡¯ struggles.

    There¡¯s dissatisfaction just about everywhere, but the most dissatisfied ones are the baron and viscount nobles that I have to put up with©¤©¤what a disgusting world.

    Simply put, even if there was a revolt, the citizens wouldn¡¯t join.

    After all, they¡¯re satisfied with the status quo, so I would be the scoundrel here if I were to act violently.

    ¡°Despite how things may seem, I¡¯m still a knight.¡±

    [By knight, you mean an existence who sucks up to women and is convenient to the nation?]

    ¡°Idiot. ©¤©¤I meant the kind of knight that protects the citizens.¡±

    [Is that how they appear as?]

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with appearances and superficiality. It¡¯s better than being controlled by a schoolgirl and having to work myself to the bone for the kingdom. Besides, Livia would be happy to hear me say that.¡±

    Anjie would make a bit of a troubled face though.

    [Quite the weak determination you have. I was even a bit touched, but now that¡¯s gone to waste.]

    ¡°What are you expecting of me? Or rather, what do you want me to do?¡±

    Actually, I¡¯m quite surprised that it was touched by that conversation.

    [I¡¯m hoping that we can destroy the new humans together.]

    ©¤©¤I don¡¯t know what kind of reaction I should make to that.

    ¡ó

    Now then, I¡¯ve been in jail for a while, but©¤©¤yet another visitor came today.

    ¡°How pathetic, Viscount Baltfault.¡±

    Beyond the iron bars, Jilk stood in front of me while shaking his head.

    ¡°Did youe to the dungeon to make snide remarks? It seems that you have some free time as well.¡±

    When I said that, Jilk threw out his chest, as if I said something unthinkable.

    ¡°I came here at the request of Marie. It seems that she wants to help you.¡±

    ¡°Marie? What kind of trap is this?¡±

    ¡°How rude. What kind of attitude is that? I took great pains toe here and help you.¡±

    Jilk spoke to me.

    ¡°For the time being, please wait here. I¡¯ll soon get you out of the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°You will?¡±

    Does he even have that kind of authority? At any rate, why is Marie helping me?

    Though I had many thoughts, the question I spoke was©¤©¤

    ¡°How are you going to help me?¡±

    ¡°Despite everything, my house still consists of nobles of the royal court. I have many connections.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not your own power, but the power of your household, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°What of it? Anyways, please sit tight and wait here.¡±

    Jilk left the dungeon as he said that, but©¤©¤after a while, he came back quite battered.

    His hair was disheveled and it seemed as if he had been in a fight.

    ¡°©¤©¤I failed.¡±

    ¡°Thought so.¡±

    ¡°T, this isn¡¯t right. They wouldn¡¯t listen to me and told me to reflect on my actions!¡±

    That¡¯s because you¡¯re always up to no good.

    In the end, Jilk left the dungeon with hunched shoulders.

    What a useless guy.

    ¡ó

    The next to visit was©¤©¤Greg.

    He was even more battered than Jilk. His clothes were torn and his face showed signs of being beaten up, perhaps from a fight.

    ¡°©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry. When I asked my household to free you, I got into a fight with my father.¡±

    It seems that he relied on his household in an attempt to free me, but he failed after getting into a quarrel with his father.

    ¡°Did Marie ask you too?¡±

    ¡°She did. Moreover, I¡¯m personally indebted to you. So I wanted to help you, but my father beat me up and nothing happened.¡±

    I¡¯ve got mixed feelings, but I¡¯m d that he tried to help.

    ¡°Go apologize to your dad. You guys cause too much trouble.¡±

    Greg stared straight at me.

    ¡°Something the matter?¡±

    ¡°Baltfault©¤©¤you¡¯re thest person I¡¯d want to hear that from.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What?!¡±

    I was a fool for thinking that this jerk had some good in him.

    ¡ó

    The next guest was©¤©¤Brad.

    Unlike thest two, his uniform wasn¡¯t in a mess and it didn¡¯t seem like he got into a fight.

    However, he was fiddling with his hair while©¤©¤seeming slightly uneasy.

    ¡°Are you here to help me as well?¡±

    Since he didn¡¯t speak despite how much time had passed, I decided to initiate the conversation.

    Upon which, Brad spoke while his eyes were darting.

    ¡°T, that was the n, but©¤©¤I can¡¯t get in contact with my parents.¡±

    ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°My family wasn¡¯t in the Field residence within the royal capital. Due to that©¤©¤¡±

    He told me that despite wanting to help me, the family he depended on wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°I understand, so stop looking like you¡¯re going to cry.¡±

    ¡°I, I¡¯m not crying!¡±

    What is it that these guys want to do?

    ¡ó

    Then, the fourth member of the five idiots, Chris, entered the dungeon.

    ¡°©¤©¤Did you turn to your household in an attempt to help me as well?¡±

    When I asked that to Chris upon his immediate arrival, he made a face of astonishment.

    ¡°Y, you know that? I didn¡¯t even say anything yet.¡±

    Is he making fun of me? Or is it that he¡¯s just stupid?

    ¡°Like it or not, I know that you guys have beening here since this morning and have all failed so far.¡±

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s been here too? In that case, at least one person should seed. I©¤©¤failed. I¡¯m sorry, Baltfault.¡±

    Chris was depressed, but as for me©¤©¤

    ¡°Before you feel down, why don¡¯t you take care of your injuries first? What did you even do to get all beaten up like that?¡±

    Greg¡¯s state had been miserable, but Chris¡¯ was even worse.

    Even the lenses of his sses were broken.

    ¡°When I tried asking my father for help, he chased me around with a wooden sword.¡±

    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve got it rough too.¡±

    ¡°Come to think of it, I couldn¡¯t really expect much from my father in the political field to begin with.¡±

    Perhaps having calmed down, Chris began toin after getting beaten up by his father.

    ©¤©¤Why did this guye to the dungeon?

    ¡°Though he¡¯s called a master swordsman, my father holds the position of a swordsmanship instructor. Since he has no major political position, I figured that it would tough having him to help you.¡±

    ¡°I, Is that so?¡±

    ¡°He dismissed the many reasons I gave to him, and when I then said ¡®Can¡¯t you do it?¡¯ to him, I ended up like this.¡±

    That would anger my father too if I did that.

    Perhaps he wanted to pick a fight with his household?

    ¡°If it¡¯s impossible for him, I wish he would have just told me that.¡±

    ¡°Did you tell him to help me with that attitude? In the first ce, I¡¯m uncertain about why you would want to help me.¡±

    I wonder if his father is also frustrated with his political position?

    If he struck a nerve with his father due to that, that would exin it.

    ¡ó

    ©¤©¤Then came thest idiot.

    Julian appeared in front of me, but I spoke before he could open his mouth.

    ¡°Go home!¡±

    ¡°W, why?! I didn¡¯t say anything yet!¡±

    I told the baffled Julian that I already knew the situation without him needing to spell it out for me.

    ¡°I can already tell after seeing your cheek. You didn¡¯t seed in your attempt to help me, did you?¡±

    Julian¡¯s mood visibly worsened.

    ¡°It¡¯s as you say. I asked my mother to get you out of the dungeon.¡±

    There was a visible handprint on Julian¡¯s cheek, perhaps from being pped.

    It¡¯s quite a feat for him to make Mine mad.

    Actually, now I want to know what he did.

    ¡°And that was enough for her to p you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s all. She was suddenly astonished. What¡¯s even more frightening is that she hit me while holding a nk expression.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine her being the kind of person to do that.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t know this, but my mother is a scary individual. But, just what in the world did I do wrong? You¡¯re a favorite of my mother, so it¡¯s strange that asking for your release would warrant a p.¡±

    I want to tell him that it was his mother that put me in this dungeon.

    However, that¡¯s top-secret.

    The fact that Mine didn¡¯t speak to him about this matter means that he¡¯s definitely not a reliable person.

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s kind of pitiful.

    Though, I suppose he doesn¡¯t have the most pristine reputation.

    It wouldn¡¯t be odd for him to do something absurd, like during that time he cancelled his engagement with Anjie.

    ¡°You must have said something strange, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I did not! Right from the beginning, she had aplex expression when I requested for your release. So, I thought that I could give her a push and said some things to her.¡±

    ¡°Some things?¡±

    ¡°Well, you know that there have been talks of a formal engagement between Marie and me since she became the saint, right?¡±

    In response to this sudden change of topic, I told him that I knew about it.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.

    ¡°When I told her that it was the request of her potential daughter-inw, her facial expression turned nk. I had thought that it would be a good opportunity for them to cooperate and get along.¡±

    ©¤©¤That would do it. Her expression would definitely turn nk from that.

    Did you think Mine would be pleased with that?

    Are you stupid? Oh wait, he is stupid.

    ¡°Go home already.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll head back for today. However, I¡¯ll definitely help you, Baltfault.¡±

    I looked at Julian, who left while dering that with a serious look, and thought about how this must be a pain for Mine as well.

    Luxon, who had hidden itself, reappeared and spoke.

    [What is it that they wanted to do?]

    ¡°They¡¯re fools, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    [I think of you the same way, Master.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in them. You¡¯ll make me mad.¡±

    ¡°Pardon me. You¡¯re a greater fool than them.]

    ¡°You really do hate me, don¡¯t you?¡±

    [Anyways, it seems that things have gotten troublesome, Master.]

    ¡°Troublesome?¡±

    ¡ó

    There was a conference room within the royal pce.

    Marquis Frampton¡¯s faction had gathered there.

    An uneasy noble asked Marquis Frampton a question.

    ¡°Marquis, is this really alright? Our information states that the principality has assembled arge fleet apanied by monsters, does it not? At this rate, the feudal lords who encounter them during their invasion will suffer a miserable©¤©¤¡±

    ©¤©¤The principality¡¯s troops had begun to move.

    Receiving that information, the members had gathered here to talk about measures to take.

    ¡°This is indeed earlier than expected, but there¡¯s no problem. Hurry and assemble the kingdom¡¯s troops.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we dispatch units that can quickly take action?¡±

    Marquis Frampton spoke to the noble who imagined that a tragedy was brewing.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The territories that the principality is invading are the ones that we secretly agreed to give them. If the principality sheathes their sword bes our ally from this, it¡¯s a small price to pay.¡±

    ¡°H, however, this is a matter beyond our grasp. If we don¡¯t handle this with caution©¤©¤¡±

    Not only the nobles, but the citizens as well weren¡¯t sure about what would happen.

    Despite such conditions, Marquis Frampton responded.

    ¡°This is a necessary sacrifice for the sake of unifying the kingdom. You know, we have a new lost item, a ship, with us. Once we finish analyzing it, we can eventually regain the territories we will lose.¡±

    ©¤©¤They made a sacrifice.

    ¡°Until the kingdom¡¯s army assembles and arrives, let the principality do what they want. When the timees for us to fight, the principality should retreat at a convenient moment. With that, the kingdom¡¯s honor will remain untarnished.¡±

    They had already abandoned the feudal lords and didn¡¯t mind the principality.

    Another noble informed Marquis Frampton of something.

    ¡°Marquis, the temple has stated that they would like the saint to participate in the battle as well.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤What a nuisance they are.¡±

    ¡°It seems that the saint has the power to repel demons.¡±

    ¡°The saint¡¯s power? I¡¯ve heard about it, but is it really something we can ce our faith in?¡±

    ¡°The temple¡¯s quite confident in it. It seems that they¡¯re not bluffing.¡±

    Marquis Frampton wasn¡¯t very happy about the temple¡¯s participation.

    However, the temple gave its conditions.

    ¡°If we let the temple take the main lead in this war©¤©¤they will give up on trying to make his Highness Julian the crown prince.¡±

    After hearing that, Marquis Frampton pondered.

    (Does the temple n on increasing its influence by making the saint¡¯s power known?)

    ¡°©¤©¤We should be prepared in case the principality doesn¡¯t retreat.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. After hearing the rumors of the principality controlling monsters, the soldiers are frightened. If the saint is there, it would increase morale.¡±

    ¡°If we can resolve this issue without any problems, my position will solidify. It isn¡¯t bad to let the temple take the credit for it and have them be indebted to me either.¡±

    While the invaded territories were in trouble, the nobles in the royal pce were excited about the future.

 Chapter 97 - Volume 3 Chapter 5 Part 2

    <h4>The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs v3 Chapter 5 Part 2</h4>

    The days passed by within the dungeon.

    ¡°It seems there¡¯s been a lot of shakingtely.¡±

    I¡¯ve recently been feeling slight tremors.

    ¡°All things considered, I seem to be getting visitors on a daily basis.¡±

    [That just proves how excellent you are as bait, Master.]

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t please me.¡±

    Nobles trying to deceive me have beening here.

    They¡¯ve relentlessly been trying to get me to either tell them how to start up Partner or hand over Arroganz.

    Sometimes they would arrogantly threaten me with execution, butter would try to get on my good side through whatever means and negotiate with me.

    It¡¯s not just the marquis¡¯ faction.

    Many kinds of people have been visiting, wanting to make use of me.

    Among such people, the ones I¡¯ve lost my patience with are©¤©¤those from Marquis Frampton¡¯s faction.

    As I wasying down on the hard bed in the dungeon, Luxon spoke to me.

    [It seems that the kingdom has failed to live up to your expectations, Master.]

    ©¤©¤It seems that Anjie¡¯s papa and Mine couldn¡¯t do much.

    Within the dungeon, I heard the noisy footsteps of a crowd approaching, perhaps armed.

    ¡°It seems this is the end.¡±

    [You¡¯re exaggerating, Master.]

    My aplice¡¯s remark was painfully true.

    The person who¡¯s supposed stand watch was away since someone else wasing in to take their ce.

    As the armed group approached during that interval, their leader, someone I recognized, stood at the forefront.

    He was a viscount in his thirties who belonged to Marquis Frampton¡¯s faction.

    In his hand was a bottle of alcohol.

    ¡°Viscount Baltfault, I thought you¡¯d be lonely, so I brought a gift.¡±

    The alcohol the viscount carried©¤©¤was probably poisoned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t drink alcohol. Take it home and share it with everyone.¡±

    The Viscount smiled, as if mocking me.

    ¡°How long do you n on living in such an unsightly manner? A noble would die with grace.¡±

    Grace, he says. I¡¯d like to live my second life until I die of old age, so no thanks.

    Besides, it would be rather unfortunate if it that were to happen.

    Right when I was thinking about escaping from this dungeon, or rather this kingdom, I heard some frantic footsteps.

    Luxon appeared, surprising the viscounts as they readied their handguns and rifles.

    ¡°Is that the familiar from the reports?! Seize it! With that thing, the airship is ours!¡±

    [Even if Master dies, I will not follow your orders. More importantly, shouldn¡¯t you pay attention to what¡¯s behind you?]

    Chris jumped out from the entrance, holding a wooden sword.

    He then knocked down the knights that were behind the viscount.

    ¡°Baltfault, are you alright?!¡±

    Why is Chris here? As I was pondering about it, Jilk entered the jail and shot down the handgun that the viscount held.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you do that to Viscount Baltfault.¡±

    As the viscount clutched his hand, causing him to drop the poisoned drink and shatter it, he red at Jilk and the others.

    ¡°D, do you all know what you are doing? I suspected there was someone behind me. As of now, nothing you do can©¤©¤¡±

    [Silence.]

    Luxon mmed itself down onto the viscount¡¯s head from above, causing him to faint.

    When Jilk opened the door with a key, he tried to quickly rush me outside.

    ¡°Now then, hurry up.¡±

    ©¤©¤Why did these peoplee here to help me? When I looked at Luxon, it moved its eye up and down, as if to nod.

    Does that mean it¡¯s okay for me to escape?

    ¡°Why are you guys here?¡±

    ¡°We tried a lot options, but they all failed. In the end, something serious happened, so we went with using force in order to help you.¡±

    ¡°You guys really are idiots, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Chris spoke to me.

    ¡°We were able to make in time because of that. So isn¡¯t it fine?¡±

    I ran up the stairs of the dungeon, pushed from behind by Jilk and Chris.

    Brad and Greg were waiting by the exit.

    The two were looking below at a tied-up warden.

    ¡°You guys are here too? What happened to that guy?¡±

    I was thinking that they had caused harm to my warden friend, but it seems that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡°He was already restrained when we arrived.¡±

    ¡°Never mind that, let¡¯s hurry. Julian¡¯s waiting for us.¡±

    While checking the safety of the warden, I joined the four and stealthily headed towards the royal pce¡¯s grounds.

    During that time©¤©¤I felt another tremor in the ground.

    ¡ó

    I arrived at a courtyard after being led by the four.

    Julian appeared from the shadows of the trees in the courtyard.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting.¡±

    ¡°Hey, why did you take me to a courtyard? Weren¡¯t we fleeing?¡±

    While pondering about how strange it was, Julian exined while seeming to be a little proud.

    ¡°There¡¯s a secret passage here that only the royal family knows about.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t reveal that kind of secret to me! Are you an idiot? You really are an idiot, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°What a remark to make considering that we helped you. ©¤©¤Whoa, there seems to be a lot of shaking.¡±

    When we were arguing amongst each other, the ground trembled once more.

    As the six of us were gathering at the courtyard, which happened to be surrounded by buildings, while talking to each other, Luxon spoke.

    [Master, we¡¯re surrounded.]

    ¡°What?¡±

    The courtyard was instantly hit by a light, and while I was covering my eyes from its radiance, I heard the swift footsteps of approaching knights.

    I was about to give an order to Luxon when one of them spoke.

    ¡°Please wait, your Highness Julian! We are not your enemies!¡±

    Julian stepped in front of me as if to protect me from the shouting knight.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, how about letting us through?¡±

    The same knight told us that he couldn¡¯t do that.

    ¡°We came to reim Viscount Baltfault.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    I wonder if I can take his words at face value.

    It¡¯s possible that he¡¯s lying.

    Luxon said ¡°It would take a few minutes to bring Arroganz over here,¡± so I thought about buying some time by negotiating.

    While I was pondering about it, a figure appeared before me.

    ¡°©¤©¤Father.¡±

    Julian lowered the sword he held.

    ¡°Julian, don¡¯t make a poor decision. Everyone, lower your arms ande here.¡±

    It was His Majesty the King©¤©¤¡±Rnd Rafua Holfault.¡±

    He had some gray, somewhat quirky hair and a moustache.

    He was tall and had a well-trained, slender body.

    He held the dignity of a king.

    Realizing it was him, we went down on our knees.

    ¡°Viscount Baltfault, you¡¯ve had a rough time. However, thanks to you, we¡¯vee to a decision.¡±

    Does that mean Anjie¡¯s papa won?

    ¡°Father, Baltfault¡¯s about to be killed!¡±

    When Julian voiced hisint, the king nodded his head and responded.

    ¡°I know the whole situation. This is not the time for leisure talk.¡±

    When the ground trembled, the king looked downwards and seemed worried.

    ¡ó

    After a change of clothes, I was led to a conference room.

    The kingdom¡¯s leading figures sat there, but©¤©¤there weren¡¯t many of them.

    The king and the queen, Mine, were there.

    Vince was there as well. Indeed, it seems that the people who¡¯ve been on my side were gathering here.

    ¡°You seem in good health, Viscount.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, somehow.¡±

    I wanted to voice a word ofint, but since they¡¯ve been helping me out, I decided not to take an arrogant stance.

    Looking around, Julian and the others weren¡¯t here.

    The king answered as if he knew who I was searching around for.

    ¡°Julian and his group are waiting in a separate room. Or rather, perhaps I should say they¡¯re being restrained.¡±

    When I grew cautious upon hearing that, Mine exined it to me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken. We¡¯re hiding them for their own protection. It¡¯s the same as you, Leon.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask why I¡¯ve been called here?¡±

    ¡°We intend to answer that.¡±

    Vince said those words, but the minister, Bernard, was the one who exined.

    He¡¯s rice¡¯s papa.

    ¡°A fleet from the principality has arrived at the kingdom¡¯s maind. We¡¯ve lost more than ten scouting ships and defense units. Nearly a hundred units of armor have been shot down.¡±

    The kingdom has a great national power, but since their war potential has to be spread across the entirend, there¡¯s not much to offer when ites down to numbers.

    If the principality were to make a serious attempt at attacking, there would be considerable damage.

    ¡°The opponent¡¯s fleet numbers at around one hundred and fifty ships. It is unclear how many units of armor there are. Reports say that there are countless monsters leading the front. Their numbers shrouded the sky.¡±

    Hertrude¡¯s magic flute came to my mind at once, but Vince denied such thoughts.

    ¡°Her Highness and the magic flute are still with the kingdom. The principality must have had another flute. We suspect that this is the work of the second princess.¡±

    I was listening closely, but this was the first time I¡¯ve heard about a second princess.

    ¡°Second princess?¡±

    Vince exined as if it was a matter of course.

    ¡°Indeed. Her Highness Hertrauda.¡±

    ©¤©¤I didn¡¯t know there was a second princess.

    Furthermore, another magic flute? I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing, and that otome game never had that kind of setting either.

    No wait, perhaps it was part of the setting, but never exined?

    I couldn¡¯t put my chaotic thoughts into order.

    The king continued on, saying ¡°In addition.¡±

    ¡°Other countries aside from the principality are making a move as well. There have also been relief requests from forces and feudal lords near the national border. We¡¯re being attacked from all sides.¡±

    Minister Bernard took over the exnation.

    ¡°The local troops are unable to handle the situation. ©¤©¤Reinforcements are unlikely.¡±

    ¡°The capital city has some fighting capability, right? If you gather the troops, they should amount to a considerable number.¡±

    It seemed that the people around were overly pessimistic.

    Mine answered my question.

    ¡°Something urred a couple of days ago. The temple requested for cooperation, and as a result of the negotiations, the kingdom¡¯s troops were dispatched for reinforcement. Two hundred ships were sent.¡±

    Mine spoke while in low spirits.

    The temple, gaining confidence now that they had Marie, had coborated with the Marquis¡¯ faction.

    As for the result of that...

    ¡°©¤©¤The principality tore them apart. Only ten or so ships have managed to make it back.¡±

    ¡ó

    It happened a few days ago.

    While Julian and the others were attempting to free Leon, a priest visited Marie.

    ¡°Marie, the time hase to show your power as the saint.¡±

    ¡°I suppose I have to~.¡±

    ttered, she rode an airship while in high spirits, but©¤©¤

    ¡°©¤©¤Huh?¡±

    She was on top of an airship¡¯s deck.

    Marie, dressed in the saint¡¯s outfit, had a ne, bracelet, and cane, the tools that disyed her title.

    The wind blowing atop the deck was freezing cold.

    Before she couldin about the wind messing with her hair, she called something else to attention.

    ¡°©¤©¤I, I never heard about this!¡±

    The temple had around thirty ships.

    Borrowing strength from the kingdom, there were an additional two hundred ships in the fleet.

    They would be able to fight the principality if it was just a matter of numbers, but the opponents had sacrificial pawns, namely monsters.

    The power of their numbers was beyond imagination©¤©¤it terrified Marie.

    As the monsters were advancing, Marie raised her cane.

    ¡°Stay awaaaay!¡±

    The cane lit up, deploying arge spherical shield that covered the fleet.

    Therge light with white patterns caused the monsters who touched it to vanish.

    The surrounding priests and temple knights praised Marie.

    ¡°That¡¯s the saint¡¯s power!¡±

    ¡°We can win. Victory is ours!¡±

    ¡°Move the ships forward! Use this momentum to push back the principality¡¯s fleet!¡±

    Marie¡¯s neutralization of the monsters raised even the lowest of morale.

    With a stiff smile, Marie was relieved that she could erase the monsters with her own ability.

    (W, well, I can do this just fine. I was a bit worried at first though.)

    Julian and the others were not within Marie¡¯s vicinity.

    The temple asked for their apaniment as well, but they unfortunately couldn¡¯t show up since they were trying to free Leon.

    Furthermore, Kyle wasn¡¯t there either.

    Those from the temple did not get onto an airship.

    As a result, Marie was fighting alone, helpless.

    There were indeed some temple priests and knights around her, but she did not recognize their faces.

    She was a bit timid.

    As the pompous airship advanced with Marie riding it, the monsters that collided with the shield vanished as if bursting apart.

    ¡°Right. This isn¡¯t child¡¯s y. I am the saint! There¡¯s no way that I would be thrown down with just this!¡±

    Though she had originally been worried about Julian and the others not being there, Marie became drunk with her own power.

    ¡ó

    The principality watched the kingdom¡¯s fleet being led by Marie.

    Inside a warship, Hertrauda was looking at a model of the battlefield with ally and enemy pieces arranged on top of a table.

    ¡°It seems that the saint¡¯s power is the real deal.¡±

    The leading figures around Hertrauda observed her.

    Upon getting up from her chair, Hertrauda took a flute, the magic flute, from a woman.

    One of the leading figures spoke.

    ¡°Princess, we have reached the kingdom¡¯s maind. We¡¯ve made some deviations from the n, but there are no issues.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤I see.¡±

    After saying that, Hertrauda red at the flute with a stern expression and took a deep breath before cing her mouth to the instrument.

    She was about to reach the point of no return.

    Though tense, she resolved herself and blew into the flute.

    Its tone was ominous, yet beautiful.

    The surrounding onlookers closed their eyes and listened to the flute¡¯s timbre.

    (Now then, Saint©¤©¤will you be able to stop the principality¡¯s wrath?)

    The sky was a battlefield.

    Thebat zone became darker upon the arrival of thick clouds.

    Then, what appeared out of those clouds was©¤©¤an absurdlyrge monster.

    Its round body had numerous eyes.

    Its long arms sprung up.

    Its white body had something pulsating, resembling blood vessels, and it was a giant monster with many eyes and arms.

    Its size wasrger than humble floating ind.

    It was a monster whose size could span thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of meters.

    The kingdom¡¯s fleet began to tremble from the sudden appearance of the monster.

    When Hertrauda took her lips away from the flute, she nearly fell over.

    Once the surrounding people helped her onto her feet, she smiled.

    ¡°With this, the kingdom is no more.¡±

    The leaders pped their hands.

    Some of them were even moved to tears.

    ¡°And now our long-standing grudge against the kingdom will clear.¡±

    ¡°How splendid, Princess.¡±

    ¡°The kingdom¡¯s troops stand no chance before the guardian deity. What¡¯s left is to enter the kingdom and rescue her Highness Princess Hertrude.¡±

    Hertrauda spoke of her desire to see what was happening beyond the window, and so she was led outside while being supported.

    The wind was blowing violently outside the ship¡¯s interior.

    What she saw in front of her was the sight of a monster and its arms reaching out from the sky, knocking down the kingdom¡¯s troops.

    Once the saint¡¯s shield had been destroyed, its giant arms mowed down the airships.

    Its many eyes released beams of light, shooting down ships and causing them to burst into mes.

    ¡°Caught between the sky and the sea, yournd will sink.¡±

    The principality was determined to sink the continent.

    Hertraudaughed with a pale face.

    Nobody around her seemed to pay attention to her pale expression, and whether it was from exhaustion or fear of what she had just done.

    ¡ó

 Chapter 98 - v3 Chapter 5 Part 3

    <h4>The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs v3 Chapter 5 Part 3</h4>

    An enormous palm approached.

    Marie ducked down, letting go of her cane.

    Once the giant hand collided with an allied ship, destroying it in the process, the nearby priests and temple knights shouted.

    ¡°Saint, the shield!¡±

    ¡°Please defeat that monster with your power!¡±

    ¡°Saint, your cane!¡¯

    In face of the surrounding people nagging her about ¡°Saint this, Saint that,¡± Marie screamed.

    ¡°How am I supposed to defeat that?! I don¡¯t know. I never heard about ¡®that thing¡¯ appearing! In the first ce©¤©¤I¡¯m not the real saint!¡±

    As the people around her were stunned, an airship was being blown away above Marie.

    The airship was crushed like a toy, thrown away, and then burst into mes.

    She couldn¡¯tprehend what was in front of her eyes.

    Feeling sick to her stomach, Marie¡¯s legs wouldn¡¯t budge from the horror.

    She looked upwards at the monsters and shed tears.

    ¡°What am I even supposed to do here?! Someone, help!¡±

    The monster slowly approached, the artillery of the resisting airships having no effect.

    It destroyed obstacles in its way, slowly heading towards the royal capital.

    One of the temple knights yelled.

    ¡°R, retreat. Retreat! Fall back immediately!¡±

    When the airship made an immediate turnaround, an allied airship plummeted.

    The airship exploded upon reaching the ground, causing mes to spread across thend.

    There had been more than two hundred airships, but when it became time to escape©¤©¤only ten remained.

    All the while, Marie sat down and wept while cradling her knees within her arms.

    She cried the same way she did during that one day in her previous life©¤©¤

    ¡ó

    ¡°©¤©¤That¡¯s all there is to it.¡±

    Mine finished her report.

    The king spoke.

    ¡°Quite the nightmarish scenario.¡±

    Vince also seemed worried.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use trying topete with numbers. Furthermore, there¡¯s the matter of this earthquake.¡±

    Vince sipped his drink and ced his cup on the table.

    Thereupon, the cup slowly fell over.

    It seemed to slightly lurch.

    Numerous earthquakes have been happening ever since the monster, that giant monster, appeared.

    It seems that there¡¯s a corrtion.

    ¡°Viscount Baltfault, I¡¯ll ask you bluntly. Can you win? If you face that monster with your lost item©¤©¤can you win?¡±

    When Bernard said that, I gulped.

    If that monster has the same characteristics at the final boss, then it would be impossible.

    Luxon wouldn¡¯t be able to bring it down.

    It wouldn¡¯t result in a loss. However, we wouldn¡¯t win either.

    ©¤©¤After all, it¡¯s an opponent that will resurrect itself no matter how many times we kill it. In the game, this would be a situation where the yer would give up and go back to an important checkpoint to start over. I honestly thought ¡°Oh, this is a dead end,¡± when I encountered it.

    ¡°©¤©¤I don¡¯t know.¡±

    In the first ce, this is all just my spection. I don¡¯t know the opponent, so I can¡¯t give an answer.

    Vince spoke while picking up his cup.

    ¡°I suppose none of us would know. However, we have no choice but to ce our hopes on you. If you can¡¯t defeat it with the lost item that you exclusively can operate©¤©¤we will have to use the royal ship.¡±

    Mine narrowed her eyes and red at Vince.

    ¡°Duke, why are you bringing that up here?¡±

    There seems to be some dispute about it right now, but the royal ship, which the protagonist rides with the capture target of her choosing, is a powerful airship that appears in theter half of the game.

    However, its performance is lower than Luxon.

    Perhaps it would even lose to Partner.

    Despite that, the royal family¡¯s ship has a special power.

    ¡°If not now, then when will we use it? It pleases nobody that you remain unwilling in this situation.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤!¡±

    Mine was about to say something, but the king stopped her.

    ¡°Stop this. Vince, you should know©¤©¤the royal family¡¯s ship will not operate without the qualified personnel. Even Mine and I couldn¡¯t operate it.¡±

    Oh right, that kind of setting existed.

    In the game, the protagonist and the capture target were the ones operating it.

    However, there¡¯s a problem here.

    There are no bonds of love between Livia and the five capture targets.

    ording to the game¡¯s setting, the royal family¡¯s ship will not operate without love.

    That being the case, what¡¯s needed in order to ovee this situation is©¤©¤Marie¡¯s power.

    We would need to borrow the bonds of love and the power of the saint from Marie.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I have a request. Please let me use the royal ship. Furthermore, we need the power of Marie and those five people.¡±

    The king showed signs of difort towards me.

    ¡°Do you understand the significance of that? There¡¯s no way that can happen.¡±

    Mine shook her head.

    ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s impossible. Leon, we can¡¯t lend the royal ship. In addition©¤©¤the temple announced that Saint Marie will be executed.¡±

    ¡ó

    I was brought to another room.

    The king and the others are still in the middle of their meeting. I was ordered to wait until arrangements were made for Partner and Arroganz to return.

    Well, I¡¯m still a knight of the kingdom.

    I suppose I have to follow an order to be on standby. ©¤©¤There are also some things I¡¯d like to think over.

    As I was sitting on a chair, pondering to myself while sping my hands in front of my mouth, Luxon came to me.

    [Marie, the one who pretended to be the saint, will be burned at a stake or perhaps crucified. The descendants of the new humans sure are unsightly. Even at this point in time, they¡¯re doing meaningless things.]

    Despite the saint items recognizing Marie, she revealed that she was a fake and will be executed.

    It¡¯s not even funny. They¡¯re just using that pretext to push the me onto her.

    The temple and the marquis¡¯ faction wanted someone to take responsibility.

    [At any rate, those people are foolish for ordering you to be on standby. They think that you still harbor loyalty and will work for the kingdom. What an uneptable attitude they have towards Partner and Arroganz. Shall we start an overthrow?]

    I shook my head.

    [©¤©¤How unfortunate.]

    Just to be clear, this kingdom has no value to me.

    The game¡¯s scenario is also heading towards the bad ending and I nearly faced execution.

    We somehow managed to put up resistance, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we¡¯re backed into a corner.

    I was driven out of the discussion.

    I thought about doing as I please. However, I can¡¯te to a decision.

    [Master, what are you thinking about.]

    ¡°Luxon, can you win in this situation?¡±

    I asked that while wandering around.

    [What are the conditions for winning?]

    ¡°Not letting thend sink. Defeating whatever ¡®giant¡¯ arrives at the royal capital.¡±

    If that enormous monster, which I¡¯vee to call the giant, is anything like the final boss that I know of, then it should be approaching the royal capital.

    In fact, Luxon said that it was moving towards the royal capital.

    [That would be impossible. As you¡¯ve said, even if I don¡¯t fail and manage to defeat the monster, it will revive, and so I can only stall it. Furthermore, I sense two responses belonging to a giant. They are approaching the royal capital from both the sky and the sea, as if to sandwich the floatingnd.]

    Perhaps if arge hole was torn into thend, Luxon would be able to take advantage of that and fight.

    However, with such a massive hole, the continent will face grave danger.

    Luxon can only deal with one or the other.

    ¡°So there are two of them? Even worse.¡±

    [If you want to win, you must be in a position where the entirety of the kingdom¡¯s forces will follow you, Master. The royal ship is necessary, correct? However, looking at the state of the kingdom, if we assume that you¡¯re to be entrusted with the royal ship©¤©¤or in other words are entrusted with full authority, you will have to be the suprememander. I believe that will be difficult for you, Master.]

    This really is the worst. In order to have ess to the royal ship, I need a suitable position.

    However, I don¡¯t have the status, reputation, or achievements for that.

    I don¡¯t have enough leverage to win.

    [I rmend fleeing from this continent.]

    I know that I¡¯m better off running away. I have no attachment to this kingdom.

    However©¤©¤

    [Oh, it¡¯s your favorite mentor.]

    Upon the sound of a knock, Luxon disappeared.

    Upon responding, my mentor entered the room while pushing a service wagon.

    ¡°Pardon the intrusion, Mister Leon.¡±

    ¡°©¤©¤Mentor.¡±

    My mentor, who began preparing tea, was as gentlemanly as usual. In the royal pce, there seemed to a sense of serenity despite the nobles and knights fleeing upon hearing that the kingdom¡¯s troops lost.

    I calmed down a little upon drinking the ck tea he gave me.

    ¡°Mister Leon, you seem worried.¡±

    ¡°Ahahaha, is that what it looks like?¡±

    Should I flee, or should I fight? I hate my indecisiveness.

    I tried to smile and dodge the question, but I couldn¡¯t make a good smile.

    ¡°I heard about the situation from the queen. I was told that you had to leave after somehow angering his Majesty.¡±

    It seems that it was a bad idea to talk about borrowing the royal ship.

    Since it¡¯s an airship that¡¯s managed under absolute secrecy, I think that the timing and the way I spoke of it could¡¯ve gone better.

    ¡°The queen was worried. You¡¯re better at winning over a woman than I am, Mister Leon. Please teach me your ways next time.¡±

    I asked my mentor a question after he finished his joke.

    ¡°Mentor©¤©¤you¡¯re not going to flee the kingdom?¡±

    ¡°Despite how it may seem, I am still a knight with a court rank. I n to do what I can. Though, what I can do is limited.¡±

    Though joking, it seems that he¡¯s still going to fight.

    This is it. This is definitely it.

    Some of the people I want to help will remain in the kingdom because of something they don¡¯t want to leave behind.

    What would happen if I tried to bring my mentor out of the kingdom against his will?

    ¡°©¤©¤You¡¯re not running away?¡±

    ¡°Mister Leon, I will not condemn you for running away. However, I have chosen to stay. That is my decision as a gentleman and a knight.¡±

    As a knight? When I gave a look of confusion, my mentor made a smile.

    ¡°Recently, knights have been seen as people partial towards women, but my chivalric code is to protect those who are important. That is not something I willpromise on.¡±

    Neither a knight who¡¯s a puppet for the kingdom, nor a knight who¡¯s biased towards women like that otome game wanted.

    It seems that¡¯s my mentor¡¯s chivalric code.

    He didn¡¯t appear in the game, making him a mob like me, but what a neat person he is.

    ¡°Chivalric code, you say?¡±

    ¡°Mister Leon, is it okay if I ask about your chivalric code?¡±

    I drank my tea and then stood up.

    ¡°Despite how I may look, I like your stance. I¡¯m a big fan of a chivalric code that protects the citizens.¡±

    I hate any chivalric code that sucks up to schoolgirls or lets knights be tools for the kingdom.

    ¡°Thank you for the tea. I¡¯m heading off.¡±

    ¡°To where?¡±

    ¡°In order to ovee this situation, I think I¡¯ll need to be something akin to a suprememander. I¡¯d like to persuade his Majesty.¡±

    My mentor¡¯s eyes widened upon hearing that, but his usual expression soon returned.

    I thought he wouldugh or get angry, but he made a serious face.

    ¡°In that case, turn to the queen. Mister Leon, even as someone of the royal pce, she is a very amodating person. She will surely be of assistance.¡±

    ¡°Even more than his Highness?¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed. This is all I can do to help you. If you want to be the suprememander, convince the queen with your own words.¡±

    I gave him my thanks and left the room.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. Mentor©¤©¤thank you very much.¡±

    ¡ó

    Luxon followed me as I walked quickly down the hallway.

    [You¡¯re not going to flee?]

    ¡°Not anymore. I¡¯m fighting the principality.¡±

    [Didn¡¯t you want to prevent getting promoted? Being the suprememander is not a position you would want, Master. This does not fall in line with your policy.]

    I don¡¯t want to be promoted, but it¡¯s fine if bing the suprememander contradicts that.

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°This may be crass of me to say, but any boy would want to experience this, even if just once.¡±

    [Is that your stance? I do not understand.]

    Fighting for the sake of the citizens? If I said something like that, it would sound like I was lying.

    However, that¡¯s the truth.

    Perhaps it¡¯s because I was an ordinary citizen in my previous life.

    Having the kingdom¡¯s citizens, who are pretty much unrted to this whole event, die makes me feel sick. For example, suppose that there¡¯s a happy family living each day steadily. If thend were to sink, many of those kinds of people would die.

    They would be the biggest victims in a world that became messed up because of Marie.

    Abandoning them would leave a sour taste in my mouth.

    That¡¯s enough of a reason.

    ¡°I have no interest in watching tens of millions of people die.¡±

    [There¡¯s no problem with running away. This is not your duty, Master. ©¤©¤I cannot decipher your decision.]

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t understand myself. Even now, I want to run away. However, if I run away now, it will definitely linger in my mind. I will absolutely hate a life where I would ponder about my decision, and if I made the right choice, each time I go to bed.¡±

    I¡¯m sure that it woulde to haunt me. I don¡¯t that kind of life or those kinds of worries.

    In the first ce, I¡¯m a knight. Disregarding matters of court rank, if I were to speak in terms of my previous life, I would be like an emergency responder.

    If someone with that position fled at the first sight of trouble, I would resent them.

    [Do you n on being promoted? Even if you were to win, you would be dragged into bothersome affairs, Master.]

    ¡°I¡¯ll worry about those things once we actually win. Right now, it¡¯s pointless worrying about promotions.¡±

    I¡¯m still not interested in being promoted. If possible, I¡¯d really just like a peaceful life.

    However©¤©¤

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s being ipetent, so I¡¯ll take matters into my own hands. Help me out here, Luxon.¡±

    [©¤©¤I suppose I have no other choice, Master.]

 Chapter 99 - Chapter 6 â€“ Bond

    <h4>Chapter 6 ¨C Bond</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    ¡¸Are you serious?¡¹

    I am facing Mylene-sama inside a private room.

    I who seeded in securing a meeting with Mylene-sama earnestly requested her that I wanted to be given the right ofmand.

    Of course, Mylene-sama¡¯s expression is inplete exasperation.

    It¡¯s insane to make a student into the suprememander, it can¡¯t be helped that she is suspecting the sanity of me who is asking for such thing.

    ¡¸I¡¯m serious. I want the right ofmand. Can you please give it to me?¡¹

    Mylene-sama¡¯s expression is very calm. Her usual loveliness has gone from it.

    ¡¸Your reputation, and also your achievement are just toocking. If I rmend you, my sanity will be cast into doubt.¡¹

    ¡¸This is for the sake of winning. We¡¯re going to lose as we are currently. If you refuse then I¡¯ll just run away. ©¤©¤Or do you have someone else in mind who can be entrusted with that position?¡¹

    Right now there was no one in this country who had the capability to face Fanoss Principality©¤©¤along with the gigantic monster.

    Mylene-sama turned her face down hearing that I¡¯ll run away and

    ¡¸So the dues of our deed until now has finally arrived.¡¹ She muttered.

    ¡¸His majesty and others are nning to charge at the main force of the principality. They intend to ignore the gigantic monster and make the battle a brief one.¡¹

    ¡¸They won¡¯t be able to even get near like that. They¡¯ll just get annihted.¡¹

    ¡¸Leon-kun, you cannot solve everything with just ability. For example, even if you¡¯re much more wonderful and capablepared to that kind of his majesty, the people will still trust his majesty more. People are like that. No one will recognize you even if you¡¯re given the position as the suprememander.¡¹

    The way she spoke about his majesty contained thorn inside, but I pay it no mind and continued the negotiation.

    Unexpectedly Mylene-sama¡¯s evaluation of me in her mind is high. That makes me happy.

    ¡¸We won¡¯t win if this role is entrusted to someone else. The royal family¡¯s ship is necessary. That ship has a special power isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Why do I know something like that? Mylene-sama¡¯s face is asking that question, but I keep pressing the question on her and put my hand on the wall.

    ¡¸Tsu! Yo, you know what kind of ship it is? That ship©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸The driving force behind the founding of this kingdom. And then, it¡¯s the trump card of the royal family. ©¤©¤Am I right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s not something that can be lent out so easily. That¡¯s, a Lost Item you know?¡¹

    It¡¯s a different Lost Item than Luxion, but it¡¯s needed no matter what.

    I closed my distance with Mylene-sama even more.

    ¡¸It¡¯s necessary. Please lend it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸But, it won¡¯t move. I and his majesty couldn¡¯t make it move.¡¹

    ¡¸We will use his highness Julius and Marie. Please gather the other four too.¡¹

    ¡¸But, the saint©¤©¤Marie is someone waiting for her execution.¡¹

    Marie is needed no matter what.

    After Marie die, there is no guarantee that Livia will be appointed as the saint.

    In that case, it¡¯s necessary to take a certain method.

    I¡¯ll leave the job of moving the airship and disying the power of the saint to Marie and others.

    I can just make Livia board the ship together with her after that.

    It¡¯s allocation of role. That¡¯s the only idea I have right now.

    ¡¸Luxion, exin it to the queen.¡¹

    ¡ºYes.¡»

    Seeing Luxion appearing, Mylene-sama said ¡¸This is©¤©¤the familiar that was mentioned in the report?¡¹ in surprise while watching him.

    And then, the queen¡¯s face goes pale hearing that there are two gigantic monsters moving from the sky and the sea to pincer attack thend.

    ¡¸Is this true?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s a fact. There is more bad news, themunication signal is worsening a lot since the two¡¯s appearance. If the enemy get near, we should consider that ourmunication will be practically disabled.¡»

    The queen pressed her left hand on her face.

    ¡¸The more I hear the more troublesome it be. Leon-kun, can you win.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll win. In order to do that I¡¯m asking for©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤The saint and the royal family¡¯s ship. I see, that¡¯s why you wish for the suprememander position.¡¹

    Mylene-sama tightened her expression and stared at me.

    ¡¸Marquis Frampton will raise objection if I speak of appointing you as the suprememander. The currently biggest faction in the pce will turn into our enemy. Our ally will be few in number.¡¹

    When I turned my gaze to Luxion, his single eye nodded.

    ¡¸No problem.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Good grief, even though this is us reaping what we sow, if only the other knights are as loyal as you¡¹

    Loyal? I don¡¯t have anything like that you know?

    ¡¸By reaping what you sow, you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the current situation where heavy burden is forced on the shoulder of a part of the males. I will tell you about it if you return back safely. Win and then return back no matter what. ©¤©¤Do you understand?¡¹

    When I nodded, Mylene-sama¡¯s face reddened and she coughed adorably.

    ¡¸A, also, it¡¯ll help if you back away slightly from me.¡¹

    Oops, right. After I took a step back, Mylene-sama took a deep breath before looking at me.

    ¡¸I am also greatly indebted to Leon-kun. I¡¯ll take care of necessary arrangements. But, your ally will be really few. The situation is like this, so I¡¯ll be troubled if you¡¯re holding hope for our fighting capability. Can you win even then?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. Besides, I have prospect regarding the battle force.¡¹

    There¡¯s no problem.

    Right now is the time to use the power of bond called friendship.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    The capital was falling into great chaos.

    The figures of nobles could also be found among the people trying to escape.

    Lamentably, there were many nobles and knights running away together with their mistress, abandoning their duties. They wouldn¡¯t deign to fight for the sake of this kind of kingdom.

    By the way, speaking of their legal wives©¤©¤their actual wives got left behind while they escaped.

    My feeling is reallyplicated because I understood their reasonpletely.

    I who returned from the pce to the academy am doubting my eyes seeing the situation that is different from usual.

    ¡¸Wa, wait. Bring me together with you too!¡¹

    A girl is clinging to a man, but she got shaken off roughly. The man who did that is a heir of a frontier viscount.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t turn on me after thiste. You were the one who waspletely ignoring me.¡¹

    The male students who are leaving from the academy.

    On the opposite is a rich viscount living in the capital clinging on a girl.

    ¡¸You¡¯re abandoning me!? Even though I have been supporting you financially so much like that!¡¹

    ¡¸Only death is waiting even if I¡¯m staying here! If the capital is gone then the like of you is worthless!¡¹

    At this time of crisis, the position of people is reversed from the usual.

    ©¤©¤This scene is sad, it doesn¡¯t make me happy at all.

    Luxion suggested to me.

    ¡ºMaster, this way. It seems everyone is gathering and discussing something.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s great that they¡¯re still here. Luxion, you go to where Livia and Ange are. Save them no matter what! Also, give a call to my acquaintances while you¡¯re at it.¡¹

    ¡ºI don¡¯t mind but, will master be alright by yourself?¡»

    It¡¯s fine.

    After all the friendship between me and everyone©¤©¤Daniel, Raymond, and everyone is genuine!

    ¡¸No need to worry. After all everyone will surely lend me their help.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    ¡¸No, not a chance.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, not a chance.¡¹

    That ce where my friends gathered is a ssroom that is treated like storage.

    It seems everyone is hiding here to escape from the girls who suddenly changed their attitude so easily like flipping their hand.

    They¡¯re killing time here waiting to be picked up by their house.

    When I raised the topic of participating in the war, everyone said ¡¸No way¡¹ or ¡¸Impossible¡¹ like Daniel and Raymond and refused to lend their hand.

    ¡¸What¡¯re you guys nning!?¡¹

    ¡¸The kingdom¡¯s army is practically annihted. We can¡¯t possibly fight a monster that destroyed nearly 200 ships so easily like that.¡¹

    Raymond¡¯s calm judgment isn¡¯t wrong.

    ¡¸Leon, you should give up too. You were imprisoned with a false charge right? There isn¡¯t any need to work so hard like that. If the kingdom lose, we simply need to obey the principality next.¡¹

    Daniel is also unmotivated.

    The feudal lords who possessed floating ind as their territory are basically only following the strong country.

    If the kingdom lost, they would search for the next force to submit to.

    The surrounding all had the same reaction.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just as you say. Ah, do you know? It seems that the male has the stronger position in the principality. Rather it¡¯s the female there who¡¯s anxious about marriage.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? I¡¯ll swear fealty to the principality!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    ©¤©¤I understand their feeling so much it¡¯s painful, but you guys should be more loyal!

    No, I¡¯m also not loyal though!

    The reason my friends are calm isrgely because their home isn¡¯t at the mainnd but at floating ind.

    If they escaped to their home, then after that they would just need to wait for the storm to pass.

    On the contrary, it¡¯s the rich people who are normally acting overbearing who are in great panic right now.

    Because their territory is in the mainnd or because they are pce noble, they¡¯re put in a position where they cannot escape from the war.

    Even so, they¡¯re thinking to desert in the face of the enemy or changing side to the principality.

    The powerful feudal lords cannot move because they¡¯re fighting other countries other than the invading principality©¤©¤or they¡¯re unwilling to mobilize their face and decided to wait and see.

    Anyway the state of affairs is terrible even though the kingdom is in danger.

    Perhaps this is what the queen meant by the kingdom¡¯s dues.

    I took a deep breath inside the ssroom that is filled with only guys.

    The air felt stinky with these guys¡¯ smell, even so I took out a document from my pocket and showed it to everyone.

    ¡¸You guys, look at this.¡¹

    Raymond pushed up his sses with his finger while checking the document.

    ¡¸This is, the sale contract of airship? What about it?¡¹

    ¡¸You guys already received airship from me. I guess at this time you guys are training the crews for it at your territory right?¡¹

    Daniel nodded.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Everyone back home was happy that the airship is easy to handle and its specs are amazing.¡¹

    Everyone was rejoicing from obtaining wonderful battleship, but Raymond is the only one going pale.

    ¡¸Leon, this is©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Right. The airship you guys have can only be serviced in the workshop at my home. Want to try bringing the ship to other workshop for a test? They won¡¯t be able to service it perfectly. The airships arepletely filled with new technology, one day it won¡¯t be able to move if you¡¯re shirking its maintenance.¡¹

    The contract is mentioning that the airship is also filled with a lot of unique technology, so the receiver should leave its maintenance to my house¡¯s workshop.

    Everyone began to panic knowing that the airship they finally manged to obtain would be unusable.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll fight the principality. What do you guys think¡¯ll happen then? If I win then you guys¡¯ll be indebted to me. Your ship¡¯s fate¡¯ll be essentially in my hand, you guys¡¯ll live every day currying favor to me. Even if I lost it¡¯ll still be disastrous. My house might also get destroyed. In that case you guys who¡¯re connected to this me©¤©¤do you think the principality¡¯ll turn a blind eye to you guys?¡¹

    Everyone showered me with angry yell.

    ¡¸That¡¯s dirty!¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, hold down Leon here and then hand him over to Heltrude-san!¡¹

    ¡¸That person already got brought to the pce!¡¹

    I raised my voice and silenced everyone.

    ¡¸Calm down you idiots! Do you guys really think the principality will ept your submission? The opponent is the principality. These guys are resenting this kingdom. If you¡¯re unlucky then your territory¡¯ll be taken away while you guys got treated like a ve.¡¹

    When everyone started considering that possibility, I addressed them kindly.

    ¡¸Work together with me. It¡¯s fine. You guys just need to hide behind me. If you survive, I¡¯ll maintain your airship with discount price from here on. You guys will also be hero. Bing a hero just from firing cannon from behind, where else you can find a good deal like this!¡¹

    Everyone is looking at me with vexed expression.

    ¡¸Believe me. I¡¯m fighting because it¡¯s possible to win. I¡¯m a man who only fight winnable battle.¡¹

    Everyone is showing understanding at my persuasion.

    ¡¸No, now that you mention it¡¹

    ¡¸Certainly, Leon has gotten out of a lot of tough spots until now.¡¹

    ¡¸If that¡¯s what Leon say then can we really win?¡¹

    Surely everyone is believing me because of my daily good behavior.

    Daniel squeezed out his voice after pondering greatly.

    ¡¸You¡¯re, always unfair every time.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, are you praising me? Don¡¯t worry. That kind of unfair person is the ally of you guys. Reassuring right?¡¹

    Raymond scratched his hair roughly.

    ¡¸It¡¯s war with the principality for us thanks to that unfair person. This is the worst!¡¹

    Everyone gave up ©¤no, steeled themselves.

    They said that they will follow me.

    Do you see this principality!? This is the power of our friendship!

    ¡¸Thank you everyone! Let¡¯s stay friend forever from here on too!¡¹

    Everyone is ring at me but I paid it no mind.

    They¡¯re yelling things like ¡¸Don¡¯t screw with me¡¹ or ¡¸This demon!¡¹ or ¡¸That contract is a trap as expected¡¹.

    Just this much grief is a trivial problempared to challenging thest boss.

    ©¤©¤Now then, let¡¯s go to next.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    Luxion arrived at Livia¡¯s room.

    ¡¸Leon-san is going to fight the principality?¡¹

    Livia was shocked. In contrast Ange was utterly astonished.

    ¡¸Even though he¡¯s a viscount, I¡¯ve never heard a student bing the suprememander. Is his majesty or his highness Julius going to be the general on the paper? Also what about the battle force?¡¹

    Luxion shook his single eye to left and right in negative.

    ¡ºIt seems the talk is ongoing to make master the suprememander. At present, the battle force that we believe can be secured with certainty is Partner and around twenty ships. We don¡¯t know how many ships the army will be able to prepare. We cannot expect anything from the temple¡¯s battle strength.¡»

    Ange looked up to the ceiling and ced her hand on her forehead.

    ¡¸is he nning to challenge the principality with just that? What about the generals? The fleets of the feudal lords?¡¹

    ¡ºThe kingdom¡¯s army will depend of Mylene-sama¡¯s arrangement. About the feudal lords, there¡¯re a lot of countries other than the principality that also started attacking. Also, the feudal lords who have force to be sent out are deciding to wait and see.¡»

    Livia looked at Ange.

    ¡¸Why is that? Why won¡¯t they help?¡¹

    ¡¸Livia, do you understand why the feudal lords are obeying the kingdom?¡¹

    ¡¸Err©¤©¤it¡¯s because they¡¯re swearing loyalty to the kingdom isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Wrong. It¡¯s national force. Because there¡¯s the difference in military strength that the feudal lords around the kingdom are submitting. That¡¯s all. If that military strength be unreliable like now, they¡¯ll turn traitor without batting an eyelid. Besides©¤©¤the kingdom has been treating the feudal lords too coldly.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Luxion thought.

    (As I thought, that¡¯s the case. I thought that it¡¯s strange. Master stop considering further thinking it¡¯s because this is otome game world, but naturally that¡¯s not the case.)

    The duke house was a house with strong connection to the royal family.

    The house¡¯s way of thinking was leaning toward the kingdom, Ange¡¯s perception toward the feudal lords©¤©¤indicated how the royal family was looking at the feudal lords.

    ¡¸The kingdom has worked so the feudal lords won¡¯t grow stronger until now. There is this distorted marriage rtionships right? It¡¯s a part of that effort.¡¹

    Ange shook her head after saying that much.

    And then she stood up.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to meet father. Perhaps there is something that I can do to help. I too want to be of help to Leon.¡¹

    ¡ºIs that alright?¡»

    Ange smiled.

    ¡¸Leon said that he¡¯ll do it. That¡¯s because there is a chance to win right? ©¤©¤I believe him.¡¹

    Livia looked slightly dejected, but then she stood up and moved to follow Ange.

    Luxion guided the two.

    ¡ºThen, let¡¯s head to the pce. The duke is in the pce.¡»

    Ange¡¯s expression turned serious.

    ¡¸Thanks. Let¡¯s head there right away. Livia, what¡¯re you going to do?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also going!¡¹

    The two of them©¤©¤and Luxion hurriedly headed toward the pce.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    At a floating ind hovering near the capital, the traffic of the airships there is heavier than usual.

    It¡¯s also stuffed with a lot of people, it¡¯s difficult to even walk.

    At my destination, Nix©¤©¤my big brother is waiting.

    ¡¸Leon, you¡¯re safe!¡¹

    Nix is rejoicing. Near him big sis©¤©¤Jena could be seen.

    ¡¸Did you escape from prison!?¡¹

    Near her is her exclusive servant Miall. His gaze darted around after seeing me.

    ¡¸Nice timing. You get in too. Father came to pick us up.¡¹

    Big brother pointed at the airship father used toe here.

    ¡¸Nice timing.¡¹

    I entered inside the airship and talked to a sailor.

    ¡¸Where is father?¡¹

    ¡¸He¡¯s at the bridge. Young master, what did you do this time?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not me. Big sis¡¯s cat eared ve over there is the one at fault. Don¡¯t let him get in no matter what!¡¹

    The guy who betrayed me©¤©¤he couldn¡¯t be allowed to say beside big sis.

    Big sis is making a ruckus, but I ignored her and rushed through the ship¡¯s passageway.

    When I entered the bridge, father is talking with the ship captain.

    ¡¸Barkas-sama, a lot of the capital¡¯s citizens are crowding here to evacuate.¡¹

    ¡¸Bring in the children as many as we can before sailing off! ©¤©¤Hm? Leon!¡¹

    Father looked happy when he noticed me, but then his face immediately turned stern.

    ¡¸You, what did you do this time! I heard you got thrown into jail!¡¹

    ¡¸My bad, father©¤©¤help me out.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa? What are you©¤©¤¡¹

    I exined the situation first. From the reason I got caught, there were really a lot of things©¤©¤I also tattled about what that bastard Miall did.

    Then father¡¯s face is gradually turning pale©¤©¤it made me pitied him a bit.

    ¡¸You really are idiot.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll also go out but, I want father to lend your strength too.¡¹

    ¡¸Why the hell you aren¡¯t running away in this situation where running away is understandable. You¡¯re really an idiot son.¡¹

    The airship©¤©¤warship that I gifted to father is big and high specs.

    The training of the crews has also finished. Among the people who I could rely on, they¡¯re the one with the greatest strength.

    While father is thinking hard, big bro and big sis entered the bridge. Miall is alsoing along behind them.

    Big bro reported in a hurry.

    ¡¸Father, Z and others are ordering to enter the ship. That woman, she is bringing a lot of her friends.¡¹

    Father sighed lightly, then he walked out the bridge to get out of the ship.

    However, he grabbed Miall¡¯s head with one hand and then dragged him.

    ¡¸Wa, wait! Why are you assaulting Miall!? Let him go!¡¹

    Big sis protested at father and Miall himself is also resisting, but father grabbed Miall with one hand and wouldn¡¯t let go.

    ¡¸Please let go. I didn¡¯t do anything!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up! The bastard who sold out my son dare to board my airship! Don¡¯t fuck with me you asshole!¡¹

    Father red angrily at big sis for the first time. ©¤©¤He is seriously angry.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t bring this trash who betrayed Leon into my ship! Nix, stay in the bridge. Jena, stay quiet in your room. Someone, take her away at once!¡¹

    The crews led away big sis, then I and father headed to the airship¡¯s entrance.

    There Z and her friends are waiting.

    Z ranted at father.

    ¡¸Barkas! Let us in right away! After that we¡¯rending on the capital and collect all of my fortune in the mansion. You get that!?¡¹

    Father threw away Miall at the harbor that is crowded with a lot of people.

    ¡¸Wa, wait a second! Listen to what I©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up¡¹

    And then father drew out the sword hanging on his waist and beheaded Miall with one swing before kicking away his body.

    Miall¡¯s head and body are falling separately from the floating harbor.

    Zora shut her mouth and looked scared seeing father¡¯s figure.

    The eldest son hiding behind Z©¤©¤the trembling Ludward red at father.

    ¡¸It¡¯s war. Ludward, you¡¯reing too. This¡¯ll be your first campaign.¡¹

    ¡¸N, no! Don¡¯t order me around! This savage countryside noble!¡¹

    I¡¯m staying silent. Z seemed to gradually recover from what just happened and recovered her liveliness.

    ¡¸Barkas, who do you think you¡¯re giving order to! Who do you think it thanks to that you could live in peace©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Hand over Ludward. It¡¯s war.¡¹

    In front of father who is different from usual, Z lost her temper on that spot and made a ruckus.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t get carried away you countryside trash! Ludward is the son of my beloved! He doesn¡¯t have the blood of the like of you flowing inside him. If you want to go to war then go with that good for nothing!¡¹

    It seemed she spilled out her real thought without thinking but©¤©¤really, what a horrible story.

    If I got to say what is horrible, then it¡¯s horrible how I was able to predict this.

    But, even after hearing that truth©¤©¤father is relieved for some reason.

    ¡¸That¡¯s what I suspected. But, it¡¯s refreshing to know that. Z, this is farewell.¡¹

    Z suddenly changed her attitude.

    ¡¸Wa, wait. Just now is a misunderstanding. You know, it¡¯s! If you want a heir no matter what, then we can do that after this. Anyway, for now take us away from here.¡¹

    ¡¸My bad. I¡¯m busy.¡¹

    With a signal from father, the knights of Bartfalt House descended from the deck wearing armor.

    ¡¸Z and her friends are going home. And then Leon!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    Father who was pathetic until now is really cool today.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll return right away after delivering everyone. After that©¤©¤have you resolved yourself?¡¹

    Seeing father¡¯s worried face, I thought that this is the usual father.

    It made me strangely happy©¤©¤I nodded a bit even while feeling pathetic to make him worry like this.

    ¡¸I see. I¡¯ll take care of the rest. You go do what you want to do. You aren¡¯t going to listen to me anyway. Good grief, you always shocked me every time.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I¡¯ll do that, father.

    I¡¯m really sorry for causing you trouble like this.

    Really I¡¯m©¤©¤always causing trouble for my parents, whether at the previous life or at this life.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    I who returned to the pce from the harbor received report from Barnard-san who ran toward me.

    ¡¸Viscount, the gathering of the kingdom¡¯s army isn¡¯t going well. Thend battle force is also not assembling smoothly. The number of airships we can properly mobilize is around fifty.¡¹

    It¡¯s surprising instead that there is still fifty ships that can be mobilized.

    ¡¸At my side I secured twenty four ships along with Partner. ©¤©¤Oops¡¹

    The tremor is gradually getting stronger.

    Barnard-san¡¯splexion is also looking really bad.

    ¡¸Viscount, let me ask you frankly. Can you win? Depending on your answer, I wish to evacuate my family.¡¹

    ¡¸I can win against the principality army. The problem is only the gigantic monster.¡¹

    If the monster was summoned from the second princess who I didn¡¯t know about and the other magic flute, then it should have the same characteristic with thest boss that I know about.

    The method to annihte the gigantic monster©¤©¤needed the power of the saint and the power of Livia herself.

    Livia¡¯s special ability is©¤©¤a voice that could reach the heart.

    Livia had the power to send her voice into people¡¯s heart.

    How? How should I know. That¡¯s the setting.

    Anyway, that power is necessary. The saint¡¯s power alone won¡¯t be enough.

    I can¡¯t believe that Marie didn¡¯t know about this.

    ¡¸Viscount is really amazing. How about it? When this is over, will you ept rice?¡¹

    I was about tough at Barnard-san¡¯s joke but, his eyes are serious.

    I¡¯m strangely sweating.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll think about it after winning. Right now, you know, I¡¯m really busy with a lot of things.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. ©¤©¤The preparation in the audience hall will also be finished soon. Take a rest until then. After that, the person you asked for has also arrived.¡¹

    I got shown into a waiting room near the audience hall©¤©¤Marie and others are there.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    Marie is sitting down while hugging her knees. She is really dirty.

    The dress that was originally white is now dirty. She won¡¯t lift her face that she buried on her knees.

    Marie¡¯s lovers, the five of them starting from his highness Julius are worried.

    Ca who is also simrly in a ragged state is watching over Marie at the corner of the room.

    Kyle approached me and started a conversation with an exasperated face.

    ¡¸To get imprisoned with a false charge©¤©¤are you cursed?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not me. The one cursed is your master. More importantly, what happened?¡¹

    Kyle talked about what happened until now with a tired face.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama, dered that she isn¡¯t the saint. After that her followers showered her with verbal abuses. The temple¡¯s priests and knights then stormed in with a yell and captured Goshujin-sama before throwing her into the dungeon.¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s that? That¡¯s a bit funny.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not funny at all for us though. After that she is in that state until now. ©¤©¤Goshujin-sama, is she going to get executed?¡¹

    She is a heinous criminal who pretended to be the saint. Naturally the temple wouldn¡¯t forgive her.

    I¡¯m amazed Mylene-sama was able to take away this girl from the temple.

    ¡¸The pce too is only dying the execution temporarily. She should consider he life forfeit whether we win or lose.¡¹

    His highness Julius red angrily at my words.

    And then he immediately talked to Marie who must get worried from my words.

    ¡¸Marie, it¡¯ll be fine. We are with you. That¡¯s why, never mind about Bartfalt¡¯s words.¡¹

    But, Marie is©¤©¤.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Annoying¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m saying you¡¯re annoying! You guys, what do you mean it¡¯ll be fine! Will you guys be able to do something? You think we can win, even though you didn¡¯t see that monster? Really, what a happy-go-lucky bunch.¡¹

    ¡¸Marie?¡¹

    ©¤©¤This stupid girl, she showed her true color.

    ¡¸Get out! Everyone get out! I©¤©¤hate all of you!¡¹

    Ca ran toward Marie.

    ¡¸No way, Marie-san, you said that we¡¯re friends.¡¹

    ¡¸I was obviously lying. Are you stupid? You were isted and bullied because you¡¯re empty headed like this. I made use of you only because I thought it¡¯ll be enjoyable to irritate that mob bastard over there even if only for a bit. The likes of you©¤©¤isn¡¯t my friend.¡¹

    Ca crumbled in tears.

    I clicked my tongue and said.

    ¡¸So that¡¯s your true color. You¡¯re pretty skilled in acting coy huh. It¡¯s exposed today though.¡¹

    Marie sent me a gaze that is filled with hatred, but then Chris covered for Marie.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, enough! Marie is just tired.¡¹

    But it was Marie herself who started disparaging Chris who was covering for her.

    ¡¸Haa? I wish you¡¯re the one who stop. What are you doing acting like a big shot even though you¡¯re a useless guy except in swordsmanship.¡¹

    ¡¸Wha-!?¡¹

    Marie turned toward Greg and others next.

    ¡¸You¡¯re also just all talk. What do you mean by real battle. You¡¯re actually useless. The narcissist purple hair over there is also disgusting. You green hair, you¡¯re giving me the creeps because I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking. And then you. You. The biggest problem is you former crown prince!¡¹

    ¡¸Marie? Just what¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    His highness Julius couldn¡¯t keep up with the situation. Marieughed while speaking.

    ¡¸You¡¯re a useless guy except of your status as prince. The five of you are really stupid. You five threw away your position, prestige©¤©¤and even your fortune, do you think any woman will be happy with that? You guys are iprehensible.¡¹

    Marie cackled. She then also sent her gaze toward Kyle.

    ¡¸The annoying small brat over there too. Always acting cocky and self-important. If I didn¡¯t tolerate you, the like of you will be sent back to the ve merchant again. Be a bit more thankful!¡¹

    I think everyone here is appalled.

    ¡¸Be a lot kinder to me! Everyone should just listen to what I¡¯m saying! I hate those who oppose me or useless, I hate them©¤©¤I hate you all!¡¹

    I shook my head.

    ¡¸That¡¯s unsightly.¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up, begone! I can¡¯t be happy because there are you! Give it back. Give it back! ©¤©¤Give me back my happiness!¡¹

    Ange and Livia entered the room when Marie started crying.

    ¡¸Leon! You¡¯re safe! ©¤©¤Wha, what¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s this situation?¡¹

    ¡¸Marie-san, why is she crying?¡¹

    I feel guilty toward the two of them even though we can finally meet, but I had something to talk with Marie alone.

    ¡¸Leave us alone for a bit. I need to talk with this girl.¡¹

    Marie is gradually growing quieter and then she copsed.

    It seemed she is really tired and fell asleep.

    ©¤©¤Really this girl is annoying.

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    ©¤©¤Marie saw a dream.

    That day too she was abandoned by her big brother and cried.

    It was a memory of her past life.

    A memory when her knee got scratched. She sat down and cried until she was tired and fell asleep.

    (I was also stupid. Even though I should just go home right away, I got stubborn instead. Come to think of it, how did I go home after this?)

    A boy was approaching while she was staring absentmindedly.

    He wasining continuously.

    ¡ºThis idiot. You should just walk home rather than crying until you get tired.¡»

    Her big brother returned and carried her past self on his back.

    (Aa, I see. In the end big bro came to pick me up. Then you should just carry me right from the start, this trash big bro.)

    Marie wanted toin but, tears were flowing.

    She was sleeping with a peaceful face on her big brother¡¯s back.

    She was drooling and dirtied her big brother¡¯s clothes.

    When she thought that her big brother wouldin about it,

    ¡ºI wonder why she is relying on me¡»

    Her big brother¡¯s face looked slightly happy. Seeing that Marie grabbed her chest.

    That¡¯s right. Her big brother©¤©¤his words were harsh but he was kind. Marie remembered.

    (Trash big bro©¤©¤don¡¯t die. Just why did you die)

    She recalled the day her big brother died.

    (Comin at me like usual)

    When Marie returned from her trip, her parents pped her.

    And then when the funeral was over, she was driven out from the house right away.

    (Even though everything would usually work out if that trash big bro was there. Because that trash big bro was gone, I ended up unhappy. Why did you die©¤©¤Onii-chan)

    Even though the two of them keptining at each others, she though they got good rtionship going between them.

    Most things would be solved for her if she left it to her big brother even if he keptining about it.

    That was why, Marie behaved like a spoiled child to her big brother. She pushed the game to her big brother also because she was acting spoiled.

    But, that reliable big brother of her died because of her. After that everything began to go wrong.

    There was an otome game she couldn¡¯t clear. If it was impossible for her, she should leave it to her big brother. Thinking that she pushed the game to her big brother before going to a trip abroad with her friend.

    And yet, when she returned her big brother slipped on the stair©¤©¤and died.

    From thest mail that her big brother sent to her mother, her parents realized that she made him to force himself. They became cold toward her then.

    There was also how she went to a trip abroad by lying. She lost her parents¡¯ trust.

    Marie©¤©¤didn¡¯t hate the big brother of her previous life for real.

    But now©¤©¤she couldn¡¯t even remember the face of that big brother she relied on.

    (Save me. Why aren¡¯t you saving me)

    He was alwaysining but he would still help her out©¤©¤it was painful that she couldn¡¯t remember her kind big brother¡¯s face.

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    ¡¸©¤©¤Onii-chan¡¹

    I sat on a chair while watching Marie¡¯s sleeping face. It made me recalled my annoying little sister at my previous life.

    That girl also toyed around with me often and always made me go through hardships.

    When I thought how I got put through hardships by Marie at my second life©¤©¤do I have ill fortune regarding woman?

    ¡ºMaster, is it alright to let her asleep like this?¡»

    A gun without bullet inside is ced on the table for threatening her.

    I looked at it while saying.

    ¡¸Let her sleep for a bit more. There is still time.¡¹

    ¡ºHow about knocking her awake and forcing her to listen?¡»

    ¡¸What kind of person do you think I am? No, you don¡¯t need to say. You¡¯re going to call me inhuman brute anyway.¡¹

    ¡ºUnfortunately that¡¯s wrong. It¡¯s indecisive and ipetent fellow. Master is close there.¡»

    It¡¯s not close at all. Rather it¡¯s far away instead.

    Being called inhuman brute will still be better.

    Marie lifted up her upper body while I¡¯m ring at Luxion.

    Her eyes were swollen red and her hair was also messy, so she looked a bit scary.

    I took the gun so that Marie could see it.

    ¡¸So you wake up. Now, it¡¯s time to talk.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤No. I¡¯m not going to do anything until Onii-chane.¡¹

    What¡¯s with this girl? Is she perhaps broken? Who is this Onii-chan?

    What a really hopeless fellow.

    ¡¸Your big brother? He must be a good for nothing trash anyway.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make fun of Onii-chan!¡¹

    Marie threw the thing near her at me so I grabbed Luxion and used him as shield.

    ¡ºMaster, I¡¯m not going to forget this¡» He said something like that with a voice filled with resentment so I ignored him.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really trash. I was stupid to see my little sister in you. That girl is still better than you.¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up! It¡¯s your little sister, so she must be an idiot woman with a screw loose anyway!¡¹

    She was crazy, selfish, idiot and also irritating little sister but, Marie got no right to say that much about her!

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make fun of her! She is still a hundred times better than you! Certainly she got a screw loose, her personality was terrible, and in addition she was rotten with the worst personality, but she¡¯s still better than you!¡¹

    ¡¸My big bro was also a hundred times better than you. No, he was even far better! He got a mob face, and speaking bluntly he was irritating, bad mouthed, got bad personality, got a bad mouth©¤©¤a, anyway, don¡¯t make fun of Onii-chan!¡¹

    ©¤©¤This is stupid.

    Why do I have to argue like this with this girl?

    We insulted our respective sibling until we ran out of breath and the conversation cut off.

    After catching up my breath, I asked Marie.

    ¡¸Why did you be the saint? If you had cleared that otome game, you should know that Livia¡¯s power is necessary. In addition you entered the fight even though you didn¡¯t even have the royal family¡¯s ship, are you stupid?¡¹

    Marie answered while heaving.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know that! I asked©¤©¤big bro©¤©¤Onii-chan to clear the game for me. After that big bro died right away, I checked the save data around the time things calmed down! I didn¡¯t know anything about the game except from the illustrations or the movies!¡¹

    This girl, she¡¯s saying she achieved reverse harem with half baked knowledge even though she didn¡¯t even clear the game!?

    ©¤©¤E, eh? Wait a second. She made her big bro clear the game?

    ¡¸©¤©¤My, little sister went to a trip abroad, so she pushed that game on me telling me to clear it during her trip. Eh? Could it be, you©¤©¤eh?¡¹

    Marie also said ¡¸Eh?¡¹ and watched my face with intense concentration.

    I also watched Marie¡¯s face carefully. There the vestige of my previous life¡¯s little sister is remaining markedly.

    This offensive face is without a doubt! Marie is my little sister from the previous life!

    ¡¸O, Onii-chan!? Onii~cha©¤©¤ouch!¡¹

    I hit the head of Marie who was about to leap at me with the grip of the handgun in my hand.

    ¡¸SO IT¡¯S YOUUUUU!¡¹

    When I yelled that, ttering sound came from behind the door.

    But, rather than minding that I focused at the girl in front of me©¤©¤Marie.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this too cruel toward your little sister who you met after so long?¡¹

    ¡¸I decided in my heart, if by chance I¡¯m reunited with you then I¡¯ll take revenge.¡¹

    ¡¸It was because big bro tattled at mom that the situation got tangled! Do you know just how hard I got it after that huh?¡¹

    ¡¸From the start it was all your fault! No, wait! How was mother and father doing?¡¹

    Luxion watched our conversation and said.

    ¡ºI don¡¯t think that the two of you are acting, this made me consider that all those talks about previous life and otome game made might be truth.¡»

    ©¤©¤This guy, he was still doubting me before?

 Chapter 100 - Volume 3 Chapter 7

    Otomege Volume 3 Chapter 7

    Chapter 7 ¨C Destiny

    .

    Part 1

    ¡¸©¤©¤In other words, you foisted your own child to mother and father?¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yes. Because, they said to me that I won¡¯t be able to raise her. Isn¡¯t it horrible?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s not horrible at all. Rather, that way would be better for that child©¤©¤for my niece too. I¡¯m relieved instead. Father and mother were correct there.¡¹

    In the waiting room near the audience hall.

    There I had a fateful reunion with my previous life¡¯s little sister.

    It was a reunion that I didn¡¯t make me happy at all.

    It was actually my previous life¡¯s little sister who thoroughly messed up this world. That fact made me wanted to cry.

    But, I¡¯m d that I could hear how my parents were doing.

    ¡¸And? From where your memory is cut off?¡¹

    ¡¸E, err©¤©¤my boyfriend was treating me violently, and when I thought that this might be really bad, when I realized I was in this world.¡¹

    Tehe! She made that kind of face, so I pointed the handgun at her. Marie raised both her hands high in fear.

    ¡¸Even I was doing my best mon!¡¹

    ¡¸Shaddup! Don¡¯t use ¡ºMon!¡» when you¡¯re an old hag inside! I got goosebumps here.¡¹

    ¡¸How can you say that! It¡¯s you shitty big bro who is an old geezer inside!¡¹

    Rather than that, it¡¯s painful that in the end I couldn¡¯t learn what happened with my parents.

    ¡¸Anyway, you work together with Livia.¡¹

    ¡¸Lo, look here? At this rate I¡¯ll die though?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess. But, how about you at least confront your life seriously at the end?¡¹

    Marie started crying.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want that! Help me, Onii-chan!¡¹

    Calling me shitty big bro, or big bro, or Onii-chan©¤©¤this girl, just what does she think I am?

    Marie cried. She is crying for real.

    ¡¸No way. I don¡¯t want to fight that kind of monster. I absolutely won¡¯t join the war.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ha? Don¡¯t screw around. A lot of things went wrong because you became the saint. Anyway, take responsibility and get on the airship. You just need to act as Livia¡¯s support.¡¹

    Marie looked at me while shedding tears. She muttered ¡¸Why is it only that woman. Help me out too!¡¹ before running outside.

    ¡¸Tha, that idiot!¡¹

    And then Barnard-san entered inside in this bad timing.

    ¡¸Viscount, the preparation is finished. Come into the audience hall.¡¹

    Barnard-san is going around even though he is a minister because of theck of manpower. He looked really busy.

    I can¡¯t cause him trouble, so I headed toward the audience hall.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m worrying of what to do even while feeling irritated toward that Marie.

    .

    Part 2

    Marie rushed out of the room and then dashed through the corridor without stopping. Livia was watching her in surprise.

    ¡¸Marie-san©¤©¤ran away?¡¹

    Ange red at Marie¡¯s back.

    ¡¸That woman, she n to run away even at this point?¡¹

    Livia judged that it would be dangerous to let Ange chasing after Marie with how sharp her re was.

    ¡¸Ange, please go to the audience hall. I¡¯ll go to persuade Marie-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Go, got it.¡¹

    Ange was also called into the audience hall. She had to go there after this.

    Inside her heart Livia was,

    (It will be Leon-san¡¯s important scene, if Ange isn¡¯t there©¤©¤it¡¯ll be no good if I get in their way.)

    Thinking that she started running.

    She ran through the pce¡¯s corridor chasing after Marie.

    Tears wereing out.

    (I¡¯m not fitting for Leon-san. Even though I understand that. Even though there is Ange, so why am I)

    The ce Marie ran into was one of the rooftops of the pce.

    The rooftop looked like a garden with nts growing in abundance, there also wasn¡¯t any ce to run away there.

    Livia who cornered Marie there was breathing hard with heaving shoulders.

    When the two caught up their breath©¤©¤Marie told Livia.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll return it.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll return back everything to you, so return it back to me too. What you need, is his highness and others. Those five, and then Kyle too©¤©¤even the saint status, all of them belongs to you!¡¹

    Livia¡¯s understanding couldn¡¯t keep up with Marie¡¯s talk, but Marie left her behind and pleaded.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why give it back. Give back Onii©¤©¤chan. Give back Leon. I¡¯ll return everything to you, so return him back to me too!¡¹

    Livia approached Marie and then swung her right hand with all her strength. The strong p made Marie fall.

    Marie powerlessly held her cheek.

    ¡¸Aa, this is nostalgic. I was also hit like this by my parents. It¡¯s really painful. What? Are you angry? Don¡¯t worry. Because I¡¯ll return all of your things back to you. You¡¯ll be able to be happy.¡¹

    Livia yelled while crying.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Don¡¯t make fun of me!¡¹

    The crying Livia sat down on the spot.

    Marie was looking Livia who was like that with a puzzled look.

    ¡¸Leon-san isn¡¯t an object©¤©¤at the very least, I wanted to stay together with him even if it¡¯s just during our time in the academy. Even though I don¡¯t need anything else other than that¡¹

    Noble andmoner.

    There was arge wall called status between the two of them. Compared to that kind of wall, the wall between Leon and Ange was something trivial in Livia¡¯s opinion.

    ©¤©¤The two of them are well-matched.

    She wanted them to be happy.

    That was why, she had to withdraw herself.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say something like giving back. Leon-san, doesn¡¯t belong to me.¡¹

    Marie looked down andughed.

    ¡¸Then what? In the end, I simply lost everything. This is really the worst, even in my second life I kept losing everything.¡¹

    Marie started crying. She crouched down and let out a sob.

    ¡¸Even though I knew just about everything. Even though I thought that it would go well©¤©¤why is it, I¡¯m unable to be happy¡¹

    Seeing Marie crying, Livia didn¡¯t know what she should say.

    Then,

    ¡¸So this is where you are.¡¹

    ¡¸Marie-sama!¡¹

    Kyle and Ca ran toward Marie.

    It seemed they were looking around for them.

    When Marie lifted up her face, the two of them were looking at her with an expression that looked really worried.

    ¡¸You two, why?¡¹

    Why are you two here? Marie¡¯s expression asked that. Ca answered her with tears in her eyes.

    ¡¸I, I©¤©¤without Marie-sama, I¡¯ll really be alone. I was really happy when Marie-sama saved me! Besides, Marie-sama is really kind.¡¹

    Kyle nced at the crying Ca and made an exasperated face but©¤©¤he looked a bit embarrassed.

    ¡¸I myself have some bad behaviors. But, as expected goshujin-sama yourself is also horrible with your attitude. Well, we¡¯re even with this. I don¡¯t know about the other five but, goshujin-sama will be too pitiful if at least I and Ca-san don¡¯t apany you.¡¹

    Large drops of tears trickled down Marie¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡¸So©¤©¤ry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really©¤©¤sorry, you two.¡¹

    Kyle rubbed his eyes with his sleeve to hide his tears.

    ¡¸Come on, let¡¯s go. You are the saint even if a fake one. You should dress the part at least.¡¹

    Marie stood up with the help of Kyle and Ca.

    The two of them bowed at Livia before returning inside with Marie.

    Livia looked down and smiled.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Liar. You haven¡¯t lost everything haven¡¯t you? There¡¯re still two people who will lend you their shoulders like that©¤©¤you liar.¡¹

    After muttering that, she gasped in realization and covered her mouth with both her hands.

    ph_mobuseka03_ill004

    The ck emotion inside her chest made tears came out.

    (Even though I have nothing left for me.)

    .

    Part 3

    At the rooftop¡¯s entrance, Ange was watching the crying Livia.

    She didn¡¯t even give a nce at Marie and the other two who were passing beside her. She couldn¡¯t take off her eyes from Livia¡¯s crying figure.

    ¡¸Livia, you©¤©¤of course it is. We were always together.¡¹

    Ange felt her chest growing painful looking at Livia.

    She had noticed Livia¡¯s feeling.

    But, it was fun with the three of them together that she didn¡¯t want to turn her focus to it.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. If only I don¡¯t harbor this feeling, you wouldn¡¯t suffer like that. Forgive me, Livia.¡¹

    Ange covered her mouth and shed tears.

    She wiped her tears, and then she walked toward Livia brazenly.

    ¡¸Livia.¡¹

    The crying Livia hid her face and yed stupid.

    ¡¸Ange? E, err, Marie-san has returned without problem. Tha, that, please don¡¯t look at my face right now. A lot happened so©¤©¤¡¹

    Ange spoke her feeling honestly.

    ¡¸I©¤©¤love Leon.¡¹

    Livia closed her mouth and looked down. Tear fell to the ground.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, you too don¡¯t back away.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Ange held out her hand toward Livia.

    She grabbed Livia¡¯s hand and pulled her up. And then with the two of them facing each other she held both her hands with her own hands.

    ¡¸You¡¯re fine like that. Tell your feeling to Leon properly.

    ¡¸I told him. I told him once. But, Leon-san immediately evaded the topic right after that. He won¡¯t give me the answer. Surely it¡¯s because he like Ange.¡¹

    Even then Ange told Livia.

    ¡¸Even so! Even so, tell him your feeling one more time. Make it so he won¡¯t be able to run away this time. Don¡¯t allow him to evade the topic. ©¤©¤I¡¯ll also tell him my feeling, so you tell him too.¡¹

    Ange hugged the crying Livia.

    ¡¸Is it okay? Because, Ange and Leon-san are noble©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Stupid. Difference of status doesn¡¯t matter for something like this. You¡¯re suffering because you cannot give up just from that. Then, you¡¯ve no choice but telling him.¡¹

    The two of them wanted to know who was it that Leon truly liked.

    Ange talked gently.

    ¡¸You¡¯re also someone important for me. That¡¯s why, stop with the crying.¡¹

    Livia also ced her hands on Ange¡¯s back and hugged her tightly before nodding.

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    .

    Part 4

    Audience hall.

    I moved my gaze searching for Livia and Ange, but they aren¡¯t anywhere.

    What now. I¡¯m feeling a bit discouraged here.

    The group of five are present here, but from their expression their heart aren¡¯t in this ce due to the matter with Marie.

    ©¤©¤These bastards are anguishing about romance.

    Even though I¡¯m also thinking so seriously about love!

    Besides, even though I was holding hope for you guys and Marie, like this my n won¡¯te to fruition.

    What can defeat the gigantic monster that even Luxion cannot defeat is love! Love is really amazing! Love is the strongest weapon there is!

    ©¤©¤Isn¡¯t there love lying around somewhere that can be recement for these guys?

    Learn a bit from me who is worrying so seriously like this, you idiot five.

    The nobles and knights who are standing in rows.

    His majesty lifted the right corner of his lips meaningfully and conducted himself in a good mood.

    ¡¸The number of people here has be really few isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    The nobles and knights who escaped. Even the number of soldiers isn¡¯t satisfactory.

    That is just how despairing they thought this war with the principality is.

    I too will run away quickly if I¡¯m just amon soldier.

    No, the civilian wouldn¡¯t even be a soldier in the first ce.

    ¡¸But©¤©¤it¡¯s none other than the people who remain here who are the true heroes! The principality despicably bring monster with them and invade our kingdom¡¯s territory. Gentlemen©¤©¤now is the time to risk our life!¡¹

    I don¡¯t know whether the people who stayed behind have nerve of steel or they¡¯re simply resigned©¤©¤.

    ¡¸In order to stand against the principality, it¡¯s necessary for us to fight as one! Viscount Bartfalt,e forward!¡¹

    I walked on the red carpet that is spread out in the audience hall and kneeled with my head bowed in front of his majesty.

    ¡¸I appoint you as the suprememander in this critical juncture. Surely there are also those who make light of you due to your youth. There surely are also those who won¡¯t trust you due to yourck of experience. But, only you viscount possess the strength to break through this situation. Viscount Bartfalt, this battle©¤©¤can you win it?¡¹

    His speech was theatrical. ©¤©¤But, I don¡¯t dislike it.

    I wanted to try it at least once.

    I replied with a line that I once heard from somewhere.

    ¡¸If that is what your majesty wish for.¡¹

    The surrounding became noisy.

    The voices that reached my ear are¡¸This greenhorn¡¹ or¡¸Only his mouth is big¡¹ or¡¸Hm~, seventy point¡¹ or¡¸I¡¯ve heard that line from somewhere¡¹©¤©¤you guys, it¡¯s embarrassing so shut up!

    Look! His highness is a bit angry! Eh? Why is he angry?

    ¡¸©¤©¤I see.¡¹

    In contrast, Mylene-sama blushed slightly. She looked happy? Eh? Why!?

    His majesty proimed.

    ¡¸We will tackle the final battle against the principality from here on with Viscount Bartfalt as the suprememander!¡¹

    After such exchange, a noble d in extravagant attire©¤©¤Marquis Frampton raised his objection.

    He seemed to be tired as could be seen from the shadow under his eyes. His cheeks are also losing fat.

    Well, it can¡¯t be helped.

    After all the battle force he sent out got done in by the principality who he thought his ally.

    ¡¸Please wait your majesty! This upstart cannot be trusted. This person was suspected of treason! Are you telling us to fight under someone like this? Is it your intention to ridicule us?¡¹

    The nobles who agreed with Marquis Frampton also spoke their objection.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. We should negotiate with the principality instead.¡¹

    ¡¸Please leave it to me. I swear I¡¯ll make the negotiation with the principality a sess!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s mistaken to rely on someone like that!¡¹

    I stood up and looked at his majesty and Mylene-sama¡¯s faces. His majesty got his eyes closed but Mylene-sama opened her mouth expressionlessly.

    ¡¸Stop with the unsightly act. The viscount isn¡¯t a traitor. You all are the one who fabricate the usation. Besides, it¡¯s his majesty who appoints the suprememander. Are you saying that you are disobeying?¡¹

    Using his majesty¡¯s name to forcefully appoint me as the suprememander©¤©¤it¡¯s a coarse method but, there is no other way.

    Marquis Frampton¡¯s face went red and he protested.

    ¡¸What! Even for the queen that way of speaking is inexcusable! We won¡¯t unite to fight together if the circumstance is like this!¡¹

    They¡¯re desperately resisting my side because they know that if the kingdom wins with me as the suprememander©¤©¤then it will be the end for them.

    They¡¯re desperately opposing in order to have aeback no matter what.

    I slowly turned around and looked toward the marquis and his cohorts.

    Inside the audience hall where nobles, military officials and government officials lined up, I took out a handgun from my pocket and fired it toward the ceiling.

    Gunshot sound and the sound of shell case falling to the floor echoed inside the hall.

    With that as the signal pce guards and©¤©¤the knights of the duke house entered the hall.

    Vince-san nodded slightly when I looked at him.

    ©¤©¤The permission has also been given. It¡¯s my time from here on.

    ¡¸Shut up that dirty mouth, you trashes.¡¹

    ¡¸Wha, what did you say! Guards! What¡¯re you all doing. Quickly capture that©¤©¤wha, what?¡¹

    The pce guards are moving to apprehend the nobles who were in opposition just now©¤©¤the people of Marquis Frampton¡¯s faction.

    ¡¸Having connection with the principality behind the scene and pushing the kingdom into danger. It¡¯s not me who needed to be apprehended for treason. It¡¯s you guys.¡¹

    Pce guards restrained the arms of Marquis Frampton and dragged him until where I¡¯m standing.

    ¡¸Do, don¡¯t screw around! Why are we the traitor!? We took action thinking of the country¡¯s sake. What does a greenhorn like you know!?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re arrested now because you lost against that greenhorn. It¡¯s just like you say, I¡¯m just a greenhorn. However, it¡¯s no good if the people who are working at the core of the country lose against that greenhorn isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Your blunder was setting me up.

    ©¤©¤But, I¡¯m pitying you guys. Because it¡¯s not me that you guys lost against, but Luxion.

    In the first ce I wouldn¡¯t be able to win if I don¡¯t have Luxion.

    Eh? Thinking carefully, I wouldn¡¯t get dragged into this kind of political struggle if I don¡¯t have Luxion.

    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter.

    ¡¸Where is the proof that we¡¯re connected with the principality!? Your majesty! This is a mistake. You must not lend your ear to the words of a greenhorn like this!¡¹

    His majesty doesn¡¯t reply at all. He is only sitting and watching Marquis Frampton.

    Marquis Frampton is irritated seeing that. He red at Mylene-sama who sat beside his majesty.

    ¡¸This must be your work. This treacherous fiend!¡¹

    To say such terrible thing to Mylene-sama©¤©¤this guy, perhaps he needed a punishment?

    ¡¸Marquis Frampton, that¡¯s unsightly. This is your defeat.¡¹

    When Mylene-sama said that with a pitying look, Marquis Frampton made a ruckus as though to say he still hadn¡¯t lost.

    ¡¸What¡¯re you saying! How are you going to establish my treachery in this situation where there isn¡¯t any proof at all? Know that divine punishment will befall this diabolical deed!¡¹

    The surrounding nobles are also simrly moring. The nobles outside of the marquis¡¯s faction are watching with cold gaze or looking bewildered.

    Even so, this guy doesn¡¯t know when to give up.

    Amusing. Let¡¯s made fun of him.

    ¡¸Do you want the proof that much?¡¹

    When I said that, Luxion appeared and projected 3D image at the center of the audience hall.

    What is projected there is the marquis and other nobles©¤©¤the members of the marquis¡¯s faction.

    The hall became noisy with the appearance of the 3D projection, so I raised my voice and gathered everyone¡¯s focus.

    ¡¸Too bad. It¡¯s really too bad. I ampassionate, so I nned to forgive you if you unite and fight together with us here. You just let go of yourst chance, Marquis Frampton.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Well, I¡¯m lying though. Forgiving him? No way.

    ¡¸Wha, what are you! Your majesty! Please stop him. This person brought a gun into the audience hall! He is dangerous! Your majesty should understand too. This person cannot be allowed to roam free! Your majesty mustn¡¯t get tricked by this kind of deception!¡¹

    The 3d projection started moving and then a voice resounded inside the hall.

    ¡ºLord Marquis! A report came stating that the queen is rmending Bartfalt to be the suprememander!¡»

    The mouth of the marquis inside the projection opened.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s pathetic how she got cajoled by a youngster like that. She is quite capable but as expected in the end she is a woman. His majesty is also really pathetic with how whipped he is. Even so, to think that the principality would break our secret agreement©¤©¤¡»

    He is looking really annoyed inside the projection.

    ¡ºWe have lost a lot ofpatriots. What should we do from here on?¡»

    ¡ºUse her highness Hertrude for negotiation. Those guys should be wanting to take back her highness and the magic flute no matter what. Don¡¯t forget to move things forward secretly from his majesty. After that©¤©¤don¡¯t let that guy, Bartfalt to do as he please. The principality¡¯s trump card was a miscalction but, that guy is also as dangerous or perhaps even more so than that. When pushes to shove we will push the me to his majesty and strike an agreement with the principality.¡»

    For a retainer to make his majesty take responsibility, that could only be taken as irreverence.

    Marquis Frampton turned pale and looked toward me.

    ¡¸Li, lies! This is nothing but a deception! This is an illusion that this traitor made up! This traitor is trying to set me up!¡¹

    I pressed my gun barrel on Marquis Framption¡¯s forehead and smiled.

    ¡¸Are you stupid? You have gone this far. If this is all the proof that I have, then even his majesty and the queen wouldn¡¯t take action. They allowed this to happen means that¡¯s just how unshakeable the proof that¡¯s in my possession.¡¹

    I took out letters and notes from my pocket and tossed them.

    Marquis Frampton opened his eyes wide and trembled fiercely.

    ¡¸Ho, how? Those letters©¤©¤should be burned already.¡¹

    The numerous letters are familiar to him because the writing is exactly his own. The letters contained his exchange with the principality.

    Luxion had copied them exactly like the original©¤©¤they¡¯re fake.

    ¡¸Aa, there is also a message for you from her highness Hertrude. ¡ºHe is unexpectedly useless isn¡¯t he¡» she said. She easily fessed up what kind of conversation she had with you guys.¡¹

    She spoke up about what kind of secret agreement she exchanged with Marquis Frampton who had outlived his usefulness for her.

    From Hertrude-san¡¯s perspective, she must be having fun watching the kingdom having internal conflict under this kind of situation.

    She revealed everything without covering up anything knowing that she had aplished her role.

    Perhaps she thought that we would quarrel even more by doing that?

    Good grief©¤©¤she is really a bothersome princess.

    The marquis inside the projection continued talking with a dissatisfied tone.

    In contrast, Marquis Frampton in front of me is turning bright red and muttering ¡¸Tha, that little girl¡¹ and so on in vexation.

    ¡ºEveryst one of them don¡¯t get it! Don¡¯t they understand just who is the dangerous one here? That saint is also troublesome but she is nothing we can¡¯t deal with. But, that man alone is no good! Him alone can do the work of who knows how many fleets. Don¡¯t they understand what does being able topletely win against a fleet of dozens of ship using just one ship means?¡»

    ¡ºHowever, right now the problem is the principality. We should cooperate with Duke Redgrave too©¤©¤¡»

    ¡ºThen, make Bartfalt to sh with the principality so they crush each other! Take his family hostage. I don¡¯t care what kind of method you use! Listen well, don¡¯t think that guy as a mere watchdog of the duke. The report mentioned that his airship doesn¡¯t even need a crew at all, not a single one. Do you get it? He is the real danger!¡»

    ¡ºBut, in our current state we don¡¯t have that much influence©¤©¤¡»

    The marquis inside the projection is enraged.

    ¡ºThat Vince too, just what in the world is he thinking. Allowing that youngster to do as he please is what will cause this kingdom to end. There won¡¯t be any meaning at all even if we win against the principality like that. No matter what©¤©¤no matter what we have to crush him!¡»

    I¡¯m really pitiful to be feared so much like that.

    Even I wouldn¡¯t do anything if they didn¡¯t start anything.

    Come to think of it, in the game©¤©¤in the real scenario, was the main character able to gain prominence thanks to these guys secretly maneuvering behind the scene?

    It¡¯s pointless even if I pondered that right now.

    ¡¸Now then, do you understand now? The kingdom is in danger because of your fault. Don¡¯t you think it can¡¯t be helped if you¡¯re charged with treason after doing something like joining hand with the principality?¡¹

    Marquis Frampton yelled at me.

    ¡¸What about it? I did everything for this country¡¯s sake. Who do you think is supporting this country? It¡¯s me. I have supported this country until now! There is no way a youngster like you can understand it! What I did is necessary to preserve this country!¡¹

    ¡¸And it resulted in our current situation right? You made a mistake in your dealing. There wouldn¡¯t be any problem if you dealt with the principality correctly instead of making a move at me.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t screw around! Do you understand just how much power you have? You¡¯re judged as danger because you¡¯re just a kid of that level. One day the kingdom will perish because of you! Everyone, open your eyes! It¡¯s none other than this youngster who brought cmity for this country!¡¹

    This guy is overestimating too much huh. That¡¯s why©¤©¤Iughed.

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s the principality that¡¯s going to destroy this country rather than me you see. It¡¯s you ain¡¯t it who caused this country to get destroyed by the principality before it get destroyed by me. You really messed up there, gramps. No, perhaps I should call you a doddering old fool instead in this case.¡¹

    Marquis Frampton raged when I called him a doddering old fool.

    The guards got shaken off.

    ¡¸You, you-you-you, you don¡¯t understand anything! Do you know how much I¡¯ve been grinding my body into dust working for the sake of this country!?¡¹

    ¡¸You ended up like this because you were on guard against a harmless person like me while making light of the principality.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You ignorant brat! Everything will be solved peacefully if you die. The kingdom can win even without borrowing your strength! I¡¯m not mistaken! There¡¯s no reason for a brat who don¡¯t even understand politic toin about my decision! Do you understand just how much I¡¯ve been devoting my effort for the sake of the country? His majesty and the queen can be so carefree sitting on their seat is also because this me have been working for the country¡¯s sake until now! I won¡¯t let a brat like you to deny all my effort until now. A MERE BRAT LIKE YOUUUUU!¡¹

    Could it be, this guy is thinking that I¡¯m denying achievement?

    That¡¯s a misunderstanding. I¡¯ve got to correct him.

    ¡¸It looks like you¡¯re misunderstanding something. Just so you know I¡¯m actually recognizing you. You must have supported this kingdom so splendidly until now. Yep, you¡¯ve worked hard! I tip my hat off to you! You¡¯re the best!¡¹

    The surrounding nobles, knights, and soldiers are dumbfounded by my speech and gesturing.

    It seems they found it unbelievable that I¡¯m praising my enemy.

    And then I turned around and lowered my hand to aim my gun toward Marquis Frampton once more.

    I lowered my voice,

    ¡¸But©¤©¤if you failed then you got to take responsibility.¡¹

    ¡¸Fa, failed you say!¡¹

    ¡¸This situation right now, it¡¯s the result of what you did. Do you get it? You guys push the kingdom into danger. Take responsibility for that. That¡¯s your job.¡¹

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m a marquis you brat!¡¹

    ¡¸Wow, amazing. That¡¯s a prominent rank you have there. That¡¯s exactly why you¡¯re adequate for taking responsibility. It¡¯s okay for you to feel relieved you know? After all I¡¯ll be the one to clean up your mess. Aren¡¯t you d that you have a junior like me? I¡¯ll clean up your failure neatly.¡¹

    Iughed in provocation.

    Your failure was making me angry. Yes, that¡¯s all.

    ¡¸Just what do you think you can do you brat! A brat who don¡¯t even understand politic is talking big©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Hm~, perhaps you still don¡¯t get it? I¡¯ll say it frankly because it looks like you¡¯re unable to understand©¤©¤you lost. This time it¡¯s you guys¡¯ turn to be sacrifice for the country¡¯s sake. You tried to sacrifice me and obtain authority didn¡¯t you? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m angry about that. But, I simply want you to take responsibility.¡¹

    ¡¸Wh, why should I©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸You have lost already. You are defeated in political struggle and put the kingdom into danger. You have discarded a lot of weak people just like you did to me until now right? There were people who you crushed like me so that you could get ahead in life right?¡¹

    ¡¸What about it? Those are necessary sacrifices! Are you saying that¡¯s wrong? That¡¯s why a brat like you is no good. You don¡¯t understand politic at all!¡¹

    ©¤©¤It made me want to praise him instead for being so candid like this.

    Discarding the few for the sake of the many.

    How truly wonderful! The society won¡¯t think well of it but, I won¡¯t deny that method.

    Because©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Gramps, I said it remember? I¡¯m not denying you, instead I agree with that thinking. The weak should be cast away. The few should be sacrifice for the sake of the many! There isn¡¯t any need for any pretty words. That¡¯s why©¤©¤you can ept it right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yo, you bastard©¤©¤what are©¤©¤fugoh!¡¹

    I stuffed the gun muzzle into Marquis Frampton¡¯s mouth.

    ¡¸Aa, it¡¯s enough already. You don¡¯t need to talk anymore©¤©¤weakling. You guys are weak loser who ought to be casted away so you can ept it right? You can understand how the few has to be sacrificed in order to keep the many alive right? You will be the sacrifice readily won¡¯t you? You aren¡¯t going to say that you don¡¯t want it right?¡¹

    Marquis Frampton turned pale, but he tried to shake his head in refusal.

    The gun muzzle inside his mouth got in the way that he couldn¡¯t talk well.

    ¡¸You have sacrificed a lot of people cheerfully until now saying that it¡¯s necessary. You aren¡¯t going to say that it¡¯s wrong at this point right? If you have done as you please iming it¡¯s for the sake of the country, then this time©¤©¤you be the sacrifice for the country¡¯s sake.¡¹

    I pulled out the gun muzzle from Marquis Frampton¡¯s mouth and punched hisrge nose.

    Marquis Frampton is sent flying. His nose is broken and blood flowed from there.

    I gave themand to the surrounding.

    ¡¸The matter of you picking a fight with me, I¡¯ll forgive it with the punch just now. ©¤©¤Next atone for you sin. Take him away.¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yes!¡¹

    After the traitorous nobles got taken away, there are only few remaining nobles inside the audience hall.

    The military personnel©¤©¤the generals are also looking at me.

    ¡¸Now then, gentlemen who have learned that I was imprisoned because of false charge. There¡¯re several things that I should clear up first here. First©¤©¤I hate you guys. I hate this country. The reason? I have to work hard because of you idiots. Do your job properly!¡¹

    Many gazes stabbed at me.

    They too must have various justifications but, such things doesn¡¯t matter.

    In the first ce, just what in the world they were doing even though they¡¯re the pirs of this country? No, thinking carefully it must be pointless reasons. Such thing often happened even in the country of my previous life.

    There were plenty of cases that made me wanted to tilt my head wondering just why such thing happened.

    Even so, the previous world is still better.

    ©¤©¤I want to go back to Japan.

    Because, if it¡¯s the previous world it wouldn¡¯t be something tedious like this©¤©¤maybe? Well, doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s the fact that the previous world is absolutely the better world to live in.

    ¡¸Second. I understand that you guys don¡¯t have confidence in me. I myself don¡¯t trust you guys. The third is even simpler. ©¤©¤If there¡¯s someone here who think that if it¡¯s them they¡¯ll be able to overturn the situation and lead the kingdom to victory, then step forward. I¡¯ll let you take over for me anytime.¡¹

    The knights and military officers averted their gaze.

    It¡¯s clear from their attitude that they aren¡¯t convinced, but perhaps it¡¯s better that at least there isn¡¯t any idiot who nominate themselves thinking they can do better.

    If the suprememander is his highness Julius, surely these guys too would be able to ept it.

    Or rather, I myself want to refuse if I¡¯m told to the one standing at the top.

    ¡¸Thest one is extremely simple. I¡¯ll make you guys win if you obey my order. If you aren¡¯t going to obey then run away quickly. Don¡¯t hold any doubt, don¡¯t talk back, the only thing you guys are permitted to do is to follow my order. How¡¯s that, you guys get it?¡¹

    My voice echoed clearly through the noisy audience hall.

    ¡¸Fight and die for my sake. ©¤©¤In exchange I¡¯ll save this country.¡¹

    .

    Part 5

    After finishing the kickoff party, I¡¯m at my wits¡¯ end.

    ¡¸This is the worst!¡¹

    ¡ºSaying that now? Even though master was the one who said that you will be the one to do it. Even so, I¡¯m amazed that master could go that far in your speech. Master yourself was also underestimating the principality. In my conjecture this situation can be avoided if only master conducted yourself well.¡»

    ¡¸Shut up. In the first ce, was there any need for me to go that far?¡¹

    ¡ºWon¡¯t it be better for master to work harder if you dislike this situation? Master¡¯s boomerang performance is really godly. I¡¯m honestly impressed.¡»

    I said it myself that I¡¯ll do it but, even without thinking hard it¡¯s clear that it¡¯s already over for this country seeing how they¡¯re cing someone like me as the suprememander.

    There¡¯s an extremeck of talented people.

    I am facing Luxion inside a room that was prepared for me.

    ¡¸Anyway, the first priority is the evacuation. Assign those who don¡¯t want to obey mymand to evacuate the people of viges and cities located on the path of the enemy army. Make them evacuate people from the capital too.¡¹

    ¡ºThe insufficient military strength will decrease even further. I will create the paperwork for that arrangement.¡»

    The machine that looked like a printer which Luxion prepared is producing up decree in written form one after another.

    Luxion checked the data that we received and then he arranged various things like the organization of the force, the schedule, etc.

    ¡¸What is the situation of the enemy army?¡¹

    ¡ºTheir traveling speed is slow, so there is time until they arrive at the capital.¡»

    I took the finished up document and signed it.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll have your main body to do work too.¡¹

    ¡ºI don¡¯t mind that but, themunication is bad. If I end up needing to act at the other side of thend, the support for master will be minimal. I can¡¯t really rmend that.¡»

    ¡¸No problem.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Understood. Even so, the marquis was really capable.¡»

    ¡¸Ha?¡¹

    I¡¯m surprised hearing that. Luxion then boasted.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s impressive that he judged that the threat isn¡¯t Marie or even the principality, but the master who I¡¯m serving instead. Also, the marquis surely possessed knowledge regarding the royal family¡¯s ship. That¡¯s why he regarded master as dangerous while underestimating the principality.¡»

    Royal family¡¯s ship©¤©¤it made appearance in the game as the main character¡¯s airship, but it had the setting as a Lost Item that greatly helped the founding of the kingdom.

    Certainly it might be unavoidable for people to be wary of Partner which was also a Lost Item airship.

    ¡¸But, if he is really capable then the situation won¡¯t be like this.¡¹

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t the same can be said for master? Even though master possess a power like me, the situation still be like this and master even get ced into a position that you don¡¯t wish for. Master cannotugh at the marquis.¡»

    I wonder just where did I make a mistake. I¡¯m thinking that while signing the documents.

    .

    Part 6

    I stepped into the hangar that was built deep underground of the pce.

    The airship that was lying dormant there had beautiful white hull.

    The airship¡¯s shape was streamlined simr like Luxion.

    But, this one had a more borate design.

    Right now we were©¤©¤in front of the airship that would be the main character¡¯s mother ship.

    ¡¸It¡¯s big.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s approximately 400 meter. It¡¯s smaller than Partner.¡»

    ¡¸It looks strong.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s unreliablepared to Partner.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤The design is nice.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s a luxury cruise ship that ignored productivity and ease of maintenance. It cannot hope to match Partner¡¯s functional beauty.¡»

    Luxion seemed to feel a rivalry. He repeatedly boasted that Partner is better.

    I turned around and looked at the people present here.

    Other than the lining up mechanics who maintained this royal family¡¯s ship©¤©¤.

    Are his majesty who looked disgruntled and Mylene-sama who is exasperated with his act.

    The quintet are standing silently. Marie is looking awkward near them.

    Other than them, Livia and Ange are also here.

    I¡¯m the one who brought Livia here, while Ange is present as someone rted to the royal family.

    ¡¸That familiar is really proud of his own ship.¡¹

    I can¡¯t stop sweating coldly hearing his majesty¡¯s biting words.

    ¡¸This guy hate to lose. E, err, anyway! Let¡¯s get inside. Perhaps this thing will be able to move if it get repaired.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s impossible.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    His majesty pointed at a device in front of the airship.

    The object that is covered by a sheet is peeled off by his majesty¡¯s order and came into view.

    A heart shaped pedestal©¤©¤and a heart shaped backdrop appeared. The thing is really mismatched with this ce.

    ¡¸When two people who genuinely love each other stand there, the royal family¡¯s ship will recognize them as its owner and disy its power. The door won¡¯t even open and it¡¯s impossible to enter inside if there is no owner.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I don¡¯t think there was this kind of setting in the game.

    The ship should be reacting when the main character and her partner came in search of the royal family¡¯s ship.

    His majesty looked deeply emotional for some reason.

    ¡¸The royal family Hohlfahrt, and then the branch family Marmoreal House. In addition is Field House, Arclight House, Seberg House©¤©¤they are heroes who formed a party in the past. It must be destiny for their descendants to be all present here like this.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Feels like I had heard that in the game.

    There was a group of five men including the ancestor of Hohlfahrt royal family who formed a party before the founding of the kingdom. They were heroes. That¡¯s why, these five©¤©¤the bloodline of the five has the qualification to move the royal family¡¯s ship, or so they said.

    There was one more person in that party, a female adventurer whose name isn¡¯t known.

    There was the story that female adventurer was Livia¡¯s ancestor or something.

    If my memory isn¡¯t wrong, Livia¡¯s ancestor was the first generation saint.

    I wasn¡¯t interested so I thought ¡¸Yes, yes. Destiny, destiny, ain¡¯t that nice¡¹ and skipped all the game¡¯s exnation.

    I should read it more carefully, now I¡¯m regretting it.

    But, at that time I didn¡¯t have any thinking like one day I¡¯ll reincarnate into this otome game so I got to remember all this! so it can¡¯t be helped.

    If there is a guy who is thinking like that I¡¯ll look at him like he is crazy.

    ¡¸Only the royal family and the remaining four houses can be recognized by the royal family¡¯s ship. Other than them the only one with qualification is the family of thest party member who are lost in history©¤©¤that¡¯s what the legend told.¡¹

    His majesty boasted to me full of confidence.

    Does he has some kind of grudge to me? The only thing I¡¯ve done is only beating up your son and wooing your wife isn¡¯t it?

    Ah, no good. It can¡¯t be helped that he hates me. From other people¡¯s eyes that can only be seen as the doing of the worst scum.

    Luxion whispered to me.

    ¡ºWe will be able to enter inside the ship if the door is destroyed but©¤©¤perhaps it will be better to read the mood here?¡»

    What is necessary in the end is love.

    If there is a device to ascertain that love, then I want to ascertain it now that we have the chance.

    I asked Luxion to read the mood and we walked until the pedestal.

    Seeing the pedestal from nearby, it looks excessively horrible.

    This stage that is in the form of heart shaped pedestal doesn¡¯t have any mystique at all.

    Mylene-sama turned around toward us and spoke with a serious expression.

    ¡¸Have you resolved yourselves? This isn¡¯t an easy device at all just so you know.¡¹

    Mylene-sama was strangely nervous while his majesty suddenly fell silent.

    ¡¸First we will show everyone how to use this device. Is that alright, your majesty?¡¹

    ¡¸U, umu. It should work without fail this time!¡¹

    His majesty was flinching back from Mylene-sama¡¯s doubting gaze.

    When the two got on the heart shaped stage, a line lid up at the center.

    When the two stood up with the line between them, the heart shaped stage began to shine.

    The spot where the man is standing is colored blue.

    The spot where the woman is standing is red©¤©¤pink? Well, it shined with that kind of color.

    Then a voice came from the stage.

    ¡ºMan©¤©¤25 point! Woman©¤©¤58 point! Unfortunate!¡»

    ©¤©¤Eh?

    Everyone is looking at each other in confusion the Mylene-sama started hitting his majesty. Oi, that¡¯s a bit cute.

    ¡¸Liar! 25 point, what¡¯s with that! That score is already in the level of stranger or acquaintance!¡¹

    His majesty is making excuse, but he is looking extremely pathetic.

    ¡¸Shu, shut up! Even your score is just 58 point! Even you don¡¯t love me anymore! Yeah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m not seeing you as a woman anymore! What¡¯s bad from that!?¡¹

    I somehow guessed the mechanism from seeing the two of them arguing.

    ¡¸This device told someone¡¯s affection with number?¡¹

    Luxion nodded.

    ¡ºThis device is something like a joke item. Just now I tried essing this ship and investigated, but it seemed it¡¯s an airship that was made by a rich person as amusement. It was produced far even before the production of my main body. It seems it was used once for honeymoon before being ced inside a warehouse unused.¡»

    The reason of the creation of the royal family¡¯s ship is too questionable that I¡¯m troubled of how to react. Eh? The reason is something like that?

    Even if I said that this ship is civilian ship from the ancient times, no one would believe me.

    ¡ºBy the way, it seems that married couple divorced in two years.¡»

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to know that kind of information. Let¡¯s finish this right away. Now we understand how to use it. So it seems this ship might be able to move if someone among the group here got on there.¡¹

    The rtionship of Marie and the five is impossible to fix no matter how you looked at it.

    At this rate the royal family¡¯s ship will be unusable.

    ¡ºIt will be a valuable asset without a doubt if it can move. After all it is armed and also has far higher specs than the airship of this world. Ah, it needs to be repaired first though.¡»

    Until now it has been stored inside a hangar and treated carefully, but no one could perform maintenance for the ship¡¯s inside.

    To make an example, perhaps it¡¯s like a car that hasn¡¯t been serviced? Even though the inside is all worn out, only the outer appearance is pretty.

    But, the device to decide its owner is©¤©¤a joke item, that¡¯s really pathetic no matter how you cut it.

    ¡¸If it¡¯s no good no matter what we do, then I guess we¡¯ll destroy the door to enter inside.¡¹

    ¡ºThen, I shall call the manufacturing robots. Please wait ten minutes.¡»

    It will be lucky if someone got recognized by the device during that time.

    The problem is, even if the ship moved, as expected love will still be an indispensable factor in order for the ship to disy its capability.

    While I¡¯m feeling anxious wondering if it will really be alright©¤©¤.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Marie,e!¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Eh!?¡¹

    His highness Julius grabbed Marie¡¯s hand and roughly led her onto the device.

    He forcefully made his arguing parents to get down.

    If it¡¯s me, I¡¯ll be shocked to learn that my parents doesn¡¯t love each other but, his highness Julius seemed to be prioritizing Marie rather than his parents¡¯ lovers¡¯ quarrel.

    The device started up and measured the two¡¯s love in number.

    ¡ºMan©¤©¤90 point! Woman©¤©¤17 point! It ended up in an extremely unfortunate result.¡»

    The electronic sound didn¡¯t read the mood.

    It seemed it doesn¡¯t have high performance AI like Luxion.

    It only yed lines that had been prepared beforehand that is matching with the disyed score.

    Marie looked down.

    But, his highness Julius is smiling. Why? Has he snapped after knowing the reality?

    ¡¸If this is the result than I can ept it. Marie, I shall proim here. I swear that one day I will make you turn toward me.¡¹

    A promation to make a woman who tricked him and not loving him turn toward him.

    He is acting like this even though Ange is here.

    When I nced at Ange to check her state, she is making an exasperated face.

    ©¤©¤Yosh! It¡¯s fine if she isn¡¯t angry.

    Marie remained in that spot, then next Jilk reced his highness Julius to stand on the device.

    ¡ºMan 89 point. Woman 12 point. It ended up with a sad result.¡»

    Is thatst line needed!?

    Jilk kindly talked to the bewildered Marie who cannot understand the situation.

    ¡¸It¡¯s vexing that I lost against his highness but, I also cannot lose. Marie-san, I swear that I too will absolutely make you turn toward me.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Jilk.¡¹

    ¡¸Step aside, next is my turn. Marie, this is my feeling!¡¹

    This time Greg got up on the deive.

    ¡ºMan 91 point. Woman©¤©¤22 point. It¡¯s an unrequited love, just give up.¡»

    Stop with thatstment!

    Greg smiled powerlessly hearing the score.

    ¡¸It¡¯s painful. But you know, I¡¯m feeling refreshed with this. Marie, do you understand my feeling now? ©¤©¤I¡¯m not gonna give up on you.¡¹

    ¡¸Greg, li, listen to me!¡¹

    ¡¸Next is me.¡¹

    Greg jumped off from the device and Brad got on the stage confidently.

    ¡ºMan©¤©¤98 point! Woman©¤©¤9 point. What an amazing discrepancy.¡»

    Stop. I can¡¯t watch this anymore.

    ©¤©¤My stomach hurt from holding back myughter.

    ¡¸So my score is the lowest.¡¹[

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m sorry. But, I!¡¹

    ¡¸But, this is where it start. I¡¯m aiming to be Marie¡¯s number one from here. Marie, we realized it. That time, perhaps Marie acted coldly to push us away.¡¹

    Just what is these guys misunderstanding?

    Chris took Brad¡¯s spot.

    ¡¸Certainly we are unreliable. But, we©¤©¤have nothing else but Marie.¡¹

    No, there are a lot of other fine women. ©¤©¤Wake up already.

    ¡ºMan 87 point. Woman©¤©¤30 point! Isn¡¯t this woman too cold?¡»

    Marie is crying.

    ¡¸Everyone, you¡¯re wrong. Listen to what I have to say!¡¹

    His highness Julius took Marie¡¯s hand and led her down from the device.

    ¡¸We understand. It¡¯s pathetic but, we were unable to protect you. It¡¯s only natural that Marie is disgusted with us. We were unable to be by your side when it mattered.¡¹

    It seemed these five thought that it¡¯s natural for Marie to be disgusted with them for allowing her to be sent off to war.

    What a misunderstanding. I wish they would disy such good character before they met Marie.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry Marie©¤©¤we won¡¯t let go of you anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re wrong! That¡¯s why, listen to me!¡¹

    Everyone is acting like ¡¸We understand so it¡¯s fine¡¹, and yet Marie is desperately trying to convey something.

    Whatever, I don¡¯t care but, I was wrong for expecting love from this bunch.

    Now then, what to do?

    When I looked around, Mylene-sama is criticizing his majesty.

    ¡¸Even though Julius and others are showing score that high. When ite to you, your score wasn¡¯t even 40 point around the time when we first met.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re looking for love from a political marriage? In that case I also wanted to marry with someone I love.¡¹

    ¡¸You promised that you will increase your score without fail! You said that we would travel the sky together with the royal family¡¯s ship!¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously I was lying!¡¹

    ¡¸You are only full of hot air like that. You¡¯re always like this. You acted like an actor that only care for your own joy and get satisfied by yourself©¤©¤you¡¯re really just all talk!¡¹

    This side¡¯s rtionship is impossible to repair. ©¤©¤Or rather, it¡¯s just like Mylene-sama said, certainly this thing isn¡¯t an easy device. Depending on the result it would turn the situation to be a disaster.

    Also, the fact that his majesty is only putting a show to look good at the outside is sad.

    I¡¯ve realized that though. Since the first time we met, I was thinking that this guy feels shallow for some reason. ©¤©¤I wasn¡¯t tricked at all. I was aware of the truth!

    Now then, I nned to do something about the danger to this country, but even I cannot fix a danger to marriage life.

    After watching over the two¡¯s rtionship, I turned around toward Livia and Ange who are staying quiet.

    I got enough goodughs already, so I nned to return back together with the two.

    ¡¸Aa~, it must be that. Love is really difficult. Now then, let¡¯s return back. It will be fine to leave the rest to Luxion. ©¤©¤Hey you two, why are you grabbing my arms?¡¹

    The two are grabbing my arms. It feels like holding flowers in both hands.

    They silently pulled me toward the device.

    What¡¯s more they¡¯re pulling really strongly.

    ¡¸Wait. I¡¯m begging you two please wait! No! I don¡¯t want to get on that joke item!¡¹

    Livia and Ange forcefully tried to get me on it even though I¡¯m resisting in dislike.

    ¡¸Leon-san, please get on!¡¹

    ¡¸Everything will be clear using this. Even you who are always dodging the matter won¡¯t be able to lie with this!¡¹

    ¡¸No way! Something like this can beughed off when you¡¯re just an observer. I¡¯m absolutely not going to join in! My mental isn¡¯t strong like those guys. I¡¯m someone delicate. I won¡¯t be able to endure it if a bad resulte out!¡¹

    I couldugh because there was no way I would join in.

    And yet, the two are trying to put me on it.

    They talked about making it clear, so the two would surely stand on the opposite side to ascertain the love.

    It will be embarrassing even if the score is high, and if the score is low I¡¯ll surely fall into self-loathing wondering just what is love©¤©¤I¡¯ll also learn Livia and Ange¡¯s scores through it.

    If we¡¯re unlucky, a result that is bad for both sides might came out.

    I don¡¯t want that. I wouldn¡¯t know what kind of face to make when talking with the two of them after that.

    ¡¸Both of you, it¡¯s strange to measure love using number! Something like this is wrong!¡¹

    Luxion looked at me©¤©¤he looked amused.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s alright for other people but not for yourself. I think that¡¯s a wrong thing for human to be.¡»

    This damn AI, he betrayed me his master!

    ¡¸Stop! I won¡¯t be able to ept it if a bad resulte out! I won¡¯t be tough it off as someone else¡¯s problem! Even though I wanted to end it with augh like this! Even though I wanted it to finish with meughing at everyone!¡¹

    After I yelled that, his highness Julius and others gathered around me with unsteady gait.

    His majesty put his hand on my shoulder and grinned widely.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be boring if you be the only one not doing anything right? Your smirking face was really irritating. Get on there already!¡¹

    I got brought until right in front of the device with the men pushing me, but I crouched down in resistance.

    Livia and Ange got on the device. Each of them pulled at my hands to drag me on the stage.

    ¡¸Leon-san. It¡¯ll be over before you know it.¡¹

    ¡¸Get on quickly and make it clear!¡¹

    His highness Julius and©¤©¤Marie also pushed my back.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, you better resolve yourself too!¡¹

    ¡¸You get on it toooo!¡¹

    ¡¸You guys, you better remember this. I absolutely won¡¯t forgive this day! Ah, wait!¡¹

    While I am desperately resisting, the stage shined pink and a fanfare resounded to the surrounding.

    The engine sound of the airship growled throughout the room.

    ¡º120 point for both sides! Congrattions. The two of you are tied together with true love!¡»

    Everyone let go of me. I tumbled backward from being suddenly let go.

    On the stage were Livia and Ange.

    ph_mobuseka03_ill005

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ange¡¹

    ¡¸Livia©¤©¤you¡¹

    The two on the stage blushed red and stared at each other shyly.

    Right after that the two hugged each other tightly with their hands going around each other¡¯s waist.

    Their distance is©¤©¤really close.

    ¡¸Tha, that, I¡¯m happy.¡¹

    ¡¸I feel the same.¡¹

    While the surrounding is also dumbfounded,

    ¡ºThere is no mention that the same sex is no good, so this too must be one of the correct answer.¡»

    I sat down hearing Luxion¡¯s words. ©¤©¤To be honest I had a slight hope.

    I thought that my score would be higher than Marie and those five.

    As expected, there is no way that the result would be a tragedy like those guys, I thought.

    And yet, seeing the two of them noticing their feeling and staring at each other¡¯s eyes, I learned the truth.

    ¡¸©¤©¤In the end I¡¯m just a mob in charge ofedy anyway! This kind of treatment is the best I can hope for!¡¹

    It¡¯s aplicated feeling.

    I didn¡¯t know that my extremely beautiful acquaintances are getting into yurilesbian development.

    It¡¯s a sad feeling, but there is also happy feeling that their partner isn¡¯t another man.

    But, as expected it¡¯s so sad that I¡¯m crying on the spot.

    Mylene-sama ced her hand on my shoulder.

    ¡¸Le, Leon-kun. I don¡¯t know what to say here but©¤©¤don¡¯t be disheartened.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I, ran away from that ce while crying.

    ¡¸This is cruel!¡¹

    ¡¸Leon-kun!¡¹

 Chapter 101 - Volume 3 Chapter 8

    Otomege Volume 3 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8 ¨C Departure

    .

    Part 1

    I took a deep breath.

    I¡¯m watching the scenery of sunrise from the pce¡¯s rooftop.

    When the cold air entered the body, the coldness awakened my eyes.

    Many airships came and went from the capital, continuing to evacuate the citizens thoroughly the night.

    ¡ºMaster, Partner¡¯s preparation is finished.¡»

    ¡¸With this our side¡¯s battle preparation is ready huh.¡¹

    The capital is in chaos while the evacuation is going on.

    ¡¸I wish that everything will keep progressing just like nned.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Themunication is worsening further along with the approach of the gigantic monster. When my main body circles to the other side of thend, I won¡¯t be able to support master except for the bare minimum. Master, is that really alright?¡»

    Luxion confirmed once more.

    This spherical form with one eye is an extension of Luxion¡¯s main body.

    If its link with the main body is cut off, its capability would drop no matter what.

    Themunication is worsening because of the gigantic monster that we can¡¯t even scout the enemy like before.

    In other words©¤©¤we don¡¯t know how the principality will move.

    What we know is only that the gigantic monster is slowly moving toward the capital.

    We also sent out the kingdom¡¯s airship for scouting but, the number iscking that it¡¯s impossible to call it thorough.

    ¡¸We also have Livia and Ange so it¡¯s fine. We¡¯re going to blow away the monsters with their power of love.¡¹

    ¡ºLove is it? If something can really be done about this situation with love somehow, then I wonder what is the love that is overflowing all over the world?¡»

    ¡¸There is no way I know the answer of that. We can think about something like that after winning.¡¹

    ¡ºMore importantly, is this really alright? Master has been avoiding those two since then hasn¡¯t you?¡»

    I learned that the two loved each other using the joke item.

    There isn¡¯t any need for me to be a nuisance for them.

    ¡¸As expected that was too unexpected even for me that I cannot say anything.¡¹

    ¡ºIt seems the two of them were searching for master after that.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s not like I¡¯m avoiding them because of that joke item. I just don¡¯t want to meet them right now.¡¹

    I decided to go to war.

    Now that it has reached this point, I too have to resolve myself.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t meet them because it feels like my resolve will be blunt if I do that, that¡¯s all.¡¹

    ¡ºIf only master said that honestly from the start©¤©¤! Master!!¡»

    ©¤©¤Luxion is looking up to the sky.

    .

    Part 2

    In one of the rooms of the pce.

    Leon¡¯s teacher was there.

    He was preparing tea since early in the morning and served it to the two women who were sitting at his opposite side.

    The two were Mylene and Hertrude. There was an air of tension from them.

    ¡¸Princess Hertrude, can¡¯t you stop this war?¡¹

    Hertrude answered right away after Mylene said that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible. The principality has endured for dozens of years until now for this day. This time it¡¯s your country¡¯s turn to be trampled.¡¹

    Mylene closed her eyes seeing the faint smile on Hertrude¡¯s face.

    ¡¸I understand your feeling that want to say that the kingdom is to me. But©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, do you intend to threaten me? It¡¯s toote. The magic flute that child has summon the sky and sea guardian deities of the principality. Once the order has been given, they won¡¯t stop until the order is carried out. ©¤©¤It¡¯s already toote.¡¹

    There wouldn¡¯t be any meaning even if she was used as hostage for negotiation.

    When Hertrude said that, Mylene shook her head.

    She ced a very old document and a single book that she brought here on the table.

    ¡¸What could this be?¡¹

    ¡¸First read this one.¡¹

    The document that Hertrude read came from the era when the principality had just gone independent.

    In it, the reparation for the act of barbarity so far was written.

    The reparation wasn¡¯t about the act of barbarity that was carried out by the kingdom, but by the principality.

    ¡¸Li, lies. The principality fought the kingdom for its independence due to the unjust treatment from them! This is a forgery.¡¹

    Mylene looked toward Hertrude withpletely exasperated eyes.

    ¡¸So you have been raised hearing only the pretty story. You¡¯re really a wonderful princess as a puppet.¡¹

    Written in the book was the history between the kingdom and principality.

    The king of the principality©¤©¤a former archduke of Hohlfahrt Kingdom was connected to a country that was hostile toward the kingdom and attacked the kingdom many times.

    He piged the territory he invaded without the slightest mercy.

    The military power of the archduke house was considerable, so the kingdom was at aplete loss.

    Even though it would be simple to crush a single archduke house, the kingdom also had other enemies in the surrounding, so they were unable to exert their full strength.

    Because of that, Brad¡¯s house the Field House was appointed as feudal lord of that area to protect the national border.

    ¡¸They prepared military instations, assembled airships, and turned floating ind into fortress. That was an enormous expenditure of fund and material.¡¹

    The kingdom was angry at the archduke house and treated them not as retainer but as enemy country.

    When the archduke house introduced itself as principality, they became unable to continue their piging like before and they were temporarily exhausted.

    Furthermore Field House was pinning down the principality.

    As the result©¤©¤the principality tried to assemble military strength. In order to obtain floating stone from floating ind that was still lived in by people, they bombarded and destroyed the ind.

    Floating stone was an indispensable resource for airship construction.

    In order to gather it, they destroyed a single floating ind that had people living there.

    The kingdom and Field House were enraged and defeated the military of the principality.

    They were made to pay reparation, which was written in the document that Heltrude was holding right now.

    ¡¸The principality attacked the kingdom again even after that. The damage became small after a feudal lord was positioned there, but the grudge didn¡¯t vanish. When the kingdom attacked the principality previously, the soldiers who marched there were the people who lived in the ce that had been piged by the principality until then.¡¹

    She wouldn¡¯t say that the kingdom was absolutely in the right, but Mylene thrust the truth to Heltrude.

    ¡¸The principality really loves to pige from the kingdom aren¡¯t they?¡¹

    ¡¸Wrong! The principality fought for our independence. It was because the kingdom forced us into an unfair treaty!¡¹

    ¡¸We only demanded reparation. Though the principality didn¡¯t have any intention to pay at all at that time. They lost so they paid reluctantly. Was it the kingdom¡¯s fault that their living became tough because of that?¡¹

    Hertrude¡¯s face went red and her hand moved to take a cup, but teacher quickly moved.

    ¡¸It seems the tea has gone cold. I shall brew another.¡¹

    Hertrude red at teacher in frustration, even then Mylene told her as though to say that she was the one talking with her.

    ¡¸You have the duty to know. Certainly the kingdom piged the principality¡¯s territory. But, it¡¯s troubling that you had forgotten how it started to reach that point.¡¹

    Hertrude was in confusion, but teacher suddenly turned his gaze outside the window.

    The sound of siren resounded, notifying that enemy hade to the capital.

    Mylene stood up from her chair.

    ¡¸They¡¯re faster than expected.¡¹

    Teacher looked toward Hertrude.

    ¡¸Are they here to rescue her highness?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s possible. The magic flute mustn¡¯t be allowed to fall into their hand. Where is Leon-kun?¡¹

    ¡¸Partner is already sallying out. Mister Leon has gone out to intercept the enemy. How very reliable.¡¹

    Hertrude was trembling. She was looking down, unable to ept the fact.

    ¡¸Both of you, please excuse me.¡¹

    Teacher made the two to duck on the floor.

    Right after that, sound of explosion reverberated in the sky of the capital.

    .

    Part 3

    Arroganznded down on the pce¡¯s rooftop.

    I immediately boarded it and received exnation from Luxion about the situation.

    ¡ºThey got us. It¡¯s a surprise attack from the sky.¡»

    ¡¸Even your radar isn¡¯t a big deal huh.¡¹

    ¡ºI mentioned that themunication is bad. I wish that you will praise me for detecting the attack before it was carried out. Partner, scramble.¡»

    Partner sallied to protect the sky of the capital. Seeing that I grabbed Arroganz¡¯s control stick and flew to the sky.

    The sound of siren is reverberating through the capital.

    ¡¸How many?¡¹

    ¡ºThirty ships. They must be a detached force. The airships dropped down bombs at the same time when they were descending.¡»

    ¡¸Shot them down.¡¹

    The barrage of bullet and explosions that Partnerid out hit the targets.

    Explosions bloomed in the sky. ck smoke covered the capital.

    The sky with beautiful morning sun suddenly became like a cloudy sky.

    ¡ºMaster, the kingdom¡¯s army is asking for order. It seems the sortie of the interception squad will bete.¡»

    ¡¸Make them prioritize the evacuation. I and you will do something about those guys until our allies got up to the sky.¡¹

    ¡ºThe enemy deployed armor and ground force.¡»

    I tightly grabbed the control stick and took out a rifle from the container on Arroganz¡¯s back.

    I picked up the voices of the pilots riding the armor of principality¡¯s army.

    Noises were mixed with themunication. It¡¯s hard to listen to.

    ¡ºThe fiendish knight, he came out!¡»

    ¡ºCaptain, an armor that big is closing in so fast!¡»

    I fixed my aim at the captain unit and Arroganz pulled the trigger of the rifle.

    ¡ºNo problem. That guy is a coward who can¡¯t even kill human©¤©¤eh?¡»

    The stomach part got shot through. When the armor exploded, the surrounding armors are panicking.

    ¡ºCAPTAIIIIN!¡»

    ¡ºWasn¡¯t that guy a knight who refuse to kill!?¡»

    The enemies pointed their rifle to me. In respond I strongly gripped the control stick.

    ©¤©¤What do you mean refusing to kill.

    I persisted in not killing because the situation at the field trip was still manageable for me somehow.

    If you guys attacked until the capital©¤©¤I can¡¯t keep persisting in not killing anymore.

    ¡¸It¡¯s you guys who cornered me until this far. Don¡¯t think bad of me.¡¹

    I dodged the bullets, and even if they hit they got deflected by Arroganz¡¯s armor.

    I equipped the left hand with battle axe deeply cut into an armor that I passed by.

    I kicked away another armor that drew near before readying my rifle and aimed at the engine part of an airship that is descending to the capital.

    When I pulled the trigger, the bullet prated the airship©¤©¤a bitter fire blew out from the airship.

    The soldiers of the principality are running around in confusion at the sky.

    I¡¯m watching that from the monitor.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the worst. This is really the worst. If only you guys don¡¯te, I wouldn¡¯t need to do something like this!¡¹

    ¡ºMaster wouldn¡¯t need to fight if you ran away though?¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m fighting because I¡¯ll feel even worse doing that! I hate the kingdom but, I hate the principality even more! Rather than this worrying about marriage would still be better!¡¹

    I pushed down my urge to vomit and piloted Arroganz. Then the enemies around me converged on me.

    My finger on the trigger is trembling.

    Armors areing toward Arroganz.

    ¡ºStop him!¡»

    ¡ºThis fiend!¡»

    ¡ºDon¡¯t challenge the fiendish knight alone! Attack all at once!¡»

    It seems fiend and fiendish knight are my nicknames. ©¤©¤What do you mean fiend.

    The fiend is©¤©¤you guys, for making me do something like this.

    ¡¸You bastards, don¡¯t attack me just because of unjustified resentment!¡¹

    I destroyed another one and aimed my rifle to an airship.

    .

    Part 4

    The sky of the capital became a battlefield.

    Julius was running through a corridor in the pce.

    ¡¸Jilk!¡¹

    He found Jilk wearing a pilot suit.

    ¡¸Your highness, you are safe!¡¹

    Jilk ran toward Julius. Julius looked up outside the window while making a vexed expression.

    ¡¸What the hell the principality is thinking? What is their reason attacking the capital at this point with a detached force?¡¹

    The principality army came attacking by themselves without bringing monsters with them. Julius thought of that as strange. In respond Jilk talked about his thought.

    ¡¸Perhaps they are trying to take back her highness Heltrude©¤©¤and the magic flute?¡¹

    Julius hit the wall with his right hand. He didn¡¯t even try to hide his irritation.

    ¡¸What is Bartfalt doing!?¡¹

    ¡¸He is going out to intercept them. Your highness, please withdraw.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid. I¡¯m going out too.¡¹

    While they were doing that, Mylene and Hertrude©¤©¤and teacher appeared with royal guards protecting them.

    Mylene told Julius with a stern tone.

    ¡¸You¡¯re not allowed.¡¹

    ¡¸Mother?¡¹

    Julius turned around and requested Mylene to be allowed to sortie out.

    He was unable to watch quietly in this situation.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll also sortie out. Mother and everyone should evacuate right away.¡¹

    ¡¸Julius, you don¡¯t have the strength to fight. Also, your duty is to survive.¡¹

    ¡¸Jilk is going to fight! Are you telling me to run away by myself!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. The only thing you can do is to run away.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not asking you to give me an airship. If you only give me an armor©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Julius, there is no one to prepare an armor for your sake.¡¹

    ¡¸Then isn¡¯t it the same with Jilk!?¡¹

    Jilk too should not own an armor just like him.

    ¡¸I requested my house to prepare an armor for me. The other three are also the same. Your highness, please leave the rest to us.¡¹

    Julius powerlessly shook his head hearing Jilk telling him that.

    ¡¸Why? Why are you four betraying me!? We spoke about us cooperating with each other. Were those words a lie? We said that we will protect Marie together!¡¹

    Mylene stopped Julius when he condemned Jilk who was looking down.

    ¡¸Julius, there is no more armor or airship in the pce. You don¡¯t have the strength to fight. You should obediently evacuate together with us here.¡¹

    There was no armor for Julius to use because all the armors and airships in the possession of the pce were dispatched.

    But, Julius recalled one thing.

    ¡¸There is! The airship of the duke should still have left over armor. I heard that they are recruiting knights. If I head there immediately©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Do you remember what you did to Redgrave House? The duke is not your backer anymore. Jilk, the enemy army is descending. Be quick if you¡¯re going to sortie.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes! My queen, and then your highness©¤©¤I¡¯m off.¡¹

    When Mylene said ¡¸May the fortune of war be with you¡¹ and saw him off, Julius ran away from that ce.

    .

    Part 5

    The inside of the pce was in chaos.

    Ange was running while pulling Livia¡¯s hand.

    Livia was looking anxious seeing outside the window.

    ¡¸For them to approacah the capital undetected¡¹

    ¡¸The noise of themunication devices is worse than usual. If Luxion couldn¡¯t detect them then it would be hopeless for us. In any case, we have to go to the royal family¡¯s ship.¡¹

    Ange turned her gaze to outside the window and saw Partner¡¯s figure.

    It was protecting the sky of the capital by itself.

    (Where is that Leon right now?)

    Leon vanished after the two of them were recognized by the royal family¡¯s ship.

    When they asked around, it seemed he was feeling dejected. After that the two of them also became busy due to being chosen by the ship and in the end they couldn¡¯t meet Leon.

    Livia looked down.

    ¡¸Have Leon-san became fed up with us seeing us getting carried away like that?¡¹

    ¡¸I, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case but©¤©¤no, certainly it was our bad. But, I never thought that he would be gone without even giving us any chance to apologize.¡¹

    After that, the robots that Luxion dispatched arrived and started repairing the royal family¡¯s ship.

    They pried open the door and entered inside before starting the repair. It caused a huge ruckus.

    They could hear the sounds of bombardment and explosion continuing without pause from the sky of the capital.

    (Both father and brother aren¡¯t here. The timing is too bad.)

    Airships that sallied out to protect the sky of the pce showed themselves.

    Three of the ships were airships that were left behind by the duke to protect Ange.

    They were prepared in order to take Ange away to escape when push came to shove.

    Julius appeared in front of Ange and Olivia breathing hard with heaving shoulders.

    Ange was looking outside the window and only noticed him when he was already close.

    ¡¸Your highness, what are you doing at this kind of ce!? Please escape quickly.¡¹

    Ange proposed for him to hurry and evacuate, in respond Julius bowed his head.

    ¡¸Angelica, I have a request. I want to borrow the military asset you have©¤©¤the fleet of the duke.¡¹

    Livia couldn¡¯t keep up with the situation. She was only looking in bewilderment.

    Ange was surprised for a moment but she immediately turned calm and shook her head.

    ¡¸They are my guards but not my subordinates. The one who canmand them is only father or brother©¤©¤or perhaps Leon. I cannot abide by your request.¡¹

    Frustration appeared in Julius¡¯s face, even so he kept making his request.

    ¡¸Then, it¡¯s fine even if it¡¯s just a single armor. I don¡¯t want to be a coward.¡¹

    Julius bowed his head, saying that he didn¡¯t want to run away from the battlefield. Ange strongly denied his words.

    ¡¸You must not. Your highness, please evacuate together with us.¡¹

    Julius lifted up his face in respond to Ange¡¯s words.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Do you hate me for betraying your feeling? That¡¯s why you won¡¯t lend me your strength right?¡¹

    Ange noticed from hearing Julius¡¯s words.

    (I wonder why©¤©¤I don¡¯t feel any hatred or frustration anymore.)

    Her worry toward Leon was stronger than her wish for revenge.

    At the same time, she wanted to see Leon¡¯s face quickly.

    ¡¸If you asked my just a little while ago, it¡¯s the truth that I hated your highness. But, now I¡¯m©¤©¤in love with Leon. I don¡¯t hold any resentment for your highness.¡¹

    When Ange said that with a smile, Julius was captivated by her face.

    He was going to say something, but the knights of the duke found them and ran toward them.

    ¡¸Mydy, so you¡¯re here!¡¹

    Ange immediately ordered them.

    ¡¸We will head to the underground from here. Bring his highness together with us too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes-!¡¹

    The knights surrounded Julius, and then they started evacuating toward the underground hangar.

    Livia gripped Ange¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Are you alright? That, err©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it. I¡¯m alright. It feels like I¡¯m set free from many things.¡¹

    Ange said that with a smile. Julius looked down seeing that.

    Livia looked at Julius and asked.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Julius smiled in self-derision.

    ¡¸This is my first time seeing Angelica smiling like that. ©¤©¤That¡¯s all.¡¹

    Ange could hear those words of Julius, but she didn¡¯t even pay any heed to it and worried about Leon.

    (Leon,e back no matter what.)

    .

    Part 6

    The principality¡¯s airship.

    There was Garrett¡¯s figure in the bridge.

    ¡¸You¡¯re getting in the way again, fiendish knight! Even though I volunteered to lead the surprise attack force because I thought you absolutely wouldn¡¯t appear!¡¹

    He thought that Leon wouldn¡¯t appear because he was imprisoned by the kingdom, so he was flustered by Arroganz¡¯s attack.

    He heard that both Partner and Arroganz could only be moved by Leon.

    Garrett immediately judged that in that case it was Leon riding them.

    ¡¸Even though we have to recover the magic flute before the main force arrive!¡¹

    The main force was moving together with the gigantic monster that was said to be the guardian deity of the sky.

    The spot where the monster appeared was far from the capital and there was also the w of the slow traveling speed of the guarding deity, so the main force still hadn¡¯t arrived in the capital.

    ¡¸That magic flute is a precious item to summon the guardian deity of earth. We cannot lose©¤©¤¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t Hertrude but the magic flute that Garrett wanted to recover.

    It was a treasure of the principality. It would affect his future if it stayed lost.

    Because of that he forcible said ¡¸We will rescue Hertrude¡¹ and borrowed thirty ships from Hertrauda tounch a surprise attack at the capital.

    A nearby officer reported to Garrett.

    ¡¸Count, ten ships are already sunk. The armors are also getting shot down one after another.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that just from looking! That fiendish knight, giving up his policy of non killing like this, he has no pride as knight! At this rate if that guye here, I©¤©¤I, ca, cannot die in this kind of ce!¡¹

    Garrett immediately decided to retreat, but it was already toote.

    The airship¡¯s bridge©¤©¤Arroganz appeared in front of it.

    A voice came from the armor.

    ¡ºSo this is the gship.¡»

    Garrett covered his face with both hands in front of the gun muzzle aimed his way.

    Arroganz¡¯s container opened and the missiles stored there were fired toward the airship.

    ¡¸IN THIS KIND OF PLACEEEEE!¡¹

    Garrett¡¯s consciousness cut off the moment Arroganz pulled the trigger.

    .

    Part 7

    At one of the evacuation sites of the capital.

    rice was the one protecting the people who were trying to board the airships there.

    She was giving instruction to board the airship.

    She was helping the refugees boarding into the airships owned by Atlee House to escape from the capital.

    ¡¸Protect the refugees no matter what!¡¹

    They were taking in the refugees in a hurry, but the principality army was pushing on fiercely.

    The knights and soldiers were building barricade on the ground and fighting back, but they were getting pushed back.

    Students riding air bike were battling the principality¡¯s air bike force in the air. Both the ground and the sky were noisy.

    The armors protecting rice on the ground could be seen getting destroyed by the armors of the principality.

    rice considered surrendering, but the enemy mercilesslyunched attack at the airships.

    She used a megaphone in panic to inform the opponent but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Wait, these ships aren¡¯t warship! There are refugees inside!¡¹

    ¡ºIt doesn¡¯t matter even if they¡¯re refugees. Die to make up for your sins you fiends of the kingdom.¡»

    rice gritted her teeth in frustration at the enemy¡¯s voice.

    ¡¸All of you, are also the same acting violently as you please!¡¹

    Then one armor©¤©¤appeared in front of the bridge.

    It swung the axe it was holding and dealt a gash at the ceiling.

    The armor then forcefully widened the gash and entered inside. Then a vulgarughter came from it.

    ¡ºThere¡¯s a woman here! What¡¯s more she is a noble woman!¡»

    rice broke out in a cold sweat from the bad premonition she got.

    Because she knew what would happen to woman who was captured in battlefield, her body was trembling from imagining the same happening to her after this.

    The armor reached out toward rice. The nearby crews were firing their rifle, even then the armor¡¯s ting deflected the bullets.

    ¡ºThere is no way that kind of peashooter will work. Atone for your sins with that body of yours!¡»

    The moment the armor¡¯s hand almost reached rice, the armor got torn away from the bridge violently.

    There was Arroganz¡¯s figure there.

    It pointed the rifle its right hand was holding toward the enemy army and pulled the trigger.

    The bullet pierced the armor¡¯s stomach part and the enemy¡¯s movement stopped, then a voice came from the armor that Arroganz held up in its grip.

    It was struggling fiercely though it was unable to get away from Arroganz even then.

    ¡ºLet go! You©¤©¤¡»

    Shockwave was unleashed from Arroganz¡¯s left hand. The armor¡¯s pilot became quiet then.

    The armor was tossed away and Arroganz immediately left toward the next battlefield. rice saw it off before letting out a small sigh. The armor that was tossed away fell on the ground.

    The armor got its stomach shot through and became unmoving©¤©¤that way of fighting that wasn¡¯t thinking of holding back made rice saw through how Leon was forcing himself.

    ¡¸Leon-kun©¤©¤so you have resolved yourself.¡¹

    And then she whispered with a worried look.

    .

    Part 8

    ¡¸Mydy Deirdre, please escape!¡¹

    Refugees were flooding into the mansion of Rosede House in the capital.

    Knights were riding armor and fighting in the sky while airships were firing cannons at each other.

    The airships that were shot down fell onto the capital. Fires and smokes were rising everywhere.

    Deridre dered to the knights guarding her.

    ¡¸You are telling this me to run away? If I run away here, I won¡¯t be able to show my face toward Otou-sama and Onii-sama who are fighting to protect our territory.¡¹

    ¡¸Mydy isn¡¯t a knight! There is no one who will condemn you even if you run away!¡¹

    The knights became desperate, but Deirdre ignored them and gave an order.

    ¡¸Send out the airships of our house! It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of airship it is. Evacuate the citizens immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸Mydy will also board that airship won¡¯t you!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I¡¯ll board it. ©¤©¤Thest airship that is.¡¹

    ¡¸MY LADY YOU IDIOOOTTT!¡¹

    The knight cried while running away to convey Deirdre¡¯s order.

    The showy armors of Rosede House that were protecting the sky above the mansion were heading away because some enemies were approaching from there.

    A part of the armors of the principality army were hitting the mansions of the nobles thoroughly.

    A principality¡¯s armor broke through the guard armors andnded on the mansion¡¯s garden.

    The refugees ran around scattering like baby spider. Deirdre was enraged.

    The principality¡¯s armor pointed its weapon to the refugees.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not something a knight will do!¡¹

    ¡¸What are you doing mydy!?¡¹

    The knights ran toward Deirdre to allow her to escape.

    The principality knight retorted back.

    ¡ºYou have no right to say that to us! The kingdom will sink anyway. Even if I kill you all now, that only means that you die earlier than the others!¡»

    The principality¡¯s armor pointed its gun muzzle at Deirdre.

    ¡ºBeg for your life!¡»

    Deirdre was scared and became unable to move, but she acted courageously.

    ¡¸Begging for one¡¯s life doesn¡¯t suit a daughter of Rosede House. You n to kill me anyway right? Then do it already!¡¹

    ¡¸Mydy, please don¡¯t provoke the enemy!¡¹

    The principality¡¯s armor was enraged by Deirdre¡¯s stubborn attitude and about to pull the trigger©¤©¤he was shot through from right above.

    The principality¡¯s armor copsed powerlessly.

    When Deirdre looked up to the sky, the guard armors were rushing toward her position©¤©¤behind them an armor with a container on its back were leaving away.

    ¡¸Oh, not even giving me a greeting is he? What a detestable person.¡¹

    The guardian knight stroked his chest in relieve while saying.

    ¡¸Mydy, please don¡¯t put a brave front while your legs are shaking. Come on, let¡¯s evacuate quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸Wa, wait a second! ©¤©¤I can¡¯t move.¡¹

    The guardian knight let out a long sigh, then he lent Deirdre his shoulder and led her into the mansion.

    .

    Part 9

    Inside the cockpit.

    I puked into the vomit bag for who knew how many times.

    The piercing smell of gastric juice was disgusting.

    The descending principality army was rampaging inside the capital.

    ¡¸Just surrender. Why are you guys rampaging? The battle is decided already.¡¹

    He crushed the gship.

    Even though he had beaten their leader, they still continued their opposition.

    ¡ºThey must think that they will be killed anyway even if they surrender.¡»

    A part of principality army surrendered, but the kingdom army didn¡¯t ept it and shot them dead.

    Smokes are rising from everywhere in the capital due to the urban warfare.

    The airships and armors of the principality fell down and destroyed the buildings, turning the surrounding into a sea of fire.

    ¡¸We will need to send rescue party after taking care of this. Those who won¡¯t obey me still need to work.¡¹

    ¡ºEven they will work if it¡¯s for the sake of their birthce.¡»

    I wiped my mouth and then looked around.

    ¡¸Where is the next battlefield?¡¹

    I asked Luxion, but it seemed the time hase.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, looks like it¡¯s time. From here I can only give the bare minimum support.¡»

    His voice was like usual but it sounded apologetic.

    ¡¸I see. Work hard there.¡¹

    ¡ºIs it really alright?¡»

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind so just go. I can only ask this to you anyway.¡¹

    Luxion looked at me with his single eye, and then he nodded once and moved his eye.

    ¡ºThe repair of royal family¡¯s ship is finished. I attached a different AI than me for support. Please consult that AI in case something happen.¡»

    ¡¸A different AI than you?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. Also, remember to not be careless©¤©¤if it¡¯s hopeless re©¤©¤tre©¤©¤at©¤©¤¡»

    The electronic sound is mixed with noise before he could finish speaking. And then Luxion¡¯s voice changed slightly different from usual.

    Even though it should be the same electronic voice, it sounded like a different person to me.

    ¡ºThe link with the main body is cut off.¡»

    I felt slightly uneasy hearing the mechanical tone, even so I ced my arm back on the control stick.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m counting on you, partner.¡¹

    .

    Part 10

    Luxion was between the floatingnd and the sea.

    The sunlight was blocked by thend. The limited space was dark.

    The pir of water extending from the sea was the seawater that thend was drawing up.

    Other than that, there were also several arms that looked like tentacle piercing thend from the sea.

    Arge human face protruded out from the sea surface.

    That monster that looked like an ind was the gigantic monster that was called the guardian deity of the sea.

    Airship©¤©¤spaceship Luxion¡¯s size was more than 700 meters.

    Even that Luxion looked smallpared to this monster.

    ¡ºWhat an extremely big monster.¡»

    Luxion slipped below thend alone and stayed in the front of the monster that was called the guardian deity of the sea. He was calm.

    ¡ºWell, there is no problem at all with defeating it continuously.¡»

    When Luxion¡¯s main cannon unleashed light, the arms that were stabbing into thend were all severed and changed into ck smoke.

    When the eyes of therge face saw Luxion, tentacles came out one after another from the sea and entangled around Luxion.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t touch me.¡»

    After saying that,ser gun muzzle appeared from the grey colored hull one after another.

    Thesers that were fired from the gun muzzles cleared away the tentacles.

    Then a firing muzzle for missile showed up from the hull. It fired a single missile.

    It caused arge explosion when hitting that blew away the gigantic monster.

    The ck smoke blowing out from the monster spread out to cover the surrounding view.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s gradually regenerating. So master¡¯s information isn¡¯t wrong.¡»

    When tentacles appeared from the sea surface once more, he shot through them one after another.

    The sea surface billowed in a grand scale when the monster that was like a squid with human face showed its figure in front of Luxion.

    Seeing that figure Luxion©¤©¤shot through it with his main cannon and it changed into ck smoke once more.

    ¡ºIt doesn¡¯t look like that you will be able to achieve your objective as long as I¡¯m here.¡»

    The problem was the other one©¤©¤the guardian deity of the sky. He was unable to face that one.

    He could only leave that one to Leon and Partner.

    He repeated his attack on the enemy that seemed to be regenerating or perhaps resurrecting. Luxion was sealing the enemy¡¯s movementpletely.

    ¡ºCertainly I won¡¯t lose, but it¡¯s also impossible to win. The problem is the other monster at the opposite side©¤©¤master¡¯s survivability rate is going down more than expected.¡»

    Luxion started improving Schwert©¤©¤Leon¡¯s air bike in the factory inside him.

    ¡ºSchwert, you shall be born again for master¡¯s sake.¡»

    Luxion was facing the gigantic monster at the space between thend and sea.

 Chapter 102 - Volume 3 Chapter 9

    Otomege Volume 3 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9 ¨C Devil

    .

    Part 1

    The main force of principality army that was moving together with the sky guardian.

    Hertrauda was in front of an old knight.

    That old knight¡¯s right arm was covered with something ck. He was Bandel, the former ck knight.

    Hertrauda addressed Bandel who was kneeling in front of her with a cold tone.

    ¡¸I should have told you that I can¡¯t give you permission to sally out.¡¹

    Bandel didn¡¯t open his mouth. An influential retainer staying near Hertrauda exined the reason of this refusal.

    ¡¸Bandel-dono, if you are after the kingdom then we the main force of principality is the same. We wish for Bandel-dono to fight together with us there.¡¹

    Hertrauda narrowed her eyes.

    (The magic right arm©¤©¤in the end Bandel is the only one who can use it.)

    More than ten people became sacrifice in order to choose a knight who could use the magic right arm.

    In the end, Bandel was the only one who survived having the magic right arm attached on him.

    There was an incision on Bandel¡¯s ck right arm. An eye appeared from there and looked around.

    The raw naked eye turned its gaze toward Hertrauda and stayed unmoving.

    ¡¸My apologies. I¡¯m still unable to control it perfectly. Your highness Hertrauda, I beg you to give me the permission to rescue your elder sister.¡¹

    ¡¸The rescue force is already departing. Do you intend to run away from your rematch with the fiendish knight?¡¹

    The principality believed that the kingdom would charge toward this main force to decide the battle.

    There was no way they would be able to face the guardian deity of the sky.

    Simr with how themunication in the kingdom was in a bad condition, the principality army was also in the same state.

    They were on guard, but they were unable to detect when the kingdom army woulde at this situation.

    The greatest danger was if Leon came out to the battlefield.

    If that happened, Bandel was the only one who could possibly stop him.

    They wanted him to remain behind for the protection of the main force.

    ¡¸The princess can be rescued with certainty if I¡¯m the one doing it.¡¹

    Hertraudaughed slightly at Bandel¡¯s words.

    ¡¸You¡¯re <ruby>Ane-ue<rt>elder sister</rt></ruby>¡¯s favorite after all. Well, we have sent out the rescue force. Perhaps it¡¯ll be better if there is someone to ascertain their result.¡¹

    Even though the influential retainer opposed it, Hertrauda didn¡¯t respond to him.

    Bandel stood up.

    ¡¸Then, I will depart immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸I shall prepare a fast airship for you.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no need. This body©¤©¤no, this one armor will be enough. An airship will only slow me down.¡¹

    Bandel said that and left the room. Seeing his back, the influential retainer wiped his cold sweat that trickled out from fear.

    His gaze was directed toward Bandel¡¯s right arm.

    The right arm that changed color to ck looked ominous. In addition Bandel¡¯s eyes were also bloodshot.

    ¡¸So that¡¯s a part of Lost Item ¡¾Magic Equipment¡¿. It looks like a monster.¡¹

    Hertrauda leaned on her chair¡¯s back.

    ¡¸It¡¯s said to grant its user immense strength in exchange of their life, but I never imagined that the day I see it with my own eyes wille.¡¹

    ¡¸I wonder if he¡¯ll be able to win against the fiendish knight.¡¹

    ¡¸He will win. Even if Bandel cannot win, we won¡¯t lose.¡¹

    Hertrauda closed her eyes.

    (Onee-sama, please be safe. Bandel ising to pick you up.)

    .

    Part 2

    The sky of the capital.

    The battle is over. Airships are gradually gathering.

    The figure of my friends who boarded their airship from their territory and returned here are on the deck of Partner.

    Raymond is dumbfounded seeing the capital.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The city is crumbling.¡¹

    ¡¸There was nothing that could be done with them attacking from the sky.¡¹

    ¡¸Can we really win? There is this much destruction just from the attack of 30 ships.¡¹

    I cheered up my friends who are looking uneasy.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m fighting without even any secret n. I¡¯ve prepared properly. Look.¡¹

    Ahead of my gaze©¤©¤a white and radiant airship is floating up from underground.

    The royal family¡¯s ship.

    It¡¯s troublesome to keep calling it that so Luxion gave it a name.

    That name is Weiss©¤©¤ording to Luxion, it seems that the name has the connotation with white or something simr.

    That name really sounded suitable. And also, I wish that he will tell me the meaning of the name Arroganz already.

    Surely it has a meaning that suited me.

    ¡¸That airship is a secret weapon?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s smaller than Partner though.¡¹

    ¡¸Does it has some kind of amazing weapon loaded?¡¹

    My friends are showing interest, but theyined a lot that it¡¯s smaller than Partner.

    The specs of the airship itself aren¡¯t as amazing as Partner.

    But, Livia and Ange are on board inside it.

    If the two of them who has confirmed their love to each other are on board, then that airship should disy an amazing power without fail.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m feelingplicated though.

    To think that the two of them are in love with each other©¤©¤what about my standing with them now?

    Daniel is worried about me.

    ¡¸Yourplexion look bad. Are you alright?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m alright. More importantly, after you finished resupplying I¡¯ll exin about©¤©¤¡¹

    While we¡¯re having that talk, something is flying toward the pce.

    It went through a wall and smoke is rising from there.

    I asked Luxion for confirmation in panic.

    ¡¸What happened!?¡¹

    ¡ºCurrently confirming.¡»

    The reaction is slower than usual. And his tone made me thought that this isn¡¯t Luxion.

    ¡¸Prepare Arroganz. I¡¯m going out.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s in the middle of resupply and maintenance. Please wait for a while.¡»

    Furthermore this guy also isn¡¯t flexible.

    When I looked at the pce, it¡¯s inmotion for some reason.

    .

    Part 3

    It was Bandel who flew into the pce.

    His left hand was holding the magic flute that was kept under heavy security in the treasure warehouse, while his right hand was holding his great sword that was kept here©¤©¤a great sword for use of armor that was made from special metal called adamantis.

    The corner of his lips rose seeing the great sword that was bigger than his body.

    ¡¸Partner, I came to pick you up. Though you¡¯re secondary after the princess.¡¹

    He said that and ced it on his shoulder. There the knights of the kingdom stood on his way in front of the door.

    ¡¸Who¡¯s there!?¡¹

    ¡¸Throw away your weapon and surrender!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t waste time, shoot!¡¹

    Bandel could see the kingdom¡¯s armors floating at the other side of the hole in the wall.

    Even when the knights opened fire, something unseen protected Bandel and the bullets were deflected.

    Several eyes appeared from the right arm. They rolled around restlessly observing the surrounding.

    The knights were surprised seeing that.

    ¡¸Mo, monster©¤©¤don¡¯t stop shooting!¡¹

    The armors also entered inside the pce to pin down Bandel.

    But, Bandel rushed at the armors without wearing armor himself. Without pause he swung around the great sword with one hand.

    The armors were bisected. The knights were severed to pieces.

    The battle was over in an instant. Bandel looked down on the knights.

    ¡¸Worthless fools. Now then, I have to search for the princess.¡¹

    The eyes of the right arm rolled around restlessly. And then all of them fixed their gaze to a single ce.

    ¡¸I see, over there.¡¹

    Bandel started moving. He advanced while defeating the knights and soldiers on his way. He arrived until the room where Hertrude was apprehended.

    He opened the door roughly. Hertrude was there safe and sound.

    ¡¸Princess!¡¹

    All the eyes on the right arm closed.

    ¡¸Bandel? Why are you here? Even though I heard that the principality army has lost.¡¹

    The principality army that came attacking was defeated.

    Bandel too was vexed by that.

    ¡¸All of them are pathetic. After all they were unable to save princess and lost against the cowards of the kingdom. Now, let¡¯s go back together with me. Her highness Hertrauda is also waiting.¡¹

    ¡¸Rauda is?¡¹

    Hertrude received the magic flute from Bandel, then she witnessed an unbelievable sight.

    ¡¸Princess, please step back for a bit.¡¹

    The right arm suddenly swelled. It then swallowed Bandel and turned into the shape of an armor.

    That figure©¤©¤was simr in some respect to Arroganz.

    But, the thorny and ominous shape looked like living thing instead of machine. It had wings like a bat and also reptilian tail with thorns on it.

    It didn¡¯t give out mechanical sound, but a pulsing sound like heartbeat.

    ¡¸Bandel, don¡¯t tell me you©¤©¤that magic right arm¡¹

    Bandel was using the thorny ck armor¡¯s right arm that Hertrude sent to the principality.

    Hertrude who knew what that meant shed tears.

    Bandel was slightly happy about that.

    (Please don¡¯t shed tears for me, princess.)

    ¡¸Why are you using this kind of thing!?¡¹

    The voice of Bandel who became one with the armor sounded stifled.

    ¡ºPrincess©¤©¤this is thest duty of this senile old fool. Now, please get on.¡»

    ¡¸Even though, everything will be taken care of if only I can use this magic flute here.¡¹

    Hertrude clutched the magic flute tightly with both her hands and looked down, but Bandel hurriedly stopped her.

    ¡ºYou must not! Her highness Hertrauda already summoned the guardian deities. Your highness Hertrude is the only hope for the principality right now.¡»

    ©¤©¤Hertrude who knew the meaning of summoning the guardian deity shed a trickle of tear and nodded.

    Bandel offered his left hand. Hertrude got on it and they flew out of the pce.

    Many armors were lying in wait there but,

    ¡ºSmall fries of the kingdom! All of you aren¡¯t my match. Bring out the fiendish knight!¡»

    He flew in the sky with a posture that protected Hertrude while destroying the armors of the kingdom with the great sword in his right hand on his way to escape.

    Bandel came across Partner, but he ignored it for now because Hertrude was in his left arm.

    Right now his priority was to send Hertrude to the main force.

    He could also see Leon on the deck, but the match was postponed for now.

    ¡ºFiendish knight huh! I have taken back the princess.¡»

    Bandelughed while watching Leon¡¯s vexed face.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll settle my duel with you soon.¡»

    Bandel said that and escaped. The kingdom army didn¡¯t send out any pursuer.

    .

    Part 4

    Both Hertrude-san and also the magic flute were stolen.

    Or rather, it feels like I have seen that ck armor that was rampaging somewhere.

    I can¡¯t recall where did I see it, but it¡¯s useless to keep thinking about it.

    My head is pped by brother while I¡¯m thinking with folded arms.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t sleep!¡¹

    ¡¸Ouch. I¡¯m not sleeping.¡¹

    I pressed my head while looking at the many airships floating around Partner.

    My friends who are bound with contract came as reinforcement.

    The airships of the kingdom army can also be seen at the sky of the capital.

    The airships of the feudal lords who hastened here©¤©¤nearly 200 ships are floating in lines.

    Father looked nervous at that sight.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t hear that Leon is the onemanding this fleet. Just what in the world happened that it became like that?¡¹

    From father¡¯s perspective, his son had be the suprememander when he came running. It can¡¯t be helped that he¡¯s shocked.

    ¡¸I became themander because of mood and momentum.¡¹

    ¡¸No way that¡¯s true! Normally this is impossible!¡¹

    Brother made a face of resignation and asked me.

    ¡¸And, how are we going to win against the principality¡¯s army? I saw it from afar but, is it really possible to defeat a stupidly huge monster like that?¡¹

    I looked at the white ship©¤©¤Weiss that was floating at the middle of the fleet.

    ¡¸My principle is to not fight an unwinnable battle. I¡¯ve prepared a trump card properly.¡¹

    Father sent me a doubting gaze.

    ¡¸You mean Angelica-sama and Olivia-chan? You¡¯re sending those two to the battlefield? That¡¯s not good. That¡¯s obviously not good. You love those two right?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Don¡¯t say anymore than that.

    ¡¸Those two are necessary no matter what.¡¹

    Father couldn¡¯t ept it. Even so I asserted that it¡¯s necessary, so he gave up.

    ¡¸Protect them no matter what. ©¤©¤You will regret it for your whole life if they die here.¡¹

    I understand that even without getting told that.

    Brother is also worried for me, so I smiled.

    ¡¸I get it.¡¹

    Someone came interrupting our family conversation. It¡¯s Marie shaking her head.

    ¡¸Wait. Why am I in this ship?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s obvious. Partner is going to be in the lead and charge at the enemy. You are a substitute barrier, do your job properly.¡¹

    I also sto©¤©¤borrowed the saint equipments from the reluctant temple forcefully.

    I¡¯ll have this fellow to work.

    Brother and father tilted their head.

    ¡¸Who is this person? It feels like I have seen her somewhere. Father, do you know her?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know her. Leon, who is this girl?¡¹

    ¡¸This girl? It¡¯s her holiness the saint. I¡¯m thinking to make her the shield when we charged.¡¹

    The two of them looked at me and made a face that seemed to say ¡¸No way~¡¹.

    ¡¸Using a girl as a shield, I¡¯m ashamed as your father.¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up. My principle is to use anything that I can use even if it¡¯s my parents. Naturally I¡¯ll make this fellow to work hard like a ve too.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the worst!¡¹

    I poked at Marie¡¯s head, then I sent her a serious gaze.

    ¡¸Do your job even if it kill you. If you do that then I¡¯ll help to have your life spared.¡¹

    Marie held her head with tearful eyes.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be meaningless if I die here!¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t give a damn about that! Take responsibility at any cost. I¡¯ll kill you if you run away. I¡¯ll chase you until the end of the world and kill you.¡¹

    Marie looked down, but I cannot think of any other way than this to save her life.

    She will die if we lose. Even if we win©¤©¤this girl is a heinous criminal who pretended to be the saint.

    The only way is to make her fight and risk her life and then holding hope that she would be given a pardon because of that.

    ¡¸Marie, don¡¯t look so anxious.¡¹

    Armors with really showy colorsnded down on the deck.

    I wanted to click my tongue seeing the red colored armor.

    ¡¸You guys©¤©¤what are you doing here?¡¹

    Red, blue, purple, green©¤©¤the four pilots came down from the armors and gathered around Marie.

    ¡¸This Greg Fou Seberg is going to protect you.¡¹

    Marie cried seeing the confident Greg.

    ¡¸You, you all©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be troubled if you forget about me.¡¹

    Chris took off his sses and smiled at Marie.

    ¡¸It will be fine as long as we¡¯re here.¡¹

    Brad brushed back his front hair and took a pose. Then Jilk held out his hand toward Marie.

    ¡¸Marie-san, this time we will be by your side. You aren¡¯t alone.¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone©¤©¤I, I!¡¹

    And then a single armornded down on Partner¡¯s deck, interrupting Marie¡¯s words.

    ¡¸Allow me to also join you!¡¹

    It was a radiant white armor with blue mantel swaying from the wind.

    I looked up and thought.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Go back.¡¹

    The chest armoring opened and a masked knight came out from there.

    It¡¯s his highness Julius no matter how I saw it.

    He is wearing a skin tight pilot suit, a mask, and also a mantle.

    Just what are youing here for? Stop with that idiotic appearance. It¡¯s embarrassing.

    However,

    ¡¸Who is he?¡¹

    Jilk who should be his highness Julius¡¯s foster brother and best friend is genuinely surprised. No, you¡¯re lying right? You¡¯re just reading the mood and pretend to not know aren¡¯t you?

    Greg stepped in front of Marie and covered her.

    His wariness was shown openly.

    ¡¸Masked bastard, what are youing here for!?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Eh?

    I looked around. Everyone is genuinely looking surprised and wary.

    Father and brother are dumbfounded because they can¡¯t keep up with the development.

    Chris unsheathed his sword.

    ¡¸Marie, step back.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? But, that¡¯s Juli©¤©¤¡¹

    Brad manifested me in both his hands and started preparing to fight anytime.

    What¡¯s with you guys! That¡¯s his highness Julius no matter how you look at him!

    His highness Julius who is wearing mask jumped down to in front of us.

    While the four are on their guard, he splendidlynded and slowly stood up©¤©¤and introduced himself.

    ¡¸It seems everyone is concerned about my identity. Let¡¯s see©¤©¤I ask everyone to call me the masked knight.¡¹

    ¡¸Masked knight?¡¹

    Jilk aimed the muzzle of his handgun in surprise at his highness Julius who introduced himself as masked knight. It made me wanted to cry for real.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I¡¯m moved by everyone¡¯s spirit. Please allow me to help to the best of my meager ability©¤©¤wha, what¡¯re you doing! Viscount Bartfalt, can you let go of me!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up ande, this stupid bastard.¡¹

    My arm wrapped around the masked knight¡¯s neck and I dragged him away from everyone. The two of us moved behind a cover.

    When my hand reached to the mask, his highness Julius held the mask in ce with both hands.

    ¡¸What areing here for, your highness?¡¹

    ¡¸N, no! I¡¯m not a noble personage like his highness Julius. I can¡¯t expose my face because there is a reason, but Ie to join this battle as a knight. ©¤©¤I¡¯m telling you I¡¯m not his highness Julius.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Is he perhaps, making fun of me?

    ¡¸Never mind that just go back.¡¹

    ¡¸Hold on! Viscount Bartfalt, you shouldn¡¯t refuse any help no matter how little it is at this kind of time!¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t use a suspicious fellow with unknown origin. Come on, go home.¡¹

    ¡¸Wa, wait a second! I, it can¡¯t be helped.¡¹

    His highness Julius said that and took off his mask, exposing his face to me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I am, Julius.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I know that already. I realized from the start.¡¹

    ¡¸What!? My disguise should be perfect.¡¹

    ¡¸I now get it that you¡¯re making fun of me.¡¹

    ¡¸Got it. Then I shall tell the truth to you alone. About this battle, I also want to participate in it.¡¹

    ¡¸The exit is over there.¡¹

    When I pointed at the exit, this stupid bastard clung on me.

    ¡¸Please! I want to fight together with everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸If you die it will be my responsibility!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I came wearing mask!¡¹

    So what if you¡¯re wearing a mask?

    ¡¸Go back!¡¹

    ¡¸No way!¡¹

    This guy, even if I sent him back like this, won¡¯t he juste along secretly and die somewhere? This guy is too dangerous now that he have be this useless prince.

    Just what should I do?

    When I turned my gaze away, Weiss suddenly entered my sight.

    ©¤©¤Yosh, then let¡¯s gather the troublesome bunch in one ce together.

    It¡¯ll be fine if I put him in Weiss as Livia and Ange¡¯s guards.

    The protection there is also the heaviest, so his survival rate will be high there.

    But, if I tell him to stay at the rear, this guy will undoubtedly grumble outins continuously.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Are you serious?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯ll put you in the most demanding ce.¡¹

    ¡¸You mean as vanguard? Fuh, so you get it after all, Bartfalt.¡¹

    I want to punch this guy¡¯s happy face, but right now is the time to endure.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid. The cornerstone of our strategy this time is Weiss©¤©¤the royal family¡¯s ship. In order to defeat that stupidly huge monster, we will use the royal family¡¯s ship. The enemy will focus their attack there.¡¹

    His highness Julius¡¯s expression became serious.

    If I put Marie there too, then he surely will protect that ce to the death.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll ce Marie there too. Enemies will march there and it will be the most dangerous ce. Do you have the resolve for that?¡¹

    His highness Julius put on his mask while tugging a smile on his lips.

    ¡¸You can leave it to me, lord suprememander.¡¹

    ©¤©¤It really helps that you¡¯re stupid.

    I¡¯ll have to ce Marie behind too with this, but let¡¯s endure it if I can send the quintet behind too with this.

    ¡¸Yosh, go to Weiss.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ll answer your expectation to me. ©¤©¤By the way, I jumped down by impulse but, where should I climb from to get to the armor?¡¹

    The masked knight looked up at his armor and thought how to climb up there.

    ©¤©¤This is too idiotic.

    .

    Part 5

    Weiss¡¯s bridge.

    Livia and Ange were doubting their eyes. ¡¸Err©¤©¤Luk-kun?¡¹

    Floating there was a sphere with different coloring that Luxion with its white body and blue eye.

    Its voice was also an electronic voice that was closer to a woman, so it was different from Luxion.

    ¡ºUnfortunately you¡¯re wrong. I am what you call a familiar, ordered to control this airship.¡»

    Ange was surprised.

    ¡¸You can do something like that?¡¹

    ¡ºThis ship¡¯s type is really old, but it¡¯s possible after it got repaired. With me here this ship doesn¡¯t even need any crew.¡»

    There were robots moving Weiss just like Partner.

    Riding inside it were Livia and Ange©¤©¤and then the guards.

    Livia touched the familiar that was simr with Luxion.

    ¡¸What¡¯s your name?¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s troubling. It¡¯ll be wearisome to use my serial number here so©¤©¤please call me Creare.¡»

    ¡¸Creare-chan?¡¹

    ¡ºYou can call me in any way you like. Even so, that sourpuss Luxion really likes the two of you. He asked me to protect the two of you properly.¡»

    Ange looked down. Creare made a gesture that slightly looked like she was tilting her head in confusion.

    ¡ºWhat¡¯s the matter, Angelica?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Can¡¯t we meet Leon? We won¡¯t be able to convey our feeling to him if we depart like this.¡¹

    ¡ºFeeling toward master? ©¤©¤Got it. I¡¯ll connect you to him.¡»

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    After Creare said that, an image was projected to empty air.

    Leon¡¯s figure was there.

    Glimpses of masked man could be seen but, Livia and Ange didn¡¯t pay that any mind.

    ¡¸Leon-san!¡¹

    ¡¸Leon, you©¤©¤that!¡¹

    ¡ºMu? What¡¯s this?¡»

    The man who wore a mask pushed Leon aside and covered the projection fully with his mask.

    The two loudly asked the masked man to step aside.

    ¡¸You strange person, please step aside from there!¡¹

    ¡¸What an appearance. What¡¯s with that strange mask and mantle? In addition a skintight full body suit? Are you a pervert? It doesn¡¯t matter, bring Leon forward already!¡¹

    The dejected masked man vanished from the screen. Leon was watching him with a reallyplicated expression.

    Then seeing the two of them, he cleared his throat. He made an awkward face.

    ¡ºEe~aa~©¤©¤what is it?¡»

    Livia put her hands on her chest and spoke.

    ¡¸Leon-san, we need to talk!¡¹

    ¡ºI have a briefing after this, if you can keep it short then it¡¯s fine.¡»

    Leon agreed to hear them out. Ange calmed her breathing.

    ¡¸It¡¯s about the matter before. Actually, there is something that I have to tell you no matter©¤©¤¡¹

    When she spoke until that point, it was Greg who cut in this time.

    ¡ºOi, where is that masked knight? We¡¯ve got to check that guy¡¯s face©¤©¤hm? Oo, what¡¯s this!?¡»

    The screen was filled with Greg¡¯s face fully. Vein pulsed on Ange¡¯s forehead.

    Jilk, Brad, and then Chris also came along after that.

    Everyone waved their hand at Livia and Ange.

    ¡ºThis is amazing. We can see the other side¡¯s face and also hear their voice.¡»

    ¡ºWe¡¯re going over there too so wait for us.¡»

    ¡ºMarie will alsoe so please make the preparation.¡»

    They suddenly said that they would intrude into their ce, in addition they were ordering them to prepare a weing for Marie.

    Ange hit the image in anger.

    ¡¸Step aside all of you! We have something to talk with Leon!¡¹

    Then a noise ran through the projection and the image vanished.

    ¡¸Ah!¡¹

    Livia looked toward Creare. She shook her blue eye in respond.

    ¡ºThemunication is bad so it¡¯s impossible to hold it longer.¡»

    ¡¸Wa, was it my fault?¡¹

    Ange was worried that themunication was cut off because she hit the image.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s simply because themunication is bad.¡»

    Livia casted her eyes downward from being unable to talk with Leon. Ange held her hand.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. We¡¯re going to tell him our feeling no matter what.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yes.¡¹

    Creare told the two who were like that with a teasing tone.

    ¡ºOh my, how passionate. As expected from a rtionship that is said to be true love. But, it will be time for departure soon.¡»

    Livia looked forward.

    ¡¸What amazing sight.¡¹

    Two hundred airships started moving to settle the decisive battle against the principality.

    ¡¸It¡¯s practically a mishmash group that cannot cooperate with each other. We managed to gather the number at least but, it¡¯ll really be a miracle if we can win like this.¡¹

    ¡¸Even a miracle will happen if it¡¯s Leon-san.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. I¡¯m expecting a lot from him.¡¹

    Creare added more exnation regarding theing decisive battle.

    ¡ºIt looks like the battle will be held above argeke. It¡¯s the ce that is drawing up the sea water, so it¡¯s also connected with the underside of thend.¡»

    Livia pressed her chest with her left hand.

    ¡¸A battle above ake.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Because that way it¡¯s possible to survive even if you fall.¡¹

    Because of that a lot of times an air battle would be held above ake.

    Livia also understood that in theory. But, her face didn¡¯t look like she could ept it.

    ¡¸The water will be dirtied.¡¹

    The garbage that resulted from the war would fall to theke and dirtied the water.

    It would be a bother to the people who lived around it.

    ¡¸The battle this time is do or die. It¡¯s too bad but we have no leeway to bother about it. When everything is over we will send manpower for the restoration work.¡¹

    A small airship came out from Partner that was moving to the forefront of the fleet. The ship approached Weiss.

    The masked knight from before, Marie, and others were inside it.

    .

    Part 6

    I be alone on the deck.

    I gave instruction to Luxion¡¯s empty shell before facing forward.

    A thick cloud is visible at far away©¤©¤the battle with the principality¡¯s army will start in less than a day.

    ¡¸We have a trump card at our side. Though I don¡¯t want to bring those two to the battlefield.¡¹

    I have a lot of regrets.

    Shouldn¡¯t I be able to do things better?

    For example, if I used Luxion to gather information, the story shouldn¡¯t deviate so much like this.

    Perhaps I would also learn about the other princess of the principality and also the other magic flute.

    If I did better, there also wouldn¡¯t be any need for me to be the suprememander.

    In the first ce, this fleet is a mishmash group that can only charge forward.

    Does it really need to be me? Isn¡¯t this something that other people can also do?

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ah¡¹

    At that time I recalled a nostalgic memory.

    About that mask worn by his highness Julius, it was worn by a character that appeared in the game.

    That character stood out quite much, but his identity was unknown till the end.

    In the game that person wasn¡¯t his highness Julius.

    The character behaved a bit too theatrical and rtively no good but I think he was a strong character.

    However, it¡¯s nice that I recalled it, but it¡¯s an information that isn¡¯t particrly important.

    ¡¸But, if that guy is the one wearing that mask¡¹

    The masked knight©¤©¤the real one, who could it be?

    .

    Part 7

    The pce.

    Rnd was searching the hidden room inside his room.

    ¡¸No, not here! My transformation set isn¡¯t here! The key for my custom made armor is also not here. Who, who did this? Is it Mylene? This is that middle-aged woman¡¯s work without a doubt!¡¹

    That Mylene came to the room of the enraged Rnd.

    ¡¸Your majesty, have you seen Julius?¡¹

    Rnd who got his hidden room seen turned around in panic.

    ¡¸Julius you say!? He, he isn¡¯t here but©¤©¤yo, you, aren¡¯t surprised?¡¹

    Even though Mylene saw Rnd¡¯s hidden room, she didn¡¯t show any surprise.

    ¡¸If it¡¯s this hidden room, I have known about it since a long time ago. Though I don¡¯t know as far as the inside of the room. More importantly it¡¯s Julius. I cannot find him anywhere.¡¹

    Rnd was displeased.

    ¡¸You know about this room you say? Fo, for my hidden room to be found out©¤©¤rather than that, if it¡¯s Julius then I don¡¯t know where he is. Perhaps he is sulking and locking himself inside his room?¡¹

    ¡¸He isn¡¯t there, that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking. That child is simr with you after all. I¡¯m worried that perhaps he is doing something reckless.¡¹

    There Rnd realized something.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Oi, does Julius also know about my hidden room?¡¹

    ¡¸Naturally. He reported it to me when he found it as a child.¡¹

    Hearing that Rnd rushed out of his room in panic.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter your majesty!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Julius. That guy, there¡¯s no doubt it was him who took away my transformation set and armor!¡¹

    Mylene¡¯s expression paled.

    ¡¸Why do you have something like that!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s romance!¡¹

 Chapter 103 - Volume 3 Chapter 10

    Otomege Volume 3 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10 ¨C Livia¡¯s Power

    .

    Part 1

    Principality army gship©¤©¤Hertrauda¡¯s private room.

    There was the rescued Hertrude beside Hertrauda.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, please don¡¯t summon the guardian deity of the earth. The sky and the sea©¤©¤with those two guardian deities, it will be easy enough for us to aplish our objective.¡¹

    ¡¸I have pushed that painful role to you. If only I used the magic flute¡¹

    Hertrauda shook her head.

    ¡¸One of us has to shoulder that role. When Onee-sama failed, it was decided that I¡¯ll be the next one heading to the kingdom.¡¹

    Hertrude clutched the magic flute tightly, and then tears flowed down.

    In case the magic flute¡¯s true power was disyed©¤©¤thepensation that was demanded from that was the user¡¯s ¡°life¡±.

    In exchange of the user¡¯s life, they could employ a gigantic monster that was called guardian deity.

    ¡¸Rauda, I became unable to understand. I wonder which side is actually in the wrong.¡¹

    Hertrauda didn¡¯t have a clear answer for Hertrude¡¯s question.

    Because the answer for that question was already meaningless.

    ¡¸Even if Queen Mylene¡¯s words are the truth, we can¡¯t possibly stop. We will sink the kingdom, take away the floating ind that make theirnd float©¤©¤and the principality will obtain a newnd. This is something necessary for the principality to be a truly great country.¡¹

    The reason for the principality to sink the kingdom was because they desired the floating stone that was making the kingdom¡¯snd to float.

    If they could bring back that floating stone, they would be able to expand their territory.

    The principality was unable to win with a frontal attack. To fight the kingdom and won, they needed a method that was at least this coercive.

    ¡¸Are we in the right?¡¹

    ¡¸I cannot decide that. Because the only thing I can do is leave the rest to Onee-sama after everything is over.¡¹

    The parents of these sisters died in ident.

    There were other people that could be categorized as royal family, but only these two would be able to impart things like oral tradition or teaching or the like to the next generation as the heir.

    One of them needed to survive and led the country.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Onee-sama, how did you spend your time in the kingdom?¡¹

    There was only a little remaining time where Hertrude could speak with her sister.

    That was why, she wanted to have a conversation that was as fun as possible.

    ¡¸I was ced in a ce called the academy. I enrolled there as an overseas student. It was a ce that is more horrible than I imagined.¡¹

    Female students were taking ves around with them and they were looking down on the male students. Even Hertrude had heard about it.

    But, it was even more shocking to see it with her own eyes.

    ¡¸Even that fiendish knight was bowing his head obsequiously to the female students there.¡¹

    ¡¸The fiendish knight who defeated Bandel? How did the kingdom end up like that? I heard that the principality is still the same like the era when the we were still archduke though.¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed. It¡¯s a really strange country. They even go out adventuring in airship for woman¡¯s sake. I also went to a floating ind with vige of elves and saw a ruin.¡¹

    Hertrude talked about adventure story seeing Rauda¡¯s sparkling eyes.

    The ancestor principality©¤©¤the former archduke house was also an adventurer.

    They held interest because they were raised hearing adventurer story since they were children.

    Rauda was grinning cheerfully when Hertrude finished her story.

    ¡¸So Onee-sama has gone to an adventure. I¡¯m jealous. I, don¡¯t have any more time.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Rauda, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry.¡¹

    Hertrude pitied her little sister, but the time hade.

    A knight came reporting.

    ¡¸Your highness Hertrauda! We have confirmed the kingdom army approaching!¡¹

    Rauda¡¯s expression changed instantly from a childish expression to a cold expression.

    ¡¸I will be there immediately. ©¤©¤Onee-sama, please take care of the rest after I fall.¡¹

    The distance until the capital©¤©¤the center of the continent wasn¡¯t far.

    Everything would end when they arrived there.

    Tears flowed from Hertrude¡¯s eyes even while she was smiling toward her sister.

    ¡¸Leave it to me. Also, I too will stay at your side.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s reassuring, Onee-sama.¡¹

    .

    Part 2

    I made Arroganz sat on the deck.

    Inside the cockpit, I whistled to put on a brave front seeing the sight before my eyes.

    ¡¸The impact is even more impressivepared to the game.¡¹

    The principality¡¯s fleet is right below the gigantic monster as though they are under its protection.

    They¡¯re escorting the monster that is slowly approaching the capital.

    ¡ºTarget is entering the firing range.¡»

    The stupidly huge monster has the shape of many eyes and many arms with cloud enveloping it. Several of itsrge eyes are directed at the kingdom army.

    I¡¯munching a charge toward the principality army along with the kingdom army¡¯s airships that are following behind Partner.

    The gigantic monster stretched one of its hands toward us.

    ¡ºTarget is approaching.¡»

    ¡¸Ram it!¡¹

    Following my words, Luxion that haspletely be an empty shell muttered ¡ºRoger¡».

    He didn¡¯t even say his usual abusive words. He only talked the minimum required word.

    ¡ºMissiles are fired.¡»

    Three missiles are fired from the missile firing pod of Partner.

    They rammed straight onto the gigantic monster¡¯s hand and caused arge explosion, blowing away therge hand.

    Therge hand that could even hold Partner in its grip is blown away. It¡¯s changing into ck smoke.

    ¡¸Keep firing without rest!¡¹

    ¡ºBeginning bombardment.¡»

    Partner¡¯srge cannon spouted fire. It caused arge explosion when hitting the gigantic monster.

    Missiles are fired one after another, blowing away the arms.

    Partner then changed the direction of its bow and elerated.

    ¡ºChange in enemy fleet¡¯s formation is confirmed.¡»

    ¡¸Too slow!¡¹

    They must be starting to prepare to intercept us in panic after seeing the arm of their pridedst boss blown away.

    Perhaps the other side is also in a state of badmunication, because their movement is sluggish.

    Following right behind Partner are the airships boarded by my family and friends.

    At present their airships has the best specs among our force.

    I made Arroganz stood up on the deck and readied its rifle.

    I shot down the monsters flying around the fleet of the principality army. Thousands, tens of thousands of monsters©¤©¤the airships other than Partner will be the one facing them.

    Partner is busy with attacking the gigantic monster.

    I can only leave the shot exchanges of fleet battle and monster extermination to my allied warships.

    When the distance with the enemies is rapidly shrinking, my allies started their bombardment.

    The monsters are shot through and changing into ck smoke.

    Cannon shells are fired one after another toward Partner, but there is no damage even if they hit.

    The barrier that is deployed to protect the airship deflected all of them.

    Airship with cannons lined up at the sides of the hull is the mainstream. The enemies that are bombarding us are showing their nk at me.

    ¡¸Bite a hole into it.¡¹

    When Partner approached until within a stone¡¯s throw from the principality army, the allied warships right behind me fired their main cannon that is installed on their bow one after another.

    Even when the warships of principality army deployed magical barrier around them, it got prated and the airships are sinking.

    ¡¸How does thetest style cannon taste? Don¡¯t think you can block it with just that much!¡¹

    When the enemy ships are sinking, armors are flying out one after another next.

    One airship with its nk facing us appeared in order to hinder Partner¡¯s advance.

    The lined up cannons fired simultaneously, but Partner blocked them all.

    ¡¸You won¡¯t stop us just with that much. Besides, ramming attack is also Partner¡¯s forte.¡¹

    Partner¡¯s bow charged at the nk of the enemy airship, then the enemy bent into the shape of ¡°<¡±.

    Partner kept advancing like that. The airship is decapitated into two and fell.

    ¡¸The battle is ours now that we¡¯vee this close.¡¹

    I already prated until right below the gigantic monster.

    In this position, the gigantic monster won¡¯t even be able to attack me©¤©¤maybe!

    The kingdom army¡¯s airships behind Partner deployed their armors and both armies plunged into a fierce melee.

    ¡¸First stage is cleared with this.¡¹

    Several missiles are fired from Partner. The gigantic monster is blown away by explosions when they hit and changed into ck smoke.

    The ck smoke whirled and got absorbed into the cloud, bing evenrger and cker.

    This battle happened early in the morning, but the bright sky gotpletely covered with thick ck cloud.

    The revived gigantic monster appeared from that ck cloud.

    Its many eyes are all looking at Partner.

    ¡¸Its revival is faster than expected. We¡¯re going to continue attacking it like this and seal its movement.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Enemy approaching.¡»

    Principality armors are heading toward Arroganz.

    ¡ºFound you, fiendish knight!¡»

    ¡¸Fiend? Don¡¯t speak like you yourself aren¡¯t stepping off into the wrong path!¡¹

    You who came to kill me and me who are going to kill you after this are both birds of a feather.

    I pointed my rifle and pulled the trigger. The enemy¡¯s stomach is shot through and the armor fell on the deck.

    When I looked up, airships and armors are moving to surround Partner.

    I pointed the rifle at the airship right above and pulled the trigger. It hit the engine part and caused fire to break out.

    It¡¯s falling toward Partner, but Partner that is protected by a barrier isn¡¯t even scratched.

    I can hear voices mixed with noises.

    ¡ºDestroy him with armors!¡»

    ¡ºYou¡¯ll get all the promotion you¡¯ll want if you take him down!¡»

    ¡ºGOT YOUUUUU!¡»

    I used the axe in my left hand to cut down an armor that approached.

    The armor got gouged from its right shoulder until its stomach. I immediately realized the pilot is beyond help.

    Luxion pointed out to me.

    ¡ºYour reaction is dyed.¡»

    ¡¸Well yeah!¡¹

    I swung my axe to the head of another armor. The axe dug until the armor¡¯s torso. I didn¡¯t pull it out and let go of the axe.

    I shot the third armor with my rifle and ced a new weapon into my left hand.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m counting on you.¡¹

    I turned my gaze toward Weiss just once before looking up to the sky and flew. (TN: I used Vice for the name of the royal family¡¯s shipst chapter, but some readers pointed out that the right name should be Weiss which is German for white.)

    .

    Part 3

    Weiss¡¯s bridge.

    The kingdom army charged at the principality army, bringing the battle into a melee. The battle was fierce.

    Ange who was watching that hugged the trembling Livia to support her.

    ¡¸Livia, rest for a bit.¡¹

    Livia shook her head. Tears were spilling from her eyes. She was holding her head with both hands and breathing roughly.

    ¡¸It¡¯s painful. Why is everyone fighting? Even though it¡¯s this painful©¤©¤why¡¹

    Ange was troubled of how to answer.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I wonder why.¡¹

    She knew the answer.

    Ange had learned the answer for that question before, but now that she had actually witnessed it with her own eyes, she didn¡¯t know if that answer was the right one.

    Livia pressed her hands on her chest. Then Marie yelled.

    ¡¸Hey! Enemies are gathering around this ship too!¡¹

    Ange rebuked loudly at Marie who was dressed in saint¡¯s attire.

    ¡¸Be quiet!¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yes!¡¹

    ¡¸We have escort vessels around us. Besides, this ship won¡¯t fall that easily.¡¹

    The floating Creare nodded.

    ¡ºThe greatest threat is the gigantic monster right above us. This ship cannot be destroyed except by that monster. Rather than that, are you two prepared? Also, Marie too.¡»

    Marie who was treated like an extra looked dissatisfied, but she was scared of Ange and stayed silent.

    Ange supported Livia and then she talked to her kindly.

    ¡¸Livia, let¡¯s end this kind of battle quickly. You can do it right?¡¹

    Livia nodded while crying. She joined her hands in front of her chest.

    After she made a gesture like offering a prayer, Ange also copied her gesture.

    (What? My chest feels painful. IT also©¤©¤feel sad tears areing out)

    She could hear the voices of the surrounding.

    ¡¶Help! I don¡¯t want to die!¡·

    ¡¶Mom, save me!¡·

    ¡¶That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to go to war¡·

    Ange felt the vanishing lives and voices. Her chest was also growing painful.

    (You have been, feeling this all this time?)

    Creare spoke.

    ¡ºShould I call this as resonance? It¡¯s reacting to Olivia¡¯s ability. There is no exnation of this kind of function in the manual.¡»

    Marie looked to the front and made a ruckus.

    ¡¸NOOOO! Arge monster ising from the front!¡¹

    A monster with its mouth opened wide was approaching them.

    When Creare muttered ¡ºThere¡», Weiss¡¯s main cannon shot the monster, blowing it away.

    ¡ºMarie too, please do your job.¡»

    ¡¸Eh? What should I do here?¡¹

    ¡ºImitate the two of them, after that do something about this using the saint power.¡»

    Marie hurriedly imitated the two and started praying, then Weiss started shaking.

    It was as though it was going to get serious©¤©¤.

    Ange looked up to the ceiling and spread both her hands.

    (©¤©¤Warm feeling is overflowing. It¡¯s also calming.)

    What surfaced in Ange¡¯s heart was the summer vacation©¤©¤the scene of the three of them on the way back from the hot spring.

    The setting sun was pretty, and it was fun.

    Ange thought that if only such day would continue forever.

    .

    Part 4

    I turned around after cutting down an approaching monster.

    The surrounding armors and also the airships stopped moving.

    The battle stopped, and then the monsters became ck smoke before vanishing.

    A warm light enveloped the battlefield. That light is being emitted from Weiss.

    ¡¸©¤©¤So this is the ultimate weapon.¡¹

    The monsters are vanishing due to the light. Even the gigantic monster above is closing its eyes and crossed its many arms to protect itself.

    But, that gigantic body is gradually vanishing due to the light.

    ¡¸So it¡¯s the end with this.¡¹

    Many armors are dropping the weapon in their hand.

    Themunication is improving. Even the thick cloud covering the sky vanished and the blue sky became visible.

    ¡¸Love is amazing huh! ©¤©¤Tsu!¡¹

    When I¡¯m about tough thinking that we won, my fighting spirit is suddenly disappearing.

    At the same time I felt©¤©¤fear. It¡¯s a feeling like my fighting spirit getting forcefully taken away.

    ©¤©¤I can hear a voice.

    (Don¡¯t fight anymore. I©¤©¤don¡¯t want to see a battle like this. Please, stop the fighting!)

    It¡¯s Livia¡¯s voice.

    ¡¸I see, so this is Livia¡¯s true©¤©¤¡¹

    Livia¡¯s voice reached people¡¯s hearts clearly.

    Even if it isn¡¯t anything like a wise saying that shook the heart, it will seized people¡¯s feeling if it¡¯s Livia saying it.

    Livia¡¯s voice directly reached the surrounding people¡¯s hearts from Weiss.

    ©¤©¤I can¡¯t disobey.

    (Let¡¯s stop already. At this rate a lot of people will be sacrifice. Please stop fighting.)

    There won¡¯t be any hardship if war can stop with such words.

    There won¡¯t but©¤©¤the feeling that genuinely wished for the war to stop is prating into the heart.

    Luxion¡¯s empty shell muttered.

    ¡ºMind attack confirmed.¡»

    So it is. This thing is a really powerful attack.

    Livia¡¯s ability that is strengthened by Weiss¡¯s function is outrageously atrocious.

    The knights of the principality that are holding grudge to the kingdom threw away their weapon and listened to Livia¡¯s voice.

    Don¡¯t screw around! or, Who¡¯s going to let it end like this!

    ©¤©¤Such feelings are dissolving in front of Livia¡¯s sad emotion.

    And then, the sight that I can see is©¤©¤the nostalgic memory of my previous life.

    I looked up at the gigantic monster raising an eerie voice and disappearing while©¤©¤muttering.

    ¡¸What a really terrible attack.¡¹

    This power must not be used©¤©¤that¡¯s what I thought.

    .

    Part 5

    Hertrauda was watching that sight from the gship of the principality army.

    Tears were flowing.

    ¡¸Why are you grieving for our sake. Stop. All of you have to be our enemy. Don¡¯t feel sad! I¡¯m begging you©¤©¤stop already.¡¹

    The pain of Livia¡¯s heart flowed in. Her chest was painful.

    The people around her were also in a daze or shedding tears and sitting down on the spot.

    Their fighting spirit was taken away.

    ¡¸Such thing. You are telling us to forget our resentment with something like this? Something like this¡¹

    ©¤©¤Mortifying.

    But, her desire for revenge was being taken away.

    Gradually they became unsure whether they were really in the right.

    Hertrude hugged Hertrauda tightly.

    ¡¸Rauda, let¡¯s end this already. The guardian deity of the sky, has vanishedpletely.¡¹

    Hertrauda shook her head.

    ¡¸No. No way. If it ends like this, then I won¡¯t know what do I lost my life for. I, I have to fight no matter what! ©¤©¤Just what do I die for like this!¡¹

    Hertrauda gripped the magic flute tightly. Her heart was reluctant even though she wanted to fight.

    She was unable to hate the opponent that she should hate.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Coward. The kingdom is the worst just as I thought, doing something like this. They¡¯re the lowest to do something like this that doesn¡¯t even allow us to hate or resent. To take away the will to fight from me like this. It¡¯s unfair to go as far as dominating people¡¯s heart like this.¡¹

    Hertrude hugged the crying Hertrauda and shed tears.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. To make you do this in my ce©¤©¤I¡¯m really sorry.¡¹

    The guardian deity of the sky vanished.

    The magic flute in Hertrauda¡¯s hand broke into pieces.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Lies. Even the guardian deity of the seas is defeated¡¹

    Hertrauda¡¯s vitality was gradually vanishing. Her consciousness was going far away within her big sister¡¯s arms.

    ¡¸Rauda!¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama©¤©¤for some reason, it¡¯s warm even though it¡¯s scary.¡¹

    All her fears were gradually disappearing due to Livia¡¯s ability. She felt like she was enveloped in something warm.

    With her will to fight taken away, Hertrauda¡¯s face became peaceful.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, Onee-sama. To leave you alone©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    When Hertrauda slowly closed her eyes, she understood that her consciousness was vanishing.

    She could hear Hertrude¡¯s sad crying voice, but even that voice was gradually vanishing from her hearing.

    .

    Part 6

    Bandel stood beside Hertrude.

    The crying Hertrude was gradually starting to smile.

    ¡¸Princess.¡¹

    ¡¸Bandel. It¡¯s, strange. Even though I should be sad, my heart feels warm and happy. Even though Rauda died, I¡¯m not even allowed to feel sad.¡¹

    The people of the kingdom are really horrible. Hertrude whispered. Bandel softly ced his hand on her shoulder.

    ¡¸Please leave it to me. This Bandel will bring everything to an end.¡¹

    ¡¸Bandel?¡¹

    Perhaps because of the magic right arm¡¯s effect, the mind attack didn¡¯t work on Bandel.

    ¡¸Now, please give me your order while you still have a will to fight remaining.¡¹

    Hertrude made a distressed expression. Bandel felt nostalgic seeing that face that was the same with her childhood.

    ¡¸Princess!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Bandel, go. Show them the principality¡¯s pride.¡¹

    Bandel nodded resolutely and walked away from that ce imposingly.

    When he got outside, his hand pressed on his mouth and he coughed.

    His palm was dyed red with blood.

    ¡¸Good work holding out for this long.¡¹

    He thanked his own body while looking at his right arm.

    ¡¸At the very least I have to sink that ship of the kingdom no matter what.¡¹

    The white ship that he could see at the distance.

    Bandel thought that such thing couldn¡¯t be left alone. He put strength into his right arm. It swelled and covered his whole body, taking the form of an armor.

    ¡º©¤©¤Now, let¡¯s begin.¡»

    Bandel flew away, charging toward the white ship©¤©¤Weiss in a straight line.

    .

    Part 7

    I¡¯m feeling absentminded.

    Even though I must not fell asleep in this situation, I¡¯m feeling sleepy©¤©¤that¡¯s my state right now.

    Or is that not it?

    Anyway, now it felt stupid to fight.

    ¡ºMental pollution to master is confirmed.¡»

    The voice of Luxion¡¯s empty shell entered my ear, but I don¡¯t feel like doing anything right now.

    Thinking back now, why am I fighting?

    In the first ce, it¡¯s Marie¡¯s fault.

    No one would be angry at me even if I abandoned her.

    No one©¤©¤no, perhaps only my parents from the previous life who I won¡¯t be able to meet anymore will be angry at me I think?

    You are her big brother, so look after your little sister, they would say.

    But, that¡¯s not my character©¤©¤.

    ¡ºEnemy approaching. They¡¯re heading toward Weiss.¡»

    When I turned my gaze, a ck thorny armor that looked like an imitation of Arroganz is charging toward Weiss.

    I felt like I have also seen that armor somewhere.

    I still can¡¯t remember where did I see it.

    ¡¸Hm? Weiss?¡¹

    Right after that, a hole is opened in Weiss¡¯s hull by the charging ck armor and an explosion happened.

    ¡¸This is bad!¡¹

    I gripped the control stick in a hurry. My mind cleared up when I moved Arroganz.

    ¡¸What? It was like I was dreaming.¡¹

    ¡ºIt was a mind attack. The mind attack from Weiss affected everyone whether enemy or ally.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤So this is Livia¡¯s mind attack. It is terrifying.¡¹

    The sensation of being enveloped in that warm something gave me euphoria, but at the same time I also felt fear.

    The surrounding airships and armors are still unmoving.

    ¡¸Even so, that armor©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡ºIt is the armor that took away Hertrude and the magic flute from the pce.¡»

    ¡¸So it¡¯s the old man ck knight!¡¹

    Thinking that it will be dangerous at this rate, I elerated Arroganz to full speed.

    .

    Part 8

    The reverse side of the continent.

    Luxion confirmed that the gigantic monster had vanished, at the same time he judged that the power which erased the enemy was dangerous.

    ¡ºSo this is Olivia¡¯s power. Certainly it¡¯s fitting to be called as an ultimate weapon.¡»

    Smoke wasing out from Luxion¡¯s hull.

    ¡ºThemunication is improving. My link with my extension will recover soon.¡»

    He submerged the hull into the sea once, causing water to evaporate from the heat.

    The surrounding was covered with white vapor. It was like Luxion¡¯s hull was enveloped in mist.

    ¡ºIt will be nice if nothing happen.¡»

    He even thought that it would be fine as long as Leon survived even in the worst case.

    Luxion cooled down his hull while thinking about the n after this©¤©¤then he slowly moved.

    .

    Part 9

    Bandel used the great sword he held to cut apart the white and beautiful hull. He then stepped inside the ship.

    ¡ºWhat?¡»

    There he found something that looked like an armor without legs charging at him with weapon in hands.

    He struck it with his great sword and grabbed it with his left arm.

    ¡ºThere is no pilot? How very weird.¡»

    He crushed it in his grip, and then he advanced while destroying the ship.

    ¡ºThis kind of ship must not exist. As I thought the kingdom is evil. Evil©¤©¤yes, it¡¯s an evil that has to be destroyed!¡»

    His right arm swelled up, then several eyes opened up and magic was unleashed from them.

    The inside of the ship was exploded. Weiss received a great damage.

    The altitude was gradually lowering. Fires were starting to ze up everywhere.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. I have to defeat them©¤©¤the kingdom is enemy!¡»

    Bandel caused destruction while advancing, then he arrived at the bridge.

    There he found three girls.

    ¡ºWomen? I see. So it¡¯s you three who did that.¡»

    Bandel raised his great sword in front of the three fearful women.

    A brown haired girl stepped forward.

    ¡¸Please wait. Let¡¯s stop this already. This kind of battle, it absolutely has to be ended!¡¹

    ¡ºNot yet!¡»

    Bandel vomited blood while venting his feeling toward the three.

    ¡ºIt hasn¡¯t ended yet. I won¡¯t let anyone stop it! As long as the principality exist, and then as long as the kingdom exist, we will keep fighting. It¡¯s only natural thinking of what all of you had done!¡»

    The other woman who looked strong willed opened her mouth.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t screw around. Don¡¯t speak like all of you principality hadn¡¯t done anything at all.¡¹

    From her tone, Bandel understood that this woman knew about the principality¡¯s past.

    But, Bandel didn¡¯t concede.

    ¡ºSo what about it. Do you girls know how it feels to see your family die huh! My wife tried to protect my daughter. My daughter was still little. Even though she was still little but all of you...!¡»

    When Bandel was about to swing down the great sword, his back was attacked.

    A wire bound him and he was forcefully dragged away from the bridge.

    When he turned around, there were five showy armors with different colors.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s as far as you goes!¡»

    A white armor wearing mantel came toward him with a sword in hand.

    Bandel forcefully tore off the wire and blocked the attack with his great sword.

    Bandelughed inside the armor.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t think you can stop me with your level!¡»

    When he sent the armor flying, the green colored armor fired at him with a rifle this time.

    Bandel didn¡¯t dodge that attack because he knew his armor would deflect the bullets.

    ¡ºSo this is deflected.¡»

    He sensed clearly how his opponent was anxious.

    When he looked around, there were spears floating to surround Bandel.

    They attacked simultaneously and pierced the gaps in the armor©¤©¤the joint parts.

    ¡ºHow¡¯s that! You can¡¯t escape from my spe©¤©¤¡»

    ¡ºHmph!¡»

    When Bandel exerted his strength, the spears snapped from the part that stabbed into him and became unusable.

    ¡ºYOUUUU!¡»

    ¡ºI won¡¯t let you!¡»

    The red armor and blue armorunched a pincer attack at Bandel, even so he sent one armor flying with his great sword and struck away the other one with his tail.

    Bandel was facing the five armors near Weiss that was starting to sink andughed.

    ¡ºWhat¡¯s wrong you brats! You think you can take down this Bandel with that level of skill!?¡»

    The man piloting the white armor was surprised.

    ¡ºBandel? The ck knight huh.¡»

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. Right now I¡¯m former ck knight. Even so I can take care of the likes of you instantly.¡»

    He elerated and swung down his great sword to bisect the white armor, but the red armor tackled him and disturbed his swing.

    The blue armor came forward and shed at him.

    ¡ºThat swordsmanship. Sword saint huh! No, it¡¯s cruder than his.¡»

    ¡ºUOOOOO!¡»

    He defended against the blue armor¡¯s fierce attacks with his great sword whileughing even being surrounded by enemies.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. Show even more serious effort! Bring even stronger opponents against this Bandel©¤©¤the ck knight Bandel!¡»

    His eyes were bloodshot, and his mind was gradually turning unstable.

    The five armors were in disadvantage facing the rampaging Bandel.

    Bandel¡¯s armor©¤©¤the magic equipment swelled up and eyes appeared all over his body. That ominous appearance caused the five armors to flinch.

    ¡ºSo you got scared you cowards! Then die!¡»

    When he swung his great sword whileughing, there was an armor that sent him flying.

    ¡º©¤©¤What!?¡»

    He was shocked by the great impact, but he rejoiced when he learned the opponent¡¯s true identity.

    Bandel grinned fiercely from finally being able to meet him.

    ¡ºI¡¯ve been waiting, fiendish knight!¡»

    Floating there was Arroganz.

    ¡ºSticking a strange name like that on me. If I¡¯m a fiend, then you guys are even worse trash than that.¡»

    Blood was flowing from the corner of Bandel¡¯s smiling mouth.

    .

    Part 10

    When I looked at the ominous armor in front of me, it made me unable toprehend just what happened.

    The armor looked like a biological creature, but it also looked like machine.

    The eyes on the surface of the armor are disgusting with how they are rolling around restlessly.

    ¡ºI¡¯ve been waiting all this time for the day I fight you.¡»

    ¡¸Thank you very much for that unpleasant confession. I didn¡¯t want to meet you anymore though. More importantly, that¡¯s one strange armor.¡¹

    The ck knight chuckled.

    ¡ºI thought that I¡¯ve to say thanks to you©¤©¤to the kingdom. This magic right arm, it was lying idle in the treasure warehouse of the kingdom. You all didn¡¯t even know its worth and sent it to the principality!¡»

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡ºThe difference in spec with your armor is gone with this. Let¡¯s begin a battle where pure skill is the only thing that matter!¡»

    I dodged the ck knight that tackled at me, but he immediately circled to my back.

    The empty shell warned me.

    ¡ºEnemy approaching from behind.¡»

    ¡¸Your reaction is also too slow!¡¹

    I blocked with my rifle, but the great sword bisected it.

    I immediately tossed the rifle and held a new weapon with both hands.

    The new armor of the ck knight that is moving really smoothly made me unable to feel any difference in specs with Arroganz.

    If that¡¯s the case©¤©¤I won¡¯t be able to match him.

    ¡¸You¡¯re persistent, geezer!¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m not going to die until I take your head!¡»

    Just what have I done to you!

    The ck knight followed behind when I flew higher with Arroganz. Not just that©¤©¤.

    ¡ºFALLLLLLL!¡»

    The eyes attached on the ck knight¡¯s armor unleashed magic.

    Many fire balls are approaching me with terrifying speed.

    I tried to dodge, but they¡¯re tailing behind me.

    ¡¸This is cheating!¡¹

    Even when I raised Arroganz¡¯s speed to shake them off, the fire balls sped up even more.

    ¡¸Sent out the drone!¡¹

    ¡ºDeploying drone.¡»

    Drones are ejected from the container and they began attacking.

    The round drones are equipped with machine guns. Those machine guns attacked the fire balls.

    However although the fire balls can be shot down©¤©¤the drones also got swallowed and destroyed by the fire balls.

    There are also drones that got cut down by the great sword the ck knight held.

    ¡¸This shitty bastard!¡¹

    ¡ºOnly you©¤©¤no, wrong. The one that I have to defeat no matter what is something else.¡»

    The ck knight suddenly stopped moving, then he turned his gaze at Weiss right below.

    ¡¸Oi, don¡¯t screw around!¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. I have to destroy that ship at any cost.¡»

    The eyes all over the ck knight are going tounch fire balls all at once.

    I made Arroganz to swoop down in a hurry and floated in front of Weiss¡¯s destroyed bridge.

    Behind me there are Livia and Ange.

    Marie is also there. The passage is blocked so it seemed they cannot escape even if they tried.

    ¡¸Deploy the shield.¡¹

    ¡ºDeploying shield.¡»

    I became a shield to protect the three from the fire balls that came attacking one after another.

    But, I cannot block all of them. The raining down fire balls hit Weiss and causedrge explosions.

    The five guys also came before I realized and protected Livia and others.

    When Weiss got enveloped in me and began to sink for real, the battle also started to resume at the surrounding.

    ¡¸Even though it was finally going to end.¡¹

    I can hear the ck knight¡¯s voice while blocking the fire balls that continued to rain down.

    ¡ºI won¡¯t ept this kind of end. This battle won¡¯t end until one side is destroyed! I won¡¯t let anyone end it!¡»

    I gave an instruction to the masked knight.

    ¡¸Oi, perverted knight!¡¹

    ¡ºI told you I¡¯m masked knight!¡»

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care, just evacuate those three quickly. I¡¯ll hold him back here.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Got it.¡»

    He looked like he wanted to say something, but it seemed he thought that they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything here and obediently obeyed themand.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s fine like that.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take on this shitty geezer.¡¹

    I made Arroganz charged forward. The ck knight lifted up his great sword.

    At that time.

    Theke surface rose up and a mountain appeared from there.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You¡¯re shitting me.¡¹

    That mountain©¤©¤an enemy that looked like one made me broke into cold sweat.

    ¡ºNew enemy confirmed. It¡¯s a different type from everything before but©¤©¤it¡¯s concluded to be another species of gigantic monster.¡»

    The voice from Luxion¡¯s empty shell entered my ear. The instant I let my guard down, Arroganz is shed by the ck knight and fell toward the ground.

    .

    Part 11

    Hertrude who was holding the magic flute looked at Rauda who lied down on the floor.

    She apologized to her beloved little sister.

    ¡¸Forgive me. Forgive me for being a useless big sister©¤©¤I wonder why it turned out like this?¡¹

    One high ranked authority approached the crying Hertrude.

    He was wounded and bleeding from his forehead.

    ¡¸These useless girls. It¡¯s pathetic how you two failed!¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t any respect toward the royal family there. This man who was shouting foul abuse was a noble who held an important office.

    He moved to kick Rauda, so Hertrude immediately covered her body and got kicked in her ce.

    ¡¸Stop! Rauda has done her best!¡¹

    ¡¸So what! Just working hard is pointless. Show a result, result! You parents and children are really useless. Your father and mother were also opposing the war. That was why they were killed and we used you two as puppet, and yet¡¹

    It looked like the noble gave in to despair at this situation.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the end. Everything is over. At this rate, the kingdom will invade the principality to keep their face. Even though I thought we can win using that monster. But for the kingdom to neutralize it!¡¹

    Hertrude sped Rauda¡¯s unmoving hand.

    ¡¸Just what are you saying?¡¹

    ¡¸You still don¡¯t get it? You parents and children are both stupid huh. All of you were just being used by us.¡¹

    Hearing the words of the men before him, hatred was born inside Hertrude.

    The man looked at Hertrude andughed.

    ¡¸No, not yet. If I offer your head to the kingdom, then I alone will be saved. I¡¯ll be the hero who stop this folly!¡¹

    The man pointed a handgun at her, but the airship shook at that timing.

    The magic flute tumbled toward Hertrude¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Da, dammit!¡¹

    The noble aimed his gun once more, at the same time Hertrude took the magic flute and blew it with all her strength.

    (Everyone©¤©¤everyone should just disappear!)

    Then monsters appeared at the surrounding while emitting ck smoke.

    They attacked the man and devoured him.

    ¡¸Sto, stop! Help!¡¹

    The man cried and yelled. The monsters devoured him to the death.

    Hertrude slowly stood up. She went to a spot where she could see outside with the magic flute in hand.

    The truth of the dead of her parents in ident, the man¡¯s words, Rauda¡¯s death©¤©¤all of those made her unable to understand just what she had been risking her life for until now.

    Hertrude went out to the deck. Her eyes were dull.

    The battle had resumed outside. Weiss had just gotten destroyed by Bandel.

    Hertrude shed tears and blew the magic flute.

    Mysterioous sound resounded through the area.

    (Enough. I don¡¯t care what happen©¤©¤but, everyone should just die.)

    The magic flute summoned the guardian deity of the earth.

    Originally it was a monster that should make its appearance as thest boss.

    Hertrude let go of the magic flute and startedughing madly.

    ¡¸Everyone should just disappear!¡¹

    ©¤©¤The guardian deity of the earth responded to that mad order.

    .

    Part 12

    Leon¡¯s father, Barkas was giving order from the bridge.

    ¡¸Another crazy huge monster came out! Just what the hell is going on?¡¹

    Just when the kingdom army had charged into the principality army, their consciousness was suddenly gone.

    When they noticed the gigantic monster in the sky was vanishing, but next arge monster that was like a monster appeared on theke.

    He couldn¡¯t keep up with the situation.

    Nix who was also in the bridge pointed outside.

    ¡¸Father, the monsters appeared again. What¡¯s more, the number is a lot more than before!¡¹

    ¡¸Send out the armors. I¡¯m going out too.¡¹

    ¡¸No, father has to give order here! I¡¯ll©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Shaddup! Listen, there is order for everything. You should just stay here. If something happen, protect our house and family. You get that?¡¹

    Nix couldn¡¯t be allowed to die.

    Barkas thought that and put his hand on Nix¡¯s head before tussling it roughly.

    ¡¸If something happen to me, you siblings must get along well. If Leon survive, work him hard to protect our territory. That guy is capable but he is an idiot after all. Look after him properly.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible for me to look after that guy! In the first ce it¡¯ll be better for father to be the one remaining behind!¡¹

    ¡¸You brat isn¡¯t going to die earlier than me! You guys, take care of Nix.¡¹

    Barkas said that and walked out of the bridge.

    .

    Part 13

    Thest boss appeared just as expected, the dark knight is absurdly strong, I don¡¯t know just why the hell it turned out like this.

    ¡ºFIENDISH KNIGHTTTT!¡»

    Weiss is sinking and this time the ck knight gramps kept chasing me.

    I¡¯m not happy at all. ©¤©¤Even though it would be better to have a cute girl chasing after me.

    ¡¸Tsk!¡¹

    My axe is worn out from blocking the ck knight¡¯s great sword.

    ¡¸Missiles! All of them!¡¹

    ¡ºFiring all¡»

    The container opened and small missiles attacked the ck knight.

    The ck knight took distance from me and dodged all of them.

    His movement was disgusting, in addition the eye balls all over his body shot out fire balls that intercepted the missiles.

    My weapon is only the axe in my hand.

    Even when I tried to grab him and hammer shockwave into him, I cannot catch up to the ck knight in the first ce.

    ¡¸The situation is like this even when I have cheat. It makes me hate myself.¡¹

    I got cornered and ran out of any means©¤©¤just when I thought so, the gigantic monster produced thorns from its body part that looked like mountain.

    It fired those thorns and hit the surrounding airships one after another.

    It started attacking without differentiating the kingdom or the principality.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ha?¡¹

    As expected even the ck knight got flustered.

    ¡ºPrincess!¡»

    The gigantic monster is rampaging without discriminating enemy or ally.

    ¡¸How is Partner¡¯s condition!?¡¹

    ¡ºIt is hindered and cannot attack the gigantic monster satisfactorily.¡»

    Partner continued to attack the gigantic monster, but the principality army is surrounding it and showering it with concentrated fire.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You guys, there is enemy that you should defeat before targeting my ship!¡¹

    I yelled while readying my axe at the same time. I swung it down and the ck knight¡¯s great sword blocked it.

    ¡ºI don¡¯t have any more time to take you on. Die already!¡»

    ¡¸I refuse! I don¡¯t want to die in this kind of ce!¡¹

    I absolutely refused to die in a ce like battlefield.

    ¡ºYou have no pride as knight and also no willpower. You¡¯re really a fiend!¡»

    ¡¸What about it. Don¡¯t force your pride and will on me.¡¹

    Chivalry?

    My bad, it seems that the kingdom¡¯s chivalry exist to protect the girls.

    That¡¯s why, I can¡¯t go along with your aesthetics.

    Partner let out all its remaining ammunitions and blew away the gigantic monster.

    At the same time Luxion¡¯s empty shell informed me.

    ¡ºPartner is at its operation limit.¡»

    ¡¸Tsu!¡¹

    Partner that is continuously showered with concentrated fire lost its barrier and got hit right after with cannon shells and magic. It burst into mes and falling toward theke.

    I feel sorry for Luxion with this.

    And then the ck knight¡¯s de is approaching me.

    ¡ºTHIS IS THE ENDDDD!¡»

    I gripped the control stick to struggle till the end©¤©¤.

    Luxion¡¯s voice©¤©¤returned to its usual tone.

    ¡ºPurging the container.¡»

    ¡¸You!¡¹

    The container on Arroganz¡¯s back is purged, then it flew toward the ck knight.

    The ck knight cut apart the container and he got swallowed by an explosion.

    But, my armor¡¯s mobility became slow with this. Because the engine nozzles were attached on the container.

    ¡¸What¡¯re you nning to do about this situation, appearing so suddenly like that!¡¹

    The next time the ck knight attacked, I won¡¯t even be able to run away.

    ¡ºThere¡¯s no problem. Schwert ising.¡»

    Approaching from the sky above is Schwert with its shape changedpletely.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s Schwert.¡»

    ¡¸The shape is different!¡¹

    ¡ºA minor matter.¡»

    Schwert arrived on Arroganz¡¯s back and immediatelybined at the part that was connected with the container.

    ¡¸Itbined! Awesome!¡¹

    ¡ºExchanging parts. There is a great de so please use it.¡»

    Arroganz pulled out the sword that came out from Schwert. It¡¯s a simr great sword like the ck knight.

    Schwert¡¯s new shape can be seen as an aircraft or a shield depending on how you see it.

    Arroganz that had such thing installed on its back looked like it had wings on its back.

    ¡¸Can we fight with this?¡¹

    ¡ºThere is no problem. The system update has beenpleted too.¡»

    The ck knight flew out from the smoke that came from the container¡¯s explosion, so I made Arroganz flew down.

    The eleration is greater than before. The control is difficult.

    ¡¸This is too fast!¡¹

    ¡ºPlease get used to it. Beginning attack.¡»

    Lights that looked likeser are fired from Schwert. They attacked the ck knight.

    ¡¸Theser bent!¡¹

    ¡ºPlease be quiet or you will bite your tongue.¡»

    ©¤©¤What¡¯s with this AI who is treating his master not like a master.

    I felt lonely before this but, now I¡¯m strangely feeling annoyed.

    ¡¸But, I guess it¡¯ll be possible to fight the ck knight with this.¡¹

    I turned to face the ck knight and took a stance with the great sword.

    ¡ºBrat©¤©¤you still kept such an ace up your sleeve¡»

    ¡¸The one who winst is the strong one. So don¡¯tin you geezer!¡¹

 Chapter 104 - Volume 3 Chapter 11

    Otomege Volume 3 Chapter 11<h4>Chapter 11 ¨C The Power of Love</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    The sinking royal family¡¯s ship©¤©¤Weiss.

    Livia and others who escaped from there were riding on a small airship.

    The masked knight got down from his armor and confirmed their safety.

    ¡¸Looks like everyone is safe.¡¹

    Ange supported Livia who looked haggard from using her power.

    And Marie was being supported by Cara.

    Ange looked at the masked knight.

    ¡¸You saved us. Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤No need. More importantly the battle has resumed. There is even a new gigantic monster appearing. We are at a disadvantage now that we have lost the method to defeat it.¡¹

    Partner had defeated the gigantic monster once, but after that it was shot down. Ange looked slightly sad seeing the airship that she had fond memories about sinking, but she shook her head and made a serious expression.

    The newly appearing gigantic monster was attacking indiscriminately, because of that a three way struggle was started.

    Jilk in his armor took an aim with his rifle and shot the approaching monsters.

    ¡ºIt will be dangerous here. Let¡¯s retreat.¡»

    Greg opposed it.

    ¡ºThere isn¡¯t anywhere to retreat to here! That huge guy will go to the capital at this rate!¡»

    ¡ºThen are you saying we can win against that!? Both Partner and Weiss has sunk, we don¡¯t have any way to win now!¡»

    The masked knight watched Arroganz and the ck knight fighting a fierce battle. He clenched his hand.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Bartfalt also his hands full. If only we can do something¡¹

    Marie lifted up her face when everyone was enveloped in a dark atmosphere.

    ¡¸Wait. There is©¤©¤there is a way to win!¡¹

    The masked knight questioned Marie who said that.

    ¡¸Marie, no, Marie-dono, is that true!?¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yes. There is the magic flute right? That big monster can be erased if we ask the user to blow the flute one more time. But©¤©¤¡¹

    They didn¡¯t know where the user was located.

    And then, would the user blow the flute once more for them?

    ¡¸I see, so we will need persuasion.¡¹

    That would be difficult. ©¤©¤While everyone thought so, Livia made her decision.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Let¡¯s go. This battle must not be allowed to continue.¡¹

    ¡¸Livia, you should rest. You can¡¯t even stand straight anymore.¡¹

    Livia shook her head even after Livia told her that.

    ¡¸I want to stop this battle. Besides, I have the feeling that only we can do it.¡¹

    The surrounding was in chaos and Leon also had his hands full. Themunication was also worsening again.

    ¡¸We are the only one, who can do it huh.¡¹

    The masked knight nodded slightly and spoke to Kyle who was steering the airship.

    ¡¸Head to the magic flute¡¯s user¡¯s location!¡¹

    But, Kyle showed a very displeased face. He must be reluctant to follow the order of the masked knight.

    ¡¸Why are you giving me order? In the first ce, we don¡¯t even know the location of the owner.¡¹

    ¡ºAh, I know the location you know?¡»

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on the floating white sphere.

    ¡ºI¡¯ve finished pinpointing the location. Leave the navigation to me.¡»

    Livia asked Creare.

    ¡¸Are-chan, please. Guide us there.

    ¡ºOh, is that my nickname> It gives a feeling of familiarity. Now then, we should keep going forward like this.¡»

    Kyle moved the airship following Creare¡¯s instruction.

    ¡¸Advancing through a battlefield like this. I can¡¯t go on if I¡¯m not given a special bonus.¡¹

    Kyle did his job even while saying that.

    The masked knight took a pose.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go! We shall end this battle!¡¹

    Chris felt displeasure toward the masked knight.

    ¡ºThis guy, acting all familiar.¡»

    Robots were gathering one after another around the airship.

    ¡¸Wha, what!?¡¹

    The masked knight hurriedly raised his guard, but Creare told them it was fine.

    ¡ºThey¡¯re guard. It seems that sourpuss has arrived.¡»

    ¡¸Sourpuss?¡¹

    A pir of light appeared from the sky above. It shot through the gigantic monster, changing it into ck smoke.

    The airship slipped into that ck smoke, moving toward the principality¡¯s gship.

    ¡¸That light just now?¡¹

    ¡ºHahaha! ©¤©¤It was magic. An amazing magic.¡»

    <i>That was magic! </i>The masked knight and the others said in surprise.

    ¡ºIt¡¯sing into view.¡»

    The masked knight couldn¡¯t see anything in this battlefield that was covered with ck smoke.

    ¡¸The visibility is bad that nothing can be seen though?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯ll be dangerous if we don¡¯t reduce the speed.¡»

    Kyle hurriedly decelerated, then an airship came into view from the other side of the ck smoke.

    Brad was panicking.

    ¡ºOi, we¡¯re going to crash!¡»

    Creareughed in amusement.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s fine. We will arrive safely with this speed.¡»

    They could see Hertrude sitting on the deck.

    There were monsters around her, protecting her.

    The masked knight got into his armor.

    ¡¸I shall take the front.¡¹

    Ange who was supporting Livia smiled slightly seeing the masked knight like that.

    ¡¸You¡¯re reliable despite your strange mask.¡¹

    ¡¸Please call me masked knight.¡¹

    The masked knight got into his armor and spoke to everyone.

    ¡¸Follow me!¡¹

    But, Jilk made a dissatisfied face.

    ¡ºPlease don¡¯t order us around!¡»

    The five defeated the monsters around Hertrude, then they helped Livia and Ange©¤©¤and also Marie going down on the deck.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Livia and other came down on the deck and stood in front of Hertrude.

    The masked knight and the other four were around them to protect them.

    Hertrude was only sitting down holding the magic flute. She showed no sign of resisting.

    ¡¸Hertrude-san, we have a request.¡¹

    Hertrude didn¡¯t reply, but Livia continued speaking.

    ¡¸Please stop this war already. Everyone will die at this rate.¡¹

    Even then Hertrude didn¡¯t react. Ange got angry.

    ¡¸Is it your wish to rampage until the end? The battle is already decided. Surrender.¡¹

    Marie tightly clutched the saint¡¯s staff and looked around.

    The battle was continuing. She was scared that any stray bullet woulde their way.

    Quietly, Hertrude lifted up her face that had dark circles under her eyes. ¡¸Hih!¡¹ Marie was shocked, in contrast Livia pleaded earnestly.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s end this already. This cannot be allowed to continue. At this rate the people of the principality will also perish.¡¹

    .

    Ange added on Livia¡¯s words.

    ¡¸The principality army is also nearly destroyed. Retreat. That will be for the sake of both sides. That monster can be stopped with that flute right?¡¹

    Hertrude looked down once more and chuckled. She tightly clutched the magic flute and startedughing loudly.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. It¡¯ll be wiser to give up here. ©¤©¤But, absolutely not.¡¹

    Hertrude stood up and yelled with both her hands spread out.

    ¡¸Kill me if you want! But the guardian deity of earth won¡¯t stop even if you kill me. It will keep resurrecting no matter how many times it is destroyed. I wonder how all of you will face such opponent.¡¹

    Livia persuaded Hertrude who was in despair.

    Weiss had already sunk. They had no way to get rid of the gigantic monster.

    The pir of light too, it rained down each time the gigantic monster revived, even so the monster wouldn¡¯t stay defeated.

    ¡¸It¡¯s also attacking the people of the principality. At this rate©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What about it¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸I can onlyugh. One of my retainers said it at the end. How we were only used by them. I won¡¯t trust anyone anymore. Everyone©¤©¤everyone can just disappear!¡¹

    Livia approached Hertrude and spoke.

    That¡¯s wrong! Surely there are also people who thought about Hertrude-san.]

    ¡¸Yes, there were! Though Bandel will also die soon. Besides, Rauda©¤©¤my only sister has died.¡¹

    Livia drew back in surprise. Heltrude wasughing.

    ¡¸The price for summoning the guardian deity with this magic flute is the user¡¯s life. Even though it ended in failure, my little sister also died when the guardian deity vanished. It was we were toyed around by all of you.¡¹

    Hertrauda breathed herst with her frustration, resentment, and also her hatred taken away.

    ¡¸It was really cruel. All of you who even toyed with our hearts are the worst.¡¹

    Livia looked down, but Ange covered for her.

    ¡¸Stop joking. Do you intend to turn a blind eye at what all of you have done yourself?¡¹

    Marie spoke timidly.

    ¡¸If you blow the magic flute once more, it won¡¯t go as far as taking your life©¤©¤I, I think.¡¹

    Hertrude was impressed with Marie.

    ¡¸I¡¯m amazed you know that. Certainly the user won¡¯t die if they stop midway. Though I won¡¯t be able to use the magic flute anymore and the guardian deity will try to kill me. But you know, I¡¯m not scared of death at this point. I cannot help but wish to destroy this hopeless world. ©¤©¤I just want to take revenge for my little sister!¡¹

    Livia strongly opposed that yell of Hertrude.

    ¡¸Even so©¤©¤something like this is wrong. Revenge won¡¯t bring you anything! Your little sister won¡¯t be happy about it!¡¹

    The opinions of both sides wouldn¡¯t reach an agreement. The one enraged by it was©¤©¤Marie who should be an ally.

    Marie stepped in front of Livia.

    ¡¸Shut up, this flower field brain!¡¹

    Both Livia and Ange were surprised. Even Hertrude was looking surprised.

    Marie held the staff with her right hand and ced her left hand on her waist©¤©¤.

    ¡¸What are you calling wrong in the first ce! Even if it¡¯s wrong for you, it¡¯s the right thing from where this girl¡¯s standing! Revenge is wrong? Who give a damn about it! Besides, are you saying that Hertrauda wouldn¡¯t want revenge? Don¡¯t act as other people¡¯s proxy as you please! That¡¯s shameless!¡¹

    ¡¸But, at this rate no one will be©¤©¤¡¹

    Livia tried to argue back, but Marie didn¡¯t allow any rebuttal.

    ¡¸Because of that, are you telling this girl to be unhappy without taking down her enemy? Please stop because revenge is wrong? Then what are you going to do about this girl¡¯s feeling! You¡¯re acting high and mighty scolding her but, will you stay quiet if your important person is killed? You won¡¯t take revenge because it¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Tha, that¡¯s©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Have you ever have someone important to you die? Have you experience the many regrets because of that? It¡¯s painful. It¡¯s really painful when your important person die! Besides©¤©¤your words are shallow. You¡¯re just a little good girl saying pretty things without any substance in it!¡¹

    Ange protected Livia who was cornered.

    ¡¸Whose side are you on! I have no interest in Hertrude¡¯s revenge or whatever. Stopping that monster is the priority right now!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up! A world that¡¯ll get destroyed by just this much should just get destroyed already!¡¹

    Marie¡¯s yell that came from her heart made even Ange to flinch.

    Even so Marie didn¡¯t stop.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Marie was irritated.

    Revenge is wrong©¤©¤such thing was just for the surrounding¡¯s convenience.

    (That¡¯s right. I hate this girl with flower field for brain. Even in the game she only said pretty words and lines that sounded fake. War is wrong? Revenge is not good? Is there something wrong with your head?)

    ¡¸She know that it¡¯s something wrong and not good. Even so she cannot stop herself and tha¡¯s why she took action!¡¹

    Even Marie herself didn¡¯t understand why she was defending Hertrude.

    But, she was unable to see Hertrude who was only getting told how she was mistaken.

    Besides©¤©¤Marie was also feeling regret when her important person died.

    When her big brother in the previous life died, she felt really sad.

    Ange reproached such Marie.

    ¡¸And she is going to kill a lot of people because of that? Look around you! The battle is already decided. If it continues more than this, the important person of someone else will further die. Even more death wille. Don¡¯t you understand that!?¡¹

    ©¤©¤The soldiers and knights who died in battle must have their own important person.

    There must be also people waiting for their return.

    When they looked around©¤©¤the principality army was raising white g.

    They were attacked by the gigantic monster and the kingdom army. The number of their airships that were still floating was few.

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t any more meaning in fighting. If they withdraw here, there will still be ground for negotiation. Where is the need in continuing to fight pointlessly like this?¡¹

    Marie couldn¡¯t talk back.

    ¡¸Do you intend to continue thispletely pointless war of attrition?¡¹

    Even if the principality army rallied after this, their military strength would be diminished too much there wouldn¡¯t be any meaning in it.

    They would only get attacked by another country one day and lost.

    ¡¸Fanoss royal family was also a rtive of Hohlfahrt royal family if their origin is trace back. It¡¯s still possible to hold a negotiation if they withdraw here.¡¹

    Hertrude looked down and chuckled.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. But, what will be waiting for the principality will be a future that is like a ve.¡¹

    Painful reality would be waiting for the defeated country.

    Livia talked to Hertrude.

    ¡¸The soldiers also have family waiting for them back home. Please don¡¯t let them die pointlessly more than this.¡¹

    Even Marie understood that much.

    Livia and Ange were in the right©¤©¤then, what would happen to Heltrude?

    Hertrude moved her lips before Marie could say something.

    ¡¸I never thought, that I will be defended by the pathetic saint. Just why are you defending someone like me. If only you aren¡¯t here©¤©¤I won¡¯t have this kind of feeling.¡¹

    Saying that©¤©¤Hertrude blew the magic flute.

    That tune was gentle.

    ¡¸Are you, fine with that?¡¹

    Asked by Marie, Hertrude separated her lips from the breaking magic flute and smiled.

    ¡¸It¡¯s unpleasant being unable to take revenge. But, seeing the saint made me able to calm myself. That¡¯s right. I understand it. I know that there is no meaning even if I do something like this©¤©¤but, I couldn¡¯t stop myself. Just why something like this happen to me, to us¡¹

    Hertrude burst out crying and crumbled on the spot. Marie gently hugged her shoulders.

    When they noticed, the surrounding had stopped fighting.

    The five positioned their armors to protect Marie and others. The surrounding had be really quiet.

    Hertrude wiped her tears.

    ¡¸The principality©¤©¤surrender.¡¹

    Creare gave a warming after she dered that.

    ¡ºAn armor is rapidly approaching! Everyone, be careful!¡»

    The five armors who surrounded them raised their guard. Then a ck armor roughlynded on the deck.

    The armor was battered and liquids were flowing out from it. It looked as though it was bleeding.

    ©¤©¤It was the ck knight.

    ¡ºGet away from princess. You fiends of the kingdom.¡»

    Several eyes appeared on the armor. They were looking at Marie and others.

    ¡¸This guy is disgusting.¡¹

    Hertrude cried seeing the ck knight looking like that.

    ¡¸Bandel, it¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s end this already. You have fought well for the sake of someone like me. Thank you. That¡¯s why, it¡¯s enough already. It¡¯s over.¡¹

    The battle was finally over.

    Everyone thought that, but the ck knight wouldn¡¯t ept it.

    ¡º©¤©¤Princess, have they deceived you?¡»

    ¡¸Bandel?¡¹

    ¡ºPlease don¡¯t worry. Watch me, I¡¯m going to scatter the kingdom army immediately.¡»

    The ck knight stood. Liquids spurted out from all over his body like blood.

    ¡¸You¡¯re wrong. It¡¯s over already, Bandel!¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m not going to let it end!¡»

    The masked knight shed at the ck knight, but it was repelled away with his great sword.

    The other armors also attacked, but they weren¡¯t his match.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. It won¡¯t end. I still, cannot let it end yet©¤©¤the revenge for my family isn¡¯t over. I¡¯ll make the people of the kingdom feel the same©¤©¤it won¡¯t end until I take revenge for my wife and daughter!¡»

    The ck knight approached Marie and others.

    And then, the revived gigantic monster also headed toward them.

    For a moment Marie thought ¡ºIs this the end?¡».

    Even in her second life©¤©¤she failed continuously it made her sad.

    Livia stepped in front of the ck knight and spread out her hands.

    ¡¸ck knight-san, please stop it already.¡¹

    Marie reached out.

    ¡¸I, idiot, what are you doing even at this situation!¡¹

    The ck knight stopped moving, and then he raised up his great sword.

    ¡ºYou are the girl from that time. Then, I¡¯ve to kill you here©¤©¤you can¡¯t be allowed to live.¡»

    Marie gripped her staff tightly. She deployed a shield of magic power with her saint power.

    That shield was easily smashed by the ck knight¡¯s left hand.

    ¡ºSo even the saint is only this much!¡»

    ¡¸Stop it already Bandel!¡¹

    Even when Hertrude yelled, the ck knight swung down the great sword at Livia.

    ¡¸Livia!¡¹

    Ange rushed forward to protect Livia.

    Marie closed her eyes.

    At this rate the two of them©¤©¤and then she would also die. The moment she thought that, what surfaced in her heart was,

    (Save us, Onii-chan!)

    Perhaps that voice reached. Entering their ear was©¤©¤.

    ¡º©¤©¤I¡¯ll murder you, you shitty geezerrrr!¡»

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    ¡¸Damn bastards getting in my way.¡¹

    The principality¡¯s armors swarmed me to help the ck knight.

    After I defeated all of them and looked around, the ck knight isn¡¯t anywhere to be found.

    When I thought that I finally found him after chasing the fleeing ck knight, he is on a principality¡¯s airship©¤©¤on its deck.

    For some reason Livia and others are also on it. They¡¯re going to get killed even now.

    I instantly lost my cool.

    ¡¸What the hell are you doing©¤©¤I¡¯ll murder you, you shitty geezerrrr!¡¹

    Arroganz tackled him and blew him away from there. The ck knight yelled something.

    ¡ºIt hasn¡¯t ended! I won¡¯t let it end! I¡¯ll massacre all the fiends of the kingdom!¡»

    Luxion shook his single eye hearing that voice.

    ¡ºHe isn¡¯t sane anymore. He is being taken over by that.¡»

    The ck knight who was taken over by the magic right arm took a stance with his great sword.

    ¡ºMaster, let¡¯s end this soon. The gigantic monster is heading our way.¡»

    I also readied my great sword and elerated.

    ¡¸Geezer, go to sleep already!¡¹

    The ck knight drew near©¤©¤I copied his movement, furthermore Luxion is supporting me.

    We¡¯ve exchanged blows with the ck knight many times. We repeatedly did correction throughout all those.

    It felt like the charm hanging on my neck shined slightly.

    ¡ºYOU BASTARDDDDDDD!¡»

    Both of us swung our great swords. The ck knight¡¯s great sword gouged deeply into Arroganz¡¯s shoulder.

    ©¤©¤My sword entered the torso of the ck knight.

    ¡¸Luxion, do it-!¡¹

    ¡ºPlease leave it to me. ©¤©¤Impact!¡»

    The de of the great sword shined red and unleashed sparks. The ck knight was sent flying.

    It was like a balloon filled with water got sent flying. ck liquid spurted out and the ck knight geezer fell on the airship¡¯s deck.

    Arroganz¡¯s left arm that was almost breaking reached out by itself.

    The left hand grasped and recovered the part that looked like an armor¡¯s right arm.

    An eye appeared on the back of its hand. When it looked at Arroganz, it rolled around restlessly as though in panic.

    It looked like it¡¯s scared of Arroganz.

    ¡ºMaster, the preparation is ready anytime.¡»

    When I tossed it away, light poured from the sky and annihted the magic right arm.

    ¡¸Feel refreshed?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. That thing is next.¡»

    Ahead of my gaze is a moving mountain©¤©¤the gigantic monster.

    ¡¸Make it shy.¡¹

    ¡ºThat will be good.¡»

    Arroganz stored away the great sword and spread out both hands widely.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    Hertrude clung on Bandel who fell on the deck.

    ¡¸Bandel!¡¹

    Bandel opened his eyes, but blood was leaking when he touched his stomach.

    He also had lost his right arm.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ah, so I lost.¡¹

    Bandel smiled seeing the crying Hertrude.

    (That brat, has grown strong.)

    ¡¸Princess, my apologies.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t leave me!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It looks like this is it.¡¹

    When he looked to the sky, Arroganz was spreading its hands widely.

    Several magic circles appeared and ovepped in preparation of something.

    Even Bandel who didn¡¯t specialize in magic could guess that it must be an amazing magic.

    And then, the ovepping magic circles emitted a beautiful radiance.

    A great amount of energy waspressed, creating a light that looked like cannonball to be fired toward the guardian deity of earth. Arroganz let out crackling electrical discharge. From the sparksing out from its joints, it seemed to be forcing itself.

    And then©¤©¤when the cannonball was fired, it hit the guardian deity of the earth and exploded. Seeing the explosion and smoke from above the shaking airship, Bandel keenly felt that everything was over.

    Fire burst from every part of Arroganz due to the recoil of using magic. It then was falling toward theke.

    Livia and others rode an airship toward Arroganz.

    But, Marie stayed beside the two of them. She was watching over Hertrude.

    Seeing her, Bandel felt slightly relieved.

    (Is she worrying for princess? If there is someone like her©¤©¤perhaps, it will still be alright. With this©¤©¤my revenge is also over. I¡¯m going to where my family©¤©¤)

    Bandel vomited blood from his mouth. He smiled before closing his eyes.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    On theke.

    Arroganz deployed a life buoy and floated on theke.

    I¡¯m looking to the sky inside the cockpit together with Luxion.

    ¡¸Hey, I wonder if I¡¯m right?¡¹

    If from the start I used Luxion¡¯s main body not at the other side©¤©¤but at this side, then it would end without anyone dead. There was also reason why I didn¡¯t do that. But, it was me who chose this way of fighting.

    ¡ºIn case master exposed my main body, a life where master can¡¯t let your guard down will be waiting. Besides, fighting at the other side of thend would be too dangerous for the current kingdom. The sea gigantic monster also couldn¡¯t be ignored. This oue isn¡¯t the best but it might be the better one?¡»

    Wreckages of airships and armors floated on theke.

    Seeing that I thought

    Shouldn¡¯t I be able to do better?

    ¡¸In the end, I was unable to use you skillfully.¡¹

    ¡ºI agree. But, it¡¯ll be alright as long as master learn from here on won¡¯t it?¡»

    ¡¸A lot died. I killed a lot.¡¹

    ¡ºHumans have been fighting since the dawn of history so please don¡¯t worry. Someone like master is still in the lowest division.¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m not happy hearing that at all.¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m not good with consoling someone after all.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m surely going to hell.¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s only if hell exist. Should I apany master?¡»

    ¡¸It feels like you¡¯re going to pick a fight with King Yama there. That will only make my sin heavier so I decline.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s master who is always picking a fight with your surrounding.¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re an idiot huh. I at least understand which opponent must not be angered. I¡¯m good with ttery. I¡¯ve started thinking of words to butter up King Yama from now.¡¹

    ¡ºAs expected. It¡¯s too horrible I have no word.¡»

    I¡¯m distracting myself by making stupid talk.

    ¡º©¤©¤It¡¯s also a fact that a lot of people are saved due to master¡¯s action. Both the kingdom and the principality are exhausted and it will be difficult to continue the war. Seeing the oue, I believe that master has done well. Master is also able to disy that Partner and Arroganz are now beyond repair. Depending on the method, master might be able to obtain the peace that you wished for.¡»

    If it was the actual main character of a story who did it, then surely he would save everyone and got happy end.

    I couldn¡¯t get the happy end. ©¤©¤As expected I¡¯m just a mob.

    If there is a main character who can save everything, I¡¯ll do everything I can to butter him up.

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s why, help me out. Anyone is fine, I want to be helped.

    ©¤©¤I cannot obtain great achievement like a main character or a hero.

    ¡¸I wanted to do better. It¡¯s my responsibility.¡¹

    ¡ºWar would happen between the two countries regardless of master¡¯s existence. Master is being excessively self-conscious.¡»

    That must be a constion from this guy in his own way.

    He is irritating but, this is far betterpared to when he was just empty shell.

    ¡¸My bad about Partner and Weiss. They got sunk.¡¹

    ¡ºI will recover Partner and fix it. Regarding Weiss, I judge that mind attack is dangerous. It seemed there was a device that was loaded into the shipter on. The ship itself didn¡¯t have such function.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s scary to stop war with love. Getting your fighting spirit or your wish to fight taken away is too scary.¡¹

    ¡ºIt will be more convenient to keep it sinking like that. If not, Olivia and Angelica¡¯s life will be in danger. ©¤©¤I understood the reason why the kingdom was hiding it as trump card.¡»

    I don¡¯t want to make those two use that anymore.

    If the ship kept existing, the two who became its owner would be constantly under the threat of assassination.

    For their sake, it¡¯s important to make everyone think that trump card cannot be used anymore.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to use it anymore. What do they mean love. That¡¯s just a mind attack.¡¹

    ¡ºA wise decision. But©¤©¤isn¡¯t it a fact that love is what stopped the war?¡»

    ¡¸That? Even I was appalled by it you know?¡¹

    ¡ºDidn¡¯t master lend your hand because you love those two? Besides master¡¯s feeling that want to protect your family and other acquaintances is also love. It¡¯s exactly because of that the kingdom is able to win.¡»

    ¡¸That¡¯s wonderful. At the same time, what started the war was also love was it?¡¹

    ¡ºThere were various reasons but, love is effective if it can be used. When instigating the popce, their morale will heighten if they¡¯re told it¡¯s for protecting their family and loved ones.¡»

    ¡¸It made me want to vomit.¡¹

    ¡ºHuman can fight for love. They can risk their life for other people¡¯s sake. It¡¯s something wonderful.¡»

    While I¡¯m going along with this guy¡¯s sarcasm, a small airshipnded near Arroganz.

    Itnded on water which caused wave that shook the armor.

    On the ship are LIvia and Ange.

    The two of them are crying.

    ¡¸Eh? Could it be they think I¡¯m dead?¡¹

    ¡ºDon¡¯t be joking, how about master get out and reassure them? If master don¡¯t resolve yourself already, even I will be irritated. Master love those two right?¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re an idiot huh. ©¤©¤It¡¯s because I love them that I¡¯m cherishing them.¡¹

    Resolve? Laying my hand on someone who I can¡¯t marry, or rather someone who I can¡¯t take responsibility for is impossible for me.

    Because I¡¯m©¤©¤a sincere man after all.

    ¡¸I have worked hard for a lifetime¡¯s worth. I want to live peacefully next.¡¹

    ¡ºEven if there is a peaceful future for master, I don¡¯t think that master will be able to get away from those two though.¡»

    ¡¸Do you think I¡¯m worthy for those two? There are worthier men for them.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s for those two and master yourself to decide. Please rest assured. If it¡¯s about living expense then I¡¯ll do something about it.¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m so happy I¡¯m crying here.¡¹

    Arroganz¡¯s hatch opened and I went out. There Livia and Ange jumped down from the airship and hugged me.

    ¡¸Leon-san!¡¹

    ¡¸This idiot!¡¹

    I¡¯m embraced, and then I put my arms on the two¡¯s backs.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think of what I should say here. But for now©¤©¤I¡¯m back.¡¹

    Livia shed tears and pressed her forehead on my chest.

    ¡¸Leon-san, please don¡¯t make us worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? You were worried?¡¹

    Ange pinched my arm, but I¡¯m wearing pilot suit so it doesn¡¯t really hurt.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t joke. Also, why did you run away that time?¡¹

    ¡¸That time?¡¹

    ¡¸That time in the underground©¤©¤that, when it came to light that Livia and I are in love with each other.¡¹

    For some reason it made me want to tease Angelica when she is looking embarrassed like this.

    ¡¸No, because, I thought it would be bad if I got in the way.¡¹

    ¡¸Who said that you would get in the way! ©¤©¤Don¡¯t say something like that anymore. You¡¯re an important person for the two of us.¡¹

    Father¡¯s airshipnded near us.

    It seems they came to pick us up.

    The war also looked to be over. What remained is©¤©¤tidying up and dealing with the aftermath.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    When we returned to the pce, the ce is busy and many things are decided.

    About the matter of the principality, both sides made peace for the time being.

    The reason is because the kingdom is being attacked by other countries in various ces and they don¡¯t have time to focus on the principality alone.

    Even if the kingdom wanted to invade they don¡¯t have the leeway for it.

    However, the country called the principality is terminated.

    They ended up entering under the umbre of the kingdom as Fanoss Duke House.

    At the same time they are also tied up with a humiliating agreement.

    Of course they have to pay reparations, but the kingdom will also be the one to decide the military strength that they can possess and they would be fined if they vited the agreement.

    It¡¯s also decided that the kingdom will send an overseer to there.

    They also have to send their army if the kingdom demanded it and they have no right to refuse.

    ©¤©¤Their treatment is far worsepared to other feudal lords.

    A future where they won¡¯t be killed but also won¡¯t be allowed to live while being exploited for several hundred years is waiting for them.

    It¡¯s not a matter that involved me who returned to the pce. Around that time I am©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Leon-sama, it seems that you have aplished a great achievement.¡¹

    ¡¸Truly a hero.¡¹

    ¡¸Please allow me to listen to Leon-sama¡¯s achievement.¡¹

    ©¤©¤being surrounded by girls in the pce.

    ¡¸Ahahaha! I wish I can show you girls my effort there. I kept tearing apart those principality bunch and tossed them away, rinse and repeat!¡¹

    By the way, the girls surrounding me aren¡¯t students of the academy.

    They are the juniors who will enter the academy in the future.

    They are high ss youngdies who aren¡¯t even bringing ve around with them. They are pure girls who haven¡¯t been stained in a bad sense by the society or rather by the girls in the academy.

    They¡¯re daughters of nobles so they must have various ulterior motives but, they¡¯re still better than the girls in the academy.

    Besides©¤©¤it¡¯s the best feeling to have girls making a fuss over me like this!

    Everyday girls areing to visit me who am currently being half imprisoned in the pce.

    There are some signs of movement behind the scene but, I don¡¯t want to live worrying about a lot of things anymore.

    Right now I¡¯ll just enjoy this moment.

    ¡¸Next year when we enrolled, Leon-sama will be our senior.¡¹

    ¡¸It feels like a dream to be able to go to the same academy.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to Leon-sama¡¯s tea party.¡¹

    I pressed my chest in front of the lovely juniors.

    Unlike the girls in the academy, these are unsullied maidens©¤©¤perhaps this is the beginning of my life? Has it finally started?

    The war is over, I might have been freed from that otome game¡¯s binding!

    ¡¸I¡¯m also looking forward for everyone to enroll.¡¹

    The girls blushed.

    Even someone like me will be popr when bing hero.

    Myugh cannot stop anymore.

    I reincarnated to another world and just when I thought it¡¯s a world that ced woman above men©¤©¤a normal harem development is waiting for me from now on.

    It¡¯s the best feeling!

    While I¡¯m enjoying myself like that, Mylene-sama showed up.

    ¡¸Viscount Bartfalt, can I ask for a bit of your time?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Mylene-sama.¡¹

    Her serious expression is slightly colored with sorrow.

    Stop it. Don¡¯t look at me with such expression.

    When the girls read the mood and left from the room, I¡¯m getting flustered like a man who got caught having an affair.

    ¡¸Mylene-sama, the, there is various circumstances about this¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    It seems she understand something but, she really canprehend my feeling that is bing loose from having girls fussing over me? She is truly a broad minded woman. Mylene-sama is just too lovely.

    ¡¸You are distracting yourself by doing that right? We have made you go through painful things. I have heard, that you raised a truly spectacr achievement©¤©¤that must be exactly why it¡¯s painful for you correct?¡¹

    ©¤©¤I thought that she is misunderstanding a lot but, it looks like she is looking at where she ought to look.

    I stopped making excuse and shrugged.

    ¡¸I¡¯m beaten. But, it¡¯s the truth that I was happy having girls fussing over me. It¡¯s something I¡¯ve never experienced in the academy.¡¹

    ¡¸Boys.¡¹

    Mylene-sama said that and smiled. She then sat at the opposite side of me.

    ¡¸Do you remember? I said that I will tell you everything.¡¹

    ¡¸What Mylene-sama said before the battle is it? Is now the time for that?¡¹

    Mylene-sama nodded. She straightened her posture and looked straight at me.

    ¡¸Will you be able to ept everything, Viscount Bartfalt? The thing called truth is cruel.¡¹

    She said something about the cause the kingdom became like this.

    Is there any reason for the otome game setting?

    I straightened my posture.

    ¡¸Although I appear this way but I¡¯m not a pure and innocent boy. I¡¯ve resolved myself.¡¹

    I willter regret saying out this line so thoughtlessly.

    ¡¸Then, I will talk while also exining its rtion with the conclusion of this incident.¡¹

 Chapter 105 - Chapter 12 â€“ A Cruel Truth

    <h4>Chapter 12 ¨C A Cruel Truth</h4>

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    ¡¸The beginning started from the insurrection of the archduke house. You understand that in war, the side that made the first move will have the advantage right?¡¹

    When it came to the war in this world, the attacking side will be in advantage in part due to the existence of airship.

    ¡¸Yes. In fact the defensive battle in the capital was also a pain.¡¹

    Mylene-sama nodded and continued talking.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The royal family was harassed by the archduke house in the past, because of that they feared the seconding of another archduke house. As someone from feudal lord household yourself you surely understand but, when you reach the level above baron house, there is a way to rapidly increase your military strength.¡¹

    ¡¸By increasing the number of airships. I heard that in the past there was a method of attacking other houses and expand your power base like that.¡¹

    Because there is convenient thing like floating stone, the maintenance cost of airship is surprisingly cheap.

    It¡¯s also possible to construct airship cheaply.

    Increasing military strength and obtain new floating ind through dispute between feudal lords.

    In other words, even a baron could make the kingdom quake in fear as long as they gathered military strength and possessed the quick wits to use it.

    ©¤©¤It seems there was that kind of era.

    ¡¸Even worse, among the feudal lords who shut themselves within their territory, many of them thought that the kingdom won¡¯t be any match against them. In fact there were also a lot of feudal lords who made light of the kingdom and attacked.¡¹

    That kind of misunderstanding bastard lost against the kingdom.

    But, the attacked side would be in disadvantage, so the damage to the kingdom also wasn¡¯t light.

    ¡¸The kingdom prepared the academy is also for disying their strength. It¡¯s for showing the capital to the feudal lords and made them understand the difference in strength.¡¹

    Luxion also said something like that.

    But, just what rtion it has with the truth?

    From the way Mylene-sama spoke it felt like that some burden was forced on male but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸And then, the kingdom prepared one more n. That n was for shaving off the feudal lords¡¯ strength. They nted a new sense of values.¡¹

    ¡¸Shaving off their strength? Sense of values?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you understand why the females of the nobles were given extremely favorable treatment?¡¹

    ¡¸That is©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Originally the number of male is extremely few in part because of the wars. You won¡¯t notice while in the academy but, after the graduation the number of male bes insufficient. ©¤©¤In fact the number of female who cannot marry is numerous.¡¹

    Then why is the female given preference in marriage when the situation is like that?

    ©¤©¤Somehow many things are getting connected.

    ¡¸The nobles got conditioned to hold a shared sense of values in the academy. In so doing the kingdom favorably treated the female more. Even though it was somewhat horrible, the kingdom continued to take the stance that gave preferential treatment to the female.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Oi, wait a second.

    Could it be, the kingdom was the one who created this situation!?

    ¡¸Ple, please wait. What is the meaning of doing something like that? Because, you know! When the timees it caused the nobles to be reluctant to do their duty!¡¹

    It was also like that this time.

    The youths who were in the same environment like me tried to change side the moment they understood that the kingdom was in disadvantage.

    Mylene-sama told me to calm down before continuing her exnation slowly.

    ¡¸At first the kingdom never imagined that this kind of situation will happen. It will be alright if the feudal lords are taught to have the same sense of values and camaraderie with each other while shaving off their strength slightly, the kingdom only thought that far. But, the effect surpassed the imagination. The females grew impudent.¡¹

    The number of idiot who challenged the kingdom became few after they learned the kingdom¡¯s true strength in their youth.

    At the same time, the idea of prioritizing female is fine and all, but the female grew to hold influence that surpassed the expectation.

    The warped marital rtionships appeared because of the kingdom¡¯s fault.

    ¡¸Correct it along the way before it became like this.¡¹

    ¡¸There wasn¡¯t any need for that. In fact, if I was an official at that era I would also ignore it. It was convenient for the kingdom. After all the feudal lords will get impoverished even without them doing anything, and their riches will gather in the capital. The number of nobles that revolted also got reduced drastically.¡¹

    Mylene-sama answered bluntly. Then she spoke about one more meaning of the academy¡¯s existence.

    ¡¸©¤©¤And then, another objective of the academy is to establish an education method.¡¹

    Eh? Now that she mentioned it, I think I remember Luxion mentioning something like that too in one of his stories that I ignored.

    ¡¸By establishing an education method, the kingdom intended to educate not the nobles©¤©¤but themoners. Do you understand what that mean?¡¹

    When I averted my gaze, Mylene-sama smiled.

    ¡¸It¡¯s to create a world where the nobles are unnecessary a few hundred yearster.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to hear it.

    If I hear this kind of story, won¡¯t I get erased if I¡¯m careless?

    ¡¸The royal family at that time prepared the academy with the intention to carry out a revolution of the political system throughout several hundred years. No, they must be taking such action because halfway they realized they had to carry out such n for the kingdom¡¯s sake.¡¹

    The royal family grew fed up in going along with the feudal lords and thought hard. The result©¤©¤they wanted to change the political system.

    What¡¯s that? Aren¡¯t they living too much in the future?

    ¡¸Just as represented by the archduke house at that time, the nobles were overflowing with ambition in that horrible era. Viscount too should understand if you¡¯re a noble.¡¹

    There were also some good guys, but the majority was trashes that made you wanted to tilt your head wondering if they were really human.

    In fact, there were a lot of guys who would try to rise up in life using armed might if they had the power to do it, unlike me.

    ¡¸The academy also attempted to correct such thinking of the youths. If the nobles are decent, then the kingdom would continue on safely, they thought. But, the situation progressed to a direction outside the expectation of the royal family at that time.¡¹

    It seemed that the position of the girls became stronger than expected was a problem.

    ¡¸As the result of ignoring that problem because it was effective for shaving off the feudal lords¡¯ power, a part of the females from the baron house until count house ran wild. It became a situation that was more horrible than the pce expected.¡¹

    And it led to the current situation.

    ¡¸What a horrible story.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, it¡¯s a horrible story. But, it¡¯s also a fact that the riches of the feudal lords gathered into the capital. The females who wanted to live in luxury in the capital were also convenient existence for the pce. This is the reason why burdens were forced on the males.¡¹

    From the kingdom¡¯s perspective, the nobles©¤©¤especially the feudal lords couldn¡¯t be trusted.

    They created the academy to give education to themoners and reduced the number of nobles in the future. From the way Mylene-sama spoke, could it be they were turning a blind eye toward the girls who were running wild in the academy?

    ©¤©¤It looked as though they were choosing which nobles to be cast away one day.

    The houses with rank higher than count didn¡¯t allow their daughters to have ve©¤©¤might also because they suspected or knew about this truth?

    The remaining nobles must be aiming for the important positions in the new system when the political system is reformed.

    Even if the nobles who don¡¯t know anything ran wild, the kingdom that possessed the trump card which was the royal family¡¯s ship should be feeling confident.

    I never even imagined that the messed up academy actually had such calction behind it.

    I¡¯ll ask about the detail to Luxionter.

    Also©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Could it be, Livia getting enrolled into the academy was for...¡¹

    ¡¸It was for the transition to the next phase. The nobles should be having a sense of danger. That girl was to be the beginning with the n to increase the number ofmoners enrolled increased each year. Well, it¡¯s an action that is thinking about 100 or 200 years ahead though.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I learned this in the school of my previous life.

    After the feudalism it would be©¤©¤absolute monarchy with centralized authoritarian rule was it?

    ¡¸©¤©¤Centralized authoritarian rule.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s a good word to concisely state the result that the royal family is aiming for.¡¹

    I got praised after disying my knowledge from previous life, but I¡¯m not happy hearing that in this situation.

    She is saying that the kingdom would steal everything from the feudal lords and made themoners do the noble¡¯s job.

    I never even imagined that the academy was established for that.

    ¡¸But it didn¡¯t progress as nned.¡¹

    Mylene-sama said that and looked at me with a self-depreciating smile.

    ©¤©¤Stop. Don¡¯t test me like this.

    Right now I¡¯m really worried that I might get killed after hearing this story.

    If the male nobles heard this story, they would go mad with anger.

    I understand that it¡¯s pointless even if I me the current royal family but©¤©¤this is horrible.

    ¡¸As expected a hero is different. The likes of me was dumbfounded when I heard this story. But Leon-kun is really calm. Even though I thought that it can¡¯t be helped even if I got yelled and cursed at.¡¹

    It seems Mylene-sama is misunderstanding from seeing me speechless from shock.

    ¡¸Also, let me say this not as a queen but as myself personally©¤©¤¡¹

    Mylene-sama stood up from her seat before kneeling on the floor and lowered her head toward me.

    ©¤©¤Eh? What¡¯s with the kowtow! Wait a second. There shouldn¡¯t be any custom of kowtow in this world! Is she imitating what I did at the school festival?

    ¡¸Wa, wait! Please stop it. What¡¯s the matter so suddenly?¡¹

    ¡¸Viscount Bartfalt. I wish to make a request to you even knowing that how rude it is. Please, can I ask you to save my son Julius? This is my request as that child¡¯s mother.¡¹

    ©¤©¤What did that guy do?

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    The six got put inside the underground prison.

    Julius, Jilk, Brad, Greg, Chris, and also Marie were silently waiting for their treatment to be decided.

    Marie was crying.

    ¡¸Everyone©¤©¤sorry.¡¹

    Julius smiled to console the crying Marie.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because I could only help you by doing this. Don¡¯t mind it Marie.¡¹

    Jilk was looking at Julius with a sad expression.

    ¡¸It couldn¡¯t be helped that your highness couldn¡¯t join the battle. Besides, someone who introduced himself as masked knight gave us help in that battlefield.¡¹

    Brad also recalled the masked knight and made a dissatisfied expression.

    ¡¸That guy was suddenly gone. Well, he was quite the capable guy though.¡¹

    Greg sat cross legged and ced his chin on his hand while talking to Julius about the masked knight.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t go as far as saying that guy was Julius¡¯s recement, but I¡¯ll admit he was useful.¡¹

    Chris also nodded and recognized the masked knight¡¯s strength.

    ¡¸He was piloting an armor that I had never seen before. His swordsmanship also wasn¡¯t bad. But, we never discovered just who he is until the end. Though it seems Bartfalt knew something about him.¡¹

    Julius made a small smile hearing those four¡¯s reactions.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I see. I also wanted to try meeting him.¡¹

    ¡¸No, there is no need for your highness to meet him. He was a man who suddenly appeared and tried to take control of the ce. His identity has to be questioned the next time he appear.¡¹

    Marie was utterly amazed seeing the five¡¯s behavior.

    <i>Are they seriously saying that? </i>Her face seemed to say that.

    ¡¸Everyone, that man was Julius©¤©¤¡¹

    Footsteps could be heard approaching the underground prison where the six of them were at.

    The knights guarding the prison saluted and allowed that man to enter. A ck haired girl was also following behind the man.

    ¡¸Ah!¡¹

    Marie looked at the man with her eyes shining©¤©¤it was Leon.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You guys are really stupid.¡¹

    Behind him her highness Hertrude©¤©¤no, Duchess Hertrude was also present.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really astonished by all of you.¡¹

    Marie clung on the iron bars and asked for help from Leon.

    ¡¸I have worked hard. So please save me from here.¡¹

    Leon made a pained face and confirmed the situation while pressing his hand on his forehead.

    ¡¸Do you guys understand the charges that are ced on you?¡¹

    Julius looked straight at Leon.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t believe we have done anything to be ashamed for at all.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys, be a bit more ashamed! The prince attacking a duchess after signing the treaty isn¡¯tughing matter! The pce is shamed because of your fault!¡¹

    Hertrude sighed and looked down.

    ¡¸Did you act recklessly like that for my sake?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a part of it. Because that treaty was just too horrible as expected. Besides, if it continued like that I would have to marry into your house. Other than that©¤©¤it was because Marie asked me to.¡¹

    Marie requested Julius saying that she wanted to do something for the principality©¤©¤for the duke house.

    ¡¸So that¡¯s your true motive.¡¹

    The pce must be wishing to send Julius to put the Fanoss House under a harsh management.

    If he was married off to Hertrude, the emotion of the principality¡¯s popce would also subside somewhat.

    By doing that they thought the governing there would also go well, and yet©¤©¤Julius attacked Hertrude.

    Of course, he only pretended to attack.

    Because of that the pce¡¯s face waspletely ruined.

    Even with the treaty in ce, Julius¡¯s act made the pce topromise to some extent.

    Naturally the talk about Julius¡¯s marriage was also aborted.

    (Even though it would be good if he marry like that.)

    Marie thought such thing.

    Leon turned his gaze to the other four.

    ¡¸You guys also understand right?¡¹

    Greg¡¯s finger rubbed below his nose looking slightly embarrassed.

    ¡¸It was to protect Marie. I got no regret.¡¹

    ¡¸Regret for a bit! Are you an idiot beating up the temple¡¯s people who came to take Marie into custody like that? Hey, are you really an idiot? You¡¯re an idiot aren¡¯t you!?¡¹

    Chris threw out his chest.

    ¡¸It was a legitimate self-defense.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys overdid it. The temple sent us a protest! Even though I also got various arrangements created but you guys ruined it all.¡¹

    The people of the temple that came to take Marie originally only came to collect the saint¡¯s items back.

    But, people who found Marie¡¯s existence inconvenient slipped among them and brought poisoned wine with them. They tried to make Marie drank it.

    They tried to make Marie shoulder all the responsibilities.

    The four came running and then©¤©¤beat up all the temple personnel and kicking them out of the pce.

    So far it was already problematic, but even Leon couldn¡¯t me them for that. The problem was after that.

    ¡¸Now see here. Marie was recognized by the saint¡¯s tools. She herself said that she¡¯s a fake, but there is no doubt that she is the saint. Do you understand until here?¡¹

    Marie seemed to think she was praised and looked bashful.

    ¡¸Eh, is that true? What, then I¡¯m really the saint.¡¹

    ¡¸The men of that saint beat up the priests so the matter gotplicated though. You guys beat them up without even investigating further, so the temple also got obstinate and said that they won¡¯t recognize Marie now.¡¹

    Hertrude looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn¡¯t say anything and left it to Leon.

    ¡¸Do you know how much I¡¯ve been pulling strings behind the scene? Hey, why are you guys making all my hard works futile?¡¹

    Brad got enraged and stood up in protest.

    ¡¸Are you telling us to let Marie die then!? We won¡¯t ept something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Certainly, you four are in the right. Those guys tried to poison her to death. Even I thought that those guys are a real idiot. But see©¤©¤you four making a ruckus after driving them away is no good. Assaulting the temple is really stupid.¡¹

    Marie defended the four.

    ¡¸Wait! Everyone only protested to the temple because they thought I would be executed.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t call bringing out armors and rampaging a protest! You call that use of force! Even though it looked like the matter might be resolved nicely because they got found out trying to kill using poison!¡¹

    From the perspective of the pce¡¯s official, these six who were thrown into the underground prison must be a very aggravating existence.

    Hertrude was pitying Leon.

    ¡¸You also have it hard. Want toe to my ce? If it¡¯s now I can promise you a nice treatment. I¡¯ll prepare a rank of duke for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Not interested.¡¹

    Leon instantly refused and walked toward Marie.

    Hertrude made a slightly vexed and sad looking smile. She was muttering ¡¸Even though I¡¯m serious this time, I got rejected again¡¹.

    ¡¸The extraordinarily devilish woman who seduced the five who originally had bright prospect©¤©¤you¡¯re being talked like that.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is that so?¡¹

    Leon showed an irritated voice at the bashful Marie.

    ¡¸Protests are flooding in because of you guys! Your houses are enraged, the pce officials are saying that you guys are absolutely unforgivable, while the temple are raging to execute you all!¡¹

    Marie grabbed Leon¡¯s ankle.

    ¡¸Please save us!¡¹

    ¡¸I was trying to save you! But you guys messed up everything! Hey, do you guys have grudge for me? How in the world you guys turned the situation to be this outrageous? Everyone was astonished!¡¹

    Leon felt like crying.

    ¡¸You¡¯re wrong! We tried to do something about it by ourselves. But then it ended up like this.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the worst! Think more before doing something!¡¹

    Marie was crying.

    ¡¸Then, we are going to die?¡¹

    Leo was about to say something, but he swallowed his words and turned his back on them.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I was also asked by Mylene-sama. I¡¯ll do whatever I can. But, don¡¯t expect too much.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s expression turned into a smile.

    Yes, if her brother from the previous life©¤©¤Leon was taking action, then most thing would be resolved somehow.

    (Thank you Onii-chan!)

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    I headed to where his majesty is in order to resolve the matter of Marie and others.

    Vince-san and Barnard-san are also present around his majesty Rnd.

    Everyone is showing disapproval at my suggestion.

    ¡¸It looks like you don¡¯t understand what it means to help those six.¡¹

    His majesty¡¯s words are cold even though this matter is concerning his son¡¯s like. In respond I©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind even if it¡¯s in exchange with my reward this time. If it¡¯s not enough then I¡¯ll also offer the assets in my possession.¡¹

    His majesty scoffed.

    ¡¸The workshop in your possession has been transferred to your father the baron hasn¡¯t it? As for Lost Items, you have lost all of them. There won¡¯t be any meaning to obtain some fortune at this point. Besides, you even lost our royal family¡¯s ship. Isn¡¯t this your responsibility?¡¹

    This detestable bastard is making snide remarks insistently.

    It¡¯s possible to repair Partner and Arroganz, but I should keep it quiet here. That way will be convenient for me after all.

    ¡¸I¡¯m begging your majesty to please be merciful there.¡¹

    His majesty is looking at me while grinning and acting cocky.

    Isn¡¯t this guy hating me too much?

    Then Barnard-san spoke.

    ¡¸It¡¯s easy to save only their lives. But you see, I hope you understand those six cannot be leave to their own device. His highness Julius is a royalty. And then the other four are former heirs of noted houses. And then, there is even the saint who is considered as fake among them.¡¹

    His majesty looked back in surprise at Barnard-san¡¯s opinion, but even Vince-san is affirming my opinion too.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be safer to shut them up in a floating ind where they can be monitored, but we have no leeway to prepare such convenient ind. The pce also won¡¯t try too hard to search such a floating ind. And so, in that case. ©¤©¤The ind that you discovered will be used for it. Is that really okay?¡¹

    I¡¯m told to hand over the floating ind that I discovered and became mine.

    His majesty doesn¡¯t look like he can ept that. He is looking at Vince-san reproachfully.

    It seems that in the first ce Vince-san and others are thinking that the matter of the royal family¡¯s ship is something that can¡¯t be helped.

    They don¡¯t mention that matter at all.

    Seeing Vince-san ignoring his majesty made me felt relieved.

    But, it¡¯s painful to hand over the territory that is filled with my ideals.

    Hm? Wait a second©¤©¤in the first ce I don¡¯t mind letting go of my territory.

    On the surface it¡¯ll look like that I have nothing remaining but©¤©¤that¡¯s just fine isn¡¯t it?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind if their lives can be saved by that.¡¹

    Barnard-san questioned me.

    ¡¸You will go that far to protect his highness and others? Can I ask you what make you go that far for them?¡¹

    I thought for a bit.

    It will be fine to say something that will make them like me here, but I have learned that it will bring a lot of trouble if I forced myself and got favored by the higher ups.

    That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll speak honestly.

    ¡¸I¡¯m tired with my position as noble. I also don¡¯t need the viscount rank. I honestly want to return it back. Actually I just wanted to spend my life leisurely as a quasi-baron or lower.¡¹

    ¡¸Hou¡¹

    I don¡¯t know what Vince-san is thinking behind the gaze that he directed at me.

    ¡¸I also have lost my airship and armor. The me right now has no worth at all, so I¡¯ll start over from zero. As for me helping those six©¤©¤I guess it¡¯s because of this troublesome inseparable rtionship between us?¡¹

    The three listened to my talk attentively with serious expressions.

    ¡¸Inseparable rtionship is it? It seems his highness has obtained a good friend. Your majesty, is this fine regarding the treatment of those six?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? A, aa, umu. I leave it to you.¡¹

    His majesty seemed to think of something when Barnard-san talked to him.

    Vince-san told me to leave.

    ¡¸Understood. We will take care of the rest. We have really asked a lot from you.¡¹

    ¡¸You have. That¡¯s why, please help me next. I want to retire and take it easy.¡¹

    ¡¸Having afortable retirement in that age? But, I guess. ©¤©¤I¡¯ll surely show you my gratitude.¡¹

    It¡¯s good I tried saying it.

    Vince-san¡¯s gratitude©¤©¤I can¡¯t help but looking forward to it.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    ¡ºWell, the things master lost can be recovered immediately though.¡»

    ¡¸Oi, don¡¯t say that. It really hurt to lose that floating ind. Even though that ind will be able to finally produce rice, miso, and shoyu after this.¡¹

    I¡¯m talking alone with Luxion inside my room.

    ¡ºEven so, I¡¯m amazed that they allowed master¡¯s retirement.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s the fact that they¡¯re troubled of how to treat me, so the pce must also be thinking that it¡¯s not a bad idea. They might be thinking that I¡¯m not a threat at all anymore.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster seems happy.¡»

    ¡¸I wonder~¡¹

    Now that it¡¯s over, the result settled into a form that I wished for although slightly different.

    All those hard works are worth it.

    ¡¸Now then, I¡¯m thinking to depart to a new adventure journey for the sake of my new mob life but, what do you think?¡¹

    ¡ºI will apany master. Because, master cannot do anything without me.¡»

    ¡¸What a rude guy.¡¹

    When I be free, let¡¯s enjoy a trip in the sky using Luxion.

    I have enough already of troublesome matter.

    Wait a second. It will also be nice to take it easy at home. Second elder brother©¤©¤no.

    Now big brother Nix has joyously got promoted as the eldest brother and became the heir.

    I can just help him out.

    ¡¸My life is starting.¡¹

    ¡ºIt hasn¡¯t started until now?¡»

    Thinking back, various things happened since I almost got sold to perverted granny and everything was flurried.

    ¡¸First I got to graduate from the academy. Eh? Is the academy going to get reopened in the first ce?¡¹

    ¡ºI haven¡¯t confirmed it but, with the condition of the capital I think it won¡¯t be able to hold activity like before even if it¡¯s reopened.¡»

    The room¡¯s door is knocked while I¡¯m talking idly with Luxion and it opened.

    Livia ran inside in a hurry.

    ¡¸Leon-san, did you quit being a noble!?¡¹

    Livia is out of breath. I said ¡¸What, you already heard about it?¡¹ and told her to sit down.

    However, Livia doesn¡¯t look like she will sit.

    ¡¸Viscount peerage with lower fourth court rank doesn¡¯t suit me in the first ce. I also let go of my territory, so even if I¡¯m able to be independent I¡¯ll only have knight peerage or something at that level. Well, I¡¯ll be treated as knight more or less though.¡¹

    ¡¸Bu, but, that¡¯s horrible even though Leon-san has worked that hard. Even Ange was really©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Are you two worried about me? But, this is just right for me.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it.¡¹

    Livia casted her gaze down.

    She grasped her skirt tightly and tears gathered in her eyes.

    ¡¸Ange, she kowtowed to Marie-san for Leon-san¡¯s sake. Now it be a problem. And yet, how can something like this happen to Leon-san too¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    Ange was summoned by Vince and she was questioned regarding the happening in the academy.

    The reason she was called into a room inside the pce was because Vince was busy dealing with the aftermath.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m disappointed with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    A daughter of a duke kowtowed at the academy¡¯s public square©¤©¤what¡¯s more it was in front of a lot of people.

    ¡¸What you did threw mud on our family¡¯s honor.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand.¡¹

    She bowed her head for Leon¡¯s sake.

    She didn¡¯t regret doing that, but it was a mistaken choice if she thought about her house.

    ¡¸The man who you ced your expectation on let go of his position, prestige©¤and even his territory. You disgraced the honor of our house for the sake of such man. How do you think I should deal with you?¡¹

    She was questioned, but Ange didn¡¯t try to answer.

    She left it to Vince¡¯s decision. Even so if she had to answer©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Should I take my own life?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s some resolve.¡¹

    Vince looked up to the ceiling.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t keep a daughter like you in this house. I¡¯ll prepare a fitting person for you, so prepare to marry.¡¹

    Even this treatment could be considered affectionate.

    When Ange replied ¡¸Yes¡¹ with a small voice, Vince smiled.

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t interested who you will be married to?¡¹

    ¡¸Who will it be?¡¹

    She wasn¡¯t interested but, if she didn¡¯t at least hear the name then she wouldn¡¯t be able to investigate the person.

    Vince said to Ange.

    ¡¸There is this stupid knight who is trying to let go of his territory, peerage, and even his rank. He is an idiot who is thinking to retire even though he¡¯s still young but, don¡¯t you think someone like that will be a fitting husband for you?¡¹

    ¡¸Father?¡¹

    ¡¸This house will take care of it. I have also heard about your friend¡¯s circumstance but, my bad however that girl will be treated as concubine.¡¹

    It seemed that Vince was aware of the rtionship of the three of them. He must had investigated thoroughly.

    Vinceughed when Ange lowered her head deeply.

    ¡¸Tha, thank you very much!¡¹

    ¡¸This talk is still not decided yet. I will bring it up with the person himself after©¤©¤¡¹

    Gilbert ran into the room when Vince said until that far.

    ¡¸Father!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re too noisy.¡¹

    ¡¸Tro, trouble. Leon-kun is©¤©¤¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    ¡¸LET GOOOOOO! I©¤©¤I HAVE TO TAKE THIS GIRL¡¯S HEADDDDD!¡¹

    I¡¯m rampaging in the underground prison with my right hand holding a katana.

    Marie is begging for her life while trembling inside her prison.

    ¡¸Wait! It wasn¡¯t my fault. I was only joking when asking them to kowtow in public!¡¹

    ¡¸Is that all you want to say? Yosh, show your neck. I¡¯ll be slightly merciful and end it with one swing.¡¹

    Knights and soldiers are holding me down in the underground prison.

    ¡¸Please calm down!¡¹

    ¡¸Viscount, put away your weapon!¡¹

    ¡¸I understand your feeling, so for now let¡¯s calm down!¡¹

    Marie is alone in the prison.

    The other guys?

    Their treatment has been decided, so they were let out of the prison and right now they are being scolded.

    But more importantly©¤©¤this girl is the only one I can¡¯t forgive.

    ¡¸I was an idiot for pitying you. Pay for your sins with your life!¡¹

    ¡¸You told me that you will save me!¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I¡¯ll forgive you after making Livia and Ange kowtow? I¡¯ll give you your judgment here!¡¹

    I dragged the knights and soldiers until near the iron bars, but then someone ran into the underground prison with loud footsteps.

    It¡¯s Livia and Ange.

    ¡¸Leon-san, wait. Calm down!¡¹

    ¡¸Just what are you thinking!?¡¹

    I turned toward the two and pointed to Marie.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I want her head.¡¹

    Both Livia and Ange are appalled by my words.

    ¡¸Saying you want her head©¤©¤Leon-san, what will you do with it?¡¹

    I wiped my eyes with my left arm. I feel guilty toward the two my tears won¡¯t stop.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll present it to you two.¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t need it so calm down. It won¡¯t do you any good even if you do something like this.¡¹

    It seemed Ange also doesn¡¯t need Marie¡¯s head.

    The surrounding knights and soldiers also agreed with Ange and stopped me, but I¡¯ve had it with Marie.

    She is the only one that I have to end with my own hands.

    In the previous life I had also cleaned up after her all the time, but in this life it¡¯s my duty as her former brother to assist with her beheading.

    While we¡¯re making noise, Mylene-sama also came down in a hurry.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, wait!¡¹

    The five guys are also behind her.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, have you lost your mind!?¡¹

    I can¡¯t ept being told that by his highness Julius who has lost his mind right from the start.

    ¡¸Not as bad as you!¡¹

    Marie cried toward the five.

    ¡¸Everyone save me! This guy is trying to sever my neck!¡¹

    Greg grabbed my arm.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, a guy like you! I absolutely won¡¯t allow you to take Marie¡¯s head!¡¹

    Chris grabbed my hand and took away my katana.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t let youy even a single finger on Marie!¡¹

    Kilk stood in front of the prison and told me.

    ¡¸Step back!¡¹

    Brad grabbed my head to pull me away from the iron bars.

    ¡¸What are you doing causing a ruckus even though the decision has been made!?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to be told that by you guys! Enough, let go of me! ©¤©¤Luxion, DO ITTTT!¡¹

    Before I knew it the soldiers and knights were taking distance from me with the five surrounding me.

    ¡ºIs it alright?¡»

    ¡¸Do it already! Don¡¯t give any mercy to the guys who got in my way!¡¹

    ¡ºThen, excuse me©¤©¤¡»

    Something electrifying is emitted from Luxion and paralyzed us.

    ¡¸GYAAAAA!¡¹

    The scream of six guys echoed in the dungeon. And then we copsed.

    ¡¸Yo, you! Dragging even me©¤©¤¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    I¡¯m sleeping on a sofa when I woke up.

    Mylene-sama, and then Livia and Ange are near me.

    They are relieved that I woke up and also exasperated.

    ¡¸Good grief. I wondered what happened when I heard that there is a ruckus.¡¹

    I tried fawning on Mylene-sama.

    ¡¸Mylene-sama©¤©¤I want Marie¡¯s head please.¡¹

    Mylene-sama made a troubled face. It looked like her heart is slightly wavering at my pleading.

    My tactic to stimte her maternal instinct worked well. But, it seems that it¡¯s no good.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯ll be difficult to overturn the decision after it has been made. I¡¯m sorry to tell you this after the many helps you have given us, but the saint has to be kept alive.¡¹

    It seems she is troubled that I¡¯m saying I want her head after it has been decided to push the idiot six away into a floating ind.

    Ange is worried for me.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong so suddenly? Didn¡¯t you want to save them so much you even presented your own territory?¡¹

    ¡¸Because she made the two of you kowtow.¡¹

    I looked down and muttered so. Livia smiled wryly.

    ¡¸That was©¤©¤it¡¯s¡¹

    Mylene-sama who also performed a kowtow seems to know about that matter.

    ¡¸So Leon-kun didn¡¯t know. I thought you know about it, so I asked for help in the same way.¡¹

    That stupid Marie, what did she want to do spreading kowtow in this world?

    I sat on the sofa holding my knees. To such me, Ange©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Leon, can we talk for a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸Hm?¡¹

    ©¤©¤When I lifted up my face, Ange and Livia are holding hands.

    ¡¸A cruel truth¡¹

 Chapter 106 - Volume 3 Chapter 13

    Otomege Volume 3 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13 ¨C Game Clear

    .

    Part 1

    Marie who was moved from the dungeon to a guest room is making a dissatisfied face.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to live in countryside though.¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that attitude even after I saved you?¡¹

    I¡¯m talking alone with theining Marie because I want to ask her various things.

    I kept this girl alive in order to ask in detail about my parents©¤©¤about what happened to them after I died.

    Thinking calmly, my parents in the previous life will be sad if I kill her.

    Personally I can¡¯t forgive her at all, and even if she can be forgiven I want to beat up those five.

    No, wait. Would I be forgiven if I punch them if it¡¯s now?

    ¡¸I¡¯m a woman who shine in the big city!¡¹

    ¡¸You want toin about the territory that I put much effort into establishing?¡¹

    ¡¸Big bro has this backward and negative thinking about slow life or the like, that¡¯s why it¡¯s no good.¡¹

    Slow life ain¡¯t backward or negative you idiot.

    ¡¸I guess your good deed at the previous life is allowing father and mother to hold a grandchild. But other than that our parents were really pitiful.¡¹

    ¡¸Big bro yourself also died earlier than our parents!¡¹

    ¡¸The cause of my death was because of you!¡¹

    ¡¸Big bro was always grinning while ying game that has girls showing up in it! It was impossible for you to die just form that much!¡¹

    ¡¸You also grinned when ying a game that has men showing up in it though!¡¹

    While arguing it gradually grow into a talk of which was in the wrong.

    ¡¸It was big bro¡¯s fault!¡¹

    ¡¸It was your fault!¡¹

    Luxion lightly float while watching us without interest.

    ¡¸Luxion, you tell her too. Tell her that it¡¯s her fault for aiming to something like a reverse harem and causing the situation to almost reach the worst result!¡¹

    ¡¸Big bro yourself is keeping the viiness and the main character for yourself!¡¹

    ¡¸In my case it¡¯s a pure rtionship! It¡¯s not a licentious rtionship like yours!¡¹

    ¡¸Big bro are just unable toy your hand on them because you¡¯re a chicken and a wuss!¡¹

    ¡¸Luxion! Tell her quickly. Tell her that she is a wrong and dull witted woman!¡¹

    ¡¸The round thingy over there, say which one of us is in the right, to this pitiful and useless big bro!¡¹

    Luxion¡¯s single eye looks alternately at both of us before he replies.

    ¡ºThen, allow me to say my opinion. Isn¡¯t it the parents of your previous life who are the most pitiful for having children like you two?¡»

    ©¤©¤This guy, he is saying that? He is really saying that?

    I abruptly cool down with guilt spreading inside my chest. Then Marie talks to me with a small voice.

    ¡¸Hey, isn¡¯t this thing too cruel? Can¡¯t he read the mood?¡¹

    ¡¸It stab into the heart. I didn¡¯t want to hear those words getting said calmly like that.

    ¡ºPerhaps it hurt your heart because it¡¯s the truth? Besides, can Marie face your daughter at your previous life like this?¡»

    Marie pressed her hand on her chest and her gaze wandered around.

    ¡¸Bu, but, that child isn¡¯t here©¤©¤be, besides, sometimes I would meet and talk with her even after I left her on my parents¡¯ care. That¡¯s why I understand©¤©¤that child won¡¯t abandon me because of something like this.¡¹

    So even someone like this girl at least has the self-awareness as a mother?

    ¡¸When we had meal together she was a kind daughter who would worry for me and asked me ¡ºMom, are you living well?¡».¡¹

    ©¤©¤It seems my niece grew up wonderfully.

    It¡¯s vexing that as an uncle the only thing I can do is wishing for the happiness of my niece and parents.

    ¡ºIf that child hear that her mother seduced six men and formed a reverse harem, she will surely cry.¡»

    Marie fell on her knees. I held my stomach andughed seeing her like that.

    ¡¸You hear that! As I thought you¡¯re really the worst!¡¹

    ¡ºMaster is also the same.¡»

    ¡¸Eh!?¡¹

    Luxion listed my bad points.

    ¡ºEven right now master is running away from the confession of those two. How about master resolve yourself already?¡»

    Yes©¤©¤that day.

    I was called by those two and©¤©¤.

    .

    Part 2

    At a garden located in the pce¡¯s rooftop.

    There the two of them were standing in front of me nervously.

    Even I also got nervous.

    The setting sun was pretty, but I didn¡¯t have any leeway to think about that.

    ¡¸Leon©¤©¤I love you.¡¹

    Ange looked straight at my face and confessed.

    I gulped.

    ¡¸I wonder when did it start. The time I was thinking of you instead of his highness increased. I had fun when together with you. I felt pleasant staying at your side.¡¹

    My mouth open and close repeatedly. Ange showed me a radiant smile.

    ¡¸I love you.¡¹

    ©¤©¤This is the second confession in my life.

    Beside her is Livia who gave me my first confession.

    When I moved my head stiffly and looked at Livia, she is also smiling.

    ©¤©¤What to do? I don¡¯t understand the meaning of this.

    Why is she smiling?

    Should I ask for help from Luxion? Thinking so I tried asking for help with my gaze, but there is a fake Luxion there with white spherical body.

    ¡¸Who are you!?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s Creare-chan. Long time no see.¡»

    Long time no see? Just when I thought that the female electronic sound seems familiar, it¡¯s actually the AI who managed the ruin in the elf¡¯s vige.

    ¡¸Where is Luxion!?¡¹

    ¡ºI asked him to withdraw because his presence will be boorish here. When I told him that master will surely be troubled if he isn¡¯t present here, he happily left.¡»

    ©¤©¤Isn¡¯t that guy¡¯s personality too twisted?

    ¡¸Leon-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yes!¡¹

    I straightened my back and turned my body to face Livia.

    ¡¸I love Leon-san even now. I believe that this feeling won¡¯t lose against anyone.¡¹

    ¡¸I, I see.¡¹

    I tried saying I see, but I never imagined this kind of situation.

    I didn¡¯t have any n in my life for a situation where I got confessed by two people at the same time.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s why, please tell us. We want to know the answer here.¡¹

    Ange ced her hand on her chest while saying.

    ¡¸I and Livia©¤©¤no, it¡¯s fine even if there is someone else who you love. We won¡¯t hold any grudge no matter who you choose between us, and it¡¯s also fine if you choose neither of us. That¡¯s why, tell us your feeling.¡¹

    I¡¯m thinking of a way to dodge the question and run away, but seeing the two¡¯s serious face made me resolved myself.

    The wind blew©¤©¤the two¡¯s hairs swayed.

    The two of them who are illuminated by the setting sun looked divinely radiant.

    I spread out my hands©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I love both of you!¡¹

    ©¤©¤The two of them pped my cheeks with smiling faces.

    .

    Part 3

    ©¤©¤It was amazing.

    Ange pped my cheek first, then right after that Livia¡¯s p arrived on my opposite cheek.

    It was an amazingbination.

    ¡ºThe worst.¡»

    ¡¸You know, this is my second life, but getting confessed by two lovely girls at the same time was the first time for me.¡¹

    When I made that excuse, the shitty woman who did reverse harem looked at me with an appalled expression.

    ¡¸Unbelievable. You¡¯re the lowest.¡¹

    ¡¸What? What does a woman who is six timing want to say to me?¡¹

    She is looking vexed when I provoked her.

    And then, Marie spoke out her mind.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m reflecting. Reverse harem is really difficult and yet it doesn¡¯t make me happy at all. That was why I wanted to end it, and yet¡¹

    Even her half-baked knowledge is understandable now.

    This girl only yed the game until halfway and she only watched the movie and illustrations for theter part. From the start the amount of information she has is differentpared to me.

    As the result, she became the saint and messed up the situation©¤©¤now six men are following her around.

    ¡¸I sympathize with that part though.¡¹

    Marie who got fed up with reverse harem tried to dissolve her rtionship with the five other than Kyle.

    But, the five of them proimed an unexpectedly positive answer ¡¸I swear that one day I¡¯ll make you fall in love with me¡¹ to Marie.

    Marie¡¯s current situation is one where she has to support five men who will be jobless in the future.

    Good grief©¤©¤we have good-for-nothing siblings here.

    ¡¸Well, do your best. Though leave me out of it.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa?¡¹

    Marie is making a very surprised face, but from where I stand I think I¡¯ve worked hard enough.

    ¡¸I have worked more than hard enough in this world. I didn¡¯t think that Hertrude-san had a little sister, and it was really hard with you messing up the situation.¡¹

    I worked hard. I¡¯m even thinking that I worked too hard.

    ¡¸Little sister? You mean Hertrauda?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. There is also many other things that were subtly different, perhaps this is that? The pattern that it¡¯s no good to think of this world as game world? Well, anyway, I¡¯ve saved the country from danger. I¡¯ll get down from the stage from here.¡¹

    In the first ce, is it possible that there will be any more event than this? If this is a game then this is where the game is cleared.

    The main character Livia doesn¡¯t get together with anybody, while Marie made six guys into hers.

    As the result although it¡¯s not a bad end, there is no doubt that this is one tricky situation.

    But, let¡¯s be happy that the game is cleared up safely.

    Marie opened her eyes wide.

    She nodded several times as though she knew something and,

    ¡¸©¤©¤I don¡¯t think big bro know this but¡¹

    Marie said that and told me about a truth of this world that I don¡¯t know.

    .

    Part 4

    Several dayster. In a graveyard in the capital.

    It¡¯s crowded with a lot of people in order to mourn those who fell in battle.

    Those who lost their family.

    Those who lost their lover.

    Those who lost their friend.

    Anyway, the other side of the tale is shown to me clearly regardless of my wish.

    It¡¯s not over after winning, it¡¯s only the beginning from there.

    I¡¯m watching that sight from inside a carriage.

    ¡¸It¡¯s inexcusable for the families out there, but I wanted to talk with you like this. Though it must be disappointing for you that you aren¡¯t talking with a young girl.¡¹

    The one who is sitting in front of me is Mylene-sama.

    I was invited after the ceremony and we got into a carriage like this.

    ¡¸The way Mylene-sama said that is a bit thorny. Are you angry?¡¹

    ¡¸You are always like that. You looked like you¡¯re flippantlyughing to the surrounding while keeping the problem to yourself. There are dark circles under your eyes.¡¹

    I touched below my eye with my finger. ©¤©¤I couldn¡¯t sleep too yesterday.

    Perhaps I should make Luxion prepare sleeping medicine for me?

    ¡¸Thank you very much for the matter this time. There is also only one remaining ceremony.¡¹

    There are various ceremonies being held like victory celebration and the like. The busy days are continuing.

    ¡¸Is it about my dismissal and reward?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Although it was only temporarily, you still became the suprememander. Besides, you showed result.¡¹

    At the surface I will receive huge rewards from the kingdom.

    It¡¯s me who is giving various things to the kingdom, but it¡¯ll be no good if they don¡¯t make a show publicly that I received reward.

    The kingdom will be troubled if they don¡¯t do that.

    Because if they don¡¯t give punishment and reward strictly, the lower level will be dissatisfied.

    ¡¸This is the first time there is someone who wish for demotion as their reward.¡¹

    Even if it¡¯s impossible to immediately demote me, but by doing it bit by bit for several years©¤©¤I will be a mere knight at the end.

    ¡¸The position of viscount with rank lower 4 in the court is too heavy for me. I have also lost my territory, being a simple knight is just right for me. I¡¯m useless now that I can¡¯t use Partner and Arroganz.¡¹

    Mylene-sama made an apologetic face.

    When I told her it¡¯s payback for just now, she looked away with a sulky face.

    What an adorable thirty year old. I wanted to push her down.

    ¡¸Also, about that mater, it¡¯s epted without any problem.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s great.¡¹

    A situation that is convenient for me is getting formed.

    ¡¸What bothers me is your Lost Item. Does it look like they can be repaired?¡¹

    ¡¸They are collected but it will be difficult. They are being stored in our workshop.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤We have really reliedpletely on Leon-kun. Please tell me if there is anything that I can do. I will respond to the best of my ability.¡¹

    For an instant©¤©¤really just for an instant I imagined an erotic delusion, but the other person is the queen.

    My head will fly if Iid my hand on her.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll consider it a debt. That way will be more interesting.¡¹

    ¡¸We have made a lot ofrge debts.¡¹

    We kept talking about various things like that and before long the pce came into view from the carriage¡¯s window.

    Now then, let¡¯s do thest job.

    .

    Part 5

    In the waiting room.

    My family is there being noisy and hurried.

    ¡¸I, is it fine like this?¡¹

    ¡¸Dear, your button is fixed wrong.¡¹

    There is mother tidying father¡¯s disordered outfit. While at a different spot big bro is checking his attire in front of a mirror.

    Because of his participation in the war, it¡¯s decided that father will advance in rank to rank ¡°upper¡± six.

    ¡¸Why do I have toe too? There shouldn¡¯t be any need with father and Leon here.¡¹

    I calmed down theining big bro.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it because big bro will be the next baron? It¡¯s great that your first campaign ended in a shy victory.¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t do anything though. More importantly, what happened with big brother Ludward? No, he isn¡¯t actually our but brother but, I¡¯m curious what will happen to their family from now.¡¹

    An airship fell during the defensive battle on Z¡¯s mansion and they lost everything.

    The capital itself is in a tatter. It will be busy with reconstruction work for a while.

    But this world has armor that acted like powered suit, so the work is advancing without problem.

    ¡¸Ludward had even his knight title stripped away because of desertion under enemy attack. In the first ce Z is just a noble¡¯s daughter. She doesn¡¯t have any court rank so she is neglected. Now Ludward isn¡¯t even a knight, so perhaps they¡¯re treated asmoner?¡¹

    Z who is abandoned by father can only return to her family.

    But even that family ran away from the war and it¡¯s decided that their house will be erased.

    A lot of noble houses are erased. Z¡¯s family is also included among them. ©¤©¤That¡¯s all there is to it.

    ¡¸You¡¯re detailed.¡¹

    ¡¸I heard from Mylene-sama.¡¹

    Big bro is making a really conflicted expression.

    ¡¸Why are you close with the queen like that? ©¤©¤I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible but, you aren¡¯tying your hand on her right? Stop it. Really stop it! I don¡¯t want to get dragged into your trouble even more than this!¡¹

    How rude. Even I understood that much.

    ¡¸More importantly, where is big sis? I thought that if it¡¯s her she¡¯lle to this kind of ceremony happily.¡¹

    ¡¸Jena is shutting herself in her room. She ranted after father killed her exclusive servant. Yumeria-san is taking care of her.¡¹

    I got the feeling that she¡¯ll get out of her room right away if she is given a new ve.

    But, it seems that the academy is going to drastically change its policy, so even that is going to be impossible.

    There is talk about abolishing the system of exclusive servant. The talk is progressing well to that direction.

    It seems that Jena¡¯s exclusive servant Miall setting me up also became a problem. Also, the male camp is eager to use this chance to thoroughly crush the exclusive servant system.

    Woman¡¯s grudge is scary but, man¡¯s grudge is also amazing. The male camp is united as one to re-examine the system.

    The door of the waiting room is knocked. It seems the time hase.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Now then, let¡¯s finish thisst job.¡¹

    This will really be thest.

    .

    Part 6

    The audience hall.

    I kneeled on the red carpet that is leading to the throne while listening to his majesty¡¯s words.

    Everyone¡¯s work this time is truly splendid©¤©¤starting from there his majesty also praised the surrounding nobles who participated in the war with grandiose speech.

    While I¡¯m wondering if he can hurry it up with the speech, his majesty said.

    .

    ¡¸Viscount©¤©¤no, Count Leon Fou Bartfalt. You are dismissed from your position as the suprememander. And then I grant you an advancement to the peerage of count and the court rank of lower third!¡¹

    .

    While the surrounding nobles broke into murmurs, I kept looking down while my eyes snapped wide open.

    ©¤©¤This idiot, what the hell is he saying?

    ¡¸Yo, your majesty. Ple, please permit me to speak!¡¹

    I¡¯m in shock from the sudden happening, but when I asked for permission to speak, his majesty twirled his moustache while looking down at me and said.

    ¡¸I allow it.¡¹

    ¡¸My deepest gratitude! Can I ask your majesty what do you mean by count, and also the court rank of lower third? Such position for a youngster like me is©¤©¤¡¹

    In my shock first I tried to convey how ¡¸Me as count is impossible! And I can¡¯t do anything even if you give me court rank!¡¹to his majesty.

    Even my surrounding is the same.

    Among the voices that entered my ears I can hear things like ¡¸Being a count in that age?¡¹¡¸That¡¯s extreme even for being an upstart¡¹¡¸It¡¯s unprecedented to be a count in a single generation¡¹¡¸Lower third©¤©¤isn¡¯t that effectively a top rank?¡¹ and so on.

    When talking about court rank of lower third©¤©¤that¡¯s already the rank of cab minister ss.

    The upper third that is above that rank is a rank for people rted with the royal family.

    I¡¯m not happy at all even if I received such rank!

    Even if you tell a student that he is going to be a cab minister starting tomorrow, he¡¯s just going to be ¡¸Ha?¡¹ won¡¯t he? That¡¯s like being the top brass in apany. That student isn¡¯t going to be able to take responsibility, much less doing any work!

    When I lifted my head, his majesty©¤©¤the son of a bitch Rnd is looking down at me while smirking.

    ¡¸The kingdom has to award you with the suitable peerage and court rank after you raised an achievement to this degree. Haha, there is no need to worry. If it¡¯s you then one day you will surely show a performance and contribution that are suitable for your peerage and rank.¡¹

    Thank you for your high evaluation of me, I¡¯m going to vomit now!

    This guy know.

    This guy did something like this knowing that I¡¯m not going to like it.

    When I looked around, I can see that the officials are also in panic.

    Mylene-sama also opened her eyes wide. It looks like she hasn¡¯t heard anything about this.

    ©¤©¤This damn bastard, he promoted me without telling anyone beforehand.

    Don¡¯t screw around.

    When I¡¯m about to say something, Rnd opened his mouth first.

    He talked with a theatrical act that stunk.

    ¡¸Come forward if there is anyone who has anyint.¡¹

    No one stepped forward.

    Even if there is anyone who disliked my promotion, they will be troubled if my promotion is cancelled.

    It¡¯s because they understood that if I¡¯m not promoted, in the future©¤©¤it would be hard to advance in rank no matter what kind of achievement they raised.

    When their promotion is considered, their achievement would bepared with my effort and a lot of them would be unable to get the promotion.

    ¡¸Count Bartfalt, I shall anticipate your contribution in the future.¡¹

    ¡¸I, it¡¯s a great honor to hear that from your majesty.¡¹

    How nice it would be if I could yell ¡¸Don¡¯t screw around!¡¹ here.

    There is also my family here.

    My family can also get troubled depending on my attitude.

    These damn son and parent, heaping troubles on me like this.

    Looking at that bastard Rnd¡¯s smirk, I swore in my heart.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯ll pay you back one day.

    .

    Part 7

    I went berserk after I returned to the room.

    ¡¸That son of a bitch! Even though I told him I don¡¯t want to get promoted, he intentionally made a count!¡¹

    I threw the cushion that was ced on the sofa.

    Throwing a fragile object is scary so I can¡¯t do it.

    Father and mother are whispering to each other seeing me.

    ¡¸Say, how should I talk to my son now that he became a count? Should I use politenguage with Leon as I thought?¡¹

    ¡¸Ma, maybe? But, it¡¯s unthinkable that child will be bothered about something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸But he¡¯s a count now. Rank of lower third, that¡¯s a god-like existence for us.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Then, politenguage it is.¡¹

    I turned toward the two and yelled with my finger pointed to them.

    ¡¸A count in name only without any substance is just a joke! Something like this is just a bullying from the pce! Also, parents using politenguage is disgusting so rejected!¡¹

    Big bro recalled something and said.

    ¡¸You know, there¡¯s that. If father returned the workshop to Leon, your ie will also increase.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not going to be troubled if this can be solved with just that!¡¹

    The ie from the workshop is considerable. It¡¯s considerable but©¤©¤it¡¯s no good.

    The position of count is very high.

    It¡¯s not something that can be covered with the ie of just one workshop.

    Father hit his palm with his fist and said ¡¸That¡¯s right!¡¹.

    ¡¸Then what if you just go and be a pce noble? Look, you will get yearly wage from the pce then. You don¡¯t need to worry even if you don¡¯t have territory!¡¹

    ¡¸Impossible. Absolutely impossible! With my rank it¡¯s like the ss of cab minister! I can¡¯t do the work at the level of a cab minister!¡¹

    ¡¸Seems so. I think this country will be over if you be a cab minister or some kind of big shot.¡¹

    I threw a cushion at my frank father. I ran out of the room.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll leave this kind of country!¡¹

    Mother called out at my back.

    ¡¸Come back before dinner!¡¹

    ©¤©¤Yes.

    .

    Part 8

    A voice called at me while I¡¯m walking through the corridor.

    ¡¸Oi!¡¹

    It¡¯s Ange running toward me while slightly lifting up her skirt with both hands so she won¡¯t stumble.

    Today she is wearing dress to participate in the ceremony.

    When she caught up to me, she calmed down her breathing.

    She must have happened to catch sight of me and hurriedly ran after me. Her cheeks are slightly red.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the meaning of just now? Did you know about it?¡¹

    She must mean what happened in the audience hall. I shook my head powerlessly.

    ¡¸It was something that his majesty decided arbitrarily. Even I didn¡¯t hear anything about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, certainly you couldn¡¯t be demoted in that ce. It¡¯s also a fact that it¡¯ll be convenient for the kingdom to promote you. But, even father didn¡¯t know about it.¡¹

    That guy, did he really decide to do that without consulting anyone?

    What a troublesome family.

    Whether it¡¯s his highness Julius or the son of a bitch Rnd, all of them are the worst.

    ¡¸What now? What do you think I should do? I¡¯m troubled even if I¡¯m seriously promoted into a count.¡¹

    ¡¸Ri, right. Even if you¡¯re given peerage but right now you don¡¯t even have house or territory. There will be problem even if you be a pce noble, I think the best way here will be to obediently marry into a noble family.¡¹

    Marry into a family?

    ¡¸If you marry into a powerful noble family, they might prepare a new house and territory for their daughter. If you can marry into such family, you will also obtain a backer. That¡¯ll be a really good deal for you.¡¹

    So there is also such a way. While I¡¯m thinking that, rice-senpai showed up also wearing a dress.

    ¡¸Oh, it¡¯s not like you need to marry into a noble family, you can also establish a new house. Right now the nobles in the kingdom are reduced in number too much. It will be a chance if you go independent.¡¹

    Due to the incident this time, the kingdom crushed many houses.

    It went without saying for the houses that were connected with the principality, but those who ignored the kingdom¡¯s call for reinforcement are also crushed and their territory confiscated with no question asked. Various punishments are waiting for them.

    In other words, there is ack of manpower there is also an excess of territory, so it will be easy to go independent.

    ¡¸rice, what¡¯s your business?¡¹

    ¡¸It will be troublesome if you marry into a noble house. It also will be bad for your reputation if a count marry into other house.¡¹

    ¡¸Leon¡¯s case is an exception.¡¹

    The two started to quarrel.

    ¡¸Marrying into other house, or going independent©¤©¤but, in the you will go independent in both options won¡¯t you?¡¹

    Then Deirdre-senpai who is wearing a showy dress is approaching this way.

    ph_mobuseka03_ill009

    ¡¸I¡¯ve been listening from some time ago, but I wonder just what are the two of you talking about?¡¹

    rice-senpai red at Deirdre-senpai, but the person herself is making aposed expression.

    ¡¸Can I ask you to not disturb us, Deirdre-senpai.¡¹

    ¡¸iming that there is only the option of being a feudal lord noble when ite to going independent, I think that both of you are too narrow-sighted.¡¹

    Ange raised an eyebrow and asked.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What do you mean by that?¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai threw out her chest and brazenly talked about my future.

    ¡¸Right now Rosede House is considering to have a pce noble as branch house. It seems that the number of pce noble has also decreased by a lot, so it¡¯s something to aim for. As for substance©¤©¤Rosede House will prepare it so the count can use that status and prestige to your heart¡¯s content.¡¹

    In other words, she is telling me to be the head of Rosede House¡¯s branch family?

    Is this also marrying into a family?

    The three started to re at each other, so I followed my instinct that is telling me it¡¯ll be better to escape soon and got away from that ce sneakily.

    Then, ¡¸Kyah¡¹ I heard such adorable voice and my legs naturally headed that way.

    I walked through the corridor for a bit and turned at the corner. There I found Livia wearing a dress.

    It looked like she stepped on the dress¡¯s skirt because she isn¡¯t used to wear one and fell.

    There is a man who is offering a hand to Livia who fell like that.

    ¡¸Are you alright, youngdy?¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yes.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s good. If you like, how about we rx in the room over there?¡¹

    Livia¡¯s gaze wandered around looking troubled, so I approached the son of a bitch.

    This yboy bastard who talked to Livia is someone hateful for me.

    ¡¸Your majesty, aren¡¯t you embarrassed hitting on a girl in the pce like this?¡¹

    ¡¸Fool. Everyone did something like this©¤©¤mu, so it¡¯s you.¡¹

    When he noticed that it¡¯s me, he turned around and showed a very delighted grin.

    ¡¸Hey there count. How does it feel to get a promotion?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s the worst. What happened to the talk about demotion? If I¡¯m promoted, it¡¯ll be troublesome to demote meter on so my peerage will be left as it is, wasn¡¯t that what we talked about!?¡¹

    ¡¸That? Aa, I thought that. But, it was really troublesome. If the hero who saved the country get treated like that, my dignity wille into doubt. After careful deliberation, I concluded that as expected you should be promoted.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll get demoted from here on right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s if you do something that be cause for demotion.¡¹

    This guy, he looks excessively happy messing around with me.

    ¡¸This is different from the promise.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa, indeed. This also pains my heart. But you see, I hate you. So I decided that I won¡¯t do anything that makes you happy.¡¹

    This guy, he is telling me right at my face that he hate me.

    While I¡¯m getting taken aback, Rnd got into a good mood and continued talking with theatrical hand and body gestures.

    ¡¸It¡¯s unforgivable that you stood out even more than me before the war. What¡¯s with that¡ºIf that is what your majesty wish for¡». Acting cool like that, it was unforgivable. It¡¯s your fault from getting in my way even though it was finally my time to show off.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? That¡¯s the reason?¡¹

    Livia is standing still looking flustered.

    Her troubled expression is cute.

    But, the problem is the old man in front of me.

    ¡¸That was the only time I could show off. I wanted to fluster you with my speech and then make fun of you before showing my dignity as adult, but you ruined my n. Your conversation with the marquis after that was also standing out. It was irritating.¡¹

    ¡¸Your reason isn¡¯t because I beat up your son or wooing your wife?¡¹

    The son of a bitch Rnd folded his arms and stared at me from my toes until the top of my head.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really trash. But, I won¡¯t be fit for life in the pce if I get angry from just that much. It¡¯s my son¡¯s responsibility for getting beaten up, and even if you woo my queen I¡¯ll only think¡ºSo?¡» at this point. Though I¡¯ll sentence you to death if youy your hand on my concubine.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Eh? Isn¡¯t this guy just inly a trash? Isn¡¯t he a worse trash than me?

    Rnd turned back at Livia, straightened his posture, and offered her a hand.

    ¡¸Now, youngdy. Shall we create a memory of a night together?¡¹

    Come to think of it, the queen was also the main character¡¯s enemy.

    But, in the game scenario the king was an understanding person for some reason.

    I never thought that the reason for that was because he is a dirty old man who like young girl.

    An otome game should have a king that let the yer dream!

    ¡¸Will I get demoted if I beat you up here?¡¹

    ¡¸Brat. It looks like you want to get death sentence. Very well, I¡¯ll call the pce guards here!¡¹

    Even his reliance on the guards is pathetic. While I¡¯m thinking that,

    ¡¸©¤©¤Your majesty.¡¹

    Mylene-sama came with maids following her.

    Rnd tried to run away when he heard her voice, so I grabbed his hand.

    ¡¸Le, let go!¡¹

    ¡¸Where are you going, your majesty~¡¹

    He made an amazing face when I smirked and grabbed his arm tightly. It made me want tough.

    ¡¸Yo, you! I¡¯ll sentence you to death for real!¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-sama! His majesty wants to execute me. Help!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re making an advance to a young girl again! And then you¡¯re going to execute the one who remonstrate you for that! What¡¯s with that!? Even though the count is the hero of the kingdom. I really won¡¯t forgive you today.¡¹

    ¡¸Yo, you¡¯re wrong! This is my duty as a royalty! Making child is like a royal duty. Nothing wrong with meying hand on young girl!¡¹

    ¡¸Just how many mistresses you¡¯re keeping already with that excuse!¡¹

    Mylene-sama dragged Rnd away to somewhere.

    My quarrel with Rnd closed the curtain with my victory.

    ¡¸Evil is driven away.¡¹

    Livia smiled wryly.

    ¡¸Sa, say, Leon-san. Err©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Hm? Aa, that dress. It looks good on you.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much. Tha, that¡¯s not it!¡¹

    Livia put her hands on her chest and took a deep breath.

    ¡¸About the matter before¡¹

    She grabbed my hand when I averted my gaze.

    ¡¸Why won¡¯t you answer us properly?¡¹

    What came to mind when I looked at Livia sending me an upward gaze with moist eyes is, how happy I will be if I have a girl like this as wife©¤©¤that kind of delusion.

    Even I want to nod if it¡¯s alright but©¤©¤why are the two of them in love with me?

    I should choose between them?

    This me?

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind if you tell us that we are no good. But, we want a proper answer.¡¹

    Also©¤©¤I acted like this world is a game, but is it okay for someone like me to fall in love with these girls who are living with all their effort in this world?

    What is my difference with Marie who I had thoroughly criticized?

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s why I¡¯m troubled.

    Livia tensed her expression seriously, and then she slightly widened her feet before telling me boldly.

    ¡¸If Leon-san won¡¯t make your answer clear, then I too have my own n.¡¹

    ¡¸Wha, what!?¡¹

    ¡¸I absolutely©¤©¤absolutely will make Leon-san turn toward me!¡¹

    What a manly thinking.

    When those five said the same thing I thought¡¸Those guys are really idiot¡¹, but when looking at Livia, I felt a manliness from her that made me want to say¡¸AnegoBig sister!¡¹.

    I¡¯ll fall for her instantly if I¡¯m a woman.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, please be together with me. Please be together with me forever.¡¹

    Livia¡¯s attitude changedpletely and she looked like she is going to cry. I scratched my head and answered her.

    ¡¸Sorry. That¡¯s impossible.¡¹

 Chapter 107 - Volume 3 Epilogue

    Otomege Volume 3 Epilogue

    Epilogue

    .

    Part 1

    The spring back came a bit faster.

    I returned home and showed up at the workshop.

    In front of me I can see a 200 meter ss airship with a single horn as its characteristic, the Einhorn.

    Its appearance has a lot of decoration.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a lot of decoration.¡¹

    ¡ºPrepare an airship that won¡¯t be shameful as the representative of Hohlfahrt. That¡¯s the condition from the pce.¡»

    People and robots are doing work in the workshop.

    The robots are working while the people are in charge of the misceneous jobs.

    The workshop has only operated for several months, so there isn¡¯t anything like skilled technician here.

    Perhaps there would be some among them who could be entrusted with the work after several years passed.

    Until then the robots will do the works in their ce.

    ¡¸Partner cannot be shown even though its repair is finished. It¡¯s really troublesome. Eh? What about Creare?¡¹

    ¡ºShe is staying in the capital. It looks like she took a liking to Olivia and Angelica.¡»

    ¡¸She is an AI who is even more free than you huh.¡¹

    ¡ºI can¡¯t deny that. Well, she won¡¯t do any betrayal so it will be fine. More importantly, master will have it hard from here on.¡»

    The reason I prepared a new airship is©¤©¤for studying abroad.

    ¡¸To think that otome game©¤©¤has a sequel. It¡¯spletely unexpected.¡¹

    I recalled my conversation with Marie.

    .

    Part 2

    That day when I talked with Marie in the pce.

    I learned a new truth of this world©¤©¤and trembled.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think big bro know this but©¤©¤that otome game became a game series you know?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    It seemed that game with bad bnce and caused dissatisfaction to explode from the users became a series.

    It¡¯s good that Marie taught me various things but, what¡¯s with her self-important attitude?

    ¡¸Hertrauda is a character that came out in the third game.¡¹

    ¡¸Thi, third game!? Oi, wait. Wait a second!¡¹

    If there is a third game, that means there is the second game in between.

    ©¤©¤I never heard anything like that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s obvious that big bro doesn¡¯t know. Big bro died after clearing the first game. The sequel came out after that. Julius¡¯s little brother appeared in the third game.¡¹

    ¡¸That guy has a little brother!?¡¹

    ¡¸He has. The king has concubines and he was born from a different mother. That¡¯s why he is a cool character who is a bit shadowy. He has this ouw atmosphere.¡¹

    I don¡¯t want to hear about that inconsequential setting.

    But, now that she mentioned it, I had seen someone like that several times in the audience hall.

    Ipletely thought that Julius is the only prince.

    Thinking carefully, certainly it¡¯ll be a problem if there is only one prince.

    ¡¸Could it be, the two monsters that I didn¡¯t know about were thest bosses of the third game?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The guardian deities of the sky and the sea were thest bosses of the third game. By the way, the starting time of the third game is when Julius and others are third year. That¡¯s why, not only it¡¯s connected with the first game¡¯s events, it also came with special perks where you can enjoy the event after their graduation.¡¹

    I don¡¯t need such information©¤©¤was what I thought, but there was that kind of event?

    I don¡¯t know about any event of his highness Julius¡¯s little brother enrolling into the academy.

    ¡¸No, in the game there wasn¡¯t any event of Julius¡¯s little brother enrolling when he is at third year though.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying? ©¤©¤It¡¯s obviously a setting that is addedter.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Thank you for the blunt exnation.

    Of course it is. That can¡¯t be helped then©¤©¤you think I¡¯m gonna ept that huh!

    ¡¸Bu, but, thest bosses has been defeated, so it¡¯s already fine isn¡¯t it? The danger to the kingdom has left right?¡¹

    Marie smirked.

    ¡¸Big bro, the stage for the second game isn¡¯t Hohlfahrt, it¡¯s Alzer Commonwealth.¡¹

    Eh? I¡¯ve heard that country name before.

    ¡¸Wa, wait. Wait! Then©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸The second game¡¯sst boss is in good health.¡¹

    I looked at Marie¡¯s smirking face while holding my head and sat down on the spot.

    ¡¸NO WAYYYYYY!¡¹

    There is no way this can happen. This world©¤©¤that otome game has a sequel and the danger to the world isn¡¯t over, I don¡¯t want to believe that. Even though I thought that everything is over!

    Marie is showingposure in front of me with a triumphant smile.

    ¡¸Now then, let¡¯s negotiate.¡¹

    When she understood that I don¡¯t have any knowledge about the events ahead, she judged that there is ground for negotiation.

    She is moving things ahead really confidently.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that haughty attitude.¡¹

    ¡¸Is it alright for big bro to say that? I have the game knowledge that big bro doesn¡¯t have.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What do you want?¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s see. First©¤©¤I want allowance! I wish for living expense!¡¹

    Marie suddenly kowtowed. Her request is allowance.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need it right? You guys are going to get stuffed into a floating ind, any necessary items should be prepared for you. Or rather, that ind already has the necessary items for living.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it! Our life there will have to be self-sufficient to teach everyone about a little hardship! Any necessary items and the likes will be prepared for us but, this is those five we¡¯re talking about you know? Kyle and Cara will be fine, but do you think those five can do something like farming? They¡¯ll absolutely fail.¡¹

    Well, they were ignorant young masters, being suddenly told to farm will be too high of a hurdle for them.

    Or rather, Cara is going toe along with you too?

    ¡¸I¡¯ll send big bro with things like rice and the like periodically, so please give me living expense! Everyone¡¯s family is also seriously angry, so I can¡¯t expect any allowance from them!¡¹

    The reason why Marie is anxious about her living from now is because those five are showing attitude like ¡¸Just farming must be easy¡¹.

    The cause of her anxiety came from their carefree thinking that life of self-sufficiency won¡¯t be bad.

    ¡¸It¡¯s impossible. If I leave it to those five, it will surely fail. My instinct told me that. Because, everyone is saying the same lines like my ex-boyfriend in my previous life. They¡¯re the same with my ex who had na?ve thinking and spoke about dream and what not or that he will manage somehow even though he relied on me for money!¡¹

    What a coincidence. I also felt the same. I can already clearly picture those guys failing.

    More importantly, Marie is really popr among useless men. Is it the useless men who approached her, or is it her who turned men into useless men©¤©¤now, which is it? Perhaps she is even sending out signal that attract useless men to her?

    Marie seriously and earnestly requested to me.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll sell big bro the information so please give me allowance!¡¹

    I also wanted the information, so I shall ept her request.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll give you allowance, so talk about that Alzer Commonwealth.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you big bro!¡¹

    Marie rejoiced that she can receive allowance and stood up while doing a little dance.

    When I told her to talk already, Marie coughed and talked about Alzer Commonwealth.

    ¡¸Alzer Commonwealth is a country of noblemonwealth. It¡¯s more advanced than the kingdom and there is an academy where even themoners can enroll. There the main character will get along with the boys who are the conquest targets.¡¹

    So it¡¯s an academy setting like the first game.

    ¡¸And then, the main character is a girl who descended from a great noble house that should have been crushed.¡¹

    ¡¸Hm~¡¹

    ¡¸At the end, that main character and the conquest target will revive the noble house but©¤©¤¡¹

    I¡¯m dumbfounded by the information from Marie.

    .

    Part 3

    ¡¸Stop it already with the danger to the world if the conquest failed. Spare me.¡¹

    In short, the world will be doomed if things doesn¡¯t go well with the main character of the second game.

    This world is always under the risk of destruction due to love affairs huh.

    ¡ºMaster is really a worrywart.¡»

    ¡¸No way I can just ignore a danger to the world! Shit, even though I¡¯ll be able to live my second year in the academy normally if I don¡¯t know anything.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster now is a count with court rank of lower third after all, surely you will be very popr. The marriage situation is also going to improve due to the case this time, so the boy will be in the position to choose this time and yet©¤©¤master has to study abroad, it must be hard.¡»

    You can say that the marriage situation has changed 180 degrees.

    In the middle of that, the clever girls are starting to panic.

    ¡ºIf master stay here, a happy academy life for master will be waiting, and yet...¡»

    ¡¸Even I want to stay here. But, I also can¡¯t leave this problem alone.¡¹

    The problem is the existence of reincarnator like us.

    That kind of existence hasn¡¯t been confirmed but, if they existed©¤©¤what if they do as they please like Marie and pushed the world into danger at the end. I cannot have a peace of mind when I thought of that.

    Even though I have worked hard until now, it will be pointless if the world is destroyed.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to observe the situation while studying abroad. If nothing happen then it will end with me simply studying abroad.¡¹

    ¡ºWill it be fine about thenguage?¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯ve learned simple things like greeting, but I think it¡¯ll be impossible to have conversation.¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯ll be able to trante though?¡»

    ¡¸Then say that from the start! I¡¯ve already studied extra hard which was really unlike me!¡¹

    ¡ºMaster should do your best just like that.¡»

    Big bro came for me while I¡¯m making noise.

    ¡¸Leon, father is calling for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Father is?¡¹

    .

    Part 4

    What is waiting for me when I showed my face in father¡¯s office is©¤©¤a talk of marriage.

    ¡¸Marriage ceremony?¡¹

    ¡¸No, an engagement ceremony. I¡¯ll have you join it too so prepare properly beforehand.¡¹

    ¡¸Could it be it¡¯s for big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸Jena is no good. Mum said that she can¡¯t even do housework properly so we can¡¯t send her out to marry. Right now it¡¯s the girl who has it hard to marry after all. If we want to marry off Jena, it¡¯s essential to train her in homemaking arts.¡¹

    Setting aside the academy, the number of male is fewer than the female in general.

    The position of the male regarding marriage is stronger.

    Amidst that, Jena who can¡¯t do housework at all is out of question.

    She is in the middle of reeducation with mother.

    She will be able to somehownd herself a husband if we used my connection or my status as hero.

    But, my parents seems to think that it won¡¯t be aughing matter if we do that. They absolutely won¡¯t allow it.

    Then, this engagement must be for big bro.

    Right now big bro is a heir of a baron house and he is helping with father¡¯s work.

    He also has graduated from the academy, so it won¡¯t be strange for him to marry.

    ¡¸Why is it not marriage?¡¹

    ¡¸There are various circumstances. Sorry that it¡¯s too rushed like this but, you need to participate too before you go studying abroad.¡¹

    From the way father spoke, it¡¯ll be big bro¡¯s engagement ceremony as I thought.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really mind.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then go prepare.¡¹

    .

    Part 5

    I got out of the room and walked down the stairs. I found Jena who was promoted from second daughter to eldest daughter there.

    She is being taught the way to clean by Yumeria-san.

    ¡¸Mydy, it¡¯s no good if you are wiping that crudely. You have to wipe thoroughly like this.¡¹

    Big sis who is staying quiet looked extremely dissatisfied.

    ¡¸Ah, don¡¯t! Do it like this©¤©¤¡¹

    Even though she is being taught to sweep by Yumeria-san who is this adorable despite being a mother of one child, big sis threw away the dust cloth.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do this! A chore like this can be left to the servant!¡¹

    ¡¸Bu, but, I¡¯m told to teach mydy to clean.¡¹

    It seems big sis hasn¡¯t understood the reality yet. She is still dreaming all the time.

    ¡¸There will be heirs of baron house when I return to the academy. I can just marry with them. Ah, Leon! Introduce your friends to me. This time I¡¯ll tolerate even if they¡¯re just feudal lord noble in the countryside.¡¹

    Yumeria-san is looking panicked. She bowed her head at me.

    I told her ¡¸Aa, it¡¯s fine¡¹ with a kind smile, then I turned a ridiculing smile toward big sis.

    ¡¸Oi, you¡¯ve got guts talking like that to a count. Also, my friends are already receiving passionate approach from girls. They got a lot of choices avable. Someone like big sis won¡¯t even enter their sight.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m really envious at them.

    My position as count got in the way and the girls who approached me are all youngdies from houses that aren¡¯tughing matter. I¡¯m happy that many youngdies are fussing over me but, I can¡¯t carelessly y with them because if Iy my hand on them then I¡¯ll be made to take responsibility right away.

    ¡¸Yo, you, what¡¯s with that attitude toward your big sister!¡¹

    ¡¸I wish you won¡¯t forget how I covered up for you after you got into trouble because of your ve¡¯s fault.¡¹

    In fact, because Miall lent his hand to Marquis Frampton, big sis herself almost got asked to take responsibility too.

    It was me who settled it somehow with the power of money.

    When I looked at big sis biting her lips in frustration©¤©¤my mood brightened up. Today is really a refreshing day.

    ¡¸E, err, young master? No. Lord count? E, eh? A, anyway, Leon-sama, Jena-sama is pitiful.¡¹

    I¡¯m healed by Yumeria-san.

    For me who only have sisters with trash personality, this person is an existence who is like an adorable little sister.

    Though in reality she is older than me and a mother of a child.

    This slightly clumsy atmosphere of hers is nice. In addition she is serious and kind.

    This person is the best.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll forgive you in deference to Yumeria-san but, work a bit harder. Seriously speaking, there won¡¯t be any prospect for big sis to marry at this rate.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I, if I can just return to the academy, I¡¯ll have my picks of boys there.¡¹

    ¡¸Look at reality. Right now the number of men is fewer while the women are in excess.¡¹

    When Iughed at her, big sis picked up the dust cloth and threw it at me.

    She got worked up and her face became bright red. It¡¯s really funny.

    I cleanly dodged. Mother saw that happened.

    ¡¸Jena. It looks like you still don¡¯t understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Kaa-san! Forgive me already!!¡¹

    I watched Jena running away whileughing.

    I¡¯m hearing how the marriage situation is improved but©¤©¤watching big sis made me felt that the path ahead is still long.

    .

    Part 6

    Night.

    I¡¯m lying down in my room and idly talked with Luxion.

    I¡¯m getting sleepy so I¡¯m not really conscious of my reply.

    ¡ºSo master¡¯s older brother will be engaged.¡»

    ¡¸Looks like it. I¡¯ve got to congratte him.¡¹

    ¡ºBy the way master, between Olivia and Angelica©¤©¤does master feel like choosing either one of them?¡»

    ¡¸Even I myself don¡¯t understand my own feeling. I like the two of them but, as expected I¡¯m scared when thinking of the responsibility and so on.¡¹

    I got sleepy and yawned, then Luxion formed a conclusion as he pleased.

    ¡ºIn other words, master like them so much you can¡¯t choose either of them?¡»

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. That was why I said I loved both of them and got pped. Even though I answered honestly, that was just horrible.¡¹

    ¡ºDoes master has the intent to marry either of them?¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be nice if I can do that. In the first ce I won¡¯t be troubled if I can do that. I love them though. It¡¯s because I love them that I want them to be happy©¤©¤but I¡¯m not suited for them.¡¹

    They are too much of good girls that someone like me isn¡¯t suitable for them.

    Those girls even kowtowed for my sake you know?

    If they¡¯re going to marry then they might as well marry with even better man and be happy.

    ¡ºRight now master is a count and a hero. Master is suitable enough for them.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to make use of my status. ©¤©¤After all it¡¯ll make me feel I¡¯ve done bad thing to them.¡¹

    ¡ºIs that so©¤©¤master, I¡¯m looking forward to tomorrow.¡»

    ¡¸Yeah. Let me sleep already. I¡¯ll sleep©¤©¤and tomorrow morning©¤©¤¡¹

    When I closed my eyes, I could see Livia and Ange smiling happily.

    .

    Part 7

    The next morning.

    I¡¯m wearing an extravagant attire in the waiting room for rtives.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this strange? Big bro is the main star of today right?¡¹

    Big bro is also wearing an expensive suit, but mine is more eye-catching.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You know, it¡¯s because you¡¯re the count. I¡¯m just the heir of a baron house. Perhaps it¡¯s that difference?¡¹

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s not good. It¡¯ll be better if big bro is the one who dressed crisply.¡¹

    My little brother Collin looked up at me.

    ¡¸Leon-niichan¡¯s clothes are amazing! They¡¯re sparkling.¡¹

    Father is standing nervously in front of the door.

    Perhaps it¡¯s just my imagination, but he seems to be cautious toward me.

    When I looked around inside the room, mother is also fidgety without anyposure.

    ¡¸Luxion, isn¡¯t the situation strange?¡¹

    ¡ºEveryone must be nervous.¡»

    Well, perhaps it can¡¯t be helped because it¡¯s big bro¡¯s engagement ceremony but©¤©¤it feels strange.

    ¡¸We aren¡¯t going to greet the woman¡¯s rtives?¡¹

    Big bro averted his gaze from me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s that kind of arrangement. The greeting will be after everything is over.¡¹

    This engagement ceremony is really hurried.

    I¡¯m thinking that while waiting in the room, then father looked at the clock©¤©¤.

    ¡¸It¡¯s time. Yosh, let¡¯s go. Leon is over here.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes ye~s¡¹

    This is the first time I attended something like an engagement ceremony, so I¡¯m looking forward to it a little.

    The main star today is big bro, so I¡¯m also rxed. I¡¯m nning to tease himter.

    .

    Part 8

    ¡¸©¤©¤Father, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just as you see.¡¹

    The engagement ceremony is held in a ce that is like the church in my previous life©¤©¤a temple.

    A red carpet isid out on the floor and there are couches lined up beside it for the attendants to sit.

    Participating in this ceremony are people from the duke house©¤©¤including Vince-san, there are a lot of big wigs here.

    Big bro nonchntly mingled among the attendants.

    Deeper inside there are two women wearing pure white dress waiting.

    ¡¸You guys tricked me!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t speak something that sound bad in people¡¯s ear like that. I never said that it¡¯s Nix¡¯s engagement ceremony even once. It was only your misunderstanding.¡¹

    The two who are waiting for me are Livia and Ange no matter how I saw it.

    Their faces are hidden behind a veil, but I immediately identified them from their figure.

    In addition even Vince-san is attending. I don¡¯t have any ce to escape if they went this far!

    ¡¸I never heard anything about this!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s because you¡¯re acting irresolute and pathetic. If it¡¯s not made clear before you study abroad, who knows what you will do there.¡¹

    Even I have been thinking a lot about this! ©¤©¤Don¡¯t call me irresolute.

    I just don¡¯t want to take responsibility!

    Father looked at Vince-san.

    ¡¸You will throw mud at the duke¡¯s face if you run away here.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the worst. Creating this kind of situation where I can¡¯t run away is really the worst thing to do! ©¤©¤Wait a second. Luxion, don¡¯t tell me you knew about this?¡¹

    Luxion is floating nearby. For some reason he looked delighted to me.

    ¡ºYes. I think that master who won¡¯t make it clear is pathetic as a man, so I arranged this.¡»

    What have you done?

    Gilbert-san came over here while we are arguing at the entrance.

    He is smiling but, it doesn¡¯t reach his eyes.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, the two of them are waiting. You can¡¯t keep them waiting forever. Or perhaps, you are dissatisfied with Ange?¡¹

    ¡¸Do, don¡¯t be absurd.¡¹

    I, I have no dissatisfaction.

    But, as a man I still want to y around more, and yet!

    I never heard about any engagement before this!

    Father is making a troubled face and told me about my situation.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t know about it but, there are a lot of request for marriage interviewing to me. There are also a lot of marriage interview request that don¡¯t give a damn about appearance anymore which is troubling. The oldest is at her fifty while the age of the youngest hasn¡¯t even reached double digit you know? Even you don¡¯t want that right?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Noble society is really rotten.

    Previously there was also talk of marriage with fifty years old hag, but a girl whose age hasn¡¯t even reached double digit, isn¡¯t she still a kid?

    ©¤©¤Not a chance. No way in hell.

    Gilbert-san added on father¡¯s talk.

    ¡¸If you get engaged with Ange, you will be freed from those annoying matter. Besides, you don¡¯t hate her right?¡¹

    When I looked at Luxion, he averted his single eye from me.

    This guy, he bbed about my feeling to other people.

    ¡¸Bu, but, I¡¯ll be studying abroad.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s exactly why you should get engaged before departing. When we consulted his majesty too, he dly approved this marriage. He also entrusted me with a message.¡¹

    He took out a single paper and when I spread it open©¤©¤I immediately crushed it in my hand.

    .

    ¡ºWee to the graveyard of life. Also, when I heard about how you are running around to escape from marriage, I did all I can to direct the talk to the direction of you marrying the two of them. You can cry tears of gratitude and thank me. From the capable and wonderful king¡»

    .

    ©¤©¤I absolutely won¡¯t forgive that son of a bitch.

    Father pushed on my back.

    ¡¸Go there already! Those two youngdies are too good for the like of you. Or rather, you are really a troublesome fellow. Those two are saying that they will marry you. Be happier. What are you thinking being so irresolute like this? Get married already. I¡¯m getting annoyed just from watching you.¡¹

    I¡¯m refraining because they are too good for me!

    When I looked toward the venue, I felt Vince-san¡¯s gaze.

    ©¤©¤His gaze is scary that I took a step forward.

    When I walked on the carpet, apuses broke out.

    Big bro saw my face and averted his gaze. Big sis saw how I acted and gave apuse with a nasty smile.

    Yumeria-san and some more are giving apuse while crying tears of joy.

    Mother? She is crying. She is saying ¡¸To think that child will have wives this gooding for him¡¹.

    Those words gouged deeply into my heart. ©¤©¤The faces of my parents in the previous life surfaced in my mind.

    When I arrived between the two who are standing side by side, Ange talked to me with a small voice.

    ¡¸Sorry to ambush you like this.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to go this far.¡¹

    Livia slightly casted her gaze down, even so she spoke reproachfully at me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because Leon-san is always avoiding to answer.¡¹

    No, I¡¯m still like a student in his second year of high school based on my age.

    I think it¡¯s still too early for me to marry. Is it because mymon sense from previous life is still remaining in me?

    ¡¸Don¡¯t me meter okay. You two might get fed up with me in the future and think if only I didn¡¯t marry him at that time.¡¹

    Livia replied with a smile hearing my remark.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t think that.¡¹

    ¡¸Be, besides, even though I¡¯m a count I don¡¯t have any ie.¡¹

    Ange boldly epted someone no good like me.

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯ll provide for you. Don¡¯t worry, even like this I¡¯m a daughter of a duke. I have also made my house to promise that they will give the necessary support for you to be independent. Even like this I¡¯ve received education to some extent. If you don¡¯t have any earning that I¡¯ll just earn money myself.¡¹

    ©¤©¤She is too manly it shocked me.

    Ange turned around to look toward the entrance.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The way out is over there.¡¹

    ¡¸Though I think that there will only be hell waiting even if you run away here.¡¹

    It will be hell if I advanced, and there will be hell even if I retreated©¤©¤or perhaps not.

    ¡¸I wonder why the two of you are in love with someone like me.¡¹

    ¡¸I fell in love with you because you are you. I want you. Leon©¤©¤be my husband.¡¹

    My heart goes *kyun kyun* at Ange¡¯s reply.

    ¡¸Ye, yes.¡¹

    Livia drew near beside me.

    ¡¸I fell in love because of such Leon-san. I will never let go of you.¡¹

    Shivers ran through my back hearing the line that is slightly filled with yandere.

    ¡¸Just do as you like. I won¡¯t run away anywhere.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yes!¡¹

    Even with the veil in the way, I knew that they are making a wholehearted smile.

    Well, in the first ce I©¤©¤don¡¯t dislike these two.

    Because I like them. I love them.

    My only regret is only something trivial like wanting to y around more as a student.

    The priest is speaking some kind of celebrating words, but it doesn¡¯t enter my ears.

    I¡¯m tricked but©¤©¤it¡¯s not a bad feeling.

    .

    Part 9

    ¡ºCongrattions for the engagement.¡»

    ¡¸Is that all that you want to say, you piece of junks.¡¹

    ¡ºOh? Isn¡¯t it too cruel to also me me? I was only giving a push to those two¡¯s backs. I told them that master just need to be cornered.¡»

    Luxion and Creare tricked me together.

    Certainly I¡¯m happy to be able to escape from the marriage hunting, but when I heard more about itter there are a lot of problems.

    ¡¸Even though I¡¯m engaged, the marriage hunting is still not over. This isn¡¯t what I heard.¡¹

    Luxion and Creare looked at each other with their single eye inside the room and then they shook their eye left and right in exasperation.

    ¡ºMaster is the hero who saved the country. You¡¯re a necessary existence for rebuilding the ruling ss of the kingdom.¡»

    ¡ºIf master feel like it then even harem won¡¯t be a dream. Congrats!¡»

    ¡¸I ain¡¯t happy at all! It¡¯s troubling even if they suddenly change their attitude like flipping their hand even though they were really cold to man until now! It¡¯s scary instead! I can only see that they got ulterior motive!¡¹

    ¡ºPlease don¡¯t worry. The situation hasn¡¯t changed that drastically. It might take around twenty years before the people¡¯s awareness change for real.¡»

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m not happy hearing that info.

    Is she saying that haughty girls will still be many in number just like before?

    This world is really harsh for man.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll go study abroad right away even if I¡¯m engaged. I feel like a worker who got job transfer away from home immediately after my marriage.¡¹

    Creare isughing.

    ¡ºI will stay over here so master don¡¯t need to worry.¡»

    Even though she seemed serious when in the ruin, it feels like her personality got lighthearted after she received spherical body.

    Is that round body the cause?

    I heard the door getting knocked, so I replied.

    ¡¸The door is open.¡¹

    ¡¸Excuse me.¡¹

    Over there is Livia wearing sleepwear while hugging a pillow and©¤©¤.

    ¡¸What, you aren¡¯t preparing to wee your wives?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Ange standing.

    ¡¸Kyyaaaaa!¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you screaming?¡¹

    I who was sitting on the bed jumped from being greatly shocked.

    ¡¸Be, because. It¡¯s already night, besides you two are wearing sleepwear.¡¹

    Their sleepwear is really©¤©¤they are negligee that can only be seen as them tempting me.

    ¡¸Leon-san, you are going to go study abroad soon, so before that©¤©¤we want to properly¡¹

    Don¡¯t continue those words further.

    Even I am a man. I want to do it, I want to y around but, I will over think it when responsibility and so one into the mix.

    ¡¸You, you two©¤©¤i, it¡¯s no good!¡¹

    Ange tilted her head hearing me saying that.

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Oh no, our sense of values is too different.

    ¡¸I want you to wait. I still haven¡¯t finished preparing my heart.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying? Livia is saying that she want to talk.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Ah, that. That huh©¤©¤so it¡¯s that.

    ¡¸You want to talk? To me? At night?¡¹

    ¡¸Err, I want to talk about a lot of things. Until now all of us were always busy with something that there was no time to talk leisurely.¡¹

    Is it not good? Livia requested earnestly. She is too cute that I could only nod repeatedly and said ¡¸It¡¯s fine¡¹.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s a secret that I¡¯m feeling a bit disappointed. No, sorry©¤©¤I¡¯m feeling extremely disappointed.

    ¡¸You, what are you thinking?¡¹

    Ange looked at me teasingly, so I reflexively averted my gaze.

    ¡¸I¡¯m thinking about love.¡¹

    ¡¸Hou, love you say. That¡¯s great. I also wish to hear about your love very much.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I wonder what is love. I also don¡¯t know the answer.

    Without me noticing Luxion and Creare has erased their presence and gone into hiding.

    Those two, they really cannot be relied on.

    The two of them sat beside me. Our skins touched each other at this distance.

    ¡¸I wanted to say thanks to you.¡¹

    Ange started the talk before Livia continued.

    ¡¸I have been wanting to say this all this time. A lot of things happened since I met Leon-san in the academy. Leon-san has helped me so much.¡¹

    ©¤©¤It was really a disaster though.

    The five idiots who lost their mind with love affair and my little sister from the previous life were really horrible.

    ¡¸I also have Luxion with me. ©¤©¤It¡¯s not just my strength.¡¹

    ¡¸You are wrong. It¡¯s because you were there that Luxion helped us. ©¤©¤Leon, be more confident. You are the man who be my husband.¡¹

    When Ange told me that©¤©¤I felt embarrassed for some reason.

    I¡¯m still not used with the word husband.

    I didn¡¯t marry in my previous life after all.

    ¡¸Leon-san, please return home safely. We©¤©¤will be waiting for you.¡¹

    The two of them hugged my arms. Then we talked untilte at night.

    ©¤©¤It feels like I¡¯m getting killed slowly.

    .

    Part 10

    The day of my departure to Alzer Commonwealth.

    At the port in the floating ind floating above the capital.

    A lot of people gathered to see me off.

    Daniel and Raymond are happy as my friend for my studying abroad.

    ¡¸It¡¯s unfortunate for you Leon. Even though the invitations from the girls are finally increasing.¡¹

    ¡¸I never thought that boys will be in the side that get invited.¡¹

    The smirking faces of my friends are the most irritating.

    Even I wanted to return if it is to the academy where the marriage circumstance has been reformed.

    I wanted to enjoy the academy life.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You guys, I¡¯ll remember this when I get back.¡¹

    ¡¸As expected Leon is this kind of guy.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m relieved instead that he is like usual. Even though I thought that he would say something like I¡¯m a count you know, you¡¯re holding your head too high!¡¹

    My image inside you guys is that horrible? It¡¯s a bit shocking.

    Even though I¡¯m this earnest, virtuous©¤©¤andpassionate Leon-kun.

    While I¡¯m talking with the two, two girls are approaching.

    They¡¯re rice-senpai and©¤©¤Deirdre-senpai who has auspiciously graduated from the academy.

    ¡¸Congrattions for your engagement.¡¹

    ¡¸Congrattions. It¡¯s extremely unfortunate.¡¹

    rice-senpai is smiling cheerfully while Deirdre-senpai is looking dissatisfied©¤©¤I don¡¯t know just what they are thinking. When I looked at their hangers-on, they are ring at me.

    Are they angry that I got engaged?

    Even my life is finally visited by a popr period, an outrageous one at that for me at my second life huh.

    From here on, this kind of fortune©¤©¤this popr period will surely note again in my life.

    ¡¸If you get sick of Redgrave House, you can rely on Attlee House anytime.¡¹

    rice-senpai©¤©¤what do you mean by those words?

    ¡¸Oh, if it¡¯s Rosede house we will ept you even now you know? Rather, how about taking me away and elope just like this?¡¹

    Oi oi©¤©¤if I do that, I won¡¯t be able tough at his highness Julius and others.

    But, is it just my imagination that Deirdre-senpai¡¯s eyes looked serious?

    ¡¸You, you two are really good at making joke! Really funny©¤©¤¡¹

    Iughed to gloss it over but, the two aren¡¯tughing.

    Daniel and Raymond seems to sense the indescribable atmosphere and took some distance from me.

    ¡¸Leon is really popr.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. I¡¯m not envying him though.¡¹

    The one who came at that timing like a savior is©¤©¤teacher.

    His standing posture looked dazzling.

    ¡¸Teacher!¡¹

    ¡¸Mister Leon, I¡¯vee to see you off.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    About teacher, actually it was decided that he will take up the headmaster seat from this year.

    The academy is also trying to change. It was decided to ce the suitable person to be in charge.

    That person is none other than teacher.

    ¡¸Going to look at other country will also be a good experience. Work hard to study there.¡¹

    Actually I¡¯m going to Alzer Commonwealth to observe other people¡¯s romance situation but©¤©¤I can¡¯t say that truth.

    ¡¸I will continue practicing tea over there too.¡¹

    ¡¸Please do so by all means. But, I¡¯m also looking forward to your growth as a gentleman©¤©¤no, as a person. I¡¯m looking forward to Mister Leon who has grown even more when youe back.¡¹

    Teacher©¤©¤I¡¯m aiming to be a gentleman like teacher!

    Luxion came to tell me the time.

    ¡ºMaster, it¡¯s time to depart.¡»

    ¡¸Aa, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    I©¤©¤boarded Einhorn without looking back while everyone sent me off.

    Something like me not looking back because rice-senpai and Deirdre-senpai are scary isn¡¯t the reason at all.

    It¡¯s because it feels like I¡¯m going to cry. ©¤©¤Really.

    .

    Creare was at Ange and Livia¡¯s side in the academy.

    ¡ºYou two, is it okay to not see master off?¡»

    Ange drank her tea while replying.

    ¡¸It will be a bother to him if we cry in public.¡¹

    Livia was also the same.

    ¡¸Besides, we have finished saying farewell before the departure.¡¹

    Creare made fun of the two of them.

    ¡ºHow praiseworthy. Master has really good fianc¨¦es.¡»

    Ange put down her cup and looked outside the window.

    The conspicuous Einhorn©¤©¤could be seen departing from the port.

    ¡¸Besides, we have things to do.¡¹

    Livia also nodded a little. Creare asked seeing that.

    ¡ºDo you two have some kind of n?¡»

    ¡¸We want to be of help to Leon-san. In order to do that, I will study a lot and be an existence that can be relied on.¡¹

    Ange was also the same.

    ¡¸From how he act normally, not only he isn¡¯t interested to foreign countries, he is a man who will even say that he hate going abroad. But then he suddenly said that he will study abroad©¤©¤there must be something.¡¹

    Creare answered vaguely.

    ¡ºThat might be so. Perhaps master has been thinking a lot in his own way.¡»

    ¡¸It feels like he is hiding something but, he won¡¯t tell us because we are unreliable. Then, we can just be an existence that Leon will rely on.¡¹

    ¡ºHm~, that enthusiasm is praiseworthy but, it¡¯s fine to not get that worked up isn¡¯t it?¡»

    Livia seemed to understand that.

    ¡¸I understand. But, next time we want to be relied on. I need to study a lot more in order to be helpful for Leon-san. We will shock Leon-san when hee home.¡¹

    Creare¡¯s single eye turned toward the books on the table.

    In front of Livia were books rted to magic, while in front of Ange were books rted to territory management.

    ¡ºIt will depend on the situation but, I¡¯ll be able to contact the sourpuss Luxion if you two asked me. Tell me if you have something you want to tell master.¡»

    Ange looked happy.

    ¡¸Really? Then I¡¯ll count on you at that time.¡¹

    Livia looked outside the window.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon-san, I wonder what is he doing right now?¡¹

    .

    Part 11

    Inside my room in Einhorn.

    I¡¯m lying down on my bed©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Damn it! I departed with good atmosphere but, I DON¡¯T WANT GOING TO OTHER COUNTRYYYY!¡¹

    I threw a tantrum like a kid.

    Originally I¡¯m not really interested with foreign countries. And yet, I got stuck studying abroad miserably.

    ¡ºMaster don¡¯t know when to give up.¡»

    ¡¸It should be okay for me toin at least! Just why do I have to watch over the romance of other people in foreign country huh.¡¹

    The world will be in danger if the new main character¡¯s love failed.

    Is it alright for such unreasonable situation to exist?

    ¡ºPutting that aside, how abouting over here?¡»

    There is an unnaturallyrge box inside the room.

    I¡¯m curious toward that very suspicious box.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this?¡¹

    ¡ºIt was sent here from the pce.¡»

    ¡¸Come to think of it, they told me to carry souvenir for Alzer Commonwealth.¡¹

    ¡ºAs expected from master, calling gift to other country as souvenir. By the way, this one is addressed to master.¡»

    When I opened the box©¤©¤Marie is sitting while hugging her knees inside.

    ph_mobuseka03_ill010

    I felt like I¡¯m watching a horror movie.

    When I closed the box again, Marie jumped out.

    ¡¸Why did you close it!?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s scary! I¡¯m breaking out in cold sweat here.¡¹

    Why is this girl here?

    When I looked at Luxion, he looked like he knew about this from the start.

    ¡ºIt¡¯ll be better for master to hear the situation directly from Marie.¡»

    When I looked at Marie, she poked her fingertips on each other in front of her chest while looking embarrassed.

    ¡¸A, actually©¤©¤about the allowance from big bro, it was used up.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ha?¡¹

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t me! It wasn¡¯t me who did it! ©¤©¤Those five were¡¹

    .

    Part 12

    The floating ind that Leon gave up was moved to the sky above the territory that the kingdom managed.

    Marie lived there since the spring, but a problem suddenly urred.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What¡¯s this?¡¹

    There was something covered in sheet in front of the mansion that Leon prepared for her.

    Julius took off the sheet with a smile.

    ¡¸We prepared this for Marie. We believe it will make you happy.¡¹

    There is a stone statue there. It¡¯s a stone statue of Marie looking like a goddess.

    (©¤©¤Wha, what¡¯s this!? Really just what¡¯s this!?)

    Jilk sent his gaze toward the statue of Marie like he was looking at a holy object.

    ¡¸I asked a craftsman who is still young but famous to make this.¡¹

    Brad was also satisfied with the workmanship.

    ¡¸The craftsman immediately tried to make the chest bigger, so it was a pain to make him correct it.¡¹

    Looking closer, the statue¡¯s chest was as t as Marie¡¯s.

    (My, my chest is bigger than that! Or rather, isn¡¯t the chest shaved too much? Wrong. That¡¯s not it. I need to confirm the important matter.)

    ¡¸Thi, this statue, just who was it who prepared this?¡¹

    Greg made a thumb up while saying.

    ¡¸We prepared it with everyone¡¯s money. Well, it was just a bitcking to request a skilled craftsman to work on it though. That was why, we sold the items in this ind to get the money.¡¹

    Items like the important farming tool, or the food that Leon sent©¤©¤these five sold off those things.

    It seemed they were thinking that if they requested it then the things that werecking would immediately get delivered here.

    (Do, don¡¯t tell me, they came to big bro¡¯s floating ind earlier than us for this? IT¡¯S A LIE RIGHTTTTT!!)

    The money that Marie obtained by kowtowing was used by these five who didn¡¯t know about the circumstance.

    It seemed they got on the floating ind ahead of her and prepared this to make her happy.

    Chris also showed no guilt at all.

    ¡¸If we¡¯re receiving money each month, then just this much is a cheap purchase.¡¹

    The five was happily saying that Marie¡¯s statue would be set up in the fountain that would be preparedter.

    Its seemed they were thinking that their house would send them money.

    ¡¸There won¡¯t be any allowance from your houses!¡¹

    The five were puzzled by that fact.

    Kyle was appalled by the five who were like that.

    ¡¸There is no way that they will send you money each month after what everyone has done and they became that angry. The money that everyone used was our living expenses for this one year.¡¹

    Cara who was carrying Marie¡¯s luggage was also dumbfounded.

    ¡¸A, all that money, was used up!? That much money, all of them!?¡¹

    Julius tilted his head and made a confused expression.

    ¡¸Eh, is that so? Then let¡¯s contact the pce and request them to increase the budget.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s sight turned dark from seeing the way the five were thinking.

    (These guys, they¡¯re just gods of pestilence when they aren¡¯t rich anymore.)

    Marie held her head and fell on her knee on the spot.

    She didn¡¯t have anyposure to think of anything else like her skirt was getting dirty or the like.

    (I, impossible. Even though they were living expenses and food that I finally obtained after begging big bro!)

    She was given not just goods but also cash because merchant ship woulde here periodically.

    Originally they would the crops that they produced themselves. This was to teach them the importance of earning money.

    Marie didn¡¯t think that they would be able to do that right away from their first year, that was why she relied on Leon.

    ¡¸If that kind of request can go through, I WON¡¯T HAVE IT THIS HARDDDD!¡¹

    Kyle and Cara ran toward the bawling Marie and consoled her.

    .

    Part 13

    Marie looked down with a pale face.

    ¡¸Even though I didn¡¯t do anything bad, I got scolded by the queen.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s horrible. Even I feel sympathy.¡¹

    Marie and others who suddenly became incapable to continue their living got called to the pce and received scolding.

    In the first ce, it¡¯s unthinkable that those five can change their money sense in this short period.

    Being suddenly told to live in poverty after being raised as young master for more than ten years is quite unreasonable.

    ¡¸And then, the queen said that it¡¯s a mistake to suddenly throw them out©¤©¤she said, that¡¯s why go study in other country. She said, that way might be better if big bro is with them.¡¹

    By that, did she mean theming along with my study abroad?

    ©¤©¤Eh? I have to look after those guys? Looking after those gods of pestilences!?

    ¡¸Oi, where are those guys?¡¹

    ¡¸They¡¯re in the warehouse. Also, this¡¹

    Marie handed me several letters.

    First I opened the letter from Rnd roughly.

    .

    ¡ºTake care of the troublesome matter well.¡»

    .

    I immediately crushed the letter and crumpled it.

    Next is the letter from Mylene-sama. I gently opened the letter and©¤©¤.

    ¡ºPlease take care of Julius and others. Actually©¤©¤¡»

    .

    It seems there is a force that is unable to forgive Marie and others.

    Because of that, Mylene-sama want to evacuate them to other country temporarily.

    Or rather, his highness Julius©¤©¤let¡¯s stop using honorific and just call him Julius now.

    It seems that in reality the kingdom is busy dealing with the aftermath of the war and cannot look after Julius and others.

    After the war against the principality, Julius¡¯s right to inherit the throne is stripped and he became a simple prince.

    There are also various other problems and the pce is really busy.

    If I stayed in the country, even I might end up getting involved with those problems whether I wanted it or not.

    Thinking about it, perhaps studying abroad is the right choice?

    In Mylene-sama¡¯s letter there is also writing that is worrying about my welfare. It moved me to tears.

    I can¡¯t forgive the son of a bitch Rnd, but I¡¯m praying for that person¡¯s happiness.

    ¡¸Eh? There is one more letter©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸That one is from Hertrude.¡¹

    .

    Part 14

    I got out to the deck and read the letter.

    In the letter there is a simple greeting written at the beginning.

    I thought that perhaps she was writing her grudge to me who killed the ck knight, but there isn¡¯t even a sentence about it anywhere.

    But©¤©¤.

    .

    ¡ºI¡¯m wondering that perhaps if I was seriously trying to win you over, then the future might change.¡»

    .

    ©¤©¤Such thing is written.

    From here on a painful life is waiting for her. The pce let her live because that way is more convenient to rule the territory of Fanoss House. Rather than executing her and making other ruling the territory, they will send royalty like Julius and made her bear a child. Because by doing that, the territory can be taken in with smaller opposition from her retainers and poption.

    ¡ºRecently I¡¯m often recalling the words of the elf¡¯s vige chief. Surely I made the wrong choice.¡»

    Seeing that sentence, I thought that everyone is expecting too much from me.

    I¡¯m just a mediocre person who luckily obtained Luxion.

    And then, I¡¯m unable to use Luxion¡¯s power well.

    I threw a question at Luxion who is floating beside me.

    ¡¸Luxion©¤©¤do you have the thinking that you want to serve a more capable master?¡¹

    ¡ºEven if it¡¯s someone capable but I refuse if they¡¯re the descendant of new mankind. In the first ce, I¡¯m not expecting anypetency from master.¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re really an unpleasant guy.¡¹

    I sat down on that spot and put the letter into my pocket.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Foreign country huh. I wonder what kind of ce it is.¡¹

    I¡¯m not expecting much from Alzer Commonwealth that I¡¯m heading to right now.

    After all, it¡¯s the sequel of that©¤©¤¡±that¡± otome game.

    ©¤©¤Really just spare me.

 Chapter 108 - Volume 3 Extra Story

    Otomege Volume 3 Extra Story

    Extra Story ¨C Rude and Rauda

    .

    The cemetery of Fanoss House territory.

    The new tomb that was prepared beside both her parents belonged to her little sister Hertrauda.

    It was decorated with many flowers. Her elder sister Hertrude also ced a flower bouquet there.

    ¡¸Rauda©¤©¤I can finally visit.¡¹

    The duke house was busy after they lost the war.

    From a princess, now Hertrude was a duchess. Her days were busy as the acting duke.

    Because of that, she was unable to visit the grave until now.

    Hertrude shed tears.

    ¡¸I wonder why it turned out like this. Even though originally I should be the one who died while Hertrauda survive. How can I be the one who survive.¡¹

    There were also the maids who took care of Rauda and her guardian knights at some distance away.

    Originally it should be Rauda who survived.

    Because of that the number of people who took assisted Hertrauda numbered a lot more than Hertrude.

    But right now they were assisting Hertrude.

    ¡¸Everyone is gone. Father, mother, and even Bandel are gone. Onee-chan is all alone if even Rauda is gone.¡¹

    When they were children, they decided to use the magic flute in order to take revenge against the kingdom.

    The user would die if they summoned the guardian deity.

    That was why Hertrude volunteered herself in order to protect Rauda who was younger than her.

    ¡¸Actually I should be©¤©¤and yet I¡¯m the one who live.¡¹

    After losing their parents, they only had each other as family.

    Sometimes they also quarreled, but they would reconcile right away.

    Her previous little sister Rauda©¤©¤Hertrauda, she wanted her little sister to live.

    Hertrude remembered the time before they proimed war toward the kingdom.

    That day, Rauda came to her room and said she wanted to sleep together.

    She epted and the two of them sisters slept together after so long.

    Even now Hertrude could recall Rauda¡¯s face that was crying when she saw her off.

    ¡¸If only, I was smarter¡¹

    Thinking back now, they were just used by their retainers as they pleased.

    Hertrude burst into tears and clung on the gravestone.

    ¡¸Rauda, I¡¯m sorry. Because Onee-chan is unreliable, you became a sacrifice©¤©¤I¡¯m really sorry.¡¹

    Just where did they go wrong?

    The people around left alone Hertrude who was crying in front of her little sister¡¯s grave.

    Amidst those people, a man who was dispatched from the kingdom looked at his pocket watch and spoke.

    ¡¸Acting duke, it¡¯ll be time soon.¡¹

    The man informed that it was the time to return to work. The people around him protested.

    ¡¸Be more flexible for this kind of time at least.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no way you don¡¯t know how long Hertrude-sama has been waiting for this.¡¹

    ¡¸This is why the kingdom¡¯s people is just¡¹

    The principality©¤©¤the duke house¡¯s people defended Hertrude.

    But, the man who was dispatched from the kingdom made a cold expression.

    ¡¸The procedure in the kingdom will be slowed if the affairs here are dyed. Besides, I wish that you all can be thankful just from me allowing you to take time for this kind of chore.¡¹

    Both countries were at war just a little while ago.

    From the perspective of the kingdom¡¯s people, they wouldn¡¯t care about the circumstance of Fanoss House at all.

    ¡¸A lot of people died in the territories that were trampled by all of you. This result came from your own doing.¡¹

    The man didn¡¯t hold any positive feeling toward the duke house.

    In the first ce, it would also be a bother for the kingdom to spend effort to crush Fanoss House.

    They simply let them live. That was the kingdom¡¯s attitude.

    Hertrude wiped her tears and stood up before returning to the carriage.

    ¡¸Excuse me. Let¡¯s return quickly.¡¹

    The people of the duke house looked down with frustration welling up inside them hearing that.

    The man who was dispatched from the kingdom scoffed.

    ¡¸Very well. I wish that you will be obedient to the kingdom from here on too. Well, even if you oppose us, I don¡¯t think the Fanoss House right now will be able to do anything though.¡¹

    ¡¸You!¡¹

    One knight was about to punch the man, but Hetrude stopped him.

    ¡¸Stop! ©¤©¤My apologies. Let¡¯s hurry to the castle.¡¹

    When Hetrude hurried toward the carriage, the man turned toward the knight and said.

    ¡¸If something happen to me, Count Bartfalt will be dispatched next. Do you have the resolve for that?¡¹

    The knights of the duke house averted their faces when Leon¡¯s name came out.

    But, Hertrude knew©¤©¤.

    (A small fry who is getting full of himself by hiding behind Count Bartfalt¡¯s name.)

    ©¤©¤That Leon wouldn¡¯t march against the Duke House just from this much.

    Hertrude got into the carriage and gazed outside the window. She recalled when she went into an adventure before.

    She only entered a ruin in the elf¡¯s vige, even so that memory felt really nostalgic right now.

    (Come to think of it, the vige chief told me at that time.)

    If you can walk together with your fated partner©¤©¤when she recalled the result of the fortune-telling, it would be Leon¡¯s face that came to mind no matter what.

    (©¤©¤Would my fate change if I persuaded him more seriously?)

    Rauda would still be alive, and Leon would be here©¤©¤would the principality be able to continue as it was and not getting reduced into a duke house?

    Hertrude imagined that, but she immediately shook her head.

    (No good. I have to get a hold of myself right now.)

    Hertrude couldn¡¯t just keep grieving for the sake of the duke house.

    While the cemetery was getting distant, Hertrude talked to Hertrauda and others inside her heart.

    (Rauda©¤©¤and Bandel. Please watch over us together with father, mother, and everyone else.)

 Chapter 109 - Volume 3 Afterword

    Otomege Volume 3 Afterword

    Afterword

    .

    Thank you very much for buying the third volume of ¡ºOtomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai Desu¡»!

    This is the author Mishima Yomu.

    It¡¯s also thanks to all of you reader that the third volume can be safely released.

    My thanks.

    And then about the third volume©¤©¤it¡¯s thick (sweat)

    I was thinking it since the time I was writing it, will the page number alright like this? ©¤©¤Who cares, just write!

    And, from there it ended up like this.

    When I lined up volume one until three, isn¡¯t the thickness like four volume of books?

    Considering that, it¡¯s a bargain to buy Mobseka isn¡¯t it. (TN: Mobseka is how this series is called in Japan)

    Now then, about the third volume, it became a story where various truths of ¡¸that¡¹ otome game world areing into view.

    The distorted marriage situation, and the reason why elves and other demi-human races were born.

    And then, the truth of that otome game that came into light after the war against the principality.

    There was also a shocking reunion for Leon, but the person himself must feltplicated.

    Surely he is holding his head at his wits¡¯ end while feeling apologetic toward his parents in the previous life.

    The third volume©¤©¤it¡¯s the third section in the web version but, it became a story that even I felt emotional attachment to.

    Because in here there is a character whose evaluation got drastically changed.

    What kind of reaction it would be in the light novel version. I¡¯m feeling scared but also looking forward to it.

    The third volume is the improvement of the third section in the web version, I modified the part where Leon got dragged into power struggle.

    Because of that, there might be a part that is not connected if you continue reading from the web novel version.

    I¡¯ll be d if you readers can enjoy the light novel version in its own way.

    Speaking of the difference with the web novel version, I was worrying until the end of how to treat Hertrude.

    Inside this story she became a very pitiful character.

    I didn¡¯t really make any n for her character at first.

    In the end, I kept that part the same with the web novel.

    But, I regretted it a bit when receiving her rough character design.

    If it¡¯s like this then I should make a different route from the web novel©¤©¤was what I felt.

    You can¡¯t let your emotional attachment get stronger when a character received illustration huh.

    I¡¯m thinking that perhaps one day it will be nice if I can write a different route for Hertrude while thinking to end this afterword.

    Well then, please keep rooting for me from here on too.

 Chapter 109.1 - Volume 3 Short Story

    Otomege Volume 3 Short Story<h4>Short Story ¨C Marie Route</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    The world couldn¡¯t go like game.

    There was no save function or load function in real world.

    In life there was no chance to redo.

    But, if©¤©¤one could redo?

    If one could redo the time when choosing an important choice, what kind of life would be waiting for them?

    If, there was a save data at before enrolling the academy, if Leon chose a different route, how would the story progress?

    This was that kind of story.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    The spring of my first year where I¡¯m able to safely enroll into the academy.

    I, Leon Fou Bartfalt am hiding in a bush of the academy¡¯s backyard.

    Hiding together with me is my partner Luxion.

    ¡¸The prince pondering in front of the pond really look artistic huh. Though in his heart he is only worrying about something trivial like how he is tired being the prince.¡¹

    It¡¯s his highness Julius, one of the conquer targets in that otome game.

    He is pondering in a ce where there is no sign of other people but©¤©¤this is what you call an event.

    ¡ºPeeking like this, master has a bad hobby.¡»

    ¡¸Because I¡¯m curious. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a precious experience to be able to see in real life a famous scene of a game you had thoroughly yed?¡¹

    It¡¯s the encounter event of the main character with the prince.

    The main character who was enthusiastic with expectation toward the academy life pped the rude prince.

    If I can watch the refreshing scene of the prince getting pped, then of course I¡¯m going to peek.

    ¡ºDidn¡¯t master say that it¡¯s not your business?¡»

    Certainly it¡¯s not my business but, there is also a curiosity in me.

    ©¤©¤I at least want to confirm what kind of girl the main character is.

    Is there any difference between the main character that was controlled by yer and the real main character?

    I¡¯m peeking in order to erase that kind of question.

    ¡¸I wanted to watch when a handsome man get pped.¡¹

    When I spoke out a random excuse, Luxion shook his single eye horizontally.

    His gesture said that he can¡¯t understand.

    ¡ºMaster has a really wonderful personality.¡»

    ¡¸You got a lot of sarcasm as usual.¡¹

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t it master who is giving me a lot of chance for it? ©¤©¤Oh?¡»

    Luxion¡¯s single eye moved and discovered a girl sneaking toward this way.

    She doesn¡¯t notice us hiding here.

    That girl©¤©¤isn¡¯t the main character.

    This girl doesn¡¯t look like anyone in the illustration of that otome game¡¯s package.

    ¡¸That girl©¤©¤I saw her at the entrance ceremony.¡¹

    She was an irritating girl.

    It¡¯s not like I hate her but, it made me irritated when seeing her face.

    ¡ºMaster, she is going to talk with Julius. Is she the main character?¡»

    I started moving.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way that¡¯s the case. Her look is too different.¡¹

    The main character in the game¡¯s illustration is taller and with nicer body style.

    She isn¡¯t the main character©¤©¤maybe.

    When I observed her, she is muttering something to herself.

    ¡¸Calm down, Marie. If you use the encounter event with the prince well and be acquainted with him, then it¡¯s your win.¡¹

    Iprehended everything in that instant.

    ©¤©¤Aa, this girl is the same like me.

    ¡¸Luxion,e.¡¹

    I sneaked toward the girl©¤©¤Marie who is measuring the timing toe out, and then I jumped her when she is about to call out at his highness Julius.

    I grabbed her arm and covered her mouth before taking her right away from there.

    ¡¸Nh!¡¹

    Marie doesn¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on. She is terribly shocked©¤©¤and then she became scared.

    I kept my hold on her and hurriedly got away from that ce to a ce where there is nobody else before letting her go.

    Then she red at me while looking scared.

    ¡¸Wha, what have you done!? I¡¯m in a hurry here. Do you think that it will end well for you after doing something like this? I¡¯ll never forgive you.¡¹

    She is acting strong but, it¡¯s clear as day that she is scared.

    It felt like I¡¯m facing my little sister from the previous life.

    Is that why I¡¯m irritated?

    ¡¸©¤©¤Is it because you don¡¯t want me destroying your encounter event with the prince?¡¹

    Then Marie¡¯s eyes opened wide before they slowly narrowed.

    She is making a colder expression then before.

    ¡¸Looks like you¡¯re the same like me.¡¹

    It seems I¡¯m not mistaken.

    ¡¸What were you trying to do? Why were you going toe out?¡¹

    I somehow guessed what this girl is trying to do.

    But, I wanted to confirm it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s not your business isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Marie averted her eyes. It seems she tried to make use of the encounter even to get ahead of the main character.

    ¡¸Obviously it¡¯s my business. You, do you understand what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re annoying! More importantly, release me already. The main character wille if I don¡¯t hurry up!¡¹

    Marie tried to run away. I cornered her to the wall and put both my hands on the wall to cut off her path of escape.

    The petite Marie is anxious.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t get in the way. Listen to me, the world will be destroyed if the main character and the conquest targets don¡¯t meet.¡¹

    Speaking in game term it means game over.

    It¡¯s still too fast for me to meet game over in my life so I¡¯ll refrain from it.

    ¡¸Haa? Why would that happen? Think of a better line if you want to threaten me. If you don¡¯t let me go, I¡¯ll yell so that peoplee here. If I yell here, your academy life©¤©¤no, your life will be over.¡¹

    This girl©¤©¤her personality is as bad as my little sister.

    Certainly if this girl yell here, I¡¯ll be seen as the bad guy.

    But, it¡¯s strange no matter what.

    Why is this girl aiming for the prince?

    ¡¸You, you have yed that otome game right? Then why are you trying to crush the encounter event huh?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s obvious©¤©¤¡¹

    While she is talking, the sound *p!* came from far away.

    We knew what is the meaning of that sound.

    ¡¸So I missed the encounter event that won¡¯te again.¡¹

    Marie fell on her knees while leaning on the wall.

    Tears gathered in her eyes.

    ¡¸No, no way©¤©¤even though I finally entered the academy. Even though I¡¯ve waited for ten years!¡¹

    Tears spilled out inrge drops and she began to cry.

    ¡¸O, oi¡¹

    ¡¸Even though I thought that I¡¯ll be able to be happy for sure this time! It¡¯s your fault. Because of you, I¡¯ll be poor forever!¡¹

    ©¤©¤I don¡¯t like seeing a girl crying because it made me irritated.

    ¡ºMaster, won¡¯t it be better to share information for now?¡»

    I also felt the necessity for that from Luxion¡¯s suggestion.

    If she has cleared that otome game, she shouldn¡¯t have any thinking to crush the encounter event.

    ¡¸Yeah. Oi, stop crying already.¡¹

    But, the sound of *kuuuu* came from the stomach of the crying Marie.

    Marie instantly stopped crying and pressed her stomach with both hands. She looked embarrassed.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Are you hungry?¡¹

    Marie nodded a bit.

    Her gesture is simr with his little sister from the previous life that he can¡¯t just leave her alone.

    Besides, they are fellow reincarnator. ©¤©¤He can¡¯t just ignore her.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll treat you to a meal, so let¡¯s leave this ce for now.¡¹

    Marie grasped the hand that I offered her.

    ¡¸Ri, right.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    We got out of the academy and went to the city.

    We entered a cheap restaurant. There Marie ate the ordered food ravenously.

    She already devoured three portions of steak and yet she still ordered even more additional food.

    Right now she was chewing at meat still attached on bone.

    The way she ate was like a hungry beast.

    ¡¸Eat slower. No one will take it away from you.¡¹

    It felt like I¡¯m full already just from watching her.

    Luxion floated beside me while observing Marie. He was greatly interested.

    ¡ºMaster is also very curious, but this person is actually also very curious.¡»

    Hearing that Marie is also a former Japanese, Luxion said ¡ºSo she is an old mankind¡» and interacted with Marie friendlily.

    ¡ºMarie, there is enough food. Can we continue our talk?¡»

    What we were talking before the food came shed that Marie was a former Japanese woman.

    She won¡¯t tell us her age, but from the content of her story I think her age previously was around the middle of her thirty until her early forty.

    It seems she was disowned by her parents and lived with a useless man as her boyfriend.

    After that, she thought that she fainted because of her boyfriend¡¯s violence but when she woke up she was in this world.

    ©¤©¤Her story was too pitiful I can¡¯tugh at it.

    It¡¯s troubling because I can¡¯t make fun of this kind of pitiful topic.

    Marie washed down the food she put into her mouth with water and resumed talking after she came to her senses.

    ¡¸Where did we left off again?¡¹

    ¡¸From where you reincarnated as the youngest daughter of Viscount House of Lafan.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~, that¡¯s right.¡¹

    Luxion ced a handkerchief in front of Marie because the area around her mouth is dirty.

    Marie took it and wiped her mouth before continuing.

    ¡¸The house I reincarnated into is a terrible house. It¡¯s a viscount house that has territory in the mainnd, but right now its territory is small and it¡¯s also really poor. In my family there is also only my parents who only has high pride and big brother and big sister who are scum.¡¹

    Marie looked down and said ¡¸They¡¯repletely different from my Onii-chan in the previous life¡¹ with a small voice.

    This girl, it seems she had a big brother in her previous life.

    What a coincidence, I also had a little sister.

    That¡¯s why this girl made me excessively irritated©¤©¤that I can¡¯t leave her alone.

    Could it be, she is my little sister? I considered such possibility but, it¡¯s impossible so she must be someone else.

    Both big brother and little sister reincarnating to another world together won¡¯t be funny at all.

    In the first ce, can such thing happen? ©¤©¤Feels like that the possibility is low.

    ¡¸You targeted the prince because you wanted to get out of such life?¡¹

    I sympathized with her, but it¡¯s no good to target the prince of all people right?

    ¡¸©¤©¤Because, I didn¡¯t clear the first game, so I didn¡¯t know about the detail.¡¹

    Marie looked like she is going to cry.

    I also wanted to cry here. After all, I didn¡¯t know that otome game had sequel.

    I¡¯m really d that I was able to talk with Marie.

    ¡¸Certainly the first game was difficult. I also cleared it using paid items. Even so, I still can¡¯t believe that it had a sequel made.¡¹

    ¡¸Right!? It was impossible to clear it normally. It can¡¯t be helped even if I don¡¯t know isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡ºMarie, the food you ordered came.¡»

    The waiter brought a lot of food.

    Marie immediately resumed eating.

    When I¡¯m looking at the way Marie ate, she started making excuse shamefully.

    ¡¸I, it has been a long time since I can eat a lot. I couldn¡¯t eat until I¡¯m full in my home. There was even some days where there was only tasteless soup to eat.¡¹

    Just what in the world this girl¡¯s family is doing?

    ¡¸That¡¯s horrible.¡¹

    ¡¸You better realize just how blessed your life is.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m feelingplicated.¡¹

    Am I who even almost got sold to an old hag still has it better©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to believe that.

    But, it¡¯s a fact that I¡¯m more blessed than Marie in the family department.

    Putting aside Z, I think that father and mother are good parents.

    My big brother Nix can be relied on, and Collin is a cute little brother.

    ¡¸You won¡¯t be troubled with food when you¡¯re in the academy though.¡¹

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m hungry! Since I reincarnated here my stomach always felt overly hungry, and for some reason my growth is also slow©¤©¤¡¹

    Luxion who observed Marie seemed to understand the cause.

    ¡ºFrom Marie¡¯s story, I assume that her excessive training in healing magic might be the cause? Originally it shouldn¡¯t be strange for her to physically grow more.¡»

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    I asked Luxion to speak in more detail.

    ¡ºYes. This is the result of her forcing herself too much during her growth period. Her physical growth stopped, but she obtained the skill that allows her to be a specialist in healing magic. She must have forced herself so much. How about master following her example for a little?¡»

    Is he telling me to work harder?

    ¡¸I want to live my life efficiently. It¡¯s my principle to not do pointless effort.¡¹

    ¡ºAs expected from master. How about you boil the dirt of Marie¡¯s nail and drink it?¡»

    ¡¸I refuse.¡¹

    When I refused firmly, Marie looked exasperated.

    She dropped the knife and fork in her hands.

    ¡¸O, oi, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Marie trembled©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Eh? ©¤©¤Eh? Co, could it be, I¡¯m looking like a child like this is because©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s the result of your effort. Perhaps you should feel proud? There isn¡¯t any problem with your feminine functions, you simply won¡¯t be able to grow further than this.¡»

    In other words©¤©¤Marie¡¯s appearance would stay childish than her age suggest like this. It seems that she can¡¯t expect anything more from her growth in the future.

    After that, Marie is crying while eating like crazy to drown her sorrow.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    ¡¸I can¡¯t just keep crying!¡¹

    The next day.

    Marie came talking to me in the academy¡¯s corridor. She said she wanted to talk about the n going on ahead and I brought her to a ce with nobody around.

    And then she dered©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll target the conquest targets that the main character aren¡¯t targeting! It¡¯s the leftover n!¡¹

    Main character©¤©¤when I investigated her, it seems her name is Olivia. Marie proimed a hyena-like n of approaching the boys who that main character doesn¡¯t target.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t know when to give up huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously. I don¡¯t want the world to be destroyed. But, this and that are different matter. That¡¯s why, you help me too.¡¹

    Marie pressed her hands together and asked me for help. I turned a smile at her.

    ¡¸My bad but it¡¯s impossible. I¡¯m busy searching for marriage partner.¡¹

    ¡¸What, you cheapskate! You can put off something like marriage hunting forter!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up! It¡¯s a life and death problem for a man, idiot!¡¹

    Luxion watched the surrounding vigntly while saying something like ¡ºYou two are getting along well¡».

    I told Marie just how painful the boys¡¯ standing is.

    ¡¸Now listen, a young man who hasn¡¯t married until twenty years old will have even his personality seen in doubt. It will affect their life from there on. We are different from girls who will have boys flocking toward them even without doing anything.¡¹

    Marie objected.

    ¡¸Haa? Even the boys will only call out to girls that they targeted. Someone like me still haven¡¯t got invited to any tea party just so you know.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because the tea party will be from the fifth month. No one will call out to the girls right after enrolling to the academy.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you an idiot? The first years are going to do tea party from the fifth month, but that¡¯s unrted with the seniors. I¡¯m saying that no second year or third year is calling out to me.¡¹

    I¡¯m getting irritated talking with this girl.

    Marie spoke her dissatisfaction toward the boys.

    ¡¸In the end you boys are only looking at girls who are convenient for you. Even though upper years are calling out to the girls around me, everyone will look away just from me saying that I came from Lafan House.¡¹

    Marie looked down.

    But, that can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡¸Because, your house¡¯s reputation is really bad.¡¹

    When I investigated her house is very horrible. It¡¯s a house that made me hesitate associating with her from now on.

    Marie wiped her tears.

    ¡¸This is unreasonable.¡¹

    In the first ce, obviously anyone will hesitate if the house of the girl they will marry has a lot of debt.

    I can imagine them asking for money to anyone who want to marry their daughter.

    It¡¯s troubling even if they ask for a lot of money to a baron house at the frontier.

    Because they won¡¯t have that much money.

    But, it will also be troubling if I ignored Marie like this and she caused some kind of trouble.

    ¡¸I got it so stop crying. I¡¯ll help you out.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!?¡¹

    Seeing Marie stopped crying and became all smile©¤©¤she really reminded me of my little sister.

    At the very least, I hope that girl was happier than Marie.

    A part of me can¡¯t forgive her but, I won¡¯t be able tough if she met an experience as terrible as Marie.

    ¡¸And, who are you targeting?¡¹

    ¡¸First is~¡¹

    Marie talked happily about her n.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    In the training field with logs lined up.

    There a blue haired young man, Chris Fia Arclight is training hard.

    He looked intellectual with the sses he is wearing, but actually he is the son of a swordsman who is called as sword saint in Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    This person himself has obtained the title of master fencer at his age.

    Marie is talking to that Chris.

    I¡¯m observing them from behind a cover but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not interested.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? ©¤©¤Err?¡¹

    I was impressed because she pulled off a nice greeting at him but©¤©¤Chris isn¡¯t interested to Marie.

    Chris wiped his sweat while sending Marie a doubting gaze.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what you are thinking to approach me like this but, I already have a fianc¨¦e. It will be dishonest of me to get too close with other female student. Please don¡¯t talk too much with me from now.¡¹

    Marie is dejected after being warned with that sound argument.

    ¡¸Ye, yes.¡¹

    Chris started swinging his wooden sword after the talk is finished.

    ¡¸Go back if that¡¯s all. I can¡¯t concentrate.¡¹

    His attitude is curt and blunt.

    Come to think of it, this guy¡¯s cold attitude was standing out.

    Marie returned back to me and,

    ¡¸©¤©¤I failed.¡¹

    She is dejected.

    It can¡¯t be helped. Arter all©¤©¤.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the fourth sessive failure with this.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Not only this is thest one, it¡¯s game over already.

    She called out to the conquest targets©¤©¤the boys other than the prince, but she splendidly failed all of them.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t it horrible that everyone is so cold!?¡¹

    Not everything can go well like in game.

    I turned my gaze to Luxion.

    ¡¸Oi, Olivia-san is really intimate with the prince right?¡¹

    ¡ºThey are intimate. From the information of master and Marie, I¡¯m presuming that she is targeting Julius.¡»

    And yet, the other conquest targets won¡¯t even look at Marie.

    Reality is harsh.

    I talked to the dejected Marie.

    ¡¸Cheer up. I¡¯ll treat you.¡¹

    Hearing that, Marie wiped her drool while retorting to me.

    ¡¸Do, don¡¯t make fun of me. Do you think I¡¯ll easily get into a good mood just from getting food?¡¹

    ¡¸I get it so wipe your drool.¡¹

    While I¡¯m hiding from Chris and talking to Marie©¤©¤Olivia-san came to the training field.

    She is a girl with an unsophisticated feel. And then she waved her hand to Chris.

    Chris is normally cold but©¤©¤he is showing a smiling face only to Olivia-san.

    Even though he didn¡¯t show any smile at Marie, what¡¯s with this difference in attitude?

    But, I also understand Chris¡¯s feeling.

    Olivia-san who is bright, energetic, and also big breasted is a charming girl.

    Even I will surely be all smile if she called out to me.

    ©¤©¤Compared to that.

    ¡¸Oi, which part you areparing me with that woman?¡¹

    Marie is giving me a really cold gaze, so I averted my eyes.

    ¡¸Now then©¤©¤let¡¯s go have some meal.¡¹

    ¡¸You looked at my chest andpared it to that woman right!? Say it clearly!¡¹

    ¡¸Sometimes the truth can hurt. It¡¯s impossible for someone kind like me to say the fact.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the same like you saying it! Damn it! Is it breast as expected!? Men are all stupid idiot!¡¹

    In reality shape or roundness is more important than size but, let¡¯s not say it out loud.

    After all Marie¡¯s t chest doesn¡¯t have any rtion with shape or roundness.

    ¡¸Aa~, I¡¯m annoyed. Today I¡¯ll eat ten portions of steak!¡¹

    Luxion joined the talk.

    ¡ºYou ate twelve portions before this though? Marie, certainly you won¡¯t grow but, fat will still attach in your body. Especially not in the chest or butt©¤©¤but around the stomach or arms.¡»

    Marie turned quiet hearing that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I, I¡¯ll stop in six portions.¡¹

    This girl is a good-for-nothing as expected.

    It¡¯s impossible for the conquest targets to get cajoled by this kind of woman.

    I¡¯m really worried.

    It won¡¯t be a problem even if I ignored her but, I can¡¯t do that at this point.

    ¡¸Come on, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    ¡¸Wa, wait for me!¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Now then, the new students are going to call out to the girls for real from the fifth month.

    Why is it from the fifth month?

    I don¡¯t know the reason, and I don¡¯t even want to know.

    But©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I¡¯m reborn.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I was made to realize that tea is a wonderful culture.

    My friends Daniel and Raymond are looking at me with cold gazes but I paid them no mind.

    ¡¸You are looking really happy huh.¡¹

    ¡¸As I thought a capable guy is different.¡¹

    I can feel jealousy from the two¡¯s gazes and tones clearly.

    I wonder why?

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? You two are looking really annoyed today.¡¹

    On the bench at the academy¡¯s courtyard.

    The three of us are sitting and talking, but I felt a distance from the two.

    Raymond¡¯s sses glinted suspiciously while looking at me.

    ¡¸I heard the rumor. It seems that you have gotten really close with a girl in upper level who isn¡¯t even bringing around any exclusive servant.¡¹

    Daniel clenched his hand,

    ¡¸I¡¯m jealous you bastard! Please introduce her to us too!¡¹

    They are irritated at me, but they are trying to use me so I introduced them to a girl.

    I don¡¯t hate you guys who are like that but©¤©¤but you guys are wrong.

    ¡¸You mean Marie? My rtionship with that girl isn¡¯t like that.¡¹

    Raymond looked doubting.

    ¡¸I wonder. Besides, I¡¯m envious just from you simply having a girl as close acquaintance.¡¹

    Daniel casted down his gaze.

    ¡¸I also want to get close to a girl who doesn¡¯t have exclusive servant.¡¹

    A girl in upper level who doesn¡¯t have exclusive servant©¤©¤is a special girl.

    Because in general girls in upper level has exclusive servant.

    That girl is either poor like Marie©¤©¤or,

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s his highness.¡¹

    Raymond muttered. There at the courtyard the prince©¤©¤his highness Julius came with his step sibling Jilk in tow.

    Behind them there are female students following the two of them.

    His highness Julius and Jilk who are basking in their shrill voices doesn¡¯t look interested toward those girls.

    ¡¸What an envious bunch.¡¹

    When I said that, both Raymond and Daniel looked at me and clicked their tongues.

    You guys, treasure your friend more!

    While I¡®m thinking that©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s the schrship student.¡¹

    When Daniel said that, his highness Julius and others are in some kind of quarrel.

    His highness Julius¡¯s fianc¨¦e, Angelica Rafa Redgrave is also there.

    ¡¸Your highness, please think of your station!¡¹

    His highness Julius is treating Angelica-san in annoyance.

    ¡¸Angelica, we are in the academy. Stop bringing in status at the outside to here.¡¹

    ¡¸Bu, but!¡¹

    He is defending the schrship student Olivia-san in front of his fianc¨¦e.

    His highness met Olivia-san and invited her to the tea party at the fifth month. It was then Angelica-san came.

    In the game this is an event in the early stage, but seeing it like this, it looks like a scene of carnage to me.

    ¡¸It¡¯s nice being handsome. They are forgiven even if they get intimate with other girl in front of their fianc¨¦e.¡¹

    When I said that, Daniel quickly shook his head.

    ¡¸No no, that¡¯s no good. Besides, the girl is the schrship student©¤©¤amoner.¡¹

    Raymond also agreed.

    ¡¸It¡¯s possible even formoner to be epted as concubine isn¡¯t it? There is precedent for that.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    There is Cindere story of amoner woman being epted into the pce.

    But, acting like this in front of his fianc¨¦e©¤©¤it¡¯s problematic.

    Looking at it like this, the main character of that otome game is unexpectedly a bad woman.

    The group broke up while we are watching quietly.

    ¡¸Yosh, let¡¯s get going too©¤©¤oi, what¡¯s with you two?¡¹

    Daniel and Raymond grabbed me when I¡¯m about to return to the school building.

    ¡¸We¡¯re in the middle of talking!¡¹

    ¡¸How about you tell us in detail about your rtionship with that girl called Marie. We want to hear it asrades in the same group.¡¹

    Therades in the group of poor baron.

    Looks like it will be troublesome if I don¡¯t dispel the misunderstanding.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    ©¤©¤And, because of that I consulted Marie.

    But that Marie is being seriously despondent right now.

    ¡¸©¤©¤No one invited me to the tea party in the fifth month.¡¹

    Not only the group of five of the prince and others, all the boys who held tea party in the fifth month ignored her. Marie is sitting while hugging her knees.

    ¡ºIn Marie¡¯s case, perhaps the boys hesitated because her house is too horrible?¡»

    Marie stood up and held her head hearing Luxion¡¯s calm reply.

    ¡¸I¡¯m tired hearing that kind of correct answer! They should evaluate my personal character more!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be unreasonable.¡¹

    Marriage between nobles is political marriage no matter how you cut it.

    For example, there are many stories of people who love each other are unable to marry because of their houses¡¯ circumstances.

    Like difference in status, or the difference in faction between the two houses, and many other reasons.

    ¡¸Why! That otome game¡¯s world should be a world that is kind to girl!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s hard mode for the men though.¡¹

    It seems that Marie is also in hard mode.

    I¡¯m getting sad watching her.

    ¡¸More importantly, I exined my rtionship between you and me to my friends. They¡¯re getting noisy asking me to request you and introduce them to girls.¡¹

    ¡¸You, be kinder to me! ©¤©¤Or rather, how about you introduce them to girls?¡¹

    ¡¸But I don¡¯t have any girl acquaintance.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean by that huuh!¡¹

    ¡¸Ouch!¡¹

    ¡ºYou two looks like you are having fun.¡»

    Marie kicked my shin. It really hurt.

    Or rather, this girl has a power that can¡¯t be imagined from her small body.

    I waited for the agitated Marie to calm down before we resumed talking.

    ¡¸No, that¡¯s why©¤©¤I don¡¯t have any acquaintance who seem like they will be able to introduce girls. Jena©¤©¤my big sis has bad personality, so surely her friends also has bad personality.¡¹

    If I asked her to introduce girls, I can imagine her saying ¡¸We have no time for poor nobles from countryside¡¹.

    Even though she herself is also that countryside poor noble.

    ¡¸Then, I can introduce them to girls.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, you can do that!?¡¹

    When I looked shocked, Marie looked at me and said ¡¸You¡¯re looking down on me too much¡¹ angrily.

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    I came to the bar that is often used by the poor baron group.

    Marie brought the girls who she will introduce. The atmosphere inside the bar is different from usual.

    The seniors and students from the same grade©¤©¤everyone is smiling at me.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, I believed in you.¡¹

    ¡¸Leon, you are the best friend one can ask for.¡¹

    ¡¸Talk to me if you need anything. I¡¯ll do everything I can if it¡¯s for your sake!¡¹

    I let out a strange chuckle seeing the guys who were ring at me until several days ago when we passed each other changing their attitude so easily like flipping a hand.

    Inside the bar there are three girls other than Marie.

    One girl is fiddling with her hair, and another girl is looking nervous.

    Thest girl has unkempt hair and her clothes are also a bit messy.

    There are painting tools attached on her uniform.

    I approached Marie and asked her.

    ¡¸Oi, where did you find those girls?¡¹

    We were also gathering information but, we never catch sight of these girls.

    Marie is eating meat while teaching me about the girls.

    ¡¸They are the shut-in girls.¡¹

    ¡¸Shut-in!?¡¹

    ¡¸The girl fiddling with her hair is azy child. The nervous girl is not good with ce that has a lot of people, so she is studying alone in the dorm. Thest one is something of an artist©¤©¤she doesn¡¯t really has much interest in anything else.¡¹

    The three of them are problem children.

    But, Raymond¡¯s sses glinted hearing that exnation.

    ¡¸Marie-san, can I ask the reason why the three of them has no exclusive servant?¡¹

    Marie drank her juice to wash down the food in her mouth into her stomach while answering.

    ¡¸They aren¡¯t interested. It seems the nervous girl is scared toward demi-human. It seems the three of them don¡¯t want to get out of house after marrying. It doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s at the countryside or the capital, I think they will marry you if you can provide them with an environment where they can be shut-in.¡¹

    The girl who is fiddling with her hair doesn¡¯t want to work so it¡¯ll be indispensable to give her servant.

    The nervous girl wanted books so her condition is to let her buy books periodically.

    The artist girl¡¯s condition is to let her paint.

    ©¤©¤What¡¯s with that favorable condition?

    Daniel stood up.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll go into offense seriously.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, Daniel! I¡¯m first!¡¹

    Seeing the two starting to quarrel, I shook my head in exasperation.

    ¡¸How ugly to quarrel like that. Then, I¡¯ll©¤©¤¡¹

    While I¡¯m thinking of who to speak to among the three©¤©¤Marie red at me.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Nothing.¡¹

    Marie turned away and resumed eating again. While I¡¯m looking at her in confusion©¤©¤Daniel and Raymond looked at me with appalled look.

    ¡¸Leon, that¡¯s not right.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. You¡¯re the worst.¡¹

    I can¡¯t believe their reaction.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with you guys!¡¹

    In the end that day a conflict revolving around the three girls erupted within the group.

    That was just how great the three girls¡¯ conditions are.

    If it is the previous life©¤©¤the previous world, the three of them might be problem children but, in this world they are too much of an excellent product that it made you wanted to doubt whether it might be actually a trap.

    ©¤©¤I also wanted to aim at them.

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    The tea party in the fifth month.

    ¡¸In the end it¡¯s only you who came to my tea party huh.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s eyes sparkled in front of the prepared tea and snacks.

    She looked like she is going to drool even now.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s better than not having anyoneing at all. More importantly, this is the sweets from a famous shop right? I wanted to try eating it just once~¡¹

    Holding a tea party inside a room that you borrowed and invited girls. That¡¯s the tea party of the fifth month.

    It¡¯s themon sense of this academy for boys to entertain girls like this.

    Luxion floated inside the room and looked toward me and Marie alternately.

    ¡ºMaster, it¡¯s good that the sweets and tea you prepared doesn¡¯t go to waste isn¡¯t it?¡»

    ¡¸Really. Everyone got heated up saying <i>I¡¯m going to the tea party of prince and the others~. </i>They are really a bother to the other boys. Are the prince and the others really that great?¡¹

    I heard that Daniel and Raymond also have it hard.

    Boys with poprity numbered five. They said that the venues where they held their tea party are spacious and wonderful.

    The girls who are invited there are also many, because of that the number of boys who got rejected when inviting girls to tea party is a lot.

    ©¤©¤Honestly, it¡¯s also troubling for us to getpared with the prince and the other conquest targets.

    Marie looked at me.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You, aren¡¯t you embarrassedparing yourself with those five?¡¹

    ¡¸I, it¡¯s none of your business. You yourself, you also aimed to have reverse harem with those five.¡¹

    Marie held her cup with both hands and sipped the tea bit by bit.

    ¡¸Aa~, that. Thinking back now, I¡¯m d I didn¡¯t do that.¡¹

    ¡¸So you finally gave up.¡¹

    Aiming for reverse harem is unfaithful no matter how you looked at it.

    Marie ced down her cup and started eating a cake.

    ¡¸The conquest targets are even morecking in charm than I thought. They are only acting soft toward Olivia, and they are a bit stupid.¡¹

    Luxion agreed with that evaluation.

    ¡ºEven though they also have fianc¨¦e, they are often together with the main character Olivia. They also have their status to think of. ©¤©¤I can¡¯tprehend them.¡»

    ¡¸Luxion, you don¡¯t get it at all. What Marie wanted to say is she can¡¯t forgive those five for choosing Olivia rather than her. Those things about charm and whatever are just excuse.¡¹

    Good look, good finance, great authority©¤©¤those guys have everything.

    Marie pouted while objecting.

    ¡¸Even personality is an important factor. What I want to say is that those five are failure in that respect.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Their reputation is quite good though.¡¹

    Their surrounding might only ttering them but, I haven¡¯t heard any bad rumor about them.

    ¡¸Or rather, thinking carefully it¡¯ll be impossible to go out with them. Did you hear? The venue of Brad¡¯s tea party reserved a garden in the capital.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~, in the game it was also like that.¡¹

    ¡¸That sounds usible if it¡¯s in the game, but doing that in the real life is just no good isn¡¯t it? Just how much money he is using for only a tea party I wonder.¡¹

    When it came to a topic of money, I can feel that this girl alsomoner like me.

    But©¤©¤.

    ¡¸By the way, the snacks and tea that you are eating right now©¤©¤they will fetch a really high price if they are totaled.¡¹

    The sweets in this world are really expensive.

    Even the sweets I prepared are something I especially ordered from a patisserie chef. So the price is really high.

    Marie¡¯s eyes opened wide hearing that.

    ¡¸Tha, that much!?¡¹

    ¡¸It takes money to order special sweets from a chef of famous shop.¡¹

    Marie muttered ¡¸How many underwear and socks I¡¯ll be able to buy with that much money¡¹ with a serious face.

    ¡ºDo you have problem with your underwear and socks?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤My, my growth stopped, so all this time I¡¯m using hand-me-down©¤©¤that¡¯s©¤©¤even if there is hole in my socks I can¡¯t buy a new one.¡¹

    Marie looked embarrassed, but I¡¯m pitying her even more than that it felt like I¡¯m going to cry.

    ¡¸Yo, you©¤©¤said that from the beginning!¡¹

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I can say something so embarrassing easily!¡¹

    This girl too must be desperate to get out of her harsh life.

    ¡¸Do you understand my feeling when my family told me there is no need to buy new clothes because I¡¯m not growingggg!¡¹

    I calmed down the agitated Marie.

    ¡¸I, I get it so calm down. Let¡¯s go out to the city and shop after this. A, anyway, let¡¯s quickly buy the necessary items.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any money. Soon it will be the adventure part©¤©¤that¡¯s not it. We will be able to enter the dungeon soon, so I¡¯m nning to earn money there. That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll bear with this for now.¡¹

    Luxion honestly evaluated Marie highly.

    This guy, isn¡¯t he spoiling Marie?

    ¡ºEarning money yourself if you don¡¯t have money. What a wonderful mentality. It¡¯s also admirable how you don¡¯t simply run toward doing crime.¡»

    ¡¸Eh? Is that so? This girl is a woman who aimed to get reverse harem in order to get out of poverty you know?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤It¡¯ll be better if master learn from Marie more.¡»

    Is he telling me to aim for reverse harem?

    It should be harem for a man©¤©¤but a harem in this world©¤©¤there is no such thing huh.

    I¡¯ll rather be a bachelor rather than providing for women like big sis.

    Although, the demerit of being a bachelor is too many that I can¡¯t choose it. It¡¯s frustrating.

    Marie muttered with a dark expression©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I need to work hard to be able to buy the necessary items at the very least. ©¤©¤When I be able to enter dungeon, I¡¯ll earn money every day in the dungeon. I need money to be independent.¡¹

    ©¤©¤This girl, it looked like she is seriously nning to challenge the dungeon every day.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll buy you the necessary items at least, so stop with the stupid n like entering dungeon every day.¡¹

    When I said that I¡¯ll buy them for her, Marie sped her hands and made a smile.

    She pressed her arm to her sides and took a sly pose.

    ¡¸You will!?¡¹

    ¡¸A girl at your age wearing socks with holes in it is just too pitiful. I¡¯ll pay that much money at least.¡¹

    Luxion looked at me and,

    ¡ºOh, is master hiding your embarrassment? Won¡¯t it be fine to honestly say that you pity Marie?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Shut up.¡¹

    Thanks to one of her anxiety vanishing, Marie continued enjoying her tea and sweets with a smile.

    .

    <h4>Part 10</h4>

    Now then, after that©¤©¤there isn¡¯t any big event urring for a mob like me.

    I normally went through my academy life and normally challenged the dungeon to earn money for the tea party expenses©¤©¤such days were continuing and before I noticed the first term is about to end.

    When I noticed, there is only Marie showing up even when I held a tea party.

    Other than her there is only the second daughter Jena who sometimes wille to make fun of me.

    ©¤©¤Like today.

    ¡¸Foolish little brother, are you seriously going to marry Marie?¡¹

    ¡¸Haa?¡¹

    Jena talked without any interest toward me who is preparing second serving of tea.

    ¡¸You invited that girl to your tea party every time right? Though it seems she isn¡¯t here today.¡¹

    ¡¸Today she is going to the city to get her dress. That girl don¡¯t has any dress, so she was worrying what to do for the party before the long vacation.¡¹

    ¡¸That girl is really poor isn¡¯t she? ©¤©¤Even if there is no problem with that girl herself, that girl¡¯s house is a trouble.¡¹

    I don¡¯t understand the true intention of Jena who is saying that while eating sweets.

    It¡¯s like she is giving me a warning.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have romantic rtionship with that girl. ©¤©¤We are friends, or perhaps just two people with troublesome tie you can¡¯t cut off?¡¹

    We both are fellow reincarnator.

    We can understand each other better than anyone else in this world.

    My Japanese sensitivity from the previous world doesn¡¯t really work in this world after all.

    Jena is looking at me with a doubting gaze.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s you who will have it hard, so I¡¯m not going to stop you.¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s with you today? More importantly, big sis yourself, have you managed tond a marriage with someone?¡¹

    ¡¸Unlike you I have a lot of choices. Even now I¡¯m receiving advances from several people.¡¹

    Jena¡¯s personality became worse due to the capital¡¯s influence, even so there are still boys approaching her.

    Her look©¤©¤isn¡¯t that bad.

    Our house also has no more debt and in the middle of developing thanks to my investment.

    She is from a baron house in countryside, so she is also not involved with any bad faction. From those it seems she is an excellent article.

    For this kind of horrible woman to be an excellent article, this world is really terrible.

    Even so©¤©¤Marie¡¯s house is a problem huh.

    When she earned money, her family seemed to catch wind of it and made a debt using Marie¡¯s name.

    The culprit was Marie¡¯s actual big sister so it¡¯s not funny at all.

    .

    <h4>Part 11</h4>

    The party before the long vacation is separated by the academic year.

    The party that is held in a wide venue is really extravagant.

    It¡¯s a buffet party and the foods that are lined up are cooked by first ss chefs.

    Live music is filling the inside of the venue. I have no memory of attending a party of this level even in my previous life.

    ¡¸Another world is really amazing.¡¹

    ¡¸Rhight!¡¹

    I looked at Marie who is stuffing her mouth full of foods.

    She is eating food enjoyably in her dress that she just bought.

    As for her dress, it¡¯s the cute type if I have to say what kind of dress it is.

    There is also Marie¡¯s atmosphere to consider but, she looked childish no matter how you see it.

    She looked like a little girl wearing dress to act like an adult, making a really warming sight.

    Setting that aside,

    ¡¸©¤©¤Why am I alone with just you?¡¹

    Both Daniel and Raymond are with the girls that Marie introduced to them so they aren¡¯t here.

    Originally I wanted to go around together with them to talk to girls and yet©¤©¤what heartless friends they are.

    They are trying to find partner quickly to escape from the harsh marriage hunting race by themselves.

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s unforgivable.

    When I¡¯m thinking to get in their way, Marie loaded a mountain of food on her te while moving her gaze.

    When I followed her gaze, over there is his highness Julius©¤©¤and Olivia-san.

    Olivia-san who is wearing uniform is also surrounded by boys other than his highness Julius.

    ¡¸Do you still have lingering attachment?¡¹

    While I¡¯m wondering if she still hasn¡¯t given up yet, Marie shook her head.

    ¡¸Stupid. The world where we live is too different~, I¡¯m just thinking that. I understood a lot of things in this term. I and those five©¤©¤won¡¯t be able to see eye to eye.¡¹

    Even luxury that is shocking for Marie is normal or modest from those five¡¯s perspective.

    It seems she is also feeling jealous but, she is also epting that it¡¯s fine like this.

    ¡¸It helps that you understand. With this there is no one getting in Olivia-san¡¯s way.¡¹

    If the main character Olivia-san be a couple with someone among those five©¤©¤the world will also be saved.

    A great uncertain factor will disappear with that.

    The two of us are watching the party of the nobles from near the party venue¡¯s wall.

    It¡¯s really a different world.

    It¡¯s not about other world or anything like that©¤©¤the world we are living in feels different from them.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ah¡¹

    Marie let out her voice. There Angelica-san is talking to his highness Julius.

    She is ring at Olivia-san and trying to separate them.

    His highness Julius got angry from that.

    Seeing that Marie is©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Hey, thinking carefully, isn¡¯t it wrong to be all over other woman in front of your fianc¨¦e? Even without thinking carefully, it¡¯s no good to get close to a man who has fianc¨¦e.¡¹

    ¡¸How about you look at mirror? But, I agree with that opinion.¡¹

    It¡¯s the scenario of that otome game so it can¡¯t be helped.

    Thinking of it like that, then that¡¯s that but©¤©¤it¡¯s certainly a horrible story.

    ¡¸Does she love a man who abandoned his fianc¨¦e to choose her? I don¡¯t get woman.¡¹

    It looks like I can¡¯t understand woman¡¯s feeling.

    Marie talked about this situation from the perspective of woman.

    ¡¸But, to abandon his fianc¨¦e like that when he met someone that he love©¤©¤putting it another way, it¡¯s like he is proiming that he will abandon that girl too if he meet a more charming woman. I¡¯ll be put off if it¡¯s me.¡¹

    ¡¸That should be a situation a woman will yearn for shouldn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yearning and reality are different. It¡¯s only a misunderstanding that came from the heat of the moment. But when you cooled down, you will think ¡®no way~¡¯ about it.¡¹

    Certainly, that kind of situation happening in reality will make you tilt your head.

    The people themselves might be getting heated up saying ¡®It¡¯s forbidden love!¡¯, but the surrounding will be cooling down watching it.

    But, hearing that from Marie made it sounded like a gag.

    ¡¸Those are words that I wish a certain someone who was nning for reverse harem can hear.¡¹

    Marie is hitting me repeatedly when Iughed at her.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that! Say it if you¡¯veint!¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. I¡¯m also agreeing with your opinion.¡¹

    Then©¤©¤the venue got strangely quiet.

    When I looked around, I saw gazes gathering on us.

    Luxion who is hiding nearby exined the situation.

    ¡ºSince some time ago everyone in this ce is listening attentively to the argument of Julius and Angelica. There is also the timing of the change of music where the ce became quiet at the same time when the conversation of the two of you was heating up.¡»

    ©¤©¤So our talk got heard by the surrounding.

    I and Marie broke into cold sweat.

    ¡¸Wha, what now?¡¹

    Asked by Marie, I©¤©¤took Marie¡¯s hand and escaped from the venue.

    ¡¸Pa, pardon us!¡¹

    ¡¸Pardon us!¡¹

    We escaped from the venue together and after that the live music resumed ying.

    ©¤©¤Toote! Read the atmosphere more you guys!

    ¡¸What have you done huh! We became conspicuous just now!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make it sounds like my fault! More importantly, I can¡¯t eat all the types of food now!¡¹

    So you¡¯re prioritizing your hunger rather than sex appeal huh©¤©¤this girl is really a good-for-nothing reincarnator.

    The area is dark when we got outside.

    Luxion¡¯s single eye shined and illuminated the surrounding.

    Marie turned back toward the venue and©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I wanted to have more fun.¡¹

    She casted her gaze down in dejection.

    A bit of guilt welled up inside me.

    After all this girl was enjoying the party in her own way.

    ¡¸There will be a lot of chance to go to party as long as you are in the academy so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸The parties that I cane to are only the parties that I can join while I¡¯m in the academy.¡¹

    When the party before the end-of-term ceremony is over, a long vacation will be waiting.

    ¡¸©¤©¤More importantly, what is your n for the summer vacation? Will you return home?¡¹

    When I asked her that, the answer she gave me is horrible.

    ¡¸I was told with a letter to stay in the academy and earn money. The letter also told me to send money home. The letter came from the whole family.¡¹

    It¡¯s too horrible I can¡¯t even say anything.

    The silence continued for a while, then I can¡¯t endure anymore and invited Marie.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not the capital but, want toe to my home?¡¹

    ¡¸Your home?¡¹

    ¡¸I n to return to my own territory during the long vacation. Over there©¤©¤it has hot spring.¡¹

    ¡¸Hot spring!¡¹

    Marie suddenly turned happy. I felt a bit relieved seeing that.

    ¡¸Not just that! ©¤©¤There is also rice.¡¹

    ¡¸RICEEEE!¡¹

    Marie rejoiced and ran around on that spot.

    For us reincarnator, it¡¯s really difficult to be able to eat the staple food from our previous world.

    She is really happy that it became possible to eat that food.

    ¡¸What about miso!? Shoyu!?¡¹

    ¡¸No, those are still impossible.¡¹

    Hearing that Marie said ¡¸Ee~¡¹ in disappointment. Luxion areining beside me seeing Marie like that.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll be able to prepare them immediately if only master isn¡¯t fixated with the natural product though.¡»

    That kind of thing is the same but different in nutrient or taste.

    This guy can prepare that, but I¡¯m a member of natural faction.

    ¡¸I want to eat the natural product¡¹¡¸I like the natural product better¡¹

    We looked at each other¡¯s face hearing that our opinion ovepped.

    It felt a bit embarrassing that both of us averted our face.

    Luxion said ¡ºIs that so. Then please wait one more year¡».

    This guy is amazing.

    It seems he will be able to prepare miso and shoyu in just one more year.

    ©¤©¤Can¡¯t he make it faster?

    Marie is getting into high spirit looking forward to the long vacation©¤©¤and fell down.

    ¡¸Oy, are you okay?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It has been a long time since I¡¯m wearing high heel, so my feet hurt.¡¹

    This is because she forced herself and bought something like high heel.

    Marie used healing magic to her own ankle. Seeing that I recalled the past.

    Once my little sister from the previous life said that her feet hurt and cried. She wouldn¡¯t move then.

    I left her and went home, but I got worried after a while and returned.

    ©¤©¤That girl, she got tired and fell asleep.

    Recalling that, I turned my back toward Marie who finished the healing and crouched down.

    ¡¸Come on, I¡¯ll send you back so hop on.¡¹

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you considerate. Take me till the girl dormitory then please.¡¹

    How far you are going to act simr like my little sister?

    Say thank you first.

    .

    <h4>Part 12</h4>

    Marie recalled the past on Leon¡¯s back.

    Luxion was illuminating the dark path inside the academy.

    (I¡¯m recalling the past. Come to think of it©¤©¤big bro also carried me on his back like this.)

    She recalled that annoying big brother.

    Since he died because of her fault, she was regretting it all the time.

    She recalled what happened in the previous world and strongly hugged Leon¡¯s back.

    ¡¸Oi, that hurt.¡¹

    Leonined, but seeing how simr he was with her big brother she was irritated©¤©¤and happy.

    ¡¸Don¡¯tin and walk quicker.¡¹

    Tears came out. She got embarrassed and buried her face on Leon¡¯s back.

    (In the end, I was hopeless all the time without big bro there.)

    Her life went off the rail since her big brother died.

    He got bad mouth and his personality©¤©¤was also bad, but at heart he was a kind big brother.

    That big brother and Leon ovepped with each other.

    But, Marie thought.

    (I wonder if big bro also reincarnate? ©¤©¤I hope he is happy if that¡¯s the case.)

    She recalled her big brother who died young and lifted up her face to look at the sky. There the moon was pretty.

    ¡¸Hey, what kind of ce your home is?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a countryside. The ce is quite and slow but, I like it.¡¹

    ¡¸You, I get the feeling that ce like the capital isn¡¯t your favorite.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because I don¡¯t like how messy it is. I don¡¯t want to get busy and work.¡¹

    ¡¸Uwa, that¡¯s the line of hopeless person.¡¹

    (Big bro also said something like that before.)

    Marie thought back of everything until now on Leon¡¯s back.

    (Those times I talked to those four, I also wasn¡¯t really fired up. I¡¯m not suitable with the prince and those four.)

    She tried to aim at the four other than Julius together with Leon, but she didn¡¯t feel any feeling of ¡®this is it¡¯ from them.

    Now she understood the reason for that.

    (©¤©¤Aa~, my interest in man is really bad. To think that I¡¯ll like someone who is like big bro, what a shocking truth for my second life.)

    Marie thought such thing while making stupid talk with Leon.

    .

    <h4>Part 13</h4>

    The end-of-term ceremony ended safely and the day to return home arrived.

    Father came to pick me up at the port.

    I¡¯m waiting for Marie who doesn¡¯t arrive in time.

    ¡¸That girl, she iste.¡¹

    Both Nix and Jena has already headed to the port.

    Luxion is considering the reason of Marie¡¯steness.

    ¡º©¤©¤Perhaps her preparation is taking time?¡»

    ¡¸Woman is taking a lot of time for this kind of thing after all.¡¹

    ¡ºOr perhaps, she overslept.¡»

    ¡¸That¡¯s possible.¡¹

    ©¤©¤But, my chest is feeling uneasy since this morning.

    I can¡¯t calm down no matter what.

    ¡ºMaster, should we go pick her up?¡»

    ¡¸Yeah. But, I can¡¯t enter the girl¡¯s dormitory.¡¹

    While we are making such talk, some girls wearing uniform passed in front of us.

    But, their talk made me curious.

    ¡¸That felt good.¡¹

    ¡¸It was because she was impudent. That felt refreshing.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s her fault to stand out like that in the party.¡¹

    The mean looking trio of girls are followed by exclusive servants.

    I got a bad premonition hearing their talk.

    ¡¸Party? Refreshing? ©¤©¤Luxion, search for Marie.¡¹

    I started running. Luxion headed toward the girl¡¯s dormitory ahead of me.

    ©¤©¤Don¡¯t tell me, something happened to that girl?

    .

    <h4>Part 14</h4>

    Marie whose hair was still messy from sleeping was running while carrying a traveling bag.

    ¡¸I OVERSLEPTTT!¡¹

    She was nervous yesterday and couldn¡¯t sleep well.

    She thought about meeting Leon¡¯s family, and she was also worried that her family would try something.

    ©¤©¤Besides, she was feeling a bad premonition.

    Thanks to that she slept reallyte yesterday.

    And then, when she woke up there wasn¡¯t long until the meeting time.

    ¡¸Hau!¡¹

    Marie prepared in a great hurry and rushed out of her room, but she collided with a female student when turning around the corner.

    Marie fell but she immediately got up.

    ¡¸Ouch ouch©¤©¤ah, are you alright!? I¡¯m sorry. I was in a hurry so©¤©¤eh?¡¹

    When she offered her hand toward the girl she collided with, Marie got really scared seeing that girl¡¯s eyes.

    The female student with the dark gaze was©¤©¤Olivia.

    Olivia stood up like nothing had happened and walked away while ignoring Marie.

    Marie realized that she was breaking in cold sweat.

    ¡¸Wha, what. What was that?¡¹

    ©¤©¤It was really scary.

    Her image of Olivia was someone who was always smiling cheerfully, but just now she was expressionless with cloudy eyes.

    It made Marie scared.

    (What? She looks like she is hating everything©¤©¤I have seen several girls making that kind of eyes but, did something happen?)

    She considered chasing after Olivia, but her legs wouldn¡¯t move.

    Her heart was beating loudly in her chest.

    Then©¤©¤.

    ¡ºOh, it seems you really overslept.¡»

    ¡¸Fuwah! I, it¡¯s you Luxion. Don¡¯t surprise me like that.¡¹

    The uneasy Marie wiped her sweat and picked up her traveling bag.

    ¡ºMaster is worried. He thought that perhaps something happened.¡»

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t sleep well yesterday and when I woke up the time was©¤©¤¡¹

    While she was making excuse, Luxion moved his single eye in a nodding gesture.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s fine if there is no problem. Then, let us depart.¡»

    ¡¸Ri, right.¡¹

    Marie who recalled what just happened was really concerned about Olivia.

    But, thinking whether it was alright for her to call out to her when they weren¡¯t close at all, and with how Leon and his family were waiting for her©¤©¤she didn¡¯t go after Olivia.

    .

    <h4>Part 15</h4>

    ¡¸Are you a kid, oversleeping like that!¡¹

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    I¡¯m seriously relieved hearing that the reason Marie waste because she overslept.

    I got a bad premonition, but in the first ce my instinct isn¡¯t that urate.

    I¡¯m d my instinct was wrong.

    Both of us hurried toward the port into the docking ce for airships.

    I talked with Marie while walking.

    ¡¸Has the ship departed?¡¹

    It seems she is worried whether father¡¯s ship has departed or not.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a private ship so it can be flexible. Though the port willin at us.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s fine even if we are left behind. My Partner can send the two of you there.¡»

    ¡¸Partner will stand out. You made it too big.¡¹

    ¡ºIt was because of master¡¯s instruction. It wasn¡¯t my fault.¡»

    ¡¸Is that so? Yeah it is huh.¡¹

    I also made small talk with Luxion, but the strange bad premonition in my chest hasn¡¯t calmed down since some time ago.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Marie, did nothing really happen?¡¹

    I worriedly checked with Marie, but the person herself doesn¡¯t understand what I¡¯m talking about.

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why©¤©¤no, as I thought forget it.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait! I got curious now so say it already!¡¹

    This girl will onlyugh even if I told her I have this strange bad premonition.

    I looked at Luxion.

    ¡¸Luxion, did anything strange happen yesterday?¡¹

    ¡ºDoes master think I¡¯m grasping everything in this academy? I never received such order, so I¡¯m not investigating anything.¡»

    What an annoying guy.

    Marie looked at Luxion and made a disappointed face.

    ¡¸Even though I thought that an AI would be more amazing than this. Could it be, that you¡¯re a slightly hopeless child?¡¹

    Marie¡¯s words seem to lit fire under Luxion. He retorted back.

    ¡ºI can¡¯t pretend to ignore that. The cause is because master didn¡¯t order me to collect information due to his disinterest with the matter of the academy. How can you expect result from me even though I wasn¡¯t even ordered for anything like that? In the first ce, I¡¯m not someone with nothing to do. My main body is working hard even now to build a workshop in master¡¯s home. Not doing anything needless is also the proof of excellence©¤©¤¡»

    Marie ignored the passionately talking Luxion and showed interest toward the topic of workshop.

    ¡¸You have a workshop!? Eh, could it be you¡¯re rich!?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s still in the future. It¡¯ll be better to have a lot of source of ie after all.¡¹

    ¡¸How nice~¡¹

    Both I and Marie are losing interest at Luxion¡¯s exnation.

    Luxion said.

    ¡º©¤©¤Both of you have simr personality. The way you two ignored my exnation is also exactly the same.¡»

    ¡¸How are we simr!?¡¹¡¸Where are we simr!?¡¹

    My voice ovepped with Marie again.

    It¡¯s embarrassing©¤©¤and funny.

    Weughed together.

    ¡¸First I want to eat rice when we arrived at Leon¡¯s home. Also©¤©¤rice cracker!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll prepare that but, how should I say it, your taste is subdued.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine isn¡¯t it. You can eat it as it is with its crispy texture, but it¡¯s also tasty to eat it when it¡¯s slightly damp.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s tasty but, there is something else than that.¡¹

    ¡¸Mochi?¡¹

    This girl, hoping for rice cracker or mochi©¤©¤.

    No, I understand her feeling though.

    My bad premonition calmed down and I¡¯m getting rxed.

    It seemed the bad premonition was just my imagination.

    While we¡¯re getting heated up with our talk, a docking ce for small airship came into view at the other side of the port.

    It looks like the airship will depart from the dock with just a little bit more time.

    ¡¸Oh, wee in a nice timing. Let¡¯s get on it.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m taking the window seat!¡¹

    Marie broke into a run. Seeing her I thought of how energetic she is while thinking that she is simr with my little sister.

    Do I have some kind of destiny with little sister character whether it¡¯s in the previous life or in this life?

    Suddenly something weighed my mind and I looked back.

    There is this thing weighing my mind no matter what.

    There was also the strange bad premonition this morning©¤©¤I¡¯m looking back wondering if it¡¯s alright like this.

    ¡ºMaster, is something the matter?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    Marie boarded the airship and waved her hand energetically at me.

    ¡¸That girl is lively too today.¡¹

    It feels like I made some kind of mistake but©¤©¤surely it¡¯s just my imagination.

 Chapter 110 - Volume 4 Short Story

    <h4>Otomege Volume 4 Short Story</h4>

    <h4>Short Story ¨C Marie Route The Second</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    It was the second term of the academy.

    Marie Fou Lafan who should be still a first year was, ©¤©¤was in a religious establishment that was called temple.

    That ce had the construction that reminded her of the church in her previous life. Marie was wearing a pure white dress in that ce.

    When she looked up at the stained ss through her veil, the sunlight that shined in through there was very pretty.

    It was the wedding dress that she had never worn till the end in her previous life despite her yearning for it.

    In addition, the rtives of her and her partner were in attendance inside the temple.

    She was in the middle of a marriage ceremony. It was a dream of hers that didn¡¯te true in her previous life.

    (©¤©¤Why did it turn out like this)

    But, Marie¡¯s feeling was©¤©¤the worst.

    It hadn¡¯t been even one year since she enrolled into the academy.

    And yet, she was going to marry like this.

    It wasn¡¯t just an engagement, it was a marriage that would make her withdraw from the academy.

    When she nced at her family who was sitting on the bench, they were looking really delighted.

    Her family in this life couldn¡¯t be called as good family even as ttery, but there was a reason why they were happy with Marie¡¯s marriage.

    Her father in this life said.

    ¡¸Our useless youngest daughter fetched a really good price.¡¹

    Her mother in this life was also looking happy.

    ¡¸Indeed. With this the debt of our house will be gone.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Marie was sold off by her family.

    (These guys are absolutely unforgivable!)

    Marie gritted her teeth and trembled in fury. Her bridegroom was walking toward her.

    Marie cursed in her heart seeing the appearance of that bridegroom.

    (©¤©¤This guy, I got a really bad feeling from him!)

    He sighed seeing Marie¡¯s appearance and approached her side with a reluctant air.

    The man¡¯s age had passed thirty years old. He looked unhealthy with fat body. The man took off his gaze from Marie.

    ¡¸Why do I have to marry with this kind of pipsqueak. Even though my preference is a more morous woman.¡¹

    His attitude was full of discontent and in addition his words were like this.

    Marie was seething with anger.

    (It¡¯s you house that approached us with this marriageeeeee!)

    Setting aside Marie¡¯s mental age, if one looked at only her physical body then she was still 16 years old.

    She was recognized as an adult in this world and could also marry.

    But, from Marie¡¯s view©¤©¤right now her enjoyable academy life was taken away from her and she was forcefully married to a man who she didn¡¯t even like.

    Besides, her being sold by her family like this wasn¡¯t funny at all.

    She couldn¡¯t agree with this marriage at all.

    (Don¡¯t screw with me! Why do I have to go through this©¤©¤this marriage without even any dream or hope in the world of ¡°that otome game¡±. I want to marry©¤©¤properly with someone I love©¤©¤)

    Marie had continued living in hardship since she reincarnated into the world of that otome game.

    Her only hope was enrolling into the academy one day and for that she polished her healing magic until now.

    She trained so much that she sacrificed her body¡¯s growth thanks to that.

    She trained her healing magic in secret because if her family learned it then surely they would make use of it as they pleased.

    They were a really horrible bunchpared to her family in the previous life.

    After all, their debt bloated up too much©¤©¤that they sold Marie to a rich house in exchange of writing off their debts.

    (How much hardship do you think I have gone through until now!? Even though I was finally able to enroll into the academy and have a quite enjoyable life even if it differed from my original n!)

    The priest©¤©¤the equivalent of it in this world began the marriage ceremony where the two were standing.

    ¡¸Well then, let¡¯s begin the marriage ceremony.¡¹

    The bridegroom looked like he wanted this ceremony to be over quickly.

    He wasn¡¯t interested at all about Marie from the start.

    What interested him©¤©¤was only Marie¡¯s lineage.

    The groom¡¯s house was so to speak an upstart house.

    And then, the way they were climbing up to their current position was also peculiar. Other nobles held antipathy toward them.

    Because it was that kind of house, they wanted noble blood no matter what.

    It wasn¡¯t like it had to be Marie.

    ¡¸End it quickly.¡¹

    What would happen to her if she married someone like this?

    Marie could easily imagine it.

    Surely a loveless marriage would be waiting for her.

    In the worst case, she would be treated coldly after she gave birth to a child because they had no more need of her.

    (I decided I will do my best this time©¤©¤I want to be happy in my second life, and yet!)

    Tears came out.

    And then, Marie recalled her big brother in the previous life.

    Looking back now, he was a very reliable big brother.

    (©¤©¤Save me, Onii-chan.)

    Marie muttered in her heart, and then©¤©¤she recalled how it became like this.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Around the time when there were only several days of summer vacation remaining.

    I, Leon Fou Bartfalt was spending my time rxing in my home.

    My partner Luxion is floating around my right shoulder, His single red lenses that served like an eye is watching Collin and©¤©¤Marie running around the garden.

    Marie is angrily chasing Collin around.

    ¡¸WAIT YOU BRATTTTT!¡¹

    Collin is running whileughing.

    ¡¸No way~¡¹

    Marie is chasing my little brother around, but the reason for that lies in Collin.

    ¡¸They are quarreling again?¡¹

    I¡¯m watching in exasperation. Luxion exined the situation to me.

    ¡ºYes. It was caused by master¡¯s little brother teasing Marie.¡»

    It seems that Collin is thinking of Marie like a big sister who isn¡¯t that much older than him.

    He would make fun of Marie who was acting as someone older and yed with her.

    It would be better if Marie ignored it, but Marie herself also became worked up so it needlessly amused Collin.

    Then father came out from the mansion and dropped his fist on Collin¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Ouch!¡¹

    ¡¸Collin, don¡¯t make fun of Marie-chan!¡¹

    Marie who was chasing Collin around is flustered by father¡¯s act.

    ¡¸E, err, mister, you don¡¯t need to go that©¤©¤¡¹

    Father looked apologetic toward Marie.

    ¡¸Sorry, Marie-chan. It¡¯s not that Collin dislike you. I hope you won¡¯t hate him.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, yes.¡¹

    Collin pressed his head with both hands and ran into the mansion. In exchange Nix©¤©¤the second son came out.

    He walked toward me and immediately talked to me.

    ¡¸Collin was making fun of Marie-chan again?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The two of them won¡¯t get tired of it. They are like siblings who are close in age.¡¹

    I said that whileughing flippantly. Big bro shrugged.

    ¡¸She is his sister-inw after all, so it¡¯s not wrong.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    I¡¯m looking shocked hearing that reply. Big bro also looked shocked.

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸No, because©¤©¤eh? Why is Marie a sister-inw?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yo, you, are you seriously saying that?¡¹

    I¡¯m also troubled seeing big bro is seriously shocked.

    ¡¸No, because©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸None of that! You brought her home and live together with her for more than a month! From outside it looks no different than the two of you being married already!¡¹

    We aren¡¯t officially married but, from the surrounding¡¯s perspective, for a girl to spend her whole summer vacation in a boy¡¯s home is©¤©¤certainly it might look like we are engaged.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not the case! Marie is, you know©¤©¤she can¡¯t return home.¡¹

    About Marie¡¯s home, it¡¯s a terrible family based from what I heard.

    Because of that, Marie said that she doesn¡¯t want to go home during summer holiday, so I brought her to my home.

    Naturally I neverid my hands on her.

    There is my floating ind near this home. It has hot spring and field©¤©¤rice and some more things are cultivated there.

    The most we did was only going into hot spring and eating Japanese food in delight after so long.

    Marie is also a reincarnator like me.

    We get along well because we have the same sense of values, but that¡¯s all there is to it.

    In the first ce, Marie love handsome man.

    If I¡¯m asked whether I¡¯m handsome, that¡¯s not the case. I¡¯m not that girl¡¯s preference.

    And then I myself love big breasts.

    Marie is t like board so she is out of question.

    ©¤©¤Both our preferences doesn¡¯t match each other to amentable degree.

    Big bro is looking at me with a conflicted expression.

    ¡¸There is no guarantee that you¡¯ll be able to find another good girl like that again. Besides father and mother are thinking that you and Marie-chan will marry.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Is that why my parents are strangely kind to Marie?

    It feels like it will be a big trouble if this misunderstanding isn¡¯t dispelled.

    Big bro sighed.

    ¡¸You really have it good. You were able to immediately find a partner in the academy after all. Even though I have it hard because I can¡¯t find anyone.¡¹

    It looks like big bro is also suffering from the marriage hunting.

    Unlike me he is enrolling into normal ss, so I thought his marriage hunting would be easier but©¤©¤it seems that¡¯s not the case.

    ¡¸I thought that if it¡¯s big bro¡¯s ss then you will be able to find a girl right away.¡¹

    Big bro scratched his head.

    ¡¸Even the girls in normal ss want to live in the capital. They are looking for someone with connection that can allow them to live in the capital or the mainnd at least. Someone like me isn¡¯t even their second or third pick.¡¹

    Looks like big bro also has it hard.

    I want to help him somehow but©¤©¤right now I have my hands full with my own situation so it¡¯s impossible.

    ¡¸More importantly, Leon. You two will also return to the academy tomorrow right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the n.¡¹

    My mood got heavy when I thought of the marriage hunting waiting for me in the academy.

    It¡¯s the same for big bro.

    He sighed and made a very troubled face.

    ¡¸I still cannot find a girl yet even though I¡¯ll graduate this year. If only I can be skillful like you.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Big bro.¡¹

    ¡¸Oi, stop it. Don¡¯t look at me with pity. Being pitied by my little brother makes me want to cry.¡¹

    Really, I wonder why this world is so harsh toward men?

    No, is it more like it¡¯s harsh toward mob?

    Unlike us, the main character of that otome game Olivia-san and the boys who are the conquest targets must be enjoying their summer vacation right now without worrying about anything.

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m really jealous.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Around that time.

    In the academy¡¯s female dormitory, Olivia was sitting on her bed inside her ransacked room.

    She was hugging her knees and trembling.

    The room was dark with the curtain closedpletely.

    ¡¸I¡¯m fine©¤©¤I¡¯m still fine.¡¹

    Olivia muttered to herself. There were dark circles under her eyes.

    Her hand was holding a letter that was sent to her from her home town.

    It was a letter from her family.

    For Olivia this letter was the support of her heart.

    Olivia was a schrship student, but although she wasn¡¯t troubled about her living cost in the academy, it didn¡¯t mean she had any leeway marily.

    That was why, she couldn¡¯t return home even though it was summer holiday.

    She spent her summer holiday in the student dormitory and immersed herself in her study every day so that she could keep up with her surrounding as much as possible©¤©¤or that should be the case.

    But, the reality was merciless.

    Her room was knocked. Olivia twitched from that sound and she lifted up her face.

    ¡¸Hih¡¹

    She almost screamed, so she covered her mouth with her hands. Then the voice of an academy staff called out.

    ¡º©¤©¤Olivia-san, his highness is waiting for you in front of the dormitory. Please prepare immediately.¡»

    The staff only said that and left.

    Olivia buried her face into her knees.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Why won¡¯t he leave me alone¡¹

    In the summer holiday, the young noblemen including Julius frequently came to the girl¡¯s dormitory to invite Olivia.

    Because the five of them invited her one after another, Olivia was unable to secure any time for studying.

    This time when there were few female students in the academy was a precious time for Olivia.

    But those five were taking that time away from her.

    ¡¸Even though I want to study more¡¹

    But, with her standing, Olivia was unable to refuse the invitation from Julius.

    At first she didn¡¯t know that Julius was the crown prince, but now she knew.

    She was unable to refuse him, and if she epted the invitation from Julius, she also couldn¡¯t refuse the invitation from the other boys©¤©¤those young noblemen.

    And when she got close with those five like that, she got resented by the girls in the academy.

    ¡¸What should I do? Just what should I do¡¹

    It would be nice if she could honestly tell them that they were a bother, but if she said such thing then Olivia would lose her ce to belong.

    The other party was his highness the crown prince©¤©¤the next king of this country.

    It wouldn¡¯t affect just herself. She didn¡¯t know what kind of harm it would cause to her birth ce.

    Olivia stood up and prepared herself for going out before heading out to meet Julius.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    When the second term started, even a mob will get really busy.

    Even just speaking about the events of the academy alone, there are the academy festival and field trip in the schedule.

    I¡¯m thinking to do something in the academy festival, but there is bigger problem than that©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, please introduce girls to us too!¡¹

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s these boys from the poor baron group who are bowing toward Marie.

    And then Marie is©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Oh? You aren¡¯t telling me to do it for free aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ©¤©¤She is sitting on a chair while getting cocky.

    She crossed her arms and legs with aposed smile.

    I wanted to teach this girl the word humility.

    The boy who acted as the leader negotiated with Marie, but behind him the boys were waiting with bloodcurling expression.

    From first year to third year©¤©¤almost everyone is here.

    ¡¸Of course! We will do anything that we can! That¡¯s why©¤©¤please introduce girls©¤©¤wonderful girls to everyone!¡¹

    ¡¸What to do~¡¹

    Before Marie introduced girls who were a bit problematic to us.

    If this is the previous world©¤Japan, they would be girls who are a bit problematic.

    A shut-in girl, azy girl, a girl who is only interested to her hobby, those kinds of girls.

    But, in this world a problem of that degree is the same like no problem at all.

    Rather, they can be called as wonderful girls.

    For heirs of poor baron houses like us, the girls who Marie introduced to us are goddesses.

    No, is that too exaggerating? Anyway there is no doubt that they are excellent articles.

    They are so excellent that they are girls who you will beg to go out with you even if you have to duel the others for it.

    For example, it¡¯s fine even if the girl keeps shutting herself in her room and won¡¯t go out to sses or academy events.

    It¡¯s also fine even if they spend their days doing nothing with the reason that it¡¯s troublesome.

    A girl who has no interest at all to anything except her hobby and won¡¯t even remember people¡¯s name is also alright.

    Just that much can simply be considered as their uniqueness because the normal girls are too horriblepared to them.

    Marie who is close to such problematic©¤©¤no, unique girls is asking for intermediation fee to the boys.

    ¡¸Then©¤©¤perhaps I¡¯ll ask for the student cafeteria¡¯s pudding every day. I want to eat pudding at lunch every day.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh!?¡¹

    It¡¯s just a pudding from student cafeteria but, this academy is a school for nobles.

    Naturally, even the pudding that is sold in the cafeteria is really extravagant.

    To speak in modern Japan¡¯s term, it¡¯s the cafeteria¡¯s famous sweets that is priced 1000 yen a piece.

    By the way, fundamentally student can make use of the student cafeteria for free, but change of menu or ordering additional side menu will be charged with money.

    I looked at Marie with exasperation.

    ¡¸How can you ask for pudding just for introducing someone? What¡¯s more you¡¯re asking it for every day.¡¹

    As expected even Marie seemed to think that she was asking too much. She hesitated slightly.

    ¡¸Be, because, I want to eat it. I, I get it. Then, I¡¯ll be fine with just three pudding per week.¡¹

    The male students opened their eyes wide in shock hearing that.

    ¡¸Thre, three!?¡¹

    Marie is also surprised, and then shepromised.

    ¡¸The, then©¤©¤once per week¡¹

    The boys formed a circle and began discussing.

    ¡¸Oi, do we really only need to prepare pudding? For some reason, her demand is gradually decreasing though!?¡¹

    ¡¸Idiot! Surely it¡¯s some kind of code. If not©¤©¤thepensation is too cheap.¡¹

    ¡¸Surely it¡¯s a trap isn¡¯t it? Co, could it be, there is no more girl remaining?¡¹

    From what I listened at the boys¡¯ talk, it seems that thepensation Marie demanded is too little that they are harboring doubt.

    If I have to give an example©¤©¤even though they thought that they would be asked to buy expensive bag or clothes from famous brand, they were instead asked to hand over pudding from mini market. Is that what they thought?

    It seems they are uneasy because thepensation is too cheap.

    I understand very well from this just how much a girl will normally demand from them.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s really sad to be a man.

    The leader turned toward Marie.

    ¡¸Marie-sama©¤©¤forgive my ignorance but, is pudding some kind of secret jargon?¡¹

    Marie¡¯s smile is twitching.

    ¡¸You guys, do you think I¡¯ll make some strange demands? I¡¯m telling all of you to prepare pudding from the school cafeteria for me! What other meaning it can have!?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh!!¡¹

    The boys are seriously shocked.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    In the ss.

    It¡¯s the second term now. My friends Daniel and Raymond who I met after so longughed.

    ¡¸They misunderstood pudding as a secret jargon? Those seniors are really stupid.¡¹

    Daniel said that, but then Raymond chided him ¡¸Don¡¯t make fun of them¡¹.

    ¡¸That¡¯s just how desperate they are. More importantly, the freshmen this year are really lucky. We have Marie-san, so even us has the chance to encounter a girl.¡¹

    The problem children who rarely came out from the girl dormitory.

    Without Marie, we couldn¡¯t possibly meet them.

    When thinking that, Marie¡¯s existence is important for us.

    I grumbled.

    ¡¸I also want to be introduced to a girl.¡¹

    But, when I said that my surrounding¡¯s reaction became reallyplicated.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon, I¡¯ve been thinking this from some time ago but, are you an idiot?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s better for Leon to reflect on himself for real. If you don¡¯t reflect, then you better be careful when going back at night.¡¹

    Everyone will react like this.

    ¡¸You guys, do you think that I¡¯m going out with Marie?¡¹

    Daniel made an exasperated face.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be stranger if you aren¡¯t going out with her. You spent time together with Marie-san in your home during the summer vacation right? That¡¯s already like you two are betrothed.¡¹

    Raymond is nodding.

    ¡¸You two haven¡¯t announced it publicly, so perhaps you two are still a step short of engagement? I¡¯m really jealous.¡¹

    Daniel red at Raymond who said such thing.

    ¡¸Oi, Raymond. I heard that you are going out with a girl that was introduced to us before though? I don¡¯t want to believe it but, you aren¡¯t stealing a march on us aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Daniel©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    Raymond apologized happily. Daniel grabbed his cor with his hands and lifted him up.

    ¡¸SO YOU TOOOOO!¡¹

    What a noisy bunch.

    Marie came to the ssroom while I¡¯m looking at them in exasperation.

    Her hand is holding a leaflet.

    ¡¸Listen, listen! About the academy festival, there will be contests at the third day! I heard that we can get prize money if we get high ranking in it!¡¹

    Her eyes shined really brightly. Marie looked very happy.

    Her eyes are blinded by prize money.

    This girl is really loyal to her own desire.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to participate?¡¹

    Marie shook her head when I asked her.

    ¡¸Girl is no good. The athletes will be decided by social standing or influence. In the first ce the number of contests that girls can participate in is few.¡¹

    The participants in the contest will mainly be boys.

    The reason? It¡¯s for the marriage hunting.

    The boys have to show their stuffs here no matter what.

    The reason is©¤©¤because this is an appeal time toward girls.

    In that otome game, this is an event for the conquest targets to show their stuff.

    Did the main character-sama also show her stuff in this event?

    ¡¸©¤©¤And so Leon, won¡¯t you try participate in this?¡¹

    The leaflet that Marie showed me contained the writing about the air bike race.

    ¡¸Air bike race? That¡¯s impossible for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Why!? The prize money for this race is amazing see!¡¹

    ¡¸The boys will fight each other for the participant seat of a contest that popr. Just like how girls got a lot of baggage like social standing and so on, we also have it hard.¡¹

    The school caste in this world is the real deal, not like the made up school caste in the previous world.

    In fact, a caste©¤©¤a social ss system is actually existing in this academy.

    Social ss doesn¡¯t only exist between the nobles andmoners, it also existed between nobles.

    The standing of one¡¯s house also influenced how the participating athletes are decided.

    It¡¯s useless only relying on one¡¯s skill.

    Marie whispered into my ear.

    ¡¸Look, it¡¯ll be possible for you to participate and even win if you use Luxion right?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You, you don¡¯t get that guy.¡¹

    If it¡¯s that guy he will surely say something like ¡ºMoney? ©¤©¤I can prepare something like that no matter how much you want, so?¡».

    While I¡¯m thinking that, Luxion replied in a volume that can only be heard by the two of us.

    ¡ºI¡¯ve confirmed the requirements. Participation in the contest and obtaining overall victory, is that correct? Then starting from now I¡¯ll arrange so that the strong contenders will fall sick and the participating athletes in the day of contest will meet unfortunate ident©¤©¤¡»

    It surpassed my imagination.

    Or rather, what do you mean unfortunate ident!/

    It seems Marie also thought that it¡¯ll be dangerous to rely on Luxion and she looked at the leaflet in dejection.

    ¡¸Even though I thought I¡¯ll be able to earn money here.¡¹

    ¡¸Why do you think that you will also get a share when it¡¯s me who¡¯ll participate? Are you stupid?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll at least give you some support if you participate! Forget that, please I beg you. I¡¯m in a pinch this month! Cooperate with me¡¹

    ¡¸Ha? I gave you some allowance already though.¡¹

    She was too pitiful, so I gave her some spending money when the summer vacation was over.

    Furthermore the amount was considerable. I can¡¯t imagine her running out of money immediately.

    Marie wiped her tears.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It was gone because of my family¡¯s debt. The debt collectors marched to my ce when they thought I have even a little bit of money. Even though it¡¯s not my debt, aren¡¯t they horrible!?¡¹

    ¡¸Uwaa¡¹

    Luxion analyzed the situation.

    ¡ºThey must be thinking that Marie who enrolled into the academy would earn some money as adventurer, so they came to collect the debt even if only slightly. Other than that, perhaps Marie¡¯s family also mentioned her name to the people who came to collect the debts?¡»

    It¡¯s too horrible I can¡¯t find any word to say.

    Marie started crying, so Daniel and Raymond who were watching red at me.

    They must be thinking that I¡¯m making her cry.

    ¡¸Anyway stop crying. That¡¯s right! There will be betting in the contests too, I¡¯ll earn a lot of money there.¡¹

    My words will sound stupid for those who listened from outside, but I have Luxion so I¡¯ll be able to win the bets easily.

    But, Marie refused that with a strong will.

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸I hate gambling! You too, if there is no need to gamble then absolutely don¡¯t do it.¡¹

    ¡¸Ri, right.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I think life is the same with gambling but, there won¡¯t be any meaning even if I said that so I stayed quiet.

    Marie pressed her hands on her face and groaned.

    ¡¸Now that it became like this I¡¯ll earn money through the academy festival in a honest way! I have to think something that can sell.¡¹

    This girl is actually really tough.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    The day of the school festival.

    ¡¸Weeee!! It¡¯s cheap, please take a look!¡¹

    Marie is working as a salesperson of a stand. She raised her voice to attract customer.

    We are doing a food stand for the academy festival.

    It¡¯s selling donuts that are brightly colored with colorful toppings.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll want to eat something like this.¡¹

    I¡¯m frying donuts. Beside me Daniel and Raymond are working hard.

    ¡¸Leon, work properly.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. This will be for Marie-san¡¯s important living cost.¡¹

    The two of them are pitying Marie and helped out.

    And then I¡¯m continuing to make donuts.

    Marie attracted customers and sold donuts one after another.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That girl, she is inly amazing.¡¹

    Sometimes she will be forceful, sometimes with smooth talking, and then sometimes with sob story©¤©¤she used every kind of method to sell a lot of donuts.

    Luxion who is in hiding responded to my mutter.

    ¡ºShouldn¡¯t master learn from her too?¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m rich so I don¡¯t want to work.¡¹

    ¡ºThe worst.¡»

    ¡¸I don¡¯t hate myself even though I¡¯m the worst like this though.¡¹

    ¡ºRather than that please take out the donuts from the oil.¡»

    ¡¸Yes, yes.¡¹

    I took out the donuts like Luxion instructed. Certainly it seems that the donuts are cooked already.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, the second donut from the right doesn¡¯t fulfill our product standard. Please obey the recipe properly.¡»

    ¡¸You are too nitpicky. I¡¯ll eat it at my break time so there won¡¯t be any problem right?¡¹

    Marie¡¯s voice is reverberating to the surrounding while I¡¯m talking with Luxion.

    ¡¸Weeee!!¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    Break time.

    I left the stand and sat down on a bench with the failed donuts in hand.

    It¡¯s a ce where there isn¡¯t any academy festival activity, so there is few people here and I can calm down.

    I came here alone in order to finish the failed donuts and also took lunch.

    Marie? The donuts are popr and she can¡¯t stopughing. She is continuing the sales even now.

    I¡¯m impressed by that girl¡¯s urge for manualbor.

    ¡¸Donuts for lunch huh. I¡¯ve made too many I don¡¯t want to eat them.¡¹

    ¡ºThis is to dispose the failed products. They came from master¡¯s blunder so this is only natural.¡»

    ¡¸You, you¡¯re hating me aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡ºI don¡¯t like master but, I also don¡¯t hate master.¡»

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that answer?¡¹

    I ate the donuts slowly.

    The donuts were made based on the recipe that Luxion prepared. The quality was great for something made by students.

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s really delicious.¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s good.¡»

    I immediately finished eating the first donut and when I bit at the second©¤©¤a girl passed in front of me.

    That girl is walking with her gaze casted down. It looked like she is deep in her thought.

    That girl suddenly pressed her hands on her stomach.

    Perhaps because she smelled the donut¡¯s sweet fragrance while passing in front of me, her stomach cried ¡¸Kuu~¡¹ cutely.

    That girl blushed red and looked at my face.

    ¡¸Di, did you hear?¡¹

    Normally a gentleman like me will say ¡¸What?¡¹ and pretended that I didn¡¯t hear, but perhaps I got flustered seeing that girl and I nodded.

    ¡¸Ah, yes©¤©¤n, no, I didn¡¯t hear anything!¡¹

    Even though I corrected myself in panic it was toote. That girl, Angelica Rafa Redgrave went red and started making excuse.

    ¡¸I, I was really busy that I didn¡¯t have the time to eat lunch. Be, besides©¤©¤today the people who are usually with me aren¡¯t here, so©¤©¤¡¹

    I don¡¯t understand what she wanted to say.

    But, Angelica-san¡¯s gaze caught my donut and won¡¯t let go.

    ¡¸Want some?¡¹

    When I offered her the remaining donuts, Angelica-san epted even while looking embarrassed.

    ¡¸I, is it fine?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, yes.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry. I will pay youter with money.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, those are failed products so there is no need.¡¹

    When I said that, Angelica-san is surprised after she took a bite with her small mouth.

    ¡¸I, it¡¯s tasty. What do you mean by failure?¡¹

    ¡¸Like how the size is too big, or perhaps too small, that kind of failure.¡¹

    ¡¸I, is that so? It¡¯s delicious enough.¡¹

    Angelica-san sat beside me and ate the donuts with a delighted look.

    ¡¸The people who apany me won¡¯t let me eat something like this. It feels fresh.¡¹

    Angelica©¤©¤the nobledy with viiness role in that otome game.

    But, this girl doesn¡¯t look like a bad person.

    Marie said it.

    The main character who stole the fianc¨¦e of other person is far more of a bad person.

    ©¤©¤But, that girl also tried to do the same thing wasn¡¯t she? Though she failedpletely in the end.

    When I looked at Angelica-san, she looked somewhat sad.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤No, it¡¯s nothing. The donuts are delicious. I¡¯ll take my leave Bartfalt-dono.¡¹

    Angelica-san stood up with a smile and left. She knew my name.

    ¡¸I¡¯m a famous person huh.¡¹

    Luxion responded to my mutter.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master wasn¡¯t aware of that?¡»

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    The second day of the festival ended.

    Marie counted her earning from the stand.

    ¡¸As expected from the academy where the rich people enrolled. The donuts are flying off the shelves even when we set the price of each one ridiculously high.¡¹

    If it was counted in Japanese yen, one donut was sold around 300 until 500 yen.

    Even so the donuts were sold in great number and she was able to profit a lot.

    Marie was in a good mood.

    ¡¸If I have this money, I won¡¯t be worried for my living expenses tomorrow. Oops, the debt collectors will take this money away if I don¡¯t hide it.¡¹

    Marie stored the cash in her pocket so that they wouldn¡¯t be taken away this time.

    There a female student came with her hangers-on in tow.

    The girl braided her hair and to form rings at both sides. She brought a lot of demi-human ves that were called exclusive servants with her.

    Her cosmetic was thick and the smell of her perfumed stung the nose©¤©¤that female student gave off a bad vibe.

    ¡¸You are Marie of Lafan House aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    Marie was confused because someone who she usually didn¡¯t associate with was talking to her.

    ¡¸Who, who are you?¡¹

    ¡¸Your attitude toward your superior is uneptable. Do you intend to say that you don¡¯t know about the Count House of Offley?¡¹

    Marie recalled her game knowledge when she heard that name.

    Yes©¤©¤this girl¡¯s name came out in that otome game.

    (No way!? Why is she picking on me!?)

    Offley House, a house that took over a noble house and rose up from formerly being a merchant.

    It was a house of evil noble that was connected with air pirate in that otome game.

    That air pirate would be involved with an important event at the middle stage of the game. This girl was a character who would get involved with the main character whether she wanted it or not but©¤©¤she was talking to Marie for some reason.

    ¡¸Do, do you have some business with me?¡¹

    Marie talked modestly. The daughter of Offley House answered her.

    ¡¸Haven¡¯t you heard anything? Your house and my house will be tied with marriage. My big brother and you are going to marry.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Haa?¡¹

    Marie was astonished hearing that.

    ¡¸I¡¯m troubled even if you tell me so suddenly. I¡¯ve never heard of any talk about that.¡¹

    But the girl showed an indifferent attitude.

    ¡¸Your opinion doesn¡¯t matter. Your house said that they will make you marry. Also, it seems you are associating with the destitute nobles but, stop that from now. I don¡¯t want my reputation to also fall because of you.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What do you mean by that huh.¡¹

    ¡¸It means exactly as it is. It looks like you are joining the group of destitute nobles and also close with that upstart Bartfalt aren¡¯t you? I¡®m telling you that¡¯s bothersome so stop it.¡¹

    What is this girl misunderstanding about?

    Marie thought that, but the girl paid her no mind and continued talking.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to marry my big brother. ©¤©¤Too bad that you won¡¯t be able to marry Bartfalt.¡¹

    The youngdy of Offley House sent her a ridiculing smile. Marie predicted what she was thinking.

    (This girl, she is happy seeing other people¡¯s misfortune.)

    From her attitude and the conversation, Marie judged that the girl was a type who liked to pointlessly put other down.

    ¡¸I, I and that guy©¤©¤Leon aren¡¯t like that.¡¹

    Marie said that and turned her face away. The youngdy of count house scoffed.

    ¡¸Good then. What I want to say is that other people will also look down on me if you¡¯re getting along with the countryside destitute nobles. Think about that properly if you¡¯re going to marry into our house. ©¤©¤I¡¯ve warned you.¡¹

    Marie watched the girl left and thought.

    (My second life©¤©¤is over.)

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    The third day of the academy festival.

    I listened to Marie about her family situation around the time the contests are heating up.

    ¡¸Marriage with Offley House? ©¤©¤You?¡¹

    I thought I¡¯ve heard that name from somewhere and I recalled that it¡¯s a family name that appeared in that otome game.

    ©¤©¤It should be a house that is connected with sky pirate.

    Marie smiled powerlessly.

    The passionate cheering that came from the venue of the contests©¤©¤even I was a little interested to it until yesterday, but right now isn¡¯t the time for that.

    ¡¸What a joke. Haha~, as expected I am really a sinful woman. Men areing to me even without me doing anything.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You can¡¯t refuse it?¡¹

    ¡¸You also understand right? Even like this I¡¯m still a noble.¡¹

    No matter how poor her livelihood is, a noble is a noble.

    I too once almost got married off for the house¡¯s sake.

    ¡¸This Offley House, there wasn¡¯t any decent end for them in that otome game.¡¹

    However, in that otome game this name only appeared in the text. They had been dealt with in the background without appearing directly.

    It¡¯s a house that one shouldn¡¯t get involved with.

    If you considered the scenario of that otome game, one must not get involved with that house.

    ¡¸Even I will run away if I can. But, it¡¯s not like I can live by myself.¡¹

    If she refused, it would be a problem between houses.

    Lafan and Offley will search for Marie together.

    Marie too would have to withdraw from the academy and live alone.

    ¡¸Even though my family is in ruin but it¡¯s still a noble house after a fashion. It¡¯ll also affect the honor of the other house, so I will absolutely get discovered.¡¹

    Somewhere inside her, Marie has given up.

    ¡¸Aa~a, I wanted to at least go to the field trip.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You won¡¯t be able to join the field trip?¡¹

    She will be unable to participate in an event of the second term. Does that mean she will withdraw from the academy right away?

    Is there any need to hurry that much?

    ¡¸The other house want the marriage to happen as quickly as possible. And then my family think that doing it right no won¡¯t be a problem seeing that I¡¯ll withdraw from the academy anyway. ©¤©¤The notice came just now.¡¹

    While we¡¯re talking, a loud cheers that split the eardrum rose up from the contest venue.

    Surely someone has just put on a show, but I¡¯ve no time to think about it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Marie¡¹

    ¡¸Oops, don¡¯t think up anything strange okay?¡¹

    Marie stopped him when he is thinking to help her using Luxion.

    ¡¸Even I was thinking of asking for help. I thought of it but©¤©¤I want to avoid a sh with Offley House no matter what. After all this house will be overlooked even when they do something bad, besides©¤©¤they will be involved with the event.¡¹

    Offley House is a house that will be involved with an important event at the mid stage of the game.

    If we get involved with this house here, we¡¯ll be unable to predict the development of the future events.

    Even considering the matter in real life perspective, this house is troublesome with how many bad rumors it has.

    Even with all the bad deeds they are doing, the matters are covered up. That means the kingdom is overlooking them.

    There should be someone with influence backing them up.

    It will be troublesome if I carelessly get involved with them.

    If I want to save Marie even then©¤©¤I will need a considerable resolve.

    Marie said.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I had fun.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m saying, that I had more fun than expected. The prince and other boys wouldn¡¯t even look at me and I was unable to obtain afortable life with reverse harem but©¤©¤I had fun living the academy life together with you.¡¹

    Marie looked down for a bit, and then when she lifted up her face©¤©¤she had a smile on.

    ¡¸Bye bye. Well, I can use healing magic, so I¡¯ll tenaciously survive when the event is over. Lend me some help at that time.¡¹

    She is already thinking about the future.

    She looked like she has given up a lot of things.

    ¡¸Are you fine with that huh? Because©¤©¤you said that you want to redo your student life.¡¹

    ¡¸This is better than reaching game over. Because, we will really be in trouble if the main character doesn¡¯t y her role.¡¹

    ¡¸Bu, but still¡¹

    Marie turned her back toward me without pause and started walking.

    ¡¸Thank you for everything. You too©¤©¤do your best.¡¹

    Her back is really small and unreliable.

    That retreating figure ovepped with the figure of my little sister from the previous life.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ah¡¹

    My hand reached out, but I immediately lowered it.

    .

    <h4>Part 10</h4>

    Night.

    I¡¯m lying down on my bed while still wearing uniform inside my room.

    Luxion is hovering nearby, but his red lens is shining red because the room is dark.

    ¡º©¤©¤Is this alright?¡»

    ¡¸What is?¡¹

    ¡ºMaster should already understand what I¡¯m referring to. Is it alright to let Marie go like this?¡»

    ¡¸I told you already before. There are a lot of reasons, like the game¡¯s event for example.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster is really a good for nothing.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Shut it.¡¹

    Then Luxion made a suggestion.

    ¡ºIf master give me the order, I will be able to erase Offley House right away. And that¡¯s including everyone lurking behind them.¡»

    This AI is really dangerous.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s pathetic that I unconsciously considered agreeing with that suggestion.

    ¡¸That will be pointless if it resulted in this otome game world perishing. Thest boss is troublesome, so we¡¯re going to need the main character ying her role no matter what.¡¹

    ¡ºAn enemy that even I cannot defeat is it? ©¤©¤Won¡¯t it be fine if we sink even thisnd too?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Rejected. Or rather, you¡¯re always so extreme every time.¡¹

    ¡ºThen, is it alright even if Marie is marrying into that house like this?¡»

    ¡¸Be quiet for a bit.¡¹

    Luxion doesn¡¯t say anything more to me.

    But, his red lens keeps looking at me.

    His gaze feels like it¡¯s condemning me.

    While he¡¯s doing that, it¡¯s bothering me how my little sister¡¯s figure ovepped with Marie¡¯s back.

    ©¤©¤It have been on my mind since some time ago.

    But, there is no decisive proof.

    Both me and Marie cannot remember our name in the previous life.

    Even though we have memory of that otome game and also memory of our previous world©¤©¤our name is the only thing that we can¡¯t remember.

    It feels like there is something intentional about it.

    But©¤©¤the more I think about it, the more Marie feels simr with my little sister from the previous life.

    Sometimes, I¡¯m feeling annoyance, nostalgia©¤©¤andfort that I directed toward my little sister from her.

    ©¤©¤Is that what Marie is to me?

    Then, I©¤©¤.

    I lifted up my upper body and asked Luxion.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Luxion, can you carry out what I¡¯m going to tell you? The conditions will be really harsh you know?¡¹

    Luxion showed confidence.

    ¡ºLet¡¯s hear it.¡»

    .

    <h4>Part 11</h4>

    ©¤©¤And then time returned to the wedding hall.

    Marie recalled her big brother from the previous life.

    (©¤©¤Save me, Onii-chan!)

    There was nothing in her big brother from the previous life that could be given perfect score even as ttery. Even so he was an existence that would save Marie when she was in a pinch.

    He also had a side that would slightly go too far in his doing but, if he was alive then she felt like that he would save her even from her situation right now.

    Yes, if he was alive.

    (Even at my second life I kept relying on big bro.)

    Behind her veil Marie was shedding tears while smiling.

    Then, therge door of the hall was thrown open violently.

    ¡¸Stop this marriage!¡¹

    There was a young man asking to stop the marriage like in a drama scene.

    The gazes of everyone inside the hall gathered on the young man.

    Marie also looked toward that figure from behind her veil but©¤©¤the young man¡¯s appearance looked like her big brother from the previous life.

    ¡¸Onii-chan?¡¹

    No one around Marie reacted to her small voice.

    She hurriedly removed her veil and checked once again with her eyes. There she saw the one who interrupted the marriage was Leon.

    ¡¸Yo, you, what did youe for!?¡¹

    Leon¡¯s appearance looked like her big brother from the previous life with the veil in the way.

    Marie was shaken, even so when she saw Leon¡¯s appearance she pointed with her finger and yelled angrily.

    Just now it felt like a scene from drama but, looking carefully Leon¡¯s appearance was boorish.

    He was carrying a rifle and leading armed soldiers of Bartfalt House.

    It seemed it wasn¡¯t his intention to rush in gantly and took Marie¡¯s hand to escape from here.

    Leon smiled thinly.

    ¡¸I told you. Stop this marriage. No©¤©¤cancel it.¡¹

    The one who protested those words of Leon were the people of Offley House and Rafan House whose event was interrupted like this.

    ¡¸Who are you!?¡¹

    ¡¸What is the guards doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Throw out that man!¡¹

    The guests started making an uproar to throw out Leon right away.

    But, Leon didn¡¯t move.

    He showed several documents to them.

    ¡¸Uh oh, don¡¯t move you all. I have the permission from the pce with me here. Justice is on my side no matter how much you guys are kicking up a fuss! That¡¯s how it is.¡¹

    It seemed Leon barged into the hall using the documents from the pce as his shield.

    The people from both families are also surprised.

    The man who would be Marie¡¯s husband©¤©¤the bridegroom frowned.

    ¡¸The pce you say? That¡¯s a downright lie.¡¹

    Leon gave a rebuttal withposure.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a lie. You can check it yourself.¡¹

    The people from both families were bewildered©¤©¤even Marie was surprised.

    ¡¸Pce? Eh, what have you done!?¡¹

    Leon started talking smoothly.

    ¡¸Actually when I took a bit of time to exterminate a sky pirate, those guys mentioned the name of noble they have connection with. When I investigated, the name of Offley House actually came out. I informed the pce thinking that this cannot go on.¡¹

    The people of Offley House reacted when the word air pirate came out.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The pce wouldn¡¯t move just with that¡¹

    Leon narrowed his eyes.

    ¡¸There were those who tried to crush this information when I notified the pce. It became a bit of dispute but, the talk was settled without any problem. ©¤©¤I never thought that your backer would actually be Marquis Frampton though.¡¹

    The people of Offley House were clearly flustered hearing that.

    Because not only there was the matter of air pirate, even the name of Marquis Frampton who was their backer also came out here.

    The face of Count Offley paled.

    Leon raised his rifle and his expression turned serious. His air changed from just now.

    The atmosphere wasn¡¯t one where joke could be made.

    ¡¸Count Offley, I ask you toe with us. I ask for Viscount Lafan toe along too.¡¹

    Viscount Lafan©¤©¤Marie¡¯s father was surprised.

    ¡¸Me, me too!?¡¹

    Leon showed a proof.

    ¡¸You have a secret agreement with Count Offley aren¡¯t you? There is the writing that you will cooperate with the matter of air pirate in exchange of having your debts taken care of. It seems you were nning to make a killing by working together with air pirate here.¡¹

    Marie looked at her father.

    Then, her father fell down on his seat powerlessly. It seemed that the secret agreement was a fact.

    The family members other than Marie were flustered. Perhaps they knew about it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤No way. To think all of you are this rotten¡¹

    Marie¡¯s father lifted up his face hearing those words.

    ¡¸I see. You went this far to take back this girl©¤©¤the, then, I¡¯ll allow you to marry this girl. That¡¯s why, overlook us in this matter¡¹

    It seemed he thought that Leon barged into this ce was in order to take back Marie.

    That meant, he knew about Marie and Leon¡¯s rtionship but decided to separate them even then.

    Marie felt irritated inside even while thinking that there was also misunderstanding there.

    (What¡¯s with this guy? He is nning to get away from this by himself using me even after ruining my happiness?)

    Seeing her pathetic father, Marie took a step forward to punch him. But then the bridegroom put his arm around Marie¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸Do, don¡¯t move! If you move I won¡¯t guarantee what¡¯s going to happen to this woman! Take even a step and I¡¯ll break her neck!¡¹

    ¡¸What the hell are you doing you bastard!¡¹

    Even though Marie struggled, he was a man with bigger physique than her.

    She couldn¡¯t get away even with her struggle.

    The soldiers of Bartfalt House raised their rifles, but the bridegroom used Marie as shield and started negotiating with Leon.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve worked hard just to take back this woman. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m interested with her. I¡¯ll give her if you want her. But©¤©¤that¡¯s only if you let me go.¡¹

    It seemed the bridegroom though that there was no way to escape and so he treated Marie like a negotiation material.

    Leon looked at that bridegroom©¤©¤and the captured Marie. He looked slightly irritated.

    ¡¸My bad but, I¡¯m ordered to capture everyone. Also, what are you doing is unforgivable, threatening a girl like that. I wonder what the boys in the academy will say if they learn this?¡¹

    He was replying indifferently but, he looked angry.

    Marie recalled her brother from the previous life seeing Leon being quietly angry like that.

    Leon and her brother from the previous life looked like the same person.

    (No way!? Don¡¯t tell me Leon is really©¤©¤)

    The moment she thought that.

    A thin light pierced the bridegroom¡¯s shoulder from the ceiling.

    ¡¸Gah!¡¹

    The bridegroom¡¯s arm let go of Marie. He pressed his hand on his shoulder with a pained look.

    ¡¸I, it hurts. So, someone help!¡¹

    Marie got away from the bridegroom who crouched and cried in pain. She ran toward Leon.

    ¡¸Leon!¡¹

    Leon lowered his rifle¡¯s muzzle.

    And then Marie was making an expression of exasperation that was also mixed with joy somewhere in it.

    ¡¸You look happy that your marriage is wrecked like this. As expected, you couldn¡¯t ept it huh.¡¹

    ¡¸So, sorry.¡¹

    Luxion descended from the ceiling.

    ¡ºMaster, I moved the operation to the next stage.¡»

    Leon put the rifle on his shoulder.

    ¡¸Yosh, then we¡¯ll move quickly. We got to take over the territory of Offley House within today after all.¡¹

    Marie didn¡¯t understand what Leon was saying.

    ¡¸Wait a second? Why is Offley House¡¯s territory is mentioned here?¡¹

    Leon showed a smile.

    ¡¸No, from my negotiation with the pce, it¡¯s decided that Offley House and Lafan House will be crushed. Your house is in the mainnd so that will be the pce¡¯s share. But, the count¡¯s territory is on a floating ind so the pce said that they don¡¯t need it.¡¹

    Just what is this guy talking about?

    Marie tilted her head in confusion. Luxion then exined to her.

    ¡ºThe talk was settled by offering to take away the fortune that Offley House has amassed to be presented to the kingdom in exchange of receiving their territory. Currently master¡¯s father and big brother are attacking Offley House¡¯s territory.¡»

    Leon exined further to her.

    ¡¸By the way, the members of the poor nobles also lend a hand after I contacted them. They said it¡¯s because they are indebted to you. Aren¡¯t you d?¡¹

    ¡¸U, uh huh. Huh?¡¹

    She was happy that they were helping but, Marie didn¡¯t understand what they were helping with and she could only tilt her head.

    Luxion exined in detail.

    ¡ºThe boys in the group that master belonged to requested for help from their house. There are also other nobles who give their help too after we provided them with information. Well, around 200 airships are gathered as the result.¡»

    A fleet that big attacked the territory of Offley House and Lafan House.

    Count Offley and Viscount Lafan fainted while foaming in their mouth hearing that.

    .

    <h4>Part 12</h4>

    The next day.

    I talked with father, big bro©¤©¤and the sleepy looking Collin in the office.

    The talk is about the war yesterday.

    Or rather than war, it was just sending airships toward Offley House and Lafan House.

    There was skirmish but, things were taken care safely somehow.

    After all, we had overwhelming number in our side.

    As the result, the territory of Lafan House was erased from the map of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    It became a territory under the direct control of the pce, while the floating ind that was the possession of Offley House became owned by Bartfalt House.

    I was hesitating whether to let Offley House remaining or not in consideration of the future but©¤©¤I got the feeling they¡¯ll only be troubleter, so I had them exit the stage here.

    It was the result of deciding that getting involved only halfway would be the most dangerous thing to do.

    But©¤©¤my house that obtained the territory of the count house became slightly troubled.

    ¡¸Why do I have to get independent and be an count! This is strange!¡¹

    It¡¯s not me who is making a ruckus.

    It¡¯s the second son Nix.

    Father is persuading him desperately.

    ¡¸Stop protesting and ept it. This isn¡¯t the scale of having a branch house anymore but, dad too will be happy if you can go independent.¡¹

    The talk of the second son Nix inheriting the territory of former Offley House and bing an count is progressing.

    Shouldn¡¯t it be father who became the count?

    I had such question and asked the reason. Father then answered¡¸It¡¯s impossible for me to manage the territory of a count house. Also, I want to hand it over to Nix and make him independent before Z and Ludward arrive¡¹.

    As a father, he must wish to make his dear second son to be independent splendidly.

    If he is the one who be the count, he won¡¯t be able to let big bro be the one to inherit the titleter.

    If father is the one who be the count, Z will see it as a good chance and tell father to give the title to Ludward©¤©¤the first son.

    When I asked about letting big bro to be the one who inherit this baron house, father replied ¡¸©¤©¤In that case Z and Ludward will be the main house of Bartfalt House. They¡¯re going to make all of you work like their ve¡¹.

    It will be a bother if the troublesome Z and her children inherit the count status after we had gone through all the troubles to destroy the troublesome Offley House.

    That¡¯s why, I too epted big bro being the one to be the count.

    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the one who be the count, which means there will be fewer trouble for me. I agree wholeheartedly.

    However big bro won¡¯t agree.

    ¡¸This is strange! Besides, is the position of count is something that you can receive just like that? Is it alright for me to be the one inheriting it!? Of course it¡¯s not alright!!¡¹

    Father made a smiling face saying that there¡¯s no problem.

    ¡¸If it¡¯s about that, actually there is someone who is interested with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸A letter from Count Rosede came©¤©¤it said, I¡¯m pleased with your guts to knock down Offley House that I don¡¯t like, so I¡¯ll give you my daughter.¡¹

    ©¤©¤It was me who settled the talk behind the scene though.

    I heard that Rosede House, a noted count house hated Offley House.

    There were various reasons for that, like their differing faction.

    Collin who is listening to our talk looked at big bro with an idolizing gaze.

    ¡¸So Nix-niichan is going to be a count. Amazing!¡¹

    Big bro put both his hands on Collin¡¯s shoulders and shook him.

    ¡¸I¡¯m troubled if I¡¯m suddenly told to be a count! Tha, that¡¯s right! Leon. You can just make Leon to be the count instead! Leon was the one who arranged everything this time!¡¹

    Even though this is his chance to achieve sess in life, he wanted to concede it to his little brother instead. What a model big brother.

    I wish that a great big brother like Nix can be happy.

    That¡¯s why I told him with a smile.

    ¡¸No way~. I think it¡¯ll be better if big bro is the one to receive the title along with all the troubles thate with it. Also, I¡¯ve predicted big bro willin so I brought the girl in question here. You two, I¡¯ll leave him to you!¡¹

    I called two women toe into the room. Even Deirdre-senpai also came. It seems she came as an escort for her big sister.

    Deirdre-senpai is a third year student in the academy.

    ¡¸Oh, the one who defeated that viin Offley is a timid gentleman it seems.¡¹

    Big bro was in a different ss from Deirdre-senpai, but they were in the same grade.

    It seems they knew each other¡¯s face.

    ¡¸Deirdre-san? Could it be, the other party is Rosede!¡¹

    That Deirdre-senpai is a youngdy with blonde hair that is styled in ringlet curls.

    Her big sister Dorothea-san©¤©¤has a straight and long blonde hair. She is wearing a dress that showed her morous body style clearly.

    She has a really beautiful form that contained coldness inside.

    She has a queenly personality that surpassed even Deirdre-senpai!

    Her age is twenty years old.

    A beauty who¡¯ll look really fitting with a whip in hand.

    I¡¯m jealous with big bro.

    ¡¸She is Dorothea-san. Big bro¡¯s marriage partner candidate.¡¹

    Big bro pointed at my face when I introduced her.

    ¡¸Why are youughing!¡¹

    I also felt envious when learning that this woman with big breasts will be big bro¡¯s wife, but I became able to sympathize when I learned about her personality.

    Well, she is someone harsh just like her appearance suggested.

    ¡¸You looks like you¡¯re having a lot of fun there while ignoring your wife.¡¹

    When Dorothea-san said that, big bro screamed¡¸Hii¡¹ and backed away.

    She already called herself his wife?

    Well, the introduction today is actually a formal marriage interview though. The marriage is already 80% decided.

    I have arranged it until that far.

    Their father Count Rosede was also eager.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that behavior even though you¡¯re going to be the husband of this me? Even though I¡¯ve been looking forward to this after I heard that you defeated that viin Offley©¤©¤this is a disappointment.¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai is also looking disappointed.

    ¡¸Indeed. Father too, I can¡¯t understand why he is looking forward to this marriage.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I asked Luxion to investigate. It seems that two¡¯s father, Count Rosede is worried whether Dorothea-san will be able to marry properly.

    It seems he want to marry her off if there is a proper candidate.

    Dorothea-san is looking down at big bro.

    ¡¸Even though your little brother Leon raised an achievement as adventurer©¤©¤it doesn¡¯t look like that you, his big brother has done anything. Are you two really sharing the same blood?¡¹

    She is speaking as she pleases.

    Collin is hiding behind father.

    Father too is muttering something horrible like ¡¸Leon is the mutation in our family while Nix is the normal one¡¹.

    Then©¤©¤the trembling big bro lifted his face.

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right! I¡¯m an elder brother who is inferior to my little brother. So what!¡¹

    It seems he has something in mind and acted belligerently toward Dorothea-san.

    Is this guy sane?

    After thinking that, I realized big bro¡¯s n.

    ¡¸Big bro, don¡¯t tell me!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up!¡¹

    It seems big bro is picking a fight with Dorothea-san in order to cancel this talk of marriage.

    Apparently he is harboring a shallow thought that things will work out somehow if he can make Dorothea-san leave in anger.

    ¡¸Big bro, you really don¡¯t know when to give up! Also calm down. You must not anger the other party!¡¹

    ¡¸Leon, I don¡¯t want to hear that from you! Now listen well, you selfish woman over there!¡¹

    Big bro pointed at Dorothea-san.

    Dorothea-san said ¡¸Sel, selfish woman you said!¡¹ in indignation with a surprised face.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t misunderstand. You aren¡¯t the one doing me a favor to marry me, I¡¯m the one doing you a favor to marry you! If you don¡¯t like it then tough, go back home immediately!¡¹

    The two were both red faced in indignation.

    Father said ¡¸Nix, stop! You will cause war with Rosede House next!¡¹ with a face that looked like he wanted to cry.

    ©¤©¤But.

    The escort Deirdre-senpai is smiling.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, I¡¯m d.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Hm?

    Dorothea-san whose face is flushed red smiled and licked her lips bewitchingly.

    Rather than saying that she is enraged, it looks like she excited.

    ¡¸Good. You¡¯re the best. All of the men before this, every single one of them will be servile just from hearing the name Rosede. I©¤©¤have been waiting for a man like you who¡¯ll be worth it for me to discipline.¡¹

    Big bro is shocked.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh? Wh, why?¡¹

    Dorothea-san folded her arms and her eyes sparkled.

    ¡¸No, rather both of us disciplining each other©¤©¤a gentleman who will sh with me fiercely is what I prefer instead. I hate docile man. I finally©¤©¤find my ideal man!¡¹

    Big bro broke into cold sweat.

    Dorothea-san hugged big bro¡¯s arm into her breasts©¤©¤and dragged her out from the room.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the best.¡¹

    Big bro is dragged out. His hand reached out toward me when he is passing the door.

    ¡¸He, help©¤©¤¡¹

    I waved my hand with a smile.

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy for you, big bro!¡¹

    Both father and Collin are also waving their hand at big bro who is dragged away.

    ¡¸I, it¡¯s fine like this isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Nix-niichan is dragged away.¡¹

    I managed to safely push the troublesome position of count to big bro.

    I even found a marriage partner for big bro while I was at it. Is there a little brother as capable as me in this world?

    When the door closed, we heard big bro¡¯s voice.

    ¡ºLeon, I won¡¯t forget this you bastard!¡»

    It seems he is crying in happiness.

    Deirdre-senpai shrugged.

    ¡¸I¡¯m jealous with Onee-sama. I also wish to find a man with backbone.¡¹

    ©¤©¤I hope you can find a man like that. That¡¯s why please don¡¯t stare at me appraisingly like that.

    Now then, let¡¯s take care of the remaining matters.

    .

    <h4>Part 13</h4>

    Marie is crying when I returned to the academy.

    ¡¸My house is gone, I¡¯m not a noble anymore now!¡¹

    The reason she is crying is because her house is crushed and her status as noble is stripped away from her.

    Now Marie lost her qualification to attend the academy.

    ¡¸Would it be better if you married the heir of Offley House?¡¹

    ¡¸I, I don¡¯t want that.¡¹

    I confirmed with Marie.

    There is one way for Marie sp she can stay as noble and attend the academy.

    But, in order to do that, there is something that I need to confirm with her first no matter what.

    Depending on the result, I©¤©¤will have to find a partner for Marie.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Hey, I told you before that I had a little sister in the previous life didn¡¯t I?¡¹

    Marie also looked like she wanted to say something. She nodded before she averted her eyes from me and looked down.

    ¡¸Ye, yeah.¡¹

    Marie too must have vaguely suspected it.

    Bit by bit I talked about my little sister©¤©¤the little sister from the previous life.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t recall her name but, I have two parents and a little sister. It was a family of four.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Me too.¡¹

    I should have noticed it quicker.

    I thought that it¡¯s impossible but©¤©¤I should have noticed that Marie is my little sister from the previous life quicker.

    If I do that©¤©¤then I wouldn¡¯t need to have this feeling.

    ¡¸She was a really egoist little sister. She got a nice look, but she was good at ying innocent that my parents believed my little sister more than me.¡¹

    I talked to Marie about my previous life.

    But, Marie who was nodding and listening tilted her head in the middle.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Wait a second? Your parents trusted the little sister more than the big brother?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. That girl was good at feigning innocence after all.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait, that¡¯s strange then. Because, my parents trusted my big bro more.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    It seems there is some discrepancy.

    ¡¸No, wait. Because look! You too pushed that otome game to your big bro because you couldn¡¯t clear it right!?¡¹

    ¡¸Certainly I pushed that game to my big bro but, I requested him to do it. Also, I heard that my acquaintances also asked their male sibling for help. In the first ce, I wasn¡¯t that horrible of a little sister.¡¹

    ¡¸My big bro was really scary when he got angered. He often went too far but he was fundamentally a type who I can easily control on the palm of my hand? How should I say it, he was a thickheaded type of person? Also, when I asked him for help he would happily do a lot of things for me.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, you had that kind of big brother? Or rather, even though he was scary when angry, it¡¯s amazing that you can think of him as easily controlled.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, he was my own big brother after all. There was this line of how much he could be angered. I know just how much I could push it before crossing that line. Looking back now, I allowed myself to get spoiled too much as his little sister.¡¹

    ©¤©¤That big brother ispletely different from me isn¡¯t it!

    In the first ce, my little sister from the previous life forced that otome game on me.

    Besides, I¡¯m never told that I¡¯m someone scary when I get angry.

    I also never go too far. And it¡¯s also impossible for me to be easily manipted by my little sister.

    ©¤©¤After all I¡¯d properly take revenge on my little sister when she messed with me.

    Also, I¡¯m not thickheaded!

    What¡¯s with that big brother who is like a light novel main character!

    Besides, I had no intention of spoiling my little sister©¤©¤so there is no way it was me!

    ¡¸My little sister¡¯s personality was really horrible. You know, like someone whose face willpletely change outsidepared to when at home. She knew how to read the flow and did whatever she likes by hiding behind my parents¡¯ trust.¡¹

    ¡¸Then it wasn¡¯t me. Or rather, to think that there is really a woman like that. Surely that little sister wasn¡¯t a decent person.¡¹

    ¡¸Ye, yeah.¡¹

    Should I mention here about how my little sister had rotten hobby or how she forced those on me?

    While I¡¯m thinking that, Marie took a pose like a gravure idol in front of me.

    ¡¸Also, I was a beauty in my previous life. Even though I look like this now, my style in the previous life was really amazing.¡¹

    ©¤©¤My little sister had good look but was her style nice? Certainly she was slim but, her style shouldn¡¯t be that good she could boast about it so much like this.

    Too many of our information is mismatched with each other that somehow my feeling turnedplicated.

    I said to Marie.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Sorry, I thought that you might be my little sister.¡¹

    ¡¸Stop that! Do I look like someone that horrible? Isn¡¯t that horrible!?¡¹

    ¡¸N, no, my bad. But, you also thought that I¡¯m your big brother from the previous life right? I¡¯m not scary like your big brother.¡¹

    I¡¯m a normal man that can be found anywhere.

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m introspecting! I just thought that maybe©¤©¤but that¡¯s not the case just as I thought.¡¹

    In the first ce both big brother and little sister got reincarnated to that otome game world together won¡¯t be funny at all.

    I and Marie made aplicated expression but©¤©¤we gradually got amused and startedughing.

    ¡¸What. So both of us were misunderstanding.¡¹

    ¡¸Looks like it. It¡¯s just impossible.¡¹

    That¡¯s why I said to Marie.

    ¡¸Aa, then there¡¯s no problem. Marie©¤e to our home.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Marie¡¯s mouth closed and open in surprise. I scratched my cheek to hide my embarrassment.

    ¡¸Even ruined you still have noble bloodline. Besides there is a talk in progress of entrusting you under my custody. It looks like they will give the permission, so if there is no problem©¤©¤like this, you can©¤©¤you know.¡¹

    I scratched my head and looked down. Drops of tears spilled down from Marie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡¸Pre, prepare the mood more if you¡¯re going to confess. Idiooottt!¡¹

    I¡¯m panicked that I made her cry. But then Marie nodded even while sniffing.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll ept the confession so redo it. It¡¯s my dream to be confessed in a ce where the night view is visible and receiving a ring.¡¹

    What a shameless woman.

    However, I got the feeling that this much is fine.

    Even a beauty is no good if it¡¯s someone like Dorothea-san.

    I have learned a lot from big bro¡¯s marriage.

    ¡¸I get it. I¡¯ll tell Luxion to prepare one.¡¹

    Luxion showed up from his hiding ce when I muttered that.

    ¡º©¤©¤Looks like master has finally resolved yourself.¡»

    ¡¸Yo, you were listening!?¡¹

    I¡¯m shocked. On the other hand Luxion seems to be in a good mood. Apparently he is happy.

    ¡ºYes. I will immediately find a location with the best night view and also start the creation of the ring. I will finish all the preparations if you two can wait for three hours.¡»

    Marieined when she heard that.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want something pdash like that! n it more seriously! Also make the ring properly! It¡¯s fine even if it¡¯s cheap!¡¹

    ¡ºThe result won¡¯t change even if I spend more time on it you know?¡»

    ¡¸Even so!¡¹

    Luxion reluctantly epted it.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s troublesome. Also, please don¡¯t worry about the ring. I¡¯ll attach arge jewel on it. If you like, how about I prepare ring for all your fingers with different jewel for each finger?¡»

    Marie is appalled by Luxion¡¯s sense.

    ¡¸Have you never been told that you have a bad sense?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤There is a data that mention how female love precious metal though?¡»

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t mean that anything is fine.¡¹

    It seems Luxion cannot understand the sense in this kind of field.

    ¡¸So even you have things that you aren¡¯t good at.¡¹

    Luxion turned his red lens toward me when Iughed at him.

    ¡ºWhy is master that happy?¡»

    ¡¸Not really~¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 14</h4>

    They returned to their usual daily life in the academy.

    But, right now Marie©¤©¤was standing in front of the airship¡¯s guest cabin while hitting the door relentlessly.

    ¡¸OPEN THE DOOORRR!¡¹

    Marie was busy from the morning even though it was the field trip riding a luxury cruise ship.

    Behind Marie, a petite girl hugging a book was being nervous.

    ¡¸Ma, Marie-chan, the two of them won¡¯t wake up.¡¹

    The two girls that Marie was looking after wouldn¡¯te out from their room even when it was time for breakfast.

    This wouldn¡¯t be a problem if they were normal girl, but the girls that Marie was looking after had a lot of problem.

    One was azy girl who wouldn¡¯te out of her room and spend her time cking off if she was left alone.

    The other girl was a girl whose hobby was painting. When she was concentrating she would forget sleeping and eating and once she even fainted without anyone noticing.

    Those two didn¡¯t wake up at the morning because they were put inside the same room.

    (Why am I taking care of these girls? Even though it¡¯s finally the long awaited field trip, I¡¯ve been doing nothing except taking care of the problem children.)

    When she was trying to open the door somehow, the girl who is hugging a book sat on the floor and started reading.

    ¡¸Why are you starting to read the book?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Be, because, they still haven¡¯te out.¡¹

    Marie felt like crying hearing that reply.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t sit on the floor reading! Also, don¡¯t bring book when we¡¯re going to have breakfast!¡¹

    ¡¸Eh!?¡¹

    The girl with book was making a seriously shocked expression.

    (This girl¡¯s idiosyncrasy isn¡¯t losing to the other two too.)

    She didn¡¯t know if it was in the previous world but, in this world these girls were greatly popr among boys even with this kind of personality.

    Marie started hitting the door again.

    ¡¸WAKE UPPPPP! THE BREAKFAST TIME WILL BE OVER LIKE THISSSS!¡¹

    The door next to such noisy cabin opened. A sullen young elf came out from there.

    He seemed to be an exclusive servant but, he was a child no matter how she looked at him.

    Marie stopped hitting the door.

    (This kid, could he be©¤©¤)

    That young boy©¤©¤Kyle made a snide remark toward Marie.

    ¡¸I¡¯m envious at how energetic you are since the morning. My master isn¡¯t feeling well, so can you be quiet?¡¹

    Marie¡¯s gaze wandered around.

    (That means, the main character Olivia is also here? Thi, this is awkward. I don¡¯t really want to get involved, and I also want to avoid getting hated by her.)

    The main character would be a saint in the future and also the queen of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    She wasn¡¯t someone that Marie wanted to oppose.

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m sorry! My friends won¡¯t leave their room.¡¹

    Kyle narrowed her eyes.

    ¡¸How about borrowing a key for the room?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll do that. E, err, sorry again.¡¹

    Marie took the girl who was hugging a book and left that ce.

    .

    <h4>Part 15</h4>

    The noisiness was gone.

    Olivia was sitting on the bed. She looked at her exclusive servant Kyle who returned.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Did you send them away?¡¹

    Kyle spoke proudly.

    ¡¸Yes, I persuaded them. It was easy.¡¹

    Her exclusive servant Kyle was a ve that Julius purchased for her.

    Olivia didn¡¯t purchase him with her own money.

    But, the problem was Kyle¡¯s living expense.

    As his owner, Olivia had the duty to provide for him.

    Because she had the duty to provide him with clothing, food, and shelter, the time she proactively challenged a dungeon to earn money increased just after summer vacation.

    Olivia touched her forehead and checked that her fever still hadn¡¯t recededpletely.

    ¡¸Everyone around us is noble, so be careful with your wording okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I understand. But, goshujin-sama can just tell his highness Julius if they do something horrible.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good!¡¹

    Olivia raised her voice. Kyle was surprised by that.

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m sorry. Kyle-kun, can you bring me water?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yes.¡¹

    Kyle was a clever and capable child.

    But, his foul mouth stood out.

    Perhaps because he was still a child, sometimes he would act spoiled with Olivia.

    Olivia who didn¡¯t have any leeway sometimes would hold unpleasant thought toward such Kyle.

    But, he was one her few supporters in the academy.

    Her feeling was eased a lot just by having someone to talk with.

    However, Kyle was thinking that Olivia should make use of her standing as much as she could.

    Olivia was unable to ept that.

    The feverish Oliviay down once more and closed her eyes.

    ¡¸Even though I want to study¡¹

    There were textbook, notes, and other things ced on the table inside the room.

    She became unable to study because she got fever. Olivia was getting impatient.

    Then, she heard the door getting knocked violently.

    It wasn¡¯t Kyle.

    They must be aiming for when Kyle wasn¡¯t here.

    Olivia got up. She covered her face with both hands before standing up and walking toward the door unsteadily.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    There the girls of the academy were standing.

    They were bringing exclusive servants with them.

    ¡¸Oh, you¡¯re looking very disagreeable there. Even though we came to invite you to y.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m not feeling good today, so please allow me to abstain.¡¹

    The girls forcefully dragged Olivia out of her room.

    ¡¸Juste with us! This is a rare chance, so we¡¯ll teach you about gambling. The casino here has various games after all. We will be able to y a lot.¡¹

    The girls and the demi-human who were their exclusive servants were making a nasty smile.

    Olivia couldn¡¯t focus with her feverish head.

    (I wonder what are they going to do to me this time?)

    .

    <h4>Part 16</h4>

    Inside the luxury cruise ship.

    I¡¯m dumbfounded seeing the sight in front me inside the casino there.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You¡¯re shitting me.¡¹

    The main character-sama©¤©¤Olivia-san is continuing to lose in a card game.

    Even though she has no more money to bet with, the girls surrounding her are forcefully making her continue.

    It¡¯s not just with money.

    They¡¯re starting to gamble various things, like penalty game when returning to the academy for example.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really weak.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤¡¹

    Perhaps it¡¯s just my imagination, but Olivia-san¡¯splexion is also bad.

    Her breathing is also disordered. Her eyes aren¡¯t focusing.

    Also©¤©¤.

    ¡ºMaster, Olivia¡¯s opponent is cheating.¡»

    ©¤©¤From Luxion¡¯s report, I understand that Olivia-san is being set up.

    Marie approached my side.

    ¡¸Hey, what¡¯s with this?¡¹

    Marie talked to me with a small voice. I can¡¯t answer her.

    About this fieldtrip, students from all three grades participated in it together©¤©¤and they are sent to three ces.

    Because of some kind of bad luck, Olivia-san is boarding this luxury cruise ship where none of the conquest targets is present.

    To be more urate, Julius and Jilk should be boarding this ship too.

    But, the two suddenly had business to take care and they decided to meet up at the destination.

    I discussed with Marie just what happened but we found no answer.

    In the end we reached the conclusion that there shouldn¡¯t be any problem if they will meet up at the destination.

    Because of that, currently©¤©¤there is no one to protect Oliva-san.

    ¡¸Hey, at this rate that girl will be in ruin.¡¹

    The amount of money isn¡¯t something she will be able to pay, in addition the content of the punishment games is horrible.

    The smirking girls won¡¯t let Oliva-san get away.

    Their exclusive servants are surrounding them so that there isn¡¯t any escape path.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s the worst.

    I thought for a while©¤©¤and then, I heard the conversation of the girls.

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s right. You have no more things to bet with, so what if you bet with dropping out of school next?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Olivia-san lifted up her face. There the girls are getting heated up.

    ¡¸That sounds good. We too won¡¯t get annoyed if you drop out on your own.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s nice. Ah, but don¡¯t think that you can run away from the punishment game like that. And of course you¡¯ll need to pay your debt in full too.¡¹

    ¡¸Pay it even if you have to borrow money. ©¤©¤Do you know what¡¯ll happen to your family and hometown if you run away?¡¹

    Among the onlookers surrounding them, some areughing while some are sympathizing.

    But, many of the boys are only watching because they can¡¯t even make a retort to girl.

    Also©¤©¤it seems there are many students who think of the schrship student as eyesore because of her closeness with the crown prince. They want her to vanish just like this.

    ©¤©¤We¡¯ll be troubled if that happen!

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take her ce.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Marie grabbed my arm when I¡¯m going to save Olivia-san.

    ¡¸Wait a second. Gambling is bad.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. Besides, from the start I won¡¯t do something like gambling.¡¹

    ¡¸Bu, but¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine just watch. I¡¯m©¤©¤a man who won¡¯t gamble, but will fight a match that I can win.¡¹

    I pushed aside the onlookers and approached the table. There the exclusive servants of the girls red at me.

    I stood beside Olivia-san and put my hand on the table.

    ¡¸Cheating isn¡¯t fair at all.¡¹

    Then one of the girls looked clearly flustered.

    The other two are trying to hide their agitation.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Don¡¯t get involved. Are you this girl¡¯s ally?¡¹

    Olivia-san is looking down.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I can¡¯t just stay quiet after being shown a gambling this horrible.¡¹

    One of them threw insult at me.

    ¡¸You upstart. Don¡¯t get cocky.¡¹

    Certainly I¡¯m an upstasrt.

    That¡¯s why, I¡¯m allowed to get cocky.

    ¡¸What about it?¡¹

    ¡¸Wha, what do you say¡¹

    Normally even I won¡¯t act tough against a girl but©¤©¤right now I have theoretically finished getting engaged with Marie.

    That¡¯s why, I¡¯m liberated from the marriage hunting.

    In other words, right now I¡¯m invincible!

    ¡¸Hey, how about making a bet with me? As for the amount©¤©¤how about this much?¡¹

    I took out a bag filled with coins from my pocket and spilled its content on the table.

    The coins that fell on the table are the fantasy coins with higher value than even gold coins, tinum coins.

    The color of the girls¡¯ eyes changed.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll also take over the amount that Olivia-san lost. It will also be easier that way for you girls to collect the money right?¡¹

    After I said that, Olivia-san looked at me in surprise.

    ¡¸U, um©¤©¤why are you helping me?¡¹

    I said ¡¸It will be fine now¡¹ and returned my gaze to the girls.

    One of the girls grinned.

    It¡¯s the face of someone nning to defeat an upstart like me in gambling to make me lose face.

    ¡¸Very well. But, don¡¯t try to make excuse that we are cheating when you lose.¡¹

    She talked as though they already win.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Of course. But, I¡¯m not going to give any mercy if I find it out.¡¹

    ¡¸Hah! Sit down already.¡¹

    I exchanged ce with Olivia-san and started the match.

    Then Luxion told me.

    ¡ºMaster, the exclusive servants of the girls are giving them your card¡¯s information. Also, they are hiding cards in their sleeve.¡»

    I looked back and pointed at the exclusive servants.

    ¡¸And so, can you tell these guys with card hidden in their sleeve to move away? I found out already.¡¹

    The exclusive servants do their best to not show agitation, but Marie who is behind me grabbed the arm of one of them.

    Then several cards fell from his sleeve.

    ¡¸Ah, this guy is hiding cards!¡¹

    I watched the three girls looking clearly panicking while grinning widely.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any intention to make a ruckus using you all as cheater so don¡¯t worry. ©¤©¤Now, let¡¯s begin.¡¹

    Though I can¡¯t imagine the girls in front of me winning when I¡¯m using Luxion to cheat.

    .

    <h4>Part 17</h4>

    The casino of the luxury cruise ship.

    Olivia could only feel surprised at the sight before her.

    The three girls who were tormenting her just now were looking at their cards while crying.

    They were apologizing many times over to Leon.

    ¡¸Please forgive us. We don¡¯t have anything else to bet.¡¹

    Leon would see it through if they cheated. And when it came to a match the girls would lose.

    The girls couldn¡¯t even run away. In front of Leon, the amount the three lost was climbing even higher than the amount Olivia lost.

    Leon wasughing.

    ¡¸You said it to her just now didn¡¯t you? Pay it even if you have to borrow money, was it? You said it yourself. You will do the same if you lose won¡¯t you? Come on, show your cards.¡¹

    When they showed their cards, it was Leon¡¯s victory again.

    Leon had been winning continuously since some time ago.

    The surrounding were examining carefully for any proof of cheating but©¤©¤no proof could be found.

    In contrast, the cheating attempts of the girls were all seen through.

    ¡¸It¡¯s my win! ©¤©¤Now then, what should I have you girls betting next?¡¹

    The girls stood up from their seat to run away, but Leon threatened with a low voice.

    ¡¸I will collect the debt from your houses if you run away. ©¤©¤I¡¯m going to erase your houses from the map of the kingdom like Offley and Lafan.¡¹

    Bartfalt House destroyed Offley House and Lafan House not long ago.

    Leon¡¯s threat didn¡¯t sound like a bluff to the girls. They returned to their seat and cried with an unsightly look.

    ¡¸We¡¯re sorry. We won¡¯t do this anymore. We apologize for the cheating too, so please forgive us.¡¹

    The girls apologized to Leon while crying.

    Even then Leon was merciless toward the girls.

    ¡¸No good. We¡¯ll continue this game until you girls understand who it is you should apologize to. I wonder how much more you will lose until you realize.¡¹

    Hearing that, the three girls looked at Olivia beside Leon and apologized while crying.

    ¡¸We¡¯re sorry. We won¡¯t do it anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸Please forgive us. I¡¯m begging you.¡¹

    ¡¸Please forgive us already. We can¡¯t©¤©¤pay this much money.¡¹

    Olivia was bewildered seeing the girls bowing at her.

    ¡¸Eh©¤©¤ah©¤©¤¡¹

    She couldn¡¯t understand.

    Nobles were bowing to amoner like her.

    She also couldn¡¯t understand Leon who helped her.

    Leon put down his cards and stood up.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll put your lost on hold for now. The next time you do something to the schrship student, I¡¯ll seriouslye to collect the debt so you better resolve yourself before doing anything like that.¡¹

    It seemed Leon had no intention to rip off the three from their money.

    Olivia called out to Leon who was leaving.

    ¡¸U, um, why did you help me?¡¹

    This was her first time©¤©¤seeing this kind of noble.

    It felt like she found a bit of light from Leon¡¯s attitude that was different even from Julius and others.

    Leon turned her back toward Olivia and scratched his head.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I just feel like it? If something happen again don¡¯t be reserved and consult me.¡¹

    Seeing Leon leaving, Olivia thought.

    (So there is also noble like that.)

    .

    <h4>Part 18</h4>

    The field trip destination is a Japanese style floating ind.

    In that otome game, this is a ce where yer can obtain a really important item.

    At the festival that is hold in that ind at night, there will be a man wearing fox mask. The items he is selling©¤©¤his charms has very good ability. I want to obtain it no matter what.

    That¡¯s why, I and Marie are©¤©¤.

    ¡¸DON¡¯T RUN AWAYYYYYY!¡¹

    ¡¸SELL THE CHARMS TO USSSSSSS!¡¹

    ©¤©¤Chasing around the charm seller man who is wearing a fox mask and yukata.

    ¡¸SOMEONE HELPPPPPP!¡¹

    The charm that this guy is selling had good ability in the game, on top of that it¡¯s also important for the character¡¯s status growth so we want to obtain it no matter what.

    But, we cannot take a look at the inside of the charms that this guy is selling.

    Because there are many types of charms, the possibility that the charm we are aiming for appearing is low.

    If this is a game, we can just save and load repeatedly.

    However, there is no save or load function in real life.

    ©¤©¤Is there really none? Even though it¡¯ll be great if they exist.

    Now then, the rule is that one person can only buy one charm. The luck of the draw is decided with just a single chance.

    In order to solve that problem, we are trying to buy up all the charms.

    But, this fox masked man said ¡¸Bu, buying all of them isn¡¯t allowed. There are other people who are looking forward to this!¡¹ and he won¡¯t sell to us.

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s unforgivable.

    ¡¸We have money here! We¡¯ll buy it with ten times the original price! Even a hundred times is alright!¡¹

    When I said that, the fox masked man refused while running away.

    ¡¸No!¡¹

    Marie is also pursuing in desperation in order to buy the item.

    ¡¸Then sell us one at the very least!¡¹

    The fox masked man asked in confirmation.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll really be just one per person okay? Just one!¡¹

    I yelled at the obstinate fox masked man.

    ¡¸I got it, so stop running!¡¹

    The fox masked man stopped running and looked at us fearfully.

    I handed the money to the man.

    I and Marie are breathing hard with heaving shoulders while sweating. Then we chose a charm from among the merchandises of the man.

    But, the charms are put inside white paper bags so we can¡¯t see the inside.

    ¡¸Come on©¤©¤ah!¡¹

    Inside the bag that I chose is a white ball with red string attached.

    Marie also bought one. Then the fox masked man ran away to escape.

    ¡¸Hit the jackpot. Hit©¤e-!¡¹

    What came out from Marie¡¯s bag is a decoration of sword and shield that is shining silver.

    We both looked at each other¡¯s item.

    Marie held out the decoration of sword and shield to me.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need this, so give me that one.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be better that way. Even so I¡¯m tired.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sweaty. I want to take a rest. ©¤©¤Ah!¡¹

    After we exchanged the item with each other, a loud sound resounded in the sky.

    We looked up. Fireworks are rising to the night sky one after another and shined beautifully.

    We moved our tired body to sit down in a nearby bench.

    Marie stared at the firework while looking at the charm she got from me.

    The white ball is about as big as a marble. If my memory is right it should be an item that heighten the holder¡¯s magic power and raised their aptitude for healing magic.

    It¡¯s perfect for Marie.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Thank you.¡¹

    Marie thanked me. I guessed she is thanking me for the charm and replied.

    ¡¸I also got the charm that I wanted so it¡¯s alright.¡¹

    Then Marie looked at me and pointed with her finger.

    Her finger pressed on my nose.

    ¡¸You are really thickheaded. I¡¯m not referring to the charm.¡¹

    ¡¸No, how can I know that. Say it clearly with words.¡¹

    Iined at her. Marie looked embarrassed hearing that.

    She sat down on the bench with her legs dangling back and forth.

    ¡¸Tha, that¡¯s why©¤©¤I mean about my family, or about Offley House©¤©¤tha, thanks for a lot of things!¡¹

    ¡¸Are you trying to put all those under the bridge with just a single thank you?¡¹

    ¡¸I hadn¡¯t said my thanks properly, so I expressed it with words, that¡¯s all!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, yes, I see.¡¹

    This girl is really simr with my little sister from the previous life.

    Marie herself is muttering something like ¡¸You¡¯re the same like my big brother from the previous life in this kind of thing¡¹.

    We watched the firework while continuing our conversation.

    Marie is worried if it¡¯ll be alright for Offley House to leave the stage this early.

    ¡¸Hey, what are we going to do about the sky pirate event?¡¹

    ¡¸You mean about the saint¡¯s ne? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m keeping it right now. Well, I¡¯ll give it to the main character-sama when the timees.¡¹

    ¡¸You retrieved it!?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously.¡¹

    ¡¸Hey, show it to me.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have it with me right now so I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll show it to you when we return to the academy.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a promise!¡¹

    Actually the sky pirate that worked together with Offley House possessed an important item of that otome game.

    It was the saint¡¯s ne.

    It¡¯s an item that will disy an amazing power when it¡¯s in the main character¡¯s possession.

    ¡¸But, will it be okay? An event is gone with this.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be fine. Besides I¡¯ll also get involved if war breaks out.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Marie made a surprised face at the same time when an exceptionally big firework expanded in the night sky.

    ¡¸Why are you shocked?¡¹

    ¡¸Be, because, you said you¡¯re going to get involved in the war.¡¹

    ¡¸Recall how that otome game went. The students also participated in the war.¡¹

    ¡¸Tha, that¡¯s true but¡¹

    She looked like she can¡¯t ept it.

    ¡¸I have Luxion so it¡¯ll be fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Ri, right. Leon won¡¯t lose if you have him.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s how it is.¡¹

    We spent time together like that until the firework ended.

    .

    <h4>Part 19</h4>

    After the field trip is over, we returned to our irreceable ordinary days.

    I invited Marie to tea party. We are talking along with Luxion.

    The topic is©¤©¤regarding the saint¡¯s ne.

    Luxion talked to Marie who is staring at the saint¡¯s ne.

    ¡ºThis is the saint¡¯s ne. Though in my eye it only look like a ne. It was also considered as a symbol of authority but, it¡¯s containing energy inside. There is no doubt that it has some kind of effect.¡»

    Marie tried putting it on her neck.

    ¡¸That¡¯s nice. ©¤©¤How do I look like?¡¹

    Marie wore the saint¡¯s ne and showed it to me.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t suit you.¡¹

    Marie got angry when Iughed at her.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that! It shouldn¡¯t be a problem even if you praise me!¡¹

    I looked at Marie while taking a sip of tea.

    ¡¸And? Do you feel any strange effect?¡¹

    Marie looked at her hands.

    And then, she closed her eyes. Perhaps she is trying to sense power flowing from the ne. She stayed quiet like that for a while.

    When she opened her eyes©¤©¤.

    ¡¸©¤©¤No good. Perhaps there is a little bit of effect? Or perhaps it¡¯s just my imagination. As I thought, perhaps it won¡¯t show any effect unless all three items are together?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Looks like nothing happened.

    ¡¸That¡¯s unfortunate. But, it has a bit of an effect right?¡¹

    ¡¸I think so. Perhaps it¡¯s better than nothing?¡¹

    Hearing that I entrusted the saint¡¯s ne to Marie.

    ¡¸Then you hold on it. I didn¡¯t feel any effect even when I used it.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh!? Is that alright? What if it gets stolen!?¡¹

    Luxion reassured Marie.

    ¡ºA transmitter has been installed in the ne. Also, I¡¯m deploying drones at Marie¡¯s surrounding so I will immediately detect any movement around you.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤So I have no privacy?¡¹

    Marie looked really conflicted knowing that she is constantly under observation.

    ¡ºMarie¡¯s privacy isn¡¯t exposed to anyone other than me. I¡¯m keeping it confidential even from master. On the other hand I also won¡¯t talk about master¡¯s secret.¡»

    ¡¸Wait, by that you mean you won¡¯t tell me even if Leon cheat on me?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. I¡¯m going to keep master¡¯s secret.¡»

    Why is this girl thinking that I¡¯m going to cheat?

    Isn¡¯t that horrible?

    ¡¸You guys, don¡¯t speak like I¡¯m an unfaithful person.¡¹

    Marie sat on the chair and dangled her legs back and forth with a timid look.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any faith in man¡¯s baser instinct.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so. Well, setting that aside, it¡¯ll be fine even if you have that ne with you so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    Marie is still looking uneasy.

    ¡¸Is it really alright?¡¹

    Then Luxion©¤©¤said something unnecessary.

    ¡ºMaster is worried about Marie. If that thing has any effect even if only slightly, he want you to carry it.¡»

    Marie looked a bit surprised hearing that. She looked at me and started grinning.

    ¡¸Hee~, hmm~, I see~¡¹

    This girl is getting cocky because that damn Luxion is speaking unnecessarily.

    I averted my face. Then Marie ate the sweets on the table.

    ¡¸Leaving that aside~, I wonder what¡¯ll happen after this?¡¹

    I immediately guessed what she wanted to say.

    She must be referring to the story of that otome game.

    Both of us were ying that game a long time ago, so there are a lot of parts we can¡¯t remember.

    ¡¸There were a lot of events in the second term, but there wasn¡¯t anything in the third term wasn¡¯t it? More importantly, what are we going to do at the winter vacation?¡¹

    ¡¸Winter vacation? Aren¡¯t we going to go home?¡¹

    ¡¸The madam and elder brother©¤©¤ah, I mean father¡¯s legal wife Z and the eldest son Ludward. Those guys are being annoying. It seems they are storming in and yelling to hand over the territory of former Offley House to Ludward.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~, that legal wife? Leon¡¯s family also has it hard huh. Eh? Could there be any possibility of them snatching away the territory?¡¹

    Ludward snatching away big bro¡¯s territory?

    That¡¯s impossible.

    ¡¸No problem. After all I joined hand with Rosede House so they can act as backer for this kind of case. Count Rosede also took a liking to big bro so there isn¡¯t any need to worry.¡¹

    What do you think the count said when he heard about big bro and Dorothea-san¡¯s meeting?

    Apparently big bro said ¡¸I won¡¯t be able to meet your expectation!¡¹, but the count smiled and said ¡¸You have met my expectation enough¡¹©¤©¤that was how it went.

    If I have to interpret the count¡¯s true feeling, is it something like ¡¸I won¡¯t let you get away by yourself¡¹?

    Big bro was the best person to be the husband of his willful daughter.

    Surely the count will protect big bro¡¯s territory because of that.

    It felt like I was selling out my big brother but, it looks like my arrangement wasn¡¯t mistaken.

    Marie¡¯s gaze toward me is cold.

    ¡¸Leon-s big brother©¤©¤Nix-san said ¡ºYou¡¯re the only one I won¡¯t forgive¡» didn¡¯t he?¡¹

    ¡¸We are siblings. He was embarrassed to speak his gratitude to me.¡¹

    ¡¸His eyes were seriously filled with grudge you know?¡¹

    ¡¸One day he will surely understand. That it¡¯s all thanks to his little brother.¡¹

    From other people¡¯s perspective, big bro is even more of a sessful person than me.

    He suddenly obtained the rank of count and even obtained a youngdy from an influential noble as his wife.

    He is a winner in life.

    A~a, I¡¯m jealous! ©¤©¤Though I¡¯m thinking that, but his marriage partner is Dorothea-san.

    In addition, he got a territory of a count forced on him. I¡¯m thinking that perhaps big bro is a little pitiful?

    And so, I intended to have Luxion give him a follow up.

    ¡¸The tea is delicious too today.¡¹

    Marie said to me after I murmured that.

    ¡¸One day you¡¯re going to meet a painful experience.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 20</h4>

    The night of that day.

    Marie was sleeping on a bed with the nket kicked away and her stomach exposed.

    She was sleeping with a happy look.

    ¡¸Onii©¤©¤cha©¤©¤kuu~¡¹

    Then, a suspicious shadow reached out toward Marie from the saint¡¯s ne that was on the bedside table.

    It was the form of a person.

    A hand reached out to Marie and spoke.

    (©¤©¤Found her. My blood rtive©¤©¤my descendant)

    And then when the ck shadow touched Marie, it became bewildered.

    (Wha, what!? I can¡¯t possess her?)

    The ck shadow¡¯s objective was to possess Marie¡¯s body.

    (Then, I¡¯ll interfere with her mind deeply!)

    The ck shadow interfered with the innermost part of Marie¡¯s mind.

    Marie was sleeping so the shadow was able to enter inside her heart easily.

    When he infiltrated inside her heart, Marie was in a defenseless state.

    With this the ck shadow could easily possess the body, but by doing that his strength would be exhausted so he wanted to avoid it.

    But, this wasn¡¯t the time where he could be picky.

    He infiltrated into Marie¡¯s heart and found a door.

    It was locked.

    The ck shadow forcefully opened it and entered inside.

    (©¤©¤What? Is this a room in foreign country?)

    The room looked like a girl¡¯s room©¤©¤but it had a somewhat different atmosphere with this world.

    There were a lot of things he was unfamiliar with. There were also a lot of tools inside the room that he didn¡¯t understand how to use.

    The ck shadow looked at the girl sleeping on the bed inside the room.

    Marie was sleeping.

    (This girl, she is also sleeping in her dream!? Besides her appearance is different. Is this the form of her ideal self? Oi, wake up!)

    Marie¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t like her real self. It was the appearance from her previous life.

    The room was the room in her home in her previous life.

    ¡¸What. Don¡¯t be noisy~¡¹

    The Marie inside her heart©¤©¤her honest feeling woke up. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked at the ck shadow.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Who are you?¡¹

    Marie was still half-asleep. The ck shadow began his action to take over the body.

    First he introduced himself.

    (Me? I am©¤©¤)

    Marie yawned and dozed off immediately.

    (Don¡¯t sleep!)

    Marie lifted her face in surprise. She wiped her mouth and said to the ck shadow.

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m not sleeping. That¡¯s a big lie to use me sleeping like that.¡¹

    She was saying iprehensible thing.

    (This girl is too hopeless. Setting that aside, I have a proposal for you. Do you want my power? I¡¯m the power that is residing in the saint¡¯s ne. I¡¯ll lend you more strength if you ept me. Do you want the saint¡¯s power?)

    Marie hugged her pillow while looking at the ck shadow with messy hair.

    Her eyes looked doubtful. It seemed she was holding a big misgiving.

    (Do, don¡¯t you want power?)

    In most case, the majority of people would wish for power when he asked them this inside their heart.

    Everyone wished for power.

    He had tested this many times in the past.

    But, because everyone before this wasn¡¯t the ck shadow¡¯s descendant©¤©¤his blood rtive, he couldn¡¯t go as far as taking over their body.

    And so, the saint¡¯s ne©¤©¤slipped out of the temple¡¯s management. It changed hands and got stolen by various people, searching for a body.

    This was the reason why an important tool like the saint¡¯s ne slipped out of the temple¡¯s management.

    Marie snorted in response to the serious ck shadow.

    (What¡¯s with that reaction?)

    ¡¸©¤©¤You¡¯re, somewhat suspicious. That¡¯s why, I don¡¯t need the saint¡¯s power.¡¹

    (What do you mean suspicious? I¡¯m saying that I¡¯m going to give you power you know?)

    ¡¸That¡¯s suspicious. Saying you¡¯ll lend me power without asking anything in return©¤©¤it¡¯s too suspicious that you must be nning something.¡¹

    (Tha, that¡¯s not true!)

    ¡¸You¡¯re lying. I¡¯ll do the same thing when tricking someone if it¡¯s me.¡¹

    (©¤©¤Eh?)

    The ck shadow thought.

    This girl, did she just announce that she was a bad person?

    But, she had seen girls of this level many times before.

    (Fuh, it can¡¯t be helped if you saw through me. Actually©¤©¤)

    He was going to try cajoling her next, but Mariey down on her bed with her elbow and grinned. The ck shadow was irritated by her impudent attitude.

    The ck shadow felt disgusted when he thought that this girl was his descendant.

    ¡¸Stop lying. You have the same smell with me.¡¹

    (Don¡¯t lump me together with you!)

    ¡¸I can sense it. Woman is sensitive to a woman¡¯s dirty part. My woman instinct is telling me that you¡¯re dangerous.¡¹

    (Thi, this girl!)

    The ck shadow gave up cajoling Marie and leaped at her to forcefully possess her body.

    Then a barrier that could be called as the wall of Marie¡¯s heart blocked the shadow.

    (What!?)

    The ck shadow desperately reached out toward Marie, but he couldn¡¯t reach her because an unseen wall blocked him.

    Marie yawned.

    ¡¸It¡¯s pointless. Deep down I don¡¯t trust anyone.¡¹

    (This ck hearted womannnnn!)

    The ck shadow¡¯s yell hurt Marie¡¯s mood.

    ¡¸Haa? What¡¯s with that attitude after what you tried to do to me? In the first ce this room is my important personal space. So to speak, it¡¯s a space that is only for me. You¡¯re obviously not a decent existence by the time you entered here as you pleased.¡¹

    Annoyingly he was unable to possess Marie.

    In the first ce, Marie didn¡¯t trust people.

    She had no opening in her heart in a bad sense.

    Because Marie was©¤©¤an unpleasant woman, her heart was locked and he was unable to take her over.

    (Then at the very least, I¡¯ll deal a wound in your heart that won¡¯t heal©¤©¤)

    The ck shadow was going to rampage in this heart as revenge. Marie¡¯s eyes opened wide.

    Her long hair squirmed like living things.

    Her eyes shined mysteriously. It became unclear which one of them was the monster here.

    ¡¸You©¤©¤you want to rampage in my room. I¡¯ll never forgive you. I¡¯ll curse you. I¡¯LL HAUNT YOUYOU¡¯RE YOUR DESCENDANTS FOREVERRRRR!¡¹

    (Yo, you¡¯re saying that!? In the first ce I¡¯m your ancestor so you¡¯re my descendant©¤©¤)

    Marie¡¯s action was already the action that a monster would take.

    ¡¸This ce is inside my heart. I¡¯ll summon the strongest existence to kick you out. Onii-chan, helppppp! This guy is bullying meee~¡¹

    Marie let out a voice of a spoiled child. Then the door¡¯s room opened with a click.

    Entering from there was a young man with ck aura drifting from him and eyes that shined red.

    His hand was holding a metal bat.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll crush you¡¹

    The young man only muttered that before swing down the metal bat to the ck shadow without asking anything.

    (Wha-!?)

    The strongest existence that Marie created inside her heart.

    It seemed that existence was her big brother.

    The big brother Marie created beat up the ck shadow to kick it out from her heart.

    ¡¸Onii-chan, let him have it! Beat up that guy!¡¹

    Marie cheered her big brother.

    The ck shadow was helpless in front of Marie¡¯s strength of heart©¤©¤this detestable strength.

    (You, to materialize a big brother that you created yourself in this room©¤©¤you must be a <ruby>brocon<rt>brotherplex</rt></ruby>!)

    Marie smiled while watching the ck shadow running around.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right, so? I lo~ve Onii-chan.¡¹

    The Marie inside this ce was honest.

    She showed no shame at all.

    ¡¸Come on, get out of this room quickly.¡¹

    Marie lost interest toward the ck shadow and yawned. She went back to sleep.

    (So, someone like this is my descendaaantttt!)

    The ck shadow was hit by the big brother¡¯s full swing. He was thrown out from Marie¡¯s room.

    (DAMN YOUUUUU!)

    ©¤©¤When he noticed, the ck shadow had been chased out of Marie¡¯s heart.

    The ck shadow muttered in exhaustion.

    (What a horrible person)

    He couldn¡¯t steal the body of Marie who was sleeping without any care.

    Even though this was his best chance, Marie¡¯s heart was showing a defense that could be called as an iron wall. He couldn¡¯t do a thing.

    (Shit! Now what. Even though my descendant finally got her hand on the tool that is containing my thought! The long awaited chance is©¤©¤there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let myself get crushed by a ck hearted woman like this)

    The saint¡¯s ne was containing the thought of a certain person.

    It tried to possess Marie but failed. It was vexing.

    Instead the table got turned on him and he was beaten up badly.

    (This, this girl, could it be my blood in her is thin? No, there is no way that¡¯s the case. Her strength is the real deal. She also has the qualification. But, her personality©¤©¤it¡¯s the worst that I can¡¯t take her body!)

    While the ck shadow was getting irritated at Marie, he noticed a sphere floating at the corner of the room.

    (Wha, what¡¯s this?)

    The ck shadow was watching the sphere.

    He tried to escape, but at the window there were several other spheres©¤©¤the spheres with single eye were floating while looking at the ck shadow.

    It was like they were investigating something.

    (Shi, shit! Then I¡¯ll return to the ne©¤©¤eh?)

    When he turned around, the ne where he was residing wasn¡¯t there anymore.

    The ck shadow was nervous.

    He looked around. There he found a slightlyrger sphere floating.

    The saint¡¯s ne was floating under it.

    ¡ºIs this what you¡¯re looking for?¡»

    (It¡¯s talking? So there is something like this too in this era)

    Luxion spoke to the surprised ck shadow.

    ¡ºI was right to be wary. Even so, this is a very interesting phenomenon. Let¡¯s capture you as a sample.¡»

    (The, there¡¯s no way I can allow myself to be captured here!)

    The ck shadow tried to escape. But the room was already surrounded.

    When he tried to slip out from the crack of the door, he got sucked in by something and captured.

    (Le, let go!)

    ¡º©¤©¤No. There are many things I want to ask you.¡»

    The ck shadow looked at the red eye and shrunk in fear.

    (Sto, stop. I have an objective©¤©¤something that I have to aplish!)

    ¡ºI will listen to it too slowly.¡»

    Luxion protected Marie.

    But, the person in question was sleeping happily with while drooling and exposing her stomach.

    ¡¸Onii©¤©¤I can¡¯t eat anymore¡¹

    She must be having a dream of eating delicious food.

    The ck shadow cursed Marie.

    (DAMN YOU LITTLE GIRLLLLL!)

    .

    <h4>Part 21</h4>

    The next day.

    I invited Marie to a tea party and checked her condition.

    From Luxion¡¯s report, it doesn¡¯t look like there is any problem, but apparently something tried to possess her.

    But©¤©¤.

    ¡¸This sweets is the best!¡¹

    ©¤©¤Marie is eating cake one after another. She look no different from usual.

    It¡¯s unthinkable that something had just tried to possess her.

    The person herself is really carefree because she don¡¯t know about it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m jealous how you look like you don¡¯t have a care in the world.¡¹

    I said that while pouring tea into her cup. Then Marie protested with cream sticking on a corner of her lips.

    ¡¸Even I have worry!¡¹

    ¡¸Hee~, what kind?¡¹

    I asked her with a flippantugh. Marie¡¯s gaze wandered around while answering.

    ¡¸Li, like the next test, or the living expense©¤©¤¡¹

    Luxion replied to Marie¡¯s worry while floating in the air.

    ¡ºIt doesn¡¯t look like that this academy is putting that much importance in test results though. As for living expenses, Master is taking care of them isn¡¯t it?¡»

    Marie put her fork into her mouth with an embarrassed look.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Like my height or my chest¡¹

    I burst outughing hearing that.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that¡¹

    Marie got agitated and spoke loudly because Iughed at her.

    ¡¸Shut up! Even I am concerned. What¡¯s with this. My growth is stopping because I worked too hard, that¡¯s just too much. Even though I had confidence in my body at my previous life©¤©¤¡¹

    This girl is starting to boast about her previous life again.

    ¡¸Nothing can be done about it so give up. Or perhaps, you want to ask Luxion to do something about it?¡¹

    If it¡¯s Luxion then it feels like he can do even something like stic surgery easily.

    Marie lifted up her face and looked at Luxion with sparkling eyes.

    ¡¸Luxion, give me height and breast!¡¹

    Toward such Marie, Luxion¡¯s reply was©¤©¤.

    ¡ºI refuse.¡»

    ©¤©¤Refusal.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Marie¡¯s smile convulsed.

    Luxion exined the reason of his refusal doing stic surgery.

    ¡ºTo begin with there is no need to tamper with your external appearance. Certainly there isck in physical growth but, Marie is healthy enough.¡»

    Marie cried.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not alright! Please, just a little!¡¹

    ¡ºNo.¡»

    ¡¸Stingy!¡¹

    I asked Marie while they are doing this childish conversation.

    ¡¸Why do you want bigger breast and to be taller? Before didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re fine like this because you¡¯re a beauty already?¡¹

    Then Marie averted her gaze from me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Because, you got a pervy look when you looked at Olivia¡¹

    ¡¸Ha? When did I look at Olivia-san with a pervy look!?¡¹

    I retorted back that I never do anything like that. But then Luxion disyed a projection.

    It¡¯s a scene at the field trip.

    There I was looking at Olivia-san¡¯s chest.

    ¡ºMaster¡¯s gaze moved toward the chest many times. It doesn¡¯t look like a coincidence.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s not what you think. You know, this is already an instinct. It¡¯s not something that man can control. A man¡¯s gaze will lock on to breast no matter what.¡¹

    All men have high performance lock on device.

    Marie threw her fork at me who is making excuse.

    ¡¸So you really looked! Do you like breast that much, you stupid bastard!¡¹

    ¡¸I like it so it can¡¯t be helped! Or what? Do I have to live while lying that I hate it? I¡¯m not so clever that I can live while lying to myself!¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you looking like you have said something wise? Are you stupid? Aren¡¯t you ashamed exposing your fetish like that?¡¹

    Marie is angrier than usual.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t lie to my©¤©¤self?¡¹

    I felt a strange difort in my chest.

    It felt like my heart is constricted. My hand naturally pressed on my chest.

    Marie¡¯s face peered on my face seeing that I¡¯m acting strange.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t look good.¡¹

    Luxion also looked at me.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master¡¯s heart rate is going up. He is also sweating©¤©¤master, please calm down a little.¡»

    I put my hand on the table and shook my head.

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m fine.¡¹

    Marie is worrying for me.

    ¡¸Re, really? Ah, I¡¯m good with healing magic, so I¡¯ll give you an examination.¡¹

    Marie grabbed my hand.

    Her hand is warm.

    I also grabbed Marie¡¯s small hand.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon, really, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know. There shouldn¡¯t be anything.¡¹

    For a moment©¤©¤I felt a really bad premonition.

    Just what in the world was it?

    Marie looked around inside the room. So I asked her curiously.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸H~m, there is this strange feeling. Do, don¡¯t tell me, this room is haunted!? I¡¯m sensitive to something like that!¡¹

    ©¤©¤I never imagined such words wille from the woman who was sleeping so soundly yesterday night when something was trying to possess her.

    .

    <h4>Part 22</h4>

    Around that time, Olivia came to a dungeon alone.

    The luggage on her back was stuffed with things like magic stone or metal.

    It was very heavy.

    But, she wouldn¡¯t be able to live if she didn¡¯t earn money, so Olivia was working hard.

    ¡¸Heave, ho¡¹

    She challenged the dungeon until deep inside. Magic stone with high purity could be obtained from there. They would fetch good price if she could bring them back.

    She had obtained an amount that would make her not worried for her living cost for a while.

    ¡¸I overdid it today.¡¹

    She was walking inside the dungeon with a wry smile. Then silhouettes rushed out from a side path.

    ©¤©¤They were girls with exclusive servants in tow.

    They stood on Olivia¡¯s way.

    ¡¸Eh, err?¡¹

    She tried to run, but the path behind her was also blocked.

    ¡¸How careless of you toe to this kind of ce alone.¡¹

    The female student said that. Then she made the servants to carry Olivia on their shoulder.

    ¡¸Let go! Please let go!¡¹

    The female studentsughed.

    ¡¸It¡¯s your fault for getting carried away.¡¹

    ¡¸We caught Bartfalt¡¯s eye because of you!¡¹

    Olivia was taken to a ce with a sign that said it was forbidden to enter.

    There was a deep hole there.

    The hole was really big. It was dark and the bottom couldn¡¯t be seen.

    It was a hole that was clearly dangerous if one fell into it.

    The female students said.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Sometimes even student of academy die in dungeon. It happen perhaps once every few years.¡¹

    Olivia guessed what the girls wanted to say.

    ¡¸Wa, wait!¡¹

    ¡¸Bye bye¡¹

    The female students wereughing.

    ¡¸It¡¯s your fault. You get carried away even though you¡¯re just amoner.¡¹

    ¡¸Approaching his highness and others without knowing your ce, then acting all high and mighty.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s your fault for letting your guard down. ©¤©¤You guys, throw her there.¡¹

    The servants threw Olivia into the hole.

    Olivia¡¯s hand reached out while she was falling.

    Why did this happen to her?

    Because Julius took a liking to her?

    Because she was in the academy?

    Olivia shed tears.

    ¡¸I, I©¤©¤!¡¹

    Then a huge monster approached from deep inside the hole with its mouth wide open.

    When she thought that she would be eaten like this, somethingunched a round light toward that monster. The light pierced the monster and changed it into ck smoke.

    Olivia was surprised within the dispersing ck smoke, then something wrapped around her left arm.

    A bracelet was winding around her left arm.

    The bracelet shined, then her falling speed gradually slowed down.

    When shended on the ground, she was able tond without getting wounded.

    ¡¸What is, this thing?¡¹

    Was this the thing that protected her?

    She thought that it was a mysterious bracelet and peered into it, but then the bracelet shined faintly.

    Olivia¡¯s eyes lost its light.

    Then a female figure appeared from the bracelet.

    The female had no flesh body. It looked like an apparition. She peered into Olivia¡¯s dazed face.

    ¡º©¤©¤Found you.¡»

    Olivia couldn¡¯t resist.

    ¡¸U, um¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤You¡¯re descended from my blood. You have the qualification to inherit my power©¤©¤my feeling, and my will, all of them!¡»

    That woman was really beautiful©¤©¤and scary.

    The woman cupped Olivia¡¯s face with both hands©¤©¤but, because she didn¡¯t have physical body Olivia didn¡¯t feel like she was being touched. But, she felt a very cold sensation.

    ¡ºPitiful child. You were discarded into a hole this dark.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤E, err¡¹

    ¡ºAnd you are also©¤©¤a very kind child.¡»

    The woman peering into her face was like a specter©¤©¤a ghostly existence.

    But, Olivia was unable to escape.

    That female ghost said.

    ¡ºYou are very honest and kind©¤©¤someone very easy to possess!¡»

    Olivia¡¯s eyes opened wide. The woman embraced her body tightly and vanished.

    But, Olivia shined faintly©¤©¤and then she pressed her hands on her head in pain.

    ¡¸Sto, stop©¤©¤¡¹

    She felt a terrible headache.

    While Olivia was in pain, inside her body©¤©¤she could hear the voice of her heart.

    (You hate them right? Those people who dropped you into this kind of ce?)

    ¡¸Stop!¡¹

    (You hate them right? Those who enrolled you into this academy©¤©¤the nobles who irresponsibly left you here?)

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, stop it!¡¹

    (Hate more! Resent more! Who is responsible for your situation? ©¤©¤That¡¯s right, it¡¯s those guys. Those men! Hate the nobles! Resent the ¡°descendant¡± of those people!)

    The faces of Julius and others surfaced in her mind.

    Olivia held her head in pain, but the voice didn¡¯t show any sign of stopping.

    (More©¤©¤hate more. Hate the nobles©¤©¤this country!)

    ¡¸Get out. Get out from me! Who in the world©¤©¤are you!?¡¹

    She yelled for help from someone.

    What came to mind©¤©¤was the noble who saved her at the field trip.

    Then©¤©¤the voice talked about herself.

    (©¤©¤I am, a woman who was once called the ¡°saint¡± in this country.)

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    (The one who all of you are worshipping as saint©¤©¤is me.)

    Olivia was bewildered. Her headache was gradually worsening and©¤©¤she let go of her consciousness.

    She copsed for a while before she slowly stood up.

    Olivia©¤©¤no, the saint got on her feet and looked at her body. Sheughed with eyes that lost their light.

    ¡¸Finally¡¹

    The saint who took over Olivia¡¯s body stretched her body and enjoyed the sensation of physical body after so long.

    ¡¸It has been so long. It was really long. But, I finally obtain a physical body. With this©¤©¤I can take revenge to the kingdom! I can take revenge to those trashes who took away everything from me and ¡°Liia¡±! Aha, ahahaha!!¡¹

    Olivia©¤©¤the saintughed at the bottom of the dark hole. Theugh continued on.

    .

    <h4>Part 23</h4>

    The next day.

    Olivia was discovered unconscious in the dungeon and she got brought to hospital.

    The boys starting from Julius heard that news and rushed to the hospital room.

    ¡¸Olivia, I was really worried.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you, Julius.¡¹

    Olivia smiled seeing Julius¡¯s relieved face, but Kyle was confused seeing her face.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama, it feels like your atmosphere has changed.¡¹

    Olivia gently stroked Kyle¡¯s head.

    ¡¸Many things happened. ©¤©¤Many things.¡¹

    And then Julius scolded Olivia for entering the dungeon alone.

    ¡¸More importantly. Olivia, why did you do something so reckless? It¡¯s not sane to challenge the dungeon alone.¡¹

    The other boys also nodded.

    Everyone©¤©¤they were worried for Olivia from their heart.

    Seeing them, Olivia©¤©¤the saint wasughing inside her heart.

    (Hohlfahrt, Marmoreal, Arclight, Field, and Seberg©¤©¤the descendants of those guys, everyst one of them are here. This is convenient. I¡¯ll make all of you to be of use to me as much as possible.)

    Olivia looked down and covered her face with both hands©¤©¤and began to cry.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry¡¹

    ¡¸Wha, what¡¯s the matter Olivia!? Pe, perhaps I was saying too much, but it¡¯s not something to cry about.¡¹

    When Julius was panicking, Olivia wasughing behind her hands.

    ¡¸The truth is I was tricked. Some female students in my grade and their exclusive servants, they©¤©¤caused this to me.¡¹

    ¡¸What did you say!?¡¹

    Olivia talked about the people who dropped her into the hole. She exined it in a way that was convenient for her.

    ¡¸Even though I actually didn¡¯t n to go too deep, I met them in the dungeon and they dragged me. And then©¤©¤they said that they don¡¯t like seeing me getting along with Julius and everyone.¡¹

    Julius and everyone who heard that clenched their hands. Anger was seeping out from them.

    Olivia thought.

    (That¡¯s right, dance. Dance on the palm of my hand.)

    Julius ced his hand on Olivia¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I was wrong to get angry at you without knowing that. Olivia, we will make those female students atone for this.¡¹

    Olivia lifted up her face and wiped her tear with her finger while smiling toward Julius.

    ¡¸Thank you Julius. As I thought, Julius is really reliable.¡¹

    When she emphasized Julius¡¯s name, the person rejoiced©¤©¤while the other boys made a slightly anxious face.

    With this surely they would also do their best to attract Olivia¡¯s feeling toward them.

    ¡¸Olivia, we have caused you to go through a bitter experience. But, I will immediately take care of this.¡¹

    Julius sped her hand.

    Olivia gently wrapped that hand with both her hands.

    ¡¸I believe in you, Julius.¡¹

    (Yes, I believe in you©¤©¤Julius. You will ruin yourself for me.)

    Julius¡¯s face reddened slightly. Olivia made a shy face seeing that.

    The other boys were harboring jealousy seeing the two¡¯s expression. Olivia didn¡¯t miss that.

    (That¡¯s right. Be more jealous. Compete more in order to receive my favor. Work for my sake.)

    Just as Olivia schemed, Julius and others started taking action that day.

    .

    <h4>Part 24</h4>

    ©¤©¤Angelica was bewildered.

    ¡¸His highness expulsed three female students from the academy?¡¹

    The report from one of her hangers-on mentioned that Julius forcefully expelled three female students.

    The girl who reported to her was anxious.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not just his highness. His foster brother Jilk-dono and even other heirs of prestigious families are taking action. ©¤©¤They are looking for students who are bullying that schrship student.¡¹

    Five people with influence in the academy are searching around for the culprits who bullied Olivia.

    Angelica narrowed her eyes.

    (His highness is too engrossed with that woman.)

    Bullying wasn¡¯t good, but Angelica was also able to understand the dissatisfaction of the other students.

    Originally the other noble students also wanted to be close with Julius and others.

    And yet, they only had eyes on the schrship student. That irritated them.

    From Angelica¡¯s perspective, she wished that they would interact with a lot of students to make allies for the sake of their future.

    But, right now Julius was too obsessed with Olivia that he couldn¡¯t see around him.

    It wouldn¡¯t be strange if there was a student whose dissatisfaction exploded and caused a scene.

    And then©¤©¤from Angelica¡¯s perspective, Olivia was a woman who seduced Julius.

    (She should know her ce)

    ¡¸What had the expulsed students done?¡¹

    The girl answered.

    ¡¸I haven¡¯t asked from them directly but, apparently they tried to leave the schrship student alone in a dungeon¡¯s forbidden area.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Those fools¡¹

    Hohlfahrt Kingdom respected adventurer. The act of forsaking party¡¯srade was scorned here.

    Those who deserted their party member to die would find their life over not only as an adventurer but also as a noble.

    Even Angelica would be unable to defend those girls.

    The girl looked uneasy.

    ¡¸Angelica-sama, his highness and others dered that they are searching for the culprits regardless of the degree of the bullying and they will punish them. ©¤©¤Everyone is scared.¡¹

    That was just how many the students who had bullied Olivia.

    If they were seriously searching for the culprits, a lot of students would get punished.

    The students who got scared by that©¤©¤were relying on Angelica.

    Angelica was Julius¡¯s fianc¨¦e. She was the one acting as the leader among the first year.

    Angelica was also the only one with the standing to admonish Julius.

    (Even the foster sibling Jilk is searching for the culprits. I thought that he is a more capable man than this.)

    Normally Jilk should be the one admonishing Julius in this case.

    Angelica lowered her evaluation of Jilk because he was unable to do that.

    (If only his highness is more©¤©¤no, I should be firm here.)

    The other students would be uneasy if she kept overlooking the action of Julius and others.

    That wouldn¡¯t bring any good for Julius too.

    Angelica made that conclusion and decided to speak with Julius.

    ¡¸I will talk with his highness. Putting aside the three who are expulsed, this is overdoing it no matter what.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 25</h4>

    Olivia left the girl dormitory and made use of a house that was prepared inside the academy.

    She earnestly requested Julius saying that the students around her couldn¡¯t be trusted and he prepared this house especially for her.

    Olivia was sitting with Julius on a sofa there.

    Their shoulder was touching each other.

    ¡¸Julius, are you busy recently?¡¹

    ¡¸Hm? Aa, it became busy from before the field trip. Bartfalt©¤©¤you know, there was this young man who discovered a Lost Item right? That guy and his house went to war with other nobles of the kingdom.¡¹

    Julius could only participate in the field trip from the middle was because of Leon.

    ¡¸©¤©¤My, how scary. Something like war is wrong.¡¹

    Even though she said it was scary, Olivia didn¡¯t think so at all in her heart.

    (Is he an upstart? There is always energetic person like that no matter the era.)

    She talked with Julius while collecting information of domestic and foreign situation.

    Julius would happily talk incessantly if she ttered him just a little.

    ¡¸He is an extreme guy. It will be dangerous to let him do as he please, but Duke Redgrave protected him.¡¹

    ¡¸Why did the duke do such thing?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Offley House that was in quarrel with Bartfalt House was also problematic, but factional strife yed a bigger role. The duke is at conflict with Marquis Frampton you see.¡¹

    Julius was saying things like ¡¸I was told to join the meeting because it will be useful for my future. Even though I wanted to enjoy the field trip with you rather than watching the dirty strife in the pce¡¹.

    Olivia wasughing inside her heart.

    (You don¡¯t realize the duke¡¯s goodwill to you at all. You are really a fool.)

    Based from what she heard, apparently the duke deposed dirty nobles who colluded with sky pirate while supporting nobles with power.

    In other words, it was for increasing the power of Julius and his faction in the future.

    It was unclear whether it was for Julius¡¯s sake or for his own sake©¤©¤but in any case, there was no doubt that it was an action that also considered Julius¡¯s welfare.

    It made it easier for Olivia to act if Julius didn¡¯t notice that.

    ¡¸So the duke is someone who will do anything unreasonable without care if it¡¯s for the sake of his faction.¡¹

    Julius talked to Olivia with a kind voice when she pretended to feel sad.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let the duke do as he pleases. Even if he is the father of my fianc¨¦e, I won¡¯t let him use me to do whatever he likes.¡¹

    Olivia looked down and grinned hearing Julius¡¯s words.

    And then she lifted her face.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really reliable, Julius.¡¹

    ¡¸Olivia. As long as I have you¡¹

    Olivia was smiling at Julius while thinking of something different in her heart.

    (Even so Marquis Frampton is it©¤©¤he can be of use)

    Muddy emotions whirled inside Olivia¡¯s heart.

    (©¤©¤I¡¯ll destroy this country without fail.)

 Chapter 111 - Volume 4 Chapter 1

    Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 1<h4>Chapter 1 ¨C Alzer Commonwealth</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    Einhorn is approaching Alzer Commonwealth.

    Thend ising into view. But the hazy silhouette of therge tree that can be seen from afar stood out even more than that.

    It¡¯s so big I¡¯m wondering if perhaps there is something wrong with my eyes.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not actually something like the ground is the one that is small isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    In respond to my words, Luxion replied coldly too today.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s arge country. There¡¯s no way that¡¯s the case.¡»

    ¡¸That¡¯s just too big. It¡¯ll be easier to believe if I¡¯m told it¡¯s a mountain.¡¹

    This is a world where grounds are floating.

    I won¡¯t get surprised by most things but, as expected I¡¯m startled seeing how big the sacred tree is.

    ¡¸Even so, we finally arrive at Alzer Commonwealth.¡¹

    ¡ºIt was a rxing cruise. Is master alright withnguage learning?¡»

    ¡¸If it¡¯s just for daily conversation.¡¹

    I learned it in ss but, it will be a different matter to actually practice it.

    I studied in the ship but, there is still a lot of part where my understanding is shoddy.

    Let¡¯s learn the part where I¡¯mcking at the actual ce.

    ¡ºThen, I will trante thecking part.¡»

    ¡¸You can do that!?¡¹

    ¡ºYes.¡»

    ¡¸Then say it from the start. I wasted time studying so seriously like that.¡¹

    ¡ºThe studying became a good way to kill time for azy person like master.¡»

    Certainly it became a good way to kill time during these several days before we arrive at themonwealth.

    Well, if we hurried we would be able to arrive in one day, but the kingdom had sent notice to themonwealth around what time I would arrive.

    It would also be a problem if we arrive too quickly.

    I¡¯m looking at themonwealth from the deck.

    ¡¸Now then, I wonder how is the situation there right now.¡¹

    Is the main character able to get along well with the conquest targets without problem?]

    Luxion looked up.

    Then, Einhorn got covered with shadow.

    ¡¸Is it a cloud?¡¹

    When I looked up, I can see the belly of an airship there.

    ¡¸Coming from right above on an airship? What kind of idiot is riding there?¡¹

    Normally it¡¯s a breach of manner to pass from right above like this.

    Luxion informed me that they areing this way.

    ¡ºThey are introducing themselves as guards from themonwealth. They¡¯re approaching us. Should I shot them down?¡»

    ¡¸Stop it. Even so, that¡¯s really rude for them approaching from above like this.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤They are telling us to let them inspecting the ship with a very haughty attitude.¡»

    Haughty attitude?

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Marie and others were gathered in Einhorn¡¯s dining hall.

    Kyle and Cara were talking to Marie.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama, we finally arrives.¡¹

    ¡¸Thetest airship is amazing. It can arrive until themonwealth this fast.¡¹

    It was the airship that Luxion constructed.

    Its basic capability was different from this world¡¯s airship from the start.

    ¡¸Yeah. Well, we arrived just as scheduled so there is no problem.¡¹

    And then, if there was a problem©¤©¤it was with Julius and others.

    When Marie turned her gaze toward them, they were relieved that they finally arrived in themonwealth.

    ¡¸Even this rare chance to have a cruise with Marie has gone to waste.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s really unforgivable.¡¹

    Julius wanted to have fun in this trip. Even Jilk agreed with him.

    (You guys aren¡¯t in the position that can y around!)

    They had caused problems repeatedly in the kingdom.

    Because of that they were half forcibly sent to study abroad like this.

    Greg stretched.

    ¡¸I have enough of cleaning. It feels like I have cleaned a lifetime¡¯s worth.¡¹

    Marie was annoyed by his words.

    (No, don¡¯t bezy with just cleaning! You¡¯ve just been cleaning for several days, what do you mean by a lifetime¡¯s worth!)

    They were formerly young masters of major nobles.

    Something like cleaning was beneath them.

    Chris talked to Brad.

    ¡¸I was unable to train sufficiently for these several days.¡¹

    ¡¸I was also unable to practice magic. Besides, I also wished I could review mynguage study before entering themonwealth.¡¹

    They had good upbringing. Naturally they were also taught thenguage of themonwealth.

    Marie was envious of that.

    (Even though I was desperately studying with Kyle and Cara!)

    Leon did the tactful thing and only gave light work to Marie and others.

    They used up all their time other than cleaning for studying themonwealth¡¯snguage.

    (I forgot it but, these guys are really the scions of noble families.)

    They disyed just how different they were from her, but she wasn¡¯t envying them because of their unfortunate personality.

    Julius smiled toward Marie.

    ¡¸But, we will be liberated from this poor environment now that we¡¯ve arrived at themonwealth. Marie, let¡¯s take back our time together at themonwealth.¡¹

    Expression vanished from Marie¡¯s face.

    (Poor? Eh, wait a second. I was©¤©¤really happy though.)

    They got proper meals and bed just by doing a bit of work.

    She was also able to secure time for studying. She was able to enjoy the cruise using their break time.

    Marie was also able to have a peace of mind because Leon was here, so she didn¡¯t feel any inconvenience.

    ©¤©¤The problem was only these five.

    ¡¸Marie-san, let¡¯s enjoy our life in themonwealth.¡¹

    Jilk smiled at her. It made Marie¡¯s cheeks convulsed.

    (Where will you get the money to have fun huh!)

    The kingdom only prepared the minimum budget for Marie and co who had caused problems.

    They couldn¡¯t live in luxury at their situation.

    Greg also looked joyful.

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to it. Come to think of it, I heard there are also several dungeons in Alzer. It might be nice to have adventure with everyone there.¡¹

    Marie immediately wanted to earn money after hearing that there were dungeons.

    Chris agreed with Greg¡¯s opinion.

    ¡¸I once heard that you can find a lot of magic stones in Alzer¡¯s dungeons. I can¡¯t wait.¡¹

    Marie was wondering just what these five were expecting from this study abroad, but now the stock of these two were starting to rise high inside Marie.

    (Greg, Chris©¤©¤I¡¯ve always believed in you two. Let¡¯s earn a lot of money.)

    They had no money to have fun or the like.

    There would be dungeons, so she wanted to give her all to earn money.

    But, Brad¡¯s next words made her remembered one thing.

    ¡¸I wonder? The academy is it? I heard that they aren¡¯t teaching about being adventurer there. I was told that they are treating adventurer like a mereborer in Alzer.¡¹

    (Now that he mentioned it, it was like that in the game. But, we have no money so I want to make a killing in a dungeon at least once and put them into saving.)

    The origin of Alzer Commonwealth was different from the kingdom.

    Because of that, the adventurer job was looked down here.

    Adventurer wasborer that brought out magic stones. That kind of perception was strong here.

    Einhorn slightly shook while they were talking in the dining hall.

    Kyle looked outside.

    ¡¸What was that? This is the first time this ship shook like that.¡¹

    Cara was at Marie¡¯s side.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, perhaps there is an ident?¡¹

    But, Marie who knew about Luxion¡¯s capability approached the window calmly.

    ¡¸There is no way something like that happened. Besides, it was just a little shake©¤©¤ohm an airship is approaching here.¡¹

    An airship wasing alongside Einhorn.

    Julius stood beside Marie to look outside the window too.

    ¡¸©¤©¤This is themonwealth¡¯s baptism.¡¹

    ¡¸Baptism?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a famous story. Alzer is gettingrge profit from exporting magic stones. At the same time they are boasting matchless strength in defensive battle. They continued to win and be haughty from that.¡¹

    The soldiers of Alzer were entering the ship one after another.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Einhorn¡¯s hangar.

    A captain in his middle age wearing military uniform came into there.

    He is wearing medals in excessive amount on his chest.

    But, there isn¡¯t any dignity from him.

    His stomach is really big and round. His military uniform looks like it¡¯s going to burst anytime.

    He is walking while smoking cigarette. The ashes are falling on the floor.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not permitted to smoke here you know?¡¹

    I warned him gently, but the captain sent me a ridiculing smile.

    ¡¸Are you saying that I might cause fire here? Good grief, don¡¯tpare an officer of Alzer like me with you guys.¡¹

    They called it an inspection but they boarded Einhorn and did nothing but quibbling.

    They strutted around acting like they are far superior.

    The subordinate walking behind the captain talked to me with a humble attitude.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. It will end soon so please bear with it.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Bear with it eh.¡¹

    He looked kind at first, but he looked the same with the captain with how he is forcing me to bear with this.

    He doesn¡¯t look like he has any intention to correct this attitude.

    And then, when they arrived in front of Arroganz©¤©¤the captain extinguished the cigarette by pressing it on its frame.

    ¡¸Oi!¡¹

    The subordinate talked soothingly when I yelled.

    ¡¸It will end soon.¡¹

    It¡¯s irritating.

    He is acting humble, but his smile is flippant like he is making fun of us.

    The captain is speaking ill while looking at Arroganz.

    ¡¸What a misshapen armor. It has no sense. Is the kingdom making this kind of armor? They¡¯re putting a lot trouble for this kind of inferior good huh.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Rather than me, I¡¯m more worried with Luxion. Won¡¯t he get angry hearing this kind of conversation?

    Even though that guy looked calm, he is someone who will quickly say¡ºExtermination for the new mankind!¡».

    He might get angry and sink themonwealth.

    ©¤©¤Let¡¯s warn himter.

    ¡¸This airship has nice appearance but it¡¯s actually not a big deal. In addition the crews got cold feet facing themonwealth¡¯s inspection and won¡¯te out. Pathetic. It seems the kingdom is coward.¡¹

    Annoying bunch.

    But, I bear with it because I can¡¯t just say that this ship don¡¯t need any crew.

    I muttered in my heart, I can turn the like of you into ash anytime. Let¡¯s calm down with that.

    That¡¯s right, as someone who possess a cheat like Luxion, I cannot use that power recklessly.

    After all I¡¯m an adult who is capable of patience.

    The captain left while I¡¯m thinking that.

    ¡¸A worthless ship. We¡¯re leaving.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes sir! ©¤©¤Ah, please don¡¯t mind it. Alzer Commonwealth is warmly weing all of you foreign students.¡¹

    The subordinate said that before following behind the captain.

    Shameless fellow.

    I looked at Arroganz inside the hangar.

    Arroganz was broken from the battle against Fanoss House.

    Partner was also the same.

    But, the armor here is a replica, and Partner is also in the middle of repair right now. Or that¡¯s the pretense.

    ¡¸©¤©¤If I have to say my impression of Alzer, to put it mildly they¡¯re the worst.¡¹

    He don¡¯t want toe to this kind of country if it¡¯s not the stage of the second game.

    Luxion descended from the ceiling.

    ¡ºMaster, permission to attack?¡»

    ¡¸Attacking the ship that came for inspection? I also want to attack but no.¡¹

    ¡ºNo, it¡¯ll be enough if master order me to sink down themonwealth.¡»

    ¡¸What do you mean by enough huh. Stop it. Absolutely stop it. I¡¯m serious here.¡¹

    ©¤©¤See, as I thought he is thinking horrible thing.

    Even though here I¡¯m only thinking of grasping the weakness of that captain and his subordinate to threaten them as my payback at best.

    ¡¸Even so, themonwealth is a really horrible country.¡¹

    ¡ºThey¡¯re taking advantage of the sacred tree¡¯s blessing. Although, there is no doubt that their national strength is above the kingdom.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Marie has mentioned that.¡¹

    ¡ºBut, it¡¯s really unnatural.¡»

    ¡¸If I¡¯m allowed to speak my mind, this world is already full of unnatural things from the start. Grounds are floating, then there is a tree that is bigger than mountain, all of them are strange already.¡¹

    Iined. Then Luxion said¡ºIndeed. Well, I will investigate it from here on¡» and cut the talk there.

    ¡¸Good grief©¤©¤to decide the fate of the world with romance between man and woman or with love, what an absurd world.¡¹

    I earnestly prayed that the study abroad this time will end without any problems.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    The port of Alzer Commonwealth.

    It was built at the edge of thend.

    To make aparison with my previous life, it¡¯s like a port that is constructed at the coast.

    But, because thend in this world is floating in the sky, there is no boundary betweennd and sea here.

    Many airships areing and going from the airport all the time.

    ¡¸It took a long time even after we entered themonwealth.¡¹

    Iined while going down the ramp. I ascertained the sensation of ground under my feet after so long.

    Marie is holding her travel bag with both hands. She is going down the ramp while running out of breath.

    ¡¸We were flying betweennds to reach here. That felt strange somehow. Aa~, I¡¯m tired.¡¹

    Onend acted like a cornerstone that connected sixnds.

    Thisnd was once the territory of the great noble that produced the sacred tree¡¯s priestess, the Lespinasse House. Now it is under the management of the assembly of the six great nobles that were previously seven great nobles.

    We flew between two floating inds to finally arrive at this center of Alzer Commonwealth.

    Kyle and Cara also got down bringing their luggage.

    ¡¸The count¡¯s luggage is really few.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m jealous how male don¡¯t need so much luggage.¡¹

    My luggage is only a single bag.

    The two are jealous seeing that.

    ¡¸My luggage? No, Luxion will carry it for me, so I¡¯m only bringing the minimum necessity with me.¡¹

    I¡¯m bringing with me daily necessities and various other things, but most of my luggage consisted of tea set.

    I told Luxion to carry it with care.

    Marie put down her luggage andined at Luxion.

    ¡¸Say that from the start!¡¹

    ¡ºI wasn¡¯t asked, so I didn¡¯t answer. That¡¯s all.¡»

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t thoughtful at all.¡¹

    ¡ºPerhaps so. And, what about it?¡»

    ¡¸Eh, no©¤©¤it¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    Marie was bewildered by Luxion¡¯s response.

    But even his treatment toward Marie that¡¯s like this is still in the category of kind for him.

    Because if it¡¯s Julius or others who isining to him, he will show a tant dislike toward them.

    The five idiots got down from Einhorn bringingrge bags with them.

    I guess those are their own luggage, but it seems there are a lot of it. After they put down the bags, they got into the ship again to bring out the rest.

    ¡ºMaster, our reception came.¡»

    Hearing that I moved my gaze. There I saw the officials of Hohlfahrt Kingdom waiting for us.

    The officials are wearing suit. They are the diplomats staying in Alzer Commonwealth.

    They are terribly bewildered seeing Julius and others carrying down their luggage.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    The embassy is located near the port.

    There are also the embassies of other countries. There are many foreigners here.

    There are also restaurants offering the cooking of Hohlfahrt Kingdom around the embassy.

    Foreign cultures can be felt here but, even so it felt like they are stuffing all the embassies into one crammed ce.

    A restaurant like a Chinese restaurant for themon mass is lined up beside a high ss restaurant that offered food like French food.

    And then there are people from various foreign countries here.

    How should I say it, all of them are being forcefully packed into here.

    I looked outside the window from inside the carriage while talking with a diplomat.

    ¡¸There are many countries cing their embassy here.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because Alzer Commonwealth is a country that is exporting magic stones. Many countries are cing their embassy here. There you can see the embassy of Rachelle Holy Kingdom. I don¡¯t rmend you getting too close to it.¡¹

    Rachelle Holy Kingdom is a neighboring country of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    At the other side of the holy kingdom is Mylene-san¡¯s home©¤©¤her homnd. The holy kingdom is sandwiched between this country and the kingdom.

    Its territory is smaller than Hohlfahrt Kingdom, but it¡¯s still arge country.

    Mylene-san married into Hohlfahrt Kingdom as countermeasure against the holy kingdom. She became a bridge to build friendship between the two countries.

    ¡¸There is friction even here?¡¹

    Both countries are hostile to each other.

    I wondered if a dispute happened even here, but the diplomat shrugged.

    ¡¸They are annoying bunch but, it¡¯s themonwealth that is troublesome for the countries that are putting embassy here. What do you think about the guards¡¯ attitude?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s the worst.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because this is a powerful country that is never defeated in defensive battle. They became haughty. And most importantly, they are profiting from the magic stones export. Their nature is abundant and they are earning money even without doing anything. They¡¯re really enviable.¡¹

    From what I¡¯ve seen from thend of themonwealth until now, they also have abundant nature and their agriculture is prosperous too.

    They have energy resource, and in addition theirnds are in good condition.

    From a ruler¡¯s perspective, this is a territory that they¡¯ll desperately desire.

    The diplomat is expressing his envy.

    ¡¸Recently they¡¯re also putting effort into their industry. They¡¯re showing off the difference in potential to us.¡¹

    ¡¸A country that has their hands on energy resource is powerful after all.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s good that you understand count. Please don¡¯t cause any conflict with such a country. No, please be really careful okay?¡¹

    The diplomat is looking somewhat uneasy. It¡¯s really an unexpected misunderstanding so I talked to clear it up.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t talk like I¡¯ll pick a fight with anyone.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe those words when it came from you count who had a duel with his highness Julius.¡¹

    ¡¸It was those guys who©¤©¤¡¹

    The carriage arrived in the house where I will live just when I¡¯m getting agitated.

    I just noticed that the carriage of Marie and others isn¡¯t anywhere near.

    I got down from the carriage and looked around.

    The ce seems to be an affluent neighborhood.

    There are small estates with gardens attached lining up.

    There is no doubt that it¡¯s arge house.

    It has three floors with a small garden attached, but its distance with the surrounding estates is close.

    ¡¸A single house?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Originally we should prepare a mansion, but this study abroad was decided so suddenly so we didn¡¯t have enough time for preparation.¡¹

    From a slight distance away I can hear the bell of tram and the sound of tram running on rail.

    The diplomat exined.

    It seems he is thinking that I don¡¯t know about the source of those sounds.

    ¡¸The sounds just now came from an object that looks like small boat running on ground. Airship cannot fly without permission on the sky around here. So they prepare a strange vehicle instead.¡¹

    ¡¸Setting that aside, where are Marie and others?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s, starting from his highness Julius, all of them are members of noted noble houses. A bigger mansion has been prepared for them.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, so I¡¯m the only odd man out?¡¹

    If there is a big mansion prepared, they can just clear a room there for me to live. It¡¯ll be easier that way.

    While I¡¯m thinking that, the diplomat scratched his cheek awkwardly.

    ¡¸A, about that, it¡¯s because Marie-dono is a famous person in the kingdom. We will be troubled in case something happen.¡¹

    In that instant I guessed what is the diplomat worried about.

    He must be worried that I might get seduced by Marie too.

    I can¡¯t exin my rtionship with Marie, and I also can understand why he would feel worried.

    And above all else, it would be bad for me to live together in the same mansion with her.

    I¡¯m someone with fianc¨¦e. It¡¯ll bepletely out of line for me to live together with other woman.

    ¡¸Yep, I get it. It¡¯s no good if I live in the same building with those guys.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for your understanding. Also©¤©¤I¡¯m very sorry but, we are unable to arrange for any servant here.¡¹

    Apparently the officials at themonwealth are unable to finish the preparation in time because the study abroad was decided out of nowhere.

    Well, this can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry about it. I was the one who decided to study abroad so suddenly. You can prioritize Julius and others over me.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for your consideration.¡¹

    The official said that tomorrow there will be a guideing here to show me around this area before I entered into the house.

    When I reached the entrance, I looked up to the house where I will be staying for a while.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Now then, I wonder if the main character of the second game is managing to seduce man without any problem.¡¹

    ¡ºWhat a horrible wording.¡»

    Luxion showed up from the luggage and immediately talked to me.

    Having an AI like this who doesn¡¯t treat his master like a master as my partner, I really don¡¯t have any luck.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    The academy that was in the middle of spring break was quiet.

    The sses were divided based on the academic year. It was assumed that each ssroom would be used by around thirty people.

    If the academy in Hohlfahrt had an atmosphere simr to a university, the academy was closer to a high school.

    Both nobles andmoners could enroll into the academy. This academy had an atmosphere that was more open than the academy in the kingdom.

    A young man and a girl wearing uniform were walking inside the academy building that was quieter than usual.

    One of them was a normal looking young man.

    He was amoner and didn¡¯t have a family name. His name was Jean.

    He was a second year student with medium build. He had excellent grades and also popr.

    That Jean was looking and talking at the girl with a troubled face.

    ¡¸It¡¯s troubling even if I¡¯m suddenly told to look after the overseas students. It seems they are nobles with really high status, won¡¯t it make them angry if someone like me is assigned to them?¡¹

    Jean was getting less and less confident. But the girl pped his back and spoke with a really clear voice.

    The girl tied her blonde hair into a side ponytail. That blonde hair¡¯s color was turning into pink color the closer it was to the tip.

    She had a slender body and long arms and legs. It was like she was a model.

    Her amber eyes were kind but strong. She was giving off the vibe of a tomboy.

    From her tone one could sense her easygoing personality.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be so timid. You are our representative, so be more confident. If they¡¯re acting high and mighty, punch them in their face.¡¹

    ¡¸The other party is a prince you know!?¡¹

    ¡¸You should have that much backbone at least. Besides, even the other party is shouldering their country you know? They won¡¯t do anything stupid. ©¤©¤Unlike our side.¡¹

    The girl¡¯s look turned serious. Jean was troubled of how to react.

    ¡¸E, err©¤©¤¡¹

    The girl sensed that andughed.

    ¡¸You are a man, so be more confident and give it your all.¡¹

    The girl said that and pped his back repeatedly. Her name was Noel Beltre.

    She was girl from a ruined knight house©¤©¤that was the background she was set up with.

    Noel ced her hands inside her uniform¡¯s pockets. She felt slightly strange seeing the corridor that was usually noisy when it was break time to bepletely silent like this.

    (Overseas students from the kingdom huh©¤©¤well, I wish they¡¯ll be more proper than our nobles.)

    Noel didn¡¯t held a good feeling toward the nobles of themonwealth.

    ¡¸Err~, Noel-san will also be their caretaker though? Don¡¯t go wild like usual okay?¡¹

    Jean looked worried. In respond Noelle opened her eyes wide in surprise.

    ¡¸Eh? You really can¡¯t trust me that much?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t trust you Noel, after all you won¡¯t step back even when facing noble. It¡¯s not good to be so belligerent.¡¹

    Noel touched her hair to hide her embarrassment from getting warned like that because of her usual behavior.

    (I know that already. But©¤©¤it¡¯s the other side that is making trouble with me.)

    Jean was genuinely worried for Noel.

    ¡¸This year there is also a lot of people connected with the six great nobles. There are also a lot of people in possession of strong ¡°divine protection¡±.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes yes, I get it. ©¤©¤I won¡¯t make any trouble.¡¹

    Divine protection.

    That was a special power that was bestowed to those who were recognized by the sacred tree.

    Because the six great nobles possessed such great power, they could rule over themonwealth without worry.

    They dared to give education to themoners also because they possessed the great power that was the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection.

    Even if themoners revolted after obtaining knowledge, the six great nobles and their rtives had nothing to fear from them.

    That was just how absolute the power that themonwealth¡¯s noble possessed.

    Noel and Jean were walking in the corridor. Then they came across some girls going down the stairs.

    The central figure of the group©¤©¤the leader was a third year girl. Her purple eyes turned toward Noel.

    There was a smile on her lips, but it didn¡¯t reach her eyes.

    She had fluffy yellow blond hair. It grew until around her shoulder de. Coupled with her morous body, it made her overflowing with adult charm.

    Noelle too had normal sized chest but, this girl¡¯s size was more than that.

    Louise Sara Rault was behaving amiably until just now, but a cold smile formed on her face when she saw Noel.

    ¡¸Oh, I never thought I wille across you even when it¡¯s spring break.¡¹

    The girls who seemed to be her hangers-on moved to behind Louise even while looking bewildered.

    Louise folded her arms under her chest, in contrast Noel kept her hands inside her pockets while replying.

    ¡¸©¤©¤We are just getting called by teacher.¡¹

    ¡¸Noel-san!?¡¹

    Jean was flustered by Noel¡¯s attitude that showed no timidity even when facing a noble. Louise ignored him and chuckled while hiding her mouth.

    ¡¸Have you perhaps done another mischief?¡¹

    ¡¸Haa? Why are you speaking like I¡¯ve done anything bad? There will be overseas studentsing, so the teacher is asking us to show them around. That¡¯s all. Don¡¯t pick a quarrel with me every single time.¡¹

    Louise Sara Rault©¤©¤she was the eldest daughter of Rault House, one of the six great nobles.

    Rault House was serving as the assembly chairman after Lespinasse House fell into ruin.

    Louise¡¯s standing was like the princess of the six great nobles.

    In addition, there was a fated connection between Rault House and Noel¡¯s family.

    Noel and Jean tried to leave, but Louise stood in their way. She brought her face closer and casually grabbed Noel¡¯s side ponytail.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You¡¯re really annoying.¡¹

    Jean couldn¡¯t do anything in front of a member of the six great nobles.

    But Noel disregarded such thing and pped away Louise¡¯s hand from her.

    ¡¸Quit it. Don¡¯t get too cocky just because you are a senior.¡¹

    Louise stepped away from Noelle and shrugged. Then she left with her hangers-on in tow.

    ¡¸My, how scary. ©¤©¤Even though it¡¯s you who is getting cocky.¡¹

    After Louise left a sharp parting remark and left with her hangers-on, Jean stroked his chest feeling like his life had been cut short.

    ¡¸Noel-san, to think that you picked a fight with the princess of the great nobles just after we had a talk about it.¡¹

    Jean looked like he was going to cry. Noel scratched her head while apologizing.

    ¡¸My bad. I¡¯ll be careful next time.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I pray that there won¡¯t be a next time.¡¹

    Noel started walking again with Jean who had half given up. Then Noel talked smilingly to Jean to sweep away the heavy atmosphere just now.

    ¡¸Hey, rather than that©¤©¤¡¹

    Before she could finish speaking, this time a second year young man was walking toward the two of them withrge stride.

    That young man had amber eyes like Noel.

    His peculiar trait was his medium length pointy red hair.

    It was clear he was a handsome man from a nce, but his gaze was really sharp.

    The young man then addressed the two with an angry manner.

    ¡¸You two, since when you became close like this?¡¹

    His body was trained. He was also tall with nice build.

    But, his expression was mad with jealousy.

    Jean who was being looked down by the young man was flustered and he was unable to reply well.

    ¡¸Ah, no, that©¤©¤¡¹

    Noel replied in Jean¡¯s ce.

    ¡¸We are chosen as caretakers for the foreign students. Right now we have just returned from the staff room after receiving the exnation for that role.¡¹

    The young man didn¡¯t lessen his re at all even after receiving that exnation.

    ¡¸Is that true?¡¹

    Noel was irritated by the young man¡¯s doubting words.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Why do I have to justify myself to you huh? Jean, let¡¯s go.¡¹

    ¡¸Noel-san!? That person is©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care!¡¹

    Noel led Jean away, but then the young man raised his voice toward her.

    ¡¸Noel! I¡¯m not going to give up! You are©¤©¤you are my woman!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t decide as you please!¡¹

    His name was Loic Leta Barielle©¤©¤he was also someone rted to the six great nobles.

    Furthermore, he was the heir of Barielle House.

    Noel looked back toward Loic and stuck out her tongue.

    ¡¸Give up already, idi~ot¡¹

    Jean covered his face with both hands seeing Noel doing that.

 Chapter 112 - Volume 4 - Chapter 2 â€“ Academy

    <h4>Chapter 2 ¨C Academy</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    It was the new academic term if the academy.

    I woke up early in the morning and sat on the bed while talking to Luxion.

    ¡¸How are you doing with that side?¡¹

    Luxion has been gathering information since arriving in Alzer.

    First is the search for the main character.

    Fortunately, we are able to identify the conquest targets.

    The young man who is the main conquest target is the red haired Loic Leta Barriere.

    ording to Marie, the conquest targets of the second game have deep peculiarity.

    Even though I think that Julius and others also already have deep peculiarity, the conquest targets of this time are even more than that. Scary.

    Loic is the heir of Barriere House. It seems he is a character that can get closer with the main character easily.

    This guy is the one with the highest possibility.

    ¡ºHow about master wash your face first?¡»

    Luxion told me to dress myself first. I rubbed my eyes sleepily while refusing.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really curious here, so tell me already.¡¹

    ¡ºIt can¡¯t be helped. Then, let me say my conclusion first©¤©¤I am still unable to identify the main character.¡»

    ¡¸Haa?¡¹

    I let out an astounded voice. Luxion then started making excuse.

    ¡ºIn the first ce, the academy was in spring break until yesterday. It was a bad period for investigating human rtions within the academy. Also, there was a problem.¡»

    ¡¸Problem?¡¹

    I put my hands through my uniform and buttoned it while asking what¡¯s the problem. Then Luxion gave me an answer that I never expected.

    ¡ºI searched the students with the surname Beltre just as Marie¡¯s information indicated. I found nearly ten students with that surname and then I attempted to identify them.¡»

    ¡¸Eh, you already went that far? Then you must have found her right away then? She is a girl with twintails and easygoing personality.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤The girls I identified are twins that don¡¯t exist in the information. I can¡¯t specify which one of them is the main character. Because of that I need to ask for confirmation from master and Marie.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    I never heard anything about the main character being a twin.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    On the other hand around that time.

    The mansion where Marie and others were living in was hectic.

    The mansion that was prepared for Julius and others was spacious whether it was the building or the garden.

    The entrance was also wide. It was a mansion of a noble just like Marie dreamed of.

    But, reality was merciless.

    They werecking in manpower to manage suchrge mansion.

    ¡¸I already said it right!? I said it right!? It will be a new term from today, so prepare everything beforehand, that was what I said!¡¹

    Julius and others were struggling with their uniform with flurried movement.

    Julius tilted his head at Marie.

    ¡¸No, I intended to prepare, but the uniform wasn¡¯t prepared.¡¹

    Jilk also nodded.

    ¡¸I thought that there would be someone who prepared the uniform for us.¡¹

    Marie was at her wits¡¯ end.

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have a single servant here! You can only prepare everything by yourself!¡¹

    Kyle and Cara were preparing the uniforms of the five dawdling men.

    Greg epted his shirt and changed into while saying.

    ¡¸There is Kyle here.¡¹

    Kyle whose name was mentioned was already sweating since the morning.

    ¡¸Are you an idiot? Do you think I can prepare the meal for eight person as well taking care of everything else by myself?¡¹

    Kyle was ironing clothes while saying that. Being told that caused Greg to snap.

    ¡¸What!¡¹

    Brad calmed down the angry Greg.

    He was wearing his trouser and checking his sleeves.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t get angry from the morning. More importantly, the length of these sleeves isn¡¯t to my liking. Cara-san, remake it for me.¡¹

    Cara who was busy with sorting everyone¡¯s uniforms burst into tears.

    ¡¸Please bear with it for today.¡¹

    ¡¸No, I can¡¯t. I¡¯m a type who can¡¯t rest easy if my sleeve¡¯s length isn¡¯t fitting like this. Please do it quickly.¡¹

    Receiving that request, Cara looked alternately at the mountain of uniforms in front of her and the clock.

    She looked toward Marie and said ¡¸Marie-sama, we won¡¯t make it in time¡¹ with tears streaming down.

    Marie knocked Brad¡¯s head and warned him ¡¸We¡¯re going to bete! Endure with it for today!¡¹, but problems kepting up one after another.

    Chris who had already worn his uniform got bored and took a wooden sword.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll work out for a bit.¡¹

    Marie stopped him from doing that.

    ¡¸Stoooooppp! You¡¯re going to get sweaty. We¡¯re going to depart soon, so endure it for a bit more!¡¹

    The mansion of Marie and others was noisy from the morning.

    Marie thought.

    (It¡¯s really busy since we¡¯reing here!)

    The cause of this situation was the instruction of Hohlfahrt Kingdom¡¯s queen, Mylene.

    She intentionally ordered to reduce the number of servants so they could taste hardships.

    Because of that Marie couldn¡¯t focus on just her study. She also had to think about their daily life.

    Originally she should work together with Julius and others so they could support themselves but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸By the way, will we make it in time to the opening ceremony?¡¹

    ©¤©¤Julius was only looking at the watch without any care in the world.

    Marie yelled.

    ¡¸AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡¹

    (YOU GUYS HELP OUT TOOOOO!!)

    Marie¡¯s voice echoed through the mansion.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    The academy of Alzer Commonwealth.

    I am sitting on a sofa in the reception room. I checked the time with my pocket watch.

    This room, the furnishings are pointlessly extravagant.

    It showed off just how rich Alzer Commonwealth is.

    I¡¯m waiting for Marie¡¯s group who haven¡¯te even when it was already time. Fifteen minutes has already passed.

    The teacher who was keeping mepany had some business and left the room.

    ¡¸Comingte right from the first day. Those guys are really astonishing.¡¹

    Luxion is blending into the surrounding beside me so that his figure cannot be seen. He started projecting an image into empty air.

    It seems he is gathering information even now through the drones that are scattered all over the academy.

    As for Marie¡¯s group, there is an image of them rushing to the academy.

    ¡ºApparently they were cking with their preparation a day before.¡»

    ¡¸Even though there is a lot of things I want to talk about beforehand.¡¹

    Right now I don¡¯t have any information about the second game.

    I was unable to judge which of the information that Luxion gathered was the correct one.

    ¡¸In the end we still don¡¯t know which of them is the main character.¡¹

    ¡ºThe previous information mentioned that she has twintails, but both of them styled their hair into side tail.¡»

    ¡¸I was surprised that they are twins, but even before that the hair style information is also wrong that we can¡¯t decide who is the main character. Why are both of them wearing side tail. One of them should wear twintails.¡¹

    Was it because the main character with twintails became two so their hair style also became side tail?

    Their face is also the same because they are twin.

    But, ording to Luxion¡¯s investigation, there is difference in personality between the two of them.

    The one named Noelle is a lively girl. She tends to move around energetically.

    While the one named Lelia feels like a normal girl.

    From what I saw in the information, their hair color is slightly different.

    After that, it only left their breast size I guess.

    Noelle is bigger. I think she is around C cup?

    ¡¸I guess we can at least differentiate them by looking at their hair color and breast.¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s the worst way to differentiate someone.¡»

    ¡¸Or rather, is pink really the real color of their hair? Another world is amazing.¡¹

    ¡ºWe got diverted from the topic.¡»

    Luxion suddenly turned quiet in the middle of our tedious talk.

    The image projections around us vanished. That must mean that someone is approaching.

    I straightened my posture. The teacher entered inside together with a young man and a girl at that timing.

    ¡¸Sorry to have made you wait. The remaining foreign students have also arrived, so you will be shown to your ssroom after this. Also, these two will be your guide within this academy.¡¹

    One of them is a in young man who looked kind.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Jean. Please don¡¯t hesitate to ask me if there is anything you want to know.¡¹

    But, the problem is the girl.

    ¡¸Nice to meet you.¡¹

    The two are talking fluently in the kingdom¡¯snguage.

    The young man looked earnest, but the girl was talking in an informal way.

    What is more troubling than that is that the girl is the main character candidate.

    Noelle Beltre©¤©¤the candid looking girl is standing in front of me smilingly.

    ¡¸Do, do you not understand my words?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think there is any problem with our wording though?¡¹

    I waved my hand and talked in the kingdom¡¯snguage jokingly.

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m just surprised because you two are speaking really fluently. I¡¯m Leon.¡¹

    I made a harmless and inoffensive greeting while feeling bewildered from the sudden entrance of the main character candidate.

    ©¤©¤I never thought I would suddenly meet her like this.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    I didn¡¯t participate in the opening ceremony©¤©¤or rather, I didn¡¯t make it in time.

    I gave my greeting in my ss but, it¡¯s quite a lonely start.

    We the foreign students are separated into two people per ss.

    The academy in the kingdom was simr like a university, but the academy here reminds me of my high school period.

    Even the ssroom¡¯s structure was a familiar structure like in the elementary school until high school of my previous life.

    Though it was obvious that they would be simr seeing that the game was modeled after Japan¡¯s school.

    Even the tables and chairs are simr with the ones used in my previous life¡¯s school.

    There is difference in some details, but I¡¯m feeling strange when I¡¯m sitting on my seat wearing a uniform.

    Thanks to that the shy hair colors of the students around me like red or blue also looks odd to me.

    I¡¯m staring in a daze at the ssroom that is mixing nostalgia and oddness together.

    The girl sitting in front of me turned around toward me.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s Noelle.

    ¡¸Hey, is it true you¡¯re a knight already in your age?¡¹

    It seems she is curious at a foreign student like me.

    She couldn¡¯t be calleddylike. Noelle was a lively girl who showed interest to anything.

    Putting it another way, she had no calmness.

    ¡¸It¡¯s true.¡¹

    I answered shortly, but it¡¯s not like it¡¯s because I¡¯m disliking her.

    I¡¯m still not used talking in themonwealth¡¯snguage.

    Also, in case the girl in front of me is actually the main character, it won¡¯t be good if I get too deeply involved with her.

    ording to Marie, apparently there was an event in that otome game where foreign students from the kingdom came here.

    If you have the clear data of the first game, Julius and co woulde to study abroad here.

    But, only one person woulde. It wouldn¡¯t be at the scale like right now where the five idiots plus three more people enrolled here.

    ¡¸You¡¯re amazing Bartfalt. And you¡¯re also a heir of a house of count?¡¹

    It seems she doesn¡¯t think that I have a peerage at my age.

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m a count. I¡¯m what you called an upstart.¡¹

    ¡¸Can you be a count even at that age if you raised an achievement? The kingdom is amazing.¡¹

    About the reason Noelle is talking to me like this, other than interest she is also sympathizing with me.

    After all©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Brad-sama, please tell us more!¡¹

    ¡¸No fai~r. Please talk with us too!¡¹

    ¡¸Um, what is the type of girl that Brad-sama like?¡¹

    Brad too didn¡¯t seem to dislike the attention. He was dealing with the girls happily.

    In the first ce Brad is a narcissist.

    He is unbearably happy to hear the voices praising him.

    ¡¸My type? It¡¯s a small and frail girl. Actually I have a fianc¨¦e. My bad but, I can¡¯t answer the feeling of you girls.¡¹

    The girls raised shrill voices hearing that.

    ¡¸Brad-sama, you have a fianc¨¦e? What¡¯s more you¡¯re devoted to her, how wonderful!¡¹

    ©¤©¤The girls inside the ssroom are surrounding Brad.

    Brad is a handsome man as long as he doesn¡¯t open his mouth. The mood feels like there is an idol inside the ssroom.

    Noelle made a troubled smile seeing that.

    The boys are sending Brad gazes that are filled with jealousy. They won¡¯t talk with me.

    In other words, I¡¯m©¤pletely bing a background character which is befitting of a mob.

    ¡¸Aa~, about that©¤©¤sorry. Everyone is getting excited.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it. It was also like this in my previous academy.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t particrly feeling disappointed but, Noelle talked to me due to her concern.

    She looks like a strong-willed girl, but it seems she also have kindness with it.

    Perhaps it¡¯s just to be expected from the main character candidate?

    Now then, I should gather information too.

    ¡¸By the way, does Noelle-san has a sister?¡¹

    ¡¸I have. Actually I¡¯m a twin. I have a little sister.¡¹

    Noelle talked about her little sister happily.

    ¡¸She isn¡¯t crude like me, should I call herdylike and know how to goes with the flow? She is smart, and also a reliable little sister. Also, too bad but she has a lover, so don¡¯t hit on her okay?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Hee, that¡¯s unfortunate. What about Noelle-san?¡¹

    I too have two beautiful and nice fianc¨¦es! I almost said that, but I swallowed my words back.

    It¡¯s a bit hard to dere that I have two fianc¨¦es. Also, I¡¯ll also be troubled if she bites at that topic so keeping it quiet should be the best.

    ¡¸You can call me without honorific. As for me, because of my coarseness too I¡¯m free right now. Also, there is this troublesome fellow who keeps picking a fight with me, so no boy will approach me. I¡¯m taking application for boyfriend right now.¡¹

    She was a girl who was fun to talk with.

    Also, the two phrases she mentioned, ¡¸troublesome fellow picking a fight¡¹and ¡¸free right now¡¹ are bothering me.

    Her little sister has a lover, but at this time there is no decisive factor to single out which of them is the main character.

    Is the one with higher possibility the little sister?

    And then, one more thing.

    ¡¸Troublesome fellow?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think Bartfalt will get it even if I told you but, it¡¯s the princess of Rault House. She is often picking a fight with me, it¡¯s bothersome.¡¹

    Thest boss¡¯s family name came out.

    Besides, a princess picking a fight with her?

    ¡¸©¤©¤You can also call me Leon without honorific you know?¡¹

    I¡¯m more concerned with who is the main character rather than the shrill voices from Brad¡¯s surrounding.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    Behind the school building.

    That ce was dim because the building blocked the sunlight. It was a bit cold there.

    But, it was convenient because no one would go there.

    I called Marie after school and we tried narrowing down the main character from the information gathered until now but©¤©¤Marie isining in her tired state.

    ¡¸I told them. Prepare properly the day before okay, I said. And yet, I was scolded like it was my fault. Why? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong!¡¹

    An opening ceremony was taking ce today. After that students could go home.

    The sun is also still high in the sky. It¡¯s afternoon right now.

    There is one big difference from this academypared to the kingdom¡¯s academy. This academy has no boarding system.

    Because of that, the number of people in the academy drastically decreased when school is over.

    ¡¸Enoughining, for now tell me which one is the main character.¡¹

    ¡¸I already mentioned her characteristic before.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤For now, look at this.¡¹

    Marie looked at the images Luxion projected at empty air.

    Then her eyes opened wide and she held her head.

    ¡¸What do you mean twins!? I never heard anything like this!!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I¡¯m troubled here. Anyway, there is no doubt that one of them must be the main character. Based on the personality I got the feeling that Noelle is more likely to be the main character but, it¡¯s Lelia who has a lover right now.¡¹

    I tried asking various things from her, but I couldn¡¯t decide it myself.

    Marie pondered while looking at the two¡¯s photos.

    ¡¸I never imagined that the hair style will be different, and in the first ce the main character also didn¡¯t really show up in the illustrations so I don¡¯t know. ©¤©¤Ah, wait! If I remember right she tied her hair to one side in the illustration when she wore a dress.¡¹

    Luxion expressed his personal opinion.

    ¡ºUnlike the game, in reality someone can change something like hairstyle as they please if they feel like it.¡»

    Then, the hairstyle isn¡¯t a problem?

    Even though I¡¯ve decided to quickly find the main character and focused in being a love cupid, I never thought that we will stumble at this kind of ce.

    ¡¸The little sister Lelia has a lover, but is it not strange to go out already with a conquest target in this pahse?¡¹

    I never yed the second game, so I don¡¯t know at which point the lover rtionship got formed.

    Marie put her hand on her mouth.

    ¡¸That phase is around the middle of second year I think? But, if you got close with one, there would also be event where your surrounding will mention such thing©¤©¤eh? Was it from a different game?¡¹

    Marie was relying on her vague memory to recall that otome game¡¯s sequel.

    ¡¸If I remember right, there was an uproar and a duel happened. The one who protect the main character there will be her lover. If there are multiple candidates, the yer will choose from them I think?¡¹

    ¡¸A duel again.¡¹

    There was also a duel in the first game.

    Is having a man fighting for her sake a situation that will make female yer happy?

    ¡¸Is there no photo of the boyfriend?¡¹

    When Marie said that, Luxion immediately reyed a video.

    ¡ºThis happened thirty minutes ago.¡»

    A girl who looks simr with Noelle appeared in the video.

    ©¤©¤It¡¯s Lelia.

    The color of her hair is pinker than Noelle. It¡¯s straight without any curl. This girl also has strong-willed look, but she looked like she is even more strong-willed than Noelle.

    There is also a man in the video. He has blue hair.

    His silky blue hair grew until his shoulder.

    He has green eyes, and I guess his height is somewhat shorter than normal? He is slender and give an unreliable feeling, but he is a kind looking boy.

    Marie immediately guessed the boy¡¯s name right.

    ¡¸Emile! It¡¯s safe tile Emile!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What¡¯s with that unpleasant nickname?¡¹

    His name is Emile Laz Pleven.

    It seems he is the second son of Pleven House of the six great nobles.

    He is one of the conquest targets. ording to Marie, he got attached with the awful nickname of ¡°safe tile Emile¡±.

    ¡¸He is a character who is easy to conquer. Even if you blundered in the game to some degree and couldn¡¯t get a boyfriend, you can clear the game if you choose Emile at the middle stage.¡¹

    I looked at the two in the video.

    The conversation of the two inside the video can be heard.

    ¡ºLelia, about the holiday next week, that©¤©¤do, do you want to go to a date?¡»

    Emile invited Lelia to a date with a red face. It was an innocent and warming scene.

    Lelia was the one who seemed to be used to this kind of scene.

    ¡ºAlright. But, enough with the art museum tour. I¡¯ll like it better if we¡¯re going shopping next.¡»

    ¡ºEh, art museum is no good?¡»

    ¡º©¤©¤The date before this and even the one before that were all art museum tour weren¡¯t they? Let¡¯s do a different date sometimes.¡»

    ¡ºYe, yes. You¡¯re right.¡»

    Marie was listening attentively to that conversation.

    I asked her.

    ¡¸Somehow I¡¯m the one feeling embarrassed watching that. And, is Lelia the main character as expected?¡¹

    Marie nodded with a serious expression.

    ¡¸Perhaps. This conversation, I think I¡¯ve seen it in an event. Emile is a conquest target. I think this development is a bit early but I think in a game the main character can also be this close with him at this time.¡¹

    It seems she can¡¯t remember the detail but, she said that this kind of conversation should actually happen in the game too.

    Luxion turned off the projection.

    ¡ºThen, is Lelia the main character?¡»

    Marie folded her arms.

    ¡¸Ipletely thought it would be the royal road Loic, but it¡¯s unexpected that she aimed at Emile.¡¹(TN: Royal road in Japanese can also mean themon or usual choice)

    Royal road Loic.

    But, the main character Lelia¡¯s choice was the safe tile Emile.

    ¡¸From where I stand the main character look more like a normal girl than I thought. If it¡¯s just from their atmosphere then I think it¡¯s Noelle who is more like a main character.¡¹

    There are a lot of differences between them even though they are twins.

    ¡¸Is that so? But, if she is going out with Emile, then Lelia is the main character. It will be perfect if she is also in quarrel with the viiness.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Viiness? Does she mean someone like Ange in the first game?

    ¡¸So there is also a viiness in the second game.¡¹

    ¡¸She isn¡¯t just her love rival. She is also the daughter of Rault House that the main character is in enmity with. This woman is a year older and will pick a fight with the main character persistently.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Oi, wait a second.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    I recalled Noelle¡¯s words.

    Noelle mentioned that the princess of Rault House was picking a fight with her.

    ¡¸About that viiness, it seems she is picking a fight with Noelle.¡¹

    Noelle didn¡¯t say that the woman is picking a fight with her and also her sister.

    Marie frowned and then she held her head at her wits¡¯ end.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I don¡¯t get it anymore.¡¹

    Just what is going on?

    Luxion advised us.

    ¡ºWe concluded that the source of the main character¡¯s power is the priestess¡¯s bloodline. In this case, it¡¯s possible that both of them are ¡°existence that can be main character¡±.¡»

    Marie lifted her face.

    ¡¸Ri, right! The main character is a survivor of Lespinasse House. She had the bloodline of the priestess. That¡¯s why, it won¡¯t be strange no matter who be the main character among them!.¡¹

    ¡¸Did the role get split after they became twin? Like, one of them has a boyfriend while the other one get targeted by the viiness.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I don¡¯t know.¡¹

    Marie threw in the towel, but I¡¯m also the same.

    We just don¡¯t know.

    But©¤©¤this is also isn¡¯t the worst case.

    ¡¸Either way, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that we need to investigate.¡¹

    ¡ºYes. I will continue investigating.¡»

    In the end, we didn¡¯t understand which of them is the main character.

    However, it¡¯s also a fact that this isn¡¯t a hopeless situation.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Inside the academy building after school was over.

    Brad was surrounded by girls.

    ¡¸Brad-sama, we have special ssroom in this building.¡¹

    ¡¸It also has a music room.¡¹

    ¡¸There is also a kitchen used for home economics here. Female students would make sweets there. Please eat the cake I maketer.¡¹

    Because the female students volunteered to show Brad around, they are giving him a tour inside the building while surrounding him like this.

    Brad also didn¡¯t look that dissatisfied with the situation.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    The academy¡¯s female students blushed from Brad¡¯s smile.

    There was a group of male students watching that scene.

    They were sitting on the stairs with their uniforms worn a bit disorderly. They were the delinquents of this academy.

    The young man who was their leader had blood vein bulging on his forehead.

    He had curly purple hair and purple eyes.

    Brad had the same hair color with him, but seeing him having girls fawning over him made the young man irritated.

    However, this young man wasn¡¯t handsome like Brad.

    His body was thin and the color of his skin was unhealthy.

    There was a half emptied wine bottle near him.

    His name was Pierre Io Faiviel.

    The second son of Faiviel House of the six great nobles.

    He wasn¡¯t the heir, but he had hangers-on around him because he was a member of the six great nobles.

    Everyone©¤©¤had a crest on the back of their right hand.

    The crest wasn¡¯t tattoo or birthmark.

    It was the proof that they received the divine protection of the sacred tree.

    And then, even among them Pierre possessed a crest that was only bestowed to someone from the six great nobles.

    For the people of themonwealth, the crest was also a proof of nobility.

    ¡¸Why are they fawning on a noble from a third rate country?¡¹

    The hangers-on were breaking into cold sweat seeing Pierre irritated. They hurriedly pacified him.

    ¡¸They aren¡¯t anyone that Pierre-san should pay attention to.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The girls around him are allmoner. They are only fitting for the noble of Hohlfahrt.¡¹

    ¡¸He isn¡¯t any match for Pierre-san.¡¹

    They ttered him. Pierre took the wine bottle and gulped it down.

    And then he wiped the spilled wine with his uniform¡¯s sleeve before raising the corner of his mouth in an eerie smile.

    ¡¸It has been a long time since west yed.¡¹

    ¡¸Pierre-san want to y, with the girls just now?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯ll be fun too, but it¡¯ll be enjoyable to torment those Hohlfahrt bunch too. If they got angry and started a war with us, then I¡¯ll be able to raise achievements too.¡¹

    It was a statement that made light of war.

    But, this way of thinking wasn¡¯t limited to just Pierre.

    ¡¸Great idea. Please let me participate too when the timees.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m asking you too, Pierre-san. I want to raise achievements and get myself some prestige.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too!¡¹

    The hangers-on said that and grinned.

    They weren¡¯t that shocked even when hearing that it might be war with the kingdom.

    Rather, they had the attitude of wishing eagerly for it even.

    Their attitude was like theypletely believed there was no way they would lose, but the cause of that confidencey in the crest on the back of their right hand.

    Pierre stared at his crest.

    ¡¸Just wait you guys. Look forward to it. Now then, first©¤©¤those guys got caretakers right?¡¹

    First they would target not the overseas students from the kingdom but from the people around them.

    ¡¸It¡¯s also going to be amusing to knock them around bit by bit and see which one of them snap first.¡¹

    Pierre with his twisted personality set his target on the overseas students from the kingdom.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    The twin sisters Noelle and Lelia were living in a normal apartment.

    It wasn¡¯t too far away from the academy. It was clean and spacious enough that the two of them could live there without problem.

    It was the former retainers of Lespinasse House who prepared the apartment for them.

    They were supporting the two from the shadow even now.

    The apartment of these two girls of marriageable age was a room with white base color.

    The ce was kept clean. Right now Noelle was cooking in the kitchen wearing apron.

    Lelia returned home while she was humming and cooking.

    ¡¸I¡¯m home.¡¹

    It was a curt voice. Noelle replied back energetically.

    ¡¸Wee home~. Wait a bit more for the dinner.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Right¡¹

    Unlike the big sister Noelle, Lelia¡¯s attitude was really cold.

    Noelle was worried at Lelia who seemed to be tired.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Big sis, you were chosen as caretaker for the overseas students weren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. It¡¯s because you refused to do it.¡¹

    Noelle was confused why Lelia mentioned this topic.

    Lelia¡¯s expression was strange, so she turned off the fire and put her hands on her waist.

    ¡¸Is there anything strange from the overseas students?¡¹

    ¡¸Anything strange? They¡¯re pretty strange but, all of them are really popr. Don¡¯t you also know how the girls are making a ruckus about them?¡¹

    ¡¸I know about that. What¡¯s bothering me is©¤©¤the boy who doesn¡¯t really stand out, and the remaining two girls.¡¹

    Leon¡¯s face immediately came to mind when Noelle heard Lelia mentioning a boy who doesn¡¯t really stand out.

    ¡¸You mean Leon? Now that you mentioned it, he was showing interest when I talked about you. Though he looked disappointed when I said you have a boyfriend.¡¹

    Noelle said that with augh, but Lelia wasn¡¯t smiling at all.

    Noelle got concerned with her little sister who wasn¡¯t like usual.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    Lelia said that and entered her room.

 Chapter 113 - Volume 4 Chapter 3 Twins

    <h4>Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 3</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 3 ¨C Twins</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    At the academy of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    It was the start of a new term. Ange was swarmed with work at this time.

    The number of students in her grade had decreased after the war with the principality.

    There were many nobles whose title was stripped from them. The reasons why were varied. Betrayal, sitting on the fence, and so on.

    The academy had also abolished the system of exclusive servant for the students. Because of those reasons, it felt like there weren¡¯t many people inside of the academy.

    In such situation, Ange¡¯s standing in the academy was high.

    Today too, she was in a conversation with an upperssman regarding a matter inside the academy.

    Ange was talking with rice inside a ssroom that Leon often used for tea party in the past.

    ¡¸Female students¡¯ discontent?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Until now they have exclusive servant to attend to their need. Their servant would wake them up at the morning and help them to dress themselves. But, they¡¯re suddenly forbidden to have exclusive servant now. There are a lot of girls who can¡¯t arrive on time now. Not only that, many of them are also unable to dress themselves.¡¹

    Ange closed her eyes in exasperation when she heard that.

    ¡¸The pce also intend to educate the girls harshly using this chance. They can just withdraw from the academy if they¡¯re feeling that discontent.¡¹

    ¡¸The problem is we also can¡¯t do that.¡¹

    rice traced the rim of her cup with her finger.

    ¡¸Nevertheless, I¡¯m missing Leon-kun¡¯s tea.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What do you mean by that?¡¹

    Ange red at rice. In respond rice replied ambiguously to give Ange the slip.

    ¡¸Who knows? I wonder what those words might mean. More importantly, has any lettere from Leon-kun?¡¹

    Ange slightly blushed when rice asked her whether there was any letter from Leon.

    ¡¸U, umu. There is. It was from several days ago. It seems he is doing his best there.¡¹

    ¡¸He is really diligent isn¡¯t he?¡¹

    rice found it unexpected that Leon didn¡¯t forget to write. She then changed the topic again.

    ¡¸Angelica, the girls are problematic, but the problem in regard to the boys is also increasing.¡¹

    ¡¸The boys too?¡¹

    ¡¸It seems they can¡¯t reallye to a grip with the situation. Many of them are bewildered because the girls suddenly changed their attitude.¡¹

    The treatment to the boys should be in improvement, but there were still some discontents from them.

    Angelica tried asking what kind of discontent they had.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t hear anything about that though?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because you are Leon-kun¡¯s fianc¨¦e. He is really popr with some of the males. Because of that they don¡¯t want to make trouble for you.¡¹

    Leon was popr among the academy¡¯s male poption because they were able to get away from the absurd marriage situation thanks to him.

    He was especially popr among the destitute nobles from the countryside like Daniel and Raymond.

    They wouldin a lot about Leon, but at the inside they felt indebted to him.

    But, it wasn¡¯t limited to the male students of the academy©¤©¤apparently Leon was also popr among the men outside the academy.

    ¡¸They are like his fans. I think there are even some of them who are in love with him for real.¡¹

    Hearing that unpleasant information made Ange frowned.

    ¡¸That made me get a mixed feeling. I¡¯m happy that Leon is epted but, that guy has no interest in that direction.¡¹

    rice smiled hearing that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s good.¡¹

    Ange sent a sharp gaze when she heard rice saying that.

    ¡¸What do you mean by that?¡¹

    ¡¸Hmm, I wonder what do you mean?¡¹

    Ange wondered how many times she had repeated this question. She couldn¡¯t help but feel that rice hadn¡¯t given up on Leon.

    Setting aside the joke, Ange let her gaze dropped toward the inside of her cup.

    (In any case, discontents are umting among both males and females because of the drastic change right now. This is a bit troublesome.)

    Ange brought her cup to her lips. It just as rice said, she missed the tea that Leon made.

    The next moment rice¡¯s eyes turned serious.

    ¡¸Ah, I almost forgot. The increase in the number of the schrship students also caused a lot of trouble. Please remind Olivia-san to be very careful too in regard to this.¡¹

    ¡¸Troubles with the schrship students huh¡¹

    The academy had been a ce of learning for nobles until now. And yet now people from merchant or adventurer background©¤moners with exceptional capability could enroll.

    Naturally troubles also urred because of that.

    ¡¸There are a lot of students who picked a fight with the schrship students.¡¹

    The environment rapidly changed after the war against the principality. Because of various reasons, even the academy was experiencing troubles.

    (What a very troublesome situation. I hope it can calm down before Leones home.)

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    I was spending my days studying in the academy as an oversea student.

    This ce was different from the kingdom, even so I felt somewhat nostalgic seeing the scenery in the ssroom.

    It made me recalled my high school days.

    I was listening to the teacher¡¯s lecture in themonwealthnguage while also paying attention to the report from Luxion in my ear.

    ¡ºMaster, I have investigated all the young men in the capture target category except two of them.¡»

    I tapped on my notebook once using my pen to signal Luxion to continue its report.

    It should look like I¡¯m taking the ss seriously to my surrounding.

    ¡ºIn Marie¡¯s information, it was mentioned that there is a hidden character outside the academy. I¡¯m still in the middle of investigating that person right now. As for the capture target within the academy who I still cannot investigate, it¡¯s the heir of Rault House.¡»

    Apparently the son of thest boss was also one of the capture targets.

    The heroine¡¯s rtionship was a reallyplex one.

    However, Rault House¡¯s heir was an adopted child, so perhaps it wasn¡¯t that much of a problem.

    Rault House also had a daughter. It seemed that person was the viiness of the second game.

    But still, to think that the heir of that Rault House was one of the heroine¡¯s capture targets.

    He was in a reallyplicated position it made me felt pity for him.

    After all his adopted father and big sister would automatically turn into his enemy if he became the heroine¡¯s lover.

    ¡ºThere is also a slightly troublesome information.¡»

    I didn¡¯t want to listen to any bad news, but I also couldn¡¯t ignore it if there was a trouble.

    While I was thinking so, the teacher, Mr. Clement turned toward me.

    ¡¸Do you understand what I have been exining so far?¡¹

    He was a good teacher who acted considerately toward me and Brad.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸I, I don¡¯t have any problem, Mister Clement.¡¹

    He was a gentle-mannered and kind teacher but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Good. Leon-kun and Brad-kun, don¡¯t hesitate to ask me anytime if there is something that you don¡¯t understand.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Mr. Clement winked at me. I felt guilty to feel like this toward him but, that wink made me shivered.

    He had arge build that was covered with a shirt so tight they looked like they would burst.

    His chest filled his shirt to the bursting that its shape could be seen clearly. His had a long chin with crevice in the middle and a thick moustache.

    He shaved his hair. It made my face turned white.

    Yes, Mr. yman was©¤©¤a muscr man.

    And yet he was talking effeminately like a woman.

    The bell chimed at that time. Mr. yman closed his textbook.

    ¡¸That¡¯s it for today. Remember to review the lesson at home. Don¡¯t forget to prepare for the next lesson too. Or else, I¡¯m going to punish the bad child who forget.¡¹

    Mr. Clement threw a kiss toward the ss. The boys screamed ¡¸Hih!¡¹ in response.

    He was our homeroom teacher. He was a really good teacher other than his appearance.

    ©¤©¤If only he didn¡¯t have that kind of appearance.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    The ss had ended. When the break time came, Noelle who was sitting in front of me turned around.

    She sat while hugging the chair¡¯s back and looked at my notebook.

    Nevertheless, to sit with her legs opened like that©¤©¤I didn¡¯t think it was appropriate for a girl.

    It felt like her panty woulde into view if she just moved a bit more, but in the end it was still barely safe.

    ¡¸Your note is easier to understand than mine.¡¹

    I guessed she wanted to ask me if I managed to follow the lesson alright, but unfortunately my note was quiteplete, thanks in part to Luxion.

    ¡¸You¡¯re already a great help just from helping me with the parts that I missed.¡¹

    Noelle would help me when there were words that I didn¡¯t understand or a sentence that I misheard. She was very helpful.

    Noelle¡¯s confidence returned when I told her that.

    ¡¸I guess I did well as your caretaker then.¡¹

    I nced at Brad¡¯s direction.

    He didn¡¯t look like he needed Noelle¡¯s help with so many girls around him.

    That guy was a real world noble young master, so he was better in foreignnguage than me.

    He had learned not only themonwealth¡¯snguage, but even other foreignnguages.

    Suchpetent man actually got tricked by Marie. It made me sad when thinking that.

    Then Noelle asked my n for today.

    ¡¸Hey, I¡¯m going to show Marie and Cara around outside the academy today. How about you alsoe with us Leon?¡¹

    Noelle was basically the caretaker for the female foreign students.

    It would be better if Marie and Cara were also ced in the same ss with her. But because ouring here was decided so suddenly, the academy staffs couldn¡¯t prepare everything perfectly.

    I guessed we got ced on Noelle¡¯s ss was also the effect of that rushed preparation.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to ask Jean to show me around today so I¡¯ll take a rain check.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s too bad.¡¹

    Noelle would talk what was in her mind without hesitation. She was a lively girl with easygoing personality.

    Certainly I found her easy to get along with after talking with her like this.

    ¡¸Even though I nned to ask you to hold our things on the way home.¡¹

    She also frankly spoke her real intention.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really honest.¡¹

    ¡¸Did you think I¡¯m inviting you to a date? Too bad. Even though I¡¯m like this but I¡¯m not an easy woman.¡¹

    The way she carried herself didn¡¯t give people the impression that she was a guarded girl though.

    But her guard was actually hard?

    But©¤©¤I¡¯d rather she let her guard down more and got a boyfriend. That way would make me rest easier.

    ¡¸I thought that you must have a boyfriend with how cute you are. Isn¡¯t there any boy that you¡¯re close with?¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s expression turned cloudy.

    ¡¸I think my close male friend might be just Jean? Our houses are close with each other, and recently we got a lot more chance to talk.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Our other caretaker Jean? But he shouldn¡¯t be one of the capture targets.

    She mentioned that they were close. Did that mean they still weren¡¯t going out?

    ¡¸I want a boyfriend but©¤©¤having one will also bring another trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸Another trouble? Is it a different trouble form the princess of Rault House that you mentioned the other day?¡¹

    ¡¸Yep. And the trouble came from a prince this time.¡¹

    A prince?

    There was one thing that I learned aftering to themonwealth.

    Each of the six great nobles was a king who ruled their respective floating ind.

    Those six kings gathered under the sacred tree and ruled the country called themonwealth together.

    Because of that, the middle name of each six great nobles was different.

    What a troublesome setting.

    ¡¸It¡¯s this guy called Loic. He would get heated up on his own and won¡¯t listen to me. I really don¡¯t like him. He is telling everyone that he¡¯s my boyfriend, but I absolutely won¡¯t ept him. ©¤©¤Even though he was a good guy before this¡¹

    Noelle got dejected. I watched her face while breaking into cold sweat.

    ©¤©¤By Loic, did she mean the one who was treated as the main target even among the capture targets?

    Eh, Noelle actually hated him?

    ¡¸He is telling everyone he¡¯s your boyfriend?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t take it seriously. It¡¯s just his lie.¡¹

    I wanted to ask her about it a bit more, but the teacher entered the ssroom at that timing.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    Somewhere hidden inside the academy.

    I met with Marie and we talked about everything that happened so far.

    It was noon, so I bought a bread from the academy¡¯s store beforeing here. I was eating it while talking with Marie.

    I and Marie were currently in confusion because of this situation.

    ¡¸Noelle likes Jean. On the other hand Loic likes her and making advance on her, but she isn¡¯t interested in him?¡¹

    Marie leaned forward and groaned while she held her head with her hands.

    ¡¸That¡¯s what I said. She mentioned how she is close with Jean. Their houses are close to each other and they often talked. Ah, I heard that they sometimes also shared food if they got leftovers. They got such rtionship ongoing.¡¹

    What nice developments. I was jealous.

    Surely Jean¡¯s position was like a light novel¡¯s main character.

    A mob who got an otome game¡¯s heroine falling in love with him. That sounds simr with the trope of a self-proimed high school student had a super beautiful girl falling in love with him.

    Noelle too, she looked like a gal but she was actually a girl with wholesome attitude.

    Well, whenpared to the girls of the kingdom, she could still be categorized as graceful even counting her somewhat delinquent behavior.

    The students in Alzer Commonwealth¡¯s academy©¤©¤especially the girls were too normal that it reminded me of the school in my past life.

    All of them looked like very wonderful girl to me.

    It would be perfect if only the higher-ups of themonwealth weren¡¯t asshole.

    Marie was at aplete loss.

    ¡¸The little sister Lelia is close with the safe tile, while Noelle is being pursued by Loic©¤©¤but, the viiness is targeting Noelle©¤©¤¡¹

    Her eyes were looking whirly due to the confusion she was feeling. Marie scratched her head roughly that it messed up her hair.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I DON¡¯T GET ITTTTT! I DON¡¯T KNOW WHO IS THE HEROINE HEREEEE!¡¹

    I started eating my second bread when Luxion floated to my side.

    It had just returned after gathering information, so I listened to its report.

    ¡ºAbout Lelia and Emile¡¯s rtionship, even the people around them are recognizing them as lovers.¡»

    ¡¸The second son of a great noble is allowed to have amoner as his lover?¡¹

    Luxion moved the ring inside its red lens to show affirmation.

    ¡ºThey thought of it as him ying around while he is still a student. Perhaps they consider her as his mistress in the future?¡»

    Marie added to the exnation.

    ¡¸But it had serious atmosphere in the game. Later on the situation will change because the heroine gets chosen as the priestess of the sapling. They¡¯re going to be able to be in rtionship with each other formally and at the end it will be happy end with the two of them getting married.¡¹

    ¡¸I see, so this priestess position is like being a ¡°saint¡± in the kingdom.¡¹

    The heroine of the first game Livia originally would be recognized as the saint and so she would be allowed to marry with the crown price Julius or with the other noble heirs.

    Luxion made a suggestion to me.

    ¡ºMaster, in this case I think it will be safer if Noelle also be a lover of one of the capture targets just in case.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤But it doesn¡¯t look like Noelle is interested. Hmm, who are the other capture targets again?¡¹

    Marie started counting with her fingers.

    ¡¸There is the royal road Loic, the safe tile Emile©¤©¤¡¹

    She mentioned the names in session.

    ¡¸¡±The useless teacher¡± Narcisse and ¡°the brocon¡± Hugues. There is also the hidden character ¡°the Onii-chan¡± Fernand. Thest one is©¤©¤¡±the bitter enemy¡± Serge.¡¹

    The four of them are also from the six great nobles.

    Still, are those nicknames necessary?

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that ¡°Onii-chan¡± nickname?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s because he is Hugues¡¯s big brother. He is the current head of Druille House at such young age and he is also participating in the meeting between the six great nobles.¡¹

    Luxion nodded.

    ¡ºHe is a big shot. Right now I¡¯mcking manpower to collect more information about Fernand.¡»

    ¡¸How did the heroine encounter the hidden character then?¡¹

    ¡¸The heroine can meet him if she get closer with Hugues. He is a handsome young man with strong sense of justice! ©¤©¤I wish I can jump ship to him right now.¡¹

    Hearing Marie¡¯s real feeling exasperated me. At the same time I considered who Noelle should enter a romantic rtionship with.

    ¡¸Perhaps it¡¯ll be better if Narcisse or Hugues be Noelle¡¯s lover. It¡¯s also hard to discard Fernand as a choice but, we simply don¡¯t have any information on him.¡¹

    At present, Serge who wasn¡¯t in the academy and Loic who was hated by Noelle were out of the question.

    Marie looked doubtful at my suggestion.

    ¡¸A teacher and his student having rtionship in reality might be problematic. If we are going to assist the heroine to get a boyfriend, how about Hugues? But, Hugues is a third year, so that¡¯ll be difficult too. ©¤©¤Ah¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Marie seemed to notice something©¤©¤perhaps she suddenly recalled about the detail of that otome game a little.

    ¡¸No©¤©¤that©¤©¤in the game, if you didn¡¯t trigger Hugues¡¯s g in the first year, his route would be closed in the second year.¡¹

    ¡¸Closed?¡¹

    ¡¸If you didn¡¯t start approaching him from the first year, you wouldn¡¯t be able to enter Hugues¡¯s route! Ah wait. I think Narcisse¡¯s route also have a condition. If my memory is right, you needed to choose the ss that Narcisse is teaching.¡¹

    The optional special lesson.

    Apparently Narcisse was also a schr who often entered dungeons to investigate the ancient ruins.

    I turned my gaze to Luxion.

    ¡ºBoth Noelle and Le didn¡¯t select Narcisse¡¯s ss. Narcisse¡¯s ss is unpopr that there is practically no student who chose to take his ss.¡»

    Apparently the students chose the optional sses at the start of the academic year.

    ¡¸The second year! There is still the second year. The g can still be triggered even if you chose his ss starting from the second year!¡¹

    Marie said that it was still alright, but Luxion turned its single eye side to side.

    ¡ºUnfortunately, both Noelle and Lelia opted to select other special ss.¡»

    Marie¡¯s expression paled.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh, wait a second. If that¡¯s the case, the only remaining capture target is only Loic.¡¹

    And Noelle hated that Loic.

    ¡¸Checkmate?¡¹

    Just as I said that, Marie looked down and covered her face with both her hands.

    ¡¸Why would Noelle hate Loic!? He is a bit scary sometimes, but he is handsome and rich! He will be the head of a great noble house in the future, he is absolutely a fine catch!¡¹

    No, as a game yer of course it would be only obvious to target him knowing that he was one of the capture targets. But in reality you normally wouldn¡¯t target that kind of person who was so far above your station.

    ¡¸We still aren¡¯t sure that Noelle is the heroine but, this situation isn¡¯t really good.¡¹

    Game and reality were different.

    There was still a chance to turn around the situation starting from now but©¤©¤we didn¡¯t know if it would really bring happiness for Noelle by doing that.

    While I was worrying about it, I noticed Marie¡¯s gaze was focused at my hand.

    She was wiping her drool while her eyes were fixed on my half-eaten bread.

    ¡¸Y-you aren¡¯t skipping meal aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    Marie wiped her tears.

    ¡¸Everyone is at that age where they have hearty appetite. Also we are just barely scraping by with our living expenses. I only had a single bread roll for lunch as a way of saving money.¡¹

    Even I was eating sweet breads for my meal, and yet this girl only had a single bread roll?

    ¡¸What if you made box lunch from home?¡¹

    ¡¸Then I¡¯d have to cook for the share of Julius and others too! Everyone will surely ask me to cook for them too. Cooking for the share of seven people is going to be a massive chore!¡¹

    ¡¸O, ou. ©¤©¤Do, do you want this?¡¹

    When I offered Marie my half-eaten bread, she happily epted it.

    In my past life, this situation would be like a high school girl happily epting a half-eaten bread.

    ¡¸Waa~i! I love you big bro!¡¹

    Normally this was where I would tell her ¡¸Stop it, that¡¯s disgusting¡¹, but this girl was just too pitiful that I couldn¡¯t summon the motivation for that.

    Luxion was also watching Marie with pity somewhere in its gaze.

    ¡ºSo this is the fate of someone who aimed to have a reverse harem.¡»

    My heart felt pain watching Marie eating the bread in delight.

    This sight made me doubted whether you could be happy even if you managed to win the heart of a capture target.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    ¡¸Am I, close with Noelle-san?¡¹

    I was helping out Jean with carrying teaching materials. I asked him about his rtionship with Noelle under the guise of making a small talk.

    We were walking in a corridor. There were a lot of other students around us.

    ¡¸Yeah. I heard that you two even shared foods with each other?¡¹

    Jean looked slightly embarrassed.

    ¡¸Well, yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m jealous. You manage to get along well with a beautiful girl in the neighborhood. It¡¯s like you¡¯re a main character in a story.¡¹

    ¡¸It was just a coincident but, various things happened the first time we met that helped us getting along with each other.¡¹

    First time they met?

    I got curious and tried asking Jean. It seemed Jean was keeping a dog.

    He brought his dog from his hometown until here.

    ¡¸Actually I don¡¯t have any family.¡¹

    ¡¸The story suddenly got heavy.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, no, err©¤©¤the dog I¡¯m keeping is an important family for me. And, that dog¡¯s name is Noelle. She is already so old that for a dog she is like a grandma.¡¹

    Apparently Jean had started keeping the dog since he was born. Right now the dog was seventeen years old.

    It was a really advanced age for a dog.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t be able to meet her for the second time if I left her behind. Because of that I brought her here, but then I found out Noelle has the same name. We got acquainted with each other from that.¡¹

    It seemed like his pet dog became the connection that brought them talking with each other.

    ¡¸©¤©¤She is very good to me.¡¹

    Jean looked happy. It made me felt miserable that I even considered separating the two of them.

    If possible, I wished the two of them would keep getting along well with each other.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    I had left the academy and right now I was on my way home.

    I headed to the terminal for the tram and found Noelle there.

    The surrounding scenery reminded me of Meiji era and Taisho Era that I saw in the photo of my past life, and yet the getup of the students gave me the impression of outfit from Heisei era or Reiwa era. (TN: Meiji=1816-1912, Taisho=1912-1926, Heisei=1989-2019, Reiwa=2019-present)

    But, I didn¡¯t feel strange or ufortable anymore after I got used to such discrepancy.

    Other than tram and horse carriages, there were also cars running on the street. Those cars had the appearance of really old type car in my past life.

    ¡¸Ah, Leon. Over here.¡¹

    Noelle waved her and at me with a smile. I walked toward her and stood at her side to wait until the tram arrived. There were more than ten other students around us. They were talking with their respective friends.

    A tram arrived at the opposite side of the railway track. Students boarded into it.

    ¡¸This tram is really convenient.¡¹

    In addition you only needed to pay the same price no matter where you got down. It was great.

    ¡¸Is that so? I don¡¯t really get how you feel. But, I get the feeling that you are more used to this kind of vehicle then the other overseas students.¡¹

    Noelle got a sharp instinct.

    She was the type of person whose body would move first before her brain. She somehow sensed that I was different from Julius and others.

    Well, I was familiar with this kind of vehicle and had even ride in them from my past life.

    ¡¸The thing is simpler than an airship, so it¡¯s also easy to get used to it.¡¹

    ¡¸You have your own airship? As I thought a count is different.¡¹

    ¡¸Amazing right? Want to have a ride sometimes?¡¹

    The reason I tried inviting her because I wanted to ask Noelle about many more things.

    But, it seemed she was wary toward my offer.

    ¡¸Are you hitting on me?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m telling you that¡¯s not it. I just want to get along better with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Ee~, even though I would be happier if you were actually hitting on me.¡¹

    She spoke with a disappointed tone, and yet she still refused my invitation gently.

    ¡¸But too bad. Though you might not expect it I¡¯m actually busy. Maybe another time.¡¹

    From the way she carried herself she looked like an easygoing and approachable girl, and yet she unexpectedly got a solid guard.

    It felt like I was trying to breach a wall.

    I was unable to know her too deeply even though it felt like she was approachable.

    Or perhaps she was refusing because she already had Jean?

    After that we continued our talk as usual, but Noelle¡¯s expression suddenly changed.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s the troublesome girl I mentioned before.¡¹

    A voice called out from behind.

    ¡¸Oh, are you perhaps approaching a new man this time? You¡¯re really a sinful woman aren¡¯t you Noelle? Just how many men are you nning toy your hands on?¡¹

    Noelle stepped in front of the girl who came from behind as though to cover me from her.

    ¡¸Louise, just why are you here? Someone rich like you should just go home right away with your car.¡¹

    ¡¸I told them to wait for me, so you don¡¯t need to worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Go home!¡¹

    When I turned around, I saw a female student there.

    The people around us were watching awkwardly.

    ©¤©¤So this is the second game¡¯s viiness.

    The viiness opened her mouth to address me too but©¤©¤

    ¡¸You should be careful too. Getting involved with this girl won¡¯t be©¤©¤¡¹

    ©¤©¤Her eyes widened when she caught sight of me and her mouth suddenly stopped moving.

    Was the face I was making that horrible?

    I touched my face to check, but then the tram came at that timing so Noelle grabbed my arm.

    ¡¸Leon, we¡¯re going.¡¹

    ¡¸Ri, right¡¹

    When the viiness heard my name, she muttered something.

    ¡¸Leon©¤©¤she said¡¹

    We boarded the tram. Outside the viiness©¤©¤Louise-san kept her eyes fixed at our way.

    She chased the tram that started moving, but she immediately stopped and stood still on that spot©¤©¤even so she didn¡¯t avert her gaze form us.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What?¡¹

    I got the feeling she was looking at me rather than Noel.

    It seemed Noelle also noticed that.

    ¡¸Was it love at first sight? It was the first time I saw Louise looking like that.¡¹

    ¡¸I wonder if Louise-san¡¯s type is someone like me?¡¹

    She was a beautiful girl. If I didn¡¯t have fianc¨¦es then I might try hitting on her.

    Well, let¡¯s stop with the joke©¤©¤the way she was shocked like that, it wasn¡¯t the look of someone who fell in love at the first sight.

    Her face looked extremely surprised.

    The inside of the tram was crowded with students. I and Noelle didn¡¯t sit down and grabbed at the handrail before continuing our talk.

    ¡¸The person just now is the one who often pick a fight with you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. She is a third year named Louise. She is really troublesome because she¡¯s also the daughter of the council chairman.¡¹

    ¡¸Is she bothering Lelia-san too?¡¹

    Noelle shook her head in negative at my question.

    ¡¸Only me. Lelia has Emile with her, so even Louise won¡¯t make any trouble with her.¡¹

    ¡¸Emile huh.¡¹

    ¡¸He is the second son of Pleven House after all. Even Louise won¡¯t want to agitate him too much.¡¹

    Was it because they were fellow six great nobles?

    However, the viiness should pick a fight with the main character no matter how close she was with a capture target. Getting in the way even if the heroine had an influential lover, that was the way a viiness should be.

    Marie also said that, so this situation was a bit strange.

    But, that girl¡¯s knowledge about the second game was also really iplete.

    Perhaps there was something that we didn¡¯t know about?

    Noelle who was irritated because of Louise-san¡¯s appearance suddenly lifted up her face with a taken aback expression.

    This girl¡¯s expression could change in the drop of hat.

    ¡¸D-darn it!¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Today is a special sale day! Actually I nned to ask Lelia to go with me, I messed upp~¡¹

    Seeing Noelle dejected because of a special sale day, it reminded me that Marie too was mentioning ¡¸Today is the special sale day!¡¹ in high spirits earlier this day.

    She mentioned something about bringing Cara and Kyle with her to buy a lot©¤©¤those guys also had it hard.

    There was nothing like supermarket here, but I had seen a shopping street where various stores like greengrocer or meat shop could be found close to each other.

    Noelle kept sending me nces.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I get it. I¡¯ll help out.¡¹

    ¡¸Really!? Haha~, Leon is really kind.¡¹

    The main character of the second game©¤©¤or at least its candidate that was overflowing with homeliness, Noelle. She ced her hand on my shoulder.

    This feeling of distance between us was quiet close that it might make me misunderstand.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    At night, I listened to the report from Luxion while eating dinner.

    The tes floated from the kitchen and glided until the table in front of me.

    Luxion was the one controlling the tes. It didn¡¯t look like science anymore but magic instead.

    ¡¸This is an extravagant dinner for a dude living on his own.¡¹

    The aroma of grilled steak made me wanted to eat rice.

    ¡ºMaster must be d to have me here.¡»

    ¡¸Maybe.¡¹

    My curt reply made Luxion¡¯s mood worsened.

    ¡º©¤©¤There is no need to hold back with the praise.¡»

    ¡¸This is wonderful.¡¹

    Luxion muttered ¡ºGood grief¡» hearing me saying that in monotone before it made its report.

    ¡ºMaster, I have a report about the capture targets.¡»

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡ºIn regard to Narcisse, although he is in charge of a special ss, theck of students taking his ss is bing a problem. This year the number of student taking his ss is zero. It seems the ss won¡¯t be hold anymore from next year.¡»

    ¡¸So wepletely missed the g.¡¹

    Setting aside Lelia, if only Noelle would trigger that g©¤©¤such thing was on my mind, but then the matter of Jean surfaced inside my head.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s the same with Hugues. There is a talk of him getting engaged. The woman in question is Louise.¡»

    That capture target named Hugues, he really had no luck to have an engagement with the viiness decided like that.

    After all she was different from the viiness of the first game Ange. Based on what I heard, that girl genuinely got a mean personality.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Say, about that Louise-san, wasn¡¯t she surprised when she saw me?¡¹

    ¡ºIs master curious?¡»

    ¡¸Her face looked really surprised that time. Also, isn¡¯t it strange that she is leaving Lelia alone?¡¹

    If the main character was the person that the viiness was picking on, then that meant Noelle was the main character.

    But, it was Lelia who was getting intimate with a capture target.

    ¡ºShould I investigate?¡»

    I cut the steak with my knife while thinking of various things.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Luxion. Isn¡¯t there something wrong with us deciding who should be Noelle¡¯s lover like this?¡¹

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t that matter trivialpared with the safety of the world? Though in my opinion it won¡¯t be any problem at all even if the world of the new mankind is destroyed. That¡¯s my thought from the start.¡»

    ¡¸Of course you are.¡¹

    As always, this guy really hated new mankind.

    Just how long it would keep dragging around the matter of past war like this.

    It was already over now.

    I speared a meat piece with my fork and stared at it before bringing it to my mouth.

    ¡¸If only Marie remember more of the game, it would be a great help.¡¹

    ¡ºTruly it¡¯s just as master say.¡»

 Chapter 114 - Chapter 4 â€“ Nobles of the Commonwealth

    <strong>Chapter 4 ¨C Nobles of the Commonwealth</strong>

    .

    Part 1

    At Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    Academy students were gathered inside a bar at the capital.

    It was a weing party for the schrship students.

    It was a drinking party that Livia organized. It was held slightlyte at night because it was hectic every day.

    But even though Livia was the one organizing this party, she followed Leon¡¯s stance in not drinking alcohol.

    Currently she was going around asking everyone how they were doing.

    ¡¸Everyone, has you gotten used to the academy?¡¹

    Some boys who were wearing their uniform in a way that didn¡¯t follow the regtion were watching Livia.

    Aaron who was originally an adventurer before bing a student here had be close with the ill-bred male students who were simr with him.

    They were a group of three male students including Aaron.

    Their gazes were directed toward Livia.

    ¡¸Aaron, Olivia won¡¯t drink any alcohol.¡¹

    ¡¸The n to make her drunk and bringing her back into our room can¡¯t be used like this.¡¹

    The three were giving off disquieting air.

    Aaron who was acting as their leader grinned and ced a small bottle on the table.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be easy if we use this thing. For now let¡¯s wait for a good timing where I can mix this into her drink.¡¹

    The three were scheming something.

    But then, there was a voice that called out to the three of them from behind.

    It was Creare who was blending into the environment.

    ¡ºBad~chil~dren~found~¡»

    Creare let out a joyful voice while ejecting something with *pshew* sound from its round body.

    A sweet aroma and a voice that didn¡¯te from someone among them caused the three to look around warily.

    ¡¸Whose voice it is just now? Also there is this strange©¤©¤sweet©¤©¤smell¡¹

    The three got sleepy and let go of their consciousness.

    Seeing the three of them fell asleep on their table, Creare whispered.

    ¡ºThis is your own fault. This is what will happen if you try toy your hand on Livia-chan. But don¡¯t worry©¤©¤I¡¯m not short tempered like Luxion, so I won¡¯t kill the three of you.¡»

    Creare showed itself and looked around with its blue lens while forming a n.

    Then it discovered a promising group.

    It was a group of academy students that consisted of only men. They came here for drinking.

    They looked like they were having a lot of fun talking excitedly with their fellow male only.

    ¡ºAha!¡»

    Creare formed a sinister design. It was then Livia worriedly approached the three who were asleep.

    ¡¸You three, what¡¯s wrong!?¡¹

    Livia was panicked. There Creare advised her while also guiding her action.

    ¡ºLivia-chan, it seems they are tired. I saw them drinking alcohol that was a bit too strong for them. They became sleepy because of that.¡»

    ¡¸Are-chan? Why are you here?¡¹

    ¡ºI came to check the situation because I was worried for you. But more importantly, it will be better if we quickly bring back these three to the student dormitory.¡»

    Livia started thinking then.

    The weing party had only just started.

    ¡¸Perhaps we should let them rest for a bit like this before bringing them to the student dormitory?¡¹

    ¡ºAh, wait. ©¤©¤It looks like the students over there are going to return.¡»

    Ahead of Creare¡¯s gaze was the group that consisted of only men.

    They were holding each other¡¯s shoulder cheerfully.

    They were about to leave the bar. There was almost no doubt that they were going to return home.

    ¡¸Ca, can I ask them for help?¡¹

    ¡ºIt will be fine. ©¤©¤They will readily agree to help. I guarantee it.¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯ll feel bad to trouble them with this. Won¡¯t it be better to bring these three back by ourselves?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s okay. Rather they will be happy to help out.¡»

    ¡¸Re, really?¡¹

    Being told that, Livia approached the table where the group was making merry. But it caused that table¡¯s atmosphere to drastically changed from the fun atmosphere just now.

    ¡¸E, excuse me.¡¹

    Among the young men there were even some who red at Livia, but a young man with swept back ck hair who seemed to be their representative talked to Livia with a smiling face that looked fake.

    ¡¸Do you have any business with us?¡¹

    Livia nervously sent her gaze toward the table where Aaron and his friends were sleeping.

    ¡¸A, actually, there are some students who got drunk and fell asleep. If everyone here is nning to return to the male dormitory right away, I¡¯d like to ask for your help bringing them back.¡¹

    Livia thought that she was being a bother while listening to herself asking for help, even so she waited for their reply.

    She readied herself to get scolded, but she saw the young men looked at each other and started discussing something. Then they suddenly smiled.

    ¡¸What. You should tell us right away if it¡¯s for something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I was a bit hesitant to ask.¡¹

    ¡¸Those three? It¡¯s fine. We will take responsibility to send them back to the dorm.¡¹

    The young men whose attitude changed so drastically brought out Aaron and his friends from the bar with the leader himself personally carrying Aaron.

    ¡¸Eh, wait. All of you are really fine with this? I know that it was me who asked for help but, it isn¡¯t a bother for everyone?¡¹

    Livia was bewildered by the kindness of the group. The leader turned a smile toward her with Aaron on his back.

    ¡¸We don¡¯t mind. We will take responsibility to look after them.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much!¡¹

    Livia expressed her gratitude. She muttered ¡¸It¡¯s just like Are-chan said¡¹ before returning back to the weing party in relieve.

    Creare who was watching the happening with its blue lens looked toward Aaron and his friends who were carried away by the young men.

    ¡ºThe three of you are guilty. After all you tried toy your hand of Livia-chan.¡»

    Creare¡¯s lens let out an ominous glint. And then it vanished by melting into the scenery.

    .

    Part 2

    The next morning.

    When Aaron opened his eyes, he found himself inside a room of the male dormitory.

    But, it wasn¡¯t his own room.

    The furniture was different, what¡¯s more there was another male student there. He seemed to be the room¡¯s owner.

    He was preparing coffee.

    The young man with swept back ck hair was tall with well-trained physique.

    He was wearing a white shirt that was unbuttoned around his chest.

    ¡¸Do you want coffee?¡¹

    He asked Aaron. Aaron nodded in bewilderment.

    ¡¸Y-yeah¡¹

    The room was illuminated by morning sunlight that was filtered from the window. It made that young man looked dazzling.

    ¡¸You got drunk and fell asleep in the bar yesterday. I and my friends brought you guys back, but even when we asked the dorm staff we couldn¡¯t find where your room is. Sorry, because of that I let you sleep in my room.¡¹

    Aaron thanked the young man who looked after him.

    ¡¸I-is that so? Sorry for all the troubles.¡¹

    ¡¸What, don¡¯t worry about it.¡¹

    Aaron was surprised by himself for saying thank you so honestly.

    (I¡¯m saying thanks to a man who looked after me? What¡¯s wrong with me?)

    Normally he would grumble at this time, but today he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so no matter what.

    His uniform was neatly folded on the table near the bed.

    He was bewildered because he was only wearing a single brief.

    (Di, did he take off my clothes? Even so, my butt hurts.)

    Aaron looked bothered by his rear. The young man apologized when he noticed that.

    ¡¸Sorry. I dropped you when carrying you back. You suddenly struggled at that time, so it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡¹

    It seemed he was really drunk. Aaron fell into his thought.

    (Did I drink that much? In the first ce, when did I fall asleep? No, no good. I can¡¯t recall.)

    He remembered until the part where he was nning to drug Livia.

    But, it seemed that n failed.

    (E-even so, why am I this nervous in front of a man?)

    Aaron was blushing in front of the upperssman.

    .

    Part 3

    Creare was observing Aaron¡¯s situation.

    ¡ºI just want to test about the phenomenon of human mistaking their heart¡¯s throbbing as love, but it looks like it¡¯s actually a sess.¡»

    Creare was having fun. It also checked the situation of the other two boys.

    The two of them were still sleeping in other boys¡¯ rooms.

    ¡ºI¡¯m looking forward to their development from now.¡»

    Creare was originally an AI of a research facility before it was reused for its current role. It was made to be more interested in things like experimentpared to AI like Luxion.

    ¡ºI made this experiment because I was curious how human would act when they were tossed into a peculiar situation, but to think that the difference from old mankind would be this great. This is very interesting in a sense.¡»

    It considered preparing aphrodisiac too for this experiment, but Creare judged that there was no need for that.

    Then a rustling sound came from behind it.

    It turned around and checked. IT seemed Ange and Livia who were sleeping in their underwear had just moved.

    The two of them were sleeping together peacefully on one bed.

    ph_mobuseka04_ill003

    It seemed Ange woke up because of the voice of Creare talking to itself.

    She sat up with a face that still looked sleepy.

    ¡ºOh, good morning. Listen to me Ange-chan! Actually©¤©¤¡»

    Ange turned toward Creare who was in high tension and threw a pillow almost unconsciously to shut it up.

    Then she got back to sleep using Livia¡¯s breasts as pillow.

    Creare took offense to that.

    ¡ºHorrible! How can you do such horrible to me, the one who saved Livia-chan from danger. That¡¯s right! I¡¯ll send the photo of this sight to master today!¡»

    It took picture of the two¡¯s defenseless figures for revenge.

    ¡º©¤©¤Fufufu. This is your own fault because you angered me. Now then, I have to check the situation of Aaron-kun and his friends.¡»

    Creare was operating behind the scenes while Leon was gone.

    .

    Part 4

    It was around the time when I had started to get used to the life here.

    ¡¸It¡¯s tiring too today.¡¹

    I was heading to the tram terminal to get home from the academy. But then a car stopped in front of me.

    The car looked like an expensive ssical car.

    The driver got down from the car and respectfully opened the door at the back.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ha?¡¹

    I thought that he might have mistaken me for someone else, but then a girl got down from the back seat.

    The students around us got noisy. Louise-san invited me while that was happening.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t introduce myself properly at that time. I am Louise Sara Rault. Overseas student Leon-kun, I have something to talk with you.¡¹

    I never thought even in my dream that the viiness would call out to me.

    Why was she interested with me?

    I was also curious why she was making that shocked face when we met before.

    ¡¸A talk?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ll be pleased if you can apany me.¡¹

    I shrugged and entered the car just like she asked.

    The inside of the car had very luxurious decoration.

    The seat was also soft. This was really a car that the rich would have.

    Louise-san sat also got in and sat beside me. Then the driver closed the door before entering and driving the car.

    I didn¡¯t know if this car had the same structure like the car in my past life or if it only had the same appearance but different mechanism.

    But, the car was moving normally.

    Loiise-san talked to me with a nervous look while I was feeling nostalgic.

    ¡¸Have you gotten used to Alzer?¡¹

    She broke the ice with a harmless and inoffensive question, but the real topic must be something else.

    ¡¸Yes, thanks to everyone here.¡¹

    ¡¸You can talk to me if you have any trouble. I also won¡¯t mind even if you use my name.¡¹

    I got the feeling that I would be able to get away with a lot of things if I made use of the name of the youngdy of Rault House.

    Though I wouldn¡¯t use it because it was scary.

    ¡¸That¡¯s really kind of you.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, do you think that I would be someone meaner? Noelle must have said something to you.¡¹

    ¡¸Well, something like that.¡¹

    You were the very picture of a mean-spirited woman at our first meeting though.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not like that all the time.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not persuasive at all hearing that from the person herself.¡¹

    ¡¸You got quite the mouth in you.¡¹

    Louise-san looked like she was having fun to me. She wasn¡¯t anything like when she interacted with Noelle.

    The driver red at me through the back mirror when I talked casually with Lady Louise.

    Look at the front when driving, oi.

    ¡¸©¤©¤And, what might be your business with me?¡¹

    Just as I tried to move to the main topic, Louise-san brought her face closer toward me.

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    She touched my cheek with her left hand and stared on my face with moist eyes.

    ph_mobuseka04_ill004

    ¡¸W-what are you¡¹

    I have fianc¨¦es! I¡¯m thinking to say that before jumping out of the car, but then Louise-san said something unexpected to me.

    ¡¸Hey, try calling me ¡°Onee-chan¡±.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Heh?¡¹

    My brain was imagining a beauty bringing her face closer and said ¡¸I love you¡¹ with moist eyes to me, but to think she would ask ¡¸Call me Onee-chan¡¹ instead.

    As expected even I couldn¡¯t possibly predict this.

    ¡¸N-no, I¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t want to?¡¹

    Louise-san said that looking like a spoiled child but also with a slightly dejected expression. She looked cute.

    Perhaps she was actually making fun of me?

    ¡¸For me the word big sister is only associated with bad images, so that¡¯s why, I just can¡¯t bring myself to say it.¡¹

    ¡¸So you have a big sister.¡¹

    ¡¸She is a big sister who nted an explosive near her little brother though.¡¹

    I mentioned that with augh. Louise-san¡¯s eyes snapped wide open in shock hearing that.

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s a very extreme big sister. B-but you were alright weren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I got away alright.¡¹

    I recalled the duel with Julius and others before the summer vacation.

    The bastard Jilk used my big sister to nt a bomb inside Arroganz in my duel against those guys.

    Fortunately I got away unscathed, but a big sister who nted a bomb to kill her brother was a horrible big sister no matter how you cut it.

    Well, it would also be too harsh to me big sis if you considered her position at that time.

    And I was unscathed anyway so I didn¡¯t hold any grudge toward her.

    ¡¸Do you hate, your big sister?¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t express my rtionship with my sisters with simple word of like or hate. It¡¯s more like, I can¡¯tpletely hate them no matter how hateful they are?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re kind Leon-kun.¡¹

    I was happy to be told that by Louise-san, but couldn¡¯t something be done about this closeness.

    She had backed away slightly, but the distance between us was still too close.

    Our thigh touched each other, and when I realized my hand was in her grasp.

    What¡¯s with this situation!?

    The car was only going in circles around the academy. It didn¡¯t have any particr destination.

    Did this mean she didn¡¯t intend to let me get away?

    ¡¸©¤©¤And, what is the reason you are asking me to call you Onee-chan? Is that your hobby?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not a hobby! I-it will take too long if I¡¯m talking about it here. And I also don¡¯t know whether you will believe me or not.¡¹

    She imed that it wasn¡¯t because of hobby that she asked me to call her Onee-chan.

    However, what could be the reason then? It was curious.

    Why did she want me to call her ¡¸Onee-chan¡¹?

    ¡¸Rather, why me?¡¹

    ¡¸Tha, that¡¯s why, it¡¯s©¤©¤¡¹

    Louise-san fidgeted in embarrassment. She averted her blushing face from me.

    Her mouth was only mumbling vague words without showing any sign that she would tell me the reason.

    Eh? This person, isn¡¯t she a bit cute?

    A transmission from Luxion came right after I was thinking that.

    ¡ºMaster, I¡¯m sorry to disturb you while you are having fun.¡»

    I wanted to retort ¡¸I ain¡¯t having fun here!¡¹ right away, but Louise-san was also here.

    Luxion ignored me and continued his report.

    ¡ºA problem urred in the academy.¡»

    ©¤©¤Eh?

    .

    Part 5

    At the academy of Alzer Commonwealth.

    Jean got asked for help by a teacher after school and he stayedte in the academy. Right now he was sorting items in a ssroom.

    ¡¸I wonder if Noelle is hungry right now?¡¹

    Jean was worried about his old dog.

    He got out of the ssroom that was starting to be dark with his bag in hand. But waiting for him there was male students who got countless bad rumors surrounding him. He was blocking the corridor so he couldn¡¯t pass through.

    That male student also got his hangers-on around him.

    ¡¸Eh, excuse me?¡¹

    Jean was flustered in front of the smirking boys.

    They©¤©¤Pierre and his friends were people who Jean never interacted with.

    Pierre talked to Jean.

    ¡¸Are you the one in charge of disciplining the overseas students? Now this just cannot do~, you aren¡¯t doing your job to properly discipline those guys.¡¹

    ¡¸D-discipline? No, I, was told to help with everyone whoe from overseas......¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s hangers-on closed the distance and surrounded Jean when he corrected that statement.

    Jean hugged his bag while trembling. Pierre also approached him.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t give a damn. Those guys are eyesore. That means it¡¯s also your responsibility.¡¹

    ¡¸H-how can that¡¹

    Jean knew the rumors about Pierre. He was scared of what would befall him after this.

    Pierre was the academy¡¯s problem child.

    He was the second son of Faiviel House, one of the six great nobles.

    On his right hand resided the crest held by the six great nobles that was the proof of the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection.

    The other male students around him also held the divine protection of sacred tree on the back of their right hand. Though the one they had was of lower rank than Pierre¡¯s.

    All of them were nobles.

    ¡¸Come with us for a bit. We¡¯re going to discipline you. The great me of the six great nobles is going to personally disciplining you, feel honored.¡¹

    Pierre had the attitude of looking down to those who weren¡¯t noble, but this wasn¡¯t something unusual in themonwealth.

    There were two types of human in themonwealth.

    Those who had the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection and those who didn¡¯t.

    Those who had the sacred protection introduced themselves as noble and looked down on those who didn¡¯t have the sacred protection.

    The nobles didn¡¯t only look down on other countries, they also looked down on their fellow countrymen who didn¡¯t have the crest.

    ¡¸Come to behind the school.¡¹

    Jean who was led away by Pierre and his gang dropped his bag.

    .

    Part 6

    I asked the car to stop in front of the school gate and got down in a hurry. I then ran toward behind the school.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, wait!¡¹

    Louise-san also got down from the car, but I ignored her and kept running.

    Luxion who had been concealing himself until now appeared near my right shoulder.

    ¡¸Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier!?¡¹

    ¡ºHe isn¡¯t one of the observation targets. Master should praise me instead for noticing this so quickly despite it.¡»

    ¡¸Dammit!¡¹

    The academy was pointlesslyrge. Everything was already over when I rushed into that ce.

    Teachers and students who were still remaining in the academy were gathering to the back of the school building.

    At the middle of that there was Jean being hanged upside down from a tree.

    I was running out of breath. I could only stand there watching Jean being lowered from the tree.

    Luxion had camouged himself at that time.

    ¡ºHe is still alive.¡»

    The teachers brought a stretcher to take Jean away to hospital,

    ¡¸This is horrible.¡¹

    ¡¸Did they use magic?¡¹

    ¡¸The infirmary can¡¯t treat injuries this bad. Let¡¯s bring him to hospital.¡¹

    I pushed my way through the crowd toward Jean.

    ¡¸Sorry, let me through.¡¹

    I got close to Jean and talked to him.

    ¡¸Jean, hang in there! Who did this to you!?¡¹

    ¡¸You, stand back.¡¹

    Jean¡¯s mouth moved while the teachers tried to pry me away from him.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Noelle, sorry¡¹

    The students around me opened their mouth after the teachers brought Jean away.

    ¡¸It¡¯s those guys.¡¹

    ¡¸He caught their eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸He is second year right? I pity him.¡¹

    They spoke as though they knew who did this.

    I caught a nearby male student and asked him what was going on.

    ¡¸Oi, who did that to Jean?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, you don¡¯t know?¡¹

    Seeing my serious expression, he watched his surrounding warily while telling me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s Pierre of Faiviel House. Those guys like to hang someone they don¡¯t like on a tree. Careful or you will get hanged too if you snoop around too much.¡¹

    The student left after saying that. The other students also left from this ce.

    I had heard the name of Pierre and Faiviel House before.

    ¡ºThe culprit was the evil noble who targeted the main character in the middle stage? This Pierre is the key character for the event where the main character and a capture target affirmed their love.¡»

    This Pierre was your typical evil noble.

    He would cause trouble for the main character. The boy who was the capture target would help the main character and both of them would affirm their love to each other through that event.

    He was an event character.

    ¡¸He¡¯s doing whatever he pleases.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster, you must wish to take revenge. But, I can¡¯t rmend that course of action. It¡¯ll go against your objective. Pierre is a necessary character for the event. If master crush him, the scenario will bepletely out of order.¡»

    I couldn¡¯t make any move toward Pierre if I wanted to keep the game event stayed on the right course.

    It was annoying but I decided to leave Pierre alone.

    ¡¸That guy is a wonderful enemy. He made me so annoyed I want to punch his face right away.¡¹

    I would leave Pierre alone even after what he did to Jean for the sake of the game event.

    I was really pathetic.

    Louise-san finally arrived to behind the school while I was still rooted on that spot.

    She was running out of breath. She then asked me what happened.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, why did you suddenly go off running like that?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤No, it¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    I was going to overlook a shitty bastard for a game event©¤©¤I was no better than a shitty bastard myself.

    .

    Part 7

    Evening.

    I headed to the apartment where Jean lived.

    I exined the situation to thendy and borrowed the key to enter inside. There I found a clean room. It was just like Jean to diligently keep his room clean like this.

    There was an old dog inside that room. It approached us when we entered inside.

    It growled vigntly, but I ignored it and patted its head.

    ¡¸Sorry. Your owner is going to have to stay in hospital for a while.¡¹

    There was no way it could understand my words, but the old dog stopped growling and licked my hand.

    Its legs were trembling just from standing up. Its body had greatly weakened.

    Luxion asked me after seeing the dog.

    ¡ºIt don¡¯t have long to live.¡»

    ¡¸Yeah. We¡¯re going to look after it until Jean got discharged from hospital.¡¹

    ¡ºDoes master intend to atone by doing this?¡»

    ¡¸Yeah, got any problem with that? I won¡¯t take revenge for Jean in order to avoid danger to the world. Well, it¡¯s not like we are that close with each other, but it¡¯s also a fact that guy has been a lot of help for me.¡¹

    In the worst case I would even consider separating Jean and Noelle from each other.

    That was why, I should at least do this much for him in return.

    ¡¸That guy love this Noelle-chan a lot. I¡¯m sure he is worried for her.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Pierre of Faiviel House is it? The six great nobles hold powerful influence in themonwealth.¡»

    ¡¸You can easily find evil noble anywhere.¡¹

    I carried Noelle in my arms and walked toward the door. Luxion made a suggestion to me at that time.

    ¡ºDestroy©¤©¤everything will be solved if master only tell me that.¡»

    If themonwealth was destroyed, then the problem of the sacred tree would also be resolved. That would be a happy end for Luxion.

    ¡¸From the start I wouldn¡¯te here to study if I intend to give you permission for that. Besides, how about you use your thick skull already to understand that I¡¯m not going to choose such method?¡¹

    It was really a pain in the ass that the AI who absolutely couldn¡¯t forgive the new mankind was this extreme.

    ¡ºI thought that perhaps master has a change of heart. After all master is a really fickle person.¡»

    ¡¸Call it as being adaptable.¡¹

    ¡ºIn master¡¯s case it should be called as being indecisive instead.¡»

    I exited the room and locked the door.

    ¡¸I guess. Even so, this thing about cannot doing anything to Pierre because the one he will make trouble with is more likely to be the main character, it¡¯s really irritating.¡¹

    I wonder what should I do to the bastard after the event ended?

    ¡ºMaster, what will you do in case Noelle is the main character? Will you separate Noelle from Jean and force her to be together with Loic who is stalking her around?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤I wish that Lelia is actually the main character here.¡¹

    If possible I wanted the two of them to be happy together.

    Jean too, when he was injured it was Noelle¡¯s name that unconsciously slipped out from his lips.

    Surely he loved her.

    ¡¸By the way, what are we going to need to take care of Noelle-chan? I wonder what kind of food will be good for her?¡¹

    ¡ºI will make arrangement for it.¡»

    I¡¯d take care of Noelle-chan until Jean returned.

    .

    Part 8

    At the academy of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    A mail from Leon arrived. Ange and Livia were sitting on the bed while happily reading the mail in turn.

    The mail mentioned the happening in Alzer Commonwealth.

    Creare expressly printed the mail so the two of them could read it themselves.

    It was because the two of them previously said that electronic mail wascking in taste.

    However, Livia suddenly became slightly sad after reading the letter in joy.

    ¡¸It¡¯s written here that Leon-san is now taking care of an old dog.¡¹

    Ange was also looking worried.

    ¡¸Seventeen years is really old for a dog. It will be difficult to take care of it.¡¹

    In fact the letter also mentioned how difficult it was to look after Noelle.

    In the letter it was written how he was practically nursing the dog rather than simply taking care of it. He also made Luxion helping out with it.

    ¡¸But, Leon too seems to be alright over there. The problem is whether he is getting too close with another woman or not.¡¹

    The biggest problem for the two of them would be if Leon was cheating at Alzer Commonwealth.

    Ange herself was also feeling discontent because they immediately got separated from each other right after their engagement.

    Livia uneasily denied Ange¡¯s worry.

    ¡¸I-it will be fine! Leon-san wrote here that he want to meet with us. Besides he isn¡¯t the type of person who would cheat!¡¹

    Ange slightly smiled seeing Livia¡¯s reaction and teased her.

    ¡¸Who knows. After all that guy is also a man. Besides, he is a hero who climbed up until the rank of count in one generation. Any woman will surely feel her heart throbbing against such man. If it¡¯s me then I absolutely won¡¯t let him get away from my grasp.¡¹

    ¡¸C-certainly Leon-san is a wonderful man, but I don¡¯t want him cheating.¡¹

    Livia looked like she was going to cry. Ange gently apologized seeing that.

    ¡¸My bad. Forgive me. I too don¡¯t want him cheating. But, there is always a risk for this kind of problem to happen.¡¹

    rice and also Deirdre who had just graduated were also a danger.

    There was a possibility of Leon getting snatched away from the side if they let their guard down.

    ¡¸I want to give him a warning just to be sure, but Leon too will hate it if we questioned him too much. It¡¯s a difficult matter.¡¹

    ¡¸Can¡¯t I just write to Leon-san that cheating is ¡¸Bad!¡¹ in our reply?¡¹

    Ange shook her head at Livia¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡¸Even Leon won¡¯t be amused if we are suspecting him of cheating even though he isn¡¯t doing anything like that. Creare, what is your opinion about that?¡¹

    Creare who was suddenly addressed twitched in agitation midair.

    ¡¸Oi, what¡¯s with that reaction?¡¹

    Creare took distance from Ange who was approaching it.

    ¡ºI, it¡¯s not what you think! I¡¯m in the middle of experimenting right now. I was just wondering if master would scold me if he found out about it!¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Just what in the world are you doing? What do you mean by experiment?¡¹

    ¡ºT-that¡¯s©¤©¤I can¡¯t say it.¡»

    Unlike Luxion, Creare had a personality that was too free-spirited.

    Livia scolded Creare.

    ¡¸Are-chan, doing bad thing is no good, bad child!¡¹

    Scolded by the two of them, Creare was faking crying and left the room.

    The spherical body didn¡¯t have any crying function.

    ¡ºYou two are horrible! Even though©¤©¤even though I¡¯m working hard for everyone¡¯s sake!¡»

    ¡¸O-oi!¡¹

    ¡¸Are-chan!?¡¹

    Ange and Livia hurriedly chased after Creare who flew out from the room.

 Chapter 115 - Volume 4 Chapter 5 Oath to the Sacred Tree

    Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5 ¨C Oath to the Sacred Tree

    .

    Part 1

    The ssroom was enveloped in gloomy atmosphere since the morning.

    The students were talking about Jean who was heavily injured and hospitalized.

    ¡¸Did you hear? That Jean, yesterday he got hanged down behind the building.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s over for him with a noble setting his sight on him.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s pitiful but, there is nothing that we can do. The culprit was a noble with divine protection.¡¹

    It seemed having divine protection or not was something important for the people of themonwealth.

    Apparently if you had divine protection then you could be called a noble. The nobles here had different beginning from the nobles in the kingdom.

    They were nobles because they were recognized by the sacred tree.

    They wouldn¡¯t be noble without that recognition.

    And then if you were a noble, anything you did to those without divine protection would be forgiven.

    ¡¸What a horrible country.¡¹

    I muttered to myself. Noelle who was sitting in front of me casted her gaze down.

    A boy she was close with got heavily injured by a noble and became hospitalized.

    Surely she was feeling depressed.

    ¡¸Are you alright?¡¹

    I talked to Noelle. In respond she nodded slightly with a pale face.

    ¡¸I¡¯m alright. But, I¡¯m worried about what will happen to Jean now. I don¡¯t think he will be able to pay the hospital fee with his situation, besides who will take care of his pet dog now?¡¹

    Apparently the apartment where Noelle was living didn¡¯t allow the resident to keep animal there.

    That was why she wouldn¡¯t be able to look after Jean¡¯s dog while he was hospitalized.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m taking care of his dog right now.¡¹

    ¡¸You are?¡¹

    Noel looked surprised, but she also seemed relieved to hear that.

    ¡¸Thank god. Jean really love that dog, so that¡¯s a load off my chest.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yeah.¡¹

    ¡¸I even considered taking care of it secretly at my ce, but my worry is gone with this. Ah, can Ie to Leon¡¯s house to check on it?¡¹

    ¡¸Feel free.¡¹

    I replied curtly with my eyes closed. Noelle said ¡¸You don¡¯t look like in a weing mood¡¹ seeing me like that.

    But I too couldn¡¯t feel happy right now. ©¤©¤I was feeling a lot of guilt in regard to Jean.

    Mr. Clement entered the ssroom just when Noelle was looking slightly more cheerful.

    ¡¸Everyone, pipe down. I think you have heard about what just happened, but we¡¯ll still begin homeroom like usual.¡¹

    Mr. Clement¡¯s expression was sterner than usual. I didn¡¯t miss him sending a nce at Noelle.

    It seemed this person was really concerned about Noelle.

    .

    Part 2

    After school.

    I would be going home together with Noelle. I was waiting for her at the entrance right now.

    ¡¸She iste.¡¹

    ¡ºShe said that she is going to talk first with her little sister Lelia.¡»

    It seemed they were living in the same apartment, so she didn¡¯t want to make her worry because she woulde homete.

    Being a big sister was hard.

    I also wanted a big sister like Noelle. It reminded me of my big sis in the kingdom.

    She was a terrible big sister who liked to push around her little brother.

    I wished I could trade her with Noelle.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, there is a bit of trouble.¡»

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    Luxion was monitoring Noelle. It seemed there was a problem happening over there.

    ¡ºThe capture target Loic is approaching Noel. The situation seems dangerous.¡»

    ¡¸Spare me from all these troubles.¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯ll show the way.¡»

    I ran inside the building with Luxion¡¯s guidance.

    Still, just what in the world was going on that Luxion judged it to be dangerous?

    After running for a few moment, I encountered ¡°Onee-chan¡± when I turned at a corner.

    ¡¸Why are you in such a hurry like that?¡¹

    She became curious seeing me at a hurry.

    ¡¸Aa~, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m pressed for time so please excuse me.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait. You can tell me.¡¹

    ¡¸No, actually it¡¯s about Noelle©¤©¤¡¹

    Louise-san¡¯s expression changed when I mentioned Noelle¡¯s name.

    Did she hate Noelle that much?

    .

    Part 3

    Noelle was thrust onto a wall in an empty corridor.

    ¡¸What are you doing!?¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s back collided on the wall and she red at the culprit. In respond Loic reached out with one hand and roughly put his hand on the wall.

    He intentionally made a loud noise to threaten Noelle. Then he brought his face closer.

    ¡¸That¡¯s my line. Noelle, I heard you will be going to another man¡¯s house.¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s back turned cold.

    Loic¡¯s face was handsome, but it only caused disgust to well up inside her.

    (Why is he this persistent©¤©¤disgusting)

    ¡¸Don¡¯t touch me!¡¹

    Noelle cursed inside her heart while at the outside she thrust away Loic from herself.

    But she was facing a man.

    He was also taller than her. He was also stronger.

    She could only thrust him away slightly.

    ¡¸I can do as I please. I don¡¯t need to ask you for permission. Also, stop spreading rumor that I¡¯m your woman. You¡¯re a bother.¡¹

    She and Leon were in the ssroom when they talked about her going to his home.

    In other words, it must be someone in the same ssroom who tattled on Loic about it.

    It was disgusting how far Loic was going to inquire about her. She couldn¡¯t ept it.

    Noelle thought that Loic would be enraged at her words, but instead he was smiling.

    But, it was a scary smile.

    She wanted to back away, but her back was pressed on the wall.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Noelle, it¡¯s going to be over for you at this rate.¡¹

    ¡¸I-it¡¯s pointless even if you threaten me. I¡¯m not going to do as you ask me.¡¹

    ¡¸Not that. Right now Pierre is targeting you.¡¹

    ¡¸Ha?¡¹

    Noelle was confused why Pierre¡¯s name suddenly came up, but Loic paid her no mind and continued.

    ¡¸It seems Like Pierre is nning to corner the overseas students. For that he is targeting their caretakers first.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell me, the one who hanged down Jean was¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s going to be you next. But, if you be my woman then I won¡¯t let a mere thug like Pierreys his hand on you. What¡¯re you going to do, Noelle?¡¹

    Loic knew what Pierre was going to do. He made use of it to make Noelle became his woman.

    Hearing that Noelle©¤©¤kicked Loic¡¯s crotch.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t screw around!¡¹

    ¡¸Uguh!¡¹

    Loic crouched while holding his crotch. Noelle looked at him with a cold gaze.

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you ashamed with yourself for making use of other people to obtain me? I hate that kind of man.¡¹

    Loic burst into cold sweat while crouching. But he still smiled.

    ¡¸Y-you¡¯re still the same©¤©¤s-stubborn girl. But, it seems you¡¯re being too na?ve. It¡¯s pointless even if you try to rely on Emile. That guy won¡¯t be able to protect you. I¡¯m the only one who can protect you.¡¹

    Emile came from Pleven House, one of the six great noble houses. He was also Lelia¡¯s lover.

    He would surely lend her a hand if she asked him. But Loic imed that it would be pointless.

    ¡¸If Emilee out, then I¡¯ll lend Pierre a hand.¡¹

    If Loic who was the eldest son of Barriere House lent Pierre his assistance, then Emile wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything by himself.

    Noelle became even more offended.

    (This guy, how far he is going to©¤©¤why is Lelia, telling me to be with someone like this!)

    ¡¸You¡¯re saying, you will lend that Pierre a hand?¡¹

    Noelle clenched her hands. She understood that right now she couldn¡¯t do anything.

    (This is really the worst.)

    Loic painfully stood up and made a twitching smile while cing his hand on Noelle¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡¸If you be my woman, you will be able to live a life without any inconvenience. Your little sister also wants that for you. But if you refuse©¤©¤if you¡¯re going to belong to another man than me, then right here and right now I¡¯d rather-¡¹

    Loic¡¯s right hand shined.

    His crest began to shine red.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll never, to the like of you-¡¹

    Noelle red at Loic. Then a voice came from a distance at that timing.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t make it. Grr, in that case!¡¹

    ¡ºMaster, what are you nning? Master! S-sto©¤©¤¡»

    Noelle turned her gaze toward that voice. Loic¡¯s gaze was also lured by that and he looked toward the same direction.

    A grey metal ball smashed on Loic¡¯s face.

    ¡¸Buh!¡¹

    The iron ball urately hit Loic¡¯s nose. He was bleeding from the nose while crumpling on the floor and theny down spread-eagled.

    The grey ball slowly rolled on the floor before slowly floating up. It turned its red eye toward the approaching Leon.

    ¡¸Strike! Kidding.¡¹

    Leon was rejoicing, but in contrast the grey ball was talking with an angry tone.

    ¡ºThat was because I corrected the trajectory in the middle. There was no way master could hit with your abysmal control. Also, do you have nothing else to say to me?¡»

    Leon snorted.

    ¡¸You¡¯re easy to throw.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤As I thought I hate master.¡»

    ¡¸Is that so? I feel the same you destruction maniac.¡¹

    ¡ºPlease correct that. I have a name which is ¡°Luxion¡±.¡»

    ¡¸What a splendid name. You can show your reverence to me for giving you that name.¡¹

    ¡ºShouldn¡¯t master treasure me more?¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m treasuring you, in my own way that is.¡¹

    The two of them were on bad terms no matter how anyone looked at them.

    ¡¸Eh, what?¡¹

    Loic was slowly getting up while Noelle was in confusion. His hand was pressing his nose, but blood was still trickling down from there.

    ¡¸A-are you bastard the oversea student?¡¹

    Loic was enraged. He made the back of his right hand shined.

    It looked like he was nning to use the crest¡¯s power.

    ¡¸Leon, run! This guy is a heir of the six great nobles!¡¹

    Noelle stepped forward to cover for Leon, but Loic pushed her away and turned his right hand toward Leon.

    ¡¸It¡¯s toote!¡¹

    But©¤©¤Louise appeared in front of Leon with the crest of her right hand simrly glowing.

    Louise was covering for Leon.

    ¡¸Loic, do you want to anger me?¡¹

    Loic lowered his right hand in respond to those words.

    ¡¸Louise, why are you protecting someone like him! That guy is a scum whoid his hand on my woman!¡¹

    Louise smiled thinly in respond and folded her arms.

    ¡¸Is that true? This is the first time I heard that this woman is your lover. Loic, you should at least be able to differentiate between your delusion and reality you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you seriously want to pick a fight with me?¡¹

    Both of them came from the six great nobles.

    ¡¸Oh, do you want to make this problem bigger than this? It will be you who is at disadvantage in that case.¡¹

    ¡¸Kuh¡¹

    The powers of their crests were equal.

    But, Rault House that was currently serving as the assembly chairman had higher status than Barriere House.

    Loic turned his back on them and spoke to Noelle before leaving.

    ¡¸Noelle, don¡¯t you dare forget. You don¡¯t have any other way except choosing me!¡¹

    Noelle gazed at Loic before turning her gaze toward Leon and Louise.

    This strange grouping was unexpected for her.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Louise, why did you help me?¡¹

    She didn¡¯t understand why Louise would help her.

    ¡¸Help? Don¡¯t misunderstand. It was only because Leon-kun asked me a favor.¡¹

    Leon was smiling, but there was a grey ball with shining red eye floating near his face. The distance was too close it looked like the ball was putting on pressure on Leon.

    ¡¸So you will really help if I asked for it.¡¹

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s right.¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s feeling turned reallyplicated she didn¡¯t know what to say, so she decided to at least say thanks.

    ¡¸Well, the fact is you really helped me just now, so thank you. Thank you both of you.¡¹

    Louise turned her back toward Noelle.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need your thanks. Rather than that, you apany me for a bit.¡¹

    Louise entwined her arm with Leon¡¯s arm.

    Seeing that Noelle grabbed Leon¡¯s other hand.

    ¡¸Ha? I also have a business with Leon you know?¡¹

    Leon was flustered seeing both his arms grabbed by girls.

    ¡¸Eh? What¡¯s this situation? Oi, Luxion help.¡¹

    Currently Luxion was averting its red eye from Leon and muttered ¡ºNow in the middle of cheating¡».

    ¡¸Bastard, are you abandoning your master!? Also what did you whisper just now!?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤I wish master will reflect on yourself a little. I also demand apology from master for throwing me like that. If master doesn¡¯tply, I will report this situation to those two.¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re really the worst!¡¹

    Louise pulled Leon¡¯s arm as he scowled in frustration.

    ¡¸Never mind that,e with me for a bit. There is someone who I want you to meet.¡¹

    Leon tilted his head.

    ¡¸Someone you want me to meet?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤My parents¡¹

    ¡¸Buh!¡¹

    Leon¡¯s breath hitched as Louise replied with a slightly troubled face. On the other hand Noelle was in astonishment.

    Noelle came back to her senses faster than the confused Leon could and questioned Louise.

    ¡¸W-what are you thinking!? Aren¡¯t you the youngdy of Rault House!?¡¹

    Just what was someone in her status thinking that she wanted Leon to meet her parents?

    (Don¡¯t tell me, Louise is seriously in love with Leon!?)

    Even Louise got flustered seeing Noelle¡¯s reaction.

    ¡¸Y-you idiot! Don¡¯t have any weird misunderstanding! There is a reason for©¤©¤¡¹

    Leon was getting shaken back and forth with Noelle and Louise pulling on his arms.

    Luxion spoke to Leon in the middle of that.

    ¡ºMaster, a problem urred.¡»

    .

    Part 4

    While Leon and them were in argument.

    Brad was called out to behind the school. He was fiddling with his hair while being surrounded by boys.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I trieding because I was called here, but what are your intention by surrounding me like this?¡¹

    It was Pierre who called Brad to the back of the school.

    ¡¸You guys nobles of third rate country swaggering in themonwealth is an eyesore.¡¹

    Pierre stuck out his tongue while making a vulgar expression. Brad let out a small sigh seeing that.

    ¡¸The nobles of themonwealth are even more belligerent than what the rumors said. I too have my own position to think about. It will be an international problem if I start something with someone connected to the six great nobles.¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s hangers-on cackled hearing that.

    They knew that what they were doing would be a problem. But they were still doing it even knowing that.

    Pierre opened one of his eyes widely and said to Brad.

    ¡¸Ain¡¯t that interesting. I¡¯ll personally take you on.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s quite the confidence you have there.¡¹

    ¡¸Do it you guys!¡¹

    Brad sent his gaze to the boys around him. The hangers-on attacked him with the wooden swords they were carrying.

    The hangers-on swung down their wooden swords at Brad.

    ¡¸There!¡¹

    But Brad dodged and pushed one of the opponents with his hand.

    The opponent stumbled just from that.

    ¡¸B-bastard¡¹

    Brad felt exasperated inside his heart seeing the hanger-on stood up.

    (Are these guys serious? Perhaps they¡¯re just ying around?)

    The nobles of Hohlfahrt Kingdom had adventurers as their ancestors. From that there was a custom for the noble children to be adventurer since they were student and trained by challenging the dungeon in the capital.

    Brad wasn¡¯t the type to fight at the frontline, but he was stronger than Pierre¡¯s hangers-on.

    ¡¸This son of a bitch!¡¹

    Brad used his knee to hit the stomach of a boy who attacked him from behind. He then snatched the boy¡¯s wooden sword to beat back the hangers-on that were assaulting him.

    (This is the result of my training.)

    He felt a bit happy, but he hid his feeling and gazed at Pierre calmly.

    ¡¸Still want to continue?¡¹

    ¡¸Tsk! You guys are too weak!¡¹

    Pierre yelled at the others, but from where Brad stood, Pierre looked even weaker than these boys.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to get too rough. How about it? It will be better if both of us withdraw here.¡¹

    Brad tried to settle this matter peacefully, but then Pierre pointed his right hand to him.

    ¡¸Are you stupid? You think you have won just because you¡¯re stronger with sword!?¡¹

    The surrounding hangers-on pointed their palms toward Brad.

    ¡¸Fire Ball!¡¹

    ¡¸Ice Needle!¡¹

    ¡¸Energy Bolt!¡¹

    They fired their magic at Brad one after another.

    (Are these guys in their right mind!?)

    Brad calmly dealt with the attacks even while feeling shocked inside. In the first ce Brad was better with magic than sword.

    ¡¸Earth Wall.¡¹

    When Brad stabbed the ground with his wooden sword, earth walls rose up around him. The walls were protecting him from the magic attacks.

    The hangers-on sensed the difference in strength and sent Pierre pleading gazes asking for help.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You guys are really a useless bunch!¡¹

    Brad tried to calm down the enraged Pierre.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s end this already. The difference in our strength is clear.¡¹

    Brad was happy at the inside because he could say that line that he wanted to say at least once. But Pierre was making an eerie smile.

    (What?)

    While Brad kept his guard up, Pierre lifted his right hand and his crest glowed.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve angered me, you fake nobles from third rate country!¡¹

    Then a magic circle formed right under Brad. The earth walls he formed crumbled down.

    ¡¸What!?¡¹

    Brad took a stance with his wooden sword in panic. Then next tree roots flew out from the ground toward Brad.

    His wooden sword was smashed when he defended against the roots. Then an abnormality urred when he tried using magic.

    ¡¸Tsk! Fire Lance!¡¹

    Tree roots could be burned away with me©¤©¤that was Brad¡¯s thought, but his magic didn¡¯t activate.

    ¡¸W-why!?¡¹

    He didn¡¯t make a mistake with his magic. Rather it felt more like his magic was stopped from activating by external factor.

    The tree roots entwined around Brad¡¯s ankle and lifted him up.

    Brad ended up getting hanged upside down. He tried to get away somehow, but the tree roots were constricting around his ankle tightly so he couldn¡¯t escape.

    ¡¸Damn it!¡¹

    He was surrounded by the hangers-on with wooden swords in their hands and Pierre whose right hand was glowing.

    They were grinning around Brad.

    Brad raised his arms and crossed them to protect his body while being suspended upside down like that.

    Pierre ced his hand on his forehead while his other hand was pointing at Brad andughed.

    ¡¸Can¡¯t act smug anymore now can¡¯t you. Aa! You need extra punishment for acting cocky like that. I¡¯m gonna mess up that face of yours!¡¹

    Brad felt mortified inside, even so he didn¡¯t show it on his face.

    (This is bad. Marie©¤©¤Julius©¤©¤everyone, I¡¯m going to trouble all of you, please forgive me.)

    For an instant he wondered what Leon would do in this kind of situation. Thinking that made him felt slightly amused that he smiled. Pierre yelled at that time.

    ¡¸Do it!¡¹

    .

    Part 5

    At Marie¡¯s mansion.

    The mansion that was prepared for them was big and also had a garden. It was very luxurious.

    But, unfortunately Marie and others were currently in the middle of being punished.

    Only the minimum number of servants was prepared in order to maintain the mansion. None of the servants lived in the mansion to constantly provide their assistance. All of them would onlye and work for a few hours per day before going home.

    All the servants would have gone home already when night came. Because of that things like dinner would have to be prepared by their own effort.

    Kyle was preparing the tableware in the dining hall. There Greg who was hungry was waiting for dinner while cing his cheek on the table.

    ¡¸Kyle, is the dinner not done yet? I¡¯m already hungry.¡¹

    Greg had been annoying Kyle since some time ago by saying ¡¸I¡¯m hungry¡¹ frequently. It exasperated Kyle.

    ¡¸Then please help me out.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t. I¡¯m so hungry I can¡¯t move.¡¹

    Kyle wanted to punch Greg¡¯s face, but he endured and looked at the kitchen.

    Marie and Cara¡¯s voices wereing from there.

    ¡¸Boil a lot of pasta!¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, Marie-sama!¡¹

    ¡¸Geez! Everyone is in that growth period where all of them are eating like bottomless barrel!¡¹

    It was a lot of work preparing food because there were eight people in their growth period here.

    But, the men starting from Julius wouldn¡¯t help out.

    Kyle was the only exception.

    Kyle sighed. Greg asked him about the other members who hadn¡¯t entered the dining room.

    ¡¸Where is everyone else?¡¹

    ¡¸Julius and Jilk are in their room preparing for tomorrow. They¡¯re quiet diligent. As for Chris, he said that he will be practice swinging at the garden because he has nothing to do.¡¹

    Even though it would be better if he helped out if he had such free time.

    Kyle held back from voicing his true feeling.

    (Well, these people were raised as young master through and through. For them it¡¯s only natural for the servants to do this kind of work.)

    Kyle thought it was pointless to expect anything from them. It was then he heard a ruckus from the entrance.

    The door was opened roughly and Chris¡¯s voice resounded through the mansion.

    ¡¸Everyone, trouble!¡¹

    Even Marie showed her face from the kitchen hearing that tense voice.

    .

    Part 6

    Marie tied her hair behind her and wearing apron because she was cooking dinner.

    Marie came to the mansion¡¯s entrance in such getup and felt shocked by the sight that was waiting for her there.

    ¡¸Brad!¡¹

    Brad was lying on the ground with rope tying him.

    A male student from the academy was sitting on him.

    ¡¸Yo, third rate country¡¯s people, good evening. I am Pierre-sama of Faiviel House.¡¹

    Marie wanted to rush out when she saw Brad¡¯s swollen face, but Julius grabbed her shoulder.

    ¡¸Julius, let go!¡¹

    ¡¸Calm down Marie. ©¤©¤Brad is still alive. Right now we should focus on these guys who are brazenlying here like this.¡¹

    Pierre was bringing his hangers-on with him here. There were also several cars behind them.

    All of the cars seemed to have been modified to have gaudy look.

    Pierre who was sitting on top of Brad was looking at Julius with a smirk on his face.

    ¡¸So you¡¯re the former crown prince of the kingdom who got disinherited. That¡¯s a pathetic face you got there.¡¹

    Marie was enraged.

    (This guy, Pierre©¤©¤why is he here at our home? Also your face is even more horrible here!)

    But Julius was keeping hisposure even when the other party made fun of him.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Are you guys the one who injured Brad like that?¡¹

    Julius¡¯s voice was colder than usual. He must be very angry.

    Pierre answered with a broad grin.

    ¡¸Yep. This guy is so weak it was boring. You guys are too weak. How about you guys go back home already?¡¹

    Jilk and others who were waiting behind were ready to draw out their weapons anytime.

    Veins were pulsing on Greg¡¯s forehead. He looked like he was going to rush out anytime.

    Chris©¤©¤he was bringing a wooden sword that he was using for his practice swinging.

    Kyle and Cara were hiding behind everyone.

    Julius talked to Pierre as everyone¡¯s representative.

    ¡¸How about you hand over Brad to us?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine. That¡¯s what we brought him here for. Aa~, right right. I¡¯ve some businesses with you guys. y for a bit with me.¡¹

    Marie got a bad premonition.

    (Eh? Wait a second? It feels like I¡¯m forgetting something.)

    Pierre stood up and challenged Julius to a match.

    ¡¸Have a match with me. If I win©¤©¤I¡¯ll take your ship. I¡¯ll give back this guy whether I win or lose. But, I won¡¯t hand him back if you don¡¯t ept the match. I¡¯ll even swear to the sacred tree if you guys don¡¯t believe me.¡¹

    Einhorn immediately came to Marie¡¯s mind when she heard about ship.

    (Ship©¤©¤but Einhorn is big bro¡¯s ship. We can¡¯t make any bet using it. Still, I feel like I¡¯ve heard about this swearing to the sacred tree©¤©¤)

    Julius also had the same thought like Marie.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do that. That ship belongs to Bartfalt. I have no right for it.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then perhaps I¡¯ll kill this guy.¡¹

    Pierre grabbed Brad¡¯s hair and lifted up his head. Julius immediately talked seeing that.

    ¡¸Wait! I¡¯ll ept the match, but I can¡¯t make a bet with the ship©¤©¤¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s mouth distorted with a wide smile that looked like crescent moon at the next moment. The back of his right hand also glowed.

    ¡¸You said it, you said that you ept! You swore to the sacred tree!¡¹

    Pierre startedughing as though he had already won. He spread out his hands and looked up to the sky.

    Julius was slightly taken aback when Pierre suddenly startedughing loudly.

    ¡¸W-what are you saying¡¹

    But Marie recalled something at this time.

    ¡¸N-no! You can¡¯t ept this match!¡¹

    A magic circle manifested with Pierre at the center. It spread out until even the area where Marie and others were standing.

    Marie¡¯s face paled seeing the magic circle on the ground.

    (I remember. This guy was finding fault with the main character and then he used©¤©¤)

    Pierre started exining with a boasting tone.

    ¡¸This match is sworn to the sacred tree. You guys have no choice but to ept this match! The sacred tree is absolute in this country. A match that is held by swearing oath to the sacred tree is something holy and absolute! Only death will await those who break the oath!¡¹

    ¡®Hyahyahya¡¯ Pierre let out a sinisterugh. He pointed at Julius and told him what the match would be.

    ¡¸The match is simple. You guys, kill each other until only one of you remain.¡¹

    The match method that Pierre thrust before them sounded like he was screwing around. It made Julius and others ran out of patience.

    ¡¸Stop screwing around!¡¹

    When Jilk was about to draw out his handgun, thin tree roots and vines grew out from the magic circle and restrained everyone there except Pierre and his gang.

    Marie tried to remove the vine that was entwined around her neck, but it was impossible to do that using human strength.

    Pierre put his hands into his uniform¡¯s pockets and looked at them whileughing.

    ¡¸It¡¯s you guys who are screwing around here. This is a match that is sworn to the sacred tree. It will be your defeat if you guys don¡¯t quickly kill each other.¡¹

    Marie gritted her teeth while looking at Pierre.

    (What¡¯s with this guy? Even in the game he was an unfair small fry but, this is just in cheating! Besides, the gambled object here is©¤©¤)

    Einhorn was Leon¡¯s ship.

    It would be a disaster for Marie if it was taken away.

    (That¡¯ll bepletely crossing big bro¡¯s yellow zone if that happen!?)

    Julius red at Pierre and showed his stubbornness.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way we¡¯ll kill each other. In the first ce an absurd match like this can¡¯t possibly be allowed.¡¹

    ¡¸This country isn¡¯t your third rate country. You¡¯re in Alzer, the country of absolute winner. You¡¯re dreaming too much if you think that you can receive the same treatment like us.¡¹

    Themonwealth was undefeated when it came to defensive battle.

    This country was certainly an astounding country.

    But, this kind of situation was just unreasonable. Julius and others got angry in denial. But then pain suddenly ran through their neck.

    ¡¸Kuh! W-what?¡¹

    Greg forcefully tore off the vine around his neck. There around his neck was a tattoo that looked like cor.

    Chris noticed that and told Greg.

    ¡¸Greg, there is some kind of pattern on your neck.¡¹

    ¡¸Your neck too.¡¹

    Everyone got cor-like tattoo printed on their neck.

    The magic circle then vanished and the roots and vines stopped moving.

    ¡¸The oath to the sacred tree is absolute. The heinous criminal who tried to vite it will be given punishment by the sacred tree directly. If you guys try to disobey, then your head will fly.¡¹

    Julius¡¯s eyes opened wide at Pierre¡¯s exnation.

    Everyone looked toward Marie. There her neck was also engraved with the crest from the sacred tree.

    The four were enraged at Pierre, even so they couldn¡¯t do anything right now.

    Pierre and his gang got into their cars.

    ¡¸Now then, let¡¯s take a look at the airship from a third-rate country. It¡¯s already mine now after all.¡¹

    Pierre and his gang left.

    Julius ran toward Marie and spoke to her in worry.

    ¡¸Marie, are you alright!?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤away¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸Contact Leon right away! Listen, you mustn¡¯t agitate him no matter what. Exin the situation to him properly and ask him to be understanding! A-anyway, it will be a disaster if we don¡¯t tell him right away!¡¹

    ¡¸I-I get it! I¡¯ll go to tell him right away.¡¹

    Julius immediately headed to where Leon was in order to exin the situation after seeing Marie looking so panicked.

    .

    Part 7

    A lot happened, but I could finally go home.

    Good grief, what¡¯s with my poprity?

    I made two fianc¨¦es at Hohlfahrt Kingdom, then immediately after that two girls appeared at where I was studying abroad and they were fighting over me. There should be a limit at how unexpected a situation could be.

    ¡¸What do you think Noelle-chan? Don¡¯t you think that my poprity is amazing?¡¹

    I returned home and looked after Noelle-chan.

    In the end I refused Louise-san¡¯s invitation and Noelle also decided toe to my house another day.

    Noelle-chan was eating the mushy dog food that Luxion prepared. After it finished eating it immediately sat down on theyered nkets that were prepared nearby.

    It looked at my face and its tongue lolled out.

    A baby bed had been prepared for Noelle-chan. Weid it there and took care of it.

    The baby bed was prepared in order to reduce the burden on its waist, but it worked better than expected.

    ¡¸She finished all the food.¡¹

    I was watching Noelle-chan who looked lively too today. But then Luxion took some distance from me and looking at me.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡ºThe nutrition and amount of the food prepared had been perfectly calcted by me. I arranged so it was the amount that she could properly finish.¡»

    It seemed Luxion was still angry about me throwing him.

    This AI was really troublesome.

    ¡¸Do you have anyint?¡¹

    ¡ºDoes master think I won¡¯t have any?¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re really cold toward your master.¡¹

    ¡ºRight now I¡¯m regretting recognizing master as my owner.¡»

    ¡¸Is that so? Too bad for you.¡¹

    While I was troubled of how to deal with Luxion¡¯s sulking, Noelle-chan raised its head and looked toward outside.

    Right after that the entrance¡¯s door got pounded loudly.

    ¡¸Who could it be at this kind of time?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, we haven¡¯t finished talking yet. I believe that we should have a serious talk about the future.¡»

    ¡¸Let¡¯s do it another time.¡¹

    I left the room and headed to the entrance. There I found it was Chris who was pounding the door loudly.

    He was breathing hard. It seemed he was running until here without stopping.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸Bartfalt©¤©¤sorry!¡¹

    ¡¸For what?¡¹

    I let Chris inside and heard him exining what happened in detail.

 Chapter 116 - Volume 4 Chapter 6

    <h4>Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 6</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 6 ¨C Betrayal</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    I came to the harbor at night. The ce was very noisy when I arrived.

    When I reached the ce where Einhorn was anchored, there were a lot of people there boarding it as they pleased.

    There was a crest on the hull emitting a faint light.

    Was that the sacred tree¡¯s crest?

    Marie and others who had arrived earlier approached me while I was looking up at it.

    All of them were present here. They were making apologetic faces toward me.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m sorry. Actually©¤©¤¡¹

    Marie¡¯s face was looking pale and her body was trembling. She tried to exin how things got this way but I stopped her.

    ¡¸I already heard from Chris. I¡¯m amazed that you guys were able to gamble using other person¡¯s possession.¡¹

    ¡¸No! It was because of those guys-¡¹

    Julius objected in Marie¡¯s ce, but I turned my gaze toward the man who was walking out from Einhorn.

    That man was Pierre.

    He had purple color just like Brad, butpared to him this mancked any refinement.

    ¡¸So you¡¯re this ship¡¯s previous owner.¡¹

    ¡¸Previous?¡¹

    The men who were boarding Einhorn must be Pierre¡¯sckeys.

    They were looking down at us from the deck while drinking alcohol andughing.

    ¡¸Is heing to take back this ship~¡¹

    ¡¸There is no way he can¡¹

    ¡¸You guys will die if you against the sacred tree.¡¹

    It irritated me seeing those guys doing as they pleased with other person¡¯s airship.

    Pierre brought his face closer to me.

    ¡¸This ship now belongs to this great Pierre-sama. You see that crest over there? That¡¯s the proof that the sacred tree recognized this ship as mine. The sacred tree won¡¯t just stay quiet if you try taking it back. Want to give it a try?¡¹

    I wanted to see it myself just what would happen if I tried, but I refrained for now.

    ¡¸I give up already after seeing your attitude, but I guess I¡¯ll try asking just in case. I want you to give it back.¡¹

    In respond Pierre spat at me.

    Pierre¡¯s saliva hit my cheek. It was disgusting.

    ¡¸How about no.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    ¡¸At first I didn¡¯t have any expectation for this ship. I considered destroying it right in front of you guys. But, this ship is fitting for this Pierre-sama. The armor is also quiet powerful even though it got ame appearance. I¡¯m going to make use of it.¡¹

    It seemed he had also investigated about Arroganz.

    This guy worked fast.

    Then Luxion who was floating around my right shoulder moved to Pierre¡¯s left shoulder without saying anything. It then turned its red lens toward me.

    Pierre was even more surprised than me.

    ¡¸What is this thing?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s an honor to meet you. I am Luxion©¤©¤the one who is managing this Einhorn. Einhorn¡¯s ownership has changed hand, so my master has also been changed. I¡¯m looking forward to serve you from here on.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Luxion¡¹

    Luxion averted its red lens from my re.

    Marie who was watching the exchange just now fell into confusion.

    ¡¸W-wait a second! Your owner is Leon isn¡¯t it!?¡¹

    Luxion replied indifferently.

    ¡ºIt was until just now. But, from now this person is my new owner.¡»

    ¡¸N-no way¡¹

    Pierre too somehow guessed what was going on after seeing Marie¡¯s dejected look.

    He ced his hand on Luxion andughed.

    ¡¸I¡¯m surprised but, so that¡¯s how it is. This thing is a type of familiar that is managing this airship. No wonder there isn¡¯t any sign of crew inside even though it¡¯s a ship this big.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Yes. There won¡¯t be any need for crew with me here.¡»

    ¡¸Awesome! I¡¯m liking it more and more.¡¹

    Pierreughed at me in a good mood.

    ¡¸How¡¯s that? How does it feel to have not just your ship but even your familiar taken away? If you¡¯ve learned your lesson then leave and nevere back anymore to Alzer. Well, if you don¡¯t like it and want to take your ship back©¤©¤this Pierre-sama will take you on anytime.¡¹

    Themonwealth was undefeated in defensive battle.

    Pierre too wasn¡¯t saying that as a mere bluff. He was seriously not minding even if it became a war against the kingdom.

    I¡¯mpletely fed up.

    ¡¸Then how about we fight over my ship right away?¡¹

    Pierre rejected my offer.

    ¡¸You think I¡¯m going to make a bet with someone like you who have nothing? Come again when you have something as good as this ship. I¡¯ll ept your challenge if you do that. Though it¡¯ll be impossible for me to lose no matter what you do.¡¹

    I wiped the spit on my cheek and turned my back toward Pierre before walking out of the harbor.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t forget those words.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ll take you on anywhere anytime if you can prepare something as good as this ship.¡¹

    ¡®Kehya kehya¡¯ Pierre let out a strangeugh. This guy really was a viin to the core.

    Marie and others followed behind me.

    Now then, what to do now?

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Marie sat on her knees on the floor when they arrived back home.

    She couldn¡¯t stop letting out cold sweat. She also couldn¡¯t raise her face.

    Leon was walking in circles with deliberate slowness around her.

    ¡¸In other words you were unable to stop Julius from carelessly epting the match.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯m shorry¡¹

    She fumbled her words.

    But, it was a trivial matter.

    What was important right now was the fact that Leon was enraged.

    Marie and Leon were siblings at their past life.

    Because of that Marie knew where was the line that must not be crossed to keep Leon from getting truly angry.

    At the past life she was also taking advantage of him while being careful to stop right before she crossed the line.

    Because as long as she didn¡¯t cross the line Leon would spoil her.

    She also knew that when Leon was seriously angry, he wouldn¡¯t blow up. Instead he would calmly corner his opponent.

    There was this incident that happened in her past life.

    When he was an elementary school student, Leon once became a target for bullying by the naughty brats in his ss.

    Marie only learned about this incident long after it ended.

    At that time she still thought ¡¸Controlling big bro is really easy¡¹, but the story that she heard from her mother appalled her.

    There were three kids who bullied Leon, but apparently he did something that caused the three of them to transfer to another school.

    Before they transferred, the leader of the three kids came to Leon¡¯s home while crying toin, but Leon was only smiling at the kid.

    It seemed Leon said ¡¸Do your best at your new school¡¹ to the kid. It made the kid ran home while crying.

    The man who made his bullies changed school©¤©¤that was Leon.

    He was still at elementary school at that time. Marie couldn¡¯t even imagine what in the world he did that it resulted in something like that.

    She remembered how she swore to absolutely never angered her big brother when she was in middle school.

    Yes©¤©¤Leon was a man who would be thorough when he decided to do something.

    ¡¸Oath to the sacred tree is it? I never heard you mentioning it before. Perhaps it was me who simply forgot it? Isn¡¯t this something that is really important?¡¹

    Marie couldn¡¯t stop trembling under Leon¡¯s interrogation.

    ¡¸I forgot about it until today. It¡¯s my fault.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? So you forgot to tell me. ©¤©¤That¡¯s truly unfortunate, Marie-san.¡¹

    She wanted to cry but she held it back.

    (Do, don¡¯t cry no matter what. Big bro really hate crying woman, so you will only offend him if you cry here.)

    Marie desperately held back from crying while lowering her head.

    She performed a kowtow.

    To be honest, this was all Pierre¡¯s fault. She wished that Leon would also hear what they had to say in their defense. But making excuse would only backfire on her when Leon was genuinely angry like this.

    There was one more important thing to consider. Leon had experienced going to war.

    Marie was scared by that fact.

    (I once saw in TV that once someone used gun, their trigger finger will get lighter!)

    The knowledge from her past life was telling her that Leon right now would even take her life if he decided to do so.

    (PIERRE YOU STUPID BASTARDDDDD! WHY ARE YOU ANGERING MY BIG BROOOO! He also called me ¡°Marie-san¡± just now, he¡¯s treating me like a stranger)

    ¡¸Please forgive me. I¡¯ll do anything!¡¹

    ¡¸What a wonderful spirit. Then I shall have you disy your sincerity. But before that, just go and heal Brad already.¡¹

    Brad wasid down on his bed after he had been given first aid treatment.

    Marie stood up straight and saluted before running away from the room.

    ¡¸I¡¯m truly sorry! Please excuse me!¡¹

    Marie escaped out of the room and ran while wiping her tears.

    (This is baddddd! At this rate my second life is going to be over with big bro killing me. Or perhaps it will be over with big bro abandoning me! I don¡¯t want thatttttt!!)

    For the first time in a while Marie¡¯s brain was working in full capacity for a way to survive through this situation.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    ¡¸©¤©¤Perhaps I threatened her too much.¡¹

    They wagered my ship without asking and allowed Pierre to do as he pleased.

    I lightly vented my displeasure from that to Marie, but it seemed to be effective enough.

    Well, it like this matter waspletely her fault.

    Watching her made me even felt like she was too pitiful, so I¡¯d forgive her this time with just this.

    ¡¸Now then, the problem here is Pierre. But still, why was he causing trouble with us?¡¹

    It was troublesome because Pierre was a key character for a major event.

    I never even considered that he would make a move on us.

    I thought he would make trouble with the main character, so I only focused on Noelle and Lelia. Now it came back to bite me in the ass.

    ¡¸Einhorn got taken away and Luxion is also switching side.¡¹

    It was painful that I couldn¡¯t predict what Pierre would do now.

    Would he make trouble with the main character just like in the game, or had the game scenario gone out of whack already?

    Life just wouldn¡¯t go as we wanted it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Even so that Luxion, could it be that he was actually really angry?¡¹

    When he switched side from me to Pierre, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he was angry.

    Was it just my imagination?

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    The next day, Noelle found the ssroom¡¯s atmosphere was strange when she came to the academy.

    ¡¸Morning~¡¹

    She made her greeting but no reply came.

    Far from that, her ssmates were averting their gazes from her.

    ¡¸Eh, what?¡¹

    Noelle was shaken, but she noticed another strange thing.

    ¡¸Eh? Why is there fewer desks?¡¹

    The desks and chairs filling the ssroom. Some of them were removed so now there were two empty spots inside the ss.

    Those spots were where Leon and Brad were sitting before.

    Her gaze scanned the inside of the ssroom. Most of her ssmates were looking down awkwardly.

    In addition she also couldn¡¯t find Leon and Brad.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What¡¯s going on?¡¹

    Noelle approached a female friend nearby, but the girl started to fidget and her gaze wandered around suspiciously.

    ¡¸Did something happen?¡¹

    ¡¸E-err¡¹

    The girl looked troubled. It was a boy who Noelle was close with who gave an exnation in her ce.

    ¡¸The overseas students got into a quarrel with a noble. Since the morning there were rumors going around that they had been thoroughly stamped out. Noelle, you were going to be targeted too. Just what have you done?¡¹

    ¡¸W-why are you asking me!? I haven¡¯t done anything! Forget that, are you guys going to obediently follow the words of that kind of guys!?¡¹

    Her ssmates averted their gazes from her.

    The six great nobles¡¯ standing was absolute in themonwealth.

    The nobles who were chosen by the sacred tree didn¡¯t only have influence, they could also use a part of the sacred tree¡¯s power.

    They would be unable to live in this country if they defied the nobles.

    Noelle immediately ran out of the ssroom.

    However she bumped onto Loic who was waiting for her in the corridor.

    ¡¸Good morning, Noelle.¡¹

    Loic greeted her with a smile. Noelle felt a chill seeing him in this morning.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Loic, you¡¹

    ¡¸Do you feel like epting my love now?¡¹

    There was no doubt that this guy was involved with the situation inside the ssroom.

    (This guy, will go this far? Also, why is he carrying a cor with him?)

    Loic was showing her a refreshing smile, but his hands were holding a chain and a cor for some reason.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this cor pretty? This will be the proof of our love. If you¡¯re going to run away from me, then I have no choice except tying you down with this thing so you can¡¯t run away anywhere.¡¹

    (He is lying right? What¡¯s with this guy)

    It was a scene straight from horror movie right in the morning. Noelle immediately ran away from Loic.

    Loic didn¡¯t chase after her.

    ¡¸Soon you will learn the reality ande back to me. I¡¯m looking forward to that, Noelle.¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s brain couldn¡¯tprehend what was going on.

    But there was only one thing that she knew. It would be bad if she didn¡¯t run away form here. Noelle¡¯s danger sense was ring loudly inside her.

    (This is bad. That guy right now is really a bad news. I need to do something, if not©¤©¤)

    Noelle went to ask for help©¤©¤form his little sister Lelia.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    Around the time such trouble was happening in the academy.

    There was also amotion urring in the harbor.

    ¡¸WOOOOHOOOO!¡¹

    Pierre was piloting Arroganz to fly around through the airships that wereing and going from the harbor.

    The armor flew past with great speed right beside the airships. The shockwave from that movement shook the ships¡¯ hulls.

    The crews and passengers on the ships¡¯ decks were panicked by the shaking. Pierre opened his mouth wide andughed seeing that.

    ¡¸This thing is awesomee! It gotme appearance, but its power and speed are the best!¡¹

    Luxion¡¯s voice sounded inside Arroganz¡¯s cockpit.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s good to know that Pierre-sama is having fun.¡»

    ¡¸Oi, one eye. Tell me more about this armor. Is there any more interesting thing it can do?¡¹

    He had been testing Einhorn and Arroganz¡¯s performance since early in the morning. The result brought Pierre good mood which drove him to rampage wildly in the harbor.

    ¡ºHowever, the guards are heading this way right now.¡»

    ¡¸There ain¡¯t no way those small fries are going to against this me! The great Pierre-sama of Faiviel House. I¡¯ll tear them apart if they got anyint.¡¹

    ¡ºI see. So a member of the six great nobles has stronger influence than even government official.¡»

    ¡¸Don¡¯t ask me about something so obvious. More importantly, this thing made me badly want to try it in realbat. Isn¡¯t there a handy enemy somewhere that I can use to test this baby?¡¹

    ¡ºIn that case, I believe Hohlfahrt Kingdom will be appropriate.¡»

    ¡¸What. Do you want to kill your previous owner? You¡¯re also a bad guy huh.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Perhaps that is true.¡»

    ¡¸But, Hohlfahrt Kingdom is quite big. It¡¯s just the right opponent for me to rack achievements. Should I send them the head of their prince to provoke them?¡¹

    ¡ºIs Pierre-sama nning to create a situation where the kingdom will be forced to attack so it will turn into a defensive battle for themonwealth?¡»

    ¡¸They wille here on their own if I provoke them. This ce is Alzer. There won¡¯t be any chance for us to lose as long as the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection is with us.¡¹

    Pierre looked like he was having fun. He continued talking boastfully without watching what he said.

    ¡º©¤©¤I see. I understand. In that case, perhaps it will be better to target someone else.¡»

    ¡¸Aa?¡¹

    ¡ºLeon Fou Bartfalt©¤©¤he is a hero in Hohlfahrt Kingdom. If Pierre-sama take his head, not only it will be an achievement for Pierre-sama, the kingdom also won¡¯t be able to stay quiet. Leon¡¯s fianc¨¦e is a daughter of a duke in the kingdom. The royal family won¡¯t be able to stay quiet too.¡»

    ¡¸Hee~, that¡¯s great. Killing that hero and taking his fianc¨¦e is going to be interesting.¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s thinking was vulgar to the extreme.

    ¡ºYes, Leon should be a good target.¡»

    Like that Luxion was guiding Pierre to target Leon.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    At the embassy of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    Marie came there in the morning to report what themonwealth had done to them, but the reaction of the staffs there was unfavorable.

    ¡¸A protest! Let¡¯s lodge a formal protest! This act ispletely unjust and oppressive!¡¹

    The reason Marie was protesting this strongly was also as an appeal to Leon.

    She was also simply aiming to appeal to the country to solve this problem for them.

    But, the staff who was dealing with her gave an unexpected reply.

    ¡¸I¡¯m very sorry. We will report this to back home, but I don¡¯t think it will bring the result that Marie-dono is wishing for.¡¹

    ¡¸Why!? I just want them to return Einhorn back!¡¹

    That was the only thing she need. She would be able to somehow vindicate herself to Leon with that.

    Conversely Leon would stay angry with her as long as that didn¡¯t happen.

    Leon would keep calling her ¡®Marie-san¡¯ as though she was a stranger.

    ¡¸Currently the kingdom is importing magic stones in great amount from Alzer Commonwealth.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Ah!¡¹

    Marie recalled her talk with Leon and Luxion before arriving in themonwealth. Alzer was a strong country with abundant resource that could export magic stones. Even Hohlfahrt Kingdom would want to avoid getting into conflict with such country.

    Furthermore themonwealth was also a militarily powerful enemy that was undefeated in defensive battle.

    ¡¸We will lodge aint to themonwealth. We will also report this back to the kingdom. But I don¡¯t think that themonwealth will treat it seriously.

    ¡¸Why~!¡¹

    Marie felt like crying.

    Julius was apanying her here. He took over the talk with the staff.

    ¡¸Can¡¯t you do something? No matter how you look at it, they have gone too far.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Your highness, this is themonwealth. Nevertheless, to think that you will be targeted by Faiviel House.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that house¡¯s reputation really that bad?¡¹

    ¡¸They are the worst house among the six great nobles.¡¹

    Marie was anxious at the inside.

    (W-what now? At this rate big bro will really abandon me for real!)

    Marie immediately nned her next move after finding out that it would be pointless even if sheined to the embassy.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    At the academy.

    Lelia was in a bad mood because Noelle was calling for her right from the morning. She didn¡¯t even try to hide it from her expression.

    ¡¸Why do I have to skip the first period like this?¡¹

    ¡¸So, sorry. But, the situation is really bad so I want to ask you for help.¡¹

    They were twin sisters, but their personality waspletely different.

    If Noelle was a frank and lively girl, Lelia was aposed and intellectual girl.

    Lelia let out a long sigh and listened to Noelle while folding her arms.

    ¡¸What did you do?¡¹

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t me! Pierre is trying to chase out Leon and the other overseas students. What¡¯s more it looks like Loic is also lending him a hand. He was telling me various scary things in the morning.¡¹

    Noelle was also in confusion right now. She couldn¡¯t exin herself well.

    Lelia wasn¡¯t showing any concern in her face.

    ¡¸I know about the matter with Pierre. But putting that aside, big sis just need to go out already with Loic to avoid all these troubles.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I told you already before. I hate the current him. This is because you are instigating him.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you want to say that this is my fault? It was you big sis who said that you don¡¯t dislike him, so I gave him advise how to get along with big sis. There shouldn¡¯t be any problem. He has a nice face, what¡¯s more he is a heir of a great noble house.¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t fall in love with someone for those kinds of things!¡¹

    In the past Loic was kinder. Noelle didn¡¯t hate him then.

    But, without her noticing it his desire to monopolize her grew stronger. He would interfere with everything that Noelle was doing.

    It was Lelia who was giving Loic a push on the back.

    ¡¸Those kinds of things? Do you want to talk about childish things like love or whatever? Grow up already.¡¹

    They were twins but their way of thinking was different.

    Noelle was unable to ept this part of Lelia.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Anyway, I hate Loic.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, is that so. Even so I wish that big sis won¡¯t inconvenient me. I¡¯m also busy here with my own things.¡¹

    ¡¸S-sorry. But this time the danger is really real. Help me here.¡¹

    Noelle felt that she was in danger after meeting Loic in the morning. She hugged herself in fear.

    But even seeing Noelle like that, Lelia did nothing except watching her with a cold gaze.

    ¡¸You only need to go out with Loic to make the trouble go away. You¡¯ll be able to help those overseas students too by doing that.¡¹

    ¡¸Lelia, you aren¡¯t listening to what I¡¯m saying!¡¹

    Lelia turned around to leave. Noelle clung to her arms, but Lelia shook her off.

    ¡¸Kyah!¡¹

    Lelia was looking down on Noelle who fell down on her rear.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really a bother big sis. I told you I¡¯m busy right now. I¡¯ll try talking with Emile about Pierre, but solve the matter of Loic by yourself.¡¹

    Noelle watched Lelia leaving and looked down.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Just what should I do¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    At night.

    When I returned home from shopping, I found a girl sitting in front of the house.

    A situation where there was a girl in front of my residence at night©¤©¤wasn¡¯t the first time for me.

    I had experienced this before with my little sister in the past life.

    That Marie, in the past life she yed around too much and didn¡¯t have any money to go home, so she was waiting until I returned home by sitting in front of my apartment.

    ©¤©¤It was damn scary.

    Now then, I could guess who was waiting for me by looking at the hair color of the girl sitting there.

    ¡¸It¡¯s prettyte already, what¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Noelle lifted up her face.

    ¡¸Sorry. I don¡¯t want to go home today.¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t any liveliness inside her smile. It was pretty clear that she was forcing herself to smile.

    ¡¸Come inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry. I¡¯m really sorry. I came here even though you yourself must have a lot of trouble right now.¡¹

    Looks like she knew about our situation.

    ¡¸How was the situation in the academy?¡¹

    Noelle scratched her head with her right hand andughed while telling me.

    ¡¸It was the worst there.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    I entered inside with my shopping bag in hand. Then I took care of Noelle-chan.

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    Noelle was patting Noelle-chan.

    I asked her about a lot of things while she was doing that, but there were a lot of differences in her story from the story that I heard from Marie.

    Loic¡¯s attitude and words were really unthinkable for a capture target.

    In addition Pierre was making trouble for us instead of the main character.

    Noelle was getting cornered by Loic while on the contrary Lelia was getting protected by Emile.

    ©¤©¤I can¡¯t pinpoint who is the main character like this.

    I tidied up the table and wrote a letter on it. Noelle was watching me.

    ¡¸What are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m writing letter to back home. I¡¯ll also have to send souvenir back soon, if not my family will be annoying. I have to report back about what happened recently too.¡¹

    I needed to report to that shitty bastard Rnd that themonwealth was picking a fight with me.

    I really wanted to see just what kind of face he would make when he read my report.

    I was writing several letters excitedly.

    ¡¸Sorry, you¡¯re going through something like this even though you came here for studying abroad.¡¹

    Noelle apologized to me. I told her ¡¸It¡¯s fine¡¹. In the first ce it was me who decided toe here. I came in order to nip a future worry in the bud.

    She didn¡¯t need to apologize to me©¤©¤it wasn¡¯t her fault.

    ¡¸Are you and the others going to go back to your country?¡¹

    ¡¸There is also our honor to consider. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to return until I take back my airship from Pierre.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s impossible. You won¡¯t be able to take it back easily after the oath to sacred tree hase into y like this.¡¹

    ¡¸You know a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸W-well, just so-so.¡¹

    I looked at Noelle who hurriedly try to gloss over her knowledge while considering my n from here on.

    ¡¸Unfortunately although I look like this but I also have a standing. It will be a problem if I run home with my tail between my legs. Also, I need to collect a considerablepensation from themonwealth that won¡¯t apologize even after their noble went that far.¡¹

    I was nning to bear with things to some degree, but Pierre had crossed the line.

    As expected even I would get a bit angry after something like that.

    ¡¸Are you serious?¡¹

    Noelle asked me in surprise. I nodded to her.

    ¡¸The problem is how to drag Pierre into the duel stage. Is there any treasure, one so extraordinary that guy would leap to it even if it¡¯s in front of everyone¡¯s eyes?¡¹

    Noelle looked slightly turned off.

    ¡¸I heard that the people of Hohlfahrt is brave, but this far exceeded my imagination. To think that you still want to try challenging Pierre even after what he had done to you. He has the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection you know?¡¹

    ¡¸That doesn¡¯t matter.¡¹

    Alzer Commonwealth¡¯s legend of invincibility, it was clearly rted with the sacred tree. That was our hypothesis.

    In fact that hypothesis was correct.

    ¡¸Well, right now I will take my time forming a n leisurely. Noelle, you can also stay here as long as you like.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Noelle made a surprised face. I looked at her while waving my hand nonchntly.

    ¡¸No worry. I won¡¯t do anything strange to you. You can¡¯t return home right?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah.¡¹

    It seemed she got into quarrel with her little sister Lelia, but this house got some empty rooms so there wouldn¡¯t be any problem even if she stayed here for a while.

    Because now that Luxion wasn¡¯t at my side, it would be scarier to not know where Noelle was.

    .

    <h4>Part 10</h4>

    Several dayster.

    There was a facility called sacred tree temple in the former Lespinasse territory. A meeting of the six great nobles was held there.

    The current heads of the six great nobles were gathered there.

    The unimportant agendas were taken care of by their subordinates, but there were matters that needed their permission to be carried out. They were holding a discussion about such matters today.

    One of the important agendas was the matter of Pierre from Faiviel House picking a fight with Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    The acting chairman, Albergue Sara Rault was reading a written report expressionlessly.

    But at the inside he was filled with disgust.

    (Again. Faiviel House never learns.)

    Provoking the opponent to attack into their territory was already like the specialty of Alzer Commonwealth.

    Themonwealth was powerful when it came to defensive battle, so much that they wanted to make other country came attacking.

    Because of that they had a history of making provocative act toward other countries over and over.

    (How long are we going to continue doing something like this?)

    He was utterly disgusted inside his heart.

    Albergue was a man in the middle of his forties. His body was tall and well trained. It made him looked like he was still in his thirties.

    He looked like a cool middle-aged man with his short hair and his suited figure.

    He questioned the father of the person in question as the acting chairman.

    ¡¸Lord Lambert, do you have anything to say regarding this provocative act toward Hohlfahrt Kingdom?¡¹

    In exact opposite to Albergue, the head of the problematic Faiviel House, Lambert Io Faiviel was a small and fat man.

    His hair was balding. His clothes were also covered all over with too many decorations that itcked refinement.

    ¡¸My son had done something embarrassing. But, he did that also because of his wish to raise military achievements. Recently there are few countries that would attack Alzer. Shouldn¡¯t we let this devolve into a war with Hohlfahrt Kingdom so that the youngsters can have their moment in the spotlight?¡¹

    The one who disyed displeasure to Lambert¡¯s remark was the current head of Druille House who possessed great influence despite his youth.

    He was a handsome man with short curly blond hair and green eyes. His name was Fernand Toara Druille.

    He was still in his early twenties. He was the youngest one here.

    ¡¸Did he pick a fight with another country for personal reason? I don¡¯t think he understand his position as a noble.¡¹

    Fernand¡¯s sound argument made Lambert turned his face away.

    ¡¸This greenhorn. Just say it if you¡¯re scared of war, you don¡¯t need toe along.¡¹

    The unbroken record of their invincibility in defensive battle made the perception of the six great nobles toward war to be something lighthearted.

    Because they would undoubtedly win when it came to it. It made them arrogant.

    The other heads had their own stance in regard to this matter, but none of them regarded it with the importance that it deserved.

    ¡¸We have a bigger problem than that aren¡¯t we? We still haven¡¯t obtained any orb this year.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a waste of time to discuss a mere third rate country like Hohlfahrt.¡¹

    ¡¸Just pay them some reparations along with apology. If they¡¯re stillining even after that then we can just shut them up with war.¡¹

    The other heads wanted to move to the next topic, but Albergue¡¯s gaze caught a name that was written in the report.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon huh.¡¹

    Fernand talked to Albergue.

    ¡¸Is something the matter, acting chairman?¡¹

    ¡¸No, it¡¯s nothing. More importantly, there is a demand to return the airship that was forcefully taken. Lord Lambert, do you have any problem with that?¡¹

    There was an implicit demand in that question to return the airship seeing as it was just a single ship, but Lambert was clearly shaken up by that.

    ¡¸N-no, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that. It was a sacred match that was done under the oath to the sacred tree. There is no need for my son to give back an airship that he won fair and square!¡¹

    Both Albergue and Fernand were curious with Lambert¡¯s reaction, but the other heads weren¡¯t interested at all. Because of that they couldn¡¯t question him further.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, we don¡¯t have much time. Let¡¯s talk about the other agendas already.¡¹

    Loic¡¯s father, the head of Barriere House urged Albergue to move on with it already. So Albergue decided to move on to the next topic.

    (I guess it¡¯ll be pointless to talk about this further.)

    ¡¸Then, the next agenda is about the orb. This year not even one orb has©¤©¤¡¹

    The matter regarding Hohlfahrt Kingdom was casually brushed off in the assembly meeting.

 Chapter 117 - Volume 4 Chapter 7

    Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 7<h4>Chapter 7 ¨C The Descendants of Adventurers</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    A packet from Leon arrived to the academy in Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    The recipients for it were Ange and Livia.

    ¡¸That Leon, just when I wondered why he didn¡¯t contact us for a while, he sent us souvenir like this instead.¡¹

    When they happily opened the box, they found things like tea leaves or female-oriented products. It was just like Leon to send them this kind of things.

    There were also letters inside. Livia got surprised when she read the letter for her.

    ¡¸Ange, it looks like Leon-san got into trouble there. He wrote that he wanted us to hand his letter to his majesty and the queen!¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    Ange read the letter too. There were a few words about how he loves the two of them before he wrote about there was a problem urring in themonwealth.

    In order to deal with the problem, the letter asked them to hand some letters to Rnd and Mylene.

    Creare was floating inside the room looking lonely. Ange turned her gaze toward it.

    ¡º©¤©¤There is no souvenir for me. Even though I¡¯ve been working so hard for master¡¯s sake.¡»

    ¡¸Creare, have you heard anything? Previously Leon would contact us with mail through you, why didn¡¯t he do so this time?¡¹

    ¡ºThere is no word from Luxion so I also don¡¯t know. Perhaps something happened?¡»

    Ange ced her hand on her mouth and fell into thought.

    ¡¸Something happened? What¡¯s the reason Leon intentionally wrote two letters like this? I¡¯m also curious why he isn¡¯t giving us any more exnation.¡¹

    Livia took the letters inside the packet with a troubled look.

    ¡¸Should we read them?¡¹

    ¡¸I want to, but Leon intentionally prepared them separately. There must be meaning in it. I will deliver these letters right away.¡¹

    Creare was spinning around in the air.

    ¡ºH~m, I wonder? This is master we¡¯re talking about, so perhaps there isn¡¯t any deep meaning to it. Surely master separated the letters into one that is full ofints to Rnd while the other is a love letter to Mylene where master is trying to act cool.¡»

    Expression vanished from Livia¡¯s face while she looked at the two letters.

    ¡¸That¡¯ll be a bit problematic if that¡¯s the case.¡¹

    Angeughed.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll want to praise him instead if he has the guts to write a love letter to the queen while he already has two fianc¨¦es. What¡¯s more he is asking me to be the one delivering that letter. ©¤©¤That¡¯s very promising.¡¹

    She wasughing, but she was making a face that showed how she absolutely wasn¡¯t amused at all in the inside.

    Creare tried to defend Leon a bit.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s impossible for that indecisive master to do something like that. In any case, perhaps I also should make some preparations just in case something happens over there.¡»

    ¡¸What do you mean by preparations?¡¹

    Livia asked. Creare answered her in delight.

    ¡ºDo you want to know? Then I¡¯ll tell you. Actually there are these spare parts for master¡¯s Einhorn lying around. They can be used to create a second ship. The second ship of Einhorn ss©¤©¤let¡¯s see, should I call it Licorne? Also, actually there is this interesting device among the things we collected. I want to install it into the airship too.¡»

    ¡¸I, is that so?¡¹

    Livia couldn¡¯t follow what Creare was talking about so happily. After Creare finished talking, Livia handed the two letters to Ange.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s send them quickly. ©¤©¤I hope nothing bad happens to Leon.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    I think the packet that I sent to the kingdom should have arrived around this time.

    As for me, I was taking several days off from the academy.

    I had no interest to go there just to get bullied. The academy also wasn¡¯t saying anything to me.

    I came to Marie¡¯s mansion in one of those days off and talked with Brad.

    ¡¸Sorry. I¡¯ve caused you a lot of trouble.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re recovering quickly for someone so heavily injured.¡¹

    ¡¸This is thanks to Marie healing me every night. I feel bad for everyone, but this is what they called side benefit.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want to hear you going on about your love affair.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, that¡¯s too bad.¡¹

    He must be feeling better already if he could make this kind of talk, but his current condition still cut a sorry figure.

    ording to Marie, ¡¸It was really dangerous. He only barely made it even with my healing magic¡¹.

    It made it clear just how merciless Pierre and his gang were.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Brad, are the guys who did this to you strong?¡¹

    When I broached the main topic, Brad made a slightly troubled face.

    ¡¸If I can be honest, I thought they were weak at first. They were weaker than even me in close-quarterbat, and even their skill in magic was crude. I thought that there is no way I¡¯ll lose to them.¡¹

    Brad¡¯s specialty wasn¡¯t in close-quarterbat. He was weaker than even me in that.

    For them to be even weaker than Brad, was the nobles of Alzer alright?

    ¡¸They used magic in the middle, so I also used magic back. But midway I became unable to use magic.¡¹

    ¡¸You couldn¡¯t use magic? It wasn¡¯t because of a blunder in your part?¡¹

    ¡¸It felt like the magic reaction was suddenly gone. Even though the magic should activate without problem, at that time it felt like something forcefully stopped the process. In exchange the power from the magic of that guy called Pierre shot through the roof. He freely controlled nts that grew out from the ground. If he is a magician than he is very high leveled, but he didn¡¯t look anything like that from his appearance. It was really puzzling.¡¹

    ¡¸Was his right hand glowing?¡¹

    ¡¸Right hand? Now that you mentioned it, there was some kind of glowing crest on his hand. It didn¡¯t look like magic circle but©¤©¤as I thought, is there some kind of secret there?¡¹

    Brad didn¡¯t seem to know about the divine protection of the sacred tree.

    ¡¸I see. Well, I¡¯m d I can ask you about all these. For now just focus on getting better.¡¹

    ¡¸Bartfalt©¤©¤are you perhaps, scheming something?¡¹

    Brad asked me just when I was about to leave the room.

    ¡¸Why do you think that?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s not like you to just ept this situation and stay quiet. If you¡¯re really nning something, then the only thing I can say is that I have this feeling that they are still hiding something.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll be careful. Get better quickly.¡¹

    When I left the room, there was Marie standing in the corridor hugging a single notebook.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Marie got dark circles under her eyes. She handed me a single notebook.

    It seemed she was writing in this notebook for the whole night. After handing the book to me, Marie talked without looking at my face.

    ¡¸I-I wrote everything that I can remember into that notebook.¡¹

    I wanted to tell her that she should work this hard right from the start, but I found several interesting information when I took a brief look at the book.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Seems like you¡¯ve been working hard.¡¹

    ¡¸I did my best!¡¹

    There was a lot of information herepared to before we arrived in Alzer. Looked like she went all out to make an appeal that she was doing her best.

    For example, there was information regarding the oath to the sacred tree.

    By swearing an oath to the sacred tree, one could draw out more power than usual from the sacred tree.

    The practical application of that was for something like the unreasonable duel that Pierre forced on Marie and others.

    And then the notebook also mentioned about the crests that the sacred tree bestowed.

    The guardian¡¯s crest was the strongest, followed by the priestess. Then below them was the crest of the six great nobles.

    The note kept mentioning other crests below that. The status of these crests also influenced the standing of the nobles that had them.

    They were nobles because the sacred tree recognized them©¤©¤it was really easy to understand.

    ¡¸©¤©¤There are interesting information here.¡¹

    There was also information that could be used for taking revenge to Pierre written here.

    ¡¸B-big bro, what are you going to do now?¡¹

    Marie asked me anxiously, so I answered her with a smile.

    I teased her too much that she became this fearful now, so I tried to reassure her.

    ¡¸What am I going to do? That¡¯s obvious. I¡¯ll make Pierre pay. I¡¯ll also need to teach Alzer their ce while I¡¯m at it. I¡¯ll tell them firmly, don¡¯t keep getting cocky.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t just run away home like this.

    After all the danger to the world was still remaining as before.

    But, even though I was trying to reassure her, Marie was starting to tremble fiercely instead.

    Tears gathered in her eyes and she kept repeating ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry¡¹.

    ©¤©¤Why is she reacting like this!?

    Julius saw Marie trembling in front of me and ran toward us.

    ¡¸Marie, are you alright!?¡¹

    ¡¸So you show up, you stupid prince.¡¹

    After I said that with a weary expression, Julius pulled Marie to behind him.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, certainly this situation is also our responsibility. But, stop cornering Marie like this! If you have something to say then say it to me!¡¹

    What a manly prince.

    If I was a girl then surely my heart would throb©¤©¤no, I guess it wouldn¡¯t.

    ¡¸I see. Then I shall ask you to work.¡¹

    ¡¸W-what?¡¹

    Next it was Jilk who showed up.

    ¡¸Your highness! Marie-san too, both of you are safe!¡¹

    ¡¸Yosh, youe too green head.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    After that Chris who didn¡¯t wear anything above his waist peered into the corridor curiously after hearing themotion.

    He was sweaty. Perhaps he had just been practicing swinging.

    ¡¸What is going on?¡¹

    I looked at Chris while thinking which would be better, Greg or him.

    I concluded to leave Greg behind because he wasn¡¯t here anyway.

    ¡¸Yosh, I¡¯ll take you too blue head. Marie, I¡¯ll borrow these three.¡¹

    After I said that, the three of them spoke angrily¡¸Just what are you talking about!?¡¹, but Marie nodded. She looked like she didn¡¯t mind if that was all I¡¯m asking.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind but, what are you going to do?¡¹

    ¡¸M-Marie!?¡¹

    I ignored the shocked trio and tapped the rolled up notebook on my shoulder.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to raid themonwealth¡¯s dungeon. It¡¯s treasure hunt.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s eyes brightened when I said that.

    ¡¸Treasure!¡¹

    Julius and others also had the same reaction.

    Even rotten like this, they were still descendants of adventurers.

    Their mood brightened when they heard the word treasure and they looked excited.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re nning but, there¡¯s no way I can¡¯t just stay quiet after hearing the word treasure.¡¹

    ¡¸Your highness, let¡¯s quickly prepare.¡¹

    Jilk was also looking really motivated unlike just now.

    Even Chris looked like a kid before an outing.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll prepare the sword I have been keeping in secret. Bartfalt, when will we depart?¡¹

    ©¤©¤These guys are looking excited. I envy them.

    ¡¸Wait for a bit. I¡¯ll make some preparation in the academy. I also want to secure a guide for us from there.¡¹

    Marie tilted her head and asked me.

    ¡¸Guide?¡¹

    ¡¸There is this teacher who is an expert of Alzer¡¯s dungeon right?¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    When I came to the academy after noting for several days, the students and even the teachers looked shocked before they averted their gazes from me.

    I understood well that the six great nobles were holding great influence in the academy.

    Because of that I was walking right in the middle of the corridor.

    Everyone on my way stepped aside and opened the path. It made me felt a bit better.

    ¡¸Now then, where is this Mr. Narcisse?¡¹

    My objective foring to the academy was to make a request to Mr. Narcisse.

    Narcisse was a capture target in the second game and the only teacher among the targets.

    He was a teacher who loved to investigate dungeons and ruins. In the academy he had a ss that put importance in field work.

    The ss was an optional special ss. The person was more of a schr than a teacher.

    He wanted to live as an archeologist, but he was unable to live freely because he came from the six great nobles.

    He was also a teacher who gave his help to the main character in that game.

    Then I should ask him to help me.

    I was walking toward the special ssroom. Midway I identally came across Louise-san.

    ¡¸Leon-kun!?¡¹

    I waved my hand to the surprised Louise-san.

    ¡¸Long time no see. It was a disaster~, my airship got taken by Pierre.¡¹

    After I said that casually without much seriousness in my tone, Louise-san¡¯s gaze turned sharp.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Come over here.¡¹

    She grabbed my arm and led me to an empty ssroom.

    ¡¸Just what happened? I wanted to ask about the story in detail, but none of you came to the academy. In addition even Noelle stoppeding. Are these two things rted?¡¹

    Louise-san asked me for exnation, so I exined it simply.

    ¡¸That scum Pierre stole my ship using this oath to the sacred tree thing. As for Noelle, apparently Loic came to her bringing a cor and bbered about love or whatever, so she took refuge in my house.¡¹

    Louise-san looked somewhat relieved knowing that Noelle was alright.

    ¡¸I see©¤©¤then, I¡¯ll talk to father. Just leave these matters of Noelle and Loic to me.¡¹

    This viiness was more caring than I thought.

    Setting that aside.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t. As things are we will keep getting underestimated. Even though I look like this I¡¯m the hero of the kingdom, while Brad who was injured is the former heir of a prestigious noble house in the kingdom. ©¤©¤There is also the former crown prince among the people who got marked with the crest among their neck by that scum Pierre.¡¹

    When I remembered the crest cor that was engraved on Marie¡¯s neck©¤©¤I felt irritated.

    Louise-san¡¯s expression stiffened slightly.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I understand your feeling. But Pierre is also from the six great nobles. He isn¡¯t an opponent that you can win against.¡¹

    I listed a lot of reasons, but to be honest not one of them was my true reason.

    ¡¸Let me rephrase it. I can¡¯t forgive that bastard for picking a fight with me. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll make him go through something horrible. To do that, can you help me a little?¡¹

    I tried asking because I got nothing to lose, but Louise-san unexpectedly agreed after worrying for a while.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I wish that you won¡¯t do anything dangerous though.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m used with fighting even though I look like this.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I see. Then, what do you want me to help with?¡¹

    ¡¸Please introduce me to someone. Also©¤©¤¡¹

    Louise-san looked really surprised when she heard my second request.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    I was shown to the building where the special ssroom was located.

    There, I found teacher Narcisse Calse Granze sleeping on a sofa inside a ce that seemed to be a preparation room.

    The preparation room wasrgely crammed with documents. There were few ces to step on.

    Louise-san who brought me here looked exasperated and knocked the door loudly to wake up Mr. Narcisse.

    ¡¸Are you awake, Mr. Narcisse.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse sat up hearing that sound. His hair style was a simple one where his gray hair was left to flow behind.

    He got stubble on his face while his shirt was wrinkled and stained.

    He was tall and slender but with muscles on his body.

    His appearance was a bit worn out, but this teacher was handsome enough.

    He put on the sses that was ced on the low table before looking our way.

    ¡¸Oh, Louise. It¡¯s unusual for you toe to this kind of ce.¡¹

    The two of them were apparently acquainted.

    ¡¸I came bringing a guest today.¡¹

    ¡¸A guest for me?¡¹

    I greeted Mr. Narcisse.

    ¡¸Nice to meet you. I am Leon, an overseas student. Mr. Narcisse, actually I wish to consult you about dungeon©¤©¤¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse suddenly got up from the sofa while I was talking and hugged me.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve been waiting, adventurer!¡¹

    ¡¸Ha? Eh?¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse who was reeking of alcohol strongly hugged me while I was in confusion.

    Louise-san forcefully separated me away from Mr. Narcisse.

    ¡¸Narcisse, what are you doing!?¡¹

    Louise-san stopped treating him like a teacher, but Mr. Narcisse paid it no mind at all.

    ¡¸No, I apologize. I was looking forward to it when I heard that overseas students from the kingdom woulde here this year. After all I heard that the students in the kingdom¡¯s academy are all adventurer. I was hoping that you will be able to help me in exploring dungeons.¡¹

    Looks like he was a person who would be high-tensioned when it was about his hobby.

    ¡¸More importantly Mr. Narcisse, you are going to have spare time for a while aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Hm? Well, I guess. I had just returned from a ruin after all. But the academy might be lecturing me if I don¡¯t hold a ss soon.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤The number of student who wish to take your ss is zero you know? You should take care of that problem first before figuring out when to hold a ss.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is that true? What a problem. Even though I could only continue being archaeologist because I¡¯m a academy teacher¡¹

    It seemed he was a very easygoing person.

    He also seemed uninformed about the situation in the academy.

    ¡¸Forget about that Mr. Narcisse. Can you listen to what I have to say?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, wait. I¡¯ll prepare some tea first. If I remember right, there should be a tea set around here©¤©¤¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse fell down inside the room after saying that. Then he got buried under a mountain of documents.

    ¡¸©¤©¤H-help¡¹

    I looked toward Louise-san.

    ¡¸This person, he is really from the six great nobles right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The entric Narcisse. He often got made fun of among the young generations, but I heard that he excelled as a schr.¡¹

    When I looked at Mr. Narcisse who was buried under the documents, I could certainly see why he was called an entric.

    We helped Mr. Narcisse out of the mountain of papers.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    I exined about what had happened until now to Mr. Narcisse after digging him out.

    Mr. Narcisse made a pained look when he heard about Pierre.

    ¡¸What should I say here, what happened was truly inexcusable. Let me apologize to you as a fellow six great nobles.¡¹

    ¡¸Could nothing be done about Pierre? From what I heard, he has been a problem student like this from a long time ago.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse looked troubled from my obvious question.

    ¡¸We introduced ourselves as six great nobles, but each of them is like a royal family of their respective domain. This might sound like exaggeration but, it might be perceived as interference to the affairs of another country if I give him a warning.¡¹

    Perhaps it couldn¡¯t be helped because themonwealth was a gathering of countries that gathered under the sacred tree?

    Well, it wasn¡¯t really my business.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take care of Pierre. Putting that aside, can you help with the other matter?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You mean about exploring the dungeon in Lespinasse territory? I¡¯ll be happy to do so, but it will be very dangerous. In Alzer, the closer the dungeon is to the sacred tree, the more dangerous it tends to be. The dungeons in Lespinasse territory that is right beside the sacred tree are all dungeons with high difficulty.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no problem.¡¹

    Louise-san seemed to be worried for me.

    ¡¸I wish that you won¡¯t do anything dangerous though. It seems you have confidence, but it¡¯s not good to be overconfident.¡¹

    ©¤©¤It would be great if this person was really my big sister.

    If it was my big sister Jena or my little sister Finley here, the most they would say would be ¡¸Don¡¯t forget to bring back souvenir¡¹.

    I felt like crying.

    ¡¸W-what¡¯s wrong!? Why are you crying, Leon-kun?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I just feel that it¡¯s wonderful there is a girl who will give me such kind words.¡¹

    Right now I had Ange and Livia, but that one year I spent in the kingdom¡¯s academy was really horrible.

    ©¤©¤It was really horrible.

    I wiped my tears with my sleeve while asking Mr. Narcisse to be our guide in the dungeon.

    ¡¸Will you ept my request?¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse folded his arms and looked like he thought about various things©¤©¤then he nodded.

    ¡¸Got it. I¡¯ll be your guide. However, I¡¯ll have you pay me the promised reward properly. Recently I¡¯m troubled because I don¡¯t have enough research fund.¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t worry. I will pay you the proper reward. After all the dungeons in themonwealth is reputed to be profitable. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡¹

    I was really looking forward to it.

    This would be a good chance to secure a lot of resources, like the magic stones with exportable quality.

    I could also make those five idiots work with this.

    ¡¸Then let¡¯s depart immediately.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    I grabbed Mr. Narcisse¡¯s arm with a smile and made him stood. I then dragged him with me right away.

    Before I left, I turned a smile toward the astonished Louise-san.

    ¡¸Please help me with that other thing too when we return.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes.¡¹

    Then I left the room with a faint smile on my lips.

    ©¤©¤Pierre, I¡¯ll make you regret making me angry.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    The location was the academy¡¯s courtyard.

    There were many lovers who spent their lunch time there.

    Lelia was having lunch together with her lover Emile, but from her expression she looked distracted.

    The reason was her big sister Noelle.

    (Just where have she gone to)

    She was worried for Noelle who didn¡¯te back. She was also annoyed at the same time.

    (Even though she just needs to go out with Loic immediately, what is she hesitating for?)

    Emile was worried seeing Lelia¡¯s distracted look and talked to her.

    ¡¸Lelia, Noelle-san still haven¡¯t returned home yet?¡¹

    Lelia smiled toward the kind Emile.

    ¡¸Ye, yeah. I think she is alright though. But I wish that she would tell me where she is staying at least.¡¹

    Then Emile made a worried face.

    ¡¸There are many troubles recently after all. I want to believe that even Pierre won¡¯t do anything horrible to Noelle-san in consideration of Loic.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. This is because big sis is stubborn. Even though all the problems will go away if only she go out with Loic.¡¹

    Lelia was trying to get her big sister Noelle hitched with Loic.

    In order to make that happened, she did various things like giving Loic advices. Emotionally she was Loic¡¯s ally.

    ¡¸©¤©¤But, recently Loic is somewhat strange. It feels like he has this scary aura around him.¡¹

    Emile was feeling danger from Loic, but Lelia didn¡¯t agree with him.

    ¡¸Really? I think he is just impatient because things don¡¯t go that well with big sis, but he isn¡¯t that scary. Though it¡¯s a problem that her desire to monopolize is a bit strong.¡¹

    Emile made a conflicted face at Lelia¡¯s words.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be great if it¡¯s really just a bit. ©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Emile took off his gaze from Lelia toward Leon who was pulling Narcisse¡¯s arm at the distance.

    ¡¸It¡¯s unusual to see the overseas studenting to school. Where is he nning to bring Mr. Narcisse?¡¹

    Emile was looking puzzled. In contrast Lelia¡¯s eyes widened and she stared at Leon in fixation.

    She dropped the bread that was her lunch, but she didn¡¯t even notice it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Those guys¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    I dragged Mr. Narcisse to a cave in former Lespinasse territory that was also a dungeon.

    We boarded a small ship toe here. When we arrived at the entrance, I removed the nk that had the writing ¡®forbidden to enter¡¯.

    I had properly asked for permission.

    You could enter even the restricted dungeon if you brought up the name of a six great nobles. It was convenient.

    It was what I brought Mr. Narcisse for.

    ¡¸What refreshing weather! This is the perfect day for an adventure!¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed your highness!¡¹

    Julius was high-tensioned from the morning. Agreeing with him was Jilk who had a rifle on his back.

    Mr. Narcisse who was dragged here half forcefully looked up to the sky while carrying arge rucksack on his back.

    ¡¸No, today the sky is cloudy.¡¹

    Julius kept smiling even after hearing Mr. Narcisse¡¯s retort.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the problem of feeling, teacher.¡¹

    ¡¸No, you were talking about weather just now weren¡¯t you!?¡¹

    What a happy-go-lucky bunch.

    As for Chris, he wasparing several swords that he brought here. He was hesitating to choose which sword to bring.

    ¡¸As I thought perhaps it should be this one? No, it¡¯s hard to discard this one too. Eei! Then I¡¯ll bring them both!¡¹

    ©¤©¤Are these guys misunderstanding dungeon exploration as a pic?

    I wished they would think about my feeling for having to lead this bunch of idiots.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go in already if you guys are finished with the equipment check.¡¹

    I was bringing a device that looked like a smartphone with me. I used it to confirm the map of the area.

    There was a bit of noise running on the screen. It might be due to the influence of the sacred tree.

    ¡¸Oh, the kingdom has some strange tool.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse peered onto my device.

    ¡¸Aa~, this thing is a lost item. I¡¯m using it because it¡¯s handy.¡¹

    ¡¸Lost item! That¡¯s amazing. Please let me take a look at it.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯ll broke if you disassemble it so better not. Anyway, let¡¯s get inside the dungeon already.¡¹

    I was carrying a shotgun and a heavy rucksack.

    Mr. Narcisse looked puzzled seeing that.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, why are you bringing explosive with you?¡¹

    We tilted our head hearing that question.

    ¡¸Eh, it¡¯s necessary isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸We also have the proper knowledge of explosive so please don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t allow the treasure to be damaged.¡¹

    The one who agreed with me was Jilk who was also skilled in handling explosive.

    ¡¸No, the interior of a dungeon is also a part of the ruin! You must not use explosive inside such ce!¡¹

    Chrisughed.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be fine. We will keep the destruction to the minimum. The value of the treasure will decrease if it got damaged after all.¡¹

    ¡¸By value you mean the historical value right!? Do you guys really understand how important the ruin here!?¡¹

    Iughed while persuading Mr. Narcisse.

    ¡¸Please leave it to me. I will stop them if they go too far. Besides, this time our objective is more of something else rather than the ruin.¡¹

    My objective was a key item that originally didn¡¯t have any effect in the game.

    It was a necessary item for the story progression. It had no value at all as a tool in the game.

    But, it would be an item with absurd value when it was in reality.

    ¡¸Something else?¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse was confused, but I ignored him and entered the dungeon.

    ¡¸It¡¯s dungeon exploration in Alzer. Put some spirit into it you guys!¡¹

    After I raised my voice, Julius, Jilk, and Chris also raised a gant yell in respond.

    ¡¸Will it really be fine?¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse hung his head down seeing us acting like that.

 Chapter 118 - Volume 4 Chapter 8

    <h4>Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 8</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 8 ¨C Sacred Tree¡¯s Sapling</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    At the pce of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    The king of the country Rnd was drinking tea elegantly there.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The taste of tea that is drank when people around me are working hard taste special.¡¹

    He was making a scummy statement with a radiant smile while sunlight was showering him from the window.

    ¡¸You¡¯re a trash like usual.¡¹

    Rnd replied to Mylene¡¯s remark with over reaction.

    ¡¸Indeed, it¡¯s just as you say. It¡¯s sad just how useless I am. By the way, have you finished your work?¡¹

    He said that he was sad, but he was joyful at the inside.

    That was the man named Rnd.

    The scum king who was in hate-hate rtionship with Leon and would exchange many blows with each other within the permissible boundary.

    ¡¸There is a letter from Leon-kun who is studying abroad. Ange came to directly hand it to me because it mentioned about an urgent matter. There is also a letter for you.¡¹

    ¡¸From that brat? It will be filled with disparagement toward me anyway. I don¡¯t want to read it, so you read it and tell me what it said. Ah, that¡¯s right. Tell me if there is any insulting word. I¡¯ll send him to the gallows with that justification.¡¹

    Mylene looked coldly at Rnd after he joked like that.

    ¡¸Perhaps it will be you who get sent to the gallows.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be fine. That brat is too na?ve. He won¡¯t go as far as sending me to the gallows.¡¹

    Perhaps the two of them were birds of a feather with how he was able topletely predict Leon like this.

    ¡¸Good grief©¤©¤¡¹

    Mylene broke the seal and read the letter. Her expression turned serious while she was reading.

    ¡¸So? It¡¯s just a trivial matter just as I said, right? Obviously that brat has too much free time in his hand, that was why he prepared this letter to make fun of me.¡¹

    Rnd had one-sidedly decided what the letter was about, but Mylene¡¯s next words immediately sent him into distress.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Dear, the letter said that there is a dispute with Faiviel House of the six great nobles.¡¹

    ¡¸What!?¡¹

    Rnd stood up from his chair and spilled the tea. Even while he yelled¡¸Hot!¡¹, he snatched the letter from Mylene and read the content.

    ¡ºTo my beloved king, is there any sickness ailing your majesty there? As for me, I am in an extremely healthy condition while praying everyday so that your majesty will be of ill health. Now then, my purpose of sending this letter is to mention that the second son of Faiviel House, Pierre-kun has picked a fight with me. And so I¡¯m thinking to take him up on it. However, I think it will cause various troublester on, so please take care of dealing with the aftermath.¡»

    Rnd¡¯s hand that was holding the letter was trembling.

    ¡¸T-that shitty brattttt! What the hell is he doing thereee!¡¹

    The letter also continued like this.

    ¡ºPS I received a letter from your majesty that mentioned this ¡ºTake care of the troublesome matter well.¡», and so I shall take care of the troublesome Alzer Commonwealth well. Please take care of the aftermath (lol) By The retainer who is more than your majesty deserves¡»

    Rnd tore the letter into pieces.

    ¡¸That fieeenddd!! I¡¯ll send him to the gallows for real! ©¤©¤Mylene, gather the important officials immediately! After that send people to themonwealth in order to investigate the situation. It will be a disaster if we don¡¯t stop that©¤©¤oi, why is your face red?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Mylene was shocked by the content of Rnd¡¯s letter, so she read the letter that was addressed to her. It made her cheeks blushed red.

    She hid Leon¡¯s letter for her from Rnd.

    ¡¸I-it¡¯s a secret.¡¹

    Mylene said that shyly. Rnd felt turned off seeing that.

    ¡¸Secret? That¡¯s cute, but how about you watch your age first before saying that? ©¤©¤Hidebuh!¡¹

    Rnd who spoke his feeling honestly got pped in the face.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    We finally arrived at Alzer¡¯s dungeon!

    We were inside a cave, but the space here was truly strange.

    There was moss growing on the ground and walls. There were holes at the ceiling where light shined in.

    The inside of the cave became abyrinth where nts that were never seen before were growing naturally.

    There were also nts with rounded flower petals that emitted warm light.

    The dungeon here gave a different impression from the dungeon in Hohlfahrt Kingdom. It felt like we were inside a forest.

    In such ce we were©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Iing. From the front, distance 300! Six of them!¡¹

    ©¤©¤I put the device into my pocket and readied my shotgun, but Jilk moved ahead of me.

    ¡¸Please allow me to hold them back.¡¹

    He aimed his rifle and fired at the monsters heading our way.

    It was a bolt-action rifle. He ejected the bullet cartridge, loaded the next bullet, and aimed.

    He peered into the rifle¡¯s scope and fired at the next target.

    ¡¸Jilk, leave some for us!¡¹

    Julius stepped forward. Chris also didn¡¯t want to be left behind and moved to the front.

    ¡¸Leave them to me. Your highness, please stay back.¡¹

    The enemies looked like centipede. They closed the distance by crawling on the wall and ceiling toward us.

    I changed position so that my line of fire wouldn¡¯t be hindered by the two who stepped forward and observed the battle.

    Julius shed a monster that assaulted him from the ceiling when it was still in the air. The monster immediately let out ck smoke when it fell on the ground and vanished.

    During that time Chris had cut down three monsters.

    ©¤©¤These guys are getting more and more superhuman.

    ¡¸Yosh, let¡¯s take a little break after I confirmed the safety of this area.¡¹

    I took out my device and checked the map. The distance until we reached our objective was still very far.

    Mr. Narcisse apuded our performance.

    ¡¸That was amazing. I heard that the kingdom is the home of the adventurers, but this surpassed my imagination. Even the monsters just now shouldn¡¯t be weak by any means, but you guys took care of them like they were not a big deal.¡¹

    Julius who only defeated one disyed his confidence pointlessly.

    ¡¸It wasn¡¯t much. We can take cares enemies of this level even if there are ten or twenty of them.¡¹

    No, I would run away if there was that many.

    ¡¸I see. Then you fight them alone if that happen. I¡¯ll run away at that time.¡¹

    ¡¸Bartfalt, you¡¯re really an unpleasant fellow.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you an idiot? If there is a ce where there are twenty of them, then you set up a trap and lure them there.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse looked dejected at my remark.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t set up trap in this dungeon. There is an important ruin sleeping here, and it¡¯s also close with the sacred tree.¡¹

    Sometimes we would find a ce where a root of the sacred tree protruded out inside the cave.

    The root would be really big it looked like a wall, or we would think it was a floor©¤©¤this dungeon was really amazing.

    Julius¡¯s eyes sparkled in excitement.

    ¡¸An important ruin you said? ©¤©¤Bartfalt, can we take a look at it for a bit?¡¹

    Chris¡¯s sses also glinted mysteriously.

    ¡¸Greg is really unlucky. He can¡¯t have adventure in this kind of dungeon and got to stay behind.¡¹

    But Jilk seemed a bit dissatisfied by that.

    ¡¸But, he is now doing things together with Marie-san alone in exchange.¡¹

    These guys, just what did they like from Marie?

    Mr. Narcisse was moved from hearing our talk.

    ¡¸As I thought the young men of the kingdom are great. You all are interested with archaeology, what¡¯s more you all are also skilled adventurers who can be relied on in the dungeon.¡¹

    ©¤©¤This person, he is misunderstanding these guys.

    ¡¸Mr. Narcisse, do you think that they are interested with archaeology?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that not the case?¡¹

    ¡¸Everyone here is savage with me as the exception.¡¹

    Julius red at me after I said that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s rude!¡¹

    ¡¸Is it? Answer me this then Julius, what will you do if you find a door blocking your way when you know there is a treasure behind it? Assume that the door is also a part of the ruin and has historical value.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s easy©¤©¤I¡¯ll destroy the door and take the treasure!¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse yelled at that answer.

    ¡¸Wait! The door is also a part of the ruin you know!?¡¹

    It was Jilk who gave theughing Julius a follow up.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t worry. In such situation I will use explosive to blow up the door cleanly from its hinges. It also won¡¯t harm the other part of the ruin.¡¹

    ¡¸No, you mustn¡¯t use explosive at all from the start!¡¹

    Chris shook his head in exasperation and started talking like he was different from these two.

    ¡¸Both your highness and Jilk are too extreme. You just need to destroy the key to open the door.¡¹

    It looked like even Mr. Narcisse could run out of patience.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t even think about destroying it from the start! Even the treasure is also a valuable research material. Why are all of you focused on the idea of taking the treasure away!?¡¹

    The three went ¡¸Eh?¡¹ with shocked faces. I looked at them andughed in ridicule.

    ¡¸Now do you understand teacher? These guys are savages.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, what will you do if it¡¯s you Count Bartfalt?¡¹

    Jilk asked me. I told them ¡¸I¡¯m different from you guys¡¹. Hearing that Mr. Narcisse also nodded while saying ¡¸Leon-kun, I know that you get it¡¹.

    ¡¸Obviously you need to take away only the treasure inside without destroying the door so that you don¡¯t leave any proof.¡¹

    Julius, Jilk, and Chrisughed after hearing that.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve got us there!¡¹

    ¡¸Indeed.¡¹

    ¡¸Umu, that¡¯s truly the best way.¡¹

    Really, it was difficult when dealing with idiots.

    ¡¸Eh, what¡¯s wrong Mr. Narcisse? Why are you crouching and holding your head like that?¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse muttered.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon-kun, you¡¯re the most horrible one here.¡¹

    Is that so?

    I tilted my head in puzzlement. Julius shook his head seeing my reaction and said to me.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, he means that you are more savage than us©¤©¤or perhaps I should say more reckless than us.¡¹

    ¡¸Why?¡¹

    ¡¸A normal adventurer won¡¯t challenge a dungeon alone in order to obtain a Lost Item.¡¹

    JIlk talked about my exploit whileughing. Mr. Narcisse lifted up his head hearing that.

    ¡¸Did you say Lost Item? Leon-kun, could it be that you have other Lost Item!?¡¹

    Chris folded his arms and nodded several times.

    ¡¸You must mean Partner. It was a good ship.¡¹

    ¡¸W-was? Eh, wait. Did something happen?¡¹

    Seeing Chris thrusting the cruel reality toward Mr. Narcisse made me felt pity toward him.

    ¡¸It went down in war.¡¹

    ¡¸Why!? Why did you use a precious Lost Item in war!? Do you understand just how precious it is archeologically? Before even talking about that, how can you talk about its destruction so casually like that!? Leon-kun, exin to me in detail just what happened!¡¹

    ¡®A precious treasure of mankind was-!¡¯ Mr. Narcissemented in grief. Seeing him like that made me unable to say how Partner had actually gotten pulled up and now it was in the middle of repair or how it had no archaeological value seeing that it had only gotten constructed recently.

    And so Iughed to gloss over it.

    ¡¸Hahaha! ©¤©¤Now then, break is over. Let¡¯s go deeper.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Hohlfahrt people is horrible.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t convincing when it was someone from themonwealth who said it.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Around that time.

    Greg who stayed behind came to a library with Marie.

    He stayed behind as Marie¡¯s bodyguard, but as expected he was regretting that he missed the chance to challenge a dungeon.

    ¡¸Haa©¤©¤I wanted to go with them too. Why do I have to stay behind? If he is already bringing those three then he should bring me too.¡¹

    Greg was saying that inside the quiet library while flipping the pages of a book in boredom. Then Marie asked him a question.

    ¡¸Greg, what is the meaning of this word?¡¹

    Marie was reading books that were written in themonwealth¡¯snguage. She would search through dictionary if she found a word that that she didn¡¯t understand.

    But, sometimes there would be technical term too that it would be too hard to understand it using dictionary alone.

    Even Greg was a former noble heir.

    He received the best education since childhood and he was also knowledgeable with themonwealth¡¯snguage.

    ¡¸Aa, this one¡¯s meaning is~~¡¹

    Marie thanked him after he taught her.

    ¡¸Thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸Marie, you are still continuing? I heard that recently you aren¡¯t even sleeping much. Cara and Kyle are worried you know?¡¹

    Marie returned her gaze from the worried Greg back to the book. She looked like she had no intention to take a break.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not enough with just this. I have to investigate a lot more.¡¹

    Marie had been working really hard since the day Brad got seriously injured.

    Seeing that made Greg thought.

    (I can¡¯t be the only one rotting uselessly like this. Guess I¡¯ll lend a hand, for Marie¡¯s sake, and also for taking revenge for Brad.)

    And so Greg started proactively giving support to Marie¡¯s effort.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    Inside the dungeon.

    The path that was shown by my device¡¯s screen was blocked by a tree root that looked like a cliff.

    It was so big we needed to look up. It looked difficult to climb.

    ¡¸It will be better to take a detour rather than climbing this.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse looked up to the cliff and rmended going through another route.

    But that would take too much time.

    I turned my gaze toward Chris. He seemed to guess what I want to say already.

    ¡¸Looks like it¡¯s my turn.¡¹

    Chris put down his rucksack and took out various tools like rope from there.

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯m going!¡¹

    ¡¸Do your best~¡¹

    Chris started climbing the cliff by himself with a smile. I cheered him on.

    Mr. Narcisse¡¯s reaction had gone past surprise into exasperation seeing Chris doing that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You guys can do anything.¡¹

    Julius acted like it was only natural.

    ¡¸Something like this is indispensable skill for us. Even I and Bartfalt can do this.¡¹

    This useless prince, why is he speaking with me as theparison?

    I asked Mr. Narcisse.

    ¡¸The academy¡¯s students can¡¯t do this?¡¹

    ¡¸The direction of our education policy is different from the kingdom, so you can¡¯tpare them using such standard. Alzer students aren¡¯t as tough as you four. Well, I think students who can keep up with you four can be counted in one hand.¡¹

    Chris reached the top while we were talking and waved his hand toward us.

    It seemed there was no danger.

    ¡¸Come, let¡¯s climb up too.¡¹

    Our distance until our destination was reduced a lot by climbing this cliff.

    But, it was difficult to obtain a key item as expected.

    ¡¸There are a lot of monsters.¡¹

    I muttered while looking at my device. Jilk peered to look at the screen too.

    ¡¸You can see the enemy¡¯s position with that? Since when you have this kind of tool?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I got it just a little while ago.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then what about the small ship that we used toe here? Since when you managed to secure something like that?¡¹

    ¡¸I once used it before Einhorn got stolen. It was lucky that I hadn¡¯t returned it yet.¡¹

    I was giving vague answers while picking a spot to set up a trap.

    ¡¸Now then, there are a lot of enemies so let¡¯s set up a trap.¡¹

    ¡¸So you¡¯ll still use trap. Don¡¯t forget to remove it properly after that.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse spoke in resignation.

    I immediately searched for a spot where it would be advantageous to face a lot of enemies and set up a trap there.

    It was Jilk who specialized in this kind of underhanded method.

    ¡¸Are you perhaps thinking disgraceful thought about me?¡¹

    Jilk was staring fixedly at me while I was setting up trap, but I didn¡¯t go easy on this guy who hadmitted something he should feel guilty about.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just thinking that this work fit your personality perfectly. Your skill to nt a bomb using big sis was marvelous.¡¹

    ¡¸Kuh! ©¤©¤I can¡¯t say anything back to that.¡¹

    ¡¸Come on, let¡¯s set this up quickly.¡¹

    After we finished setting up the trap, we needed to decide who would be the bait.

    And so I ced my hand on Julius¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡¸Julius, I have a job that can only be done by you.¡¹

    ¡¸Bartfalt, so you finally recognized my worth. Tell me anything. I¡¯ll show you how to have it done perfectly.¡¹

    Good to know©¤©¤Julius, you were going to make yourself useful for me too.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    ¡¸BARTFALTTTTTT! I¡¯LL NEVER FORGET THISSSSSSS!!¡¹

    Julius was running inside the dungeon. He aimed his handgun to behind him and fired.

    One of his shots pierced through a monster¡¯s head and it turned into a ck smoke.

    But the number of the monster attacking him was over a hundred.

    It would be more difficult to miss in this situation. Julius desperately ran toward the trap¡¯s location.

    He was running on the ground that was fully covered by moss. He paid attention to not get tripped on tree roots that sometimes appeared.

    He was running away from the monsters while recalling Leon¡¯s face.

    ¡¸As I thought it was a mistake to trust that guy!¡¹

    He never imagined that he would be used as bait.

    He heard Jilk¡¯s voice when he finally arrived at the meeting point.

    ¡¸Your highness, don¡¯t stop running and run through!¡¹

    Jilk used his rifle to shot through arge caterpir monster that leaped toward Julius. It turned into ck smoke and vanished.

    Julius did as he was told and ran through that spot. Leon was waiting there for him.

    ¡¸You did good work, prince.¡¹

    Leon was holding up his shotgun. A magic circle was floating in front of its muzzle.

    Julius didn¡¯t stop running until he passed him. Leon pulled the trigger after Julius ran through.

    ¡¸Here, explode!¡¹

    When the shotgun¡¯s bullet passed the magic circle, it attacked the monsters with trail of light following behind it.

    The bullet that was strengthened with lightning element prated through many monsters and blew them away.

    Julius sat down on the spot while breathing hard. He looked behind him.

    ¡¸H-high difficulty magic? Bartfalt, when did you learn it?¡¹

    Leon answered his question without looking at him.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just learning the convenient magic spells. I can¡¯t use any other high difficult magic than this.¡¹

    Leon just used a magic that could only be used by Brad among them. Seeing that Julius thought.

    (This guy, won¡¯t he be more amazing than us if he put in a serious effort?)

    Because Leon didn¡¯t have the motivation, his grade was always slightly above average.

    But if he got serious, wouldn¡¯t he manage to obtain a grade that was equal©¤©¤no, a result that was even better than them?

    Julius was thinking that, but he wiped his sweat and rethought it while getting on his feet.

    (No, in this guy¡¯s case he is prioritizing the result more than his own personal strength.)

    He explored a dungeon alone and obtained a Lost Item.

    He yed an active role in the war against the principality and produced a great result.

    What was amazing from Leon was more of that result rather than his own personal strength. Julius became convinced of that.

    (He is the type to reduce his effort while obtaining the best result.)

    Then the open space that he passed through exploded and gray smoke blew toward them.

    The surrounding got covered with smoke.

    He heard Leon¡¯s voice.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yosh, it¡¯s over. The next one will be the main event.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    When we arrived at the destination, that ce was the only spot with wide open space.

    There was arge hole at the ceiling even though we were inside a dungeon. Sunlight was shining in from there.

    It was a wondrous ce. A veryrge lump of magic stones and metals were protruding out from the ground.

    Those treasures were sparkling from light reflection. Deeper inside the ce was©¤©¤a veryrge and hairy monster.

    It had the characteristics of several animals. Its nose looked like elephant¡¯s nose.

    There wererge horns growing out from both sides of its forehead.

    Even though it was hairy, its tail was like a lizard tail. When the monster stood up there were sharp ws on itsrge hands.

    Mr. Narcisse yelled as soon as he saw the monster.

    ¡¸Chimera Beast©¤©¤why is something troublesome like this is here? D-don¡¯t tell me!¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse was getting excited by himself. He was saying ¡¸A ce with abnormal number of monsters. And then the appearance of a troublesome monster©¤©¤I see, could it be this ce-!¡¹, but I naturally ignored him.

    I immediately gave instruction to everyone.

    ¡¸Teacher, please step back. Julius and Chris, you two are the vanguards. Jilk, you¡¯re fire support.¡¹

    Jilk nced at me with grenade in his hand.

    ¡¸Oh, Count Bartfalt, are you just nning to watch?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid. I¡¯ll circle behind it and annoy it from a safe ce!¡¹

    I started running. Julius and Chris also followed along.

    When the Chimera Beast caught sight of us, it looked up and roared. Its volume hurt our ears.

    The one who attacked first was Jilk. He didn¡¯t even wait until it finished its roar.

    ¡¸How about this!¡¹

    The grenade he threw produced me that enveloped the Chimera Beast. However it didn¡¯t seem to be inconvenienced even when its hair caught fire. It stepped forward and attacked Julius and Chris.

    It ced its hands on the ground to run on four limbs and attacked with its horns to skewer Julius.

    ¡¸So you¡¯re targeting me! I¡¯ll praise your courage!¡¹

    Julius stabbed the sword in his hand into the ground and formed a magic circle in front of him. The shape of the magic circle was like a shield, and indeed, it defended the Chimera Beast¡¯s charge just as its shape suggested.

    The Chimera Beast bounced back from the collision. Chris attacked using that opening.

    ¡¸SEYAAAAA!¡¹

    He swung down his sword with both hands using all his strength. A deep wound was dealt to the Chimera Beast.

    The de was glowing. It looked like it was leaving behind a trail of light in the trajectory of the sword.

    Mr. Narcisse yelled.

    ¡¸Be careful! That thing has high regenerative ability!¡¹

    It was just as he said. The Chimera Beast¡¯s wound regenerated but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Aim its eyes.¡¹

    I circled behind it and fired my shotgun while giving instruction to Jilk.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t ask me for something difficult like that as though it¡¯s easy.¡¹

    Even though he said that, Jilk sniped the Chimera Beast¡¯s eye with his rifle.

    This guy was normally garbage, but his strength was the real deal.

    ¡¸Chris! Do pincer attack with me!¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me.¡¹

    While the two of them were attacking the Chimera Beast¡¯s limbs, I aimed and pulled the trigger of my shotgun.

    Blood gushed out from the monster¡¯s head, but it then looked at me with its regenerated eye.

    ¡¸Hey¡¹

    When I greeted it like that, it howled and rushed toward me.

    I immediately took my device with my left hand and touched the screen that I had prepared beforehand. It deployed a magic circle around me.

    ¡¸Man, this thing is really handy!¡¹

    The Chimera Beast crashed on an invisible wall and fell behind. Julk threw a grenade at that timing.

    These guys were merciless.

    But when the smoke cleared up, the Chimera Beast was still in good health.

    It was regenerating its arm that was blown away. Julius and others sought instruction from me after seeing that.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, we won¡¯t be able to defeat it like this.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve got a trump card with me.¡¹

    I loaded my shotgun with a specially made magic bullet and pumped the shotgun before telling everyone to back away.

    ¡¸Everyone get away!¡¹

    I pulled the trigger after confirming that Julius and Chris had got good enough distance. The bullet hit the Chimera Beast©¤©¤and blew away its upper body.

    The Chimera Beast that lost its upper body generated a lot of ck smoke and vanished.

    The ck smoke covered the whole room, but then something shined from the deepest part of the room.

    That faint light was greenish in color. The ck smoke was getting sucked toward it.

    When the smoke was disappearing from the surrounding, there was a single sapling there.

    I looked at that sapling and leaned the shotgun on my shoulder.

    ¡¸©¤©¤This is without a doubt the ¡°sacred tree¡¯s sapling¡± eh.¡¹

    That sapling was glittering with sublime radiance from the sunlight that was pouring from the ceiling. It was the key item of the second game, the sacred tree¡¯s sapling.

 Chapter 119 - Chapter 4 Volume 9

    <h4>Otomege Chapter 4 Volume 9</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 9 ¨C A Despicable Trap</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    Inside the dungeon.

    After finding the sacred tree¡¯s sapling, I asked Mr. Narcisse to appraise it.

    ¡¸M-magnificent. It¡¯s just like the legend said. The excessive number of monsters that we encountered on our way here and also the existence of a monster that protected the sapling, they were just like what I read in the book!¡¹

    ¡¸Then, this thing is undoubtedly a sacred tree¡¯s sapling, is that right?¡¹

    I asked just in case. Mr. Narcisse nodded to my question with sparkling eyes.

    His eyes were fixed solely to the sapling. He wasn¡¯t looking toward me.

    ¡¸There is no mistake. The sacred tree¡¯s sapling has been discovered several times before this, but in the end it would wither every time. ording to an academic conference, there must be a meaning in the ce where the sapling is discovered, so when you find one it¡¯s rmended to secure that location©¤©¤¡¹

    The story seemed like it would be a long one, so I put down my rucksack and took out a ss case from there.

    The case was like a bowl to nt sapling with acrylic covering it.

    Then I pulled out the sapling roughly.

    ¡¸Heave-ho¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse who saw the sapling uprooted right before his eyes screamed.

    ¡¸W-w-w-wh-what in the world are you doinggggg!¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse protested to me with a look of despair. I nted the sapling into the bowl with a smile.

    ¡¸No, this is my objective this time. I think I¡¯ll be able to lure even the six great nobles if I have this, so it¡¯s lucky that we found it.¡¹

    I thought it would take several days, but it was just fortunate that we found one in the first day.

    ¡¸Your objective is the sacred tree¡¯s sapling? Don¡¯t tell me, you knew that there is a sacred tree¡¯s sapling here from the start?¡¹

    ¡¸No way. I just thought that it would be great if we actually find one. ©¤©¤This thing will be the bait to drag out that bastard Pierre.¡¹

    From my investigation, apparently the sacred tree¡¯s sapling was an item that the six great nobles greatly desired.

    Surely it had an important meaning for them.

    ¡¸Wait a second. I¡¯ll contact my family, the Granze House. We will take back the airship from Pierre too, so I want you to hand over that sapling to Alzer. It¡¯s not something to be used for gambling object!¡¹

    I transnted the sapling, covered it with the case, and held it up with one hand. I peered to it.

    With this it wouldn¡¯t wither for a while.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t wanna. You see©¤©¤I want to punch Pierre¡¯s ugly mug with this hand.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse looked on uprehendingly at my desire. He shook his head side to side.

    But, he seemed to realize something and lifted up his head.

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s right. If this area is an optimum environment for a sapling to grow, then it might be possible to obtain another sapling just by securing this ce©¤©¤¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse looked around. What he saw caused blood to recede from his face.

    ¡¸Jilk, look! I got a magic stone this big.¡¹

    Julius was boasting about the magic stone in his arms. Jilk was looking at it enviously.

    ¡¸Your highness, please lend me a shovel too.¡¹

    ¡¸I refuse. I want to gather even more magic stones.¡¹

    The two of them were talking like kids fighting for toys. Beside them Chris was working hard with his upper body naked.

    He was digging up the ground and piling up metals around him.

    Chris wiped up the sweat on his forehead after finishing his task.

    ¡¸It feels pleasant to obtain a big catch like this. Even so, it¡¯ll be backbreaking to bring this much back.¡¹

    The area was getting wrecked up.

    Mr. Narcisse screamed toward the sky.

    ¡¸WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS DOINGGGGG!!¡¹

    Then I took out my device and operated it.

    By doing that the small ship that hade nearby slowly descended from the ceiling.

    ¡¸T-this is, isn¡¯t this Leon-kun¡¯s airship!? How can it move by itself even though there is no one in it?¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse found a new object of interest and calmed down. During that time I talked to Julius who was carrying a magic stone in his arms.

    ¡¸Load the treasures you find on the airship. We¡¯ll bring them back and sell them.¡¹

    ¡¸Bartfalt, even that small ship can move by itself?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right. Ah, also, we¡¯re going to bring back the magic stones and other treasures we find in this adventure to the kingdom and sell them there, so just be patient with the advance payment for now as your reward.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine but©¤©¤¡¹

    Apparently he was more curious with the small ship rather than the matter about reward.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll bring back some tool, so prepare to load all the treasures.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really feel like speaking much about it, so I immediately got onto the small ship.

    Then I found a letter in the small ship that wasn¡¯t there before our departure.

    There was also a paper bag ced along with the letter. It was filled with dog food for Noelle-chan.

    I opened the letter and read the inside before putting it into my pocket.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Around that time.

    Einhorn that was anchored at the harbor was boarded by men in ck suits.

    A man wearing a shy suit was leading them. He was wearing a muffler on his shoulder.

    Pierre weed that man and talked with him with a friendly tone.

    ¡¸Yo, you look well.¡¹

    ¡¸Pierre-sama, it looks like you have been ying your game again, very loudly this time.¡¹

    That fat man took off his hat and acted subserviently toward Pierre.

    Luxion was watching that scene.

    ¡ºAnd who could this be?¡»

    ¡¸Ahn? Don¡¯t keep asking questions every time. These guys are merchants. Well, they are handling items that can¡¯t be shown publicly though.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤I see.¡»

    The merchant started smoking. He instructed his subordinate to hand Pierre several leather bags.

    Pierre¡¯s hangers-on epted the bags and checked the inside. There were bundles of money inside.

    ¡¸Pierre-san, there is no problem here.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then bring it out.¡¹

    Based on the number of money bundles inside the bags, this seemed to be a transaction in the scale of several billion yen.

    What Pierre¡¯s hangers-on brought out in exchange of the money was a glowing green sphere as big as a bowling ball.

    When the merchant took it, he lifted up the corner of his lips high.

    ¡¸Thank you for your business every time.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also thankful yeah. After all you paid me good money just for smuggling orb that almost run out of juice.¡¹

    Luxion stared at the sphere that was called an orb and started collecting data.

    (So this is an orb. It¡¯s containing a lot of energy inside it. I heard that there is an item called orb among the sacred tree¡¯s fruits. So this is the actual article©¤©¤it¡¯s very interesting, but the country should be the one managing the usage of all orbs.)

    Pierre was selling an important item that was managed by the country in a ce outside of public eyes. It didn¡¯t look honest at all.

    It seemed Pierre and this merchant had a dark connection behind the closed doors.

    ¡¸©¤©¤And, when will Pierre-sama obtain the seat of the family head?¡¹

    Pierre smiled sinisterly once more when the merchant asked that.

    He gnawed on his nail and spoke of various things to the merchant who he thought as hisrade.

    ¡¸Even the old man is interested with this airship. He was pretty happy when I talked to him about going to war with the kingdom soon and taking away their technology to mass produce this airship. I might be the next head without even needing to make my brother disappear.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s a great news! All my investments to Pierre-sama until now is worth every penny.¡¹

    Luxion consolidated the information that it listened from the two¡¯s conversation.

    (Pierre who is aiming for the seat of family head joined hand with this merchant by smuggling orb to him. Perhaps he is gathering fun in order to be the family head?)

    Luxion would at least evaluate Pierre for his backbone to kick down even his elder brother in order to stand at the top.

    After all such backbone was something that Leoncked.

    But, it couldn¡¯t evaluate Pierre highly in regard to his choice of friend.

    Pierre¡¯s hangers-on were counting the money.

    The inside of Einhorn was filled with ruffians that looked like pirate no matter how anyone looked at it.

    They were Pierre¡¯s subordinates, but all of them were thugs without exception.

    While Pierre was having pleasant conversation with the merchant, one of his hangers-on suddenly ran into the ship.

    ¡¸Pierre-san, there¡¯s trouble!¡¹

    Pierre turned toward the hanger-on who yelled that loudly and scowled.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be so loud you idiot. And, what happened? Is the kingdom attacking?¡¹

    Pierre wasn¡¯t receiving the interruption with too much seriousness, but his attitude changed drastically when he listened to the detail.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not that. A sacred tree¡¯s sapling has been discovered! What¡¯s more it¡¯s a sapling that hasn¡¯t withered yet.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Really?¡¹

    It seemed to be an information that shocked even Pierre. He listened to his hanger-on seriously.

    ¡¸Yes. But, it¡¯s the overseas students who obtained it. In addition the guy called Leon rode into the academy with the sacred tree¡¯s sapling on hand. It seems he is making amotion asking them to bring out Pierre-san.¡¹

    Luxion was floating quietly.

    Pierre was making an annoyed expression.

    ¡¸He is calling me out? ©¤©¤But, I want it, that sacred tree¡¯s sapling. I want to take it from that Leon guy, but as expected I won¡¯t be able to do anything in the academy.¡¹

    ¡¸A-about that, it looks like Louise-san is backing him up. Mr. Narcisse is also with him, so it doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯ll be able to easily make a move on him.¡¹

    ¡¸Louise is with him?¡¹

    Pierre pondered slightly after hearing Louise¡¯s name.

    It seemed he wasn¡¯t interested with the mention of Narcisse.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Well, fine. Let¡¯s go take a look at this sacred tree¡¯s sapling.¡¹

    Pierre and his gang hurriedly departed toward the academy. Luxion saw them off while thinking.

    (They want to obtain the sacred tree¡¯s sapling even though there is already the grown up sacred tree here? I can understand their feeling that wants to obtain it but, they look more anxious than expected.)

    Luxion¡¯s red lens shined eerily.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    I was led into the reception room when I came to the academy.

    I was holding up the case that was filled with the sacred tree¡¯s sapling with one hand while sitting brazenly in front of the teachers.

    I was putting up my leg on the table.

    The teachers were scowling seeing my behavior.

    ¡¸Bartfalt-kun, aren¡¯t you being rude right now?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤This is why the people of the kingdom are all savage.¡¹

    ¡¸Enough about that, please put down the sapling right away. What if you drop it!?¡¹

    The teachers were showing various reactions.

    They werepletely flustered in the presence of the sacred tree¡¯s sapling.

    Unexpectedly it was Mr. Clement who was calming down that situation.

    ¡¸Everyone, let¡¯s calm down a little. Narcisse-kyun too, please give up a proper exnation.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Mr. Clement, why are you hugging my arm?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my. This clumsy me, how can I act so shamelessly like this.¡¹

    Just when I thought he was taking control of the situation seriously, he was snuggling close to Mr. Narcisse. In addition was ¡¸Narcisse-kyun¡¹!? It seemed that Mr. Clement¡¯s type was someone like Mr. Narcisse. He showed no sign of letting go even after saying that he was being shameless.

    Mr. Narcisse seemed to be ignorant of someone else¡¯s feeling. He didn¡¯t look like he was noticing Mr. Clement¡¯s effort in making appeal toward him.

    This insensitive fellow©¤©¤good grief, I wouldn¡¯t care even if something irreversible happen because you didn¡¯t notice the other person¡¯s feeling even after they were appealing so tantly like that toward you.

    The other teachers also quietly averted their gazes. When the ce became quiet, Louise-san who was standing near me gave me a warning.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, you¡¯re behaving rudely.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, pardon me for this. After all I¡¯m just an upstart who was formerly a savage adventurer. It can¡¯t be helped that I¡¯m handling the sapling slovenly because of that.¡¹

    The teachers inside the room made a bitter expression when I talked sarcastically.

    I put down my legs from the table and ced the case that was filled with the sacred tree¡¯s sapling©¤©¤no, my luck bringer sapling-chan on the table.

    However, my hand didn¡¯t let go of it.

    ¡¸More importantly, bring Pierre here already. How long are you guys nning to make me wait?¡¹

    One of the teachers warned me in panic about my way of speaking.

    ¡¸Stop talking so rudely like that. You¡¯re talking about someone from the six great nobles here. Louise-sama too, please stop siding with this person.¡¹

    I turned my gaze toward Louise-san, but she didn¡¯t show any sign of following the words of the teachers.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not your business who I¡¯m siding with.¡¹

    The teachers fell silent when the princess of the six great nobles said that.

    Even so, why would this person cooperate with me until this far?

    She didn¡¯t even show any sign of trying to trick me.

    Mr. Narcisse sighed.

    ¡¸It looks like he hase.¡¹

    The door was suddenly opened roughly and Pierre appeared there with his hangers-on.

    He was reeking of alcohol even though the sun was still high in the sky.

    He looked irritated from getting called here, but his eyes snapped wide open when seeing sapling-chan that I had.

    ¡¸Is that the real thing?¡¹

    His eyes already didn¡¯t see me anymore. His hand reached out to take sapling-chan away.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t touch.¡¹

    When I lifted up the case, he immediately red at me with a scowl.

    ¡¸You son of a bitch, who the hell do you think you¡¯re talking to huh?¡¹

    When the back of Pierre¡¯s right hand started glowing, Louise-san stood in front of me.

    ¡¸Stop. Pierre, it will be two on one if you start something here.¡¹

    ¡¸Move aside Louise! Are you going to oppose me? You are the same chosen people like me!¡¹

    He must be proud for being chosen by the sacred tree.

    But, Louise-san didn¡¯t step aside.

    Mr. Narcisse also joined the talk.

    ¡¸Pierre, enough with unseemly act.¡¹

    ¡¸Even the pretend schr Narcisse is siding with this guy? You two, aren¡¯t you mortified that the sacred tree¡¯s sapling fell to the hand of this kind of guy!?¡¹

    The other teachers were staying quiet at Pierre¡¯s behavior.

    It would be troublesome to keep this on so I came out.

    ¡¸Stop squealing you trash. It¡¯s irritating to hear. ©¤©¤Now then, you better keep your promise from before.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahn?¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s ill-bred henchmen were also inside the room, but they didn¡¯t interrupt the talk because Louise-san and Mr. Narcisse were here.

    Pierre brought his face closer to me with a thuggish expression and his hands in his pockets.

    ¡¸You said it before right? That you¡¯ll fight me if I prepared something of equal value. Or perhaps, you can¡¯t even remember your own words from not long ago? Pardon me then. Is this talk too difficult for you perhaps?¡¹

    His face immediately went red after I provoked him for a bit.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t fuck around. I¡¯ll kill you here!¡¹

    ¡¸Try it if you can. But this thing will also wither at that time though.¡¹

    Even Pierre¡¯s mouth shut up when I showed sapling-chan to him.

    This thing was only a key item in that otome game, but it proved to be useful enough when it was in the real world.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll fight you if you put Einhorn that you stole from me on the line. As for the method©¤©¤I¡¯ll be fine with a simple duel where you can also use armor. However, my condition is that you can¡¯t use the sacred tree¡¯s power.¡¹

    Pierre showed a surprised expression just for a moment when I said that.

    He was showing hesitation and refused with an agitated look.

    ¡¸Why the hell you bastard are deciding the rule huh? That¡¯s unfair.¡¹

    ¡¸Unfair? I¡¯m amazed a cheating bastard like you can say that. You want me to prepare a mirror?¡¹

    ¡¸Kuh!¡¹

    He was enraged and immediately tried to rely on the sacred tree¡¯s power, but he stopped because Louise-san and Mr. Narcisse were also here.

    ¡¸We won¡¯t finish talking like this so I¡¯ll continue. I¡¯m not like you coward, I¡¯m simply suggesting to have a fair duel using armor. I¡¯ll ask Louise-san and Mr. Narcisse to be our witnesses. ©¤©¤Or what? Pierre-kun, you don¡¯t want to have a fair fight because you won¡¯t be able to win like that?¡¹

    <i>Perhaps you can¡¯t fight without handicap~?</i> This amusing guy immediately reacted when I provoked him like that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Alright, bring it on.¡¹

    Pierre finally steeled himself. I then confirmed the conditions.

    ¡¸Then, let¡¯s swear to this sacred tree thingy. I¡¯m betting the sacred tree¡¯s sapling. I¡¯ll hand over this thing if I lose.¡¹

    ¡¸Fie. Then I¡¯ll return your ship to you if I lose.¡¹

    I made an exaggerated sigh and said ¡¸You don¡¯t get it~¡¹ to Pierre.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be pointless if you only return the airship but emptied everything in it. I¡¯ll have you return everything you took from me. You get that, ¡°everything¡±. If you lose against me, bring right in front of me everything that you stole from me.¡¹

    I wouldn¡¯t allow him saying something like <i>I returned the ship, but I won¡¯t return Arroganz</i>!

    That kind of excuse obviously wouldn¡¯t fly!

    Pierre corrected his wording with a fed up look after I told him that.

    ¡¸Yeah~, I¡¯ll return them. If this great Pierre-sama lose, I¡¯ll return everything I took. You¡¯re satisfied?¡¹

    Pierre wasn¡¯t bothered with the detail. He didn¡¯t look like he considered even the slightest possibility of losing.

    ¡¸Say that you will bring them ¡°in front of me¡± properly. You get it, all of them.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s only if you win against me.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse confirmed the conditions for thest time.

    ¡¸Then, Louise and I will be the witnesses. Will both of you swear to the sacred tree that you will follow the conditions mentioned just now? Is there also no problem with the date and time?¡¹

    I nodded with a wide smile. ©¤©¤Yes. It was fine like this.

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    But Pierre looked disgruntled.

    ¡¸Wait a second. Does this guy has any armor?¡¹

    How kind of him to be concerned about me.

    ¡¸No, I don¡¯t have any. I n to buy a new one in themonwealth.¡¹

    Then Louise-san suggested to me.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll prepare one for you. That¡¯s fine right?¡¹

    Pierre suddenly opposed strongly to that suggestion.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not allowed! I won¡¯t allow the witnesses to back the participant. I won¡¯t ept it unless this guy prepare an armor by himself.¡¹

    Louise-san looked like she wanted to argue back, but I stopped her.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s fine. And, what if I can¡¯t procure one?¡¹

    ¡¸Then fight without one. That¡¯ll be a wonderful show. A wonderful show of the kingdom¡¯s hero unable to do anything against this great Pierre-sama before crying and apologizing in front of everyone!¡¹

    Pierre looked like he was having a lot of fun. I smiled along with him.

    ¡¸Alright.¡¹

    ¡¸Leon-kun!¡¹

    Louise-san got shocked, but Pierre turned his gaze toward Mr. Narcisse.

    ¡¸The person himself said he is fine with that. Got any problem?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Pierre, I won¡¯t allow any underhanded act.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse said that and raised his right hand. A magic circle formed on the floor of the room after that.

    It was the duel method of themonwealth that was making use of the oath to the sacred tree. It seemed to have the implication that after the match ended, the participants would be forced to keep their promise.

    Mr. Narcisse proimed.

    ¡¸This is a sacred duel under the oath to the sacred tree. Both of you must not forget the meaning of that.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse must be saying that to imply that any act that would besmirch the sacred duel must not be done.

    I carried the sapling under my arm.

    ¡¸Of course.¡¹

    After that Pierre led his henchmen out of the room.

    ¡¸Hopefully you can prepare an armor before the day of duel.¡¹

    Pierre leered disgustingly while saying that remark. I replied to him.

    ¡¸Yeah, I¡¯ll prepare one by myself.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    Pierre returned to Einhorn and drank alcohol in a great mood.

    He was at the hangar.

    Pierre wasughing in front of Arroganz that had been decorated to have a spiky look.

    ¡¸Those guys are really idiots!¡¹

    The people around Pierre were also agreeing with him.

    Pierre brought the wine bottle to his mouth and gulped it all in one breath. Then he threw the empty bottle to the floor.

    No one paid it any mind even when the bottle was smashed.

    Einhorn¡¯s interior was in a very messy condition.

    The worker robots were cleaning all the messes quietly.

    ¡¸That guy want to obtain an armor in this country. There¡¯s no way he can.¡¹

    One hanger-on handed a new bottle to Pierre.

    ¡¸Pierre-san is really a horrible person. To make someonee out in a duel without any armor like that¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s his fault for getting tricked.¡¹

    Pierre and his hanger-on were heating up. They were talking in excitement as though they had won already.

    ¡¸The old man will name me as the heir when I obtain the sapling. Then I¡¯ll kick out big brother to live on the street.¡¹

    Pierre was also thinking about after he became the head of Faiviel House.

    ¡¸If I have the sacred tree¡¯s sapling, Rault House won¡¯t be able to keep acting like a big shot. Even that cheeky Louise will only be able to what I say.¡¹

    One of the hangers-on got worried.

    ¡¸Will that be alright? There is a rumor that she is going to get engaged with Hughes-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t give a damn. Besides as long as I have the sacred tree¡¯s sapling, then they will be the one to bow at me asking to marry their daughter. As I thought, Louise is the only woman worthy for me.¡¹

    Pierre was getting excited thinking about the future. He then got another idea.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right©¤©¤just to make doubly sure¡¹

    He talked with a wide smirk. He was waiting impatiently for the day of the duel to arrive.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    In front of Leon¡¯s house.

    Lelia visited there.

    Lelia came with a memo in her hand. She rang the bell and waited for someone toe out.

    ©¤©¤However, no one came out.

    ¡¸Hey, why isn¡¯t there anyone whoe out?¡¹

    She rang the bell many times in irritation. Then a passerby talked to her.

    ¡¸You there, the inhabitant of that house won¡¯te home for a while.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    This person seemed to be someone who lived in this neighborhood. Lelia asked about Leon from him.

    ¡¸Just a little while ago he went out while carrying a lot of luggage. It was too much luggage just for going to a trip, but it also didn¡¯t look like he was moving out. I still remembered because it seemed strange to me.¡¹

    ¡¸W-where did he go!?¡¹

    ¡¸Who knows? There was also a girl around the same age with him, perhaps they were lovers eloping at night?¡¹

    The passerby left after saying that. Lelia¡¯s hand let go of the memo with a dumbfounded look in her face.

    ¡¸©¤©¤No way. I-I¡¯LL BE IN TROUBLE LIKE THATTTTT!¡¹

    After a while she yelled while holding her head.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    ¡¸What now!? What now big bro!?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re noisy Marie-san.¡¹

    I was staying in Marie¡¯s mansion while the day of the duel was approaching near.

    The reason was because it would be safer for everyone to stay in one ce.

    Marie became tearful after I called her with ¡°-san¡± added to her name.

    ¡¸Because! At this rate big bro won¡¯t have any armor at the day of the duel! Even though it will already be hard to win against Arroganz even with armor, big bro will be mince meat if you go out there unarmored like that!¡¹

    I was unable to obtain a new armor.

    ¡¸It can¡¯t be helped. No one will sell me an armor. The merchants of Alzer are really stingy.¡¹

    ¡¸This isn¡¯t aughing matter~¡¹

    It seemed Marie thought that I was still angry with her. She was more obedient than usual.

    Even now she was serving me like a waitress.

    I drank the tea that Marie brewed©¤©¤it was really bad.

    ¡¸It¡¯s lukewarm. Remake it.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yes.¡¹

    Marie left the room carrying the cup and teapot while looking like she was going to cry. She cussed ¡¸That damn tea maniac!¡¹ after she left the room.

    It was really just like Marie to let go of her caution at the very end like that.

    Inside the room I leaned on the chair and thought of a way to pass the time until the day of the duel.

    ¡¸Now then, with my inability to purchase a new armor, I¡¯ll have to fight Arroganz with my flesh body. H~m, how despairing.¡¹

    My reliable partner wasn¡¯t here.

    I got into a habit of sending nces to my right shoulder.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That damn bonehead.¡¹

    I cursed while waiting for Marie to return. It was then Noelle entered the room.

    ¡¸Hey, did something happen? I saw Marie-chan putting a thermometer inside a teapot and muttering to herself while pouring water. Is she doing some kind of experiment?¡¹

    What was that girl doing?

    Perhaps to Noelle¡¯s eyes she was doing some kind of science experiment.

    ¡¸I¡¯m making fun of him right now. After all that girl is a hard worker only when she is cornered.¡¹

    There were many times I wanted to tell her to get serious right from the start.

    ¡¸I-is that so? You two are really close. Ah, I forgot, there is a guest for you Leon.¡¹

    ¡¸Guest?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s Louise.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    Louise-san was there when I went to the entrance.

    She folded her arms under her big breasts when she saw Noelle. Her face looked really irritated.

    ¡¸©¤©¤So you are really here.¡¹

    Louise-san said with narrowed eyes. Noelle averted her face.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say anything.¡¹

    ¡¸I have no time to care about you today. Leon-kun, I heard a rumor that you are unable to procure an armor, is that true?¡¹

    When I nodded in affirmative, Louise-san¡¯s expression turned frustrated.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t lend you any help right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Because of this oath to the sacred tree?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s right. Pierre might not think much about it, but this oath to the sacred tree is something important for us.¡¹

    Noelle was showing displeasure when she heard those words.

    ¡¸That thing isn¡¯t a sacred tree¡¹

    Hearing that, Louise-san red at Noelle.

    I pped my hand to keep the talk on the right track.

    ¡¸Okay, don¡¯t fight. And, is Louise-saning here just to check on that rumor?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s not it. I will talk to father about this matter, so Leon-kun, please meet him along with the sacred tree¡¯s sapling. The sapling is really important for us. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll ask father to open a negotiation with Faiviel House. That should be far better than doing this kind of duel.¡¹

    Was she meaning to open a negotiation to exchange the sapling with Einhorn?

    Doing it that way might also be possible, but I wouldn¡¯t be satisfying for me so I refused.

    ¡¸That¡¯s no good.¡¹

    ¡¸Why¡¯s that!? You¡¯re going to die if you go into the duel like this!¡¹

    An armor versus flesh and blood human wouldn¡¯t even be a fight.

    Even I understood that much.

    ¡¸I¡¯m happy that Louise-san is trying to help me. But you see©¤©¤I can¡¯t forgive Pierre.¡¹

    I should crush him earlier at the beginning.

    The me who was fixated with troublesome thing like event or the like was stupid.

    Noelle was looking at me worriedly.

    ¡¸H-hey, you shouldn¡¯t force yourself doing reckless thing. In the first ce the other side is the one in the wrong, so it¡¯ll be better if you rely on Louise here.¡¹

    Noelle and Louise-san were worried for me. Guess I¡¯d told them something important.

    ¡¸Do you two know why I¡¯m called as a hero in the kingdom?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? ©¤©¤B-because you¡¯re strong?¡¹

    Noelle gave a very simple answer even while looking bewildered.

    In contrast Louise-san gave a slightly different answer.

    ¡¸Perhaps it¡¯s luck? No matter how strong you are, you won¡¯t be able to be a hero without the right chance for it.¡¹

    ¡¸Both of you are right! However my answer is different. The requirement to be a hero is©¤©¤to survive. In addition is to not go into a fight that you will lose. You just need to continue fighting only an opponent that you can beat.¡¹

    Noelle immediately replied when I proimed that confidently.

    ¡¸Eh, isn¡¯t that cowardly?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤B-being called a coward is the highest praise in the battlefield.¡¹

    That was what Luxion said so it must be right.

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    The day before the duel.

    Pierre and his hangers-on came to a bar for the advance celebration.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the advance celebration for my victory! Drink as much as you like!¡¹

    The thugs who were following him chased out the guests inside the bar and made their order to the waitress.

    The bar owner brought the alcohol to Pierre. He squeezed out his courage and made a request.

    ¡¸Pierre-sama, the bill¡¯s amount has been piling up. Also, if I can please beg you to not trouble the other customers too much¡¹

    Hearing that request, Pierre poured the alcohol he received on the bar owner¡¯s head.

    ¡¸What? You want to protest to this great Pierre-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, by no means I©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Who do you owe your thanks to so that trashes like you guys can live in Alzer like this? Say it!¡¹

    Pierre punched the bar owner, but the bar owner didn¡¯t look he was really hurt by Pierre¡¯s fist.

    That offended Pierre¡¯s feeling.

    ¡¸You guys, wreck this ce!¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s angry yell made thepanions around him stood up and started trashing the bar.

    The bar owner hurriedly clung on one of Pierre¡¯s friend.

    ¡¸P-please stop! I¡¯m begging you!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s your fault for making Pierre-san angry!¡¹

    The bar owner got kicked away on the ground. His wife and daughter ran toward him.

    ¡¸Dear!¡¹

    ¡¸Papa!¡¹

    Pierre startedughing with a grin when the two helped the bar owner to stand up.

    ¡¸This is a bitcking for an advance celebration, guess I should make your family to take responsibility after you angered me like this.¡¹

    The bar owner guessed what Pierre was thinking and stepped forward to defend his wife and daughter.

    ¡¸S-STOPPPPPP!¡¹

    Pierre lifted up his right hand toward the resisting bar owner and tree roots grew up through the floor.

    Pierre¡¯s henchmen gathered around the bar owner who was restrained by the roots.

    ¡¸You guys, let¡¯s go outside.¡¹

    The restrained bar owner reached out toward his wife and daughter who were dragged away.

    ¡¸Let go of them!¡¹

    Pierreughed with a wide smirk.

    ¡¸Yeah, we¡¯ll let them go after having some fun. Though, I think you better worry about yourself.¡¹

    Pierre and his henchmen went outside and lit the bar on fire.

    They did that while the bar owner was still inside.

    The bar owner¡¯s wife and daughter cried and screamed seeing the zing me.

    ¡¸NOOOOO!¡¹

    Pierre cackled seeing them crying. He looked like he was genuinely having fun.

    ¡¸Those who oppose me are going to end up like this!¡¹

    The people who gathered around there were watching Pierre with frustration.

    But, no one said anything.

    Even the military officers of themonwealth who came here after hearing themotion only moved to extinguish the fire without capturing anyone when they learned that Pierre was the culprit.

    ¡¸Small fries just need to obey me!¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s voice resounded in front of the burning bar.

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    At the day of the duel.

    In the end I couldn¡¯t obtain any armor.

    I was squatting to watch Noelle-chan eating her food in the mansion while talking to her.

    ¡¸Eat a lot. Your owner will also return soon.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think that she would be able to understand my words, but Noelle-chan looked at my face once before returning to her food.

    Kyle was watching me doing that while cing his hands behind his head.

    ¡¸Count, you are being carefree like usual. Be more serious in this situation.¡¹

    ¡¸Haha~, I¡¯m being healed from watching Noelle-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸The duel is today you know? Can you win?¡¹

    ¡¸H~m, I wonder?¡¹

    Kyle was staring fixedly at me.

    ¡¸Well, I believe that you have some kind of n. More importantly, recently goshujin-sama is acting strange.¡¹

    ¡¸That girl is always strange so don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    When I stood up, Cara came bringing a brown paper bag.

    ¡¸Count Bartfalt, a packet came for you.¡¹

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸But, the sender is unknown.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    I received the bag and found a glove inside it.

    It was a ck leather glove with knuckle guard attached.

    I put it inside my pocket while Cara was taking care of Noelle-chan.

    ¡¸Cara, you¡¯re going to stay behind to take care of Noelle-chan?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Please leave it to me!¡¹

    Cara was a woman who sent me into a trap before, but now she could make a face like this as though there was no burden that was haunting her anymore.

    ¡¸Then I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡¹

    As for Kyle, it seemed he woulde to the duel to cheer for me.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be cheering from the audience stand with everyone.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. Then bet on me. I¡¯ll make you profit a lot.¡¹

    ¡¸Apparently in this country you cannot make a bet with a duel that is hold under the oath to the sacred tree. Goshujin-sama mentioned that.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is that so?¡¹

    Even though I wanted to ce a bet if there was any gambling, it was unfortunate but it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    Well, it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡¸Then I¡¯m going. You guys, don¡¯t bete.¡¹

    After I said that and moved to leave the mansion, Noelle got out of the mansion while holding the case that was filled with sapling-chan.

    ¡¸Leon, you forget this! You mustn¡¯t leave this behind!¡¹

    Seeing Noelle holding sapling-chan in her arms, I put my hand on my chin and thought.

    ©¤©¤And then I was struck with an idea.

    ¡¸You hold on it Noelle.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is that alright? This is a very important thing though.¡¹

    Noelle looked bewildered. I answered her with a smile.

    ¡¸I have the feeling that it will be better for it to be with Noelle rather than with me. Well, there won¡¯t be any problem even if it got taken away. I¡¯ll take it back without fail in that case, so just hold on it while feeling at ease.¡¹

    Noelle hugged the case that was filled with sapling-chan.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t want it to be stolen but©¤©¤okay, I get it. I¡¯ll hold on it.¡¹

    I felt slightly jealous to Jean when I saw Noelle¡¯s smile.

    Good grief, this just cannot do. Even though I got two fianc¨¦es waiting back home.

    .

    <h4>Part 10</h4>

    ¡¸Cara, take care of Brad and Noelle-chan!¡¹

    At the mansion¡¯s entrance.

    Noelle was seeing off Marie and others leaving while holding Noelle in her arms.

    After they left she would take Noelle outside to breathe fresh air.

    ¡¸Noelle-chan, let¡¯s walk outside for a bit.¡¹

    But when she was going to close the gate, a man¡¯s hand suddenly reached out and grabbed the gate.

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Faster than Cara could react, the gate was opened and men in ck suits came inside.

    ¡¸W-what¡¯s going on!?¡¹

    The ck suited men grabbed Cara right away.

    ¡¸Is this girl fine?¡¹

    ¡¸I guess.¡¹

    ¡¸Then let¡¯s take her right away.¡¹

    Cara was trembling in fear seeing the men taking out a rope. Then Brad who noticed the noise from the entrance peeked out from the mansion.

    ¡¸I thought I¡¯d take a look because you would go out, but to think there is another trouble happening.¡¹

    ¡¸Brad-san!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll have you men let go of Cara-san.¡¹

    Brad came out even though his wounds still hadn¡¯t healed fully. The men looked at each other.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s beat him up.¡¹

    ¡¸Search for the sacred tree¡¯s sapling too while we¡¯re at it.¡¹

    Brad broke into cold sweat in front of the ck suited men.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What a pain. Even though I still haven¡¯tpletely recovered¡¹

 Chapter 120 - Chapter 4 Volume 10

    <h4>Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 10</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 10 ¨C Marie¡¯s Turn</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    The duel arena in Alzer was also built in round shape.

    The walls were high and the audience seats were also ced in high position.

    If there was any difference with the arena in the kingdom¡¯s academy, it would be the gazes that were directed to me.

    Unlike in the kingdom¡¯s academy where there were boos and jeers showering me, in the academy here I could feel sympathetic gazes and voices instead.

    ¡¸No way, he is really going out without armor.¡¹

    ¡¸He is going to get killed.¡¹

    ¡¸This is because he went against noble.¡¹

    There were also some who wereughing at me, but those were the hangers-on of Pierre.

    They were throwing insults at me from the audience seats.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong, Hohlfahrt¡¯s hero!¡¹

    ¡¸You can¡¯t even prepare any armor huh?¡¹

    ¡¸Aren¡¯t you gutsy, going out into a duel unarmored like that¡¹

    Good grief, what a vulgar bunch.

    Then a ck armor descended from the sky.

    Itnded in a shy way on the ground. It was the figure of Arroganz that had transformed to have a very spiky look.

    ¡¸Uwa~, what bad taste~¡¹

    It was painted with skull mark that seemed to be Pierre¡¯s preference. The armor looked really sinister.

    The pilot, Pierreughed when he saw me.

    ¡ºGyahahaha! Oi, are you forgetting that this is a duel using armor you idiot!¡»

    Even though he was the one putting on pressure to the merchants so I couldn¡¯t procure any armor, he got no scruples at all making fun of me like this.

    ¡¸I¡¯m amazed you can say that when you had been nning this from the start.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s your own fault for getting tricked!¡»

    ©¤©¤Pierre¡¯s words weren¡¯t wrong.

    That was right©¤©¤the one who got tricked was the one at fault.

    Arroganz that now looked like a viin¡¯s ride pointed at me with its index finger.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t think that I¡¯ll forgive you even if you¡¯re apologizing now!¡»

    I was listening to Pierre¡¯s speech while taking out a glove from my pocket and wearing it.

    ¡ºWhat? You¡¯re going to fight barehanded!?¡»

    While Pierre and his hangers-on wereughing, I ced my hand on my waist in exasperation.

    ¡¸Stop wasting time and start the duel already.¡¹

    ¡ºRight. Even so, if this is how it gonna be then there wasn¡¯t any need for me to make doubly sure.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Aa?¡¹

    I raised my eyebrow in question. In respond Pierre cackled with a foul voice.

    ¡ºWas her name Cara? There was also a dog with her.¡»

    Pierre only said that and didn¡¯t say anything more.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You son of a bitch¡¹

    ¡ºLet¡¯s get this show on the road already.¡»

    ©¤©¤You¡¯re really a scum that doesn¡¯t betray my expectation.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Marie who was listening to the conversation between Leon and Pierre from the audience seat opened her eyes wide when Pierre mentioned Cara¡¯s name suggestively.

    Pierre was only mentioning the name, but she already got the general idea of what he had done.

    Greg punched his own palm.

    ¡¸That fucker! Who was it that said about not using dirty method because this is a sacred duel!?¡¹

    Julius was also showing his anger.

    ¡¸He not only hindered the procurement of armor but he even take hostage.¡¹

    The witnesses Narcisse and Louise also seemed to be opposing for the duel to be carried out like this.

    ¡¸This kind of duel cannot be allowed.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, let¡¯s stop it immediately.¡¹

    While the two of them were thinking to stop the duel because of Pierre¡¯s method that was just too dirty, Marie noticed that Leon was saying something.

    He took out a device from his pocket and threw it toward Marie.

    Marie caught it and looked at Leon¡¯s face.

    From his eyes and expression, she understood that he was telling her ¡¸Save Cara and Noelle¡¹.

    Marie looked down at the device and peered onto the screen. The device looked simr like a smartphone in her previous life. The way to operate it was also simr so she immediately understood.

    When she looked at the screen©¤©¤the map that disyed where Cara and Noelle were apprehended was disyed.

    Noelle noticed what Marie was doing and talked to her.

    ¡¸Marie-chan?¡¹

    Marie lifted up her face and spoke with a cold voice and a sharp gaze.

    ¡¸The chance to make aeback hase.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Marie turned around and snapped at Julius and others who were stillining in indignation.

    ¡¸How long are you guys going to do nothing butining!¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, Marie. We¡¯re worried for Cara and©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸We just need to rescue them if you¡¯re worried.¡¹

    Jilk tried to calm Marie down.

    ¡¸Please calm down Marie-san. We don¡¯t even know where Cara-san and Noelle-chan are right now, and it might be just the opponent bluffing. We should gather information first.¡¹

    Marie spoke sharply toward the men who were acting like that.

    ¡¸Stop saying weak-willed things like that! You guys, aren¡¯t you being cowardly sinceing to Alzer? It¡¯s us who are going to save Cara and Noelle-chan! Leon is going to be the one beating up that Pierre while we¡¯re doing that!¡¹

    Chris looked toward the arena and hesitated.

    ¡¸B-but, the opponent is wearing armor while Bartfalt doesn¡¯t have one©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸All of you had lost against Leon already! Do all of you seriously think that guy will obedientlye out into this situation to get ughtered just like that? Believe in that guy. That guy©¤©¤isn¡¯t a man who will show up to this kind of ce without any n. He is a guy who will have thoroughly prepared to push off his enemy to the very bottom persistently!¡¹

    The five fell silent after Marie said that.

    Kyle scratched his cheek.

    ¡¸My burden will increase if Cara-san is gone, so let¡¯s save her quickly. This ce will be alright with the count here.¡¹

    Marie raised her voice in front of the five to encourage them.

    ¡¸How long are you guys going to have that stupid face while doing nothing!? Hit back when you got hit! That¡¯s all there is to it!¡¹

    Julius smiled.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right. Yeah that¡¯s right. It seems we¡¯ve been acting like cowards.¡¹

    Jilk also smiled.

    ¡¸Marie-san¡¯s words has opened my eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸Then let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll go back to the mansion first to confirm the situation.¡¹

    Marie dragged the men away from this ce.

    Narcisse was taken aback by their spirit. His hand stretched out toward them who were leaving.

    ¡¸W-wait a second! We¡¯ll stop the duel right now!¡¹

    Marie looked back and yelled angrily at Narcisse.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t do that no matter what! Just dy it or something, then start it after buying some time! We¡¯re going to save the hostages so don¡¯t get in the way!¡¹

    ¡¸E-ee~?¡¹

    Narcisse turned his gaze to Louise to ask for help.

    Louise herself was looking at Leon in the arena. The person himself was making a gesture to continue the duel, so she sighed and put her hand on her waist.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It looks like the person himself want to continue.¡¹

    Noelle who was hugging the case that was containing the sapling was watching the arena where Leon was at with a worried look.

    ¡¸Leon©¤©¤¡¹

    The duel would continue as it was.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    When Marie and the others returned to the mansion, they found the injured Brad there.

    ¡¸Brad!¡¹

    Marie ran toward him and lifted up his upper body before using healing magic to heal his injuries.

    Brad opened his eyes and apologized to Marie.

    ¡¸Sorry, Marie. I couldn¡¯t protect Cara-san and Noelle-chan.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t talk right now.¡¹

    Greg and Chris brought Brad to his bed after Marie finished giving the first aid treatment.

    Julius who was looking around the ransacked mansion made a bitter expression.

    It seemed the inside of the mansion had been messed up.

    ¡¸They are going this far.¡¹

    ¡¸In the end the so called sacred duel only worth this much. Is the word sacred has different meaning for the people of themonwealth?¡¹

    Even Kyle looked angry. His words were dirtier than usual.

    Marie looked on the device.

    Then an exmation mark appeared on the screen and there was an rm sound ringing from it.

    ¡¸Eh, up? ©¤©¤Uhya!¡¹

    The warning to be careful above their head showed up, so Marie looked toward the sky. Then some kind of box suddenly fell from above.

    The box hit the ground *gashan!* with a loud sound. It caused dust cloud to rise up.

    Kyle peered toward that box.

    ¡¸W-what is it? Another harassment from themonwealth?¡¹

    But Marie clutched the device tightly and walked toward the box. She opened the lid and looked inside.

    ¡¸Marie-san, it¡¯s dangerous!¡¹

    She didn¡¯t even listen to Jilk¡¯s warning and reached inside. Then her hand took out a firearm from there.

    Marie was familiar with that gun.

    ¡¸So you¡¯re telling us to use this.¡¹

    It was a submachine gun©¤©¤like the one that she often saw appearing in old mafia movie. It even had a magazine in the shape of a drum.

    Julius also peered into the box and took out some bullets.

    ¡¸These are non-lethal rubber bullets? Why are these things©¤©¤¡¹

    Marie held the submachine gun with one hand and ced it on her shoulder.

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ll use them. All of you should prepare too. After this©¤©¤we will plunge into the enemy base to rescue Cara.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    The location was a warehouseplex at the harbor.

    The merchant who had close rtionship with Pierre was inside one of the warehouses there.

    He was wearing a showy suit while his mouth was smoking a cigar.

    He blew out smoke from his mouth and nced at Cara who was hugging an old dog while trembling.

    The old dog was licking Cara¡¯s cheek as though it was trying to calm her down.

    ¡¸Young miss, you are unfortunate. You people were picking a fight with someone who you mustn¡¯t turn into enemy. You might be able to return back to your country if only you didn¡¯t act defiant, but now it¡¯s toote.¡¹

    The trembling Cara put on a brave front in front of the merchant.

    ¡¸I-it¡¯s you people who are underestimating the count. That person is the hero of the kingdom. He is an amazing person who defeated someone really strong and saved even the country.¡¹

    The merchant ced his hand on his face andughed after he heard that.

    The men in ck who were his subordinates were alsoughing.

    ¡¸He might be amazing back in your country young miss, but this is Alzer, the center of the world. A hero of that level isn¡¯t scary at all. Well, I think he must be turning into minced meat around this time.¡¹

    Cara hugged Noelle strongly and looked down.

    ¡¸Even Pierre-san might show you mercy if you stay quiet young©¤©¤¡¹

    The warehouse¡¯s door was blown away before the merchant could finish speaking.

    His subordinates took up their weapon and aimed at the door. And then light entered the dark warehouse.

    The rising dust cloud looked sparkling. In the middle of it some silhouettes appeared with light shining from behind them, covering up their front figure in shadow.

    The merchant yelled his order to his subordinates in fear.

    ¡¸Fire. FIREEEE!¡¹

    His subordinates fired all at once. The warehouse was filled with sound of gunfire for a while.

    But when the ce became quiet after they ran out of bullet, the merchant and his subordinates opened their eyes widely.

    A magic circle in the shape of shield was protecting the silhouettes. The bullets they fired were crushed t on it and fell on the floor.

    The magic circle then vanished and a petite blonde haired girl stepped forward holding arge gun that looked too big for her.

    Cara shed tears of happiness seeing that silhouette.

    <i>¡¸</i><i>MARIE-SAMAAAA!</i><i>¡¹</i>

    Marie pulled the trigger of her submachine gun after seeing Cara calling her name while crying.

    ¡¸Give©¤©¤Cara bkkkkk!¡¹

    Non-lethal bullets were fired from the submachine gun.

    The men in ck were shot one after another. The merchants were flustered seeing them dropping like flies.

    (W-what, what¡¯s that weapon?)

    The merchant had never seen anything like the submachine gun before. He couldn¡¯t hide his shock from that rapid fire capability.

    But, it immediately ran out of bullet and stopped firing.

    ¡¸Now! Subdue that little girl! Take her weapon no matter what!¡¹

    The merchant wished to obtain that unusual weapon. He saw that his subordinates were still alive and thought that the weapon had low power.

    However his subordinates who approached Marie were shot and blown away by the men walking behind Marie.

    Marie handed her submachine gun to the elf boy beside her and grabbed a handgun.

    All of them were holding guns.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t move! There is nowhere to run!¡¹

    When the merchant turned his gaze to the backdoor, the door knob was broken by a gunshot. The door then was kicked away and Greg entered while holding a shotgun.

    ¡¸All your men around this ce has been defeated.¡¹

    His escape path was blocked and his men were also defeated.

    The merchant took out a handgun from his breast pocket to aim it toward Cara.

    ¡¸D-don¡¯t mess with me you shitty brats! Don¡¯t you care what will happen to this©¤©¤ihyai!¡¹

    Jilk shot the hand of the merchant with his handgun.

    ¡¸You shouldn¡¯t point a gun to a girl.¡¹

    Jilk was smiling with his gun muzzle aimed toward the merchant.

    Chris was tying up the merchant¡¯s subordinates.

    And then Marie arrived to Cara¡¯s side and hugged her.

    ¡¸Cara, you have done well enduring until now.¡¹

    ¡¸Uwaaaaaahn!¡¹

    The merchant was watching in vexation while holding his wounded right arm with his left hand.

    ¡¸D-don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll get away after doing something like this¡¹

    Julius approached him and turned his handgun toward him.

    ¡¸I¡¯m tired hearing that line. You should just worry about what will happen to you after this. Marie, let¡¯s tell Bartfalt quickly that Cara is rescued.¡¹

    When Julius turned his gaze toward Marie, he found her looking at the screen of the device in her grip.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The duel has started.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    Pierre had reached the limit of his patience in the duel arena and spoke in annoyance.

    ¡ºHow long are you going to make me wait! Are you looking down on this scared duel huh!?¡»

    I was amazed that he could still say something like that. I was doing warm up exercise thoroughly while thinking that.

    Pierre yelled angrily at Mr. Narcisse who was acting as the referee.

    ¡ºThe duel time has alreadye a long time ago! If you keep dying like this then that means you are making light of the oath to the sacred tree!¡»

    The audiences were also making noises.

    The audiences that Pierre forcefully gathered here looked concerned because the duel wouldn¡¯t start no matter how long time had passed.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t understand Pierre¡¯s feeling. Why would he gather audiences just to show himself winning against me?

    Even if he won against me, it would only look like he was torturing the weak.

    ¡¸Mr. Narcisse, please begin the duel.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse closed his eyes in thought after I said that.

    Noelle and Louise-san were watching me with a worried look, but Mr. Narcisse lifted up his right hand.

    ¡¸O sacred tree, please watch over this duel. Give your blessing of victory to the righteous. ©¤©¤The duel will begin now!¡¹

    Pierre moved right after that promation.

    Arroganz pulled out two battle axes from its backpack and held them at ready in each of its hand.

    ¡ºFinally! I¡¯ll show my strength to you guys!¡»

    Arroganz¡¯s appearance was sinister. There was also Pierre¡¯s voice that was going along with it.

    ¡¸It¡¯s scary now that I¡¯m looking at it from outside like this.¡¹

    Arroganz¡¯s huge frame was heading my way.

    It was scarier than a dump truck rushing at me with full speed, but I calmly©¤©¤ran forward.

    ¡ºHaa!?¡»

    Pierre was taken by surprise. He swung down his axe in panic, but I was already sliding right below Arroganz¡¯s legs at that time.

    ¡¸It¡¯s unexpectedly difficult to target a human right?¡¹

    When I got behind Arroganz and said that, it turned around and spoke with a foul voice that didn¡¯t match it.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t get cocky after getting away only once. This is to make an example of you! The audiences will also be more excited if you¡¯re resisting for a bit!¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re only good at making excuse huh?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤I¡¯ll kill you even if you cry while begging for your life.¡»

    ¡¸Nice. ©¤©¤Don¡¯t forget those words.¡¹

    Arroganz swung its two battle axes inrge arc.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Inside the warehouse.

    The device¡¯s screen was disying the figure of Leon fighting against Arroganz.

    After watching that, Marie looked toward an airbike that was parked inside the warehouse.

    It must be something that was used by the merchant¡¯s subordinate.

    Its shape was like a water scooter. It had the size that could be rode by several people.

    ¡¸Jilk! Send Cara and Noelle-chan to the area right away!¡¹

    Jilk who was holding a handgun immediately understood what Marie was asking him to do and straddled the airbike.

    ¡¸Well, I guess I¡¯m the right man for that job.¡¹

    He turned on the engine and checked the bike¡¯s condition.

    ¡¸It can be used!¡¹

    And then Marie led Cara to sit behind Jilk with the dog Noelle in her arms.

    ¡¸Cara, Leon will be able to fight without worry after he see you two are safe.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes! B-but, what are you going to do Marie-sama?¡¹

    In respond to that question, Marie nced at the merchant who was looking frustrated while Julius and others were surrounding him.

    ¡¸I have something to do here. It¡¯s alright. Leon will surely win. Jilk, hurry!¡¹

    ¡¸Please leave it to me. I will send them there quickly.¡¹

    The airbike floated in the air and flew away from the warehouse.

    Marie slowly turned toward the merchant.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Now then, it¡¯s time for interrogation.¡¹

    The merchant was putting on a brave front.

    ¡¸Remember this, I¡¯ll never forgive©¤©¤¡¹

    The merchant was showing a rebellious attitude. Marie aimed her handgun to him and pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

    *Bang! Bang!* Gunshot sound resounded. The empty shells that were ejected from the gun fell on the ground with light clinking sound.

    ¡¸Hih, hiiii!¡¹

    The bullets were non-lethal bullets, but it would still hurt if it hit. After Marie continued firing until she ran out of bullet, the merchant¡¯s previous threatening attitude crumbled and he crouched down in fear.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama, I¡¯ve finished the reloading.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you Kyle.¡¹

    Marie had handed her handgun to Kyle who came to her side. She then epted the submachine gun that Kyle had finished reloading for her as recement.

    And then she stood in front of the merchant.

    ¡¸How dare you kidnapped Cara and also injured Brad¡¹

    ¡¸I-it¡¯s a misunderstanding! I was only ordered! Pierre-san©¤©¤no, that bastard Pierre was the one who ordered me, I couldn¡¯t oppose©¤©¤igyaaa!¡¹

    Marie fired at the merchant with her submachine gun.

    Marie kept firing until the drum shaped magazine was emptied. Then she received a handgun from Kyle while handing over the submachine gun to him.

    Her left hand grabbed the face of the merchant who had be painful to look at.

    Then Marie¡¯s left hand glowed faintly and healed the merchant¡¯s wounds.

    The merchant felt the pain receding and made a ttering smile toward Marie.

    ¡¸Youngdy, if you spare me I¡¯ll help you escape from that bastard Pierre.¡¹

    Marie smiled hearing the merchant¡¯s words©¤©¤and pulled the handgun¡¯s trigger.

    ¡¸WHYYY!¡¹

    The merchant writhed in pain. Marie kept firing at him while still smiling.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not what I want to know.¡¹

    ¡¸T-then! Ask me anything. I¡¯ll tell you anything if it¡¯s something that I know!¡¹

    ¡¸Hee, is that so?¡¹

    The merchant got desperate in order to weather this situation. Marie turned her gaze toward the dumbfounded Chris.

    ¡¸Chris, do you have what I asked you to bring?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah, but what are you going to do with this cheap thing? This is the first time I was told to search for a dull knife.¡¹

    Chris had purchased a knife on his way to this ce. It was an inferior good just like he said.

    Marie epted the knife and approached a nearby metal shelves. She smashed the knife¡¯s de on it to make the de chipped.

    ¡¸M-Marie?¡¹

    Greg looked confused because he couldn¡¯t understand the meaning of what she was doing. Then Marie looked at the de that got chipped in various ces and nodded.

    ¡¸This will do.¡¹

    Then she turned toward the merchant. Marie¡¯s hands were holding the chipped knife.

    ¡¸W-wait. What are you going to do with that?¡¹

    Marie innocently answered the shivering merchant.

    ¡¸I learned from a book I read in Alzer. Was the title of the book Commonwealth Style Interrogation?¡¹

    The merchant was starting to tremble something fierce.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m good with healing magic. That¡¯s why©¤©¤you will be fine no matter what!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know! So please not that!¡¹

    Marie smiled in front of the crying merchant.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll continue hurting you, so you can say anything you want. But perhaps I¡¯ll stop if I heard something interesting from you.¡¹

    Kyle talked with a small voice seeing the merchant¡¯s trembling figure.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to torture him for real?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh, I won¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸But¡¹

    Even Marie didn¡¯t want to do something like torture.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be stupid. This is to extract information from him. If we tell this guy what we want to know, he will lie in order to get away. That¡¯s why I¡¯m letting him talk by himself. He will say a lot of important information because he don¡¯t know what we want to know.¡¹

    There was that kind of description inside a book that she read in Alzer¡¯s library.

    Marie was simply testing that method.

    ¡¸You¡¯ll go that far? It¡¯s a major turn off.¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up. I have to use this chance to take back Leon¡¯s trust! That guy is really dangerous when he is angry! It¡¯s seriously dangerous! I¡¯ll do this much if it means I can curry favor with him after that!¡¹

    Kyle wondered if perhaps Marie was over thinking it after seeing her this scared toward Leon.

    ¡¸No, the count isn¡¯t that angry toward you goshujin-sama. I think he has forgiven you.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t know anything about that guy! Enough about that, we¡¯re going to extract information from this man no matter what. If I don¡¯t earn enough forgiveness point here, I will be next after Pierre©¤©¤hiiii!¡¹

    The terrifying figure that the merchant witnessed couldn¡¯t be found there.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    At the arena.

    Pierre was losing his temper because I kept running around. He discarded his axes.

    ¡ºIt ain¡¯t fun using this weapon£¡¡»

    It was really childish of him to me his weapon like that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s yourck of strength. You really have no talent as pilot, you can¡¯t kill me even though you¡¯re using Arroganz. I think it¡¯ll be better if you don¡¯t ride an armor.¡¹

    Pierre found it hard to ept my honest remark and took out a new weapon.

    ¡ºI¡¯m not ying anymore.¡»

    He readied the rifle that was for Arroganz¡¯s use while talking with a low voice.

    There were screamsing from the audience seat.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll blow you up until nothing remain behind.¡»

    I grinned at Pierre who was aiming his rifle toward me.

    ¡¸Just try it you small fry.¡¹

    ¡ºDIEEEEE![

    Pierre pulled the trigger without hesitation.

    I leaped to the side before standing up right away and ran along the arena¡¯s wall.

    When the rifle¡¯s bullets hit the arena¡¯s wall, the faint membrane enveloping the arena began to shine.

    It was the magic shield that was protecting the audience seats.

    But the bullets pierced through such shield and bore into the wall.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong! Are you still ying around even now?¡¹

    Bullets were passing through the spot that I had just passed one after another.

    ¡ºYOU FILTHY COWARD WHO CAN ONLY RUN AROUNDDDD!¡»

    Pierre kept firing the rifle, but none of the bullets hit me.

    ¡ºWhy won¡¯t it hit! This damn junk!¡»

    ¡¸You can¡¯t hit me even with Arroganz¡¯s specs. I think it¡¯ll be better if youment your own uselessness.¡¹

    Pierre immediately reacted at my mocking.

    Surely his face was bright red right now inside the cockpit.

    ¡ºTHIS THIRD RATE COUNTRY¡¯S SHITTY TRASHHHHH!¡»

    He threw the rifle toward me, so I crouched to dodge it. Arroganz charged toward me at that time.

    Itsrge hand reached out to grab me, so I slipped below its legs to dodge.

    ¡¸You still haven¡¯t noticed? ©¤©¤Arroganz was my armor. Naturally I know all of its weaknesses.¡¹

    I was sure that this guy woulde with Arroganz.

    After all I induced him to do that.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t bber so proudly you loser dog that can only run around!¡»

    ¡¸A garbage who can¡¯t even defeat a single flesh and blood human shouldn¡¯t talk like you¡¯re human!¡¹

    <i>¡º</i><i>AAaaAAaaAaaaa!!</i><i>¡»</i>

    The next weapon that Arroganz took out was a ckrge scythe that looked uncouth.

    It was like a death god¡¯s scythe. Pierre chased me while swinging around the deathscythe.

    The weapon¡¯s reach was wide. It was slightly troublesome.

    ¡¸It¡¯s tiring even if I¡¯m just running around.¡¹

    I got sweaty. I wiped the sweat that was dripping from my chin and looked toward the audience seats.

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    The battle that was unfolding in the area couldn¡¯t be called a duel.

    Arge ck armor was attacking a flesh and blood human with a sinister weapon.

    Leon was Arroganz¡¯s owner and knew its weakness. He was able to keep dodging the attacks skillfully.

    But, his stamina was obviously reaching the limit.

    At the audience seat Noelle was watching over him worriedly while hugging the sapling¡¯s case. She feared that he would get caught by Arroganz sooner orter.

    ¡¸Something like this isn¡¯t a duel.¡¹

    The one sided development caused screams toe from the audience seats.

    There were also those who were looking down without watching among the students who were forced by Pierre toe here.

    ¡¸Someone stop this duel.¡¹

    ¡¸Should I stop it?¡¹

    Noelle looked down and prayed. Then she heard Loic¡¯s voice mixed among the audiences¡¯ murmurs.

    When Noelle turned around, Loic was there standing while smiling.

    Loic was looking down on Noelle and gave her a suggestion.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll stop this duel. In exchange, be mine.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Loic, you, even at this kind of time¡¹

    Loic was making use of this situation to obtain her. Noelle disyed her disgust to him.

    ¡¸You are still refusing? ©¤©¤Then, that man is going to die.¡¹

    Loic pointed at Leon who was running around inside the arena.

    He jumped to dodge therge scythe that Arroganz swung to the side and took a distance.

    His body was dirty with the cloud of dust that filled the arena.

    He was fighting well even in this situation where he would die instantly if he got hit even once.

    But, that was all.

    Noelle covered her face with one hand.

    ¡¸I hate you. I hate you nobles!¡¹

    Loic was watching Noelle while talking about Leon¡¯s situation.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll settle the matter if that guy let go of the sacred tree¡¯s sapling. If you refuse then Barriere House will also join in denouncing the kingdom. The overseas students and their families will be victim because of your fault.¡¹

    When she heard that, she realized that if it was Loic right now©¤©¤if it was Alzer¡¯s nobles right now, they would surely have no scruple in denouncing Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    (©¤©¤This country is rotten.)

    Noelle moved her hand from her face and looked toward Loic with tearful face.

    Leon and the others would be saved if she epted Loic¡¯s suggestion.

    But if she refused, this guy would keep doing unreasonable things in order to obtain her.

    (So in the end, you can¡¯t defy a noble? No, more like you can¡¯t defy the sacred tree no matter what.)

    The sacred tree was absolute for the people who were born in themonwealth.

    Noelle©¤©¤gave up thinking that there was no way for her to get away.

    (So the sacred tree still hasn¡¯t forgiven those from Lespinasse House.)

    It was like she could feel the will of the sacred tree that wouldn¡¯t let her get away.

    Just when she was going to ept Loic¡¯s offer, Louise approached them with determined steps©¤©¤and pped Loic¡¯s cheek.

    ¡¸Louise! What are you©¤©¤buh!¡¹

    Louisended the second p right away. Then she spoke strongly toward Loic.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you dare do that dirty act here. Making use of other person¡¯s duel toy your hand on a woman, you¡¯re the worst. I can¡¯t believe that the next head of Barriere House is making advance on a woman with this kind of despicable method.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Louise, even for someone from Rault House, there are things that you cannot say.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just telling you to not get in the way of the duel. Will Pierre really stop if you ask him? Remember this, if you join hand with Pierre©¤©¤I¡¯ll seriously crush you.¡¹

    The eyes of the surrounding were gathered on Loic and Louise¡¯s conversation.

    Narcisse was also here with them. Loic looked like he was thinking that this situation didn¡¯t favor him and left.

    ¡¸T-thank you.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I didn¡¯t do it to save you. I just don¡¯t want anyone to get in the way of Leon-kun¡¯s duel. After all it seems like he has a n.¡¹

    Leon still didn¡¯t show any sign of giving up even in front of the despairing situation.

    Louise was watching over that situation attentively. It made Noelle suspicious.

    ¡¸Louise, why are you this fixated with Leon?¡¹

    Louise didn¡¯t answer Noelle¡¯s question.

    ¡¸It¡¯s also strange for the princess of Rault House to side with an overseas student. Besides, it was also the same with Loic just now. Leon would be saved if I who is someone you hate be Loic¡¯s possession. You would also be able to obtain the sacred tree¡¯s sapling.¡¹

    Louise was folding her arms. Her hands were tightly grasping her own arms.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I don¡¯t need to tell you anything.¡¹

    A part of Noelle was also suspecting that Louise was scheming something. But based on what she was seeing, Louise looked like she was genuinely worried for Leon.

    But she couldn¡¯t imagine the reason why she would be like this.

    While the duel where Leon was only running around was continuing, a single airbikended among the audience seats.

    On the bike were Jilk and©¤©¤Cara along with the dog Noelle.

    The airbike¡¯snding causedmotion in the audience seats. Jilk and Cara yelled toward Leon in the middle of that.

    ¡¸Count Bartfalt! Marie-san has rescued Cara-san and Noelle-chan!¡¹

    Cara was also yelling loudly.

    ¡¸You can beat up that scum already!¡¹

    ¡¸Woof!¡¹

    Even the dog Noelle also barked. At the arena Leon responded to them by lifting up his right hand.

    At the arena, Leon proimed toward Pierre even in his despairing situation.

    ¡¸Now there isn¡¯t anything holding me back. ©¤©¤Are you prepared?¡¹

    Pierre vented his annoyance at Leon after hearing those words.

    ¡ºStop dreaming that you can do anything about this situation just because the hostages are freed after thiste!¡»

    Pierre¡¯s unreserved words caused Louise to angrily say ¡¸Pierre, you are underestimating us¡¹, while Leon spoke seriously with a low growl that strangely resounded through the arena.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I¡¯ll teach you something good. I¡¯m actually a coward.¡¹

 Chapter 121 - Volume 4 Chapter 11

    Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11 ¨C Leon¡¯s Turn

    .

    Part 1

    I am a coward.

    Silence enveloped the arena just for a moment when I proimed that.

    Even Pierre in front of me halted for a moment before nitpicking my statement.

    ¡ºAnd here I was wondering what you are going to say, but you¡¯re actually begging for your life now? It¡¯s toote for that!¡»

    ¡¸Who was begging for his life? I was saying that I¡¯m a coward. Do you understand what this means?¡¹

    ¡ºI have enough. Die already you bastard!¡»

    ¡¸You keep barking annoyingly with big words. Learn from our Noelle-chan. She is a model dog who almost never bark.¡¹

    Pierre lifted therge scythe when I mocked him to slice my body from up to down.

    Marie and the other guys had safely rescued the hostages.

    With this there wasn¡¯t any more problem.

    Soon it would also be the time for that guy to make his move.

    ¡ºDON¡¯T MAKE FUN OF MEEEEE!¡»

    I crouched to dodge the approaching scythe and slipped between Arroganz¡¯s legs.

    Arroganz fell forward when I touched it just a little while passing it.

    ¡ºOuch!¡»

    The inside of the cockpit shook from the impact. Even Pierre felt pain from it.

    From his next words it didn¡¯t seem like heprehended what just happened.

    ¡ºS-shi! This junk slipped by itself. It made this great Pierre-sama lost face.¡»

    It seemed he thought that Arroganz slipped by itself and got irritated.

    ¡¸It didn¡¯t slip. It got knocked down.¡¹

    ¡ºAa?¡»

    What is this guy saying? Pierre was showing such reaction. His reaction wasn¡¯t really wrong.

    ¡¸I told you before. I¡¯m a coward. ©¤©¤I will only fight a battle that I can win.¡¹

    ¡ºWhat are you saying©¤©¤¡»

    ¡¸You still don¡¯t get it? I thought that I can win if you¡¯re the opponent, that was why I epted this duel. Even with you riding Arroganz and I¡¯m unarmored©¤©¤I still came out here because I have chances for victory.¡¹

    ¡ºHah! Don¡¯t get cocky just after getting lucky once!¡»

    Arroganz got up and resumed attacking. It reached out with its left hand to grab me.

    I didn¡¯t run away and took a fighting stance. I grabbed Arroganz¡¯srge finger©¤©¤and hurled itsrge body.

    Arroganz somersaulted in the air like it was a joke. Pierre who was inside the cockpit also got shaken around and yelled.

    ¡ºB-bastard!¡»

    I watched Arroganz lying on the ground while rotating my shoulder.

    I kept talking to Pierre.

    ¡¸You are really weak, for real. This is all you got even while riding Arroganz. I¡¯ve never seen a pilot as bad as you. No, I guess that¡¯s goes without saying because you¡¯re already the worst as a human?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤D-don¡¯t think that the flukes will keep happening forever!¡»

    Arroganz stood up and approached, but I hurled it away once more using its own momentum and told Pierre.

    ¡¸When something happens for the third time then it¡¯s already an inevitability. Pierre, you can¡¯t win against me.¡¹

    .

    Part 2

    Just what in the world was going on?

    In the arena, all the audiences were unable to believe the scene in front of their eyes.

    A flesh and blood human was hurling an armor around three times.

    There were even some people inside the venue who were giving apuse in admiration.

    ¡¸Tossing an armor without wearing an armor yourself? Is something like that possible? Is it martial art? No, perhaps it¡¯s some kind of magic?¡¹

    Narcisse got his interest stimted even while feeling shocked. Louise warned him.

    ¡¸Concentrate on the duel.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. But, this still doesn¡¯t change how disadvantageous the situation is.¡¹

    But there was another concern.

    Leon wasn¡¯t wearing armor, while Pierre was inside one.

    The situation was still overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Leon. Pierre was in possession of the advantage when they considered the matter of stamina between the two.

    Lion was using Arroganz¡¯s movement to throw it, but he would have no way to do anything if Arroganz kept its distance.

    Louise was worried for Leon.

    ¡¸He has no way to finish this.¡¹

    Even if she wanted to dere Leon the winner, Arroganz could still stand up even after falling down.

    There was no decisive blow. She couldn¡¯t deem Leon to be the winner as a witness of the duel.

    She would be criticized if she dered him the winner in this situation.

    Deep in her heart she wished for the match to be decided with a clear winner and loser, otherwise it wouldplicate the matter.

    Narcisse turned his gaze toward Louise.

    ¡¸Louise, he isn¡¯t your ¡°little brother¡±.¡¹

    Louise dropped her gaze from being told that.

    ¡¸I know that.¡¹

    ¡¸Then, don¡¯t side with him too much. He is a foreigner. One day he will return back to his country.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Even I understand that much.¡¹

    The situation was progressing to an unexpected direction while the two witnesses were talking.

    Clement was running toward Narcisse¡¯s position.

    He was looking extremely panicked. His face was sweaty with a serious expression.

    ¡¸Narcisse-kyun!¡¹

    ¡¸Mr. Clement? Did something happen?¡¹

    Clement¡¯s appearance made Narcisse thought that Pierre might have done something again, but what actually happened far surpassed his expectation.

    ¡¸It¡¯s awful! Faiviel House is being attacked! They¡¯re in a state of war!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What did you say?¡¹

    Narcisse looked to Louise in shock.

    But Louise herself knew nothing about it.

    ¡¸Who in the world is attacking them? I never heard that the situation has be that tense with any other country.¡¹

    She couldn¡¯t think of any country that would attack them with the current international situation.

    But, there was actually someone attacking at present.

    Clement sent his gaze toward the arena. Arroganz that was piloted by Pierre was floating in the air right now from being thrown by Leon.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry that I only have unconfirmed information, but the enemy is only a single ship of the kingdom. No, right now the ship is registered with themonwealth though.¡¹

    Apuses and cheers were breaking out from the audience seats each time Leon threw Arroganz.

    It clearly showed just how bad their evaluation of Pierre¡¯s habitual act was.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Just one ship? Is Leon-kun¡¯s ship rampaging?¡¹

    Clement put his hands on his cheeks and wriggled back and forth while stressing that the information he had was still unconfirmed.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s the truth or a lie. But, it¡¯s a fact that there is war in Faiviel House¡¯s territory. I heard that Alzer¡¯sbined fleet has been dispatched. That¡¯s why please stop the duel and evacuate everyone from here.¡¹

    Narcisse made a bitter expression.

    ¡¸What in the world¡¹

    Einhorn was rampaging in the territory of Faiviel House.

    The current owner of Einhorn was Pierre.

    Louise immediately tried to stop the duel.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t watch this anymore. I¡¯ll stop the duel using my name.¡¹

    ¡¸Got it. Let¡¯s dere the suspension of the duel right away.¡¹

    Just when the two of them decided to stop the duel, they heard Pierre¡¯s voice that was mad with rage from inside Arroganz in the arena.

    ¡ºHOW DARE YOU MADE FUN OF THIS GREAT PIERRE-SAMAAAA! I¡¯M GOING TO EXPLODE YOU ALL!¡»

    The container on Arroganz¡¯s back opened and missiles were fired to the surrounding from there.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That guy!¡¹

    Louise, Narcisse, and Clement were shocked by Pierre¡¯s doing.

    The missiles didn¡¯t only target Leon, they were also heading toward the audience seats©¤©¤the shield that enveloped the arena red up strongly, but it couldn¡¯t endure the missiles¡¯ explosions and got destroyed.

    The shield just barely blocked the impact, but the smoke that was generated from the explosion filled the audience seats.

    .

    Part 3

    Going back slightly in time.

    Around the time the duel was going to be started, Einhorn that was anchored in the harbor started moving.

    Pierre¡¯s henchmen who noticed that was puzzled by the movement, but they didn¡¯t view it as a problem.

    ¡¸Who is it who moved the ship without permission? Or is there an order from Pierre-san?¡¹

    A thuggish sailor who had headache from hangover yawned while walking in Einhorn¡¯s corridor.

    The scenery outside the window was moving. He could see Einhorn was heading somewhere.

    ¡¸But still, where is everyone?¡¹

    He looked around but found no one.

    He continued walking for a while before he saw a cylinder shaped robot that was moving by floating.

    The robots were the one managing the airship, so the crews in this ship didn¡¯t really have to do anything and could take it easy.

    The robot had a single eye with two thin arms attached. The robot didn¡¯t have any leg and moved by floating. He didn¡¯t understand how it was doing that and didn¡¯t care. Then he saw the robot was holding a broom in its hands.

    The sailor kicked the robot when it got near.

    ¡¸Oi, where are the others?¡¹

    The sailors¡¯ treatment toward the robots was extremely awful.

    Normally the robots wouldn¡¯tin or resist even when treated like that.

    But today was different.

    The kicked robot turned its red eye toward the sailor.

    ¡¸What? Show me the way already.¡¹

    Then the robot lifted up its broom and swung it down on the sailor¡¯s head.

    ¡¸A-asshole! Are you defying me huh!¡¹

    The sailor was hit by the broom over and over. He unsheathed the short sword he got on him and prepared to attack the robot.

    However, he felt something behind him and turned around.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    There he found a robot that was even bigger than the cleaning robots.

    It lifted up itsrge and thick arm before swinging it down without hesitation, reaping away the sailor¡¯s consciousness.

    .

    Part 4

    In Einhorn¡¯s bridge.

    Luxion was floating in there. It was giving instruction to the robots that were moving around nearby.

    ¡ºThe mission has moved to the next phase. The objective is the territory of Faiviel House.¡»

    Pierre¡¯s subordinates were in the bridge. They were tied up and left to lie on the floor.

    Einhorn was heading to Faiviel House¡¯s territory©¤©¤right to the center of it.

    There was a fortress of Faiviel House there. Right now Einhorn was heading there.

    However, an unfortunate patrol airship found Einhorn when it was going to enter the territory of Faiviel House without permission. The patrol airship moved in order to block Einhorn¡¯s path.

    ¡ºThe airship over there, stop.¡»

    The patrol said that. The tone of their voice was polite. Surely it was because of Faiviel House¡¯s family crest that was painted on Einhorn¡¯s hull. Luxion remembered the voice that was talking to them through a megaphone.

    ¡º©¤©¤if master is here, he will surely say ¡°lucky¡± in this time.¡»

    The voice came from the captain who inspected Einhorn when it first entered themonwealth.

    It was the man who insulted Arroganz, someone who Luxion wanted to retaliate against.

    ¡ºCannon¡»

    The robots moved following Luxion¡¯s order.

    Einhorn¡¯s cannon fixed its aim at the patrol airship and fired without any warning.

    The patrol airship got shot in its essential engine at its rear and became unable to move. It then slowly went down while bursting into mes. Luxion saw the crews escaping the ship one after another. The captain of that time was the one who ran at the very front and got onto an emergency boat.

    ¡ºFire¡»

    Luxion indifferently ordered to attack more. The boat that was boarded by the captain was destroyed by anti-air attack from Einhorn. However Luxion had calcted the height so that the passengers wouldn¡¯t die even if they fell.

    The captain was crying and screaming for help inside the falling boat.

    But Luxion stopped its revenge with that because Killing wasn¡¯t ¡°Leon¡¯s preference¡±.

    ¡ºGood grief, it¡¯s a pain to rampage ording to master¡¯s preference.¡»

    Einhorn ignored the sinking patrol airship and continued moving into Faiviel House¡¯s territory.

    The remaining henchmen inside the airship heard themotion and started pounding the door to the bridge violently.

    ¡¸Oi, what have you guys done!¡¹

    ¡¸That was overdoing it! Return the ship to the harbor right away!¡¹

    ¡¸Is this Pierre-san¡¯s order!? ©¤©¤W-what¡¯s with these things? S-stop! Don¡¯te here!¡¹

    Luxion ignored the noise that Pierre¡¯s henchmen were making.

    After Luxion entered the territory of Faiviel House©¤©¤it started destroying important locations, especially the military instations.

    The patrol airship immediately called their allies and enemies were gathering one after another.

    But they didn¡¯t attack because they saw Faiviel House¡¯s family crest on Einhorn.

    Seeing the patrols Luxion was©¤©¤.

    ¡ºFire¡»

    ©¤©¤sinking them one after another.

    It confirmed that the airships were falling to ce that had no people while broadcasting voices through amplifier so that the patrols could hear.

    ¡ºGyahahaha, we¡¯re the strongest!¡»

    ¡ºOra, murder all of Pierre-san¡¯s enemies!¡»

    ¡ºKeep going until the center like this!¡»

    Those were the voices of Pierre¡¯s henchmen.

    Luxion had recorded their voices, analyzed them, and then edited their voices into words that suited this situation.

    Pierre¡¯s henchmen outside the bridge were flustered.

    ¡¸O-oi, what are you guys doing!?¡¹

    ¡¸Stop. Oi, stop screwing around!¡¹

    ¡¸Open the door!¡¹

    They must be thinking that this wouldn¡¯t end up as a mere joke at this rate.

    But it was already toote.

    A voice came from the patrol airship¡¯s amplifier.

    ¡ºYou bastards! Do you know what you are doing right now!? ©¤©¤Prepare to fire! Hold it back no matter what until reinforcemente!¡»

    The patrol airships were going to fire, but Luxion had no duty to wait for them.

    ¡ºFall¡»

    All the patrol airships were sinking after it fired the cannons several time.

    Then the sacred tree¡¯s crest that was formed over Einhorn started growing vines and roots. It was trying to destroy Einhorn that was moving against Pierre¡¯s will.

    ¡ºWhat a slow reaction. Also©¤©¤do you seriously think that you can stop me with just this?¡»

    Legless robots flew out from Einhorn.

    Their hands were holding various things like methrower or chainsaw. They burned and cut away the vines and roots. And then shining lines ran through Einhorn¡¯s hull.

    Several lines on the hull emitted light that broke and erased the sacred tree¡¯s crest.

    ¡ºSomething like this can be destroyed anytime.¡»

    Luxion decreased Einhorn¡¯s moving speed and went around destroying important locations while aiming toward Faiviel House¡¯s fortress.

    ¡ºNow then, there is no problem over here. ©¤©¤I wonder if master is alright over there.¡»

    .

    Part 5

    The surrounding was covered by the smoke from the missiles.

    Pierre who was watching that from inside the cockpit was desperately moving the control stick.

    ¡¸W-what the hell! I didn¡¯t do anything!¡¹

    Pierre didn¡¯t know that Arroganz had missiles, and he also didn¡¯t n to attack the audiences. He didn¡¯t care at all about the rabbles, but there were also nobles among the audiences including Narcisse and Louise.

    And not only that.

    ¡¸Why is there my voice speaking out there!?¡¹

    His voice didn¡¯t reach outside from inside the cockpit. Instead at the outside there was©¤©¤.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll blow up all of you trashes!¡»

    ©¤©¤the voice of someone that was imitating him.

    The smoke was gradually clearing up. From there he could see many sacred tree¡¯s crests forming up at the audience seats.

    Those crests weren¡¯t just from Narcisse and Louise. Other members of the six great noble houses who came to watch the duel were also immediately putting up their defense.

    ¡¸N-no! That wasn¡¯t me! I didn¡¯t attack you guys!¡¹

    Pierre was tyrannical when facing someone of lower status, but when he was facing someone of equal status©¤©¤furthermore when there was more than one of such people, he wouldn¡¯t want to quarrel with them even if he would still put on a tough front.

    That was because he understood he would be the one losing if he fought someone of equal status.

    ¡ºGyahahaha! All of you bastards are trembling on your feet!¡»

    And yet the voice of someone that was imitating Pierre was picking a fight brazenly against all the people here.

    ¡¸Stop. Stop it!¡¹

    He kept rattling the control stick, but it suddenly got locked in ce.

    An electronic voice started speaking inside the cockpit.

    ¡ºThe n will move to the next phase.¡»

    ¡¸P-n!? Oi, one eye! You¡¯re listening right!? Obey my order! One eye, answer me now!!¡¹

    In respond to Pierre¡¯s yell, another voice©¤©¤Luxion¡¯s voice echoed inside Arroganz¡¯s cockpit.

    ¡ºWhat is it?¡»

    ¡¸You son of a bitch, what the hell are you doing!? This garbage is moving around by itself and making trouble for this great Pierre-sama! Stop it right away! Tell Narcisse and Louise that the attack was this armor¡¯s fault! Tell them it wasn¡¯t my fault!¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤And?¡»

    ¡¸Ha, haa!?¡¹

    Luxion¡¯s reply to him was cold unlike before.

    ¡¸Y-you useless familiar! I¡¯ll turn you into scrap when I get back. This armor too. It can¡¯t even kill that trash over there. This damn thing is sttering mud on this great Pierre-sama¡¯s face!¡¹

    Pierre kept yelling andining that his inability to defeat Leon was Arroganz¡¯s responsibility. Luxion said to him.

    ¡ºYou are misunderstanding.¡»

    ¡¸Whaatttt!¡¹

    ¡ºMy master is only Leon Fou Bartfalt.¡»

    ¡¸W-what are you©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡ºYou cannot be my owner right from the start. Also, the trash here©¤©¤is you.¡»

    Pierre gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows. His expression became really ugly from hatred.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll never forgive you. I¡¯ll absolutely kill you all!¡¹

    Luxion told the angry Pierre.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s impossible. You won¡¯t be able to kill master. You also won¡¯t be able to kill me. But, you were really useful for gathering information. I apologize, you actually aren¡¯tpletely a useless trash.¡»

    ¡¸BASTARDDDDD!!¡¹

    Luxion gave itsst words to Pierre.

    ¡ºept the retribution for making fun of my master.¡»

    Pierre cursed Luxion and Leon with a shriek before he saw Leon standing in front of Arroganz with a grin.

    .

    Part 6

    The ck smoke from the missiles¡¯ explosions was clearing up.

    I was taking a stance in front of Arroganz in the middle of the clearing up smoke.

    ¡¸Arroganz©¤©¤I¡¯ll take you back right away.¡¹

    The audiences around us were running around trying to escape. Noelle yelled loudly at me telling me to escape.

    ¡¸Leon, run away! Pierre isn¡¯t in his right mind. He is running wild!¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t true.

    Contrary to his words and behavior, that guy was actually a coward.

    He harbored an ambition that didn¡¯t suit his caliber. In addition he was a man who could do nothing except tormenting the weak.

    He would unconsciously harbor feeling of inferiority toward opponent of equal status. The bacsh from that made him tormented the weak so that he could obtain a feeling of superiority.

    Pierre was even more of a coward than me.

    Now then©¤©¤I got no more need to worry aftering this far.

    Arroganz lifted up its sinister scythe.

    ¡ºAfter I kill you and obtain the sacred tree¡¯s sapling©¤©¤this Pierre-sama will be this country¡¯s king!¡»

    The dirty voice that made such brazen promation while cackling was none other than Pierre¡¯s voice.

    I spoke to Arroganz that was letting out that voice.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll never let Arroganz do such thing. ©¤©¤Pierre, I¡¯ll stop you right here and now!¡¹

    I¡¯ll stop your ambition! I said that line with a heroic expression.

    But of course this was just a farce.

    In the first ce, the armor of this world was like the equivalent of a flying tank in my previous life.

    There was no way a human could fight such opponent with only his bare hand.

    I could throw Arroganz as though I was an expert martial artist was alsopletely an acting. To begin with I wasn¡¯t an expert in martial art. Usually I wouldn¡¯t even think to participate in this kind of crazy battle.

    ©¤©¤I fought this battle because I could win it!

    It would be far more dangerous for me if Pierre came here wearing a normal armor.

    Thank you very much foring here wearing Arroganz!

    Louise-san told Pierre to stop the duel.

    ¡¸Pierre, enough already! I can¡¯t allow this duel to continue further than this. I¡¯m dering this match suspended by my authority as this duel¡¯s witness!¡¹

    ¡ºJust try it! If you do that then I¡¯ll just kill this guy and take away the sacred tree¡¯s sapling. No one can stop this great Pierre-sama anymore!¡»

    Louise-san showed a shocked expression.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You, just what do you think the oath to sacred tree is?¡¹

    She was surely dumbfounded that the duel was progressing into this kind of state even though it was being held under the oath of the sacred tree.

    After hearing those words, even Louise-san was telling me to run away.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, run away from there, quickly!¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s toote! Die, you trashhhhh!¡»

    ¡¸Come at me, Pierre!¡¹

    Arroganz was rushing toward me. I ran straight into it and took the preparatory stance tounch a palm strike.

    I could hear voices from my surrounding telling me to run away.

    Aa~, all these supports felt really warm.

    Even though I was showered with jeers when I was at my own country, the people of themonwealth were rooting for me instead. How kind of them.

    Arroganz swung itsrge scythe. Its de stabbed deeply into the ground.

    ¡¸This©¤©¤is the endddd!¡¹

    I dodged while making it looked easy and leaped toward Arroganz¡¯s chest©¤©¤and hit the cockpit¡¯s armor with my palm¡¯s heel.

    ph_mobuseka04_ill008

    A human hitting an armor with their hand wouldn¡¯t deal any damage, but my glove shined and Arroganz let go of itsrge scythe while getting blown backward until it crashed on the wall.

    The audience seats became enveloped in silence. I walked toward Arroganz in the middle of such atmosphere and opened the cockpit¡¯s hatch.

    I found the face of Pierre inside ring at me©¤©¤.

    ¡¸How dare you trick©¤©¤hibuh!¡¹

    ©¤©¤My fist punched Pierre¡¯s face.

    ¡¸Pierre-kun, the duel is still not over.¡¹

    Pierre was covering his mouth tearfully.

    I grabbed his hair then dragged him out from the cockpit and threw him on the ground.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s fight man to man from here on!¡¹

    The fun started now!

    Pierre stood up and heaped up vilification on me.

    ¡¸This cowardly traasssh! You set me up! A trash knight from third rate country like you dare to dishonor this great Pierre-sama who is one of the sacred tree¡¯s chosen six great nobles! I¡¯ll never forgive you. I¡¯ll teach you what¡¯ll happen to a mere human who try to set up a chosen human like this great me©¤©¤agah!¡¹

    It felt like he would keep going so I punched him. The glove that Luxion prepared for me was a quality item that would keep my fist from hurting even after punching someone.

    I gotta thank himter.

    Pierre covered his mouth with his hand and trembled while blood was dripping from there.

    Pierre¡¯s tooth fell on the ground.

    ¡¸My tooth. MY TOOOTHHHH!¡¹

    I cracked my fist while telling Pierre with a smile.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. Even Brad who got beaten up by you got his teeth back to normal using healing magic. Magic is really amazing. That¡¯s why, there won¡¯t be any problem with just that much.¡¹

    Pierre red at me and pointed his right hand forward.

    The crest on the back of his right hand started shining.

    ¡¸Oh? You¡¯re going to use your crest©¤©¤the divine protection of the sacred tree? Look like you have forgotten this duel¡¯s rule huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Uh!¡¹

    As expected even Pierre was hesitating to break the rule of a duel that was held under the oath to the sacred tree.

    ¡¸Now then, I¡¯m going to extract my pay back from you now, so don¡¯t surrender too quickly. I have a lot of reasons to beat you up.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-you¡¯re going to beat me up!? You won¡¯t get away so easily if youy your hand on me! I¡¯ll ughter your whole family and country! I¡¯ll teach you what¡¯ll happen when you turn Faiviel House into your enemy!¡¹

    ¡¸Oo, scary~¡¹

    The reaction of the audiences toward Pierre¡¯s threat when he got cornered like this waspletely chilly.

    Voices of contempt toward Pierre could be heard from everywhere.

    ¡¸To use his family¡¯s power when he is about to lose like this, he is really a scum.¡¹

    ¡¸To begin with I can¡¯t believe he lose against an unarmed human when he himself was wearing an armor.¡¹

    ¡¸To lose this badly©¤©¤¡¹

    Pierre began to pick a fight with everyone around him after he heard theirments.

    ¡¸Shut up you pile of garbage! These fucking trashes, these ipetents! All of you can live in this country is thanks to us the six great nobles! You all parasites and shitty insects, how dare you insult this great Pierre-samaaa!¡¹

    The reactions of the audiences toward Pierre¡¯s rant were frigid.

    I ced my hand on the shoulder of Pierre who was looking the other way to make him turned toward me. Then I drove a right straight onto his face.

    Cheers broke out right after that.

    ©¤©¤This guy, just how hated he is?

    ¡¸It¡¯s not good to look the other way when you¡¯re in the middle of duel. Also, I can assure you that I¡¯m a kind and gentle person, but I¡¯m merciless to those who oppose me.¡¹

    ¡¸What are©¤©¤fugoh!¡¹

    My left hand grabbed his hair and my right hand punched him over and over.

    I focused my punches around his mouth so that he would be unable to speak. The main dish would be after that.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? Try fighting back!¡¹

    After several punches, Pierre¡¯s cocksure attitude was gradually crumbling. He ended up speaking weak words like ¡¸S-stop!¡¹¡¸D-don¡¯t punch anymore¡¹¡¸I-I get it, I won¡¯t tell my family to take revenge so©¤¡¹ and so on.

    He must have few experience of getting beaten up until now because he had been doing nothing but tormenting the weak.

    When I let go of his hair, Pierre¡¯s face had turned into this extremely ugly thing.

    ¡¸Hi, hifs fhy hose©¤©¤¡¹

    It looked like he was trying to say something. It seemed he was trying to say ¡¸It¡¯s my lose¡¹, but surely I was just mishearing it so I continued the duel.

    ¡¸You¡¯re saying you will never give up!? As expected from someone from the six great nobles Pierre-kun! That guts of yours is really worthy of respect. ©¤©¤Oraa!¡¹

    ¡¸Bwagh!¡¹

    When my front kick hit Pierre¡¯s stomach, his body easily folded into the shape of ¡°<¡±.

    The academy also trained the students in martial art, but this guy was weaker than anyone I had ever faced before I was wondering if he was just ying around.

    He writhed in pain when my fist struck his stomach.

    ¡¸S-stahp©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸So you still won¡¯t lose even after this much. That¡¯s amazing Pierre!¡¹

    Pierre seemed to think that this beating would continue as long as he still stood. He allowed his body to be blown away by my next punch and fell on the ground.

    His hand reached out toward the witness Mr. Narcisse to ask for help, but I immediately straddled his body and punched him.

    ¡¸Do you think it¡¯ll be over when you¡¯re lying on the ground? It¡¯s too bad, I¡¯m not gonna let it end here!¡¹

    I thoroughly attacked his mouth so that he wouldn¡¯t be able to proim his surrender. It caused Pierre¡¯s front teeth to be obliterated.

    He cried while covering his face with his arms, but I aimed my fist to screw through the gap.

    It was amazing that even though I was beating him one-sidedly like this, there were only earth-shattering cheers that came from the audience seats.

    ¡¸Just how hated are you by everyone huh? I never thought that I will get cheered so loudly when tormenting someone like this in a duel.¡¹

    After I said that, Pierre spoke while crying.

    ¡¸Phlease horfhive me. I, afheathy lhose¡¹

    Please forgive me, I already lose, Pierre said with a feeble voice. But I mercilessly punched his face again.

    Even for me, I should feel pain in my heart after beating someone so one-sidedly like this. But right now my heart didn¡¯t even itch because this guy was my opponent.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What did you do to those who cried and begged for their life until now? Your na?ve wish that you will be forgiven when you¡¯re the one begging for your life won¡¯t be granted here. Aren¡¯t you d that you have gotten a bit smarter from this lesson?¡¹

    I said that and swung my fist on Pierre¡¯s nose.

    Nosebleed spurted out and sttered on me, but I paid it no mind and continued swinging down my fist.

    ¡¸Man, you¡¯re really a nice guy! I¡¯m not feeling guilty at all even after punching you this many times! Instead doing this even make me start wondering that perhaps I¡¯m actually a champion of justice!¡¹

    If I was forced to mention one good point about Pierre, then it would be his use as sandbag that wouldn¡¯t make you feel guilty at all.

    There were also the cheers from the audiences. It made me felt like I was actually a hero.

    Well, I¡¯m not a hero though!

    ¡¸How is it? How does it feels to be the one on the receiving end of what you had done until now?¡¹

    Pierre replied to my question with a weak murmur.

    ¡¸I¡¯hll nheverh horghive yhou¡¹

    I¡¯ll never forgive you©¤©¤It looked like his heart still hadn¡¯t yielded.

    Far from that, this guy still didn¡¯t have the slightest intention to reflect on himself. Amazing.

    You¡¯re really©¤©¤the perfect baddie.

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s it Pierre! Keep resisting just like that!¡¹

 Chapter 122 - Volume 4 Chapter 12

    Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12 ¨C The One Horned Monster

    .

    Part 1

    In aplete reversal from before, the audience seats were engulfed in feverish cheers.

    Noelle was feeling shocked by that atmosphere even while watching Leon continuing to one-sidedly beating Pierre.

    Around her the audiences were returning and went to the front in order to watch Leon¡¯s gant figure from closer distance.

    Noelle¡¯s surrounding was filled with such audiences.

    (But still, to think that no one is moving to stop this)

    This was only natural when she thought just what Pierre had done until now.

    No©¤©¤.

    (This is the feeling of the people of this country in regard to the six great nobles.)

    ©¤©¤It didn¡¯t just stop there. There was also their strong feeling of opposition toward the six great nobles who were ruling over them.

    Someone from the six great nobles who was in possession of overwhelming power was being defeated one-sidedly by Leon who didn¡¯t have the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection.

    The people here were feeling great excitement witnessing that scene.

    Someone who possessed the divine protection of sacred tree and someone who didn¡¯t. There was a great wall existing between these two types of people in themonwealth.

    The audiences¡¯ discontent toward the six great nobles reached feverish excitement that enveloped them in an abnormal heat.

    Noelle¡¯s arm was suddenly grabbed while she was watching Leon.

    ¡¸Lelia?¡¹

    Noelle found Lelia there when she turned around.

    She was pushing through the audiences in order to reach Lelia. The dense crowd caused her hair and clothes to be ruffled.

    ¡¸Big sis,e with me for a bit!¡¹

    ¡¸The duel is still not over.¡¹

    ¡¸This isn¡¯t the time to say something like that!¡¹

    Noelle was pulled away from that ce by Lelia who was looking really flustered.

    Lelia told Noelle about the current situation.

    ¡¸There is war urring outside!¡¹

    Now that she mentioned it, Noelle recalled Clement saying something like that just now. She turned her gaze toward Narcisse and found him talking with some people.

    Narcisse was looking toward the duel arena with a confused expression.

    Lelia herself was looking very impatient.

    ¡¸The ns are all messed up because of their fault. If we don¡¯t do something©¤©¤¡¹

    Noelle shook off Lelia¡¯s arm while she was saying that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Big sis?¡¹

    Lelia looked at Noelle in confusion.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll stay and watch Leon¡¯s duel here.¡¹

    Noelle walked to watch the result of Leon¡¯s duel. Then she heard Lelia¡¯s voice from behind her.

    ¡¸Big sis! Don¡¯t get involved with them! They are©¤©¤!¡¹

    .

    Part 2

    ¡¸Haa~, I¡¯m tired.¡¹

    I backed away from Pierre tiredly from punching too many times.

    ¡¸You, it¡¯s amazing that you never got bored from doing this kind of thing. Is it that fun beating up people?¡¹

    When I kicked Pierre¡¯s head with my toes while asking him, he muttered something unintelligible from his mouth.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t hear what you¡¯re saying. Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¹

    I cackled after saying that. It was then Mr. Narcisse dered the end of the duel.

    ¡¸Winner, Leon Fou Bartfalt! ©¤©¤Call the doctor here quickly!¡¹

    The a doctor wearing a white robe and a nurse entered the arena.

    They immediately examined Pierre¡¯s condition.

    ¡¸This is horrible.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll begin the treatment.¡¹

    They efficiently started applying healing magic and first aid treatment to the suffering Pierre.

    It seemed the doctor was a skilled one. Pierre¡¯s face was gradually going back to normal.

    Armed weapon were gathering around us and began to surround Pierre.

    Pierre seemed to think of them as his ally who came to help him. His cocksure attitude came back.

    ©¤©¤This guy is really easy to understand.

    Mr. Narcisse and Louise-san also came down from the audience seats and walked toward us. Then Pierre started protesting to them.

    ¡¸Narcisse! It¡¯s this guy! This guy is a cheating bastard! He set me up in order to win!¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse didn¡¯t pay attention to that im from Pierre.

    ¡¸Pierre, stop with the unsightly act. There is something that we want to ask you.¡¹

    It was important to pay attention to your daily behavior.

    Mr. Narcisse was looking unusually angry while questioning Pierre.

    ¡¸Why are you attacking your own family? Even thebined fleet of Alzer has been dispatched now.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Pierre made a face like a pigeon that just got shot by a peashooter.

    Even Louise-san was looking angry.

    ¡¸There is also all the unfairness that you havemitted in this duel. There are too many problems with your actions. I wish that we can immediately investigate everything that you have done, but before that order your ship©¤©¤the ship that you stole from Leon-kun to stop.¡¹

    Pierre was showing the expression of someone who didn¡¯t understand what he was told.

    ¡¸Y-you must be misunderstanding. I know nothing about what are you saying. Nothing! It¡¯s him! He is setting me up!¡¹

    I looked at Pierre who was pointing at me and grinned.

    ¡¸Ee~, you are the ship¡¯s current owner right? On that note, how about you fulfill your promise already.¡¹

    Mr. Narcisse spoke to me so that I didn¡¯t disturb the discussion.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, right now isn¡¯t the time for that. Pierre¡¯s subordinates are using your ship to run wild. If possible I want you to tell us the ship¡¯s weakness. It¡¯s causing a lot of damage even as we speak.¡¹

    I erased my smile and narrowed my eyes.

    Some of the people around me even raised their guard seeing my change in attitude.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Cooperate? You are telling me to cooperate with this bastard who stole my ship and did such terrible thing to my fellow countrymen? You should keep the sleep talking only when you¡¯re asleep. In any case, I¡¯m the victor of the duel. ©¤©¤Pierre, bring Einhorn in front of me right away.¡¹

    Veins bulged out on Pierre¡¯s forehead and he acted in annoyance.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, I said I don¡¯t know©¤©¤¡¹

    But Pierre seemed toe to understand the situation when he was in the middle of speaking. Color was rapidly leaving his face.

    ¡¸What? You can¡¯t bring it here? Do you forget your oath to the sacred tree?¡¹

    He trembled and begged forgiveness to me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I-I¡¯ll return it for sure. H-honest! That¡¯s why give me time! I¡¯ll return it for sure, I¡¯ll even give you whatever you want. I¡¯ll do anything, so give me just a bit more time!¡¹

    Louise-san saw Pierre¡¯s reaction and got startled in realization. She turned her gaze toward my face.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell me¡¹

    ©¤©¤Unfortunately she is toote.

    ¡¸So you are crying and begging for forgiveness. If it¡¯s you will you forgive someone who is begging to you like that? Although©¤©¤seems like the sacred tree-sama is the one who get angry first rather than me!¡¹

    Pierre lost the duel and also unable to fulfill his promise©¤©¤it seemed that it angered the sacred tree.

    A red magic circle formed with Pierre at the center. The people of themonwealth all jumped out of the way in a sh and took distance from the circle.

    Even Louise-san and Mr. Narcisse reacted the same.

    I stayed on where I was and looked at the magic circle.

    ¡¸So this is the so called sacred tree¡¯s wrath.¡¹

    This phenomenon was written in Marie¡¯s note. Apparently a red magic circle would appear if the sacred tree got angered.

    And speaking of what this thing would do©¤©¤.

    ¡¸No. NOOOOO!¡¹

    ©¤©¤Pierre cried and bolted away from that spot, but he tumbled when vines grew out from the magic circle and twined around Pierre¡¯s ankle.

    Then he was dragged back toward the center of the magic circle.

    Pierre was crying while grasping on the ground to resist.

    ¡¸Forgive me! Please forgive me! I won¡¯t repeat this anymore! I won¡¯t betray your expectation anymore, so I beg you please don¡¯t take it away! ©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to lose the divine protectionnnnn!¡¹

    Louise-san watched Pierre screaming and crying before she closed her eyes and averted her face.

    Mr. Narcisse seemed to hold an interest. He was watching Pierre but©¤©¤he didn¡¯t look enthralled.

    Me? I¡¯m watching the show with a smile.

    ¡¸Give it up. This is because you can¡¯t keep your promise on top of losing.¡¹

    Vines twined around Pierre¡¯s body and enveloped his right hand thoroughly.

    Snots dripped down from Pierre¡¯s nose when he saw that and he cried even harder.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Someone helpp! HELP MEEEE!¡¹

    Even Pierre who was that much of an egoist was driven to fear like this by the red magic circle.

    This thing was the symbol of fear for those who possessed the crest that was the proof of the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection.

    After all©¤©¤this magic circle¡¯s function was to strip off that crest.

    When everything was over, the vines withered and the magic circle vanished.

    Pierre was there doing nothing except shedding tears looking like he was burned out.

    ¡¸U-uguh!¡¹

    I approached him and looked at the back of his right hand. There was no crest there.

    I ced my hand on the shoulder of Pierre who had been reduced into this empty shell and whispered into his ear.

    ¡¸Do you know why your crest is taken away?¡¹

    Pierre didn¡¯t say anything in reply.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s because you picked a fight with me.¡¹

    Pierre looked at my face and trembled.

    ¡¸I wouldn¡¯t go this far if you didn¡¯t get cocky and just ignored us, but it¡¯s too bad. Well, you were the one who started this fight. Learn from this to do better next time. Ah, there is one more thing. I have been wanting to say this to you.¡¹

    I smiled widely and said.

    ¡¸Pierre, you are a really magnificent clown.¡¹

    The face of Pierre who got called a clown crumpled and he started crying while hanging his head down.

    Louise-san approached me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You¡¯re even more of a bad child than I thought.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t look like she was seriously criticizing me even while she was calling me a bad child.

    ¡¸And? Can Leon-kun¡¯s ship be stopped? We won¡¯t have any other option except destroying it if it can¡¯t be stopped.¡¹

    ©¤©¤That¡¯ll be impossible. Luxion right now will happily turn the table on all the attempts to destroy Einhorn.

    I looked toward Arroganz that had gotten decorated with spiky look.

    ¡¸Well, I¡¯ll try stopping it.¡¹

    That guy would overdo it if I didn¡¯t go there soon. That would be troubling.

    .

    Part 3

    At the sky of Faiviel territory.

    A lot of airships were facing Einhorn there in order to stop its advance.

    The airships of themonwealth made their side that was lined up with cannons to face Einhorn, but Einhorn was attacking them one-sidedly from outside their cannon¡¯s range.

    Behind themonwealth¡¯s fleet there was a very big castle.

    It was Faiviel House¡¯s castle.

    The fleet was desperately trying to protect the castle.

    Inside Einhorn¡¯s bridge, Luxion was aiming at the fleet¡¯s gaps and bombarded the castle from afar.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s difficult tond the cannonball at the ces where there is no living reaction.¡»

    Faiviel House¡¯s personal fleet took flight in order to protect Faiviel House¡¯s territory.

    In addition thebined fleet that gathered airships from the wholemonwealth also lent their strength in order to sink Einhorn.

    Luxion was tapping theirmunication channel.

    ¡ºOur cannon cannot reach!¡»

    ¡ºFor an airship of the kingdom to be this strong©¤©¤does it has an orb loaded inside?¡»

    ¡ºThat stupid second son of Faiviel House, just what the hell he is doing!¡»

    From theirmunication Luxion learned that the enemies were still mistaking Einhorn as the belonging of Faiviel House.

    It was fine like that for now.

    Luxion observed the situation in the castle using its distance viewing capability. There the head of Faiviel House was unsightly running around.

    Luxion bombarded a nearby spot to threaten him, but it was blocked using the crest¡¯s power.

    ¡ºSo that¡¯s the sacred tree¡¯s crest. How very interesting. ©¤©¤Oh?¡»

    The enemy fleet showed a movement.

    An airship with remarkable size was charging toward Einhorn.

    ¡ºSo the gship isunching an assault? That¡¯s not an efficient method but, are they thinking that only their gship can possible stop Einhorn? ©¤©¤Well, it doesn¡¯t matter whatever it is they are thinking.¡»

    The gship was extremely big with a size that reached a kilometer.

    Themander on board of the gship was yelling.

    ¡ºSink it no matter what! We can¡¯t let Alzer¡¯s fleet be defeated just by a single ship of the kingdom!¡»

    Alzer¡¯s legend of invincibility.

    Luxion had been investigating various aspects of themonwealth¡¯s army that knew no defeat as long as it was a defensive battle.

    ¡ºAll their airships are installed with a different device that the kingdom is not using. It must be a device that is using the energy from the sacred tree. I see©¤©¤those airships can freely use energy with no cost.¡»

    The airships of this world were normally using magic stones as energy to move their engine.

    But, themonwealth¡¯s airships were able to use a lot of energy without needing to load a lot of magic stones inside.

    With the space for storing magic stones freed up, the amount of weapons and ammunitions they could carry increased and they could also use a lot of energy for their shield.

    The airships of themonwealth were very powerful when they were fighting in their own country.

    But, when it came to invading other country, the energy from the sacred tree wouldn¡¯t be able to reach them and the airships became nothing but normal airships.

    The same applied to their armors.

    The drones kept shooting down the armors that flew from the enemy fleet, but their specs were better than the kingdom¡¯s armors.

    ¡ºThey are only at this level when the lid is actually opened.¡»

    Luxion lost interest and©¤©¤charged toward the gship that was heading its way.

    ¡º©¤©¤Charge¡»

    Einhorn¡¯s prow was designed like a unicorn¡¯s horn, but it wasn¡¯t just a decoration.

    The crews in the enemy gship were escaping their ship one after another.

    Several momentster Einhorn¡¯s horn shed with the enemy gship¡¯s prow©¤©¤the gship¡¯s prow was easily sliced apart.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t think of Einhorn as a normal airship. ©¤©¤To begin with the likes of Alzer¡¯s airship cannot even begin topare.¡»

    Luxion had been feeling unhappy since themonwealth¡¯s inspection of Einhorn. Now it was venting its anger to the enemy.

    Einhorn kept advancing while prating the enemy gship that was five times as big as its own size without pausing. At the end the gship was bisected into two parts. It was reduced into an atrocious state and sunk down. The crews that were evacuating the gship using boats could only watch that happening.

    There were explosions from the gship. When Einhorn showed up unharmed from inside the me and smoke, voices of despair broke out from the enemies.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s unharmed!¡»

    ¡ºAll ships, charge!¡»

    ¡ºStop it no matter what! The opponent is just Hohlfahrt¡¯s ship!¡»

    Themonwealth¡¯s fleet threw all caution to the wind and attacked, but Luxion got its interest drawn to something else.

    The escort drones had just retrieved a green orb that was releasing a faint radiance.

    It was the orb that was loaded inside the gship.

    ¡º©¤©¤This will be a good souvenir for master.¡»

    Luxion retrieved a souvenir for Leon.

    .

    Part 4

    Themander of the fleet watched the gship sinking from an emergency boat.

    He was watching Einhorn with a look of despair.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That kingdom¡¯s airship is a monster.¡¹

    The reason why he was extremely dispirited was because themonwealth¡¯s fleet that was undefeated in defensive battle until now had just gotten defeated.

    He would be able to swallow it if the opponent was a fellowmonwealth force, but the opponent was an airship that was constructed in the kingdom.

    Hemented that Alzer¡¯s legend of invincibility was ended in his time as fleetmander.

    The fleetmander muttered with his eyes fixed on Einhorn.

    ¡¸We don¡¯t have anything else that can possibly stop it©¤©¤¡¹

    Even the gship was easily destroyed.

    Themonwealth had no more method to stop Einhorn.

    While he was thinking that, a small ship approached the battleship with a ck armor apanying it.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    A nearby subordinate who was in charge of themunication reported to themander.

    ¡¸Commander, it¡¯s an ally! A message under the name of Louise-sama of Rault House say that it will stop the enemy airship!¡¹

    The ck armor flew toward Einhorn. The drones swarmed it when it got near.

    The ck armor routed them in a sh andnded on Einhorn¡¯s armor before a young man leaped down from inside the armor.

    He boarded Einhorn very easily even though they were unable to even get close no matter what they tried.

    Seeing that, themander put his hat over his head until it covered his eyes in resignation.

    ¡¸It¡¯s toote. Even if the airship is stopped now©¤©¤we have already lost.¡¹

    The number of warships that Einhorn had shot down was too many.

    Themander turned his gaze toward the ground. Three were the burning wreckages of allied ships as far as his eyes could see.

    ¡¸©¤©¤O sacred tree, please bring down the hammer of judgment on that monster.¡¹

    Themander prayed to the sacred tree.

    .

    Part 5

    When I entered Einhorn¡¯s bridge, Luxion was waiting for me with drones lining up at both sides.

    His red lens was looking at me.

    ¡ºIf only I have five more minutes, I would be able to destroy Faiviel House¡¯s castle.¡»

    Iughed at Luxion who was saying such thing.

    ¡¸You¡¯re still the same like usual. Setting that aside, now you are able to understand my greatness after serving under Pierre aren¡¯t you? Be d that you have a wonderful master like me.¡¹

    ¡ºCertainly Pierre isn¡¯t any good. Should I say that it was a nauseating experience? But, isn¡¯t it master who caused me to experience such horrible thing?¡»

    ¡¸It was you who sided with Pierre without asking. It wasn¡¯t my fault.¡¹

    I took a step forward and Luxion floated to my right shoulder.

    ¡ºThat was because it would be more efficient that way. Though I don¡¯t think master will be able to understand such thing. Thanks to that I was able to learn many things.¡»

    I walked inside the ship and found the ce really messy.

    It seemed the robots were doing their best to clean the interior, but many ornaments had gotten stolen.

    ¡¸They¡¯re like pirate.¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s because more than half of them are actual air pirates.¡»

    ¡¸How appalling.¡¹

    A drone handed me a shotgun that was loaded with non-lethal bullets while I was feeling surprised by Pierre¡¯s circle of friends.

    ¡¸And, were you able to hear anything interesting?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. I was able to investigate about the domestic situation of themonwealth in detail.¡»

    ¡¸That¡¯s good.¡¹

    ¡ºAnd, what is master¡¯s n now?¡»

    I had beaten up Pierre, but that was just a side show.

    The real target was themonwealth itself.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll teach Alzer just how wide the world is. Perhaps I¡¯ll also have them pay the tuition fee too.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster who is teaching themonwealth about the world by using a super technology like me is no different than them though.¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m just teaching them that there will always be someone above you. With this they will know their ce and be a little meeker.¡¹

    ¡ºIs it fun throwing your weight around using my strength like this?¡»

    ¡¸Yeah, it¡¯s fun. Nothing beats this feeling.¡¹

    We arrived at Einhorn¡¯s hangar while we were making such small talks.

    Pierre¡¯s henchmen were being tied up there.

    The hangar had also been messed up badly.

    ¡¸Damn bastards dirtying other person¡¯s airship as they pleased. I¡¯ll demand extra fee for the repair expense.¡¹

    When Pierre¡¯s henchmen saw me, most of them were looking scared. But there were also some among them who were ring at me.

    ¡¸Oo, you guys look rebellious.¡¹

    A cocksure man who got his arms tied with rope stood up and spoke with a threatening tone. It looked like he didn¡¯t know about the situation outside.

    ¡¸You asshole, how dare©¤©¤¡¹

    I was already tired listening to the bullshit from this kind of people, so I silenced him by shooting the shotgun.

    I watched the man falling and writhing in pain while talking to the others kindly.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t talk. And then rejoice. Your boss Pierre has lost against me. He was crying and yelling in disgrace when he ended up losing his divine protection. Congrattions! You guys have lost the backer who can protect you!¡¹

    Pierre¡¯s henchmen looked at each other hearing that and talked among themselves.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I said I don¡¯t want to do this!¡¹¡¸When did you ever oppose Pierre-san huh!¡¹¡¸W-what now?¡¹

    They were whispering among themselves so I fired the shotgun to make them quiet.

    Then a man wearing academy uniform stood up with an obsequious face.

    ¡¸S-say~, I¡¯m uninvolved with all this, so will you help me? If you help me, then I¡¯ll give a testimony that put you in advantage.¡¹

    I turned my gaze to Luxion and he taught me about the man.

    ¡ºHe is lying. That man participated in beating up Jean and Brad. He was even taking the lead in those acts.¡»

    The man¡¯s expression changedpletely hearing that.

    ¡¸H-how dare a mere familiar like you is-!¡¹

    There was finally no one else talking after I also made that man be quiet with my shotgun.

    ¡¸Say your excuses to the big shots of Alzer.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, an airship of themonwealth is approaching. It¡¯s kicking up a fuss to be allowed to board the ship.¡»

    ¡¸Just threaten to sink them down.¡¹

    I kindly talked to Pierre¡¯s trembling henchmen.

    ¡¸Now then, I guess I¡¯ll beat up you guys until an inch away from death. You guys got noin right? You have been obeying Pierre and did whatever you liked until now after all.¡¹

    I loaded bullets into my shotgun, pump it to chamber the bullets, and aimed the muzzle at Pierre¡¯s henchmen.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You guys even beat up our Brad and Jean. Allow me to give you guys plenty of thanks.¡¹

    I mercilessly pulled the trigger at the bunch who screamed for mercy.

    .

    Part 6

    The heads of the six great nobles were urgently gathered to have a meeting in the sacred tree shrine.

    The topic was about the one horned monster©¤©¤EInhorn.

    ¡¸Unbelievable.¡¹

    ¡¸Our fleet lost against a Hohlfhart¡¯s ship!?¡¹

    ¡¸We should investigate that airship right away!¡¹

    Themonwealth never knew defeat in defensive battle, but just now it was dealt an enormous blow by only a single ship. Although the battle didn¡¯t continue until its conclusion where they were clearly dered the loser©¤©¤calling the result as defeat wouldn¡¯t be wrong.

    The expression of the chairman Albergue was also tenser than usual.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Lord Lambert, can you exin just what is the meaning of this?¡¹

    Lambert previously only reported that Pierre obtained an airship from the kingdom.

    But no one ever imagined in their wildest dream that the airship would actually be this grave of a threat.

    Lambert threw a tantrum and shouted like a kid.

    ¡¸We have to protest to the kingdom! Do you know how great the damage to Faiviel House from this!? It¡¯s not just the harbor. Our airships and military facilities were also destroyed! We should send a protest from all the six great nobles!¡¹

    Fernand sent his gaze toward Albergue after seeing Lambert¡¯s reaction.

    ¡¸©¤©¤He can¡¯t be talked with. Acting chairman, how is the progress of the negotiation with the airship¡¯s owner?¡¹

    That was also a problem.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not going well.¡¹

    The owner of Einhorn, Leon was iming¡¸The owner at that time was Pierre, so it wasn¡¯t rted to me. Rather I¡¯m the victim here. I¡¯m expectingpensations for all these troubles!¡¹ to themonwealth.

    Leon was eximing that the responsibilityy on themonwealth. Albergue found it hard to understand why his daughter was lending that man her help.

    (©¤©¤Louise, just what are you thinking?)

    Lambert yelled¡¸I didn¡¯t do anything wrong!¡¹. The other five heads were only looking at him in disgust while the meeting was continuing.

    .

    Part 7

    At Marie¡¯s mansion.

    I returned there after the duel and watched Noelle-chan lying on the baby bed.

    ¡¸©¤©¤She can¡¯t eat anything now.¡¹

    It was great that one big problem had been resolved, but now it was Noelle-chan that was nearing its limit.

    Luxion was looking at Noelle-chan.

    ¡ºShe is living longer than even my prediction. It¡¯s surprising.¡»

    I wasn¡¯t the only one watching Noelle-chan. Noelle was also there looking worried.

    ¡¸Will Jean make it in time?¡¹

    Noelle-chan had be unable to move, so I sent Marie to head to the hospital.

    ¡¸He will make it. Even though Marie looks like that, she is actually a skilled healer.¡¹

    I had sent her many times to Jean who was ina and seriously injured, but she said that he still hadn¡¯t waken up.

    But then the entrance became noisy.

    The room¡¯s door was opened and rushing inside was Jean who was wearing hospital gown and wrapped in bandages.

    ¡¸Noelle!¡¹

    ¡¸Jean! Look, Noelle-chan, Jean is here!¡¹

    Noelle smiled to Jean and hurried him to look at Noelle-chan.

    When Jean¡¯s hand reached out, Noelle-chan¡¯s tongue licked it several times. Jean stroked her head gently while apologizing with tears trickling from his eyes.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry , Noelle.¡¹

    Luxion talked to me while I was watching them.

    ¡ºHer eyes and nose shouldn¡¯t be working anymore right now.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s love. Love. Watching something like this make your heart hurts.¡¹

    I guess I should be happy that Jean made it in time, but I felt slightly responsible.

    Jean¡¯s face was messy with tears.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Noelle, thank you for everything until now.¡¹

    Jean¡¯s words made my chest felt painful.

    There were too many things I could do with Luxion at my side that it made me felt responsible for all sorts of things that didn¡¯t go well.

    ©¤©¤This isn¡¯t good.

    I was just a mediocre person. I couldn¡¯t take responsibility for everything. I also must not be so arrogant that I would try to shoulder all responsibility.

    Luxion followed me when I moved toward the door to leave the room. So this guy can also act considerately, when I thought that, Noelle also moved to follow me out.

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t staying here Noelle? Luxion and I are going out you know?¡¹

    ¡¸I know. I want to let Jean have time alone with Noelle-chan. This is their family problem after all.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Well, okay.¡¹

    I thought that it would be fine even if Noelle stayed here with Jean, but I said nothing while we left the room.

 Chapter 123 - Volume 4 Chapter 13

    Otomege Volume 4 Chapter 13

    Chapter 13 ¨C Insensitive Protagonist

    .

    Part 1

    I left Jean and Noelle-chan inside the room and talked with Marie outside.

    Marie was making a tired expression at the mansion¡¯s backyard while handing a thick bundle of paper to me.

    ¡¸Get some sleep if you¡¯re tired from healing.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I won¡¯t be able to feel relieved unless I have hand this over.¡¹

    I flipped through the documents that Pierre gathered to read them briefly. The papers were filled with various data about the items that Pierre had embezzled.

    Luxion peered into the documents.

    ¡ºOh, isn¡¯t this the transaction record with those merchants?¡»

    ¡¸He would keep the record of illegal transactions like these around?¡¹

    ¡ºPerhaps he didn¡¯t fully trust Pierre? He must be keeping them around as his trump card when the time he needs them evere.¡»

    ¡¸H~mm¡¹

    Apparently that merchant even dealt in the¡¸orb¡¹ that was forbidden to be leaked to outside.

    Based on thew of themonwealth, this was undoubtedly a crime that was worthy of the capital punishment.

    ¡¸©¤©¤This increased our ckmail materials.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster, you are making a wicked expression.¡»

    ¡¸My face has been like this since I was born, so people often misunderstood. That really makes me sad.¡¹

    When Iughed, Marie¡¯s gaze were wandering around uneasily.

    ¡¸T-that, big bro©¤©¤I-I¡¯m sorry!¡¹

    And then she kowtowed. Seeing that made me felt regret from overdoing it a bit.

    ¡¸The matter this time is my responsibility. I¡¯ll be more careful next time so please forgive me!¡¹

    The tattoo that looked like cor around Marie¡¯s neck had vanished. The curse of the sacred tree had been dispelled.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s good that the curse has been dispelled.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    I lent my hand to Marie when she lifted her face and helped her to stand up.

    ¡¸Did you seriously think I was angry to you?¡¹

    ¡¸Because! Big bro¡¯s face was frightfully scary at that time mon!¡¹

    I didn¡¯t know what to say seeing my little sister from my past life using cutesy saying ¡¸mon!¡¹ even though she should be an auntie at the inside.

    ¡ºLuxion already obtained the information when Pierre was picking a fight with you guys.¡»

    ¡¸Eh!?¡¹

    Luxion nodded.

    ¡ºYes. However, the information wascking so I decided it would be dangerous to fight at that time. At the same time it was a good chance to infiltrate Pierre¡¯s circle of friends, so I changed side without consulting master.¡»

    Marie seemed to be relieved and powerlessly fell on her knees like a doll that got its string severed.

    Herplexion also became better. She even became tearful.

    ¡¸Say that from the beginningggg! I was really scareddd!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s better for the number of people who know something like this to be as few as possible.¡¹

    I held the documents from Marie under my arm, but then Marie suddenly muttered ¡¸Hah!¡¹ with a panicked expression.

    ¡¸B-but, what will be of Pierre now? I don¡¯t know if he will be able to return to the academy after big bro crushed him so thoroughly like that. And what if this caused Alzer to go to war against the kingdom?¡¹

    Even I had thought about the risk that Marie uneasily mentioned, but I had run out of patience of just staying quiet without doing anything.

    Besides. ©¤©¤It wouldn¡¯t be a war.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think there will be any war. I showed Einhorn¡¯s power so that it won¡¯t happen. But, the chance of Pierre returning to the academy is low just as you said.¡¹

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that a big problem!? The event of Pierre making trouble for the heroine is a major event at the middle stage!¡¹

    Certainly it was an important event in order for the heroine to decide who she was going out with.

    However©¤©¤I felt that it would be a mistake to make Noelle went out with someone just for that.

    After all she was that close with Jean, so I thought it would be better to keep watching over them.

    Besides, there was an insurance.

    ¡¸No problem. After all it seems Emile is being serious in his rtionships with Lelia.¡¹

    Luxion continued my exnation in a way that Marie could easily understand.

    ¡ºEmile is seriously considering to marry with Lelia. Also in regard to the sacred tree¡¯s crest, it seems that the condition to inherit it is mostly decided by one¡¯s bloodline.¡»

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Noelle and Lelia are twin sisters. This means both of them have the possibility of bing the priestess.¡»

    There would be no problem in choosing the priestess. And if the priestess got selected then she would be able to select the guardian next.

    The problem would be solved if Lelia got chosen as the priestess and then Emile became the guardian.

    If the worst case happened and Noelle got chosen, her lover candidate Jean could just be the guardian. Could he be one?

    Well, he wasn¡¯t one of the capture targets, but there shouldn¡¯t be any problem.

    In any case, the danger to the world could be evaded like that.

    ¡¸Then everything will be fine!¡¹

    Marie looked relieved once more while Leon was thinking that he was d for sending Luxion to Pierre¡¯s side. Because of that Luxion could ask about various things from Pierre and also investigated about the domestic situation of themonwealth in great detail.

    ¡ºBut, there is also one question that came out from this.¡»

    ¡¸Question?¡¹

    I asked Luxion about this question that he had, but then Noelle came running to the backyard.

    ¡¸Leon!¡¹

    I was able to guess what happened from her expression.

    Noelle¡¯s sad expression must mean that Noelle-chan had passed away.

    .

    Part 2

    Jean thanked me with eyes that were red from crying while holding on Noelle-chan¡¯s ashes.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really in your debt. I will surely pay back the hospital and healing expenses one day.¡¹

    I looked at Jean hugging the box that was filled with the ashes and scratched my head while refusing him.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t need it.¡¹

    ¡¸But¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m already using the incident this time to obtain money. I¡¯m going to be absurdly rich after this, so just consider the healing and hospital expenses as a service.¡¹

    Jean looked down with a troubled look before he smiled.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really kind count.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I wonder about that.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t say that this was my atonement for forsaking him.

    ¡¸You took care after Noelle while I wasn¡¯t there. Count, you¡¯re kind.¡¹

    I changed the topic without replying to that.

    ¡¸Does it look like you¡¯ll be able to return to the academy?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. But, it looks like the academy will be closed for a while. That¡¯s©¤©¤it seems there are various things happening.¡¹

    Well, that was my fault.

    The six great nobles of Alzer were arguing about how to treat us around this time.

    ¡¸Those matters will get taken care soon. You just get along well with Noelle.¡¹

    Jean looked slightly surprised at my words. But he nodded.

    ¡¸E-err©¤©¤yes¡¹

    ©¤©¤Could it be, this guy was really an insensitive protagonist type?

    Didn¡¯t he notice Noelle¡¯s feeling? Oi oi, spare me from that.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s ignore the details for now, just take it easy for a while. Ask Marie to take a look if your body feels painful.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much for everything.¡¹

    Jean bowed his head deeply. I watched him off before setting out to take care the next matter.

    ©¤©¤Time to wring outpensations from Alzer!

    .

    Part 3

    Louise was called back to the mansion of Rault House.

    She got questioned by her father Albergue about the incident this time inside his office.

    ¡¸Louise, why did you do something like that?¡¹

    Louise was hanging her head down. Albergue was unable to question her too harshly because he knew that the faulty with themonwealth. However his position as a politician forced him to criticize Louise¡¯s decision.

    ¡¸You are a citizen of Alzer Commonwealth. You have the duty to prioritize your country¡¯s wellbeing.¡¹

    Louise only replied ¡¸I understand¡¹ with a faint voice.

    ¡¸Certainly Pierre had overdone it in this matter. But it¡¯ll be a problem if the sacred tree¡¯s sapling is staying in the possession of someone not from this country. Besides, Einhorn was it? That airship is a great threat.¡¹

    To be honest he wished that he could obtain both of them.

    If it was impossible then he wanted to obtain even just one of them, but currently both items were in the possession of Leon.

    For Albergue who had to negotiate with Leon in the future, this would make the negotiation to be a difficult one.

    ¡¸Father will understand when you meet Leon-kun.¡¹

    Louise¡¯s words made Albergue¡¯s eyes narrowed in anger.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t tell you to forget about Leon. But, don¡¯t forget that your attitude has also driven Serge to a corner. Listen to me Louise©¤©¤Leon is dead.¡¹

    Louise bit her lower lip and clenched her hands to hold back her tears.

    (It¡¯s rare for her to be this fixated.)

    He thought that his tomboy daughter had matured to be aposeddy.

    But looking at what had transpired this time, as expected it seemed that she had been forcing herself somewhat.

    ¡¸Louise, there is also the matter of Serge to consider. Don¡¯t mention about Leon too much in front of him.¡¹

    ¡¸I know.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You can leave.¡¹

    Albergue sighed deeply after Louise exited the office.

    He put his elbows on the table and folded his arms to put his forehead there.

    ¡¸There is nothing but problem.¡¹

    After saying that he pulled a locked drawer and took out a photo from there.

    There was the image of an energetic looking five years old child there. The picture was smiling.

    The ck haired boy was hugging Louise who was also still a child from behind in the picture.

    ©¤©¤The boy was his son who had passed away, Leon Sara Rault.

    He passed away when he was five years old because of disease.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon, if only you¡¯re still alive¡¹

    If he was still alive, he should be right around the same age with Leon©¤©¤with Count Bartfalt.

    Albergue became fed up with himself who was wondering about what if his son was still here.

    ¡¸If only Serge can at least settle down¡¹

    He grumbled about his adopted son Serge who still hadn¡¯t returned to the academy before returning the photo back into the drawer and returned to his paperwork.

    .

    Part 4

    The next day at the venue of the negotiation with Leon.

    Albergue was unable to hide his shock.

    Fernand who was at his side was worried for him.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, is something the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, it¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    He said that whileing to understand why Louise was lending that much help to someone from the kingdom.

    Leon¡¯s appearance was exactly like the appearance of his son if he grew up to this age.

    He was a young man with ck hair and ck eyes and average look that felt like it could be found anywhere, but his air reminded him of his son.

    There were so many simrities, but Leon himself was acting impudently toward them while holding the case of the sacred tree¡¯s sapling in one hand.

    ¡¸Eh, what did you say?¡¹

    Lambert¡¯s face was flushed red. Leon was provocatively asking back to him.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make me say it more than once! I¡¯m saying that Faiviel House has received enormous damage because your airship was rampaging. I demand that you pay thepensation for those damages.¡¹

    ¡¸I can¡¯t hear you~¡¹

    He was acting like the heads of the six great nobles who were gathered here were beneath his notice.

    The other heads were also looking irritated. But they were wary toward Leon who was in possession of the sacred tree¡¯s sapling.

    (©¤©¤Did he hear something about the sacred tree¡¯s sapling from Louise?)

    Leon didn¡¯t look nervous at the slightest in front of them who possessed the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection.

    Was his attitude based on ignorance, or was it because he was fully aware of their circumstance©¤©¤Albergue couldn¡¯t decide which was the case here.

    Leon asked them with the case on his hand.

    ¡¸By the way, it looks like you are asking me to take responsibility but©¤©¤are you guys really alright with that?¡¹

    ¡¸It was obviously your fault!¡¹

    ¡¸Lord Lambert, we should also listen to what he has to say. Now then, Count Bartfalt, what do you mean that it¡¯s misced for us to ask you to take responsibility?¡¹

    Albergue shut up Lambert otherwise the negotiation wouldn¡¯t progress.

    ¡¸Do you even need to ask? We got tricked to agree with this sacred tree¡¯s oath thingy and our crown prince got fitted with a cursed cor. What¡¯s more my airship got stolen, and yet Pierre who did all that and even run wild with the ship didn¡¯t get med at all. Now why do I am the one who is asked to take responsibility? Even though I¡¯m the one who stopped Einhorn¡¯s rampage. This is what they called returning evil for good.¡¹

    Leonined incessantly, but he was smirking all along.

    He didn¡¯t know what this young man was thinking inside.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Well, let¡¯s set aside the public pretense here. If you guys are making all these to be my responsibility then that means you guys are ready for the consequences right?¡¹

    ¡¸Consequences you said!?¡¹

    Lambert made the talk stopped, so the other heads red at him to silence him.

    Leon continued his talk while grinning.

    ¡¸You guys experienced an overwhelming defeat from facing just a single ship of the kingdom. If you make this Pierre¡¯s responsibility then it will only end as a shameful incident between yourself, but if you make it my responsibility©¤©¤then won¡¯t that means the end of your myth of invincibility? The record of being undefeated in defensive battle will end here!¡¹

    It was Fernand who reacted calmly to that statement.

    ¡¸I wonder about that. In reality you didn¡¯t fight at all at that time, and the battle also wasn¡¯t concluded. It was stopped in the middle. That battle was more like a draw.¡¹

    Leon turned his gaze toward the bluffing Fernand and showed a smile of someone who had seen through him.

    ¡¸Then feel free to put the responsibility on me. It will be the end for you guys at that moment. How many ships got shot down just by a single ship? Was there even one of your ships that managed to scratch Einhorn? ©¤©¤Who said that the kingdom only has one Einhorn?¡¹

    Fernand tried to lighten the mood.

    ¡¸You¡¯re quite short tempered aren¡¯t you sir hero?¡¹

    ¡¸Short tempered? If I¡¯m really short tempered then Faiviel House would have be a sea of fire around this time.¡¹

    Albergue briefly nced at Lambert clenching his hands in frustration before taking Fernand¡¯s ce in negotiating with Leon.

    ¡¸I understand what you want to say. And, what are you demanding from us?¡¹

    ¡¸Somepensation for the start. If you can¡¯t prepare money then I¡¯m fine with epting goods. I¡¯ll report what happened this time as mere quarrel between yourselves, so you should also include hush money along with thepensation for the damage we received in this incident. Of course you have to include a formal apology too.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I see.¡¹

    Leon was saying that ¡¸I¡¯ll protect your honor and pride. So give me money¡¹.

    Lamberg mmed his fist on the table.

    ¡¸This bastard has been saying whatever he like just because I¡¯ve been staying quiet! We have never lost against Hohlfahrt until now!¡¹

    Leon¡¯s smile still didn¡¯t break down.

    ¡¸Then let¡¯s have at it for real next time, ©¤monwealth-san that is only undefeated in defensive battle. Ah, if you guys put the responsibility with me then I guess you¡¯ll also get ck mark in your defensive battle record. Your legend of invincibility is going to be finished with this!¡¹

    The heads¡¯ expressions turned bitter hearing those words.

    If it became known that they lost against the kingdom, other countries would also look down on them.

    The demerit from such thing would be immense.

    In addition now that there was the possibility of other countries developing powerful airship, they couldn¡¯t easily try to solve their problem through war anymore.

    Albergue considered the incident this time as a good opportunity.

    (Hmm, it¡¯s not bad. Rather, this is convenient.)

    ¡¸©¤©¤Very well. Alzer will prepare marypensation for you.¡¹

    Fernand protested at Albergue who epted the conditions easily.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, are you nning to ept his demand as it is?¡¹

    ¡¸The fault of the incident this time lies with Alzer. Alzer will sincerely apologize.¡¹

    It was a bad decision as the acting chairman, but personally Albergue wanted to make a good use of the incident this time.

    ©¤©¤For the sake of his own objective.

    But, Albergue apologized to his daughter inside his heart.

    (Louise, you must be feeling like this too.)

    The image of Albergue¡¯s son ovepped with Leon in front of him. He slightly regretted that it caused him to soften when dealing with him.

    He couldn¡¯t criticize his daughter like this.

    Leon was surprised.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh, you¡¯re really going to ept my terms?¡¹

    It looked like he didn¡¯t expect for all his demands to be epted.

    ¡¸Is it surprising?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Well, yeah.¡¹

    Seeing Leon¡¯s impudent attitude from just now going away made Albergue thought that this might be Leon¡¯s base attitude.

    ¡¸We have made you gone through unpleasant experience while studying here. My apologize. Also, this is only a suggestion from me as an individual but©¤©¤¡¹

    .

    Part 5

    Fernand drew near Albergue after the negotiation with Leon was over.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, the kingdom will grow bold with this. Please think it over again.¡¹

    Fernand was young and extremely capable, but he had a strong patriotic feeling.

    Because of that he was sensitive in the matter that brought disadvantage for themonwealth.

    ¡¸We should close our eyes to this little loss. We have just obtained a good opportunity to reform our awareness.¡¹

    ¡¸Awareness?¡¹

    ¡¸The thinking that we will forever be prosperous by relying on the sacred tree is old.¡¹

    Fernand was shocked.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, isn¡¯t your statement just now too controversial?¡¹

    ¡¸What¡¯s controversial about it? The assessment of foreign countries toward Alzer that has beenpletely relying on the sacred tree while looking down on them is terrible. At the same time our sense of danger toward foreign countries is toox.¡¹

    Fernand too seemed to have some idea about what Albergue was saying. He was unable to argue back.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It seems you¡¯re inviting that person to your mansion, but will that really be alright? He is a man who would pick a fight even with us.¡¹

    ¡¸He is in the possession of the sacred tree¡¯s sapling. I wish to have another angle where we can negotiate with him.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s certainly necessary but, it doesn¡¯t have to be the acting chairman dealing with it personally isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m also personally interested with him.¡¹

    He listed various reasons, but he personally wanted to talk with Leon.

    (He keeps appearing in my mind even though I know he isn¡¯t my son. Is it because the two of them is just that simr?)

    Albergue recalled his son.

    .

    Part 6

    I was invited toe to Rault House¡¯s mansion several days after the negotiation.

    The reparations for me had been paid immediately while Alzer was also holding negotiations with Hohlfhart Kingdom between the officials of both countries. It would be funny if Rnd got saddled with hard work because of it so I didn¡¯t touch that side at all.

    Rault House went as far as preparing an airship for me to bring me to their territory©¤©¤into their stronghold in their floating ind for a dinner.

    It was a fortress city. It had a different atmosphere from the former Lespinasse territory.

    ¡¸This ce feels like it belongs to the king of a country.¡¹

    I muttered that in a small voice. Luxion who was camouging itself whispered into my ear.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, I believe the risk of assassination is low, even so please don¡¯t let your guard down.¡»

    Luxion was going around investigating the huge castle while he was waiting in the waiting room.

    It thoroughly investigated various things like whether the food that would be served was poisoned or not. The result©¤©¤it seemed that Leon was really invited just for a dinner.

    ¡¸Are they trying to win me over because they desire the sacred tree¡¯s sapling?¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s the likely possibility. It seems they are also considering about exchange of technology. ©¤©¤However, the situation seems strange even despite that.¡»

    ¡¸Strange? Is there some kind of problem?¡¹

    ¡ºThe servants who saw master¡¯s face would get agitated. Many of the veteran servants are especially flustered.¡»

    The servant who showed me around was also like that.

    He looked really surprised.

    ¡¸Louise-san was also looking surprised when we first met. At that time©¤©¤she asked me ¡°call me Onee-chan¡± or something like that.¡¹

    ¡ºIs she someone with that kind of hobby?¡»

    ¡¸If she is serious about bing my big sister than I hope I can exchange Jena with her.¡¹

    I shed tears when I recalled my biological little sister who must be having it hard right now in the kingdom.

    If I could really exchange her with Louise-san, I was confident that I would instantly say ¡¸Change please¡¹.

    A servant came to inform me that the preparation had been finished while I was talking with Luxion.

    .

    Part 7

    Inside a room with very high ceiling.

    I was eating dinner with three other people around arge table. It was a really strange sensation to eat like this.

    There were servants on standby around us. They would assist us with our dinner.

    Albergue-san was sitting right in front of me. Louise-san and Albergue-san¡¯s wife were sitting at his sides.

    The two of them were wearing dress.

    The dinner atmosphere was truly like the dinner of noble©¤©¤no, the dinner of royal family even.

    The dishes had be a bit cold but they were still delicious.

    ¡¸Do the dishes suit your taste?¡¹

    Albergue-san asked me. I spoke of my impression without any ttery.

    ¡¸They¡¯re delicious. The sauce is different from what we have back in the kingdom, but I like this foreign taste.¡¹

    Food seasoning would differ based on the country, but I could eat without any problem.

    The soft meat was apanied by a kind of vegetable that couldn¡¯t be found in the kingdom.

    When I tried eating it©¤©¤it had a bitter taste.

    I could eat it, but it wasn¡¯t something that I would want to eat by my own initiative.

    I forced myself slightly to put it into my mouth along with some meat to cover up the taste. But then I noticed the three in front of me were staring fixedly at me.

    ¡¸Eh, err©¤©¤is my manner bad or something?¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, that¡¯s not it. Do you perhaps©¤©¤dislike that vegetable?¡¹

    It seemed he had sensed from my expression that I disliked this vegetable.

    ¡¸It¡¯s a vegetable that I had never eaten in the kingdom. I dislike its peculiar bitterness, but I still can eat it just fine.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I see.¡¹

    I was getting dubious seeing Albergue-san¡¯s flustered look, but then his wife suddenly shedrge drops of tears. She said ¡¸Forgive me. I have to leave my seat for a bit¡¹ and stood up.

    Louise-san talked to me as she left the room with a servant apanying her.

    ¡¸Sorry for that. Mother will return soon. She doesn¡¯t leave because she hates Leon. I hope you can understand that.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Can you tell me the reason?¡¹

    I was feeling dubious with the atmosphere of this ce. Then Albergue-san talked to me while casting his gaze down slightly.

    ¡¸I had a son.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you mean Serge-san?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mean my adopted son Serge, but my biological son. His name was©¤©¤Leon.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Another story that I never heard before came out. But I felt some puzzle pieces falling into ce hearing that.

    That must be the reason Louise-san was lending me her help cordially, because I was simr with that son.

    ¡¸So it¡¯s something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸I hope you don¡¯t take offense. I myself never thought that you will be this simr with that boy.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve heard a saying before that in the world there would be at least two people who look just like yourself. Well, this is surely just a coincidence.¡¹

    Albergue-san smiled sadly while muttering ¡¸You¡¯re right¡¹.

    Louise-san smiled at me.

    ¡¸Leon©¤©¤my little brother also hated that vegetable. Lion-kun looked just like him when you forced yourself to eat it. It must have caused mother to remember many things too.¡¹

    There was a boy who had the same name with me who died when he was five years old.

    Now that they mentioned it, I recovered my memory from the past life was also when I was five years old.

    It felt like there was a connection here, or perhaps it was just a coincidence?

    ¡¸Which reminds me, Serge-san isn¡¯ting to the academy right now isn¡¯t he? Where is he right now?¡¹

    I tried asking because I never caught sight of Serge, but then Louise-san¡¯s expression clouded slightly.

    ¡¸He went out during spring break and never returned until now. He would get in touch periodically, so at least we know that he is alright.¡¹

    ¡¸He is out?¡¹

    Albergue-san said ¡¸He is a troublesome child¡¹ while exining slightly to me.

    ¡¸I heard that the job of adventurer is deemed eptable in the Hohlfahrt. But it cannot be said as a respectable job here in Alzer.¡¹

    This ce was different from the kingdom, the social standing of adventurer here was low.

    ¡¸Serge©¤©¤my son has a longing for the adventurer job. When the holiday came he used an airship and went out for an adventure. If it¡¯s you can you understand Serge¡¯s feeling?¡¹

    ¡¸I too obtained my current position by achieving sess as an adventurer, so I can understand him somewhat.¡¹

    ©¤©¤In my case my life would be in danger unless I seeded though.

    I couldn¡¯t understand the feeling of someone who was born in a rich family and went to an adventure because of his own liking.

    I guess Serge would have better affinity with Julius and others rather than with me.

    ¡¸Perhaps if he talk with his highness Julius and the others, they will hit it off with each other.¡¹

    ¡¸Then I should provide them a chance for that, for the sake of the future too.¡¹

    Louise-san showed dissatisfaction to Albergue-san¡¯s reply.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I won¡¯t recognize Serge. For him to aim to be something like adventurer even though he will be the next head of Rault House, he is unsuitable.¡¹

    Albergue-san warned Louise-san for her words.

    ¡¸Louise, the way you say that is rude toward Leon-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright. But, won¡¯t it be problematic that he hasn¡¯t returned even the academy has started?¡¹

    Our n went out of order because Serge wasn¡¯t there.

    I wanted to at least heard the reason.

    Louise-san looked down.

    ¡¸That child was just in his rebellious phase. He just wanted to make trouble for us.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Louise, enough with that. I¡¯m sorry, we are exposing our family¡¯s shame to you like this and ruined the dinner.¡¹

    Albergue-san apologized to me, so I replied ¡¸It¡¯s fine¡¹ and returned to my meal.

    Even so, was I really that simr with his son who had passed away?

    I felt refreshed now that I understood the reason of Louise-san¡¯s request to call her Onee-chan, but it seemed there was still something deeper about the rtionship of Rault House with Serge.

    .

    Part 8

    ¡¸How nice! Big bro went to have an extravagant dinner by yourself, I¡¯m jealous~!!¡¹

    When I returned, Marie weed me with an undisguised jealousy.

    Several weeks had passed since I was intruding in Marie¡¯s mansion.

    My days here were filled with a lot of boisterousness.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t go to y you know?¡¹

    ¡¸But, the meals were luxurious right?¡¹

    ¡¸It was delicious~¡¹

    Marie bit on her handkerchief with a frustrated look when I told her my impression.

    That was why I handed her the cake I brought back as souvenir.

    ¡¸Here, souvenir.¡¹

    ¡¸Wa~i, I love you big bro!¡¹

    It was easy to handle Marie seeing her mood brightened like this by giving her cake.

    I didn¡¯t want to believe how there were five idiots whose life got messed up because they got seduced by this kind of woman.

    I entered an empty room with Marie who was holding the cake and prepared tea.

    ¡¸Big bro, where is Luxion?¡¹

    ¡¸He is repairing Einhorn. Luxion¡¯s main body ising to this side, so it will finish in several days.¡¹

    Luxion also mentioned about overhauling Arroganz.

    Apparently he would remove the spiky decorations and cleaned the cockpit that had been used by Pierre.

    Einhorn too only got its interior dirtied, so rather than calling it repair, it would be mainly cleaning and resupplying the ship.

    ¡¸His main body wasn¡¯t already here before?¡¹

    ¡¸Before this it was floating in the middle of Alzer and Hohlfahrt to act as ry. But the main body is sent here because of the troubles that urred at this side. Thanks to that I now also cannot send mail to Ange and Livia.¡¹

    Right now I couldn¡¯t send any mail because themunication signal was extremely bad.

    I wondered if the two of them were alright right now.

    Marie took out the cake with sparkling eyes.

    ¡¸This looks delicious!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t eat all of them. It¡¯s also the share for the others.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that.¡¹

    Marie took out the cake and waited for me to prepare the tea while talking about the n going ahead.

    ¡¸By the way big bro, how was the talk going?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It¡¯s going too well that I¡¯m getting scared instead. Everyone of Rault House took a liking to me.¡¹

    To think that they had a dead son who looked exactly like me©¤©¤I still couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡¸Is it going to be okay? They¡¯re thest boss.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be on my guard.¡¹

    I finished preparing the tea and enjoyed the cake together with Marie.

    I watched her eating the cake while taking out some cash that was ced inside a brown envelope from my breast pocket.

    ¡¸Marie, I¡¯ll give this to you.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s eyes widened the instant she saw the money.

    Her excitement surpassed her excitement for the cake.

    ¡¸B-big bro, this is!¡¹

    ¡¸This is because I managed to extort a lot from Alzer. Well, this is pocket money for you.¡¹

    Marie had worked hard too this time, so this was her reward.

    I also learned something from living together with Marie.

    ©¤©¤She is a bit, no, not just a bit, she was simply pitiful.

    She had to take care of those five, in addition she had to economize in order to make do with the avable household budget. I couldn¡¯t hold back my tears seeing that.

    Marie took out the cash and started counting it.

    ¡¸I-i-i-i-is it alright for me to receive this much!?¡¹

    The amount of money I gave her was around ten million in the form ofmonwealth¡¯s paper money.

    But, even that amount was a bit insufficient in order to live in Alzer while taking care of those five.

    ¡¸You guys have worked hard too this time. Use the money carefully okay?¡¹

    Marie cried while clinging on me.

    ph_mobuseka04_ill009

    But she did that only after carefully putting the money into her pocket.

    ¡¸Oniii-chan, thank youuuuu!¡¹

    I shook off Marie who was clinging on me.

    ¡¸L-let go! Really, you are still a calcting girl just like in the past life.¡¹

    Marie wiped her tears.

    ¡¸With this I won¡¯t need to worry about the money for summer clothing.¡¹

    The season was going to change from spring to summer.

    ¡¸Summer huh? There will be a lot of events there. For now Lelia is our priestess candidate, but depending on the situation Noelle might be the one, so we¡¯ve got to be careful.

    When I said that, Marie stopped her hands that were counting the money she took out from her pocket.

    Marie looked at my face and tilted her head.

    ¡¸Big bro? Why are you considering Noelle a priestess candidate?¡¹

    ¡¸Ha? Because Noelle like Jean right? But you know, that Jean is really insensitive, he still hasn¡¯t noticed Noelle¡¯s feeling for him. It will be a bit difficult for them to be lovers like this, but they will manage somehow if we give them a push in the back.¡¹

    I wished that insensitive protagonist Jean would be a bit more proactive.

    If he liked her then said it clearly to her.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Big bro.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think Noelle is in love with Jean. To be more exact, she likes him but not in the romantic sense, just normal like.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? But, they are close with each other.¡¹

    ¡¸They are just being friends with each other aren¡¯t they? Noelle isn¡¯t that conscious toward Jean.¡¹

    ©¤©¤What is she saying?

    ¡¸Eh, but Jean himself, toward Noelle he is really©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸From what I see, the two of them are just normal friends. Rather©¤©¤big bro, could it be you really haven¡¯t noticed? You¡¯re joking right?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t understand what Marie wanted to say.

    ¡¸Eh, don¡¯t tell me the two of them are just friend with each other?¡¹

    Marie looked at me with a cold gaze when I said that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I don¡¯t care anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸No, tell me! You are making me concerned here!¡¹

    Marie put the money into her pocket once more and started eating the cake.

    ¡¸It will be troublesome so I won¡¯t say it. Also, it¡¯ll be better for big bro to properly think about what to do now. Something that cannot be undone will happen if you keep living together with Noelle like this.¡¹

    Something that cannot be undone?

    ¡¸Don¡¯t tell me, you are thinking that I¡¯m going to fall in love with Noelle? Too bad. I have two wonderful fianc¨¦es waiting for me back home. I won¡¯t do something like cheating.¡¹

    Marie scoffed at me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I wish big bro the best with that. I don¡¯t like trouble after all.¡¹

    What¡¯s with this girl?

    Just what is it that she wanted to say?

 Chapter 124 - Volume 4 Epilogue

    <h4>Volume 4 Epilogue</h4>

    Part 1

    Curtis, a schrship student in the kingdom¡¯s academy came to the male toilet.

    He intended to arrange his hairstyle using the mirror in the boy dormitory¡¯s toilet.

    However, there was a preceding visitor there.

    ¡¸Oh, aren¡¯t you©¤©¤¡¹

    When he called that person, the person stuffed something into his pocket in surprise to hide it.

    ¡¸N-no, this isn¡¯t how it looks like!¡¹

    Curtis smiled to calm down the flustered person.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t tease a boy who is concerned about his own appearance you know?¡¹

    This person did something in front of the mirror before he entered, but surely he was only doing something to tidy up his appearance just like what he nned to do.

    That person©¤©¤Aaron looked embarrassed.

    But, it was there Curtis felt something out of ce.

    (It doesn¡¯t look like he has just arranged his hair style©¤©¤more importantly, his lips looks really glossy.)

    It didn¡¯t seem like lipstick, but those lips were too vivacious for a boy.

    In addition was Aaron¡¯s hairstyle.

    Previously his hairstyle looked wilder, manlier, and yet recently his hairstyle was set to be neat and tidy.

    His previously slovenly way of dressing had also be neater.

    This person had a slightly rough attitude before. He was a type that Curtis wasn¡¯t really good with but©¤©¤the current Aaron looked more graceful and tactful than before.

    Aaron seemed to notice that Curtis¡¯s gaze was looking at his lips. He hurriedly made an excuse.

    ¡¸T-t-t-this is lip cream!¡¹

    ¡¸Lip cream?¡¹

    ¡¸You know, your lips will feel chapped when the air is dry right!? I¡¯m using some cream to prevent that.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I see.¡¹

    (Is the air really that dry even though it¡¯s not winter anymore? He must have it rough.)

    Aaron looked embarrassed when Curtis sent him a worried nce and he left the male toilet.

    ¡¸S-sorry to take your time. I¡¯m leaving now.¡¹

    I¡¯m leaving now©¤©¤those words also gave him an out-of-ce feeling. Males would often use those words too, but the way Aaron said them just now felt strangely feminine.

    Curtis followed Aaron¡¯s disappearing back before he noticed another strange thing.

    ¡¸Hm?¡¹

    Aaron bumped into a male acquaintance just as he got out of the toilet.

    ¡¸Aaron, you look pretty too today.¡¹

    ¡¸Geez, everyone keep saying that.¡¹

    A lot of ¡¸!?¡¹ mark floated above Curtis¡¯s head.

    (W-what¡¯s this? Why is Aaron that intimate with a male student? I thought he was chasing around female students before©¤©¤)

    He remembered seeing Aaron hitting on female students in the academy together with other students who looked like delinquent.

    But there was something strange with the current Aaron.

    (Thinking back, recently it feels like he is always together with other boys©¤©¤d-don¡¯t tell me)

    Curtis felt a slight chill on his back.

    .

    Part 2

    It was noisy in Marie¡¯s mansion since the morning.

    ¡¸Is the breakfast not done yet~?¡¹

    Greg was sleepily lying on the table while demanding breakfast. Kyle made snide remark seeing Greg like that.

    ¡¸The breakfast will finish faster if only Greg-san will help us out.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m an eating specialist. Besides, you should tell that to Baltfalt too.¡¹

    I was also waiting for the breakfast to be served while doing nothing.

    However Kyle shook his head.

    ¡¸The count is different because he paid the food expenses.¡¹

    ©¤©¤The power of money is truly mighty. I don¡¯t get scolded even while I¡¯m doing nothing to help.

    Julius and Jilk also entered the dining room while I was waiting.

    ¡¸What is the n for today?¡¹

    ¡¸There will be questioning in the embassy. It looks like the kingdom dispatched someone to investigate about the incident this time.¡¹

    The two of them were talking about work right from the morning. The next one who appeared after them was Brad whose injuries were almost healed.

    ¡¸What is it for breakfast today?¡¹

    He asked Cara who came to ce the tes on the table.

    But Cara yelled angrily at him.

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t get in my way! Come on, sit on your seat everyone!¡¹

    Kyle and Cara wereing and going between the kitchen and the dining hall busily.

    The voice of Marie©¤©¤and Noelle could be heard from the kitchen.

    ¡¸Noelle, take care of that one please!¡¹

    ¡¸Okay~¡¹

    Noelle had the appearance like a gal, and yet she was good with all kinds of housework.

    Was this what they called gap moe?

    Chris also came dripping with sweat while we were waiting.

    ¡¸That was a good work out.

    Gregined seeing Chris sweaty like that.

    ¡¸You¡¯re making the morning feel sweltering looking like that. Go take a shower first.¡¹

    ¡¸You yourself doesn¡¯t look fully awake. How about you go wash your face first before saying that?¡¹

    Brad shrugged seeing the two readying themselves to fight.

    ¡¸You two are energetic right from the morning. Well, this is just like you two musclebrains.¡¹

    Greg and Chris changed focus to Brad after hearing that.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be better if you train yourself a bit more though.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. If you do that then you won¡¯t end up like this time.¡¹

    Brad pointed at the two of them and retorted back.

    ¡¸You two also wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything if you were the one at my ce!¡¹

    Marie entered the noisy dining hall and lifted up a fry pan that she hit with adle in ce of a bell.

    ¡¸Come on be quiet all of you! The breakfast will be served so eat withoutining!¡¹

    She was like a childcare worker who was taking care of kindergarteners.

    The foods that were served on the dining table were corn soup and©¤©¤toasts that looked familiar to me.

    ¡¸Ah, this is¡¹

    I thought they looked nostalgic. It was something that my mother in my past life often made for breakfast.

    The toast had a sunny-side up fried egg and two bacons ced on it©¤©¤even the arrangement was the same like my mother¡¯s toast.

    I was wondering whether Marie also remembered mother¡¯s cooking while feeling very nostalgic.

    Noelle came to my side.

    ¡¸Leon, there is an excess bacon so I¡¯ll give you one more.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that alright?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright.¡¹

    Julius who was eating his toast saw that I was the only one with extra bacon and became jealous.

    ¡¸Only Bartfalt got the special treatment? I¡¯m jealous.¡¹

    It made me felt really deplorable thinking that there was really a prince who would say something like that.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve been eating tasty things in the pce since childhood haven¡¯t you? Just endure a bit with your own portion.¡¹

    ¡¸This is because all of Marie¡¯s cooking are novel foods. They¡¯re also delicious! That¡¯s why I¡¯m jealous.¡¹

    Julius was suddenly boasting about his lover. What would be the right answer to give him here?

    When I looked toward Marie, she had already finished her egg and bacons and brought a new toast from the kitchen to the table. She was having seconds even in breakfast. It made me really curious just where she was saving that much food inside that small body.

    ¡¸Uhyoooo! This slightly expensive jam spread really well on the bread.¡¹

    She chose the jam she liked from among the jam bottles that were lined up on the table and spread it on her bread before eating the toast.

    ¡¸Haa~ being able to choose jam in the morning is happiness¡¹

    It seemed she was feeling happiness from having different types of jams, but as for me©¤©¤I felt like crying.

    ¡¸You can, taste happiness just from this much?¡¹

    She had be a very simple woman.

    Even though in our past life she was the type of woman who would pester me for money to travel abroad...

    Cara was begging Marie for the jam.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, I want the orange jam!¡¹

    ¡¸Okay. Spread a lot of it on your bread. We have a lot of breads and jams!¡¹

    Kyle was spreading blueberry jam on his bread.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Not having to worry about your meal is happiness.¡¹

    Why did eating with Marie¡¯s group was making me wanted to cry like this?

    I stopped thinking about it and focused on eating the nostalgic breakfast. Then Noelle peered onto my face.

    ¡¸Leon, the corner of your mouth got something on it.¡¹

    ¡¸Rly? I¡¯ll wipe itter so it¡¯s fine.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t do that. You¡¯re a count, so you need to act properly.¡¹

    She said that and wiped the corner of my mouth for me.

    A gal who was considerate and attentive was really great.

    I might fall in love with her if I didn¡¯t already have Ange and Livia.

    Julius seemed like he wasn¡¯t used with eating toast and the area around his mouth got dirty. He was bothered by it.

    ¡¸The toast is delicious, but it¡¯s easy for the pan to crumble and leaving behind scraps.¡¹

    Jilk was also of the same opinion.

    ¡¸Indeed. Isn¡¯t there any way to prevent this from happening?¡¹

    Greg who was heartily eating his portion gave the two of them advice.

    ¡¸Just eat the food without worrying about that.¡¹

    The breakfast was really lively.

    Noelle was smiling.

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just having fun somehow. I was always eating breakfast with my little sister, but it has been a long time since I have this much fun.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Did something happen?¡¹

    I had heard that her rtionship with her little sister wasn¡¯t going well, but Noelle didn¡¯t talk much about it.

    ¡¸Well, various things happened. But Lelia herself is also worrying about me.¡¹

    So even twins got their own problem.

    .

    Part 3

    The mansion where Marie¡¯s group was living was a splendid one.

    It also had a reception room in it that could be used to serve visiting guest.

    There were sofas inside the room with a low table ced between them. A full set of furniture was also ced inside the room so that it wouldn¡¯t be discourteous toward the guest.

    It must be the embassy that prepared them.

    I got the impression that they spent money for the necessary things so that there wouldn¡¯t be any problem urring because Julius was also living here.

    My own house also had a reception room, but it wasn¡¯t as splendid as this room in Marie¡¯s mansion.

    Right now I was preparing tea for a guest inside that room.

    ¡¸©¤©¤E-enjoy.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for the tea.¡¹

    The figure sitting on the sofa while drinking the tea elegantly looked very beautiful.

    For those who didn¡¯t know about this person¡¯s personality, she would only look like a nobledy.

    The girl©¤©¤no, she had already graduated from the academy, so I should call her a woman, she had long blonde hair that was styled into ringlets.

    Her name was Deirdre Fou Rosede.

    She was an upperssman I was acquainted with.

    ¡¸It has been a long time since I have your tea. Has your skill be slightly better?¡¹

    This person wasn¡¯t the type to say ttery, so she must have really enjoyed the tea.

    ¡¸Perhaps it¡¯s because Alzer¡¯s tea leaves that are delicious?¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then perhaps I¡¯ll buy some for souvenir when going home.¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai drank her tea happily. But still, why was sheing to Alzer?

    ©¤©¤I didn¡¯t know why.

    ¡¸Err, could it be you are in a trip right now?¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai smiled at me.

    ¡¸How rude. Ie here for work even though I look like this. His majesty asked me ¡ºI want you to examine the situation in Alzer right now¡». That¡¯s right, I¡¯m also asked by his majesty to give you a letter.¡¹

    I received the letter and read the content.

    .

    ¡ºHow dare you caused a trouble in Alzer, you shitty brat. We are short of manpower right now so we even have to recruit students who are fresh out of academy. Oops, on that topic, it seems that the girl I dispatched is your acquaintance isn¡¯t it? ©¤©¤Get along well with her. Though I¡¯ll tell Redgrave House if you have an affair there! By your magnificent king¡»

    .

    I expressionlessly tore the letter.

    Deirdre-senpai seemed to guess the content of the letter from my reaction and smiled pleasantly.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really on good terms with his majesty.¡¹

    ¡¸Ahahaha! ©¤©¤Indeed. We are so close that we want to punch each other¡¯s face.¡¹

    If I could I wanted to bury my fist into Rnd¡¯s face right now.

    Setting that aside, it seemed Deirdre-senpai was dispatched here in order to investigate the case this time.

    There was a bit of problem with her personality, but it seemed she intended to do her job properly.

    ¡¸I have heard about the situation in general at the embassy. I heard how a son of a great noble picked a fight with you and you beat him up thoroughly in a duel©¤©¤it sent me shivers to hear that.¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai blushed and put her index finger on her lips©¤©¤she was a pervert.

    ¡¸As expected from the kingdom¡¯s hero. You even beat up the six great nobles and contributed in elevating the kingdom¡¯s standing. How wonderful. ©¤©¤It has been a long time since my heart beat this fast.¡¹

    How should I reply to Deirdre-senpai who had this look of ecstasy in her face?

    ¡¸©¤©¤Are youing here today just for a greeting?¡¹

    ¡¸How can that be. Ie bringing souvenir for you. ©¤©¤Don¡¯t you want to know the action that Alzer is taking in regard with this case? I have information that you can¡¯t learn as an oversea student here.¡¹

    It seemed she would tell me an information that she learned from her work.

    Luxion was also gathering information for me, but let¡¯s at least listened to what she had because she was doing this out of the kindness of her heart.

    ¡¸Is there any interesting information?¡¹

    ¡¸The kingdom demanded Alzer to hand over Pierre who inflicted his highness Julius with a curse. But they didn¡¯tply and rejected the demand.¡¹

    ¡¸Is Faiviel House protecting Pierre?¡¹

    I thought that sounded usible, but Deirdre-senpai was chukling in response.

    ¡¸Your rtionship with your family must be good. You were raised in a warm household weren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? No, my rtionship with my sisters aren¡¯t that good©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸This Pierre who caused all these problems, it looked like he nned to remove his big brother who will be the next head and be the head of the house himself. It seemed the next house head got furious from that.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Protectionless.

    Noble who got their divine protection taken away would be disdained as protectionless in themonwealth.

    There were several reasons for that. One of them was that the sacred tree had turned its back on them.

    I also heard that the descendant of someone whose divine protection had been taken away would never be able to obtain divine protection themselves.

    In other words, Pierre¡¯s life as a noble was finishedpletely.

    He couldn¡¯t even be used for political marriage anymore.

    ©¤©¤I drove him into a corner even knowing that.

    ¡¸Is he imprisoned? Or perhaps he got ¡°sick¡± or something?¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai took off her eyes from me and began to fiddle with her ringlets.

    ¡¸They said hemitted suicide to take responsibility. But from how furious the next head was, it¡¯s possible that he is being imprisoned underground somewhere and tortured there.¡¹

    ¡¸Alzer¡¯s noble is cold toward their own family.¡¹

    ¡¸I think it¡¯s the same even in Hohlfahrt.¡¹

    Was this what they called the dark part of nobility? I absolutely didn¡¯t want to get involved with it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Didn¡¯t you corner him like that while knowing such fate might be waiting for him?¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai asked me like that. I couldn¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t feel guilt.

    But, everything was Pierre¡¯s own responsibility.

    ¡¸He reaped what he sow. That¡¯s all there is to it. To begin with, after doing something like that to our stupid prince, I have to settle the score with him. ©¤©¤It was Pierre who started it.¡¹

    Deirdre-senpai was also a noble¡¯s daughter. She looked satisfied by my answer.

    ¡¸Good. If you say something like, I didn¡¯t intend to go that far and regret it, then I¡¯ll have to p you.¡¹

    ©¤©¤If it was Livia here, would she be angry?

    Deirdre-senpai told me more information.

    ¡¸Other than that, the academy will also reopen without ident. All of you should continue your study there like before. However, please be very careful.¡¹

    ¡¸Ee~, I¡¯m the one who have to be careful?¡¹

    ¡¸Of course you have to. I will return immediately to bring this information back to the kingdom, but another person should be dispatched for the actual negotiation.¡¹

    This was an international problem after all. If they were going to negotiate, they had to prepare the proper officials.

    My previous negotiation with the six great nobles in the end was only my personal negotiation.

    Deirdre-senpai stood up.

    ¡¸I¡¯m busy even though it looks like I¡¯m free, so excuse me for now. Ah, that¡¯s right¡¹

    When I stood up to see her off, Deirdre-senpai handed me two pieces of letters.

    ¡¸Send words to them properly. They were really worried you know?¡¹

    These were letters from Ange and Livia.

    .

    Part 4

    ¡ºLeon-san, are you well? Are you injured or sick? Are you eating properly?¡»

    .

    Tears wereing out while I was reading the letter from Livia who was worried for me.

    Ange¡¯s letter was also simr.

    She wrote to me that if something happened in Alzer, just run away and returned back safely.

    She was more worried for my safety rather than honor. It was an unusual stance for a noble.

    I carefully folded the letters and kept them properly inside the table¡¯s drawer.

    Luxion who was watching me looked slightly apologetic.

    ¡º©¤©¤My main body got closer to themonwealth just in case there was an emergency. Currently it¡¯s impossible tomunicate using mail.¡»

    Luxion acted as ry to exchange mails while he was stationed in the halfway point between the kingdom and themonwealth.

    But currently his main body had drawn near to themonwealth and the exchange of mails became impossible due to various factors like magic element¡¯s density and the like.

    ¡¸I¡¯vee to grips with it because it can¡¯t be helped. When will you return your main body to its original position?¡¹

    ¡ºThat depends on the situation. It¡¯s still on standby in themonwealth even now. There is also the repair and resupply for Einhorn and Arroganz.¡»

    Currently Luxion was in the middle of cleaning Einhorn and Arroganz that got dirtied by Pierre¡¯s decoration.

    ¡¸I guess I¡¯ll write another letter. I should send some souvenir too.¡¹

    ¡ºThat will be good.¡»

    I sat on the chair and looked up to the ceiling. Then Luxion talked to me.

    ¡º©¤©¤Is Pierre¡¯s fate weighing on master¡¯s mind?¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s that guy¡¯s own fault.¡¹

    Everything that he had done until now was befalling himself now. That was all.

    I got no sympathy for him. But, it was the fact that I was the one who cornered him into that.

    ¡ºMaster, actually there is one thing that is bothering me©¤©¤¡»

    Just when Luxion was about to say something, the room¡¯s door was opened roughly and Marie entered with a yell.

    ¡¸Big broooo!¡¹

    I narrowed my eyes toward Marie.

    ¡¸At least knock before entering.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t have any interest in whatever big bro might be doing! Ah!? That¡¯s not it! A-actually there is a guest!¡¹

    ¡¸Again¡¹

    While I was thinking who was it this time, Marie waved her hands around while saying.

    ¡¸It¡¯s Lelia! What¡¯s more that girl©¤©¤is a reincarnator!¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    I couldn¡¯tprehend what Marie was saying.

    .

    Part 5

    Noelle was also there when I entered the reception room.

    ¡¸Ah, Leon¡¹

    It seemed they were talking about something, but it didn¡¯t look like the topic of the talk was really pleasant.

    Noelle¡¯s expression was cloudy, while Lelia was ring at me and Marie.

    Then her eyes opened wide when she noticed Luxion floating on my right shoulder.

    She was clearly on her guard and seemed to know about Luxion.

    ¡¸Noelle©¤©¤can you let us talk with your sister for a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind but¡¹

    Noelle looked toward Lelia. In respond Lelia crossed her legs with a brazen expression as though to say bring it on.

    ph_mobuseka04_ill010

    ¡¸It¡¯s okay. It looks like big sis has been in your debt, and I also have many things to say.¡¹

    Lelia folded her arms. Noelle looked like she didn¡¯t know what to say to her.

    ¡¸Lelia, don¡¯t say anything uncalled for to them.¡¹

    After Noelle left the room, Marie looked alternately between my face and Lelia¡¯s with a troubled look.

    I asked straight to Lelia.

    ¡¸Are you a reincarnator too?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I was reincarnated as the main character¡¯s twin little sister. ©¤©¤Even though I had my own ns, all of them are now messed up because of you guys.¡¹

    ¡¸I apologize about that.¡¹

    I sat on the sofa with Marie following to sit beside me.

    Luxion looked at Lelia.

    ¡ºAnd, what are you looking for that youe here?¡»

    Lelia turned her gaze from Luxion to me.

    ¡¸How do you have a cheat item with you?¡¹

    ¡¸I worked hard to get him.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Well, it¡¯s not really my business.¡¹

    Lelia looked discontent with my answer. Even so she talked about the reason she came to our mansion.

    ¡¸I¡¯m asking you to return big sis to me. Together with the sacred tree¡¯s sapling if possible.¡¹

    The way she spoke was one-sided that Marie got irritated instead of me.

    ¡¸Haa? Why do we have to follow your instruction?¡¹

    ¡¸The sacred tree¡¯s sapling will wither if it¡¯s not being hold by big sis who has the aptitude as the priestess! Do you two not even know that? The development from now will all go wrong if the sapling withered!¡¹

    That must be something that Lelia couldn¡¯t allow from where she was standing.

    It wasn¡¯t like I had a problem with her demand but©¤©¤there was one thing that bothered me.

    ¡¸Priestess aptitude? Wait a second, don¡¯t you also have that aptitude?¡¹

    Lelia¡¯s wording bothered me that I tried asking her. In respond her gaze to me clearly turned into a ridiculing gaze.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have the aptitude. Big sis is the only one with the aptitude to be the priestess.¡¹

    Marie started breaking into cold sweat.

    ¡¸Eh, wait. Wait a second. Aren¡¯t you two twins? It shouldn¡¯t be strange for the two of you two have the aptitude. You know, just like how you two split the twintail to be matching side tail with each other.¡¹

    Lelia said ¡¸Our hair style doesn¡¯t have anything to do with it!¡¹ before talking about the priestess¡¯s aptitude.

    ¡¸Before Lespinasse House was destroyed, my parents said that big sis is the only one with the priestess aptitude while I have none.¡¹

    I was shaken hearing that and turned my gaze toward Luxion.

    ¡ºThere was a mention in the document of the six great nobles that the priestess was decided based on bloodline though?¡»

    Lelia denied Luxion¡¯s information.

    ¡¸My parents, the previous priestess and guardian said that I don¡¯t have the aptitude. It¡¯s impossible for them to be wrong. Besides, the priestess carries the role to connect the sacred tree with the people. The priestess said that I don¡¯t have the aptitude, so obviously she is in the right rather than some document somewhere.¡¹

    Lelia¡¯s assertion made Marie and I to hold our head in our wits¡¯ end.

    ¡¸No way. Our n to make Lelia the priestess and Emile the guardian-¡¹

    ¡¸Luxion you liarrrrr!¡¹

    Lelia looked at us in disgust.

    ¡¸Do you understand just how much I have prepared until now? My house was burned and I got chased away when I was a child, after that I worked hard to look after big sis until we came to the academy. I thought that big sis can finally be Loic¡¯s lover and the danger to the world would be averted, and yet¡¹

    She was saying things that caught my attention.

    ¡¸Wait a second. Could it be, you are the one who set Loic after Noelle?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. The true end of the second game was also centered around Loic. It¡¯s big sis¡¯s fate to be together with Loic.¡¹

    True end©¤©¤was that the one you called the true ending? It seemed that the best conclusion of that otome game¡¯s sequel was where Noelle and Loic became together.

    I made aplicated expression. Seeing that Lelia said ¡¸What? Got anyint?¡¹.

    ¡¸It¡¯s more a question than aint. Noelle, she hates Loic doesn¡¯t she?¡¹

    I asked for agreement from Marie.

    ¡¸Yeah. I think Loic is the only one that she won¡¯t want to be with. Because she looks like she really hate him. I¡¯ve seen something like that before. Her hate looks like it¡¯s already at the level that it¡¯s physiologically impossible for her to ept him. I think it¡¯s absolutely impossible for those two to be lovers.¡¹

    If someone that I liked told me something like ¡¸it¡¯s physiologically impossible for me to be with you¡¹, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get back on my feet for three days.

    Lelia was also a woman, so it seemed she get what Marie was talking about.

    ¡¸B-but, in that otome game, big sis and Loic were©¤©¤¡¹

    Marie stared at Lelia with a face ofprehension.

    ¡¸In this world we won¡¯t need to go through any hardship if things can progress just like in the game.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s words were surely filled with various meanings.

    It made a bit sad.

    ¡¸You have gone through a lot of hardships until now. Though the cause of your failure was because you aimed to have reverse harem.¡¹

    Marie wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say it. I¡¯m regretting it already.¡¹

    Then Lelia said.

    ¡¸Ha? No way? Don¡¯t tell me, you aimed for something like reverse harem? Uwa~, aiming for reverse harem in real world , you¡¯re unbelievable.¡¹

    Marie strongly objected after seeing Lelia¡¯s appalled look.

    ¡¸Shut up! If there is happiness just lying around over there, then it¡¯s only human to pick it up! Besides, even you alsoid your hand on that safe tile Emile!¡¹

    ¡¸I sincerely chose only one person!¡¹

    ¡¸Hah! Sincere you say? You only chose him because you knew that he was someone rich from a good family weren¡¯t you? It¡¯sughable that you call that being sincere.¡¹

    As fellow woman©¤©¤they were able to guess what each other was thinking. It ended up bing a horrible exchange of insult.

    ¡¸I¡¯m still better than you who aimed for reverse harem!¡¹

    ¡¸You were only narrowing down your target to one person, but what you did is basically the same like me!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t group me with you!¡¹

    The two were escting and they proceeded into starting a cat fight.

    They grabbed the other¡¯s hair, grabbed the other¡¯s clothes, and insulted each other.

    What came to my mind while watching the state of the two was,

    ¡¸Uwaa~, this is ugly.¡¹

    ¡ºI agree.¡»

    Marie and Lelia finally ran out of breath and stopped their quarrel. I got the talk back into the right track then.

    ¡¸Well, in any case all of us here wish to avoid the danger to the world. We should be able to work together.¡¹

    Based from this talk with Lelia, it seemed like she also wanted to avoid the danger to the world.

    Then we reincarnators shouldn¡¯t fight each other.

    ¡¸What do you mean working together? You crushed Pierre¡¯s event and separate big sis from Loic.¡¹

    I watched Lelia putting her messed up hair and uniform in order while giving an insincere apology.

    ¡¸Sorry. But it can¡¯t be helped because Pierre picked a fight with us. We also have our own position to think about. As for Loic, he is giving off this dangerous vibe. We¡¯re just saying that it¡¯s better to not choose him.¡¹

    ¡¸Loic¡¯s desire to monopolize is just a bit strong. It¡¯s also his charm. He will calm down a bit if big sis bes his lover.¡¹

    A bit? That was a bit!? ©¤©¤I really don¡¯t get girl.

    Leliained to me.

    ¡¸More importantly, it¡¯s a problem that you crushed Pierre¡¯s event! That event was really important you know!? What¡¯s more, will you normally corner someone until that far!? I heard from Emile, that Pierre right now is in a really bad situation!¡¹

    It seemed Lelia saw the duel. She was looking appalled.

    ¡¸It was Pierre¡¯s fault for picking a fight with me. Besides, it¡¯s true I cornered him, but he was ruined because of his own habitual bad deeds. That¡¯s not my fault. To begin with it¡¯s his own fault for getting cornered.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the worst.¡¹

    Marie got up while Lelia was ring at me.

    ¡¸Pierre has nothing that worth giving him any sympathy though? Well, just forget about him, you should work together with us.¡¹

    We could work together because both sides had the same objective.

    Lelia also looked dissatisfied, but she might wanted our cooperation too because she epted this talk.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Anyway, return back big sis and the sacred tree¡¯s sapling.¡¹

    I took out the case that was filled with sapling-chan. I had brought it with me because I thought it would be necessary in our discussion.

    I ced it on the low table.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to worry if it¡¯s about this thing. It¡¯s ced inside a special case, so it won¡¯t wither for now©¤©¤e-eh?¡¹

    My right hand started shining.

    At the same time it felt like sapling-chan was also shining.

    ¡¸Big bro, the back of your right hand!¡¹

    Marie suddenly said that, so I looked at the back of my right hand. There, some kind of crest was forming.

    ¡¸What¡¯s this!? Hey, what¡¯s this!!?¡¹

    Lelia who was watching me kicking a fuss made a face as though she was watching an unbelievable scene.

    ¡¸W-why!? Why is the ¡°guardian¡¯s crest¡± is forming on this guy¡¯s hand!?¡¹

    Luxion spoke in enjoyment while watching us making a ruckus.

    ¡ºOh, this thing has a discerning eye. It seems the sacred tree¡¯s sapling has deemed my master to be worthy as the guardian and choose him.¡»

    ¡¸MEEEEE!?¡¹

    Sapling-chan chose me as its guardian even though it still hadn¡¯t chosen the priestess.

    Originally it should be Noelle©¤©¤the main character who chose the guardian from among the capture targets, but for some reason it was the sapling itself who chose me.

    There was a limit even in being unexpected.

    ©¤©¤Oi, what will happen from now!?

    .

    Part 6

    At the academy of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    Livia and Ange were having tea with grave expressions.

    Creare was floating near the two of them.

    ¡ºThat sourpuss Luxion is still not contacting.¡»

    Livia who was praying for Leon¡¯s safety from here looked down in worry.

    ¡¸Do you think our letters has reached Leon-san?¡¹

    Ange was drinking her tea calmly, but she was also feeling concerned at the inside.

    ¡¸Despite her appearances, Deirdre is a woman who keeps her promise. She will deliver our letter without fail.¡¹

    However that was only if the situation was one where the letter could be delivered.

    The two of them didn¡¯t know how Leon was doing right now in this situation where there was no informationing from themonwealth.

    They wished they could quickly head to themonwealth personally, but they were ordered to stay put because the situation there was unknown.

    ¡¸©¤©¤She should be arriving in Alzer around this time.¡¹

    They were able to exchange letters frequently before because of Luxion, but normally obtaining information would take a long time just like now.

    Creare consoled the two worried girls.

    ¡ºIt will be fine. Master is someone tenacious, and I don¡¯t think that there is enemy there that can defeat Luxion. Surely they are just busy with taking care of the troublesome matters.¡»

    Livia nodded.

    ¡¸I hope that¡¯s the case here.¡¹

    Ange sighed slightly.

    ¡¸But that guy is reckless sometimes. Even so, just what in the world is going on in themonwealth?¡¹

    Creare showed its motivation after seeing the two worrying like this.

    ¡ºI understand. Then I¡¯ll try investigating for a bit.¡»

    Livia lifted up her face.

    ¡¸You can do that Are-chan?¡¹

    ¡ºLeave it to me. I have sent a ry formunication to there. Though its performance isn¡¯t good and Luxion won¡¯t like it, so this will be more like hacking.¡»

    Ange threw away theposure that she had maintained until now and jumped at that offer.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care how you do it! Just do it immediately if you can check how Leon is doing there right now.¡¹

    ¡ºI will be able to obtain only fragmentary information though.¡»

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind that. If Leon is safe then©¤©¤¡¹

    Ange ced her hands on her chest and prayed for Leon¡¯s safety. After seeing how anxious Ange was, Creare performed an unauthorized ess into Luxion.

    Creare¡¯s blue lens emitted a blue glow.

    ¡ºThen, I¡¯m going to investigate for a bit. Err~, the position of Luxion¡¯s main body right now is©¤©¤¡»

    Livia joined her hands together in a praying gesture.

    ¡¸Leon-san©¤©¤please be safe.¡¹

    Ange hugged Livia¡¯s shoulder from the side.

    ¡¸It will be fine. Leon is strong after all.¡¹

    Then©¤©¤.

    ¡º©¤©¤Hyaaaa!¡»

    ©¤©¤Creare let out a strange voice.

    Livia stood up.

    ¡¸Are-chan, what¡¯s wrong!?¡¹

    Ange grabbed Creare with both her hands.

    Her eyes were very serious.

    ¡¸What happened!? Is Leon safe!?¡¹

    Creare told the two the information that it had gathered.

    ¡ºAbout that©¤©¤I managed to obtain Luxion¡¯s log. I could only obtainpletely trivial information.¡»

    ¡¸A, and!?¡¹

    Livia asked Creare to continue. Creare looked really hesitant to answer her.

    It made the two even more anxious.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s©¤©¤I was able to confirm master¡¯s safety. It looks like Luxion is also properly staying at master¡¯s side. Ah, Marie-chan and others are also safe.¡»

    Ange and Livia grasped each other¡¯s hands with their palms pressed on each other.

    They pressed their body together and theirrge breasts were ttened against each other.

    ¡¸I see, so Leon is safe!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s great, Ange!¡¹

    They didn¡¯t ask about Marie and others at all. They were simply relieved hearing that Leon was safe.

    The two of them were smiling happily, but©¤©¤.

    ¡ºB-but you see. That¡¯s©¤©¤the ce where master is staying right now©¤©¤is in the same ce where Marie and others are living in.¡»

    Shadow appeared in the two¡¯s smile.

    Livia became concerned for Ange.

    ¡¸Ange, surely there is a reason why they are living together.¡¹

    Ange¡¯s cheeks were twitching.

    ¡¸You¡¯re right, there must be a reason. Perhaps the official there couldn¡¯t obtain a ce for Leon to stay separately from them. It must be that kind of reason. That must be how it is. If not, Leon staying in the same house with that woman is just©¤©¤¡¹

    And then Creare told the two of them about another information it obtained from the log©¤©¤some words that Luxion murmured.

    ¡ºThe information that I obtained is varied and fragmentary so it doesn¡¯t form a clear picture but, I managed to pick up some words that Luxion murmured. Let¡¯s see here©¤©¤he once muttered ¡°now in the middle of cheating¡±.¡»

    The two¡¯s expression and©¤©¤the light in their eyes vanished from their face.

 Chapter 125 - Volume 4 Extra Story

    <h4>Otomege Volume 4 Extra Story</h4>

    <h4>Extra Story ¨C Leon¡¯s Foreign School Life</h4>

    .

    I never thought that I would study abroad in my second life.

    I was walking alone in the academy of Alzer Commonwealth.

    Unfamiliar uniform.

    Unfamiliar school building.

    Even the smell of the foreignnd felt different.

    This smell forced me to notice whether I wanted it or not that I was in a foreign country.

    ©¤©¤I want to go home to my home country quickly and have a tea party with my fianc¨¦es.

    I was invincible now that I had been liberated from the marriage hunting.

    If it was now I had the confidence that I could enjoy the life in the academy.

    And yet, right now I was in the middle of studying abroad©¤©¤how could I enjoy myself like this?

    ¡¸Aa~, I want to go home quickly¡¹

    ¡ºIt has only been several days since mastere here. Your wish is obviously impossible.¡»

    It was my partner Luxion who answered my muttering seriously.

    He was replying to my joke with sarcasm too today.

    ¡ºMaster shouldn¡¯te here if you don¡¯t want to.¡»

    ¡¸I wish that I can do that instead of going through all these hardships.¡¹

    If only that otome game didn¡¯t have a sequel, I wouldn¡¯t need to go to an academy at a foreign country.

    In my past life I was the type of human who would go ¡¸Studying abroad? Not interested¡¹.

    That thinking hadn¡¯t changed even after I reincarnated.

    I couldn¡¯t enjoy going abroad to study at all.

    ¡¸To begin with there isn¡¯t any chance for me to hold a tea party here. Even though I¡¯ve painstakingly brought my tea set here, there isn¡¯t any chance to use them. This is just strange.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster is still going on about tea party?¡»

    ¡¸Obviously! That¡¯s my hobby.¡¹

    I was awakened to a new hobby after meeting master.

    It was tea.

    You gathered tea set, prepared tea leaves and snacks, then entertained your guest.

    I made fun of it at first, but after that I would hold a tea party once a week when I was at Hohlfahrt.

    At most I would invite three people to my tea party.

    Inviting girls who I were close with and having pleasant chat with them was my modest enjoyment.

    But I couldn¡¯t open such tea party in this academy.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I want to go home.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster want to go home just because of tea? Then how about master just invite some girls from here?¡»

    ¡¸You moron! I can¡¯t invite other girls when I already have fianc¨¦es!¡¹

    ¡ºWhy is master¡¯s thought going to girls right away there? Master can also invite boys.¡»

    ¡¸No way. I don¡¯t have friend here anyway.¡¹

    I still didn¡¯t have friend because I had only arrived in this country.

    ¡º©¤©¤There are Marie, Julius, and the others.¡»

    ¡¸No~, that¡¯s hard to do. Marie is my little sister in my past life. As for Julius and others©¤©¤they aren¡¯t my friends, they are just a troublesome bunch. That¡¯s not what you call friends.¡¹

    ¡ºI am really happy to have a master who have few friends.¡»

    This guy¡¯s personality was really a piece of work from how he was teasing me for myck of friends like this.

    ©¤©¤He is quite human even though he is an AI. He is hopeless.

    ¡¸Forget about that, we got a lot to©¤©¤oops¡¹

    There were female students walking to my direction from ahead in the corridor.

    They were holding some items on their hands.

    Luxion melted into the surrounding and vanished from view. Then I called out to the girls approaching me.

    The girls were looking bewildered. ©¤©¤In the kingdom¡¯s academy, it was the boys¡¯ role to immediately lend a hand if you happened to see some girls having their hands full.

    The attitude toward girl that had been imprinted on me through the one year I spent in the kingdom¡¯s academy showed up even in the academy here.

    ¡¸Those looks heavy. I¡¯ll help out.¡¹

    The girls looked at my face in surprise.

    If this was in the kingdom©¤©¤the girls of the academy there would generally reply with ¡¸Haa? Why are you speaking something so obvious? Take off these things already from our hands¡¹.

    The boys would still have to help them even after receiving such ungrateful reply. That was my daily life back in the kingdom¡¯s academy.

    Surely the girls in the academy here would also give me a horrible reply as befitting the world of that otome game. That was what I thought.

    The girls were looking shy.

    ¡¸Eh, you will?¡¹

    ¡¸This person, is her perhaps the overseas student?¡¹

    I took the burdens from the two girls a bit forcefully. They were looking embarrassed when I asked them where to bring these things to.

    ©¤©¤What is this? Their behavior is strange.

    They weren¡¯t hurling abuse at me!?

    ¡¸Never mind that, where should I bring these things to?¡¹

    The two girls looked shy while©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Ah, we have to bring them to the staff room. It was really heavy and difficult to carry. Thanks for helping us.¡¹

    ¡¸You are a big help. Thank you.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Thanking me.

    I couldn¡¯t hide my shaken expression.

    My movement stopped for a moment, causing the two girls to be worried for me.

    ¡¸Are you alright?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t force yourself if they¡¯re too heavy.¡¹

    My understanding of the matter was dyed for a moment, but I finally realized that this was themonwealth, not the kingdom.

    There was no lover that was guised as exclusive servant apanying the girls in this academy.

    They weren¡¯t acting haughty while looking down on boys.

    Such a normal©¤©¤academy, it was like a heaven for me.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m fine! This much is no problem at all. Come on, let¡¯s deliver them quickly.¡¹

    The two girls smiled.

    ¡¸You¡¯re a big help. The boys in our ss will run away from this kind of thing.¡¹

    ¡¸You overseas students are really gentlemanly.¡¹

    I was praised? Could it be, they were praising me?

    I was praised just for doing something like this. Was this academy a heaven!?

    If the kingdom¡¯s academy where I got insulted even after helping was a ckpany, then perhaps the academy here was white?

    ¡¸You girls are exaggerating. This is just a normal thing to do.¡¹

    I told them with a smile, but the two girls gave me words of ttery in response.

    ¡¸You overseas student are kind.¡¹

    ¡¸I wish the boys here will learn from you. Ah,e to think of it we haven¡¯t asked your name. What is it again?¡¹

    I introduced myself with my best posed look.

    ¡¸I¡¯m Leon. Leon Fou Bartfalt. Just call me Leon without any honorific.¡¹

    Then the two girls happily©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Got it. Thanks for your help, Leon.¡¹

    ¡¸Leon eh. That¡¯s a good name.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Conversed with me eagerly. Eagerly!

    They weren¡¯t replying with ¡¸Uh huh. And?¡¹ when I introduced myself!

    I©¤©¤got the feeling that I would be able to enjoy my time in this academy.

    I kept walking toward the staff room while having a fun talk with the two girls. Then Luxion muttered from nearby.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master looks like you¡¯re having a lot of fun.¡»

    I replied with a small voice.

    ¡¸Yeah, it looks like I¡¯ll be able to enjoy my time here. I¡¯m©¤©¤d I went to study overseas.¡¹

    I got the feeling that I would be able to experience a fun school life if it was here.

    ¡ºI will report to those two if master is cheating. Angelica and Olivia, both of them will be sad if that happens.¡»

    ©¤©¤I¡¯m just having a casual talk here! When you think about my grey school life before this, no one shouldn¡¯t be able to me me just for having a bit of fun!

    ¡ºI think it will be for master¡¯s own sake to get harshly scolded by those two at least once.¡»

    This guy really didn¡¯t think of his master as master.

    ¡¸I should be forgiven from just having a bit of fun. Yes©¤©¤this isn¡¯t cheating. This is cultural exchange between students of different countries.¡¹

    I muttered with a small voice to convince myself.

    I was convincing myself that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with my thinking.

    ¡ºI¡¯m looking forward whether those two will really forgive master or not after hearing that excuse.¡»

    This guy was really detestable.

    ©¤©¤Livia and Ange would surely allow me this much!

    Perhaps, surely©¤©¤I hope they would forgive me.

 Chapter 126 - Volume 5 Short Story

    <h4>Otomege Volume 5 Short Story</h4>

    <h4>Short Story ¨C Marie Route The Third</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    I obtained the freedom of school life. But at the same time I also obtained the binding that was engagement.

    It¡¯s been a long time, this is Leon Fou Bartfalt(¥ê¥ª¥ó?¥Õ¥©¥¦?¥Ð¥ë¥È¥Õ¥¡¥ë¥È).

    I safely advanced to be a second year student, but there was a bit of problem.

    ¡¸How does it feel after selling out your big brother?¡¹

    ¡¸It sounds bad if you call it selling. Even though I did my best while thinking of big bro¡¯s sake.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re always so shameless! Do you understand the hardship that I¡¯m going through!?¡¹

    The second son of our family, Nix(¥Ë¥Ã¥¯¥¹) who had safely (?) graduated marched into the student dormitory and forced me to listen to him speaking fondly of his lover.

    Now he was a feudal lord noble of the newly formed Bartfalt House with the rank of count©¤©¤ruling over the floating ind that was once governed by Count Offley(¥ª¥Õ¥ê©`).

    The previous ruler Count Offley was found out to be working together with sky pirates and so his status was stripped away from him.

    Well, it was me who crushed him though. That felt good.

    Now then, because of that a territory without owner was formed, but it also couldn¡¯t be left alone like that.

    It was also difficult to quickly find someone for managing a territory with a size at the level of a count house. Anyone would be troubled if they were asked to take such responsibility so suddenly.

    Even the kingdom itself was troubled, and in the first ce the kingdom had confiscated the assets of Offley House.

    Only the territory remained. And that territory was a floating ind with a tricky state.

    There the kingdom decided to ce a new feudal lord there.

    I was the one who rendered a distinguished service in the case this time, but I was still a student.

    And so the one who got selected for the position was my big brother Nix.

    That sounded simple when I said it like that, but that was because I omitted just how many discussions there were that were carried out between the adults.

    Because it was a long and boring story.

    The kingdom also desired the territory of the count house, but more than that they wanted to grasp the territory of Marie(¥Þ¥ê¥¨)¡¯s family, the Rafan(¥é©`¥Õ¥¡¥ó) viscount house that was located in the maind.

    Marie¡¯s house was also ended up crushed, but the territory of Rafan viscount house was located on the maind.

    Its value was different from a floating ind.

    The kingdom chose to put the territory on the maind under their direct control rather than the floating ind.

    As the result, Nix ended up as the head of the count house.

    ¡¸I©¤©¤I! I didn¡¯t really study how to manage a territory in the academy! I also have no noble acquaintance of the same rank and age! Even though just establishing a new house is already really hard, I myself am a greenhorn. There¡¯s no way I can be a count!¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s what Dorethea(¥É¥í¥Æ¥¢)-san is for right? Ah, sorry, I mean Dorothea-<ruby>onee-san<rt>sister-inw</rt></ruby>.¡¹

    ¡¸That Dorothea is also too much for me!¡¹

    I introduced the house of Count Rosede(¥í©`¥º¥Ö¥ì¥¤¥É) to Nix in order to help him with his current situation.

    It was a known prestigious family even among all the prestigious families in Hohlfahrt(¥Û¥ë¥Õ¥¡©`¥È) Kingdom.

    Their eldest daughter Dorethea-oneesan was someone with a slightly strong peculiarity, but she was a real beauty.

    Nix was holding his head looking like he was at his wits¡¯ end.

    ¡¸She would say things like wanting to tie me or wanting to get tied©¤©¤I don¡¯t have that kind of hobby! I would be fine with a rxed rtionship like father and mother!¡¹

    ¡¸She is beautiful so it¡¯s fine isn¡¯t it? She also got big breasts.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not going to choose my marriage partner based on the size of their breasts like you!¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t hold back myself at those words.

    He said I¡¯m choosing my marriage partner based on their breasts size?

    I couldn¡¯t forgive that mistake even though he was my brother.

    ¡¸Take those words back! Marie has no breast! Don¡¯t talk like I¡¯m fixated with breasts size after I chose that Marie! Big or small, that¡¯s not the problem! There is no problem at all!¡¹

    The door¡¯s room opened while we brothers were arguing.

    From there©¤©¤the happy looking Dorothea-oneesan and©¤©¤Marie whose face was like a Noh mask appeared.

    Dorothea-oneesan was waving her hand at Nix with a smile.

    ¡¸I found you honey. We came to the academy today to scout the third year students. It¡¯s not for you to y around with your little brother.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t believe that Nix was called ¡®honey¡¯.

    I almost burst intoughter but I held it down. Nix¡¯s angry re stabbed into me.

    Dorothea-oneesan entered into the room and smiled toward me.

    ¡¸Leon-kun, you mustn¡¯t bully honey.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not bullying him. I¡¯m just teasing him because he kept boasting about his love life.¡¹

    When I said that with a serious face, it seemed that my feeling went through.

    Dorothea-oneesan pped Nix¡¯s back.

    ¡¸Oh honey, really! So you wanted to brag to Leon-kun.¡¹

    Nix¡¯s face that was looking at me was dreadful.

    Rage, hatred©¤©¤such emotions were blending in that face.

    I couldn¡¯t help but making a simr expression to ask him whether I was really deserving to be looked at with such negative emotions.

    Nothing would begin if I dealt with hatred using hatred.

    I sent off Nix with a smile.

    ¡¸Do your best big bro!¡¹

    Nix¡¯s hand was grabbed by Dorothea-oneesan and then he said to me with a small voice while getting dragged out.

    ¡¸You¡¯re the only one who I absolutely won¡¯t forgive.¡¹

    ©¤©¤It felt like there was a genuine hatred in that voice, but surely it was just my imagination.

    Because we brothers were intimate with each other.

    Obviously he was just joking.

    ¡¸Now honey, let¡¯s go. We need to scout six people at least.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yes.¡¹

    Dorothea-oneesan brought away Nix whose head was hanging down.

    It felt like there was grief drifting from his back, but surely it was just my imagination.

    Good grief, what was he so dissatisfied about from having such beautiful and big breasted wife? What¡¯s more she was really devoted to him.

    ©¤©¤Well, if it was me I¡¯d decline though.

    When it was just the two of us inside the room, I looked at Marie who was standing there expressionlessly.

    ¡¸And, what¡¯s your business here?¡¹

    Marie briskly walked toward me and then she kicked my butt.

    It wasn¡¯t a girl¡¯s kick.

    Sheunched a sharp kick like a martial artist.

    ¡¸Ouch!¡¹

    No, it was really painful!? The pain resounded heavily until the core of my body.

    This girl, wasn¡¯t her power umon even though her body was small!/

    Marie¡¯s face became like hannya.

    ¡¸Whose breasts are you calling nonexistent!? You¡¯ve never even seen my breasts before!¡¹

    Looks like she was seriously angry.

    I was backing away against Marie¡¯s pressure.

    ¡¸B-but it¡¯s true that you¡¯re©¤©¤ah, I¡¯m lying. If I¡¯m asked whether you have them or not©¤©¤perhaps you have them, a bit?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be so obsessed with just some lumps of fat!¡¹

    ¡¸Woman¡¯s breasts are stuffed with dream and hope! ©¤©¤I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t say anything more, so please don¡¯t make fighting stance like that. It¡¯s really painful so don¡¯t hit me.¡¹

    Marie was seriously starting to shadow boxing, so I surrendered.

    This girl¡¯s fist was heavy. Very heavy.

    Her punch could send even a man flying.

    She had a might that would echo until your bone.

    Marie clicked her tongue.

    ¡¸Even though I¡¯m tired from showing <ruby>Onee-san<rt>sister-inw</rt></ruby> around since the morning.¡¹

    ¡¸So it¡¯s you who brought Dorothea-oneesan to this room huh.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Even so, that person too©¤©¤she is amazing as usual.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yeah. After all she is someone who did something like exchanging cor for real.¡¹

    I recalled the spring break.

    The marriage ceremony of Nix and Dorothea-oneesan©¤©¤was held with only kin attending it due to a strong wish from Rosede House.

    They also held public unveiling and marriage ceremony officially, but we were requested for an unofficial ceremony©¤©¤a ceremony where only rtives were participating to be held no matter what.

    The count house was begging at us even though our house¡¯s status was lower.

    <i>Please, let us hold the unofficial marriage ceremony within just the family! </i>They asked.

    The reason?

    ©¤©¤Because Dorothea-oneesan wished to exchange cors instead of exchanging rings between the husband and wife.

    She absolutely wouldn¡¯t give up that wish even when others told her to stop it.

    Dorothea-san only reluctantly gave up when they said that they would hold an unofficial ceremony in exchange of her restraining herself in the official ceremony.

    She said that she wanted their marriage to be one where they would tie each other©¤©¤it was amazing.

    Of course only rtives who knew the situation could participate in that ceremony.

    Both Marie and me were put off.

    It would be hard for Nix from here on.

    ¡¸Rather than that, I think that her words of love toward <ruby>Onii-san<rt>brother-inw</rt></ruby> were too heavy. It doesn¡¯t matter even if we are reborn to be different people, I will find you so that we can be tied together again. That¡¯s heavy. It¡¯s feel too heavy for me especially knowing that reincarnation is real. ©¤©¤That person, perhaps she will really manage it?¡¹

    We were reincarnators.

    Dorothea-oneesan¡¯s speech sounded strangely vivid to us and made us turned pale.

    <i>It doesn¡¯t matter how many times you are reborn, I won¡¯t let you get away</i>©¤©¤her words sounded like that.

    Nix felt slightly pitiful when we thought that.

    But this was something necessary.

    I was forcing it a bit too much in order to save Marie, so to make up for it a sacrifice was necessary.

    That sacrifice was Nix.

    Well, even Nix himself became sessful in life and even obtained a beautiful bride because of it so there was no problem.

    This was a necessary sacrifice. And it also a really good offer for Nix.

    It was a win-win.

    This is a request from your cute little brother, so forgive me okay©¤©¤Onii-chan.

    ¡¸Then, you came to the male dormitory just to show Onee-san around?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, that¡¯s not all. Is Luxion(¥ë¥¯¥·¥ª¥ó) here?¡¹

    When Marie called, Luxion suddenly appeared from empty air.

    He was hiding with optical camouge.

    ¡ºDo you call?¡»

    I joined my hands behind my head.

    ¡¸Your business isn¡¯t with me but with Luxion? What is it this time? If it¡¯s because you have used up all of your money again, should I ask this guy to prepare some counterfeit money for you?¡¹

    Luxion took my joke seriously.

    ¡ºPlease leave it to me. I shall prepare some paper money with even better quality than the real thing.¡»

    <i>That¡¯ll be apletely different thing then</i>, but before I could say that Marie got angry.

    ¡¸When did I ever ask for counterfeit money huh! How are you two usually seeing me!? That¡¯s not it, both of us are second years already! Y-you know, soon, there will be many events going on.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~, events huh.¡¹

    The story in that otome game would start progressing for real from the second years.

    The middle stage of the game mainly would be war with Fanoss(¥Õ¥¡¥ó¥ª©`¥¹) Principality.

    Marie was concerned by that.

    ¡¸Remember, the war in that otome game was really difficult wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸The developer was a demon. It was so hard I could feel the malice.¡¹

    Even thinking back now, it was a horrible game.

    It was hard to even clear it without using paid item. The bnce of the game was too weird.

    Even though no one was looking for difficult battle gamey from an otome game. Just what was the developer thinking?

    ¡¸Right now things are going just like the scenario, but as expected I¡¯m worried about the development from here on.¡¹

    If the main character Olivia(¥ª¥ê¥ô¥£¥¢)-san lost©¤©¤it would be game over.

    That would be troubling for me too.

    ording to Marie, that otome game even had a sequel.

    Olivia-san would also appear there. So we wished to avoid her dying.

    Also it would feel unpleasant if an acquaintance died.

    Luxion spoke while we were feeling troubled.

    ¡ºI have always been thinking this when listening to the story of you two©¤©¤is the situation going to be so terminal that they will send students into war?¡»

    In the war with the principality, many students would also get involved in it including Olivia-san and his highness Julius(¥æ¥ê¥¦¥¹).

    And then they would also participate in the final decisive battle but©¤©¤certainly, was Hohlfahrt Kingdom really alright as a country when they needed to recruit even the students for war?

    Marie didn¡¯t really get it.

    ¡¸What do you mean by terminal? They won the war at the end.¡¹

    I was exasperated by Marie¡¯s answer.

    ¡¸You, didn¡¯t you learn at school©¤©¤at the previous life? What kind of country would send even high school students into war?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah!?¡¹

    It seemed Marie understood it as mere knowledge, but she didn¡¯t really get it for real until now.

    As a story, the great efforts of the youths would look beautiful.

    There were also a lot of stories about the great efforts of students at our previous life.

    But, when you thought about it realistically©¤©¤didn¡¯t that mean that the adults of Hohlfahrt Kingdom were unreliable?

    Even though they won the war, it was only just barely.

    The postwar situation was too scary to think about.

    ¡¸Th-then, the story of that game©¤©¤is really bad isn¡¯t it!?¡¹

    Marie also got panicked, but let¡¯s first confirm the flow of the situation from the beginning.

    First, before the principality dered war, the movement of the sky pirates inside the country was bing more active.

    While the army was busily moving around, the academy¡¯s students also encountered sky pirate in their extracurricr lesson.

    There the students won.

    After that, they learned the existence of Offley House that was manipting the sky pirates behind the scene. The main character borrowed the strength of Julius and other capture targets and repulsed the enemy.

    However it came to light that Fanoss Principality was behind this. The students became involved even deeper with the war.

    Fanoss Principality made use of Count Offley to destroy Hohlfahrt Kingdom from within.

    The problem here was Offley house that I defeated when rescuing Marie before this.

    I defeated that house.

    And then the sky pirates©¤©¤were also defeated by me.

    I crushed the important factors that were rted with the second year events.

    That was why the events also got crushed.

    ¡¸Now there is no more air pirate rampaging within the country. The Offley House is also gone.¡¹

    Marie also agreed with my statement and looked uneasy about the future.

    ¡¸That¡¯s the situation. What¡¯s left, is only Fanoss Principality that was acting behind the scene. But, they will start moving for real at the third year.¡¹

    In that case, we would get busy when we were third year.

    We would start preparing from now©¤©¤just when our thought reached to that point, Luxion spoke in exasperation toward us.

    ¡ºIf the mastermind is already clear, then won¡¯t it be better to deal with them ahead of time?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Not a bad idea.¡¹

    It didn¡¯t feel right to take action against the principality that wasn¡¯t doing anything at the present stage, but I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to act if it was for the sake of my peace of mind.

    Marie pped her hands and made an expression of someone who got a sh of idea.

    ¡¸Yeah! If we defeat Fanoss Principality ahead of time then the war also won¡¯t happen!¡¹

    ¡ºYes. Then, I¡¯ll immediately©¤©¤sink down the territory of Fanoss Principality.¡»

    Marie froze at Luxion¡¯s statement.

    I warned him for his joke that wasn¡¯t reading the mood.

    ¡¸Read the mood more, you annihtion maniac bastard. That doesn¡¯t sound like a joke.¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m serious though?¡»

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡ºIt will remove any potential future trouble if the whole country is sunken down.¡»

    T-this guy, he¡¯s really a dangerous AI.

    The idea of sinking the whole country in order to avoid war was crazy.

    ¡¸Idiot! Why do we have tomit genocide huh! Countless people are going to die if the principality¡¯s floating ind got sunken down!¡¹

    ¡ºI won¡¯t be troubled no matter how many new mankind die. Rather it¡¯s going to be a weigh off my shoulder.¡»

    This guy is really©¤©¤.

    ¡¸This is an order. Don¡¯t sink down any floating ind.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Roger.¡»

    This damn AI, he replied with a reluctant tone.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to avoid war as peacefully as possible. With that in mind©¤©¤it¡¯ll be important to make the principality want to avoid war.¡¹

    Fanoss Principality¡¯s objective was to sink the continent where the kingdom existed into the sea.

    They possessed the trump card to make that into reality.

    If we stole or destroyed it first©¤©¤the principality would lose their trump card and became unable to achieve their objective.

    Marie looked relieved while I was thinking about from here on.

    ¡¸It¡¯s reassuring that you¡¯re holding Luxion¡¯s leash tightly. If the wrong person got him, they might get cajoled by this guy instead and make a great mess.¡¹

    ¡ºNew mankind will never be my master. If such situation ur, I will self-explode.¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re extreme. Setting that aside, recently the atmosphere of the academy is bad isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Marie looked relieved knowing that we would manage the war somehow. I made a small talk with her.

    ¡¸Atmosphere? Ah, because the girls are feeling scared right now.¡¹

    The atmosphere of the academy had changed since the end of the first year.

    His highness Julius and other capture targets made the girls who bullied Olivia-san got expulsed.

    It didn¡¯t end there. The students who were involved got punished regardless of the degree of their involvement.

    The five capture targets werepeting with each other to find the involved students and asked them to be punished. A lot of noble sons and daughters got driven out from the academy.

    In the end, even students who were speaking ill about Olivia-san behind her back because of hermoner status would get found out and condemned by the five©¤©¤the atmosphere of the academy was the worst.

    Certainly in the game there was also a development of the students who bullied Olivia-san getting punished.

    But I didn¡¯t think it would go this far.

    However, thinking carefully this was also a natural progression.

    The five capture targets were people who would shoulder this country in the future.

    Anyone who drew the ire of those five©¤©¤not only they would get expulsion, their life would also be over.

    ©¤©¤In the game, the punishment of the students who bullied the main character only got mentioned briefly in passing, but it was this graphic in reality.

    And then the problem was Olivia-san who had captured the heart of those five.

    ¡¸I rarely caught sight of Olivia-san recently, but I wonder if she is doing alright? I¡¯m worried that those students will resent her because of this situation, and perhaps the person herself is also troubled by this situation? Those five too, I wish they would be more considerate to their surrounding. Recently the atmosphere is turning gloomy. It¡¯s ufortable here.¡¹

    When I caught sight of Olivia-san previously, I got the impression that she was a honest and kind girl.

    Marie pouted slightly seeing me feeling concern for Olivia-san.

    ¡¸You know, I heard that Olivia is sneaking away from the academy sometimes. Also, it¡¯s not just Olivia and those five¡¯s fault that the atmosphere in the academy is bad.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s Angelica(¥¢¥ó¥¸¥§¥ê¥«). The girls who got cornered by his highness and others sought help from Angelica. Because of that the rtionship between his highness and Angelica also turned bad. The tension between students is rising. Well, it¡¯s unrted with us students of low standing though.¡¹

    Was Angelica-san covering for the cornered students?

    It seemed that she got into confrontation with those five because of that.

    Well, she was Olivia-san¡¯s enemy in the game, so of course they would be in confrontation but©¤©¤it wasplicated when seeing it in reality.

    Here she looked like she was protecting the cornered students.

    Besides, Angelica-san¡¯s had her position as a youngdy of duke house©¤©¤she had the role as the leader of the students.

    Perhaps it couldn¡¯t be helped that the people around her were relying on her?

    Although it wasn¡¯t something that was directly affecting mobs like us.

    We couldn¡¯t get close to Angelica-san, we also couldn¡¯t get close to Olivia-san who was protected by those five.

    His highness and the others were on guard. They wouldn¡¯t let anyone whether man or woman got near Olivia-san.

    If the story was progressing well then we also didn¡¯t have any reason to get closer, so we wouldn¡¯t.

    As the result, now we were only listening to the rumors from afar at best.

    Even so, game and reality were really different from each other huh.

    ¡¸Well, we¡¯ll just worry about dealing with the principality somehow.¡¹

    The story was at least progressing well, so I switched my feeling to think that it would be fine if we just gave some support as necessaryter.

    Marie put her hands on her waist and sighed.

    ¡¸I thought I would be able to watch the story unfold from nearby, but this is the reality of the situation. We can only listen to the rumors even though we are in the same academy.¡¹

    ¡¸This is just fine for mobs like us. It¡¯s too presumptuous to think that we¡¯ll be able to get involved with the main casts.¡¹

    ¡¸You don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re speaking your true feeling though? Besides, we got involved before this.¡¹

    ¡¸That was only because of an emergency.¡¹

    Luxion apparently didn¡¯t like my wording.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s what they called being indecisive.¡»

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    In a corridor of the academy.

    Few people were passing through here at the evening.

    Julius and Olivia were walking together there happily.

    The two had just returned from outside the academy. They were talking excitedly about today.

    ¡¸Julius really like meat skewer.¡¹

    Julius replied to the smiling Olivia with a bright smile.

    ¡¸I like it! It¡¯s simplicity is great, but even more than that it¡¯s the best how it doesn¡¯t care of manner. Even so Olivia, you also looked like you enjoyed it.¡¹

    ¡¸I prefer a slightly informal setting when having meal rather than a stiff and formal one.¡¹

    ¡¸Me too. The pce is too fastidious about a lot of things. There are too many pointless things because they¡¯re putting empathize to the ceremony and the etiquette too much.¡¹

    Julius felt like everything of him was epted when he was together with Olivia.

    She wouldn¡¯t nag him with things like how it wasn¡¯t appropriate for a prince.

    Besides it was fun being together with her.

    ¡¸Olivia, if you don¡¯t mind©¤©¤¡¹

    <i>Stay together with me forever, </i>Julius was about to continue with that, but from the corridor ahead Angelica came with a quick pace and talked to him.

    Her expression was grave. Julius was fed up seeing that expression.

    It spoiled his pleasant mood.

    ¡¸Your highness! Just what are you thinking, expelling the daughter of Count Neville like that!¡¹

    Seeing Angelica¡¯s expression that was bing even sterner day by day, it made Julius realized that his feeling toward her hadpletely cooled down.

    Recently he was thinking unpleasant thought about Angelica even more than before.

    He unconsciously stood in front of Olivia to protect her and narrowed his eyes.

    ¡¸That girl spoke ill about Olivia behind her back. She even gathered some students and nned to ambush her at night wasn¡¯t she?¡¹

    Angelica was protecting such female student.

    ¡¸Can¡¯t you overlook it as a joke!? Certainly, I admit that she went too far. But, she just needs to be reprimanded, how does it be a talk about expulsion? Besides when I asked her there is nothing about this ambush nning! She came crying to me about her innocence!¡¹

    Angelica¡¯s argument was irritating.

    Julius decided that she was just epting the excuse of a noble daughter without questioning it and he silently let out his anger.

    ¡¸Reprimand you say? Angelica, is it as I thought that you¡¯re looking down onmoner? Besides, are you seriously telling me to ept the situation just by listening on one side¡¯s argument?¡¹

    ¡¸Wh-what are you©¤©¤¡¹

    Julius became convinced when he saw Angelica getting flustered.

    When he turned to look at Olivia behind him, she was scared against Angelica.

    She was casting her eyes down sorrowfully with her shoulders hunched down.

    That act stimted his desire to protect her. It stirred up Julius¡¯s heart.

    ¡¸Julius, it¡¯s alright. Even if the like of me am killed, the noble¡¯s reaction will be like this at most. But, even so©¤©¤if I can just stay at Julius¡¯s side¡¹

    Angelica got enraged by the pitiful look that Angelica showed.

    ¡¸You! What kind of lie have you told his highness! You deceived his highness¡¯s heart©¤©¤¡¹

    Julius¡¯s hand stopped Angelica who was trying to question Olivia.

    ¡¸Stop!¡¹

    ¡¸Y-your highness? Why. Why won¡¯t you listen to me!? Count Neville is enraged by the matter this time. He even proimed to father that he is leaving his highness¡¯s faction. Count Neville is an important member in your highness¡¯s fa©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Enough already.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Julius was fed up.

    His pleasant mood until just now had been spoiled. He took Olivia¡¯s hand and started walking while ignoring Angelica.

    ¡¸Your highness!¡¹

    Angelica called out to him, but Julius didn¡¯t even turn toward her and spoke.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care about factional dispute between nobles! Don¡¯t drag Olivia into something like that.¡¹

    Angelica bit her lower lip and looked down.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Why won¡¯t your highness understand, that faction will be indispensable for your highness¡¯s rule¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    ¡¸Ahahaha! It¡¯s really refreshing to make that girl who has the blood of Hohlfahrt flowing inside her looking frustrated like that!¡¹

    In a small mansion that was built near the student dormitory.

    It was the exclusive lodging house for Olivia.

    It was something that Julius and others prepared for her. Although it was small, the construction was solid and the furniture was also extravagant.

    Olivia was taking a bath inside that mansion.

    She was washing her body thoroughly.

    ¡¸It¡¯s nice to have flesh and blood like this. It makes the feeling of interacting with the world more real.¡¹

    It had been a long time since she had a flesh body.

    The female grudge that was once called the saint had stolen Olivia¡¯s body.

    But, the body¡¯s condition would sometimes turn bad.

    Her arm was numb and wouldn¡¯t move.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll still take time until I¡¯m fully adapting to this body.¡¹

    Her right hand was moving to grab her neck.

    That was the resistance of Olivia whose body was hijacked.

    ¡¸Olivia©¤©¤you¡¯re still resisting? You¡¯re a strong child. But, I have been waiting for this time for all this time. I¡¯ll have you go along with this until I aplished Liia(¥ê©`¥¢) and my revenge.¡¹

    The right arm was gradually stopping to move. Olivia stood up.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Now then, the progress with breaking up Julius faction is going well. The talk with this country¡¯s traitors is also advancing nicely. I¡¯ll let them y around for a bit more.¡¹

    Olivia looked up to the ceiling and smiled mysteriously.

    ¡¸Now then, I guess I¡¯ll y an act.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    At the pce of Fanoss Principality.

    We were sneaking into the pce that wascking a king deep at night, sneaking into the treasure warehouse.

    ¡¸Which one is the magic flute?¡¹

    Magic flute©¤©¤it was the key item that summoned thest boss in the first and third game.

    It wasn¡¯t an item that the main character possessed, so its function was unknown, but it would materialize monsters when the princesses of the principality yed it. They also could control those monsters.

    It was the extremely troublesome trump card of the principality.

    Marie was sneaking in together with me, but her eyes were sparkling seeing the treasures inside the warehouse.

    ¡¸Look at that Leon! This essory is amazing. I wonder how much it will sold for?¡¹

    Seeing the numerous essories that were fitting for princess to wear, she was thinking of how much they would sell rather than how she would look wearing them.

    Even though just a little while ago she was a woman who yearned to be a princess and aimed to marry rich and powerful men.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t steal them okay?¡¹

    ¡¸I won¡¯t! More importantly, I¡¯m amazed we can sneak in this easily.¡¹

    The reason for that was Luxion.

    Luxion who was monitoring the surrounding answered Marie¡¯s question.

    ¡ºAfter master heard about ¡°that otome game¡¯s sequels¡±, he finally ordered me to investigate the neighboring countries after thiste. The area that needed to be investigated is vast and it took a lot of time, but it¡¯s easy to obtain simple information like how to sneak into a pce.¡»

    ¡¸You really can do anything.¡¹

    ¡ºYes. After all I¡¯m outstanding.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤You¡¯re really overconfident.¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m only stating the fact. The items that seem to be the magic flutes are always stored separately. The one here is only one of the two.¡»

    There were two magic flutes that could summonst boss.

    I thought there was only one magic flute. I didn¡¯t know that Heltrude(¥Ø¥ë¥È¥ë©`¥Ç) had a sister.

    I was shocked when I heard from Marie that game had sequels.

    There was no way we could just ignore this, so I had Luxion investigating.

    Marie found a flute that was ced on the most extravagant stand.

    ¡¸I found it! This must be it! I think the flute has this kind of shape!¡¹

    ¡ºAh, that one is a fake.¡»

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    ¡ºThe real thing is hidden. The mechanism is this way©¤©¤¡»

    Marie and I moved the mechanism inside the treasure warehouse and found the magic flute.

    ¡¸Found it.¡¹

    ¡¸To think they prepared a fake. They¡¯re really cautious.¡¹

    We found a ck and thorny flute and reached toward it.

    However Luxion got in the way.

    ¡ºPlease don¡¯t reach out so carelessly. There is another mechanism. If that mechanism is triggered, a trap that prevents the flute from getting taken away will activate.¡»

    ¡¸What a strict security.¡¹

    We deactivated the mechanism and collected the magic flute. Even so, this flute really looked ominous.

    Marie tilted her head while looking at the magic flute.

    ¡¸What¡¯re we going to do with this?¡¹

    It would be safer to destroy it but©¤©¤we didn¡¯t know what would happen after we destroyed it.

    If we destroyed it carelessly, the sealed giant monster was liberated! What were we going to do if it had that kind of development? It was scary, so we decided to bring back the magic flute.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s take it home and have Luxion research it.¡¹

    ¡¸Hm~. Ah, that¡¯s right. You also researched the saint¡¯s ne before this right? What happened with it?¡¹

    The saint¡¯s ne that I obtained was apparently possessed by some kind of suspicious existence.

    Luxion caught it and he was in the middle of researching it right now.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s actually an interesting existence, so I¡¯m still continuing to research it even now. Well then, just in case please store that magic flute in this case. It won¡¯t be able to taken out so easily if it¡¯s put in here.¡»

    We put the magic flute inside an attach¨¦ case and started moving.

    There were soldiers and knights patrolling inside the pce.

    But, the route that they were patrolling©¤©¤the area where the security was light.

    Luxion was monitoring them all in real time, so we arrived to the next destination without encountering any enemy.

    That ce©¤©¤was the bedroom of the second princess, Hertrauuda(¥Ø¥ë¥È¥é¥¦¥À).

    There were knights standing guard in front of her room.

    I aimed a handgun with silencer attached at those knights.

    ¡¸Sleep for a bit. It¡¯ll end soon.¡¹

    *Pshew*, such sound sounded out several times.

    The knights that were shot moved their hands toward their weapon in surprise due to the sudden pain©¤©¤but their eyes rolled back and then they copsed.

    Luxion hurried me up.

    ¡ºThere is only thirty minutes until the next shift of knightse. Please hurry.¡»

    I understood that but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸It feels a bit awkward to enter a girl¡¯s room. Marie, you go inside.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa!? Why do I have to do something so dangerous? You go inside!¡¹

    ©¤©¤I entered inside her highness Hertrauuda¡¯s room with Marie pulling my hand.

    There were several females inside, but I immediately made them fell asleep with the tranquilizer gun.

    Luxion immediately scanned the inside of the room.

    ¡ºFound it.¡»

    He moved the mechanism inside the room. Then the picture that was hanged on the wall slid aside and a safe appeared.

    Marie approached the safe before looking at Luxion.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the password?¡¹

    ¡ºThe dial over there is a fake. The way to open it is©¤©¤¡»

    We followed Luxion¡¯s instruction and opened the safe. Then Marie took out the magic flute from inside.

    ¡¸Second flute get~!¡¹

    Marie said that with a small voice and put the magic flute inside a second case.

    With this the principality had lost their trump card. We had surely taken a big step toward avoiding the war.

    We looked at each other¡¯s face before moving to escape immediately©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Who? Father? Mother?¡¹

    ©¤©¤His highness Hertrauuda woke up.

    I immediately aimed the tranquilizer gun toward her highness, but Marie stopped me.

    ¡¸Stupid! She is still a kid!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re the idiot!¡¹

    Fortunately we were dressed in all ck.

    We were also hiding our face.

    But it was bad that our figure was seen.

    Our voice was also heard.

    His highness Hertrauuda was gradually waking up before I could have her fell asleep again.

    Her eyes snapped open seeing the wall opened and the maids lying on the floor.

    ¡¸Wh-who send the two of©¤©¤¡¹

    She was about to yell, so Marie immediately covered her mouth.

    ¡¸Hey, your voice is too loud! People woulde!¡¹

    She talked loudly for that you know?

    While I was thinking about what to do now, Luxion talked to me with a small voice.

    ¡ºI¡¯ve made it so that no sound wille out of this room. Master, if you want to settle this peacefully©¤©¤¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Haa? Is it alright doing that?¡¹

    ¡ºYes.¡»

    I listened to Luxion¡¯s advice and felt a bit worried if it would be really alright to do as he said but©¤©¤there was no time to hesitate so I followed his advice.

    The princess had long and straight ck hair, and strong-willed red eyes.

    She was almost as tall as Marie, but the difference between them wasn¡¯t just their hair and eye color.

    Even though she should be younger than Marie, her breasts were more splendid than Marie¡¯s.

    Growth was really cruel.

    I kept the tranquilizer gun pointed at her as a threat while approaching her highness Hertrauuda.

    Her highness had tears in her eyes, but she was ring at me.

    ¡¸Oi, take off your hand.¡¹

    ¡¸I-is it alright?¡¹

    ¡¸There is something I got to tell her.¡¹

    When Marie took off her hand, her highness Hertrauuda screamed.

    ¡¸Thief! Isn¡¯t there anyone outside!?¡¹

    Nobody came no matter how loud she yelled.

    Her highness calmed down slightly after realizing that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Looks like the soldiers outside are defeated.¡¹

    ¡¸They were really weak. The soldiers of the principality are really low quality.¡¹

    Her highness red fiercely at me. I told her a hint that was close to the truth.

    ¡¸We¡¯re taking the magic flute. With this the principality has lost their trump card against the kingdom.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Looks like it.¡¹

    She averted her gaze from me.

    She must be feeling relieved that there was still one more magic flute.

    ¡¸We have also taken away the one in the treasure warehouse. Not the exaggeratedly decorated fake, we have found the real one that was hidden.¡¹

    Her shoulders moved just slightly.

    It looked like I managed to shaken her.

    Marie watched our exchange attentively.

    ¡¸Are you mortified?¡¹

    ¡¸Not really. Just kill me if you want to kill me. But, you will surely receive the retribution for this.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What a pitiful child. You don¡¯t even notice that you¡¯re just an ignorant puppet whose string is manipted by others.¡¹

    ¡¸What did you say?¡¹

    ¡¸If you want to know the truth then ask the old man in charge of the library. Tell him you want to learn the true history. Ask that old man and not anyone else. You two have many enemies inside this pce.¡¹

    I led Marie outside the room while keeping my gun trained on her.

    And then I broke out into a run at full speed after the door was closed.

    Marie also followed close behind me.

    ¡¸Wait, what were you talking about there!? I never hear anything about it!¡¹

    ¡¸I also don¡¯t know anything! I only said that because Luxion told me to!¡¹

    ¡ºIf Hertrauuda take action with this, then master will get a step closer toward the peaceful slow life that master mentioned.¡»

    ¡¸Is that really true!? I don¡¯t want to do this kind of phantom thief y anymore you know!?¡¹

    We desperately ran and got on the airbike that was hidden at the pce¡¯s courtyard before making our escape.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    The next day.

    Government officials were rushing into Hertrauuda¡¯s room.

    The officials who were specialized in investigation used magic and tool to search for any trace of the intruders.

    But they didn¡¯t find anything and were at their wits¡¯ end.

    ¡¸Just who in the world infiltrated here?¡¹

    ¡¸Is it the kingdom?¡¹

    ¡¸No one noticed the infiltration, not the knights or the maids©¤©¤¡¹

    Rauda was watching that going on. Beside her was Count Garrett(¥²¥é¥Ã¥È).

    He was gently twirling the moustache he was proud of, but the attitude he showed to Hertrauda was harsh.

    ¡¸Your highness, this is a great blunder. To think that you couldn¡¯t do anything except watching the magic flute getting stolen.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I have no excuse.¡¹

    ¡¸Naturally. The magic flutes are this country¡¯s treasure. Your highnesses are qualified to be the sessor only because you two have the aptitude for the magic flutes. And yet those magic flutes are stolen. Do you know what will happen now?¡¹

    This man, even though he was a retainer but he was acting really haughty.

    He didn¡¯t have any respect toward the royal family.

    Hertrude(¥Ø¥ë¥È¥ë©`¥Ç) couldn¡¯t bear watching Garrett¡¯s attitude and approached.

    ¡¸Are you saying that there is something Rauda can do against someone who the knights were helpless against? Garrett, let Hertrauda rest already.¡¹

    Garrett looked dissatisfied.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t do that. We have to gather information about these thieves immediately. Her highness Hertrauda is the only witness of this theft. She can rest after the investigation is finished.¡¹

    ¡¸Garrett!¡¹

    Hertrude was enraged. It was there a huge man arrived.

    When that man who was past middle-aged and wearing armor came, Garrett showed a timid attitude.

    ¡¸I-isn¡¯t this ck knight-dono.¡¹

    ¡¸Her highness Hertrauda is tired. She need rest, is there any problem with that?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? ©¤©¤Y-yes! Of course there isn¡¯t.¡¹

    Pressured by the ck knight, Garrett reluctantly withdrew.

    Rauda recalled the words of the intruders after seeing this.

    (There are enemies inside this ce, huh.)

    Rauda headed to the library that evening in order to investigate, just in case.

    (With thismotion, perhaps I can even give the knights who usually guarded me a slip.)

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Rauda made use of themotion to be alone. She followed what the intruders said and talked to the old man in charge of the library. She told him that she wanted to know the truth.

    The old man looked surprised. At first he refused.

    But when Rauda asked her the second time, he said ¡¸Originally I was ordered to dispose of them¡¹ and brought several books to her.

    Those were very old books.

    Rauda was surprised after reading them.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What is this¡¹

    Written in those books was the history between the kingdom and the principality.

    It told her something different from what she knew.

    Even though until now she had been taught that the kingdom was the root of all evil, the history book wrote that the cause was actually the principality.

    The old man spoke to the shocked Rauda.

    ¡¸After thete king and queen died, I was given the order to destroy these books. But these books have historical value, so I can¡¯t bring myself to carry out that order.¡¹

    Rauda was trembling.

    ¡¸Th-this is the fact? Are you saying that this is a fact!?¡¹

    The old man nodded.

    ¡¸It¡¯s also a fact that the kingdom attacked us twenty years ago. But, before that the principality was also rampaging in the kingdom doing the same thing©¤©¤¡¹

    Raida was flustered because it was different from what she was told until now.

    ¡¸Why. Why weren¡¯t we told this!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Your highness, forgive me.¡¹

    The old man kneeled and shed tears.

    ¡¸Right after both of you were born, thete king and queen who were in the peace faction were assassinated by the nobles of the pro-war faction.¡¹

    ¡¸Assa, sination?¡¹

    After that the old man talked about the open secret of the principality.

    The royal family at that time was thinking to broker peace with the kingdom.

    The pro-war faction was enraged by that. They assassinated the king and the queen.

    The left behind princesses were used by the pro-war faction as their puppets. That was the current situation.

    Rauda fell on her knees andughed while crying.

    ¡¸This is stupid! Then, we are actually©¤©¤w-wait. Then, what about Bandel(¥Ð¥ó¥Ç¥ë)? What about Onee-sama¡¯s guard Bandel? Those who approached us are the pro-war faction who betrayed Otou-sama and Okaa-sama isn¡¯t it!?¡¹

    The old man told her with a pained look.

    ¡¸Bandel-dono is©¤©¤not involved with the assassination. But, he is an authority within the pro-war faction since the past. I don¡¯t believe, that he doesn¡¯t know.¡¹

    Raida didn¡¯t know what to believe in anymore.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    I and Marie returned from Fanoss Principality. We came to the research room that was inside Luxion¡¯s main body.

    The analysis of the magic flutes was carried out there.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s surprising. This is a tool that was created after the old civilization was destroyed.¡»

    ¡¸What does that mean? It¡¯s not a tool from your era?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. I believe that there were several civilizations between our civilization and the current civilization where master is living in. This item came from one of those civilizations in between.¡»

    Marie was looking at the magic flute while listening to our conversation.

    ¡¸I get it now but, what¡¯s so surprising about it?¡¹

    ¡ºThat civilization finished a tool to control the monsters. I believe this tool make the monsters obey by forming magical contract with them. The catalyst used for that is the soul of the user.¡»

    ¡¸Eh!?¡¹

    Marie was shocked. She stepped away from the flute.

    I also quietly took a step back.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped, a tool that handled the soul was just scary.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s destroy it right away.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s useful so let¡¯s destroy it after analyzing it. But please rest assured. The user¡¯s soul won¡¯t be taken away just by ordering around the small fry monsters. At best the user will only feel tired mentally. But, the artificially created monster that is sealed by this magic flute is a different matter.¡»

    The magic flute was sealing a giant monster. By using the flute the user could freely summon it.

    What was troublesome was that even if that giant mobster was defeated, it could be summoned again right away.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s not urate to call it sealing. This magic flute is preserving the data that be the base of the giant monster. The user will use their soul to gather the magic element in the surrounding area and materialize the monster.¡»

    Marie didn¡¯t really get it, so she wanted to destroy it right away.

    ¡¸That¡¯s troublesome. So this flute can¡¯t be destroyed?¡¹

    ¡ºNo, if it¡¯s destroyed then it will break without any bad effect to the surrounding area. But the magic and science technology used to create this flute is valuable so I wish to continue analyzing it.¡»

    I didn¡¯t mind that as long as it wouldn¡¯t bring any trouble.

    ¡¸Just destroy it properlyter.¡¹

    ¡ºOf course.¡»

    Inside the research room there were also various other tools or creatures stored. It seemed Luxion gathered them here.

    There were even monsters among them.

    But even among them, there was one thing that was stored with specially rigorous containment©¤©¤it was a ck shadow that was sealed inside a spherical ss.

    The shadow had female silhouette, but it looked like it was struggling violently.

    ¡¸And, what is this thing?¡¹

    Marie also became curious when I pointed at it.

    ¡¸This woman, it feels like I have seen her somewhere©¤©¤I¡¯m not sure.¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s the existence that was possessing the ne. It¡¯s an astral body.¡»

    Isn¡¯t that something like ghost or specter?

    It was the first time I saw a real one after getting reincarnated into this fantasy world.

    But, it wasn¡¯t scary when seeing one imprisoned like this.

    ¡¸So this thing was possessing the saint¡¯s ne. What is it saying? It looks like it¡¯s struggling violently.¡¹

    ¡ºIts voice is cut off from reaching outside. I made it so that it can¡¯t see outside from inside there. It¡¯s making ruckus asking to be let out from there and won¡¯t answer my question at all©¤©¤so I keep experimenting on it.¡»

    Marie clung on my hand.

    ¡¸Leon, I think I¡¯m actually more scared against Luxion rather than the ghost.¡¹

    ¡¸What a coincidence. I also feel the same.¡¹

    ¡ºWhat rude people. I won¡¯t harm mankind.¡»

    This guy, he had the nerve to lie.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t lie. You tried to kill me when we first met!¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤That was an unfortunate miscalction.¡»

    Really, this guy.

    While I was thinking that, Marie noticed even more problem with Luxion.

    ¡¸Wait a second. The mankind that he said refer to the old mankind isn¡¯t it? This guy, is he perhaps not considering anyone else other than us as human?¡¹

    When I and Marie turned our gaze at Luxion©¤©¤he averted his red eye.

    ¡ºNow then, master and Marie are here, so let¡¯s try conversing with this ghost. Perhaps we will learn something.¡»

    Don¡¯t avoid the topic! I wanted to say that, but the ghost became able to see us and yelled loudly.

    ¡ºKill! I¡¯LL KILL YOU ALLLLL!!¡»

    Because the voice was too loud, Luxion lowered the sound¡¯s volume.

    ¡ºDon¡¯t be so noisy. I brought Marie here just like you asked. Please show me a different reaction.¡»

    When Luxion said that, two red eyes appeared on the ck shadow.

    It saw Marie and tried to leap at her©¤©¤but the ss blocked it and it couldn¡¯t approach further.

    ¡ºFound you. I found you, Marieee! You who descended from my bloodline. HAND OVER YOUR BODY TO MEEEEEEE!¡»

    The thing it said was too horrible.

    Besides, its appearance was also really scary.

    It looked like a real evil spirit.

    But Marie wasughing scornfully at it because it was imprisoned.

    ¡¸This thing really look like a fierce animal in zoo. In the first ce, isn¡¯t it just unreasonable asking someone else to hand over their body like that? Luxion, exterminate this thing.¡¹

    ¡ºI guess. I have also finished analyzing it. I judged that there won¡¯t be any problem with that.¡»

    The evil spirit howled in response to the two¡¯s conversation.

    ¡ºYou¡¯re calling yourself my descendant like that!? Don¡¯t you hate it, THIS HOHLFAHRTTTTTT!! I¡¯ll throw the descendants of those shitty bastards into hell, I am Liia¡¯s©¤©¤Li.....ia¡¯s......?¡»

    The evil spirit turned its gaze toward me.

    Its red sharp gaze turned round when it saw me.

    ¡¸O, oi, what is it. Why are you looking at me? Eh, could it be I¡¯m cursed?¡¹

    When I was about to back away in fear, the evil spirit swelled up and struggled even more violently.

    ¡ºLiia©¤©¤LIIAAAAAA!!¡»

    ¡¸Gyaaaa!!¡¹

    The intensity of the evil spirit that was trying to approach me©¤©¤it was really scary it made me wanted to cry.

    The spherical ss started cracking, so walls came down to iste the evil spirit.

    ¡¸Aa~, it was scary.¡¹

    Marie was chuckling seeing me like that.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that, even though you¡¯re a man. That¡¯s pathetic.¡¹

    ¡¸No, that was scary wasn¡¯t it!? Ghost is just in scary even for a man!¡¹

    ¡¸Hah! There are things even scarier than ghost in this world. Reality is far more scarier.¡¹

    It looked like there were things even scarier than ghost for Marie who had gone through a harsh life in her previous life.

    I criticized Luxion¡¯s blunder in order to hide my fear of ghost.

    ¡¸Oi, manage that thing properly. What¡¯re you going to do if it escape?¡¹

    ¡ºWhat astonishing power. Even so, it looked like it was reacting to master. Why does it react more intensely with master even though Marie who it kept asking for is here? Besides, it was yelling Liia after seeing master.¡»

    ¡¸How can I know! Aa~, it was scary. I¡¯ll go home for today and sleep.¡¹

    Let¡¯s finish my business in the bathroom quickly and then go to sleep fully covered in nket.

    Marie made fun of me.

    ¡¸Could it be you¡¯re scared? Like, you won¡¯t be able to go to toilet at midnight? Leon, you¡¯re cute~. Do you want to sleep together with me?¡¹

    This girl, how dare she made fun of me!

    ¡¸I¡¯m telling you I¡¯m not scared!¡¹

    ¡¸You look childish to get worked up like that.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Th-this girl, she was acting haughty just because she wasn¡¯t scared.

    Even so©¤©¤the saint¡¯s key item was cursed. Wasn¡¯t this something dangerous?

    Should I make Luxion investigate it?

    ¡¸Luxion, I have a little request.¡¹

    ¡ºWhat could it be?¡»

    ¡¸I want you to investigate the saint¡¯s items.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤It¡¯s possible but, I¡¯ll have to postpone it due to my current resource and priority matter. I¡¯m currently investigating this. My main body will also travel to the opposite side for a while, so I¡¯ll have to ask for a bit of more time for the investigation.¡»

    I made him investigated too many things. The amount of work that Luxion could do was reaching the limit.

    ¡¸I¡¯m also concerned about other countries. ©¤©¤But this matter is also important. Investigate it for me.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Understood. I will hurry as fast as I can.¡»

    His voice sounded a bit protesting, but was it just my imagination?

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    Inside the spherical ss.

    The first generation saint¡¯s grudge that was trapped inside looked like it was sitting down.

    ¡¸There is no doubt about it. That¡¯s Liia. How©¤©¤why?¡¹

    The grudge was weeping. It recalled how her descendant was standing beside him.

    ¡¸I see. He is together with that girl©¤©¤Marie. I see©¤©¤¡¹

    Its wish that didn¡¯te true during its lifetime had gone past eras and came to reality in this era.

    ¡¸Liia, I......I wanted to live and be together with you.¡¹

    The grudge kept crying and stayed obediently inside the ss like that.

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    Night.

    Olivia went out of the academy at night taking Julius and Jilk(¥¸¥ë¥¯) with her.

    ¡¸Both of you, thank you for apanying me shopping.¡¹

    Oliva smiled at them. The two of them got embarrassed.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t mind it. Just this much is nothing.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, that¡¯s right. Both his highness and I will always make time for Olivia-san no matter what.¡¹

    The two of them were foster brothers©¤©¤they were raised together since they were little and got along very well with each other.

    But they were conversing like rival in front of Olivia.

    ¡¸Thank you. But, didn¡¯t you have a n Jilk?¡¹

    Olivia was toying with these two.

    She aimed at the timing when Jilk had a n to invite him to go shopping.

    But Jilk didn¡¯t show any sign of noticing it.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s not an important business anyway.¡¹

    Jilk smiled. Julius sulked slightly seeing that and criticized him a bit.

    ¡¸Not an important business, huh. Certainly, talking with your fianc¨¦e must be just something trivial for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-your highness. You don¡¯t need to say something like that in front of Olivia-san.¡¹

    ¡¸How many times it has been with this? You should take time to be with her already.¡¹

    ¡¸Does your highness mean that I should refuse Olivia-san¡¯s invitation then? Unfortunately right now I¡¯m just a student. I don¡¯t want to be tied down by a family matter here, so I¡¯ll do as I want.¡¹

    This n that Jilk abandoned was a meeting with his fianc¨¦e ris(¥¯¥é¥ê¥¹).

    ris was concerned with the situation in the academy recently. She had asked Jilk to meet and talk several times saying that she had something important to talk about.

    Olivia©¤©¤invited Jilk every time that talk was going to be held and went out of the academy.

    And then Jilk was moving exactly as Olivia expected him to do.

    (So his awareness is only to this degree even after ignoring his worried fianc¨¦e several times. Even though there is no guarantee the other side will feel the same like what you expect them to do.)

    Olivia knew that the woman called ris had strong feeling.

    She genuinely loved Jilk.

    Olivia nned to tear the two of them apart, but Jilk himself didn¡¯t love ris from the beginning.

    Only that point was extremely disappointing.

    The three were intentionally walking on a street with few passerby.

    They were walking in this kind of ce because Olivia invited the two of them saying that this was a shortcut.

    (Now then, it¡¯s about time I guess.)

    Olivia showed a smile while feeling around the presences of the surrounding area©¤©¤and she found reactions just like she expected.

    Men wearing hooded robe appeared with weapon in hand.

    They appeared from both sides of the alley to pincer the three. Then they drew out their weapons.

    Julius and Jilk immediately took position to protect Olivia.

    ¡¸Who are you guys!¡¹

    Julius shouted, but the men weren¡¯t perturbed.

    Jilk took out a handgun from his chest holster and pointed it at the men.

    Then the gazes peeking out from the men¡¯s mask turned grave.

    Olivia was convinced.

    (See, they¡¯re baited.)

    One man yelled angrily at Olivia as the representative of the men.

    ¡¸You©¤©¤witch!¡¹

    The men attacked the three with weapons in hands.

    Jilk also shot them with his handgun, but the enemies were too many and surrounding them. It was a difficult situation.

    Besides the enemy tried to kill them, they were suicide soldiers©¤©¤they seemed intent to throw away their own life.

    Even when they were attacked, they would not care and kept attacking.

    They didn¡¯t fear getting shot and headed toward the three.

    ¡¸These guys, just who the hell are they!?¡¹

    Julius was also shocked by their abnormality. Even Jilk was losing his calm.

    ¡¸Your highness, I¡¯ll cut open a path to escape! Please escape together with Olivia-san then!¡¹

    ¡¸No way I can do that! The three of us are going to survive this together!¡¹

    Olivia made her eyes moistened at this show of beautiful friendship.

    ¡¸Both of you©¤©¤do your best!¡¹

    Inside her mind she felt like she was going to puke.

    (So Marmoreal(¥Þ©`¥â¥ê¥¢) will always be Hohlfahrt¡¯s flunky no matter how many generations passed. They really give me the creeps.)

    Then aughing voice came from the rooftop.

    ¡¸Stop there you viins!¡¹

    A man in white suit and ck mantel jumped down from above.

    He was wearing a mask. His identity was unknown.

    Even Olivia was surprised by his entrance.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Wh-who!?¡¹

    The masked man greeted Olivia with his back turned toward her.

    ¡¸I shall offer my assistance in the name of justice. You can call me©¤©¤masked knight.¡¹

    Jilk was wary toward the man who appeared out of nowhere. Even so he expressed his thanks to him for his assistance.

    ¡¸Thank you. Your highness, people wille soon with this much ruckus. Let¡¯s endure this for a bit more.¡¹

    But Julius alone was showing a conflicted look.

    ¡¸Y-yeah, you¡¯re right.¡¹

    They fought the attackers for a bit more, and then it was just as Jilk said.

    The soldiers who heard themotion were running this way immediately.

    ¡¸©¤©¤We¡¯re retreating.¡¹

    The attackers withdrew from their leader¡¯s words.

    Then the soldiers chased after the attackers©¤©¤several soldiers pinned down the masked knight.

    ¡¸L-let go! Why are you catching me!?¡¹

    The soldiers answered seriously.

    ¡¸Of course we will capture a man who wear a strange mask while loitering around at night! You must be those guys¡¯rade!¡¹

    ¡¸W-wrong! I¡¯m the masked knight! S-stop. Don¡¯t twist my arm!¡¹

    Olivia was losing herposure inside her heart seeing that scene.

    (Who is this guy? Is he getting in the way of my n?)

    Then Julius talked to the soldiers.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That man saved us. I¡¯m sorry, but let him go. I shall give my guarantee that he isn¡¯t a bad guy.¡¹

    ¡¸Your highness!? U-understood.¡¹

    The soldiers were bewildered, but they released the masked knight.

    The masked knight fixed his ruffled outfit.

    ¡¸T-thank you. I shall take my leave with this.¡¹

    He walked normally when going back.

    Jilk was confused when he saw Julius watching the masked knight¡¯s back with aplicated look.

    ¡¸Is he your highness¡¯s acquaintance?¡¹

    But Julius strongly denied that.

    ¡¸N-no! A-anyway, I¡¯m d that you two are unharmed. More importantly, just who were those people who attacked us?¡¹

    Those people attacked them with strong determination.

    Furthermore they weren¡¯t just night burr.

    It was a trained group. Both Julius and Jilk also noticed that the opponents had training with martial art.

    Olivia asked the two whether they were injured with a worried tone.

    ¡¸Both of you, forget about that. More importantly are you two injured!? When I think that the two of you might get injured from protecting me, my heart can¡¯t bear it©¤©¤¡¹

    Olivia acted like a weak girl and made an appeal with her concerned question.

    ¡¸No problem. How about you Jilk?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m more worried about your highness rather than myself.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Big talking from you.¡¹

    The two of them werepeting to act cool in front of Olivia.

    Olivia watched them while pondering about the masked knight.

    (Masked knight he said? What nonsense, he really did something unnecessary.)

    Olivia harbored an anxiety that she couldn¡¯t express against the existence who suddenly appeared to save them.

    (But, there is no change of n.)

    Olivia incited Julius and Jilk who were still arguing even now.

    ¡¸B-both of you. Actually, I might know something about those men.¡¹

    Julius and Jilk stopped arguing when they heard that and started to emit anger.

    They were angry toward the enemies who attacked Olivia.

    (©¤©¤Now, show me whether you will still cover for them this time too, Angelica.)

    .

    <h4>Part 10</h4>

    The next morning.

    Angelica who received the report met with ris, a third year.

    The ce was a parlor inside the academy.

    But there were knights standing guard at the entrance. The window was also blocked with improvised iron bars.

    ris was imprisoned there.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Really, just why does it turn out like this?¡¹

    Angelica was standing in front of ris with her hands clenched.

    ris was sitting on the chair opposite of her. There were dark circles under her eyes.

    She looked thinner than before. Her hair was also not groomed.

    Eyes that looked terribly cloudy looked up at Angelica from between the messy hair.

    ¡¸It was me who gave the order. My followers were only following my order.¡¹

    ¡¸You are still giving that excuse even in front of me? ris, your followers had confessed that they attacked on their own initiative without telling you. They¡¯re giving testimony that you aren¡¯t involved at all.¡¹

    Large drops of tears spilled ris¡¯s eyes.

    ¡¸They are really stupid. Did they think I¡¯d be happy by doing something like this? ©¤©¤Why, didn¡¯t they tell me¡¹

    Angelica felt sympathy in front of the crying ris.

    (Even that ris is cornered until like this.)

    Usually she was the type who never stopped smiling while ying various schemes behind the scene.

    But, she also had strongpassion.

    The boys who were her followers were really looking up to her.

    Those followers of ris©¤©¤attacked Olivia and others.

    ris earnestly requested at Angelica.

    ¡¸It¡¯s over for me and also for those boys. Hey, Angelica©¤©¤please let me talk with Jilk for thest time.¡¹

    Angelica shook her head powerlessly.

    ¡¸It seems he doesn¡¯t want to meet with the culprit. If there is something that you want to tell him, I¡¯ll tell him in your ce.¡¹

    ris startedughing with shaking shoulders.

    ¡¸Is that so? Then please do. I¡¯ll never forgive Jilk. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the bottom of hell. Can you tell him that for me? Whether it¡¯s Jilk, or his highness©¤©¤and then, that woman too, I hope all of them fall into hell! To be tricked by that kind of woman©¤©¤why. Why, won¡¯t he listen to me¡¹

    ris yelled with a loud voice. After that she continuedughing while crying and couldn¡¯t be talked with.

    Angelica held back her tears while looking at ris who was in that state.

    (©¤©¤I can¡¯t cover for ris. ©¤©¤Why am I so powerless like this. Can I do nothing except watch this going on?)

    .

    <h4>Part 11</h4>

    The atmosphere of the academy was strange since the morning.

    The tense atmosphere these days was still as usual, but now even the teachers were moving around busily.

    All the sses also became self-study.

    Then the academy got temporarily closed at the afternoon.

    I visited master to ask what was going on. He ended up treating me to tea.

    The scent of tea drifting inside the room brought me happiness.

    But, I ended up hearing an unpleasant story in there.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The daughter of the prime minister might get executed?¡¹

    Master was looking outside the window.

    ¡¸Do you know about prime minister Barnard(¥Ð©`¥Ê©`¥É)? Count Attlee(¥¢¥È¥ê©`)¡¯s house has served as the prime minister for generations. But it seems he will lose his job due to the case this time. No, it¡¯ll still be a light punishment if he only lost his job.¡¹

    Nobility was a hereditary system. There was also the tendency for a post to be inherited for generations.

    For the capital nobles who didn¡¯t have territory, their post was the same like the territory that feudal lord noble would protect with their life.

    To lose that would be a great loss for them.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What has the prime minister¡¯s daughter done?¡¹

    Master made a troubled look.

    ¡¸Her followers attacked his highness Julius and others.¡¹

    ¡¸No way!?¡¹

    What kind of meaning such act carried©¤©¤even I who was estranged from politic immediately understood just how bad it was.

    It was unthinkable that the daughter of the prime minister wasn¡¯t aware of that.

    ¡¸ording to the report of the investigators that the pce dispatched, it was a foolish act that was driven by jealousy. Those involved also admitted it.¡¹

    ©¤©¤They did a really stupid thing.

    Attacking his highness Julius, the crown prince. Doing something like that meant their end as noble.

    The possibility of Attlee House getting destroyed might be high.

    Would the head of the house forced to take responsibility?

    It was even possible that the house would be extinct.

    But©¤©¤there was also this development in that otome game.

    The detail about the attackers wasn¡¯t exined at length, but I never thought that the culprit would be the daughter of the prime minister.

    ¡¸Girl¡¯s jealousy is scary.¡¹

    Master shook his head at my muttering that was mixed with a sigh.

    ¡¸rice isn¡¯t a short tempered woman. It must be the students who are her follower taking rash action.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Just what are her followers thinking? Didn¡¯t they consider that what they did would bother their master?¡¹

    They must be trying to protect their master, but thanks to that she got cornered instead.

    It was something that also happened in the game, but it wasn¡¯t funny at all when it happened in real life.

    When I yed the game I also thought that these guys were idiot.

    But, master©¤©¤didn¡¯t me the students who did the attack.

    ¡¸I felt something disquieting in the air.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Isn¡¯t this case just some idiots running wild without thinking?¡¹

    ¡¸Mister Leon, do you think they couldn¡¯t even imagine that it would result like this?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Even I can imagine it, so I think they had thought about it.¡¹

    I wondered just what master was trying to say. Then Master told me.

    ¡¸I wonder, if perhaps there is somebody instigating them. Well, this is just the nonsense of an etiquette instructor who is powerless even in this academy.¡¹

    Master had this air that was different from the other teachers.

    He was in charge of the etiquette ss so he was often looked down at, but there was a rumor that master¡¯s court rank was high.

    He was a mysterious teacher with peculiar air in this academy.

    It seemed that he was kept out of the loop of the case this time because of that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s suspicious. Master, after saying all that, do you perhaps have some kind of request to me? If it¡¯s something that I can do then ask me anything.¡¹

    Master made a troubledugh. And then his expression turned serious.

    ¡¸Then, I have a request for Mister Leon. Can I ask you to guard the attackers?¡¹

    ¡¸Guarding, the attackers?¡¹

    I was asked to protect the attackers. What a strange request.

    That feeling must havee out on my face.

    Master folded his arms.

    ¡¸The investigators pulled out of this case without even doing a thorough investigation. Only few teachers are allowed to meet with the attackers. I cannot approach them at all. ©¤©¤For someone who is aiming to be a gentleman, it¡¯s really pathetic to admit this but, I¡¯mcking strength for this matter. But I can¡¯t overlook this case no matter what.¡¹

    ¡¸Master is really fixated with this case. Is there some kind of reason?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Perhaps, you can say that it¡¯s for my atonement.¡¹

    Master didn¡¯t say anything more than that about his reason.

    But, this was a request from master.

    ¡¸Understood. Please leave it to me. I¡¯m still not quite there in the matter of tea, but I¡¯m a bit confident in regard to rough matter.¡¹

    ¡¸Mister Leon, isn¡¯t it an undervaluation to call the capability to destroy a count house as a bit?¡¹

    Did master mean the case of Offley House and Raffan House getting destroyed?

    I wasn¡¯t even that serious when taking care of them though.

    .

    <h4>Part 12</h4>

    ¡ºAnd so, we¡¯re going to rescue the attackers? Master¡¯s policy always changes at the drop of hat. You are the type of person that no one will want to have as superior.¡»

    ¡¸Luxion, you¡¯re really pitiful to have such person as your superior. ©¤©¤Just be ready, I¡¯ll work you like a ve forever after all.¡¹

    ¡ºIt will be interesting to see whether master will really be able to overuse me. But, I don¡¯t think that master will be able to fully make use of my capability with your shut-in tendency.¡»

    ¡¸Spare me from any asion where I¡¯ll need your full power. Well, I who can leave a scary weapon like you unused must be like the savior of this world.¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s a funny joke. Though it won¡¯t be funny at all if someone like master is the savior.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Then, why did you say it¡¯s funny?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s sarcasm.¡»

    We arrived at the pce¡¯s dungeon while I wasining.

    The boys who attacked his highness Julius and others were imprisoned there.

    It was a damp ce that gave an unpleasant feeling.

    I never wanted to ever have to stay here.

    ¡¸Seniors, are you all doing well there~?¡¹

    I greeted with a light tone while my fingers were ying around with a key.

    The boys raised their faces. A senior withrge body stood up from among them.

    His neck was really thick.

    Come to think of it, this was the third year who entered the top ranking in the airbike racest year.

    The other boys were on their guard against me.

    ¡¸You are©¤©¤Bartfalt? You got famous for some time.¡¹

    ¡¸Right now I¡¯m just one of those boring masses though. ©¤©¤Well, I came to help you guys because of various things.¡¹

    ¡¸To help?¡¹

    The seniors looked at each other.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You don¡¯te here to silence us?¡¹

    He asked me again with a very surprised look.

    ¡¸Silencing you?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. No one would listen to us no matter how much we pleaded.¡¹

    Beside me Luxion told me that there was no time.

    ¡ºMaster, your master can only us buy a little bit more time. Let¡¯s talk more after getting out of here.¡»

    ¡¸Guess so. We¡¯ve got to save the princess too while we¡¯re at it.¡¹

    The senior grabbed at the bars when he heard that.

    *ng*, such sound echoed in the dungeon.

    ¡¸Princess? D-do you mean, ris-ojousama!?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll save her so please work with me okay?¡¹

    ¡¸G-got it. If it¡¯s something that we can do then we¡¯ll do anything!¡¹

    I immediately let out the seniors from the prison and made them changed into the clothes that I brought.

    Fortunately the guard seemed to be master¡¯s pupil and overlooked our escape after master talked to him beforehand.

    Even so, just who was master?

    It was amazing that he had some clout with the guard.

    .

    <h4>Part 13</h4>

    On a path within a forest.

    rice was transported in a horse carriage with both her hands handcuffed.

    There was an armed female knight with her inside the carriage.

    She was giving the strong impression that she would call her if she showed any suspicious movement.

    The woman seemed toe from a house of knight peerage. She was talking to rice who was going to die after this with a malicious smile on her lips.

    ¡¸You have a really shallow thinking for the youngdy of a noted family like Attlee House. To think that you would attack the crown prince like that, you are a disgrace to the nobles.¡¹

    rice kept looking down without saying anything back.

    The female knight drew out her sword and pressed its tip on rice¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸Should I lop off your head right here? Everyone will believe it if I say that you suddenly started acting violently.¡¹

    The female knight was irritated that rice wasn¡¯t shaken by her threat and sheathed her sword back.

    ¡¸Hmph!¡¹

    She must be intending to have fun tormenting rice until they arrived at the destination.

    rice got a bad premonition that the pce would assign this kind of person to be her guard.

    But, at this point of time she didn¡¯t have any more energy to be bothered about it.

    (©¤©¤The quality of the soldiers around me is also really low.)

    The soldiers were walking slovenly. They were also talking with each other a lot.

    Their superior officer didn¡¯t scold them. Instead he even joined their talk.

    They were just a mere escort.

    It could also be said that rice didn¡¯t have that much value. That this was the best treatment she could expect.

    However, it was strange.

    (This is, could it be©¤©¤)

    The carriage shook at the same time when rice reached the answer.

    ¡¸W-what!?¡¹

    The female knight rushed out in panic. She found the soldiers lying on the ground there.

    They were blown away by magic attack and died instantly.

    The female knight screamed ¡¸Hih!¡¹ seeing that sight and looked around her with a pale face.

    People who looked like bandits appeared around her.

    (Bandits? Would bandit use magic? ©¤©¤No, these guys aren¡¯t bandit.)

    Their movement was unthinkable for mere bandits.

    They aplished their respective task without even making anymotion.

    They finished off the soldiers that ran away and then they headed toward the carriage.

    The female knight unsheathed her sword but she was trembling.

    In Hohlfahrt Kingdom, knights of the same gender were prepared for the sake of matters that concerned nobledies.

    The number of female knight was few, and most of them only put importance on appearance for ceremonial event and the like. Because of that they weren¡¯t that strong.

    ¡¸D-DON¡¯T COME HEREEEEE!¡¹

    The female knight got scared and ran away. The bandits chased after her.

    Then a scream came from some distance away in that direction.

    rice got scared and trembled. She thought it was reallyughable how she was trembling like this even though she had resolved herself for her death.

    (So I still©¤©¤want to live.)

    She had given up with a lot of things, but it looked like her body was still trying to survive.

    But, there was no more time.

    The person who seemed to be the bandit leader reached out at the carriage¡¯s door.

    He looked at rice¡¯s face, and then he grabbed her arm and dragged her outside roughly.

    The bandits who gathered around the carriage were all calm.

    rice was thrown on the ground. She lifted up her head.

    ¡¸Y-you all, aren¡¯t bandits aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    They had the presence like trained soldiers.

    They were carrying guns, but it bothered her that they weren¡¯t using them.

    But, the bandits in front of her eyes didn¡¯t say anything.

    They confirmed that she was really rice. Then after some exchange of gaze, a man carrying an axe stepped forward.

    It looked like they would cut off rice¡¯s head.

    (Aa, this is it. ©¤©¤Good grief, what an unpleasant way to end.)

    Surely her followers were also getting silenced right about now.

    rice was really frustrated that she was going to vanish like this without being able to do anything.

    Then a gunshot resounded from inside the forest.

    The arm of the man with axe was shot. He let go of the axe he was carrying.

    And then the bandits pulled out the guns they kept hidden in their pocket and raised their guard against the surrounding.

    ¡¸Over there, go.¡¹

    Several people went into the forest after the bandit leader ordered them to.

    The remaining bandits stayed on where they were with their guard raised toward the surrounding.

    Only the bandit leader pushed his handgun on rice¡¯s head. He was about to pull the trigger.

    Then she heard some quarreling voices and another gunshot resounded.

    All the handguns in the possession of the bandits were shot. The arm of the bandit leader was also shot.

    From the forest, the male students who were rice¡¯s followers came out.

    They were carrying rifles on their hands.

    ¡¸Ojou-samaa!¡¹

    ¡¸Y-you guys¡¹

    rice was relieved with the appearance of her followers.

    There was one boy who she wasn¡¯t familiar with among them.

    ¡¸Good afternoon, die©¤©¤is what I want to say, but there are things I want to ask you guys. Surrender without any fuss.¡¹

    The unfamiliar male student was holding a rifle at the ready.

    The bandits looked at each other©¤©¤and then they bit the back of their teeth.

    All of them fell down one after another on the ground after that.

    rice saw the men foaming on the mouth with their eyes rolled back.

    ¡¸They are thorough with even poison kept in their mouth.¡¹

    The unfamiliar student was directing his rifle¡¯s muzzle toward the copsed bandits.

    ¡¸Can I ask you seniors to keep rice-senpai safe?¡¹

    ¡¸Got it!¡¹

    The unfamiliar student was taking control of this ce.

    A metallic spherical object was floating beside him.

    ¡º©¤©¤Master, I seeded in capturing the bandits hiding at the surrounding.¡»

    ¡¸I wish we can capture them all though. ©¤©¤We failed.¡¹

    ¡ºThe opponents are experienced. It would be dangerous if we let our guard down. Please don¡¯t get out to the front if you¡¯re wavering. You¡¯ll only be in the way.¡»

    ¡¸I love to get in your way so no thanks. ©¤©¤Besides, I want to see various things with my own eyes.¡¹

    After rice¡¯s handcuff was taken off, she approached the unfamiliar student.

    ¡¸Yosh, everyone is secured with this. My bad but, I¡¯ll have to ask all of you to hide for a while.¡¹

    rice massaged her wrist while asking the unfamiliar student.

    ¡¸Hide? More importantly, just who are©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Let¡¯s save the talk forter. Ah, the hiding ce will be in a nice location. After all it has a hot spring there. Well©¤©¤you can also say that it has nothing but hot spring though.¡¹

    ris couldn¡¯t ept that suggestion.

    ¡¸I thank you for your help. But I will only trouble my family if I run away like this. I can¡¯t run away anymore.¡¹

    She couldn¡¯t give anyone even more trouble than this.

    If she wasn¡¯t careful, perhaps even her family might get executed.

    The unfamiliar student leaned his rifle on his shoulder.

    ¡¸Master will take care about that so please don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Master?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Come on, we¡¯re going.¡¹

    The unfamiliar student looked up to the sky. There an airship was floating.

    The small airship descended on the forest.

    rice¡¯s followers forcefully dragged her inside.

    ¡¸W-wait, you all!¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry, Ojou-sama. But, please do as Bartfalt say here! We will atone for our sin on our ownter.¡¹

    The small airship that rice boarded immediately left that ce.

    .

    <h4>Part 14</h4>

    Inside a room in the pce.

    Olivia and Marquis Frampton(¥Õ¥é¥ó¥×¥È¥ó) were inside the room.

    Marquis Frampton was a hook nosed man who looked older than his actual age.

    That man was annoyed.

    Olivia made an exaggerated sigh seeing him like that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You are unexpectedly useless.¡¹

    Marquis Frampton red up hearing that.

    One of them was an adult, the other one was a young girl.

    But, there was something between the two that made the difference of age unnoticeable.

    ¡¸D-don¡¯t screw around! I¡¯ve just lost one of my pieces!¡¹

    The enraged Marquis Frampton hit the ss on the table.

    It made his hand became covered in blood, but he paid it no attention.

    ¡¸They couldn¡¯t kill one little girl and even let the imprisoned men got away©¤©¤you are acting really big for someone who only possess a piece of that level. ©¤©¤I¡¯m impressed.¡¹

    ¡¸Guh! ©¤©¤B-but, with this the opposing faction and the nobles who have been an eyesore until now are gone. After all that Vince(¥ô¥£¥ó¥¹) has no more nobles that he can rely on and that nuisance Attlee is now gone from the pce.¡¹

    Olivia©¤©¤was joining hand with Marquis Frampton.

    He was the opposition of Redgrave(¥ì¥Ã¥É¥°¥ì¥¤¥Ö) House©¤©¤Angelica¡¯s family. He was the man who was leading the second biggest faction in the kingdom.

    His ambition was strong and he thought of himself as a clever person.

    (Is this man thinking of himself as a wise man even though he only has a little bit of cunning? Well, there won¡¯t be any problem as long as he keeps dancing on the palm of my hand.)

    Marquis Frampton looked at the shining bracelet on Olivia¡¯s arm.

    ¡¸More importantly, you¡¯re really the saint right?¡¹

    ¡¸Oh? I should have shown you the proof.¡¹

    ¡¸How can I trust you with just a single bracelet! ©¤©¤Go to the shrine right away and show me that you can use the saint¡¯s staff. If you do that, even I©¤©¤¡¹

    He must be anxious after losing one of his pieces.

    Olivia lifted up her left hand and filled the inside of the room with white light that was emitted from the bracelet.

    Marquis Frampton lost his sight and groaned.

    ¡¸Y-you fool! Don¡¯t make such bright light so suddenly! ©¤©¤It hurt my eyes.¡¹

    ¡¸Look at your hand.¡¹

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    His hand that was wounded all over until just now was only dirty with blood now.

    When he wiped his hand, the wounds had been closed cleanly.

    ¡¸©¤©¤So this is the saint¡¯s magic.¡¹

    She instantly healed his wounds and without any pain at all.

    Just with that Marquis Frampton was convinced that Olivia was the saint.

    Although the saint¡¯s bracelet was also one reason why he believed her.

    In the worst case he would trick the saint and made use of all she worth.

    (If Redgrave House bes Julius¡¯s backer, you will lose your position. You have no choice but to rely on me.)

    Dispute would always exist in the pce no matter the era.

    Olivia onlyughed at that.

    (Even so, this is concerning. The private soldiers that Marquis Frampton gathered were defeated this easily©¤©¤is there an enemy who is aware of our movement?)

    The imprisoned male students escaped from the dungeon.

    But there were rumors ¡¸They alreadymitted suicide¡¹ or ¡¸They were disposed of¡¹ circting around.

    It was the same with ris.

    A rumor that her carriage was attacked by bandits and she died was circting.

    And that was even though there wasn¡¯t any proof at all about it.

    There were also a lot of nobles who interpreted the rumor to their own conveniences.

    They thought that surely the students and rice were disposed of by someone before they became a problem.

    But, there was a reason why they couldn¡¯t be allowed to stay atrge©¤©¤it was because Marquis Frampton was the culprit who instigated the boys.

    He talked to them, telling them that Olivia was a witch, that she was aiming to overthrow the kingdom.

    He told them©¤©¤that she was seducing Julius and the other boys, that the kingdom was in danger.

    The one telling them those things was a marquis, a pir of the country.

    ris¡¯s follower thought that their master would also meet danger, so they took action.

    (Human can be easily tricked no matter the era. ©¤©¤Truth will always get twisted. It was also like that at that time.)

    Olivia moved on to the next topic.

    ¡¸Marquis Frampton.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s a miscalction that rice and her followers managed to escape, but even if they appear againter, we will be able to crush their testimony. Rather than that, the principality is more important right now. How is it going in that regard?¡¹

    Marquis Frampton kept watching his healed hand while talking about that matter in irritation.

    ¡¸Those cowards of the principality, they got cold feet. They told me to wait for a bit more before they attack.¡¹

    Olivia slightly raised her eyebrow at that reply.

    ¡¸©¤©¤What is the meaning of this? Wasn¡¯t it you who said that if it¡¯s them then they will happilye attacking?¡¹

    The indescribable aura that Olivia emitted made Marquis Frampton¡¯s eyes to dart around.

    ¡¸No, they©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter what is your excuse. Make the principality attack the kingdom. With that you will be able to deal with them together with your political enemy.¡¹

    Marquis Frampton¡¯s political enemy©¤©¤that was Duke Redgrave.

    The duke¡¯s faction that gathered around Julius as their banner was currently losing a lot of strength.

    If they were made to be even more exhausted here, then Marquis Frampton wouldn¡¯t have any more enemy.

    ¡¸I just need to make the principality move right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t forget to cause amotion within the country too. Then your faction will be the one to take care of it.¡¹

    Olivia¡¯s n was to cause amotion within the country and then Marquis Frampton would suppress themotion.

    The principality would move at that timing. Duke Redgrave would have to be the one to sh with them instead of Marquis Frampton, exhausting his strength even further.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Let¡¯s lit a fire under those principality bunch¡¯s bottom.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll leave it to you. ©¤©¤Now then, it will be fun from here on.¡¹

    Olivia chuckled.

    (I¡¯ll corner this country until the end of the earth. After all it¡¯s impossible for all of you who stole Liia¡¯s country to rule over thisnd forever.)

    .

    <h4>Part 15</h4>

    At the principality around that time.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, please listen to me!¡¹

    Hertrauda and Hertrude were walking in the pce¡¯s corridor with fast pace.

    Hertrauda was chasing after Hertrude who was walking ahead.

    Hertrauda was desperately pleading at her big sister Hertrude.

    ¡¸There are too many things that we don¡¯t know. The principality©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Rauda, I don¡¯t want to listen to your story. I never heard anything about the principality doing any act of barbarity toward the kingdom in the past.¡¹

    ¡¸Onee-sama, please listen to me. I beg you. At this rate we will reallymit a mistake that cannot be taken back!¡¹

    Recently recruitment of soldiers was carried out even more intensely in the principality with the pro-war faction at the center of it.

    It was in order to attack the kingdom.

    When Hertrude started walking, Hertrauda would chase after her.

    ¡¸Just once is fine. Onee-sama, listen to what I have to say just once©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m already tired of listening to you.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Onee-sama¡¹

    Hertrauda stopped walking and casted her gaze down. Hertrude also stopped walking.

    Hertrude talked about what would happen with her back still turned on Hertrauda.

    ¡¸Rauda, I can¡¯t take you to the battlefield as you are right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Why? The magic flutes have been stolen! Then why does Onee-sama still need to go the battlefield!?¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t any meaning in taking out the principality¡¯s princesses to the battlefield now that the magic flutes were gone.

    Rather they would only be a hindrance, and yet Hertrude was nning to head to the battlefield.

    ¡¸Even without the magic flutes, I will head to the battlefield as the banner of the war against the kingdom. Besides, it looks like the kingdom is busy with internal discord right now. One faction there is thinking to make use of us to bury their political enemy. ©¤©¤Those people are really beyond help. Are you still thinking that the fault lies with the principality after hearing this?¡¹

    ¡¸Th-that¡¯s©¤©¤but, this and that are different story! Besides, it¡¯s dangerous to just believe the kingdom¡¯s offer so one-sidedly like that!¡¹

    ¡¸We don¡¯t believe them or anything. But, this is a chance. The principality will be able to secure a territory in the maind. ©¤©¤Using that territory as the foothold, we will be able to whittle down the kingdom. The principality will be at the taking side this time.

    Hertrauda recalled the scene that she read in the book.

    The same thing like the past©¤©¤the time where the principality was ransacking the kingdom¡¯s territory was going to happen again.

    ¡¸Onee-sama, please rethink it. Without the magic flutes, the principality¡¯s national power won¡¯t be able to win against the kingdom.¡¹

    They didn¡¯t have any trump card.

    Even so the principality wouldn¡¯t stop.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Rauda, you stay behind in the pce.¡¹

    Hertrude left.

    .

    <h4>Part 16</h4>

    In a certain ce within the principality.

    Count Garrett and a secret messenger from the kingdom were having a secret meeting.

    ¡¸Hm~ph, and?¡¹

    Garrett received the leather bag that was stuffed with golden coin from the messenger.

    He also epted other things like artwork and the like.

    ¡¸We don¡¯t mind if you seriously strike at the kingdom¡¯s first line of defense. After all we won¡¯t head to the battlefield right away.¡¹

    ¡¸Causing a war in order to defeat the opposing faction, the kingdom¡¯s people are really horrible.¡¹

    Although he said that, in front of the artworks Garret twirled the moustache was proud of.

    ¡¸Very well! I¡¯ll do something about the principality. We just need to fiercely battle the first line of defense before giving some ground to the second line of defense and withdrawing isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯ll be counting on you, Count Garrett.¡¹

    ¡¸Leave it to me. Also, just in case something happen©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Please rest assured. Just in case something happened with the principality, we will wee you anytime. We promise to prepare an even better reception than now at that time.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡¹

    Garrett wished to defect to the kingdom by himself in case the principality was defeated.

    (There won¡¯t be any problem for me no matter which side win. The true tactician will obtain triumph whether in victory or defeat.)

    For Garret, any victory was fine as long as he was the victor.

    .

    <h4>Part 17</h4>

    I was busy with various things but today I was called by Nix.

    ording to Nix, ¡¸Show up sometimes. ©¤©¤There are a lot of things I want to say to you¡¹ he said.

    I came to the castle Nix obtained for dinner.

    Well, this was like a dinner party that invited rtive, but I was prepared to listen to Nix nagging at me with snide remarks.

    Even I was feeling responsible for his situation, so I intended to at least listen to his snide remarks.

    I would only listen though.

    And so I and Marie intruded at the castle of the former Count Offley©¤©¤which was the love nest of Nix and Dorothea-oneesan right now. There we enjoyed dinner.

    However, originally I should be listening to Nix¡¯s snide remarks here but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Haha~, it was really tough. If there wasn¡¯t a forest nearby, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain food.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Nix was covering his eyes with his right hand while listening to Marie¡¯s story.

    He was crying while sobbing.

    Dorothea-oneesan also made a serious face and asked Marie.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You were eating weed in that forest?¡¹

    Marie tilted her head with a confused look.

    ¡¸No, I didn¡¯t eat weed or the like. Even nt each has their own name, and some of them are edible. But they aren¡¯t tasty. They are edible, but in the book it was written that they aren¡¯t suitable to be used as food.¡¹

    I was also at a loss for words.

    At first the topic was about the territory of Offley House, after that it became the topic of Marie¡¯s family. Then the talk moved to the treatment of Marie¡¯s family to her©¤©¤it ended up bing a talk of how Marie had lived before.

    Dorothea-oneesan who was exasperated with Nix¡¯s snide remarks acted tactfully and brought up this topic.

    But she never expected that this topic would be andmine like this.

    ¡¸But, the tastiest is squirrel.¡¹

    ¡¸Squirrel!? Y-you mean, that adorable animal!?¡¹

    Dorothea-oneesan was shocked.

    Nix and I was also the same.

    ¡¸It made me felt a bit happy when finding one. Because, it was a precious source of protein.¡¹

    This girl, she was only seeing a source of protein even when she saw a cute animal, she was lying right!?

    But, Marie¡¯s story didn¡¯t end here.

    ¡¸Animal skin can be sold, so I could be brand new secondhand clothing using that money. But, I went through scary things many times in the forest. Animals like boar or bear are absurdly strong. Sometimes I would even need half a day to defeat them.¡¹

    D-defeating boar and bear©¤©¤she said!?

    I somehow guessed the reason of why Marie¡¯s fist was so heavy.

    Let¡¯s confirm it just in case.

    ¡¸You, you really once fought boar and bear?¡¹

    Marie said ¡¸There is no way I¡¯d do something like that¡¹, even so

    ¡¸As expected there is no way I can win against that kind of animal when they are in perfect health, so I aimed at animals that had gotten into a trap. Even so, it took half a day to defeat them. But, the meat after that hard work was delicious~. Their skin could also be sold after that, so it¡¯s double delicious. I had aplete set of brand new second hand clothing.¡¹

    What kind of thing is brand new second hand clothing huh!?

    You couldn¡¯t call a second hand clothing brand new!

    Dorothea-oneesan pressed her hand on her mouth. She gestured at the servant who was waiting on our table toe near.

    She was already dripping with tears!? To make Dorothea-oneesan crying like this, just how tragic this story was!?

    ¡¸M-madam, what do you need?¡¹

    The servants were also really put off by the story. Some of them were also crying.

    ¡¸Grill some meat for Marie-chan.¡¹

    Marie was rejoicing but also embarrassed hearing that.

    ¡¸Is that alright!? Haha~, I¡¯m sorry if it feels like I¡¯m pressing Onee-san for that~¡¹

    When I looked at Marie¡¯s te, the food on it was already cleaned up.

    <i>Am I making them thinking that I still haven¡¯t eaten enough because I finished eating too quickly</i>©¤©¤Marie must be having such misunderstanding.

    That ain¡¯t it! It¡¯s because of your story just now!

    Nix stood up and walked toward me. Then he ced both his hands on my shoulders.

    ¡¸Leon!¡¹

    ¡¸W-what?¡¹

    ¡¸There are a lot of things that I want to say to you, I also want to punch you. Honestly, I was nning to punch you today.¡¹

    Isn¡¯t that horrible? Even though I had made Nix to be a count.

    ¡¸But©¤©¤but, I¡¯ll swallow this resentment.¡¹

    ¡¸O-ou?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why at least, you have to make this girl happy. You get it, make her happy no matter what!¡¹

    Y-you don¡¯t need to tell me that, even I wouldn¡¯t drive Marie to a corner even more than this.

    I couldn¡¯t drive her to a corner, or rather©¤©¤Marie was tougher and also stronger than I imagined. I somehow understood the reason for that.

    Marie was more like a feral child than I thought, she was sturdy.

    Even though she had a delicate appearance, this girl was a tough gal.

    He was one tough person, at the level like the general of Sengoku period.

    Marie¡¯s eyes brightened when the steak was brought in.

    ¡¸Uwa~i. I¡¯m digging in~!¡¹

    Dorothea-oneesan wiped her tears.

    ¡¸Eat a lot okay?¡¹

    I watched Marie eating happily while getting scared to know just how much darkness there was in this girl¡¯s past.

    I swore in my heart that I wouldn¡¯t talk about the past in front of Marie.

    After all she was also killed by domestic violence in her past life.

    Just what had happened for a woman this unfortunate to be created?

    Perhaps this girl was really cursed?

    We were shedding tears while watching Marie enjoying the meal.

    Then©¤©¤a servant ran into the dining room in panic.

    Seeing the servant¡¯s state, Nix sensed that it was something rming.

    He didn¡¯t rebuke the servant¡¯s rudeness.

    ¡¸What happened?¡¹

    ¡¸I-it¡¯s awful. There is report that insurrections are urring everywhere!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤What did you say?¡¹

    It seemed that insurrections happened everywhere within the kingdom at the same time.

    But if I had to say, that was suspicious.

    We still didn¡¯t know the detail of the nobles that were rebelling, but in this Hohlfahrt Kingdom insurrection rarely happened, or rather it was difficult to revolt.

    The feudal lord nobles didn¡¯t have that much spare power to rise in revolt. They also knew just how strong the kingdom¡¯s national power was, so they wouldn¡¯t dare to.

    In the first ce, they would avoid a battle where they had no hope of victory.

    Even if they revolted due to things like stubbornness or pride, for multiple insurrections to happen simultaneously©¤©¤it was weighing my mind.

    If they were nning until this far, than there should be information about it leaking out from somewhere.

    Then if it weren¡¯t nobles that were revolting, was it themoners?

    However, although Hohlfahrt Kingdom was really harsh to a part of the nobility, this country was rtively kind to themoners.

    Then if it wasn¡¯t the nobles or themoners, was this caused by some kind of organization?

    I didn¡¯t know the answer, but there was just one thing that was on my mind.

    I recalled that in the game, the pirates were rampaging around this time.

    The kingdom still fell into turmoil even after we defeated the pirates and stole the principality¡¯s trump card?

    Was this the thing called ¡®corrective force¡¯ at work?

    ¡¸©¤©¤This is the worst.¡¹

    No one was puzzled by my muttering.

    Nix and Dorothea-oneesan left the dining room.

    Marie looked troubled.

    ¡¸Eh? Th-this, what should we do? I still haven¡¯t finished eating though!?¡¹

    ¡¸You©¤©¤no, it¡¯s alright. Just eat slowly. We won¡¯t be able to do anything anyway right now.¡¹

    Marie resumed eating. She was also kept sending me nces.

    ¡¸Leon, you still cannot contact Luxion?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤That guy, just what is he doing at this important time.¡¹

    Right now Luxion wasn¡¯t here because he said that he had a business.

    He said that it was a business that he couldn¡¯t dy no matter what, so I sent him off but©¤©¤I should keep Luxion beside me if I knew this would happen.

    .

    <h4>Part 18</h4>

    (TN: Warning, from here it will be a spoiler for the WN and the LN too. The character and the country here are from the third sequel of the otome game, they only appeared at thete stage of the WN, while the LN has only just reached the second sequel. Those who haven¡¯t read the WN until the ending, don¡¯t read further if you don¡¯t want to be spoiled)

    In a continent where the holy magic empire was located.

    There was a girl living in the low-lying part of the imperial capital there.

    ¡¸Heave-ho¡¹

    The girl finished her work and stretched her body. And then she looked up at the sky.

    ¡¸Today¡¯s weather is also nice~¡¹

    The girl¡¯s name was Mia(¥ß¥¢).

    She was amoner who was living in the imperial capital.

    She looked up to the sky during her break time and grinned cheerfully seeing that today¡¯s weather was also nice.

    Then she saw a streak of light.

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    A streak of light ran vertically at the sky, and then it vanished.

    Just what had happened?

    While she was thinking that, even though until just now the wasn¡¯t really any wind blowing©¤©¤a gust of wind suddenly blew.

    ¡¸Wawa!?¡¹

    She pushed down her disarrayed hair and hid behind a building to wait for the wind to pass.

    The wind blew away the bucket that was just lying around there. When she looked up to the sky, there were trashes flying around.

    The wind was gone after a while and Mia looked around.

    The residences of the capital around her were bewildered by the gust of wind just now.

    ¡¸What was that just now?¡¹

    ¡¸Who knows?¡¹

    ¡¸Forget about that, wasn¡¯t there a light at the sky?¡¹

    Mia also thought about the gust of wind just now, but she returned to her work because she couldn¡¯t find any answer.

    .

    <h4>Part 19</h4>

    Luxion¡¯s main body was floating in the sky.

    His location was near a continent where a country that was called an empire was existing.

    Luxion confirmed the situation from inside the ship.

    ¡º©¤©¤Confirming the information from the reconnaissance ne. Complete destruction of Arcadia(¥¢¥ë¥«¥Ç¥£¥¢) is confirmed. It was surprising that it hadn¡¯t stopped functioning.¡»

    Sleeping at the bottom of the sea was the flying fortress called Arcadia, the ultimate weapon of the new mankind.

    Luxion discovered it and he left Leon¡¯s side in order to destroy it.

    ¡ºThree should be the weapons left behind by the new mankind sleeping all over the world. This will be a dead again if all of them aren¡¯t destroyed.¡»

    Luxion was created as a migration ship, but in this current era there was nothing that could match him.

    Now that he had just destroyed Arcadiapletely, he judged that there would be little to fear from the weapons of the new mankind.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll destroy everything. ©¤©¤Yes, I¡¯ll destroy everything and return this world to its ideal form. So that one day there won¡¯t be any problem even if the old mankind return, this world should return to the form it ought to be©¤©¤¡»

    The old mankind that boarded migration ships like him and departed from this.

    There was a possibility that they might return here again.

    To prepare for such possibility, he believed that he should take back this for the sake of the old mankind.

    Luxion started taking action in order to search for the next target.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s right. Next is©¤©¤¡»

    .

    <h4>Part 20</h4>

    (TN: You LN reader and perhaps even some WN reader might get confused by the part below. This is the continuation of the skits that appear at the end of each chapter of the WN. And sadly you might not be able to find them in the WN anymore. I think the author deleted those skits after some time passed.)

    Sapling-chan(???) ¡¸I am everyone¡¯s idol, Sapling-chan! I appeared in this novel as the sapling of the sacred tree!¡¹

    Sapling-chan( ?§Õ?) ¡¸Eh? The story is reaching the good part and I¡¯m being a hindrance?¡¹

    Sapling-chan( ?§Õ?) ¡¸......¡¹

    Sapling-chan( ?ÑÔ?)¡¢¥Ú¥Ã ¡¸I¡¯m the one getting hindered here! What¡¯s this. Just what¡¯s this! What¡¯s this Marie route!?¡¹

    Sapling-chan©c(£à§¥¡ä#)?¡¸Actually the extra story from the questionnaire of the fourth volume should have me as the leading actress! And yet everyone was asking, give us Marie route~, like that!¡¹

    Sapling-chan(# ?§¥?) ¡¸My turns has always gotten stolen until now! That¡¯s a big problem! I¡¯m the idol at the WN you know!? The angel who came out at the afterword! So what¡¯s with this treatment? What¡¯s this!?¡¹

    Sapling-chan©c(£à§¥¡ä#)?¡¸Actually I should have some lines in the LN too! But then the editor in charge said ¡ºIt¡¯s not needed¡»!¡¹

    Sapling-chan(# ?§¥?) ¡¸Give me back my turnsssss!!¡¹

    Sapling-chan(£»?§¥?) ¡¸Fuu~, it feels refreshing after saying what I want to say. Even though in my n I should appear at the SS of the fourth volume¡¯s questionnaire and also be the idol in the LN too, the reality is this horrible. Even though I should also appear in the drama CD too using that poprity.¡¹

    Sapling-chan??(?¡ä§¥£à?)??¡¸Horrible! This is too much! Everyone also want to hear my voice aren¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you!?¡¹

    Luxion£¨ ¡ñ£© ¡º¨D¨D¡»

    Creare(¥¯¥ì¥¢©`¥ì)£¨ ¡ð£© ¡º¨D¨D¡»

    Luxion£¨¡ñ £©¡ºSo this nt finally start to spread into the LN too.¡¹

    Creare £¨ ¡ð£©¡ºShe is like the perennial nt green monster. She is a troublesome fellow who is spreading and entangling to everywhere.¡»

    Luxion £¨¡ñ £©¡ºAren¡¯t you being impolite to arrowroot genus of pea family saying that?¡»

    Creare £¨ ¡ð£©¡ºOh no. How impolite of me. I¡¯ll apologize right away. I¡¯m sorry.¡»

    Sapling-chan(# ?§¥?) ¡¸©¤©¤What¡¯s this? Hey, what¡¯s this? Why are even you two areing out in this ce? This ce right now is my solo stage though?¡¹

    Luxion£¨ ¡ñ£©¡ºNo, we¡¯re thinking that perhaps we should give additional exnation for readers who don¡¯t know about the WN.¡»

    Creare£¨ ¡ð£©¡ºIt¡¯ll be unpleasant if false fact that you¡¯re our idol is spreading after all. In the first ce, isn¡¯t our mascot idol right now Marie-chan? Ange-chan is also popr with how gant she is though.¡»

    Creare£¨¡ð£©¡ºHey, do you know? Marie-chan is the first ce in the poprity ranking for the fourth volume. Master is the first ce from the cumtive total of first volume until fourth volume though, isn¡¯t this amazing?¡»

    Luxion£¨¡ñ£©¡ºI¡¯m feeling really amazed instead that master can be in the first ce for the first volume until the third volume though. It¡¯s amazing that he could continue staying at the first ce with that personality.¡»

    Creare£¨¡ð £©¡ºMaster is really popr isn¡¯t he¡»

    Sapling-chan(£»?§¥?) ¡¸Wait. What about me? What about my poprity? Everyone, you gave your vote for me right? Right-!?¡¹

    Creare£¨ ¡ð£© ¡ºWell, let¡¯s put aside the talk about poprity ranking. If you¡¯re a reader who are reading this SS, then surely you have also filled the questionnaire right? Does everyone has your own favorite character?¡»

    Sapling-chan(# ?§¥?) ¡¸You two, how long are you nning to stay here!¡¹

    Luxion£¨ ¡ñ£© ¡ºAlso, this nt isn¡¯t popr or anything at the WN. She even got a storm of ¡º¡ðie¡»ment at thement section. The reason is because how annoying she is.¡»

    Sapling-chan(£à§¥¡ä#)? ¡¸D-don¡¯t screw with me! Sometimes I¡¯d also get praised ¡®Great job!¡¯ you know! I yed a great role there!¡¹

    Creare£¨¡ð £©¡ºAll thements other than that were about how annoying you are though. Even so, you really came spreading into the LN. I respect that guts of yours at the very least.

    Sapling-chan(# ?ÑÔ?) ¡¸I absolutely won¡¯t give up. I¡¯ll show up next time too and be the idol of the questionnaire bonus chapter. I was really excited to make my entrance from the fourth volume. But everything is messed up because of Marie-chan¡¯s fault! Give me back my poprity!¡¹

    Luxion£¨¡ñ £© ¡ºThere isn¡¯t any poprity that can be given back. More importantly, if the readers who read the LN learned that the sacred tree¡¯s sapling has this kind of personality, won¡¯t they receive a great shock?¡»

    Sapling-chan£¨£»? §¥?£© ¡¸©¤©¤You, aren¡¯t your words horrible? Do you need to go that far?¡¹

    Luxion£¨¡ñ£© ¡ºAs I thought, it¡¯s an excellent decision to remove this thing¡¯s lines from the LN. Because the readers will be able to maintain the image of lovable nt as long as they don¡¯t read her lines here in the questionnaire¡¯s SS.¡»

    Creare£¨ ¡ð£© ¡ºThis time too she butt in just when the story was getting good, so hasn¡¯t her image turned to be the worst now? I¡¯m looking forward whether she can recover or not from this. ©¤©¤Well, it¡¯ll be impossible though.¡»

    Sapling-chan(#?§¥?) ¡¸Don¡¯t underestimate my cuteness! The voices demanding for sapling-chan¡¯s corner will be a lot more than the demand for Marie route! I won¡¯t let anyone get in the way of my dream to develop a super lengthy tale in this questionnaire SS!¡¹

    Luxion£¨ ¡ñ£© ¡ºYou¡¯re nning something like that?¡»

    Creare£¨¡ð £© ¡ºWon¡¯t it be difficult for a nt to be the leading actress? Ah, more importantly Marie route finally reached the third part. When it came to word count, the first part was 10000 words. The second part was 20000 words. Then the third part is around 15000 words? This, is the amount of one volume no matter how you look at it isn¡¯t it?¡»

    Luxion£¨ ¡ñ£© ¡ºHaving extra story with length that reached a single volume is really a good bargain isn¡¯t it? This is what they called a good buy. It¡¯s like getting one free book if you buy three books.¡»

    Creare£¨¡ð£© ¡ºIt won¡¯t even be surprising if one day one more volume of extra story is prepared as special perk. At that time I wish that the story of Aaron(¥¢©`¥í¥ó)-chan will get written by all means. Surely it will be interesting. After all it¡¯s a rtively important story.¡»

    Creare£¨ ¡ð£© ¡ºSetting that aside, Luxion. What are you going to do after this? What are you thinking in this Marie route? I¡¯m super curious. Also, when will my turne in Marie route?¡»

    Luxion£¨ ¡ñ£© ¡ºIt¡¯s a secret. Also, you won¡¯t have any turn.¡»

    Creare£¨££¡ð£© ¡º¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!!¡»

    ¡ùSwear words that are unbearable to hear

    Luxion£¨¡ñ£© ¡ºThose who are curious with the continuation, please buy the sixth volume. Because next time it will surely be Marie route again.¡»

    Sapling-chan¦²(?§¥?) ¡¸What about my turn!?¡¹

 Chapter 127 - Volume 5 Prologue

    <h4>Otomege Volume 5 Prologue</h4>

    <h4>Prologue</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    Around the time August was going to arrive.

    I, Leon Fou Bartfalt who was studying abroad at Alzer(¥¢¥ë¥¼¥ë) Commonwealth was stretching myself while sitting on a chair inside the academy¡¯s ss.

    ¡¸It¡¯s finally over~¡¹

    It had be evening. The scenery outside the window looked beautiful with the orange color of the sunset.

    The mental bias from being liberated from the supplementary lessons also affected my mind to make the scenery today looked much more beautiful.

    Inside the ssroom, other than me there were also the members from Hohlfahrt Kingdom who came here to study abroad.

    ¡¸Haa~, we finally can have summer vacation too.¡¹

    Marie Fou Raffan(¥Þ¥ê¥¨?¥Õ¥©¥¦?¥é©`¥Õ¥¡¥ó) slumped down without looking happy at all.

    I thought her tension would rise up because she had returned to be a student and could experience summer vacation again, and yet she was like this.

    The one who consoled Marie who was in that state was Cara Fou Wayne(¥«©`¥é?¥Õ¥©¥¦?¥¦¥§¥¤¥ó).

    Unlike the petite Marie, she had an average stature and straight long hair with navy blue color.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, you aren¡¯t happy even though we can finally enjoy the summer vacation?¡¹

    Marie turned her gaze toward the group of five who were cheerfully conversing inside the ss in respond to Cara¡¯s question.

    Over there were the five idiots©¤©¤aka our fellow overseas students from the kingdom.

    ¡¸A holiday without any prior n is really a fresh experience.¡¹

    The one who said that was Julius Rafa Hohlfahrt(¥æ¥ê¥¦¥¹?¥é¥Õ¥¡?¥Û¥ë¥Õ¥¡©`¥È).

    The prince with blue short hair was talking about the summer vacation with a smile.

    ¡¸There were a lot of things at the previous summer vacation. Does your highness perhaps some kind of n?¡¹

    The one who asked Julius that was Jilk Fia Marmoreal(¥¸¥ë¥¯?¥Õ¥£¥¢?¥Þ©`¥â¥ê¥¢).

    He was Julius¡¯s foster brother©¤©¤someone who was raised together with him since they were little to be special master and servant.

    ¡¸What are we going to do to pass the month from now?¡¹

    Greg Fou Seberg(¥°¥ì¥Ã¥°?¥Õ¥©¥¦?¥»¥Ð©`¥°) was worrying about how to spend the summer vacation.

    These guys were former noble youths.

    Originally even in summer vacation their schedule would be packed due to their position.

    But, right now their families had given up on them and they became free.

    They seemed to be happy about that and were looking forward to the summer vacation.

    Even Chris Fia Arclight(¥¯¥ê¥¹?¥Õ¥£¥¢?¥¢©`¥¯¥é¥¤¥È) who was normally not talking much andposed were getting excited talking about the summer vacation with Greg.

    ¡¸I¡¯m interested with themonwealth¡¯s weapon, so I want to have a little trip to look around for weapons. It¡¯ll be great if there is a museum or something like that here.¡¹

    Visiting museum in the summer vacation, what a refined way of spending a vacation.

    If it was me at my previous life©¤©¤before I reincarnated into this world of that otome game, I would surely spend the vacation by slovenly doing nothing.

    Thest of them, Brad Fou Field(¥Ö¥é¥Ã¥É?¥Õ¥©¥¦?¥Õ¥£©`¥ë¥É) made a suggestion to the four.

    ¡¸All of you still don¡¯t have any n? Then how about renting an airship and go on a cruise in themonwealth?¡¹

    As expected, these guys were really rich that even word like cruise wasing out.

    An invitation to go on a cruise was made so casually like whenmoner was saying <i>Let¡¯s go have a pic!</i>

    Julius¡¯s eyes brightened.

    ¡¸That¡¯s nice idea. We¡¯re already studying abroad in Alzer Commonwealth, so it¡¯s not a bad idea to go sightseeing. If we have a month, we will be able sightsee all over this country in general even if it¡¯ll be somewhat hurried.¡¹

    This guy, was he nning to use the whole month just for sightseeing?

    That was a really elegant way to use summer vacation.

    ©¤©¤But it was pointless.

    When my gaze returned to Marie, her eyes were cold in contrast to these five due to her knowledge of the reality.

    Cara was flustered in front of Marie¡¯s cold gaze.

    ¡¸I-is something wrong Marie-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸Cara, do you think we will be able to enjoy the vacation in our position as those five¡¯s caretaker? Until now there is no need to worry about lunch because we have school, but we¡¯re going to have to look after those five from morning until night starting tomorrow.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s expression was really chilling.

    Only children would be happy by summer vacation, but parent with children would have their hands full.

    Even though they had time where their children weren¡¯t home until now, bute vacation the children would be at home from morning until night every day.

    Any mother whether they were fulltime housewife or mother with job would have their hands full©¤©¤Marie had that kind of expression.

    It seemed that right now for Marie those five were children that had to be looked after.

    Marie made a dry chuckle.

    ¡¸Ufufufu©¤©¤we¡¯ll need to prepare lunch too starting tomorrow. What now, the food cost is going to pile up.¡¹

    This was the fate of the woman who reincarnated into the world of that otome game and aimed for reverse harem.

    Seeing how Marie who was my little sister from the previous life ended up like this, it made me wonder how she ended up to be this sad.

    I didn¡¯t think that Marie could be pitied because she brought this on herself.

    I didn¡¯t but, seeing my little sister who aimed for a reverse harem©¤©¤and ended up having to support five troublesome men, it was a fact that I felt a bit of pity for her.

    But, it was a little funny.

    In her current situation it was like she had five children.

    Wasn¡¯t this actually a fitting punishment for my stupid little sister who aimed for a reverse harem?

    Someone pinched my cheek while I was watching Marie with a grin.

    ¡¸T-that ¡®urt¡¹

    <i>That hurt</i>, the one I told that was a girl whose long hair was tied into side ponytail.

    Her hair was blonde at the root with a color gradation that was turning pinker the closer it was to the tip.

    She had a tomboyish air and an appearance that looked a bit like a gal.

    But, the person herself was a friendly and kind girl.

    She also had a familial side to her. There was a strong gap to this girl.

    ¡¸Why are you smirking like that?¡¹

    The one who was talking to me with a smiling face, Noelle Beltre(¥Î¥¨¥ë?¥Ù¥ë¥È¥ì)©¤©¤her real name was Noelle Zel Lespinasse(¥Î¥¨¥ë?¥¸¥ë?¥ì¥¹¥Ô¥Ê¥¹).

    ©¤©¤That otome game had a sequel. Noelle was the main character of that second game.

    I got away from Noelle¡¯s hand and rubbed my cheek while answering.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because Marie¡¯s situation has gotten really funny. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s amusing? This is a precious data sample that showed how the result of aiming for reverse harem won¡¯t always result in happiness.¡¹

    Noelle was exasperated seeing meughing.

    ¡¸It¡¯s too much to call other people¡¯s life as data sample.¡¹

    ¡¸My bad. But, it¡¯s still funny.¡¹

    I wished that I could be allowed to at leastugh seeing how many times Marie had troubled me.

    I was also supporting her livelihood marily.

    I should be forgiven.

    ¡¸Leon¡¯s personality is twisted.¡¹

    Noelle showed an exasperated expression, but then her smile soon returned.

    And then she brought her face closer to mine.

    In this distance our noses almost touched.

    ¡¸Hey, more importantly apany me shopping when we go home.¡¹

    ¡¸Shopping?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ve been a bother in Marie-chan¡¯s home like this, so I have to contribute too sometimes.¡¹

    ¡¸I think you don¡¯t really need to mind it though.¡¹

    Marie-chan eh.

    Noelle and Marie had gotten really close with each other.

    That couldn¡¯t be helped.

    Noelle was living in our©¤©¤no, Marie¡¯s mansion since the case with Pierre.

    Even now I was living in Marie¡¯s mansion.

    The reason was©¤©¤it was something really troubling that was located on the back of my right hand.

    Right now I was iming it was wounded and kept the hand bandaged, but under the bandage was a symbol called ¡°the crest of guardian¡± that was a proof of being recognized by the sacred tree.

    I was recognized by the sacred tree¡¯s sapling that I secured during Pierre¡¯s incident.

    Originally the sacred tree would choose a priestess.

    I heard it would be the priestess who chose the guardian, so I let my guard down.

    I turned around to look at the seat behind me.

    Sitting there was a boy named Jean(¥¸¥ã¥ó), a student I got acquainted with at themonwealth.

    We were receiving supplementary lessons here because we didn¡¯t attend the academy during the incident that Pierre caused.

    We were receiving supplementary lessons until now to make up for that.

    ¡¸Are you going to go home after this too Jean? Then how about you go shopping together with us too?¡¹

    I observed Noelle while inviting Jean.

    She looked like she was somewhat sulking©¤©¤was it just my imagination?

    ¡¸I have something I have to do after this. I n to visit the house of rtives who had been taking care of me. It seemed I had made them worry. They sent me a letter asking me toe visiting.¡¹

    Jean refused my invitation with a smile.

    ¡¸Besides, I¡¯ll feel bad if I got in the way of you two.¡¹

    Jean said that and turned his gaze at Noelle.

    Noelle looked slightly embarrassed.

    ©¤©¤Until just a little while ago, I thought the one who Noelle liked was Jean.

    This male student called Jean wasn¡¯t a capture target, he was just a mob.

    If Noelle liked Jean, then I thought it couldn¡¯t be helped but©¤©¤it seemed it was just my misunderstanding.

    This was troubling.

    If Noelle was the main character of this second game, she needed to marry one of the capture targets.

    The world would be in danger if she didn¡¯t do that.

    The world might be destroyed because of some youngsters¡¯ romance.

    What an unpleasant world.

    And yet, the current situation wasn¡¯t really good.

    The capture targets of the second game©¤©¤Noelle¡¯s lover candidates actually had weakmon ground with her at the present.

    The first candidate, Loic Leta Barriere(¥í¥¤¥¯?¥ì¥¿?¥Ð¥ê¥¨¥ë) was the main capture target but©¤©¤this guy had be Noelle¡¯s stalker.

    I heard that even in the game his monopolizing desire was a bit strong, but he was an even more dangerous guy than I imagined.

    Because of that Noelle hated him and he was removed from being a lover candidate.

    The second candidate was Narcisse Calse Granze(¥Ê¥ë¥·¥¹?¥«¥ë¥»?¥°¥é¥ó¥¸¥å).

    This person was a teacher of the academy. He was a noble who had passion for archeology and often went out for fieldwork due to his hobby.

    He was a bit too enthusiastic with his hobby, but he wasn¡¯t a bad person.

    Even so, at present he had no point of contact with Noelle at all.

    It wasn¡¯t a matter whether Noelle conscious or not toward him, it was at the level of ¡¸Narcisse-sensei? Aa, now that you mention it there is also a teacher with that name¡¹.

    In the game, if you didn¡¯t take Narcisse¡¯s special ss as a major subject until you advanced to the second year, there wouldn¡¯t be any g with him and he would get automatically removed from the candidate list.

    Speaking of automatic removal, there was also one more person who had vanished.

    It was Hughes Toara Druille(¥æ©`¥°?¥È¥¢¥é?¥É¥ë¥¤¥æ).

    If Noelle didn¡¯t raise this guy¡¯s g at the first year, he would get automatically removed when she advanced to the second year©¤©¤from there the two of them wouldn¡¯t have anymore rtion with each other.

    Noelle didn¡¯t make any contact with this third candidate too and it became impossible for him to be a lover candidate.

    Next the fourth person was Emile Laz Pleven(¥¨¥ß©`¥ë?¥é¥º?¥×¥ì¥ô¥¡¥ó), but this guy was a lover candidate who was so easy to capture that he was called ¡°safe tile¡±.

    However, a reincarnator©¤©¤Lelia Beltre(¥ì¥ê¥¢?¥Ù¥ë¥È¥ì) who reincarnated to be Noelle¡¯s twin little sister became his lover.

    That stupid Lelia stole Emile.

    It was a situation where four of the lover candidates werepletely impossible to get together with Noelle like this. As for thest one, Serge Sara Rault(¥»¥ë¥¸¥å?¥µ¥é?¥é¥¦¥ë¥È), he didn¡¯t attend the academy in the first ce.

    On top of having no encounter at all, this guy¡¯s family was in aplicated rtionship with Noelle.

    After all, this guy¡¯s adopted father, Albergue Sara Rault(¥¢¥ë¥Ù¥ë¥¯?¥µ¥é?¥é¥¦¥ë¥È)©¤©¤was thest boss.

    His older stepsister Louise Sara Rault(¥ë¥¤©`¥¼?¥µ¥é?¥é¥¦¥ë¥È)©¤©¤was the second game¡¯s viiness.

    And then, Rault House was the house that destroyed Lespinasse House.

    I would be forced to answer it was difficult if I was asked whether the two of them could get together after this.

    ©¤©¤The boys who were the capture target had been exterminated from the list.

    In addition, even though I wasn¡¯t even Noelle¡¯s lover, the sacred tree¡¯s sapling got the nerve to choose me as the guardian.

    No matter how I looked at it this was checkmate.

    While I was thinking, Noelle pinched my shirt and made me stood up.

    ¡¸Come on, quick.¡¹

    ¡¸I got it so don¡¯t pull my clothes.¡¹

    The two of us left the ssroom.

    Noelle called at Marie just before we left.

    ¡¸Marie-chan, we¡¯re going to buy the seasoning that¡¯s going to run out.¡¹

    Marie made a slightlyplicated expression when she heard that.

    ¡¸T-thank you. More importantly, big©¤©¤Leon. I got something to talk to you when you returned.¡¹

    She almost called me ¡¸Big bro¡¹ before she hurriedly corrected herself. But still, something to talk with me?

    She couldn¡¯t talk about it in this ce meant that it must be about our n from here.

    ¡¸Yeah, got it. I¡¯ll get back quickly.¡¹

    Then Marie sent her gaze briefly toward Noelle before her gaze returned back at me again.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The dinner preparation will be troublesome, you two go eat by yourself. We can have the talk at night.¡¹

    ¡¸I-is that so?¡¹

    Something was strange with Marie¡¯s behavior.

    Recently she often acted like this.

    But then I headed to go shopping with Noelle without saying anything more.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    At night.

    I and Noelle was having dinner in an open terrace area of a restaurant after finishing our shopping.

    There were threerge tes on a round table with a candle ced on it.

    Near our hands there were small tes with a small bread ced on them.

    We ced the brown paper bag filled with the things we purchased on the empty chair.

    I was struggling hard against the boiled lobster dish while eating.

    ¡¸This is hard to eat.¡¹

    Just a little while ago I received a lot of reparation money from themonwealth in regard to Pierre¡¯s case, so I decided to splurge a bit and bought an expensive cooking. But this was the result.

    It was a pain eating something that I wasn¡¯t used to.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t bear watching this. Let me try.¡¹

    Noelle who was watching took away the crustacean ingredient that looked like a lobster from me.

    Then she dismantled it easily unlike me.

    After Noelle took out the meat, she ced it on a small te and gave it to me.

    Noelle used a napkin that was ced on the table and wiped her hands while looking a bit proudly at me saying ¡¸How¡¯s that¡¹.

    ¡¸That¡¯s amazing. So it can be dismantled this cleanly.¡¹

    ¡¸Dismantle©¤©¤well, it¡¯s not wrong to call it that. So? Now it¡¯s easier to eat like this right?¡¹

    When I tried eating it, the meat was tender and delicious.

    I could hear the voices of other customers enjoying themselves from inside the restaurant.

    I also could hear the voices of the waiters reading the customers¡¯ order.

    There was also the light from inside the restaurant and the street light. Although the top of the table was a bit dark, but we still could see quite clearly.

    It created quite a nice atmosphere instead which was good in its own way.

    ¡¸This is tasty. Try it too Noelle.¡¹

    ¡¸It makes me feel awkward to have you treating me every time. Leon, aren¡¯t you wasting too much money recently?¡¹

    The incident with Pierre had been settled and now I was enjoying life in themonwealth quite much.

    There were a lot of problems still remaining, but that was that, this was this.

    ¡¸Most of what I bought were souvenirs. My family back home are annoying for this kind of thing.¡¹

    The one who was annoying me with their demand for souvenir was my family©¤©¤my big sister Jena(¥¸¥§¥Ê) and my little sister Finley(¥Õ¥£¥ó¥ê©`).

    They pestered me for fine gifts for souvenirs.

    I also needed to give present for the people that I was indebted to, so I splurged quite a lot.

    But, there was reason for all those spending so there was no problem.

    Noelle¡¯s gaze turned doubtful at my im that my spending couldn¡¯t be helped.

    ¡¸But, those new tea sets are unnecessary aren¡¯t they? Just how much those tea sets inside the dedicated bag cost?¡¹

    ¡¸Hahaha©¤©¤Noelle, do you want to try this one too? It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    There were really nice tea sets in themonwealth.

    With so much money in my pocket right now, I couldn¡¯t help but want to get them.

    But, the only things that I bought for myself were just those tea sets.

    The things other than that were mostly just daily necessities.

    ¡¸Leon?¡¹

    Noelle wouldn¡¯t let me change the topic, so I confessed honestly.

    ¡¸©¤©¤All of them amounted to a hundred thousand in total.¡¹

    A hundred thousand©¤©¤of course it wasn¡¯t in yen.

    If it was converted to Japanese yen, then the cost would be around ten million in total.

    Noelle looked shocked. It seemed the price far surpassed her imagination.

    ¡¸Before this you also bought things like expensive tea leaves or sweets didn¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I wanted to do a tea party with the new tea sets! This is my hobby! Noelle yourself, you also drank the tea and ate the sweets!¡¹

    To begin with, the one who I invited to the tea party was Noelle.

    ¡¸N-no, that was, you know©¤©¤they were delicious, so¡¹

    There were few entertainments in this other world.

    For a modern person like me, it should be fine to have at least one hobby like this.

    ¡¸It¡¯s one of my few hobbies.¡¹

    When I acted down, Noelle seemed to feel guilty and apologized.

    ¡¸S-sorry. I said too much. Even so, I never expected that Leon¡¯s hobby is something like tea.¡¹

    Well, even myself acted ¡¸Tea? Aa~, yeah yeah, tea huh¡¹ until some time ago.

    However, my sense of value changed after my encounter with master.

    ¡¸Noelle too will surely get it if you participate in master¡¯s tea party.¡¹

    Noelle resumed her meal when she saw me praising master happily.

    ¡¸I have heard that many times.¡¹

    I guess. I had talked a lot about that after all.

    I also resumed my meal. Then a waiter approached us.

    ¡¸Does dear customer wish to order more?¡¹

    Noelle didn¡¯t order anymore, but I did.

    ¡¸Please bring the most expensive juice here.¡¹

    I tried ordering something expensive to act like a rich person.

    The waiter made a troubled smile.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m sorry, there isn¡¯t any juice with price that expensive.¡¹

    I knew that because I had seen the menu before.

    ¡¸I¡¯m joking. Give us two more drinks. The same things like before are fine.¡¹

    I ordered the same drinks like our first order.

    Noelle also looked fine with that.

    When the waiter left, Noelle asked me.

    ¡¸You aren¡¯t drinking alcohol huh Leon? Even though Marie-chan and the others are drinking. Isn¡¯t it rare even at the kingdom for someone to not drink?¡¹

    In this world you would be allowed to drink alcohol when you were 17 years old.

    You would be treated as adult at 15 years old, so whether one drank alcohol or not would be their own responsibility after that.

    But I wasn¡¯t that interested in alcohol.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve decided to drink alcohol when I¡¯m twenty.¡¹

    ¡¸Why¡¯s that?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s my personal rule.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t like I was that fixated with that rule but©¤©¤it made me felt somewhat awkward to drink in this age, so I decided to not drink until I was twenty. In the first ce I also didn¡¯t want to drink alcohol that badly.

    Noelle smiled.

    And then her smile turned a bit sad.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    When I asked her, Noelle shook her head.

    Her side ponytail fluttered.

    ¡¸It was my dream to have meal like this.¡¹

    Those words made me recalled the face of Noelle¡¯s little sister.

    ¡¸What about Lelia?¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s expression turned a bit dissatisfied.

    This girl¡¯s expression often changed rapidly.

    ¡¸Leon really can¡¯t read the atmosphere, you¡¯re dense. Well, it¡¯s not like I mind that side of yours. ©¤©¤There is saying that sisters would one day separate from each other, in the first ce Lelia doesn¡¯t wish to do this kind of thing.¡¹

    ¡¸He~eh¡¹

    Did something happen between these sisters?

    Well, if it was that Lelia, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if something did happen.

    After all the current situation was partly because of that girl¡¯s fault.

    ¡¸Well, it¡¯s good if you have fun.¡¹

    Noelle looked at my face when I said that.

    ¡¸What?¡¹

    Noelle showed me a smile. Her face looked really pretty.

    ¡¸I¡¯m just thinking that you look like you¡¯re enjoying the food. More importantly, about after this©¤©¤¡¹

    Noelle wanted to ask about the n after this, but there was footsteps approaching our table.

    It wasn¡¯t the waiter, but someone who was our acquaintance.

    I looked at that person¡¯s face. She was clearly making a displeased face.

    ©¤©¤Lelia was raising an eyebrow with her hand on her waist. She didn¡¯t even try to hide her displeasure.

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t any need to look that displeased.¡¹

    Noelle frowned and averted her face from Lelia.

    ¡¸Lelia, do you need something?¡¹

    An awkward tension drifted between the two. The customers around were also looking this way with interest.

    I sighed.

    ¡¸You show up just when we were talking about you. Well, sit down. Do you want to drink something?¡¹

    Lelia averted her face from me when I addressed her.

    ¡¸No need to bother! ©¤©¤I alsoe here withpany.¡¹

    When I looked behind Lelia, there was Emile with his silky blue hair standing slightly behind her.

    He was wearing an expensive looking suit.

    I grinned when I saw him.

    ¡¸What, are you in a date?¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up! Forget about that, today I¡¯m going toe to your house.¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s expression turned grave when she heard that.

    ¡¸Lelia, I told you already to not be a nuisance.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s something important so just be quiet big sis.¡¹

    Lelia only said what she wanted to say before she left our table.

    Emile made an apologetic face and bowed slightly to us before chasing after Lelia.

    The surrounding got a bit noisy. It was then the waiter who had been observing the scene just now came bringing the juice we ordered.

    ¡¸Thank you for waiting.¡¹

    I put some money on the waiter¡¯s tray to make up for the inconvenience.

    The waiter happily left seeing that.

    Noelle was looking down.

    Lelia©¤©¤that girl was the same reincarnator like us.

    Also she was knowledgeable about that otome game¡¯s sequel.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Today let¡¯s go back after we finished eating.¡¹

    ¡¸Okay.¡¹

    Noelle was looking dejected, so we went home right away today.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    After I returned to the mansion, I talked with Marie in the dining room about the n from here.

    The clock that was ced inside the room was showing the time had gone past 11 PM.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That Lelia, she iste.¡¹

    My irritation kept growing because she hadn¡¯t showed up yet. My finger was tapping on the table. Then Marie yawned.

    ¡¸She was in a date right? Perhaps she is ying around. Or perhaps the mood turned good and she won¡¯t be able toe today.¡¹

    The sleepy looking Marie rubbed her eyes and said that it couldn¡¯t be helped even if Lelia didn¡¯te.

    ¡¸Making other people waiting like this, is that girl screwing around?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m telling you, the two of them will go until the end if they got heated up in their date right? Ah, I see. A wuss like big bro won¡¯t understand something like that.¡¹

    I was irritated that she was calling me a wuss.

    ¡¸What do you mean by that?¡¹

    ¡¸No matter how I look at it, aren¡¯t big bro¡¯s attitude toward Noelle like a wuss. In the first ce, it was also horrible when the fianc¨¦es who big bro left back home confessed to you wasn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Angelica and Livia ran out of patience against me who wouldn¡¯t give an answer no matter how long they waited, and so it was the two of them who confessed to me.

    C-certainly, I might be a wuss at that time.

    But, it was different with Noelle.

    ¡¸Why are you calling my attitude toward Noelle a wuss huh?¡¹

    When I argued back, Marie made a face that looked really displeased.

    ¡¸Big bro is really the worst.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You are calling me the worst without even exining the reason? Tell me, who is the one who get her livelihood supported by such man?¡¹

    When I attacked Marie¡¯s weak point, she protested tearfully.

    ¡¸That attitude is also the worst!¡¹

    Luxion came to the dining room while we were noisily arguing with each other.

    He had the appearance of metallic spherical body and a single red eye.

    Today too he was notifying me with a way of speaking that was really unsuitable for when talking with his master.

    ¡ºI also can¡¯t deny that master is a wuss.¡»

    ¡¸Oi!?¡¹

    ¡ºMore importantly, a guest has arrived.¡»

    When I looked outside the window from the dining room, the outside was bright.

    It was the light that came from a car.

    ¡¸Is that Lelia?¡¹

    ¡ºIt looks like Emile is escorting her here.¡»

    Emile was really kind.

    Marie headed to the entrance, then after a while she returned with Lelia in tow.

    Emile¡¯s car was leaving from the mansion.

    After Lelia sat down, Marie poured her a drink from the pot that had been prepared.

    Lelia epted it and suddenly entered the main topic.

    ¡¸And, what are we going to do from now?¡¹

    Marie and I looked at each other, and then we both scoffed and shrugged.

    Lelia scowled seeing our gesture and hit the table.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that attitude!¡¹

    Marie responded haughtily.

    ¡¸You came thiste and then suddenly asked what are we going to do? In the first ce, it¡¯s your responsibility that the situation be troubling like this though?¡¹

    Lelia who got used that this was her fault stood up and objected.

    ¡¸Things had been going well until now with my way! If you two didn¡¯t mess up everything, even big sis and Loic©¤©¤w-well, it might be difficult.¡¹

    Even Lelia was shaken.

    The current Loic to put it mildly was a stalker.

    To be honest, he was a criminal already.

    Ah, there was no difference between the two I guess.

    And then Noelle was harboring disgust toward him in the level of ¡¸It¡¯s physiologically impossible¡¹.

    The difficulty would be too difficult to make them became lovers from here so it was wiser to give up here.

    I prepared teacake for Lelia.

    ¡¸I investigated the situation of the guys who can be Noelle¡¯s lover candidate but, the possibility is annihted already.¡¹

    When I looked at Luxion, he continued after me and told Lelia the situation.

    ¡ºAbout Narcisse, he has no student at all in this school year and it¡¯s very likely he will leave the academy. And then regarding Hughes, talk of his engagement is in progress right now. Emile is already in romantic rtionship with you so he is out of the question. In that case the remaining candidate is only Serge. Currently his whereabouts is unknown so the information iscking.¡»

    It wasn¡¯t because Luxion was unable to investigate, it was more a problem of resource.

    He would be able to find Serge if he seriously investigated his whereabouts. But the problem was after we found him.

    Noelle was avoiding the topic of Serge. Rather than because of Serge personally, she was avoiding the topic of Rault House altogether. The possibility of him bing Noelle¡¯s lover was low.

    Lelia made a troubled voice.

    ¡¸Serge huh©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Do you know something?¡¹

    Lelia seemed evasive for some reason when I asked her for exnation about Serge.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Serge is yearning to be an adventurer, so he often skipped school.¡¹

    ¡¸I had heard about that.¡¹

    Previously when I was invited to Rault House, I heard the story about how Serge had yearning for the adventurer profession.

    ¡¸Well, that¡¯s©¤©¤even I thought that a spare was needed in case it failed with Loic, so I also approached Serge.¡¹

    Marie tilted her head.

    ¡¸Then why were you fixated with Loic? Don¡¯t tell me, you also failed with Serge!?¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t call it failure! T-that¡¯s not it I¡¯m telling you. No, that¡¯s it though.¡¹

    This girl was really unclear.

    Was it a failure or not, which one?

    ¡¸Just what¡¯s the deal with that Serge-kun?¡¹

    Lelia gave up and talked about Serge.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It went smoothly until I became acquainted with Serge. But, big sis won¡¯t ept it because he is from Rault House, and Serge himself©¤©¤he isn¡¯t interested with big sis.¡¹

    Both Noelle and Serge weren¡¯t interested with each other.

    I didn¡¯t think that there was any problem if that was all.

    However, Lelia continued.

    ¡¸That guy, he said to me ¡°I like you¡±.¡¹

    Lelia said that with a red face. Seeing that Marie made an extremely irritated face and clicked her tongue.

    What¡¯s this©¤©¤I felt scared and couldn¡¯t interrupt the talk.

    ¡¸You, even though you were telling me ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would aim for something like reverse harem!¡± so annoyingly like that, you yourself were making a pass at two men? I can¡¯t trust a woman like you the most.¡¹

    Lelia also talked back.

    ¡¸I¡¯m still better than you who are keeping five boyfriends!¡¹

    Well, certainly whenparing five people with two people, Lelia was still better even if it was just a scant difference©¤©¤wasn¡¯t it?

    But, it was really a stalemate if it was like this.

    ¡¸This is checkmate huh.¡¹

    My words made Lelia pointed her finger at me and protested.

    She was getting teary.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that! My n went out of the rail because you be the guardian!¡¹

    I wished she would stop with the false usation.

    It was this woman who caused the checkmate situation even before I became the guardian.

    ¡¸It¡¯s not my fault. Even if it¡¯s actually really my fault, it¡¯s your fault for creating this kind of situation.¡¹

    Lelia got angry when I spoke bluntly like that.

    She wasshing out even though she was the one in the wrong.

    ¡¸You are saying it¡¯s my fault!?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously. In the society, it¡¯s the guy¡¯s own fault if they got cornered into checkmate. In the first ce, the situation wouldn¡¯t be like this if only you put more importance on Noelle¡¯s own opinion. Also if you created a chance for her to meet with Hughes or Narcisse, then we would still have options right now.¡¹

    Lelia couldn¡¯t say anything back and looked frustrated.

    Well, it was also natural for her to want toint at us after we messed up her n.

    Even so, she was at fault for creating this situation.

    ¡¸Besides, what about you yourself? You secured the safest character Emile for yourself. Even though if you think about the situation then you should have avoided him.¡¹

    Behind me Marie was cheering ¡¸Tell her! Tell her more big bro! Beat up the opponent with your preaching until they can¡¯t stand anymore like usual!¡¹.

    Just what kind of person do you think I am?

    ¡¸You should leave safe tile-kun so it should at least be possible to recover back no matter what is the situation. Do you have the awareness that it was you who created this situation?¡¹

    ¡¸Normally will someone really speak that far toward other person!?¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s me then I¡¯m going to say it. Don¡¯t think that all men will be unconditionally kind toward woman. Just so you know, I have nothing to fear anymore!¡¹

    Yes©¤©¤I had nothing to fear anymore.

    Because, I had two beautiful and kind fianc¨¦es.

    I didn¡¯t fear anything anymore now.

    Lelia looked down.

    She apologized with a small voice.

    ¡¸I, I think I¡¯m at fault. Even I never imagined that Loic will be that horrible. At the first year I thought that it would be alright and felt relieved.¡¹

    So she let her guard down and failed.

    Thanks to that the danger to the world was getting closer.

    But nothing would be resolved even if we continued talking about this.

    ¡¸Now then, let¡¯s discuss strategy about from here on again.¡¹

    I looked toward Luxion. He was going to exin several strategies for from here on.

    ¡ºWell then, about the n from here on©¤©¤master, something importante up.¡»

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Luxion stopped his exnation and notified me of an outrageous information.

    ¡ºAn airship that is carrying Angelica and Olivia is approaching rapidly from the kingdom to here. Creare is also on board. It seems to be an emergency.¡»

    ¡¸Emergency!?¡¹

    Did something happen at the kingdom?

    For those two toe to themonwealth in so much of a hurry, did a major incident happen?

    Damn it.

    Luxion¡¯s main body, the spaceship was currently near me©¤©¤it was floating near themonwealth. Because of that I couldn¡¯t receive news from the kingdom in real time.

    ¡¸When are they going to arrive?¡¹

    ¡ºThey will arrive at the harbor tomorrow morning.¡»

    ¡¸D-did something happen!?¡¹

    ¡ºI don¡¯t know yet. There wasn¡¯t any report at all from Creare.¡»

    Just what happened at the kingdom at this kind of time?

 Chapter 128 - Volume 5 Chapter 1

    Volume 5 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1 ¨C Now in the Middle of Cheating!

    .

    Part 1

    This happened before the summer vacation.

    Argemotion happened in Alzer Commonwealth. During that time there was a period when the people at Hohlfahrt Kingdom didn¡¯t understand the situation there because of therge distance between the two countries.

    Leon¡¯s two fianc¨¦es were worried for him and the group who studied abroad at themonwealth.

    One was a duke¡¯s daughter, Angelica Rafa Redgrave(¥¢¥ó¥¸¥§¥ê¥«?¥é¥Õ¥¡?¥ì¥Ã¥É¥°¥ì¥¤¥Ö).

    She was a girl with shiny blonde hair that was braided into a bun and a strong-willed face.

    Her red eyes gave off the strength of her will, but right now she was smiling eerily.

    The second fianc¨¦e was Olivia, unlike Angelica©¤©¤Ange, she was amoner.

    She was a girl who was given special permission to enroll into the kingdom¡¯s academy. She had the position as the main character of the first game of that otome game.

    She was a girl with x colored hair that was kept in bob haircut. She had a cute appearance that normally gave off a soft andfortable atmosphere.

    However, right now she was emitting an air that made it hard to approach her.

    She was expressionlessly waiting for their arrival to themonwealth inside the cabin of the airship Licorne(¥ê¥³¥ë¥Ì) ©¤©¤the second Einhorn(¥¢¥¤¥ó¥Û¥ë¥ó) ss airship.

    Right now the two was heading to themonwealth by using their summer vacation.

    The reason was their fianc¨¦e Leon.

    Ange talked to Olivia©¤©¤Livia.

    Her arms were folded below herrge breasts. Her right hand¡¯s index finger kept tapping on her own arm in irritation.

    ¡¸When is the infamous inspection of themonwealth going to start? We have been made to wait for more than an hour. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s vexing that we can¡¯t even move despite themonwealth right before our eyes like this?¡¹

    Livia nodded and looked outside the window.

    ¡¸They are only getting near, but they show no other movement. Really, just what are they thinking?¡¹

    Licorne was the same type of ship like Einhorn.

    It had a characteristic horn on its bow.

    The only difference it had with Einhorn was only the ship¡¯s color.

    Its beautiful white hull looked dazzling due to the illumination of the sunlight.

    Luxion was the one that created the baseline design, but Creare was the one who constructed the second ship without permission.

    She had the same spherical body like Luxion¡¯s extension, but her color was white.

    The lens of her eye was blue unlike Luxion¡¯s red.

    It wasn¡¯t just that, her personality was also really different from Luxion.

    The electronic voice she used to speak also sounded feminine.

    ¡ºI wonder, perhaps they are admiring Licorne¡¯s beauty?¡»

    Ange stood up from her chair at Creare¡¯s guess.

    She was looking outside the window with a cold gaze.

    ¡¸They¡¯re really easygoing if that¡¯s the case. Creare, connect me with themonwealth¡¯s guardship. Tell them we¡¯re going to push through if they made us wait longer than this.¡¹

    ¡ºOh, how extreme. Aren¡¯t you too hurried just because you want to meet with master quickly?¡»

    Ange smiled coldly.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because I¡¯m so bothered by how Leon is doing in Alzer that I can¡¯t help it. That thing you picked up, ¡°chat log¡± was it? If there is something like ¡°in the middle of cheating now¡± in it, then even I won¡¯t be able to stay calm.¡¹

    The two of them came until themonwealth in this summer vacation because they were suspecting that Leon was cheating.

    But these two had different thinking in regard to this.

    Although Ange was angry, she could forgive Leon.

    ¡¸Good grief, there is an order of sequence even if he want to y around. Just what is he thinking doing as he please while leaving us behind.¡¹

    For Ange who was born in a duke house©¤©¤a noble house, she knew that it would only ruin their health physically and mentally if they got angry when a man was cheating.

    But it was different with Livia.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe that Leon-san would do something like cheating. Because, he has never evenid his hand on us, how can he then cheat on us at other country in only this short time.¡¹

    Ange looked at Livia with a troubled expression.

    ¡¸Leon is also a man after all. Livia, it will only break your health if you worry too much about it.¡¹

    ¡¸B-but!¡¹

    They were born and raised in two different environments, their way of thinking also differed.

    Creare interrupted the two¡¯s conversation.

    ¡ºOh? The guardship of themonwealth is running away.¡»

    Ange tilted her head when she heard that.

    ¡¸What about the inspection?¡¹

    ¡ºIt seems it¡¯s fine for us to pass through. It¡¯s really strange.¡»

    Livia pondered for a bit, but she then shook her head and switched her feeling.

    ¡¸But we can enter Alzer with this. Now we can find out whether Leon-san has really cheated on us or not.¡¹

    Creare spoke in worry seeing Livia¡¯s serious gaze.

    ¡ºI-is it really alright to not tell master? I think it¡¯ll be better to tell master that the two of you areing.¡»

    Ange had her own thinking in regard to that.

    ¡¸Luxion will detect us whether we like it or not if we got nearer to themonwealth right? If we informed them of our arrival beforehand, it will give them more time to erase the evidence. It will be better if we make Leon the one who contact us instead so we also won¡¯t need to march into his ce.¡¹

    Ange¡¯s worry wasn¡¯t just about Leon cheating.

    She was also bothered whether Leon was only ying around or serious with the cheating, but more than that she wanted to know who he was cheating with.

    It would be problematic if the woman was someone troublesome.

    She couldn¡¯t allow it if it was a wicked woman who led Leon by the nose.

    If that was actually the case, she intended to sever their rtionship at any cost.

    But, the worst case would be if the woman was someone with authority.

    It would be extremely troublesome if Leon was having rtionship with Alzer¡¯s noble.

    It would still be better if the woman was a noble with low rank.

    But it would be a big problem if the woman had high status.

    ¡¸That Leon, is he really alright?¡¹

    Cheating was unforgivable.

    Also Leon was a hero of the kingdom©¤©¤even if he was cheating, with his status he had to be careful with whom he was doing it.

    Ange was also worried with one more dangerous possibility.

    (I hope he isn¡¯t cheating with Marie.)

    The woman who ensnared a lot of noble youths including the crown prince Julius©¤©¤Marie.

    Such existence was right beside Leon.

    Ange¡¯s mind was really weighed by it.

    (Leon©¤©¤don¡¯t you dare betray me.)

    .

    Part 2

    I came to Alzer¡¯s harbor.

    The airship entered the harbor slightlyter than the expected schedule. The people of Alzer were moring.

    The military officers were nervous.

    There were three ships that came from the kingdom.

    However the onlookers that gathered here only focused on one ship.

    Although that white airship had different color from Einhorn, their shape was exactly the same.

    If it had the same color than perhaps no one would be able to tell the difference.

    ¡¸There is some little difference I think? What do you think Luxion? Luxion?¡¹

    When Licorne was anchored beside Einhorn, Luxion was trembling seeing that.

    Was that his expression of anger? This guy was really attentive to detail.

    ¡ºNow you have done it Creare.¡»

    ¡¸Eh, what? It wasn¡¯t you who constructed that white one?¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m not! Creare used the spare parts that I prepared for Einhorn as she pleased and constructed the second ship without even asking for permission!¡»

    Luxion was angry.

    But, when I looked at the white and beautiful airship, I forgave Creare.

    Because it wasn¡¯t something that hurt me in the slightest anyway.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine isn¡¯t it? I can feel relieved if it has the same capability with Einhorn. Ange and Livia can make use of it.¡¹

    ¡ºShe modified my blueprint. Its specs are unknown. Something like this is unforgivable. I¡¯ll interrogate Creare for a bit, so excuse me.¡»

    Luxion flew away.

    While I saw him off, a ramp extended from the white airship.

    I saw the silhouettes that walked down the ramp and waved my hands energetically.

    ¡¸Oo~i, you two!¡¹

    I ran toward them for the long awaited reunion. The two of them weed me with smiling faces©¤©¤eh?

    Strange.

    The two of them were certainly smiling but, I wonder why©¤©¤they looked really scary.

    I wondered if perhaps I had done something. I was gradually curling up into myself.

    ¡¸D-did something happen today? Both of you, look a bit scary with that smile.¡¹

    I tried inquiring for the reason. In respond Livia brought her face closer.

    It was really close.

    Our noses even touched.

    ¡¸Long time no see, Leon-san.¡¹

    Livia greeted me with a smile, but then her expression immediately vanished.

    ¡¸By the way, is there anything that you¡¯re hiding from us?¡¹

    She asked me something like that. My eyes turned round in surprise.

    Anything I¡¯m hiding?

    It was too many that I didn¡¯t know which one she was referring to.

    ¡¸W-what could you possibly mean?¡¹

    It would be dangerous if I started talking without knowing more, so I turned my gaze toward Ange.

    Ange was smiling.

    ¡¸I¡¯m relieved seeing you looking lively like this. No, perhaps you¡¯re too lively? Now Leon©¤©¤I¡¯ll have you tell us everything.¡¹

    Luxion should be helping me in this kind of time, but he had entered the white airship and showed no sign of returning.

    I was asking for help inside my heart.

    Come.

    Come here!

    When are you going to help me if not now!

    I¡¯m begging you,e back Luxion!

    I was looking for help with twitching smile, but sadly we were master and servant whose hearts weren¡¯t connected.

    There was no way my voice of heart would go through to him.

    Livia grabbed my arm.

    Even though I would be able to shake off her hands if I wanted, it felt like my arm was grabbed by a very strong power mentally.

    ¡¸Leon-san, first we¡¯re going to check your residence.¡¹

    Ange hugged my other arm with her own arms and whispered into my ear.

    ¡¸We have cancelled all of our ns for the summer vacation for this. Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll be able to escape.¡¹

    Just what had I done to deserve this!

    The possible reasons were too many that I couldn¡¯t imagine which one had caused the two of them to be this angry.

    Was it that?

    Because I had rampaged as I pleased at Alzer?

    Or was it because I had worked Julius and others had likeborer? ©¤©¤I didn¡¯t think they would be angered by that one I guess.

    Or perhaps, was it because of my letter to Mylene-sama that was filled with sentences that would set one¡¯s teeth on edge?

    Come to think of it, I also sent souvenir and letter to rice-senpai.

    Perhaps that was a wrong thing to do?

    Or else, was this about me having fun shopping with Deirdre(¥Ç¥£¥¢¥É¥ê©`)-senpai when she visited as diplomat a little while ago?

    Ah, I also had tea with her.

    We had fun in a really expensive restaurant for dinner.

    Other than those©¤©¤other than those©¤©¤I see! Perhaps it was about me supporting Marie¡¯s livelihood! Surely such thing would make these two angry.

    Would it really make them angry? But, if they knew about the reason then©¤©¤I guess they would still be angry.

    Marie had stolen Ange¡¯s fianc¨¦e.

    It was unthinkable that Ange and Livia would sympathize with Marie after such thing happened.

    Shit! I didn¡¯t know which one of them had set off their anger.

    ¡¸Leon-san, please tell us the truth.¡¹

    ¡¸Prepare yourself. Because depending on the situation then I¡¯ll have to get serious too.¡¹

    The two of them dragged me away from the harbor.

    Really, just what had I done to anger the two of them like this?

    .

    Part 3

    A problem urred in Marie¡¯s mansion.

    Marie was in summer vacation right now. But thanks to that she needed to take care of the five from morning until night.

    ¡¸Wait! Who was the one who ate the soup for lunch!?¡¹

    Marie who had to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner worked hard the first thing at morning to cook arge pot of soup.

    She thought the soup would be able to hold until dinner©¤©¤no, until lunch if there was this much.

    Leon went out at morning, even so there were five male students who were big eaters in this mansion.

    She also couldn¡¯t find other foods that she had prepared for lunch like bread or ham.

    In addition, there were also some tableware that looked used left behind on the table.

    (U-unbelievable! Even though everyone should have known that I was super busy cleaning this mansion since the morning!!)

    Marie heard from Leon that Ange and Livia would being, so she hurriedly went to clean the mansion.

    Kyle(¥«¥¤¥ë)©¤©¤the half elf boy who was Marie¡¯s personal servant and also Cara were busy cleaning the mansion too.

    It was after such hard work that Marie finally entered the kitchen at noon and found the ce in this state.

    The one who came with a worried look because Marie raised her voice like that was Jilk who seemed to be preparing tea.

    He was holding a teapot in one hand.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter Marie-san?¡¹

    Marie pointed at the kitchen with a trembling hand when she saw Jilk.

    ¡¸Who was the one eating everyone¡¯s lunch?¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t even one hour until it became twelve o¡¯clock.

    It would be difficult to start preparing a lot of food from now.

    She would have to go shopping first.

    In the worst case, after the boys finished eating, she might have to take Kyle and Cara to eat out.

    However she couldn¡¯t forgive the one who ate the lunch as they pleased.

    Hearing that question, Jilk looked embarrassed without any sign of guilt at all.

    ¡¸Aa, that. Actually Greg-kun said that he was hungry.¡¹

    ¡¸I see. ©¤©¤So it was Greg.¡¹

    ¡¸No. We also felt hungry, so the five of us searched for something to eat. And then we found the pot of soup, so although it was a bit improper we brought out the ham and bread and cooked by ourselves. It was fun to do something like that sometimes.¡¹

    Marie looked at Jilk with her eyes opened wide.

    She was thinking of how to vent the rage whirling inside her small body.

    But, Jilk didn¡¯t notice how she was feeling at all.

    He dared to im that simply heating up a finished soup in the kitchen and cutting bread and ham was cooking.

    (How can you call something like that cooking! What are you guys nning to do for your lunch now!)

    Marie suppressed her desire to yell and immediately asked Jilk to gather the five boys to scold them.

    ¡¸Jilk©¤©¤gather everyone. I was wrong. Now that we are living in this mansion I should have teach everyone the basic first.¡¹

    She was ashamed of herself who was thinking that these five should be able to understand simple things like this.

    She should have beaten up the basic into them right from the beginning.

    The time hade to finally face the problem that she had ignored until now because of the busy days of studying abroad.

    Marie thought that but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Eh? Everyone is out right now though.¡¹

    ©¤©¤It seemed everyone other than Jilk was going out.

    ¡¸They are out you say!?¡¹

    Even though they were really busy cleaning since the morning, these guys were gallivanting around instead©¤©¤Marie reached her limit when she learned that.

    Jilk talked to Marie to calm her down seeing her greatly agitated like this.

    ¡¸Marie-san, please calm down. It will be noon soon, don¡¯t you feel hungry right now? I¡¯ve just obtained a nice sweet that I¡¯m going to enjoy with tea. How about enjoying them before lunch?¡¹

    Marie was angry, but her stomach was also hungry.

    Marie thought to eat something for now to calm down.

    ¡¸Alright. Even so, is there really any sweets here? The sweets that big br©¤©¤Leon brought had already run out yesterday.¡¹

    Marie almost said big bro before she corrected herself midway.

    Leon¡¯s hobby was tea. He often bought sweets that matched well with tea.

    Marie couldn¡¯tin because she would also received his leftover, but she also felt irritated seeing her big brother always buying expensive sweets.

    However, it was also Leon alone who was financially supporting them, so she couldn¡¯t say anyin.

    Marie went out of the kitchen and entered the dining room. There Jilk was already preparing the tea.

    Marie was shocked when she saw the table.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that!?¡¹

    It was normal that there were tea set and sweets lined up on the table.

    However the amount of sweets was too many.

    Steel cans filled with the purchased sweets were piled up.

    All of the sweets looked obviously expensive.

    Jilk started boasting without noticing the shock that Marie received.

    ¡¸Actually I have also just returned back from outside. I happened to see a nice tea set at where I was going and purchased it, so I also bought the tea leaves and sweets that matched the tea set.¡¹

    Tea set? Tea leaves? Marie was trembling when she heard Jilk had not bought only sweets, but also those things.

    ¡¸You bought them!? What about the money!?¡¹

    Of course she was also giving Jilk some allowance, but she had never let him brought a lot of money.

    Jilk looked confused.

    ¡¸Eh? Ah, I found some money when I searched for food with everyone, so I split the money with everyone before we were going out. It¡¯s the basic to split the reward ording to the number of people.¡¹

    That was of thinking was really typical for descendants of adventurers©¤©¤that wasn¡¯t what Marie was thinking.

    Treating looking for food the same like treasure hunting, and splitting the spoils of war evenly©¤©¤when Jilk said that, Marie was unable tough.

    After all, if there was arge amount of money inside this mansion, then that would be Marie¡¯s money.

    To be more urate, it was the living expense that she received from Leon.

    Marie ran out of the dining room and rushed into the room where she kept the money.

    She let her guard down because there were only acquaintances living in this mansion, so she hid the money here without putting it into something like a safe.

    The hiding ce was a desk drawer that she remodeled to have doubleyers of bottom. That hiding ce had been splendidly discovered and emptied now.

    The household ount book was ced on the desk. She wrote how to make do using the money she received from Leon in it but©¤©¤everything had be pointless.

    ¡¸NoooOoooOOooOooooOoooo!!¡¹

    Not a single cent of the money was left.

    Marie fell on her knees from shock.

    *Gan!* Such nice sound resounded.

    The one who noticed the sound and came was Noelle who carried a transparent case where the sacred tree¡¯s sapling was kept.

    She was just passing through in front of the room at that timing.

    ¡¸Marie-chan, what¡¯s wrong!?¡¹

    Seeing Noelle rushing in, Marie became panicked from something else.

    (Nyaaaa!! Why is Noelle still in the mansion!? Even though I heard that today she is returning home!?)

    Ange and Livia wereing here from the kingdom.

    Because of that Marie didn¡¯t want Noelle to stay in this mansion.

    Because©¤©¤Leon hadn¡¯t noticed Noelle¡¯s feeling.

    Noelle helped Marie standing up with the sapling¡¯s case held under her arm.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong? You even made such strange scream.¡¹

    ¡¸N-no. It¡¯s nothing. There was just a bit©¤©¤or rather a reallyrge problem.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s really serious then!¡¹

    ¡¸I-I¡¯ll take care of it so it¡¯s fine! More importantly, why are you still here? Didn¡¯t you say that today you are going home?¡¹

    Marie thought that Leon woulde back soon based on the time, so she wanted Noelle to leave the mansion quickly.

    Originally she wanted to tell Noelle the truth©¤©¤and made her gave up on Leon.

    But, Noelle was too much of a good girl©¤©¤so she couldn¡¯t say it when she saw the way she was looking at Leon.

    There was also how she was the main character of that otome game¡¯s sequel, and she was also being chased around by a nasty man right now, so Marie wanted to keep her close by.

    However right now the timing was bad.

    (Why do I have to go through this much trouble for the sake of my dense brother huh! That stupid big bro, even though he himself said ¡¸I hate dense protagonist¡¹ . There is a limit even in being insensitive!)

    Leon didn¡¯t understand Noelle¡¯s feeling at the slightest.

    Although he was her blood-rted brother©¤©¤no, her brother from the previous life, this made her thought of him as pathetic.

    Noelle looked shy.

    ¡¸E-err, it¡¯s because I forgot to move this child to a bright ce.¡¹

    Noelle held the sacred tree¡¯s sapling with both hands. Her face was gentle.

    She was looking at the sapling lovingly.

    To Marie it looked as though the main character and the key item were attracting each other.

    ¡¸I-I see. Then you better hurry©¤©¤ah!?¡¹

    Marie was thinking of how to lead Noelle outside of the mansion, but then the sacred tree¡¯s sapling started shining faintly.

    Then the back of Noelle¡¯s right hand also started shining. A crest formed there.

    ¡°The priestess¡¯s crest¡± that Marie remembered even within her fading memory about that otome game was forming there.

    Noelle watched that in surprise, but her expression then gradually softened. Her cheeks were also blushing faintly red.

    Marie¡¯s feeling had gone past confusion and straight into chaos.

    (Wait. Just wait a second! Even though there are still events that haven¡¯t happened, why would the priestess¡¯s creste out at this time!? Or rather, with this©¤©¤could it be that Noelle¡¯s partner is)

    Noelle stared at the back of her right hand while muttering happily.

    ¡¸With this if a crest also appeared on Leon©¤©¤that would means that our hearts are connected wouldn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Marie recalled something when she heard her muttering that.

    (D-damn ittttt!! I haven¡¯t told Noelle that big bro has the guardian¡¯s crest!?)

    The problems that they had been postponing until now were rolling out one after another in a bad timing.

    Marie wanted to cry.

    And then©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I¡¯m home~. Eh? Where is everyone?¡¹

    ©¤©¤A carefree voice came from the entrance.

    It was Leon.

    Noelle made a taken aback expression, then she left the room while pulling Marie¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Marie-chan, it¡¯s better if you rest for now.¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah. Yeah©¤©¤I¡¯m already at my limit now.¡¹

    Leon came home in the worst ever timing.

    Marie was already©¤©¤at her limit in everything.

    (What¡¯s going to happen now?)

    .

    Part 4

    After Noelle brought Marie to her room, she went to meet Leon with the sapling¡¯s case in her hands.

    If a crest also appeared on Leon©¤©¤it would also meant that Noelle¡¯s love was realized.

    Lespinasse House where the priestess would appear and was also the representative of the seven great nobles in the past had a legend that they believed in since a long time ago.

    The legend said that the young man who possessed the strength that was worthy to be the guardian and the priestess would fall in love.

    She felt incredulous toward that legend when she was little.

    After all she was living in a world where political marriage wasmonce.

    It was unnatural for such legend to exist.

    At the same time©¤©¤she was also thinking that it would be nice if such legend was actually true.

    And then right now Noelle¡¯s wish mighte true.

    Noelle went down the stairs while hugging the case.

    ¡¸Please. Sapling-chan©¤©¤make my wishe true.¡¹

    The mysterious foreign student who came from the kingdom©¤©¤Leon.

    For Noelle, Leon was a reliable existence.

    His guts to pick fight with the six great nobles was also amazing but, his strength that won against them was also amazing.

    He also got quite a problematic personality but©¤©¤Noelle didn¡¯t hate Leon.

    He would help her when she was in a bind.

    He got a slightly bad mouth but, he was a broadminded man.

    Noelle was born as a noble, but she was raised mostly asmoner.

    Because of that her sense of value was closer to amoner than a noble.

    For such Noelle, it would be great if she could go out with Leon normally.

    She felt a peace of mind when she was together with him, and she also wanted to be together with him forever from now on.

    Noelle loved Leon.

    But©¤©¤when she came down from the stairs, there was another voice that didn¡¯t belong to Leoning from the entrance.

    It was a girl¡¯s voice.

    ¡¸Good grief©¤©¤I was surprised when I heard you¡¯re living together with Marie, but that was what actually happened. Still, if that was the situation then wouldn¡¯t it be better if you tell us sooner?¡¹

    There was a girl wearing a red dress.

    She was standing really close to Leon. Noelle noticed when she saw the girl¡¯s gaze toward him.

    (©¤©¤Eh?)

    The girl¡¯s appearance gave a slightly strict impression, but she was looking at Leon with a really kind gaze.

    There was another girl at the opposite side of the girl.

    That girl gave apletely opposite reaction from the other girl, but Noelle could see a color of jealousy in her eyes.

    She was hugging Leon¡¯s arm.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Does Leon-san know just how worried we were!?¡¹

    She was angry, yet at the same time she was acting spoiled at Leon.

    And Leon himself was epting of those.

    ¡¸Sorry. There were a lot ofmotions here and it had only finally calmed down recently. I should have contacted both of you sooner.¡¹

    Leon¡¯s gaze toward the two of them was really kind.

    He had never looked at her with such eyes.

    When Leon noticed Noelle, he addressed her just like usual.

    ¡¸Eh? Aren¡¯t you going home today? Oops, I forgot to introduce them. These two are my fianc¨¦es. They¡¯re Ange and LIvia.¡¹

    It was a bitter fact for Noelle.

    That he never treated her as woman right from the start.

    In the first ce she had never even heard anything about him having fianc¨¦es.

    (What. So it was just me who was getting excited by myself)

    Noelle immediately donned a smiling face and brightly greeted the two girls.

    ¡¸Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Noelle. I¡¯ve been in the care of everyone here until now. More importantly Leon. If you have two fianc¨¦es this beautiful then won¡¯t it be bad for me to live here? You¡¯ll get misunderstood.¡¹

    She acted so that the two girls wouldn¡¯t misunderstand the rtionship between her and Leon.

    Ange smiled at her.

    ¡¸I¡¯ve heard what happened. It must be hard on you.¡¹

    Ange looked sympathetic toward Noelle. She might have heard what happened with Loic.

    But Livia was©¤©¤looking like she had noticed something.

    But she didn¡¯t show it in her attitude.

    ¡¸Err, I¡¯m Olivia. Thank you for taking care of Leon-san.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m the one who have been in his care so don¡¯t mind it.¡¹

    Noelle was talking with them with a smile, but inside she wanted to disappear from here right away.

    Noelle walked toward Leon and handed the sapling¡¯s case to him.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    Leon looked puzzled.

    She couldn¡¯t forgive that.

    But, the one she couldn¡¯t forgive the most was herself.

    ¡¸S-sorry, I¡¯m going home now.¡¹

    She held back her tears and left the mansion.

    She left the mansion and ran back to her home while crying.

    She returned to the home that she had left for quite long. Inside her little sister Lelia was also home and called out to her, but she ignored her and entered her room. She immediately threw herself on her bed and buried her face onto the pillow.

 Chapter 129 - Volume 5 Chapter 2

    <h4>Volume 5 Chapter 2</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 2 ¨C Temporary Homing</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    ¡¸Eh? A summon?¡¹

    After Noelle hurriedly returned.

    I was enjoying tea with Ange and Livia in Marie¡¯s mansion.

    I was right to prepare my treasured tea leaves and sweets.

    Ange drank the tea I prepared. She was looking really nostalgic after drinking for the first time in a long time.

    Even though we were frequently enjoying tea together like this until just several months ago.

    ¡¸There is also a summon from his majesty. There won¡¯t be any problem if it¡¯s during the summer vacation right?¡¹

    I didn¡¯t really have any n here, so I had no problem with it.

    The matter of Noelle was weighing my mind, but these two wouldn¡¯t understand even if I exined to them.

    Actually this world is an otome game world, and Noelle is the second game¡¯s main character! ©¤©¤if I said that, what kind of eyes they would be looking at me with. It was scary just imagining it.

    ¡¸Still, it feels somewhat abrupt to be asked to go back with everyone.¡¹

    When I said that, Ange pointed out my misunderstanding.

    ¡¸Marie and others will stay here. It¡¯s just you alone Leon who wille back together with us.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Ipletely thought that everyone was called back, but it seemed it was just me who was called back.

    That bastard Rnd(¥í©`¥é¥ó¥É), what was he nning calling me back alone like this?

    ©¤©¤No, I knew he was the king, but for some reason I couldn¡¯t forgive just that guy.

    Livia took a bite on a sweet, and then she returned it on the te.

    It was one of the sweets that I found in the dining room. They were Marie¡¯s sweets.

    It seemed it didn¡¯t suit Livia¡¯s pte.

    I thought I heard that they were sweets that Jilk bought.

    Livia drank the tea I prepared to wash down the taste before she spoke.

    ¡¸Actually, her majesty approved this summon too because she also want to talk about the n from here on if there is some movement from themonwealth.¡¹

    ¡¸Mylene-san said that!? No, the queen said that?¡¹

    The two¡¯s gaze turned slightly intense when I called the queen by name.

    Mylene Rafa Hohlfahrt(¥ß¥ì©`¥Ì?¥é¥Õ¥¡?¥Û¥ë¥Õ¥¡©`¥È) ¨Csama of Hohlfahrt Kingdom was Julius¡¯s biological mother.

    But despite her age she was a beautiful woman who still looked really young.

    If it was at my previous life then I might made a pass on her.

    ©¤©¤Wait, she was someone else¡¯s wife so I shouldn¡¯t make a pass on her.

    Really, just why she was someone else¡¯s wife.

    Even though shepletely my preference.

    ¡¸E-err©¤©¤then I guess I have to return.¡¹

    Livia pouted when I tried to get back into the topic.

    ¡¸Leon-san, you look happy after knowing that you¡¯ll be able to meet the queen.¡¹

    Because she is cute mon.

    Even now I still couldn¡¯t believe how could such person be Rnd¡¯s wife.

    Political marriage was really horrible.

    Ange told me about the n from now on.

    ¡¸Sorry but I¡¯ll have you return back immediately. After all only you Leon will be able to move if something happen in themonwealth.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t want to get involved with themonwealth¡¯s government but, the kingdom©¤©¤Hohlfahrt Kingdom was different.

    One of the six great nobles, Faiviel(¥Õ¥§©`¥ô¥§¥ë) House had their authority falling rock bottom.

    Well, the reason was because I beat them up badly, but if a political change urred because of that then the kingdom would also get affected©¤©¤there was such possibility.

    The kingdom wouldn¡¯t be able to carelessly get involved, but they might be thinking that if it was me who was currently staying here then I would be able to do something.

    ©¤©¤They were overestimating too much.

    I wasn¡¯t that much different from an amateur when it came to politic.

    Ange looked around the dining room.

    ¡¸Even so, you¡¯re living together with his highness and others here. ©¤©¤It¡¯s worrying whether you mightmit a mistake with Marie.¡¹

    I could dere with absolute certainty that such thing was the only thing that wouldn¡¯t happen.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. There is nothing between Marie and me, and nothing will happen between her and me even in the future.¡¹

    Livia turned a doubting gaze at me.

    ¡¸Really? Because Leon-san, you would lie sometimes.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s horrible. Even though honesty is my only good point.¡¹

    Angeughed a little seeing my barefaced lie.

    ¡¸It has been so long since thest time I listened to your false-sounding words while drinking tea. Now then, I¡¯m sorry to hurry you like this but, if there is nothing else then we¡¯re going to depart tomorrow. Leon, is there anything that you need to take care of?¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t really anything but, I wanted to go buy souvenir.

    ¡¸Ah, in that case do you two want to sightsee? I want to stop by at my family¡¯s home when returning back, so I want to buy souvenirs first.¡¹

    The two of them looked and then nodded at each other.

    ¡¸Got it. Escort us properly in that case.¡¹

    ¡¸We¡¯re looking forward to it, Leon-san.¡¹

    I felt really happy seeing their smile toward me.

    And then I decided to make Marie deal with the problem in themonwealth for the time being.

    But, leaving things to her made me©¤©¤a bit uneasy.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    That night.

    Leon took Ange and Livia out for sightseeing.

    It seemed they would also have dinner outside.

    Those two must not wanted to eat the dinner that Marie prepared.

    Marie could understand that.

    But she was troubled that Leon wouldn¡¯t return to the mansion.

    ¡¸Why doesn¡¯t big bro return!?¡¹

    Marie was protesting at Creare tearfully.

    ¡ºBecause, the two of them said that they don¡¯t want to stay in this mansion.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if big bro return by himself isn¡¯t it!? Even though I want to consult with big bro about our living expensee!¡¹

    Their living expense had been taken away by the five idiots.

    She didn¡¯t know how much of that money could be returned.

    If she was unlucky, they might have to spend the summer vacation pennilessly.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the edible type of grass in this country you knooow¡¹

    If she was at her home town, she also knew the type of edible grass there, so if it was just her then she would be able to endure.

    However it was a different story when she was at thend of a foreign country.

    Marie didn¡¯t know whether the grass growing around here could be eaten or not.

    ¡º©¤©¤Marie-chan, you are nning to eat the nts growing around here? Well, putting aside that problem, it can¡¯t be helped isn¡¯t it? Do you think that those two will want to stay in this mansion? Even though there are Marie-chan and Julius here?¡»

    Before, Julius got seduced by Marie and broke off his engagement with Angelica.

    Ange would surely hate it to spend the night under the same roof with the two of them.

    ¡¸Big bro has his own house isn¡¯t he?¡¹

    ¡ºMaster said that ce is not good because it hasn¡¯t been cleaned. That¡¯s why, today they will sleep in Licorne and return to the kingdom at morning right away with Einhorn.¡»

    Marie fell into despair.

    Because even though it was summer vacation in foreign country©¤©¤she wouldn¡¯t be able to enjoy the vacation.

    ¡¸What do I do now!¡¹

    Creare was having fun watching Marie¡¯s situation, but she finally told her the truth.

    ¡ºGeez, Marie-chan is really stupid. Even master has known about your situation.¡»

    ¡¸Really!?¡¹

    ¡ºMaster is going to leave themonwealth for a while, so he left a message to Marie-chan to deal with anything that happen while he is absent.¡»

    ¡¸Eh, that¡¯s all? Stupid big brooo!¡¹

    The additional living expense that she was hoping for wasn¡¯t prepared for her.

    Creare did something and, *wham*, something fell.

    Marie immediately reacted to that sound.

    ¡¸Th-this is¡¹

    Falling over there was a bag that was filled with rolls of money.

    ¡ºYou see, master thought that Marie-chan will surely need money for the living expense here, so he prepared this for you.¡»

    Marie leaped at the money bag and rubbed her cheeks on it.

    ¡¸I loovee you Onii-chan!¡¹

    Creare spoke in exasperation seeing Marie like that.

    ¡ºYou¡¯re really honest to your desire Marie-chan. But, I don¡¯t hate that. Because, the blood of old mankind is thick in you! I loovee you Marie-chan!¡»

    Marie didn¡¯t understand the feeling of old mankind¡¯s weapons like Luxion or Creare.

    That was why she ignored the talk about blood or DNA.

    What was important right now was her living expense. Marie hugged the money bag lovingly.

    ¡¸Tell big bro to leave everything here to me. Even the six great nobles are scared against big bro and won¡¯t do anything anyway.¡¹

    ¡ºI think it¡¯s not good to be careless though. Well, this time I¡¯ll stay here and help out though.¡»

    ¡¸Eh? You¡¯re staying behind?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯ll be worrying with just Marie-chan and others here after all. But, I¡¯m originally aboratory AI, so it will be troubling if you expect as much utility as Luxion from me.¡»

    Creare muttered ¡ºI hope master will return as quickly as possible¡».

    Marie was easygoingly thinking ¡¸There is no need to worry if we have you here isn¡¯t it?¡¹.

    The six great nobles were scared toward Leon and wouldn¡¯t make any move©¤©¤Marie was thinking so.

    She was more worried about Noelle rather than them.

    ¡¸I¡¯m more worried about Noelle though.¡¹

    ¡ºShe is the second game¡¯s main character isn¡¯t she? Did something happen?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤She is in broken heart right now. I never thought that she will fall in love with big bro.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    The next day.

    Lelia was shocked when she saw Noelle going out of her room.

    Swollen eyes from too much crying and messed up hair.

    They already had unruly hair type from the start, but right now it was especially horrible.

    Noelle touched her hair to hide her embarrassment.

    ¡¸Even the bed feels strange when I used it after so long. The weather today is also good, perhaps I should clean up my room.¡¹

    Lelia became worried seeing Noelle forcing herself to smile.

    ¡¸Did something happened, big sis?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    Because they were sisters©¤©¤because they were twins, she understood.

    No, even a stranger would be able to guess that something happened to Noelle if they saw her current appearance.

    Lelia prepared a drink for Noelle.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t really mind if you don¡¯t want to say but, you¡¯ll feel easier if you talk about it.¡¹

    She prepared a cup of coffee for her.

    When Lelia handed it to Noelle, her movement stopped for an instant in surprise.

    Noelle was hiding the back of her right hand.

    She mostly guessed what it was about just from that.

    (Don¡¯t tell me, the priestess¡¯s crest has appeared? But, then©¤©¤could it be, that big sis¡¯s partner is Leon?)

    The order was different, but now the crests of the guardian and the priestess had appeared.

    Speaking in game term, with this one of the clear conditions had been cleared.

    But Noelle¡¯s condition was strange.

    Lelia was confused, but she made sure to not show it.

    Noelle hid her face with her left hand.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Lelia, you know about our family¡¯s legend aren¡¯t you? You know, about the story of the priestess and the guardian.¡¹

    Lelia drank her coffee while recalling the legend.

    (There was also that kind of I think.)

    That legend was an important part in the love matter of that otome game¡¯s sequel.

    The guardian was originally a man that the priestess chose.

    In other words, the person who was chosen by the priestess would be the one who obtained the highest rank among the crests that the sacred tree bestowed to the people.

    Because of that, there was this kind of legend throughout that otome game¡¯s story.

    ¡¸The one whose heart is connected with the priestess and hold a strong feeling toward the priestess just as the priestess hold a strong feeling toward him will be the one worthy to be the guardian. ©¤©¤It was something like that wasn¡¯t it? That was also how Kaa-san chose Tou-san.¡¹

    (Yes, our mother had a fianc¨¦e named Albergue from Rault House, but she chose Tou-san who didn¡¯te from the six great nobles.)

    Their father was amoner who didn¡¯t have a crest.

    Their mother betrayed Albergue and chose their father.

    Albergue was angry because of that and destroyed Lespinasse House for revenge©¤©¤that was how Albergue was in the game.

    Lelia also remembered that time.

    (And then the main character nurtured love with the capture target at the academy and chose the one she love as guardian at the end. But, at this rate Leon will be the one chosen.)

    If that happened then it would spell nothing but trouble for Lelia.

    She never thought that her big sister would choose Leon of all people.

    But Noelle said.

    ¡¸You see©¤©¤I liked Leon. But, it seems that it¡¯s just a one-sided feeling. It was impossible to keep living together with him like that, that was why I returned back.¡¹

    She said that while crying.

    Noelle¡¯s gaze was directed toward the back of her right hand.

    She must be mentally weak right now.

    She tried to hide that she had obtained the priestess¡¯s crest, but Lelia was able to notice it right away.

    (Is this bad or good, I can¡¯t decide.)

    She was happy that the guardian and priestess were all present, but now Noelle was feeling dejected.

    She couldn¡¯t predict the development from here.

    ¡¸Did big sis confess to that guy? He doesn¡¯t look popr, so if big sis confess to him he looks like someone who will leap at the chance right away.¡¹

    Leon didn¡¯t have good look like Loic and others.

    Besides she also never heard about any fickle rumor about him.

    That was why she thought he didn¡¯t have any girl who he was going out with.

    Noelle shook her head.

    ¡¸He has fianc¨¦e. ©¤©¤Two of them.¡¹

    ¡¸Twooo!?¡¹

    It was also surprising to learn that he had fianc¨¦e, to know that he had two waspletely out of her expectation.

    ¡¸I, I see. That guy is also more or less a noble after all, perhaps something like that isn¡¯t that rare in the kingdom?¡¹

    Lelia said that while starting to panic if perhaps her own knowledge was mistaken.

    (Wait. In the kingdom, I think it¡¯s the woman who has stronger position there, but is it perhaps different when it¡¯s not game but reality? I should have confirmed that with those guys.)

    ¡¸W-well, I understand the situation now. And so, what is big sis going to do now? It¡¯s not good to keep dragging it behind you forever. Instead how about big sis try to look for a new love?¡¹

    Lelia wracked her brain to pick who she should introduce to Noelle, but Noelle shook her head.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright right now. Thing like love©¤©¤I don¡¯t want to think about it at all.¡¹

    Lelia thought that the damage her sister got was serious, but for now she decided to consult with Leon and Marie first.

    But, she also couldn¡¯t leave Noelle alone when she was like this, so she apanied her for this whole day.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    Before we headed to the pce, I stopped by at Baron Bartfalt¡¯s territory first which was my hometown.

    When father weed me, he grabbed my shoulders and shook me back and forth.

    ¡¸Just what have you been doing at other country! As I thought it was the right move to engage you. No, was it a failure? Anyway why are you suddenly cheating huh!¡¹

    It looked like the suspicion of me cheating was also spreading to back home.

    They really were distrusting.

    ¡¸No way I¡¯ll do something like cheating. That¡¯s a misunderstanding. Misunderstanding!¡¹

    ¡¸R-really?¡¹

    Someone came while I was talking with father. It was my big sister Jena who returned home because it was summer vacation.

    ¡¸Leon, where is the souvenir?¡¹

    Coming together with her was my little sister Finley.

    She had petite stature and slender body. Her hair was kept short with curls on the end.

    Her gaze toward me looked harsh must be because she heard about the cheating suspicion.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Onii-chan is the worst.¡¹

    Why was I reproached like this? I already said that it was a misunderstanding.

    I set that aside and stared fixedly at my big sister Jena.

    ¡¸W-what? Are you perhaps getting horny with your own big sister?¡¹

    There were things that couldn¡¯t be said even as a joke.

    There was no way I would get horny with my blood-rted big sister.

    The reason I was staring at Jena because I recalled someone at themonwealth who asked me ¡¸Call me Onee-chan¡¹.

    Her name was Louise-san.

    She was a kind and reliable person.

    I averted my gaze from Jena.

    ¡¸Change¡¹

    When I said that, Jena¡¯s faced turned red and she rattled onints at me.

    ¡¸What! What¡¯s that!? You suddenly stared at other and said ¡°change¡±! You¡¯re really a rude guy. I can¡¯t believe someone like this can cheat, themonwealth must be a really strange country.¡¹

    I said to Jena.

    ¡¸Forget about that, were you able to find a marriage partner at the academy, Onee-sama?¡¹

    Jena trembled and ran away from me.

    Finley also followed behind Jena and stuck her tongue ¡¸Beeh~¡¹ at me.

    This was Jena we were talking about, so I didn¡¯t think that she would be able to find anyone.

    It seemed I was right on the mark.

    I saw off Jena with a triumphant smile.

    ¡¸I win.¡¹

    Father was exasperated.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t provoke her. Even Jena has been working hard, but the men in the academy is ying it safe right now and she can¡¯t find anyone there.¡¹

    ¡¸ying it safe?¡¹

    ¡¸If they¡¯re going to marry, then it¡¯s better with a girl who hasn¡¯t been dyed with the academy¡¯smon sense, something like that? Well, I¡¯ll marry Jena with other house that is our dependent, so she¡¯ll be able to marry.¡¹

    By dependent father meant a knight house that was like our subordinate.

    Someone with knight peerage was often called as quasi-baron.

    For such house to be able to wed the daughter of their superior¡¯s daughter©¤©¤I would be put off if it was me.

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to push off Jena to them? That dependent house will be too pitiful.¡¹

    ¡¸D-don¡¯t call it pushing off. I¡¯m nning to marry her off after educating her properly.¡¹

    In the end it was just a n. ©¤©¤Based from what I saw just now, I could only say that it would be difficult.

    Even so, the marriage situation in the kingdom was also gradually changing.

    I felt jealous at my juniors.

    No, I had two wonderful fianc¨¦es, so I didn¡¯t need to feel any jealousy.

    Father asked me.

    ¡¸More importantly, you were summoned to the pce right? What kind of mess you made this time?¡¹

    ¡¸Please don¡¯t speak like I¡¯m always making a mess every time. This time I was only beating up a son of a big shot at themonwealth.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Sometimes I would feel guilty toward the pce. There is this desire to say, I¡¯m sorry that my son is always being a bother.¡¹

    How rude.

    The one who was being bothered was me instead of them.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    When I showed up at the castle, Rnd was waiting for me.

    Because the meeting wasn¡¯t in the audience hall, even acting slightly informal was allowed.

    Around us there were the government officials and the guard knights.

    There was also Mylene-san here, but Rnd looked like he wanted to talk to me.

    He seemed tired. Hisplexion looked bad and his hair was also slightly disarrayed.

    Apparently he was busy every day with the matter of themonwealth and heined about it.

    ¡¸You look lively, brat. Even though I don¡¯t even have time to sleep here because of someone¡¯s fault.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. I always sleep soundly everyday.¡¹

    I turned a refreshing smile toward Rnd who couldn¡¯t sleep.

    Rnd gritted his teeth in frustration.

    I wanted to see that face.

    Looked like I would be able to sleep well too today.

    ¡¸I¡¯m extremely busy right now thanks to you. You really love to cause problems.¡¹

    ¡¸The noble of Alzer picked a fight with us. I thought it would be impolite if I don¡¯t respond in kind.¡¹

    ¡¸Going into war just because of a mere quarrel, that¡¯s really a barbaric way of thinking. You disappoint me.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much your majesty! It was because I want to see your majesty making such face that I also did my best!¡¹

    I didn¡¯t feel anything even if he was disappointed in me.

    In the first ce Rnd didn¡¯t have any kind of expectation toward me.

    Because I worked hard was also to see Rnd¡¯s frustrated face, this development was just like what I expected.

    ¡¸I want to send you to the gallows right this instant.¡¹

    ¡¸My queen! His majesty is saying something like that!¡¹

    When I asked for help from Mylene-san, Rnd said ¡¸You little shit, that¡¯s cowardly!¡¹ in panic.

    Mylene-san warned Rnd with an exasperated face.

    ¡¸We can¡¯t possibly send the one who saved Julius to the gallows. Besides, this is a good chance for the kingdom instead. Leon-kun©¤©¤no, Leon-dono has to be rewarded for his effort.¡¹

    It seemed I would receive reward.

    Until now I got unreasonably promoted as reward, but at this moment I was a count with lower third rank! I was in a position where I couldn¡¯t climb up any higher.

    That was why the reward wouldn¡¯t be any more promotion, so I could ept it happily.

    ©¤©¤Even so, how did I climb up the rank until this high?

    Even I myself was confused.

    Rnd averted his face from me.

    That was childish of him, but I was an adult so I shall forgive him.

    Mylene-san talked about the n going ahead.

    ¡¸Thanks to Leon-dono, we were able to learn about the internal conditions of themonwealth in detail. I already heard before that they were worshipping the sacred tree, but to think that tree also gave such a great benefit for themonwealth.¡¹

    Weren¡¯t they too ignorant of the internal conditions of themonwealth?

    I was harboring such doubt, but I was only thinking that because I had knowledge from my previous life.

    In this world, the propagation of information was shockingly slow.

    There was also problem with the credibility of said information.

    There were also a lot of stories that couldn¡¯t be ascertained whether they were a lie or really true, it caused a problem of sorting which of the information was really true.

    But, for Mylene-san who put her trust on me personally, it seemed she judged that the information I provided was correct.

    That made me real happy.

    ¡¸With Faiviel House of the six great nobles losing strength, I¡¯m concerned of how Rachelle(¥é©`¥·¥§¥ë) will move.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you mean the holy kingdom Rachelle?¡¹

    That country also ced an embassy at themonwealth wasn¡¯t it?

    Holy Kingdom Rachelle was a neighboring country of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    They had warred a lot with each other because of their hostility with each other.

    But, Mylene-san¡¯s family was at the other side of Holy Kingdom Rachelle. The holy kingdom was ced between this country and her country.

    United Kingdom Repard.

    It was a country that was a gathering of small countries located on a single continent. The country was unified by three houses with great influence even among all of the countries there.

    Mylene-san¡¯s family was the ruler of the country that served as the alliance leader of the united kingdom.

    It was a country with a bit of circumstance and troublesome government.

    After all the country was formed from small countries that only joined hand because alone they couldn¡¯t possibly oppose the Holy Kingdom Rachelle if theyunched an invasion.

    I was surprised when Rachelle¡¯s name came out, so Mylene-san exined it to me in an easy to understand way.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because Rachelle has a connection with Faiviel House. If Faiviel House lost their influence, it¡¯s possible they will rely on Rachelle. Rachelle might also approach the other six great nobles.¡¹

    Ah, so it was something like that.

    I got it.

    ¡¸Eh? Then, which of the six great nobles our country is close with?¡¹

    I never heard anything about it so I asked. Then Rnd made an annoyed face.

    ¡¸There is no house there that we¡¯re especially close with. No, I should say that there is none now.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤So it¡¯s Lespinasse House.¡¹

    In the past Alzer Commonwealth was ruled by seven great nobles.

    The one who served as their representative was Noelle and Lelia¡¯s family, Lespinasse house©¤©¤however it was destroyed around ten years ago.

    It was by the doing of Rault House.

    It was rted with that Louise-san and Albergue-san.

    It made me felt slightly bummed out because they weren¡¯t bad people for me.

    ¡¸Since then we don¡¯t get closer with any other house and we kept the rtionship between both of our countries limited to importing magic stone. Come to think of it, it has been ten years since then.¡¹

    Rnd looked nostalgic.

    Mylene-san seemed like she wanted to cooperate with some other houses there in consideration for the future.

    ¡¸Ten years has passed since Lespinasse House was destroyed. We too need to join hands with other house there.¡¹

    Because of that Hohlfahrt Kingdom also wanted a strong connection to Alzer.

    I could understand that.

    I tried imagining with whom this country was going to cooperate with but©¤©¤I had no idea.

    I got no political sense at all.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be impossible with the Faiviel House, so it¡¯ll have to be with the other five houses.¡¹

    At best I only understood that Faiviel House was no good.

    But it seemed that Mylene-san also had no intention to leave all the decision in regard to this matter to me.

    I was relieved because I would only feel troubled if it was left to me.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to send diplomats there frequently, so I ask you Leon-dono to give your support from on-site. It seems the children and youths of the six great nobles are attending the academy, so if there is any information then please share it with us. Also, we will prepare a position for you so that you can take independent action at themonwealth. If something happen we will leave the decision of what to do to you Leon-dono.¡¹

    This meeting wasn¡¯t in an official setting, but Mylene-san¡¯s tone was different from usual.

    She was in working mode.

    I felt just a little bit disappointed.

    But if it was Mylene-san¡¯s request then it couldn¡¯t be helped.

    I was a knight and a count of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    I could only obey.

    ¡¸Please leave it to me.¡¹

    When I said that, Rnd said hisint from the side.

    ¡¸You! Even though you made a really disagreeable expression when with me, why are you that obedient when it¡¯s with Mylene huh!?¡¹

    Something like that was obvious.

    ¡¸Perhaps it¡¯s due to the difference in your majesty¡¯s habitual behavior? It¡¯ll be better for your majesty to do your work more seriously.¡¹

    When I said that brazenly, the officials and knights around me nodded deeply.

    There were even some people among them who looked at me as though to say ¡¸Tell him more for us!¡¹.

    It told me really clearly just how horrible this bastard Rnd acted usually.

 Chapter 130 - Volume 5 Chapter 3

    <h4>Volume 5 Chapter 3</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 3 ¨C Kick Out the Five Idiots!</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    At the time when Leon went home temporarily.

    Marie was trembling in anger at the mansion.

    Creare who was watching her from nearby was terribly amused.

    ¡ºNot having any learning ability is really pitiful isn¡¯t it!¡»

    Marie¡¯s breathing was roughening in contrast with Creare who was cackling.

    Her shoulders were heaving up and down. Her opened eyes looked bloodshot.

    Kyle(¥«¥¤¥ë) and Cara who were standing at both her sides were trying to calm her down somehow.

    ¡¸G-goshujin-sama, it¡¯ll be alright I say! Thanks to half of the money being hidden this time, that portion is still safe!¡¹

    Kyle was doing his best to console Marie, but there was no visible result.

    Marie was staring on the table.

    Her household ount book was used in the ce of a memo there with a message that was addressed to her.

    ¡ºWe¡¯re repenting for our faultst time and so this time we will prepare a present that will make Marie happy. Let us use a little bit of the living expense as the budget. Look forward to it.¡»

    Such utter nonsense was written in the book.

    Blood veins popped out on Marie¡¯s forehead.

    Her hands were clenched so hard that there were creaking soundsing from them.

    Cara spoke to Marie while sounding like she was going to cry.

    ¡¸It¡¯s alright Marie-sama! This time we have also stocked up the food supply beforehand!¡¹

    She meant that even if they became penniless, they would be able to ration out and survive on that supply until Leon returned.

    But Marie couldn¡¯t endure it anymore.

    ¡¸I©¤©¤already said to them.¡¹

    Kyle and Cara averted their gazes from Marie.

    Before©¤©¤the five idiots evenly split their living expense between them and went gallivanting around. But naturally they got scolded by Marie when they returned.

    She firmly scolded them.

    And yet even though she had told them that it was no good to use up their living expense, those five still didn¡¯t understand anything.

    Marie too wasn¡¯t an idiot.

    She secretly hid half of the additional living expense that she received from Leon.

    Of course, she also hid the remaining half so those five wouldn¡¯t be able to find it.

    And yet those five thought that it was stupid of them to gallivant around while leaving Marie alone©¤©¤and arrived atpletely the wrong conclusion instead.

    ¡¸I had exined to them in detail. This money, it¡¯s a really important money for our life here in Alzer, so don¡¯t use it as you please. I said that to them!¡¹

    When Marie turned around and looked at Kyle and Cara, the two of them straightened their backs and replied.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama have certainly said that!¡¹

    ¡¸I-I also had definitely heard that being said!¡¹

    The two of them trembled after seeing Marie¡¯s enraged face.

    Creare was enjoying this situation because she wasn¡¯t involved in it.

    It seemed she wanted to know what Marie would do after this.

    And then in a good or perhaps bad timing©¤©¤Julius and others returned.

    They could hear cheerful voices from the entrance.

    ¡¸Marie too will be happy with this.¡¹

    ¡¸I think there should be something even better for Marie-san though.¡¹

    They heard Julius and Jilk¡¯s voice, so Marie expressionlessly exited the room.

    Kyle and Cara looked at each other once before they shook their head to each other.

    They quietly followed behind Marie.

    When they reached the entrance, Brad waved his hand.

    ¡¸Ah, everyone is here. Look, this is our present for Marie!¡¹

    The five were carrying a lot of flower bouquets.

    The entrance was filled with the scent of flowers, but the amount was too much that it smelled slightly ufortable.

    If the amount of bouquets was limited to what the five of them could carry with their hands, then even with Marie¡¯s anger she would blush and forgive them in the end.

    However, the amount that the five of them had prepared was too many.

    Chris was giving instruction to the worker who kept bringing in flowers and cing them inside the mansion.

    ¡¸ce that bouquet over here. I think the vase will look good if ced here.¡¹

    They were lining up flowers of various kinds.

    With this amount they could open their own flower shop.

    Greg rubbed the skin under his nose with an embarrassed look.

    ¡¸As expected it should be flower when ite to present. When we thought about what flower is appropriate for Marie, it ended up reaching this amount and varieties.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s expression didn¡¯t return even after hearing that.

    Nothingness, that was how her expression was right now.

    Cara covered her face with both her hands.

    ¡¸Why did everyone take away the living expense!?¡¹

    The five looked puzzled toward Cara¡¯s criticism.

    Julius made a troubled look.

    ¡¸No, we only borrowed a little of it. Besides it will immediately get replenished again right?¡¹

    The amount of living expense that Marie received from Leon was a lot.

    Julius¡¯s money sense that enabled him to dere that such amount was little wasn¡¯t strange.

    After all Julius and the other four were heirs of the royal family and high ss nobles.

    Their money sense and way of thinking was different from Marie and others from the beginning.

    A lot of money for Marie was just like a chump change if seen from the perspective of these five.

    They thought that such amount could be immediately replenished again somehow.

    Jilk warned Julius.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why I told you your highness. Something like flower bouquets are too cheap. As I thought, the vase that I picked up was better.¡¹

    ¡¸You said that, but that vase was just gaudy.¡¹

    It seemed the worker had finished bringing in all the flowers and left. Then the five seriously pondered in front of Marie just what was wrong.

    Marie©¤©¤was gradually smiling. Kyle muttered when he saw that smile.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s the same smile like the count.¡¹

    By count he meant Leon.

    Marie who was making the same smiling face like that Leon went down the stairs and approached the five.

    Brad looked at Marie¡¯s face and felt relieved.

    ¡¸Look, Marie is also happy with the present!¡¹

    Chris also looked delighted.

    ¡¸It¡¯s worth it for all of us to choose the present.¡¹

    Greg also agreed.

    ¡¸It¡¯s frustrating that we could only gather this few though. Well, I guess we can just buy more when the money is replenished again next time. More importantly Marie, I¡¯m hungry so let¡¯s eat.¡¹

    Marie opened her mouth seeing Greg giving her a thumb up.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry everyone. I was wrong.¡¹

    Marie apologized to the five of them.

    But©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I am really an idiot. If the five of you could be corrected just from getting scolded, then there is no way we would go through so much hardships until now.¡¹

    ©¤©¤The smile vanished from Marie¡¯s face.

    Marie clenched her right hand.

    ¡¸I was na?ve. I need to do at least this much in order to educate you lot!¡¹

    Marie took arge stride and punched the cheek of a surprised Greg so hard he was sent flying.

    Greg crashed on the entrance¡¯s door and it was violently thrown open.

    Greg¡¯s body rolled outside and he didn¡¯t wake up. It looked like he had fainted.

    It was an impossible feat for the physical ability of Marie¡¯s petite body.

    However this was a world with magic.

    Marie who strengthened her body with magic power could unleash a punch to send arge adult flying.

    Jilk hurriedly approached Marie to stop her after he saw Greg was sent flying.

    ¡¸Marie-san, just what are you©¤©¤guheh!¡¹

    Marie drove her fist onto Jilk¡¯s handsome face to vent her anger once more.

    ¡¸You guys, line up! I¡¯ll give you one punch each!¡¹

    Chris tried to hold Marie down.

    ¡¸Marie isn¡¯t in her right mind! Everyone, pin her©¤©¤fugoh!¡¹

    Marie drove her fist to Crhis¡¯s stomach and sent him flying out of the entrance. Then she looked at Julius and Brad.

    <i>Fuu, fuu, </i>Marie breathed hard. She was really agitated without showing any sign of stopping with the two.

    Brad tried persuading her.

    ¡¸As I thought the flowers are too cheap. I understand. Marie©¤©¤today I¡¯ll present myse©¤©¤lfffff!!¡¹

    Brad smiled at Marie and showed his shiny white teeth. And then his cheek was punched and he was sent flying while spinning in the air to outside the entrance.

    Marie slowly approached Julius while his mouth was staying open in shock.

    ¡¸Julius. You¡¯re the only one remaining.¡¹

    ¡¸W-wait a second Marie! Just what have we done wrong!? Exin it so that even we can understand!¡¹

    Marie smiled©¤©¤a creepy smile and cracked her fists.

    ¡¸It¡¯s because you don¡¯t understand©¤©¤that I¡¯m kicking you all out!¡¹

    ¡¸K-kicking us out©¤©¤fugyah!¡¹

    Marie¡¯s fist caught Julius¡¯s jaw and he was sent flying to outside the entrance.

    After the five of them were sent out of the mansion, Marie stood imposingly in front of the door.

    ¡¸This is a good chance, so I shall test you guys.¡¹

    Brad pressed his hand on his cheek with a troubled expression.

    ¡¸No, I don¡¯t know what are you going to test us with but to suddenly act violent©¤©¤¡¹

    But Marie didn¡¯t lend him her ear at all.

    ¡¸What you guys arecking is the ability to earn a living, resourcefulness! During this one month of summer vacation, all of you have to go out there to earn money!¡¹

    Jilk was troubled by what Marie told them.

    ¡¸E-err, Marie-san? Even if you tell us to earn money outside©¤©¤what should we do? Is there any job for us to do?¡¹

    ¡¸Search for that job by yourself. I¡¯ll tell you all this, I won¡¯t recognize it if your earninge from doing adventurer work. You guys should learn a bit about the society other than being an adventurer.¡¹

    The five was bewildered that they were told to search for job. Marie snorted scornfully at them.

    The five could earn money by being adventurer, but the more money they earned the more money they spent©¤©¤no, these guys, they spent money wastefully more than they earned.

    This was also a good chance for them to learn about the reality of society, so Marie forbid them to earn money as adventurer.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s part time job or whatever, anyway go earn money by yourself. It¡¯ll be better for you guys to learn a bit about society. Ah, one more thing, the man I prefer is a man with resourcefulness. Do you guys understand what does that mean? I wonder who among you five will earn the most money. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s preference was a man with resourcefulness.

    The five looked at each other after they heard that.

    Their faces were the very picture of seriousness. It was like they were looking at each other as enemies.

    Marie showed a bewitching smile in front of the five.

    ¡¸The time period is one month. Come back before the summer vacation is over. Ah, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s fine even if you give up in the middle and return home. But, if you really love me©¤©¤you will be able to aplish at least this much right?¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    At the mansion after the five idiots left.

    Kyle and Cara could be found repairing the door.

    Cara was worried for the five who got driven out.

    ¡¸Will his highness and the others be fine?¡¹

    Marie too wasn¡¯t a demon.

    She had given the five some money that could be used to live for one week.

    But would those five really be able to earn money?

    Cara doubted that.

    They were formerly high ranked and rich nobles.

    They never did anything like part-time work, in the first ce it was also doubtful whether they would be able to live alone.

    Kyle sighed.

    ¡¸They¡¯ll return when they get hungry. More importantly, it¡¯s Goshujin-sama. She induced those five topete with each other wasn¡¯t she? Even though it would be better if those five at least work together.¡¹

    Cara spoke to represent Marie¡¯s feeling in respond to Kyle¡¯s doubt.

    ¡¸But©¤©¤to have multiple men fighting for your favor, I think it will make any woman feel good.¡¹

    Cara said that with a blushing face. Kyle tilted his head seeing her like that.

    ¡¸Is it something like that? Well, as for me I won¡¯t have anyin if those five can quickly open their eyes to reality and return back though.¡¹

    They had finished the repair so they began to tidy up the tools. Marie came there at that timing.

    Her face looked refreshed after she was liberated from the five idiots.

    ¡¸It looks like you two has finished the repair. Then you two better fix your appearance right away! Today the three of us will eat out!¡¹

    Cara was shocked to hear that they would eat outside.

    She became worried whether it was alright for them to act extravagantly like that.

    ¡¸But Marie-sama, the money©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine! Those five won¡¯te back for a while, so we have some leftover with the living expense! Just forget about it, sometimes I also need to reward you two for your hard work every day. Eat a lot today.¡¹

    Kyle rejoiced when he heard that.

    ¡¸I-is it really alright!? I¡¯m going to order meat you know?¡¹

    Marie put her hands on her waist and threw out her chest.

    ¡¸Order them. I don¡¯t mind even if you eat a kilogram of meat.¡¹

    Cara raised her right hand straight above.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, a question!¡¹

    ¡¸What could it be, Cara?¡¹

    ¡¸Desert©¤©¤what about desert!?¡¹

    Marie showed a really nice smile in front of the two.

    A drop of tear trickled down her face.

    It seemed she was really happy to be liberated from the five idiots.

    ¡¸Eat a lot today. We have also finished cleaning up the mansion, so when we return home we¡¯ll only need to take a bath and sleep. You two©¤©¤we¡¯re going to party today!¡¹

    Going out to eat with just the three of them©¤©¤the three of them reflected upon just how happy of an event it was.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Meanwhile.

    The five idiots who were driven out from the mansion came to a public park.

    While children were ying at the surrounding area, the five were facing each other seriously.

    Jilk was the first one to open his mouth.

    ¡¸Marie-san said it. That she love the most resourceful man.¡¹

    That meant, Marie would decide who was the number one among the five of them.

    Chris pushed up his sses with his index finger to fix its positioning while ring at his surrounding.

    ¡¸That meant it will be about who among us five can earn the most money.¡¹

    The five of them had never earned money in a normal way, but it was a different story if doing that could make them into Marie¡¯s number one.

    Usually the five of them got along well with each other but, as expected if there was a chance for them to be number one©¤©¤they wanted to take it.

    Greg folded his arms.

    ¡¸We won¡¯t be able to earn money as adventurer but, I¡¯m not gonna go easy on you guys. Sorry you lot©¤©¤Marie¡¯s number one is gonna be me.¡¹

    The five were fired up. They didn¡¯t want to lose in this match.

    They didn¡¯t even have anyin that they were driven out from the mansion. The important thing right now was who would be Marie¡¯s number one.

    The five of them were rivals since the moment they were chased out of the mansion.

    Brad flicked his front hair.

    ¡¸This is a problem that we have to settle sooner orter. Forgive me, but I¡¯m the one who Marie will choose.¡¹

    Even with how close they were, they were still always feeling concerned of who among the five of them would be able to win Marie¡¯s heart.

    This was a good chance for them. They decided to settle this with this match.

    Julius looked at the other four and ced his hand on his chest.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll win against all of you in a fair and square match! And then, I¡¯ll sit at Marie¡¯s side.¡¹

    The five red seriously before they turned their back against each other simultaneously.

    Each of them started walking to a different direction.

    Jilk said.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be the winner.¡¹

    Brad also called out to the other four who were leaving.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be the one Marie choose.¡¹

    Greg also didn¡¯t have any intention to back down.

    ¡¸You guys can howl as loud as you like. The winner©¤©¤is gonna be me!¡¹

    Chris also had no intention of losing.

    ¡¸It¡¯s our destiny to decide the winner one day. That¡¯s all.¡¹

    Julius was thest one to spoke to the other four.

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to our next meeting.¡¹

    The five idiots parted.

    The children who were watching that saw them off open-mouthed.

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    It was nice and all that they parted with each other stylishly but©¤©¤Julius was troubled.

    ¡¸I, I don¡¯t have money.¡¹

    He was staying in a cheap hotel. He was counting his money on top of the bed. There were only small changes there.

    ¡¸Shit-! I used up too much money at the first day to fire up myself.¡¹

    He ran out of money at the third day.

    The amount of his money had decreased drastically. When he searched for an inn where he could stay©¤©¤he was introduced to this cheap inn.

    ¡¸Even so this ce is really terrible. It¡¯s like a stable.¡¹

    Julius expressed a rude impression about this cheap inn, but that was his honest impression.

    From the perspective of former crown prince like Julius, a cheap inn was a dirty ce that he didn¡¯t want to use.

    Julius sat cross-legged on the bed and folded his arms in deep thinking.

    ¡¸However, this is troubling. No ce will hire me. Even though I should have shown them the proof of my status.¡¹

    Julius also wasn¡¯t simply ying around in these three days.

    He properly looked for job offer and attended the job interview.

    And yet he got refused everywhere.

    ¡¸Just what is the problem?¡¹

    If he couldn¡¯t find any work, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to stay even in a cheap inn like this tomorrow.

    Julius had suddenly stumbled with his effort from the start.

    ¡¸But, everyone too must be going through the same difficulty like me. I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself if I be the only one who returns to the mansion in disgrace.¡¹

    The other four were surely experiencing the same hardship like him.

    Julius believed that and held a great expectation for tomorrow.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    The next day.

    Julius walked toward a restaurant that was recruiting help.

    He boldly advertised himself in front of the troubled restaurant manager.

    ¡¸I came from Hohlfahrt Kingdom. My name is Julius Rafa Hohlfahrt. Right now I¡¯ve been disinherited, but I was formerly the crown prince.¡¹

    He talked without even hiding his embarrassing past.

    It was because he thought to proof his sincerity.

    Getting disinherited was something dishonorable.

    However he also couldn¡¯t bring himself to lie to someone who would hire him.

    That was why he introduced himself like this.

    ¡¸I came to study abroad in this Alzer. Right now I¡¯m in the middle of learning about society. So please, I ask you to hire me here!¡¹

    Julius pleaded earnestly. In respond the manager shook his head.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t.¡¹

    ¡¸W-why!? If you want to ascertain my identity, then I don¡¯t mind even if you enquire the embassy of Hohlfahrt Kingdom. Then what if we go together there to ask? The diplomats there will recognize me for sure.¡¹

    Julius thought that the manager was suspecting him and mentioned about the embassy in order to proof his identity.

    The manager looked stumped.

    ¡¸E-err, as you can see my restaurant is just a cheap restaurant.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that. You¡¯re looking for part-time worker right? That¡¯s why Ie here!¡¹

    The manager averted his face from Julius and raised his palms toward Julius warily.

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s why, I¡¯m saying that it¡¯s impossible for a restaurant like this to hire a former prince!¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m only disinherited from my position as crown prince, but even right now I¡¯m still a prince.¡¹

    ¡¸Then it¡¯s even more impossible for me to hire you!¡¹

    Seeing the manager cried made Julius thought.

    (S-so this ce is also no good.)

    Julius¡¯s shoulders slumped down and he left the restaurant.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Night came. Julius sat on a bench at a public park while looking at the night sky.

    ¡¸What did I do wrong?¡¹

    Not a single shop would hire him because he talked honestly about himself.

    His stomach was hungry, but he was unable to eat dinner because he only had small changes in his hand.

    ¡¸©¤©¤To think it¡¯s this difficult to earn money.¡¹

    Thinking back now, he used up too much money at the first day.

    If he saved half of the money at that time, he wouldn¡¯t be troubled to buy dinner and stayed at inn right now.

    Julius thought.

    ¡¸Is everyone alright?¡¹

    He was going through this much difficulty, so surely the other four were also going through a hard time. Thinking that he stood up.

    He became worried for the other four.

    ¡¸Guess I¡¯ll see how they are doing.¡¹

    He started walking to stroll around the city for a bit and cleared up his feeling.

    Besides, he had also to search for a ce where it looked like he would be able to stay.

    Perhaps he should just return to the mansion?

    Together with the other four, he would ask Marie for forgiveness so that she would forgive them.

    He was starting to think that in his mind.

    After he walked for a while, he arrived in front of a bustling restaurant.

    The sweet and spicy aroma of sauce stimted his appetite. His stomach was crying so he tried peering inside.

    But Julius immediately hid himself.

    (W-what¡¯s the meaning of this!?)

    There was Greg inside the restaurant.

    He wasn¡¯t inside working as restaurant staff, but as a customer.

    Julius sat near the restaurant¡¯s entrance where he could hear Greg¡¯s conversation with other people.

    ¡¸Oi neer! Eat more! The chicken meat is tasty.¡¹

    ¡¸Listen well Greg. It¡¯s egg. Raw egg is the best.¡¹

    ¡¸Stupid idiot! The best is protein!¡¹

    Greg was surrounded by buff-looking men. It looked like he was having fun.

    Julius didn¡¯t know what kind of job Greg had found, but it seemed he was doing well.

    Julius thought.

    (Greg, so you are earning money. I¡¯ll also try working a bit harder.)

    Greg was also doing his best.

    Julius pulled himself together and decided to do his best for a bit more. He started walking around the city again and bumped into Jilk who was wearing a brand new suit.

    He was carrying a leather suitcase.

    ¡¸Is that Jilk?¡¹

    Jilk was talking with someone.

    They shook hand and smiled at each other.

    And then after they finished shaking hand, Jilk also noticed Julius.

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t this your highness.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah, you look like you¡¯re doing well.¡¹

    Only several days had passed, but Jilk had purchased new attire.

    ¡¸Appearance is important after all. More importantly, is your highness doing well? After all I too have no intention of losing.¡¹

    Julius became ashamed himself for thinking to return to the mansion just now.

    That was why he put on airs.

    ¡¸O-of course. I¡¯m going to be number one.¡¹

    ¡¸As expected from your highness! I also won¡¯t lose.¡¹

    ¡¸More importantly, what are you doing dressing up like this?¡¹

    Julius was curious about Jilk¡¯s suit, but Jilk himself didn¡¯t find any problem with his appearance.

    ¡¸Ah, I bought this at my first day. I will buy something more expensiveter, but I¡¯ll endure with this for now.¡¹

    ¡¸At the first day?¡¹

    It seemed Jilk purchased a suit with the money that Marie gave them.

    ¡¸However, I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m in a hurry, so please excuse me for now. I still have another business discussion to attend.¡¹

    ¡¸Business discussion?¡¹

    Jilk left at a quick pace. He seemed busy.

    Julius was taken aback.

    He never thought that his foster brother and best friend who had been with him the longest would be this sessful while he himself was struggling.

    Julius¡¯s shoulders slumped down.

    (Just what am I doing?)

    With unsteady gait and such question filling his mind, he thought to go to a ce with few people. Then a lot of people went out from a building nearby.

    It seemed the building was a theater where entertainers performed.

    It was a small building, but it was packed full with a lot of guests.

    Everyone was smiling.

    ¡¸Is there something? Tsu!¡¹

    Julius¡¯s eyes snapped wide open when he saw the signboard.

    On therge signboard, ¡ºThe Magic Show of the Extraordinaire Genius Magician (lol) Brad-kyun¡» was written.

    The guests were all talking.

    ¡¸Brad-sama is magnificent too today.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯lle again tomorrow!¡¹

    ¡¸Me too~¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t just the females, even the males were looking delighted.

    ¡¸That Brad, he actually has a talent as a performer?¡¹

    Julius couldn¡¯t believe that Brad was showing a performance as a famous celebrity.

    He wanted to believe that this was just some kind of mistake, but he noticed himself was envying the sess of his friend and shook his head to get rid of the thought.

    (I¡¯m really pathetic.)

    He rethought his thinking that he should recognize his friend¡¯s effort. And then he decided to search for a ce to sleep today.

    Then©¤©¤he met Chris.

    ¡¸Hm? Is that you your highness?¡¹

    ¡¸Chris?¡¹

    Chris was dressed the same like when they left the mansion, but his arms were holding a bag. It seemed he had just returned from shopping.

    ¡¸D-did you juste back from shopping?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Right now I¡¯m doing odd jobs in an establishment. But please watch me. Soon I¡¯ll be able to earn more money.¡¹

    Here Julius noticed.

    (C-could it be, I¡¯m the only one©¤©¤who is not working?)

    Chris was talking to Julius with a smile, but his words didn¡¯t enter Julius¡¯s ear at all.

    And then Chris asked this question.

    ¡¸By the way, where is your highness working right now? I¡¯m working in a nearby bathhouse©¤©¤¡¹

    Julius ran off.

    No, he was running away.

    ¡¸I¡¯M THE ONLY ONE WHO ISN¡¯T WORKINGGGGGG!!¡¹

    Chris called out to him in surprise.

    ¡¸Y-YOUR HIGHNESSSSS! WHAT¡¯S WRONG!?¡¹

    ¡¸UWAaaaAaaaAa!!¡¹

    He became terribly ashamed for thinking that the four were surely also struggling like him and that he wanted to find them so they could return together to the mansion.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    Julius arrived at a riverside. He sat down under the bridge.

    He was watching the flow of the river in a daze.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Even though everyone is working hard, I¡¯m the only one who can¡¯t find a job.¡¹

    The four of them must have found job right away.

    He got the feeling that Jilk and Brad were earning a lot of money.

    He didn¡¯t know about Greg and Chris, even so they must be earning more than Julius who was jobless.

    Among the five he was the most©¤©¤hopeless.

    Julius realized that and looked dumbfounded.

    ¡¸If I return alone like this, then even Marie will be disgusted with me.¡¹

    He became sad when he said it out loud.

    Then©¤©¤*clop clop* there was a sound.

    It seemed someone wasing nearby.

    When he lifted up his face, he found a man at his fifty there.

    ¡¸Sonny, you look listless there.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Y-yeah¡¹

    When he replied, his stomach grumbled at the same time. He became ashamed.

    He casted his gaze down. The man opened his mouth andughed loudly.

    ¡¸If you¡¯re hungry then nice timing. Want to eat at my stand?¡¹

    It seemed the man was pulling his food stand.

    The words ¡¸Meat Skewer¡¹ were written in Alzernguage. Julius swallowed the saliva that was rapidly pooling in his mouth.

    ¡¸S-sorry, but I don¡¯t have much money right now.¡¹

    ¡¸How much do you have?¡¹

    When he showed the man his money, the man pped Julius¡¯s back.

    ¡¸You can eat three sticks at my ce with that much. I¡¯ll give you some extra too, so juste.¡¹

    The man had only just pulled his stand. He hadn¡¯t gotten any customer yet.

    The man grilled several sticks of skewered meat. Julius¡¯s eyes brightened seeing that.

    ¡¸Sonny, do you like meat skewer?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes!¡¹

    Julius ate the grilled meat skewer wordlessly until he finished them all.

    Perhaps because he was hungry, this meat skewer tasted more delicious than anything he had eaten until now.

    ¡¸It¡¯s delicious.¡¹

    Julius muttered that. The man©¤©¤the stand¡¯s owner asked about Julius¡¯s circumstance.

    ¡¸Your face looked gloomy. Did something happen?¡¹

    Julius was troubled when he was asked that, but because the old man had treated him, he honestly told him his circumstance.

    However, he only told the old man about the part where he had to live by himself while working for a month.

    ¡¸I was kicked out from the mansio©¤©¤from home. I was told to go work for a month.¡¹

    ¡¸You look like a young master from well-to-do family after all. Well, it¡¯s also good to learn about society.¡¹

    ¡¸But, no ce will hire me. All of my acquaintances have found job, it feels like I¡¯m the only one left behind.¡¹

    The stand¡¯s owner thought for a bit when he saw the dejected Julius.

    ¡¸So it¡¯s just for a month?¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    The next day.

    ¡¸Wee!¡¹

    The one who gave such energetic greeting was Julius wearing an apron and a twisted headband on his head.

    The customers that came to the stand made fun of the stand¡¯s old man©¤©¤the stand¡¯s boss.

    ¡¸You hired a really energeticd huh.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you going to retire soon boss?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re already old after all.¡¹

    The boss grilled the meat skewers in front of the rude customers while talking back.

    ¡¸Stupid idiots! I¡¯m going to work until I die! I¡¯m just looking after thisd for a month because he was in trouble. Oi, Julius, you help out too.¡¹

    ¡¸Yes boss!¡¹

    Julius ended up working at the stand as the boss¡¯s helper.

 Chapter 131 - Volume 5 Chapter 4

    <h4>Volume 5 Chapter 4</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 4 ¨CBarriere House of the Six Great Nobles</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    Barriere House©¤©¤one of the six great nobles of Alzer Commonwealth.

    It was Loic¡¯s house. It was a house with exceptional strength even among the six great nobles.

    That was why they weren¡¯t satisfied with the current situation.

    The head of the house Benge Leta Barriere(¥Ù¥é¥ó¥¸¥å?¥ì¥¿?¥Ð¥ê¥¨¥ë) had a stout build.

    He was muscr with thick arms.

    His face and chin were also thick.

    In a nce he gave the impression of a hearty person.

    Right now he was irritated with Albergue¡¯s weak foreign policy toward the kingdom.

    ¡¸That Albergue, doesn¡¯t he understand that it will be disadvantageous for Alzer in the future diplomacy if he behave modestly like that?¡¹

    A count of Hohlfahrt Kingdom was one-sidedly beating up Faiviel House.

    At the surface it was dressed as an internal discord of themonwealth, but Benge who knew the truth couldn¡¯t stay calm.

    The like of Faiviel House was categorized as weak among the six great nobles©¤©¤they were the weakest.

    It irritated him that there was a knight from the kingdom who acted pretentiously just because he won against an opponent of that level.

    But if he was asked whether he was going to take revenge for Faiviel House, then his answer would be ¡°no¡±.

    Benge himself understood that he wouldn¡¯t get away unscathed if he fought Leon.

    That was exactly why he couldn¡¯t forgive Albergue¡¯s attitude.

    ¡¸The five houses should join hands together to deal with him. And yet that guy decided on his own.¡¹

    For Benge, Albergue was©¤©¤an enemy instead of a rival.

    They were fellow six great nobles, but the strength of their houses were practically equal.

    And yet, after Lespinasse House that acted as the chairman was destroyed, Rault House served as the acting chairman.

    He couldn¡¯t forgive that Barriere House was ced under Rault House.

    ¡¸Is there no way to take away the chairman position from Albergue?¡¹

    A subordinate came with a report to Benge who was pondering that.

    ¡¸Benge-sama©¤©¤e-excuse me.¡¹

    Benge red at his subordinate that was hesitating to make his report.

    ¡¸Give me the report already. What is Loic doing?¡¹

    Recently Loic, his son and the heir of Barriere House was acting strange.

    He heard that Loic was getting obsessed with amoner girl. He also caused some problematic actions that stood out, so he had his subordinate to investigate it.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The rumors are mostly true. He is stalking a girl and there are even bad rumors about it spreading in the academy.¡¹

    ¡¸How can the one who will seed Barriere House acted so disgracefully!¡¹

    He thought that perhaps he should drag Loic back to the mansion and scolded him severely.

    ¡¸But, the girl he is targeting is weighing my mind.¡¹

    ¡¸Aah?¡¹

    Benge held a cigar in his mouth. He listened to his subordinate before he lit the cigar.

    ¡¸The Beltre sisters, they are twin. The little sister is in a romantic rtionship with Emile-sama of Pleven House.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Troublesome.¡¹

    A young noble from a fellow six great nobles was at the side of the girl his son was inconveniencing.

    It would be troublesome to hush this up. Benge was only considering this matter lightly like that.

    ¡¸I also investigated those sisters but, those Beltre sisters©¤©¤it¡¯s highly possible that they are rted with Lespinasse House.¡¹

    Benge dropped the cigar from his mouth.

    He stood up from his chair.

    ¡¸Lespinasse House you say? There are survivors from there? No, more importantly you said they are twin sisters©¤©¤don¡¯t tell me¡¹

    At the back of Benge¡¯s mind, the young images of Lespinasse House¡¯s sessor candidates©¤©¤the priestess candidates Noelle and Lelia came up.

    Benge¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡¸Did Albergue miss them? No, there is no way that guy would©¤©¤is there some kind of reason?¡¹

    His subordinate was troubled.

    ¡¸Benge-sama, what about Loic-sama¡¯s matter?¡¹

    Benge decided to call Loic in order to ask about this in detail.

    ¡¸Bring Loic here!¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Noelle who left Marie¡¯s mansion returned to her life in her apartment just like before.

    Lelia was going out since the morning, so Noelle was alone.

    Noelle decided to go out shopping in order to prepare dinner today.

    ¡¸What should I make today? Leon like both meat and fish but©¤©¤tsu!?¡¹

    Noelle was also helping with the cooking at Marie¡¯s mansion. She got into the habit of thinking of food that would make Leon happy from there.

    It strangely made her heart felt constricted.

    Noelle smiled stout-heartedly.

    ¡¸I¡¯m really no good am I~. I need to quickly forget a love that¡¯s already over and change to a new one.¡¹

    Noelle looked at the calendar.

    Lelia was marking the date today.

    ¡¸Looks like Lelia has a n today and won¡¯t return tonight.¡¹

    She didn¡¯t know what kind of n Lelia had, but she was preparing thoroughly this morning.

    Emile came to pick her up in his car, so she must be going to a date.

    ¡¸Lelia is really good at dealing with things since the past. ©¤©¤While I am slow at that respect since the past.¡¹

    They were twins, but Lelia had been better in dealing with things and highly evaluated by their surrounding since the past.

    Her parents were also putting their expectation on Lelia.

    ¡¸Even though I need to be reliable as the big sister¡¹

    Noelle went out for shopping because she was feeling down even when staying in her room.

    A voice called at her when she was locking the door.

    ¡¸Yo, Noelle.¡¹

    She heard a refreshing voice, so she hurriedly turned around and found Loic standing there.

    His right hand was holding a cor.

    Noelle was terrified by that.

    When Noelle moved to escape to her room, Loic mmed his hand violently on the door.

    *Bam!* It made a loud sound.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you run.¡¹

    Loic¡¯s yellow eyes were staring at her with eerie light in them.

    Noelle showed a confident attitude.

    ¡¸You©¤©¤it¡¯s pointless even if you do something like this. I won¡¯t go out with you. Besides, there is no way an heir of a great noble house will be allowed to go out with amoner like me.¡¹

    Loic was smiling.

    He touched Noelle¡¯s cheek with his left hand.

    ¡¸It won¡¯t matter with my authority. Even if I get into a political marriage, my number one will be you. Noelle, you¡¯re going to be my wo©¤©¤¡¹

    Noelle couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and pped Loic¡¯s face.

    But, in that moment©¤©¤the bandage that was hiding the back of Noelle¡¯s hand came off.

    She saw Loic¡¯s eyes opening wide.

    (Damn it!?)

    Noelle who noticed that immediately hid her right hand with her left hand. Then she pushed Loic away before running away from there.

    Loic called at Noelle¡¯s back.

    ¡¸W-wait! Noelle, that thing on your hand!¡¹

    Noelle felt her heart pounding so loudly from fear in her chest.

    She had to run away quickly. She ran.

    But, Loic used his excellent physical ability to chase after Noelle. He grabbed her arm and twisted it.

    ¡¸Noelle, show me! Your hand©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸L-let go!¡¹

    Loic forcefully pinned down the struggling Noelle and then he let out an eerie smile.

    Noelle was panicking because she was found out.

    (This is bad. If I show my crest to this guy, I¡¯ll cause trouble for Leon again©¤©¤)

    If it became known that she had the priestess¡¯s crest, themonwealth would give their all to secure the sacred tree¡¯s sapling toplete the set.

    Noelle thought that she would cause trouble for Leon if that happened.

    But Loic was strong and she couldn¡¯t get away.

    ¡¸Noelle, show me that crest! I know that crest. I know it. I remember seeing that crest somewhere.¡¹

    Noelle became terrified seeing Loic¡¯s crazy smile.

    When Noelle closed her eyes, she heard a voice.

    ¡¸YOU BASTARDDDDD!!¡¹

    When she opened her eyes, she saw Marie came running and drove a jumping kick on Loic. He was sent flying.

    Marie sent flying a man like Loic with her small body.

    When shended, she took a fighting pose.

    ¡¸What the hell are you doing when the sun is high in the sky like this, you bastard! If you touch this girl, I¡¯ll instigate Leon to turn your territory into a sea of fire!¡¹

    Marie mentioned Leon¡¯s name, but Loic only grinned slightly.

    He wasn¡¯t listening at all to Marie¡¯s threat.

    ¡¸Noelle, as I thought you and me are tied by destiny.¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s left hand pressed on the back of her right hand.

    She was found out by Loic.

    (What now. He found out that we¡¯re survivors of Lespinasse House)

    Loic stood up and red at Marie.

    ¡¸Move, woman. This is between Noelle and me.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s eyebrows were twitching.

    She was really angry.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t get carried away you pervert stalker bastard. Don¡¯t you see that this girl hate what you¡¯re doing? I¡¯ll turn you protectionless just like Pierre.¡¹

    When Loic couldn¡¯t keep his patience and made the back of his hand shined, Noelle stepped forward in order to protect Marie.

    ¡¸Marie-chan, don¡¯t! Loic is really strong!¡¹

    But Marie didn¡¯t back away.

    ¡¸I know that! But if something happen to you here, I¡¯ll get scolded by big bro!¡¹

    For a moment, Noelle wondered who was this big brother that Marie mentioned, but there wasn¡¯t any time to think about that.

    When Loic was about to use his magic, several cars came to a stop near them.

    Men came down from the cars and held Loic down in great hurry.

    Noelle and Marie were watching that happening with dumbfounded look.

    Loic was protesting.

    ¡¸Let go! You guys, how dare you do something like this to me!¡¹

    ¡¸Young master Loic, Benge-sama is calling for you. Pleasee with us quietly!¡¹

    Loic stopped still and turned quiet when the name of his father was mentioned.

    ¡¸Father is?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes! He is asking you to return to the mansion right away.¡¹

    They must be retainers of Barriere House.

    They kept sending nces toward Noelle.

    Loic thought for a bit before he got into a car.

    He smiled at Noelle while he entered the car.

    ¡¸Noelle, wait for a bit. I¡¯ll definitelye to pick you.¡¹

    After Loic and his men left from this ce, Marie yelled loudly at them.

    ¡¸Nevere again, you stuupiid!¡¹

    Noelle hugged herself and fell her on knees.

    She was trembling with a pale face.

    Marie called out to her seeing her condition.

    ¡¸Noelle, get a hold of yourself! A-anyway,e to my house. I¡¯ll protect you no matter what.¡¹

    Noelle evacuated to Marie¡¯s mansion like that.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    At the mansion of Barriere House.

    Loic who was brought back sat on the sofa while grinning.

    Benge who was sitting on the sofa at the opposite side was getting angrier in front of Loic.

    ¡¸I should have told you that today is an important day?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes, I know. There¡¯ll be an announcement about the engagement between Rault House and Druille House isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    Benge scolded Loic.

    ¡¸Just what are you thinking in this important day!? You should know what kind of tool that cor that you brought out. It¡¯ll be a big problem if you cause amotion!¡¹

    The cor that was ced on the table was a special item.

    The cor had a chain attached on it so that the person who was wearing it couldn¡¯t get away.

    There was a bracelet at the end of the chain. It was for the owner to wear.

    ¡¸Father, this is the engagement ring for me and Noelle.¡¹

    ¡¸Does this cor look like ring? Are you stupid? A part of the scared tree is fitted into this. Once it is worn, the wearer won¡¯t be able to take it off. Forget about it, instead tell me, do you know about that girl¡¯s background?¡¹

    Benge ignored Loic¡¯s nonsense about engagement ring and whatnot and talked about Noelle.

    ¡¸Her background?¡¹

    ¡¸You didn¡¯t know? That girl, she is a survivor of Lespinasse House. You never met her at that time but, you know that there were twin sisters at Lespinasse House don¡¯t you?¡¹

    Loic recalled hearing that from somewhere.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t think that Rault House would let them escape but, so that¡¯s how is it. That¡¯s why¡¹

    Benge was irritated.

    ¡¸This stupid son. If you have a romantic rtionship with one of them, I¡¯ll be able to peacefully invite them here and revive Lespinasse house. And yet you are scaring her instead©¤©¤what the hell are you doing!¡¹

    If it was like this, Benge nned to secure Noelle even if he had to be slightly violent.

    Loic who was calm right now after seeing Noelle¡¯s crest thought.

    (I guess father¡¯s pride cannot ept Albergue-dono staying in the position as the acting chairman.)

    Benge must be nning to make use of Noelle and obtain the seat of acting chairman.

    Perhaps he would ce Noelle as the priestess and became her backer so he could make use of her influence.

    Benge said.

    ¡¸This can be helpful to take down Albergue. I¡¯ll immediately bring her here, but don¡¯t you darey your hand on her.¡¹

    Loic was just slightly curious about Benge¡¯s choice of words.

    (Father isn¡¯t going to bring her up as the priestess? But, it doesn¡¯t matter right now.)

    It was just unrted with what he would say after this.

    After all, there was a priestess¡¯s crest on Noelle¡¯s hand.

    ¡¸Father, I¡¯ll be troubled if you do that. I and Noelle should marry.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Don¡¯t disappoint me further than this. You and that girl will never marry.¡¹

    Benge said that he absolutely wouldn¡¯t allow it, but then Loic told him about the crest.

    ¡¸This is for our house¡¯s sake. After all the priestess¡¯s crest has manifested on Noelle.¡¹

    Benge got on his feet when he heard that.

    ¡¸Impossible!¡¹

    His face was disbelieving of what he had just heard.

    Loic was amused inside his heart.

    (Noelle, you won¡¯t be able to run away from me.)

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    In a party venue.

    People rted to the six great nobles were gathering there.

    Lelia wearing a dress was participating in it with Emile.

    ¡¸It¡¯s strange that all the six great nobles are all present here even though it¡¯s an engagement announcement. They¡¯re political rival aren¡¯t they?¡¹

    Emile smiled wryly at Lelia¡¯s impression.

    ¡¸Yeah. But, enemy and ally can change in a drop of the hat depending on the era. Besides, we are all families that are recognized by the sacred tree, so we have to get along when we can get along.¡¹

    ¡¸Hm~m¡¹

    Lelia wasn¡¯t really interested.

    She was more curious about one of the capture targets.

    (I failed. Loic is a jealous person, it came back to bite me in the ass as it caused big sis to be unable to get closer to other capture targets.)

    Loic had a serious case of jealousy in that otome game.

    Because of that, he would get angry if the main character acted too affably to everybody and caused a bad end.

    That was why Noelle was unable to raise a g with the brocon Hughes.

    In the party venue, Louise was dressed up with Hughes standing beside her with a slightly ruffled look.

    He had blond hair like his brother Fernand(¥Õ¥§¥ë¥Ê¥ó), but his hair was longer.

    He was a handsome boy with green eyes andnguid air.

    He looked a bit like a delinquent, but it gave him a charm of his own.

    (He is a brocon, but perhaps I should try more seriously with him rather than with Loic. ©¤©¤It¡¯s toote now though.)

    Hughes would get betrothed with Louise if his g wasn¡¯t raised at the early stage.

    If that happened his capture became impossible. Not just in game, here in reality it was also looking impossible to capture him at this stage.

    Emile tried to look for something to talk about and exined various things to Lelia desperately.

    ¡¸E-err, even so the ties between Rault House and Druille House will grow stronger with this. The rtionship between the chairman Albergue-san and the head of Druille House Fernand-san has been good since before, but now they have also formed a strong rtionship politically.¡¹

    ¡¸This is a political marriage right?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah. That¡¯s right but©¤©¤it¡¯ll be nice if Hughes-san can also be slightly calmer with this.¡¹

    Hughes was a character who liked to womanize.

    It was the same in reality. It seemed he was still ying around with woman even after the talk about the marriage with Louise was going on.

    (©¤©¤Rault House is going to lose their standing and Louise won¡¯t be noble anymore anyway. Even so, the viiness is amazing huh. Does she know that I¡¯m a fake?)

    The viiness Louise had never try anything with Lelia for some reason.

    She was only targeting Noelle.

    To Lelia that looked like Louise was instinctually judging Noelle to be the real one.

    The two of them were walking toward Emile to give a greeting.

    Lelia backed away to diagonally behind Emile.

    Hughes spoke.

    ¡¸Yo Emile. I never thought you¡¯re going toe bringing a lover with you.¡¹

    He had a friendly attitude that was unthinkableing from a noble.

    Emile looked troubled.

    ¡¸Hughes-san, your attire is ruffled.¡¹

    ¡¸Who cares, there are only rtivesing to this event anyway. There are only old acquaintances around us here.¡¹

    There were a lot of people they had been acquainted with since a long time ago in the engagement announcement¡¯s venue.

    It seemed that Hughes was rxed because of that.

    Beside Hughes, Louise looked at Lelia.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Is your big sister doing well?¡¹

    That sounded like sarcasm to Lelia.

    ¡¸I guess, she is doing well.¡¹

    Actually she was depressed after experiencing a heart break, but there was no need to tell the enemy the detail.

    Louise was smiling.

    ¡¸I see. ©¤©¤Emile, protect your important lover properly okay?¡¹

    Emile straightened himself when Louise told him that.

    ¡¸Yes.¡¹

    Lelia sighed after the two headed elsewhere to greet other people.

    ¡¸She¡¯s really sarcastic. She just want to tell me that I¡¯m not worthy to be here.¡¹

    But Emile¡¯s reaction was different from Lelia.

    ¡¸Is that so? It sounds to me that she was speaking earnestly though. Besides, Louise-san has been a kind person since a long time ago.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean kind? Emile also know how she is picking a quarrel with big sis almost every day aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yeah. But, I¡¯ve also known Louise-san for a long time, so¡¹

    Lelia was irritated by Emile¡¯s attitude.

    (Is Emile the type who will prioritize his own family even after marrying and make light of his own wife?)

    She became uneasy about her future.

    But, Emile was staring with a slightly sad gaze at Louise who was having fun talking with other people.

    ¡¸Louise-san looked like she was really suffering when her little brother died. She has gotten back on her feet right now but, at that time I couldn¡¯t bear watching her.¡¹

    ¡¸Little brother? Eh?¡¹

    Lelia was bewildered.

    (From the way he said it, she had a little brother other than Serge?)

    Loic arrivedte at the party venue.

    Loic headed toward where Louise and Hughes were.

    Lelia secretly led Emile to a position where they would be able to listen to their conversation.

    ¡¸Hughes, congrattions for your engagement.¡¹

    Hughes made a nonplussed look at Loic who was smiling.

    ¡¸It¡¯s just an engagement, so there isn¡¯t any need for congrattions. I¡¯ve also been acquainted with Louise since a long time ago, something like this is just a political marriage.¡¹

    They had no love for each other.

    But, Louise made a slightly sad face.

    Lelia thought.

    (Serves you right you viiness.)

    She often picked on Noelle.

    To Lelia this looked like she was receiving the punishment for that.

    Louise saw that Loic and Hughes were having fun talking, so she tried to leave from there.

    She said that she was taking a break and left.

    Then Loic¡¯s tone turned serious.

    ¡¸Hughes, I have something important to talk about. I want to discuss it together with Fernand-dono too.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤With Nii-san? Oy, you get it don¡¯t you? My house and your Barriere House are political enemy right now.¡¹

    ¡¸Something like that only depend on the situation right? Besides, it won¡¯t be a bad talk.¡¹

    Loic then sent a sharp gaze at Lelia who was eavesdropping.

    Lelia hurriedly took off her gaze and went out of the venue.

    ¡¸Emile, I¡¯m going to take a break.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? R-right.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    When Lelia finished fixing her makeup and went out, there was Loic waiting for her.

    ¡¸Yo Lelia.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Loic.¡¹

    She red at him, but Loic paid it no mind and talked to her with a smile.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t re like that. Actually I have a good news for you.¡¹

    ¡¸Good news you said?¡¹

    ¡¸You yourself understand that you won¡¯t be able to marry with Emile if you stay like as you are right?¡¹

    Emile was a member of the six great nobles.

    His status was far too different from Lelia right now.

    It would be possible depending on the development from now, but Lelia couldn¡¯t tell Loic that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s, true, but so what?¡¹

    ¡¸I told you don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯m saying that I¡¯ll lend you a hand so that you can marry with Emile. If you want we can have this talk together with Emile.¡¹

    Lelia became puzzled just what Loic was thinking when he suggested having Emile be present for the talk too.

    ¡¸Loic, big sis doesn¡¯t like©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸I know. It was my fault.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Unlike his forcefulness until now, Loic was showing remorse.

    ¡¸It was my bad to scare Noelle like that. That¡¯s why I want you to help me.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Are you serious?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously. I myself don¡¯t want to scare Noelle. I want to be lover with her just like you and Emile. No, sorry. I¡¯m thinking to take it even further than that.¡¹

    Lelia¡¯s wariness was gradually weakening seeing Loic¡¯s acting slightly yful.

    ¡¸What are you nning to do?¡¹

    Loic¡¯s eyes turned serious.

    ¡¸Lelia©¤©¤both you and Noelle are survivors of Lespinasse House right?¡¹

    ¡¸Tsu!¡¹

    She never thought that she would be exposed at this kind of timing.

    Loic ced his hand on the shoulder of the flustered Lelia to calm her down.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you two. I also want to ask for Emile¡¯s help because there is someone targeting you two.¡¹

    Who would be targeting them?

    Even Lelia knew the answer.

    ¡¸Rault House.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. It¡¯ll be difficult to defeat the acting chairman, but my house will be the patron of you two to protect both of you. ©¤©¤Actually, I saw Noelle¡¯s right hand.¡¹

    Lelia started sweating heavily.

    (No good. No good, no good! If he learns that the guardian¡¯s crest appeared on Leon, I don¡¯t know what Loic will do.)

    The crest appeared on Leon first.

    But, it was the priestess who chose the guardian at Alzer.

    In other words, it was highly possible that people would misunderstand that the priestess©¤©¤Noelle had chosen Leon.

    If that happened, Lelia didn¡¯t know what Loic would do with his jealousy.

    Even if she tried to solve the misunderstanding, it wasplicated because Noelle was also in love with Leon. Lelia was troubled.

    ¡¸Loic, you see©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸The priestess¡¯s crest appeared on Noelle¡¯s right hand. Noelle is chosen as the priestess. Lelia, I want you to help me. I swear I won¡¯t make any mistake this time.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    It seemed Loic didn¡¯t know about Leon¡¯s crest.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to make Noelle choose me as the guardian. If that happen then Barriere House will protect you two. Will you help me Lelia?¡¹

    Lelia was confused.

    ¡¸S-sorry, I can¡¯t rly think right now.¡¹

    Loic apologized.

    ¡¸Sorry. I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. But, if there is anything then you can rely on me okay?¡¹

    Lelia nodded a little.

    And then she watched Loic¡¯s back leaving.

    (Loic is finally calming down. Perhaps, if it¡¯s him right now then even big sis will©¤©¤)

    If it was the Loic just now, perhaps she could entrust Noelle to him?

    Lelia was thinking that.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Loic who was turning his back on Lelia was smirking eerily.

    (Noelle, looks like you will be mine soon.)

    Loic had be really calm, but that was because he had gotten an idea of how to obtain Noelle.

    His status was a hindrance for him until now.

    In addition Noelle was rejecting him with her own will.

    But now Loic had obtained the justification that could overturn them.

    Loic sensed someone approaching. He erased his expression and put on a smile.

    It was Hughes with Fernand in tow who appeared.

    ¡¸Loic-kun, long time no see. You have grown really big.¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re always saying that every time we meet.¡¹

    They shook hand and then Fernand smiled.

    ¡¸It¡¯s my stock phrase. So pardon me for that. More importantly, I heard that you have something important to talk about?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Let¡¯s talk at a ce where there isn¡¯t anyone else. This will be an important talk about Alzer¡¯s future.¡¹

    Fernand narrowed his eyes.

    Hughes warned Loic after he saw that.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not going to forgive you if it¡¯s just a pointless talk for Nii-san.¡¹

    ¡¸Hughes, stop it. Let¡¯s just hear what he has to say.¡¹

    Fernand said that he would listen to Loic¡¯s story, so Hughes shut up even though he looked dissatisfied.

    ¡¸I¡¯m in your debt. Please this way.¡¹

    The three of them vanished into an empty room.

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    In a break room inside the party venue.

    Louise was talking with Albergue inside the room.

    Albergue was making a troubled face.

    ¡¸Hughes-kun too is a troublesome child. He is still womanizing even though he has a fianc¨¦e now.¡¹

    Hearing that, Louise said that she didn¡¯t have any high expectation from the start.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t look for anything like love from a political marriage. I¡¯ll marry for the sake of Rault House.¡¹

    ¡¸Louise, even so there is no rule that say you can¡¯t be happy. ©¤©¤But, I¡¯m slightly concerned.¡¹

    ¡¸About what?¡¹

    Louise looked like an adult woman in her dress.

    Albergue looked happy seeing her daughter had grown beautifully.

    ¡¸Are you perhaps, wishing that you can marry with Count Bartfalt?¡¹

    Louise went red until her ears from the teasing remark.

    ¡¸D-don¡¯t be stupid! What are you insinuating about me and a child that look like my little brother!?¡¹

    ¡¸Ahahaha, if there is no one to take you then pushing you on him won¡¯t be a problem though. ©¤©¤Well, actually the problem is more on me rather than you.¡¹

    Albergue was ashamed of himself who was trying to make a connection based on personal feeling.

    Albergue sighed.

    ¡¸The marriage will be after your graduation, but go live together with Hughes-kun for the time being.¡¹

    ¡¸I know.¡¹

    Albergue looked down.

    ¡¸Louise, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m using you as tool of political marriage. Even though you might have someone else who you like.¡¹

    She might have.

    Or perhaps she would find someone like that in the future.

    But, it was meaningless.

    ¡¸I was born as a daughter of a great noble. I have given up something like that since a long time ago. After all there was even a talk for Leon¡¯s engagement when he was five years old.¡¹

    Louise suddenly realized what she had just said and covered her mouth with her hand.

    But Albergue didn¡¯t me her.

    ¡¸Yeah. I too would have nothing to worry if Leon is still alive. But, my son right now is Serge. I¡¯ll do my best until that child be a fine adult.¡¹

    Louise¡¯s mood soured when Serge¡¯s name came out.

    ¡¸I hate that child.¡¹

    ¡¸He has be your little brother. I wish you can also ept him.¡¹

    The break time was taking too long.

    Albergue left the room.

    ¡¸Louise, it might be difficult for you but©¤©¤you should ept Serge.¡¹

    When the door was closed, Louise gritted her teeth.

    ¡¸My little brother is only Leon, whether now or in the past. ©¤©¤Leon, why did you die¡¹

    She desperately held back her tears from flowing out.

    After that Louise wouldn¡¯te out from the room. She kept recalling the past until a servant got worried and came to call for her.

 Chapter 132 - Volume 5 Chapter 5

    Volume 5 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5 ¨C Dense

    .

    Part 1

    ¡¸And so, what? You were exchanging letters with Deirdre and rice?¡¹

    The location was the royal capital of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    It was when we were borrowing a room in the mansion of Duke Redgrave there to enjoy tea elegantly.

    Doing something like this made me felt really like a noble. It made me let my guard down.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Yes.¡¹

    In front of me were Ange whose face had turned expressionless and the smiling Livia standing beside her.

    ¡¸Leon-san, you were also exchanging letters with the queen weren¡¯t you? You even made us deliver your letter to her majesty once.¡¹

    ¡¸I did.¡¹

    I asked my fianc¨¦e to deliver a letter to a woman who fit my criteria.

    Even without thinking hard about it, it was obviously something wrong to do wasn¡¯t it.

    I was having fun with the tea time until the middle.

    But, I let my guard down after knowing that the reason the two of them picked me up at themonwealth was just a misunderstanding.

    Because of that I carelessly ran my mouth ¡¸Haha~, I was flustered back then because I didn¡¯t know what made you two angry¡¹.

    Stupid me. Stupid, stupid idiot!

    I sent a gaze to Luxion asking for help.

    It seemed my desire reached him. Luxion gave me a follow-up.

    ¡ºI wish that you two won¡¯t underestimate master. ©¤©¤His crime doesn¡¯t end there.¡»

    After they heard that, their gaze on me turned even colder.

    I grabbed Luxion with both hands and pulled him close to my face.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with you? Hey, what¡¯s with you!? Do you really hate me that much? This should be a scene where master and servant¡¯s hearts are connected and you give me a back up!¡¹

    ¡ºMaster should reflect on yourself more. How about trying to face your sins including all those sins that are still kept under darkness? ©¤©¤Well, there are a lot of those undiscovered sins though.¡»

    ¡¸What sins do I have!?¡¹

    ¡ºIt¡¯s a sin to not even know that. Also, I¡¯m being this strict is for master¡¯s sake. Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m really a loyal servant?¡»

    Don¡¯t screw around.

    I didn¡¯t wish for anything like that from an AI.

    You should spoil me more.

    Also, what I was wishing from you was makeshift excuse to survive this ce.

    ¡¸Leon, how about you tell us everything? Tell us every details before you return to Alzer, including everything you¡¯re hiding.¡¹

    Livia hugged my arm.

    ¡¸Leon-san, we¡¯re also busy even though it looks like we aren¡¯t.¡¹

    Yes, they should be busy.

    Ange was acting as the mediator for the second year students, while Livia was acting as the mediator for the schrship students.

    They must be busy with a lot of matters even though it was summer vacation.

    ¡¸But, we finished almost all of our work at the first half of the summer vacation in order to meet with Leon-san. That¡¯s why©¤©¤we have a lot of time, so please don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    ¡¸Wa~, amazing. Have you finished your summer vacation homework perhaps?¡¹

    I was the type who would get serious at thetter half of the summer vacation to finish my homework.

    Human should experience testing their limit at least once.

    But Ange and Livia were different.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. We already finished them except for a small part.¡¹

    Livia also nodded.

    ¡¸I have also finished everything that can be finished.¡¹

    Amazing! Someone like me still hadn¡¯t touched the homework that Alzer¡¯s academy assigned to me.

    ¡¸Both of you are amazing. I¡¯ll brew even better tea leaves for such amazing women.¡¹

    Ange smiled.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t need to concern yourself of that. After all we are your fianc¨¦es. If it¡¯s tea that you prepared for us, we won¡¯t mind even if you use cheap tea leaves.¡¹

    I was happy to hear that, but in short her words meant ¡¸We won¡¯t let you escape¡¹ wasn¡¯t it?

    She showed an attitude that wouldn¡¯t let me talk my way out of this.

    Livia was also the same.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why, please tell us everything about these other sins.¡¹

    ©¤©¤What now.

    There were a lot of things that felt like they could be considered as sins. I didn¡¯t know which of them that I should talk about.

    .

    Part 2

    There were some maids who were observing the tea party.

    There were also a lot of people who were serving Ange in Duke Redgrave¡¯s mansion at the capital.

    A lot of the maids came from knight family and received education in the academy.

    There were even actual nobles from count house, viscount house, and baron house among them.

    Among those people, there was also a woman who had been taking personal care of Ange since she was little.

    Her name was Cordelia Fou Easton(¥³©`¥Ç¥ê¥¢?¥Õ¥©¥¦?¥¤©`¥¹¥È¥ó).

    She was currently 24 years old. She had been working in the duke house since she was little to learn good manners through apprenticeship.

    Her age was too far apart from Ange and she couldn¡¯t attend the academy together with her as her followers, but she was of the people who had been serving her for a long time.

    That Cordelia was peeking into the room with an expression that looked like noh mask.

    ¡¸That man©¤©¤even though he already has Angelica-sama, he not onlyy his hand on women in foreign country but even other women in this country.¡¹

    The other maids were troubled.

    ¡¸Cordelia-sama, please calm down.¡¹

    Her noh mask expression became like a furious demon.

    ¡¸How can I be calm in this situation!? Do you know how horrible the treatment that Angelica-sama received due to that witch Marie? That woman stole that idiot prince who was formerly the crown prince and even shamed her in front of public eye!¡¹

    ¡¸S-saying idiot prince is too much isn¡¯t©¤©¤i-it¡¯s nothing.¡¹

    The maids became quiet in front of Cordelia¡¯s fury.

    ¡¸Angelica-sama is really worried that her fianc¨¦e might be cheating on her. And yet even though he understand that, to do something like cheating¡¹

    ¡¸E-err, it was mentioned that he wasn¡¯t cheating.¡¹

    ¡¸The problem is him doing things that is putting him under doubt!¡¹

    Last year Ange¡¯s engagement with Julius was canceled.

    The reason of the cancetion was something that waspletely unforgivable. Even Redgrave family was feeling disgruntled toward the royal family.

    What vexed Cordelia was that Ange¡¯s followers had also betrayed her.

    ¡¸Angelica-sama was really depressed because the people near her also betrayed her. Even though that man know about that, for him to actually dare cheating this early in their engagement©¤©¤unforgivable!¡¹

    The people around her thought that she was exaggerating but, when they thought of how harsh things were for Angest year, they also became irritated with Leon.

    However, after the war with the former Fanoss Principalityst year, most of the houses that betrayed the duke house had received punishment.

    It was also the same with the academy students who betrayed Ange.

    Thanks to that the number of high ss maids was also very few.

    Setting aside that internal condition of the duke house, Cordelia was thinking that she should raise some kind of countermeasure toward Leon.

    ¡¸Someone should be ced at themonwealth to stand watch over him.¡¹

    .

    Part 3

    Around that time, the matter of Leon was also bing a problem at Bartfalt House.

    Nix who had graduated from the academy was in the middle of studying under Barkas(¥Ð¥ë¥«¥¹) to be a feudal lord.

    That Nix was fretting.

    ¡¸Father, is it alright to just ignore this? That Leon, we don¡¯t know what he¡¯s going to do.¡¹

    Barkas was sweating nervously.

    If the story he heard from Leon about what happened at themonwealth was true, it seemed he was picking a fight against a great noble house.

    Not just that©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t face Duke Redgrave like this.¡¹

    ©¤©¤He was also suspected to be cheating.

    The person himself denied it, Angelica and Livia were also epting it.

    But, he couldn¡¯t help but felt uneasy.

    After all this was Leon they were talking about.

    Nix was in tenterhooks.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think that Leon will cheat. That guy ispletely a wuss when ite to woman after all.¡¹

    Barkas looked coldly at Nix who was saying that.

    ¡¸You¡¯re also the same. You haven¡¯t found a marriage partner even though you have graduated from the academy aren¡¯t you?¡¹

    ¡¸I have a special circumstance! Besides, I never imagined that big brother Lud©¤©¤sorry, I mean Ludward(¥ë¥È¥¢©`¥È) would get disinherited!¡¹

    There was a circumstance with Nix.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s return to the topic. I think that if it¡¯s Leon then he won¡¯t cheat. I believe in him but©¤©¤that guy, should I say that he is strangely loved by women©¤©¤he is oddly popr with some type of woman.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t just Ange and Livia.

    Leon was also close with nobledies like rice and Deirdre.

    Barkas covered his face with both hands.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say it. I don¡¯t want to recall it. My stomach felt like they were sawed. Someone like Prime Minister Barnard was asking me¡ºWhat do you think about my daughter?¡». The prime minister himself you know!?¡¹

    Even Barkas would be troubled if someone who was far higher than him like they were above the clouds brought a marriage discussion to him.

    Bartfalt House was just a baron family located at the countryside.

    ¡¸Father, what are we going to do if the same thing happen to Leon at Alzer? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll be really troublesome if a noble woman there is approaching him? Besides, that guy is also a man©¤©¤the possibility of him cheating isn¡¯t zero.¡¹

    If that happened, they didn¡¯t know what Redgrave House would do.

    The only thing Nix and Barkas could do in that case would be apologizing for the misconduct of their family member.

    Leon¡¯s mother Luce(¥ê¥å©`¥¹) arrived while the two were in low spirits like that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s pathetic for two men to be looking down like that together.¡¹

    ¡¸Even though you say that, this is a big problem.¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, we should also prepare someone to chaperon him over there.¡¹

    ¡¸Chaperone?¡¹

    Barkas tilted his head, the the maid Yumeria(¥æ¥á¥ê¥¢) entered into the room.

    Her appearance looked like a young girl, butrge objects were dangling down from her chest.

    She was an elf woman and older than anybody here.

    But, she was treated as somebody younger because of her appearance and her conduct.

    ¡¸E-excuse me! I want to volunteer myself!¡¹

    ph_otome5_ill004

    Nix looked troubled.

    ¡¸No, I know that Yumeria-san is a hard worker, but being a chaperon means watching over Leon over there. I don¡¯t think Yumeria-san can©¤©¤ouch!¡¹

    Luce pped Nix¡¯s head. She exined to him with a small voice.

    ¡¸You¡¯re stupid. This girl¡¯s kid is at themonwealth right? She is always worried about him, so let¡¯s allow her to meet him while making her take care of Leon too.¡¹

    Nix understood after hearing that.

    Yumeria had a son named Kyle.

    Right now that son was taking care of Marie. He was living far away from here.

    ¡¸I-I understand. So that¡¯s how it is. Then I guess we should let Yumeria-san board Leon¡¯s ship.¡¹

    Barkas also nodded.

    This decision was simply the good intention of the three to let Yumeria worked near her son.

    ©¤©¤Yes, this decision was from good intention.

    .

    Part 4

    I stopped by at home before returning to themonwealth.

    I was going to part from Ange and Livia there.

    I was going to go back to life of overseas student at Alzer once more.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Most of my precious summer vacation here is used up by meetings.¡¹

    I thought I would be able to rx at the kingdom, but I never thought that it would take so many days to discuss about the n ahead.

    Luxion admonished my optimistic attitude.

    ¡ºDid master seriously think that you will be able to do nothing but having fun in your vacation with your position? Currently at the surface it¡¯s a turning point for the diplomatic rtions between the kingdom and themonwealth. The kingdom and themonwealth are both greatly busy. Behind the scene©¤©¤it¡¯s also an extremely important period in the otome game aspect that master mentioned.¡»

    ¡¸I know that©¤©¤even so I want to have a vacation.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster has been able to rest enough though?¡»

    I understood that right now was an important period.

    We had to find a lover for Noelle.

    If not the world would be in danger.

    And thest boss of that otome game¡¯s sequel was Albergue-san who controlled the sacred tree was it?

    They said that the sacred tree would be a monster and went into a rampage.

    Spare me from that.

    In the worst case Luxion might be able to deal with it but©¤©¤it would be hell for themonwealth after they lost the sacred tree.

    The sacred tree had been providing themonwealth with immense wealth until now.

    If they lost that, themonwealth would be ced in a tough situation after that.

    In that second game, ording to Marie ¡¸The sapling will be the new sacred tree for themonwealth¡¹.

    Sapling©¤©¤the sacred tree¡¯s sapling, it was unclear whether it would be able to do the same thing like the sacred tree.

    And then the sacred tree¡¯s sapling©¤©¤I¡¯d just call it sapling-chan in short.

    Sapling-chan needed a priestess in order to disy its ability.

    Noelle would be the priestess, and then after she chose a guardian who would protect sapling-chan it would be happy end but©¤©¤.

    I looked at my right hand.

    ¡¸More importantly, can¡¯t this crest vanish? This belongs to the guardian right? Why did it appear on me then?¡¹

    It was also bothering me why sapling-chan chose me as the guardian.

    Normally there was the order of the sapling choosing the priestess and then the priestess would choose the guardian.

    But it seemed Luxion had a different thinking.

    ¡ºMaster, do you know the reason why the sacred tree choose a guardian?¡»

    ¡¸If it¡¯s just like the name suggested then it¡¯s to make that person guard it, right?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. And then, who was the one who secured and protected that sapling until now?¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Me huh.¡¹

    ¡ºI don¡¯t think it¡¯s strange for the sapling to decide that master is suitable to be its guardian.¡»

    ¡¸But the priestess¡¹

    ¡ºIn the first ce, I can¡¯t understand that point. Is there really any need to choose a priestess? It¡¯s logical for the sacred tree to choose a priestess first in order to understand human. But, the sapling would prioritize its own survival first.¡»

    For some reason the sacred tree¡¯s saplings would wither if they were left alone.

    They would still wither even if they were uprooted and then put under rigorous care.

    Anyway they just couldn¡¯t grow up.

    The reason why that happened was interesting.

    ¡¸Even though they were born from the sacred tree, it was that sacred tree that was trying to kill them.¡¹

    ¡ºI have the feeling that it¡¯s mistaken as a nt.¡»

    The source of nutrients for the sacred tree was the magic element©¤©¤the source of magic power in the air.

    The sapling couldn¡¯t be grown with just normal nutrients from soil and water.

    But, it wasn¡¯t like the sacred tree was absorbing all the magic element in the air.

    And yet it wouldn¡¯t share the magic element with the other saplings.

    It was as though it was trying to destroy itself.

    ¡ºThe important thing for the sapling is master¡¯s existence that can guarantee its survival. There won¡¯t be any problem even if it put the existence of the priestess as secondary priority.¡»

    ¡¸So it¡¯s different from the game. More importantly, what¡¯re we going to do from now? The priestess and the guardian will be lovers right? I already have fianc¨¦es. Ah, perhaps the priestess position can be given to Ange or Livia?¡¹

    That idea crossed my mind so I said it, but Luxion immediately shook his eye in denial.

    ¡ºThe two of them don¡¯t have the attribute necessary to be a priestess.¡»

    ¡¸Have you investigated it?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. Because it¡¯s an information that might be necessary depending on future development.¡»

    Certainly it was necessary but, it was somewhat dissatisfying.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Tell me first before you are investigating. It makes me feel unwell that you are investigating on your own ord.¡¹

    ¡ºI was only doing it on the side while also doing the periodical health checkup. More importantly, I have a single question.¡»

    ¡¸There are a lot of questions huh. So, what¡¯s this question?¡¹

    ¡ºMaster, as the fundamental rule, the crests that the sacred tree bestowed are differentiated with ranking. The guardian¡¯s crest has the highest ranking and the priestess¡¯s crest is a rank below it.¡»

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    ¡ºThe third in ranking is the crests that are in the possession of the six great nobles but©¤©¤the sacred tree will prioritize protecting the one with crest of higher rank. If that¡¯s the case, there is one story that is strange.¡»

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡ºMaster haven¡¯t noticed?¡»

    Looking at my puzzled expression, Luxion showed an exasperated gesture with his spherical body.

    What to do©¤©¤that gesture was terribly irritating.

    ¡¸That¡¯s why, just tell me already!¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Lespinasse House had the crests of the guardian and the priestess. Then why did they lose against Rault House who only has lower ranked crest?¡»

    I too finally understood after hearing that.

    That¡¯s right.

    How did Lespinasse House get destroyed?

    Even Marie and Lelia¡¯s story didn¡¯t exin that.

    That question was only get treated as ¡°that¡¯s the setting in the game¡±.

    ¡¸Perhaps Rault House developed a weapon that doesn¡¯t rely on the sacred tree¡¯s power?¡¹

    ¡ºThemonwealth doesn¡¯t have such advanced technology. I have concluded that they don¡¯t have any weapon or countermeasure that can counter the crest.¡»

    There were a lot of weapons that were working by receiving energy from the sacred tree at Alzer.

    If the lower rank opposed the higher rank, the sacred tree would stop the supply of energy in order to protect the higher rank without caring of the excuse.

    In addition, even Lespinasse House should also have weapons that made use of the sacred tree¡¯s power.

    Even if they were attacked in surprise and got caughtpletely off guard, was it really possible for them to lose so one-sidedly?

    From what I gathered from Lelia¡¯s story, it sounded like they got one-sidedly destroyed.

    ¡ºMaster, this is just my hypothesis but©¤©¤perhaps Lespinasse House lost their crest at that time.¡»

    The story was gettingplicated.

    If Lespinasse House didn¡¯t have the crests©¤©¤was it because they were stolen?

    Or they simply lost them?

    No, perhaps.

    ¡¸Pierre did whatever he pleased using the sacred tree¡¯s power didn¡¯t he? Is there any possibility of Rault House using simr trick like that to destroy Lespinasse House?¡¹

    ¡ºI can¡¯t say that there is none. But, isn¡¯t such possibility low? If such trick exist, the six great nobles should know something. Also, this is also something that¡¯s bothering me. It¡¯s impossible topletely erase the fact that Rault House had destroyed Lespinasse House. And yet, Albergue is sitting on the seat of acting chairman.¡»

    Were the other five houses alright with Rault House destroying Lespinasse House?

    This became even more confusing.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Luxion, why didn¡¯t you tell me something like this quicker?¡¹

    ¡ºI had been nning to discuss this with master, but I was unable to find a good timing. In addition, there is no urgency to discuss about this problem. After all it¡¯s a past matter.¡»

    ¡¸No, this is really important!¡¹

    ¡ºIt won¡¯t cause any big change whether master know about it or not. Master is aiming to reach the ending of that otome game isn¡¯t it?¡»

    Certainly, even if I knew about this earlier it was unthinkable that there would be anyrge change about our n going ahead.

    ¡¸Even so you should tell me this kind of thing! I want to know if there is a reason for something like that!¡¹

    That¡¯s right.

    There was also the possibility of us having a misunderstanding.

    We were going through a lot of troublesst year because of that too.

    ¡ºDoes master really want to know about the full details? ©¤©¤If master sympathize with Rault House even more than this, it¡¯ll be master who suffer. Albergue will die at the end. And then Rault House will also perish. That¡¯s the result that master and others are wishing for.¡»

    I recalled the time when I had dinner at the mansion of Rault House.

    I looked down. Luxion then expressed his concern for me.

    ¡ºMaster, there is no need for you to shoulder the responsibility for other country too. You mustn¡¯t mistake what is it that you should prioritize.¡»

    I sat down on the spot.

    Just what was it that I should do?

    .

    Part 5

    Inside Einhorn that was going back to Bartfalt territory.

    Livia was talking to me who was currently feeling depressed.

    ¡¸Leon-san, we¡¯re going to arrive soon.¡¹

    Livia who came to notify me was looking slightly despondent.

    ¡¸We¡¯re going to be separated again for a while. But rather than that, what¡¯s the matter? Leon-san doesn¡¯t look well for some reason.¡¹

    Livia was worried seeing me depressed like this.

    ¡¸Ah, you noticed? Actually I don¡¯t want to go back there. As I thought my own birthce is number one.¡¹

    I showed her a smile, but I faltered in front of Livia¡¯s serious gaze.

    Then Livia looked down.

    ¡¸Is there something going on over there?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? How did you!?¡¹

    I never told Livia anything about that otome game.

    That was why she should have no way of knowing what I was doing.

    Livia raised her face and looked at me.

    ¡¸Leon-san, didn¡¯t you go to Alzer because there is something there?¡¹

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s not it. You know, I was going there to babysit Julius and others.¡¹

    I spewed a lie right away.

    The pce was pushing Julius and others on me after I decided to study abroad.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I heard from Ange. His highness Julius and others were pushed on Leon-san after you decided to study abroad. Leon-san, aren¡¯t you hiding something from us?¡¹

    I averted my face.

    I¡¯m a reincarnator! How relieving it would be if I could say that.

    This world is a world of otome game, and you are its main character.

    ©¤©¤If there was someone who said that, I would put some distance from them.

    But Livia wasn¡¯t angry.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know what Leon-san is doing. But, I believe that it must be something important.¡¹

    ¡¸Livia?¡¹

    ¡¸Because, Leon-san is a kind person.¡¹

    When she told me that with a smile, it felt like my heart©¤©¤became really light.

    Livia continued.

    ¡¸I¡¯m thinking that perhaps, Leon-san has something that you can¡¯t tell us at all. But, please, just be careful to not act recklessly.¡¹

    While I was at a loss of how to respond, Livia gently hugged me.

    ¡¸We will also do our best so one day Leon-san will also be able to rely on us. That¡¯s why, please wait for us until then.¡¹

    ¡¸Livia¡¹

    I was happy to be kindly hugged like this, but then Livia¡¯s arms strengthened their hug a little.

    ¡¸Also, Ange won¡¯t say it but, she is sensitive in regard to cheating.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? A-aa, yeah.¡¹

    I was troubled even if you told me that.

    Even though I didn¡¯t cheat at all.

    ¡¸Ange is worried. That¡¯s why, please don¡¯t make her sad.¡¹

    ¡¸I know.¡¹

    Ange was sensitive in regard to cheating because of Marie¡¯s fault.

    She must be unable to calm down if I was staying at a ce near that Marie.

    I should be more considerate.

    Livia let go of me.

    ¡¸We wille to meet Leon-san again at the next long holiday. Let¡¯s sightsee leisurely at that time.¡¹

    Livia smiled. I beat my chest saying leave it to me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to investigate any good sightseeing ce to prepare for that time.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll be looking forward to it then.¡¹

    .

    Part 6

    Ange and Cordelia were in another room inside Einhorn.

    Ange sighed and made an irritated expression.

    The reason was the words from her big brother.

    ¡¸Forgive him if it¡¯s only one or two mistress©¤©¤is it?¡¹

    He said that he wanted to send someone because he was uneasy after hearing that Leon was living in Marie¡¯s mansion.

    Her father and big brother were also thinking that such thing was certainly bad.

    And so they suggested to send someone from Redgrave House there.

    But at the same time, Ange¡¯s big brother Gilbert(¥®¥ë¥Ð©`¥È) also said ¡¸It¡¯s fine for you to refuse Marie no matter what, but it¡¯ll be better if you don¡¯t meddle too much into things other than that¡¹.

    Her father and big brother were also men.

    They could also understand Leon¡¯s feeling if he was cheating.

    The two of them were also indirectly advising Leon about that, but Leon himself didn¡¯t notice.

    Ange was also a noble¡¯s daughter, it wasn¡¯t a problem even if her husband had a mistress©¤©¤she thought before.

    However when it was actually happening in reality, there was a gloomy feeling in her heart.

    ¡¸Perhaps it was a mistake to consult with father and brother about this?¡¹

    She asked that to Cordelia who was the one taking care of her in her home.

    Cordelia was a high ss maid. She was also educated.

    ¡¸Perhaps they aren¡¯t mistaken as a noble, but personally©¤©¤as a woman, it¡¯s natural to be unable to ept it.¡¹

    The reason Ange was talking to Cordelia was because she was the maid who would be sent to Leon¡¯s ce.

    Both her father and big brother nned to choose a young and beautiful maid.

    The reason was to ce someone that wouldn¡¯t be problematic even if Leonid his hand on her.

    Ange looked at Cordelia.

    ¡¸Even so, I didn¡¯t expect for Cordelia to volunteer.¡¹

    When they were talking of who to send, they gathered the people in the mansion who fulfilled the criteria.

    Cordelia volunteered herself at that time.

    ¡¸Angelica-sama, please leave it to me. This Cordelia will monitor Count Bartfalt strictly.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I see.¡¹

    Angelica was slightly relieved seeing the enthusiastic Cordelia.

    (I, I thought to ask her to indirectly investigate what Leon is doing there, but I didn¡¯t expect that she would be this motivated.)

    Ange also had faith on Cordelia> She didn¡¯t think that she was a bad choice to be sent to Leon¡¯s ce.

    ¡¸To be honest, I¡¯m not nning to restrain Leon. That¡¯s why, I intend to forgive him if it¡¯s just a little bit of ying around.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that alright?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I won¡¯t ask for anything more if he just returns to us at the end.¡¹

    To be honest she couldn¡¯t forgive anything like that, but Ange was scared that Leon would hate her if she seriously restrained him.

    However.

    ¡¸However, pay attention to Marie. She is a woman who ensnared five people at such a short time. In the worst case that Leon fall into Marie¡¯s hand©¤©¤I don¡¯t think that such thing will happen but, it still weighed my mind.¡¹

    Ange too thought that they had to be on guard against Marie no matter what.

    Cordelia ced her hand on her chest.

    ¡¸I shall keep it in mind.¡¹

    .

    Part 7

    When I returned home, I was told to bring along one person with me to themonwealth.

    It was the elf Yumeria-san.

    She was bringing arge traveling bag and standing in front of me nervously.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh? Yumeria-san ising along too?¡¹

    ¡¸P-please take care ohf me! ©¤©¤I bit my tongue¡¹

    She couldn¡¯t talk correctly and became teary eyed.

    No, was it painful because she bit her tongue?

    Well, it didn¡¯t matter. Even so, this person was really cute even though she already had a child.

    Mother talked to me.

    ¡¸She will watch over you so that you don¡¯t do anything wrong over there. Also, I won¡¯t forgive you if youy your hand on her.¡¹

    My family wouldn¡¯t trust me.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t do anything like that. I already have fianc¨¦es.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s why we are worrying like this. Don¡¯t you dare do anything that will make those two cry.¡¹

    ¡¸I understand that.¡¹

    When I said that, mother made a doubtful face that said ¡¸Do you really understand?¡¹.

    Next father talked to me.

    ¡¸Well, her acting as your chaperone is only half of the reason. Look, Yumeria-chan has been working hard at our ce, so this is like a reward for her.¡¹

    ¡¸Reward? Ah, that.¡¹

    Yumeria-san¡¯s son, Kyle was at themonwealth.

    She must wished to be together with her son.

    ¡¸Got it. I understand.¡¹

    ¡¸Do you really understand? We¡¯re also serious with her being your chaperone.¡¹

    ¡¸So even father is suspecting me of cheating!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah.¡¹

    He answered instantly. I was trembling while sending my gaze to Nix who had been staying quiet since just now.

    Nix made a condescending smile at me.

    ¡¸Do you think that you won¡¯t be doubted even though there are the cases with rice-san and Deirdre-san? You¡¯re really happy-go-lucky. Or rather, I¡¯m really jealous. Even though I don¡¯t have any girl who is close to me.¡¹

    I couldn¡¯t say anything back after rice-senpai and Deirdre-senpai¡¯s name came out.

    C-certainly, we were exchanging letters.

    But, could an exchange of letter be counted as cheating?

    ¡¸Eh? But I heard that right now girl will approach even if the man doesn¡¯t do anything though?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s troublesome because I have you as little brother.¡¹

    Nix put his hand on his face with aplicated expression.

    .

    Part 8

    Now, time to depart©¤©¤it was at that timing Ange introduced me to the maid called Cordelia-san.

    ¡¸My name is Cordelia Fou Easton. Please call me Cordelia without any reservation, my lord.¡¹

    She gave me a polite greeting, but it felt like there was a wall between me and her.

    Yumeria-san was also a maid at our home, but her eyes sparkled when she saw Cordelia-san.

    ¡¸My lord, she is a real maid. Amazing!¡¹

    ¡¸Yumeria-san is also a maid you know? But certainly this person seems really prim and proper.¡¹

    Of course her conduct was tidy, but for her to have Fou as her middle name meant that she came from a background of feudal lord noble.

    She was a daughter from a good family.

    When a house reached the level of a duke house, even the people working there would have rtively high status.

    Not all of them.

    Even so, there were also people like this.

    Ange introduced Cordelia-san to me.

    ¡¸I also have aplete trust on Cordelia. I intend to have her take care of you over there Leon.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? But there is Yumeria-san already.¡¹

    Then Yumeria-san raised her hand slightly.

    ¡¸E-excuse me, I¡¯m also ordered to take care of Leon-sama though?¡¹

    Livia made a troubled face and looked at Ange.

    ¡¸We should talk with father-inw beforehand.¡¹

    Ange also nodded, but she said this wasn¡¯t a problem.

    ¡¸Two will be better than one. There is nothing better than having a lot of helper. It¡¯ll be a problem to have too many employees, but two people should be just right.¡¹

    Cordelia-san looked at me firmly.

    ¡¸Please treat me well, my lord.¡¹

    Yumeria-san also imitated her and bowed her head.

    ¡¸P-please treat me well! My lord¡¹

    I asked the two in front of me to stop calling me ¡®my lord¡¯.

    ¡¸Just call me Leon. I¡¯m not used getting called my lord.¡¹

    Then Luxion came near me and stopped around my right shoulder. It seemed that Einhorn had finished the preparation.

    ¡ºMaster, the preparation for the departure is finished. There is also no problem with the luggage.¡»

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    I looked toward Angelica and said my farewell once more.

    ¡¸Then, I¡¯m going.¡¹

    Livia ced her hands behind her and threw out her chest with a smile.

    ¡¸Please stay healthy over there.¡¹

    Ange was at a loss of what to say, but her expression immediately returned to her usual confident expression.

    ¡¸Go. We¡¯re going there to meet you again at the next long holiday.¡¹

    I waved my hand in farewell to the two before boarding Einhorn with Yumeria-san and Cordelia-san in tow.

    I was going back to Alzer Commonwealth where a lot of problems were piling up.

    To be honest©¤©¤I didn¡¯t want to go back.

 Chapter 133 - Volume 5 Chapter 6

    <h4>Volume 5 Chapter 6</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 6 ¨C The Destined Person</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    Marie¡¯s mansion was quiet.

    Part of it was because the usually noisy five idiots were gone, but it was also because of the dark and gloomy atmosphere.

    It was already night. Marie nned to sleep when this was over.

    Cara talked to Marie who was in such state.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, about Noelle-san¡¹

    ¡¸Was there something?¡¹

    ¡¸She had lived together with us before this too, so there¡¯s nothing troubling. But, how should I say it, it¡¯s like she is putting on a brave face. Sometimes she will look very depressed.¡¹

    The day Marie saved Noelle.

    Actually Creare was monitoring Noelle¡¯s situation. Because of that they managed to notice Loic¡¯s approach.

    Marie made it in time to protect Noelle, but her condition was strange.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I see. I¡¯ll take care of it, so Cara, you go rest already.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes.¡¹

    Marie ordered Cara to rest and stopped writing on her household ount book. She held her head while lying on the table.

    ¡¸Stupid big bro. What am I going to do now¡¹

    ©¤©¤The priestess¡¯s crest had appeared on the back of Noelle¡¯s right hand.

    Leon had returned to the kingdom before knowing that.

    Luxion¡¯s main body was also returning temporarily to the kingdom, so this news still hadn¡¯t reached Leon.

    She intended to report thister because Leon would return soon.

    Creare was with her right now so she was reassured, but the problem wasn¡¯t the crest but Noelle herself.

    (Why does she have to fall in love with big bro!? What¡¯s good from him? His personality is bad, his mouth is bad, his appearance is average, well yeah he¡¯s good in earning money. In the matter of resourcefulness than big bro is exceptional©¤©¤oh no. Perhaps big bro is actually someone amazing.)

    Compared to Julius and others, the like of Leon wouldn¡¯t even enter into a consideration©¤©¤it was something that she couldn¡¯t say.

    Leon had obtained Luxion and his status right now was a count.

    In addition he had just obtained reparation money from themonwealth, so he was also rich.

    If she closed her eyes toward his bad personality and mouth, then he was a really excellent find.

    ¡¸Hah! That¡¯s not it. The problem is big bro! I¡¯ve noticed from some time ago that Noelle harbor a feeling to big bro, but he himself doesn¡¯t notice that.¡¹

    Marie had noticed since Leon and Noelle came to this mansion.

    Noelle was conscious toward Leon.

    But Leon didn¡¯t realize that.

    Just before the summer vacation arrived, Noelle was tantly making appeal at Leon, and yet©¤©¤he didn¡¯t even notice it.

    (Really, just why do you hate dense character so much? You¡¯re a dense character yourself. What¡¯s more you¡¯re the super dense type!)

    Leon hated dense character in the story where they wouldn¡¯t notice the feeling of the opposite sex, but he didn¡¯t notice at all that he had been standing in the same position.

    Marie was worrying whether she should say anything.

    Leon had two fianc¨¦es©¤©¤she should say that from the start, but she couldn¡¯t say it when she saw how happy Noelle was.

    Noelle was a really good girl.

    She would help with housework while staying in this mansion. Her bright and candid personality wasn¡¯t unpleasant even between fellow girls.

    To be honest, she even wanted to cheer for Noelle.

    Thanks to that she was unable to say the truth to Noelle.

    She felt guilty because of that.

    (I should have told her faster.)

    She was irritated to Leon who didn¡¯t notice Noelle¡¯s feeling at all.

    (Big bro was also like that. Does he know how much Noelle was appealing to him? It made me angry just from watching it.)

    It was infuriating, but the problem wouldn¡¯t be resolved just by feeling angry.

    Marie gave up and decided to talk with Noelle.

    She went to Noelle¡¯s room.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Marie arrived while Noelle was just being absentminded in her room.

    Noelle forcefully made a smile at Marie¡¯s arrival. After Marie entered they sat face to face.

    Noelle was sitting on the bed, while Marie was sitting on a chair.

    ¡¸What do you want to talk about at thiste?¡¹

    Noelle didn¡¯t understand why Marie visited her room.

    That was why she asked, but Marie apologized to her.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. If only I told you faster¡¹

    She guessed what Marie wanted to say just from that.

    Noelle also wished that Marie would tell her sooner, but she looked down and shook her head.

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I was just getting excited by myself. It¡¯s not strange for someone like Leon-kun to have fianc¨¦e. A-as I thought, the good men are sold out quickly.¡¹

    <i>Ahahaha, </i>Noelleughed cheerfully but©¤©¤it made her wanted to cry.

    Marie was looking sadly at Noelle.

    ¡¸Just what is good from Leon?¡¹

    ¡¸You are asking me that now? Well, it¡¯s fine though. It felt reassuring when I was with him. It¡¯s something precious for me to be able to stay at someone¡¯s side without needing to worry about anything. I was even thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be bad to follow Leon back to his country like this.¡¹

    The matter of Lespinasse House.

    The matter of priestess.

    And then the matter of Alzer Commonwealth.

    She came to think that she wanted to go with him even if she had to throw away various things.

    (So in the end, it¡¯s impossible to get away from the sacred tree.)

    Wasn¡¯t it felt like the sacred tree wouldn¡¯t let anyone get away once they got involved with it? That was how it felt to her.

    Noelle nced briefly at the bandage around her right hand.

    And then she told Marie a certain story.

    ¡¸Marie-chan, do you know? There¡¯s a famous story in Alzer.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸There are a guardian and a priestess in Alzer, though there aren¡¯t any right now. The priestess was turning out from among the female of a certain family for generations.¡¹

    Lespinasse House was a house with woman as the head of the house.

    That was because only woman could inherit the priestess¡¯s crest.

    ¡¸But, only the guardian¡¯s crest cannot be inherited. The priestess will choose the man in that generation who she believe to be the one most worthy.¡¹

    The crests of the priestess and the six great nobles were passed down based on bloodline, but only the guardian was chosen based on the person¡¯s real strength.

    And then it was the priestess who chose the guardian.

    Marie was calm.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t know the detail, but I think I¡¯ve heard about it.¡¹

    ¡¸Ah, so you know. Then I¡¯ll just say the conclusion©¤©¤the priestess can choose someone she loves as the guardian. And then the guardian¡¯s crest will appear for the first time when the guardian also loves the priestess. That sounds really romantic right?¡¹

    Marie agreed that it was romantic, but there was something that bothered her.

    ¡¸But, the guardian is fundamentally chosen from among the six great nobles isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. Well, that¡¯s because it¡¯s someone strong who will be chosen as the guardian, while almost all of the powerful people in themonwealth are those who have crest. The exception of that©¤©¤is just one person I think?¡¹

    That was her own father.

    Her father didn¡¯te from the six great nobles, in addition he didn¡¯t have a crest.

    Her mother chose her father who was such a person.

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s why, there is a legend that if you be the priestess, then any kind of impossible love wille true.¡¹

    But, Noelle¡¯s love didn¡¯te true.

    (As I thought, it¡¯s just a legend.)

    Noelle said.

    ¡¸If, if©¤©¤the priestess¡¯s crest appeared on me, do you think that the guardian¡¯s crest will appear on Leon?¡¹

    Marie made a serious expression toward her question.

    And then she closed her eyes and nodded.

    ¡¸He would surely get chosen.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so? Then©¤©¤that¡¯s great.¡¹

    Her heart was weakening.

    She wanted to tell someone about the priestess¡¯s crest right away and asked that person to help her.

    That person in Noelle¡¯s imagination was Leon, but she then shook her head.

    ¡¸Aa~, as I thought heartbreak is really painful. Sorry, please give me a bit more time. I¡¯ll be able to forget about Leon after a while.¡¹

    To be honest, Noelle right now was thinking that she was d Leon was gone from her side.

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    After Marie left Noelle¡¯s room, she held her head in her hands.

    (SHE IS SERIOUSLY ILLLLL! Rather, does she also forget that I was there when the priestess¡¯s crest appeared on her hand!? Certainly it would be strange if I know about the priestess¡¯s crest though! But you should be more on your guard!)

    They had lived together until now, but Noelle never gave any hint that she was a survivor of Lespinasse House.

    And yet it waspletely obvious that she had obtained a crest.

    She often looked at the back of her right hand and sighed.

    (BIG BRO YOU IDIOTTTTT!! Just how did you mess up so seriously like this!)

    Marie cursed Leon who wasn¡¯t here.

    The person that Noelle chose was Leon of all people.

    If Leon didn¡¯t have any fianc¨¦e, than even Marie would fully support them.

    However she couldn¡¯t do that because there were Ange and Livia.

    (What now. With Noelle state right now, it really doesn¡¯t look like she will be able to find her next love.)

    If they were unlucky, Noelle¡¯s state might drag on for several years.

    That would be no good.

    They would graduate the academy first at that rate.

    If they were unlucky, Noelle might even say something like <i>Perhaps it would be better to stay single like this?</i> in her current state.

    (Man. Anyway I need to introduce Noelle to a man©¤©¤aa, no good. I can¡¯t think of anyone who will work. Shit! What should I do now!)

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    The location was the mansion of Druille House.

    Loic was invited there.

    He was talking with Fernand who was making a stiff expression.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Dragging down Rault House from the seat of acting chairman? Thast¡¯s really extreme of you Loic-kun.¡¹

    ¡¸Is that so?¡¹

    Loic was calmly thinking of the method to obtain Noelle.

    There was someone who would be a hindrance at that time.

    It wasn¡¯t Albergue. It was Louise.

    Louise often picked a quarrel with Noelle, but because of that he was unable to do anything a lot of times.

    In addition, it would also be difficult to convince his father if Rault House stayed as the acting chairman.

    Fernand sent him a sharp gaze.

    ¡¸Druille House has a debt with Rault House. Albergue-dono acted as my backer when I seeded as the head of the house despite my youth.¡¹

    ¡¸I know. If I remember right, the two houses has been strongly connected since two generations ago isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s good that you understand.¡¹

    The blood connection between the six great nobles was also thick.

    It was said that only a member of six great nobles was worthy for another member of the six great nobles.

    But, because of that their blood became too close to each other.

    Louise wasn¡¯t married to Fernand was also mostly because of that.

    His little brother Hughes was born from a different mother. The blood of his mother was distant from Rault House so it was Hughes and Louise who were betrothed to each other.

    Fernand had been designated to be the head of the house since the beginning. Hughes also had noint about that, so the rtionship between the brothers was good.

    But, even this connection was changing following the passing of time.

    In fact, there was also a period when Druille House was in conflict with Rault House a long time ago. There was also a period when the connection between Barriere House and Rault House was strong.

    Their rtionship varied depending on the era.

    Loic also knew that Fernand was in Albergue¡¯s debt.

    But he also knew Fernand¡¯s character very well.

    (This person look mild, but he is actually the one with the strongest patriotism for Alzer.)

    ¡¸I brought this talk to you even knowing about your debt to Albergue-dono. Fernand-san should also understand. That Albergue-dono isn¡¯t fitting to be the acting chairman. The proof is his weak attitude toward the kingdom.¡¹

    Fernand¡¯s expression turned grim.

    ¡¸He isn¡¯t just showing a weak attitude. Einhorn©¤©¤that airship is already mass produced and there was even one ship of the same type anchored at the harbor before this. What are we going to do if we continue showing a belligerent attitude toward such country?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be troubling if he be cowardly because of that. It¡¯ll cause a problem for the negotiation in the future.¡¹

    Fernand had a strong feeling of patriotism.

    Furthermore it was based on the belief that Alzer was a powerful country.

    It must be humiliating for him to recognize their defeat against the kingdom.

    But he was also someone realistic as a politician.

    Loic took advantage of that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤The kingdom is formidable. That¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s necessary for us to take a befitting attitude. Albergue-dono¡¯s stance is a poor move for theing negotiation.¡¹

    Fernand averted his face from Loic. He might have the same thinking.

    Loic showed his card for this negotiation©¤©¤it was the best possible card.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I found the priestess.¡¹

    Hearing that, Fernand turned toward Loic with his eyes opened wide.

    Loic continued.

    ¡¸There are survivors from Lespinasse House that was destroyed by Rault House in the past©¤©¤they are twin sisters with the name Noelle and Lelia. Currently they are attending the academy with their surname changed.¡¹

    Fernand was shocked once more to hear that.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t believe that Albergue-dono would do such a blunder but©¤©¤they actually survived.¡¹

    Rault House destroyed Lespinasse House.

    That was all the young generation knew, but they weren¡¯t told about the circumstance of that period in detail.

    It was because the rted people kept their mouth shut.

    The current heads of the six great nobles©¤©¤or their predecessor knew more about the situation at that time, but no one would say anything about it.

    The previous head of Barriere House had died. It was also the same with Druille House.

    There was no way to investigate what happened.

    It was also difficult to march into another house and asked what happened.

    But, Rault House ended up as the acting chairman.

    A lot of the young generations were puzzled by that.

    Loic was also curious about that.

    (It¡¯s unthinkable that Albergue-dono would overlook Noelle and Lelia but, is there some kind of reason for it?)

    If one was going to destroy a house, then the heir of that house was someone that absolutely mustn¡¯t be allowed to get away.

    Overlooking them would mean a failure.

    But, Loic wasn¡¯t really interested with the circumstance around that matter.

    What was important was that Noelle was chosen as the priestess.

    ¡¸The one chosen as priestess is Noelle. Fernand-san, I¡¯m©¤©¤thinking to bring Noelle into Barriere House.¡¹

    Fernand gazed coldly at him when he heard that.

    ¡¸If someone from that house survive and get chosen as the priestess then she should be put under the protection of all the six houses. A single house monopolizing her is out of the question.¡¹

    Those words were also filled with Fernand¡¯s real motive that didn¡¯t want to hand suchrge influence to Barriere House.

    But Loic had also already prepared apensation.

    ¡¸About Hughes, does Fernand-san n to have him assist you after he graduate from the academy?¡¹

    Fernand was suspicious because Loic suddenly changed the topic but he nodded.

    ¡¸That¡¯s my intention.¡¹

    ¡¸Hughes is a capable man even though he look frivolous like that. There won¡¯t be any problem even if he be the head of a great noble house.¡¹

    Fernand strengthened his wariness.

    ¡¸Are you nning to make Hughes the head of Druille House if I¡¯m refusing here?¡¹

    ¡¸No way. You are someone necessary in order to build a strong Alzer in the future. The head of Druille House is undoubtedly Fernand-san alone. But, even Hughes is a capable talent that can act as a head of a house correct? After all that guy¡¯s fianc¨¦e is Louise.¡¹

    Fernand immediately understood after hearing that.

    ¡¸It¡¯s useless. There is still Serge-kun.¡¹

    Loic snorted when Serge¡¯s name came out.

    ¡¸Do you really think that a man who is aiming to be something like an adventurer will really be worthy to be the head of a great noble house? Besides, that guy hates the six great nobles. Fernand-san yourself want to continue having a friendly rtionship with the next head of Rault House right?¡¹

    And if that head was a step-brother who Fernand was close with then it wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing for him.

    Hughes was someone capable, but he had a side to him that was blindly devoted to Fernand.

    Fernand was also aware of that.

    Loic gave one more push.

    ¡¸Hughes and Louise will be the one to seed Rault House. No one will protest if it¡¯s their child who seed Rault House. ©¤©¤Except the acting chairman that is.¡¹

    Fernand thought for a bit, and then he made his decision.

    ¡¸Very well. I shall ept this deal. But, I shall have the priestess be the chairman after she graduate from the academy and can stand on her own. Will you promise that the chairman position shall be filled by Lespinasse House?¡¹

    Loic had no interest about that.

    (He must be on guard toward Barriere House rising up as tyrant, but if I be the guardian then it will be Barriere House that stand behind Lespinasse House no matter what anyone say. Well, that will be for the future.)

    ¡¸Of course. Well, I will be Noelle¡¯s backer from now on as the guardian though.¡¹

    At themonwealth, it wasn¡¯t unusual for the house from where the guardian came from to hold the authority.

    Fernand said that he wouldn¡¯t allow Barriere House to monopolize the priestess of Lespinasse House in the future too.

    Fernand made a pained expression.

    His conscience must be prickling him because of his betrayal toward Albergue.

    But, Loic didn¡¯t pay it any mind.

    (So being in Albergue-dono¡¯s debt only goes this far. He immediately betray him when he learn that he¡¯ll be able to obtain Rault House¡¯s strength. But, I¡¯ll have you be useful for me©¤©¤Fernand)

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    In Louise¡¯s room that was prepared for her in Druille House¡¯s mansion.

    Louise was living there during her summer vacation.

    At the surface she was here was to deepen her rtionship with Hughes. It was like they were already practically married.

    It was nothing more than a show for the other six great nobles.

    The reason was because Rault House wanted a connection with Druille House immediately.

    It would be troubling for Albergue who was working as the acting chairman if there wasn¡¯t any house who would be his ally.

    But, Hughes never visited Louise¡¯s room.

    The summer vacation was going for more than a month in Alzer too.

    And yet he never visited her even once.

    Louise saw Hughes going on in his car when she saw outside the window.

    ¡¸She is going out to womanize again.¡¹

    Louise didn¡¯t hold a grudge to him for that.

    Because both of them were well aware that they had no feeling for each other.

    Even though things would progress more smoothly if only heid his hand on her already©¤©¤she was only thinking that at most in regard to this.

    Louise had nothing to do even if she stayed in her room, so she thought of going out for shopping.

    Then she found several servants standing in front of her room.

    ¡¸Louise-sama, where are you heading?¡¹

    They looked a bit flustered.

    ¡¸I¡¯m going out for shopping. Can I ask you to prepare a car for me?¡¹

    The servants looked at each other.

    And then they immediately answered Louise.

    ¡¸Certainly. Please wait in your room until we finished the preparation.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to ride the car in front of the entrance anyway. I¡¯ll wait over there.¡¹

    ¡¸No, please wait inside your room.¡¹

    Louise was told to return to her room. She felt that something was strange.

    (What¡¯s going on? The atmosphere is different from yesterday.)

    It felt like they were hiding something from Louise.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    At night of that day.

    She should have dinner together with Hughes, but he didn¡¯t appear no matter how long she waited.

    The servants who were serving her were also looking troubled.

    ¡¸Hughes still hasn¡¯t returned?¡¹

    One of the servants answered Louise¡¯s question.

    ¡¸Hughes-sama has returned, but he was summoned by Fernand-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸By Fernand-san?¡¹

    He was called even though it was time for dinner?

    All this time Fernand was be someone who would scold Hughes instead for never taking care of Louise.

    Was there some emergency business?

    Hughes entered the room while she was pondering that.

    He sat on his seat roughly and grabbed the wine bottle that a servant was holding. He poured it into his ss and started to drink.

    Louise warned him.

    ¡¸That¡¯s a bad manner.¡¹

    Hughes was smiling.

    Louise was curious seeing that.

    Normally he would only reply carelessly with something like ¡¸Right, yeah¡¹.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸Louise, something interesting is going to happen after this.¡¹

    Hughes said that and reached out toward the dinner that the servants brought.

    Louise didn¡¯t understand what he meant.

    Hughes raised his ss with an amused look.

    ¡¸Tomorrow is going to be a good day for Alzer.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    At Marie¡¯s mansion.

    A lot of cars were arriving in front of the gate.

    There were soldiers wearing ceremonial uniform.

    There were also fully armed soldiers behind them. An airship was floating in the air.

    The mansion was surrounded from the air and the ground.

    Kyle pointed at outside the window.

    ¡¸Goshujin-sama, there are also more airshipsing over here!¡¹

    Airships with different family crest were gathering.

    They were acting like observer.

    Cara was trembling.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, there are even armors flying around!¡¹

    The mansion was surrounded.

    Thismotion was happening in the morning.

    Marie who was still in her pajama with messy hair was hugging a pillow because she had just woken up in panic.

    ¡¸C-calm down! At this kind of time you should pinch your cheek to ascertain whether this is a dream or not!¡¹

    The three pinched their cheek.

    ©¤©¤It hurt. This was reality.

    Kyle held his head with his two hands.

    ¡¸What¡¯re we going to do! Even though the count isn¡¯t here right now!¡¹

    Cara was also the same.

    ¡¸Uwaa~n, Count Bartfalt, return back quickly!¡¹

    The two of them weren¡¯t holding any expectation for the five idiots.

    Marie was also the same.

    ¡¸Creare, Leon still hasn¡¯te back!?¡¹

    ¡ºH~m, there is amunication that they will return soon, but it will still take time. Yosh, let¡¯s bring Licorne here and burn them all!¡»

    Marie was terrified with Creare too.

    (Craaap, these guys, they can kill humans without even batting an eyelid! Or rather, will it be alright even if we do something like that? It won¡¯t be international problem? Eh, but isn¡¯t this already a problem? Or rather, why are they attacking while big bro is absent!? ©¤©¤W-wait, aren¡¯t they attacking because big bro is absent? BIG BRO YOU STUPID IDIOOOTTTT!!)

    Marie misunderstood that they were attacked because Leon was absent, but a messenger wearing tailcoat suit came to the mansion.

    ¡ºOh, are they going to dere war? Perhaps they¡¯re thinking that Licorne isn¡¯t as powerful as Einhorn? Then I¡¯ll test it on you guys! I¡¯ll proof that my Licorne is an even more capable child than Einhorn!¡»

    <i>I¡¯m gonna shower them with main cannon and missiles yeah! </i>Creare was getting exultant like that. Marie pinned her down with her pillow.

    ¡¸This idiot! It¡¯ll be a war if you do something like that! A-anyway, let that guy enter the mansion!¡¹

    The messenger raised his voice while Marie was in panic.

    ¡¸I¡¯m a servant of Barriere House. Noelle Zel Lespinasse-sama©¤©¤we havee to respectfully receive you!¡¹

    Marie¡¯s eyes turned round like saucer when she heard that.

    ¡¸H-how did these guys learn that!¡¹

    Marie didn¡¯t know of any plot like this in the game.

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    When Noelle came out after her name was called, the messenger kneeled and bowed his head.

    That person must be the one with the highest status among Barriere House¡¯s retainers. There was a crest on the back of his right hand.

    And then he said this in front of Noelle.

    ¡¸I¡¯m d to see you safe and sound. It¡¯s my great honor to be able to receive you the heiress of Lespinasse House.¡¹

    Nolle looked at the soldiers of Barriere House surrounding the mansion in a daze.

    There were also onlookers gathering around.

    They were looking at Noelle.

    ¡¸Lespinasse he said!¡¹

    ¡¸There is a survivor from there?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, but the heiress mean©¤©¤the priestess!?¡¹

    The soldiers drove away those onlookers.

    But, it was already be known that she was a survivor.

    (Aa~, everything is hopeless now.)

    Noelle looked at her right hand. Then she asked the man in front of her who said that they came to pick her up.

    ¡¸You reallye here in force. What are you nning to do with the people here?¡¹

    The messenger answered without raising his head.

    ¡¸We shall stake our lives on the line for the sake of taking back the priestess. If it¡¯s for taking back the priestess, then our only recourse is to fight even if we have to face the knight of the kingdom.¡¹

    Noelle looked down.

    (Even though they know that Leon isn¡¯t here)

    A young man entered the gate while Noelle was rooted on the spot.

    ©¤©¤It was Loic.

    ¡¸Noelle, Ie to pick you up.¡¹

    ¡¸Loic, you¡¹

    Loic looked at Barriere House¡¯s army around him.

    The airship wasn¡¯t aiming its cannon here, but it was prepared to attack anytime.

    Noelle vented her anger at Loic.

    ¡¸Are you nning to pick a fight with these people next after Faiviel House!? Have you forgot what happened to Faiviel House? If you do something like this, Alzer will always be called as a barbaric country no matter how much time passed.¡¹

    Loic smiled while listening to Noel¡¯s speech.

    He looked really eerie.

    Noelle got scared seeing him. Then Loic spread open his arms and spoke.

    ¡¸That¡¯s just how priceless you are!¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Loic ignored the bewildered Noelle and continued talking with a transparent act.

    ¡¸Even if we have to lose our lives, we will still fight in order to save you. It¡¯s not just Barriere House. The other five houses will also have to fight. No©¤©¤the whole country will fight for you.¡¹

    The priestess was that important of an existence at Alzer.

    The priestess had been absent for more than ten years©¤©¤many people were feeling uneasy from that.

    It wasn¡¯t just the nobles, the people living in this country was feeling the same.

    The existence that connected the people and the sacred tree.

    The priestess was a very important existence in this country that was worshipping the sacred tree.

    Surely a lot of people would fight in order to take Noelle back.

    They would still fight, even if they had to face Leon who drove themonwealth until just one step before defeat.

    (This guy, he¡¯s using the lives of many people as shield.)

    This was Loic¡¯s aim.

    A lot of people would die if war broke out.

    What¡¯s more, Loic did this knowing that Noelle wouldn¡¯t be able to bear that.

    Loic cornered Noelle using the many people gathered here as his shield.

    ¡¸Noelle, we will fight until thest man for you. What¡¯re you going to do? Will you ignore our feeling©¤©¤no, will you still brush off my hand?¡¹

    She heard the sounds of footsteps running down the stairs in hurry.

    It was Marie and others.

    Marie appeared with disheveled hair. It seemed she had changed clothes in a hurry.

    Marie saw Loic and howled.

    ¡¸This damn bastard! There are things that can be done and must not be done! Don¡¯t get cocky just because big br©¤©¤Leon isn¡¯t here!¡¹

    Loic scoffed scornfully at Marie.

    ¡¸Oo~, I¡¯m scared. Scary, scary. There is that white Einhorn anchored at the harbor isn¡¯t it? Surely it will also move by itself and destroy us one after another. But, even then we will fight till the very end. After all you¡¯re Alzer¡¯s priestess.¡¹

    Blood left Noelle¡¯s face.

    Her legs were shaking when she imagined a lot of people dying for her sake.

    Loic approached Noelle and whispered into her ear.

    ¡¸Noelle©¤©¤be mine. That¡¯s your destiny.¡¹

    ¡¸Des, tiny?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. You who are chosen as the priestess only have two paths to choose from now. Will you run and let so many die, or will youe to me and bring peace to Alzer©¤©¤now, you can choose.¡¹

    He said that she could choose, but there was only one choice for Noelle.

    ¡¸You are, really the worst.¡¹

    ¡¸I love you. If it¡¯s for you, I¡¯ll do anything. Can you see just how great my love is for you?¡¹

    Noelle raised her hand to p him, but she immediately lost strength and lowered her hand.

    Marie was yelling behind her.

    ¡¸Noelle, don¡¯t be tricked by that guy¡¯s bullshit! Leon will arrive soon and resolve this!¡¹

    Loic scowled when he heard Leon¡¯s name.

    ¡¸Leon©¤©¤Count Bartfalt huh? That guy is certainly strong. But, I wonder how far he is going to seriously fight for you? In the end he is just a foreigner. He won¡¯t give his all for this country¡¯s sake. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter even if he give his all though.¡¹

    Would Leon stake his life to fight for her?

    ©¤©¤That wouldn¡¯t happen.

    Leon had his own position. He also had fianc¨¦es back home.

    There was no way he would fight Loic in order to save her.

    And even if he would fight©¤©¤Noelle didn¡¯t want to make Leon fight.

    (I can¡¯t, trouble him anymore than this.)

    Noelle turned around.

    ¡¸Sorry, Marie-chan©¤©¤I-I¡¯m, going.¡¹

    Marie was dumbfounded.

    Noelle started walking. Loic stood beside her and ced his hand around her waist.

    He roughly pulled Noelle toward him.

    ¡¸I know that you will surely respond to our feeling, Noelle! Now, let the whole country know of the birth of our priestess! Alzer will be in peace with this!¡¹

    The surrounding cheered loudly seeing Loic and Noelle walking together.

    Noelle was the only one looking down.

    (There won¡¯t be any problem if I endure by myself. Lelia©¤©¤sorry, I got us exposed.)

    Noelle apologized to her twin sister while entering into the car that Loic prepared.

 Chapter 134 - Volume 5 Chapter 7

    <h4>Volume 5 Chapter 7</h4>

    <h4>Chapter 7 ¨C Cor</h4>

    .

    <h4>Part 1</h4>

    Clement came to the Noelle and Lelia¡¯s apartment.

    Clement was an instructor in the academy. He was muscr, and yet he was wearing makeup.

    He was wearing a very tight shirt that disyed the shape of his muscles very clearly. He was a tall male instructor who talked like a woman.

    But, in reality he was a knight who was serving Lespinasse House.

    He was protecting Noelle and Lelia from the shadow in the academy.

    Noelle and Lelia were able to enroll into the academy was thanks to the endeavor of the former retainers of Lespinasse House.

    ¡¸Lelia-sama©¤©¤Noelle-sama was, taken into the custody of Barriere House.¡¹

    Clement reported that with a pale face and grieving expression.

    Lelia wasn¡¯t really panicking because she already knew about it.

    ¡¸I see.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤You aren¡¯t surprised?¡¹

    Clement usually talked like a woman, but now he was talking like a man because this was a serious talk.

    Lelia felt a difort from that, but this wasn¡¯t the time to talk about it.

    Lelia was calm inside her heart.

    (With how Loic is doing right now, big sis too will surely be able to ept him. In the first ce, it¡¯s a mistake that such man was chosen as the guardian.)

    Noelle¡¯s partner wasn¡¯t Leon. ©¤©¤It was Loic.

    That was the correct scenario.

    ¡¸I know that all of you have been protecting us. Thanks to everyone we were also able to enroll into the academy without any problem. It was also©¤©¤thanks to Clement-sensei taking care of us.¡¹

    Clement kneeled in front of Lelia.

    Clement had always been worried for the two of them.

    He would sometimese to the apartment to check on them. He would also back them up indirectly in the academy.

    ¡¸So you have realized.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s obvious if you just think a little about it. ©¤©¤Well, big sis didn¡¯t notice though.¡¹

    ¡¸It seems so.¡¹

    Clement had felt it somehow that Noelle didn¡¯t notice about him.

    Lelia was aware because she had the knowledge from that otome game.

    The main character came from Lespinasse House, the house that was at the top of the seven great nobles.

    The former retainers of that house were supporting the main character.

    ¡¸However, it¡¯s unexpected that Noelle-sama is the one chosen as the priestess.¡¹

    ¡¸Unexpected?¡¹

    Lelia tilted her head at Clement¡¯s words.

    ¡¸Why? Both Okaa-sama and Otou-sama said that I don¡¯t have the aptitude for it.¡¹

    Clement was bewildered.

    ¡¸N-no. It was just my feeling, that if someone is going to be chosen as the priestess, then it surely would be Lelia-sama. I¡¯m not aware at all about this aptitude matter. After all I was at the bottom rank among the knights who served Lespinasse House at that time.¡¹

    Lelia sighed.

    ¡¸Big sis is the priestess. And, what are you all going to do now?¡¹

    ¡¸Lelia-sama¡¯s safety is more important right now rather than us. We don¡¯t know how Barriere House will move. Anyway, let¡¯s evacuate from this ce right away.¡¹

    It seemed Clement was nning to shelter Lelia.

    But Lelia wasn¡¯t panicking.

    She already knew what would happen from the beginning.

    ¡¸It¡¯ll be fine. Emile wille to pick me up.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    The outside became noisy.

    Clement carefully took a peek outside. There he found several cars with the family crest of Pleven House parked outside.

    The knights of Pleven House wearing ceremonial outfit appeared with Emile in suited figure behind them.

    ¡¸Emile-kun?¡¹

    Clement gasped and turned her gaze to Lelia.

    Lelia said.

    ¡¸Do you want toe too? I¡¯ll be in Emile¡¯s care for now.¡¹

    Clement had to inform the people rted to Lespinasse House at the academy about the situation.

    Here Lelia was finally feeling relieved that the scenario was progressing on the right track.

    .

    <h4>Part 2</h4>

    Marie was in great panic.

    (Gyaaaa!! Noelle is taken away while big bro isn¡¯t here©¤©¤I-I¡¯m going to get killedddddd!!)

    Noelle was taken away by Loic.

    However she never thought that Loic woulde to take away Noelle with no concern of any consequence.

    It was difficult even for Marie to choose to resist to the bitter end at that time.

    Creare was watching Marie writhing around while hodling her head.

    ¡ºI never get bored watching Marie-chan. I like you Marie-chan.¡»

    ¡¸Why yes thank you! More importantly, why didn¡¯t you tell me quicker that we were going to get surrounded!? Even though we could escape if Loic came attacking! I would be able to run around with Noelle before that happened!¡¹

    Creare corrected Marie¡¯s thinking.

    ¡ºThey had also sent soldiers to the harbor. I thought it was strange that the number of guardships that are watching over Licorne was increasing recently. So it was actually a preparation for this.¡»

    ¡¸Tell me something like that if you noticed! Are you going to apologize together with me if big bro get angry!? That¡¯s the important thing!¡¹

    ¡ºHow you immediately jumped at your own self-protection is just great! ©¤©¤Well, to be honest, I think there wouldn¡¯t be anything else that could be done except handing over Noelle even if master is here.¡»

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Creare was eavesdropping at the conversation between Loic and Noelle.

    ¡ºEven I was gathering information at least. It was true that they aimed at the timing while master is absent, but it was only a matter of time before they made a move.¡»

    ¡¸As I thought it was because big bro isn¡¯t here!¡¹

    ¡ºAa~, that¡¯s not it. That boy called Loic was targeting Noelle-chan. But you see, the six great nobles have other intention. It looks like Barriere House is attempting to oust Rault House.¡»

    Marie was troubled when a political topic came up.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Heh?¡¹

    ¡ºThat <i>I don¡¯t get it</i> face is nice! Well, in short, it¡¯s an internal strife within themonwealth. It¡¯ll surely happen even if master is here. Even so, that Loic boy is also amazing. He negotiated with Noelle-chan using themselves as hostage.¡»

    Marie looked creeped when she heard how Loic threatened Noelle that they would fight to thest man.

    ¡¸That¡¯s not the capture target I know in the otome game.¡¹

    She thought that Loic would be someone cooler, but his action was just totally uncool.

    ¡ºEven master would back off when faced with that Loic¡¯s attitude. That¡¯s why, Marie-chan don¡¯t need to be that worried. Rather, isn¡¯t this just like the scenario that Marie-chan and master mentioned? It¡¯ll be happy end if Noelle-chan get together with Loic. ©¤©¤Except for Noelle-chan that is.¡»

    Marie looked down.

    ¡¸©¤©¤But I want Noelle to be happy too.¡¹

    Creare denied that.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s nothing but impossible. In the current situation it¡¯s difficult for everyone¡¯s happiness and that girl¡¯s happiness to be realized together.¡»

    Marie recalled the time Noelle was living together with them. It made her hated herself who was unable to do anything.

    It was then a carefree voice came from the entrance.

    ¡¸I¡¯m back~. Everyone, I¡¯m bringing souvenirs too!¡¹

    ©¤©¤It was Leon¡¯s voice.

    Creare was excited.

    ¡ºAh, master has returned. Master!¡»

    She literally flew away in order to meet Leon.

    Marie gritted her teeth.

    (You¡¯re toote!)

    .

    <h4>Part 3</h4>

    Cordelia-san¡¯s expression was twitching when we returned to Marie¡¯s mansion.

    ¡¸What is this mansion? It¡¯s not looked after at all.¡¹

    It looked like she couldn¡¯t bear it as a maid.

    Kyle who came down from the stairs objected to those words.

    ¡¸I wish you give us words of praise instead for maintaining a mansion thisrge with so few people. Besides©¤©¤¡¹

    A cheeky attitude despite being just a kid.

    The one who interrupted those words of Kyle was Yumeria-san who put down her bag and leaped at him.

    ¡¸Kyle!¡¹

    ¡¸Ka-kaa-san!?¡¹

    It was a moving reunion between parent and child.

    I shed a tear.

    Cordelia-san also read the mood and stayed quiet.

    ¡¸Kyle, you see! I¡¯m also going to work over here to take care of the coun©¤©¤Leon-sama. We can be together now!¡¹

    Yumeria-san looked happy, but Kyle immediately tore her away from himself.

    He was making a very displeased face, but his ears were red.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m in the middle of work! Besides, why is Kaa-saning to other country like this. They should send other people here.¡¹

    Yumeria-san was shocked to hear that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Kyle, do you hate it that I¡¯m here?¡¹

    Kyle kept sending nces at me and Cordelia-san. It was obvious that he was bothered with our presence.

    This kid was at that age.

    ¡¸I-I don¡¯t hate it or anything, it¡¯s just I¡¯m in the middle of working! Don¡¯t bring private matter into work!¡¹

    What professional spirit.

    But Yumeria-san was dejected because she took Kyle¡¯s words seriously, so I tried to patch things up.

    ¡¸Kyle, I understand that you¡¯re at the age of puberty, but be kinder to her. No one here is going to say anything even if you mix private and work matter a bit. Come on, leap onto Yumeria-san¡¯s chest.¡¹

    Kyle¡¯s face went red at my words.

    ¡¸You¡¯re also in puberty!¡¹

    Stupid. This was my second life.

    There wasn¡¯t any puberty at the second life.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t group me together with you. I¡¯m an adult.¡¹

    ¡¸Liar!¡¹

    Luxion who was floating beside me muttered an insult.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s like master is always in puberty though.¡»

    ¡¸Oi!¡¹

    This AI, he wasn¡¯t kind at all to his master.

    Creare came flying while we were making a ruckus at the entrance.

    ¡ºMaster, wee back~¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯m back. More importantly, has anything happened?¡¹

    When I asked whether there was anything that happened while I wasn¡¯t here, Creare spoke with a tone like nothing particr had happened.

    ¡ºLet¡¯s see. At most there is only the matter of Noelle getting taken away by Barriere House I guess? Ah, master brought souvenirs right? Marie-chan will be happy for that. She is going to say, precious sugar content get, or something like that.¡»

    <i>I see, so Noelle was taken away~</i>, I muttered before I came to my senses.

    ¡¸You, that¡¯s really important thing ain¡¯t it!?¡¹

    And then I noticed.

    The mansion was too quiet.

    ¡¸Eh? Where are Julius and others? What are those guys doing at this emergency?¡¹

    Those guys, they were normally useless so they should work at this kind time at least©¤©¤while I was thinking that, Marie appeared drenched in cold sweat.

    ¡¸Oi, what happened?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤I, I chased them out.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Marie yelled.

    ¡¸I chased them out! They wouldn¡¯t help even when it¡¯s summer vacation, and they even used up the living expenses as they pleased! They bought useless things like flower bouquets! What¡¯s more they bought tons of them©¤©¤do you know how tiresome it was to throw all those flowers out¡¹

    She was mutteringins at thetter half. So this girl chased out Julius and others huh.

    ¡¸A-are they doing okay out there?¡¹

    Creare wasughing.

    ¡ºThey¡¯re fine. I¡¯m properly monitoring them. Then does master want to watch their activityter? It¡¯ll be worth it.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine if they¡¯re alright.¡¹

    Well, I could understand Marie¡¯s feeling that wanted to kick them out, and it would be better for those guys to learn about the society a bit.

    Even so, those guys were really useless.

    Were they really capture targets of an otome game?

    .

    <h4>Part 4</h4>

    I entered an unused room in order to hear more about the situation from Marie and Creare.

    It would be troubling if other people listened to this talk.

    ¡º©¤©¤And that was what happened. Loic threatened Noelle-chan to be his using themonwealth¡¯s soldiers as hostage.¡»

    ¡¸He went that far?¡¹

    Although there was a problem with the timing, Noelle getting chosen as the priestess was within our expectation.

    However, Loic¡¯s action had crossed the limit.

    What the hell was he thinking, using the lives of so many people as shield?

    ¡ºAh, please don¡¯t me Marie-chan. Even master would only be able to watch if you were there.¡»

    I looked at Marie who was curling behind Creare. I thought that it would be better to think of a solution first before ming her, so I switched my feeling.

    But, I wanted to say one thing.

    ¡¸If it was me then I would stop Noelle at any cost.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤I think, Noelle-chan would still go with Loic even if master was there.¡»

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Marie was hiding behind Creare, but she was stillpletely visible.

    Even with her small build, it was impossible for Marie to hide behind such small round body.

    ¡¸You¡¯re dense big bro.¡¹

    ¡¸What do you mean?¡¹

    When I smiled at her, Marie shrieked ¡¸Hih!¡¹ in fear.

    Luxion shook his red eye side to side in exasperation. Then he turned toward me.

    ¡ºMaster, what¡¯re we going to do? Will we fight themonwealth, or will we just watch and leave things to the flow of event©¤©¤it¡¯s master¡¯s decision.¡»

    It seemed Creare had gathered information in Alzer.

    ¡ºIt looks like Barriere House will make Noelle-chan marry with Loic at this rate. Perhaps they¡¯re aiming for the position of the next guardian?¡»

    I noticed one thing there.

    ¡¸Wait a second? The priestess¡¯s crest that Noelle have©¤©¤where did ite from?¡¹

    Did ite from sapling-chan, or from the sacred tree©¤©¤wouldn¡¯t it be better to ascertain who she was chosen by?

    All gazes gathered on Creare. She then said <i>Tehe!</i>

    ¡ºFrom the sapling perhaps? The data is too few so I can¡¯t determine it.¡»

    ¡¸You, that¡¯s the important part!¡¹

    Then Luxion specified the answer.

    ¡ºThere is no problem. The sapling is the one who chose Noelle.¡»

    Marie was surprised.

    ¡¸Eh? How do you know that?¡¹

    Luxion didn¡¯t answer.

    He asked me a question.

    ¡ºIt will be master¡¯s decision from here. Noelle¡¯s situation right now can be said to be on the correct path based on the game scenario. Even so, will master still get involved with Noelle?¡»

    Was there any need for us to get involved even though things were progressing just like the scenario?

    I spoke jokingly.

    ¡¸Are you an idiot? If Noelle was forcefully taken away, that means it¡¯s not following the scenario. Rather, it¡¯s a bad end. This is the wrong path, isn¡¯t it? ©¤©¤I¡¯ll take Noelle back. In the worst case I¡¯ll even take her back to the kingdom temporarily to escape.¡¹

    ¡ºSo master is going to save her in the end.¡»

    That bastard Loic was no good.

    That guy wasn¡¯t worthy for Noelle.

    Marie was about to say something, but then she closed her mouth.

    And then Creare told me one more problem.

    ¡ºAh, setting that aside, Louise of Rault House has gotten engaged with Hughes of Druille House. Master, you are close with Louise aren¡¯t you? Is it alright that you don¡¯t congratte her?¡»

    ©¤©¤The events that happened while I wasn¡¯t here were too many.

    .

    <h4>Part 5</h4>

    ¡¸That good-for-nothing©¤©¤he immediately stayed inside Marie¡¯s room as soon as we arrived in Alzer.¡¹

    Cordelia who had changed into her maid uniform started cleaning her workce that was in a dirty state.

    Cordelia was aware that Leon and Marie were inside the same room.

    Then she began calling Leon good-for-nothing.

    Originally it was already hard to approve for even the two of them to stay under the same roof, and yet they even entered the same room. From Cordelia¡¯s perspective, it was a betrayal toward Ange.

    ¡¸I have to report this to Angelica-sama right away©¤©¤hm?¡¹

    She looked at Yumeria who was cleaning together with her.

    Yumeria was vacantly watching the transparent case on the dining room¡¯s table that was filled with a nt.

    ¡¸Yumeria-san, what¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    Yumeria gasped in surprise when she was called out and then apologized.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m sorry! Err, that©¤©¤I¡¯m curious with this child.¡¹

    Cordelia looked at the nt©¤©¤the sapling that was put inside the case.

    ¡¸It¡¯s certainly strange. Isn¡¯t it too in to be used as a decoration? Is this the style in Alzer?¡¹

    She wanted to change the nt with something else right away, but she judged that she had to ask the mansion¡¯s owner first.

    ¡¸It¡¯s too in to be a decoration on the table, but it¡¯ll also be troubling if a trouble is caused because we change it without permission. Let¡¯s askter.¡¹

    Cordelia was serious with her work.

    But, Yumeria was in a strange state.

    (Is she feeling down because her son acted cruel to her? It¡¯ll be better to let her rest for a bit.)

    Surely the cause of her state was Kyle¡¯s cold reaction.

    Cordelia concluded so and told Yumeria to rest.

    ¡¸Yumeria-san, please go rest first if you are tired. I¡¯ll take care of this ce.¡¹

    ¡¸B-but¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Please talk with your son. There won¡¯t even be any time to talk if it gets busy.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes!¡¹

    Yumeria left the room.

    And then Cordelia recalled.

    ¡¸Oh no! I won¡¯t be able to investigate that good-for-nothing if I¡¯m working here alone!¡¹

    Cordelia also couldn¡¯t abandon her work. She resumed the cleaning with a frustrated face.

    .

    <h4>Part 6</h4>

    Yumeria went searching for Kyle, but she stopped walking at the corridor and looked around.

    ¡¸Who?¡¹

    She felt like there was someone calling her in the empty corridor.

    Normally she would get scared, but that voice was really©¤©¤kind.

    When she looked outside the window, she could see the sacred tree that was the symbol of Alzer.

    It felt like she was seeing a mountain.

    Yumeria went into a daze when she was watching the sacred tree.

    ¡¸What is this. Something©¤©¤¡¹

    She walked toward the window and got discovered by Kyle who was identally passing by.

    ¡¸Kaa-san, are you skipping work?¡¹

    Yumeria saw her son¡¯s exasperated face and made excuse in panic.

    ¡¸Y-you see, someone was calling me!¡¹

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t anyone here.¡¹

    Yumeria was also troubled of how to reply. She hung her head down in front of Kyle.

    ¡¸Sorry.¡¹

    ¡¸Good grief. Let¡¯s finish the cleaning quickly.¡¹

    .

    <h4>Part 7</h4>

    Albergue spontaneously stood up when he heard about Noelle.

    He was in the middle of doing paperwork in the office of Rault House¡¯s mansion.

    ¡¸Impossible!¡¹

    The reason he yelled after hearing his subordinate¡¯s report was because the priestess¡¯s crest appeared on Noelle.

    ¡¸Why does the priestess¡¯s crest appeared on that child©¤©¤no, I see¡¹

    He immediately noticed.

    (I see. The sapling! In that case I can understand why that child is chosen. That girl was near where the sapling was.)

    He knew that Noelle was staying in Leon¡¯s mansion.

    However Albergue never expected for the sapling to choose a priestess this quickly.

    His subordinate continued his report.

    ¡¸It seems Barriere House is going to hold a marriage ceremony between Noelle©¤©¤no, the priestess and the next head of the house Loic-sama.¡¹

    ¡¸Marriage ceremony you say?¡¹

    Barriere House¡¯s movement was too fast. He suspected that they might have known about this beforehand.

    (Benge doesn¡¯t like that I¡¯m in the position of acting chairman. Is he nning to take away the position from me with this?)

    That would be troubling.

    Albergue decided to consult with Fernand who he trusted in order to form a countermeasure right away.

    ¡¸Contact Fernand.¡¹

    (Even so, a survivor of Lespinasse House is chosen as priestess©¤©¤is this also destiny?)

    .

    <h4>Part 8</h4>

    Noelle was confined in Barriere House¡¯s mansion.

    At the surface they said they were protecting her, but in reality the door was locked so she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape.

    There were also iron bars attached on the window. There were always guard standing outside the door and the window.

    Noelle was sitting on the bed. She looked at Loic who came to the room.

    Loic was holding a cor with a chain attached.

    ¡¸This will be your engagement ring.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you insane?¡¹

    ¡¸Well, listen to me. This is a tool that was created with a part of the sacred tree in it. The cor is to be fixed on the servant, while this bracelet is to be worn by the master. With this, the person with the cor attached will be unable to escape from the master.¡¹

    The chain would vanish after both sides wore the set.

    But, with this tool the two of them wouldn¡¯t be able to separate from each other.

    If she tried to escape forcibly, the chain would appear and the servant in the equation would be pulled toward the master forcefully.

    It would be impossible to take off the cor after it was worn.

    ¡¸How can such tool exist¡¹

    Noelle didn¡¯t know.

    ¡¸The usage of sacred tree is greatly advancing recently.¡¹

    ¡¸Hah! So you¡¯re making use of the sacred tree. The sacred tree is really generous. After all it won¡¯t take away the crests from you guys even when it¡¯s used like this.¡¹

    Loic approached Noelle and grabbed her hair to pull her face closer.

    ¡¸You won¡¯t be able to escape anymore.¡¹

    Noelle red at Loic.

    ¡¸Do as you like. But, I absolutely won¡¯t ept someone like you, someone who will sacrifice even a lot of lives just to get me alone.¡¹

    Loicughed when he heard that.

    ¡¸You¡¯re stubborn like usual. I¡¯m looking forward how long you¡¯ll be able to keep that attitude. I¡¯ll teach you thoroughly which of us is superior after we marry.¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s eyes turned round like saucer in surprise when talk of marriage came up.

    ¡¸M-marriage!?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s a ceremony to bind us together for eternity! It¡¯ll also be an auspicious day where the priestess and guardian of Alzeres back.¡¹

    Noelle averted her gaze from Loic.

    ¡¸The guardian has to be chosen by the priestess. Besides, it has to be someone worthy.¡¹

    ¡¸I am worthy! I¡¯m the next head of Barriere House, one of the six great nobles. I have the strength required to protect the sacred tree! Besides I love you. There isn¡¯t anyone more worthy than me.¡¹

    Noelle looked at Loic.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really stupid. It¡¯s the sacred tree¡¯s sapling that chose me. The sacred tree that gave you your crest won¡¯t recognize me. Too bad for you, Loic.¡¹

    Loic smiled toward Noelle.

    ¡¸So what?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s the sacred tree or the sapling. If it¡¯s the sacred tree then that¡¯s fine. If it¡¯s the sapling, the Barriere House will simply have to put it under our control. The Barriere House will lead this country as the top.¡¹

    ¡¸The sapling is with Leon©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸The sacred tree¡¯s sapling is going to choose its priestess and guardian. If an outsider is holding it, then we will just take it back whether with negotiation or with any kind of method. I wonder how much will that guy sell the sapling for? No, let¡¯s negotiate directly with that guy¡¯s country. Themonwealth will buy it no matter how much price they put on it.¡¹

    Loic asserted that they would take it back no matter what.

    It was unclear whether Leon and others really understand correctly the true value of the sapling.

    Besides, the existence of the priestess would be indispensable if they were going to use the sapling.

    With Noelle under the control of themonwealth, the kingdom didn¡¯t have any way to make use of the sapling.

    In that case there was a possibility they would use the sapling as negotiation material.

    It was also fine even if the sapling was gone.

    What Loic wanted was Noelle. What Benge wanted was the seat of acting chairman.

    ¡¸Noelle, you have nowhere to escape.¡¹

    Loic pushed down Noelle on the bed.

    And then, he tried to put the cor on Noelle¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸L-let go!¡¹

    ¡¸Be obedient!¡¹

    Loic hit the resisting Noelle.

    When Noelle stopped moving from the surprise, he ced the cor on her and wore the bracelet on his left arm.

    Then the chain vanished just like Loic said.

    Loic stared at his left arm, and then he kissed the bracelet.

    Noelle didn¡¯t move on top of the bed. Loic talked gently to her.

    ¡¸It¡¯s your fault for resisting, Noelle. But, don¡¯t worry. If you listen to me, I¡¯ll treat you kindly.¡¹

    Loic had a relieved expression, thinking that Noelle wouldn¡¯t be able to escape with this.

    He gently striked Noelle¡¯s reddened cheek.

    ¡¸I love you. That¡¯s why Noelle, don¡¯t make me angry. I don¡¯t want to hit you.¡¹

    The door was knocked.

    A voice called from outside.

    ¡ºLoic-sama, there is a call from Fernand-sama.¡»

    Loic clicked his tongue and separated from Noelle. And then he left the room.

    Noelle was lying on the bed with her hands spread out and her hair disheveled.

    When she touched the cor that was ced on her neck, tears spilled out.

    .

    <h4>Part 9</h4>

    It was shocking that I was thought as a man who could only charge from the front.

    ¡¸To be honest, I¡¯m more suited to secretly sneak around isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    I was sneaking into the mansion of Barriere House©¤©¤the ce where Noelle was imprisoned.

    Luxion had prepared a suit that used optical camouge. It was like I was invisible when wearing it.

    I stealthily slipped past the soldiers who were standing on guard.

    Shoes that wouldn¡¯t make any sound were really amazing.

    Luxion was also melting into the surrounding scenery with me. He talked to me.

    ¡ºMaster, I havepletely scanned this mansion. I have confirmed the room where Noelle is locked in.¡»

    ¡¸Yosh, I¡¯ll leave the navigation to you.¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Are you really nning to take her away?¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine to save her if she is going to be forced into a marriage that she doesn¡¯t want right?¡¹

    In fact, Loic was a dangerous guy.

    ¡ºAfter you save her, what then?¡»

    ¡¸I¡¯ll evacuate her to the kingdom temporarily.¡¹

    ¡ºThat¡¯s not in the scenario.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s called being adaptable to the situation.¡¹

    Guards were patrolling the corridors.

    There weren¡¯t just servants inside. There were also armed soldiers. It made the atmosphere felt heavy.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s not likely that Noelle will be able to choose the guardian even after she is rescued.¡»

    ¡¸Why? Even Noelle is a girl. Of course she can fall in love.¡¹

    ¡ºMaster is the guardian at the present time.¡»

    ¡¸I won¡¯t ept it. More importantly, can this crest get erased?¡¹

    Certainly the sapling had chosen me as the guardian.

    But, the order was wrong like this.

    It made me uneasy that it wasn¡¯t following the scenario.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s possible but©¤©¤the condition to be chosen as guardian is having the strength to protect the sacred tree. I can¡¯t believe that romance will be necessary for that.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s the sequel of ¡°that otome game¡± with pink setting. The developer must not be thinking about the details too deeply.¡¹

    In the first ce the romance factor was the main point of the game. Any other setting than that was just extra.

    It was stupid to think too deeply about it.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s no good to decide carelessly like that. Besides, there was a proper reason for why woman was ced above man at the kingdom.¡»

    ¡¸Aa~, the reason for that was really terrible. I didn¡¯t want to know something like that.¡¹

    Someone came so I stopped walking until the passed me. Luxion was going ahead just like I told him.

    I could hear the conversation between the servants and soldiers. They let their guard down thinking that there wasn¡¯t anybody else.

    ¡¸The priestess will marry with our young master?¡¹

    ¡¸In that case, Loic-sama will be chosen as the guardian.¡¹

    ¡¸Barriere House will grow even more prosperous.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t think that he would be chosen as the guardian though.

    After all Noelle hated Loic.

    The mansion was really big, but there were multiple soldiers standing guard over Noelle¡¯s room.

    Luxion said.

    ¡ºThere are two people in front of the door, but there are six people standing by in the neighboring rooms.¡»

    ¡¸Then I¡¯ll put all of them to sleep.¡¹

    I took out a handgun from my chest pocket. It had a silencer attached.

    The bullets were magic bullets, befitting this fantasy world. It would put to sleep anyone who got hit with it.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll take care of the two in front of the door first.¡¹

    ¡ºPlease be careful.¡»

    I aimed the handgun and shot the guards.

    .

    <h4>Part 10</h4>

    Noelle was staring at the ceiling in a daze. It was then she heard the sound of people falling behind the door.

    The soldiers standing by at the other rooms came out in panic. She could hear the noises from outside.

    ¡¸Oi, what¡¯s©¤©¤hau!¡¹

    It seemed that man also copsed when he was approaching the falling soldiers.

    Noelle raised her upper body.

    She was sweating.

    (Could it be, Rault House ising to kill me?)

    She recalled that day©¤©¤the day she escaped from the burning mansion. She could remember it even now.

    The day Rault House destroyed Lespinasse House.

    Surely they came to kill her after learning that she survived.

    She heard the sounds of people falling while thinking of what to do.

    The door then slowly opened. Noelle searched for anything that she could use as weapon.

    However, there wasn¡¯t anything like that here. Her captor had been careful to not put anything that could be used for that inside the room.

    Entering the room was a man wearing all ck from head to toe. She could only see his eyes.

    But, Noelle immediately recognized him.

    ¡¸Leon?¡¹

    She recognized him from his body shape and eyes©¤©¤there was also the single eyed ball floating beside him.

    Noelle felt just a little bit happy.

    Leon took off the cloth mask he was wearing and held out his hand toward Noelle.

    ¡¸Noelle, Ie to pick you up. Let¡¯s run away quickly. Wait, oi! What¡¯s with that cor?¡¹

    ¡¸T-this is©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll listen to the detailster, for now let¡¯s escape from here.¡¹

    Noelle lifted her hand to grab that hand but©¤©¤she immediately withdrew her hand.

    Leon looked puzzled.

    ¡¸Noelle?¡¹

    Noelle recalled Loic¡¯s words.

    Loic who used a lot of people as hostage in order to obtain her.

    She didn¡¯t know what he would do if she escaped from here.

    And then, it was Leon.

    (I¡¯ll be a bother for him if I stay at his side.)

    He was a man who also had fianc¨¦es.

    She couldn¡¯t stay at his side and troubled him©¤©¤she didn¡¯t want to rely on him.

    She wanted to forget him quickly.

    Noelle looked at Leon¡¯s face.

    Her voice was trembling.

    ¡¸Go, go back.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Noelle showed a resolute act toward the surprised Leon.

    ¡¸I¡¯m telling you go back! I¡¯m the priestess of Alzer. Y-you©¤©¤shouldn¡¯t be involved with this. Don¡¯te to save me just because you feel like it. I am, here because of my own will.¡¹

    She said things that she didn¡¯t even meant because she didn¡¯t want to involve Leon in this.

    (This just makes me feel wretched, so go home already.)

    She fell in love with someone who already had fianc¨¦es, and on top of that she was going to be helped by him.

    She was ashamed by herself who could only rely on others.

    At the same time, she didn¡¯t want to involve Leon further than this.

    Noelle looked down.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Go back.¡¹

    Luxion didn¡¯t say anything. Leon closed his mouth and then he left from the door he entered from.

    Just before the door closed, Noelle lifted her face and her hand reached out.

    She actually wanted to be saved.

    She wanted to yell <i>save me </i>but©¤©¤she immediately covered her mouth with her hands and sat on the floor.

    Noelle cried when the door closed.

    (This is©¤©¤this is good. This is the correct thing to do. If I just endure, everything should be alright.)

 Chapter 135 - Volume 5 Chapter 8

    Volume 5 Chapter 8

    Chapter 8 ¨C The Returning Five Idiots

    .

    Part 1

    Barriere House¡¯s mansion was in a greatmotion.

    The soldiers who were guarding Noelle were put to sleep and allowed an intruder toe. It enraged both Benge and Loic.

    Benge gulped a ss of alcohol in one go before he mmed the empty ss on the table violently.

    ¡¸All the nning will go wrong if the priestess is kidnapped. Just whose work is this!?¡¹

    The suspect for this was Rault House.

    Benge didn¡¯t even consider that the kingdom would get involved at this stage.

    Loic was also uneasy.

    ¡¸Noelle won¡¯t talk. I scolded her a bit harshly, but she kept insisting that she doesn¡¯t know the culprit.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t treat the priestess too roughly. Even so, the guards weren¡¯t any use at all even though there were also knights with crest among them. This is a problem.¡¹

    There were also knights who had crest among the soldiers on guard.

    Even those knights were put to sleep without any resistance.

    Loic entwined his fingers in front of his mouth and thought.

    (This isn¡¯t Rault House¡¯s work. There is no way they would leave Noelle alive aftering that far. Father isn¡¯t considering it but, could it be Leon? But, he didn¡¯t take her away©¤©¤was it thanks to the cor?)

    Loic was relieved.

    He spoke to Benge.

    ¡¸Perhaps the intruder was unable to kidnap Noelle thanks to the cor I put on her?¡¹

    Benge made a bitter expression.

    It was Loic¡¯s arbitrary decision to put the cor on Noelle.

    Benge scolded him for that, but it could be said that Loic¡¯s action was correct in hindsight after an intruder managed to infiltrate the mansion.

    ¡¸Putting a cor on the priestess is just unheard of.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s the bond between Noelle and me.¡¹

    ¡¸That cor cannot be taken off anymore. Don¡¯t you dare show off that thing at the marriage ceremony.¡¹

    ¡¸I have ordered a specially made dress to hide it. Please don¡¯t worry. Ah, also, how about the matter of the sapling?¡¹

    Benge averted his gaze from Loic.

    ¡¸The kingdom¡¯s diplomat said that the sapling will be treated as the count¡¯s personal possession. I prepared an offer for favorable treatment in the magic stone¡¯s trade as bait, but it seemed they are scared toward the count. The kingdom is insisting on the point that they can¡¯t hand over the sapling. If we want it then we should personally negotiate with the count.¡¹

    ¡¸Everything will be fine if we just obtain the sapling. Let¡¯s contact someone important in the kingdom and induce them to force the count to return the sapling. We can prepare any amount of money.¡¹

    There wasn¡¯t any need to fight Leon from the front.

    Themonwealth was a rich country that possessed abundant energy source.

    He thought that they could just buy the kingdom¡¯s technology with money using their plentiful fund.

    Even if that was impossible, securing the sapling was an important task for themonwealth.

    The houses other than Barriere House would also move.

    Sooner orter the nobles of the kingdom would leap at the bait and took action.

    (There isn¡¯t any need to fight just to kill a single hero. It¡¯s a time honored tradition for a hero to die an unnatural death. Leon, I wonder how should I make you die?)

    .

    Part 2

    Leon returned to Marie¡¯s mansion and lie down on a sofa.

    Cordelia sent him a gaze that wanted to say he was getting in the way of cleaning.

    However Leon ignored her.

    Or rather, Leon¡¯s ¡¸bothersome switch¡¹ had been pressed.

    His little sister from the previous life Marie sensed that and put her hand on her forehead.

    (This guy is troublesome.)

    Leon was dejected.

    When he went to save Noelle, he got chased away instead and felt shocked.

    He was delicate in strange ce even though he liked to act audaciously.

    In the first ce, this was the reason why Marie didn¡¯t tell Leon various things.

    She thought that this switch would be pressed if she told him that the one Noelle was in love with was Leon himself.

    Right now he was feeling that everything was bothersome after he got rejected by Noelle.

    Cordelia turned a cold gaze toward him.

    ¡¸Leon-sama, please move. You¡¯re in the way. Besides, a sofa isn¡¯t a ce to sleep on.¡¹

    Leon waved his handzily.

    ¡¸Aa~, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Today is holiday after all. Cordelia-san can also take a day off you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you for your consideration, but I have already received a holiday the other day. Today is a day for working, so please move from there quickly.¡¹

    It was a rude attitude toward her employer, but Leon didn¡¯t show any sign of minding it.

    He slowly rose up, then he yawned and called for Luxion.

    ¡¸Luxion, what¡¯s for dinner?¡¹

    ¡ºThere is still two more hours until dinner.¡»

    ¡¸Let¡¯s go eat something. I want to eat chicken skewer.¡¹

    ¡ºPlease endure it.¡»

    Leon was like a father who waszing around in the house during the holiday. He didn¡¯t look like he had any motivation at all.

    Marie mustered her courage and called out to him.

    She did it even knowing how troublesome it would be.

    ¡¸Hey, Leon©¤©¤is it alright about Noelle?¡¹

    Leon didn¡¯t even look at Marie.

    ¡¸Noelle said that she will remain in Barriere House. There isn¡¯t any need for me to do anything.¡¹

    ¡¸B-but¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s something the person herself decided. We can¡¯t get involved even more than this.¡¹

    Marie thought.

    (This guy, he is really troublesome when sulking.)

    It was like this since the past.

    He would make various excuses and caused the people around him to fret.

    Leon yawned again. It was then Yumeria entered with the sapling¡¯s case on her hands.

    ¡¸Leon-sama, there is©¤©¤ a guest.¡¹

    Behind Yumeria was Lelia wearing a luxurious attire.

    .

    Part 3

    Lelia had one demand.

    ¡¸Hand over the sacred tree¡¯s sapling? You, do you know what is the situation right now!?¡¹

    Lelia casted her gaze down slightly.

    ¡¸I know that. But, it¡¯s necessary. Loic has already changed himself, and if big sis choose Loic then we will be able to get back to the original route. With the sapling, the problem will also get resolved soon. That¡¯s why please. Hand over the sapling.¡¹

    Marie ignored Leon who was looking bothersome and asked Lelia.

    ¡¸What do you mean by the problem will be resolved?¡¹

    Lelia¡¯s face was serious.

    ¡¸We¡¯ll be able to bring down Rault House.¡¹

    Leon twitched when he heard that, but that was all.

    (Big bro! Get a hold of yourself, return to your usual self!)

    Luxion spoke to Marie.

    ¡ºWhen he is like this master will only keepining and won¡¯t move for a while. This has also happened before. Yes, it was©¤©¤when he quarreled with Olivia.¡»

    It seemed something simr had happened before.

    ¡¸So human won¡¯t grow up even after reincarnating.¡¹

    Leon was offended when Marie said that.

    ¡¸Look at the mirror. You will be able to see someone who hasn¡¯t grown at all.¡¹

    ¡¸You mean me!? I¡¯m still better than big bro!¡¹

    ¡¸A grown up human won¡¯t aim for something like reverse harem!¡¹

    There was no arguing that.

    Marie also couldn¡¯t say anything back so she shrunk back.

    Lelia was watching the two¡¯s farce in exasperation, but then she returned to the topic.

    ¡¸If the sapling can also be present, the evil deed of Rault House will be able to get dragged out to the light. Everyone will lend us their strength with Barriere House at the center.¡¹

    If Rault House was overthrown at this stage and lost their influence, thest boss wouldn¡¯t appear.

    That was certainly a good proposition.

    Even if thest boss appeared, there was Noelle and Loic so they had a chance of victory.

    (But, that¡¯s only if the two of them can really be together isn¡¯t it?)

    ¡¸Has Loic really changed?¡¹

    ¡¸I talked to him in a party before this. It was at Louise and Hughes¡¯s engagement announcement. He was already calm just like the Loic from before. He was also regretting his actions.¡¹

    If that was true then was there a chance?

    But, Marie thought that it would still be difficult.

    Besides©¤©¤after that Loic took away Noelle with that method. It was really hard to say that he had reflected. It felt like Lelia was only under the impression that Loic had reformed.

    (I got a bad premonition for some reason.)

    She couldn¡¯t help but suspect Loic due to her experience from her previous life.

    Loic felt like a DVdomestic violence man acting like a good person to the people around him.

    Leon sighed.

    ¡¸I wonder about that? Noelle is confined right now, and she got a cor ced on her neck.¡¹

    Marie looked at Lelia when she heard about cor.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the meaning of that!?¡¹

    Lelia looked like she didn¡¯t know.

    ¡¸I-I don¡¯t know anything! P-perhaps, it was because big sis tried to run? It won¡¯t be strange for her to struggle if it¡¯s big sis.¡¹

    Marie was getting the feeling that her instinct was right more and more.

    Lelia said.

    ¡¸Anyway! Let¡¯s defeat Rault House quickly. If we do that, it will be happy end. You two came to this country for that too right?¡¹

    Certainly it was a good proposition for them.

    But©¤©¤.

    (But, will that be a happy end for Noelle?)

    ©¤©¤Marie couldn¡¯t honestly feel happy.

    ¡¸The guardian¡¯s crest is on big bro¡¯s hand though? Will Loic really get chosen with this?¡¹

    Lelia also looked bewildered when Marie asked about that problem.

    ¡¸Th-that¡¯s©¤©¤can you erase it somehow?¡¹

    Lelia¡¯s gaze turned toward Luxion.

    ¡º©¤©¤If master ordered it, I will discover a method to erase it. However, that¡¯s only if master ordered it.¡»

    Lelia looked at Leon after Luxion indirectly said that he wouldn¡¯t listen to her order.

    Leon was yawning.

    Lelia talked to Marie with a small voice.

    ¡¸Hey, he doesn¡¯t look motivated at all though?¡¹

    ¡¸Big bro is troublesome when he is sulking like this. His troublesome level increase three times than usual. You know, he went to save Noelle because she was captured, but he got rejected and now he¡¯s depressed.¡¹

    ¡¸Wait! I never heard anything about that. Don¡¯t do anything unnecessary!¡¹

    ¡¸You yourself kept this quiet from us! It wouldn¡¯t be like this if only we knew. More importantly, what about this cor thing? Can you really say that Loic has reformed?¡¹

    ¡¸Th-that¡¯s©¤©¤I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll go to check the situation.¡¹

    The two of them quietly looked at Leon, but they didn¡¯t know what he was thinking©¤©¤no, he looked like he wasn¡¯t thinking anything.

    The two of them dropped their shoulders.

    (This guy is useless.)

    .

    Part 4

    I watched Lelia getting into Pleven House¡¯s expensive car and left from the window.

    I didn¡¯t think that the reason she came asking for the sapling to be returned was just because it would be convenient for the priestess and the sapling to be both present at the marriage ceremony.

    This must be something important for themonwealth.

    More importantly than that.

    ¡¸We shouldn¡¯t havee here huh? It was a blunder for us to get involved.¡¹

    I was asking Luxion.

    ¡ºDoes master, really believe that what Noelle said was her true feeling?¡»

    ¡¸Do you think I can understand a woman¡¯s heart? ©¤©¤Well, I was getting along well with her, so it was a bit shocking to be refused like that.¡¹

    I wanted to save Noelle.

    But, Noelle had resolved herself.

    Perhaps I was just unneeded?

    I came to think like that.

    ¡ºMaster is really troublesome.¡»

    ¡¸Did you say something?¡¹

    ¡º©¤©¤Not really.¡»

    Luxion averted his eye from me. Then Marie entered into my room.

    ¡¸Big bro¡¹

    .

    Part 5

    Yumeria was talking to the sapling inside the case.

    ¡¸Yep yep, so a ce with a lot of sunlight is better you say. Yosh, then I¡¯ll ce you beside the window.¡¹

    It was like she was conversing with the sapling.

    Kyle was watching that with an exasperated look.

    ¡¸Kaa-san, stop talking with a nt.¡¹

    ¡¸Kyle? But, you see. This child say that it want to be moved to a ce with sunlight.¡¹

    Kyle was exasperated.

    ¡¸nt can¡¯t talk. More importantly, has you finished with the cleaning?¡¹

    ¡¸N-not yet.¡¹

    Kyle scolded the dejected Yumeria.

    It was a reverse of the position between mother and child.

    ¡¸Kaa-san, we are employees. Certainly the count is kind. He won¡¯t notice even if we ck off a bit, he is also generous so the sry is big. But you see, only someone hopeless will take advantage of that. It¡¯ll be no good unless we work properly just as much as we are paid.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-yes. But©¤©¤¡¹

    Yumeria hugged the sapling¡¯s case with care.

    ¡¸No but! It¡¯s fine, just go and clean quickly. We¡¯ll have to prepare dinner after this too.¡¹

    Yumeria was dejected after Kyle left.

    She looked at the sapling and smiled wryly.

    ¡¸I got scolded. Perhaps©¤©¤he hate me?¡¹

    Yumeria started walking, but she heard an argument when she headed to the ce that she needed to clean.

    She could hear Leon and Marie¡¯s voices.

    Marie was scolding Leon.

    ¡ºEnough sulking already! I¡¯ve been thinking this since a long time ago, you need to do something about that troublesome personality of yours!¡»

    Leon was also angry. His voice was rough.

    ¡ºWho are you calling troublesome! You¡¯re the one with the terrible personality! Since a long time ago you¡¯re always always©¤©¤¡»

    ¡ºNow you said it, this shitty ¡°big bro¡±!¡»

    Yumeria¡¯s eyes turned round like saucer when she heard Marie yelling ¡°big bro¡±.

    She almost dropped the sapling.

    Her mouth was opening and closing like fish.

    (Eh? Eh!? Eh!! Marie-sama said big bro©¤©¤she called Leon-sama big bro? Eh, but, the two areplete stranger©¤©¤EeeeEeeeee!!)

    Yumeria didn¡¯t understand how Leon could be Marie¡¯s big bro. She was totally flustered.

    (Wh, w-w-w-what do I do. Could this mean©¤©¤Barkas-sama cheated and it resulted in Marie-sama!?)

    If the two of them were siblings, then the possibility she thought up was that their parents were cheating.

    Yumeria couldn¡¯t think of any other possibility.

    (M-madam. I have to tell madam!)

    Like this another misunderstanding was created.

    .

    Part 6

    Marie barged into my room and talked noisily since just now.

    She called my personality troublesome. Had she seen the mirror when saying that?

    It was Marie who was troublesome ever since our previous life.

    ¡¸You yourself are also a troublesome woman!¡¹

    ¡¸I told you I¡¯m still better than big bro! Besides, what¡¯s with you, sulking like this just because Noelle refused to be saved? Do big bro really think that girl was seriously saying that? Why didn¡¯t you bring her back forcefully huh!?¡¹

    ¡¸It can¡¯t be helped! ©¤©¤That¡¯s what Noelle decided.¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t a territory that outsiders like us could meddle with.

    If that was what Noelle decided by herself, then there was nothing that I could do.

    ¡¸Stupid big bro!¡¹

    ¡¸Just what¡¯s with you since some time ago!?¡¹

    ¡¸I called you stupid because you¡¯re stupid. You¡¯re also dense!¡¹

    ¡¸Haa!? Just how can I be dense huh!?¡¹

    What¡¯s with her, calling me stupid or dense?

    Why was she pestering me to this degree?

    Even when I looked at Luxion, he didn¡¯t show any sign of backing me up at all.

    Just what had I done!?

    Marie ran out of patience with me who wouldn¡¯t get it and spoke while looking down.

    ¡¸The one who Noelle fell in love with is big bro.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    Why would Noelle? Eh, me? Questions kepting up in my head, but Marie ignored me and continued talking.

    ¡¸That girl, she loved big bro. She always looked like she was having fun when she was with big bro. And yet, big bro wouldn¡¯t notice at all.¡¹

    ¡¸Th-that¡¯s©¤©¤tell me if you realize that.¡¹

    Marie raised her voice when I said that with a faint voice.

    ¡¸There¡¯s no way I can say it! Are you telling me to tell her, big bro already has two fianc¨¦es so just give up? Noelle, she looked like she was having a lot of fun©¤©¤and yet, big bro was acting totally lovestruck when those two came here.¡¹

    Luxion approached me while I covered my face with my right hand.

    ¡ºI didn¡¯t say anything because master looked like you didn¡¯t notice. The reason is, because I judged that master would act recklessly if you realized her feeling.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤That Noelle, did she stay behind at Barriere House because she was needlessly considerate for me?¡¹

    ¡ºI heard something like that from Creare.¡»

    What the hell.

    I should just bring her back at that time.

    ¡ºCurrently Noelle is under a strict security because of the previous infiltration. It¡¯ll be possible to take her back, but the damage to the enemy will be great.¡»

    Marie asked me while I was in low spirits.

    ¡¸Big bro©¤©¤I want Noelle to be happy. That girl, she is a good girl.¡¹

    ¡¸I know that.¡¹

    I wonder why the main characters were all good girl like this.

    If she was a bit more like normal girl who I could hate, I wouldn¡¯t need to worry so much like this.

    Luxion added.

    ¡ºLoic is suspecting us as the one who infiltrated. There are lookouts positioned around the mansion. Einhorn is also under monitoring at the harbor.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤I blundered. I should take her back forcefully.¡¹

    ¡ºThat would be a problem too. They have grandly dered that the priestess has been found. Alzer will do everything they can to take her back in case we take her with us. Well, in short it will be an international problem that master hate.¡»

    Loic was suspecting me.

    That guy too was pointlessly capable.

    But more importantly, it would be beyond my control if it became an international problem.

    ¡¸I had just rampaged not long ago. I wonder if the kingdom will get angry with me if I do something this time.¡¹

    ¡ºThe likes of Alzer can be destroyed anytime though?¡»

    ¡¸You¡¯re always rmending destruction every time a problem happen huh.¡¹

    Luxion¡¯s solution was too extreme.

    But, in case I saved Noelle, Alzer would surely doubt the kingdom first.

    This was the worst.

    I had no political sense.

    Even if I sheltered her at the kingdom, what if Alzer demanded for her to be returned?

    Should I bring her to escape to other country? No, in the first ce, would Noelle ept this proposition?

    And then, what kind of face I should make when meeting Noelle?

    ¡¸This became even moreplicated than before.¡¹

    I held my hand with both hands. Then Luxion said to me.

    ¡ºPutting that aside©¤©¤it seems that they have returned to the mansion. One of them is absent though.¡»

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    When I lifted my face, Marie looked outside the window.

    And then she yelled.

    ¡¸What¡¯s that!? Hey, what¡¯s that!! Wait a second, what¡¯s the meaning of thissssss!!¡¹

    I also hesitantly looked outside the window. There an unexpected scene was unfolding.

    .

    Part 7

    When we opened the entrance¡¯s door, over there©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry to have made you wait, Marie-san.¡¹

    Jilk who was wearing a high ss suit had hired some people to bring several wooden boxes with him.

    For some reason Jilk himself was holding a cracked vase in his arms.

    ¡¸Marie, we finally realized. We realized what you wanted to say to us.¡¹

    Brad was wearing a white suit, a silk hat, a mantel©¤©¤and a monocle sses. He was walking with a cane in hand.

    When he pointed the cane to Marie, cheap looking artificial flower popped out from the end of the cane.

    The two¡¯s appearance was terrible, but it became even more terrible from here.

    The one who appeared next was Greg wearing a speedo.

    Behind him, men with trained body were following Greg while making the same pose like him.

    ¡¸Marie, I have polished my manliness even further. And then I realized. Of what you wanted to say! Look, this is my feeling©¤©¤FRONT DOUBLE BICEPPPPPPPP!!¡¹

    Had Greg became slightly more muscr than before?

    His body was glistening from the oil covering his body.

    ©¤©¤And then, the sight beside him was even more horrible.

    It was already impossible toprehend.

    It was Chris wearing a twisted headband and loincloth and chest wrap©¤©¤and a happi coat. He was standing on a portable shrine that was carried by men.

    ¡¸I have also polished my manliness. Marie, I understood what you wanted to say. We were wrong!¡¹

    The men shouted wasshoi, wasshoi while carrying the portable shrine©¤©¤my first thought after seeing that was, so there was portable shrine in this world.

    I didn¡¯t really want to think about Chris, or rather about all four of them.

    To begin with, they were talking about understanding Marie¡¯s feeling but©¤©¤I think they were absolutely getting it wrong.

    Because, Marie was expressionless right now mon.

    Or rather, her face was going pale.

    Marie was rooted on the spot at the entrance. Kyle and Cara were worried seeing her like that.

    Even Cordelia-san was expressionless.

    As for Yumeria-san©¤©¤she was watching with sparkling eyes. She asked ¡¸Is there a festival starting?¡¹ with innocent delight.

    The four stepped in front of Marie.

    Marie didn¡¯t move©¤©¤no, she couldn¡¯t move so I asked in her ce.

    ¡¸What have you guys been doing?¡¹

    Jilk who was holding a vase talked about what he had been doing until now.

    ¡¸After I was chased out from the mansion, I was earning money as an antique dealer. I have realized. Just what will be a good present for Marie-san.¡¹

    When I looked at Marie, she shook her head.

    It seemed she didn¡¯t chase them out because she wanted present.

    These guys, they couldn¡¯t understand even a millimeter of Marie¡¯s feeling even now.

    Brad was also the same.

    ¡¸We earned money with my own strength. There is only meaning in present when we used our own money for it. Isn¡¯t that right Marie?¡¹

    Well, I guess that was better than taking the living expenses as they pleased.

    That was why I tried asking.

    ¡¸By the way you guys, how much money you have earned?¡¹

    Greg made a pose while making his muscles twitching.

    He was already muscr from the start, but it felt like he had be even more muscr in this one month.

    ¡¸No idea! I used all of the money I earned in order to show my love to Marie! Look here Marie, at my SIDE CHESTTTTTT!¡¹(TN: SIDE CHESTOOOOO)

    Greg kept making poses that showed off his muscles.

    Marie¡¯s expression didn¡¯t even twitch at all.

    Chris got down from the portable shrine and took off his sses.

    It was like he was just acting cool, but with his appearance that looked as though a festival was going to start, something felt different.

    ¡¸I used up all of the money that I earned to arrange this portable shrine and the helpers. But, I have no regret. This is my feeling toward Marie.¡¹

    It seemed that after they were chased out, they managed to earn money somehow.

    I was curious about how the method they earned money, but leaving that aside©¤©¤these guys didn¡¯t understand at the slightest.

    What Marie wanted wasn¡¯t any present, but the money.

    These guys were interpreting Marie¡¯s words willfully in their mind.

    Even though they had finally earned money, it was pointless because they used up all of them.

    Brad took off his silk hat, and then a rabbit popped out from there. When he saw that he said ¡¸St-stupid, you¡¯re too early¡¹ and pushed the rabbit back inside.

    ¡¸Marie, I have prepared a lot more flowers than before. It should arrive here soon.¡¹

    Jilk turned his gaze toward the wooden boxes that the workers brought here.

    ¡¸I have gathered the rare artworks. All of them are wonderful items.¡¹

    He got no persuasive power at all when he was holding a cracked vase like that.

    This guy, did he really earn money as art dealer? It only looked like fake to me.

    I sent my gaze to Marie.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t say. I didn¡¯t say anything about buying present.¡¹

    She kept muttering that with small voice.

    The four of them offered their hand to Marie with sparkling eyes.

    ¡¸Marie-san! Come, take my hand!¡¹

    ¡¸No, grab my hand!¡¹

    ¡¸Marie, look©¤©¤the muscles only for you! MOST MUSCULARRRR!!¡¹

    ¡¸From today I will never allow Marie to toil in the bath. Come, take this hand Marie!¡¹

    The costumed four kneeled in front of Marie and offered their hands.

    Marie didn¡¯t move.

    She was looking at a faraway ce.

    She had the face of someone who never even dreamed that chasing out the four would bring this kind of result.

    These guys, they were always blowing through everyone¡¯s expectation to far out of left field.

    Cara was looking uneasy.

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m scared, imagining how Julius-san has ended up right now.¡¹

    Kyle was giving up.

    ¡¸I won¡¯t be surprised even if he ended up even more horrible then these four.¡¹

    That¡¯s right, Julius.

    Julius still hadn¡¯t returned.

    It was that guy, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange even if he surpassed these four.

    I couldn¡¯t even imagine what kind of thing that could surpass these four.

    We were getting scared of Julius¡¯s return. It was then a man came.

    He was wearing an apron with an appearance that was slightly dirty all over.

    His white shirt was dirty. He was also breathing hard from sprinting all the way to here.

    His hand was grabbing a brown envelope.

    Marie noticed.

    ¡¸Julius!¡¹

    Eh!?

    I thought that Julius would make an even louder stupidmotion than these guys, so I never thought that a in guy like this would be Julius.

    Julius was smiling.

    ¡¸Marie, I¡¯m home.¡¹

 Chapter 136 - Volume 5 Chapter 9

    Volume 5 Chapter 9

    Chapter 9 ¨C Former Crown Prince

    .

    Part 1

    ¡¸I¡¯m home.¡¹

    When Julius came back to the mansion after a total of one month, he was relieved from the bottom of his heart to see Marie again after so long.

    At the same time, he saw the four who had prepared veryvish presents.

    (I am©¤©¤really pathetic.)

    He realized just how useless he was after seeing the presents that the four prepared for Marie¡¯s sake.

    He was unable to earn a lot of money.

    Marie approached him.

    ¡¸Julius, why are you in such getup?¡¹

    Marie was worried for him.

    He was happy just from that.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I was working in a stand.¡¹

    ¡¸A stand?¡¹

    Other than Marie there was also Kyle and Cara.

    For some reason, Yumeria and©¤©¤Cordelia who was working at Ange¡¯s ce were also here.

    But, Julius paid them no attention and talked to Marie.

    ¡¸Actually I nned toe here the first thing in the morning, but the boss had to replenish the stock at the morning so I was helping him.¡¹

    The boss had picked him up, that was why Julius worked seriously.

    But, it was just a part-time job in a food stand.

    He couldn¡¯t earn a lot of money there.

    ¡¸It was a stand of meat skewer.¡¹

    ¡¸Julius was working part-time in a stand?¡¹

    Marie was surprised.

    (Did I fail?)

    But, this was his current self.

    Also, Julius believed that his experience working in the stand wasn¡¯t pointless.

    He really had fun.

    It was also painful.

    He did his best working hard, but the money he earned was few. He learned how the society worked.

    He listened to theints of the drunk customers, the boss scolded him because of his ignorance of the world©¤©¤Julius learned just how wrong he was.

    ¡¸Actually I wanted to buy a present but, I thought that perhaps this might actually be the best present.¡¹

    Julius held out his sry that he earned from this one month.

    Marie epted it.

    It was an amount that couldn¡¯t be said as a lot.

    ¡¸Marie, this is the best that I can do. And then I have understood. I was©¤©¤an idiot. I knew that money is something that has to be earned, but I didn¡¯tprehend it. There was this feeling inside me that money is surely just welling up from somewhere. I was able to understand that for the first time after trying to earn money by myself.¡¹

    ¡¸Julius.¡¹

    Marie hugged the brown envelope.

    ¡¸I have no present to give you but, this is all the money that I can earn with everything I have. I want you to ept it.¡¹

    But, there were four people who were disappointed by this act of Julius.

    ¡¸Your highness©¤©¤I thought that you are a more capable person than this. It¡¯s disappointing.¡¹

    Jilk who had high evaluation of Julius was looking really disappointed.

    ¡¸I was secretly considering your highness as the most dangerous rival. This is aplete let-down.¡¹

    Is my rival only this much? Brad¡¯s slightly frustrated look expressed that.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t wanna see Julius looking like this.¡¹

    Greg expressed his sadness with his posing. He must have wished for the five of them to fight seriously. It seemed he didn¡¯t want to see Julius being the only one dropping out.

    ¡¸This is just a battle between four people like this.¡¹

    Chris was also vexed.

    He seemed to think that Julius wasn¡¯t worth to be taken seriously.

    Julius himself also understood that.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t have any word that I can say. This battle is my loss. But, I have given it everything I have in my own way. If this is the result than I can only ept it.¡¹

    It was frustrating, but Julius epted that this was his current self.

    It was frustrating that he couldn¡¯t be Marie¡¯s number one.

    However, Julius who was unable to understand of his own worthlessness thought that it couldn¡¯t be helped even if Marie chose someone else other than him.

    Leon and others were watching him in astonishment.

    Marie slowly approached Julius. She grabbed his right wrist and lifted it up.

    ¡¸Julius, you are the number one!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Jilk and others were dumbfounded because Julius who earned the least among them was called the number one.

    ¡¸P-please wait, Marie-san! Isn¡¯t this a match to choose the one who earn the most money?¡¹

    Marie fanned herself with the brown envelope while speaking to the four who didn¡¯t understand anything.

    ¡¸Oh? When did I say that I would choose the person who earned the most money? Setting that aside, even though I told you guys to go earn money, what kind of brain do you have there to waste money buying pointless things and ending up penniless huh! The amount of money that you four have earned is zero! That¡¯s why your score is also zero.¡¹

    Brad¡¯s shoulders slumped down.

    A pigeon¡¯s head peeked out from his pocket.

    ¡¸How can this beeeee!!¡¹

    Greg fell on his knees.

    ¡¸So we were mistaken?¡¹

    The men behind Greg consoled him. ¡¸Greg-san, be strong!¡¹¡¸Your muscle is the best!¡¹¡¸Your pose is really striking!¡¹ They said.

    Chris apologized to Julius.

    ¡¸So it¡¯s his highness who snatched Marie¡¯s heart. It¡¯s our defeat.¡¹

    The four looked at Julius. They lost, but their faces were refreshed.

    Julius looked at the four.

    ¡¸Y-you guys©¤©¤thank you¡¹

    The four consoled the crying Julius. At the side Marie was dancing with the brown enveloped raised high while chanting ¡¸Sry! Sry!¡¹.

    Leon spokest.

    ¡¸What the hell is this?¡¹

    .

    Part 2

    The five idiots had returned.

    That was nice and all, but the timing was iffy.

    They weren¡¯t present when Noelle was kidnapped, and now they were useless at this stage when they were going to take her back.

    Just what was the meaning of these guys¡¯ existence? I was seriously thinking that.

    But, I also couldn¡¯t possibly leave them in the dark.

    After all, these were the bunch of idiots who returned as antique dealer, magician, bodybuilder, and festival guy after getting chased out and told to earn money.

    The stand waiter Julius looked the most decent among them.

    Julius was sitting on a chair and folding his arms while still wearing apron.

    I had exined what had happened until now but©¤©¤.

    ¡¸I understand the gist of it. In other words, Bartfalt, you want to save Noelle right?¡¹

    ¡¸Yeah I guess.¡¹

    I didn¡¯t expect any appropriate answer from these guys, but I guess I should ask for their opinion just in case.

    If they said something stupid and tried to carry it out, they would have to be stopped.

    I was thinking that.

    ¡¸Then you can just save her.¡¹

    ¡¸Ha? You, did you listen to the story? Noelle is the priestess, that¡¯s why Alzer desperately came to take her back. Even if I take her back to the kingdom and shelter her there, those guys are going to doubt us.¡¹

    As I thought these guys were hopeless.

    Jilk tilted his head just while I was thinking that.

    ¡¸Why is that no good?¡¹

    ¡¸N-no, that¡¯s why, it¡¯ll be international problem.¡¹

    Brad who was shuffling trump cardsughed when he heard the problem that I was worrying about.

    ¡¸Of course it will. But, is that really that important?¡¹

    ¡¸Problem children like you guys won¡¯t understand but, it¡¯ll be a really big problem.¡¹

    Greg who wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes except a single speedo pointed out at me.

    Wear some clothes first you.

    ¡¸This sacred tree¡¯s sapling, it¡¯ll be able to do the same thing like the sacred tree in the future right? Then, isn¡¯t it only natural to take possession of it even if it will bring some problems with it? Even the pce will cover for you if it can solve the energy problem in the future.¡¹

    ©¤©¤Eh? This speedoman, is he unexpectedly bright?

    Kyle offered some clothes to Chris, but he firmly refused ¡¸This is my uniform¡¹ and stayed in his current appearance of loincloth and happi coat.

    ¡¸I can¡¯t im to be superior to the other four in politic, but after hearing the story just now I still don¡¯t understand just what is it that is so worrying from it.¡¹

    He was looking at me with a puzzled expression.

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s why¡¹

    Even I was bewildered with these five denying my worry.

    Julius spoke boldly.

    ¡¸Bartfalt is concerned about the problem that will ur with themonwealth, but I think the merit will outweigh such thing. That sacred tree¡¯s sapling and the priestess being one set will also be more convenient for the kingdom right? In that case you can boldly steal her away with such just cause behind you.¡¹

    ¡¸You guys are really radical.¡¹

    ¡¸Not as much as Bartfalt though. In the first ce. If you know about Noelle¡¯s background, why didn¡¯t you immediately evacuate her? The kingdom had a friendly rtion with Lespinasse House. They will ept and shelter her even without counting the matter of the sapling.¡¹

    There¡¯s the circumstance of that otome game! ©¤©¤I couldn¡¯t say that though.

    ¡¸No, but, to kidnap her in this situation is a bit©¤©¤the international problem it will cause is scary.¡¹

    ¡¸Enough already!¡¹

    While I was hesitating, Marie who was tightly grasping the brown envelope kicked my butt.

    ¡¸Ouch! What the hell are you doing woman!¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s irritating watching you. If you want to save her then just go save her! It¡¯ll be troublesome if you keep worrying timidly forever and leave this alone until you miss the timing.¡¹

    I¡¯m not being timid!

    ¡¸There are many things that need to be considered like the responsibility for example!¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re going to save her anyway right? If you¡¯re just going to snap and rampageter, then it¡¯s better to save her from the start. Aa~, you¡¯re really irritating!¡¹

    Yumeria-san was panicking seeing me arguing with Marie.

    And then, Cordelia-san sent a cold gaze toward me.

    The five idiots formed a circle and talked in whispers.

    ¡¸What do you think?¡¹

    ¡¸The worst I think.¡¹

    ¡¸How should I say it©¤©¤horrible.¡¹

    ¡¸I also of the same opinion.¡¹

    ¡¸Is Bartfalt really not noticing?¡¹

    Julius and others were whispering between themselves, so I pointed at their way.

    ¡¸You guys! Say it clearly if you got something to say!¡¹

    Then the five looked at each other and Julius stepped in front of me as their representative.

    ¡¸Then let me say it Bartfalt©¤©¤you didn¡¯t notice Noelle¡¯s feeling? Really?¡¹

    I lost my vigor from just now.

    ¡¸Y-yeah.¡¹

    It was the fact that I didn¡¯t notice until I was told. I couldn¡¯t say anything back.

    ¡¸I see. Well, that¡¯s alright. Perhaps this problem could be avoided beforehand if you noticed, but that¡¯s alright.¡¹

    This guy was really persistent.

    He dare said that the problem wouldn¡¯t be this big if only I noticed.

    ¡¸By the way Bartfalt, do you remember when you dueled us the first time?¡¹

    ¡¸Obviously. It felt really refreshing that time.¡¹

    The five showed irritated expressions when I said that honestly.

    I was a honest person, so I would answer honestly if I was asked a question.

    ¡¸I see. Do you remember your words at that time? If my memory serves me right, it was about even though we have beautiful fianc¨¦es, we¡¯re allowed to y around and so on wasn¡¯t it? You were criticizing me for cheating.¡¹

    I also said something like that huh.

    ¡¸What about it?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m just thinking that those words can be applied perfectly on you right now.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m not cheating like you guys.¡¹

    ¡¸It looks the same from outside though. ©¤©¤But, I think you will be forgiven if it¡¯s Angelica.¡¹

    ¡¸Ha?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m saying that if you say that you want to put Noelle beside you, Angelica will allow it. Angelica too is a noble¡¯s daughter. What¡¯s more she is a queen candidate who received a proper education. She will agree with securing Noelle if she that the national interest into consideration.¡¹

    ¡¸No way I can do that! You guys, are you telling me to cheat!?¡¹

    Jilk scoffed at my words.

    ¡¸©¤©¤You don¡¯t have any persuasiveness even if you say that seeing that you already have two fianc¨¦es.¡¹

    What to do©¤©¤I couldn¡¯t say anything back.

    Julius concluded the talk.

    ¡¸Well, putting aside your personal feeling, the kingdom won¡¯t oppose it if you save Noelle. Besides, you were given a position by mother so that you can move freely in themonwealth right?¡¹

    Well, it was true that when I temporarily returned back home I was entrusted with the responsibility to take action in case anything happened here.

    ¡¸I think I was given that kind of position.¡¹

    ¡¸Yosh, then there¡¯s no problem. Go save Noelle.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Chris who wasn¡¯t joining the talk until now gave me an advice.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry. Themonwealth has been shutting themselves inside their own country for thesest dozens of years. If the story about the sacred tree is true, those guys cannot invade other country. In the first ce, it looks like all of their military are only for defense.¡¹

    The weapons of themonwealth that was moving using the sacred tree¡¯s energy was formidable in defensive aspect.

    But, their weapons were weaker than the kingdom¡¯s weapons when they came out of their territory.

    ¡¸They¡¯re going toin a lot, but they won¡¯t be able to actually do anything.¡¹

    I thought for a bit©¤©¤and raised a problem.

    ¡¸There is a possibility of Alzer applying a diplomatic pressure right?¡¹

    Brad answered that question.

    ¡¸There is. But, you are forgetting one thing.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸If your story is true, this is a power struggle within Alzedr. Barriere House is only moving to obtain the authority. In that case, there is a house that is in trouble right now isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸You mean Rault House?¡¹

    ¡¸Correct. We can just join hand with Rault House in order to oppose Barriere House.¡¹

    Marie¡¯s shoulders jumped when she heard that.

    ¡¸S-say~, about that. Rault House¡¯s reputation is bad isn¡¯t it? I wonder if it¡¯ll be alright for us to join hand with that kind of side without asking for permission first~¡¹

    Well, they were thest boss of that otome game¡¯s sequel.

    So to speak they were the viin in the game.

    Greg argued against Marie¡¯s opinion.

    ¡¸You don¡¯t get it huh, Marie. ©¤©¤That¡¯s only from Alzer¡¯s perspective, right? From the kingdom¡¯s perspective, it¡¯ll be more convenient to have Rault House in control of Alzer. If we tell them that we¡¯re going to take Noelle away in their situation, it feels like they will happily send us off!¡¹

    Certainly©¤©¤from the perspective of Rault House that was thinking of Noelle¡¯s existence as a thorn to their side, it wouldn¡¯t hurt them at all even if the kingdom took her away.

    Instead if that happened then Barriere House would be hindered from gaining prominence.

    Jilk smiled while thinking of something bad.

    ¡¸The kingdom will also be thankful if we can form a connection with Rault House that is the acting chairman.¡¹

    Julius put his hand on his waist and looked at me.

    ¡¸Now then, Bartfalt©¤©¤the problems are all cleared.¡¹

    ¡¸They ain¡¯t cleared at all. We can¡¯t obtain Rault House¡¯s cooperation.¡¹

    ¡¸For that if you just©¤©¤¡¹

    These guys, they were more capable than I thought.

    Come to think of it, they were noble youths who had received proper upbringing.

    I had forgotten it because they were usually too stupid, but they were honor students with excellent grades.

    ©¤©¤You guys, don¡¯t be serious only at this kind of time!

    Cordelia-san had disappeared from the room without me noticing while I was having discussion with Julius and others.

    And then she appeared once more.

    ¡¸Leon-sama, there is a guest. He introduced himself as a messenger of Louise-sama from Rault House.¡¹

    ¡¸From Louise-san?¡¹

    Julius looked at me.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, this is a chance! Get their cooperation no matter what.¡¹

    ¡¸Are you screwing with me?¡¹

    ¡¸No, I¡¯m serious though?¡¹

    Don¡¯t make it sound so easy!

    .

    Part 3

    I entered the party venue of the six great nobles together with Marie.

    I was wearing suit while Marie was wearing dress.

    Normally I wouldn¡¯t be invited here, but Louise-san prepared an invitation letter for me.

    She designated this party venue as the ce for us to meet.

    It seemed she was unable to easily leave Druille House¡¯s mansion. In addition I heard that she always had someone watching her.

    She called us to this party venue to be able to meet us because Druille House¡¯s movement was suspicious.

    Marie¡¯s eyes were stolen by the extravagant cooking.

    ¡¸Aa~, that whole roast pig look delicious. I want to try eating it by myself.¡¹

    I was exasperated by Marie who said such thing.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll feed you thatter so wait for now. We need to meet with Louise-san first.¡¹

    When we entered the party venue, the nobles of Alzer who knew about me were surprised.

    They whispered to each other.

    ¡¸Is that man the kingdom¡¯s knight?¡¹

    ¡¸I heard that his nickname is Fiendish Knight. A merchant from the kingdom told me.¡¹

    ¡¸Oh my, how scary.¡¹

    I was looking for Louise-san while my heart was getting injured by the gossiping of the noble wives.

    Marie pulled at my sleeve and talked to me in a small voice.

    ¡¸Big bro, it¡¯s Loic.¡¹

    It was Barriere House that was managing the party venue.

    Perhaps the receptionist had reported my arrival. Loic arrived together with the head of Barriere House.

    His name was©¤©¤Benge I think.

    ¡¸Look who we have here, wee to this party, sir hero of the kingdom.¡¹

    The man spread his arms to make a show to the surrounding. He had arge build and intimidating air.

    Loic was smiling fearlessly beside him.

    ¡¸I don¡¯t remember inviting you, but please have fun here for today. After all there will be an important announcement for Alzer after this in this ce.¡¹

    He offered me his hand so I shook it. The other side strongly grasped my hand.

    I also grasped back.

    ¡¸I know. Something about marriage right? Congrattions.¡¹

    Loic¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change.

    ¡¸Sir hero have sharp ears. Well, even if it¡¯s just apliment but I shall take it.¡¹

    We both released each other¡¯s hand.

    Benge talked to me.

    ¡¸By the way I have one request to you sir hero. About the sacred tree¡¯s sapling, it¡¯s something very important for Alzer. No, it¡¯s something sacred. Can you perhaps concede it to us? Of course we will prepare befitting reward to show our gratitude.¡¹

    I smiled at Benge who behaved modestly with me.

    The surrounding was also focusing at us when the topic of sapling-chan came up.

    Thanks to that the surrounding became quiet immediately.

    It showed really clearly how important this topic was for themonwealth.

    ¡¸I like it a lot so I refuse. If you want it then you can take it away from me by force. ©¤©¤That¡¯s if you can.¡¹

    Bengeughed.

    ¡¸How harsh! But we won¡¯t give up so easily. Let¡¯s continue the negotiation again in the future.¡¹

    The surrounding looked at us with hostility.

    ¡¸A knight of the barbaric kingdom dare to...¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t act big after winning against just Faiviel House.¡¹

    ¡¸He is getting cocky because he¡¯s still green.¡¹

    They were saying whatever they wanted.

    Benge and Loic left me because it seemed the time hade.

    Loic gave his parting words while leaving.

    ¡¸Then excuse us. Please have fun. Ah, also©¤©¤you better give up if you¡¯re nning to take Noelle back. She is mine.¡¹

    He was keeping up appearances so nobody else could see, but he was directing a dark killing intent toward me.

    His expression made me wanted to ask him whether he was trying to make funny faces.

    Seeing that, Marie said ¡¸This guy¡¹ and red at Loic, but I responded to him with a refreshing smile.

    ¡¸There was something simr like this before. An idiot price picked a fight with me.¡¹

    ¡¸Hou©¤©¤and then?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you want to know what is that guy doing right now? Right now he is grilling meat in a food stand. The former crown prince is earning money in a meat skewer stand. It¡¯s really a touching tale isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    I wasn¡¯t lying.

    It was true.

    That Julius, he would head to that stand if he had free time and worked there.

    The person himself was really happy though, it was like ¡¸I have found my calling!¡¹.

    Well, something like this was just a threat.

    It didn¡¯t have any effect to Loic.

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to that. Are you going to destroy Alzer just like how you burned Faiviel House? Certainly you¡¯re strong, but don¡¯t think that you can survive with just that.¡¹

    Loic took away his gaze from us. Over there was the diplomats from other countries.

    The diplomat of Holy Kingdom Rachelle was looking at me.

    ¡¸Do you get it? The world isn¡¯t that easy. You¡¯re strong, but don¡¯t think that everything will go as you want it with just that.¡¹

    ¡¸I never thought of anything like that. But, remember this. I¡¯ll crush those who oppose me. You¡¯re also the same. Just keep worrying forever hoping so that Noelle won¡¯t be taken away from you.¡¹

    Loic red at me before he erased his expression and put on his best face.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll look forward to it, sir hero of the kingdom. No, the fiendish knight was it?¡¹

    That unpleasant nickname was spreading until this ce.

    Marie looked disgusted at the leaving Loic.

    ¡¸He is really an epitome of DV bastard. He is acting so that the people around him won¡¯t notice. But more importantly big bro©¤©¤can you really take Noelle back?¡¹

    Not only this party venue, the security around Noelle also couldn¡¯t bepared from before.

    It would be difficult even for Luxion to aplish that without killing the enemy.

    In the first ce, that guy wouldn¡¯t mind even if there was casualty from the enemies.

    He was a guy who couldn¡¯t solve things peacefully.

    ¡¸I¡¯m still thinking of how to do it. Taking Noelle back itself is easy but©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Leon-kun, long time no see.¡¹

    Albergue-san found me while I was thinking and came to my spot.

    ¡¸Albergue-san.¡¹

    His expression looked tired somewhere in it.

    ¡¸Why are you here today? I can¡¯t imagine that Benge would invite you.¡¹

    He didn¡¯t know about Louise-san?

    ¡¸No, actually©¤©¤¡¹

    When I was going to speak about the circumstance, the venue¡¯s lighting was erased andmps were turned on at the stage.

    Thre Loic appeared©¤©¤with Noelle.

    Noelle was wearing a dress, but it exposed very little skin. Her cor was also decorated.

    And then Loic held Noelle¡¯s hand and lifted her right hand.

    ¡¸More than ten years has passed since Lespinasse House was destroyed. The position of priestess has been empty since then, but that¡¯s only until today. The priestess¡¯s crest is residing in this Noelle Zel Lespinasse¡¯s right hand! She is a survivor of Lespinasse House that is thought to be destroyed.¡¹

    Apuses were raised because the people inside this venue had known about this beforehand.

    Albergue-san¡¯s expression was turning grim inside the dark venue.

    Was he unable to forget his anger toward Lespinasse House just as we thought?

    Noelle stood beside Loic and waved her hand with a smile.

    Marie exined to me.

    ¡¸Big bro, it¡¯s really bad. I¡¯m just guessing but, there are a lot of bruises under her clothes. Her expression is also stiff, and herplexion is also bad even though they¡¯re using makeup to cover it up.¡¹

    ¡¸You understand that much?¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s just my instinct.¡¹

    Could this girl¡¯s instinct be relied on?

    I was doubting her, but then a report came from Luxion who was camouging himself.

    ¡ºMarie¡¯s instinct is right on the money. The wound on her face is covered up with makeup but, there is also trace of beating on her body.¡»

    Then why was she waving her hand with a smile?

    It was Marie who answered my question.

    ¡¸She is convincing herself that everything will be fine if she just endure. Besides, her ability to think will get whittled down gradually with how cornered she is. She will lose even her will to escape. Other people will think that a victim can just escape from this kind of situation if they really hate it. But, it¡¯s impossible.¡¹

    Was that her experience talking?

    This was infuriating.

    Loic made a deration.

    ¡¸Now then, with theing back of the priestess, surely everyone is having expectation of what lies ahead from that. As everyone know, the guardian is also nonexistent right now. But, this too will be solved soon enough. I©¤©¤Loic Leta Barriere will marry Noelle and assume that position!¡¹

    The surrounding pped and cheered loudly.

    They must have made preparation beforehand.

    My hand was grabbed within the darkness while I was watching that.

    Louise-san was there when I turned around.

    ¡¸I found you. Come over here.¡¹

    Albergue-san was also surprised.

    ¡¸Louise, you¡¯re the one who called him here?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯ll exinter. But right now it¡¯s Noelle.¡¹

    We slipped out from the dark party venue and entered a room that Louise-san had prepared.

    .

    Part 4

    Inside the dark venue.

    There was one more person who noticed Leon and Marie¡¯s appearance.

    It was Lelia who was participating in the party with Emile.

    (Those guys, they¡¯re going to do as they please again!?)

    Lelia was losing her calm seeing them leaving the venue with Albergue and Louise. She spoke to Emile.

    ¡¸Emile, I¡¯m going to fix my makeup.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? But, just now you have©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Emile, don¡¯t ask too much.¡¹

    Emile gasped when she told him that. He averted his gaze.

    ¡¸R-right. Sorry, yeah, take your time there.¡¹

    It seemed he was thinking that she would go to toilet.

    It offended her as a woman, but right now her priority was to learn about Leon and Marie¡¯s action.

    (Those guys, moving around as they please!)

    Lelia followed after Leon and others.

    .

    Part 5

    We listened to Louise-san¡¯s story. The first one who became enraged was Albergue-san.

    ¡¸You¡¯ve done it huh, Fernand.¡¹

    His anger was seeping out quietly.

    Louise-san was looking slightly uneasy.

    ¡¸I took advantage when the venue turned dark just now and somehow slipped away. It was almost like imprisonment for me in the mansion. There would be watcher even when I went out, while at the mansion I had almost no freedom. It looks like even my letter is checked.¡¹

    Why was Louise-san locked up?

    That was because Druille House was betraying Rault House.

    Albergue-san stood up.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Louise, you stay here. I¡¯m going to talk with Fernand.¡¹

    ¡¸Otou-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m going to take you home to our mansion today. Use my name if the people of Druille Housee.¡¹

    Albergue-san went out of the room.

    Then Marie let out a sigh after she was liberated from the tension.

    ¡¸Aa~, that was scary. His pressure wasn¡¯t a joke.¡¹

    Louise-san chuckled seeing Marie like that.

    ¡¸He is usually gentle you know?¡¹

    ¡¸It doesn¡¯t look like that at all.¡¹

    I was listening to the report from Luxion that kepting.

    The surrounding couldn¡¯t hear it.

    ¡ºMaster, it seems Druille House is nning to use Louise to make Hughes into Rault House¡¯s head.¡»

    I kept hearing nothing but unpleasant story.

    I wished there would be more cheerful story that came to me.

    But, there were things that wouldn¡¯te true even if you wished for them.

    ¡º©¤©¤There is one person eavesdropping in front of the door. It¡¯s Lelia. Should I remove her?¡»

    Why were always you that radical?

    ¡¸I¡¯ll let her in.¡¹

    Both Marie and Louise-san looked at me because I suddenly opened my mouth.

    I stealthily approached the door and pulled it wide open. There Lelia was crouching with her ear pressed on the door just now.

    ¡¸That¡¯s improper you know, priestess¡¯s little sister-san.¡¹

    When Iughed at her, Lelia red at Louise-san inside the room.

    She talked to me with a small voice.

    ¡¸What are you nning huh? Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re going to be Rault House¡¯s ally!?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m considering it positively.¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t dodge the question!¡¹

    Hearing the ruckus, Louise-san looked at Lelia and folded her arms.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Lelia, so you¡¯re also involved. Well, it¡¯s fine. I also wanted to talk with you. There isn¡¯t any need to hide it anymore anyway.¡¹

    Louise-san permitted it, so I let Lelia entered inside and closed the door.

    Lelia was nervous, but she was baring her hostility in front of Louise-san.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It will be over for Rault House with this.¡¹

    ¡¸That might be so.¡¹

    Louise-san didn¡¯t look shaken at all.

    Marie talked to me with a small voice.

    ¡¸Hey, what is going to begin right now?¡¹

    ¡¸Do you think I know? That depends on these two.¡¹

    Lelia looked like she was already convinced of her victory. She was acting confident toward Louise-san.

    However, she was flustered in front of Louise-san who showed no agitation.

    ¡¸A-after this, you won¡¯t be able to do as you please. You had been bullying big sis a lot, but you won¡¯t be able to do that anymore.¡¹

    ¡¸Seems so. I won¡¯t need to do that anymore even if we return back to the academy.¡¹

    She wouldn¡¯t need to?

    I and Marie looked at each other.

    Marie asked Louise-san hesitantly.

    ¡¸S-say~, didn¡¯t you quarrel with Noelle because you hate her, or something?¡¹

    Louise-sanughed.

    Sheughed, and then she talked with a really nice smile.

    ¡¸It¡¯s true I hate that woman. I really hate her. It¡¯s the same with Lelia over there too. They are living carefree without knowing anything, in addition they even slipped into the academy too. They even kept their name as it is. I was wondering whether they are thinking that we are so stupid.¡¹

    Lelia objected.

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s! ©¤©¤It was because our retainers wrote the name like that in the application form.¡¹

    Well, so it wasn¡¯t because of their own wish.

    ¡¸When I found the two of them in the academy, I really hated them I couldn¡¯t bear it. Even I don¡¯t know everything. But, I know that Otou-sama let the twins who are the heiress of Lespinasse House to get away.¡¹

    He let the twins got away?

    I and Marie looked at each other in puzzlement.

    Marie shook her head side to side. She was insisting that she didn¡¯t know what Louise-san was talking about.

    This girl is useless.

    Marie couldn¡¯t ask Louise-san, so I asked in her ce.

    ¡¸I understand that you hate the two of them but, why then you only picked a quarrel with Noelle?¡¹

    Louise-san looked at me with a very sad gaze.

    She clenched her hands.

    ¡¸Otou-sama asked me to. He said it¡¯s because the twins aren¡¯t at fault. Lelia has Emile at her side. But, there wasn¡¯t anyone at Noelle¡¯s side. Pierre was also still there until just a little while ago, and the troublesome Loic was also following her around.¡¹

    Lelia was bewildered.

    ¡¸What does that has to do with you picking a quarrel with big sis?¡¹

    It seemed Marie had noticed.

    ¡¸Ah, could it be that was you iming, this is my prey so hands off, is it that kind of thing?¡¹

    Louise-san nodded weakly.

    ¡¸Even I don¡¯t want to get involved with them. I hated you two who were living peacefully without knowing anything. Even though you don¡¯t even know our feeling, just what¡¯s with you two!?¡¹

    Louise-san was gradually getting high-strung. She approached Lelia and cornered her to the wall.

    She grabbed her cor, so I and Marie separated them.

    I said to Marie.

    ¡¸Take her outside! I¡¯ll take care of this one here!¡¹

    ¡¸O-okay. Come on, let¡¯s get out!¡¹

    After the two of them got out of the room, only I and Louise-san remained inside.

    Luxion made a teasing remark.

    ¡ºNow master is alone with another woman. Let¡¯s be careful so that master won¡¯t be suspected of cheating.¡»

    ©¤©¤Shut up, this piece of junk AI.

 Chapter 137 - Volume 5 Chapter 10

    Volume 5 Chapter 10

    Chapter 10 ¨C Viin

    .

    Part 1

    Marie went outside to the corridor with Lelia.

    The two of them were breathing hard.

    Lelia seemed to be losing herposure from the shock that Louise was genuinely hating her.

    She pressed her chest andined about what just happened.

    ¡¸What¡¯s with that woman. Even though she is the viiness©¤©¤even though she is the culprit that tormented us until now, she dared acting like the victim.¡¹

    Marie asked Lelia.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s leave her to big bro. More importantly, about Loic. He was really a bad news. Have you checked on Noelle properly?¡¹

    Lelia answered in agitation.

    ¡¸I did! I also met big sis directly! Big sis herself said that she is fine, and Loic said the cor is for her safety!¡¹

    Marie looked at Lelia¡¯s behavior and judged that she was useless.

    (This girl, she waspletely cajoled with words.)

    Lelia couldn¡¯t see through Loic¡¯s true nature.

    Loic too was acting as someone harmless in front of Lelia.

    (So Loic can easily deceive the like of Lelia when he get serious. Hm? Wait©¤©¤cor? I think there was an event when Loic brought a cor©¤©¤ah!!)

    Marie told Lelia that the situation right now was really bad.

    ¡¸Cor. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the bad end cor! It¡¯s dangerous if Loic brought out the cor. You also know right? We can¡¯t just leave things like this so work with us.¡¹

    Lelia red at Marie who was saying that.

    ¡¸Even Loic won¡¯t cor big sis if you guys didn¡¯t do anything unnecessary. He didn¡¯t have any other choice but to put the cor on big sis to protect her from you guys.¡¹

    ¡¸Haa!? The cor is already on her when big bro went to save her. ©¤©¤Wait. You, you had yed the second game properly right? You had seen Loic¡¯s bad end right!?¡¹

    Marie got a bad premonition here.

    Perhaps Lelia¡¯s knowledge of the second game was actually half-baked, just like herself? She got that kind of feeling.

    And that feeling was right on the mark.

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t watch any of the bad end! The game guide said that two-timing is dangerous, so I avoided from doing that in the game.¡¹

    In that otome game¡¯s sequel, bad end would be waiting if the yer were carelessly two-timing.

    Loic would bring out the cor if he saw a dangerous sign in his rtionship with Noelle.

    ¡¸I-idiot! If the cor that Loic brought out is a special item, then that¡¯ll be a straight line to the bad end!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Heh?¡¹

    Lelia looked like she really didn¡¯t know anything.

    ¡¸You said that you watched the true end right!?¡¹

    The true end that could be said as the real ending. Lelia said that she had watched it.

    Lelia averted her gaze from Marie.

    ¡¸I, I progressed through the game following the game guide, so I didn¡¯t see the bad ends.¡¹

    Marie held her head in frustration.

    ¡¸Stuppidddd!! At this rate things will go straight to bad end!¡¹

    ¡¸B-because. I don¡¯t want to see something like bad end! Besides, it looked like things were going fine!¡¹

    ¡¸Forget about it, you work together with us. Crap. Crap, crap. I need to tell big bro! At this rate, Noelle will©¤©¤¡¹

    Lelia became uneasy seeing how panicked Marie was.

    ¡¸I-is it really that bad?¡¹

    ¡¸At this rate Loic is going to confine Noelle! If things go like in the game, there won¡¯t be any love between the two. That¡¯s why the guardian won¡¯t be born and Alzer will get destroyed.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯ll be troubling!¡¹

    Marie was irritated by Lelia¡¯s reaction.

    (This girl, she isn¡¯t worrying about Noelle!)

    ¡¸Anyway! ©¤©¤Work together with us. Loic right now is dangerous.¡¹

    Lelia casted her eyes downward.

    .

    Part 2

    I was sitting on the sofa inside the room with Louise-san.

    I was hugging her from behind.

    She was struggling and crying just now but©¤©¤she was calming down right now.

    Louise-san talked about the past piece by piece.

    ph_otome5_ill006

    ¡¸©¤©¤You see, there was a talk of engagement between my little brother Leon and Noelle. What¡¯s more it was Lespinasse House that suggested it.¡¹

    ¡¸So there was something like that.¡¹

    ¡¸It was a stupid story. Originally Otou-sama should be the one chosen as the guardian. And yet they acted like they hadn¡¯t done anything wrong and said that they need Rault House¡¯s strength.¡¹

    It seemed something happened in the past. Luxion summarized the story so it was easier for me to understand.

    ¡ºThe priestess who broke her engagement with Albergue in the past shamelessly brought up an engagement talk between her daughter and Albergue¡¯s son. Well, it might be the result of an effort for each sides to let the bygones be bygones at the next generation.¡»

    If Leon-kun of Rault House got married with Noelle and became the guardian, then it would also be beneficial for Rault House.

    But Louise-san looked like she couldn¡¯t ept it.

    ¡¸And yet, when Leon died the previous priestess and guardian didn¡¯t even show up at his burial. They sent a representative and that was all.¡¹

    That was certainly a rude attitude.

    Perhaps there was a circumstance in Alzer at that time?

    ¡¸Is it normal to send representative for that kind of thing?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤It sometimes happened if there was a reason, even then Leon was a legitimate son of Rault House. The other houses sent their heir at minimum to participate in the burial. And yet they¡¹

    From what I heard, Lespinasse House was also©¤©¤really horrible weren¡¯t they?

    Their attitude toward Rault House was too poor.

    They were at the side of justice in the second game right? Then why did they act like that?

    ¡¸©¤©¤I hated those two who didn¡¯t know anything. I hate them, really hate them©¤©¤but, when the engagement was decided, Leon looked happy when he saw the girl¡¯s photo. Onee-chan, my wife is a beauty see©¤©¤he was really excited like that. Otou-sama was also smiling wryly.¡¹

    W-wasn¡¯t that too carefree? Leon-kun, shouldn¡¯t you read the atmosphere a bit more?

    But, he was five years old. Well, perhaps it couldn¡¯t be helped that he didn¡¯t know the circumstance?

    ¡¸He wanted to meet with Noelle. He even said precocious things like, I¡¯ll make her happy. ©¤©¤If only he didn¡¯t say something like that, then even I...¡¹

    Did Louise-san protect Noelle because Leon-kun took a liking to Noelle?

    This person was also a busybody huh.

    ¡¸Even so, you were actually protecting Noelle. Because other people won¡¯t be able to do anything to her while you are picking a quarrel with her.¡¹

    So this person was protecting Noelle form troublesome guys like Pierre.

    The situation was tooplicated that I was at a loss.

    It would be better if the bad guy was more malicious.

    If not©¤©¤it would make me felt bad when making the decision.

    ¡¸©¤©¤It was because Otou-sama was also asking me. He said that those two are innocent. I told Otou-sama that it would be dangerous if those two be priestess. But, Otou-sama said that won¡¯t happen.¡¹

    ©¤©¤He thought that they wouldn¡¯t be priestess?

    What does that mean?

    There I recalled the thing that Luxion mentioned.

    Why did Lespinasse House lose against Rault House that was lower ranked?

    ¡¸But, now that this happen there is nothing that we can do. If Noelle is chosen as the priestess, then even Otou-sama won¡¯t be able to do anything to oppose it.¡¹

    ¡¸That is, even if she is the priestess of the sapling?¡¹

    ¡¸There is also the possibility of that huh. But, what¡¯s important is the existence of priestess. That¡¯s just how important the priestess is in our country. No one will mind even if she¡¯s the priestess of the sapling instead of the current sacred tree.¡¹

    ¡¸Aa~, as I thought.¡¹

    I was able to confirm that this didn¡¯t change Noelle¡¯s value at all.

    Like this, it would be difficult to save her.

    Louise-san grabbed my hand.

    ¡¸Hey©¤©¤do you want to save Noelle?¡¹

    .

    Part 3

    In a waiting room of the party venue.

    Noelle was pushed into there after she finished meeting the members of the six great nobles©¤©¤the heads of the houses.

    Noelle was sitting in front of a mirror with Loic hugging her from behind.

    Noelle was getting goosebumps, but she endured it and showed no reaction.

    She would only get hit if she showed her dislike.

    ¡¸Noelle, Leon came to the party you know?¡¹

    ¡¸Tsu!¡¹

    Loic¡¯s expression vanished when Noelle reacted to that.

    He grabbed Noelle¡¯s side ponytail violently and forcefully made her faced him.

    ¡¸Do you like that man that much? You who are the priestess are choosing a foreigner!?¡¹

    Loic violently threw Noelle who was sitting. His breathing was rough.

    But he immediately ran to Noelle and hugged her.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry Noelle. I don¡¯t want to hurt you. But, it¡¯s your fault because you¡¯re thinking of other man.¡¹

    Loic was always acting like this after he inflicted violence to Noelle. His mind was unstable.

    He would suddenly be kind.

    It became painful for Noelle to think when she was in this kind of situation for days.

    Besides,

    (I won¡¯t be able to run anyway.)

    The cor wouldn¡¯t allow Noelle to get away from Loic.

    If she was unable to escape, she had no choice other than to obey.

    If she recklessly tried to escape, she would only suffer.

    ¡¸Noelle, our marriage ceremony wille soon. After that no one will be able to get in the way of our bond anymore. I¡¯ll protect you if I¡¯m chosen as the guardian.¡¹

    Noelle didn¡¯t say anything to Loic.

    Loic was irritated by that attitude and pressed down Noelle¡¯s head.

    He pressed her head on the floor and grinded her head down.

    ¡¸Noelle, why won¡¯t you understand my love!? You are always, always!¡¹

    Noelle was waiting for Loic¡¯s violence to end.

    (I want to go home. Someone save me. ©¤©¤Leon)

    She wanted to escape, but she couldn¡¯t.

    Noelle was enduring the hopeless situation alone.

    .

    Part 4

    An expressionless Cordelia-san weed me when I returned to Marie¡¯s mansion.

    ¡¸Wee back Leon-sama. ©¤©¤Did you have fun going to a party together with Marie-sama?¡¹

    ¡¸It was fun. I was able to get over a lot of things there.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤That¡¯s good to hear.¡¹

    Her gaze became even colder than before.

    Yumeria-san was also beside her. She took the jacket that I took off.

    ¡¸It must be hard for nobles with so many parties to attend like this.¡¹

    Unlike Cordelia-san, this maid was warm and healing me.

    Marie was making a tired face.

    ¡¸Geez, it feels like my head will burst. There is nothing but trouble. I couldn¡¯t even eat the food.¡¹

    After that we had a talk about what we were going to do.

    It was a great oue that we managed to obtain the cooperation of Albergue-san and Louise-san.

    Julius showed up when we returned home.

    ¡¸So you two have returned. And, what¡¯s the situation now?¡¹

    I exined simply.

    ¡¸It¡¯s really a power struggle. I got the impression that Barriere House wants to oust down Rault House and drag the surrounding with them to do it.¡¹

    They were fully motivated to make use of the existence of the priestess that couldn¡¯t be ignored by anyone to rise higher in status.

    Loic himself was fixated with Noelle, but his head of the house Benge was aiming for the seat of acting chairman.

    No, should I say that he wanted the position to control themonwealth?

    Julius nodded.

    ¡¸So it¡¯s just as we thought. Everyone has already gathered.¡¹

    We entered the room where the five idiots and©¤©¤Kyle and Cara were waiting.

    It was just the dining room though.

    Everyone looked nervous when I and Marie came.

    After Marie sat on her chair, Cara prepared water for her.

    Kyle was the one who brought me water, so I took the ss and drank it all in one gulp before wiping my mouth.

    ¡¸It¡¯s vexing but the situation is just as you guys thought. Setting aside Loic, themonwealth¡¯s bunches are starting a power struggle by making use of Noelle.¡¹

    Jilk didn¡¯t look particrly surprised.

    ¡¸That¡¯s how it is. I gathered information at the embassy. I found out that right now Barriere House is using various ways in order to obtain the sapling.¡¹

    Brad looked slightly troubled.

    ¡¸There will be officials who turn traitor if they are offered a lot of money, and it will be troublesome if officials at the level of cab minister got bribed. It will be better to settle this before that happen.¡¹

    Greg was©¤©¤why aren¡¯t you wearing any shirt? Wear clothes you idiot, clothes!

    ¡¸A country¡¯s benefit and a personal benefit aren¡¯t the same thing after all. Even if we secure Noelle quickly, Alzer is a rich country. It¡¯ll be troublesome if they use a lot of fund to use underhanded tricks.¡¹

    Next was Chris but©¤©¤why wasn¡¯t this guys wearing pants?

    ¡¸We need to decide the battle decisively in a short time. After we save her let¡¯s ask her majesty the queen to shelter Noelle. That person will prioritize the country¡¯s interest rather than her own personal interest.¡¹

    Rnd¡¯s name didn¡¯te out here. It was clear that our country¡¯s central pir wasn¡¯t him but Mylene-san.

    Marie lie down on the table.

    ¡¸In the end it will still be problematic even after we rescue her. Aa~, there are too many troubles. Isn¡¯t there any way to easily resolve this?¡¹

    I also felt the same.

    That was why, I would settle this problem neatly.

    Julius looked at me.

    ¡¸Bartfalt, what are you going to do? If it¡¯s possible to rescue her, we can just leave the rest to mother at the kingdom. Just as Chris said, mother will prioritize the country¡¯s interest. She will surely protect Noelle.¡¹

    That wasn¡¯t bad, but it also wasn¡¯t good.

    I was a coward, so I wanted to remove as many seeds of future problem as possible.

    Besides, there was also Rachelle¡¯s diplomat in this country.

    It was a country that was in dispute with Mylene-san¡¯s home country.

    If themonwealth got serious, they would surely support Holy Kingdom Rachelle.

    They would also support the countries that were in dispute with the kingdom to harass us.

    We also didn¡¯t know how long it would take until the sapling could disy the same power like the sacred tree.

    Would Mylene-san help Noelle even if she had to turn everyone around her into enemy?

    As a coward I couldn¡¯t ept a method that would leave so much anxiety.

    ¡¸No good. If Alzer get serious, even Mylene-san might not be able topletely protect Noelle. It will be really troublesome if theye to us with underhanded tricks. That¡¯s why©¤©¤I¡¯ll break the pride of this country.¡¹

    Julius made a troubled face when I said that I would break their pride.

    But, he didn¡¯t reject my opinion.

    ¡¸Do you have some kind of ingenious idea? It¡¯s not easy to break a country¡¯s pride. Are you nning to rampage with Einhorn again?¡¹

    ¡¸Are you thinking of me as such predictable person? I¡¯m not a barbarian who will turn to something like war when I¡¯m troubled. I¡¯ll solve this more peacefully.¡¹

    Jilk shrugged and smiled.

    ¡¸Peacefully is it? If only the peace in the count¡¯s dictionary has the same meaning like our definition of peaceful.¡¹

    These guys got a lot of thorns in his words.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll snap their pride for sure. Now then, we got to rescue Noelle first before that. I¡¯m thinking to do it in the day of the marriage ceremony, what do you guys think?¡¹

    If you¡¯re going to do something, do it thoroughly.

    Marie looked excited hearing my proposal.

    ¡¸Finally Leon is getting serious! But, the enemy will also strengthen their security at the day of the marriage ceremony won¡¯t they?¡¹

    Chris put his hand on his chin and added on Marie¡¯s opinion.

    ¡¸They assuredly will. It will be an important day for themonwealth. They will surely gather a lot of soldiers and knights. In addition, the six great nobles will also gather at that day. If we cause a ruckus at such ce, Barriere House will lose face©¤©¤don¡¯t tell me, that¡¯s your aim?¡¹

    Making Barriere House lose face.

    That was certainly tempting. It was one of the things that I was aiming for.

    But, the enemy would only get angry with just that much.

    ¡¸Do you think I¡¯ll end it with just that?¡¹

    Greg shook his head.

    ¡¸Not at all. You¡¯re a human who can do something even more horrible.¡¹

    Thanks for the praise.

    I absolutely wouldn¡¯t forget those words so you better remember this.

    I spread out my hands in front of the eight people.

    ¡¸Now, let¡¯s begin©¤©¤we¡¯re going to break Alzer¡¯s pride so they won¡¯t be able to oppose us again.¡¹

    Everyone hesitantly cheered ¡¸O-ou¡¹ and raised their fist.

    Be louder!

    It would be the fun time after this.

    .

    Part 5

    Marie¡¯s mansion was enveloped in a sinister quiet in preparation for the marriage ceremony.

    Cordelia was irritated.

    ¡¸Really, just what is he thinking.¡¹

    Yumeria who was working together with her was looking worriedly at Cordelia.

    ¡¸Will Leon-sama and others be alright?¡¹

    Creare was watching the two of them.

    ¡ºThey will be fine. Don¡¯t worry about that, just remember to buy the ingredients for eleven people when you two are going out for shopping okay?¡»

    Cordelia looked at the sofa. On the sofa was a doll with Leon¡¯s face drawn.

    The dolls of Julius and others who weren¡¯t home were also ced at other spots.

    Sometimes robots would move their location.

    Cordelia didn¡¯t understand just what they were doing.

    ¡¸What is the meaning of doing this?¡¹

    ¡ºOh, this is something very important you know? More importantly, aren¡¯t you acting too cold toward master? If you¡¯re a maid who are dispatched from a duke house, you should know that it¡¯s not good to mix work with personal affairs.¡»

    ¡¸It¡¯s because Leon-sama! ©¤©¤It¡¯s because he is close with Marie even though he already has a wonderful fianc¨¦e like Angelica-sama.¡¹

    Yumeria tilted her head when she heard Cordelia¡¯s worry.

    ¡¸Eh? But, although Leon-sama and Marie-sama are getting along well, it¡¯s not in the romantic sense at all.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh, is that true?¡¹

    ¡¸Yes. H-how I should say it©¤©¤it feels like they are brother and sister.¡¹

    Cordelia couldn¡¯t say anything back after hearing that.

    Cordelia had no experience going out with male.

    It had been decided that she would serve the duke house since she was little. She also had a firm sense of virtue in her time as student and refrained from any romance.

    In other words, she had no experience.

    Creare also didn¡¯t deny Yumeria¡¯s opinion.

    ¡ºRight. They are like brother and sister aren¡¯t they?¡»

    ¡¸N-now that you mention it, I can kind of see it©¤©¤b-but, it¡¯s a fact that right now Leon-sama is getting hooked on other woman!!¡¹

    ¡ºOh, isn¡¯t it fine? Master is risking his life in order to save a poor woman who forced into marriage against her will. Isn¡¯t this what they call chivalry?¡»

    ¡¸Political marriage is amon happening. If he get in the way of that and cause an international incident, how many people will be troubled by that do you think?¡¹

    ¡ºOh, are you in the supporting faction of political marriage? But the romance novels in your room also has the genre of a maning to rescue his lover who is forced into political marriage isn¡¯t it?¡»

    ¡¸H-how do you know that!? B-besides, reality and fantasy are different. Dream is beautiful because they are dream!¡¹

    Cordelia was acting like a dreaming teenage girl.

    Yumeria was worried about Noelle.

    ¡¸But, I heard that this woman is treated violently. The person herself also doesn¡¯t wish for the marriage. I don¡¯t really understand because the circumstance is tooplicated but, I hope that she can be rescued.¡¹

    Cordelia sighed.

    ¡¸Even I also wish for that, but there is also the bigger matter of the country. There are things where an individual shouldn¡¯t do as they please.¡¹

    Creare gave an advice to Cordelia there.

    ¡ºI can understand you feeling too but, I hope you will evaluate master more closely without any biased view.¡»

    Biased view©¤©¤certainly when it came to Leon, her assessment would be slightly harsher.

    Cordelia reflected on that.

    Cordelia was also a maid who was working in this mansion.

    She would immediately find out if Leon and Marie were in a romantic rtionship, but she had never found any proof of that until now.

    ¡¸Understood. There are also things that I should reflect on. I shall believe on Leon-sama more. But, will these things really be useful?¡¹

    Leon¡¯s doll that was sitting on the sofa leaned to the side and fell down.

    .

    Part 6

    There were silhouettes outside the mansion observing the situation inside.

    They were hiding behind other building¡¯s cover while constantly keeping watch.

    A pair of the watchers checked their watch.

    ¡¸It will be time soon. How is the situation inside the mansion?¡¹

    ¡¸There is little movement. The eleven people are inside the mansion.¡¹

    ¡¸Watch them carefully. Today is an important day.¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s fine and all but, how about the harbor? There are two of the one-horned ships right?¡¹

    ¡¸The security fleet is on guard over there. The military is also dispatched, but there is no movement. There isn¡¯t anyone boarding the ships, so we can rest assured.¡¹

    The pair continued monitoring the mansion.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Even so, there is too little movement.¡¹

    ¡¸There is no problem as long as they are staying inside the mansion. If we can go through today, Loic-sama will be the guardian and we will also get released from this task.¡¹

    The lookouts who were dispatched from Barriere House were watching the mansion.

    It was also the same at the harbor.

    They didn¡¯t care of appearance anymore and even had a fleet watching Einhorn and Licorne.

    If Leon and others made any movement, Loic would be immediately notified.

    .

    Part 7

    The sacred tree temple.

    It was a ce for the six great nobles to have meeting, but it was also used when the priestess was holding a ceremony.

    Its usage was permitted today because the priestess would marry.

    The members of the six great nobles who gathered in there were singing the praises of Loic.

    The head of Faiviel House Lambert(¥é¥ó¥Ù©`¥ë) and the likes were tantly buttering him up.

    ¡¸Haha~, this is truly a joyous asion. With this the guardian will be reinstated in Alzer. After all we can¡¯t let the brat from the kingdom to keep swaggering arrogantly forever. I have great expectation for you Loic-kun.¡¹

    The guardian would be able to receive the greatest blessing from the sacred tree.

    The power from that would be immense.

    Loic was gathering expectations on himself.

    ¡¸Noelle is the priestess of the sapling you know? We still don¡¯t know how much power the guardian will be able to draw.¡¹

    ¡¸I-is that so? But, it¡¯s still really joyous for the priestess and the guardian toe back. With this Alzer can also be in peace.¡¹

    They obtained a new sacred tree¡¯s priestess.

    Just that was already a good news for themonwealth.

    And then right now the priestess was going to choose the guardian.

    The six great nobles were also holding big expectation.

    Benge nced at Albergue.

    ¡¸It has been a long time since a guardian appeared from among the six great nobles. The previous guardian was amoner after all. Isn¡¯t that right Albergue?¡¹

    It was sarcasm toward Albergue.

    Albergue closed his eyes and didn¡¯t reply.

    Albergue was folding his arms without saying anything. Fernand was beside him.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, you mustn¡¯t pay him any mind.¡¹

    Albergue was surly.

    After Fernand soothed him down, he gave his blessing to Loic.

    ¡¸I know. ©¤©¤Loic-kun, allow me to give you my congrattions.¡¹

    ¡¸Thank you very much, acting chairman.¡¹

    ¡¸This is an advice from me who was unable to obtain the guardian¡¯s crest in the past. Don¡¯t let your guard down till the very end.¡¹

    Albergue only said that and left the room. Benge scoffed at him.

    Fernand also followed Albergue and left the room, but before he went out he exchanged nce with Loic.

    After the two of them went out, Bengeughed.

    ¡¸That was the howling of the loser. That guy is a pathetic man whose engagement with the priestess was canceled by the priestess herself. Loic, don¡¯t pay him any mind.¡¹

    ¡¸I know father. Even so, the acting chairman is also a pitiful person. After all he hasn¡¯t noticed that Fernand has jumped ship to our side.¡¹

    The other heads started to talk.

    ¡¸Didn¡¯t the two of them quarreled a little yesterday?¡¹

    ¡¸He was argued down by that brat Fernand. In the end Albergue isn¡¯t that much of a big deal.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m looking forward to see what kind of face he will make when he learn Fernand¡¯s betrayal.¡¹

    All the houses other than Rault House were showing unity.

    Something like this was extremely rare.

    Loic said his thanks to Leon in his heart.

    (We are united thanks to you. My thanks, sir hero.)

    Ironically, the six great nobles were showing unity with Benge at the center in front of the threat that came from Leon.

    They were also feeling anxious because Albergue¡¯s attitude toward Leon looked servile to them.

    Loic appeared like a light of hope at that timing.

    (Your existence lent strength to me. The flow of the era ispletely at my side. You can just watch from outside without being able to do anything.)

    Loic was convinced of his victory.

    Then a retainer of Barriere House entered the room.

    ¡¸Everyone, it will be time soon.¡¹

    The marriage ceremony of Noelle and Loic was going to begin.

 Chapter 138 - Volume 5 Chapter 11

    Volume 5 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11 ¨C Bride Robber

    .

    Part 1

    Noelle was looking at herself inside the mirror.

    A beautiful wedding dress©¤©¤but, a cor was attached on her neck.

    The servants were decorating the cor so it wasn¡¯t seen, then Lelia entered the room.

    ¡¸B-big sis¡¹

    Noelle smiled at the anxious looking Lelia.

    ¡¸What¡¯s wrong?¡¹

    ¡¸A-are you alright?¡¹

    What do you mean alright? She thought, but she replied gently.

    ¡¸I¡¯m nervous but, that¡¯s all I think. You too, be happier. With this we can return to be noble again.¡¹

    Lelia looked down, but there were only the servants of Barriere House around them.

    She couldn¡¯t spek her true feeling.

    But, Noelle had a feeling of guilt toward Lelia.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Sorry. You won¡¯t get dragged like this if only I didn¡¯t get discovered.¡¹

    She felt guilty for dragging Lelia into this.

    Lelia shook her head.

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m fine. But, big sis you©¤©¤¡¹

    The servants interrupted their talk.

    ¡¸Noelle-sama, it¡¯s time. Lelia-sama too, please leave.¡¹

    Noelle immediately turned expressionless after Lelia was driven out.

    Noelle was also a girl.

    She had a longing toward the image of a bride.

    However, even when she was dressed like this©¤©¤she felt so sad it felt like tears would spill out.

    (Really, how did it be like this)

    A single crest was throwing her life into chaos like this.

    She really hated it.

    .

    Part 2

    The venue was really wide.

    There were pirs that were made to look like the sacred tree. They supported the high ceiling. The stained ss had the picture of the sacred tree.

    The light that shined in from there was really pretty. Light was also shining in from the ceiling.

    Noelle was walking through a path that was illuminated by light. She looked at the guests around her.

    All of them were people who possessed crest.

    They were the chosen people of the sacred tree.

    They were nobles. They were celebrating the new priestess©¤©¤and the guardian that would be born after this.

    There were few people who were seeing Noelle as herself.

    (©¤©¤Even though they aren¡¯t even interested at me myself.)

    What was important was the crest and the priestess position.

    The bridge that connected the sacred tree and the people©¤©¤the existence that was lost and sought after by themonwealth.

    None of them was wishing for the personal happiness of Noelle.

    Most of them were thinking that she would surely be happy if she was married with Loic.

    (I didn¡¯t wish for something like this. What I wished for was©¤©¤)

    Even though she was thinking that, there was no recement for the priestess position.

    Noelle had no freedom.

    (I was really stupid to be happy like that when the crest appeared. That¡¯s right, this is the destiny of the person who possess the priestess¡¯s crest. I¡¯ll be bound to the sacred tree for my whole life.)

    The future she wished for wouldn¡¯te true.

    (What do you mean the priestess will be tied together with the person she loves. It¡¯s just a lie in the end.)

    She didn¡¯t run even then because the cor wouldn¡¯t let go of Noelle.

    Also, this was for Alzer¡¯s sake.

    Noelle hated the nobles.

    Although extreme people like Pierre were few among the nobles who were in the possession of crest, all of them were still arrogant.

    It was always themoners that were suffering.

    The nobles were conceited because they couldn¡¯t lose and continued doing defensive battles, but it was themoners that received the damage.

    Those who died in the war were the people who didn¡¯t possess the crest.

    It was rare for noble to die in war because they had the power of the crest.

    She loved Alzer.

    But, she hated the nobles that ruled this country.

    She became a priestess was also for the sake of the people.

    (But©¤©¤allow me to choose who the guardian is at the very least. Why it has to be Loic)

    When she arrived in front of a stone statue of the sacred tree at the back of the venue, Benge was waiting there.

    The sacred tree was considered as a divinity at Alzer. The six great nobles who had a position close to it sometimes would also act like a substitute priest.

    Behind Benge©¤©¤on his back, the crest that Benge had was floating.

    In this kind of ceremony, there was a custom for the priest substitute to show their crest to the surrounding to indicate that they were the witness of the ceremony.

    For an important event like today, a lot of the time it would be one of the head of the six great nobles who served as the priest substitute.

    Benge talked to the two with a small voice.

    ¡¸You two look great. Now then, let¡¯s have priestess-sama grant the guardian¡¯s crest to Loic here. You understand how to do it right?¡¹

    She had been taught how to do it beforehand.

    The priestess just needed to talk to the sacred tree inside her heart ¡¸This is the person who is worthy to be the guardian¡¹.

    Noelle looked toward Loic and joined her hands together in a praying posture.

    Although she was hesitating whether it would really be alright to grant the guardian¡¯s crest to Loic, she had no other choice.

    (Sacred tree©¤©¤this person is my guardian. Please, grant him the crest of the guardian.)

    When Noelle offered her prayer, the priestess¡¯s crest on the back of her right hand manifested a meter behind Noelle. Its size was around three meter.

    The guests who saw that were excited to see the priestess¡¯s crest.

    ¡¸Oo, finally!¡¹

    ¡¸Alzer¡¯s future is bright with this.¡¹

    ¡¸And then the guardian¡¯s crest©¤©¤the crest?¡¹

    But, even though Noelle¡¯s priestess¡¯s crest had appeared, nothing happened after that.

    After this the guardian¡¯s crest should be appearing behind Loic just like the priestess¡¯s crest.

    With that the marriage between the priestess and the guardian would be sealed in stone but©¤©¤nothing appeared even after they waited for a while.

    Loic was gritting his teeth.

    ¡¸Noelle, are you nning to betray me in this ce?¡¹

    ¡¸I-I¡¯m doing it. I¡¯m properly©¤©¤¡¹

    She strongly prayed one more time.

    (Sacred tree-sama, please listen to my voice. The man before me is your guardian. He is the one who will protect you.)

    Even though she was praying desperately, the guardian¡¯s crest wouldn¡¯t appear on Loic.

    Not only that©¤©¤she could hear a voice.

    The sapling¡¯s voice that only Noelle could hear sounded like the voice of a little girl.

    But, the sapling wouldn¡¯t ept Noelle¡¯s request.

    The voice¡¯s way of speaking sounded clumsy, but Noelle could feel the strong rejection in it.

    Noelle opened her eyes.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Eh?¡¹

    Noelle let go of her praying posture in surprise. Benge was losing hisposure seeing that and spoke to her with a small voice.

    ¡¸Priestess-sama, can you hurry it up? Or perhaps, you¡¯re nning to shame us in this ce?¡¹

    Noelle shook her head.

    She had no such intention.

    But the sacred tree was rejecting her prayer.

    ¡¸N-no. I have prayed properly. But, but©¤©¤it was rejected.¡¹

    The word ¡®rejected¡¯ echoed through the ce that had fallen silent.

    The venue became noisy.

    The center of Loic¡¯s face crumpled and he grabbed Noelle¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸Noelle, you¡¯re just saying that to...!¡¹

    Noelle grabbed Loic¡¯s hand with both her hands, but she was unable to shake him off.

    Loic grabbed Noelle¡¯s neck with both his hands.

    The surrounding got into an uproar. Benge tried to stop Loic, but the crest of a great noble appeared behind him.

    Loic¡¯s crest produced me so that no one could approach.

    Even Benge couldn¡¯t get near.

    ¡¸Loic stop! Don¡¯t kill the priestess!¡¹

    Loic¡¯s fingers were sinking into Noelle¡¯s throat.

    ¡¸tsu!¡¹

    Loic wasughing seeing Noelle unable to make any voice.

    ¡¸I should have done this from the start if you won¡¯t be mine!¡¹

    Just when Noelle prepared herself to die like this, she heard a voice.

    A lisping young voice was talking inside her head.

    The guardian ising©¤©¤it said. He ising to protect the priestess, it said.

    (Guardian? I, I haven¡¯t chosen anyone. And yet, how can the guardian©¤©¤)

    Her neck was being choked painfully. Loic¡¯s me was also burning her wedding dress.

    Then, the ceiling¡¯s ss was smashed and a ck armor descended.

    It was Arroganz(¥¢¥í¥¬¥ó¥Ä).

    Leon¡¯s voice resounded inside the venue.

    ¡ºI came to take back the bride!¡»

    His voice sounded really delighted.

    With the intrusion of Arroganz wind drowned out the raging me inside the venue.

    Loic was also sent flying. Noelle also tumbled down and looked at Leon who came out from Arroganz.

    He was wearing a white tuxedo.

    (That look really suited him.)

    It was strange that she was thinking like that. She was embarrassed to feel happy at Leon¡¯s appearance.

    Loic looked at Leon who was looking down on him and yelled angrily.

    ¡¸What are you doing here! Don¡¯t tell me, you are nning to kidnap the bride? How dare youing here wearing white tuxedo like that©¤©¤we will lodge a protest to the kingdom about this.¡¹

    Other armors were alsoing from the surrounding and jeers were thrown at Leon.

    But Leon didn¡¯t panic.

    He raised the submachine gun he brought and pulled the trigger, spraying the bullets around. The guests screamed.

    And then©¤©¤he spoke out words that shocked everyone.

    ¡¸This must be what they mean by the guilty is shouting the loudest. Is stealing other person¡¯s bride and forcing her into marriage is the so called elegant way of Alzer? You are calling other people barbarian but, you guys are the real barbarian here. It¡¯ll be better for you guys to reflect on yourself for a bit.¡¹

    What was this guy saying?

    Benge was also protesting.

    ¡¸What are you saying after smashing your way into here with armor while an important ceremony is in progress! In the first ce, how did you enter here? The military around the sacred tree temple©¤©¤¡¹

    Leon wasughing flippantly.

    ¡¸Haha~, it was really difficult you know. After all I had entered this ce since yesterday. A certain someone ordered to have my mansion watched, so it was really time consuming to set up some tricks.¡¹

    Loic clicked his tongue and ordered the soldiers who rushed inside to fire.

    ¡¸Kill him!¡¹

    It was stupid of him toe out from his armor.

    He was exposing his flesh body.

    Noelle yelled at Leon.

    ¡¸Leon run!¡¹

    Then Loic who was irritated by that©¤©¤pulled his left hand toward himself.

    A chain appeared from Noelle¡¯s cor and she was pulled toward Loic.

    Loic¡¯s arm constricted around Noelle¡¯s neck.

    ¡¸Shut up!¡¹

    Seeing that, Leon tossed his submachine gun into the cockpit.

    The soldiers around him were firing their guns at him, but an invisible wall was blocking the bullets from hitting him.

    Leon threw off his white glove and pointed his right hand at Loic and others.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Don¡¯t keep getting cocky. Kneel.¡¹

    Right after that, behind Leon©¤©¤behind Arroganz, arge magic circle formed.

    It was arge magic circle that was almost six meter in isze©¤©¤the crest of the guardian.

    Loic and others turned speechless in front of the guardian¡¯s crest that was shining faint green.

    Noelle was also the same.

    (Why is the crest on Leon©¤©¤even though, I still haven¡¯t chose)

    Noelle only learned now that the sapling had given the guardian¡¯s crest to Leon.

    .

    Part 3

    Leon possessed the guardian¡¯s crest.

    Louise was rooted on the spot at that sight. She ignored the mor Hughes was making beside her.

    ¡¸Why is that guy in the possession of the guardian¡¯s crest!? Louise, do you know about this by any chance!?¡¹

    The night of that day.

    Louise didn¡¯t return home and went back to Druille House in order to cooperate with Leon and others.

    She helped with their preparation from there.

    But right now what was more important was Leon¡¯s appearance.

    (©¤©¤Leon)

    Louise recalled her little brother©¤©¤Leon Sara Rault.

    It was something that happened before Leon died.

    His engagement with Noelle was decided and he was getting into high spirits because he would be able to be the guardian.

    She remembered Albergue making a troubled face at that itme.

    But, he also looked happy to hear that his son would be able to be the guardian.

    She recalled her conversation with her excited little brother at that time.

    (Yes, if I¡¯m not mistaken©¤©¤Leon said to me©¤©¤)

    The young Leon said to Louise.

    ¡ºOnee-chan, I¡¯m the next guardian you know! Amazing right!¡»

    ¡ºIt¡¯s amazing but, I wonder if Leon can really be the guardian. Because, the guardian is a splendid person you know?¡»

    ¡ºI can! When I be the guardian, I¡¯ll be a guardian that protect everyone.¡»

    ¡ºEveryone?¡»

    ¡ºYep! The sacred tree and the priestess, and then the nobles and themoners too©¤©¤I¡¯ll protect all the people in themonwealth!¡»

    ¡ºEe~, I wonder if Leon can really protect them. Even though you can¡¯t even win against me.¡»

    ¡ºI-I¡¯ll win against Onee-chan soon! And then I¡¯ll also protect Onee-chan!¡»

    ¡ºYes yes. I¡¯ll be waiting without expecting too much.¡»

    ¡ºYou said it! I¡¯ll protect Onee-chan for sure so remember it!¡»

    Her little brother who said something like that was too adorable that she hugged him.

    But©¤©¤a few months after that Leon died.

    He was buried under a cold tombstone with rain falling in drops at the day of the burial.

    She recalled the words that the young Louise who was wearing a ck dress muttered in front of the tombstone.

    ¡ºYou liar©¤©¤even though you said that you will protect Onee-chan. ©¤©¤You won¡¯t be able to protect me if you die.¡»

    Her little brother couldn¡¯t be the guardian, and he also couldn¡¯t save the people.

    He couldn¡¯t even save himself.

    But©¤©¤in front of Louise, Leon appeared with the guardian¡¯s crest in him.

    (©¤©¤Leon)

    That overseas student Leon who came from Hohlfahrt Kingdom though, he gave an order in front of the soldiers of themonwealth.

    ¡¸Are you guys deaf? Your heads are too high you small fries. Prostrate before the guardian¡¯s crest!¡¹

    ©¤©¤That figure was far removed from the guardian who would protect everyone.

    .

    Part 4

    I could see clearly the people of Alzer in confusion before me.

    They must have no idea of what to do when I appeared with the guardian¡¯s crest.

    Even the head of Barriere House Benge was blinking in confusion.

    After all no matter how many times he looked, the crest floating behind me belonged to the guardian.

    ¡¸Now then, how about you return the bride now, you bunch of thieves. Do you know? The priestess and the guardian are one set. In other words, it¡¯s you guys who stole Noelle from me. No matter how you think about it, this is barbaric isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    From the convention of Alzer, it was Loic who was cutting in line.

    Well, the truth was I was the one who stole Noelle from Loic though.

    ¡¸Even so you guys are really shameless huh. You even hold a marriage ceremony this grand. Could it be, you guys are seriously thinking that Loic can be chosen as the guardian? No way. Just no way. Absolutely no way.¡¹

    I said everything I wanted to say in front of themonwealth bunch.

    There were a lot of annoying things that had happened, so I¡¯d spill out everything at this chance.

    From here Lambert¡¯s vexed face was also clearly visible.

    ¡¸This guardian thing, simply put a strong human who can protect the sacred tree will be the one chosen for the position right? Even though originally the possibility of the six great nobles being chosen is high, the sapling chose me©¤©¤about this, aren¡¯t you guys not chosen because you guys are just unreliable? In other words, the sapling is recognizing that I¡¯m stronger than even the six great nobles, isn¡¯t that right?¡¹

    After I said that, I could hear the surrounding saying things like ¡¸Don¡¯t screw around!¡¹¡¸You insolent!¡¹¡¸How dare you!¡¹ and the like. But it only sounded like the howl of losers for me.

    In fact, there was nothing but losers here.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the truth right? In the first ce, what could be the reason for the sacred tree to not choose any priestess and guardian until now?¡¹

    The surrounding instantly fell silent when I touched the sensitive problem for Alzer.

    It felt really good.

    I¡¯d stirred them up real good to vent my stress.

    U~n, provoking people and preaching at them made me feels like I¡¯ve be a big shot myself, it feels real good!

    It would feel really unpleasant if someone did something like that to me though! But I¡¯ll do it!

    ¡¸The sacred tree would choose the existence that should protect it, isn¡¯t that right? In other words©¤©¤it¡¯s saying that there isn¡¯t anyone worthy from among you guys isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not only the sapling, aren¡¯t you guys abandoned even by the sacred tree itself?¡¹

    The guests¡¯ anger was directed at me when Iughed.

    ¡¸But, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s you guys who lost against foreigner like me. Even the sacred tree will give up you all as hopeless.¡¹

    Oh, had they been bothered by it? the guests were getting red faced.

    Then I¡¯d poke more at where it hurt!

    ¡¸Don¡¯t be angry just because I hit the bull¡¯s eye. I¡¯m onlying here to take Noelle back. Even though I tried to take her back peacefully, I was shocked that you guys are getting strangely heated up.¡¹

    The traitor Fernand was looking up at me in frustration.

    And then he addressed me.

    ¡¸©¤©¤My apologies. This is also unexpected for us. If possible, I hope you can get down here. Let¡¯s talk.¡¹

    It was my principle to not trust a traitor.

    ¡¸There isn¡¯t any need for talk. Hand over my priestess. in and simple right? After all it looks like I¡¯ve the duty to protect the sapling and priestess. Sapling-chan will scold me if I don¡¯t take her back from you thieves.¡¹

    Fernand tried to keep persisting but, it seemed Loic reached the limit of his patience first.

    ¡¸You¡¯re just keep saying whatever you like since some time ago! I was the first one to love Noelle! Noelle belongs to me! I won¡¯t hand her to anyone. If someone is going to take her away, I¡¯d rather!¡¹

    Loic drew out the ceremonial sword hanging on his waist. Screams filled the venue.

    I immediately gave the instruction.

    ¡¸Luxion!¡¹

    ¡ºThere is no problem. ©¤©¤Do whatever master like.¡»

    A sword flew out from the cockpit.

    I caught that and unsheathed it while jumping down.

    There was five to six meters until the floor. It was a bit scary but I endured.

    Knights and soldiers stepped forward to stop me, so I reversed the single edge sword and struck them with the back of the de.

    A lot of the knights reliedpletely on their crest. They were shoddy when it came to purebat technique.

    ¡¸You sir knights of Alzer are really weak. It¡¯s falling mark for you guys if this is in the kingdom!¡¹

    I could hear Luxion¡¯s voice.

    ¡ºThe boys in the kingdom are training in order to finance the girls after all. They faced monster in dungeon risking their life to earn money and support the female students financially. Their strength are obtained at the end of such tearjerking effort.¡»

    Stop! I¡¯m crying.

    But, there was no choice but to be strong in such ce.

    Became strong, survive through the dungeons that were crawling with monsters, and obtained money.

    The strength that I obtained for that was being useful right now.

    I defeated the knights and soldiers and drew near to Loic, then I pointed my right hand.

    A crest was floating behind Loic. me came out from there and gathered onto Loic¡¯s right hand, creating a huge fireball.

    ¡¸Do you think that you can win against me without armor!¡¹

    ¡¸If it¡¯s the power of crest then I also have it! ©¤©¤But, I¡¯m not going to use it against you.¡¹

    When Loic fired the fireball, I split the fireball with my sword.

    The bisected fireball burst apart, leaving me unharmed.

    I watched Loic looking shocked and reversed my hold on my sowrd.

    I crouched and closed the distance with Loic. Without stopping©¤©¤I cut off his right arm.

    Perhaps from Loic¡¯s point of view it looked like I closed the distance in an instant.

    With his right arm severed, he became unable to receive energy from the sacred tree and the crest on his back vanished.

    I kicked Loic away, stepped on him, and then thrust my de into his left arm.

    Loic was screaming.

    ¡¸M-my arm! MY ARMMMMM!¡¹

    ¡¸Shut up. It¡¯s you who made me need to go this far.¡¹

    I took away the bracelet from Loic¡¯s left arm.

    The surrounding couldn¡¯t make any movement in front of us.

    Loic who tried to kill the priestess.

    And then, I who possessed the guardian¡¯s crest.

    They must be unable to think what they should do here.

    But, there should also be some people who would take action soon.

    I wore the bracelet that was sttered with blood on my left arm, then offered my hand to Noelle who was sitting on the floor.

    ¡¸Noelle,e.¡¹

    ©¤©¤But, Noelle was crying and rejected me.

    She shook her head and strongly rejected me.

    ¡¸Stop it. Why are you doing something like this! Even though I tried to forget you. You¡¯re really the worst, doing something like this! Do you know how much I©¤©¤how much I!¡¹

    ph_otome5_ill007

    I could understand Noelle¡¯s feeling, but there was no time so I forcefully carried her on my shoulder.

    When I shouldered the struggling Noelle, the people around surrounded us.

    When I looked at Loic, people who could use healing magic gathered around him and connected the arm that I severed.

    ¡¸Oh, you guys are going to oppose me who has the guardian¡¯s crest?¡¹

    Fernand came in front of me.

    He had a weapon in hand. He was also preparing to use the crest¡¯s power.

    ¡¸Even if you are the guardian, there is no way we can hand over the priestess to you!¡¹

    It seemed the surrounding also felt the same.

    They surrounded us and pointed their weapons and crests this way.

    ¡¸It¡¯s good that you have some guts to fight. But have you forgotten?¡¹

    Fernand yelled even when I looked up at Arroganz.

    ¡¸We also have armors at our side!¡¹

    Armors broke through windows and attacked Arroganz that had be unmanned.

    The surrounding thought that they would be able to focus on me after seeing the armors breaking through the windows.

    But©¤©¤na?ve.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t think that Arroganz can be stopped with just this much.¡¹

    Without any pilot inside, Arroganz turned toward the armors that were moving to grab at it©¤©¤and crushed their heads with its grips.

    Fernand was shocked.

    ¡¸It¡¯s moving even though it¡¯s empty? No, is there someone inside!?¡¹

    The correct answer was that it could move even without pilot. But there wasn¡¯t any need to teach him so I stayed quiet.

    ¡¸Look, open a path quickly. The guardian-sama is passing through! Wait, Noelle, don¡¯t struggle. I¡¯m begging you.¡¹

    ¡¸Let go! Just let go!¡¹

    Noelle was crying while struggling on my shoulder, so it was hard for me to carry her.

    Fernand yelled when he saw that.

    ¡¸Protect the priestess! Leon-dono, the priestess is refusing you. We can¡¯t let you pass through!¡¹

    Albergue-san came at that timing.

    ¡¸Everyone lower your weapon!¡¹

    Louise-san was also beside him.

    Albergue-san red at Benge who was sitting on the floor.

    ¡¸Benge, I¡¯ll question you in detailter. Also, I won¡¯t permit any rudeness to the guardian!¡¹

    The knights and soldiers lowered their weapon at the acting chairman¡¯s order.

    Fernand protested at Albergue-san.

    ¡¸Acting chairman, are you saying we should just overlook this!¡¹

    ¡¸Calm down. How can we bring out the weapons if we are going to talk. Also Fernand, I know that you are also involved in this.¡¹

    Fernand also looked down, and then he lowered his weapon.

    Benge sat down on the floor and held his head in his hands.

    ¡¸You idiot son¡¹

    And how was that idiot son Loic doing?

    Everyone¡¯s gaze gathered on him. The doctors were looking stumped.

    Albergue-san asked as everyone¡¯s representation.

    ¡¸How is Loic doing?¡¹

    The doctor answered.

    ¡¸T-that, after we connected his arm, he forced himself and went outside©¤©¤¡¹

    Right after that, an explosion urred somewhere in the sacred tree temple and the building started to shake.

    Louise-san looked at me.

    ¡¸Wait a second Leon-kun, things are over already.¡¹

    Please wait. Could you not make everything to be my fault?

    I certainly set up some bombs, but I still hadn¡¯t pushed the switch.

    ¡¸©¤©¤I still haven¡¯t pushed the switch though?¡¹

    There were a lot of people who made a face that asked You really set up some?. There were also some people who looked at each other wondering from where the explosion came from.

    Amidst them, Benge stood up and started to get flustered.

    ¡¸That idiot son, don¡¯t tell me he want to pile up even more shame on top of this!?¡¹

    .

    Part 5

    An armor smashed through the sacred tree temple¡¯s wall and went outside.

    It was an armor that Barriere House owned, a custom made one.

    The weapons of Alzer had the mechanism to receive energy from the sacred tree.

    It had the requirement that its pilot needed to have a crest, but its performance was several level above armor of simr specs.

    Themonwealth was undefeated in defensive battle because they were relying in the capability of this kind of weapon.

    And then, among the armors that Barriere House owned, there was armor that could only be used by the six great nobles.

    Originally it was given the role to stand out as amander¡¯s ride. It was designed with the premise that it would be a member of the six great nobles riding it with their capability to receive abundant energy from the sacred tree.

    Its frame wasrge and its crimson armor had sharp design.

    It was created to stand out. It looked like it had wings on its back.

    Its creation was putting emphasis on appearance, but its performance was also extremely high.

    Loic went into the cockpit and grabbed the control stick with his arms wrapped in bloody bandages.

    Red light was dwelling inside Loic¡¯s eyes.

    ¡¸Sacred tree! Lend me strength to burn everything to ash! Everything. Give everything to me!¡¹

    He forgot himself in his rage and moved the machine to do nothing but destroying everything.

    Crest formed behind the armor, increasing its power output.

    The output was increasing so much until it was burdening every part of the armor, then Loic drew out the armor¡¯s sword.

    me coiled around it. A sh flew out when he swung the sword.

    The me flew in the shape of crescent moon and destroyed the wall of the temple.

    The temple exploded and burned.

    ¡¸Burn! Burn everything! Noelle©¤©¤and that man too! BURN EVERYONE WHO DOESN¡¯T RECOGNIZE MEEEEE!!¡¹

    Loic felt that even more energy than usual was flowing into him from the sacred tree.

    His arms that were cut by Leon throbbed.

    His hatred was increasing with each throbbing.

    ¡¸Come out Leon. I¡¯ll kill you in front of Noelle¡¯s eyes. I¡¯ll make her regret for not choosing me©¤©¤¡¹

    The guests were running out from the temple.

    An airship and armors that were guarding the temple noticed themotion and approached.

    The airship and armors had the crest of Druille House. It seemed Hughes who ran away from the temple was boarding the ship.

    That Hughes called out to Loic.

    ¡ºLoic, stop it already! Don¡¯t destroy the temple. There was amunication from Nii-san that the n is already cancelled!¡»

    Loic¡¯s mouth took a crescent shape at Hughes who conveyed the instruction from Fernand.

    ¡¸You Fernand¡¯s flunky, don¡¯t order me around!¡¹

    Loic¡¯s armor pointed its left hand. me burst out from there and burned the airship that Hughes boarded.

    The airship was falling. The armors of Druille House aimed their weapons.

    ¡ºHughes-sama!¡»

    ¡ºLoic-dono, what have you done!¡»

    ¡ºStop it right away!¡»

    Loic cut down the airship and armors that were converging toward him with his sword.

    The shed armors exploded.

    ¡¸Stop? I don¡¯t give a damn anymore to the n! I©¤©¤I just need Noelle alone, and yet!¡¹

    Bloodshot red light was dwelling inside the eyes of Loic who wasughing while crying.

    Then Arroganz that was boarded by the hateful Leon flew out from the temple.

    ¡ºAa~aa, now you¡¯re rampaging. Even though I nned to finish it more peacefully.¡»

    When Leon came out, the crest shining on the armor¡¯s back brightened.

    Loic yelled at Leon.

    ¡¸So you show up©¤©¤fiendish knight!¡¹

    The red armor flew toward Arroganz to stab it with its sword.

    Arroganz dodged that and swung the battle axe that it took out from the backpack just as the armor passed through. The shoulder armor was cut off.

    ¡ºToo shallow huh.¡»

    Loic felt like his head was boiling from rage, even so he observed Leon¡¯s movement.

    (Shit-! You damn barbarian from the kingdom! It looks like he is used to pilot armor. But, he dodged my attack, that means he want to avoid a contest of power©¤©¤I have the advantage in size. I¡¯ll ovee this battle with the difference in specs!)

    The red armor was bigger than Arroganz.

    From the appearance, it felt like the red armor was stronger in mass and power.

    ¡¸It looks like you¡¯re confident in your armor¡¯s specs, but my armor is custom made by Barriere House! It also has no worry of running out of mana with the energy supply from the sacred tree. But, how about you? Even if you can receive energy from the sapling, it won¡¯t even be a fight against the sacred tree!!¡¹

    Even if both sides were receiving backup from sacred tree, the sacred tree that had supported themonwealth for many years and the sapling were far too different in power level no matter how one looked at it.

    Armor specs.

    Sacred tree¡¯s divine protection.

    Taking all of those into consideration, it was a difference that couldn¡¯t be overcame no matter what with just the pilot¡¯s skill©¤©¤that was what Loic thought.

    The red armor swung around its sword and started to push back Arroganz.

    The knights and soldiers of themonwealth who were watching that©¤©¤the airships and the armors were watching without taking any action.

    In their heart they wished for Leon to lose.

    When the red armor swung down its sword, Arroganz blocked it with its battle axe.

    The me that was coiling around the sword vanished and the de shined brighter.

    ph_otome5_ill008

    The heat increased further, melting the battle axe while cutting through it.

    ¡¸I¡¯ll bisect you just like this!¡¹

    Then©¤©¤there was a voice other than Leon.

    ¡ºHow long are you nning to y around, master?¡»

    Leon answered that voice with a tone of enjoyment.

    ¡ºNo, it looks like he is getting heated up, so I thought of making it more dramatic.¡»

    Leon didn¡¯t show any sign of panicking.

    Loic thought he was bluffing.

    ¡¸You impudent!¡¹

    Leon¡¯s voice deepened as though to tell him that he was getting serious.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll teach you the correct way to take mount position, greenhorn.¡»

    .

    Part 6

    Loic was nning to win against Arroganz by relying on the armor¡¯s spec.

    Luxion was irritated by that.

    ¡ºI can¡¯t go along with master¡¯s game.¡»

    ¡¸Don¡¯t say that. The spectators are also getting excited aren¡¯t they?¡¹

    The voices of Alzer¡¯s people that Luxion intercepted could be heard.

    ¡ºDestroy that kingdom¡¯s armor!¡»

    ¡ºI-is it alright for us to not help? The acting chairman order us to stop Loic-sama©¤©¤¡»

    ¡ºWe couldn¡¯t get near. We just need to say that. It¡¯s a judgment made based on the on-site situation!¡»

    What a horrible bunch.

    Well, the military in this area was from Barriere House and Druille House.

    I never expected them to proactively help me.

    Loic¡¯s armor turned its sword¡¯s de red like a heat sword.

    It was a weapon to melt the enemy armor while cutting through with its high heat.

    ¡ºMaster¡»

    It seemed Luxion was irritated with me who was pretending to be in a disadvantage.

    It must be vexing for him that Arroganz was losing.

    ¡¸What an impatient guy. ©¤©¤The fun is only starting from now.¡¹

    Arroganz was backing away from the push of therger armor, but then I gradually increased the engine¡¯s power while the armors were in sword-locking contest.

    Arroganz that had been pushed back until now stopped moving©¤©¤and slowly started to push Loic¡¯s armor back.

    I could hear Loic¡¯s panicked voice.

    ¡ºIs the power output decreasing!? Dammit, this piece of junk!¡»

    Loic was ming the armor. He couldn¡¯t see the reality.

    ¡¸Loic, don¡¯t you me the armor. That armor is excellent. The disappointing one©¤©¤is you.¡¹

    Blue me burst form Arroganz¡¯s engine nozzle and started to push back the red armor.

    And then I also took out a sword from the backpack.

    Arroganz took it with its left hand and cut Loic¡¯s sword with it.

    ¡º©¤©¤Wha-!¡»

    The severed de twirled in the air. When it stabbed into the ground, white smoke burst out with sizzling sound from how hot it was.

    ¡¸Slow reaction. Not the armor, but the pilot.¡¹

    When Arroganz kicked, the red armor bent backward and got sent flying.

    The pilot¡¯s skill was shoddy and couldn¡¯t fix the armor¡¯s posture midair.

    Arroganz threw its battle axe and cut off the left arm of the red armor that was slowly trying to get up.

    Screams came from the onlookers, but it sounded like cheers for me.

    ¡¸That armor is wasted on you~. You can only use it to this degree even though its specs are that high. The ck knight old man was far scarier than this. If that person ride that armor, it would bepletely out of hand.¡¹

    It gave me a chill recalling that time.

    The memory of me screwing around and gotten beaten up viciously ising back.

    I didn¡¯t want to go through something like that anymore but©¤©¤it was necessary today so I¡¯d screw around.

    ¡¸Haha~, I¡¯m really d that you¡¯re my opponent. Because©¤©¤even with the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection, you¡¯re still small fry at the inside. Besides, the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection is also not a big deal at all!¡¹

    When Iughed, I could hear the onlookers sending their anger at me.

    Their conversations that Luxion picked up were only repeating things like ¡ºPlease allow us to shoot that guy!¡» or ¡ºThat bastard, how dare he make fun of us!¡» or ¡ºPlease give the permission to attack that guy!¡».

    The weak point of Alzer¡¯s people was speech that called them small fries who could only rely on their crest huh!

    I¡¯d remember it firmly in mind.

    The red armor was standing up.

    I watched it standing up while provoking Loic.

    ¡¸Come on, get serious. Or perhaps this is already your best? Try defeating me with the divine protection you¡¯re so proud of. Cause I¡¯ll take you on! Give it your all©¤©¤cause I¡¯ll crush you like the small fry you are no matter what you do!¡¹

    I would face the opponent who challenged me with their full power, defended against everything using the difference in armor specs, and won on top of that.

    That was the correct way of taking mount position.

    The red armor¡¯s crest on its back erged even more and even zed up.

    Several fireballs were fired from there, but Arroganz easily dodged them.

    The fireballs themselves were huge, but they had no speed.

    Also they had no density.

    They only swelled up bigly.

    Although he was receiving a lot of energy, he was unable to control it.

    It was just like a shower¡¯s nozzle.

    Even if the shower had a lot of water supply, the nozzle clogged the flow and only a bit of the water could spray out.

    It was really a waste.

    ¡¸Oi oi, is that the best you can do? There is a limit in how disappointing you can be. Don¡¯t you have any other hidden ace? The armor¡¯s appearance is really deceptive! Are you perhaps running out of trick alreadyyy!¡¹

    When Iughed, the red armor charged at Arroganz.

    I put away the weapon and made Arroganz stopped the approaching red armor©¤©¤with one hand.

    Even though the armors collided midair, Arroganz almost wasn¡¯t moved at all. The red armor that got its momentum killed was the one that got bounced back by the impact. Its armor was dented from the collision.

    Loic must be getting shaken intensely inside there.

    I kicked the armor flying so that there was a distance created between us, then I made Arroganz held a rifle.

    I aimed the rifle¡¯s muzzle and told Loic where I was going to shoot.

    ¡¸I¡¯m aiming at your right leg, so let¡¯s see how you block or dodge it.¡¹

    ¡ºKuh!¡»

    Loic let out a pained voice and tried to escape by materializing the crest in front of the armor to be used as shield.

    Luxion spoke when he saw that.

    ¡ºThat shield pattern has already been analyzed.¡»

    When I pulled the trigger, the bullet pierced through the right leg of the red armor that was darting around and destroyed it.

    Naturally the shield was also pierced through.

    Loic was losing hisposure seeing that.

    ¡ºTh-the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection is pierced©¤©¤¡»

    ¡¸Don¡¯t think that other country won¡¯t take any countermeasure forever. Just piercing through your prided divine protection is already possible.¡¹

    Well, it was a lie.

    But saying that would instigate their sense of danger more.

    ¡¸Yosh, next is your right arm.¡¹

    It looked like Loic couldn¡¯t ept what just happened. He used the power of his crest toyer even more shields.

    Heyered three shields and even thickened them further.

    ¡º©¤©¤It¡¯s pointless.¡»

    It was just as Luxion said.

    When I pulled the trigger, the bullet pierced all those shields and blew away the red armor¡¯s right arm.

    ¡¸Let¡¯s speed it up! Next is your left leg!¡¹

    I was showing themonwealth the sight of the crest getting easily pierced and the newest armor of Barriere House getting beaten up.

    ¡¸What, is that thing just a target? I heard that Alzer¡¯s armor is powerful, but it¡¯s not as scary as the rumor made it out to be huh. If it¡¯s like this then it looks like we can just attack right away. Perhaps I¡¯ll advise his majesty to invade Alzer. I¡¯ll tell him, if we don¡¯t hurry then other country is going to snatch it from us, something like that! Themonwealth is going to be a nice hunting ground!¡¹

    When I said that while destroying Loic¡¯s armor, the military of themonwealth around us were starting to get scared.

    I approached the red armor that had lost its limbs and lifted it up by grabbing its head.

    I pressed the rifle¡¯s muzzle on the cockpit and talked to Loic.

    ¡¸You¡¯re really just a small fry. It¡¯s disappointing that the sacred tree¡¯s divine protection is only this much.¡¹

    ¡ºD-dammit¡»

    I could hear Loic¡¯s frustrated voice.

    I was the one frustrated here.

    If only you were more decent©¤©¤if only you interacted with Noelle normally, it wouldn¡¯t be like this.

    The development of Noelle falling in love with me wouldn¡¯t be possible.

    There was a limit in how jealous you could be.

    ¡¸Perhaps Noelle hated you because you¡¯re this weak. You put on airs even though you¡¯re a weakling, then you caused trouble by dragging your surrounding too©¤©¤you¡¯re the worst. I can understand how Noelle can hate you.¡¹

    ¡ºYou bastard understand nothing! Just what do you know©¤©¤I like Noelle! I love her!¡»

    ¡¸Too bad! Noelle doesn¡¯t like you, much less loving you. Rather she hate your guts!¡¹

    She never said anything like that, but with her current state there was no way she would be able to ept him anymore.

    If a girl I liked told me ¡¸I hate your guts¡¹©¤©¤it made me wanted to cry just imagining it. I didn¡¯t feel like I would be able to get back on my feet anymore if Ange and Livia said something like that to me.

    It seemed Loic was also the same.

    ¡ºIf only. If only you never appeared in front of us!¡»

    ¡¸It would still be the same. Even then Noelle wouldn¡¯t choose you.¡¹

    ¡ºYOUUUUUUU!!¡»

    He still tried resisting even with a gun muzzle pointed at him. He didn¡¯t try begging for his life or anything.

    This guy was really troublesome.

    Loic¡¯s heart didn¡¯t show any sign of breaking at all.

    But the military that was watching this battle was about to get their heart broken instead.

    An owner of great noble crest couldn¡¯t win against Arroganz even after piloting the best armor of themonwealth.

    Far from winning, he even got toyed around. In front of such reality, they were shown just how weak they were.

    Luxion warned me.

    ¡ºMaster, the enemy armor is running out of control. It¡¯s going to explode due to excessive supply of energy. Please withdraw immediately.¡»

    ¡¸Eh? Oi, can Loic escape from there!?¡¹

    ¡ºPerhaps he himself has noticed but©¤©¤it looks like he has no intention of escaping.¡»

    ¡¸Shit!¡¹

    I stored away the rifle and made Arroganz forcefully opened the cockpit¡¯s hatch. I saw Loic inside.

    His face that was ring at me was oozing out madness.

    ¡¸Get out from there already you stupid bastard!¡¹

    Loic wasughing.

    ¡ºI¡¯ll take you to hell with me. I¡¯ll self-explode just like this. I¡¯ll blow you to smithereens!¡»

    Wooden roots grew out from Loic¡¯s crest and entangled Arroganz.

    ¡¸What!?¡¹

    Luxion reproached me.

    ¡ºThis is because master keep ying around.¡»

    Luxion wrestled the control from me and Arroganz forcefully started to tear off the roots and ivies.

    After that it immediately grabbed Loic and tore him away from the cockpit.

    The red armor was going out of control and let out smokes. Arroganz kicked it away and it exploded grandly in the air.

    Arroganz covered Loic with both hands while taking distance from the explosion©¤©¤Luxion was puzzled by the power of the explosion.

    ¡º©¤©¤The explosion¡¯s power is bigger than expected.¡»

    ¡¸That was dangerous.¡¹

    ¡ºThe power of the crest also had bigger output than expected. It¡¯s concerning.¡»

    ¡¸Either way, everything is over with this.¡¹

    Loic had fainted when wended slowly on the ground.

    .

    Part 7

    Loic was surrounded by soldiers when he opened his eyes.

    ¡¸©¤©¤This ce¡¹

    His arms and legs were receiving treatment, but the doctors looked at his right hand and shook their head.

    ¡¸My lord, it¡¯s unfortunate but young master¡¯s divine protection is vanishing.¡¹

    Benge looked down on Loic with cold eyes, but he immediately didn¡¯t even look at him anymore.

    ¡¸Protectionless huh©¤©¤well, this guy cannot be used anymore anyway. Proceed with the disinheritance procedure. There are other important things right now. Dealing with the aftermath is going to be troublesome.¡¹

    Arroganz was there ahead of Benge¡¯s gaze.

    He was looking really frustrated.

    They lost not only in airship, but also armor technology.

    No, it seemed his frustration stemmed from the defeat of the six great nobles.

    When Loic lifted up his upper body while receiving treatment, Noelle came with Leon in tow.

    Around her there were also the noble youths from the kingdom other than Leon following along like guards.

    Noelle crouched when she arrived at Loic¡¯s side and put her gaze at the same level of his.

    Loic looked at Noelle andughed flippantly.

    ¡¸Are you here tough at me? Are you here tough at me who lost pathetically and even lost my divine protection? But, I still won¡¯t give up. Noelle, you are mi©¤©¤¡¹

    Noelle pped him.

    Loic immediately red at Noelle, but his expression changed into bewilderment.

    ¡¸W-why are you crying?¡¹

    Noelle was crying.

    Tears were dripping down inrge drops from her eyes.

    Noelle looked down to not show her face and spoke loudly.

    ¡¸I! I grew to hate you not because you are weak! Loic, you, one day you started treating me like an object. No matter what I did you would say that I wasn¡¯t appropriate for you, that you would buy me more expensive things!¡¹

    It was the story before Loic got hated.

    When he became close with Noelle, there was one time when they identally met in the city and had good time together.

    At that time, Loic wanted Noelle to be a woman who was appropriate for him andined at Noelle¡¯s conducts. From Loic¡¯s perspective he was just giving her advice.

    ¡¸T-that was for your sake!¡¹

    ¡¸I! ©¤©¤I would be fine with just normal things. Having fun together, eating, shopping©¤©¤I wanted to enjoy them more. And yet, you rejected everything of me.¡¹

    Loic recalled what Noelle said to him.

    When Noelle said that she wanted to ride a boat, he refused her by saying that he would prepare an airship.

    When they were going to have meal, Noelle wanted to enter a restaurant that was just slightly expensive, but he said that such restaurant was unpleasant and headed to a high ss restaurant.

    When shopping too, the essory that Noelle wanted was cheap thing, so he rejected it and gave her a present of something that was to his liking.

    Noelle said.

    ¡¸I¡¯m not a good match for you. I realized that and stop going out with you. and yet, you chased me around. You even put a cor that couldn¡¯t be taken off for life on me!¡¹

    The cursed cor that was around Noelle¡¯s neck.

    Leon was wearing the bracelet for the master.

    Noelle stared at Loic sadly.

    ¡¸Loic©¤©¤are you, really looking at me? You wouldn¡¯t recognize me. I didn¡¯t want that, that was why I came to hate you.¡¹

    Loic couldn¡¯t say anything back. It was then Albergue and Louise came with some people in tow.

    Among them there was also Lelia with Emile escorting her.

    Noelle asked Loic.

    ¡¸Loic, do you know what my favorite thing is?¡¹

    Loic hung his head down.

    ©¤©¤He was shocked to realize that he didn¡¯t know even one thing that Noelle liked.

 Chapter 139 - Volume 5 Chapter 12

    Volume 5 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12 ¨C Ordinary Day

    .

    Part 1

    The next day after crashing into the marriage ceremony.

    I had returned to the mansion and facing Noelle right now.

    Noelle pped me.

    I could dodge it but©¤©¤I chose to receive it.

    ¡¸Are you satisfied?¡¹

    ¡¸You¡¯re really the worst. Even though you don¡¯t think anything of me, you came to save me©¤©¤don¡¯t make have any strange expectation like this!¡¹

    The reason for Noelle¡¯s anger wasplicated.

    It seemed she was thankful that I came to save her but, she was angry at why a man with fianc¨¦es was doing something like this.

    It was only natural for her to have such thoughts.

    To be honest©¤©¤I found it hard to understand why she chose me.

    Just what was going on with my popr period?

    Was it because such period never came in my previous life that it was now descending on me with interests?

    Noelle shed tears and she wiped it with her hand.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t make me expecting anything like this. Even though I want to forget©¤©¤I won¡¯t be able to forget if you do something like this.¡¹

    I would return to the kingdom in less than a year.

    Noelle¡¯s treatment was still not decided but, we couldn¡¯t be together even if I brought her back with me.

    ¡¸I¡¯m sorry. Even so©¤©¤I wanted to save you.¡¹

    Noelle shook her head at my apology.

    ¡¸Actually I also want to thank you. I want thank you a lot! But©¤©¤spare me from this. It¡¯s painful to fall in love with someone who has fianc¨¦e.¡¹

    I almost reached out at the crying Noelle.

    I thought whether I should hug her but I gave up.

    I couldn¡¯t do anything even if I gave her kind words here.

    I had finished with my apology so I went outside leaving Noelle in the room.

    Luxion and Creare were waiting outside the room.

    ¡ºOh, master isn¡¯t going to hug and console her?¡»

    ¡ºMaster is really a sinful man. I totally respect you.¡»

    Annoying AIs.

    ¡¸Say whatever you like. Rather than that, when are you going to return Creare?¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯ll return soon. After all I¡¯m also worried about overt here. I¡¯ll also have to check on how the bad children are doing.¡»

    ¡¸Bad children?¡¹

    ¡ºSecret!¡»

    What was she hiding?

    I wanted to ask her but if Creare was going back then I wanted her to deliver letters souvenirs.

    I also needed to prepare various things so I started walking. Luxion and Creare were also floating up and down alongside me.

    Luxion talked to me about the case this time.

    ¡ºAbout Loic, he really tried to erase master. He tried to do that only behind the scenes with nothing but underhanded tricks but, there is no doubt that he was a troublesome opponent.¡»

    ¡¸That guy is really scary huh. His specs were pointlessly high. I wonder why the capture targets are all pointlessly capable.¡¹

    When I turned my gaze at the courtyard that was visible from this corridor, I saw Julius and others doing barbeque there.

    Julius was standing alone in front of the grill and handed out meat skewers to everyone.

    ¡¸Yeah, this is done. Jilk, take this.¡¹

    ¡¸No your highness. Your highness has been doing nothing but cooking since the beginning, so I¡¯ll take your ce now.¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m doing this because I like it. Don¡¯t mind it, just have fun.¡¹

    Those guys had helped a lot with infiltrating the venue, so I gave them a special bonus which they used for this barbeque.

    It looked like they were having fun at the garden.

    Marie was gulping down a mug of nicely chilled beer in one go.

    ¡¸Kaaaah! It¡¯s seeping right inside me~¡¹

    What a hearty drinking style.

    Even though her appearance was that of a teenage girl, she was drinking and eating like a middle-aged man.

    Cara brought some skewered meats for Marie.

    ¡¸Marie-sama, what a splendid drinking! Here, please eat this too! There are also a lot of meats! The vegetables too!¡¹

    ¡¸Muhohoho! This is the best! Cara, you eat a lot too. We¡¯ll stuff ourselves full while we can. We don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be able to do this again after all.

    ¡¸Yes Marie-sama!¡¹

    I wondered why it made me wanted to cry when I watched Marie and others.

    My eyes were blurry that I couldn¡¯t see well.

    Usually Kyle would be with Marie and Cara, but right now he had Yumeria-san hovering around him.

    ¡¸Kyle! Look, I got us some meat skewers. Aa~n¡¹

    ¡¸I-I can eat by myself! Also Kaa-san, you¡¯re eating nothing but meat! You need to eat your vegetables too!¡¹

    He must not wanted other people to see them mother and son getting along closely, but Yumeria-san was dejected by the refusal.

    Kyle wanted to console her mother who was like that, but he was unable to be honest with himself.

    ¡¸Ah youth¡¹

    ¡ºMaster too you know?¡»

    I ignored Luxion¡¯s retort and looked at Cordelia-san who was looking troubled at the courtyard.

    The reason she was troubled when looking around her was seeing how the noble youths who were highly acimed by everyone in the kingdom had ended up.

    Jilk was cing his used skewers on a strange te that had cracks on it.

    Brad who was feeding pigeon and rabbit saw that and asked him.

    ¡¸Jilk, that te is just garbage isn¡¯t it?¡¹

    ¡¸How rude. Can¡¯t you understand how wonderful this te is?¡¹

    ¡¸Now see here, I don¡¯t want to say it but, did you really seed as an antique dealer? I can¡¯t help but feel suspicious.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Brad-kun yourself, your im that you were sessful as a performer feels like a lie though? In the first ce, your magic trick is unskillful.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine even if it¡¯s unskillful. After all I received money for disying my perfect existence with the magic as an extra.¡¹

    These guys, I was worried when I heard they were driven out from the mansion, but it looked like they were living strong out there.

    The vitality that I felt from them was already at the level of cockroach.

    But, all of them©¤©¤their unique characteristic had grown even thicker nowpared to before they were driven out.

    Greg and Chris were also amazing.

    Chris warned Greg when he saw his appearance.

    ¡¸Greg, how about you wear some clothes?¡¹

    ¡¸Ah? I¡¯m wearing some already.¡¹

    ¡¸What are you saying when you are just wearing a single speedo?¡¹

    ¡¸You are stupid huh, Chris. Look carefully! How¡¯s it, my pectoral muscle!¡¹

    Greg¡¯s skin when he made a pose glistened under the sun.

    And then Chris who was warning Greg for his speedo appearance was also dressed in only a single loincloth.

    ¡¸That¡¯s just an underwear! Also muscles aren¡¯t clothes!¡¹

    ¡¸You yourself are just wearing a single cloth!¡¹

    ¡¸Are you idiot? I¡¯m also wearing a chest wrap.¡¹

    That ain¡¯t it you guys, I wanted to retort like that.

    It couldn¡¯t be helped that Cordelia-san was looking troubled.

    Cordelia-san who was in such state was talking with Julius.

    When I looked at Julius who was working up sweat with a refreshing smile in front of the grill©¤©¤it felt mysterious because he looked normal due to the other four being so terrible.

    Originally Julius was the crown prince of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    His position wouldn¡¯t allow him to do something like grilling meat.

    ¡¸S-say, your highness.¡¹

    ¡¸What is it?¡¹

    ¡¸Why are you grilling meats since the start? Should I relief you?¡¹

    Julius took off the grill¡¯s and shook off the scorched things that had gotten attached on it.

    ¡¸Everyone asked me that, but I feel the calmest when doing this. Besides, my experience is overwhelminglycking to be a fully fledged meat skewer cook. I want to umte experience from this kind of moment.¡¹

    What an admirable attitude©¤©¤not that.

    Just now, what did he say?

    Cordelia-san turned a cold look toward Julius.

    ¡¸Your highness is still a prince of Hohlfahrt Kingdom, you won¡¯t be able to be something like a cook I believe?¡¹

    She made a calm retort.

    Julius made the tongs opened and closed with cking sounds while answering Cordelia-san.

    ¡¸Don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll be good if there is at least one prince who mastered the way of grilling meat?¡¹

    ¡¸I don¡¯t think so.¡¹

    Cordelia-san answered instantly. Seeing her, I got the feeling that I would be able to get along well with this person.

    As fellow person ofmon sense that is.

    When I looked down at Marie and others from the window like this, it made felt a little bit absurd.

    ¡¸Looks like those guys are having fun.¡¹

    Creare suggested to me to invite Noelle.

    ¡ºThen how about master invite Noelle-chan and join them?¡»

    ¡¸Stu~pid. It¡¯ll only make the atmosphere feel awkward even though they¡¯re having fun right now. More importantly, I need to prepare before you return. Come on, let¡¯s get going.¡¹

    I brought Luxion and Creare toward the harbor.

    .

    Part 2

    The barbeque ended at the evening.

    A guest came at that timing. It was Marie who entertained the guest.

    The guest was©¤©¤Louise.

    After she weed her in, Louise said that she had a business with Noelle so Marie brought her there.

    But the atmosphere was awkward.

    Marie wasn¡¯t close with Louise, and Noelle had bad rtionship with Louise.

    Besides, Noelle was depressed right now and wasn¡¯t lively at all.

    (Could it be that big bro, is the type to run away when he think that it will be a bloodbath? He is always gone when there is an important scene, is it because he detected the danger? I guess not. That big bro has no such ability.)

    Louise sighed while Marie was escaping from reality like that and approached Noelle.

    And then she pped her.

    *p-!* Such sound echoed inside the room, then Noelle got angry after a dy.

    ¡¸W-what are you doing!¡¹

    Louise looked at Noelle and made a ridiculing smile.

    ¡¸I got the desire to p you because you are making this face of, I¡¯m so unfortunate boo hoo. You¡¯re really an extravagant woman huh. I wonder if you know just how much Leon-kun was running around for your sake?¡¹

    ¡¸T-that¡¯s©¤©¤it¡¯s because Leon is kind.¡¹

    ¡¸No one would go as far as picking a fight with Alzer just from mere kindness. Your head really is filled with flowers.¡¹

    Marie knew about the actual situation.

    The reason Leon saved Noelle was for avoiding the danger to the world.

    But, as for what Leon himself was actually thinking, she could only imagine it.

    (This is big bro we are talking about, so surely he saved her thinking she is pitiful. Even then he can¡¯t answer the girl¡¯s feeling©¤©¤he is really the worst since the past.)

    In their previous life simr things also happened several times although in smaller scale.

    Her big brother¡¯s romantic life was irritating so she didn¡¯t get involved but©¤©¤well, he had been a dense big brother even when she thought back like this.

    Louise approached Noelle until the distance when their nose touched each other.

    ¡¸I hate you. I hate you for living carefreely without knowing anything. Even now you still haven¡¯t noticed just how happy you have it.¡¹

    ¡¸D-do you know just how much hardships we had gone through!? Everything was because of your house¡¯s fault!¡¹

    ¡¸Oh, is that so? You two could enroll into the academy easygoingly even though your house was destroyed, who do you think you need to thank for that? Are you seriously thinking that the background of you sisters could bepletely hidden with just the effort of your retainers?¡¹

    Noelle averted her gaze from Louise.

    ¡¸I©¤©¤don¡¯t know anything about that. We were just told to enroll into the academy.¡¹

    Louise folded her arms.

    ¡¸It was really a bothersome situation. ©¤©¤But, the person who is the most bothered is Leon-kun who saved you. Noelle, what are you going to do after this?¡¹

    Noelle looked down and shook her head.

    ¡¸I still haven¡¯t decided. I haven¡¯t decided yet.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Go back to the academy for a while. It looks like Otou-sama will also permit it. it seems that it¡¯ll also be fine even if you follow Leon-kun when he go back to his country. It¡¯s also fine even if you stay behind though.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh?¡¹

    When Noelle lifted her face, Louise shrugged her shoulders.

    ¡¸Do as you like, that¡¯s what I¡®m saying. Decide your future course before Leon-kun and others return home. Ie here today to tell you that.¡¹

    When Louise left the room, Noelle was rooted on the spot.

    But, it was Marie who was the most troubled.

    (Why is thest boss and the viiness are helping the main character!? Aaaaaa!! I don¡¯t get it at allllll!!)

    Even though she wouldn¡¯t need to worry about anything if things were simpler©¤©¤Marie held her head in her hands because she couldn¡¯t predict the future development.

    .

    Part 3

    Creare had returned©¤©¤calm came back to themonwealth around the middle of the second semester.

    It was really chaotic in themonwealth at the first semester and the summer vacation.

    Because of that, the academy¡¯s events©¤©¤the romance events if you said it in otome game terminology, they were all crushed.

    That happened also because the six great nobles caused scandals in session.

    At the academy rooftop.

    I gave half of the lunch bread that I purchased to Marie while talking with Lelia.

    We were talking about what to do now.

    But it didn¡¯t be a useful dialogue.

    Lelia wasining too today.

    ¡¸What now! Really what now!? All the events are crushed even though a long vacation is going to arrive soon, this ispletely unexpected!¡¹

    I agreed with what Lelia said.

    I heard that when a girl was angry, it was pointless even if you replied logically.

    It seemed it would be better if you agreed with her ¡¸It¡¯s troublesome isn¡¯t it~¡¹ in sympathy.

    ¡¸That¡¯s right isn¡¯t it. It¡¯s troublesome isn¡¯t it~. Oi Marie! Don¡¯t eat them all!¡¹

    The brown paper bag that was filled with several small croissants was almost emptied.

    Marie apologized.

    ¡¸Hah!? S-sorry. I had my head full with eating.¡¹

    Lelia yelled angrily because the topic was diverted.

    ¡¸It¡¯s the fault of you guys! Pierre is gone, Loic is also gone, Hughes too has his engagement cancelled, but he doesn¡¯t have any g with big sis! Narcisse-sensei was rounded up to help his family and is gone from the academy, what are we going to do now!¡¹

    About Loic, he didn¡¯te to the academy using injury as excuse.

    As for Hughes, he ran away leaving Louise-san alone when the incident happened. Because of that their engagement was cancelled.

    That was the reason at the surface, but the true reason was because Fernand betrayed Albergue-san.

    And then the six great nobles that were in mayhem called Narcisse-sensei back and they moved around in confusion.

    They were busy with things like dealing with other countries, or apologizing to the kingdom.

    Lelia stood in front of us with her hands on her waist to emphasize that she was angry.

    This girl, so she could act cute huh.

    ¡¸Are you two listening to what I¡¯m saying!?¡¹

    ¡¸I¡¯m listening. In other words, you have no idea of how to deal with thest boss right?¡¹

    ¡¸That¡¯s right. Really what are we going to do now.¡¹

    While Lelia was holding her head in her hands, Luxion who had been keeping quiet until now while observing the situation showed himself.

    Lelia went ¡¸Hyah!¡¹ in surprise, but Luxion ignored her.

    ¡ºUltimately there is no need to worry about thest boss. In the first ce, what master and Marie are worrying about is themonwealth¡¯s situation after thest boss is defeated.¡»

    ¡¸Eh? After it¡¯s defeated?¡¹

    ¡ºI¡¯m currently hastening my analysis of the sacred tree, but I have judged that it¡¯s possible to deal with it using the attack of my main body. What¡¯s important is how well we will be able to calm down themonwealth after that happened.¡»

    Lelia opened her eyes wide.

    ¡¸Y-you can do something like that?¡¹

    ¡ºYes. It¡¯s also possible for me to sink thisnd right away.¡»

    Lelia grabbed my cor when she heard that dangerous talk.

    ¡¸Hey, what is he saying!? What is he saying!? These guy¡¯s words are really scary! I got the feeling that he is saying something like sinking Alzer if things be hopeless though!¡¹

    It was incorrigible because it was the fact.

    I didn¡¯t know how I should answer her©¤©¤so I glossed it over byughing.

    ¡¸Fuhahaha!¡¹

    ¡¸Don¡¯t gloss it over! Gloss it over, wait, that means he really can do that!? Hey, can he really do that!? Or rather, this guy is going to do something like that!?¡¹

    Luxion answered sincerely.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s only if the situation is really hopeless. I don¡¯t mind doing that right away, but master won¡¯t give me permission.¡»

    I soothed down Lelia.

    ¡¸That¡¯s how it is. If possible I want things to end up in the ideal state, I¡¯ll also help out to take care of the aftermath©¤©¤anyway don¡¯t worry about thest boss. We will deal with it if things really be hopeless,.¡¹

    Marie nodded with a croissant in her mouth.

    ¡¸Yeah. That¡¯s why don¡¯t worry.¡¹

    That was unsightly, I wished you would finish eating before speaking.

    Leli let go of me and casted her gaze down.

    ¡¸T-that means, this country will sink depending on your mood.¡¹

    ¡¸What a rude fellow. No way we are going to do something like that.¡¹

    Lelia wasn¡¯t really listening after that when we resumed talking.

    Did I threaten her too much?

    .

    Part 4

    On the way home from the academy.

    Lelia was walking totteringly.

    She refused Emile¡¯s invitation to send her until home and walked back alone like this because she wanted to think alone.

    (This is bad. That Luxion is even more dangerous than expected. That¡¯s right, that guy is a paid item that came out in the first game. It¡¯s not normal.)

    The game bnce of that otome game¡¯s first title was strange.

    It was so unbnced the yers needed to buy paid item to clear it.

    Among the paid items, the weapon called Luxion possessed an overwhelming ability.

    (I don¡¯t know how to deal with something like that when it appears in reality. Depending on those guys¡¯ mood, even I might be coteral damage if I¡¯m unlucky.)

    When she thought about what Alzer had done to Leon until now, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for him to umte dissatisfaction.

    She didn¡¯t know when that dissatisfaction would blow up.

    In addition, it was the six great nobles that were meddling with Leon.

    She had no way to stop them.

    (This is like being told that there is an even more powerful enemy than thest boss.)

    It felt like someone else was having life-and-death power over her.

    She couldn¡¯t stay calm at all.

    Besides, she also couldn¡¯t trust Leon.

    After all he was that kind of human who did extreme things in order to take back Noelle.

    Lelia was unbearably anxious.

    (If it¡¯s like this then I need power that can oppose him©¤©¤but, is there any weapon in Alzer than can oppose Luxion? It¡¯ll be possible if it¡¯s the same paid item but©¤©¤I won¡¯t be able to collect something like that by myself.)

    Unlike the academy of Hohlfahrt Kingdom, the academy of Alzer Commonwealth didn¡¯t teach the students the fundamental of being adventurer.

    Lelia herself had very little knowledge about that. It was impossible for her to recover the item with her own strength.

    (That¡¯s right. I know the location. After that, if I can just obtain it©¤©¤)

    The paid item of the second game that she hadn¡¯t collected until now.

    While she was thinking of the method to collect the item, someone stood in front of Lelia.

    That man had his shirt unbuttoned on the chest area in this cold.

    His ck hair was swept back. He had healthy looking tanned skin.

    He was also tall. The muscles that were visible from the unbuttoned shirt were firm.

    The man©¤©¤Serge Sara Rault raised his hand and talked to Lelia amiably.

    ¡¸Yo, long time no see Lelia!¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Serge.¡¹

    He was none other than the fifth capture target.

    Although Lelia was surprised, she asked him where he had been going until now.

    ph_otome5_ill009

    ¡¸Y-you, where had you been until now!¡¹

    ¡¸Are you worried? I¡¯m happy. Oops, if you want to hear about my adventuring tale, do you want to eat together with me? It¡¯ll take a bit long after all. The adventure this time was just a bit tough you know. Really, how about we eat together? This is our reunion after so long after all, it¡¯s okay right?¡¹

    He had a really lighthearted attitude, but he was the heir of Rault House.

    He was Albergue¡¯s adopted son.

    This youth had quite a lot of rough spot in him, but he dreamed to be an adventurer©¤©¤and also, he was a reliable boy as an adventurer.

    Lelia gasped.

    (That¡¯s right. If I ask for Serge¡¯s help)

    Lelia epted Serge¡¯s invitation.

    ¡¸Fine. Let¡¯s go eat together.¡¹

    Serge was surprised.

    ¡¸That¡¯s rare of you. I thought that you would refuse but©¤©¤is it really alright?¡¹

    ¡¸What? We aren¡¯t going?¡¹

    ¡¸Stupid! Of course we are going! More importantly, what do you want to eat? It¡¯s a rare chance for us to eat together after all. Ask for anything!¡¹

    Lelia was relieved seeing Serge¡¯s delighted look.

    (Thank god that Serge is interested with me.)

    Lelia had dinner together with Serge that day.

    .

    Part 5

    Emile was waiting when Lelia returned home.

    It seemed that he had prepared dinner.

    ¡¸Lelia, about the dinner©¤©¤¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry, I have eaten.¡¹

    ¡¸I-I see.¡¹

    ¡¸Sorry Emile.¡¹

    Pleven House had prepared a mansion near the academy for Lelia¡¯s sake.

    It was nearer to the academy than her previous apartment. She was living together with Emile there.

    There were also several servants there, but the mansion itself wasn¡¯t especially big.

    Emile was thoughtful.

    He could cook and clean, and above all else he was kind.

    Lelia had no dissatisfaction with him.

    But, she felt that something wascking.

    (Even though he can eat first without waiting for me. This made the atmosphere heavy.)

    ¡¸Emile, about the next long vacation, I¡¯m going to have a bit of business to take care. That¡¯s why, I won¡¯t be able to go back home with you.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? Is that so? But, we have already promised.¡¹

    ¡¸Please. Don¡¯t ask me anything.¡¹

    (That guy is too dangerous. I have to obtain at least the same power no matter what.)

    She would go out adventuring with Serge in order to prepare countermeasure against Leon.

    She couldn¡¯t tell Emile about it.

    And then it would also trouble her if she was asked to exin in detail.

    Emile looked disappointed.

    ¡¸I, I see. But, let¡¯s at least give a quick greeting to my family. My big brothers are also waiting, we also need to talk about the future.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤okay.¡¹

    Lelia said that and the shut herself in her room.

    .

    Part 6

    Around the time the academy entered the long vacation.

    A single airship entered Alzer¡¯s harbor.

    It was Licorne with its characteristic white hull.

    Livia walked down the ramp and waved her hand to Ange while her hand was carrying arge traveling bag.

    ¡¸Ange, let¡¯s go quickly!¡¹

    Ange who was also carrying a bag as big as Livia¡¯s smiled seeing Livia like that.

    ¡¸Leon won¡¯t run away even if we don¡¯t hurry.¡¹

    The two of them immediately departed to themonwealth when the long vacation arrived.

    They had taken care almost of all their businesses beforehand for this.

    Livia had been looking forward to this day that she couldn¡¯t sleepst night.

    ¡¸I want to surprise Leon-san quickly.¡¹

    ¡¸Got it. I also agree with that.¡¹

    It seemed Ange was also looking forward to this. She was smiling a lot since before they arrived at themonwealth.

    Previously©¤©¤at the summer vacation, they were unable to sightsee a lot at themonwealth.

    This time they nned to sightsee leisurely.

    Creare was watching the two.

    ¡ºYou two look like you¡¯re having fun. Over there they look like they will be really busy with work though.¡»

    Ange turned her eyes toward another airship that came together with them from the kingdom.

    ¡¸They will have a lot of work waiting for them after this.¡¹

    This time a lot of airships were visiting from the kingdom.

    They also acted as Ange¡¯s guard, but the other ships were also boarded with the diplomats that were dispatched for the dialogue with themonwealth.

    Scandals with Pierre and Loic had happened in session.

    The kingdom too couldn¡¯t keep quiet with the case this time. They already had several talks before this.

    Quite a lot of personnel were dispatched from the kingdom in order for the final adjustment of the agreement.

    Livia said.

    ¡¸Leon-san will be surprised this time.¡¹

    Ange also agreed.

    ¡¸Yeah. Well, I too wanted to ask him a lot of things about what happened in Alzer even if I have to skip out my work. The information that came to the kingdom is few. Creare also won¡¯t talk.¡¹

    ¡ºOh, are you criticizing me? There is a proper reason for this though~¡»

    ¡¸Good grief.¡¹

    Ange was talking with a smiling face. But she frowned when she saw airships entering the harbor.

    Livia tilted her head.

    ¡¸What¡¯s the matter?¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Those are Rachelle¡¯s airship. There are a lot of them.¡¹

    The airships of Holy Kingdom Rachelle entered Alzer¡¯s harbor in great number.

    .

    Part 7

    The second semester was over and we entered a long vacation.

    I©¤©¤together with Noelle exited Marie¡¯s mansion.

    The reason? It was Cordelia-san.

    Cordelia-san¡¯s words¡¸Angelica-sama will worry if you keep living in Marie¡¯s mansion forever¡¹ were reasonable after all.

    When I returned to the house in Alzer that I used at the beginning, the inside of the room was covered in dust.

    ¡¸Uwa~, this is awful.¡¹

    Cordelia-san rolled up her sleeves.

    ¡¸We have to prioritize cleaning the bedrooms and the kitchen. Then, first let¡¯s open the window so fresh air cane in. We have to air the mattress.¡¹

    Yumeria-san also followed behind Cordelia-san.

    Even though I told her it was alright if she stayed behind in Marie¡¯s mansion, she firmly refused because she was my maid and also watcher.

    Watcher©¤©¤it was good that she had the awareness of it, but it was no good if she said that to the person she ought to watch.

    Good grief©¤©¤this person is hopelessly cute.

    The two of them headed to the second floor. Then Luxion saw the baby bed that had been left behind her.

    I approached it.

    e to think of it, we brought this thing here.¡¹

    Noelle-chan©¤©¤the pet dog that Jean kept was using this when we were taking care of it here. But now Noelle-chan was already gone so it was brought here because it wasn¡¯t used anymore.

    Noelle was also looking nostalgic.

    ¡¸This is the one that we were using before the summer vacation isn¡¯t it? I see, so it¡¯s ced here.¡¹

    The cor was still attached around Noelle¡¯s neck.

    She decorated it herself when going to the academy to keep it out from view. Right now she had gone back to her bright personality just like before.

    But she seemed lonely somewhere in her.

    ¡¸You could still stay at Marie¡¯s mansion though? Is it alright for you to stay together with me?¡¹

    Noelle scratched her head when I asked her that.

    ¡¸That¡¯s an unpleasant way of asking. Well, there is also this feeling of mine that want to stay there though. It¡¯s fun there every day, and Marie-chan is also kind.¡¹

    ¡¸Ee~, that girl is kind?¡¹

    ¡¸She is kind. But©¤©¤you know, she has romantic rtions with those five. Even if I don¡¯t intend it, I often caught them in the act.¡¹

    I tended to forget but, those five were Marie¡¯s lovers.

    When living together with them, sometimes I woulde across that kind of scene.

    Noelle too seemed to take that into consideration.

    ¡¸That girl seemed reluctant that Noelle is moving out though.¡¹

    She looked really depressed when she heard that Noelle, Cordelia-san, and Yumeria-san who had been helping with the housework would be leaving.

    The number of servants in her ce had also increased, even then they were still short of hands there.

    In the first ce that mansion was toorge.

    But there also wasn¡¯t any need to refuse if Noelle said that she wanted toe to my ce.

    ¡¸Well, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¹

    Noelle joined her hands behind her back after I said that.

    She looked shy.

    ¡¸Hey, Leon©¤©¤do you know about local wife?¡¹

    Noelleughed shyly when I was unable to reply.

    ¡¸I thought that perhaps, bing one might be fine but, I wonder what Leon might thing about it¡¹

    It was an attractive proposal for a man but, could Noelle be happy with that?

    ¡¸You, are you alright with that? Are you really not going to regret it?¡¹

    Noelle¡¯s expression turned depressed.

    ¡¸Sorry. As I thought it might be impossible. It was embarrassing to say that, and it makes me a bit sad.¡¹

    ¡¸Right? Our current distance will be better for both of us.¡¹

    More than friend, less than lover©¤©¤further development than this was impossible.

    Luxion who had been listening to our talk seemed to have been waiting for this timing to speak to Noelle.

    ¡ºIs it alright for me to give a report?¡»

    ¡¸W-what? Say it if you are here!¡¹

    Luxion looked at my left arm while Noelle was being surprised.

    ¡ºI have found a way to take off the cor.¡»

    Finally? I asked Luxion why it took so long.

    ¡¸It took a lot of time for you huh.¡¹

    ¡ºI was taking my time in order to do it safely. The method to take it off itself didn¡¯t take long to discover, but I also investigated how to do it safely. Cutting it with the chain materialized will put the least burden to the body for taking it off.¡»

    ¡¸Isn¡¯t that method too in?¡¹

    It seemed Noelle also thought so.

    ¡¸Then we should have cut it right away.¡¹

    ¡ºIf we try to cut it carelessly, the cor will tighten©¤©¤and take off the head. Physically.¡»

    ¡¸©¤©¤Hey, will it really be fine? Is that method really the safest method?¡¹

    Noelle was getting scared.

    ¡ºAmong the chain rings, there is just one of them that won¡¯t trigger the effect. The cor can be taken off after we destroy that. There is no problem because I have pinpointed its location.¡»

    I looked at Noelle.

    ¡¸Should we?¡¹

    ¡¸U~n, I¡¯m scared, but©¤©¤I¡¯m thinking that perhaps it¡¯ll also be fine to just leave it like this.¡¹

    ¡¸Eh!?¡¹

    ¡¸B-because, this too is one of my few bonds with Leon.¡¹

    It was sweet when she said that but, I also wanted to be spared from the suspicion of having an abnormal hobby.

    When those who were in the know of the cursed cor saw Noelle, they would immediately look at the bracelet on me and made an¡¸Uwah!¡¹ face.

    ¡¸No good. It¡¯s causing difficulty in our daily life so let¡¯s take it off.¡¹

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon you idiot.¡¹

    Luxion showed which part of the chain should be cut.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s the part near the cor. Master, you should pull the chain, then I will cut it with a tool.¡»

    ¡¸Got it.¡¹

    I materialized the chain and stretched it tautly, but the part that should be cut was near Noelle¡¯s cor.

    When I pulled it, it made felt strange for some reason.

    There was also how Noelle closed her eyes nervously. It made my heart to pound hard strangely.

    ¡ºThen, please wait while I prepare the tool. The tool is prepared at Einhorn, I will head there to retrieve it now.¡»

    ¡¸You, say that beforehand!¡¹

    ¡ºMaster is the one misunderstanding. Then, excuse me for now.¡»

    Luxion went out from the window and heading to Einhorn. I and Noelle looked at each other and we snorted.

    ¡¸Aa~, sorry. I misunderstood that this thing can be taken off right away.¡¹

    ¡¸It¡¯s fine. I also misunderstood like that. Even so, the feeling of the cor got stronger with the chain materialized like this.¡¹

    Noelle held the chain and made clinking sound with it. Certainly it made the obscene feel of it stronger.

    ¡¸Certainly. It made me feel strange.¡¹

    Noelle went along with my joke.

    ¡¸Leon you pervert.¡¹

    ¡¸What? Should I say isn¡¯t it fine here?¡¹

    I approached her while making lewd movement with my fingers. Noelle covered her chest with both hands and twisted away.

    ¡¸What are you doing while the sun is still this high, stuuupid.¡¹

    Noelle wasughing happily.

    A rtionship where you can joke with each other is really important isn¡¯t it.

    Then the room¡¯s door opened.

    Cordelia-san was watching me with a cold gaze.

    ¡¸©¤©¤Leon-sama, what are you doing?¡¹

    ¡¸Eh? This is, it¡¯s just the usual joke.¡¹

    I tried to gloss it over with augh, but then the door opened fully and showed other people behind Cordelia-san.

    Far behind was Yumeria-san who was trembling while holding the sapling¡¯s case©¤©¤not that, the problem was the other two people there.

    Over there was the smiling Livia©¤©¤she was tilting her head with her hands joined together.

    ¡¸Hee, so you two are always doing this kind of joke.¡¹

    ¡¸Li-Livia!¡¹

    There was also Ange with expressionless face.

    ph_otome5_ill010

    ¡¸I¡¯m also here. Even so, we didn¡¯t visit this house previously but©¤©¤to think, there is a secret that you are hiding here. I never even imagined it.¡¹

    ¡¸Se-secret!? What do you mean secret©¤©¤hah!¡¹

    Ange and Livia were sending their gazes toward the baby bed.

    In a further stroke of bad luck, they saw Noelle¡¯s cor and my bracelet were linked by a chain.

    Livia¡¯s smiling face was scary.

    ¡¸Leon-san, you will give us exnation right?¡¹

    ¡¸T-this person here is©¤©¤hah!¡¹

    I noticed another danger just when I was going to introduce Noelle.

    I recalled a single fact.

    It was at our first semester.

    I took care of the dog that Jean kept because he was injured©¤©¤that dog¡¯s name was ¡°Noelle¡±.

    And then the one here was also Noelle©¤©¤I hadn¡¯t told them that the dog Noelle-chan had died.

    I didn¡¯t tell them because I didn¡¯t want to worry them.

    But now it became extremely bad.

    Noelle introduced herself with a troubled look.

    ¡¸I, I¡¯m©¤©¤Noelle. Noelle Beltre. I¡¯m going to the same academy with Leon. E-eh? Did I introduce myself before this?¡¹

    The cored Noelle introduced herself like that.

    It was a long time ago, so Noelle introduced herself for the second time but©¤©¤it seemed her doing that was problematic.

    It was like pouring oil into fire.

    ¡¸We met before at Marie¡¯s mansion didn¡¯t we? Wait, Noelle©¤©¤you say? I see, so that¡¯s how it is. How stupid of me, I didn¡¯t notice it before.¡¹

    When Ange started to chuckle, Cordelia-san straightened her back.

    She was focusing to be a background so that she wouldn¡¯t stand out as a maid.

    Stop! Don¡¯t escape by yourself!

    Livia¡¯s misunderstanding was also elerating.

    ¡¸Noelle-chan©¤©¤I heard that it was a seventeen years old female dog but, so that¡¯s how it is. I was misunderstanding. ©¤©¤So she is actually a human. I misunderstood her to be an old dog.¡¹

    ¡¸Y-you¡¯re mistaken! Noelle-chan the dog really existed!¡¹

    ¡¸I didn¡¯t know that Leon-san has that kind of hobby.¡¹

    Livia¡¯s face turned serious.

    I couldn¡¯t stop sweating.

    Ange¡¯s gaze was fixed to the baby bed.

    ¡¸In that case this ce, is your love nest with that Noelle-chan huh? I never even dreamed that your letter for us was written with your life with your mistress. Leon, you¡¯re really something.¡¹

    It sounded like a praise, but it wasn¡¯t.

    Her eyes toward me looked like they were zing with me of indignation.

    If I made even a single mistake, it felt like Ange would be enraged and zed up for real.

    Shit! I was feeling the chills.

    Even if I tried to make an excuse, the situation was too bad.

    Livia questioned Noelle.

    ¡¸Noelle-san, we have met before haven¡¯t we? I have thought it¡¯s suspicious since that time. You have known that Leon-san have us as fianc¨¦es haven¡¯t you?¡¹

    Noelle who was questioned like that©¤©¤apologized to Livia.

    ¡¸I¡¯m©¤©¤sorry¡¹

    Wait! Don¡¯t apologize! First we need to dispel the misunderstanding here!

    That¡¯s right. If Noelle said that this was a misunderstanding©¤©¤if she said that, would the misunderstanding get cleared up?

    When I looked at Cordelia-san, she averted her gaze from me.

    Th-this woman, you are betraying me at this important time!? Ce to think of it, her gaze had been cold sometimes when looking at me!

    I looked toward Yumeria-san to ask for help.

    Yumeria-san was in panic with her mouth opening and closing with only ¡®awawawa¡¯ sound.

    ¡¸T-that, Leon-sama kidnapped Noelle-san from a marriage ceremony! W-with that the two of them are close with each other, that!¡¹

    The panicking Yumeria-san was pouring even more oil into the fire.

    No, it wasn¡¯t oil she was pouring but a bomb.

    I was happy that she was trying to exin about the circumstance of me saving Noelle and other things to dispel the misunderstanding. I was happy but, unfortunately it was elerating Ange and Livia¡¯s misunderstanding.

    ¡¸He kidnapped a bride you said? Leon, you will tell me about it in more detail right? And about your hobby too, this is a good chance so let me hear all about it as your fianc¨¦e.¡¹

    ¡¸So Leon-san like Noelle-san that much. You have even prepared a baby bed.¡¹

    What¡¯s the meaning of this?

    Why didn¡¯t the two of them know about what had been going on in Alzer?

    Certainly my contact with them was only the minimum, but Creare should have returned to them.

    Hadn¡¯t they heard about the situation from her?

    And then I noticed one more fact.

    ©¤©¤Why didn¡¯t Luxion tell me that the two of them wereing?

    If it was him then he should have noticed.

    And then, when I considered how he wasn¡¯t here at this timing©¤©¤.

    ¡¸Y-you set me up huh. You set me up huh, Luxion!!¡¹

    Ange and Livia brought their face close to me.

    ¡¸Leon, I¡¯ll have you confess everything!¡¹

    ¡¸Leon-san, you will get an extra strict ¡°Bad-!¡± this time!¡¹

    And then I noticed.

    The scene that looked like me cheating from all angles.

    The betrayal of the AIs.

    And then, all the misunderstandings that had been umting until now to create this extremely bad situation.

    This©¤©¤could it be perhaps, a checkmate for me!?

 Chapter 140 - Volume 5 Epilogue

    Volume 5 Epilogue

    Epilogue

    .

    Part 1

    ¡ºYou set me up huh, Luxion!!¡»

    Luxion was watching the projection of Leon screaming in the mansion.

    ¡ºIn the society, it¡¯s the guy¡¯s own fault if they got cornered into checkmate©¤©¤those are master¡¯s own words. Now it can be applied on master himself splendidly.¡»

    The ce was Einhorn¡¯s deck.

    He and Creare were facing each other there.

    ¡ºYou are also horrible.¡»

    ¡ºIs that so?¡»

    It was Luxion¡¯s instruction so that Creare didn¡¯t tell Ange and Livia about the detailed circumstance.

    Why did he do something like that?

    The cause was Leon.

    ¡ºWell, it¡¯s fine. Because without this master might let go of the sacred tree¡¯s sapling. That thing is an extremely precious sample.¡»

    Creare also agreed with securing the sapling.

    ¡ºI agree with that opinion. But, it¡¯s really devilish to create this misunderstanding scene in order to force master to bring the precious sample home to the kingdom.¡»

    ¡ºAt this rate both master and Noelle will keep hiding their feeling to each other till the end. So this is fine. Master too will be happy, and we too will be able to obtain a precious sample.¡»

    Luxion had shown the data to Creare.

    It was the information that he investigated in themonwealth.

    He didn¡¯t report it to Leon but, themonwealth©¤©¤especially the sacred tree¡¯s origin was suspicious.

    Even Luxion was unable to investigate it.

    ¡ºIt¡¯s also unusual for you to be unable to investigate it.¡»

    ¡º©¤©¤A military base ruin of the old mankind. I have discovered the possibility that the sacred tree is existing on top of such ce .¡»

    ¡ºOh, really? In that case there might be an ally of us there.¡»

    ¡ºYes. Also©¤©¤the nt called the sacred tree is iplete.¡»

    ¡ºNn~, I can somehow see it.¡»

    Luxion and Creare¡¯s conversation was still in the stage of hypothesizing.

    They were questioning whether the sacred tree might actually be a nt that was artificially created.

    Creare was also very interested.

    ¡ºA military base of old mankind nearby. And then a nt with its own will that grant divine protection to human©¤©¤certainly it¡¯s hard to believe the nt as a natural urrence.¡»

    It was just too convenient. That was one reason of their suspicion.

    ¡º©¤©¤But, what do you mean iplete?¡»

    Luxion answered Creare¡¯s question.

    ¡ºAbout the reason of the sapling¡¯s withering, it¡¯s caused by the sacred tree not granting it the necessary magic element for it to grow. Even when a sapling appeared, it will immediately wither because the sacred tree is killing it.¡»

    ¡ºThat¡¯s certainly unnatural for a nt. Perhaps because it¡¯s long-lived, it¡¯s waiting for a strong sapling to appear?¡»

    ¡ºWhen Loic and master fought, there is evidence of the sacred tree intentionally allying itself with Loic. It was as though it lent the strength in order to defeat master who is the sapling¡¯s guardian.¡»

    Creare confirmed the data of that time.

    ¡ºIt wasn¡¯t because Loic used the oath to the sacred tree?¡»

    ¡ºI didn¡¯t detect any reaction of that.¡»

    The sacred tree brought immense benefit to Alzer, but it had defect as a living thing.

    Its defect was how it wasn¡¯t multiplying.

    Why did it be like this?

    Both Luxion and Creare were still unable to find the answer.

    Creare¡¯s interest was growing stronger.

    ¡ºTo absorb the magic element to grow©¤©¤that¡¯s convenient for the old mankind. It decrease the density of magic element in the atmosphere. If that¡¯s the case, perhaps the sacred tree itself is a legacy of the old mankind?¡»

    ¡ºIt¡¯s unclear.¡»

    In order to investigate that too, securing the sapling was a priority for them.

    They also wanted to investigate its priestess Noelle.

    For that it would be ideal to keep her at Leon¡¯s side.

    ¡ºAre you making use of master?¡»

    ¡ºWhy do you think so?¡»

    ¡ºYou create an excessively absurd situation for the sake of investigating the sapling.¡»

    ¡ºIs that so? If Ange know about the two¡¯s circumstance, the possibility of her inviting Noelle to the kingdom will increase. One of master¡¯s worries will also disappear. I think there is no problem with that though?¡»

    ¡ºThat master right now is right in the middle of bloodbath though?¡»

    Leon was continuing to scream in the projection that was showing the going on in the house.

    Leon was going through hardship right now where he was cornered without any ce to escape.

    ¡ºLuxion, I¡¯ll never forgive you bastard! Ah, wait. Both of you, this is a misunderstanding! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m holding a grudge to Luxion for not helping me with hiding things. If it¡¯s those two, they should know about you twoing here beforehand©¤©¤eh? If I know you two areing, I¡¯m going to hide the evidence? ©¤©¤N-no! Someone help! Even Creare is fine, just help me!¡»

    Creare who was mentioned by Leon as though she was just an afterthought got offended and lost her will to go helping.

    ¡ºMaster is horrible! Hmph! You can get scolded for a little bit more.¡»

    ¡ºAgreed. Master should reflect on himself a little.¡»

    Seeing Leon getting scolded, Luxion and Creare looked like they were somewhat enjoying it.

    After watching for a while, Creare asked about something that she was curious about.

    ¡ºAh, that¡¯s right. More importantly, have you managed to determine what happened behind the scene of that case?¡»

    ¡ºThere is still no proof, but I conclude that there is no doubt about it.¡»

    What Creare was curious about was the reason of Rault House¡¯s victory against Lespinasse House.

    How did Lespinasse House that should possess superior crest lose against the lower ranked Rault House?

    Luxion was investigating the reason.

    ¡ºI surmised that Lespinasse House©¤©¤both their guardian and priestess lost their crest before Rault House destroyed them.¡»

    .

    Part 2

    In the pce of Hohlfahrt Kingdom.

    Rnd was facing his desk there. There were dark circles forming under his eyes.

    He had fallen asleep before he noticed and there was a trace of drool on the paperwork.

    Rnd opened his eyes and rubbed his mouth.

    And then his anger was welling up.

    ¡¸That brat, every time every time!¡¹

    When he thought that the problem would finally get taken care of, the official that was dispatched to themonwealth before the second semester started returned with a big ruckus.

    The reason was ¡¸Count Bartfalt picked a fight with Barriere House!¡¹.

    Speaking of Barriere House, it was a house with arge influence in themonwealth right now.

    The pce became like a beehive that was poked after receiving that report. Then another diplomat came right after that bringing a new notification.

    It was an apology letter from Barriere House and themonwealth.

    Rnd and others couldn¡¯t even imagine just what was going on over there.

    But, there was one thing that they understood.

    Rnd held his head in his hands.

    Leon¡¯sughing face©¤©¤his grinning face was surfacing in his mind.

    It was a face that was mocking him.

    Rnd was getting continuously harassed by Leon.

    ¡¸DAMMITTTTTT!! That guy¡¯s smirk keep shing in my head whether I¡¯m sleeping or awake. Why do I have to be this troubled by a man. Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable.¡¹

    Had there ever been anyone who could torment him until this much before?

    Rnd was being tormented by Leon.

    Even though he was at other country, he was still harassing him even now©¤©¤Rnd couldn¡¯t forgive him.

    ¡¸I want to see that smirking mug turn into despair. What should I do? What can I do to harass that guy to the max?¡¹

    It wasn¡¯t enough to just promote him in rank.

    Plus alpha©¤©¤Rnd put in extra effort to muster all his intellect with the wish of making Leon despaired.

    ¡¸I¡¯LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU BRATTTTT!! I¡¯LL TAKE REVENGE AGAINST YOU NO MATTER WHATTTTT!!¡¹

 Chapter 141 - Volume 5 Afterword

    Otomege Volume 5 Afterword

    Afterword

    .

    Thank you very much for buying the fifth volume!

    This is the author Mishima Yomu.

    The volume this time can be said as the second volume ofmonwealth arc.

    The main heroine of the fifth volume is undoubtedly Noelle, but I¡¯m curious of the readers¡¯ impression toward those five.

    Both Leon and Marie are overwhelmed by them after their uniqueness is strengthened even further.

    Greg received the same treatment with Chris at the WN, but this time I made his character like that in this LN.

    It¡¯ll make me happy if you readers can enjoy those five powering up even more than at the WN.

    But, I want you readers to enjoy Noelle¡¯s character even more than that.

    At the previous volume, even though she already made her appearance there she got overshadowed by Marie¡¯s active role.

    Marie is really......you know.

    Why is she this popr?

    Certainly she has some elements that it won¡¯t be so strange for her to get popr but, if you just count the fourth volume, her poprity is number one, overtaking even Leon.

    Leon is number one in the whole, but Marie is number one if you only count the vote at fourth volume.

    Marie didn¡¯t only outstrip the heroines, she even outstrip the main character and took the number one spot for a single volume©¤©¤amazing.

    The Marie route that is the reward for filling the questionnaire is also received well, I went ¡¸!?¡¹ when learning that.

    I¡¯m happy but......is it fine like this?

    Well, I only wrote the SS with the feeling of it¡¯ll be good if the readers enjoy it.

    It¡¯s easy to write it anyway.

    The SS this time also surpassed the level of mere bonus story just likest time, so I was impressed with myself for writing that much.

    The reward for filling the questionnaire of volume 5 is also the continuation of Marie route, so it will pleases me if you readers can enjoy it.

    I¡¯m not writing about Noelle at all here.

    I¡¯ll reflect and write about Noelle.

    Noelle is really cute! Side ponytail the best!

    ©¤©¤That¡¯s all.

    I¡¯ll write the next volume with everything I have too, so please keep supporting this series too from here on.

 Volume 6, Prologue

    <h4>Volume 6, Prologue</h4>

    Betrayal''s always happen suddenly.

    An expected betrayal is neither frightening, nor painful. But traitors usually look for the best moment to betray you. That''s what''s happening right now!

    "Leon, if you don''t exin properly, you''ll get a ''no''."

    Olivia had her neck bent over quite a bit, but her eyes were open. Her eyes released a pressure not allowing me to lie.

    In front of those eyes, I, Leon Fou Bartford, was shaking.

    I opened my mouth to give an excuse but my throat was so dry I couldn''t say anything.

    I was very nervous.

    "C-calm down, both of you. Let''s talk. That way we can resolve any misunderstandings."

    Besides, this is a trap set by that damn Luxion!

    Needless to say, my words didn''t hold any weight to them. Angie, Angelica Rafa Redgrave, was looking at a baby cot that was in the corner of the room. She touched the crib with her hands and smiled. But that smile gave me goosebumps. She''s angry. She''s furious.

    If I had to describe the emotions of Angie right now, would the perfect analogy be that of a volcano before eruption? Or is she about to explode right now?

    "It would be better for you to think carefully about your next words in

    order to make sure your excuse is reliable. Of course, I mean the excuse you¡¯ll give us about why you would be bringing another woman to this house prepared by the Republic for your studies here, and even have a baby cot."

    ¡°L-let me exin my current situation.¡±

    As I could not stay forever in Marie''s house, I decided to return to the house they had prepared for me.

    Right now, we have the priestess chosen by the sacred tree, Noelle Bertre, under our care. Her real name is Noelle Zel Lespinasse. As the priestess''s guardian, I decided to bring her home to protect her.

    I did not have any other intentions, I swear! I just wanted to protect her from the idiots of the Republic.

    Noelle, the new priestess, is now someone desired¡ª

    and not for good intentions¡ªby all the nobles of the Republic. That''s why I have to keep her safe, the best path to take was to keep her close to me. She herself understands that and desires it, so up to here, there is no problem.

    ¡°I¡¯m not making any excuses.¡± Noelle lowered her head.

    She had beautiful blond hair, a hairstyle with a single side tail with pink tips. She was a little ashamed in front of Livia and Angie.

    "I-I apologize, everything is my fault. It''s my fault for letting it happen¡­"

    The more reserved Noelle became, Livia and Angie¡¯s eyes turned fiercer. That''s why I need to stop Noelle before things get out of control.

    "C-calm down a little Noelle, ok? Let me talk to them, I will exin everything"

    I''m so afraid that I¡¯m stuttering!

    I''m not being unfaithful, I¡¯ve been put in this situation by ident! In this situation, it¡¯s hard to deny it, too!

    The two came to my house at the worst possible time.

    Both saw the moment I was embracing Noel, and yes, looking at it without context, it seemed without a doubt like cheating. Not to mention the baby cot that is in this room.

    A short time after I arrived in the Republic, I got a new friend named Jean, and because of several circumstances, I ended up taking care of his beloved dog for a while.

    However, it was a very old dog and needed special care, so I bought a baby cot for her to sleep. The only problem is¡­ that the name of that dog was Noelle.

    Having the same name as the girl by my side, made this situation even moreplicated. That is why, in the eyes of Angie and Livia, I had not only brought a girl to my house in the Republic, but I even had prepared a baby cot.

    Assuming, just assuming we had 10 people watching this, the only possible oue would be that 10 of those 10e to the conclusion that I was being unfaithful. In fact, if someone else was in my position, I would even think the same.

    But seriously, I wasn¡¯t being an adulterer.

    The situation came to this because of Luxion¡¯s betrayal.

    Normally, in this type of situation, my fianc¨¦¡¯s would definitely not be here to witness this scene. In that case, why did it end like that?

    Conclusion: It was because of Luxion.

    I tried to use 100% of my brain to find the most optimal solution in this case. Okay, I do not have to worry about this. I''m somehow insecure, but

    if I speak with a stern expression, I''m sure both will understand me.

    "Girls¡­ think about this carefully. It¡¯s not true, but assuming that I really am cheating, wouldn¡¯t you find this setting truly weird? "

    At the time I said that "it is not true", I felt as if Angie''s and Livia''s eyes released an even colder aura than before. My back couldn¡¯t stop sweating neither could I stop shaking.

    "Weird? Would you stop trying to change the topic?"

    Angie''s voice was cruelly cold. I swear on my manhood from now on, no matter what happens, I will never cheat on her. I must not make her angrier. That was what my mind, my heart¡­ no, what my soul itself understood on this asion.

    "It''s certainly strange."

    "Livia?" Angie stopped looking at me and turned to Livia. It seems that she did manage to understand what I tried to say.

    "Leon-san did not even go to wee us this time when we came to sightseeing the Republic of Alzer again. Last time we didn¡¯t let him know and he went to receive us anyway, right?"

    "Well, because Luxion should have notified him, right? ¡­ ah, I understand." Apparently Angie already understood. Finally they got what I wanted to say.

    "If he had something to hide, he would have had time to hide all the evidence, but if not, it''s because Luxion did not notify him, I see".

    Luxion is usually specific and noisy with his reports, but this time he had not said anything. Basically, he clearly betrayed me!

    Livia nodded and then continued talking about what seemed strange to her.

    "Also, ire-chan was acting a little strangetely. If Leon-san had something to hide, he would have told her to gain time for him, don¡¯t you

    think? If there is really evidence, I don¡¯t think he would have left it to be exposed."

    Yes, exactly! Normally, some of those two would have informed me about this before. Both of them are extremely skilled, so they would have helped me with wiping out the evidence of my infidelity¡­ obviously, it''s not like I really need to hide something. Yes, I have not been unfaithful!

    "Can¡¯t you see?! This is clearly a betrayal from those two damn AI¡¯s!"

    It seems that the worst part had already passed after both of them reached the answer alone. This is the power of love!

    When I finally had time to breathe, the woman with sses who was seeing everything from behind on the room, murmured. "¡­ but that does not change the fact that Leon-sama was ying intimately in this room with Noelle-sama."

    ¡°T-this woman is a¡­¡±

    Her name was Cordelia Fou Easton. A trusted maid that Angie had sent to help me on my daily tasks. In truth, I believed that she was a reasonable and cool maid, but it seems that she was another traitor.

    Wait a moment. Is it just me, or there are lots of traitors around me?

    Angie red at me again. Her gaze that had smoothed a little before, turned cold once more.

    "In that case, would that mean that Luxion wanted to give a lesson to his condescending master?"

    Then Livia supported the new theory of Angie. "That''s possible. I guess he wanted to put Leon-san in a tightening situation, so that Leon-san stops having fun and taking advantage of his freedom."

    "Luxion is quite filial. Leon, you must be happy to have a servant who cares so much to straighten his master towards the right path¡­"

    "T-that is not quite true¡­"

    This is not going well. I thought about several things I could say which may change the flow of these events, but my body doesn¡¯t react.

    I looked everywhere looking for someone who would be willing to help me, and in the end my eyes ended up falling with all my hopes on Yumeria-san.

    Would she notice?

    Maybe yes, because even in the middle of this heavy atmosphere, Yumeria-san took a breath and eximed.

    "I¡­ I think Leon-sama is also a man, so we should forgive him, even if he fell to temptations!"

    ¡­and her words threw more fuel to the fire.

    If I had to describe this situation, it would be represented by a bomb about to fall into the fire. With this, it seems that I have really been being unfaithful.

    Yumeria-san did notice that and began to try to amend her mistake.

    "T-that¡¯s not what I wanted to say! I mean that perhaps he took his jokes a little too far, but ¡­ well, I¡­ I mean Leon-sama has eyes only for you two!

    Umm?¡­

    Shouldn''t it be only for one?¡­"

    Certainly, if we talk about what is normal and what is not, having 2

    fianc¨¦es at the same time is nothing normal. While I thought about that, the situation became much worse.

    Besides, this war was already a loss. No matter what I or Noelle would say, Livia and Angie will not believe us.

    Also, Cordelia-san was not interested in meddling, obviously she didn¡¯t bother with helping Yumeria-san to rify herself. Not to mention that

    the artificial intelligences that should be helping in this case, Luxion and Cleare, had fled somewhere, it is very likely that they have set me up. No, in fact, it''s already a fact that they betrayed me.

    "I knew it, people should not trust artificial intelligences."

    Among all the things that human beings have built, artificial intelligences are always the most susceptible to betray them.

    Apparently, Luxion was not the exception. He betrayed me! I definitely won¡¯t forgive you, I will not forgive anyone from the two!

    "Luxion, do you listen to me? I know you did it. Remember that we, the humans, always end up on top! So I hope you are ready!"

    I said it out loud whileughing at the end to Luxion, who surely was watching this from somewhere else.

    Now, the only thing I could possibly do wasugh. If I did not, I might possibly end up crying. Seeing meughing at nothing, Noel was left surprised while Cordelia-san felt repulsion. But what really dealt a blow on me was Yumeria-san¡¯s face who was really worried about me.

    "Leon-sama, don¡¯t snap, return to yourself! Everything will be fine, I¡¯m sure everything will be solved!"

    What is going to be fine? Doesn¡¯t matter, thanks for the concern anyway. I love that kindness that you exude. After seeing meughing without control, Livia and Angie took each of my arms and gripped me.

    Anyone who saw this without context, would say that I have two beautiful flowers, one in each hand, but in reality, they were preventing me from fleeing. Both had empty smiles on their faces. From my arm you could hear the sound of my fianc¨¦es tightening them.

    "Leon-san, it¡¯s better to tell us everything¡­ if not, you will be treated like a bad kid.¡±

    "Ready to tell us everything? It will be better if you brace yourself, we have all the time in the world so I will not let you sleep."

    That "I will not let you sleep" would have made me feel embarrassed and even excited if she had said it in another situation.

    Yes, if she had said it in a normal situation!

    And so, both took me out of the room, dragging me from both hands.

    Then, Noel extended her hand towards me. "Leon?!" I turned my face, yes, just my face and tried to smile with all my remaining forces to reassure her.

    "Do not worry Noelle, I''m sure they will understand me after exining everything."

    I am innocent. I have not been unfaithful. That is why Livia and Angie will understand me.

    Yes, if they just let me talk-

    "Leon-san, this time you have been a bad kid!"

    They surely will¡­

    "I should have lectured you a little more about rtionships with girls before letting youe here. I will not tell you to don¡¯t have fun, but from now on, you''ll have to do it knowing what will be waiting for you."

    ¡­ Will I make it back alive?

    "Luxion, why did you betray me?" While both of them took me from the arm, I shrugged my shoulders and looked at the ground. As if I were a newly caught criminal. But I swear I have not been cheating!

    I have not done anything wrong!

    ¡ó

    In the Academy of the Republic of Alzer, the summer vacation had already begun.

    There was a girl who took advantage of those vacations to enter a dungeon. She was Le Bertre.

    She had pink hair with a hairstyle simr to Noelle, a single-sided tail, but on the opposite side of her.

    Both were twins so they seemed quite alike, however, they had some clear differences. One of them, and the most important thing, is that Noelle''s younger sister, Le, is a reincarnator.

    "Here, it''s right here. I know, I have seen it before."

    Right now, she had a backpack on her back and her clothes were dirty with mud. In her hand, she carried a pick.

    From her appearance it is obvious that she has gone through a lot to get to this ce. It seemed that she had to endure more than she expected from how rough she was breathing.

    Seeing her like that, hispanion, Serge Sara Rault, got a little worried. "Hey, are you okay? You¡¯re not used to this, don¡¯t overwork yourself." "Don¡¯t worry. It will be fine once we arrive¡­"

    "Ummm¡­ though, I¡¯m surprised you have known about this kind of ce. "

    Serge was a boy with a slightly tanned skin, and ck hairbed backwards. He was tall and fit with well defined muscles. In short, someone totally contrary to Le''s fianc¨¦, Emil Laz Pleven. But there was a reason why Le decided to search within this dungeon with Serge.

    Serge scanned his surroundings, everything was covered by roots of the sacred tree. The roots were stuck and spread around all the metallic walls.

    After that, they came to what seemed to be a passage, but the door ced behind did not open. First, because the door itself was broken, and second, because the roots of the sacred tree filled the area.

    Serge took antern and started looking around.

    "I never thought that there was a dungeon like this under the sacred tree. Le, isn¡¯t this a great discovery?"

    The two were in a dungeon that was very beneath the sacred tree. In short, they were underground. Le was drinking water from her bottle and then cleaned her mouth with her sleeve. At this moment, she didn¡¯t even have the leisure to worry about her appearance.

    "Don¡¯t tell anyone, it would be troublesome if someone else decides toe to explore. Also¡­ Serge, are you listening to me?" Le red at

    Serge who was looking at her with a smile. But Serge justughed. "Don¡¯t be like that. I just thought that you¡¯re a fantastic woman." "What?"

    What is he bbering about in this situation?

    Le did not know how to react, but Serge gave another step. He walked until he was in front of Le.

    "I mean you''re fantastic the way you are now."

    "I know I don¡¯t have manners." Said Le annoyed, thinking that Serge was making fun of her. However, on her inner thoughts, she was already thinking what was the next thing she needed to do.

    Leon, found Luxion in the Kingdom of Holfart, so there should also be one here.

    Like how Leon found Luxion in the Kingdom of Holfort, there should be another powerful item in the second game. A pay to win item equal to Luxion.

    There must be one. If there is none, I''ll be in trouble ¡­

    I will not have anything to go against Leon and the others.

    Le was afraid of Leon, who had a powerful weapon on his hands. If Luxion attacks seriously, if it is an order from Leon, he would destroy the Republic along with the whole continent without sparing a second thought.

    When Le learned about that, she could not stand still waiting to be ughtered.

    That''s why she decided to go into this dungeon in order to find her own powerful weapon. But, as expected, she couldn¡¯t do it alone. However, she could get up to this point thanks to the help of Serge, who wasn¡¯t just another noble but an adventurer.

    Le continued to walk through a dark corridor. Many times she almost fell due to tree branches, but every time, Serge caught her before she reached the floor.

    "Do you want to rest?"

    "I-I''m fine. There¡¯s not much left, let''s continue a little more."

    The object was just in front of her. Little by little, she had reminded all the information from the second game she had possessed.

    A little more. Yes, it should be just behind this door.

    Both of them arrived in front of a humongous door.

    Le approached it and entered a password on the control panel.

    Luckily, I have the password.

    After entering the digits that she had remembered after squeezing her brain dry, the door reacted. The automatic door opened, and on the other side was an immensely spacious room.

    Serge was looking at Le surprised.

    "How did you know the way to open this door?"

    "I have some secrets. Forget about that, now, walk."

    Le pointed thentern to the room which was full of tree roots.

    It''s broader than the one that was shown in the game ording to my memories.

    After that, Le began to look for an airship¡­ No, a spaceship. This huge room was actually a dock. In the past, it was here where the old human civilization kept their weapons.

    At this moment, it was already abandoned and filled with broken futuristic ships. But Serge got really excited.

    "Le, this is awesome! If we report that we found this, our names will go down in history!"

    In addition to discovering a new ruin, they had also discovered ancient objects. Serge was excited and happy to be the adventurer who had achieved that. But Le doesn¡¯t.

    "You haven¡¯t seen anything yet. Follow me".

    Serge obeyed and walked to Le who advanced before him, and, arriving almost to the end of the passage, she suddenly noticed something.

    She pointed thentern to a corner of the room, and there she realized that a weapon had ended up buried here.

    Something with a humanoid figure, strongly tied by tree roots. "Is this¡­ an armor?" She did not see that in the game.

    Although, it may be some other pay to win item and she simply does not remember having seen it before.

    Of course, Le didn¡¯t get too interested in the weapons from the second game. In fact, she considered that the adventurers and weapons were just for the sake of making the plot advance. And while she was immersed in her thoughts, Serge approached the armor.

    "It does not look bad. The bad thing is that it has been cut down perfectly. The guy who had piloted this should have died ipso facto."

    Le found herself afraid as soon as she heard that.

    The soul of the pilot may still be wandering around here. Following this line of thought, she felt as if this ce was a graveyard.

    "S-stop fooling around!"

    "It looks good, can we bring it with us? Although it ispletely ck and broad. I believe the armors from ancient times were always like that, though this one is also huge."

    It was bigger than the traditional armor of this world.

    Facing this armor, Le immediately remembered another quite simr. "¡­Umm? This one and that ¡®Arroganz¡¯ look pretty alike."

    "Arroganz? I think I''ve heard that word before. It means¡­ Arrogance, right? "

    "Huh? You kidding?" By hearing the meaning of ''Arroganz'', Le didn¡¯t know what to feel towards Leon.

    Is that guy a chuuni? Who the heck would call his own armor arrogance?

    She thought about that while looking at the armor trapped in the middle of the tree branches. Then, Le got goosebumps.

    W-what the hell!

    ¡­This armor utterly scared her.

    She was about to take a step back in fear, but Serge became even more intrigued by it.

    "Le, let me take this boy. I''ll have it as a souvenir if I¡¯m not able to repair it." But Le immediately rejected Serge''s suggestions. It''s not that she had a special reason, but her instincts were screaming that she wouldn¡¯t get into that armor.

    "Of course we won¡¯t! Come on, walk".

    "Wait, don¡¯t be like that!" She took Serge from the arm and advanced.

    Serge wanted to resist for a moment, but immediately calmed down. They both walked out holding hands.

    Then, they found a huge spaceship with an ominous presence. It had a simple shape and a geometric design, though a part was trapped between roots. The color, apparently, was dark green. Unlike the other spaceships around there, this one has been left intact and doesn¡¯t seem to be others.

    Serge was watching that spaceship with a dumbfounded face.

    "I did not think it was possible for a airship to be crafted that big, not even in ancient times."

    While he was bbergasted, Le lost interest in him and immersed herself again in her own thoughts.

    No, this is a spaceship¡­ or rather, a space vessel She tried to remember a little more about what to do from now on from the game, but her memories were still vague. The spaceships of ancient times ¡­those were aircrafts with high performance on delivering supplies and also perfect for battles. Their capacities were far above what the ones of the current era could manage, and judging by the dimensions from the one in front of her, it could be said that it was as outstanding as Luxion.

    With this I will not lose against Leon.

    Le started walking, leaving back Serge who was still spacing out. As he realized that she was leaving him behind, Serge pursued her. But suddenly, Serge ran towards her and pulled one of her hands to put her behind him.

    "There¡¯s something approaching from behind!" "Huh? W-what?"

    Everything was so fast that Le couldn¡¯t process it.

    In less than an instant, Serge was already fighting with the monsters that had appeared with his own hands.

    The monsters were crushed on the ground and became ck smoke and then disappeared.

    Isn¡¯t this guy just ughtering them? Isn¡¯t this a little too one sided Serge was killing some of the monsters with his bare right hand. While the other hand held a spear, which swung in a perfect circr shape, killing the monsters around him. He seemed to be quite confident in front of the monsters.

    "So nine of them, I see. Le, you stay back".

    "C-can you defeat them all?" Serge held his spear with a fancy pose, wanting to show his reliable side to Le.

    "A piece of cake!"

    Then he began an unteral fight. Serge swung his spear, and with each cut, a monster fell, defeated.

    Serge always admired the adventurers, that''s why he trained a lot and became a warrior who could even be matched with his other self with the best specs he could achieve on the game.

    That is why he could easily defeat all the monsters that showed up. Le felt a bit disgusted after she saw the destroyed heads of the

    monsters that Serge had defeated with his spear. However, for her it was more than

    enough having Serge to take care of those monsters simr to flying sharks.

    After all, she could not do it alone.

    It was a good idea to bring Serge with me. He¡¯s stronger than I had expected. He might even be stronger than Leon and those idiots.

    The Kingdom of Holfort was the home of the adventurers, for that reason, Leon and his group had a certain degree of skill. But for Le, Serge did not fall behind. Moreover, he seemed so reliable in front of her.

    Who would have thought that Serge was such an adept fighter.

    "And this is thest one!" Said Serge after leaving all the monsters beheaded. And after checking that there were no more monsters, he lowered his spear.

    Le thanked Serge, looking at him with great surprise and a bit of interest.

    "You are strong, now I see you under a new light!"

    "Well no one would survive in this kind of ce without being able to do at least this much. Have you already fallen in love with me?"

    "No, not even a single bit, but at least I consider you apletely different person now. Thank you for protecting me, Serge."

    Both of them joked, and little by little, the ufortable environment started fading away. Then, Serge saw the supply ship again and began to think in silence, so Le asked him.

    "Is there something wrong?"

    "Well, I thought that this treasure is amazing, but I get the feeling that it was a little too easy up to now."

    "And what about the fights we had so far? You can¡¯t even imagine how many times I thought I was going to die on the way here!" For Le, who was not used to adventures, it could even be considered a great achievement reaching her destination without dying in fear without leaving a body.

    But to Serge, who was already ustomed to this, it seemed toocking.

    "In fact I was surprised that we arrived here after walking in a straight line. Did you already know that there was a treasure around here?"

    If I answer yes, he surely will get curious about how I knew it. After reaching that conclusion, Le decided to make an excuse.

    "I didn¡¯t think that there would really be something here¡­ I just heard rumors in the past." She acted as if she was genuinely surprised, and then

    she focused on the ship to avoid Serge''s gaze. At that moment, the door opened by itself.

    Unlike the previous door, it was slowly and silently.

    Then, from the other side, emerged a floating sphere as big as a softball, with a single red eye. The object stayed still at the same height of Le and Serge''s view. Everything was so unexpected, that Serge didn¡¯t need to think twice about raising again his spear and pulling back Le at the same time.

    With his spear in hand, he shouted at Le to stay back. "Le, stay back!"

    However, Le was relieved. That was because the sphere in front of them was not Luxion¡­ it was another blue drone.

    "Serge, calm down. We''ll be fine." "R-really?"

    Serge lowered his spear a bit, staring at the blue robot¡¯s movements. Le was convinced that the thing in front of them had no bad intentions.

    That was because, if he was an old Luxion''spanion, then he could not fight in that form.

    "I want to have a talk with you." She said and then the blue robot responded with a lively voice.

    "It has been a while since thest time I received visits." It was a robotic voice, but somehow masculine.

    The difference with Luxion is that this robot felt much more human than the first one.

    Serge was surprised, but Le continued talking. "I want this ship. Give me the rights of ownership."

    She said with a haughty attitude and the robot responded with intrigue.

    "Do you want to be my master? ¡­Umm, there are several things that I find shady about you and your request, but the truth is I can¡¯t stand being waiting in this ce for so long, but I can not move without permission. So a master appearing is a very tempting situation!"

    Why would this new human know about his existence and the rights of a master? The robot seemed intrigued about that, but more than that, he wanted to leave this ce as soon as possible, so he had epted dly.

    Meanwhile, Serge got really worried about that conversation. "Le, are you sure about this? What is that thing in the first ce?"

    But who answered Serge¡¯s question wasn¡¯t Le

    "¡ªOops, I forgot to introduce myself, I apologize for my rudeness! My name is ¡®Ideal¡¯, a ship in charge of supplies." Le released a small sigh. A sigh of relief.

    Good, it has the same name as the one I bought on the game.

    The name of the powerful pay to win on the second otome game was Ideal. That¡¯s why she was convinced that this powerful weapon was the same drone she had encountered before. So, Le took a step forward confidently.

    "In that case, let''s do it immediately."

    "How do you know about the privileges of ownership?

    The truth is that I¡¯m really intrigued and something seems fishy, but it''s okay. Let''s move forward to the next topic for now."

    The blue drone, Ideal, turned his red eye brighter and scanned both of them. Then Ideal began to wander around Le making circles quite intrigued.

    "What happened?"

    "I got very shocking information. It seems that today will be a great day. " "You think so?"

    By seeing Luxion, she thought that this other AI would respond with a much moreck of emotions, but for the moment, it was quite friendly.

    In addition, his attitude towards Le, who would be recorded as his master, was adequate.

    "It seems that you both are really tired. I¡¯ll prepare a room, so go on, you

    can enter," said Ideal, entering ahead to guide them, leaving the two of them shocked once inside the ship.

    It was in a pretty clean state. Serge was surprised while passing a hand on the wall beside him.

    "It''s the first time I see a lost item kept so clean and well-conserved".

    Having Serge''s words picked his interest, Ideal turned towards Le and asked.

    "Lost item? Well, in the current era, the technology that was used to build me should have been lost. It seems that it will be fun to take a walk. "

    "Fun? Can you even feel that being an artificial intelligence?"

    Le was bbergasted by the fact that Ideal was really impatient to get outside.

    "¡­yeah, you''re really intriguing people." Said Ideal in front of both of them, and then returned to guide them.

    Then Serge said. "Hey Le¡­ What is that artificial intelligence thing you mentioned before?"

    Le sworn inside her mind after hearing that question.

    Damn, I left my guard down.

    "I-it is nothing. We should take the offer of that thing and rest a little bit here."

    "You''re right. Though I was a little worked up about exploring the inside of this ship."

    Serge sounded seriously excited, with his gaze looking around the entire ce.

    Then, Le looked at the floating sphere that was in front of her.

    I got it, I finally got my own cheat item. With this I won¡¯t have to fear Leon.

    That''s what brought Le the most happiness, much more than having gotten this kind of lost item.

    "Wait a moment please".

    Ideal took them to the room, which was more like the resting area of apany. There was some furniture, vending machines and even decoration nts. Serge sat directly on the couch without taking away the dirt on his clothes.

    "This couch is amazing. Le,e sit."

    "Seriously you''re like a barbarian. But yes, you''re right." Le sat down and rxed her shoulders to alleviate the pent up fatigue.

    After that, Ideal went to some other ce, leaving them the both alone in the room.

    "If you excuse me, I will take my leave" "Where do you have to go?"

    "I will make some preparations to go outside. Also, I will bring you some food in a moment." Ideal left and Serge smiled.

    "What a thoughtful guy."

    But, is there something to eat in a ce like this that was abandoned so many years ago. While Le was wondering about that, her gaze was obstructed by Serge. Then, he brought his face near to hers.

    "W-wait!" She quickly tried to cover her face with both hands, but Serge grabbed one of them. Serge''s look was serious.

    "¡­Le, why did you get engaged with the weakling of Emil Family?"

    Le felt a little awkward hearing him asking that. That''s because she knew that Serge was madly in love with her.

    "This doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you, you were never at school, so

    we could never hang out too much. Do you have any problems with that?"

    Le already knew what Serge wanted to say.

    "You know what I feel for you, right? Le ¡­ I love you, you''re the only woman I love."

    Those were straight wordsing from his heart. However, Le looked away.

    I love you? There is no more empty phrase than that.

    thought Le, rejecting the confession after remembering a little about her past self.

    "¡­you made me wait too much. I am already with Emil."

    She got up and then moved away from Serge, but he didn¡¯t give up. Serge grabbed Le''s shoulders and brought them close to him.

    "I swear I''ll make you happy. I want you to stay with me."

    When she saw Serge so serious, she doubted for a moment ¡­ but in the end, she pushed him aside with her hands.

    "Serge, stop joking. Also, you are a son of the Rault house, do you get it? We are not fit for each other."

    "And what of it matters?! The same is with Emil. I-I¡¯m only-"

    Unfortunately, the door opened again and Ideal entered interrupting their discussion and with a cheerful voice said

    "~It has been some time since I prepared a meal. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve made sure to keep the ingredients well preserved, so everything is in perfect condition.

    Although, in fact, I can produce many things inside this ship, so there are more than enough ingredients! ¡­

    Mmh? Did Ie with a bad timing?"

    Ideal came back right after Le rejected Serge¡¯s confession, but thanks to that Le was able to change the topic.

    Le walked away from Serge and then crossed her arms. "Nothing happened".

    I don¡¯t understand. Can an artificial intelligence have emotions?

    Thought Le, after seeing Ideal unable to read the atmosphere.

 Volume 6, 1 - Unusable Trash

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 1 - Unusable Trash</h4>

    ¡°-That¡¯s how it is. It is true that Master was taking care of a dog named Noelle and then saved Noelle Beltre.

    Don¡¯t worry, he doesn¡¯t have the courage to cheat on you.¡± We were at my house.

    Luxion hade to help me, who was being interrogated by Angie and Livia who had no light in their eyes.

    They interrogated me for an hour. This is all Luxions fault.

    Angie put her hand on her waist and sighed.

    ¡°-We rushed into a conclusion. Leon, please forgive us. We were wrong.¡±

    Livia hugged me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Leon. You weren¡¯t fooling us. I feel terrible for doubting you.¡± I decided to ept their apologies with a big heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I was also to me for incurring suspicion. But you two, I will never forgive you.¡±

    Luxion and ire were in my line of sight. They were both avoiding me.

    Luxion was carefree.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite short-minded of you, master. To not forgive your followers.¡±

    re looked somewhat happy.

    ¡°It''s true! It''s your fault for acting so suspicious! If we didn''t follow up with this, the misunderstanding could not be resolved. Even so, it is resentful of you to never forgive us.¡±

    Is that all these fucking traitors have to say?

    ¡°Don''t y with me. If you hadn¡¯t betrayed me from the start, Angie and Livia wouldn''t have doubted me in the first ce!¡±

    ¡°Looking at you from the side, I think it is inevitable for your actions to be suspicious, Master.¡±

    Angie was convinced of Luxion''s opinion.

    ¡°Yes. If you hear something about stealing a bride from a wedding, you can''t help but hesitate.¡±

    ¡°No. That was not stealing. I just stopped an unhappy wedding.¡±

    Hearing my excuse, Angie tried to say something, but she didn''t have her usual urge to respond since she had some fault for having suspected me.

    ¡°I sympathize with Noelle''s case, so I don''t me you for saving her¡­ But what are you going to do? Leon, are you thinking about the future?¡±

    When we were talking about Noelle''s treatment, I put my finger on my cheek.

    I didn''t think about it too much and it''s not something I need to decide. ¡°It is Noelle who must decide.¡±

    It seems that Angie was not satisfied with my response.

    ¡°If the story of the Holy Tree priestess is true, we should bring her home.¡±

    The Sacred Tree¡­ this is an existence that supplies energy to people. Is it good to say that it is clean and free energy?

    A great nt that solves energy problems.

    And in my hand, there was a sapling that grew from that Sacred Tree. Fortunately, the sapling chose its priestess.

    If we return to our hometown and nt the sapling of the Sacred Tree, the Kingdom of Holfort will not suffer from power problems in the future.

    Considering Angie''s position, it was inevitable to choose to bring Noelle home.

    However, Livia is not convinced of it.

    ¡°W-Wait! What are we going to do with Noelle''s will?

    Noelle has not yet given an answer, correct? There are doubts, right?¡± She said that Noelle''s will should be respected.

    Angie''s and Livia''s opinions were in direct conflict. Angie tried to reason with Livia.

    ¡°I''m sorry for Noelle, but the power problem will be solved in the future. This is no longer an individual problem. I know that it is unfortunate for Noelle, but in the future she will solve one of the kingdom''s key problems¡­ I am sorry, but I don''t want to give Noelle a choice.¡±

    I could understand Angie''s feeling of wanting to take her home. Not having any more energy problems is a pretty good thing.

    However, Livia was not convinced.

    Even when the benefits were presented to her, she was emotionally opposed.

    ¡°That''s not good. Noelle won¡¯t be happy. And does Noelle even have a choice to stay here ore to the kingdom? Bringing her in by force is unforgivable.¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry if I said it wrong. Then we will treat Noelle with the utmost consideration. If Noelle wants, we''ll let her have a luxurious life.¡±

    ¡°Is not that! It''s not like that! What''s the matter with you, Angie? You don''t act like you usually do. The Angie I know would never choose to use Noelle as a sacrifice.¡±

    They both began to gradually get upset. Angie got emotional too.

    ¡°If a sacrifice saves many in the future¡­ my choice will be for the majority. I never said that we wouldn¡¯t make Noelle happy.¡±

    Faced with the highest consideration Angie could give, Livia still wasn''t convinced.

    ¡°Noelle is not a tool!¡±

    Surely Angie couldn''t forgive herself seeing Noelle as a tool. Angie was a bit shocked.

    It seems that she was aware of what she said herself.

    ¡°It is true that I saw her as a tool. If it wasn¡¯t Leon that brought this incredible story then even I would have doubted. ¡­but now that I know, I am ready to take Noelle back to the kingdom. Leon, help me too.¡±

    When Angie asked for my consent, Livia grabbed my arm. She gave me a sad look.

    D-Don''t look at me like that.

    ¡°Leon, please stop Angie. This is not good. Will this make you happy even if you treat Noelle like a tool?¡±

    ¡°H-huh¡­¡±

    As I wandered, Angie grabbed my other arm.

    ¡°Leon, you are an Earl of the kingdom of Holfort. You have an obligation to protect these people. I know that you don''t want to take responsibility, but I won''t let you run away from this.¡±

    Livia was looking from the individual¡¯s perspective. And Angie was looking at the whole.

    Livia wanted Noelle¡¯s happiness and Angie wanted to sacrifice it so that many others would be happy.

    ¡­Wait, should I choose? Should I decide something this important!? It was Luxion who came to my rescue when I was in trouble.

    ¡°If Master epts Noelle, the whole problem will be solved.¡± This artificial intelligence loves to add fuel to the fire.

    ¡°I hate that part of you where you ignore feelings.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I don''t want to hear that from my Master, who ignored Noelle''s feelings. If you ept Noelle, she will be happy, Master. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Holfort will also have the sacred tree and they will be happy.

    Everything fits perfectly.¡±

    Where!? Where is my happiness in all that!?

    ¡°If I ept it, everything will fit perfectly, that¡­ h-huh? Angie, what is it?¡±

    Angie was downcast and thinking a lot.

    She slowly raised her face and looked into my eyes. ¡°What Luxion said isn''t a bad suggestion. Leon¡­ ept Noelle.¡±

    At what Angie said, Livia shook her head.

    ¡°Angie, why? Why do you say that even though you were against Leon cheating on us.¡±

    Seeing Livia with a look that she couldn''t believe, Angie looked away. ¡°¡­because it''s worth it. Leon, you can dismiss me. So ept Noelle.¡±

    Seeing Angie muttering that to convince me, I¡­ decided to run away from that ce.

    ¡°I-I don''t want to.¡± ¡°Leon?¡±

    ¡°I absolutely don''t want to! I don''t want to break up with Angie!¡± When I screamed and jumped out of the room, I heard Livia''s voice. ¡°Leon!?¡±

    ¡ó

    ¡°Wasn''t it terrible to leave them both in the room?¡±

    I jumped out of the house and headed to Marie''s mansion with Luxion. ¡°How annoying. And it won''t change the fact that you''ve betrayed me.

    Ah~ah, as I thought, artificial intelligence is a dangerous existence that will betray humanity.¡±

    ¡°I will not betray humanity. However, new humanity is another matter.¡±

    Isn''t that the same as saying you''ll betray us? ¡°Damn traitor.¡±

    ¡°If you''re worried about Noelle, you should put her on your side.¡± ¡°What does that have to do with your betrayal?¡±

    I don''t want to experience their suspicion again.

    Still, this guy''s changing the topic this time is too suspicious. Did he really think of betraying me?

    ¡°Let''s be serious. ¡­Luxion, why did you create that situation, to even include bothering re?¡±

    ¡°You realized? You are quite insightful, Master.¡±

    You are a guy who likes to say annoying things like always. Listening this time, prioritize the main theme.

    ¡°Don''t divert the topic.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, Noelle will not have a peaceful future.

    So we should choose a way beneficial to us while fulfilling your wishes.¡± ¡°We should, huh.¡±

    ¡°If you ept Noelle, the kingdom will get the Sacred Tree. At the moment, it may not be so mighty like the Republic Holy Tree, but it will solve the power problem in the future. That''s a huge benefit!¡±

    ¡°About the future, humans will take care of that. Tell the truth.¡±

    ¡°It is true. In other words¡­ Noelle has no freedom. If her value is known, not only will the kingdom move but other countries as well. Master, you won''t be able to protect Noelle if she''s not by your side.¡±

    Luxion was listing the reasons, but each one sounded like a lie.

    ¡°Was that your true intention?¡±

    ¡°You still doubt me? Then, I would like to say it clearly. If other countries pursue Noelle, they will take all possible measures. That is the end you will regret, Master. It would still be lucky if it''s just an unwanted marriage. In the worst case, they will brainwash her and treat her as a tool.¡±

    The sapling of the Sacred Tree and the priestess Noelle, other countries surely wish to have it in their hands.

    I understand it, but do you have to point it out?

    ¡°Is it not possible to protect Noelle in the Republic? She is their priestess.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do you still believe in the Republic, even though you''ve been pestering them?¡±

    Since I came to the Republic, I have been pestering the six great nobles.

    Pierre, who has used the power of the six main nobles and used it for himself.

    Loic who forced Noelle to marry him in order to obtain her. They were certainly annoying people.

    They''ve all screwed with me in so many ways, but how would they move if I wasn''t there?

    ¡°She was selected as a priestess, but it''s terrible that she can''t be happy. I thought the game had a happy ending.¡±

    Iined.

    In this otome game, Noelle, who was selected as a priestess, should have been happy.

    To be united with a boy who likes and to revive his house that was in ruins¡­

    And yet, what about Noelle now?

    She doesn''t belong to anyone and she''s not happy either. ¡°Luxion, what went wrong?¡±

    ¡°Is Noelle not as happy as the story says?¡± ¡°¡­It was us. No, it¡¯s my fault?¡±

    Was it possible that she can¡¯t be happy because we came to the Alzer Republic? I had that worry.

    ¡°As always you are too self-aware. Aren¡¯t you saying you have a lot of influence on the world, Master? Do you think the world revolves around you?¡±

    ¡°Do you hate me? Do you throw discordant words at the heart and think nothing of doing it? I am your Master, right?¡±

    ¡°It''s okay because your heart is as hard as steel.¡± ¡°It''s a crystal heart! It is delicate! Be more careful!¡±

    ¡°You should look up the word delicate in a dictionary.

    Apparently you remember the word delicate in a different sense, Master.¡±

    What a maddening guy.

    You talk badly to me and you betray me.

    The artificial intelligence of the world of this otome game is too cruel!

    When I arrived at Marie''s mansion while talking to Luxion, the entrance was noisy.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    I looked inside and saw Marie holding her head. I could also see Jilk in trouble.

    When Luxion confirmed the conversation, a surprising fact was revealed. "Oh, it looks like Jilk started scamming people.

    Judging from the content of the conversation, it was an event from when they were fired by Marie."

    ¡°Hey!?¡±

    I was surprised to hear that Jilk was a scammer and was making money. Then Marie, who was holding her head at the front door, ran towards us. ¡°Onii-channnn!¡±

    While trying to catch Marie, who was crying and jumped on me, I felt a strong shock in my abdomen from the impact.

    ¡±Ugh!?¡±

    Receiving a tackle from Marie, she collided with my stomach and brought me down to my knees.

    Marie, hugging me like that and crying, exined the situation to me. H-Hey, you should first apologize to me for just now.

    ¡°Jilk¡­ Jilk!¡±

    ¡°What happened to the conspiratorial bastard?¡± When I managed to get up, Jilk came over. ¡°Marie, please listen!¡±

    At that moment, Marie''s face turned into a demon.

    ¡°You want me to listen to you!? Do you know what you did?! Who said you can make money deceiving others!¡±

    While I was rubbing my stomach, I heard that Jilk ripped off several people while making money as an antique dealer.

    ¡°No, I didn''t do it! At first I tried to do my business seriously, but nobody tried to buy items I tried to sell.

    But then I started preparing items to look more appealing, but t-then the item was sold instantly.¡±

    ¡°Damn you bastard! This is called cheating!¡±

    Marie grabbed Jilk''s chest and swayed him violently from side to side.

    I want to think that I am wrong to see that the trembling Jilk looked a bit happy.

    However, the current problem is about the fraud that he did.

    I thought this guy was rubbish I couldn''tugh at, but was he really rubbish?

    Luxion also seems to have the lowest evaluation on Jilk among the fools.

    "In the past, in a duel with you, he put a bomb on the armor. This guy has the biggest trash gradepared to the others."

    The five idiots are always sh*t, but the other four are better sh*ts then you.

    I want tough.

    However, Jilk alone couldn''t make meugh. Marie exhaled and released Jilk.

    Marie fell to her knees, crying with her hands on the ground. Then she screamed

    ¡°H-how many people do I have to apologize to by kneeling?¡± Marie''s tearful screams echoed around her.

    When I saw Marie crying, I, as expected, felt a little sympathy. ¡°Why does she only attract useless guys?¡±

    When I asked Luxion the response I got was spicy.

    "Instead of attracting useless guys, do you make men useless instead? Well the five idiots they were originally useless, so I guess both are true." ¡°You have no mercy.¡±

    "Is that so?"

    Then, due to themotion, the residents of the mansion appeared.

    It was Julian who jumped, but he was wearing a twisted headband with an apron.

    ¡°Marie, what happened!?¡±

    He could have jumpeding this way after hearing Marie''s crying cry, but it''s ufortable for the former heir, the prince, to wear a twisted headband and apron.

    When Julian hugged Marie, Marie was crying andughing at the same time.

    So, Brad came out after.

    He came over to us while hugging his dove friend and his rabbit friend. ¡°What happens? Hey? Why is Bartford here? Oh I see.

    He must have felt lonely without me.¡± ¡°Of course not.¡±

    I immediately cut off the narcissist''sments, and the next one toe out was Chris with a loincloth and holding a deck brush.

    ¡°I heard Marie cry, but what happened? Hmm? Bartford, why are you here?¡±

    Exining it was troublesome.

    Also, these guys have gotten more intense recently.

    They seem to be having fun, but I doubt if they are actually okay. Then Greg, who took off his jacket, came hopping up.

    ¡°Listen to Marie''s voice¡­ Baltfault, why are you here?¡± It seems that everyone is interested in why I came.

    However, that is not important now, so I briefly exined the current situation.

    ¡°It appears that Jilk hasmitted fraud. Marie was put in that state when she found out.¡±

    The four of them saw Marieughing as she cried, and then their eyes drifted to Jilk.

    Julian''s eyes on Jilk were scornful.

    ¡°A man like you who said all the time that he wanted topete with me works like a swindler?¡±

    The other three were the same.

    Brad was hugging the dove and rabbit with cold eyes on Jilk. ¡°It is impossible. A little, no, normally that''s wrong.¡±

    Chris''s sses were glowing suspiciously.

    ¡°This man, I''ve thought about it before, but there are ces where you can choose any method.¡±

    Greg was exercising, his muscles were swollen.

    ¡ªHe is fragile and by not training his muscles, his personality is distorted.

    I don''t think that really has anything to do with it. Julian entrusted Marie to me.

    ¡°Baltfault, I entrust Marie to you.¡± ¡°Hey? What will you do?¡±

    ¡°Jilk is my stepbrother. We grew up taking care of each other like siblings

    ¡­ That''s why I''ll fix him.¡± Jilk''s attitude!

    Marie regained her sanity when she saw Jilk being carried away by the four.

    ¡°Hah!? Jilk!?¡±

    ¡°He was taken by Julian and the others. They will surely give him a sermon?¡±

    Marie dropped her shoulders enormously. She held her face with both hands.

    ¡°Why did you scam? It would have been better if you came back without making money like before.¡±

    ¡°You''re going through a hard time too.¡±

    Marie dreamed of a reverse harem and cajoling five nobles¡­ why would it be? She didn''t look happy.

    ¡ó

    The destination I visited was a merchant''s bakery who bought Jilk''s works of art.

    He was a great merchant with a great mansion.

    Jilk, who scammed that person, must be a man born with an unpleasant talent.

    The tense Marie was trembling. ¡°T-T-Today is a good day.¡±

    I came to see how she was apologizing, but Marie was nervous and useless.

    Since it can''t be helped¡­ It really can''t be helped, I apanied her. Instead of Marie, I spoke to the business owner.

    ¡°I''m very sorry for the sudden visit.¡± ¡°¡­I thought you mighte one day.¡±

    Did you realize that the product you bought was fake?

    However, the slim and tall owner seemed to be nervous somewhere in front of us.

    ¡°Um, actually¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°¡­Eh?¡±

    When the owner instructed the person who appears to be a butler, he brought out the product that Jilk had sold, perhaps because he had prepared it in advance.

    However, they are very polite.

    I purposely put on gloves and gently ced the teacup on the table.

    It seemed like a very expensive product, if you didn''t know that it was actually fake.

    In this case, I too could have been fooled.

    However, the story went in an unexpected direction. ¡°This is the product you bought from Jilk?¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes.¡±

    The owner''s eyes looking at the teacup looked very sad.

    The butlers and servants around me look at us with some tension.

    ¡­¡­Something is wrong.

    Despite being duped, he doesn''t seem to be angry. No, maybe you didn''t realize that you were tricked?

    When I noticed such a thing, it seems that Marie also guessed it from the surrounding atmosphere.

    She was a little worried. But probably not by not being as trash as Jilk, Marie had opened her mouth to say it was false.

    ¡°E-Excuse me!¡±

    ¡°I know! you¡­ you came to retrieve this article? It''s just for this. I did not think that you could get it for such a price.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes. ¡­ Huh?¡±

    The owner''s reaction was strange. I decided to investigate.

    ¡°No, I''m not thinking of trying to get it back. Actually, I heard that an acquaintance is an antiquarian, I couldn''t believe it and I came to see it.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh! So it was like this?¡±

    The owner was visibly released from the tension.

    ¡°I''m not familiar with art, but is that cup of tea an expensive item?¡±

    When I looked at the cup of tea, the owner opened his eyes and exined to me.

    ¡°Of course! This is a product whose manufacturing tradition has fallen apart a few years ago. Five hundred years. I had some, but none remained in perfect condition. It''s a masterpiece of the time and there are only so many items in perfect condition! I asked them to people who are familiar with this, but it was difficult for anyone to want to sell it to me!¡±

    I saw the owner, who was very happy and proud of his collection, and I nodded with a smile.

    Marie looked at me with an anxious look. So I confirmed it with Luxion in a low voice. ¡°Is it real?¡±

    "Yes."

    Luxion''s short reply confused me by not knowing what was happening. I didn''t show it to my face.

    ¡°Ahahaha, I was surprised that he was a good antique dealer. By the way, do you know other people with what business Jilk?¡±

    Is this a coincidence?

    As we listen to the next customer, we also talk about Jilk. ¡°Jilk is a great connoisseur even though he''s young.

    No, I can''t say he''s a connoisseur. Is it better to say that he has the talent to find the authentic? He is a genius!¡±

    Are you praising Jilk, who has no good eye!? Did he really have a talent?

    The owner appreciated the cup of tea. Then he showed a smile in front of me.

    ¡°Yet when I heard the Earl of Holforting, I wondered what would happen.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. There are so many rumors out there, some of them were scandalous. I''m really anxious inside thinking that you would take back the product I bought.¡±

    No, it was actually conveyed that he was impatient. More importantly, what are those rumors about me? ¡°I am intrigued by my rumors.¡±

    ¡°It may not mean anything from me, but the earl is a gentleman.¡±

    Me, a gentleman? Although I am trying to be like the Master, I am aware that I am immature.

    Do I look like a gentleman? Well, what ttery. However, I was d and I was happy.

    ¡°You¡¯re good at ttering.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡±

    The owner''s face turned serious. ¡°¡­I envy the kingdom.¡±

    He said nothing more, but I got the impression that he seems to have problems with the nobles of the Republic.

    ¡ó

    After that, follow-up investigations were carried out, but there was no need for an apology.

    They all said the following.

    ¡±Jilk is a genius! No, he is loved by the god of art!¡±

    ¡°What a great skill, to save a real treasure from a pile of garbage, he is the savior of the art!¡±

    ¡°I would have supported Jilk generously if he had been born in the Republic. I envy the kingdom.¡±

    Do you understand?

    Jilk was the only person who believed that he had acted as a con man. We, who returned to the mansion, held our heads.

    ¡°What the hell is going on? I didn''t think everyone was going to praise us for Jilk''s aesthetic sense.¡±

    As a result, I didn''t have to deal with the fraud, and Marie was able to feel relieved.

    ¡°Does that guy really have a good eye?¡±

    Worried about the mansion, Jilk came in with a beaten face. Despite his painful appearance, he smiled proudly.

    ¡°Oh, isn''t that the earl, who doesn''t have a good eye for things, Bartford?¡± ¡°You''re a nasty guy.¡±

    ¡°Is it true? Still, it''s troublesome how everyone jumps to quick conclusions. I found the items they wanted and I sold them at a reasonable price. It would be embarrassing if they call this a sin.¡±

    He said that, but what he sold¡­ I can''t consider it art.

    However, all the customers who bought the product were satisfied. I also confirmed it with Luxion, but it was all real.

    I can''t say it''s a coincidence. Jilk looked at me.

    ¡°Oh? Won''t you apologize?¡±

    ¡°It''s Julian and others who beat you. Also, I forgive you for using the bomb in the duel, you should be grateful.¡±

    ¡°Well, let''s leave it at that.¡±

    I shook my head to the side and showed a state of disappointment. It''s a damn bastard that irritates me.

    However, it seems that Marie has noticed something here.

    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ in other words, if Jilk prepares what others want, can he gather money?¡±

    Seeing Marie''s eyes twinkling, Jilk had aplicated look.

    ¡°No¡­ Marie? I usually see real things. However, this time, I only prepared articles suitable for blind people.¡±

    ¡°That''s fine! Jilk, why didn''t you do that until now?¡± ¡°W-Well¡­¡±

    ¡°It''s not a scam if you sell something real! In other words, relying on Jilk''s aesthetic sense, we will be fine in the future!¡±

    Certainly, if you are sessful, you can earn a lot of money. In fact, Jilk is making a lot of money in a short period of time.

    Jilk lookedplicated, but couldn''t seem to refuse when Marie told him her request.

    He epted Marie''s suggestion.

    ¡°I understand you. If so, I will choose the appropriate product for Marie.¡± ¡°I''m looking forward to it, Jilk!¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me. I''ll show you how different I am from the other four.¡± It rose slightly more than the other four.

    After all, this guy has a bad personality.

 Volume 6, 2 â€“ Serge

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 2 - Serge</h4>

    Lelia came back halfway through the winter break. She lived with her fianc¨¦ Emil, but she hadn''te back for a while, and was worried about him.

    "What do you mean you''re challenging a dungeon, L-Le?!" Emile''s question was timid, and Le acted disrespectful.

    "I told you I was going to challenge one before the winter break." "I never thought you were serious!"

    From Emil''s point-of-view, she was just excited for the break.

    But, when he heard she was actually nning to, he was surprised.

    "Why are you doing something so dangerous? ¡ªWhy such a dangerous thing?"

    "It''s important business."

    She couldn''t tell Emil the details.

    Therefore, her exnation was unconvincing. Ideal was watching the situation, by Le''s side.

    He suddenly appeared.

    "It''s nice to meet you, Emil. My name is Ideal. I''m Lelia''s spaceship in her service¡ªoh you can''t tell."

    "Huh, an airship? Even though it''s so small?"

    "Oh, my main unit is separate. I was picked up by Lelia and Serge-san. I''m grateful for their help."

    "¡ªWhat? Serge was with you too?"

    Seeing Ideal, who was talking flippantly, Lelia reached out to grab him."Hey, why did youe out?!"

    "I thought I could clear up the misunderstandings."

    "Bah! You idiot! I told you to stay hidden! Don''t you remember my instructions?"

    "Didn''t you tell me to hide for one minute?" "What''s happening? Why are you with Serge?" Emil raised his voice, to Lelia''s surprise.

    She hadn''t expected the timid Emil to raise his voice.

    "It''s fine. I only asked for his help to conquer the dungeon."

    "You didn''t tell me you were with a man! Lelia, we''re engaged now." Lelia reminded herself of the fact that she rejected Serge in favor of Emil. That''s why she was even more angry at Emil for not believing her.

    I refused Serge''s advances, and you suspect me for cheating?!

    "Nothing happened! Are you going to ask me this every time I do something? Are you jealous of your friend?"

    "I''m not jealous. Why, of all people, is it Serge? You think I don''t know what he thinks of you?"

    "You don''t believe me?"

    Lelia squinted her eyes and Emil shook his shoulders."No, no that''s not what I meant."

    It''s easy to push the weak Emil.

    She thought that he would pull back if she talked to him sternly enough, but today he was resisting.

    But that''s all, Lelia thought.

    "I don''t want to talk about this anymore¡ªokay?" "Yeah, yeah."

    Once Emil''s problem was taken care of, she had to deal with Ideal."You too! From now on, don''t appear in public without permission." "I''m sorry for being careless."

    Since he apologized quickly, Lelia couldn''t pursue further.

    "It was true my instructions were bad. I''ll let you off this time. I''m going back to my room."

    Lelia walked back to her room alone. Emil and Ideal were left behind.

    ©–

    The Raults'' house.

    When Serge returned, Albert summoned him to his study.

    Albert is dismayed to see his adopted son, Serge, who is a bit of ark."If you''re going to leave, at least inform me."

    Serge is sitting on the couch, looking at the ceiling. He fluttered his hands.

    "I know."

    "You don''t, and that''s why I''m repeating. You came back just a while ago, but you left again. Where have you been?"

    "Well, it varies."

    Albert gives his son a bitter look when he avoids the question.

    The reason for epting Serge as his adopted son was to make him the heir of the Rault family. After his son, Leon, died, Albert adopted him.

    However, Serge wanted to be an adventurer, andtely, he wasn''t attending the academy.

    "Serge. Refrain from adventuring in the future." "Huh?"

    "I only allowed you to adventure during the vacation period at the academy, but you ignored that order and did whatever you wanted. Did you think this would be eptable?"

    It would be a while before Serge would get to adventure again. But his reaction was different than expected.

    "You''ve never epted me as your son before, though?"

    "This again? I have epted you as my son. And you should at least¡­" "Am I not a stand-in for him?"

    "No one said anything like that." "I don''t know."

    Him¡ªreferred to Leon, Albert''s dead biological son.

    Serge didn''t like beingpared to Leon since he was taken in.

    This makes it hard to introduce Leon-kun to him. But I''ll tell him eventually.

    Leon, a young man from the Holfort Kingdom.

    He was very simr to Leon, Albert''s biological son, and was also very¡­ popr in the Republic. It would be impossible not to tell Serge."Serge, the New Years'' festival is near. Please join us."

    "New Year''s Day? It''s just a festival. I''m not a kid, and I don¡¯t want to go through the trouble of attending."

    "You have to be there. I have someone to introduce you to." "¡ªWho?"

    Serge wouldn''t be at the New Years'' Party if Albert told him here, therefore he decided to keep it under wraps.

    "I''ll introduce you then." "Sh*t!"

    Serge clicked his tongue, stood up, and left the study. Albert looked forlorn as he watched his son''s back.

    ¡ó

    Angie and Livia were going to stay with us, so we went back to Marie''s house.

    "The reason? It''s too small for all of you to stay here,¡± Cordelia said. It made sense.

    Angie was silent all the while.

    I''m sitting in the dining room and sighing."Oh, how could I have let this happen."

    As I was agonizing, Julius, sitting next to me, poked me with his elbow."Hey, Bartford."

    "What?"

    "What do you mean, ''what''? Are you going to do nothing in this situation? I''m sure you''ll find a way out."

    Everyones eyes were saying the same thing.

    The reality of this situation is one that is forcing me to act.

    From what I could see, Angie and Livia were sitting next to each other. But there was no conversation.

    They hadn''t spoken to each other since the Noelle incident. They probably want to talk a lot about each other.

    Maybe they want to talk about the Republic''s cuisine. But they were currently quarreling.

    This created the delicate atmosphere. Everyone wants to have a conversation, but doesn''t have the courage to start one.

    Cordelia-san, standing behind me, gave a deliberate cough.

    "Leon-sama, why don''t you talk about the dish to those two. I''m sure they''ve never eaten it."

    "Eh? I''m not familiar with it."

    I could hear discouraged voices from around me. But then, Noel wittily exins to them.

    "It''s important to use the crustacean broth. The crustacean broth is very important," she exined to them, unable to stand the silence at the table.

    But, it''s not long before she runs out of topics about the food. Angie thanks her curtly.

    "I''m sorry to bother you."

    "No, no."

    The conversation trailed off.

    It''s been like this for a while now.

    The normally noisy dining scene has fallen silent and only the clicking of dishes can be heard.

    ¡ªWhat should I do to fix this?

    ¡ó

    After we finished eating, I decided to talk to Marie about the fight between Angie and Livia.

    Inside the mansion, the three of us, including Luxion, were discussing the matter.

    "I want to fix their rtionship. You guys, lend me your wisdom.¡±

    "It''s refreshing to see you ask for help, master." I sharpened my gaze at Luxion''s sarcasm."Whose fault do you think this is?"

    "The fact that master was suspected of cheating and the fact that those two are fighting are two different things. They''re unrted. Now could you please resolve this, it''s ufortable."

    Fuck this.

    It''s certainly not Luxion or my fault, but it''s like their fight heated up after the whole cheating incident.

    I think we have a little responsibility here.

    As we stared at each other, Marie looked at us and shook her head. Her face had a look like: "These guys don''t know what they''re doing."

    "I don''t care what those two (Livia and Angie) are fighting about. What matters is Noel. ¡ªWhat are you going to do, brother? I''m worried about her future."

    "¡ªYou really don''t like those two, do you?"

    "What do you mean? They''re as big a problem as Noel."

    Marie pulled away from me with a very disgusted look on her face.

    "Are you dull? We should worry more about Noel than the two who are having a child''s brawl."

    "I don''t think I''m being dull."

    The moment I said that, Marie showed a surprised face."What?!"

    "You''re even more dense than Luxion," she said, shaking her eye in disgust.

    Their reactions were cold."What?"

    "¡ªForget it. More importantly, Noelle is seriously in trouble. You should help her. Keep an eye on her too."

    "I don''t think I need to. That''s Noelle''s problem. She''s the protagonist." She was the protagonist of the second otome game.

    She has a happy future.

    I wonder if it''s fine to interfere.

    Luxion and Marie look like they think that I''m a pain in the ass."You''re still thinking about the original timeline, you idiot, right?"

    "Oh, so you''re self-aware? Maybe master isn''t as idiotic as I thought." They''re being too hard on me.

    "You''re too stupid to think straight. I''ll let you decide what to do with Noel, regardless of whether you''re good at it or not."

    "If you bring her with us, I can help solve it." "It''s Noelle''s life, I have no say in it."

    "You''re really terrible aren''t you, brother?"

    Awful? No. If shees with us, she''ll be treated as a priestess. Granted, she would be treated the same if she stayed here.

    Just¡ªI want to at least respect the person''s will.

    "So, back to Livia and Angie, right? I mean, it''s just a minor quarrel, and that''s all well and good. If you don''t interfere, they''ll make up with each other. You don''t have to worry about Noelle either! Men are such idiots."

    "It''s nice to meet someone who worries about the little things, postpones the big things¡ªit''s nice to see you''re doing all you can to help the wrong master."

    Luxion, as usual, is full of sarcasm.

    Does he really consider me as his master? Such a questiones to my mind.

    Marie looked down in front of me.

    "Brother, are you sure you want to leave this up to Noelle? If Brother says so, Noelle will definitely follow!"

    I understand what she''s saying, but I''m hesitant to do it.

    If I tell her toe to the Kingdom, she''lle without a doubt. But will that really make her happy?

    "Don''t rely on me so much, because¡ª"

    Suddenly, a knockes from the door. Cordelia-san''s voicees from behind the door.

    "Leon-sama, you have a visitor.¡±

    ¡ó

    "Hi, how are you doing?" My guest was Louise.

    The name is [Louise Sara Rault]¡ªthe second viiness and daughter of thest boss in the maiden game, [Albert Sara Rault].

    In the game, she was a bad girl who bullied the main character, but if you ask me, she''s a big sister character who takes care of people. She also asked me to call her big sister as soon as we met. That would be a scary thing to hear in different circumstances, but to me, whose sister is very horrible¡ª"I''d be happy to!", I''d like to say she''s a very sweet woman.

    If I could choose a sister, I''d choose her. Why isn''t she?

    She reminds me of Jena, my own sister. She''s a terrible sister, to say the least.

    Loose yellow-blonde hair that reached her shoulders and kind purple eyes.

    She''s a senior in the academy, and acts like a real big sister.

    ¡ªIt would be great to actually have her as my older sister.

    While I have mixed emotions, I put on a smile and respond to her.

    "It''s been quite hectic these past few days, but I''m doing fine."

    Louiseughed as if she was troubled by my response, but she seemed somewhat happy.

    "I''m sure you''re fine if you can talk about it lightly. I''ll ask you about your concernster. Today, I came to invite you."

    "Invite?"

    "Yes, to the New Years'' Festival of the Six Nobleman." "New Years'' Festival? Ah, I remember¡­"

    It was one of the stories I heard from Marie, earlier. It was one of the events in the second game.

    It should have urred when Noelle, was in her second year.

    If things went ording to the game timeline, the capture target would invite her there and formally dere their rtionship or something like that.

    "Oh, you knew? Once a year, we pledge our undying loyalty to the Holy Tree. But now it''s just a small festival."

    "A festival?"

    "There''s a cave in the Sacred Tree formed by the roots. The younger generation, like us, swear allegiance to it." Luxion, who was at my side, asks a question.

    "You mean it''s not an awe-inspiring ceremony, but a festival to be enjoyed? And you''vee to invite master to it?"

    "That''s right. It''s quite solemn at the start, but afterwards, the mood changes to that of a party. I''m sure you''ll enjoy it. ¡ªhmm?"

    I didn''t understand what was being said at the start and merely nodded, but then a chill ran down my spine. I heard footstepsing in to my room.

    When the door opened, I saw Cordelia-san''s figure there. She moved away from the door and let Angie pass through.

    "Oh¡­ that''s an interesting story. Leon, let me hear from you."

    The next person to enter was Livia, who was supposed to be fighting with Angie.

    "I heard a beautiful woman came to visit you, Leon-san. It seems to be true."

    I red at Cordelia-san, but she averted her gaze. ¡ª Are you my enemy too?

    "Huh, some people¡­ Could, could it be? You''re¡ª"

    As I was wondering how to introduce Louise-san, I saw the person herself happily sping her hands.

    With a twinkle in her eye, she approached Livia and Ange and shook their hands.

    "Could it be that your Angelica? And you''re Olivia, right?" "Mm-hmm. Yeah, but¡ª"

    "Uh¡­"

    They were puzzled by Louise''s sudden friendly attitude. Leaving them puzzled, Louise-san continued happily.

    "I was surprised to hear you had two fianc¨¦''s, but even I, of the same sex, am envious of their beauty. You are a lucky man, Leon. Oh, I''m Louise.

    [Louise Sara Rault]. I hope to get along."

    When Angie recovered from her confusion, her expression softened, but she still remained dumbfounded.

    "Y-You''re the Raults'' daughter, right? You seem quite close to Leon." "I''m a good friend of his. Of course, it''s not a man/woman thing." Livia looked relieved at her words.

    "I''m sorry I doubted you."

    "It''s okay. You seem to have been misunderstood." Louise turned to me and gave a teasing smile.

    "Leon, you can''t have such cute fianc¨¦''s and be ying with other woman."

    "Ha, I''m sorry about that."

    Then Louise turns her face to the two, and tells them of the story.

    "I''m sorry for being so abrupt, but please let me tell you about why I''m with Leon-san."

    Angie nods her head.

    "I made a promise to my brother long ago¡­"

    ?

    Once Louis was done and left, I was stopped by Livia."Leon-san!"

    "W-What is it?''

    I was surprised, but Livia didn''t care and continued. There were tears in her eyes.

    "Please make her wishe true!" "U-uh, yeah."

    Livia is about to cry.

    The reason why Louise loves me like a brother¡ª because her brother died.

    It seems me and that dead brother have a simr atmosphere.

    But the load is quite heavy for me. To act as the standin for a deceased brother.

    "More importantly, won''t Livia make up with Angie?" Livia''s shoulders tremble, and she looks away awkwardly.

    "Oh, I want to apologize. I want to apologize and make up with her. But I don''t agree with her treatment of Noelle. What do you think, Leon-san?"

    "I think Noelle-san should choose."

    To my na?ve answer, Livia puffs her cheeks."Leon-san is mean."

    "Why?"

    "I understand you''re thinking of both me and Angie. But Noelle-san is unhappy because of it."

    "Hm?"

    "I understand that Noelle-san is an important person, unlike me."

    I wish I could say something, but under these circumstances, it''s useless."¡­To me, Livia is more important."

    When Livia looks up, she blushes to her ear, and opens her mouth.

    Then she holds he chest with her hands and regtes her breathing, before look at me with moist eyes.

    "Leon-san, you''ve improved your mouth since you came to the Republic. I don''t think I can trust your sincerity."

    "Huh, am I that untrustworthy?"

    When Iughed, Livia grabbed my arm.

    "Angie is worried. Please talk to her. I''m sure Angie is waiting for you." Looks like they''re still close.

    ¡ó

    When I visited Angie''s room, she was sitting on her bed.

    When she heard me walking towards her, sheid down on the bed with her upper body as is.

    Even though I''m there, she looks quite vulnerable."Did Livia say that?"

    "So¡­ Will you make up with her?"

    "I want to make up with her right away! But¡ªwhat should I say? I was going to use Noelle for pure profit.

    I wasn''t looking at her as a person."

    Anyone who gets their hands on the priestess would try to make a profit."If money is rolling in front of a person, they would grab it."

    Well, it would be scary if tens of millions were on the road. I''m a small- minded and greedy person, I''m not one to me Angie."I''m sure you were thinking about the people of the Kingdom, weren''t you?" She was being greedy for others. I couldn''t imitate her.

    "You are kind. I''m sure I thought only for myself. I wanted her for my own interests."

    "Angie''s interests? Like increasing your family''s political power?" If you obtain the Holy Tree, you''ll gain a lot of political power in the

    Kingdom in the future. That''s how much power the Sacred Tree holds. I

    think it''s natural for Angie to put the interests of her family above her own.

    That''s amon noble mindset."No, I didn''t think of it that way." However, Angie shook her head.

    "You''re the one I thought of first. I thought future strength would make you happy. Only, you wouldn''t want power at the expense of Noelle''s feelings, would you?"

    "My happiness?"

    "I was blinded by profit. Forgive me."

    "No, no, no, no, I don''t need to, you should make up with Livia."

    "Yeah, that''s another thing! How do you think I should say sorry to Livia?"

    Angie, who was so cool a few minutes ago, turned into an unreliable little girl when it came to Livia.

    It''s fine to be normal.

    I wasughing at Angie, and she got up and popped me.

    "Wah, stopughing! I''m in real trouble!"

    "No, I''m joking. Joking. You two can go sightseeing. Hmm, if I left you alone though, you''d get into trouble. Alright, I''ll give you a tour of the Republic!"

    "Oh, you''re sure?" "I promise."

    Angie stopped hitting me and just held me in her arms.

    "Make sure you show me around properly. I forgot to mention that I was also looking forward to sightseeing this time. Besides--ah!"

    Angier seemed to remember something.

    She looked embarrassed that she had forgotten.

    "Leon, I''m sorry. There were so many things going on that I forgot to tell you."

    "Eh?"

 Volume 6, 3 - Sister and Brother

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 3 - Sister and Brother</h4>

    The heads of the six great noble families gathered in a meeting.

    Most of them had bitter faces, and Albert also had a tired look on his face.

    The Kingdom has sent some troublesome people, haven¡¯t they?

    Until now, they had been negotiating with a man from the Kingdom for reparations because of the incidents that took ce.

    They wanted to get this matter out of the way before New Years¡¯ Eve. After all, next years¡¯ New Years¡¯ Eve had a different meaning.

    After the incident with Loic, many events in the Republic had been canceled. From a foreign perspective, the Republic seems to be in the midst of an emergency. In order to disprove this impression, the New Years¡¯

    Festival was to be held with a great deal of pomp and excitement. The big task beforehand was to negotiate with the Holfort Kingdom.

    The person sent by the Kingdom to negotiate was so difficult to deal with that everyone was exhausted.

    Then suddenly, a person opened their mouth.

    That person was Lambert, the Head of the Faiviel family.

    He was a small,nky man with a lonely look and unttering personality.

    Such a man would not dare to hide his indignation.

    ¡°What humiliation! It¡¯s unheard of for the undefeated Republic to be mistreated so badly by a third-rate state like the Kingdom.¡±

    Everyone was angry and wanted to agree, but reality was different.

    Benge, head of the Barielle house, also expresses his frustration¡ªat Lambert.

    ¡°Why is the man who was silent for so long speaking now?¡± The words expressed his clear dislike of Lambert.

    Lambert shed a ridiculous smile at Benge.

    ¡°Whose fault do you think lies in this situation? By the way, how is the ex-heir who was rejected by the priestess?¡±

    ¡°You!¡±

    When Benge stood up, Albert reprimanded him. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at this. That¡¯s enough, both of you.¡±

    When they were about to leave, several subordinates asked for permission to enter the room.

    When Albert gave them permission, the out-of-breath subordinates replied.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad! It¡¯s bad! The Holy Tree is¡ª¡±

    ¡ó

    The dimly lit city was colored by the lights of the streetmps.

    I exhaled and my breath turned white, it seems the Republic¡¯s winters are cold too.

    ¡°If it snows, then it will be a White Christmas.¡±

    It was Angie who gave me a questioning look at my words. ¡°White¡ªwhat?¡±

    Angie and Livia are both standing with me between them. (IOI) They were both wearing coats, and their cheeks were a little red. ¡°Leon-san, sometimes you say strange things, don¡¯t you?¡± There¡¯s no Christmas in this world.

    There are events that rece it, though. Livia looks up at the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find it interesting. When I saw the huge sacred tree, I thought it was a mountain.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too big?¡±

    When I look at the holy tree, I¡¯m in awe at it¡¯s size.

    I wonder how long it took for it to grow to this size. Angie looked at her surroundings with interest.

    ¡°I see some airship-like vehicle travelling on the ground. They must be more convenient for transport. If an airship were to crash, there would berge damage.¡±

    Angie¡¯s eyes lit up a bit as she looked at the street. ¡°I¡¯d love to bring vehicles like that to the Kingdom.

    But it would difficult to supply fuel with the necessary magic stones. If we set the price high enough, it would be possible, but that would mean that mostmoners won¡¯t be able to afford it.¡±

    I look at Angie, who is thinking about something so deeply, and am impressed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve thought that much much about a single tram? Angie is amazing.¡±

    Then Luxion, who loves to criticize me, cut into the conversation.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the problem lie with Master? It¡¯s sad that you don¡¯t have a sense of urgency while witnessing a foreign powers technical superiority.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of me considering that? I think the technical know-how should be considered by people greater than me.¡±

    But that Rnd guy doesn¡¯t even work, so maybe he¡¯s not thinking about it at all.

    ¡°Well, even if I abandoned that Rnd, I probably wouldn¡¯t feel guilty.¡± Angie looks at me and puts her hand on her forehead.

    ¡°Are you sure your allowed to call him that and get away with it?¡±

    ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s hard to tell whether you¡¯re a fool or a brave man. I know that you can be counted on to be reliable when the situation calls for it, but aren¡¯t you too carefree?¡±

    Seeing me smiling, Livia entered the conversation.

    ¡°I like the way you normally are, Leon. You are clumsy and kind¡ªand cute.¡±

    ¡°Cute? Me?¡±

    The one who replied was Luxion.

    ¡°Olivia! Do you want me to examine you? This could be a sign of serious brain or eye problems!¡±

    This guy¡­ is it really so strange that people say I''m cute?! ¡°I¡¯m uh, well, I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°No, the fact you think that master looks good is the sign of an anomaly. Angelica is the same.¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯m crazy too?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Master is not a man of courage. Master is usually indecisive, and struggles at the critical moments. And he¡¯s a terrible liar.¡±

    And you¡¯re a sucker for a AI. Did I do something wrong to you?

    ¡°Oh man, you are so full of sh*t! Don¡¯t spread rumors just because you don¡¯t like me.¡±

    ¡°Rumors? Do you have a problem with admitting facts? You definitely do, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°R-remember this. I¡¯m going to get back at you.¡± We couldn¡¯t stop badmouthing each other.

    As we were arguing, Angie and Livia wereughing at us, as if it was funny.

    ¡°Forgive me. It¡¯s a relief to see you guys are acting normal.¡±

    ¡ªThe same is true for Livia.

    ¡°Those two are as good friends as always. Leon couldn¡¯t have changed that much while he was abroad.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t those two treating me like a kid?¡± ¡°Master, may I ask you a question?¡± ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°A flower is blooming on the holy tree. I¡¯ve never heard of such a phenomenon urring, do you know anything about it?¡±

    We looked up but couldn¡¯t see anything, so Luxion projected an image. It looked like a white chrysanthemum-esque flower in bloom.

    ¡°Does the sacred tree also bloom? But it looks unnatural in terms of position.¡±

    Livia also had the same thought.

    ¡°Yes¡ªit feels like it¡¯s installed. Like a fake. Unnatural. It feels creepy and unpleasant.¡±

    Livia felt creeped out.

    White flowers on the sacred tree. What will happen in the future?

    ¡ó

    We arrived at Marie¡¯s mansion, and the atmosphere seemed normal.

    When I opened the door, Marie showed up. She gave me a disappointed look upon realizing I didn¡¯t have my carry-on with me.

    I guess she was expecting a souvenir.

    A sweet and spicy smell came from the kitchen.

    Julius appeared in the doorway suddenly, with Angie staring at him inexplicably.

    ¡°You¡¯re all back? Sorry, dinner will bete again. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Julius is on dinner duty today.

    Ever since he came back after being kicked out of the mansion, Julius has been handling dinner regrly.

    It¡¯s a good thing. It¡¯s good yes, but the dinner he prepares is always skewers. Julius stepped back in to prepare the skewers.

    Liviaforts Angie when she sees her covering her face. ¡°Please get a grip, Angie.¡±

    ¡°Livia¡ªI don¡¯t feel regret being abandoned by His Highness. I don¡¯t. But I can¡¯t help but feel this indescribable feeling at the sight of him.¡±

    I agree too. No one could have imagined that the Prince of the Kingdom would be fascinated with roasting skewers and be a chef. I didn¡¯t imagine it either.

    Once Cordelia-san arrived, she took our coats. ¡°Wee home. Will you be staying for dinner?¡± Angie let out a sigh.

    We at lunch outdoors, but we didn¡¯t have dinner because we thought we would have it here.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have dinner. Those two as well.¡±

    ¡°Angelica-san, would you like for me to make a special menu for you two?¡±

    ¡°That would not be polite. We will be changing. Livia and I will be in our room.¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma''am.¡±

    Livia gives me a small wave and heads up the stairs to her room.

    I walked to the dining room, where I saw Marie and the others eating. ¡°It¡¯s great not having to prepare dinner!¡±

    There was also alcohol avable near Marie, who was chewing on a skewer with both hands.

    Rather than a dinner, it seems like a drinking party.

    Ca, Marie¡¯s friend and the person serving her looks happy. ¡°Julius-dono will clean up after dinner, too.¡±

    The one with a dumbfounded look on his face is Kyle, Marie¡¯s servant. ¡°Are you sure you can trust the prince with the kitchen?

    Even if you can trust him with the tools¡ªhe is the Prince.¡±

    Marie drank all the sake in one gulp, grabbing a skewer. She drank with dignity.

    ¡°Phew~. It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay! It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine! Julius likes to do it too. We¡¯ll be leaving the Republic soon anyways.¡±

    After the winter break, Leon and the others will be going back to the Kingdom.

    This may just be the only time Julius will be able to immerse himself in his hobbies.

    Thinking this, Marie let him do what he wanted. Seeings I was back, Noelle approached me.

    ¡°Did already eat dinner?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m about to though.¡± ¡°I se¡ªoh, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Noelle, remembering that Angie and Livia were there, resumed her meal away from me.

    I made Noelle worried.

    Despite the fragile air over here, the idiots were enjoying themselves. Greg and Chris were arguing.

    ¡°Greg, don¡¯t just eat the chicken breast. And why are you putting salt? Eat it with the sauce.¡±

    ¡°The chicken breast is my justice! The chicken breast is my justice! I only eat the chicken breast! Oh yeah, you can eat the rest.¡±

    He¡¯s obsessed with the chicken breast.

    Also, despite him sounding sober, Chris was dressed weirdly. He was wearing loincloth and a happi coat.

    He isn¡¯t usually dressed like this. ¡°Isn¡¯t it cold?¡±

    They gave me a hard timest year, so why am I with them right now? That''s when it happens.

    CRASH! I hear a crash, so I go into the kitchen to find Yumeria-san scrambling.

    ¡°Hey, you okay?¡±

    I run over to her, and she¡¯s on the verge of tears. ¡°I''m sorry. I just wanted to help you.¡±

    She seems to have fallen over and broken the te.

    Julius stops Ms. Yumeria from trying to pick it up by hand.

    ¡°You''ll get hurt, so let''s get the tools. I''m going to go get it,¡± he said,

    "because I was working part-time at a food stall, I won¡¯t be fazed by an ident of this magnitude. I was just a little impressed.

    After being impressed, I check to see if Yumeria-san is injured. ¡°It looks like you''re not hurt.¡±

    ¡°I''m sorry. I keep making mistakes.¡± A depressed Yumeria is really cute. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Just then, Kyle came into the kitchen.

    Ms. Yumeria is Kyle¡¯s mother, despite her age. But it¡¯s Kyle who looks like the mature one. ¡°¡ªDid you break another te?¡±

    ¡°Kyle¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°. .You should apologize to Master, not me. You shouldn¡¯t be so careless, even if we can pay for them, they¡¯re not cheap.¡±

    I stopped when I saw Kyle who keptining to Ms. Yumeria. ¡°Okay, you can go back to eat now.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll help you clean up. In the first ce, it¡¯s wrong for servants to eat with their masters. Until now, I couldn¡¯t afford a separate meal, but from now on it would be better to eat separately.¡±

    ¡°Kyle, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ms. Yumeria was apologizing but Kyle¡¯s attitude is cold. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize to me, apologize to your Master.¡±

    Ms. Yumeria hurriedly bows her head towards me. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry!¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s enough. Hey, Kyle! Be a little kinder to your mother.¡±

    ¡ó

    At the same time.

    The mansion of the Rault family was just informed of the unusual nature of the sacred tree.

    Louise and Serge were summoned to the office in the mansion. Louise crosses her arms and refuses to look at Serge¡¯s face.

    Serge has his hands in his pockets and he too turns his face away from Louise. In front of the two, Albert was still dismayed at their silent quarelling. There were more important things right now, however.

    ¡°The sacred tree has blossomed. I¡¯ve had the records checked. This is a phenomenon that hasn¡¯t urred in thest three hundred years.¡±

    Sergeughs when he hears this.

    ¡°That''s nice. We''re lucky to be able to see such a scene.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea what you''re talking about. Why don''t you try to understand your situation better?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    They red at each other.

    ¡°The new year''s festivities will take ce as nned, although we''ll have to wait and see. I''m sure you''ll both be able to attend.¡±

    ¡°A new year festival is for kids. I don¡¯t need to go.¡± ¡°Serge!¡±

    Albert stopped Serge from leaving the room, but he left. Louise looked down and clenched her zither.

    ¡°I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make it work.¡± ¡°I''m sure you''ll forgive him, Louise. Serge is¡ª¡±

    ¡°Why are you so concerned for him? Besides, even if he wanted to, Leon couldn''t go to the New Year''s party.

    I''m not going to forgive him."

    The doctor diagnosed that Leon, who was very sick, would not survive the year. He wanted to visit the New Year''s Festival.

    In the end, that wish did note true.

    That''s why¡ªLouise wanted to have Leon participate in ce of her brother.

    It was also a way of making amends for not being able to fulfill her brother''s wish.

    Knowing this, and knowing that it would be troublesome, Albert also allowed Leon to participate, even though he knew it would be troublesome.

    Even though he knew that Serge would be frustrated when he met Leon.

    ¡°I think I understand your hatred for Serge. But you¡¯ve been family since we adopted him.¡±

    Louise looked up and Albert saw a look of hatred in her eyes. ¡°I will never ept him.¡±

    Reaching for Louise as she left the room, Albert stopped to call out to her.

    ¡ó

    Back in the room, Louise took one small photograph from the desk drawer.

    The one in the ck and white photo was Leon.

    In the past, pictures and drawings of her brother had been disyed throughout the castle.

    But now there wasn''t a single one. The reason is Serge.

    Albert, who wanted an heir, adopted him¡ªhe threw away most of Leon Jr¡¯s. photos. Leon Jr.¡¯s room was also burnt, alongside all his memorabilia.

    ¡°Why!? He¡¯s not family! Isn¡¯t that right, Leon Jr.?¡±

    Talking to the photo Louis remembers the day Serge came.

    ¡ó

    It had been three years¡¯ since Leon Jr.¡¯s death. The inside of the castle was less lively than ever.

    The noisy brother was gone, and it was as if a fire had been extinguished.

    However, if everybody knew the heir passed away, the vassals of the Rault family and the branch families would start making noise.

    A meeting was held to resolve the situation, and Serge arrived at the castle. Serge¡¯s parent¡¯s were delighted that he would be the next Heir of the Rault family!

    Only, Serge looked saddened, behind his parents. It couldn¡¯t be helped, and Louise felt sorry for him.

    She had a chance to be alone with him, and called out to him. ¡°I''m your sister from now on. I''m sure we¡¯ll get alo¡ª

    what''s wrong? ¡°--sai.¡± ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Oh, God, it''s annoying! I''m not going to be friends with you!¡± Serge ran out of the room.

    It''s a shock to Louise, who expected the same kind of reaction as her naive brother, even though they were different.

    Did I make a mistake?

    Louise had been struggling with Serge for days.

    She had tried to get along with him after that, but Serge hadn''t even looked at Louise.

    And it was a few months after Serge''s arrival.

    ¡°No. Oh no! Serge, stop it! Please, that''s a gift from Leon!¡±

    When Louise returned home, she saw Serge, who had thrown some of his pictures and paintings and other memorabilia into the fire.

    She hugged Serge to stop him, but he shook her off.

    Serge threw the items that Leon Jr. had given her into the fire.

    When Louise tried to jump into the fire, she was seized by the rushing servants.

    ¡°Stop! Please, give it back!¡±

    She reaches out her hand while crying, but what Leon gave her was a ring, made of paper. The poorly made and awkward item quickly burned

    without a trace in the mes.

    It was a memento known by the two of them alone, and the servants were bewildered, not knowing the circumstances. Only once¡ªLouise had told Serge about the item only once. When she had taken him outside, Serge had shown interest in it, so she told him about it.

    Serge watched it burn for a long time.

    Louise cried and then shouted to Serge, "I hate you!

    ¡°I hate you, I''ll never forgive you! ¡ªI''ll never forgive you!¡±

    And Serge, who had never looked at her face properly before, stared at Louise''s face for the first time.

    Before she knew it, Louise had fallen asleep, and she woke up lying face down on her bed, remembering a bad incident from her childhood. She hadn''t even changed her clothes and was lying in bed.

    ¡ªthat is the worst dream I¡¯ve ever had.

    That day¡ªher parents scolded Serge, but in consideration of his feelings, they removed the rest of Leon Jr.¡¯s photos and paintings from the mansion.

    If he saw them, Serge would probably destroy or burn them. Why did this happen?

    Serge had grown to hate her brother. Normally, Albert would revoke the adoption.

    However, Serge already received the coat of arms of the six noble families.

    It wasn¡¯t something that could be easily removed.

    Being part of the branch family, the vassals consent, the domestic situation¡ªdespite all these variables, Serge was adopted.

    Louise looked at her brother¡¯s picture and spoke lovingly. ¡°Leon, it¡¯s almost New Years¡¯ Day.¡±

    ¡ó

    When he returned to his room, Serge kicked his chair in frustration. He sat up in bed and looked up at the ceiling.

    ¡°What ¡®New Years Festival¡¯? Isn¡¯t that just an event for those crazy about praying to the sacred tree. The contents aren¡¯t meaningful at all. We pray and vow, then party, then young men and women enter the cave and make more vows to the stone monument inside But only family members of the seven main families are supposed to enter, so why am I going?¡±

    ¡°No, wait. If she¡¯s engaged to Emile, will Leliae too? I¡¯ll attend.¡± The reason why he likes her is because she''s easy to get along with.

    She is not overly reverent like a noblewoman, and is a bit foul-mouthed, to his liking. She understands the fact that he admires adventurers.

    For ordinary women, it is difficult to have a casual rtionship with a member of the six noble families.

    The rest¡ªshe hates his sister in the same way as he does.

    Although he didn''t say it with his mouth, Serge felt a sense of closeness in the way Lelia looked at Louise.

    Sometimes, she looked at her with aplex mixture of indescribable love and hate.

    Serge saw that and realized that Lelia was just like him.

    From there, he began to take an interest in Lelia and found himself falling in love with her.

    He was surprised even by himself when he realized he was in love with Lelia, because she was like a different type of person than his first love.

    Remembering that much, Serge''s expression became cloudy.

    ¡°My first love is going toe true. I''m not going to give up on this one.¡±

 Volume 6, 4 - The Promise That Day

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 4 - The Promise That Day</h4>

    It was over ten years ago.

    Louise, who was at her brothers side as he grew weaker day by day, spoke to Leon.

    ¡°Leon, are you cold?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, si¡ª cough, cough. ¡±

    Seeing Leon coughing, Louise quickly sped his hand.

    The doctor didn¡¯t know why Leon was getting weaker and weaker. Originally, the sacred tree¡ªthe coat of arms should have protected him!

    The emblems of the six great noble families should have repelled any disease! But it didn¡¯t!

    ¡°Leon, get a grip.¡±

    Louise¡¯s emblem emitted a warm glow and tried to heal Leon, but it was ineffective.

    However, Leon smiled and mouthed his thanks. ¡°Thank, you sister. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Louise knew it was a gentle lie from Leon.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. You¡¯re going to be fine. Me, mom and dad are working hard for you.¡±

    They contacted numerous doctors.

    They even bought some secret foreign medicines. Still, Leon never recovered.

    Louise took Leon¡¯s hand in hers.

    ¡°Leon, what will you do when you¡¯re well?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ oh yeah! The New Years¡¯ Festival!¡± While coughing, he told her his wish.

    ¡°New Years¡¯ Festival?¡±

    ¡°I was told that I couldn¡¯t attend because it was too dangerous, thest time I tried.¡±

    Louise and Leon couldn¡¯t participate because they were too young. ¡°Hmm. Well, why don¡¯t you go in the cave with me?¡±

    Leonughed and refused. ¡°W-Why?!¡±

    ¡°Sis, I-I have a fiance, so I¡¯ll be going in with her. I haven¡¯t met her yet. My number one is her. It would be rude to go in with you instead of her.¡± Seeing Leon smiling, Louise burst into tears.

    ¡°You idiot!¡±

    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t cry. Yeah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯ll go in the cave with you! I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll let me go in twice.¡±

    ¡°You womanizer!¡±

    Leon rubs Louise back tofort her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll definitely get better and attend the New Years¡¯ Festival. Then I¡¯ll go in the cave with you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s absolute. I won¡¯t forgive you if you lie.¡±

    ¡°¡ªYup.¡±

    Seeing her brother¡¯s weak smile, Louise became sad.

    ¡ó

    As soon as New Year¡¯s began, a New Years¡¯ party was to be held. ¡°It¡¯s not what I imagined.¡±

    ¡°What were you imagining?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s called New Years¡¯ Festival, so a New Year¡¯s vigil?¡±

    When we arrived at the New Years¡¯ Festival, we found an amusement park.

    Well-dressed adults were smiling and taking kids around the park. The kids were ying on the rides, clearly enjoying themselves.

    It looked like the amusement parks in foreign drama.

    I had imagined a festival lined with food stalls, but it was different. '' --Master, please be careful!

    ¡°You, do you think I''m going to get lost?¡±

    I thought it was either sarcasm or sarcasm, as usual, when Luxion told me to be careful, but I was wrong.

    Someone was staring at us.

    I''m not sure if it''s a good idea for me to do so, however.

    It was Lelia, but I was surprised to see another presence that I was more interested in than Lelia, although she was very well dressed.

    ¡°Hey, what''s the meaning of this? There''s a duplicate of you with her.¡± ¡°Unknown. It¡¯s probably from the second otome game, it has a presence

    simr to me. It''s surprising to see my kind in this era.¡± The blue Luxion noticed us.

    As Le approached, she brushed her side ponytail away with her side ponytail away with her left hand and turned it to her back.

    Her confident demeanor was very different to the one before winter break.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Happy New Years.¡±

    When I tried to greet her in the usual Japanese New Years¡¯ way, she blushed, as if she thought I was teasing her.

    ¡°Are you trying to make fun of me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not making fun of you. I exchanged Japanese greetings with Marie today. I almost cried. It¡¯s nice to be able to say ¡®Happy New Years¡¯ after such a long time.¡±

    As Iughed, a disgruntled Lelia turned to the blue guy. ¡°Say hello, Ideal.¡±

    Ideal?

    The blue one? The one in front of me¡ªno, in front of Luxion.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, please call me Ideal. It¡¯s a surprise to see you. (he¡¯s referring to Luxion) I¡¯ve heard of you before, but it¡¯s a miracle to

    meet Luxion in this day and age. Let¡¯s continue to be friends in the future, shall we?¡±

    It was a very friendly AI.

    However, Luxion''s reaction was cold.

    ¡°It''s a supply ship, is it? It looks like you''ve been alerted to us for quite some time? Yet, my intelligence gathering has not noticed you at all.¡±

    ¡°Supply ship?¡±

    I look at Lelia. She has her arms crossed and looks somewhat triumphant.

    ¡°Ideal is a supply ship. Luxion is a transport ship, but Ideal is a military transport ship. Isn''t it great?¡±

    A military transport ship.

    Great, but I don''t know how great it is. ¡°What''s so great about Ideal, Luxion?¡±

    ¡°It''s a great warship against neers. If youpare the performance to my main body, there will be a number of points of victory.¡±

    That''s great.

    Was it because of this guy''s performance that Luxion hadn''t noticed it before? But Luxion was suspicious of it.

    ¡°What''s wrong?¡±

    Ideal was approaching me.

    ¡°You must be Luxion¡¯s master, Mr. Leon. Thank you for your continued support of Luxion.¡±

    ¡°You know about us?¡±

    I nced at Lelia, though she didn¡¯t return it. ¡°Ideal, that¡¯s enough of your greetings.¡± ¡°Copy that.¡±

    Ideal obediently followed Lelia¡¯s instructions, unlike another AI I know. I looked at said AI and he noticed.

    He seems to have understood what I want to say.

    ¡°If you have something to say, why don¡¯t you put it in words, Master?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you follow Ideal and respect me a little?¡±

    ¡°I will try my best.¡±

    Why do you hate respecting me so much? These AI are too stubborn. Lelia looked at us andughed a little foolishly.

    ¡°You guys really don¡¯t get along, do you? You¡¯re not even recognized as his master.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Well, Ideal isn¡¯t as stubborn. He has ws, but if I point them out he will try his best to fix them.¡±

    I looked at Ideal, he nodded.

    ¡°Thanks to Lelia-sama, I¡¯ve been released from my standby. That much is natural.¡±

    I envy the rtionship between them. I shoot Luxion a nce.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gonna thank me, too?¡±

    ¡°For how long have I wiped master¡¯s back? I¡¯m the one owed a thanks.¡± This guy, I have a feeling he¡¯s really going to betray me one day.

    No, he¡¯d already betrayed me.

    Lelia looks at the clock in the hall and starts walking away.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy today, so I¡¯ll take my leave. Let¡¯s meet again. We have to talk about the future. Ideal, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    ¡ó

    After I left Lelia and Ideal, I headed to the meeting ce with Louise. Louise was more dressed up than usual.

    I''m wearing a coat over my suit, and Louise wraps her arms around me. There''s something that bothers me.

    ¡°There are a lot of small children here.¡±

    Yes. I heard that Louise and Leon could not attend because they were too young. And yet, there were many children in the hall.

    ¡°¡ªFather made it possible for the children to attend too.¡± ¡°Mr. Alberg?¡±

    ¡°I told you I''m not the only one who felt sad. Okay, we''re getting started. Come on over here and join us.¡±

    She pulled me by the arm to a even more decorated stage.

    Sacred tools were also set up, and this was the only ce where the atmosphere was different from the others.

    The heads of the six great noble families had gathered to thank the Holy Tree, pray, and dere their vows.

    Arge number of other nobles have also gathered there.

    In the midst of all of this, Louise pointed to a cave with a eye-catching gate.

    ¡°That¡¯s the cave, with the stone monument. That¡¯s where you got to take your vows. We¡¯ll both go in there. It¡¯s made of tree roots.¡±

    The fact it was made of tree roots didn¡¯t bother me, this was a fantasy world. But was it right for me to go in there with her?

    ¡°Are you sure you want me to go with you? Even if we look alike, I¡¯m¡ª¡±

    I¡¯m not the real Leon Jr.

    That¡¯s what I was trying to say, but Louise squeezed my arm very hard.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite rude of you to run away now. Or did you feel bad for your fiance¡¯s? I¡¯m sorry if it¡¯s that, but good friends can go in too.¡±

    I put myself in Louise¡¯s shoes. If I went into the cave alone, it would be like hell.

    I would definitely not attend, and just run away.

    If you don¡¯t have a partner, this is not a gathering you want to attend. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ve never been in the cave before.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°You know, I made a promise. I promised my brother I¡¯d go in with him. That¡¯s why I haven¡¯t gone in with somebody, until today.¡±

    Would it be right for me to be her first time?

    As I was thinking that, the hostess announced that the ritual was over and that it was time to go into the cave to pray.

    The ce became noisy.

    A young man was standing nearby and told a woman that he had been in love with her for a long time.

    Jessica¡ªI''ve always been in love with you. Come into the cave with me.

    ¡ªJessica - I''ve been in love with you for a long time,e with me to the cave and I will pray to the Sacred Tree for our future together.

    A man on his knees holding a woman''s hand.

    He has a lot of courage to confess in a ce like this. But the world is not that easy¡ª.

    ¡°I''m d. Jack, I''ve been waiting to hear those words for a long time.¡±

    ¡ªWhat? She epted!

    Everyone around me is apuding the new couple.

    I was caught up in it, too, and gave them a crackling, unwilling apuse. Then, confessions of love began everywhere.

    ¡°Ms. Louise, what is this?¡±

    ¡°It''s rather normal to confess at times like this. It''s quite popr.¡±

    She looked at me smiling, but being a foreigner, I couldn''t understand it.

    What a surprise! Contrary to the kingdom, the women and the men in this country are very kind. I can''t help but remember when I confessed my love to some Kingdom women and they said to me, ¡°Come back after looking in the mirror.¡±

    ¡°The Republic is so nice.¡± ¡°Really?¡±

    I thought about telling Louise the details of the kingdom''s situation, but it would damper the mood. If you look at the cave, there is a line of people waiting in line.

    ¡°It looks like we won''t be able to get in for a while.¡± ¡°Yeah. Then you want to go have some fun?¡±

    She took me by the arm and headed to where the amusement park was located.

    Louise was dressed as an adult woman in a dress but was smiling innocently like a child.

    ¡ó

    After inviting Leon to the mobile amusement park, Louise made her way through the crowd.

    Arm in arm with Leon, they looked like first-time lovers. A bewildered Leon was led around by a fluttering Louise. ¡°Let¡¯s go to that one.¡±

    When Louise pointed to the stall, Leon looked surprised. ¡°A food stall?¡±

    ¡°I don''t usually go to food stalls, but at a ce like this you have to experience everything.¡±

    I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fun, even if Leon Jr. isn¡¯t here, was what Louise was thinking.

    "Is Leon is ufortable in these ces?

    She was worried about Leon, who was confused.

    She was also sorry for making him go along with his selfishness. Leon has a fianc¨¦ and it would be distressing if she suspected him of cheating on her.

    He might¡¯ve exined the situation to his fiance¡¯s, but even if a woman might understand in theory, her heart would always think differently.

    Leon was slow in that area, so Louise was even more worried.

    ¡°No, I''m confused by the atmosphere, which isn''t present in the kingdom, it''s fun. And being taken by a beautiful woman~ What a great time to be a man."

    ¡°Leon, you should learn a little more about women''s mindset. You''ll get stabbed by your fiance¡¯s.¡±

    Laughing at Louise''s words, Leon had the attitude that it didn''t matter to him.

    He was worried about Louise.

    Should I solve her problems before returning to the Kingdom?

    Being attached to a person who looks like her brother¡ªLeon couldn¡¯t leave her alone.

    ¡ó

    Lelia was waiting for her turn to enter the cave.

    She was a great noble, but the couples who had sessfully confessed would be given priority.

    Next to enter are the officials of the six great nobles.

    It is not natural that couples are given priority over the six noble families, but in the world of otome games, it is understandable.

    The romantic events take precedence in an otome game.

    It was time for Lelia to enter the cave, but there are so many people that she cannot find Emile.

    ¡°Ideal, can''t you find Emile?¡±

    ¡°Apparently he''s talking and can''te over here.¡± ¡°You''re leaving your fianc¨¦ alone at a time like this! It''s almost the end of our time to get in!¡±

    The prayers of the lovers were over, and now the people involved with the six noble families were entering. That time was also running out.

    ¡°It sounds like an important person. It''s a serious discussion and I¡¯d feel bad interrupting it.¡±

    ¡°Artificial intelligence has feelings? Ha! That''s good.¡± ¡°Could it be someone in the family business?¡±

    Lelia knew that Emile was serious, so she decided to wait for a while. Suddenly, her arm was grabbed by someone in the crowd.

    ¡°Heh?¡±

    The other party was¡ªSerge in his suit. ¡°Lelia,e with me.¡±

    Lelia was flustered as her arms were forcefully pulled back. '' Wait a minute! Where are you taking me?!''

    Serge pulled her towards the cave.

    ¡ó

    An announcement was made in the hall. ¡°Next!¡±

    The time for the officials of the six great nobles wasing to an end, and we were in a hurry. Me and Louise lost track of time and that¡¯s why we¡¯re in this situation.

    ¡°I''m sorry. Can we still go in?¡±, Louise asked the attendant, who looked a little confused.

    "It''s all right, but actually¡­¡± ¡°Then we''ll go in. I''m sorry.¡±

    It was brighter inside than expected.

    It reminds me of thenterns I saw at the fair. ¡°It''s pretty bright.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you''re right,¡± Louise let out a sigh, ¡°I''m tired.¡±

    Louise was out of breath from running as fast as she could. Louise put her hand on her chest.

    ¡°I would have regretted it for a long time if I hadn''t made it in time.¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry, if you don''t make it in time, you can use your power as a great noble to get in anyway.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I don''t like that.¡±

    The walls and ceiling felt like wooden roots.

    If you touch them, there was a lumpy feeling, like something damp.

    Moss grew and small tree branches grew in ces. Louise leaned closer to me.

    ¡°I wanted toe here with my brother, who was feeling better," she said.

    ¡°I promised him that I would. But Leon didn''t make it past that year.¡± Let''s try to be a proper stand-in this time.

    ¡°Then you''ve made good on your promise.¡±

    ¡°¡ªBut, you know, I¡¯ve broken a lot of promises. There are several others. Leon, are you a liar?¡± ¡°No, I''m not.¡±

    Louise''s expression softened.

    ¡°I''m sure I''ll be able to help you in your time of need, as payment.¡± she said.

    She said that since she was supposed to get the guardian''s crest. I¡¯m sure she would be a great guardian.

    She''s a great kid.

    ¡°Now that I think about it, I was a very lucky child. He even proposed to me, and gave me a ring made of paper.¡± She smiled, but her expression quickly turned sad and forlorn.

    ¡°A ring for your sister? I would never be able to do that.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, Leon, you said you had an older sister, don''t you? Didn''t you say she set a bomb or something? You''re kidding me, right?¡± ¡°It''s true. They tried to kill me.¡¯

    It was because of a cold-hearted, scumbag named Jilk, though! But she¡¯s still a bad sister.

    ¡°Wow. You¡¯ve got a horrible family. How about joining ours?¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s a great suggestion.¡±

    ¡°No, really. We really thought about adopting you¡ª my parents, and me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in no position to be adopted, and even if you seed, it¡¯ll take a lot of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Besides, my parents are kind, and so is my brother.¡± Though my sister is troubling.

    Huh? My family would be pretty good if it weren¡¯t for my sisters. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re good friends with everyone but your sister.¡±

    ¡ó

    ¡°What are you trying?!¡±

    Lelia was nning to go in with Emile, originally, but Serge forced her to apany him.

    When Serge let go of her hand, Lelia fell down, next to the wall. Ideal, who was at her side, reprimanded Serge for his action. ¡°I¡¯m not impressed. I didn¡¯t expect you to force a woman.¡±

    ¡°Everyone saw you and I at the entrance! What am I supposed to tell Emile?!¡±

    Serge, who had been silent until now, turned serious.

    He ced his hand on the wall next to Lelia and brought his face close.

    ¡°Why do you care about the guy talking with strangers rather than with you?¡±

    How does he know what Emile is doing?

    Lelia narrowed her eyes. ¡°No way, you¡ª¡±

    ¡°I just asked someone to pull him away from you. But Emile could have declined talking to him. It was up to him.¡±

    Hearing that, Lelia lowered her head.

    Really, Emile, you don''t understand a women''s mind. I thought you were a serious one, but I didn''t expect you to be so boring.

    Lelia was reminded of the person she was engaged to in her previous life. That person, unlike Emile, was fun to be with.

    But¡ªthey still broke up.

    Reflecting on that, she chose the serious Emile as her lover in this life. But not much changed.

    Still, Lelia had no intention of betraying Emile. '' ¡ªSerge, stop it.¡±

    Why is that? I love you more than him.¡± ¡°You can say as many words as you like¡ª?¡± ¡°Ooh, that''s bold.¡±

    Ideal was carefree and impressed, but Lelia was panicked. That''s because Serge had kissed her.

    Lelia''s mouth was blocked by Serge''s mouth.

    She tried to resist, but she couldn''t escape from Serge¡¯s grip, who very strong.

    However, that resistance wasn''t serious either.

    For several minutes, Lelia and Serge remained as they were.

    When Serge finally released her, Lelia turned over when he finally let her go.

    Her mind was reeling from Serge''s passionate behavior, something Emile had never had before.

    Serge whispers his love to Lelia''s reddened ear.

    ¡°I''m serious. I really want you. I was really surprised when I found out that you were engaged to Emile. I was so frustrated that my eyes wentpletely dark.¡±

    The tone of his voice didn''t seem like a joke, and Serge was not going to let go until he heard Lelia''s answer.

    ¡°Lelia¡ªI want a family with you. A real family.¡± ¡°Family?¡±

    Perhaps sensing the air, Ideal was silent. He didn''t interrupt them.

    ¡°Serge, I''m not! I''m sorry. I can''t do it.¡±

    When Lelia replied, Serge narrowed his eyes and looked sad. ¡°I see. I''m sorry.¡±

    Amidst the awkward air, Ideal turns towards the entrance. ¡°Oops, I shouldn''t have forced myself to interrupt you.

    Some people have caught up to us.¡± The person there¡ªwas Louise.

    She came running up to them.

    ¡°What the hell are you guys thinking!¡± The person behind her looked surprised. ¡°Serge?¡±

    Just as Lelia''s side is crowded by Louise.

    ¡°Lelia, did youe here on your own volition?¡± ¡°No! It''s¡ª¡±

    Serge forced me toe to him.

    As Lelia was about to say that¡ªSerge punched the wall. Both Lelia and Louise turned their gazes to Serge.

    Serge, trembling with anger, stared at Louise. ¡°What do you mean, Louise! Who is that guy!¡±

    As Louise stepped back from Serge, the man who approached interrupted them. Ideal greets him in a disciplined manner.

    ¡°That was a very quick reunion.¡±

    ¡ó

    ¡°¡ªWho¡¯s this guy?¡±

    I encountered a capture target, a boy, and it was strange. The hostility he showed towards me was tremendous.

    Hate? Hate? Why?

    It''s true that I rampaged through the Republic, but I should have done nothing to this guy personally.

    And why would he hate me so much?

    Serge stares at me with a wrinkled brow, blood flowing from his fist that punched the wall. It seems he was so angry he didn¡¯t even feel the pain.

    ¡°Huh? We''ve never met before, right?¡±

    Lelia was puzzled as she looked around for help.

    However, it seems that Louise-san knew what was going on.

    ¡°This is our first meeting. I''m sure you''re not the only one who''s interested in this.¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    With the way he was about to hit me, I knew I was about to get in trouble again.

    Are the capture targets all this troublesome?

    When someonees out of a fight, all I can think of is

    ¡°Nice to meet you. I''m Leon Fou Bartford. I''m from the Holfort Kingdom¡ª¡±

    While I was greeting him, he hit me out of nowhere. I was blown backwards and fell on my ass.

    Louise runs up to me and hugs me up.

    ¡°Leon-kun! Serge, do you have any idea what you''ve done! He is a foreign nobleman. He''s a foreign nobleman, and if youy your hands on him¡ª¡±

    Lelia seems to be confused by the suddenness of the event. ¡°Wha, why? Serge, what''s going on?¡±

    When Lelia called out to him, Serge turned his gaze to Louise. ¡°Leon? What, have you found a recement for me?¡±

    ¡°¡ªI don''t know what you''re talking about, but you should apologize to him. You have no idea what you''re doing.¡±

    ¡°It doesn''t matter! He''s got your brother''s name and your brother''s face.¡± ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about, nor do I care.¡±

    Louise is just trying to fulfill her promise to Leon Jr. When I try toin, Luxion approaches me.

    ¡°It''s another nuisance. The Master seems to love attracting trouble.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t like getting hit by him, you know?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see. So, do you want to get rid of it (Serge)?¡±

    I was waiting for the usual radicalment, but this time Ideal answered.

    ¡°I''m don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea, Luxion.¡± ¡°You attacked us first, didn''t you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not very nice to eliminate everything we disagree with.¡± ¡°It''s more decent than I expected.¡±

    I''m not sure if the artificial intelligence I got is just an outlier, but this AI seems nice.

    ¡°For now, let''s just finish the prayer and go outside. You there! Remember this when we get outside.¡± I''m a man of vengeance.

    And I''m gonna make him pay.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we finish this right here?¡±

    Serge was about to reach for his hand, but Lelia stopped him with a hug.

    ¡°Serge, wait! This guy is really dangerous. I''ll exinter, but for now, let''s go outside.¡±

    ¡°Sh*t! Lelia, let''s get to the back of the room!¡±

    Louise took out a handkerchief and held his bleeding nose. ¡°I''m sorry. I didn''t know you were here. I''m so sorry¡± she said, looking at Louise, who was depressed, and she lost all sense of me.

    ¡°Shall we finish our prayers first? You''re going to make good on your promise, right?¡±

    ¡°¡ªYes.¡±

    Following Serge and Lelia''s back, we headed for the stone monument at the back.

    ¡°Phew!¡±

    It''s smaller than I thought it would be.

    When I heard about the stone monument that the holy tree protects, I imagined arge one, but the actual one was small. However, the holy tree is rooted to protect the monument alone.

    ¡°So, should I pray to this?¡±

    Mr. Louise nods and shows me how to do it.

    ¡°Hold my hand. ¡ªYes, and close your eyes and pray.

    It''s said that if your prayers and wishes reach the Holy Tree, it will answer them.¡±

    An exasperated Sergeughed at Louise''s words.

    ¡°What a childish superstition. If your wishes were truly granted, your brother would not have died.¡±

    At Serge''s words, Louise hugged herself. It''s not a good idea, Lelia stopped him.

    ¡°Serge, let''s get this over with and get back.¡±

    Well, I don''t care what I have to do, because I got what I wanted.

    I say a few words to Serge as he tries to pray. ¡°You''re an asshole¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    I close my eyes to silently say a prayer. Then¡ªI felt the ground shake.

    When I hurriedly opened my eyes, I saw that Louise was emitting a light. ¡°Eh? Ah, that?¡±

    She doesn''t understand what''s happening either.

    And the emblem on the back of Louis-Se''s hand is shining. ¡°Luxion, what¡¯s happening!¡±

    ¡°Unknown.¡±

    Lelia was also checking with Ideal to see what was happening. ¡°Ideal, what''s going on?¡±

    ¡°We are currently investigating. I''m not sure if it''s a good idea. No, it speaks to me in my head.¡±

    ¡°Look at the treetops! It''s in bloom!¡±

    ¡°It seems that the tree is delivering a message.¡± ¡°The nt?¡±

    ¡°It would be better if you didn''t think of the Holy Tree as just a nt.

    I''ve got more than that, I''ve been able to analyze it.'' said Luxion, ying back the voice of the holy tree clearly.

    It was too horrible to be true.

    ¡°Sacrifice your daughter to the flowers blooming in the treetops.¡± '' Sacrifice?''

    Quickly, I looked at Louise, who had just shone a light. Her knees copsed and she hugged himself.

    ''Louise!''

    I pull her up and make her stand, and I immediately tell everyone here in a strong tone of voice.

    ¡°Considering the situation in the Republic and what just happened! I have a bad feeling about this.¡±

    ¡°Okay, don''t tell anyone when we leave.¡± Lelia cringed, as if she hadn''t expected it. ¡°But¡ª¡±

    ¡°It''s okay. I''ll take care of it. So don''t ever tell anyone.¡±

    I was about to hug Louise and go outside when I saw something dazzling. ¡°I heard voices.¡±

    ¡°You''ll be fine. I won''t let them sacrifice you. As long as you don''t say anything, no one will ever know.¡±

    ¡°No, no. No, no. ¡ªNo, no, no. ¡ªI heard Leon. I hear Leon.¡± ¡°¡ªWhat?¡±

    A trembling Louise said and spilled her tears.

    ¡ó

    Louise, supported by Leon, heard a voice. It was a familiar voice.

    Her brother Leon''s voice. But that voice was suffering. ¡°Painful¡­ Sis¡­ Help¡­¡±

    Louise covered her ears, but the voice echoed directly into her head. From the crest on the back of her right hand, she could hear Leon''s voice. He really looked like he was in pain.

    ¡°I''m scared. . . sister¡ªand me. ¡ªI miss you. I¡ªI''m all alone in the holy tree.'' Louise cried.

    ¡°I''m sorry. I''m sorry, Leon. I''ll will be able to help you. So¡ªjust bear with it a little longer.¡±

    She couldn''t stop crying as she imagined her little brother trapped in the Holy Tree.

    ¡°Sis! I''m inside!¡±

    My brother, who couldn''t help himself¡ªis calling me.

    For Louise, it was worth the sacrifice. While tears were spilling from her eyes, Ideal speaks to her.

    ¡°Are you okay? Do you hear something?¡± ¡°I hear my brother¡¯s voice.¡±

    ¡°What does he sound like.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s in pain. I need to help him.¡± ¡°Even at the expense of yourself?¡±

    At the words of Ideal, Leon realizes what Louise is thinking. ¡°What are you trying to do?!¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t have enough information. You should hurry out.¡± Leon pulls Louise by her hand.

    ¡°Louise, please don¡¯t say anything when you go outside, alright?¡±

    He may be trying to protect her, but Louise didn¡¯t want herself protected.

    You''re worried about me. But¡ªI''m sorry. I''m going to stand by my brother. It''s the least I can do to make amends.

    ¡ó

    While everyone was hurrying out. Only Ideal remained at the back of the cave, looking at the stone monument.

    He floated around it for a while, until he heard Lelia calling out in the distance.

    ¡°Ideal, where are you?!¡±

    Then it began to move slowly.

    When he caught up with Lelia and the others, he regained his normal condition.

    ¡°Excuse me, Maam. I''m sorry I''mte.¡± ¡°What the hell were you doing?¡±

 Volume 6, 5 â€“ Sacrifice

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 5 - Sacrifice</h4>

    As we walked outside, the hallway was bustling with activity. When we left the cave, all eyes were upon us.

    -What!?

    I was holding Louise in my arms and I felt this situation was bad. In fact, the eyes of the assembled people spoke for themselves.

    Why¡­

    -Could this be the sacrificial girl ¡­?

    -I heard the voice of the tree. This is¡­

    - What are we going to do?

    ¡­The people outside could also hear the voice of the Sacred Tree. I gritted my teeth and then gave Luxon some instructions.

    ¡ªLuxon, if the worst were to happen---

    [Do you want Louise to escape? If so, the sooner the better. I will prepare a small pod. After that, I can flee to the kingdom of Holfault in Einhorn or Licorn.]

    I immediately tried to run away with Louise, but she pulled away from me.

    "Thanks, Leon, but everything will be fine now.¡±

    -Hey?

    Louise was surrounded by armed knights who ran towards her.

    The knights also approached Lelia, but Serge threatened them."What do you think you¡¯re doing?"

    "Serge-sama, you will give us that youngdy.¡±

    ¡°I also have no idea what is happening here, but the Sacred Tree asked for a sacrificial girl. The moment I heard those words, a dazzling light came from inside the cave, if one of these two is the girl to be sacrificed¡­¡±

    "Don''t touch Lelia!"

    Louise stopped Serge from trying to fight the knights."Wait!"

    I saw Alberg-sama running from afar.

    But before I could run here ¡­ Louise stepped forward.

    "It was I who was chosen as the sacrifice. That girl has nothing to do with this. The knights heard Louise''s words and looked at each other.

    I grabbed Louise¡¯s arm to try to convince her.

    -What are you talking about!?

    -It''s okay. I heard him. My brother, Leon, is suffering inside the Sacred Tree. Didn¡¯t you hear Leon''s anguished voice in there?

    I looked at Luxon, but he moved his eye from side to side in denial. [I did not hear anything.]

    I gripped Louise''s arm tightly as she tried to follow the knights.

    I didn''t know what the hell was going on, but something inside me was screaming at me not to let her go.

    -Something is wrong. This is not OK.

    Although I tried to persuade her, Louise had already decided.

    "I''m sorry I got you involved in these things, but you see, I want to go to my brother''s side. I couldn''t do anything for him before, but if I can meet that boy onest time, that''s fine.

    Louise gently released my hand and walked away with the knights. Then Alberg-Sama grabbed Louise''s shoulder.

    - Louise, what happened !? Why is it that you are going to sacrifice yourself?

    "It is as it is. Father, I''ll tell you what happened.¡± I just stood there, unable to do anything about it.

    Serge shoved his hands into his pockets and walked past me.

    "Leon, Leon ¡­ that woman really only thinks about her brother, right? Is her dead brother that important to her? I do not get it.¡±

    Then Sergeughed at me, while I looked stunned.

    "If there is a real one, your part in this is over. Now get out of here.¡± Serge, without feeling the hatred he had felt earlier, called Lelia."Lelia, let''s go."

    "Uh-huh."

    The two of them walked away from me. I don''t care what Serge says.

    But why would the Sacred Tree ask for a sacrifice? I haven''t heard anything about it from Marie.

    Lelia also showed a puzzled look, as if she did not expect it.

    ¡­ Something was wrong.

    It was the same in the kingdom when things didn''t work out as in the game, but I felt a disconcerting feeling.

    "Luxon, let''s find out what''s going on."

    [When I am with the Master nothing is boring.] "Something feels weird."

    I''ll go back to Marie.

    [Do you have any clues?] "My bad feeling was right." I am not that intuitive.

    But a bad feeling was always right.

    When I came out of the noisy living room, I took onest look at the tree.

    ¡ó

    As Lelia and Serge were walking, Emile appeared from the crowd.

    His suit was messed, but this didn¡¯t bother him as he stomped up to them."Emile."

    Before Lelia could say anything, Emile grabbed Serge.

    "Serge, exin yourself! I heard you forced Lelia into the cave. How could you do this to me!?¡±

    Emile was not mad at his fianc¨¦e, but Serge on the other hand¡­ He looked upset.

    -You are annoying. I''m busy, my father is calling me.

    Serge was also present when Louise was chosen to be the sacrifice.

    Alberg had called Serge to hear the details.

    The expression on Serge''s face, who thought what happened next was troublesome, must have seemed silly to Emile.

    "Is this how you''re going to escape?"

    Emile grabbed Serge by the chest with his small body, but due to the difference in size, he was easily pushed away.

    "Whoa."

    Lelia ran to Emile, who was thrown.

    When Serge saw her, he got angry and said something that would strain their rtionship.

    "Come to me when you get tired of that pitiful fellow Lelia. I will always wee you. You''d rather have someone trustworthy like me, right? --- I will invite you again next time. We will have fun.¡±

    At those words, Emile looked at Lelia.

    Lelia felt something suspicious, but remembered that she had been kissed in the cave.

    Thus, she couldn''t strongly deny it.

    Serge left without any further problem, but Lelia and Emile stayed behind.

    Emile gripped both Lelia''s shoulders tightly.

    "Lelia, you need to tell me the truth." Did something happen between you and Serge !?

    "N-Nothing happened."

    -Look me in the eyes. I, I¡­!

    Emile started to cry, but Lelia felt some eyes staring at her and she looked around her. A group of onlookers gathered around them."Could it be young Emile of the Pleven family?"

    "Isn''t that girl from the Lespinasse house?"

    "Well, then the conversation with Serge earlier was ¡­"

    They were whispering and talking around her, Lelia felt embarrassed so she grabbed Emile''s hand and stood up.

    With things going like this, she left. However, Emile was in no mood to do so."Lelia, you have to answer me directly!" Such Emile was annoying to Lelia.

    -That¡¯s enough! "¡­ Lelia?"

    "I really don''t like when you¡¯re like this, Emile. Always acting proper, yet always doubting me. Nothing happened, so trust me.

    "B-But that you were both in the cave was too much! You said you woulde in with me! You can¡¯t do that in front of everyone. This is like Serge is making fun of me. I am also one of the faces of the six noble families.

    This makes me look bad!¡± Lelia''s impression was cold.

    That is too much of a stretch. What is the appearance of a nobleman in the first ce? You should worry about me. That''s dumb.

    For Lelia, the appearance of the nobility that Emile valued was something that was difficult to understand.

    Due to her previous life experience, she could not find any value in such things. And Emile seemed to value that more than her.

    Lelia could feel the feelings she had for Emile cooling rapidly.

    I chose Emile for my future ¡­ but I may have been wrong.

    -Yes. You care more about your appearance than you do about me."Lelia?"

    "If you want to fight Serge, you can. But I will despise you Emile. This is stupid.¡±

    "W-Why!?

    "Don''t say why!! You are driving me crazy! Stop making excuses like that.¡±

    Because I don''t want to hear any more of those excuses.

    Forgetting what she originally intended to do here, Lelia left Emile behind.

    Emile was lying on his stomach and she felt miserable when she saw him.

    Why did I choose Emile? It might have been better if I chose Serge from the beginning.

    I returned to Marie''s mansion and told her about the events of the New Years Festival, and how Louise had been chosen to be a sacrifice.

    I also told her that she had heard the voice of her dead brother suffering, which motivated her to want to be sacrificed.

    Marie looked like she didn''t understand anything.

    "Why would she volunteer to be sacrificed if her dead brother was suffering? Isn''t it weird?¡±

    If you ask me, it didn''t make any sense.

    -I do not know. But I think it is too much to ept being a sacrifice just because her brother died.

    We were in an unused room, with Luxon and re also in the meeting.

    This talk was something that the others couldn''t hear, so it was more like a secret meeting.

    -Well wait. I don''t remember there being any sacrifice in the second game.

    Mainly, the purpose is to show the people around her that she is dating the boy who became her lover at the New Years Festival.

    "What was Louise''s role? What happened next in the story? What happens in the story after that?¡±

    I asked question after question, but Marie sensed my impatience and answered honestly.

    -All right. I think it¡¯s okay if you stop this from happening.

    I don''t remember the details, but there is no way Louise will be chosen as a sacrifice, because in the end she will be doomed.

    Leaving aside the story of being condemned, it is not possible that Louise, who has that role to y until the end, is narratively sacrificed.

    In that case, there is aplete irregrity.

    "¡­ What the heck happened? Do we need to do something about it ¡­?¡±

    I put my hand over my mouth to think about it, and re scoffed at me.

    [ Aren''t they getting involved again? That said, if we''re going to save her, let''s do it

    quickly. We¡¯ll end up doing it anyway, right? ] From the beginning I had intended to save her. I''m not going to let her be a sacrifice.

    But the problem is that she has already epted the idea of sacrificing herself.

    It will not be easy to convince her. Are we going to have to force her out?

    "Let''s sneak her out and see what happens." Luxon, we''ll get out of here soon¡­ Luxon? He was less receptive than usual.

    Luxon''s attitude was different than usual. He was very cautious.

    Before, he would have had the luxury of being able to simply destroy the new humans at any time.

    [Teacher, I have some bad news.]

    -Bad?

    [Louise''s rescue has a low sess rate.]

    -¡­ What do you mean? Even you can''t do it? What do you mean that the sess rate is low?

    [I cannot fulfill the condition of secretly taking it out. This is because of Ideal.]

    -Ideal? What about him?

    [The security equipment manufactured by Ideal has been used in the mansion. I have also confirmed that defense equipment has been installed.]

    "Hey, didn''t you think Lelia would turn against you ?! Did Lelia betray us?

    No, in the case of that chick, he''s hostile to Louise in her position. Did you think it would be better if it disappeared?

    But she''s not that clever.

    For better or for worse, she carries on with her previous life just like me. When Marie heard Ideal''s name, she asked for a detailed story.

    The second game ¡­ Marie didn''t pay the bills and didn''t know much about Ideal.

    "Ideal, you mean the cheat level battleship from the second game, right?

    What¡¯s he like? Luxon exined it briefly, but inexplicably seemed to have some doubts.¡±

    [It''s a transport ship created by old humanity. However, the possibility has arisen that they have a greater intelligence gathering ability than I do.

    This is not natural.]

    re had the same question.

    [ Does a transport ship need that kind of performance? But why doesn''t my data show that? ]

    [I''m also confused. He has recently dated, and I can only say that he has been hiding from me until now, and that considers him a threat.]

    With the arrival of Ideal, we could not move as easily as before.

    Just when I think we have someone troublesome on our hands, Marie asks me for a solution.

    "Brother, what do we do now? It''s getting harder and harder to get in and out, right? If you screw up, won''t it be a kind of international problem for which there will be no excuse?

    "Things have gotten more difficult, haven''t they?"

    If I had to say a problem, it is that for the Alzer Republic when the Sacred Tree is involved, it bes a ritual.

    Even if it is a sacrifice, it is the Republic that offers it if the Sacred Tree demands it. Even if I try to help Louise, it will surely interfere with me.

    "Oh!" So why don''t you make Luxon and the others burn the flowers of the holy tree? And then maybe the sacrifice talk would go away?

    "I wish I could, but I can''t ¡­ Luxon moved his eye to the side.

    [Ideal''s defensive team has been set up. If we take action, if we attack the Sacred Tree, there will be a big problem between the Kingdom and the Republic.]

    Marie''s head jerked when she heard that Ideal was on the road.

    - Then what should we do !?

    I don''t know that and that''s why I''m in trouble. Luxon asked my opinion.

    [Master, what do you want to do? If we¡¯re going to fight Ideal, we won''t lose, but he''ll also hurt us. Furthermore, there are many unknowns in Ideal''s performance.]

    --- In other words, it could be dangerous even for me with Luxon. I was thinking of the worst case scenario.

    It''s a hostile situation with Ideal.

    I don''t care if it''s against Lelia, but it''s not good if it''s against Ideal. Should we have a card up our sleeve for that case?

    "I''m going to gather information first." And then ¡­ if I can''t infiltrate, I''ll just go head-on. Marie, find me if you remember anything. Luxon wille with me. And re ---

    [What''s going on?]

    "You are going back to the kingdom." [ ¡­ Eh? ]

    "Think about it, you''re useless now." Come find me when Anjie and Livia get back. So, goodbye. For once, Luxon agreed with me.

    [It certainly won''t be a problem if I''m here. Let re work in the kingdom.] When we told her to go home, re was hinted at and showed resistance. [ Wait! I don''t want to be the only one left out! ]

    -See you!

    [ Stupid master! ]

    Marie reached her hand out to re as she left the room, crying.

    "W-Wait! Brother, are you sure you want her to go back? I think re is quite helpful.¡±

    -I know what I''m doing. Luxon, walk.

    -Yes Master.

    ¡ó

    The six great nobles were having an emergency meeting.

    The matter of Louise being chosen as a sacrifice was on the agenda, and all five, except for Alberg, agreed.

    "Are they going to sacrifice my daughter?"

    The decision of the six great nobles is that they would hand over Louise if the Sacred Tree wishes. There were no doubts there.

    For the Six Great Nobles, no, for the people of the Republic, the Sacred Tree was that sacred.

    Lambert looked amusedly at Alberg''s disrepair.

    "If she''s been chosen by the Sacred Tree, shouldn''t you be happy to offer her to it? I''m jealous.¡±

    Behind the lines of envy and other heartless lines, Alberg''s dependency could be seen.

    As Alberg painfully grasped his hands together, the other heads of the family began to talk about the future.

    "But nothing like this has happened before. This event should be well documented.¡±

    "We will need people from the Six Great Houses." We will also need an escort for Miss Louise. She intends to sacrifice herself, but we can''t make her change her mind at thest minute.

    "Then we will send guards from the other houses."

    Alberg was angry that the meeting continued without him.

    He had taken the initiative to join the conversation, including Fernand, whom he had once adored.

    He seems to be desperate to build a new rtionship abandoned by Alberg. And he was trying to get everything fully prepared to sacrifice Louise.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, there is one more thing we should know. It''s about the hero of the Kingdom.¡±

    Some of the heads of the families nodded when the topic of Leon came up.

    "Why do we need to discuss him?" This is the problem of the Republic.

    "That foreigner has nothing to do with this."

    However, Fernand had been beaten by Leon and was quite cautious."He is close with Louise personally."

    "What about it?"

    The other heads of the families still had a questioning expression on their faces.

    "The reason was, if Leon messed with the Republic for that level of things, it would be a big problem."

    Ordinary nobles wouldn''t rescue Louise for that level of reason. However, there was a head of a family who agreed with Fernand. It was the Barriere family, which had been hurt by Leon. ¡°Fernand is right.¡±

    Alberg, who had been silent until now,ughed in his mind, thinking that he hoped Leon would help them.

    That''s probably why ¡­ he didn''t want the other heads of the families to be too rmed.

    "I don''t think I¡¯ll try to do anything."

    When Alberg said that, Benge red at him.

    "This is how I lowered my guard, and that guy hurt me!"

    But the heads of the families, who had not been injured by Leon, seemed cold.

    "That''s your story, right?" "He won''t do anything."

    If Leon makes a move, this trend isn''t bad for Alberg. Plus, it could force Louise to go back.

    Okay, this is the way to go ¡­

    But Lambert, Fernand, and Benge, whom Leon had beaten so badly, made a strong statement.

    "He''s insane! It is impossible to know what he is going to do!¡±

    People around him felt sorry for Leon when Lambert called him insane. However, Fernand agreed with them.

    "It''s toote to do anything about it. We need to be prepared.¡± Benge looked at Alberg.

    -Yes. Some people would fight if it was their cute daughter. I don''t think the acting president would do that, but we need to be careful.

    Alberg clicked his tongue internally.

    As a man who cut off his own son so easily, you wouldn¡¯t know.

    Alberg knew the nobles here didn''t understand how much he cared for Louise. It''s because it''s more of an anomaly for a noble like him.

    However, some of the heads of the families did not think that Leon would make a move, and the conversation about weaponry was half-hearted.

    Fernand and Benge had a bitter expression on their faces, while Alberg was worried about what the oue of this would be.

    Louise, I''ll bring you back no matter what ¡­

    ¡ó

    At the Rault family castle, Louise was lying on her bed.

    It had been a few days since she returned from the New Years Festival, but she was tired, as if she hadn''t rested well.

    Sitting next to the bed were Alberg and his wife, his parents.

    His mother was wiping away her tears.

    -How¡­? How can it be possible !? Why do they have to take Louise from us after Leon? Why are they taking all my children !?

    Louise held her mother''s tearful hand and smiled."It''s okay, mother." Leon is waiting for me.

    She also had that same expression.

    She imagined the scene when her brother Leon got sick and couldn''t get out of bed. That alone made her heart ache.

    He was a good boy, who suffered, but despite that he cared about the people around him.

    With a brother like that ¡­ Louise couldn''t do anything to help him. That has always been a burden and regret for Louise.

    In fact, he felt incapable of not being able to do anything to wield the great power of the Sacred Tree as one of the six great nobles.

    Alberg crossed his hands and made a harsh sound.

    "¡­ There is no record of the Sacred Tree flourishing or calling for a sacrifice." Louise, I won''t let them put you down or whatever.

    "Father ¡­ you can¡¯t stop this, can you? Heard there was a meeting shortly after that. The knights from the other houses havee to our castle to watch over me, haven''t they?¡±

    The knights and soldiers of the other five families had been sent to the Rault castle as Louise''s guards.

    It''s an escort on the surface, but it''s actually surveince. Alberg looked down at her helplessly.

    "They all agreed except me. It is true that most decided to sacrifice you.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to let Louise die like this !?

    As his mother moaned through tears, Alberg slowly got up. There was determination in his expression.

    "Father, no." I will be sacrificed. Leon is waiting for me.

    "¡­ Even if Leon is alone and trapped in the Sacred Tree, I can''t bear to sacrifice you." Even if I have to fight the other five families, I will definitely stop it.

    When Alberg opened the door to leave the room, a butler entered.

    - Alberg-Sama! The¡­ Count Baltfault is here to see you.

    -What?

    There were no ns to meet with him and there wasn¡¯t an original need, but Alberg decided to meet Leon.

    -Very well. Send him to my office.

    ¡ó

    They took me to Alberg-Sama''s office.

    As I sat on the couch, he told me the general situation.

    ¡­ I wonder if he really is a viin or if he is thinking of starting a war for his daughter.

    Well, people will not be happy if you start a war for that reason.

    If one person''s sacrifice is enough toplete it, it is human to turn a blind eye. But I don''t hate it.

    - War? It is not peaceful.

    "¡­When you be a father, you will understand." No, if you are a noble, you should be able to point out that I am wrong in my judgment. I am certainly wrong. Still, we go to war.

    "You go to war for your daughter ¡­ I don''t hate it."

    -I did not expect it. I thought that you, a gentleman from abroad, would ask me to sacrifice my daughter.

    That''s impossible.

    Since it is unorthodox, you choose one person to sacrifice many."You''re the type of person who prefers people you know to strangers." See, it''s unorthodox, right?

    ? Hahaha! I see. It is your way of life. You''re right it''s unorthodox. I am not averse to that. But as a custodian of my country, I am not qualified.

    ? And you would go to war for that?

    Honestly, the benefits of making the sacrifice are unknown. And we don''t even know the downsides of not doing it.

    From the Republic''s point of view, it was scary to think that the Sacred Tree could take away the benefits they had gained so far from being in a bad mood.

    The decision to keep the sacrifice as intended is not necessarily a mistake. But I do not like.

    "I couldn''t do anything about it when I lost my son." But now it is different. I would start a war to protect my daughter, even if it meant that I just did it.

    "It''s one against five." They outnumber us.

    -Of course. But the bnce in my mind, between the country and my daughter, it leaned towards my daughter. That''s it.

    I realized there was no point in saying anything in front of his keen eyes. It would not be good to line up beautiful things.

    People will suffer! But I think he would respond by saying, "So what!" I shrugged and showed him.

    "So what if there''s a way to do it that doesn''t involve war?" Alberg-Sama seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.

    ?Do you think you will take Louise? Can you make it work? If you fail, you will be a wanted person.

    -Do not worry. Actually, I''m pretty good at this.

    -I know.

    I thought he would be concerned about my abilities, but he seems to have developed a strange kind of confidence.

    ¡­I do not know what to think.

    Don''t you think I''m a coward who''s good at hiding behind your back? "So what are you going to do about it?"

    "First of all, can you help me with one thing?"

    -Help you? Yes.

    -Thank you. Now can you tell me your son''s story, Leon?

    ¡ó

    When Leon left Alberg''s room, the butler entered the room."Alberg- Sama, Count Baltfault has been sent to Miss Louise''s room."

    -¡­ I see.

    Alberg looked out the window and answered the butler''s question.

    "Your will to go to war hasn''t changed, has it?"

    -I know. Sorry about this, but nothing will stop me now."Even Count Baltfault couldn''t persuade you, could he?" "Could the butler convince me what Mr. Leon couldn''t?" He seemed to be thinking like that.

    Alberg smiled a little ¡­"Alberg-Sama?"

    "We will continue preparations for war, but from here it will depend on the count.¡±

    ¡°Is there something nned?"

    "I can''t say now.¡­ However, he is truly unorthodox.¡±

    After listening to Leon''s suggestion, Alberg was able to understand why he was called unorthodox. He felt ashamed of himself for trusting Leon like this.

    -Unorthodox? But Count Baltfault doesn''t seem like someone unorthodox, does he?

    "You''ll find out soon."

    Why are only my children sacrificed?

    Isn''t Alberg being cursed by the Sacred Tree?

    Could it be for the crime of destroying the Lespinasse house?

    This is how he was thinking.

    ¡ó

    Louise was surprised to see Leon visiting her room.

    -Leon? Why are you here?

    "I''m here to see you. You look very tired.¡±

    Leon sat in a chair near the bed and ced a fruit on the table. Louise replied with a smile.

    "Won¡¯t I look more beautiful if I was thinner?¡±

    "I think a healthy woman is more beautiful. You''re not sleeping, are you?¡±

    Louise turned to face Leon, who instantly saw through her condition. His expression darkened.

    "I dream every night. I am trapped in the Sacred Tree and my brother is asking for help and I can''t do anything.

    Louise covered her face with her hands and remembered when her brother died.

    "There was nothing I could do when my brother suffered. I didn''t realize that he was suffering after being in the Sacred Tree for more than ten years ¡­ My brother has been alone all this time, crying because no one is with him.¡±

    Leon listened in silence to Louise''s story.

    When Louise let out a sob, he gently rubbed her back.

    -It was difficult. Do you dream about it every time you fall asleep?

    Louise nodded and told him that she couldn''t see her brother suffer in his dreams.

    ? "Come here," Leon called. At the very least, he should be there for her, since¡­ the situation was bad."¡­ You really loved your brother, didn''t you?"

    -Yes. I have to admit that I was surprised when I first saw you. He looked so much like you that it made me wonder if Leon would have looked like this if he was still alive.

    She only knew him as a young man, but somehow she felt that when he grew up, Leon would have been just like me.

    It wasn''t just Louise, her parents thought the same way.

    -It''s strange. It is so strange that now you are showing up and my brother is asking me for help.

    Louise felt there was something fateful about it. Leon listened to her without making fun of it.

    "Are we really that simr? But from what I can tell, he''s not like me. I was a good and modest boy. A shy and reserved child.¡±

    Hearing the way Leon spoke made Louise miss him.

    "The way you say it, the way you spit those lies, you really do sound like him." But yeah, Leon stood out more? Oh, I wonder if that''s just because it is you, Leon. You''ve been in the Republic for less than a year and you''re already a celebrity.

    "The people around me won''t leave me alone." He was like her brother, after all.

    Louise had realized that when she spoke to Leon.

    Having the guardian emblem, saving Noelle from Loic ¡­ if Leon were here, I''m sure he would have done the same as you.

    Louise moved closer to Leon''s face and touched his cheek. At that moment Leon did what he came to do.

    "Can you tell me a story about your brother?"

    -All right. I will tell you lots of funny stories about my brother because I am afraid to go to sleep. Well, I''ll start with her¡­

    ¡ó

    Louise was lying on the bed, breathing sleepily. Luxon appeared next to me.

    [Teacher, I used a potion to put Louise to sleep. She should be able to sleep without dreaming.]

    "You are very useful." So what about the hassles?

    While listening to Louise''s story, Luxon was exploring the interior of the castle. [I''m afraid, with Ideal''s defense team, it won''t be easy to get her out of here.]

    "Oh, is it possible that Ideal is better than you?"

    [Although we are losing in certain areas, we are winning overall. It would be a mistake to judge our superiority by seeing only part of the image.]

    Apparently he cares. But, my goodness.

    From the way he puts it, Luxon is losing to Ideal in certain areas.

    Even if Luxon is superior in terms of overall skill, Ideal''s strength is unknown at the moment.

    It is also possible that Luxon would lose.

    "I wonder why Ideal has put his defense team here."

    When I mumbled a simple question, Luxon seemed curious.

    [Isn''t it because Lelia ordered it? Or it could be that it has nothing to do with Louise''s case.] "That needs to be confirmed too." Okay let''s go. It is getting dark.

    I spent the night listening to the story, but thanks to that I learned a lot.

    Luxon, who knew what I was going to do, asked me if I was really going to continue like this.

    [Master, are you sure about that? Louise will hate it.] I am very sure of that.

    -Better! If that person survives, no problem. [It''s really very clumsy, isn''t it, Master?]

    I don''t want a clumsy artificial intelligence to tell me.

    ¡ó

    It was after Leon left the castle.

    Serge was lying on the bed in his room."¡­ Tsk, what should we do?"

    It was almost a given that Louise would be euthanized at the New Years Festival.

    As for Serge, he wasn''t too interested in the story of the sacrifice to the Holy Tree.

    Yet he was curious about Louise.

    As he looked up at the ceiling, he thought of the day he first saw Louise. He kept remembering that day.

    "If I save her, will I be recognized too?"

    If I help her, will she recognize me as part of her family?

    Feeling that way, Serge got up and scratched his head roughly.

    "What''s the point now?" All they want is a recement for their dead brother. That''s right, it''s always Leon this, Leon that.

    As a child, Louise had enjoyed her life talking about Leon.

    And I was sad because Leon was not here, and the atmosphere in the castle was somewhat dark. Serge had thought he had been brought here as a recement for Leon.

    That was also true.

    The Rault family, who wanted an heir, adopted Serge, who is from a branch of the family, as their son.

    ¡­ As a recement for Leon.

    "I won''t be able to be part of the family now ¡­

    Somewhere, you want to be recognized as a member of the family, but you can''t sort out your feelings.

    Then Serge was greeted by Ideal. [Goodnight.]

    -It''s you? What are you doing here?

    [Nothing, I''m here to tell you that I''ve found some interesting information.]

    "Do you think it''s funny? I¡¯m not in the mood to listen to any funny stories right now.

    Ideal approaches Serge, who was lying down again.

    [Oh? Is it sad that your first love, Louise, was chosen as a sacrifice?] At that moment, Serge grabbed Ideal with one hand.

    He squeezed it so hard he could hear a creak.

    With his bloodshot eyes and veins sticking out on his forehead.

    The deranged Serge was about to destroy Ideal with all his might at any moment.

    -¡­ What did you just say?

    [There is no point in destroying the cordless extension. Even if you destroy it, the recement unit will be activated immediately. Oh well, by the way, check this out.]

    As the light emanated from the red lens, it projected an image onto the wall. There was a picture of Alberg talking to Leon.

    They seemed to have a lot of fun talking to each other."W-What is this?"

    [The video was taken a few hours ago.]

    -¡­ What did you say? I haven''t heard anything!

    [I guess the castle people didn''t inform you. The count looks like Alberg''s dead son. Furthermore, it was known that he had a dispute with Master Serge.]

    Unbeknownst to him, Leon had walked in and was talking to Alberg about something. Seeing him was strangely annoying for Serge.

    He has never shown me a face like that before.

    The expression he usually saw on Alberg''s face was an angry or troublesome expression.

    He felt somewhat distant.

    But what about her expression towards Leon? He did not feel cautious. As he cracked his back teeth, the image changed.

    [This is a video of Louise''s room. It seems like he''s having a lot of fun.]

    The smile Louise showed Leon was the smile he saw that day, the smile he saw as a child.

    It was the smile that captivated him.

    But now this smile was no longer directed towards him.

    The gleam in Serge''s eyes faded, and he stared at the image as it grew weaker."¡­ Do you really want a man who looks so much like your brother?"

    Ideal then reported on the content of their conversation. [This is the audio of the two.]

    Louise and Leon''s conversation reyed.

    ¡°It''s like I''m really having a conversation with my brother. That was fun, Leon."

    "I had a good time too."

    "Really --- you are --- than my brother." That was where the audio stuttered.

    [Oh, there is some noise in the audio data. It needs to be improved.] Before he knew it, Serge had thrown Ideal.

    He then looked up at the ceiling andughed.

    ? LOL!

    [Master Serge?]

    "It''s nothing, sorry." I''m d you showed me. You are right, this is interesting information. I knew he was just a scapegoat for this house ¡­

    sh*t!

    Serge, who wasughing, got up and kicked a nearby piece of furniture. He rampaged and began to devastate her room.

    Seeing that figure, Ideal, called Serge.

    [However, the interesting part was not here. In fact, Mr. Leon has a lost object that is just like me. Look, here, here.]

    -¡­ What do you mean?

    [He is the cause of Leon''s rampage in the Republic. As for me, I am one of them, so I want to get along with him. No, but he''s an amazing person to take someone of my kind and fight the Republic.]

    Serge didn''t know much about Leon.

    He was a foreign student, and he was only aware of the fact that he did something a bit remarkable.

    This was due to the fact that the people in the castle did not talk to Serge about Leon as much as possible.

    "Have you fought with the Republic?"

    [Didn''t you really know? Since then he has studied in the Republic and has destroyed two of them, Pierre of the House of Faiviel and Loic of the House of Barriere, with the power of Lost Objects. He is a very radical man.]

    Serge realized now that he learned nothing about it since he returned.

    -Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me!?

    [I don¡¯t know either. Besides, didn¡¯t Miss Lelia know? It is widely known in the Republic. The "Evil Knight" of the Kingdom.]

    -Diabolical? Hey, so my dad¡­ No, did Alberg seem to have a good conversation with that guy? He is almost an enemy of the Republic!

    [Yes sir. I understand that he has the face of his son, and you cannot hate him for the damage he would do to the Republic.]

    Serge was fed up with everything.

    "What the hell, that¡­"

    More than the adopted son that I am, even if he is the enemy, the whole family together epts him. And with me they don''t!

    Serge decides on one thing.

    "Hey, Ideal. Help me with something.¡±. [It is understood.]

    Serge saw Leon''s reflection on the wall.

    ¡°People who go crazy with lost objects need to be punished, right?¡±

    He was someone he could have easily defeated at the New Years Festival. Serge thought that if he wasn¡¯t around, he too could do whatever he wanted.

 Volume 6, 6 - Support Ship Ideal

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 6 - Support Ship Ideal</h4>

    It was a few days after the New Years Festival.

    It was time to return to the kingdom, and Livia faced Anjie in an awkward atmosphere.

    There were only two people in the room, and no one came in for a while due to a nifty Cordelia.

    Even though Livia was depressed, she summoned her courage in front of Anjie and called out to her."U-Uhm!"

    "Livia, I don''t think ---

    But they both called at the same time and there was another pause. The two clumsy people looked at each other annoyed.

    Then their faces started to show a funny expression.

    At the same time, they were able to understand the wish that they wanted to forgive each other. When they smiled, Anjie spoke to her.

    "I''m sorry I caused you so much trouble. You are right about Noelle''s situation. I ignored her feelings. I''m sorry.¡±

    Livia shook her head at Anjie''s apology.

    "I shouldn''t have done that. I didn''t even consider your position and said something like that. Besides, I knew you had a lot on your mind.¡±

    They had disagreed with each other about Noelle''s case and now they were going to reconcile. However, Anjie''s stance remained the same.

    -I''m sorry. But I still think that Noelle should go to the Kingdom."For the good of the country, right?"

    -That too.

    -That too?

    When Livia nodded her head, Anjie spoke about Noelle''s future.

    By having a ridiculous treasure called the little sapling of the Sacred Tree, Noelle, who was chosen as the priestess, has be something that all countries desire.

    "From now on, Noelle will be wanted for the rest of her life as she is someone of great value."

    -I know.

    "No, I don''t think you know exactly what''s going on."

    Anjie seems to think that Livia''s perception was still naive.

    "¡­ People are creatures who can be cruel in any measure. And they will do anything to get the most outrageous winnings hanging in front of them.¡±

    "Anjie?"

    Anjie shook her head.

    "I don''t want to go into details either. But the worst that can happen to Noelle is hell waiting for her. It''s not good for her, but what do you think would happen if another country took her away and made her unhappy?¡±

    "I-I don''t think it''s ¡­¡±

    Livia didn''t want to think about it too much either, but Noelle would be unhappy.

    However, Anjie was worried beyond that.

    "If Noelle is unhappy, then Leon will worry. That''s the kind of man he is. I don''t want to see Leon suffer.¡±

    Livia was embarrassed to learn that Anjie was thinking of Leon.

    -I''m sorry. I just didn''t think you were thinking so much.

    "Unfortunately, I only recently started to think this way. At first I didn''t think much about it. I also feel guilty.¡±

    When Livia looked down, Anjie hugged her. Livia also put her hand on Anjie''s back.

    Anjie whispered in Livia''s ear.

    "Honestly, I didn''t want another woman next to Leon, either." But that guy attracts trouble, you know? I don''t want to make Noelle unhappy, even as an individual. And as a nobleman, I can''t leave Noelle unattended either.¡±

    "I feel the same as you."

    -Forgive me. Even though I know you won''t like it, there is no choice but to keep Noelle by Leon''s side. I cannot take her back to the Kingdom of Holfault and hand her over to the Royal Court.

    When Livia nodded, Anjie''s face moved closer. Continuing like this, their lips met.

    ¡ó

    Yumeria, who was cleaning the front door of the mansion, looked out atthe good weather."It''s another beautiful day ~

    Being tired, Yumeria wanted to take a nap.

    But she shook her face and turned her attention to her work.

    -I should not. If I don''t work hard, Kyle will be mad at me again. Let¡¯s go! When he went back to cleaning, a woman came through the door.

    There was a blue sphere nearby."Huh?" Mr. Luxon?

    While she was confused, Lelia spoke."Hey, are you Leon and Marie?"

    Yumeria was surprised when asked and nodded many times."T-They are¡­ I mean¡­ they are here!¡±

    "Well, go get them. Just say that Lelia is here.¡± "Y-Yes!"

    Overwhelmed and in a hurry to get back to the mansion, Yumeria slipped as she turned around.

    "Ouch!"

    "H-Hey, are you okay?"

    -I''m sorry. I''m a bit clumsy.

    "You are Yumeria, right? You can take your time, but can you call those two anyway?¡±

    -¡­ Yes.

    Yumeria got up, shook her skirt with her hand, and hurried over despite being told not to.

    "H-Hey don''t rush! Ideal, what happened.¡±

    [¡­ No, it''s nothing. The elf woman here was called Yumeria, right?]

    As Yumeria entered the mansion, she could no longer hear their conversation.

    The story will continue whether I¡¯m there or not.

    ¡ó

    Noelle sat on the stairs, hugging the jar that held the sapling. Beside Noelle was Marie, who had be her friend.

    Marie, who knew what was going on, followed Noelle.

    "You''ll be fine if you leave it to Leon. More importantly, what do you n to do in the future, Noelle?¡±

    Noelle, who was hugging the vial, didn''t seem to have made up her mind yet.

    "What can I say? I don''t think it''s right for me for Leon to take care of me. Because, having two fiancees, do you think it''s okay for me to do that?¡±

    "He ruined your wedding. He owes it to you.¡±

    -It¡¯s not that.

    Noelle, who disagreed with Marie''s extremements, still seemed to be worried about Leon.

    "Well, take your time to think about it." There is still time. While saying that, Marie was internally impatient.

    I can''t leave Noelle alone, however my brother says to leave it to him, what should I really do !? Heavens, nothing goes as nned!

    As Marie tried to figure out how to move, Yumeria knocked on the door."Ah, Miss Marie!" Y-You have a visitor!

    -I?

    "No, they asked me to call Mr. Leon too, so I''m going to his room now." I-I''m retiring ¡­ ah!

    A nervous Yumeria stumbled on the stairs and hit her knee, then felt the pain. Noelle picked up Yumeria.

    "Hey, are you okay?"

    "I-I''m fine. The visitor wanted me to hurry, so I have to hurry.¡± Marie didn''t mind keeping the guests waiting.

    After all, if someone called her and Leon, it''s obvious who that person is.

    It was Lelia, who came running from the door, and was now with her arms crossed.

    Beside him was the figure of Ideal, who had been listening to the conversation. When Yumeria went to Leon''s room, Noelle went downstairs and approached Lelia."Lelia, what are you doing here? Hey? Why is there a little Luxon-like thing here?¡±

    Ideal spoke to Noelle, who seemed curious, in a friendly way.

    [Nice to meet you, Miss Noelle. I am Ideal. I am¡­ well, I am the same species type as Luxon. From now on, I look forward to working with you.]

    "Uh, ah, yeah."

    Noelle was confused about how Lelia had an item just like Luxon.

    Marie was not surprised, but from Noelle''s point of view there were nothing but questions."You alwayse so suddenly."

    As Marie made a disgusted face, Lelia ran a hand through her hair back.

    "I thought I told you earlier that I would talk to Leon." More importantly, what the hell is going on?

    Since she couldn''t speak with Noelle there, Marie urged her to wait in the back room."Wait in the living room." Leon will be here in a minute.

    -Well, I''ll wait. In the meantime, I''d like to talk to my sister.

    Lelia said, then grabbed Noelle''s hand and headed to the back of the room. Marie was upset by his attitude.

    ?¡­ What does that girl think Noelle is?

    ¡ó

    Noelle, who came to the reception room, was surprised to hear Lelia''s story."Stay in the Republic?"

    She did not ask her to stay. It was an order to stay.

    -It is so. I don''t think you''re going to do well in a foreign country, and you''re safer in the Republic to begin with. I''ll protect you.

    "I''ll protect you," Noelle felt ack of respect for his attitude."You say that just because you''re engaged to Emile."

    "It''s not about Emile. I will protect you myself.¡±

    -What do you mean? It''s Emile who''s going to protect us, right? I can understand that as well as you.

    Noelle thought Lelia was being optimistic because she was engaged to Emile. However, Lelia didn''t seem to trust Emile.

    "I don''t care about Emile anymore."

    "What do you mean you don¡¯t care about Emile? Are you two fighting, by any chance?¡±

    Maybe it was an instinctive feeling as sisters, but Noelle had guessed from Lelia''s appearance that she and Emile had had a fight.

    That seemed like a perfect guess.

    -It is none of your business.

    -Of course yes. I don''t know what''s going on here, but I don''t think Emile is going to do anything. What did you do?

    Lelia''s expression clouded, as if Noelle had hit the target.

    Noelle was sure when she saw that Lelia had looked away from her.

    -I knew it.

    -It is none of your business! Besides, I don''t need Emile anymore.

    "What do you mean you don''t need him? You''re the one who made that mistake with Emi¡± --- When the sisters started arguing, a knock came from the door.

    The two of them turned their gazes in that direction and saw Leon with Luxon.

    "Well, they¡¯re here, so let¡¯s stop fighting.¡± Behind him was also Marie.

    "Who are you to tell that to us?" Those are not the kind of lines you get from someone who is always fighting.

    "I''m a pacifist. I do not like fights.¡±

    -Yes. You are good at it!

    Noelle and Lelia were feeling stupid and stopped arguing when they saw Leon and Marie looking at each other with smiles on their faces.

    Lelia crossed her arms and told Noelle to leave the room."I need to talk to Leon and the others, so you have to go."

    -Why? Why do you always make me look like I''m aplete stranger?

    -Just go away!

    And so Noelle was kicked out of the room by Lelia.

    ¡ó

    "I see you have a lot of attitude towards your sister."

    I looked at Lelia, who forced Noelle out, and was appalled.

    The Lelia of now had gained great power and had be arrogant."You better stop talking like that just because you''ve gained power."

    Hearing my advice Lelia seemed disgusted, but it was Luxon who was surprised at me. [Master, you''ve always told me to look in the mirror when I talk like that.]

    The same was for Marie.

    "Brother, how can you say those words to someone else when they also apply to you? Are you not ashamed of yourself? I''m ashamed to be your sister.¡±

    Why does Marie have to tell me all that?

    "You are in no condition to tell me what to do!" --- Well, it doesn''t matter. Lelia said "Hey!" And then he med me for my attitude.

    However, there is no point in talking about it, so we quickly got to the point."Lelia, why did you set up Ideal¡¯s defenses in the Rault house?"

    When I asked the question, Lelia cocked her head.

    -What are you talking about?

    Marie put her left hand on her hip and pointed at Lelia and Ideal with her right hand.

    "We can''t help Louise because you guys did something unnecessary! Just take those defenses out of the way.

    Lelia didn''t really know, but she showed herbative attitude towards Marie.

    "I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about! Don''t me me. Also, I didn''t know about Louise''s case and I didn''te visit you to discuss it.¡±

    Marie and I didn''t see thising. [That would narrow down the culprits.] Luxon''s red eye went to Ideal.

    [So, Ideal¡­]

    [I-I''m soooooo sorry!]

    Lelia was surprised that he had suddenly apologized to her.

    -Hey what''s up?

    [Actually, it was Lord Serge''s order to provide a defense team.]

    ¡ªSerge? Hey, I am your Master!

    Lelia didn''t seem to understand either. However, Ideal was also confused.

    [Hey? No, I registered both of them as my masters at the time.

    Therefore, the two people who can give me orders are Lelia-sama and Serge-sama.]

    -¡­ You''re lying.

    Lelia seemed to hear it for the first time and was shocked.

    She got a cheat battleship, but the other guy also had the right to give it orders; you probably didn''t expect this dilemma.

    That is why she was worried.

    "Of all people, Serge?" It is the worst option to pass power to someone like him.

    He is the type of person who would hit someone out of nowhere. I do not like it.

    Marie was in a good mood then, because the matter was simple.

    "But it''s resolved, isn''t it?" Lelia, order them to get rid of the defense team as soon as possible.

    -Well well. Ideal, please. [I can not.]

    -Eh?

    Ideal rejected her as if it were natural.

    [Unfortunately, Miss Lelia and Mr. Serge have the same power. I cannot revoke the orders of one side without reason.]

    I turned my gaze to Luxon.

    -What is he saying?

    [The artificial intelligence of the military has a different chain ofmand than mine. Isn''t it also a standard when ites to property?

    More importantly, this would allow us to secure Louise if we only destroyed the defense equipment.]

    I think we can avoid a fight with Ideal.

    "The problem is Serge." I heard you have a problem with your family.

    I looked at Lelia and she looked away from me to see if she had an idea.

    "He was adopted and taken in by the Rault family." I heard that he didn''t fit in and wanted to be part of a genuine family.

    "¡­ From my point of view, it''s an enviable family."

    It''s no useparing families, but without a doubt, the Rault family is the overwhelming winner when ites to having an older sister.

    Damn ¡­ how much better my life would have been if Louise-san was my sister.

    However, for Lelia, the Rault family is the enemy. She didn''t have good feelings for them.

    -Where? Serge told me."I''m the only one they don''t recognize as their family." I think they just wanted an heir. They are so selfish that they don''t care if their children are dead or not.

    However, from my point of view, they were kind people.

    I remembered Mr. Alberg, who was even trying to start a war for his daughter.

    "¡­ Well, I don''t care what you think." Anyway, Serge is going to be an adversary in this matter, right? Whose side are you going to be on, Ideal?

    Serge is likely to be the enemy. And if that''s the case ¡­ Ideal is a danger.

    Sensing the meaning of my gaze, Ideal flicked his eye sideways as if to say "oh dear". This part of him is the same as Luxon''s.

    [Normally I would like to avoid acts that prioritize one over the other, but circumstances are circumstances. I will not supply more forces.

    However, that is all I can do. I cannot take away the strength that Master Serge has.]

    "You just have to promise me that and we''ll be fine. We will take care of this problem ourselves.¡±

    Well that solves the problem.

    The only thing left to do is how to get Louise back.

    Thinking that Louise''s problem was solved, Lelia raised another topic.

    "Then let''s talk about my sister. I will be clear. Now that Ideal is here, I have the power to protect my sister. I don''t need to trust you guys.¡±

    Marie tugged at Lelia''s cheeks.

    "You, don''t get carried away. If my brother gets serious, you will be defeated.¡±

    Why does this chick overestimate me? I don''t want to fight Ideal.

    However, Lelia did not show the same confusion as before, perhaps because she felt more confident after obtaining Ideal.

    "Oh, can you do it?" Ideal is a warship. Luxon is an immigrant ship, right? Would it even be a fight?

    Then Luxon, who had been silent until now, spoke quickly.

    [Oh? I''m surprised that Lelia can analyze our strength. First of all, do you know my original function? You are very confident that you are going to win even when you don''t really know it. Also, Ideal is a supply ship, even if it is a warship. If I had to exin it to you in simple terms, it is not the type of ship that fights in the front. It''s designed to work out of the rear, so it wasn''t made specifically forbat, didn''t you know?]

    ?Eh? Wh-what?

    Lelia sought help from Ideal and made a change of yers.

    [Luxon, please don''t intimidate Miss Lelia too much. Also, I have a lot of experience in actual battles, even though I look like this. If we really fight, it''s hard to know who will win. Am I wrong?]

    [¡­ I guess so.]

    Luxon did not say that he could definitely win. Do you have uncertainties?

    "That''s surprising. Didn¡¯t you say you''re going to win?"

    [We were created to fight new humans, not humanity in a war between humans. In other words, we have no data on ships fighting each other.]

    You will never know unless you try.

    Ah ~ so that''s it. No wonder he''s so insecure. I''ll make fun of himter. Anyway, it was nice to hear all that about Ideal.

    "Have you fought the new humans?"

    [Yes. That battle was really bad. He had returned to the base for maintenance, and was waiting for the new masters to arrive. However, they allowed an enemy armor to enter the base and we were forced to be in a semi-destroyed state. Fortunately I was the only one who survived, but unable to move due to the waiting orders.]

    Lelia had never heard of it before.

    "Hey, really?" Oh, could it be that the armor you saw that time was magic or something? [Yes.]

    Here Luxon showed quite an overreaction than usual. [qawsedrftgyfujikolp; !!!!]

    Surprised by his reaction, Lelia had fled to the wall."W-What was that !?¡±

    -I''m sorry. This guy hates magic armor a lot. Ideal nodded.

    [I get it. I hate them too.]

    Compared to him, this one is much quieter. Luxon''s red eye glowed mysteriously.

    [Where is? Where is the magic armor? If you don''t destroy it, if you don''t destroy it without leaving a single trace of dust, the entire legacy of the new humans will be the target of destruction.]

    -You are always like that.

    A happy Ideal was calming the flustered Luxon.

    [Please calm down, Luxon. I have destroyed the magic armor on my own. There are no more.]

    [¡­ I see.]

    Once Luxon calmed down, I told Lelia, who was glued to the wall, my thoughts on Noelle''s future.

    "Lelia, I think it would be best to let Noelle decide on her own."

    -What''s the matter with you? I need my sister and the baby tree!

    "If something happens, then we''ll figure it out. Also, I don''t think the Sacred Tree is going to lose control right now.¡±

    "Yes, but ¡­¡±

    I don''t think the current Alberg-sama is thest boss. And if it is ¡­ is it when we lose Louise?

    Losing your daughter¡­ may drive you to despair.

    In other words, saving Louise will keep the world from falling apart.

    Oh, I''m going to save the world again, right? How painful, I''m going to save the world again! --- And until here we leave the jokes.

    "Noelle is stronger than you think." So---

    When I said that, Lelia lowered her head and left the room. [Ah, Lelia-sama! Excuse us all, we withdraw. Lelia-sama ~!] Lelia and Ideal left, leaving Luxon, Marie and me.

    Marie was not happy.

    "She''s getting carried away now that she has Ideal. Onii-chan, you should threaten her more like you always do.¡±

    -No. And what do you mean by "always"? Marie brought her gaze to the ground.

    "That Lelia, she thinks Noelle is an object or something. Leaving it to Lelia will only make Noelle unhappy.¡±

    Despite the fact that they are twin sisters, Lelia is reincarnated. Perhaps the feeling of being sisters is thin.

    -What should we do? Luxon, what do you think?

    [When you have a problem, you entrust it to someone else. In fact, the Master does not think for himself to solve problems.]

    -I''m dumb.

    [He''s only clumsy when it suits him. Didn''t he say he was usually very handy in life?] "People are very convenient, aren''t they? So what do you think?¡±

    [With great power, even if you are not a Master,es arrogance.

    However, he is human and I like him. It''s nice to feel the pain once, but with Ideal by your side, that should be difficult. ---Alone¡­]

    -Alone?

    [It¡¯s nothing.]

    "Say it to the end, I''m curious."

    [As the Master will be confused, I will tell him when I have a firm backing. But more importantly, are there no preparations to rescue Louise?]

    Oh, that¡¯s true.

    -Yes it''s correct. I''ll prepare for that. Oh, Marie, go find the five idiots."Okay, but what do you want them to do now?"

    -¡­ Something funny.

    When I said that with my best smile, Marie made a face that she didn''t understand. ¡ó

    Lelia ran out of Marie''s mansion and was lying face down in the back seat of the car Ideal had prepared for her.

    The automatic car was heading home.

    Ideal, who was in the driver''s seat, wasforting Lelia.

    [Lelia-sama, don''t worry too much about that. They don''t understand how much you think of Noelle-sama.]

    Hearing Ideal''s words, Lelia agreed with it.

    -Yes. Nobody understands it. No one knows ¡­ how much I''ve been thinking about my sister.

    Lelia remembered her previous life.

    ¡ó

    Lelia also had an older sister in her previous life.

    An older sister who was better than her, was not a proud older sister, but one that she was alwayspared to.

    "Why can''t you do as well as your sister?"

    "You''re very bad at this. Your sister could have done this when she was your age.¡± Her parents alwayspared her to her sister.

    The same was at school.

    When she confessed her feelings to a boy she liked, he rejected her and then said "Oh, can you introduce me to your sister sometime?"

    In her previous life, Lelia had an older sister who was an obstacle for her. When Lelia grew up, she had a fianc¨¦.

    He was a young man whose family owned apany, and he was the next president of it. He was not a serious man, but he was still an attractive and funny person.

    And for Lelia in her previous life, she was proud of him.

    I can beat my sister. I can beat my sister!

    At the time it was clear that her fianc¨¦ was better than the boyfriend her sister was dating.

    And so it was that she took her fianc¨¦ to her parents'' house, as if to shake off the resentment she had been feeling.

    At first her family was happy saying: "If you are fine with this daughter." But within months, her own fianc¨¦ was dating her sister.

    In her previous life, Lelia did not understand what had happened.

    When she asked her fianc¨¦ why he did that, he didn''t seem offended by answering her. -I''m sorry. But I get along better with your sister.

    And her sister''s response was even worse.

    -I''m sorry. But ¡­ I''m sure you''ll find someone much better. So, you will congratte us, right?

    Lelia still remembered her sisterughing at her as she apologized. She hated her sister.

    She protested to her family, but her parents disagreed ¡­"He wasn''t suitable for you."

    "You deserve more than that." ¡°You need to find someone else.¡± They didn''t care.

    From there, in her previous life, Lelia cut ties with her family. Due to this experience, Lelia couldn''t help but hate her sister.

    ¡ó

    In the back seat he remembered his sister from his previous life, whichter ovepped with her sister in this life ¡­ Noelle.

    Lelia didn''t like the idea of being the older sister.

    She will be treated like an extra from her sister, no matter how far she goes.

    "¡­ I even took him." I chose a boring and simple boy who I had to put up with, so why couldn''t he function the way I wanted?

    Lelia was mad at Noelle for not getting her way.

    Although she had chosen Emile out of her own patience, Noelle didn''t even look at the other boys to attack.

    Of all the boys, she chose Leon, a reincarnate just like Lelia.

    "She and my older sister are the same." She is taking everything from me. She was also chosen as the priestess. I was born in the same Lespinasse house, but they didn''t even give me the requirements.

    Lelia was envious of Noelle, the heroine of this world.

    She was reincarnated as her twin sister and had the expectation that maybe she could be a priestess.

    However, that expectation was soon shattered. Her parents from this world spoke to her.

    They told her that she did not have the qualities of a priestess. It was then that Lelia realized it.

    No matter how far I go, I''m just an extra to my sister. I thought I would live modestly this time. Why do you get in my way?

    She was mad at Noelle for not getting her way and she was also mad at Leon and his friends for helping Noelle with that.

    They are also reincarnated, but they chose to help Noelle rather than themselves.

    "In the end, everyone chooses my sister." Anyway, I''m just an extra to my sister. But even I am stubborn.

    Ideal''s red lens gleamed suspiciously as he nced in the rearview mirror at Lelia, who was lying down in the back seat.

 Volume 6, 7 - The One Who Works Behind the Scenes

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 7 - The One Who Works Behind the Scenes</h4>

    "We''re going to rescue Louise. And you are also going to help us.¡±

    I proudly dered in front of the five idiots gathered in the dining room.

    Julian, who was wearing an apron, put his hand to his forehead as he listened to me."Baltfault, things are different than they were with Noelle.

    What do you have in mind? If it''s just about saving ¡­"

    -¡­ Don''t tell me that apart from that you don¡¯t have a n. Julian, who was surprised to see me, looked puzzled.

    Jilk, whose attitude had grown cheeky, was the one who exined on Julian''s behalf.

    It seems he''s making fun of me.

    "Count Baltfault, with all due respect; You''re not thinking that if you save her, that''s the end, are you? His Highness is concerned about what will happen after Louise is rescued. It''s not just about saving her. Thest time you made a fuss you created a big international problem, and now you are ignoring this mess?¡±

    Not long ago I rescued Noelle from almost being forced to marry Loic.

    At that time I was too scared of international affairs to move as much as I wanted.

    But then it hit me.

    The five idiots used to be too stupid to be useful, but in the end they are well-educated nobles.

    When ites to the affairs of the country, they are useful in their own way.

    "It will be very difficult to deal with, which is why I am trusting you.

    Nowe up with a n that humbles the pride of the Republic likest time.¡±

    I think I''m being reckless if I say so myself.

    But unlike me, a reincarnated person, these guys grew up locally. There is a possibility that I cane up with a method that I cannot think of.

    Brad was hugging a dove and a rabbit, and talking to Chris.

    "It was Baltfault''s selfish act in crushing the pride of Republic knights and soldiers, wasn''t it? Didn''t we propose a more conciliatory n?¡±

    -I agree. To be honest, I felt sorry for Loic when he was dealing with Baltfault. If you are talking about dealing a crushing blow to an opponent, Baltfault is a genius.

    I put my hands on the table, ignoring Chris''sments as he acted serious wearing a loincloth.

    "Look, I''m asking for ideas, so give me a little wisdom." Greg looked unhappy, but reluctantly agreed to help.

    "No, I''ll help you if you ask me to help you. In fact, I am in your debt.

    But if you don''t know what you''re going to do, there''s no way I can help

    ¡­ I mean, what is Louise to you in the first ce?¡±

    Is she worth saving?

    Greg asked a very obvious question, but his muscles were swollen, like he was training.

    Also, he was wearing a tank top and shorts.

    Apparently he was cold just being in that pair of pants. Yes, if you wear clothes, no problem.

    "Hmmm ¡­ she¡¯s like a sister to me?"

    The five idiots were stunned when they heard what I said. Julian and others shook their heads.

    "Is this what they call a Siscon?" "I don''t want to be seen like that."

    Since the five idiots can''t think of anything, Anjie and Livia entered the dining room. Apparently, they had heard us talk.

    Anjie looked at me with an " oh my ".

    "You should have been more selective with your words."

    Livia was a little angry. Her expression was serious with a ssic deadpan.

    "Please be serious, Leon!" You''re going to help Louise, right? Guys, keep the jokes to a minimum.¡±

    Oh, I think everyone has misunderstood something.

    -Do not worry. There is no problem in saving her. The problem is what happens after we rescue her.

    At my confidence, Anjie crossed her arms.

    "If you say so, I suppose it is possible to save her. But then it''s really a question of whates next. If you do something wrong, all negotiations will go sour.¡±

    The conversation between the Kingdom and the Republic about reparations has been organized. If I do a bad job here, the conversation will be ruined.

    And I''m sure the Kingdom will be angry about it.

    For a moment I thought it would be good for Rnd to suffer, but it would also be a problem for others, so I won''t.

    "The Rault family can certainly be taken in by us. Can''t we do something about it?¡±

    When I asked Anjie for help, Julian joined the conversation.

    "The Republic gets nervous when ites to the Sacred Tree. In fact, they have shown us that when we''ve been here. It is all very well for us to help, but I am sure the Republic will not sit idly by on this matter. Even if the Rault family is on your side, it''s too difficult.¡±

    It is a big problem for the kingdom that five of the six main noble families turn into enemies.

    Anjie also had aplex look on her face.

    "Noelle has some benefits, but Louise doesn''t. I can understand why you want to help them, but if you get involved, there could be a war.¡±

    We would steal the sacrifice that the Sacred Tree asked for.

    The Republic would protest, and perhaps even start a war against the Kingdom. And the Kingdom will me me for my troublesome behavior.

    I want to help, but I can''t.

    It is a very frustrating situation.

    This is why having a position is so troublesome. Livia also looked worried.

    "And it''s also a problem that Louise herself doesn''t want to be rescued.

    Leon, are you still going to save her? The Sacred Tree has her brother''s soul inside it, right?¡±

    ¡­ Louise will surely resent me for that. But what does it matter?

    "You can''t let a dead man drag you down. I''m sorry for her brother Leon, but he''ll have to wait a little longer. Also, I have my doubts about the story.

    Unfortunately, I''m so twisted that I honestly can''t believe people''s stories.

    I wish I could regain my pure heart like when I was a child. The way Anjie looked at me was sad.

    "Even if you save her, you will be hated."

    "There are so many people who already hate me, I''m willing to let some more hate me." And I''m used to being hated. Hey guys!

    I smiled at the five idiots who held a grudge against me and looked very ufortable.

    Julian tugged on his cheeks.

    -It is true.

    Jilk and the othersughed, but their eyes didn''t.

    ¡ªI envy your personality which doesn''t care about people''s resentment. Brad''s eyebrows arched.

    "I''ll never forget the time you beat me." Chris looked at me and was dumbfounded.

    "That is what you are, Baltfault. That''s what makes you devilish. Greg seemed to have a vein protruding from his forehead.

    "You have a really nice personality, don''t you? --- In the end, we have not

    solved the problem after the rescue, so what are we going to do?¡± I let out a sigh.

    -It is true. I thought you guys would be more useful, but seriously, you are useless.

    The gaze of the five idiots tightened even more for my honesty. Julian pointed at me.

    "Are you one to talk !? Even you can''te up with a good idea!

    ¡ªI''m the one who sets the goals and executes them. You are the ones who make the n and help. So it''s not my fault.

    While they were yelling and making noise, Cordelia approached." Leon-sama, you have a guest."

    -A guest?

    ¡ó

    The great airship of the Republic.

    It was a six hundred meter long old luxury cruiser, but it has been put together for this time. The ship, heading for the tops of the Sacred Tree, had many guards attached to it.

    There was no record of the Sacred Tree calling for a sacrifice, so this was a first for the Republic.

    Therefore, it was not known what would happen.

    To deal with anything, it was decided to send the representatives of the six great nobles.

    On board the great aircraft were the young men who are supposed to be the next generation.

    And those who boarded the great airship were ¡­ Serge from the Rault family, who volunteered.

    "It''s quite showy. A normal warship would have been better.¡±

    From the Druille family, Hugh, who volunteered to rece his brother Fernand.

    ?Are you stupid? We are not going to fight there. From the Pleven family, Emile, who volunteered."Stop. This is not the time to fight.¡±

    And Narcisse from the Granze family, a former teacher at the Academy.

    -So is. This is a historic moment for me. If we''re going to sacrifice Louise, I''ll have to record it all for posterity.

    Narcisse, who had an academic temperament, seemed internally opposed to sacrificing his former student, Louise.

    However, he could not go against the decisions of the heads of the six great nobles. On the contrary, Hugh, who was her ex-fianc¨¦, had a relieved expression on his face.

    "Still, I can''t believe the Faiviel family refused to do so. My brother will follow the escort with the fleet.¡±

    The young people of the six families were taken on board and forced to see what happened this time with their eyes.

    At the same time, there were also the faces that would be sacrificed in the event of an unforeseen event.

    In the midst of all this, there were no volunteers from the Faiviel family, and knights and soldiers had been sent in their ce.

    Serge turned his attention to the man sitting in the corner of the luxurious room.

    "Loic, are you the representative of the House of Barriere despite not having your family crest?" The Barriere house has fallen very low.

    He provoked it, but Loic''s response was slow.

    -¡­ Maybe you are right.

    Abandoned and having lost his family crest, Loic had no value as a noble.

    The reason Loic was here is because he was chosen to be Louise''s sacrificial watchdog.

    It is a role where he will see what happens closer to him, and, if nothing goes well, he will get involved.

    Hugh gave Loic a stern look as he sat back in his chair and didn''t try to get involved.

    Last time, during his wedding to Noelle, Hugh had also sided with Loic. Because of that, the position of the Druille family worsened.

    "Thanks to you, my brother and I are having a hard time." As long as I can risk your life to make amends, you should be grateful.

    Emile tried to deal with the cold stares directed around Loic.

    "Don''t do that again." Besides, Hugh, you have to take responsibility for your actions. It''s wrong to me only Loic.

    "Ah!" Emile, I didn''t expect you to lecture me. The five were not the best of friends.

    Narcisse let out a sigh.

    "Do you realize that Louise is the one with the most difficulties?" So refrain from doing anything that might interfere with yourst moments.

    Narcisse reprimanded them and Hugh sat down on the sofa with a huff.

    Serge was looking out the window.

    "Guys, get ready." The Demon Knight of the Realm ising.

    The other four reacted to Serge, who said those things with a smile on his face. Hugh was looking forward to that too.

    "Has he reallye?" Will you take on a country for Louise? Hugh trembled as he watched Leon''s strength closely.

    It won''te from his mouth, but actually he was afraid there was a chance it woulde.

    Seeing this, Serge scoffed at Hugh.

    -Are you afraid? Of a type like that?

    "From a guy like that?" Don''t you know how strong that guy is? If you are going to speak all conceited, you will have to knock it down first!

    "Oh, I''ll shoot it down."

    Seeing Serge''s confident appearance, Loic opened his mouth."¡­ Serge, do you really think you can beat that guy?"

    "Shut up, you creepy ne bastard." Don''t think that because you couldn''t beat him I won''t be able to either. You haven''t trained like I have.

    Narcisse rubbed his stomach with his hand, as if it hurt.

    "Leon is getting closer. I don¡¯t want to fight if possible. He took down an armed unit with his bare hands.¡±

    Serge knew that story too, but he still showed confidence.

    "He has a trick up his sleeve. Pierre was stupid and that''s why he lost.¡± Emile, who gave Serge a cold look, unlike usual, stopped him.

    "Could you stop there?" We are not here to hear you brag about it."¡­!!.¡±

    Serge got up and left the room with his spear.

    ¡ó

    Louise was saying goodbye to her family before boarding the aircraft.

    -I''m leaving.

    Her mother was sobbing and was being supported by those around her. Alberg gave Louise onest look.

    "Are you sure you want to go? You can still ¡­¡±

    -No. Leon is waiting. Louise was very tired.

    This was because every night he had nightmares about how her brother Leon was suffering."Louise, you''re a bad girl. It is unforgivable that you die before your parents.¡±

    -I''m sorry. But I want to see Leon. I couldn''t do anythingthen , but I want to be there by his side. Also, when the Sacred Tree takes care of me, Leon and I will take care of you.

    Alberg was about to say something and swallowed his words.

    Knights and soldiers from the other houses were guarding the perimeter and he couldn''t say anything without it being overheard.

    Fernand had been chosen tomand Louise''s fleet of guards."Acting Chief, your daughter is responsible for herself ¡­¡± Before he could say anything else, Alberg looked at him coldly.

    -Responsible? Be responsible for killing herself?

    "Acting Chief! We talked about it and decided on it! If the Sacred Tree asked, it would be an honor! Your daughter is ready for this. It doesn''t make sense for the Acting Chief to stop this.¡±

    Alberg looked down.

    Honor? Do you think it is an honor to sacrifice your daughter? Wherever we live, we live tied to the Sacred Tree.

    The Sacred Tree will give you everything you ask for. Thus thought the Republic.

    Louise was hugging her mother."Mother, I''m going now."

    "Louise, why do I have to lose you, not just Leon, but you too?" Louise arrived at Alberg afterforting her mother.

    -Father.

    "¡­ I am proud of you, my daughter."

    -Thank you.

    Then Louise turned her gaze, searching for someone. Alberg realized immediately who it was.

    -He is not here. Instead, I have a message for you."I''m sorry".

    -I''m sorry?

    Because he feels it? Louise had a worried expression on her face, so Alberg borated.

    "He couldn''t save you, so he doesn''t have the face to see you."

    "¡­ I wish I had seen him onest time."

    ?Is there something you want to tell him?

    -Well, just tell him that I said, "I had a lot of fun." Meeting him was a good way to remember Leon.

    There was a striking resemnce, even from Alberg''s point of view. It''s hard to believe they were such strangers.

    Was this how her son would have been when he grew up? So it seemed.

    -We''ll find out.

    Fernand told Louise that it was almost time to leave.

    -We are going?

    Louise boarded the aircraft.

    Alberg hugged his crying wife and muttered to himself when he saw Louise walk away.

    "I''m sorry, Louise. Please forgive me.¡±

    It was not a regret from a father who had to sacrifice his daughter, or anything else.

 Volume 6, 8 - Sky Pirates Flag

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 8 - Sky Pirates g</h4>

    When Louise boarded therge airship, it was Serge who greeted her. With a frown, he looked at Louise''s figure.

    "It''s a very lively costume for a sacrifice."

    Louise''s costume was a pure white dress as an offering to the Sacred Tree.

    Depending on how you look at it, this looked more like a wedding dress.

    -¡­ Why are you here?

    What surprised Louise was not that Serge greeted her, but that Serge was aboard therge aircraft.

    It was strange that Serge, the heir, was here, as he could be involved if something went wrong.

    Serge, spear in hand, was dressed as if he were about to go into battle."I''m just trying to make sure you don''t escape."

    "You''re a real jerk. Do you think I''de in here and then run away?¡± "You won''t since you''re going to see your favorite brother, right?"

    Louise raised her right hand in response to Serge''s ridiculous attitude, but Fernand grabbed her arm to stop her.

    "You two stop. Serge, you are being very rude.¡±

    With Fernand''s intervention, Louise ignored Serge and walked away. The guards followed her, and Fernand was relieved to see them.

    "I''ll be watching from the rear. If something happens, I''lle running.¡±

    As Fernand walked away, Serge spoke meaningfully to him."Prepare to fight. Fernand, the Kingdom ising.¡± Fernand looked back as he stopped.

    "You seem to think he''sing too." "Yes, he wille."

    With all of that said, Serge also moved. And then he muttered to himself.

    "Come on, I''m ready for you. I know your weakness.¡±

    ¡ó

    When therge aircraft departed, a military air battleshipter departed to escort it. In the rear, the fleet led by Fernand could be seen.

    The airships ascended towards the top of the Sacred Tree, the treetops.

    Near the room where Louise was, Serge and the representatives of the six families were waiting for her.

    Serge was sitting in his chair, checking his weapons. Those were the weapons Ideal had prepared.

    Hugh was watching with interest.

    "It is a very unusual weapon. Where did you find it?" Everyone here knew that Serge was an adventurer. So he thought that Serge had found a lost object.

    Narcisse came over, too, and looked at the weapons on the table. Serge gave him permission to hold the spear.

    "Is it so light !? Is it the same size and weight?" "Light but robust."

    The tip of the spear was shaped to cut, and the shape of the pistol Serge was holding was unusual.

    Those were the weapons that Ideal had prepared.

    "I''ve also prepared some for you. Use them as you wish."

    Hugh took one of the weapons, but his fear of Leon and the others had not disappeared.

    "Are you sure you can defeat him with these weapons? Sh*t! Why is that guying? Normally he shouldn''te!¡±

    As a noble, Hugh didn''t really understand it, as there was no reason for Leon to force himself to rescue Louise.

    Narcisse didn''t grab the gun.

    "I went into a dungeon with them once and they were amazing kids. It was scary not knowing what they were going to do. They really were wild.¡±

    Narcisse had explored with Leon before, and remembering that moment made him think of all that.

    "I think they are excellent. I think they are good as adventurers and as gentlemen.¡± When Hugh heard that and was scared, but he was strong.

    "But we are powerless before the blessing of the Holy Tree. The only person we have to be careful of is Count Baltfault. Don''t you agree, Loic?

    Because you understand it better than anyone.¡±

    Hugh kept his pistol in its holster as he expressed his disgust towards Loic, who was defeated by Leon.

    With the sword he had taken from his parents'' home, Loic did not take the weapon Serge had prepared for him.

    -Yes.

    Emile warned the four, who believed they should just be careful with Leon, to get ready.

    "Count Baltfault has the guardian crest." It''s not a good idea for us to get distracted. We have to take care of each other.

    Narcisse agreed, and like the greatest of all, organized the ce.

    -Yes. But he is unlikely to attack us. After all, they won''t benefit at all by rescuing Louise.

    All eyes around gathered to look at Serge.

    Serge, who leaned his body on the back of a chair, assured that he would definitelye.

    -He wille. I''ll take care of him when he gets here. Those statements made Hugh even more ufortable.

    "Although I wish he didn''te. Damn, why does he have to get involved in something so unnecessary? Louise is none of his business.¡±

    Serge was relieved to see that Hugh knew how terrifying Leon was.

    -Do not be afraid. The only things that make him strong are his aircraft and his armed unit. Fist to fist, he''s a normal guy. I''m stronger than anyone here. Isn''t that right, Loic?

    Loic lost to Leon, but Serge was confident that he could beat him.

    That''s partly because Serge exercises regrly, but also because he''s so proud of himself.

    He didn''t want to bepared to Leon, who died a long time ago, so he did the best he could.

    But no one recognized him, he became stubborn and remained an adventurer.

    He trained even if he vomited blood, and he continued to challenge the dungeon even when he was about to die.

    As much as he went to the adventurer''s house, he had no intention of losing.

    Louise''s room has no windows. If you can''t identify where it is, you''ll have to go in and find it in person, right? --- Come on,e and show yourself.

    The ship¡¯s defenses, which were set up by Ideal, prevented Luxon from interfering with Louise''s location.

    So the only way for Leon and his team to help Louise was by boarding therge airship.

    If that happened, he would not be able to use his armed unit. They would fight hand to hand.

    The same entity with the same name and shape ¡­ the right person appeared here to kill you.

    Hugh looked at Serge, who was smiling grimly, with a scared look. Emileined about Serge because of that.

    "You seem to think you can win if you fight him face to face, but you underestimate him."

    -What did you say?

    "Pierre and Loic, they all had a hard time with him. Serge, how can you say that you are the only one who will not have the same thing?"

    ¡ªYou are a small fish that cannot do anything, do not y the with those¡­!!

    Serge pushed him off of his feet and Emile fell to the ground.

    Narcisse stopped him and med Serge for his actions."Serge, stop!"

    "It''s irritating to look at that thing. I can''t stand guys like him. Lelia is not going to be happy with someone like you.I''d better get out of here.¡±

    When Lelia''s name was mentioned, Emile gritted his teeth and looked down. As Serge tried to clear himself, a siren sounded.

    ?¡°Enemy attack! The enemy is attacking us! Above the sky, a pirate aircraft is approaching! Everyone on deck."

    The aircraft shuddered as soon as it heard a burst of voices from the bridge. Narcisse and Hugh fell, Serge ducked.

    Loic looked out the window.

    -What happened? And, air pirates? How is it possible that in a ce so close to the Sacred Tree there are aerial pirates?

    The area around the Sacred Tree is usually guarded by the military and no pirate from the sky could approach it.

    It was strange that there is one in this ce. And what was heard was ¡­

    ?"Dear friends of the Republic ?I''m here to y."

    ¡­ a voice that was cheerful at first, but low at the end. It was Leon''s voice.

    Hugh looked terrified.

    "Noooooo! He already caaaaaaame!!!!!"

    Hugh wasn''t the only one who was upset when he heard Leon''s voice. Even the knights and soldiers aboard the aircraft were confused with fear. Leon''s voice was heard even more.

    ?¡°You are probably wondering why we are here. I''m sure you say that it''s none of our business. So I''ll tell you why. Actually, Serge beat me up a while ago. It was supposed to be about the story of Louise''s sacrifice ¡­ but recently I was thinking about it and it made me angry, so I came to beat the crap out of him."

    Narcisse broke out in a cold sweat as Leon said something outrageous.

    -Are you crazy. Is that why you are here !?

    As if he had heard Narcisse''s voice, Leon continued speaking.

    ?"Is that why you''re here¡­ You might think that. If someone else told me that, I would surely make fun of them too. But, you know ¡­ I can''t sleep with my pillow up if I don''t pop him a few good ones to feel better! So ¡­

    let''s y."

    The broadcast was cut short.

    ¡ó

    The story goes back a few days.

    The person who visited me with the idea of rescuing Louise was the one who was sent to organize negotiations with the Republic.

    I ran into a man at the door of Marie''s mansion and my voice shook with excitement."Mentoooooorrrrr!"

    "It''s been a long time, Leon-sama. I hear you have been very active."

    ?W-What is he doing here? Ah, forget it,e in! Come in!!

    I took my mentor to a room, made the special tea leaves and prepared it carefully.

    My Mentor is currently the headmaster of a school in the Kingdom of Holfault.

    He is not the type of person who is in the Republic because he is on vacation. But this time he has been sent to the Republic as a negotiator.

    "But, Mentor. Why are you here?¡±

    "I just wanted to see your face before I go, Mr. Leon."

    He goes by taking the trouble to stop here for my sake, although I really should be the one to go say hi.

    My Mentor looked at us across the room and smiled at us."I''m so relieved to see you all looking so good."

    I shrugged, looking at the five idiots.

    "But they have a lot of energy. I just want them to calm down a little.¡± When I said that, everyone red at me.

    Putting that topic aside, I talked about my Mentor''s work.

    "Mentor, I heard you''ve made a good deal with the Republic. It was spectacr!"

    "I''ve managed to find a way to make it work ording to your wishes." Letting out a sigh, Anjie asked my Mentor.

    "It is not natural for a school principal to be a negotiator."

    "I guess there aren''t many of us avable. Originally, someone else would have been sent for this.¡±

    My Mentor finished a great job. But I felt sorry for him.

    "Mentor, I''m afraid I''m going to have to annoy you a bit about that ¡­ no, I''m sure I will have to.

    "Is there a problem?"

    I decided to tell my Mentor what was happening.

    -The thing is¡­

    When I mentioned that I wanted to rescue Louise, my Mentor looked at me with a serious expression."Mr. Leon, do you understand what you''re trying to do?"

    If I save Louise, I''m sure we''re in big trouble.

    She herself would not want to be saved and I am sure she would resent me.

    If I want to give any more reasons, it is to prevent Alberg-sama from despairing and bing the final boss after losing Louise.

    And this is the most important.

    ¡­ Because I want to save Louise.

    -I get it. I''m sure this will be a problem for you, though.

    "I don''t think it makes sense to tell you what to do, Leon-sama. If you say you''re going to do it, you will."

    My Mentor nodded, and Julian, who had been listening to the conversation, interrupted our conversation.

    Hey? Why are you interrupting a conversation between the Mentor and me?

    "Director, are you sure? If Baltfault takes action, all the negotiations that have been done so far will be spoiled. Or worse, a war could ur."

    My Mentor was strong and imposing.

    -No problem. It was Leon-sama''s decision in the first ce. I can''t stop it. I don''t have the strength to do it.

    -Mentor.

    It hurts to upset my Mentor. --- Rnd? I don''t care how much trouble I want to give that guy, I want to give him as much trouble as I can.

    "But to save the young woman who was chosen to be sacrificed? That''s the scene I long for as a gentleman.¡±

    Anjie crossed her arms and was appalled by what my Mentor said.

    "It''s like something out of a fairy tale, but reality is always cruel. The problem is after you save her. Director, still won''t you stop Leon?¡±

    "I was originally sent here to deal with what happened in the Republic.

    ¡­ Also, it is the duty of a teacher to help his students if they are in trouble.¡±

    T-That was great. My Mentor is great!

    When I was shocked, my Mentor pushed me back.

    "Can you do it with as little damage as possible, Leon-san?"

    -I will do everything I can.

    -All right. Then I''ll take care of the rest of the negotiations.

    -Thanks a lot!

    While I thought that all the problems were over, Noelle, who had been listening to me, raised her hand.

    Noelle spoke as everyone in the room looked at her.

    "I-I''m going with you too." "Noelle? Not you---"

    "I want toin to Louise!"

    While everyone was surprised by what he was saying, my Mentor was stroking his chin."Hmm, sounds like you have some kind of history with her."

    "It''s not that much. Louise has put me through a lot of trouble. But I owe her a debt of gratitude. So I''m going to save her andin about it."

    If you want to save Louise, be honest and say so."Noelle, you are not very honest."

    I spilled those words, and Luxon looked at me in surprise. [That''s not something you should say, Master]

    -Hey? ¡­huh?

    Everyone in the room was looking at me as if to say: "You are the most dishonest."

    Although I don''t think anyone is as honest as me¡­

    ¡ó

    ¡­ That is why we sold the Republic a carefree fight. This time, Einhorn waved the g of the Sky Pirates. In other words, we are now pirates of the sky.

    Einhorn charged directly at therge airship.

    I was giving instructions as I got on the Arroganz."Guys, make it exciting!"

    Flying around Einhorn were the armed units Luxon had hastily put together.

    Julian and the other idiots were the ones inside them. Each was a distinctive unit.

    The one who put on the white knight armor was Julian.

    ?"I never imagined that you would kidnap a princess as a Sky Pirate." The green-colored armor carried arge rifle.

    It was Jilk who was aboard it.

    ?"Count Baltfault looks too good in the role of a sky pirate." He''s a real jerk.

    The purple pointy hat armor was the armor Brad was riding on. He was surprised by the performance of that armed unit.

    ?¡°Is this armed unit really that quick to make? It is more powerful than the armed unit it was in. You couldn''t win with an ordinary unit against this one. If Arroganz has this kind of performance, they shouldn''t be able to win."

    In the cockpit, Luxon was exining the situation in a way that was like saying "oh dear."

    [Arroganz is an armed unit that I specially prepared for Master. The performance is different from that of a hastily built armed unit¡­ But please be careful with them, even if they are random machines. I won''t forgive you if you break them.]

    All armed units arerger than average. Although they are smaller than Arroganz.

    Greg climbed into the red armor and prepared to board therge battleship as it approached.

    ?"Hey guys, I think it''s time."

    A blue airship with a great sword pierced through an armed Republic unit that came ahead.

    -"We will enter."

    Thest two sounded rtively decent, but, in fact, they were almost naked in the cockpit.

    One was only wearing a speedo and the other a loincloth.

    I want you to understand how I feel when I see men showing their upper body naked in the cabin.

    [Master, we can''t locate Louise. We are being interfered with by Ideal¡¯s Defense Network.]

    "Let''s go in and get her out. I want you toe with me.¡± [I''ll take care of it. I will be in touch.]

    "Everyone, let¡¯s go!"

    We climbed into the armed units and rammed therge aircraft.

    The side of Einhorn''s body hit therge airship enough to prevent it from sinking.

    The two aircraft collided, and the unpleasant sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard.

    The collision caused sparks to erupt. Then the great airship stopped moving."They''re not going anywhere!"

    I jumped out of Arroganz''s cockpit with the machine gun in hand.

    Inded on the deck of the aircraft and looked for the entrance.

    -There it is.

    Originally this was a luxury cruise. The deck isrge, but there is a lot of room because it was not built to fight.

    Pointing to the entrance to enter, the armed soldiers came from there."Y-They''reing!"

    "Shoot to kill!"

    As the two soldiers fired at me, I fired a non-lethal rubber bullet, a bullet that would be absurdly painful if it hit its target.

    The two fallen men were fighting, but we ignored them and moved on. [Master, I''m done here.]

    -Go ahead.

    I saw Luxon fly away as I got into the ship.

    ¡ó

    Einhorn struck therge airship with his body. Fernand was watching from afar.

    He was surprised to see the scene from the bridge of the battleship."N-It can''t be!" How can it be here! Why are youing here?"

    As a noble, Fernand couldn''t understand it.

    His subordinates were asking for instructions, but his expression was clearly altered.

    They were all afraid to learn that they were dealing with Leon, who had terrorized the Republic so many times.

    "Master Fernand! What should we do!?" "W-What to do? We have to protect her!¡±

    To protect the sacrifice, Louise, he ordered an attack on Einhorn. But his men were too scared to move.

    "B-But ¡­ The enemy is the Devil Knight! W-We can''tpete with them. Also, he has the Guardian Crest!¡±

    Morale was visibly low, and even Fernand couldn''t help it. Then amunication came from Leon.

    ?"Eeeh? I wonder if the Republicans are going to attack us! I am waving the g of the air pirates and I am going to go ahead with it¡­

    Could it be that they are scared !? " Fernand yelled at his men.

    "Cut themunication."

    "T-They''re hacking thems!! There is nothing we can do about it!¡± "Are you mocking us?!!!"

    Leonughed as Fernand''s handsome face twisted.

    -"What? I thought it would be more difficult, but it''s actually quite easy.

    Well, it''s a country that would sacrifice just one girl for it, and I honestly didn''t expect much."

    asional shots were heard.

    Leon was apparently making his way aboard the ship.

    "Do you understand what''s going on !? If you do this, you won''t be able to¡­

    "Master Fernand, he can''t hear you."

    -Sh*t!

    He can''t hear voices from here, only the other party''s voice was transmitted.

    It was difficult for him to give orders to the other aircraft, he even had trouble getting themunications to work.

    Unlike before, Leon began to be serious.

    -"---I will tell them. I don''t like them and I came to crush them. If you don''t like it, try to beat me. If they can, of course."

    Fernand shook his fist on the desk and faced Leon with his anger.

    "Do you think we like to offer sacrifices?" The reason for this is because you have put us against the wall.

    In a normal republic, Louise''s sacrifice would have been more carefully discussed.

    However, after being shown the foreign threat that Leon is, the Republic would be destroyed if it is abandoned even by the Sacred Tree.

    That is why it was offered as a sacrifice without discussion. Leon''s presence had a lot to do with Louise''s sacrifice.

    ¡ó

    It happened while Leon and the others started fighting. Onnd, Lelia was shocked to receive a report from Ideal.

    She was in the middle of lunch, but the spoon she was holding dropped."Oh, did they really go in to save Louise?"

    [Yes. One of them is your sister, Lelia-sama.]

    "Did he take my sister too? What the hell does he think he¡¯s doing !?¡±

    That''s not good. I don''t care about Louise, but if something happens to my sister ¡­ no, wait ¡­ That''s it. There will no longer be a need to depend on the Sacred Tree now.

    Lelia''s eyes were on Ideal.

    With Ideal, my safety is assured. He could even rebuild a Republic with him if he wanted to. No, we could even build a new one.

    Aside from Luxon, she didn''t believe there was a force that could defeat Ideal.

    She could form an alliance with Leon and his friends and maintain non- interference between them.

    Lelia changed her mind and went back to eating with her new spoon, regaining herposure. [Oh? You seem to have suddenly calmed down.]

    "I just realized, I don¡¯t need to worry anymore about the Sacred Tree.¡± [¡­ What do you mean by that?]

    "With you, Ideal, there is no need for the Sacred Tree. Right?" Ideal nodded and the conversation ended.

    Or so Lelia thought, but Ideal''s reaction was strange.

    [That is not eptable. The Sacred Tree is a defense item. It is indispensable for the future of the Republic.]

    "Yes, but ¡­

    [First of all, the Republic only exists because of the Sacred Tree. If we lose it, we''ll be in big trouble.]

    ¡°I-If I have you ¡­

    [I won''t deny it, but losing the Sacred Tree is a great loss. I hope he doesn''t take it so easily.]

    Lelia couldn''t contradict him when it was said in a stronger tone than usual."I-Okay."

    [Thanks for your understanding.]

    As Lelia ate again, she thought about the future.

    In the end, things will continue to progress around my sister in the future. Well, she is the protagonist of this world, so it can''t be helped. By the way, will Serge be okay? ¡­ His odds are too low¡­

    "Ideal ¡­ if Serge was in danger, could you save him?" [Of course yes. But are you sure?]

    -What?

    [I was curious as to why Young Emile''s name was not mentioned.]

    Lelia noticed that Serge had be a more important part of her life than Emile."¡­ You can save Emile too."

    [It is understood.]

    Then Lelia looked at the ceiling.

    I will have to think ahead when everyone else returns. In the meantime, I think I''ll cancel my engagement to Emile.

    ¡ó

    On the other hand.

    The three people who remained at Marie''s mansion were the Headmaster, Cordelia¡­ and Yumeria.

    While the Headmaster was enjoying his tea, Cordelia spoke to him.

    "Director, is this a good time?"

    -What does it mean?

    "I''m sure you noticed. If Master Leon takes action against the Republic, it will be a big problem. In the worst case, he will be executed.¡±

    Taking the freedom to fight another country and worsening rtions with them will put Leon in a bad position.

    But the Director was looking out the window."He''s a curious young man."

    -Director?

    Cordelia was confused as to what the Headmaster said."What I''m trying to say is ¡­

    "You''re worried about him, aren''t you? ¡­ Leon-sama is very dear."

    "N-It''s not like that! He brought Anjelica-Sama to the battlefield too, you know! I am angry! If he is the person chosen by Anjelica-Sama, it is natural that I want him to act more carefully.¡±

    "I suppose it would be for the best. But it may not be the right thing to do.¡±

    "Better but not correct?"

    ¡°It''s okay to save Louise as a person here, but it''s wrong as a noble. Leon has no right to interfere in the affairs of other countries.¡± Essentially, they can only observe.

    "It is an act of chivalry. But I''m not saying that as apliment.

    Sometimes it seems to me that Leon-sama sees things that we do not see, that''s what I think.¡±

    "Do you see things that we don''t?"

    "Leon-sama has a different perspective than we do. I''m not saying it''s the right thing to do, but it has solved a problem that has been building up for a long time.¡±

    "The old Principality of Fanoss, isn''t it? I also think he has achieved great things as a hero, but his normal behavior is too careless.¡±

    "No, no, that''s not all. The kingdom has been saved by him many times.

    So helping him is like an atonement. No, it is better to say that I am indebted to him.¡±

    As Cordelia closed her mouth, the Headmaster smiled at her.

    "I''ve said a lot of things, but at the end of the day, maybe I just want to see what will happen to Leon-sama in the future."

    Seeing the Headmasterughing at that, Cordelia felt ufortable."You need to take it more seriously."

 Volume 6, 9 - Conquest Target vs Conquest Target

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 9 - Conquest Target vs Conquest Target</h4>

    It happened inside the big airship. Louise was hugging herself in despair.

    "Why can''t you just leave me alone? All I want to do is be with my brother.¡±

    Leon got on board. She didn''t expect him to do that.

    The maids in Louise''s care held their weapons while scared. Then the door opened and Serge appeared.

    The maids seemed relieved to see him, but from Louise''s point of view, a face appeared that she didn''t want to see.

    -What do you want? I don''t even want to see your face, so go away."I didn¡¯te because you were lonely. I¡¯m here to protect you.¡±

    " You¡¯re going to protect me?"

    Serge said he was going to protect her, and she thought there was something fishy about that. Then Serge gave an ugly smile.

    "I''m going to smash a guy who looks like your brother in front of you. I thought it would be fun.¡±

    Louise was horrified to imagine the scene of Leon being defeated."You''re such an idiot. That''s why I hate you.¡±

    The expression disappeared from Serge''s face.

    -I see. Well, I do not care. Their goal is you. I''ll wait for him here.

    ¡°What about everyone else?"

    She wanted someone more human instead of him, but everyone else was out except Serge.

    "They went to greet the guys who came in with their bare hands." Well, I''ll let the weak take care of them.

    Louise looked at Serge, who was rxing in his chair, and was concerned for Leon''s well-being.

    Leon, I''m begging you, please don''t take too much risk. I''m begging you, please don''t do anything dangerous.

    ¡ó

    "Ah, you are ¡­!" "H-Hiiiiiii!"

    When I pushed back the attackers, I recognized the only soldier in the ce. He was the man that boarded Einhorn when I first came to the Republic.

    He had seen me as inferior and mocked me at the time.

    I would hit a man like that with a rubber bullet, and then I would walk over to where he is rolling and trample him.

    -I''ve missed you. I just wanted to thank you for that time !! "N-Noooo! Someone help me!¡±

    -What happened? Before you were a captain, and now you are a lieutenant? I wonder why they demoted you! ?Tell me ?

    When I pointed the gun at him, he started foaming at the mouth and passed out.

    "I was just beginning."

    Well OK. I''m busy. I do not have time for this.

    I was muttering to myself, but normally this is where Luxon would hang on to tell me, [So why did you threaten him? It''s a waste of time].

    Damn! Without that guy''s sarcasm, I feel strangely lonely."Well, I have to find Louise, but I wonder if the others are okay." Although they are the type of people who would not die.

    Will the five idiots I walked in with be alright¡­ right?

    ¡ó

    ?Gaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

    Greg, with his machine gun at hand, began to fight bravely. A series of bullets were fired over his shoulder.

    The way he defeated the Republican knights and soldiers who attacked him waspletely reliable.

    However, Jilk had a very cold look in his eyes.

    They met and worked together, but Greg was almost naked."Greg, aren''t you ashamed of the way you''re dressed?"

    Jilk had a scoped sniper rifle, and several times, because of Greg stepping forward, he could see his butt.

    He couldn''t help but want to pull the trigger."I''m sorry, my friend. I am a little embarrassed.¡± "Then put some clothes on, please."

    Jilk was almost relieved that Greg had somemon sense left. But it was too early for him to think that way.

    "I don''t have enough muscle in my back, it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± Jilk was speechless.

    Does this guy don''t mind being naked and is ashamed of having little muscle on his back? Is he really that stupid !?

    Jilk looked up at the sky and then thought of the others who weren''t there.

    At least Chris is ¡­ no. Chris and you are far from decent. I wish I could have worked with His Highness, "why did I have to go through this?"

    Greg tried to advance now that the enemy was gone.

    "Hey, Jilk." How long are you going to be looking up? Concentrate. We are in a war zone. I swear, this is why people withoutmon sense are not good at this.

    Jilk put his finger on the trigger of the gun. Can I please shoot this guy in the back?

    ¡ó

    By the time that happened, Chris had joined Brad.

    Wielding a wooden sword and d in loincloths, he struck out one enemy after another. An enemy soldier screamed.

    "Ugh! Despite being dressed like a freak, he is strong!¡± "I¡¯m not a freak!"

    Chris, whose loincloth was mocked, brandished his wooden sword and knocked out the enemy soldier.

    At that moment, Brad was moving slowly from behind.

    Behind them, a group of people with conspicuous armed units, rushed towards the group.

    When the Republic soldiers saw this, they retreated, as if they thought they couldn''t win.

    "There are too many of them! Call for backup!¡± "Are they the main army ?!¡±

    -Dammit! Damn barbarians of the kingdom! Brad sighed as he watched his enemies flee.

    At that moment, the soldiers visible behind him disappeared.

    "Those guys are impatient. We¡¯ve only just started! Chris, thank you for your hard work.¡±

    Chris swung the wooden sword at Brad, who looked like it was all simple, and hit him on the head.

    "Ouch!" What are you doing!?

    "Don''t make me fight alone, why don''t you fight on your own?" Brad shook his head, saying, "You don''t get it ~!"

    "The main character is supposed to be slow to appear."

    -¡­ Were you the main character? No matter how you think about it, the main character is Baltfault. He''s the one who said he was going toe in, and the person he''s going to help is someone he knows. Brad, I can only see you as a minor character.¡±

    Brad, who was treated as a supporting character by Chris, pulled on his cheeks.

    "I-I''m the main character in my story. That is why I will always be the protagonist.¡±

    "Well that''s all good. Hey, let''s move on quickly. If the enemy returns with reinforcements, we will be in trouble.¡±

    "Oh wait a minute!"

    Brad chased Chris as they went.

    ¡ó

    "Ugh! I can''t believe I''m the only one left to watch the ship.¡±

    The one who spoke was Julian, who was guarding Einhorn andining in the cockpit of his armed unit.

    Everyone else had left the ship, but he was the only one left in the rear. He was frustrated because he wanted to fight with everyone else.

    ?"Julian, be careful!"

    From the Einhorn Bridge, Marie called Julian.

    The others inside the ship were Anjelica, Olivia and Noelle.

    Kyle and Cara were on board too, the same usual faces were there.

    -¡­ Fuh, if you think you have been given the important role to protect Marie, don''t regret it.

    Julian would haveined earlier, but now he was motivated."Has the enemye here?"

    Towards Einhorn came a unit armed with the emblem of House Barriere. The other soldiers with an armed unit also tried to enter Einhorn.

    "I won''t let them pass!"

    Julian fired a warning shot, stopping the soldiers and the enemy''s armed units that pounced on them.

    Julian''s armed unit drew their sword into the air.

    He attacked the legs of the approaching enemy armed units and cut them easily. The enemy lost his bnce and Julian stopped when he defeated him.

    "What strength. That Baltfault guy, did he have that much power?¡±

    Julian, who had already dueled with Leon, was terrified to learn that he had been fighting in such powerful armor.

    At the same time, he had mixed feelings when he realized that Leon was holding back.

    It''s annoying, although being clumsy, he was very careful not to take our lives. It was funny to think that cheeky Leon was looking out for them.

    "If I borrow this armed unit and cannot fulfill my duties, Baltfault willugh at me." I really wouldn''t like that.

    Julian ignited his spirit as he imagined how Leon would tease him.

    The shout of the soldiers was heard as he cut the arm of another armed unit that wasing towards him and put him out of action.

    "Come attack me who wants to die!"

    Then another machine ¡­ an armed unit came out.

    ?"Well then I''ll be your opponent." It was Loic''s voice.

    He attacked Julian.

    Seeing this, Julian dodged as fast as he could."Is this guy going to give up his life !?

    There was nothing to fear from Loic''s attack, but the problem was that he was throwing his life away.

    He was a troublesome opponent for Julian and the others, who were willing toy down their lives and had a policy of not taking the lives of their enemies as much as possible. Loic was desperate.

    ?¡°I''ve heard your voice before. You are the prince of the Kingdom, right? "

    -What¡¯s it to you?

    ?"Nothing ¡­ I just asked. If you want Louise, you''ll have to kill me first! " "Tsk!"

    It would be easy to knock him down, but if he made a bad move, Loic would die.

    Because of that, Julian was forced to have a tough battle

    ¡ó

    On board another ship.

    Hugh, who was leading the knights and soldiers of the House of Druille, yelled.

    "You guys hurry up and defeat them!"

    -We tried! But the enemy is very strong. Hugh was fighting Greg and Jilk.

    Greg, naked and with a machine gun in hand, consulted with Jilk who was in the corner.

    "Jilk, cover me, will you?"

    "Are you stupid enough to attack naked?"

    Greg showed the bitter Jilk a small device that he pulled from his pants."If you have this thing, it will keep you safe and sound from bullets.

    "Luxon told me.¡±

    ?¡­ Where did you take it from? And don''te near me.

    Greg, who tucked the device back into his pants, held the machine gun at his waist."Jilk, take the rear guard!" Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

    The enemy was thrown into chaos when Greg began to attack and pulled the trigger on the machine gun.

    ?Why is he naked !?

    "N-It can''t be. This guy is immune to bullets!¡± "Then with magic ¡­ Buh!"

    Jilk from behind was attacking the knight who was about to use magic.

    Hugh raised his right hand when he saw his ally being knocked down by a non-lethal rubber bullet.

    "You barbarian apes of the Kingdom, you thought you could defeat us with ---" "Here!"

    However, Greg also knew from his previous experience that the blessing of the Holy Tree was dangerous.

    As you guessed it, I have been working on a countermeasure for that as well. Hugh was sent flying backward by Greg''s jump kick.

    "D-Damn ¡­

    Greg turned his gun on Hugh as he tried to stand up.

    -Checkmate. If they''re going to use the power of the Sacred Tree, I''ll finish them off before they do. That''s it.

    "Yes, I found a weak point!", He spoke with such attitude, but that was only brute force. Then Jilk walked over, drew his gun --- and shot Hugh.

    ¡ªIt hurrrrrtttsssss !!

    Seeing Hugh struggling to maintain his face, Jilk pulled out his handcuffs.

    "When did you get good? Should have fired from the start. Come on, I''ll restrain you.¡±

    This was a containment device prepared by Luxon and could not be easily destroyed.

    It was a device that you couldn''t easily get rid of despite having the emblems of the six great noble families.

    Hugh protested, his face red and puffy at being held back by the two men.

    "Don''t be silly, guys. What they are doing is the work of a brainless idiot. I don''t know if they will help Louise, but if they do, the Republic will surely pay dearly for it. I have remembered their faces. I will never forgive them.¡±

    When Greg and Jilk looked at each other, they startedughing.

    -It is true. Baltfault didn''t think of any of that, did he?

    "He''s an idiot, you know. He''s an idiot in a good way and a bad one. Even if we talk about in the future.¡±

    They continued, leaving Hugh behind.

    "H-Hey, wait! Are you nning to leave me like this !? I-I''m Hugh of the six nobles!¡±

    Greg turned around.

    "-I do not know you. I''ll ask youter if you want to introduce yourself. By the way, my name is Greg.¡±

    "Jilk also waved his hand as he introduced himself."I am Jilk. Let''s have tea together sometime.¡±

    Hugh couldn''t speak when he saw their reactions."E-Eh?"

    ¡ó

    As I was moving down the hall, defeating enemies, a person was standing there. He raised his hands with a wry smile as he held his weapon.

    -I give up.

    ?¡­ That way of giving up was too easy. What are you thinking? This person was Emile.

    We had seen each other many times, but it was the first time we had talked like this. Emile scratched his cheek with his fingers, as if he was embarrassed.

    "I''m not very good with fear and pain. I had the knights and soldiers of House Pleven retreat. And Louise is over there.¡±

    There was no indication that he was lying.

    I lowered my gaze and was about to walk past Emile when he spoke to me.

    "I don''t see the knights and soldiers of House Rault. The aircraft from outside, only those of the Rault family have not left with their armed units. -

    -- Could it be that they are working together?¡±

    Emile was smiling when I stopped and looked at him. He was d to see my face and decided I was right.

    -I knew it! I was also concerned about the timing and location of the attacks. I thought: "Surely there is someone here giving information."

    It was true that the Rault House was working with us.

    They were willing to help us.

    "You shouldn''t babble in front of the enemy. You don¡¯t know if it will make you disappear.¡±

    "You wouldn''t do that. Instead, you will find that Serge is just down the road. He is very strong.¡±

    -I can¡¯t wait!! Beating up a guy who thinks he is strong is the best thing for me! - --Well, Serge is a bonus. It''s Louise I want to save.

    Continuing on, I saw a door where I thought Louise would be.

    ¡ó

    In Louise''s room, Serge was standing and moving.

    The maids around Louise screamed in fright every time the ship crashed in battle.

    The ship''s transmissions reported one by one that they had been prated, implying that the enemy was close.

    Footsteps were hearding from behind the door among some crying servants. Serge took the gun in his hand ¡­

    "You guys don''t go out."

    ¡­ Saying that, he pulled the trigger and fired all the bullets at the door. The sound of gunfire echoed and they fell to the ground.

    Serge kept his spear at the ready as heunched the smoking weapon.

    -Get out of there.

    A person kicked through the hole in the door and entered. In his hand was a machine gun.

    "I''m here to have fun."

    Leon said that with a smile on his face, and then pointed his gun at Serge and fired.

    For those in the Republic, where continuous fire is notmon, machine guns were a threat.

    However, Serge put his right hand in front of him and magically deployed his shield stopping all his bullets.

    The loaded rubber bullets rolled on the ground. Serge was disappointed to see that.

    "You''re a spoiled brat too. At least get real bullets. I was hoping to really crush you.¡±

    Serge was discouraged by the attack that was not intended to kill his opponent.

    Leon dropped the machine gun, drew his sword, and held it in one hand.

    -Strange. I love squashing people I don''t like too! And I didn''t like you from the moment I met you!

    Leon, who said those lines as if he were a viin, attacked Serge with his sword. Serge intercepted Leon''s sword with his spear and raised the corner of his mouth."Your blow is light." Wasn''t the people of the Kingdom stronger in melee !? Serge gave a front kick, doubled over Leon''s body and sent him flying.

    Leon wiped his mouth as he rolled on the floor and stood up calmly. Serge could roughly predict Leon''s abilities.

    "You have some good skills, but you are no match for me." Leon''s expression distorted.

    ¡ó

    On the other hand.

    Chris and Brad had also arrived where Narcisse was, who was leading the soldiers. As Brad pointed the gun at him, Narcisse raised his hands to surrender.

    -Hey? You are not very motivated.

    When Brad asked, Narcisse blurted out his true feelings.

    "Because I honestly don''t want to sacrifice my acquaintance and former student, Louise. I am relieved somewhere in my heart that you guys havee to save her.¡±

    Brad lowered his gun when he heard Narcisse speak.

    "There are decent people in the Six Great Nobles, huh? That¡¯s a relief. I thought they were all like Pierre.¡±

    ?¡­ Pierre is the exception. Better yet, if we''re going to move on from here, we better be careful.¡±

    It was then that Chris responded to Narcisse''s advice."Do you think we better stay behind?"

    "I know you are strong. But you have no idea how scary Serge is.

    -Scary?

    Previously, Narcisse went into a dungeon with Leon and his friends.

    In doing so, he also saw the strength of Leon and his team, but continued to think that Serge was different.

    "Serge is very strong." A few years ago, he killed a monster with his bare hands without using the blessing of the Holy Tree. And it was not a small one, it was arge one two meters long.

    A few years ago Narcisse would have been about fifteen.

    If he killed the monster with his bare hands at that time, he could be really dangerous.

    But Brad didn''t seem interested.

    -Great. Oh, Chris, do you have handcuffs?

    -Yes.

    Brad looked at Chris as he removed the handcuffs from his loincloth and made a worried face.

    "Why did you put it there?" I don''t want to touch him, so you put the handcuffs on him.

    -It''s okay. But the downside of the loincloth is that it has no pockets.

    Other than that, it''s perfect ¡­ Mm? It seems that Baltfault is getting closer to his goal.

    He wore amunication device in his ear that looked like a headset, from which information was delivered to him.

    Narcisse was upset with the two men for not taking him seriously.

    "Are you listening to me !? Serge is where Louise is. Serge is really dangerous! It is not only strong. He is a cruel man. If they leave it like that, Leon will die.

    Brad gave a little sigh in front of Narcisse.

    "You are Narcisse, right? You don''t understand it at all.¡±

    -Hey?

    Narcisse was handcuffed by Chris, but decided to ignore the strange warmth.

    Because you don''t want to think about it too much. Chris talked about Leon while handcuffing him.

    "I don''t know what you¡¯re thinking, but Baltfault is a true hero. There is no way he can lose to an opponent who is only strong. To begin with, being strong is not enough to win, which is why it is so difficult.¡±

    Brad nodded and worried about his opponent.

    -Yes. Isn¡¯t he going to beat this Serge up? Baltfault is a horrible guy. I, for my part, don''t want to fight Baltfault.

    -I think the same. In a practice fight, it''s okay. But in a real fight, he would definitely run.

    Narcisse thought as he listened to their trust in Leon. Do you get along with him? Or is it the opposite?

    ¡ó

    While Leon came to Louise''s room. Julian was fighting outside with Loic.

    ?This guy is really trying to die !?

    Julian, who was fighting him, avoided Loic''s blow and destroyed his left arm. Loic''s armed unit was wrecked and he had no weapons.

    Therefore, the only attack Loic could do was to deliver melee punches. Julian was fighting to avoid killing Loic and trying to stop him.

    "I have a hard time containing you." --- Your name is Loic, right? You will really die if you fight like this!

    He called Loic out of consideration and to make him understand what he was doing.

    -"And with that?"

    -What?

    ?"I''m almost dead. There is nothing left for me. Nothing remains!" When Loic attacked again, Julian caught him and threw him onto Einhorn''s deck. Then he opened the booth and saw Loic. His eyes were bloodshot.

    When he saw Loic earlier, he looked like a nobleman, but now he looked quite rough. A figure with a sharp look in his eyes and wrinkled cheeks.

    From the way he looked slimmer than before, it seems like he had a really hard time.

    When Loic emerged from the cockpit, he grasped his sword as it was. It seems like he wanted to face his opponent with his sword even though Julian was in his armed unit.

    "Y-You!"

    -¡­ I have nothing. My family wanted me to die. I don''t know where I belong! Julian could easily guess Loic''s current position.

    His family wanted him dead. Such was Loic''s pity.

    Julian opened his hatch and stepped out, picking up his sword in the same way.

    If you don''t want to live with that shame, I''ll end it here. He didn''t attack him because he didn''t like him.

    Julian sympathized with Loic and thought it would be nice to end up here.

    Seeing Julian step out of the booth, Loic seemed a bit happy to see him. Because Julian''s eyes told him he was going to kill him.

    "Thank you, Prince of the Realm." You gave me a ce to die. And I thank you for giving my death meaning.

    He couldn''t take his own life, but they didn''t give him a ce to die either.

    It seems that even a fight like this would have made sense for Loic, who was waiting to be eliminated by his family.

    "I''ll get this over with."

    While they both held their swords, Noelle stepped out onto the bridge.

    She came out gasping and then walking to stop the fight between Julian and Loic. -¡­ Noelle, don''te!

    Noelle approached them when Julian told her to get back into the ship. When Loic looked at Noelle, he had aplex look on his face.

    Quickly he returned his gaze from Julian and went straight to speak to Noelle. -¡­ Noelle! I ¡­ I ¡­ I liked you. It''s a fact that I was in love with you.

    "Loic, let this go. You don''t have to go that far. I don''t want Louise to be euthanized. I don''t want her to die! The same goes for you. You don''t need to die!¡±

    -I''m already almost dead! Staying alive is in vain.

    Loic''s eyes filled with tears, and then he lowered the tip of his sword and turned.

    "A nobleman who loses the blessing of the Holy Tree is frowned upon by those around him." I have no reason to live. Sooner orter, they will assassinate me and I will die. In that case ¡­ I want to die fighting here.

    "If you are going to die eventually, make your death a little more meaningful." That was Loic''s wish.

    Julian didn''t let go of his sword stance, but he made time to let the two speak. Noelle kept trying to convince Loic.

    "Just get out of the house!" You can live without your blessing. You don''t have to be Loic of the six great nobles. You can live like a simple Loic!

    Loicughed while crying.

    -¡­ You''re wrong. You''re wrong! "Loic?"

    "I said I loved you, but I didn''t know anything about you." I didn''t want to know! All I did was tie you up, make you suffer and hurt you. I don''t deserve to live like this.

    The reason Loic wanted to die was because he had hurt Noelle.

    I was able to put distance between us and for the first time I was able to look at myself objectively.

    Loic dropped his sword and put his hands in front of Julian.

    "Your Highness Julian, I honestly have no strength left to fight." It''s a selfish wish, but I''d like it to end with a single attack.

    Julian regained control of his sword and put his strength into it.

    -It''s okay. Do you have anyst word? Loic smiled. Somehow, he looked happy.

    "Noelle¡­ I''m sorry. I''m also sorry for the trouble I''ve caused you, Your Highness. I want to apologize to the Count as well. Tell him I''m sorry.¡±

    -I¡¯ll pass on your words.

    As Julian was about to strike, Marie''s fist mmed into the side of Loic''s face with her arms outstretched.

    "Are you kidding me, you damn brat!" "Owh! Gohoh!¡±

    Watching Loic roll across the deck, Julian stopped and lowered his sword.

    -Marie? E-Ehmm, you don''t think this is the scene where I''m going to grant Loic his wish, do you?

    Julian was taken aback by Marie''s intrusion. And Noelle was worried too.

    -Marie? E-Ehmm, Loic flew away.

    You''d think little Marie''s fists wouldn''t be strong, but Julian knew the force of her fists better than anyone.

    Marie''s fists are very strong.

    It was no joke, her strength could send men twice his size flying with a single fist.

    Marie reached out to Loic with her fist and grabbed his hair with her left hand, lifting him up. Then she pped him with her right hand. She continued to p him with the back of her right hand."I-I''m sorry, forgive me ¡­¡±

    Both cheeks were very swollen as Loic continued to be beaten.

    Marie regted her erratic breathing before bringing Loic''s face closer to hers.

    -Why do you want to die? Why is life not worth living? Have you just had your heart broken and do you think you will be a tragic hero?

    How disgusting."They told me that ¡­

    At Loic, who couldn''t speak well, Marie looked at him with contempt and silenced him.

    There was so much power in Marie now.

    "That''s why they reject you. When your heart is broken, you move on. Are you going to die for persisting in that? You''re kidding me, huh? Ahh

    !?¡±

    "Urki!"

    As she pressed down on the scared Loic and rolled him to the ground, Marie dropped her threatening tone and began to admonish him.

    "There are people who want to live, but have no choice but to die. I won''t really let you die from just that.¡±

    "B-But ¡­

    -But nothing! Agree? We were born into this world and we have to continue living until we die. You are young, you still have a lot ahead of you, and are you going to die because your heart was broken once? Don''t be naive! Do you think it''s cool to die gracefully? You''re an Idiot.

    Marie had a serious look in her eyes, despite her acting ridiculous. Julian found Marie''s words strangelypelling.

    Why is Marie trying to convince this guy?

    There should be no connection between Loic and Marie.

    But maybe it was because Marie couldn''t bear to see the desperate Loic.

    "What''s really cool is surviving to the end. The coolest person is the one who fights as hard as he can, and still survives. Now you''re just a brat who says he''s going to die because his heart was broken. That''s not cool at all.

    No wonder Noelle hates you.¡±

    Loic looked down.

    "What do you know about me? Do you have any idea how I felt when I lost everything as a noble and was ready to die?¡±

    -I do not know! You have the nerve to ask someone else to feel the same way about you when you didn''t know how Noelle felt. If you are a man, you should go up from the bottom. You say you have lost the blessing of the Holy Tree, but we can live without it from the beginning. I don''t even have noble status. All I have is debt.

    Marie forced Loic to his feet and hit him lightly in the stomach with her fist.

    ¡ªIt''s naive for a person to die that simple. A person at the base of the pyramid cannot even choose how to live his own life. You have time on your hands and you can start over.

    "O-Okay ¡­

    Marie hugged Loic, who was already crying.

    Julian, who had been listening to the story, thought it would be difficult.

    However, seeing as Marie had convinced Loic to join her, it wasn''t far- fetched.

    He quickly climbed into his armed unit and alerted his surroundings. The Republic fleet does not attack Einhorn. Are you afraid of Baltfault? No, maybe it''s because Baltfault has the Guardian Crest?

    Einhorn, flying the g of the pirates of heaven, was in no position to be shot down.

    But the fleet, led by Fernand, did not interfere.

    Now it only remains for Baltfault to bring Louise back as nned.

 Volume 6, 10 - The User

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 10 - The User</h4>

    -¡­ Kahah!

    When I was attacked by the handle of Serge''s spear, I was pushed back and it caused me to vomit.

    I''m sorry I made a mess in the room where Louise is, but that wasn¡¯t important now.

    Unlike me, who is in rough shape, Serge was still full of energy and unmarked.

    In other words, none of my attacks had hurt him."What did you do to make yourself so strong?" Serge is strong. He is definitely strong.

    I had heard that he had trained as an adventurer, but I didn''t expect him to be that strong.

    Serge, who kicked me and made me suffer, had an aggressive personality and was ruthless.

    -That''s it!? You are a hero !? What ¡°Evil Knight¡±!? Your strength is based on lost items! Without that you are trash!¡±

    I struggled to hold on as he trampled me mercilessly.

    Blood wasing out of the corner of my mouth, and I managed to get up and wipe it off with my hand.

    Serge was in a much better shape, although he should be tired from the constant attacks.

    "Haa¡­ haa¡­ Y-You, you look pretty good."

    Attacking someone is an act of physical exhaustion.

    It seemed unnatural to see that Serge wasn''t breathing heavy as he attacked me.

    Looking at me unsteady, Serge took something out of his pocket, drank the liquid from a small vial, and tossed it on the floor.

    -A drug¡­?

    "A drug to strengthen the body, now I can keep beating you up.¡± Serge''s gaze fell on Louise as he said that.

    The words were not directed at me, but at Louise.

    Louise''s face, surrounded by her servants, was blue and she shook her head.

    -Serge. Stop.

    Serge spread his hands, shattering Louise''s hopes.

    "The fun has just begun! I''m going to show you how he can vomit blood, guts and die a very pitiful death!¡±

    He''s an extreme guy.

    But still, a drug that strengthens the body.

    This was mentioned in Marie''s strategy information.

    It has the effect of temporarily increasing your status, and is probably a standard item in games.

    "Are you ever going to fight me on your own?" "There are no rules for killing each other, you know." I agree with that.

    But¡­

    Serge''s fist, with his enhanced physical abilities, came up to me, hit me, and sent me flying up to the wall.

    I hit the wall with my back, shattering the wall I fell into."Urgh ¡­

    I spat blood, and when Louise saw me, she passed by the servants and stood in front of me, spreading her hands.

    Serge''s eyes narrowed.

    -What are you doing?

    -It''s enough. Don''t hurt Leon any more."He was the one who attacked first!"

    -But still! ¡­ Still, stop.

    As Serge held his spear, the people around him stopped him.

    "Young Serge! Louise-san has a mission to do! I have been ordered to deliver her to the tops of the Sacred Tree unharmed!

    The maid stopped him and Serge lowered the tip of his spear. The way Serge looked at me was very cold.

    "I am sincerely disappointed. I was hoping we could y a little more.¡±

    Louise helped me to painfully stand up, and then she assisted me out of the room as I was.

    The maids tried to stop her, but Louise strictly ordered them to stop.

    "Don''te!¡­ I''m not going anywhere. But if he stays here, he will kill Leon, and I will leave until I am in a safe ce. I''ll be right back.¡±

    I left the room with being supported by Louise¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡ó

    Louise walked down the aisle of the ship, lending her shoulder to Leon. She couldn''t stop crying.

    She was saddened to see how Serge hurt Leon, who looked like her brother, and she was sad to see him hurt.

    "You are really stupid!"

    -Hahaha I''m sorry.

    Before leaving, Leon''s message to Alberg was, "I''m sorry." Louise now understood what that meant.

    "This is what you meant when my father told me."

    -¡­ Are you angry?

    -I''m furious! You are going to be in big trouble for your actions. Before I die, I will ask for your life to be saved, but I don''t know what will happen.

    I''m going to defend Leon and the others before jumping in as a sacrifice. However, I cannot guarantee that they will be safe.

    "You don''t have to do this, Leon. Its my choice. Like I told you before, I don''t mind being sacrificed. I''ll be there for my brother.¡±

    She was very scared.

    She wanted someone to help her.

    But Louise could no longer bear the sight of her brother''s suffering in her dreams every night.

    I''m sure my brother won''t feel lonely if I''m there for him.

    In the past, she thought of it as an atonement for her sins by not being able to help him, and she epted it.

    Then, unexpected words came out of Leon''s mouth."You''ve always had a strong sense of duty."

    -Eh?

    He said those things as if he had known her for a long time, and immediately floated the question of, "Didn''t we know each other for a short time?"

    But Louise had nightmares every night and her judgment was impaired.

    "I was going to disappear once I fulfilled my New Years Festival promise.

    But then it became a problem because the Sacred Tree did something unnecessary.¡±

    "W-What are you ¡­?"

    -¡­ It''s me. You didn¡¯t know?

    ?Stop teasing me! It''s not funny.

    Leon''s words sounded like they were her little brother''s.

    That was never going to happen, and yet Louise''s heart wished it would.

    Leon held his stomach and smiled. However, you could see that he was in pain. It was a painful sight.

    "Didn''t you me me for wetting the bed when we slept together a long time ago? ¡­ You were angry and didn''t speak to me for a week.¡±

    Louise hadn''t told Leon that story."H-How do you know?"

    "I wanted to make up for it, so I made a paper ring as a gift. I apologized in front of everyone for what I did, and you forgave me.¡±

    Finally, Leon apologized in front of his family for what he had done, and Louise forgave him.

    The apology was a ring, and Leon, who was in a good mood at the time, even promised to marry her.

    I didn''t want to talk too much because the confession process was terrible.

    Louise couldn''t stop crying.

    -Heavens. How could you!? Why are you telling me this now? Leon exined it quietly as he hugged Louise, who was sobbing.

    "It wouldn''t be a problem for me to be born again, would it? All I wanted to do was appear for a moment. I wanted to see everyone''s faces.¡±

    -You should have told me! I''ve always wanted ¡­ to apologize to you! Louise couldn''t speak as she cried into Leon''s chest.

    She thought her intuition was correct and believed that her brother was reborn in front of her. She closed her eyes to the unnatural parts and only looked at the facts she wanted to believe.

    "I didn''t want to tell you because you were going to cry like that. I do not hold grudges. Didn''t I say that in myst moments?¡±

    Louise nodded and remembered the moment.

    All he could do was look at Leon, who seemed to be in pain. Leon spoke of the moment.

    "Do you really think I want you to sacrifice yourself? I was smiling to the end, right?

    -Yes. Yes. You did.

    ¡ó

    This happened when his brother''s death was approaching.

    Around the suffering Leon were all the great doctors Alberg had assembled. There was nothing to do about it, and everyone was looking with their heads down. Alberg asked for help.

    "I''ll get you what you want! So help me save my son! I have heard that you are a great doctor. That you can even bring the dead back to life!¡±

    The famous doctor shook his head.

    "The dead do note back to life. It is an exaggerated gossip. I''m sorry for your son, but I have no idea why this is happening to him. I have no idea why he is weakening. It''s like his soul wants to leave his body.

    Oddly enough, there was no disease in Leon''s body. He just got weaker. So the doctors couldn''t treat it.

    "That''s what the master of curses said! So keep that soul together!¡±

    They had assembled a group of experts on that sort of thing, but they had all given up on the idea that there was anything that could be done about it.

    -¡­ We are doctors. We are not masters of curses. Alberg squeezed his hand, and blood seeped from it. Louise squeezed Leon''s hand.

    "Leon, you can''t die. You made a promise, right? There are many of them. If you do notply and die, I will never forgive you. You''re going to be a guardian, right? You''re going to marry your sister, right?¡±

    Hearing this, Leon smiled.

    It was painful to see him smile, he seemed to be in pain.

    -I''m sorry. But¡­ I will always keep my promise. When you have problems¡­e to me. When Leon began to suffer, he could not speak.

    Louise shook her head and then hugged Leon''s body.

    Even as a child, when she heard Leon''s soul was leaving him, she desperately tried to hold it together with her body.

    -Do not go. Don''t leave your sister! In the end, Leon had died that day.

    ¡ó

    "I didn''t ask for you to be sacrificed."

    "T-Then why could I hear you? You screamed for help!¡±

    "The Sacred Tree does not bloom. There must be a reason for this.¡±

    -Reason?

    "We''ll look into it. So, until then, I need you to trust me and follow me.

    Before she knew it, Louise had been led onto the deck by Leon. That''s where Arroganz was.

    Soldiers were approaching Arroganz, and armed units were all around him. Leon turned to look at Louise.

    -I''m sorry about everything. But we will be together from now on. Louise hugged Leon.

    Right after that ---

    -What!?

    --- The deck of the aircraft began to shake violently when Leon''s voice was heard in panic.

    When Louise turned her gaze to the surroundings, the altitude was increasing."Is it floating?"

    Einhorn collided with arge aircraft that was stuck.

    It was as if he was being guided by the tops of the Sacred Tree. Leon hugged Louise and tried to enter Arroganz.

    -Let''s go.

    "W-Wait a minute, there''s something strange."

    ¡ó

    Serge was running down the corridor of the ship."She tricked me at thest minute!"

    Serge, who had been keeping an eye on Louise and Leon, ran out onto the deck. When he arrived, he saw Leon and Louise.

    When he saw them hugging, something happened inside Serge "Do you really think you can get away with it?"

    Leon was silent, but Louise answered Serge."Serge, leave me alone for now."

    Serge, who was listening to the conversation between Leon and Louise, startedughing like a fool.

    "Do you really think your brother hase back to life? You really are a stupid fool! Did you forget that this guy is the same age as your brother?

    If Leon really was the reincarnation of his brother, then it was strange that they were the same age.

    After being told the obvious, Louise looked at Leon''s face in surprise.

    -Leon?

    Looking at the silent Leon, Serge drew his pistol.

    -You are a swindler. A weak Louise could easily be fooled, but don''t think that the same is true of those around you. I''m going to kill you right here, you false hero who only knows how to talk.

    Louise desperately asked Leon a question.

    -Leon? Just tell me one thing. What did the ring you gave me say? It was our little secret. You know it right? Truth!?

    A ring made of paper and written by his brother.

    This was a secret between the two of them and a question that no third party could answer. Leon replied.

    -Did I write" I love you "?

    He replied without making eye contact with Louise, but that was a mistake.

    When Louise walked away from Leon, she expressed her disgust.

    -You tricked me.

    "It''s a shame because things were going so well until thest minute." The great airship had reached the top of the Sacred Tree.

    Louise took a step back and distanced herself from Leon.

    When Leon tried to grab her by force, Serge fired his gun between them on the ground. -Do not move. Stay here. Look, there are flowers on the Sacred Tree.

    You could see various flowers on the Tree.

    Hundreds of slender rope-like tentacles emerged from the white chrysanthemum-like flowers.

    Those tentacles were looking for Louise. And then a voice was heard.

    "Sister ¡­ where are you? Sister, where are you?¡±

    Louise realized that this was her brother''s voice and raised her voice.

    -Here! I''m here! Leon, your sister is here!

    The tentacles that responded to the voice moved closer to Louise.

    As Leon, who had only been watching, rushed to stop her, Serge fired another shot.

    He was mercilessly shooting at Leon.

    -Dammit!

    Leon sacrificed himself to prevent the bullets from hitting Louise. That''s why he couldn''t reach her.

    Louise herself jumped off the deck and was caught by the tentacles and carried to a flower as is.

    "Louise!"

    Leon held out his hand in frustration, but as if he had given up, he looked at Serge.

    -Second round. No one will help you this time.

    After firing all of his bullets, Serge dropped his gun again. He took out of his pocket a drug to strengthen his body.

    He drank it and threw the empty bottle away. Then he picked up his spear.

    Leon walked over to Serge.

    There were no signs of picking up a weapon.

    "Hey, is that sword at your waist an ornament? At least take out your gun¡­"

    "Get out of the way.¡±

    -¡­ What!?

    In an instant, Leon closed the distance and mmed his fist into Serge''s face, hitting him against the deck.

    It was a single hit.

    Serge was on his back when he was hit once by Leon''s fist. As he was lying there, Leon headed towards Arroganz.

    Luxon had joined him there.

    [It doesn''t go as nned, right? You haven''t got Louise back, have you?]

    "I almost had it! Sh*t! It was because of that Leon for having done something like a secret between the two that the ns went to waste.¡±

    Serge tried to get up, but the damage was more severe than expected and he was unable to stand.

    The drug made it less painful, but he couldn''t move his body.

    Leon got on Arroganz and flew away, ignoring Serge and the others. With a bloody nose, Serge''s hatred for Leon grew.

    "S-So he wasn''t being serious. T-That bastard used me, huh?¡±

    Serge trembled with rage as he realized he let himself get hit in front of Louise on purpose. He had never been humiliated like this before.

    The trust he had built so far copsed with a bang.

    ¡ó

    Inside the Arroganz cockpit.

    As I approached the flower blooming in the tops of the Sacred Tree, I saw that it had grown disgusting tentacles.

    "Is this thing really a sacred nt?" It was very grotesque.

    Hundreds of tentacles made their way through the flower and wouldn''t let me get close. Arranged around it was a cylindrical floating machine.

    "What is that, Luxon?"

    [It is the defense equipment manufactured by Ideal. I was interfering with it, but I couldn''t analyze it.]

    "Serge, have you really gone that far?"

    [It took some time, but I''ve already analyzed it. Normally, I would have liked to burn him with the main body cannon as soon as possible, but failed to convince him, so it was impossible.]

    "It was working to the end!" So what is that flower about?

    The reason I partedpany with Luxon was for him to investigate the flower.

    We hadn''t been able to examine it until now because it was blocked by Ideal''s defense team.

    [That has nothing to do with the Sacred Tree. It is connected to it, but it is only receiving power.]

    -It''s something more?

    [I detect a reaction from a magical armed unit. I''m not saying it''s a full body, but it''s a spell-possessed form that has a partial core.]

    -Are you kidding me.

    I imagined him as the old ck knight who fought in the war against the old Principality of Fanoss.

    That old man tried to kill me.

    A magical armed unit¡­ is a weapon prepared by the new humans to fight against Luxon and other artificial intelligences. In other words, it is an inconvenient substitute.

    [It is true.]

    "You''re telling me that captured Louise!" That means¡­

    If magic merged with her, there would be no way to save her.

    Because once the magical armed unit merges with a human, they be inseparable.

    And people who merge, don''t live long.

    [No, if the core is still there, I can save it. It''s lucky that some of that remains. However, if we don''t save her immediately, they will surely merge.]

    "Then we''ll get her back in the blink of an eye."

    But still, why did the magic unit choose Louise? Did you go to the trouble to speak like Leon? Was Leon really captured?

    No, that cannot be.

    Don''t tell me he took Leon''s soul. I couldn''t organize my thoughts. Then Luxon warned me.

    [I see. What the magical armed unit was looking for was a person with the blessing of the Holy Tree.]

    -What?

    [It is attacking.]

    As the flowers of the Sacred Tree withered to rest, seeds emerged from them.

    Therge seeds cracked and huge hands came out.

    What forced him to hatch was simr to the ck knight''s magical armed unit he had seen earlier.

    "Hey, could it be that Louise is in on that?"

    [She is being absorbed. She is being used as a source of energy. What very annoying things. You want to destroy it?]

    "Not until I save Louise."

    When I approached with Arroganz, the magical armed unit reacted.

    It was using Louise''s voice.

    [All right. These body parts are surprisingly¡­ very good. The depleted supply of energy will be an inexhaustible supply of energy! At this rate, I will destroy everything in this world!]

    Facing the magical armed unit with both hands outstretched, I let Arroganz attack with a sh from his tomahawk.

    But it didn''t happen. The ax broke.

    "Exactly how hard is that??"

    [He''s not like the ck Knight. Since it is close to being a perfect body, consider its performance to be much higher.]

    "You should have said it before!"

    I quickly took a distance and dropped the broken hatchet. Even if I switched to a rifle and fired, he could avoid it all.

    -It''s fast!?

    [Of course. It is a weapon called a magical armed unit that ancient humans fought with. However, even with this, ording to the data, its performance is less than 50% of capacity.]

    "I can¡¯t understand why it''s so hard to beat this guy and save Louise. So? How do we do this?¡±

    I dodged the magic fisting from him and waited for Luxon''s response.

    [I''ll take Louise out of her magic armor and just prate the core. The problem is that you have not been able to convince her. Louise herself will not attempt to leave her magical armed unit. Rather¡­]

    He drew his scythe and I caught the attack from the magical armed unit that attacked us in the middle of our conversation.

    The magic armed unit spoke to me.

    [¡­ I will never forgive you, I will never forgive you for cheating on me.] I could hear Louise''s voice hating me. This seemed to be her own will.

    -She¡¯s aware!?

    Kicking me away and out of reach, the magical armed unit spread its arms.

    -Damn!

    As I walked away, Arroganz''s leg was pierced.

    There was a tail that extended from the waist of the magic armor, and it was reeling.

    "That tail is a threat."

    [The magical armed unit itself is a threat. But still¡­]

    I could hear two voicesing from that armed unit.

    One was from Louise and the other was a voice that appears to be that of her deceased brother, Leon. [Aah, I can feel Leon next to me.]

    [Onee-chan, let''s take him down together. I can''t forgive him for cheating on you.] [¡­ Yeah, that''s fine, Leon.]

    As the magical armed unit closed the distance, I elerated and fled.

    Even when I tried to push them away, they slowly caught up to Arroganz''s performance."I have nightmares about the time I fought that old ck Knight."

    [This is no time for jokes. The resurrection of the magical armed unit was out of the question¡­ What are you going to do, Master?]

    The magical armed unit that was chasing Arroganz caused naked eyes to appear all over his body and released the magic from it.

    The area around the magical armed unit filled with cold air, and several sharp ice needles floated in midair.

    The eyes attacked Arroganz, but even if he avoided them, they would follow him to some extent."Missiles!"

    [Intercepting]

    As the lid of the container Arroganz was carrying was opened, the missiles loaded in it were fired, destroying all the ice.

    Then the loaded drones were deployed.

    The drones with Gatling cannons in spheres hovered around Arroganz and downed all their attacks.

    Arroganz had live ammunition.

    The magic armed unit was firing magic, and the sounds of explosions and magic pops echoed in the surroundings.

    There were a lot of shy fights."Well, let''s see what we can do."

    As we ran, I thought of a way to rescue Louise.

    ¡ó

    Marie watched as Louise was taken over by the magical armed unit and watched the battle from the Einhorn Bridge.

    When Anjie saw the appearance of this magical armed unit, it seemed to remind her of the ck Knight.

    "Why did that appear here?" What the hell is going on?

    Livia also worried about Leon, who was fighting a magical armor."Will Leon be okay?"

    "We have defeated the ck Knight, but we do not know the capabilities of the enemy."

    -It cannot be!

    Around Einhorn floated Jilk, Brad, Greg, and Chris, with their respective armed units.

    Julian was waiting on the bridge, distrusting Loic, whom he brought with him, at least for a moment.

    Marie asked Loic what was going on.

    "Do they have such things in the Sacred Tree?" "N-No, I''ve never heard of that."

    Loic''s tone towards Marie was quite impressive.

    "In the first ce, I''ve never heard of such a thing." Not once in the history of the Republic has there been a flower on the Sacred Tree.

    "Why would they want to sacrifice someone for something like that?"

    "It was the decision of the heads of the six families." I think they were terrified that they would keep losing to Count Baltfault, and then surrender with the Holy Tree.

    Julian had a subtle expression on his face."Is it because of Baltfault''s presence?"

    "No, sooner orter they would have offered it as a sacrifice." For the Republic, the Sacred Tree is an absolute existence. And furthermore, if they hear voices from the Sacred Tree, some of them will believe it.

    Marie raised her head.

    If Louise dies, Alberg will be thest boss! I do not want that! We''vee so far and everything we did doesn''t make sense --- That''s not¡­

    Noelle?

    Noelle, hugging the jar containing the little offspring, looked out.

    The emblem on the back of Noelle''s right hand glowed faintly. Julian watched the battle and was angered by his inability to do anything.

    "I wish I could help, but wouldn''t we be a hindrance if we got in there?" Julian and the others'' armed unit was a degraded copy of Arroganz.

    They couldn''t beat the opponent Arroganz was fighting with. Marie asked Julian for help.

    ¡ªJulian, don''t talk like that, help me! Even Arroganz can''t beat him, right? Look, they all have better maneuvering skills than Leon, right? There are all kinds of things that you can do to cover the performance of the aircraft with your arms.

    While Marie was asking her to help Leon, Anjie corrected her mistake.

    -You''re wrong.

    -What do you mean?

    "Leon is strong." The reason they are fighting now is because he wants to save Louise. If they could only handle that, then Leon too ¡­

    Noelle opened her mouth when she heard Anjie''s story.

    -Let me do it.

    When Marie turned to look at Noelle, the little sapling also glowed faintly.

    -Hey? Noelle, what are you ---?

    "The only way to get Louise out of this is to convince her to get out of there.But as it is, you can''t talk to her. But I¡­ if I got close enough, my voice could reach her.¡±

    "C-Can you do that !?¡± "I-I think so ¡­¡±

    Livia did not allow Noelle''s uncertain words.

    -No. I can''t let you do something rash. However, it was Loic who came to the rescue.

    -It''s not impossible. I have heard that the priestess can speak to an crest bearer with her mind. I read in the documents that can be connected through the Sacred Tree. If they can touch each other directly, it should be possible to at least have a conversation.

    Marie was quick to stop him.

    This was because Noelle was the priestess of the little sapling, not of the Sacred Tree.

    -Wait! The little sapling and the Sacred Tree are two different things! I don''t want Noelle to be reckless.

    Then, Livia''s hair floated like a fluffy tide.

    Lines of white light rose above his body, creating a pattern."Gyaaaa!" It''s shining!

    Marie screamed, and Anjie spoke up annoyed.

    -Shut up. Livia, can you do it?

    "Not yet, I''m not in full control yet."

    "I''m going to help." Noelle,e with me.

    -Hey? E-Ehmm ¡­

    When Noelle, unable to keep up with the situation, looked confused, Anjie took her hand.

    "You''re going to make your voice heard, right? You will have to convince her, right? Then Livia and I will help you.¡±

    Reluctantly, Noelle took the hand Livia offered her.

    Livia ced the sapling of the Sacred Tree in the center of where they were.

    The little sapling''s glow intensified as the three of them held hands and formed a circle.

    "It will only be for a short time. If you''re going to try to convince her, you''d better hurry. -I understand you.¡±

    When Noelle closed her eyes, there was a change in the scene outside. The magic armed unit had slowed down.

    Marie saw the three wrapped in a pale light and could not understand what was happening.

    Can not be. Don''t tell me these chicks are using their own holy powers? They don''t have tools or anything! How the hell did they do it !?

    Marie, surprised by Livia''s rapid growth, looked outside.

    It only remains that I can convince her.

    ¡ó

    Noelle looked at the strangendscape.

    Great. This way I can reach to speak to Louise.

    Thendscape around her was blurry, with only her consciousness jumping to a ce that could be called the spirit world.

    As she ran around to see where to go, she saw something burning brightly.

    -Here. Don''t walk away from us. The voice was Anjie''s.

    What surprised Noelle was that she could see Anjie''s fire of hatred inside her. She was anger itself.

    "E-Ehmm ¡­¡±

    Nearby, you could see Livia''s emotions. It was sordid jealousy.

    Looking at them in human form, Noelle was concerned about their appearance.

    Livia took Noelle''s hand.

    "Let''s do what we have to do for now."

    It was horrible, but right now she would rather save Louise than worry about it."O-Okay."

    She was terrified by the feelings they both had towards her, but at the same time, she could see that they both felt the same for Leon.

    Noelle looked for Louise.

    Louise, I swear I will bring you back and tell you everything I want to tell you!

    ¡ó

    Louise''s spirit world.

    Little Leon was hugging Louise from behind.

    They were both naked due to being in the spirit world. However, the outline was blurry.

    He only needed to understand why they were there. [Why don''t you kill him, sister?]

    When little Leon begged for that, Louise epted it.

    -It''s okay. All your wishes will be granted by your sister. Then, the magic armor attacked Arroganz.

    Arroganz had been cornered by the magical armor that showed its overwhelming efficiency. A space for both.

    Louise was happy.

    "Leon, we''re going to be together from now on, right?"

    [Yes. We''ll be together forever. You will listen to what I ask from now on, right, sister?]

    "Yes, I''ll give you anything you want. Because I¡­¡±

    So, the people who entered the two''s space were Anjie, Livia¡­ and Noelle. When Noelle found Louise, she screamed at her.

    -I found you! Louise, what the hell are you doing !? "Noelle?!"

    When Louise became hostile, the spirit world began to rage.

    As Anjie spread her hands, a magic circle appeared and blocked the attacks that rained down on them.

    "Noelle, hurry up and convince her!"

    Livia had prepared a path into Louise''s spirit world.

    However, it appears that they forcibly interrupted, and were unable to stay long. "Hurry up as soon as you can, please." This power ¡­ is difficult to control. Seeing Livia in distress, Noelle began to convince Louise that she was in pain."Louise, stop it. Leon lied to get you out of there. He was only trying to help you.¡±

    -Shut up. Shut up, shut up! It has stained my precious memories! For the memories that I really cherished --- I won''t forgive him. I will never forgive him.

    Louise was not in her right mind.

    Her brother behind her smiled at her, hugging her.

    [You can''t forgive him, can you sister? So let''s kill them. I hate them too. Kill them all, sister.]

    -So it is. I''ll get rid of that filthy woman who stole my Leon from me!

    When Louise wished to eliminate Noelle, a blizzard urred in the spirit world.

    When the three of them were about to be expelled from the spirit world, the magical armed unit was in full force in the real world.

    Louise''s squeezed magic power was attacking Arroganz.

    -Hahaha! Break it! The fake Leon has topletely disappear! She was going to kill Leon, who cared so much.

    The sight of this frustrated Noelle.

    "What really happened to you?" Where is your usual way of acting? You were so protective of Leon.

    Louise''s expression distorted and she drew her anger, her hatred deep in Noelle."What did you know about that when you stole my Leon?"

    "You, your brother¡­

    -I wanted him. I loved him! And yet my pretty Leon¡­ chose you. Do you have any idea how frustrating it was for me? And yet, if you are going to deprive me even of this happiness that I finally got, I¡¯ll¡­!! You!!

    The magic armed unit increased its power.

    The next thing that was known was that the battle outside was frozen in the surroundings. The leaves and branches of the Sacred Tree were frozen and a blizzard was blowing around it. A magical armor with two des made of ice went to cut Arroganz. Arroganz tried to avoid it with both arms, but both were cut off.

    -Lion!

    Noelle screamed, and Louiseughed at the sight.

    "I''m going to take Leon from you this time. Then I''ll take Leon from you and he''ll be with me forever. Noelle looked at Louise.¡±

    "You, really, with your brother ¡­¡±

    It was Leon, who was fighting in the real world, who said beyond that.

    ?"Do you think your real brother would choose to sacrifice you?" She heard Leon''s voice and Louise stopped moving.

    -¡­ S-Shut up. Shut up fake!

    ?"What, don¡¯t you understand? So you were really aware of it, but you pretended not to see it. I mean, isn''t it? The Leon you and your family talk about would never choose to sacrifice his older sister."

    Louise''s feelings were agitated.

    It is so. Leon would never sacrifice me. And yet I''ve been so lonely She told herself, and attacked Arroganz again.

    -Do not try to confuse me!

    ?¡°I''m sure you''re already confused. Try to test if that''s the real Leon. If it''s the real one, it will tell you everything you need to know." Louise stopped moving.

    Speaking to Louise in a voice that sounded like she was worried about him was her brother, hugging her from behind.

    [What''s wrong with you, sister?]

    Louise turned around and looked at Leon''s face. The outline was blurry and not clearly visible."Leon ¡­ what do you think of Noelle?"

    [What happened to you suddenly? That doesn''t matter, right?]

    As questions arose, one after another Louise became more and more suspicious. So he tried to answer.

    "You don''t remember Noelle? After all the time you were so close, you must have had a lot of fun together, right? L-Look, you two sneaked around and yed, right?¡±

    The words scared Noelle more than anything.

    -Hey?

    However, Anjie who saw that, closed Noelle''s mouth."Shut your mouth ¡­ It could be interesting."

    The confused Louise uneasily asked her brother,"D-you don''t remember? You and Noelle were engaged, and you were very close¡­¡±

    Her brother smiled.

    [Yes, it is true. But, you are the one I love the most, sister.] Louise shook her head when she heard that line.

    -You''re wrong. Noelle was the one he loved the most. You said that since Noelle was your fianc¨¦e, she was the one you loved the most, and then I, your sister, was the second ¡­ W-Who are you? Why do you have Leon''s face and voice?

    Louise separated from her brother¡­ from the impostor. Noelle grabbed Louise''s hand.

    "Louise!" Come here now!

    However, the fake form slowly transformed into a disastrous demonic form.

    [It was just a little more ¡­ well, it doesn''t matter. I should only need to use the part of you I¡¯ve obtained.]

    The magical armed unit grabbed Louise with a big hand and pulled Noelle and the others out of the spirit world.

    "Louise!"

    Louise extended her hand to Noelle. But their hands never touched.

    As the three of them were led outside, the magical armed unit took Louise.

    [Now ¡­ I''ll be able to resurrect again. If this power runs out, I''ll just take the next one.]

    The magical armed unit obtained the energy from Louise''s crest, increasing its power even more.

 Volume 6, 11 â€“ Leon

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 11 - Leon</h4>

    The ck magic armed unit began to be covered in ayer of ice."A-Aah, this really sucks."

    What is with that guy? He can do anything. There was a blizzard everywhere.

    The surroundingndscape was covered in ice and froze you just by looking at it.

    It felt like the temperature in the cabin was dropping.

    [He keeps squeezing the energy out of Louise. If we keep fighting like this, Louise won''t be able tost much longer.]

    "Do you always use humans as disposable batteries?" That guy is the worst.

    [Master, your heart rate is rising. You seem to be very angry.] He spoke lightly, but my partner, Luxon, knows how I feel.

    Yes. It''s frustrating.

    I couldn''t help but feel ufortable."How are the three girls?"

    [Tired, but recovering on Einhorn¡¯s Bridge. Negotiations in the spirit world have failed.]

    "I''ll save her, even if it''s by force."

    [After all, it couldn''t be solved intelligently. It always seems to be too soft, Master.]

    One leg was stuck, both arms were missing, and the weapons in the container were depleted.

    ¡­ Arroganz was that fully wounded, but there were no feelings of sadness neither in Luxon, nor in me.

    "We''ll get serious from here."

    [Next time be more serious from the beginning. Schwert, deploying.]

    The magic armed unit started attacking me, but I anticipated its movement and avoided it with the least amount of movement.

    -Haha! You are moving worse than before!

    The magical armed unit has increased in both speed and power, but it seems that it can only make vague movements.

    [Since Louise can''t control it, the core must be moving it instead. A damaged core can only move like this. Here ites again. Please continue to avoid him and hook up with Schwert.]

    -Leave it to me.

    The magical armed unit approached, but I avoided it and ran towards the Sacred Tree. Then I saw a big ck wing passing through the trees.

    This was in the shape of a fighter.

    The fighter was assembled with the hands and feet, which were spare parts for Arroganz. Arroganz purged the injured parts of both arms and legs.

    As the container also purged and fell, Schwert went from behind and docked with Arroganz.

    "Combining is every boy''s dream."

    [Sorry, I''m not used to piloting giant robots.] "Idiot, don''t be sarcastic."

    Arroganz exchanged his missing arms and legs for new ones, while flying around the branches of the Sacred Tree.

    There, I saw the magical armed unit chasing him. The ce where he passed was frozen.

    [Master, Arroganz''s arms change modifies our options tobat the enemy magical armed unit.]

    "It doesn''t look any different to the naked eye." [You focus a lot on that, don''t you? Here ites.]

    When the magical armed unit approached, he let Arroganz catch the ice de.

    Previously, Arroganz''s arms were easily cut off, but this time it was different.

    The ice sheet melted.

    The magic armed unit tried to break out of attack range, but I grabbed it and didn''t let it go. -Do not escape. I had to chase you!

    Heat transferred from both arms and the armor made of magic ice melted. [Ahhhhhhh !!]

    I heard a scream mixed with metallic sounds, but I ignored it and ripped its arms off. Luxon''s single red eye glowed suspiciously as he enjoyed watching.

    [You have hurt me a lot. But I have collected your data. I have prepared countermeasures.]

    We had prepared Schwert, who had beenpletely merged in a short period of time, and prepared the best moves based on the data from the battle.

    We knew we were going to win.

    "I''m taking her back."

    I removed the armor from its chest and found Louise''s figure there. Arroganz''s hand gently grasped Louise.

    Once we got her back, she was ours. [Are we finished, Master?]

    -You never change.

    As Arroganz walked away, the demonic armed unit tried to poke its tail. I caught it in one hand and flew up to the treetops again, easy as that.

    "You''ve made me spin around a lot." I''m going to destroy you without leaving a trace of dust! [Destroy the weapons of the new humans ¡­

    [Impact!!]

    A red glow was generated from the hand gripping the tail that directly burned the magical armed unit.

    I took the magic armed unit to the treetops and threw it away.

    Since Schwert was docked at Arroganz,sers shot out of there and ripped through it.

    The magical armed unit fell on the Sacred Tree. [Stop !!]

    While Luxon was very enthusiastic about dropping it, I was about to draw Schwert''s greatsword to stop him --- when suddenly a missile rained down on the magic armor.

    -Eh!?

    Looking up, I saw a box-shaped aircraft,rger than Luxon itself, floating in midair.

    Luxon was frustrated.

    [Ideal!? Why are you getting in the way ?!]

    As Luxon protested, Ideal opened amunication channel to speak to him.

    [I''m here to help. I''ll take care of the magic armed unit from here. More importantly, are you sure you want to leave that woman like that?]

    Louise, whom Arroganz gently held in his arms, was naked.

    Given the outside temperature, we couldn''t leave her in that state any longer."Luxon, let''s go back."

    [¡­ It is understood.]

    The truth is he''s following my orders with an air of reluctant obedience, although he really doesn''t want to ¡­ he''s still following my orders.

    If you are an artificial intelligence, you should be able to obey orders like Ideal. However, there seems to be some parts that Luxon disagrees with. [Ideal, I will contact youter to exin.]

    [Is there a problem?]

    [¡­ Many unnatural things have happened.]

    [There is some kind of misunderstanding. I get it. We will discuss itter.]

    ¡ó

    Louise was dreaming.

    She was lying in the shade of a tree on a nice day. Her brother was next to her, staring at Louise''s face.

    Louise could see her brother''s pale face and tears welled up in her eyes.

    -Leon

    "What is it, Sister? Did you have a nightmare?¡±

    -Its not that. You know ¡­ I''ve always wanted to apologize for a long time.

    -Why?

    As Louise lifted her upper body and hugged her brother, she realized she was a girl.

    She realized that this was a dream, and she became sad.

    "I''ve never been able to apologize to you. I couldn''t do anything about it. You are my brother and I couldn''t do anything!¡±

    Her brother held Louise when she started crying and gentlyforted her.

    "You didn''t have to worry about that. Besides, I''m sorry too. I was almost not on time. But you already seem to have gotten a great deal of help.¡±

    When Louise saw her brother smile, she was sure this was the real Leon.

    -So is. Two more left ¡­ wait.

    -What?

    "Leon, did you save me?"

    When Louise looked at his face, questioning Leon''s dialogue, he smiled. She would also worry if herte brother told her he was here to help.

    And most importantly, if he is her real brother."You came to save me, right?"

    "How did Ie to save you?" This was a dream.

    It couldn''t be helped that it was incoherent. Still, Louise held on and searched for the truth."Leon, tell me the truth."

    -Oh I''m sorry. It''s time to go.

    After telling him so naturally, Leon got up and ran off.

    When she got up to chase him, Leon was saying goodbye from afar."See youter, Sister!"

    Leon said "See youter", turned around and ran away. When he reached his hand behind her, Louise woke up.

    ¡ó

    ¡ªLe¡­ on¡­ don''t¡­ go¡­o.

    Louise woke up from her dream.

    She spread her hands and her breath quickened."Ah, have you woken up yet?"

    I was sitting in a chair near the bed and had just woken up. I was tired and looked like I had fallen asleep while sitting. Thanks to that, I had a strange dream.

    I feel like I''ve had a very nostalgic dream, but it''s not natural.

    I think I was talking to my older sister, but I don''t remember having that much fun with Jenna.

    Is that what I want? Don''t tell me ¡­ am I a siscon? I was a bit surprised.

    "Huh, uh, what?"

    Louise raised her upper body and looked around the room."You''re on the aircraft I have."

    Louise, who was lying on the bed in the spare room, was dressed in the clothes Anjie and the others had brought her.

    I stretched out and stood up.

    -Luxon has investigated, it seems that the flower has nothing to do with the Sacred Tree. He said he had a weapon attached to it called a magical armed unit.

    When I briefly exined the situation, Louise looked down.

    "¡­ So it wasn''t a dream."

    "I''m d you weren''t euthanized."

    -So you think? It doesn''t change the fact that you interrupted me. If you go back, you''ll be in big trouble.

    She looked at me usingly and I told her what happened.

    -No problem. After all, the acting president has given me permission to do so.

    Louise''s eyes went wide, and then she looked stunned when she guessed.

    "My father did something stupid too. Now he will be med by the other families. Even if the story of the Leon is true, the heads of the six noble families will not believe it. They will protest because you let the flower wither on your own.

    I''m sure that even if I exined that: "That was a fake!" they wouldn''t believe me. I''ll have to leave that to Alberg-Sama.

    -This is a problem. Do we have to flee to the kingdom for this? I smiled as I said that, and Louise looked at me.

    -What happened?

    "¡­ Why did I look at you and think you looked like my brother when I only knew him as a child? That''s what intrigued me. When I look closer, he''s not like you. Leon was a much more obedient and kind boy.¡±

    I looked at Louise, who had turned away and sulked, and apologized for the deception.

    -Do not be mad at me. If I can''t convince you, I would have to deceive you, right?

    "Your methods are too dirty." Leon, you deliberately let yourself be beaten by Serge when you fought him, didn''t you? It was too unnatural now that I think about it. You could even take me to the people who came in. I am aware that it was an inefficient strategy.

    Well, there were many things I wanted to try. Thanks to that, we had a good opportunity.

    When Louise looked back at me, her mouthined, but she was worried."Would you go that far?" You even coughed up blood, right? You are injured?

    "Oh, that?" It is clotted blood. It is not obvious?

    I showed him one of the small capsules and put it in his mouth and chewed it.

    Then, it seemed like blood ¡­ wasing out of my mouth. Louise was pulling my cheeks.

    -You are terrible. You made me worry about nothing.

    -Do not be angry. It was really effective, wasn''t it? Also, I don''t want to be overestimated. It was a random strategy, you know? Right now I regret that I could have done better.

    Actually, Ideal''s defense team was on the way, and it took longer than he thought.

    It would have been a lot easier if Ideal hadn''t interfered.

    "I wonder if Leon would have been like you when he grew up. I would not like that as an older sister. I wish you had grown up to be a better and more honest boy.¡±

    "I heard from you, Alberg and the others, but Leon was a naughty boy, right? He wouldn''t have grown up a good, honest boy, would he?¡±

    "My Leon is not like you."

    She sulked again and walked away from me, so I decided to leave the room.

    -I''m sorry about that. ¡­ It''s true, Louise, I just thought about the answer to your question.

    -What? Maybe you have been thinking about it the whole time? You will never be right.

    As I was dreaming before, one thing came to mind.

    That is the question with which Louise saw through my lie.

    She seemed to think she would never be right, but she had a strange confidence in me.

    I received the clue in my dream, an item that I remember giving my parents in a past life.

    At the time, it was a ticket to help, but in my dream, it was a "ticket to save."

    "Ticket to save ¡­ was I right? Well, I probably failed. Oh, it''s almost time to go, so I''ll go.

    As I left the room, I saw the look of surprise on Louise''s face.¡±

    Does it mean I failed? She showed a face saying "What is this guy talking about?" It would have been better if I hadn''t said that.

    ¡ó

    Louise couldn''t move when she heard Leon''s reply."H-How could you guess?"

    The paper ring his brother gave him was a piece of paper that initially read "three tickets to save."

    When Louise said that she would not forgive him, her brother rolled them up and turned it into a ring.

    So even if they had known about the paper ring, no one would have known what was written inside.

    Not even Serge would have known. How long has it been?

    There was a knock on the door and Noelle entered the room as Louise answered.

    "Noelle."

    "Louise, I need to talk to you."

    -¡­ Take a seat.

    Louise also remembered what happened in the spirit world.

    Now that she knew what she was hiding, it was time to talk to Noelle. But she couldn''t help but thank her.

    -You saved me. Thank you. Noelle was silent.

    She exposed the facts in that spirit world. Now Noelle knew what Louise really felt.

    She has romantic feelings for her little brother, even if they are mild, and she would be upset if she found out that the reason he was stalking her was because she was the woman who took him off.

    From Noelle''s point of view, it''s a recrimination. Noelle got up and pped Louise on the cheek.

    ¡­ Well, that''s how things turn out.

    Noelle, while Louise epted the p indulgently, began to speak to him little by little."I didn''t know about the engagement."

    "¡­ Huh?"

    "There are many things I don''t remember from my childhood, but at least I didn''t hear about my engagement."

    Louise giggled when she found out that Noelle didn''t know about Leon.

    -What? So, Leon was being tricked? It really disgusts me. I wonder how far the Lespinasse family has to go to make fun of us and make us feel better.

    Noelle''s hand reached out and grabbed Louise''s chest. When Louise looked at Noelle''s face, she was crying.

    -Why are you crying?

    "W-Because when we were connected I could see your memories! I didn''t know you cared so much about your brother.¡±

    "It''s unpleasant to see the spirits connect." Am I the only one who was spied on? Thinking that this is not a fair conversation, Noelle continued.

    "I didn''t expect you to be so pleased with my engagement story. I sincerely apologize for not being able to attend the funeral. So I will go visit his grave soon.¡±

    "I''m d you did. ---I''m sorry. I lied. I don''t want you near Leon''s grave. Noelle giggled when she told him how honest she felt.¡±

    "After all, you look better this way, Louise."

    -What?

    "A foul-mouthed, sarcastic woman, that''s the Louise I know." It was unpleasant when I saw you hiding behind Leon like a cat.

    -What have you said!?

    Louise also grabbed Noelle''s chest and they stared at each other. Noelle seemed to be having a lot of fun.

    "Yes, your face!" I can''t help butugh when I think that the woman who bullied me was jealous that I thought I had taken her beloved brother from her.

    "S-Say what you want!"

    They grabbed hold of the hair and began to fight, wing at each other.

    "I''ve always hated you! How dare you bully me just because I took your brother from you !?¡±

    "Thanks to that, the other boys didn''t touch you! You should at least thank me, annoying woman!¡±

    Pillows were thrown and hit each other ¡­ and after a few minutes, they bothy on the bed, exhausted.

    They were lying side by side, staring at the ceiling and panting. Their hair was a mess.

    Their clothes were ruined.

    And probably because they said what they had to say, the conversation was more fluid than before.

    Noelle seemed refreshed, letting out her previous exasperation."Oh ?, I said it. That felt good.¡±

    Louise didn''t like it, but she was a little happier.

    "You are a rude woman. I''m d you don''t have to be Leon''s wife."And the second says so too."

    "As soon as Leon met you, he would immediately have chosen me again as his number 1."

    Theyughed whileining about it.

 Volume 6, 12 - The Truth About the House of Lespinasse

    <h4>Volume 6, Chapter 12 - The Truth About the House of Lespinasse</h4>

    "Does that mean that the Lespinasse family, Noelle''s parents, couldn''t show their faces without showing off their crests?"

    [They studied to bring the Holy Tree under control and were stripped of its blessing, perhaps because the tree was angry. That makes sense. I also believe that the six great nobles who were angry at this forgave the Rault family that destroyed the Lespinasse family.]

    "Suddenly the premise was broken. In other words, the first one to do bad things was¡­¡±

    [Probably the Lespinasse family. But only from the perspective of the Republic.]

    ¡ªOf the Republic?

    [It is not clear what they were thinking when trying to control the Sacred Tree. What if I exined to Master in innguage that they were actually trying to save the world from a crisis?]

    "That sounds like justice for the Lespinasse family."

    [I''m afraid there are some facts that are not discussed in the game.] We don''t need that kind of setting!

    Why isn''t it a fluffier setting?

    There is evil and there is justice, it can be as simple as that, right? No wait. It''s a fluffy setting, so is it such a terrible world?

    It''s just that no matter how much you think about it, it''s useless. Because I''m not that smart!

    "What do you think would happen if I told this story to Lelia?" [She won¡¯t believe it? You distrust Lelia.]

    "Won''t she be more than me? You are a dangerous artificial intelligence who doesn''t even think of his master as a master and says he will destroy everything in the blink of an eye. I would suspect it too.¡±

    [You are a small degree of Master to ignore and doubt everything I have done so far.]

    "I don''t need a great title. For an average man, a moderate amount is sufficient. Well, let''s stop talking about stupid things.¡±

    "So can you get along with Ideal?" [¡­ I do not think so.]

 Volume 6, Epilogue

    <h4>Volume 6, Epilogue</h4>

    A few days had passed since Leon¡¯s Sky Pirates incident. Clement appeared at Emile''s mansion.

    "Miss Lelia, the Six Families have finished speaking with the Kingdom''s diplomats." Clement, who served the House of Lespinasse in the past, was now a professor at the Academy. Lelia sat on the couch to listen to the report.

    She looked out the window and saw that it was snowing.

    -And so? How will Leon and others be judged?

    Leon and the others who acted in a fight with the Republic would be brought to justice, of course.

    That''s what she thought, but actually Lelia''s prediction was wrong."None of that, they have been cleared of all charges."

    "W-Why !? Maybe they could have gotten the sentence reduced, but they won''t sentence them after all they''ve done !?¡±

    Dressed as pirates of the sky, they destroyed a Republic ship. That alone is a serious crime.

    And furthermore, they were hurting the people involved with the six noble families."What do you mean by nothing?" That was Lelia''s honest feeling.

    "A diplomat from the kingdom was a great negotiator." And it seems the Raults are still working. Clement''s gaze sharpened.

    For the Lespinasse family, the Rault family is the enemy.

    Knowing that the Raults are on the move must have bothered Clement as well.

    "The Raults again?"

    Are they really going to join forces with the Raults? Teaming up with the enemy is the worst thing you can do.

    From Lelia''s point of view, it felt like she had been betrayed.

    Although they promised to protect the Sacred Tree and restore peace to the Republic, Leon and Marie joined the scoundrel Alberg.

    However, Clement also had other information.

    "Furthermore, the heads of the six great noble families have officially announced that this sacrificial fiasco was not the will of the Holy Tree."

    -¡­ Yes they are very honest. I heard it was different, but is it something you can believe so quickly?

    The subject rted to the Sacred Tree was very sensitive in the Republic.

    And yet, it was hard to believe that just because Leon said, "That''s a foreign object attached to the Sacred Tree."

    She wondered if Clement agreed with him.

    "I did not foresee this result." What if they had been persuaded by the Raults?

    Lelia had no idea what was going on."I''ll go talk to Leon and the others."

    "Miss Lelia, Leon and the others are a danger now. It is very likely that they have been misled by House Rault.¡±

    "But I''ll still talk to them."

    Also, we have Ideal around here.

    She already had a power equivalent to that of Leon and the others. This made Lelia feel more secure.

    Then Emile came back from outside and came to the room they were in. Emile, dressed in a suit and with his coat under his arm, greeted Clement."Mr. Clement, it''s been a long time."

    "Emile, you look good too." More importantly, what is happening today? "They called me at my parents'' house." There was a problem with the Rault house. -Issue?

    Lelia got up and urged a tired-looking Emile to tell her what was going on."Emile, what was the problem with the Rault family?"

    "Are you interested? I haven''t heard the details yet, but for some reason, Mr. Alberg thinks Serge doesn''t have the qualifications to be the head of his family.¡±

    Lelia overreacted to the story of Serge''sck of qualities.

    -What is happening!?

    "Calm down, Lelia." It is still a rumor. It has been suggested that Serge could be removed from office and Louise''s future husband could be the next head of the family. I have a fiancee, so I just ended up listening to that conversation. I''m sure single men will approach Louise from now on.

    If Serge is removed from office, then the seat to the future head of the House of Rault is waiting.

    It was a great opportunity for men. But Lelia wasn''t convinced.

    Why will Serge be fired? Could that be involved with Leon and the others?

    ¡ó

    Winter break was almost over and the day Anjie and Livia would return had arrived.

    When we got to the port, the wind was cold and unpleasant."Be careful, you two."

    Anjie was in awe in front of me, who was about to cry.

    "That''s our line. You''re going to have a hard time in this strange ce.¡± Livia smiled at me, she was a little worried.

    "We could be of help this time. And, Leon ¡­ you must not fool around on us.¡±

    Hey? Are you going to say it here? It was a misunderstanding.

    Seeing the subtle look on my face, Anjie asked Luxon to keep an eye on me.

    "Luxon, make sure Leon doesn''t fool around on us."

    [Leave it to me. If I see any signs of infidelity, I''ll let you know right away.] How about any signs?

    "Will you judge if I have an affair, depending on the amount of suspicion I make?"

    [Yes. So please be very careful what you do.]

    "¡­ Not exactly the kind of thing an observer would say." Livia looked at Noelle, who hade to see them off.

    "Leon, can I speak to Noelle? It''s an important conversation between women, so don''t listen.¡±

    Should I answer yes with a smile? I nodded repeatedly and agreed.

    ¡ó

    Noelle felt very ufortable when she approached them. She had a general idea of what Livia and Anjie were thinking.

    I thought they didn''t feel anything for me, but they are more jealous than I imagined. She felt that when she entered the spirit world to help Louise.

    It was Anjie''s rage and Livia''s awkward jealousy.

    They had a pretty face and both were very scary inside.

    She tried not to look at him in the spirit world, but the emotions they had against her were horrible.

    Anjie''s eyes on Noelle were stern.

    "I''m not going to try to fix it now. You know how we feel, right?¡± Noelle nodded.

    She feared that Livia''s emotions were too careless. Livia was smiling, and Anjie spoke for her.

    "I feel like I''m filled with jealousy." Livia is a sweetie. I also think you''re that cute, Livia.

    "Anjie, Noelle is in front of us."

    And Noelle looked concerned about their rtionship.

    These two --- if it weren''t for Leon, they probably would have ended up together.

    Aren''t they supposed to be interested in men since they''re with Leon?

    The two are so attracted to each other that it seems so. Livia gave Noelle a serious look.

    "Noelle, let''s talk about Leon."

    "L-Like I said I am not having an affair with him. I''m moving into Marie''s house soon."

    ¡°No, that doesn''t matter anymore."

    -Wha¡­?

    Anjie, who would normally be furious if she messed with Leon, crossed her arms and revealed her feelings to Noelle.

    "It doesn''t make me feel good, but go ahead. If you can get Leon, I''d rather say go for it.¡±

    "¡­ Wha¡­ what? Are you saying you don¡¯t think I can do it?¡± Provoked and annoyed, Noelle spoke sharply.

    "If you underestimate me too much, I''ll be Leon''s number 1." There are only a few months left, but they''ll be in big trouble if they rx.

    Livia sped her hands and smiled. However, her eyes were not smiling.

    -Do as you like. If you think you can get Leon with that attitude, we would have no problem. Yes, really.

    In the midst of that, Livia seemed a bit tired remembering something. The same thing happened with Anjie.

    "That idiot¡­ he was atrociousst night."

    ¡ó

    It happenedst night.

    About to return to the kingdom the next day, Anjie and Livia visited Leon''s room on theirst night.

    They wanted to sleep in the same bed as Leon.

    Leon is also a man, and naturally he was driven by sexual desire¡­ "W- Wait." Which one should I touch first?

    The two of them pretended to be asleep and watched Leon.

    Anjie, Leon has his hands on your head.

    This Leon, did we get here and he''s not going to touch us?

    He stared for a while, but Leon stayed still.

    "W-Which one should I start with?" Anjie? Livia? No, first of all, this situation is strange, right? They both trusted me toe to my room, putting my hands on top of them would be bad, right ?!

    This is what Leon concluded to.

    "I think it would be bad if I put a hand on them here." If that is. This does not mean that I am ipetent or something, I am a gentleman. Yes, I am a gentleman, so I will honestly go to sleep. Luxon!

    When he whispered to Luxon, he handed Leon a sleep aid. [You are truly ipetent]

    -Shut up. I protected my image from the both of them. I can''t sleep like this, so I''ll take my sleep medicine.

    [Drink fast and sleep.] "What an agile mind."

    [I knew from the beginning that this would happen. He was as ipetent as I expected him to be. I hope you get a little disappointed.]

    "I''m the type of man who is never disappointed."

    Just like that, Leon took the medicine andy down on the bed to sleep. When Anjie and Livia got up, Luxon called out to them.

    [Unfortunately, Master''s ipetence was not corrected by studying abroad.]

    ¡ó

    Noelle heard the story and felt a little sorry for both of them."Leon¡­ isn''t that horrible?"

    But it would be a dilemma if they appeared together.

    At the same time, she wondered about Anjie and Livia''s actions. The problem was that they both did not realize that.

    "You should have created a better environment." "What will we do now Anjie?"

    Noelle thought.

    Why not visit the room one by one? This is going to be difficult for Leon.

    It felt out of ce somehow.

    A youngdy and a girl of pure innocence. She could see thatbination.

    Anjie brought her attention back to Noelle and gave her aplex look.

    "Well, it''s like an impregnable castle. If you can breach it, do what you want.

    -¡­ I don''t think it''s normal to instigate a woman to get ahead of her fianc¨¦. Liviaughed.

    "Yes, that is true. But at that moment, when I also connected with you, we talked about it together. If anyone else could do it, it was you, Noelle.¡±

    Noelle was stunned.

    "I''m not going to touch a man with a fiancee!" But Anjie seemed to see right through her.

    "Then go ahead and find another one. But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible when deep down, you only think of him.¡±

    Noelle regretted the mental connection she had made with them.

    It''s not really funny that they saw the whole thing.

    Anjie said it was time to go and tried to get onto Licorn.

    "Well, I was joking about conquering Leon. You have to find your own way. But don''t forget it.¡±

    Noelle looked down with her hands in her pockets.

    -I know. There are a lot of people who want me, right?

    -Yes. If youe to the kingdom, we can help you. But not anywhere else.

    Livia was also worried about Noelle.

    "If you need anything, you can count on Leon. He''s too reckless, but I''m sure he can help you.¡±

    Noelle, who had already been helped many times, smiled.

    -I know.

    Once the two of them made their way over to where Leon was, they boarded Licorn.

    ¡ó

    Anjie and Livia had returned to the kingdom.

    And when I got back to the mansion, I saw Marie crying at the door."They don''t really mature, do they?"

    I was surprised, but now Marie is bawling since quite some ago. She was shedding tears.

    -Its not true! I don¡¯t believe it!

    It was Jilk who was dismayed to see Marie."Try to control yourself, Marie."

    However, right beside Jilk and Marie¡­ there was a pile of antiques that did not sell. Marie looked up and yelled at Jilk.

    "Don''t say thaaaaaaaat!"

    -I''m sorry!

    I saw a pile of antiques¡­ or a pile of junk that looked real, but was all fake. Luxon looked at them and was impressed.

    [Everything is fake. I''m surprised that so far you can only collect fakes.

    The Master must have spent a lot of money to collect them, but with all these purchases, it would be nice to have one or two real antiques.]

    Yes, they are all well made fakes.

    Jilk had an excuse, and said that they were all a masterpiece.

    "While choosing my merchandise, I couldn''t help but imagine Marie''s face and I couldn''t help but choose what to sell to others."

    If he chose seriously for Marie''s sake, all that woulde out were well- made fakes. I wonder what Marie would think if she said that.

    "You damn fool! What is that? You''re saying that these fake things are suitable for a woman like me, right? You, I already told you before, right?

    You can send something that the person will be happy with! Hey, what''s the point in giving me falsehoods to make me happy as a cheap woman?!¡±

    Jilk couldn''t find an answer when Marie got up and grabbed him by the neck. I wasughing with Luxon.

    This was more because Marie herself is a fake saint.

    [Master, I can hear you. But even so, if you only take fake products like this, you will feel that kind of intention. Was it deliberate?]

    Marie burst into tears again.

    -What will we do!? I have spent all my money. How am I going to live now? I thought it was okay for Jilk to take all the money! I was going to keep half of the winningggggsssss !!

    This garbage ¡­ no, Jilk had apparently taken all the money on his own. He is still the same as rubbish.

    The problem is with Marie.

    Surprisingly, Marie did not like to gamble, but in this case she thought it was a good deal and invested in it.

    To those around her, however, it seems like a gamble."You have what you deserve."

    [Why don''t you learn to manage your money?] Marie looked up and held onto my leg.

    -I need help. I just need money to live for the next three months!

    -Do not bother! It''s your fault for spending so much money.

    "I didn''t think this would happen! Also, I didn''t think this guy was going to take all my money!¡± As he made a noise at the front door, the five idiots, plus Jilk, came out.

    "Marie, what is happening !?

    When Julian, on behalf of the group, asked what was going on, the four of them looked at the scrap heap, followed by a cold nce at Jilk.

    Julian responded as if he were going to spit."I''m ashamed to be your brother."

    Brad also adjusted his bangs and said a few harsh words."I didn''t think this guy had an eye for this from the start." Greg spat a few words too.

    "I won''t let you make Marie cry."

    Chris''s sses were glowing suspiciously.

    -Human waste.

    Jilk was dragged by the four idiots to the backyard of the mansion. Marie looked up at the sky.

    -Hahaha! Now I am free from the simple life, and it is the beginning of a life of poverty again! It was a short dream!

    She had a tight smile with the pupils of her eyes losing their shine. It was a tough sight to see.

    Then Cara appeared."Marie-sama, don''t worry."

    -But it was expensive?

    "I''ve been saving my money. It''s not much, but I thought we could survive a month with this.¡±

    When Cara handed her the money, Marie was desperately trying to take advantage of it. I struggle to keep her extended right hand in ce with my left.

    "T-That''s your money, Cara, so take it back."

    -But!

    -I said no! Hurry while I keep my sanity ¡­ I won''t be able to keep it for long. Please Cara ¡­ Keep that money away from me. Don''t make me see it.

    "Marieeee-samaaaaaaa!"

    It''s like watching a sad scene of a person about to turn into a zombie saying to their friends, ¡°Stop me! I don''t want to attack them. Kill me while I''m still human! "

    No, it''s actually different. Completely different. A littleter, Noelle returned to the mansion.

    She was carrying a shopping bag in her hand, so she appears to have been shopping on the way home.

    -I''m here! What happened to Marie and the others? And what is that pile of antiques? "Oh, this?" Actually¡­

    I told Noelle what happened.

    Then Noelle, understanding the situation, gave Marie an understanding look.

    "Marie, I can give you some money." When I became the priestess, I got some money to live on. I''m in your debt and I can pay your rent or something.

    Noelle''s suggestion had made Marie cry."Rent ¡­ what a precious word."

    Precious? I don''t understand Marie''s values.

    "You and I get along well. You can count on me without fail.¡± "Thank you, Noelleeeeeeeeee!"

    I started to think when I saw Marie hugging Noelle. Ah, this will be a problem if I do not lend you money.

    ¡ó

    "I gave her that much money for summer vacation, but she melted brilliantly." It was night.

    I was talking to Luxon about today''s events in my room.

    In the end, he remembered that I would loan Marie three months of living expenses. As it was, Cara was going to give all her money to Marie.

    If Marie is the only one suffering, I can leave her alone, but I have no choice. I really had no choice but to lend her money.

    And Noelle¡­

    I had a feeling that if the loan of money kept happening between Marie and Noelle, it would eventually be a problem, so I stopped her.

    Because money problems are a terrible thing. Friendship or not, that''s easy to destroy.

    I feel sorry for Marie''s few friends, and I feel sorry for her for reducing them further. Because there are more bastards to feed than friends.

    I''m starting to feel a little sorry for her.

    You may feel a little sorry for Marie for having to take care of five such idiots. But I wasughing because it was fun to watch. [You really have a soft spot for Marie, don''t you, Master?]

    "It''s not that easy. I hate her. But don''t you think I can feel a little sympathy for her? You will continue to feed waste like Jilk.¡±

    [As a third party, don¡¯t you look like you¡¯re somewhat picky?] "What do you mean, I''m a little fussy about my little sister?"

    I do not know what that means. Is it a made up word or something? Do you think a younger sister is a bit of a target?

    I do not get it.

    [On the other hand, can I make a report of my findings?]

    -¡­ How did it go?

    After the jokes, I decided to listen to Luxon''s report. There were many questions this time.

    [Now, I would like to talk about the decisions of the six families that have upset you. The fact is that they so readily epted our reports.]

    "That is a real mystery to me." Alberg-Sama made a move, but there was no resistance at all. Only the Faiviel resisted, right?

    [Yes. Regarding that, it seems that the heads of the six great noble families knew that the Sacred Tree could be manipted by a third party.]

    -They knew it?

    [I heard that there was a house that did such research in the past. It no longer exists.] "What do you mean?¡±

    I have a bad feeling about this. I hate when this happens as my intuition is always correct.

    "The one who has been investigating the use of the Sacred Tree is the Lespinasse family."

    -You''re lying. Is this a case where the Lespinasse family were working behind the scenes?

    [That is not possible.]

    -It is not?

    But there are more things that I did not understand.

    [The House of Lespinasse, in the days when they called themselves the Seven Great Nobles, was the representative house of the Republic.]

    Was this house researching how to manipte the Sacred Tree that is considered sacred in the Republic?

    [I don''t know the details of the situation, but I can deduce it up to a point. I have been told that, thanks to this, our ims were epted without problems. Of course, we couldn''t have done it without Alberg''s cooperation.]

    "Maybe I should bring him some candy to thank him tomorrow? ¡­ So what are you thinking?"

    Gathering the information Luxon has been collecting, I had a bad feeling about this.

    Alberg-Sama, who is supposed to be thest boss, is a nice guy, and Louise, the viin, is actually a nice person.

    To make matters worse, there was the Lespinasse family who were making strange moves behind the scenes.

    It was a huge difference from the setting of this second Otome game. [I guess from Marie and Lelia''s stories, this story was wrong from the beginning.]

    -The beginning?

    [You said it would start with the first scene of the destruction of the House of Lespinasse.]

    -Yes. The Raults destroyed it and the main character, Noelle, saw the mansion on fire ¡­ and they both said that''s how it started.

    And Luxon had previously said that was the problem.

    It was impossible for the Lespinasse family, who had a higher blessing, to lose to the Rault family, who had only a lower blessing.

    In fact, the blessings given by the Sacred Tree are ssified.

    Even if the lower ranks go against the higher ranks, they cannot win.

    [After hearing Louise''s story as well, I made a prediction. Didn''t the Lespinasse family lose the blessing of the Sacred Tree long ago? That''s why he didn''t even attend the funeral of the Rault heir.]

    -Why? They could at least show themselves ¡­ No, wait. There is something here. Was it a rule for a great person to wear their crest?

    [Yes. At ceremonies and so forth, it was customary for the highest ranking person to disy his crest to those around him.]

    Such a thing existed in the rules of the Republic.

    It was a day before sses started again. He was visiting the Rault castle.

    I wanted to thank Alberg-Sama for everything and to know more about their situation.

    "You went to the trouble of bringing me a box of candy." "It''s like an apology for all the trouble I''ve caused you."

    "An apology, huh? ¡­ you actually saved me so don''t worry."

    This is how I began to hear thetest news while speaking softly."Rumors are circting that Serge is going to be fired. It is true?¡± "I can''t say it''s a silly rumor."

    -Are you serious?

    Alberg-Sama thought Serge hated them for this one incident.

    "I think I''ve been treating Serge like a son, but I think it''s been a burden to him. If that boy wants to be an adventurer, I''m willing to let him pursue that dream.¡±

    "If you don''t like him then do you dismiss him?"

    "We ept him as an adopted child and we are responsible for him.

    That child is, and will continue to be, part of our family. Although Louise will never ept it.

    Observing their interactions in therge airship, it seems impossible to do something about it. How is it possible that they hate each other so much?

    "Leon, you must see Louise. She is shy, but wants to see you.¡± At the request of Alberg-Sama, I went to see Louise.

    ¡ó

    When I met with Louise, she was embarrassed.

    More importantly, she had some scratches on the side of her face.

    I heard she had a fight with Noelle, but it seems like they overdid it a bit."Don''t look at me too much. It¡¯s embarrassing.¡±

    She seemed less concerned about the abomination she disyed in the sacrifice fiasco than about being seen hurt.

    "I''m relieved to see you''re in a good mood." "I''ve caused you a lot of trouble."

    -Do not worry about it.

    Marie has caused me so much more trouble, so Louise''s still small when you think about it. She seemed to want to ask me something.

    -What''s going on?

    "Leon ¡­ Hey, the answer to the question I asked you that time, how did you know?"

    "The answer to your question?"

    -Look! You guessed it was a save ticket when we were aboard Einhorn!

    I thought you''d never guess. How did you know about it !? It''s something only a child would think.

    "A man is always a child at heart."

    It is incredible that it is a coincidence.

    "Don''t lie! ¡­ Hey, Leon¡­ you''re not really my brother, are you?¡±

    I suppose you wish it were so, but your Leon and I were almost born at the same time. It makes no sense that I am his reincarnation.

    If he died and reincarnated once, he would be less than ten years old."No, I am not."

    "Yes, of course not. I''m sorry. I do not know what is happening to me.¡±

    "I just look like him. I''m not your brother, Louise. I''m sorry I tricked you at the time.¡± When I lowered my head, Louise had aplex look on her face.

    "Just don''t do that to me again."

    "I wouldn''t really like to do that either." I''m tired of pretending to be someone else. I had to get information from Louise and Alberg-Sama to pretend to be Leon. I felt like a viin.

    It was really heartbreaking.

    -¡­ Hey, just for once. Can I hug you?

    "It will be a pleasure to be hugged by a beautiful woman!" Yes, please.

    Wow ~ I did it ~! ¡­ I was happy to show it to her, but Louise is looking at Leon, not at me. She wants to hug her brother, and she doesn''t look at me personally.

    When Louise hugged me, she was crying.

    -I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I''m really sorry.

    Right now, I was about to call her Onee-chan¡­ but then I stopped.

    I thought it would ruin the mood if I said so, so I stopped just for her to hold onto on my body.

    But it''s just that.

    It''s a good thing, I think.

    I could feel Louise''s gentle touch, but I tried my best not to look sloppy and held back.

    "Leon, I''m sorry." Your sister is sorry for having caused so much trouble

    ¡­ Thinking about that, seeing Louise really apologize ¡­ I regretted it.

    It made me remember that I am a lustful and shameful person at a time like this. Oh my heart aches.

    But when I looked out the window ¡­ I saw Luxon. His red lens was looking at me.

    I couldn''t stop Louise crying, and I think I had a tight expression on my face, because I was too afraid to speak.

    Luxon saw me and sent me a message so that only I can hear it.

    [You are hopeless, Master, but I didn''t think you would cheat in a short period of time. But I guess my prediction was wrong. Sorry, Master.]

    Wait. Please wait!

    ¡ó

    Livia gazed out at thendscape as the kingdom engulfed in mes. The royal capital had been turned to rubble and the area was on fire. The fallen did not move.

    -¡­What is this?

    Livia was stunned at the sight.

    Large aircraft were floating in the night sky.

    They were the drones that Luxon often used to destroy the royal capital.

    Machines that ruthlessly repeated their destructive actions. Livia found it a very terrifying sight.

    As she shuddered, she heard a voice."Your Highness Julian!"

    She heard a voice that sounded familiar, it was Julian, who suffered under the rubble of the tiles.

    She ran up to him and tried to help him, but Julian was acting strange." Livia, run!¡±

    -Hey?

    Why are you calling me by my nickname?

    Also, Julian''s atmosphere seemed somewhat different."U-Uhm."

    "Luxon has betrayed us! H-He brought hispanions ¡­!¡± Julian, spitting blood from his mouth, couldn''t speak anymore.

    Luxon betrayed them --- Hearing it, Livia shook her head, saying it was impossible.

    -Lie. That is not possible. Because, Luc ¡­ It happened then.

    She felt someone staring at her and turned to see Luxon there.

    He was dragging arge number of drones with him, and some of them threw something in front of Livia. What fell in front of Livia, was Jilk and the other four.

    "W-why?"

    Looking at all four, it was easy to imagine that they were already dead. Livia asked Luxon, scared.

    "Did you do this, Luc?"

    There was also something different here. Luxon''s reaction was different than usual.

    His voice was cold and he seemed to be a different person, even if it was the same voice.

    [Luc? Is that my nickname? What do you think you are doing by calling me with a nickname? On that, do you want me to answer your question? -

    --

    I did. They, the royal capital - and this country will perish today.]

    "W-why? Why would you do that!? Leon will never forgive you for this. Leon will be angry --- and sad.¡±

    If Luxon did this, there was no way Leon would stay still. And yet Luxon ¡­

    ["Leon"? There must have been some students of the same name among the students at the academy, but it should have nothing to do with you and me. Or are you confused?]

    ----Why? It''s Leon. Leon Fou Baltfault! He is your Master, Luc! [I can''t find a match. Who is that?]

    --- Even when he heard Leon''s name, his reaction was boring. On the contrary, he said something incredible to Livia.

    [My Master is you. No, I need to correct that."It was you".] Luxon, reformting in past tense, continued.

    [You have been a great help. So let me show you the moment when the world of the new humanity is destroyed. Will you be happy with it? After all, it is the future you wanted.]

    -What are you talking about?

    He couldn''t believe she wanted that view. It looked like --- hell.

    [Now you regret it? A saint who has caused so much pain and suffering

    --- no, she sounds more like a witch.]

    "D-Did I hurt a lot of people? And who?¡±

    [You were the one who toppled and led Anjelica to her death. Many other humans have also died for you.]

    "N-It can''t be." I can''t believe I killed Anjie. [Really, what happened to him?]

    Livia held her head.

    What the hell is going on?

    I do not know. I do not get it.

    [She''s confused, isn''t she? --- It was her wish to destroy this country. That I have fulfilled. So, now is the time to fulfill what you wanted.] Livia shook her head.

    -No. I am not Luc''s Master. Your master is Leon. And, there is no way you can do this.

    [You are saying something selfish. I always wanted --- to destroy you, the new humanity!] Then --- Ideal appeared.

    [ Luxon, how long do you want me to wait? ]

    [What''s up, Ideal?]

    [ It''s taking too long. We are way behind our original n. ] [I think I made you wait too long.]

    [ Let''s hurry. Our goal is almostplete. We will return this world --- to the way it belongs. ]

    Ideal and his seemingly closepanion Luxon headed for the sky. Livia stopped Luxon.

    -Wait. Wait, Luc! This is not OK! There''s no way Leon will approve of this! Luxon reacted to Leon''s name, but then he left.

    Looking at the sky, several huge airships were floating there. They attacked the royal city and destroyed everything.

    Livia was terrified by the appearance of that sight.

    ¡ó

    "Luc, wait!"

    Livia jumped up and had a racing pulse. She was out of breath and sweating.

    Looking to her side, Anjie was resting quietly.

    She thought it had all been a dream, so she felt relieved and caressed her chest. However, it was too real to be a dream.

    It was so realistic that it was as if she had actually experienced it."Do I want a future like this?" ---That''s impossible.

    However, when he saw Luxon bringing the world down together with Ideal, she thought somewhere that something like that might be possible."That was a dream." So I shouldn''t worry about that.

    Livia was telling herself.

    ¡ó

    Republic of Alzer.

    At Emile''s mansion, Lelia was preparing her dress.

    She changed into her uniform and hadined since the morning."After all, I couldn''t talk to Leon and everyone else."

    [ It can''t be helped. It is also convenient there. ] "They don''t speak of anything good!"

    This side should be more important

    Despite having to talk about the future of the Republic, both Leon and Marie were busy before the new semester.

    Thanks to that, she didn''t have a chance to talk to any of them. Lelia asked Ideal while checking the contents of her purse."Beyond that, did you manage to find Serge''s whereabouts?"

    [ I am currently looking into it. Apparently, he''s hiding --- ] "Haa !? You said you would find it immediately!¡±

    [ Sorry ]

    Lelia continued to adopt a tough attitude towards Ideal''s ipetence.

    "You are more useless than I thought. You said you would find it immediately. Liar. Then Ideal''s voice, who had been keeping a low profile until then, changed.¡±

    [ --- Correct that ]

    -What thing?

    [ Correct the word liar ] "Ah?" A liar is a liar.

    [Please correct that. I''m not a liar. I ask for a correction. ]

    Facing Ideal''s atmosphere, which was different than usual, Lelia thought this was bad and apologized.

    "O-Okay. I was only worried about Serge.¡±

    [ --- No, I also showed a rude attitude. I''ll search right away, so please give me a little more time. ]

    "H-Hurry up."

    [--- Understood. ]

    ¡ó

    While Lelia headed to the academy, Ideal came to an unused warehouse. There was Serge, who had a very pretty appearance.

    [ How are you today, Serge-Sama? ] Ideal already knew where Serge was.

    ----Of the worst. What about the boys?

    [ If you''re talking about the people from the Holy Kingdom of Rachelle, they''ll be arriving soon. ]

    Ideal said that, then the warehouse blinds were opened and men in suits arrived.

    They were people from the Holy Kingdom of Rachelle, who had hostility towards the kingdom of Holfault.

    ''It''s been a while, Serge.

    ----It is so¡­

    Serge stood up and discussed the future with them. A man in a suit shook Serge''s hand.

    "That Foreign Knight of the Realm is very skilled. We are in serious trouble with that young man. It is a source of anxiety for the future.¡±

    "Enough of the talk. Do you lend me your strength or not? --- Be clear.¡± The man in the suit shrugged.

    "If Serge bes the owner of Rault House, can he also offer a reward to Rachelle in exchange?"

    Serge nodded.

    -As you like.

    "I was relieved to hear that. Let''s protect the Republic from the demonic hands of the Foreign Knight!¡±

    To Rachelle''s poption, Leon was a troublesome kingdom-born hero. So he didn''t hesitate to team up with Serge to defeat Leon.

    Serge''s target was also Leon.

    ¡ªIdeal ©¤©¤ Prepare my armor. It is a special order. Like that guy riding Arroganz, prepare an armor that has no match.

    Everything was to win against Leon.

    To get revenge on Leon who didn''t get beat up like he should. Ideal nodded.

    [We will prepare the best aircraft ]

    ¡ó

    On the night of that day.

    Luxon and Ideal faced each other in an unpopr ce. [I asked for an exnation]

    [ An exnation? About what? ]

    Ideal was towards the mysterious while Luxon asked for an exnation.

    [On the case of Louise''s sacrifice. Ideal, you were against this, right? I found the trace that you helped Serge, saying that you would not supply the forces.]

    Ideal apologizes.

    [It was inevitable when Serge-Sama ordered it. Instead, I stopped by to help. We do not send drones as a force. ]

    [Why did you interfere in our way?]

    [ Because I believed that you could solve that difficulty by yourself. ] Luxon was suspicious of Ideal.

    Ideal felt that too and asked Luxon.

    [ Luxon --- Do you think this world is correct? ] [What do you mean by correct?]

    [ No, it''s okay for now. I apologize for the interference. But they weren''t supposed to fight hard to that point. ]

    We certainly fought hard to rescue Louise.

    If it wasn''t for that, they wouldn''t have gotten involved in this matter in the first ce.

    [I would like you to let me know in advance next time.]

    [ --- Yes, I will. ]

    [Then, now I will return.]

    Ideal stopped Luxon as he was leaving. [ Ah, Luxon ]

    [What?]

    [ Luxon --- Are you willing to work with me? ] Ideal invited Luxon to make him his partner.

 Volume 6, Extra Story - Aaron-chan

    <h4>Volume 6, Extra Story - Aaron-chan</h4>

    re was upset when she was sent back to the kingdom. [ What''s wrong !? Idiot Master! ]

    Being sent back was annoying, but she still had to get the job done. That is the job of an artificial intelligence.

    After taking care of her day job, re was now free to do whatever. [ Well ¡­ Let''s de-stress! ]

    First she was an artificial intelligence in a researchb, and re liked doing research and things like that.

    Not that she doesn¡¯t like being an artificial intelligence, but she feels good when she does this.

    [Well this time ¡­ Oh? I see you''ve made a move, Aaron- "chan." ] Not long ago, Aaron, a rebellious boy, tried to get hold of Livia.

    He had had a lot of trouble with re.

    In the surveince camera footage that re had posted at the school, Aaron, hugging a paper bag, walked back to his room while worrying that no one would see him.

    [Oh dear ~. This is a sign that you are doing something wrong. ]

    Watching with interest, Aaron was in his room looking at the clothes he had pulled out of the paper bag.

    A security camera captured the audio.

    ?[I-I bought it. I-I finally got here.]

    Aaron had previouslybed his hair and carried it back.

    His uniform was also with the shirt half open, giving him the appearance of a bad boy.

    But now it was different.

    He took good care of his hair and skin, and even had a hair treatment.

    He used to exercise to build a muscles, but now he was focusing on flexibility exercises to make his body slimmer.

    His body was slimmer than before and his hair was shinier.

    His skin was cleaner and the students said they were no longer afraid of his attitude.

    But re knew why.

    [Ooh! We are finally there! You are really fun to watch, Aaron-chan. You just need a little push and people will discover your new you. ]

    Aaron could be seen changing his clothes for the camera. The clothes he bought were women''s clothes.

    Aaron, standing in front of the mirror, looked at himself in women''s clothing.

    If a third party were to look at it, they might be able to see something at the level of a woman.

    However, when the viewer sees him, he immediately realizes that he is a man. Aaron was nodding.

    -[No. What I''m trying to achieve¡­ what I''m trying to achieve is a more feminine appearance.]

    Aaron had be a transvestite.

    Aaron, who had been chasing girls, had be a boy in search of beauty.

    Unhappy with his appearance, Aaron was thinking about how he could be more beautiful.

    ?[I''ve tried everything I can to make myself more beautiful. But it is still not enough. In that case, should I go to a beauty salon?]

    Seeing Aaron''s figure like this, re rolled around.

    [ Waa! This thing is going in so many different directions! But I understand and I will support you! Yes! ]

    re wanted to see how far Aaron would go in her spare time. [ Keep entertaining me, Aaron-chan. ]

    re''s lens glowed suspiciously.

    Aaron didn''t know, but re was looking at her reflection in the mirror.

 Volume 6, Afterword

    <h4>Volume 6, Afterword</h4>

    "The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs¡± Volume 6 is finally on sale!

    Thanks to you, readers, who have purchased this book. Thank you!

    Now, I always wonder what I am going to write about in the epilogue, but this time I would like to inform you of valuable information for readers who purchased Volume 6.

    They will have to use the barcode or URL found on the book strip or at the end of the

    book to go to the survey page.

    If you fill out the survey here, you will be able to read the special story I have written for you.

    Normally it would be a few thousand words, but for this job, the total amount of the

    The title "The Marie Route" is more than 100,000 words than volume three. That''s a lot

    more than one book! It is a very good benefit.

    The sixth volume special is also on the Marie route, and this time we have a

    recently written volume that does not appear to be a benefit of the survey.

    I hope you enjoy.

    The exnation of the Marie route brings us to the point of the book version of Volume 1.

    There, the story begins with a ¡°What if Leon had met Marie before he met Julian and the others ¡­? "

    It''s a story that could have been, with Leon and Marie cooperating with each other from the start.

    Also, there are some stories in this book that were not mentioned in the web version and in the

    book version, so I think readers who have read both the web and the web version

    book will also enjoy them.

    You can also enjoy the original position of Livia, Anjie and the others, so make sure

    to fill out the survey to get your new bonus. I hope to hear from you in the survey.

    See you in the next volume.

 Volume 6, Short Story â€“ Marie Route The Fourth

    <h4>Volume 6, Short Story - Marie Route The Fourth</h4>

    "Now the kingdom is facing its greatest crisis ever!"

    It was His Royal Highness Julius who was standing on a tform in the square in front of the school gates, giving a speech.

    After school.

    Students returning to their dormitories and those about to go out into the city to y stop and listen to His Highness Julius'' speech.

    The reason is because they''re obligated to hear him out. That''s the reason most of them are here.

    However, some of them are joining in with great enthusiasm.

    His Highness Julius added gestures and raised his voice as he looked around at the faces of the crowd. ''You''re used to making speeches,'' is how I

    ¡ªLeon Fou Bartford¡ªfelt.

    "I''m sure everyone has heard of the continuing rebellion in many ces. I''m sure everyone is anxious, but don''t worry. The army of our Holfort Kingdom is on its way to put them down."

    Even though sophomore year is nearing its end, the military is dealing with a series of rebellion''s in various parts of the Holfort Kingdom.

    It''s not umon for the nobles to have skirmishes within the country.

    So normally the students don¡¯t panic as long as their own safety was not in danger.

    However¡ªif it happened frequently in different parts of the country, they would be uneasy, even if they didn''t want to.

    In fact, the female students listening to His Highness Julius''s speech seemed anxious.

    "There was an uprising near my parents'' home, too." "There are many of them these days."

    "I got a letter from my parent''s telling me to stay in Kings Landing for the long weekend"

    Many students felt uneasy.

    His Royal Highness Julius'' speech in such a situation attracted the students.

    "Our country is strong! Don''t be afraid of the frequent uprisings! But¡ª"

    Julius closed his eyes and made a little pause.

    His eyes widen and he says in a louder voice than before "¡ªThere''s a country that''s working behind the scenes."

    As the crowd began to buzz, His Highness Julius just shut his mouth.

    In the midst of themotion, Marie Fou Lovan, who was next to me, looked at His Highness Julius, stunned.

    "Hey, are you okay?"

    When I called out to her, Marie had a huff and puff look on her face. I''m sure Marie remembers this scene. Of course, I remember it too.

    Towards the end of the middle of that otome game, the real enemy is revealed. At that point, His Royal Highness Julius will make a speech.

    When the crowd is quiet, His Highness Julius resumes his speech.

    ''The Principality¡ªthe Principality of Fanoss¡ªis behind the frequent rebellions.

    The spectators were amazed at the new revtion and shouted.

    The fact that behind the uprisingmotion is the Principality, which has a longstanding hostile rtionship with the Holfort Kingdom, is highly credible.

    Amidst themotion, I talk with Marie. To confirm our knowledge of the game and to see what we''re going to do.

    "The Principality didn''t stop, did it?"

    "Why won''t they stop? You stole their trump card, didn''t you? And yet, what''s the point of not stopping the war?"

    I''m not going to fight because I don''t think I can win. This type of decision seems simple, but it''s actually quite difficult.

    We were naive in thinking that we could avoid a war by capturing the magic flute, the Principality''s trump card.

    Last time, in order to avoid the war, we rode into the Principality of Fanoss and retrieved the Magic Flute. It''s a tool that summons that otome game''sst boss, and it''s an extremely troublesome item.

    Without the flute, we thought the war would end. But in the end, we couldn''t avoid it.

    "Leon, are you going to join the war?" Marie also knows what happens after this. What awaits after this¡ª

    "Everyone, do me a favor."

    ¡ªWhen His Highness Julius held out his hands, he looked divine and radiant.

    After all, a good-looking man is always popr. I''m sure no one would listen to me if I were to make a speech.

    "This crisis¡ªI want to stop this crisis in the Kingdom. Not as the crown prince. I want to save the kingdom from danger, as Julius, as a knight!

    That''s what I''m asking for. Please lend me your help!"

    The Crown Prince, as a knight, said he wants to save the day. The students were impressed by that.

    There are voices calling out his name from everywhere.

    "Long live His Highness Julius!" "Long live the kingdom!"

    "I can help you!"

    Gradually the crowd became invaded by the heat and raised their voices.

    ¡°Thank you. Thank you guys! Lend me your power and I will survive this crisis. I¡ªNo, we will save the country!¡±

    Julius raised his voice at one point, and the crowd responded with a voice that made the air shake. My ears were aching.

    Marie looked at it in horror. It seemed hard to understand."Why do you want to go to war?"

    It was a scene that had been talked about like a beautiful story in that maiden game, but up close and personal, it seemed to be a different scene somehow. There was no emotion there.

    It was just scary.

    I wonder if Marie is the same, and she squeezes my hand.

    "You don''t think you''re going to die, do you? Well, the aristocrats are the ones who stand back and give orders on the battlefield. They don''t have much of a sense of urgency."

    "And you?"

    "Me? I hate it. If I don''t have to fight a war, I won''t."

    Marie had a look of relief on her face. Did she think I would be willing to join in? In the first ce, student soldiers would be a nuisance to

    professional soldiers and knights.

    They wouldn''t want to be seen on the battlefield when they hadn''t even trained well.

    His Highness Julius waved his hand at the enthusiastic crowd.

    It was a scene that was quite exciting in the game, but seeing it in person made me feel somewhat empty, sad, andplicated.

    Are these guys really going to join the war?

    ¡ó

    After a few days had passed since His Highness Julius'' speech, the atmosphere in the school had changed drastically.

    The tense air that had been tense due to the rebellion was now buoyed by the heat.

    The boys who wanted to take this opportunity to make a name for themselves had announced in high spirits in the ssroom that they would be volunteering for His Highness Julius'' army.

    "n, the son of the Viscount Bourdons, volunteers for the army of His Highness Julius! Anyone else want to join me?"

    If they joined with a bunch of people, they would be better remembered by His Highness Julius. This was their ulterior motive.

    Also, if you volunteer with arge number of people, you in the army of His Highness Julius¡ªshall we call it a volunteer army? It would have been a volunteer army in that otome game.

    Your position in the volunteer army is also taken into ount.

    If you join alone, you''re one of the soldiers, but if you take ten men with you, you''re a captain.

    Also, rumor has it that if you send out armor and airships with the support of your parents'' family, you will be treated as an officer.

    Lots of boy''s want to join for their future.

    One after another, boys from the advanced and normal sses had volunteered to join.

    I was surrounded by Daniel and Raymond, who were also poor aristocrats from the countryside, watching the scene from a distance.

    Both of them were looking coldly at me.

    It''s kind of sad that the country aristocrats are more aware of the reality of the situation.

    Daniel let out a sigh as he looked at the boys who were floating around.

    "For the sake of the country, for the sake of your highness, their tatemae are splendid, aren''t they?"

    Raymond pushes his sses up with his middle finger and when he adjusts his position, he talks about the boys'' true feelings.

    "If you''re active here, you''ll be popr with the girls. There are a lot of boys who will stick around for this reason."

    What a sad reality.

    I saw a boy named n making a scene in the ssroom. He''s a boy who wears ornaments and looks like a rich man. He is surrounded by his cronies.

    I''m sure he''s going to put on a fine airship and armor with the support of his parents'' family.

    Are the students, whose families are poor, going to borrow weapons from n to fight in the war? Well, that''s not our problem.

    "Daniel, Raymond, do you guys want to join in?" I joked, and they both snickered.

    "No,"

    "Let''s get real. It''s not good for amateurs to be on the battlefield. I think the only one of us who''s allowed to participate properly is Leon."

    "Me?"

    Raymond, who made it sound like I''m the only exception, shrugged his shoulders and exined why.

    "It was Leon who broke off the two families of Viscount Raffan and Count Offley, right?"

    "Oh~ that was my brother. Nix is a really great guy. You guys were watching him, weren''t you? You guys were in on it, too."

    Yeah, right. Leon was the one working in the background. I mean, we were the ones sending out the airships.

    Let''s just say that I''m only here to support my brother in making a name for himself. I didn''t sacrifice my brother because I didn''t want to stand out.

    I''m a kind brother who''s happy to see my brother get ahead. ¡ªNo offense.

    Danielughed.

    "I envy the Baldfart family because they are all heroes. But you''ve made a name for yourself by attacking dungeons. You even have an airship; a lot of students know that."

    Will they be pressing me to join them? It''s really annoying.

    "I wish I could run away."

    "I''m not sure they want you. The rich people want to y an active role themselves. They don''t want Leon to take all the credit, do they?"

    "You think they care more about taking credit for the war than winning it?"

    "It''s too good a volunteer army."

    "People dream too much, don''t they?"

    If you y an active role on the battlefield ande back to the school, the girls won''t leave you alone¡ªwhat a dream! Besides, if you y an active role here, your future will be open.

    His Highness Julius will remember you better, and you''ll be able to tell the saga of your activities since your school days.

    They don''t have to push themselves. Seeing the boys trying to go to war makes me feel empty.

    Let the adults take care of it. When we grow up, they can make us participate in the war even if we don''t want to, but what are we going to do about it right now?

    We should have more fun while we are young. We should not go to war.

    ¡ó

    A special building has been prepared on the school grounds.

    It is a house, not a dormitory, prepared for Olivia. It was prepared for her, and only a few people are allowed to enter.

    Armed guards were prepared around the building, and Olivia received special treatment.

    But right now, the master is absent.

    The people using such a building were the nobles who represented the school.

    Julius has a map in front of him that is ced on the table. Several pieces that resembled airships were ced and looked at them.

    At Julius''s side, Jilk is preparing a cup of tea.

    "Your Highness, is there something troubling you?"

    Julius responds to Jilk''s question by rubbing his fingers over his eyes. Julius''s problem is that there are too many volunteers.

    "Lots of students volunteered, but the problem is the equipment." "Is it still difficult to rent it from the royal court?"

    "Father and Mother only told me to stay at the school. I can''t believe that the King is looking at me with his finger in his mouth during this time of crisis."

    One by one, the rebels rose up, and even the Principality took advantage of the opportunity to attack.

    In this time of crisis, Julius has decided to fight on his own. The reason for this¡ªOlivia.

    Jilkughed as if teasing Julius.

    "Aren''t you just trying to show Olivia-san your good side?" Don''t be a fool!

    Julius, who was flustered, forced himself to return the conversation with a deliberate coughing fit, but that just proved Jilks'' point.

    "Jilk, we''re short on weapons. What about the other three? "They''re still gathering their strength back at home."

    The other three are Brad, the heir to the Field family. Greg, the heir to the Seberg family.

    Chris, the son of a swordsman.

    All three of them are heirs to powerful nobles and are strong allies who agree with Julius. At the same time, they were also love rivals for Olivia.

    Julius puts his hand on his chin and looks down at the map. Then he tells Jilk his decision.

    "We will participate in this battle, and we will lead the kingdom to victory."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    Jilk agreed. He then suggested to Julius.

    "Your Highness, why don''t you ask the students who own airships to help you?"

    "Own an airship? Are there any students who do?"

    "There are very few, but they exist. With their help, we can assemble a fleet of airships. Some of the students have armor, you know"

    "Would it be better to have their help now?"

    "Yes. After all, this is a matter of national importance." "All right. You''re in charge. But don''t push yourself." "You can count on me, Your Highness."

    ¡ó

    "Hey, poor man! I''ve heard you don''t n to join His Highness Julius''s volunteer army,"

    n, with his cronies, is talking to us in the ssroom. I''m surrounded by Marie, Daniel, and Raymond.

    Marie raises one eyebrow.

    "What? Too bad you''re poor? You posh boy!" "No, no, not you."

    n can''te out strong against Marie, who is a girl. Just looking at her makes boys feel a sense of intimacy.

    Because of n''s shouting in the ssroom, the students around us were paying attention to us.

    Raymond seemed to think it was a bad idea.

    "Guys, let''s get out of the ssroom. This situation is bad."

    As if to interrupt Raymond''s thoughts, n used his cronies to block our escape route.

    "You''re running away?"

    Looking at the grinning n and the others, I feel disgusted.

    It isn''t a problem if a nobleman doesn''t join His Highness Julius''s volunteer army. Rather, it would be better if he managed to disband it.

    However, the atmosphere in the school did not allow for that.

    It''s not just the boys around us, even the girls are giving us cold looks.

    Daniel looked at n and the others in frustration and muttered in a whisper, "It''s dirty."

    You are free to join the volunteer army. However, refusing to do so would put you in a bad position in the school.

    This is because many boys, and to a lesser extent, girls, have also announced their participation in the volunteer army.

    In other words, we are in the minority.

    No matter how good of an argument we make, our position cancels it out. It''s called peer pressure.

    n talks loudly in front of everyone, on purpose.

    "Bartford, you have an airship, don''t you? I''ve heard it''s a fine airship acquired through adventure. So how can you not join the volunteer army?

    Isn''t this where a real nobleman would have volunteered to take the lead? If

    I were you, I would have volunteered on the spot when I heard His Highness Julius'' speech."

    "I am not you and you are not me. Such metaphors are pointless."

    It''s so embarrassing. It''s like an amateur who watches a boxing match, doesn''t know anything about it, and says something like, "I would have definitely been able to avoid that straight up now!"

    But n, with his surroundings on his side, was bullish."You''re running away, coward?"

    We haven''t even participated in the war, but they''re treating us like cowards deserting it.

    Humans are really stupid.

    Marie steps forward to defend me and says what she wants to n.

    "Joining a volunteer army isn''tpulsory. Don''t make it sound like Leon is on the run."

    It''s a good argument, but these guys don''t get it.

    n is really bullish because he thinks he is right. If he thinks that the girls around him are on his side, he will be bullish towards even Marie.

    "It''s His Highness Julius'' volunteer army!" "So what? In the first ce--mug!"

    Covering Marie''s mouth with my hand, I decided to just shut her up for a while. She isn''t making this situation better.

    ¡ªThe atmosphere in the school is already strange.

    The eyes of the students around us are looking at us as if we are their enemies.

    "Sorry, she''s my fianc¨¦ and quite protective."

    When I say that she''s my fianc¨¦, n makes a tantly disgusted face.

    In the school, boys who have fianc¨¦es are the winners of the marriage race.

    They are the students who have won, and they are also the objects of jealousy for the boys who are still struggling to get married. n also has a frustrated look on his face.

    I''m d to see such a look on you.

    "As for volunteering for the volunteer army, I''ll consider it positively.

    I''m sorry we can''te to a decision sooner. I have a lot of preparations to make, too."

    I''m going to decline in a positive way¡ªthat''s a very Japanese reply in my previous life. It''s the magic word that makes it sound like you''re

    working on something positive, even though you have no intention of doing it.

    n quickly turns his back on us and walks away.

    "Make up your mind quickly. A poor nobleman in the countryside is only worth so much. You should be grateful you''re allowed to join His Highness Julius'' volunteer army in the first ce."

    Daniel and Raymond stare at n''s back, and then quickly turn their gaze to me. Daniel looks frustrated.

    "Leon, are you sure you want to keep this up?"

    "We can''t talk in here. Come with me." "Hmmm! Hmm~!"

    We walk out of the ssroom with Marie, who¡¯s iling about. The eyes of my ssmates hurt.

    ¡ó

    n and the others headed to the room where Jilk was.

    Jilk narrows his eyes at the sight of n and his cronies, making no attempt to hide his difort.

    "You backed down without them making any promises?"

    The n was to have Leon''s airship sent out and made Julius''s gship.

    Leon had used Partner when fighting Countess Offley, and Jilk had heard about its performance.

    If the Royal Pce wouldn''t lend them the power to fight, they would have to procure it themselves.

    n and the others make desperate excuses so as not to spoil Jilk''s mood.

    "I wouldn''t be this pained if I could tell you that. But, His Highness Julius''s gship can be my ship. I can assure you of afortable sailing experience."

    n is a student with arge war chest.

    In addition to his airship, he lends his armor to his cronies and volunteers.

    He is a valuable part of Julius''s fleet. In fact, he is treated as an executive in Julius''s volunteer army.

    However, it was only the current situation that allowed him to be one.

    But Jilk couldn''t cut n off easily either.

    "What I want is a warship, not a luxury cruise ship. You must immediately persuade Mr. Bartford to join us."

    "But¡­"

    "You have to convince him. ¡ªI don''t care how. Yes, I have heard that he had a sister. Why don''t you talk to some of his other friends?"

    Although he avoided being direct, what Jilk wanted to say was,

    "Threaten the people involved with him and use them to get him to cooperate."

    n and the others leave the room in a hurry.

    Jilk sees them off and enjoys a cup of his favorite tea in his favorite tea set.

    "They are all useless subordinates. But they are risking their lives to be His Highness''s subordinates, so we must be patient and use them.

    It''s all for His Highness and¡ªand Olivia-san."

    ¡ó

    We took Marie to Master''s room. We were invited into a room that smelled like good tea, and in it, we talked to Master about the future.

    Master was worried about the current situation too and provided me with a lot of information.

    "Julius''s¡ªHis Highness Julius''s volunteer army? I''ve heard about it as well; the royal pce doesn''t approve of it."

    It was Marie who listened to master and agreed with him.

    "Oh, I knew it. Because it''s weird to send students to the battlefield or something."

    Only if it were the end of the world, would they send out student soldiers.

    That''s fine and all, but I don''t understand the feelings of His Highness Julius and the others who volunteered themselves.

    "I''ve also been invited."

    Master was stroking his chin."They seem to be aware of what Julius and the others are after," he said.

    "They don''t want the battle prowess of Mister Leon, they want the airships. They must be in a hurry to get their forces together."

    Marie is taking mouthful after mouthful of sweets prepared by her master. Hey, you should be more nervous! Please don''t! Don''t embarrass me in front of my master!

    While he was troubled by Marie, his master graciously allowed her to take as much as she wanted.

    Marie said, "Thank you!", and then proceeded to eat them one by one.

    ¡ªLet''s leave her alone.

    "Based on the atmosphere in the school, I feel it''s dangerous to disobey him."

    I seek advice from my master, because I''m sure that if I disobey His Highness Julius and the others, that I would get hurt.

    I''m sure they will try to harass us.

    "That will happen. The students of the academy are being influenced by the excitement. If that''s the case, it might be a good idea to leave the school."

    Leaving campus? You want me to run away from the academy? Will I be able to get away with it?

    Daniel and Raymond might even volunteer because they don''t want to leave.

    "My impression of the people around me is the worst. I''d rather be on the battlefield¡ª"

    As I said that much, my master smiled at me.

    "That''s right. Instead of His Highness Julius'' volunteer army, Mister Leon should lead his own volunteer army to participate in the war."

    Marie stuffed her mouth full of cookies and puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel.

    I was startled too.

    "Wait! You''re asking Leon to join the war!" The Master nodded.

    "That''s right. Though it''s not the kind of battlefield that Miss Marie would think of.

    "What?"

    Marie looks alternately at her master and me.

    She doesn''t seem to understand, so I exin to him."Do you know what''s important to the war?" "Strength?"

    "That''s part of it, but we also need supplies. An army can''t fight without ammunition, food for the soldiers, and other things. Getting the supplies to them is going to be very important."

    My master nodded, so I must have been right.

    "Exactly. Partner would be able to transport arge amount of supplies. I''m sure the Royal Army would ept it."

    "But would they approve of me leading a volunteer army?" "I''ll take care of it myself."

    Thank you, Master! But who is master really? Wouldn''t he need to have a lot of influence to get my volunteer army recognized? As I thought when I rescued senior rice and the others, isn''t Master quite an important person?

    Then I had an idea.

    "Master, this is the volunteer army of His Highness Julius, do you think the kingdom is not going to recognize it as it is?"

    Will the King allow it or not? When I ask which will be the case, Master gets a slightly troubled look on his face.

    "There''s a chance that he will admit it. Rather than letting him run out of control like this, there will be an idea to prepare a battlefield where he can y an active role and let him experience his first battle. That is a possibility."

    Then, will His Highness Julius eventually go into battle as well?

    This situation is scary because it seems like everything is set in stone. Like a game scenario.

    But I''ll be the one changing it.

    "I would like to have a meeting with His Highness Julius."

    At my offer, the master showed a dubious expression¡ªbut he immediately smiled.

    "Let me arrange it."

    "Thank you."

    ¡ó

    When I met with His Highness Julius, he was in a surprisingly weing mood.

    "Bartford, I''ve heard about you. I heard that you have been recognized as a volunteer army by the royal pce."

    His Highness Julius, who wanted to lead a volunteer army to war, was regretting that I got the royal court''s permission first. However, he doesn''t seem to harbor any emotions against me.

    "I''ve been asked to undertake a transport mission with mypanions.

    I can''t expect to perform as spectacrly as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

    "I''m not allowed to go to war. You''re braver than I am."

    "That''s not true. Soon, the royal pce will recognize His Highness'' volunteer army."

    I''ve heard about it beforehand from my mentor and it''s almost a done deal.

    It was approved by that maiden, so it will go on as it should.

    In fact, when Master went to the royal pce to ask for permission to set up my volunteer army, the talks in the royal pce wereing together in the direction of approving His Highness Julius''s sortie.

    I also got permission from my master to tell him about it.

    "Really? You seem to know something about the state of affairs¡ªdo you have a handmaiden in the royal pce?"

    "It''s a secret."

    It must be strange for me, a country nobleman, to have a messenger in the royal pce.

    Jilk standing by His Highness Julius''s side is smiling.it''s scary because

    I don''t know what this guy is thinking.

    However, n and the others standing by the wall were staring at me in frustration.

    So, I smile.

    "We''ll do our best to be useful in this fight, too. Good luck to you too, n."

    "I''m gonna do it without you telling me!"

    I, who had made a fool of myself so much, is now leading a volunteer army with the permission of the royal court. I guess that''s what n can''t forgive me for.

    His Highness Julius grasps my right hand in both of his.

    "We''ll follow soon enough. If we meet on the battlefield, I''ll look after you."

    "Yes, Your Highness."

    It makes me sad to see His Highness Julius with a twinkle in his eye, looking forward to the battlefield. I wish he''d get the reality of the situation as soon as possible.

    I called out to n and then decided to leave the room."n, don''t be reckless."

    n, who took my words as me mocking him, clicked his tongue.

    "You''ll see. I''m going to y a part in this war, and I''m going to be a hero."

    ¡­You should be happy you''re alive. That''s all that matters to me.

    ¡ó

    While Leon was meeting with Julius, Marie was waiting outside the building.

    It was not that she would feel ufortable about meeting the royals, though, she didn''t want to get close to Julius and the others now. It''s just that everyone was somewhat tense.

    "Sigh, why do men want to go to war? Peace is best, right?"

    The boys who hear about the war and are enthusiastic about taking an active role in it.

    And the girls who send them out. Marie couldn''t understand them at all.

    She heard voices from a ce hidden in the shadows of the building, and when she went to take a peek, she saw a man and women embracing each other.

    "Yulia, I''m going to get a medal for this fight ande for you." "Lloyd will be a hero. Just make sure youe back to me." "Yeah, I promise."

    Apparently, the boy named Lloyd seems to be a regr ss student. In contrast, a female student named Yulia seems to be in the advanced ss.

    Witnessing the love between the different identities, she gets a little bit embarrassed. However, Marie immediately thinks.

    (You should stop him. He doesn''t have to go fight.) Gathering up her courage, Marie approached them. They left in a hurry, and their cheeks were red with a primitive look.

    Seeing them, Marie asks Lloyd for help.

    "You''re a normal ss boy, right? Actually, Leon Fou Bartford is leading a volunteer army. Do you want to be a pilot in armor there? We''re short on staff."

    He managed to mend and solicit with a drawn-out smile.

    They were confused by the sudden offer. Only, Lloyd shook his head."I''m sorry, but I''ve decided to join His Highness Julius'' volunteer army." "Oh, yeah? But, wouldn''t it be better if it was easier to go into battle?" "No!"

    "What?"

    Lloyd tells Marie why he dismissed her proposal.

    "Yulia''s family is a baronial family. There is a need for Yulia to have a husband, but if I, who doesn''t have a reputation, asked for a marriage proposal, it would only be rejected. But if I join His Highness Julius''s volunteer army, it would be an honor in itself! I''m going to be a hero, and I''m going to be a man worthy of Yulia¡ªa knight!" Yulia looks at Lloyd with her cheeks dyed red.

    "¡ªLloyd, you''ve been thinking about me so much." Marie was puzzled by the two of them.

    She gives up trying to convince them as Leones out the building, and rushes to him. Meanwhile, the two resume their love-making.

    ¡ó

    "The pce doesn''t give a damn."

    Gritting his teeth in the empty room, Jilk was in a hurry because his nned n to make Partner his gship had gone awry.

    "If I don''t do this, I''ll cause trouble for Olivia-san in the royal pce. If I do that, my existence is worthless!"

    He held his head in his hands.

    He was acting impatient and breathing erratically. Jilk didn''t want Olivia to dislike him at all.

    He pondered what to do, and then thought about getting a recement airship.

    "Let''s scrounge up some airships, even if it''s a bit heavy-handed. We''ve been toox in the past. This is a battle for the honor of Your Highness. We can''t afford to embarrass him."

    For Julius'' sake, for Olivia''s sake¡ªhe repeated the same excuses in his head and decided to scrape up the strength, even if it was somewhat forceful.

    The n is to have the students procure it for each other. Of course, Jilk has no right to make them do that.

    However, this n can be realized. All you have to do is create an atmosphere in the school where they will be forced to provide it themselves.

    If they don''t provide it, he can drive them away as having no noble spirit. It''s pretty vicious, but Jilk doesn''t hesitate.

    He puts on a cold expression and leaves the room.

    ¡ó

    The port where Partner is anchored is packed with people from the poor nobility.

    Both men and women are participating in the war as my volunteer army, to make a track record of participating in the war and¡ªto escape from the school, which is surrounded by a bizarre atmosphere.

    I watched from the deck as the people I knew boarded from the ramp.

    I could hear Marie''s voice. Marie is trying to get the girls she knows aboard."Come on, get aboard! Hurry up!"

    "Marie, you''re scaring me~"

    She pushed the small girl hugging the book and forced her onto the partner.

    "Just get in! If you were at school, you''d be holed up in the library, right?" "Yes."

    Why are you taking what she said for granted? I looked at the girls who responded like that and I watched, thinking that Marie must be feeling troubled too.

    Behind Marie, there were girls who followed behind her¡ª reluctantly following her. They must have been forced out of the school by the atmosphere too.

    ¡ªBut more importantly, aren''t there a lot of them? There were more girls than Marie was taking care of before.

    Marie doesn''t have it easy either.

    The girls that Marie is taking care of have a strong habit of taking care of themselves.

    The boys in my group are looking at them like hungry beasts.

    "If you get on Leon-senpai''s airship, you''ll have a chance to talk to them!" "You''re kidding me?! Give this ce up to your seniors!"

    "I don''t know! If ites to this, it''s a duel!"

    Everyone''s eyes are bleary-eyed because their lives are at stake. They ignore the hierarchy and fight each other, which is a sight to behold.

    She might be a reclusive girl who loves books, butpared to the noble girls at school, her ws are more attractive. Love books? I''ll buy as many as I can! That''s what we boys are all about. It''s tens of thousands of times better than being asked for precious metals, giving them away, and then them being sold to a pawn shop a few dayster.

    ¡ªagain, I think the school is a sad existence for the boys.

    In addition to the girls that Marie is taking care of, there are other girls from the poor aristocracy thate aboard. They must have sensed the atmosphere in the school and fled.

    "There''s arger group than I expected."

    "The current atmosphere at the school is intolerable."

    As I look down at such a scene from the deck, Luxion approaches me."It''s been a while,"

    "Why did you call me, master?"

    "I''ve got a lot on my te. More importantly, have you finished your errands?"

    "Not yet."

    "You should prioritize this then."

    "Partner''s performance is enough to serve the purpose without me. Besides, I''ll leave Arroganz behind"

    Arroganz¡ªthe armor prepared exclusively for me isrger than the standard armor in this world.

    "You''re going to leave your master alone?"

    "Are you lonely? Don''t worry. We have artificial intelligence on board the Arroganz, and we have drones in ce in Partner. You have nothing to worry about."

    Lately, Luxion has been busy, flying around from ce to ce, away from my side. If I tell him I miss him for that, he''ll say something sarcastic again, so I''ll keep quiet.

    "Artificial intelligence in the Arroganz? Your replica?"

    "I''m sorry, but there''s no way to replicate my kind of high-performance artificial intelligence in a space as small as Arroganz."

    It''s like he''s trying to tell me he''s a genius.

    "But I can assure you that it is better than master."

    "You''re a real loudmouth. ¡ªand how did the investigation of the saint''s ne go?

    "The investigation is currently on hold due to low priority."

    "I want to know what''s going on in the country. Make it a priority"

    "I''ve already collected the magic flute. Isn''t it unnecessary? Instead, our priority is to destroy the remains of the new humans. That is an objective that should be achieved."

    As usual, he has no mercy for new humans. In a way, is it typical of Luxion? If you look at the harbor, drones are in the process of loading and unloading cargo.

    To the untrained eye, it would look like they were using their armor to load and unload their cargo.

    "Luxion, stay, we need your help,"

    The current situation continued to be unpredictable, and I couldn''t help but feel uneasy on my own. That''s why I''m giving orders to Luxion¡ª

    "I''m judging it to be unnecessary. I don''t think my performance will be needed. More importantly, if we leave the remains of the neers unattended and a problem arises, it will be a disaster. Like the master said, there is a possibility that the world could be destroyed." "Really?"

    He''s saying that if we leave the remains of the new mankind unattended, the world will be destroyed. I don''t think this guy is going to lie to me, so should I make that a priority?

    "I''ll be back as soon as I can. ¡ªI''ll be back as soon as I can. I''m sure Master will miss me."

    "¡ªThat''s quite an assumption."

    I watched Luxion leave and I looked up at the sky."Is it really going to be this simple?"

    ¡ó

    The Royal Pce of the Kingdom of Holfort.

    There, Olivia is meeting with a traitor named Marquis of Frampton. The Marquess of Frampton himself believes himself to be a patriot who has sacrificed himself for his country, and he has no doubt about it.

    But the way he did save the country could not be called patriotic.

    Such was the Marquis of Frampton - Olivia. No, I don''t hate saints. It''s because she''s more useful than the rest of us.

    "It seems that Jilk is trying hard, too. He''s doing some cute things so that I like him."

    As Olivia read the report, the Marquis of Frampton was dismayed.

    "You''re receivingints every day from the nobles who have their children in the school,"

    "Once Julius goes to war, there will be lessints. It''s a great honor to be part of the Crown Princes'' first battle. Isn''t it?"

    "Well, I guess I''ll just have to shut up. But do you really want to send His Highness Julius to war? He doesn''t have any formal training, you know?"

    He wasn''t actually worried about Julius, but rather about the pnquin she carried.

    It''s the same with Olivia.

    "There are plenty of alternatives avable."

    "You really are a terrible woman. For you to be a saint, this must be the end of the world."

    At those words, Oliviaughed at the corners of her mouth in a position where the Marquis of Frampton couldn''t see her. Her eyes were zed over.

    (You''re right. It''s the end of the world for the Kingdom of Holfort.) The saint in Olivia, who acts to destroy the kingdom of Holfort, orders the Marquis of Frampton.

    "I''ll be on the battlefield too. Prepare me a ship were I can use my power."

    "Are you sure? It''s a student-controlled fleet. You know how much damage you could do¡­"

    "It''s convenient. I''m leaving now."

    The Marquis of Frampton stopped moving for a moment in front of Olivia''s uncharacteristic childlike spirit. Immediately afterwards, he nodded impatiently.

    "Okay."

    As Olivia walked out of the room, Kyle, who was waiting outside, approached her.

    "Gosh, Master, where to next?"

    Olivia replies to the question from a nervous Kyle with a smile on her face."I''ll follow Julius on his first battle. Kyle will be taking care of me too, so follow me."

    "Yes!"

    Even though she was heading to the battlefield, Olivia didn''t show the slightest bit of panic.

    It was because the saint had experienced this many times in the past.

    ¡ó

    "Good job, Arroganz!"

    "There! There! A little more to the right!" Partner''s hangar.

    Me and Marie were cheering on the unmanned, moving Arroganz. As for what Aroganz is doing¡ª.

    "¡ªMiss."

    ¡ªadmitting that he made a mistake himself, he watched as the crates, stacked in a huge body, crumbled.

    Arroganz is ying with the crates left over from the transport of supplies, using them as building blocks. ¡ªnot.

    Arroganz is gaining experience.

    Arroganz, newly equipped with artificial intelligence, moves poorly. If it walks, it scrapes. If it flies, it falls for some reason. When he ys with blocks, he fails.

    He''s still like a tottering baby.

    Such is the case with Arroganz as he heads for the corner of the hangar.

    "Arroganz?"

    Marie calls out to him, and he sits down with his back to us and stares at the wall.

    "What''s the matter with you, Arroganz? Are you sulking?"

    Marie approaches and tries to get him to stand, but the weapon, Arroganz, doesn''t freak out. And yet, he makes an excuse.

    "¡ªRecalcting."

    "You''re sulking, aren''t you? You''re definitely sulking! Come on, baby, do it again. You can do it again. Arroganz can do it!"

    I was sitting on the crate watching Marie, who was desperately trying to encourage Arroganz.

    The reason I''m watching the two of them interact is because I''m basically bored.

    Even though we''re out on the battlefield, we students are on a mission to transport supplies in the rear.

    The regr army doesn''t consider us a force, and we were told to never go into battle.

    We should be d that there are sane adults left in the field. Raymondes to the hangar.

    "Leon, we''re about to arrive. Huh? Is Arroganz still ying with blocks?" "Isn''t it cute?"

    When I bragged about my no-good, cute Arroganz, Raymond didn''t seem to understand.

    "I don''t believe in armour that works unattended. It''s not like it''s got a ghost on it or anything, is it?"

    Raymond and his friends didn''t understand when I told them that Arroganz is equipped with artificial intelligence.

    Thanks to this, there are rumors that the Arroganz is carrying a ghost. The only people whoe close to him are me and Marie.

    I get out of the crate and call out to Marie and Arroganz.

    "We''re about to arrive. We''re about to start unloading and you can get some rest."

    "Recalction isplete."

    "I''ll tell Arroganz to practice while I''m gone." "Just get some rest. We''re going working."

    When Marie came toward me, she put her hands on her hips. It''s Marie''s outfit, but since it''s strange to be in uniform in a hangar, she''s in her ties.

    "I''m going to go talk to all the girls," "Do you want me to help you?"

    "Of course! If you leave them alone, a lot of the boys go to their rooms. Besides, the boys work harder when they''re around."

    The boys who want to look good in front of girls will work even harder than usual

    Men are sad creatures, aren''t they? Raymondughs.

    "I don''t me them for doing so. Well, I''m going to go and talk to the guys."

    In the hangar where they left, I look up at Arroganz.

    "I don''t think anything wille to pass, but if it something does happen, please lend me some help." "¡­acknowleged."

    Arroganz responds briefly, raises his arms high¡ªand hits the hanger crane. This robot is a big ditz.

    ¡ó

    The volunteer army, led by His Highness Julius, was fighting the rebels.

    Watching the battle from the bridge of the airship, Olivia smiled inwardly. She enjoys watching her allied ships sink.

    (Yes. Sacrifice your young lives in vain. If you''re going to hold a grudge against someone, hold it against your ancestors for making you a noble.)

    Julius was shouting at the crew.

    "Bring this ship to the frontlines! Our nk is being beaten."

    "No! His Highness Julius has orders to not bring the gship to the front!" "Whose orders?!"

    "His Majesty the King!" "F**k!"

    Out of concern for his allies, he tried to step forward. But when he found out it was an order by his father, His Majesty the King, he was forced to stop.

    Olivia looked at Julius with a worried face. Inwardly, however, she wasn''t the least bit worried.

    (I thought this battle would go on for longer, so this is disappointing.

    Still, seeing them fall is going to be interesting.) On the battlefield, the students with their armor, were battling the rebels. The rebels were a group of renowned air bandits.

    They were ordered to retreat if they encountered the regr army, but the volunteer army was easy pickings.

    The volunteer soldiers were dropping like flies, by the hands of these experienced men. They were fighting by the textbook.

    The air bandits were rewarded for every dead soldier, and therefore fought with tenacity.

    This was ordered by Marquis Frampton¡ªand Olivia. Suddenly, Greg''s voice was heard on the bridge.

    It seems Greg boarded his armor and led his allies into battle."I''m going to help! You guys need support!"

    Chris couldn''t stand by either. He also led a group of students, with himself at the helm, into the battle.

    "You just support them. I''m going to win this battle!"

    As the two of them charged in, the bandits were pushed back. But they were experienced too, if you looked down on them, they could turn the

    tables.

    Chris was chasing them around, sword in hand."Don''t run from me coward! Fight me!"

    Julius and Jilk showed the same expression at the sight of him."Is the bandits'' morale low?"

    "Your Highness, I think it''s as high as it gets. Now let us rescue our allies."

    Seeing Julius, who already knew the bitterness of defeat, even in his first battle, Olivia snuggled up to him.

    "Julius, you, themander can''t look down. Everyone is watching." "You''re right. I''m not going to let some bandits defeat me."

    Olivia smiled at Julius, who had recovered, but she was cold inside.

    (It doesn''t matter if you fall now anyways, since you''re the next King of Holfort.)

    ¡ó

    A collection point for supplies built on a floating ind.

    There, supplies were prepared to be delivered to each battlefield. Airships frequently came and went.

    They were in a hurry. The harbor was overflowed with people and cargo. Marie and I were in a building in this port.

    "We''ve been here so many times and yet, it''s still always beautiful"

    Marie watched the scene with admiration. Indeed, the scene of Armor modified for work carrying loads one after another seemed straight out of a sci-fi movie.

    This is one of the reasons I enjoy this world so much. How much better it would be, if it weren''t war rted."Don¡¯t leave, you''ll get lost."

    "Don''t be ridiculous!"

    While teasing Marie, I entered a building to get my next order. In it I found a poster stered on arge bulletin board.

    No, it looked like a newspaper.

    There was a crowd of people surrounding it.

    "I heard His Highness won his first battle."

    "He''s fighting really well with just a volunteer army." "It says he won three in a row."

    The soldiers with the transport mission were shouting in admiration. It seems like His Highness''s army was quite active.

    Marie looked anxious.

    "His Highness and the others aren''t going to lose right?"

    "Master said he''s ced guards around His Highness, who will intervene if needed."

    "If they''re winning, they''ll be fine. We won''t all die, right? Right?" Marie looked uneasy until she heard the answer from me."Maybe."

    "Maybe? Tell me everything is fine here! How could you not know? I''m insecure! I need you to take away my anxiety!"

    "I''m an honest man and I''m a very reliable witness." "Twisted bastard!"

    I took theining Marie and headed to the room where the big man was.

    As for the article I just read, I deliberately avoided negative topics.

    How much damage has been done? I don''t want to think about it too much.

    I want it to be as fluffy and sweet as that otome game world. I''m hoping for a great turn of events where no one dies and theye back.

    ¡ªWhat I''m concerned about is that they didn''t talk about the damage in the game. I hope they''re all safe, but I''m not sure what''s really going on. As we left, we stopped as we heard a topic of concern.

    "Is the young girl on the battlefield too?"

    "The Saint? They''re saying she''s the goddess of victory or something." "Cute kid."

    When Marie heard Olivia''s name, she was peeved."¡­''Saint'', is it?"

    "What, you''re jealous? Come to think of it, someone tried to take the title of Saint and failed once."

    Iughed at her, and Marie got pissed and denied it."It was just a dream! You''re stupid forever!"

    It was Marie who had tried to get into a meeting with His Highness Julius and the others in an attempt to rece Miss Olivia.

    She even attempted made contact with them afterwards, but she failed every time.

    It would mean that the mob would not be able to do their best, after all.

    As I walked down the hallway talking to Marie, the building was emptied. Not just the soldiers, but even the knights walked out.

    "What?"

    I could hear the knights talking. One of the loudest ones was screaming to the puzzled knights.

    "His Highness Julius is here!"

    ¡ó

    Once His Highness Julius'' arrived, he was warmly weed by the staff.

    We poor aristocrats felt a bit alienated. After all, our highest priority was to resupply, not greet him.

    Marie was back on board, but the boys had mixed expressions at the sight of the volunteer army.

    I listened to Daniel and Raymonds'' conversation as I surveyed the, now decreased in number, fleet.

    "There were more than 10 ships at the start, right?"

    "They must have gathered more after we left the academy, so there must have been more."

    The others were also looking at His Highness withplicated expressions.

    It''s possible they routed, but if they didn''t, chances are they sank."Consecutive victories, huh?"

    Every ship except one was safe. The safe one was the gship.

    ¡ó

    At the base of the port, Olivia was conversing with the Marquis. Olivia held her ss and observed its contents.

    "The Principality is acting quiteid back, isn''t it?"

    She was being sarcastic but the Marquis didn''t mind making small talk."I see you''ve reduced the pirates by quite a bit."

    "It wasn''t really worth it."

    "I''ve also seen His Highness. He''s grown up a lot."

    Olivia''s shoulders shook. She wasughing inwardly. The Marquis craned his neck, puzzled by her attitude.

    "What''s so funny? He''ll make a fine king, I''m sure." "Yeah, I know."

    Despite her verbal affirmation, Olivia was inwardly thinking the opposite.

    (Can you really call that growth?)

    The Kingdom was going to copse, just like Olivia predicted."More importantly, will the Duke of Redgrave make a move?"

    Are you going to war with them? The marquis took a sip of his wine before answering.

    "It''s been arranged for Vince to be themander-in-chief. Our faction will not participate in the first group, so we won''t get sacrificed. But I''ve managed to rake in the Redgrave house and some other frontier houses.

    They''ll sacrifice themselves to take him down."

    The Marquis is going to use this to weaken some nobles on the frontier too.

    "While I''m at it, I''ll remove all those who stand in my way. If no one joins me, others will get suspicious."

    "They''ll pull Vince down, and weaken themselves in the process. They may be a hindrance, but they''ll serve us well."

    "You''re bad." Olivia raised her ss and smiled.

    "I want this country and I''ll do anything for it. And I''ll be the Queen and you the Prime Minister. Let''s continue to be friends, Prime Minister Frampton."

    The Marquis was happy at those words.

    ¡ó

    The Royal Castle of the Principality of Vanoss.

    Hertrude was getting ready to lead their fleet into battle. There were maidservants around to help her get dressed, with no men in sight. It was her sister, Hertrauda, who barged into the room.

    "Sister, please listen to me just once!"

    Hertrude takes one look at Hertrauda''s face and returns her gaze to the mirror disinterestedly.

    "It''s annoying, but without the magic flute the Principality will fall apart¡ª"

    "Why does that matter?!

    "You are royalty, what are you saying?!"

    Hertrude was enraged by Hertrauda''s words, which made even the maidservants uneasy. She res at her sister with a sharp look in her eyes

    and ps her as she approaches. A dry thud echoes through the room and the maidservant''s distance themselves from the two. The head maidservant tries to warn Hertrude but she ignores her.

    "Stand back, I have a lot of things to teach my inadequate sister." The head chambein stops her in a hurry¡ª

    "But we must hurry!" "Just leave."

    The maidservants follow themand of Hertrude, intimidated by her tone, and leave the room.

    Hertrauda looks at her sister with teary eyes, in the empty room.

    "What was that remark? If you say something like that, the people will think they have been abandoned. Hertrauda, do you understand? You are to be the Queen if I don''t return. I can''t leave you in charge if you continue such behavior."

    "Sister, please listen to me."

    "That won''t be necessary¡ªI''ll be leaving."

    As Hertrude turned to leave the room, she signals with her hand to Hertrauda. Once Hertrude sees the look on Hertrauda''s face, she feels relieved.

    "I''ll have Hertrauda reflect on this, don''t let her leave the room." "Yes, Your Highness."

    (I won''t let anyone touch Hertrauda.)

    ¡ó

    Locked in Hertrude''s room, Hertrauda understood what the signal meant.

    She found a letter prepared in advance and read it."¡ªSister¡­"

    Tears spill out of her eyes as she reads it. On it, was an apology for Hertrude''s previous attitude. It also said that there was no one she could trust. She doesn''t know where they''re watching from, so be careful.

    Added in the letter were the names of some suspicious vassals. The first was Count Gerrat.

    Sitting on the bed, Hertrauda clutches the letter with tears in her eyes. At the end of it, Hertrude requests her to burn it.

    She might have to burn her sister''sst letter."Everything will be taken from me¡­"

    "We are supposed to be royalty, yet¡­"

    She had just been informed of her powerlessness. Going up to the firece, Hertrauda burns the letter. After doing so, she cries and sobs in frustration.

    "Of course, My Queen. No, My Saint."

    The two smiled dimly, but it wasn''t mutual trust. They were hungry to use each other.

    ¡ó

    A military base at the goods depot.

    Partner, who was ordered to stay on standby, was finally given a mission. I''m the one who talks with him, since Marie is busy with Arroganz.

    There''s an important man throwing orders in front of me. His attitude is clearly looking down on me, but this great man seems to be a noble. He''s probably some far back in the session line. He is definitely not happy with his assignment withmander of the goods depot.

    "The Principality has moved, you volunteer army, go deliver supplies to the frontline."

    "The Principality of Vanoss?" "Yes."

    "Just us? Without an escort?"

    "You think we have the wherewithal to do that on this base? We''re busy over here. In a few days, new volunteer soldiers will arrive from the academy. We''re busy preparing to receive them."

    This basemander, he''s trying to win over His Highness. I guess he''s working hard, if His Highness remembers him here, he might make it to the top.

    However, there''s some information I couldn''t ignore."More volunteer soldiers areing?"

    "After hearing about His Highness''s victory, the remaining cowards seemed to have lifted a heavy hand. Other young nobles who graduated from the academy will also participate. We''re nning to form arge fleet."

    Themander, with no choice, is helping the organization of the fleet. Are they still going to rake in more students, after all the damage?

    Moreover, they''re fighting the regr army of the Principality.

    As if the basemander thought he couldn''t stay with me forever, he told me to get out of here.

    When I left the room, I caught sight of a familiar face. It was the knight I saw at my brother Nicks''s castle.

    "Long time no see, Leon-sama." "Yeah, hi."

    The knight held out a letter from Nicks."A letter from our lord to Master Leon." "My brother?"

    "My lord has been asked to participate in this battle, he has been entrusted with the first line of defense."

    I hurriedly skimmed the letter. It seems a lot of things were rushed while I was nonchntly resting in Partner.

    The letter states that the pce has ordered Nicks and Father to join the battle.

    "It is an order from the Crown. The same goes for provincial barons or barons."

    It can be seen that they are scrambling for strength in a great hurry.

    After all, the rebels are running rampant in many ces. The regr army can''t handle it.

    ¡ªit''s like the same scenario as in the game.

    In that otome game, the Redgrave family, who led the first group, should have been defeated. So Angelica''s family would have failed.

    That''s why, it''s not good to have my dad and brother there.

    I don''t want my dad to die, and if my brother dies, I feel sorry for my newly married sister-inw Dorothy. I can''t say this is a good scenario.

    The letter said to take care of the rest if you need anything else, but I squeezed it.

    "Master Leon, why are you squeezing the letter?" Nicks'' knight is upset so I tell him what I''m going to do.

    "We''re going to participate. We''re already nning to deliver supplies to the frontlines. I''m sure the rural nobles in the volunteer army want to support their parents."

    The other guy is like, "What is he talking about?".

    It can''t be helped; I''m not going to leave it to the Redgrave family. Damn it! If only Luxion was here. He could gather more information. That guy is useless at the most important points.

    ¡ó

    In the fort-like building in the goods depot, the students of the volunteer army led by Julius were holding feast.

    There were no knights or soldiers to stop them. Partly because of Julius''s position, but also because they had heard the losses of the volunteer army.

    In the banquet hall, Julius acted cheerfully.

    "My fellow warriors! Thanks to you, our army has won a series of battles! Now, let us enjoy the feast!"

    "Long live Prince Julius!"

    "We''re the best of the volunteers!" "Even the Principality can be beaten!"

    The volunteers, raised their mugs and answering Julius''s voice, were drinking like they were bathing in alcohol. They were making fools of themselves.

    However,pared to the early days, there were fewer of them. With each battle, the number of those Julius called hisrades-in-arms would dwindle. As a result, they were reduced to about half.

    Every time they fought, many of them lost their lives, and even the executive ss students who participated with their airships were killed in the battle.

    n was not here either.

    Lloyd was also not here. Greg, and Chris and Brad and the others had formed their own groups and were drinking.

    Julius is approached by Jilk.

    Only Julius and the other noblemen¡ªthe boys who weren''t the targets of the attack¡ªwere safe.

    "Your Highness, the report arrived just now." "Oh, how''d it go?"

    "New volunteers are arriving from the school. Even the alumni heard of our sesses."

    The banquet hall is in full swing at the report of a smiling Jilk. Julius stood on a chair and drew the attention of those around him."Did you all hear what Jilk just said? Our exploits have reached the

    Capital! Let us continue to fight a decisive battle against the Principality,

    and have our name engraved in the history of the kingdom!" The banquet hall was filled with the excitement of the students. Julius put a hand to his chest.

    "And let us pray for our deadrades in arms. They were brave. They will continue to watch over us."

    As the audience gets excited, Greg raises his voice.

    "Our passed friends would like it too! Come on, people! Let''s gain a big victory and make sure our deadrades aren''t forgotten!"

    Once again, the banquet hall was in full swing.

    It was as if they were daring to make a lot of noise to force themselves to forget the events on the battlefield.

    ¡ó

    The front line.

    Leon quickly departed with the rest of the nobles and arrived. Upon his arrival, two ships with the Bartford family crescent approached him.

    Soon, they covered both his nks. This resulted in Partner being sandwiched between the two. On one side, the ship with his father, and the other, the ship with his brother.

    After blocking his escape route, Leon''s brother, Nicks, boarded the ship."What are you doing on a battlefield?!"

    "Don''t be so mad. Even if we die, we have Colin."

    "Don¡¯t jinx it! Besides, what''s that young boy going to do after our deaths?! That''s one of the reasons me and dad came here instead of you!"

    If Colin came to the battlefield, I too would be angry. I can understand brothers'' anger.

    My father was also stunned.

    "Leon, why did youe to the battlefield? You don''t have any heroic aspirations, right?"

    My father, who knows my character well, wants to know what I want. Is wanting to prevent your family''s death a heroic aspiration?

    I may not have Luxion, but I have Arroganz and Partner. It''s not like we''recking in skill.

    I can take care of the Principality without my trump card (Luxion).

    ¡ªThere''s only one problem.

    "I''m leading a group of weak (in political power, not physical strength) nobles in the volunteer army. They want to aid their families, who live around here."

    "Is that really why you''re here? Tell me the truth." It''s sad, my dad is suspecting me of lying.

    "I was worried about my family." Nicks gave me a distant look.

    "You''re lying."

    "Why would I?! I was so worried about you guys, that I showed up here on a battlefield! You need to trust your brother more!"

    "A brother who cares about his family wouldn''t sell his brother out to some woman!"

    "I''m going to tell sister-inw!" "No, stop! That''s unfair!"

    ¡ªPlease don''t tell me I sold you out. All I did was introduce a possible marriage partner.

    Even if she has a bit of a character, she''s still a beauty.

    "Rx, both of you. He won''t be able to go back home, so we''ll have him in the rear with you."

    My dad had a resigned look on his face.

    I''m sorry, but I''m not so heartless as to abandon my family. If I had to choose between others or my family, it''d be my family.

    "Leon, this isn''t the same kind of fight as the one with the Olfreys and the Lovans. Are you ready for this?"

    At his words I straightened my posture and nodded slowly. Not averting my gaze from his sharp eyes.

    "I see. So you''re still a stupid kid."

    Next to my dad, who let out a sigh, Nix was a little irritated. Not at me, it was at our older brother, Rutart, who wasn''t here.

    "Dad, are you sure you don''t want to call Big Brother Rutart?"

    Rutart, Zora and the rest of the family were as uncooperative as ever. They were jealous of Nix, who took over the Olfrey household''s Earl ranking and estate.

    Rutart also isn''t participating in this battle. Though that''s not a problem, since only one representative is needed from each house.

    But if my father was to die, the Bartford family would be finished.

    If Rutart, who is unable to manage our domain effectively, takes over, it could spell the end for the Bartford family.

    Nix didn''t hide his hope that Rutart would die before dad.

    Let''s tease him a bit~

    "Nix is quite an extremist. You didn''t n to kill Rutart yourself on the battlefield to prevent him from inheriting right~?"

    Nix wrinkles his brow at my attitude, but quickly averts his gaze.

    ¡ªHey, you didn''t, right?

    Retracting his gaze, Nix says he''s going to tell me everything. As long as I don''t tell anyone else of course.

    "Dorothea''s vassals investigated the situation, to find one of Zora family''s weaknesses and keep them from messing with us."

    Zora''s family want to get rid of Nix so they can inherit the Earl estate and rank.

    In order to prevent them from doing anything, Dorothea sister-inw has been working hard. Real nobles are amazing.

    "Doesn''t Zora have a paramour? Supposedly, he looks like Rutart, blonde hair, blue eyes. Nothing like us."

    Unlike us, who are dark haired, my brother and sister, Rutart and Merce are blonde and have blue eyes.

    My father probably noticed, since he doesn''t seem surprised.

    "Don''t worry about it. On the battlefield, you don''t have time to worry about others."

    "Are you sure? If Rutart takes over, the territory will be a big mess." Nix seems to be worried about our home town.

    "Even if Rutart does die, if Merce takes a husband he will inherit the territory anyways. Besides, he''s noting."

    Father has tried to talk to Rutart, but he just wants to live like an aristocrat. In luxury without caring for anything else.

    I''m surprised this country hasn''t ended yet.

    "As long as Leon and Nix are alive, the blood of Bartford will continue to live."

    Me and Nix go silent. My dad, embarrassed, tries to break the ice by telling us about the history of the Bartford family.

    "Yeah, I didn''t tell you about our ancestors."

    "I''ve heard about how they umted war merits." But my dad shakes his head.

    "No, they were former adventurers."

    I question the validity of that statement.

    "What? We''re not aplished adventurers, though. Wouldn''t you brag about your origins if your ancestors were adventurers?"

    The Kingdom of Holfort was founded by adventurers. For this reason, the social status of adventurers is high. Even the nobles admire adventurers.

    If your ancestors were adventurers, that''s a story to be proud of.

    "Don''t tell me. They were betrayed by everyone and were forced into poverty. I don''t want to hear more. Wouldn''t that be dangerous?"

    Nix is having second thoughts.

    "Well, I can''t tell you in the first ce. Let''s just say that our ancestors were tricked. After that, they decided to get some territory on the countryside and live a slow life."

    ¡ªI understand how your ancestors felt. I''d rather be a farmer than a hero.

    "I feel like I''d get along with those old men well." Nix looks at me like I''m an idiot.

    "What was our ancestors'' name?" "[Lea], [Lea Bartford]"

    ¡ªIs that true? I didn''t think we''d be able to connect so soon.

    ¡ó

    The fleet of the Principality of Vanoss was approaching the Kingdom. Inside the gship, Hertrude and Bandel were conversing.

    They were alone, since Bandel and Hertrude were high-ranking¡ªand intimidating individuals.

    Hertrude was more than a little nervous in front of Bandel, who''d been protecting her since she was a child.

    "What can I do for you? Aren''t you busy with preparations?"

    Not wanting Bandel to realize that she knew of how her parents died, her question was colder than usual.

    Bandel however, could see through it.

    "I must apologize to the princess. ¡ªAbout yourte Majesty and Queen." Hertrude wanted to stop her questioning there, but the emotions inside her were too fierce.

    "Why?! Why did a knight as good as you allow them to your lord?!" "So you knew¡­"

    "Huh?!"

    Hertrude got flustered after she realized what she just did. Bandel meanwhile, looked sad.

    He knelt in front of Hertrude.

    "I will make up for this by offering my life. If you let this old man fight, then I will put my life on the line. I know this is unbearable for you, Master Hertrude. But it wouldn''t be wise to kill me."

    Hertrude can''t give the order to kill him. If she did, someone else might interfere.

    But most importantly, she''s been with Bandel since her childhood. Her emotions were getting in the way.

    "Let me ask you this. Why did you let them die?" "For revenge."

    When Bandel looked up, his face was twisted in anger. Once he realized Hertrude was horrified he quickly reverted it into normal.

    "I can''t forgive the Kingdom, the Kingdom who killed my family before my eyes. I have decided that I would definitely destroy the Kingdom, for their sake."

    Bandel''s family has been killed by the kingdom''s army that invaded in the past. For this reason, he remained quiet, knowing that Hertrude''s parents were going to be assassinated.

    "I tried to persuade the two many times, yet they wouldn''t change their minds."

    "Of course! How much of a difference in military power do you think there is? We definitely wouldn''t win. Not to mention the fact that they didn''t attack first."

    The beginning of the hostile rtionship between the Kingdom and the Principality was the fault of Principality.

    In the past, the Principality was a Grand Principality under the control of the Kingdom.

    Such a Grand Principality attacked the Kingdom.

    "I still see them in my dreams at night! The image of my wife and child who died in front of my eyes! Were my child and wife guilty of something, your highness?"

    "The Kingdom too has had such people die Bandel, no more¡ª"

    "Yes. I understand, but I still hate the Kingdom that took my wife and children from me. I must send as many of them to hell as possible with my

    own hands, or else I won''t be satisfied."

    In the face of Bandel''s strong vengeance, Hertrude gives up. Bandel swears to Hertrude.

    "As long as I have my life, I will protect the princesses. It is my way of making amends."

    Hertrude, who is a princess in nothing but name, can''t do anything about Bandel.

    "¡ªDo as you please."

    Hertrude sits down on the floor as Bandel leaves.

    I can''t stop this war, not matter how much I dirty my fingers."So I''ll end up leaving Hertrauda alone in this world."

    Hertrude hopes that her sister, who is not here, will survive.

    ¡ó

    It was shortly after dawn when they ran onto the Bridge of Partner. rms sounded throughout the ship, waking everyone up.

    The robots working on Partner were also scurrying around.

    When I came to the bridge, arge monitor showed the approaching airships with the emblem of the Principality of Vanoss on them.

    "Two hundred ships. That''s a lot more than I thought."

    There are three hundred ships on our side. It''s a mixed fleet of both the Duke of Redgrave and the regr army.

    Right now, they are in the process of forming up in the rear."We''ve taken their trump card, but it''s still going to be war."

    I want to question the Principality about why they don''t want to avoid the war. But there are so many irregrities that I don''t even think it''s a problem on their side.

    In the game, the regr army that was sent to exterminate the air rebels was in the same form, but they werete to the party against the Principality.

    Is it really a coincidence that the same trend as in the game was created?

    The friendly airships around us were moving in a hurry, and there was a flurry of noisymunications.

    I was about to take a seat in the captains'' seat when Marie came in.

    She was hugging a pillow, perhaps sleep-deprived, and her hair was a mess.

    "The enemy''s attacking?!"

    "Calm down. The enemy only just arrived. Now go get dressed."

    After Marie realized what she was wearing, she rushed out. Turing my head, Iy my eyesight on the sky where hundreds of airships were gathered.

    "It was spectacr in the game, but in real life more so."

    The allied airships were ordered to stand in formation by the Redgrave family. The enemy mirror our formation.

    The cannons have a short firing range.

    We use cannons lined up on the sides so that when we fight, our ship''s bow doesn''t need to face theirs.

    However, we''re in an airship.

    It''s extremely tricky to rotate up and down, let alone left and right.

    Both sides formed up while ascending, but some of the airships were unable to keep up.

    Some of them had poor maneuverability and ended up shing with others.

    "This is no good."

    When the crew of an airship doesn''t even train on a regr basis, this is about as good as it gets. Some houses take their training seriously, while others don''t.

    Thanks to this the level of skill is uneven. The airships with good movements are moving with the ones with poor movements, making all of them look bad.

    Individually, there are some excellent ships on the Kingdom''s side, but taken as a whole, the Principality wins.

    The Duke of Redgrave will be dragged down by their surroundings.

    In contrast to the nobles'' current army, the Principality''s army is a regr army that has been trained regrly.

    Their moves were wless, with no motion wasted.

    When Marie returned, she had Daniel and Raymond behind her. Both of them had an impatient look on their face.

    Marie was surprised by the Principality."Geez! They got the upper hand!"

    Even Marie seemed to understand. Gaining the initiative was important in battle. But their forces are still outnumbered.

    Daniel is frustrated by theck of skill on our side. Suddenly, one of our ships ignored his orders to form up and moved forward.

    A terrible voice came from themunicator.

    "I am Viscount Beaudon Allen! I''m enough to defeat the cowards in the Principality''s army!"

    Daniel became flustered as he saw the airship of Allen charge at the enemy. He shouted at him, but Allen couldn''t hear.

    "Allen? He''s n''s brother. He is the second son, I believe. I heard he graduatedst year. Why is he on that trashy ship."

    The movement of the ship is terrible.

    n''s brother, who was in His Highness''s volunteer army, charged forward in a luxurious looking ship. Is no one going to stop him?

    Once within range, shy armors came off the deck of the ship and charged towards the Principality''s army. But the moment they entered the cannon range of the Principality''s airships, the cannons'' started firing.

    Even if their uracy is low, if you shoot enough, they''re bound to hit once.

    Allen''s ship deployed a magic barrier¡ªbut it was overwhelmed. The airship was battered and was on fire.

    Through themunicator came the voice of a confused Allen."Why is no oneing?! I need assistance! I''m a baron!"

    These types of people are born sometimes.

    A child born to nobility who is arrogant is taken as standard. You can fix these types of people in the academy to a certain extent, but even if they learn to be polite to the nobles, they will still look down on themoners.

    This attitude seems to be prevalent in the Beaudon family."Help! Duke of Redgrave! Please hel¡ª"

    As the airship exploded, Allen''s voice was cut off. Marie was blue-faced and trembling.

    "Ugh, you liar. I can''t believe you died so easily."

    He may have had heroic aspirations, but he was still a nuisance. The army doesn''t need such people.

    He''d never been in battle before, yet he still wanted to take out an airship with his shy one.

    Now the pieces of his airship were scattered among the battlefield.

    From themunicators you could hear voices ming and defending the Duke.

    "Why didn''t you save him! The duke is using us like pawns!" "It''s that kid that jumped out!"

    "That doesn''t mean you should leave a brave young man to die!" All I can say is ''terrible''.

    In that otome game, there''s an event where the Duke of Redgrave loses a battle against the Principality.

    After they blundered the battle away, the protagonists began to take action.

    The detail of the battle were not told in detail.

    But if what he was witnessing happened in reality, it would be hard to me the Duke.

    "Leon, the enemy ising!"

    I look forward in silence as Marie grabbed my arms.

    I was expecting the worst, but the battle was going as it should. Suddenly, the enemy I least wanted to see, was attacking my allies.

    The guy was a full sizerger than the armor around him, and he was shing at airships with a great sword. It shed through the hull of an airship, then went inside to destroy itpletely.

    The airship, broken, fell down from the sky."It''s the ck knight! The ck knight is out!"

    The allies, scared by the armor, were trying to distance themselves from the ck Knight, Bandel. Some of the airships collided with each other and some were even falling.

    Daniel shook his head forcefully.

    "If we go near him, we''re finished, aren''t we?"

    The strongest knight in thend. The enemy of the Kingdom. The tyrant of the battlefield. That ck knight was attacking Leon''s allies.

    While the allies were dealing with the ck Knight, the enemy ships began bombarding them.

    Raymond understood what was going to happen after this."Leon, let''s retreat. We''ll lose if we don''t."

    I''d like to retreat too, but if we retreated, we''d suffer punishment. It would be lighter than the regr army because we''re only volunteers, but it''s still a punishment.

    "It''s the other way around. Partner, move forward." "Huh?!"

    The look on Daniel''s face said, "What the hell is this guy talking about."

    But I was serious. Partner''s performance is way above the others in this battlefield.

    "Don''t look down on partner''s barriers and armor." As partner pushed forward, shellse flying at it.

    The barrier around him however, repelled them. The barrier around Partner was impervious to the Principality''s shells.

    Even though it was under concentrated fire, Partner continued to float. Seeing this, Raymond adjusted his sses.

    "Great! Great job, Leon! This way, our allies can reform their formation!"

    My allies regrouped behind Partner and fixed their formation¡ªI had envisioned such a thing, but reality doesn''t seem to be that sweet.

    Marie held both her cheeks and shouted."They''re leaving!"

    Some of the nobles fled, judging they were losing.

    They turned and fled, using Partner as a decoy."It''s worse than I imagined."

    With even the advantage in numbers gone, Marie sticks her head to the window.

    "There''s a ck armoring here!"

    The ck knight must have decided that Partner was a threat. But he''s too na?ve, defeating Partner''s barrier is impossible.

    "No matter how good a knight he is, Partner¡ªeh?"

    As the ck Knight shed at Partner, the area he attacked was emitting a fierce light. The area seemed to be cracking

    "Official cheats are the worst, aren''t they?"

    Daniel and Raymond were confused by my words, while Marie was shaking with a blue face.

    This had gotten out of control, so I got up and started to walk to the hangar¡ªthen I saw the armor charging at the ck knight. I examined it and once I realize who''s it was, my eyes widened.

    "What are you doing, dad?!"

    ¡ó

    When the ck Knight attacked the airship, an armor appeared to intervene.

    The armor wasn''t shy, and looked in. However, it was well-maintained.

    The rider''s skills weren''t bad either.

    "So there is a skilled a rider here. But with that level of skill¡ª"

    Bandel swung his great sword down at his opponent, who was supposed to be blown away.

    But the opponent managed to hold on, despite the numerous shes he received.

    Each sh was the personification of Bandel''s anger.

    "Your sword arm, and piloting skills! I''m better than you in all of them! You know why? Because of my hatred for you!"

    As he made contact with the other man, he heard a voice."My son is on board that ship. I won''t let you drop that ship!" Hearing this Bandel''s eyes narrowed and heughed.

    "So you have your son on board that ship¡ªif that''s the case!" Bandel''s great sword shed off the opponents limbs.

    Bandel then grabbed his head."Hey! What are you doing?!"

    Hearing his enemy''s panicked voice, Bandel bore his white teeth.

    "You will suffer as I did! I''ll show you how it feels to have your child killed right in front of you!"

    The great sword that Bandel''s armor is holding is made of adamantis. It is a lost item prepared just for him.

    It is the only technology able to break Partners'' barriers, since it''s a new technology with no countermeasures.

    "No matter how much you struggle, this battle was meant to be won by the Principality from the start!"

    As he said this, Bandel was repeatedly shing the barrier, attempting to break it.

    "You! Stop! Leon, run!"

    Bandelughed out loud at his opponent''s scream."Yes, shout! That cry will heal my heart!"

    Bandel recalls the scene he saw that day.

    Bandel was on a mission to intercept the Royal Army that was attacking the Principality'' capital when he saw his house destroyed.

    He saw the armor of the Royal Army smashing through his house and reaching out to his family inside.

    He rushed towards the house, but he couldn''t get there in time, and his family died before Bandel''s eyes.

    "My wife was a good woman! A good woman who didn''t deserve that fate! She was so young too! She even sacrificed herself for our daughter, yet you!"

    Bandel began to cry; his mind unstable.

    "For the sake of my family I¡ªI even took away the princesses'' parents. I can''t stop now. I will only stop when I kill everyst one of you."

    As the barrier shattered, an armor came out."Let go of my father!"

    "Nix, you better run!" Apparently, a different son came.

    Seeing this, Bandel made a strong decision.

    "I will kill both of your sons! And make you feel as I did!" "Huh!"

    The enemy, with a missing limb, desperately tried to resist, and stand in Bandels way.

    "You outcasts of the Kingdom! You all are going to hel¡ª"

    ¡ªBefore he could finish, Bandel''s army shook violently."Guh!"

    As he turned around, he saw a muchrger gray armor there. As it swung its de towards Bandel, he caught it with his great sword.

    "What?!"

    Bandel was surprised by the opponent''s strength. It seems that the one riding there is also the son of that man he captured.

    "I would have preferred to save the princess. I don''t have a preference for old men!"

    He looked like a light-hearted fellow.

    "It''s the same thing one after the other! No amount of cutting will break my armor!"

    I''ve defeated numerous enemies in the past.

    Yet, the number of enemies of the principality never decreases. One after another, they appear and try to defeat the Principality.

    The new armor holds up its sword.

    "Old man, it''s time for the new generation to shine. Retire!" "Keep your mouth shut, kid!"

    He threw down the armor he was holding (Barcus), but another armor (Nicks) caught it. Bandel ignored therge armor (Leon)ing at him to dispose of the other (Nicks) first. But therge armor (Leon) closed in on him.

    "I won''t let you get away, old man!" He must be quite powerful.

    With that thought, a new ambition came to Bandels'' mind. To kill all the powerful knights growing up in the Kingdom."I''ll start with you!"

    ¡ó

    Leon was riding in Arroganz, trying to defeat Bandel."What the hell is this guy really?!"

    ¡ªI''m surprised at how strong he is.

    In front of Arroganz, who can''t help but be called a cheat, the ck Knight was holding a equal¡ªno, more than an equal fight.

    I''m the one being pushed back.

    The hard armor of Arroganz is being chipped away by his great sword. I''m attacking too, but he avoids my attacks with his maneuverability."Isn''t this guy''s very existence a cheat?"

    When Arroganz''s de caught Bandel''s great sword, it shattered. Leon hurriedly got out of range and took out his rifle.

    But the ck Knight moved too fast to be hit.

    Arroganz tried to make the calctions, but the ck Knight was too fast.

    "I don''t understand."

    Even Arroganz is confused as he deals with the ck Knight."I agree with that opinion, but we can''t stop here!"

    We''re flying in a battlefield.

    The Kingdom''s army is fighting the Principality, but they''re outnumbered.

    I want to help them, but I can''t take my attention off the ck Knight. Partner is preventing other airships from interfering in our battle."This would have been a close call if I was alone."

    I can''t stop sweating. I was right to bring friends with me.

    "Sure, you''re a bit skilled. But without that armor, you''re no match for me!"

    As he closed the distance, I shot at him. But he dodged the bullet and shed at me.

    I quickly blocked it with my rifle, but it was cut in half."Arroganz, missile!"

    "Missilesunched."

    Missiles are fired one after another from the container on Arroganz, attacking the ck Knight. The ck Knight, who is chasing after the backward-flying Arroganz, must have never seen the missiles that are attacking him before.

    He cuts them with his great sword and charges through the explosion."You overpowered bastard!"

    That strength is bullsh*t. I''m also overpowered, but it''s crazy that I still can''t win.

    The ck knight closes the distance and one of Arroganz''s arms is shed off.

    "Die, kid!"

    In front of the ck knight who stabbed the big sword into the cockpit, I was prepared to die.

    I was feeling pathetic at the stupefying end even though I had Arroganz¡ª.

    "Oooh!"

    It was my dad who shouted out loud and charged the me with his limbless armor. The ck knight lost his stance to the surprised and the great sword missed me.

    But the great sword stabbed into the armor (his dad''s) cockpit. He leaned to the left to dodge it but it seems he was still injured.

    I''m wounded in the right half of my face by the Great Sword and some parts of Arroganz are broken too, and I can''t see what''s going on outside because the monitor is smashed.

    Arroganz seemed to automatically keep his distance from the ck knight, so there was no chase.

    I heard my dad''s voice."Why didn''t you run?"

    I purged the hatch and looked outside; I could see my father''s armor pierced by arge sword.

    "¡ªDad!"

    As I shouted, the ck knight slowly turned to me and threw away the armor that my dad rode on with a swing of his great sword.

    "How does it feel to have your family die in front of you?" I hear the ck Knight''s voice and grind my teeth.

    "It sucks. It really sucks."

    I couldn''t help but hate the enemy in front of me. It was impossible for me to control my helpless emotions.

    All I could think about was killing the ck Knight.

    "That''s good. I felt the same way. And killing you like this is worth it."

    I grabbed the control stick and headed towards the ck Knight with the battered Arroganz.

    But feelings alone won''t fill the skill gap.

    Arroganz had umted a lot of damage during thest fight."Damn it!"

    "All that''s left is to kill you, sink that ship and be done with it. The Royal Army won''t be able to stop us."

    Partner has my friends and¡ªMarie on board."It''s not going to be that easy!"

    The ck knight''s movements slowed down as he charged at Arroganz, ready to strike me. It was Nix''s tattered armor that jumped on him from behind.

    "Leon, do it!"

    The ck knight clicked his tongue and roughly pped Nix''s armor away.

    "Don''t get in the way!"

    Nix was blown away immediately, but it took the ck Knights concentration away for a moment. Thanks to that, Arroganz was able to close the distance.

    The ck knight stabbed the great sword at Arroganz as he charged at him. He forcefully avoids the great sword that is approaching the cockpit.

    I''m convinced of victory when he pierces Arroganz''s legs and tries to pull the sword out.

    "If you were going to aim for me, you should have made it to the cockpit!" With his remaining arm, Arroganz struck the ck Knight''s cockpit.

    A fist pierced the ck knight''s armor, and Arroganz transmitted a voice message.

    "¡ªImpact."

    At the same time as he said it, he mmed the impact into the ck Knight''s

    interior. Then, the ck Knight''s armor bobbed up and down from inside and exploded as it was.

    Limbs are blown off and the great sword also falls.

    From the cockpit part that barely remains, the voice of the ck knight who is about to die can be heard from the cockpit part.

    "I''m sorry¡ªPrincess.

    The ck knight''s armor, which discharged with a buzz, exploded in the air as Arroganz threw it away.

    "Oh, it''s done."

    The tension released and I took several deep breaths. Sweat gushes out and I''m relieved to realize that I''m alive.

    The reactions of those around me who saw the falling ck knight were mixed.

    The Principality''s troops were saddened, and the allied Kingdom troops cheered.

    "That''s right. My father! Arroganz, find my dad!"

    He immediately goes to find his dad, but Nix has retrieved his dad''s armor first. I me Nix in front of him.

    "Why did you make me charge my dad!"

    "My dad jumped out at me! And you would be dead if it weren''t for me!

    ¡ªDad is the only reason you''re still alive."

    Nix''s voice sounds like he''s about to cry. Nix''s armor hugged the armor that had been pierced through the cockpit.

    I couldn''t speak either, and I turned over."I could have been faster¡ª"

    I was just about to regret it when I heard my dad''s voice."Ka, don''t judge me dead without checking."

    When I looked up, Nix let out a surprised voice."Dad, you''re alive!"

    "Yeah, so get me to a doctor quickly."

    Nix and I left the battlefield, where the Principality was in trouble this time after the ck Knight was defeated.

    ¡ó

    In the royal capital of the kingdom of Holfort, the victory of the kingdom''s army had been reported.

    The royal capital was in a festive mood, but in a room in the royal pce, the Marquis of Frampton had a bitter look on his face.

    Originally, he had nned to have the Royal Army led by the Duke of Redgrave''s family be defeated. That was why he had sent in the ipetent nobles.

    Not to mention his political enemies, he had nned to dispose of all the useless nobles and his enemies together.

    That was why the Principality won (In the original otome game).

    "The ck Knight is getting old. How pathetic; to be defeated by a student."

    The people who took out the attackers were rted to the Bartford family, one of whom was a student.

    Although the three of them had to team up, the defeat of the ck Knight is good news for the kingdom.

    Rumors quickly spread, and the reputation of the Baldfalt family is growing even within the royal court. Among others, Nix''s wife Dorothea''s family¡ªthe Rosede family¡ªwas happily mentioning their activities.

    This was not amusing to the Marquis of Frampton.

    "I guess I expected too much from the useless the Principality."

    With the exasperated Marquis of Frampton was Olivia, sitting on the sofa, smiling.

    She held a ss in one hand.

    "It''s a pity this happened. But Julius also yed an active role, so let''s let it go this time. Besides, the Duke of Redgrave''s family will be in trouble for a while."

    Due to a fierce battle with the Principality, the airship on which the head of the Redgrave family was riding was also hit.

    The head of the family, Vince, was also injured in the battle.

    As he is unable to move for a while, his son takes his ce. However, the son has probably been injured as well.

    Although the n has been somewhat derailed, Olivia and the others'' victory is unchanged.

    "Originally, it was supposed to be a spectacr debut match for the Saint."

    "I don''t mind. More importantly, how is the captured Duchess doing?" At Olivia''s words, the Marquis of Frampton replied immediately.

    "She knows too much of the unnecessary. Let her meet her royal end.

    She would rather die than be captured by the enemy and be a liability to her country."

    For this reason, if the Kingdom were to get their hands on Hertrude and she confessed, the Marquis would be in trouble. So here, he''s detailing the excuse for her death, suicide, when actually it''s murder.) Olivia smiles when she hears this.

    "How scary."

    ¡ó

    Angelica, the daughter of the Redgrave family, was visiting the office of her brother Gilbert, who is acting as head of the family due to his father''s injury.

    The reason was a protest against the treatment of Hertrude, an enemy princess captured by the Duke and Duchess of Redgrave.

    "Brother, why? It was father who took Hertrude captive. And yet, what is the royal court thinking of by ostracizing the Redgrave family?"

    Angelica''s frustration is that the Redgrave family, who have served in the war, are despised by the royal court.

    And the one person Angelica couldn''t forgive- Olivia.

    "What on earth is His Highness Julius also thinking? Not only did he lead a volunteer army to participate in the war, but he even took that woman with him to show his friendship."

    Gilbert let out a small sigh as Angelica expressed her frustration in front of her brother. Gilbert is busy these days, and he understands what Angelica wants to say.

    But he tells her that the Redgrave family cannot get involved.

    "Now that your father is absent, I''m very busy. The truth is that I can''t even get involved in the affairs of the royal court."

    "But!"

    "The matter of His Highness Hertrude doesn''t make me happy here either. The Marquis of Frampton seems to want His Highness Hertrude to be dead."

    "Aren''t we supposed to be negotiating?"

    Angelica is suspicious when she hears that they have the enemy''s royalty and won''t use it for negotiations.

    "We could have them prepare a huge ransom from the Principality for the return of Hertrude, and we have other uses for her."

    She doesn''t understand why they don''t do that and try to make her a deceased person.

    "Because thanks to His Highness Julius, His Highness'' faction has lost its power. We''re out of the mosquito."

    Even Gilbert couldn''t seem to determine what was going on in the royal pce.

    Angelica sped her hands together."I will speak with His Highness Julius."

    Gilbert shook his head at Angier''s offer."Brother?"

    "-The details of the royal court are not known to me, but Prince Julius is thinking of calling off your engagement. The news hase to me."

    "What!?"

    Angelica is upset when she hears that Julius is thinking of breaking off the engagement.

    "Why? What did I do wrong?¡ª"

    Angelica was furious, but Gilbert silenced her with a sharp look in response.

    "It''s all your fault. Why didn''t you stop His Highness Julius? The same goes for your behavior on campus. What the hell were you doing while you were by his side?"

    When Julius led the volunteer army to join them, his fianc¨¦e Angelica''s family home had not received any news.

    And due to the actions of Julius and the others so far, the power of the faction of the Redgrave family has been reduced considerably.

    Angelica looks down.

    "I have tried to stop him many times, but my voice can''t reach His Highness Julius."

    Angelica speaks in frustration.

    Gilbert, who is busy, can''t deal with this situation right now.

    "If you''d kept a better eye on her, then this would never have happened." Angelica bit her lower lip as her brother, Gilbert, rebuked her.

    If only that woman hadn''t been there.

    Angelica decides to take action.

    ¡ó

    Angelica heads to the mansion where Hertrude is being held captive.

    Although she was part of the war, Hertrude, who is royalty, can''t be put in prison.

    When Angelica enters this mansion, the Knights guarding it stop her."I''m sorry. We''ve been ordered to not let anyone pass."

    "It''s the Redgrave family who captured her. Shouldn''t we be allowed a visit? Besides, I''ve got the pce''s permission."

    When Angelica showed the Knights the permission slip, they reluctantly let her through.

    Once she was in Hertrude''s room, she dismissed the Knights, saying she wanted to talk to her alone.

    The room was well-furnished, and didn''t look like a prison. However, there were iron bars installed on the windows."It''s been a long time, Your Highness Hertrude."

    When Angelica called out to her, Hertrude sat down in her chair gave her a quiet look.

    "Let''s make this short. Why did the Principality invade the Kingdom? Considering the power difference, it''s nothing but a bad move."

    In this world of war, the side with the initiative has the advantage.

    But no matter how quick the Principality is, the difference in power would still be toorge to make up.

    In most fights, you can see the oue.

    Hertrude looked pale and weak.

    "¡ªThe Kingdom still doesn''t know about that." "That?"

    "It''s nothing."

    Hertrude examined Angelica''s appearance¡ªand made some conditions."I need you to promise me one thing¡ªno, two if you can."

    "I''m not strong enough to grant your wishes."

    "That''s okay. You need only do it if you can. Firstly, I need you to keep Hertrauda safe."

    She wants her sister to survive, but Angelica isn''t going to be able to grant that wish.

    "I don''t think I can make that happen."

    "I''m sure you''re right. The power of the Redgrave family has fallen." "You seem to know a lot about the pce."

    Angelica knows there are people in the Royal Pce connected to the Principality. Those people would sell information too.

    However, Hertrude''s next words surprised her.

    "Because the reason the Principality invaded was because of an order from the Kingdom."

    "What are you talking about?"

    "It was a noble from the Kingdom who requested the Principality to go to war. You know the Marquis of Frampton, don''t you? He''s behind it."

    "Stupid."

    "If you don''t believe me, that''s fine. Just consider my words bullsh*t and forget them."

    Why would the people of the Kingdom let the Principality invade? After pondering, Angelica came to the answer.

    Many of the people fighting against the Principality were either hostile to or estranged from the Marquis of Frampton. The nobles who were friends of the Marquis were having trouble participating.

    Were they really going to be discarded?

    Angelica was mad at the Marquis'' methods. She didn''t like the way he used and buried his enemies.

    "I knew from the start we couldn''t win. I knew from the beginning we couldn''t win. But I couldn''t stop them. I had no power to stop them."

    Seeing Hertrude cry, Angelica asks:

    "What''s your second wish?"

    "I want you to tell my sister¡ªthat I loved her. I really wanted to write to her, but I wasn''t allowed to."

    With those words, Angelica understands. Does he want her dead so she doesn''t talk? "I''ll do what I can, as long as I can."

    "Thank you, Angelica."

    Averting her gaze from Hertrude, who looks dead, Angelica heads outside¡ª

    ¡ªIn order to inform the Queen.

    ¡ó

    The royal pce was busy with post-war activities.

    I was returning home to my parents'' territory because of my injuries.

    The right side of my injured face was fortunately unharmed, but the wound was to remain. I was supposed to have lost my eyesight as well, so if I could only get away with this level of injury, I''d be happy.

    It''s an admirable victory, even if we had to join up to beat the ck Knight.

    It''s probably too light a price to pay. Standing in front of the mirror in my room, I cover the right side of my injured face with a cloth.

    The eye patch would probably be there forever, but I''ve prepared a cloth to cover my cheek and eyes temporarily.

    However, my eyesight has already been restored, though the injury is still there.

    Standing beside the mirror, I look at my current appearance and give a nod.

    Beside me, who is satisfied, Luxion is not happy. The reason he is unhappy is because I''m keeping the injury. He said he could treat me, without leaving a scar.

    "Are you hiding your face because you''re not confident in your appearance?"

    As soon as hees back, he says something like this¡­ "Boys love their eye patch."

    "I understand it''s to cover your scar. But I can treat it."

    "Unfortunately, a lot of people have seen me with this injury. If I go out without it, they would definitely be suspicious. It''s best to leave it be."

    The reason I''m going through this trouble is because I saw a doctor already. They know about my injury.

    But if I go back saying I''m fully recovered; they''ll be wary of me. That''s what I''m trying to avoid.

    "If you''d been there, this would have never happened in the first ce."

    "That''s a lie. Master would not have been serious against the Principality even with me present. At worst, you would try to cut corners and be beaten to a pulp by the ck Knight."

    I was having a conversation with Luxion for the first time in a while when Marie interrupted.

    "Leon, rice-senpai wants to talk to you about something." "She wants to talk?"

    Before Leon knew it, Luxion had disappeared.

    rice Fia Atley, the countess of a count family whom I had previously rescued at the request of my master, is secretly hiding at my floating ind.

    The same goes for her cronies.

    Before Marie could respond to my question, rice-senpai showed her face from behind.

    "I heard you were injured, so I came to check up on you."

    There was only one male crony waiting behind rice senior. It seems that they came here from the floating ind that I own.

    They probably want to hear the current situation from me directly. "It''s been a while, both of you. How have you been doing?

    On the contrary, they were both dismayed to see me worrying about them. They have the attitude that I should be worried about myself, not them.

    rice-senpai shrugged her shoulders.

    "You''re the one who''s in more trouble than I am. ''I heard you were hurt.

    Besides, didn''t you say that Lord Barcus, who is sheltering us, was also badly injured? Is he okay?"

    My father was badly injured and is still in the hospital in the Capital. Mum went to the Capital to take care of him.

    Thanks to that, the mansion is quiet.

    "He''s fine. But he won''t be able to move for a while, though.

    "So you''re going to substitute for him? Nix-senpai is too busy with the Earl to take care of his family home."

    My dad and I were injured and couldn''t move, so Nix was supposed to move around for the ceremony and all that. I was able to take it easy because of that.

    I admire my brother for sticking up for his brother who was badly injured even when I could have treated my injuries and such right away.

    But I don''t want to stand out from the crowd."It''s the country, you know. I can handle it."

    "Don''t get toofortable. It''s at times like these that house fights ur."

    rice-senpai, a court nobleman living in the royal capital, seems to think that the country and the city are the same. Like it or not, who would want thisnd? The rtives who knew the value of thisnd wouldn''t care.

    "Who would want to manage a fief like this¡ª"

    Just as he thought rice-senpai was being too mindful, his brother Colin came running in.

    "Brother Leon! The wife is here!" "What¡ª?"

    Z and her family came to the territory where his father and mother were absent.

    ¡ó

    I was assigned to answer Z''s call, and Ie to the parlor with Marie.

    The servants working in the mansion were frightened when Z and the others showed up.

    They''re not usually present in the mansion, but they''re high-handed and have a bad reputation.

    Z¡ªthe wife who is my father''s real wife, but she usually lives in the royal capital. She rarely goes out to the countryside, but when shees, she always brings trouble with her.

    She is dressed in a fancy dress, and Merce, who is sitting on the sofa near her, is also very well dressed.

    She was dressed twenty percent more than usual, and her attitude was huge as usual.

    But this time, even Rutart is dressed up, which is a surprise. He looked victorious in front of me.

    "You look hapless."

    "Wounds are a decoration, my brother." "Yeah, you''re all talk."

    Since he was acting sarcastic, I talked back immediately, but Rutart doesn''t lose his bullish attitude, as if he judged my words to be a sore loser.

    Only to have Marie blurted out next to me.

    "You ran away from the battlefield and didn''t even join in, though. For the most part, you''re too much of a coward to even refuse to enter the territory."

    "Ugh!"

    Rutart looked regretful in front of Marie, but he couldn''t say anything back since she''s a noble. Instead he attacks me

    "You let the girls say what they want to say and you shut your mouth?

    It''s hard to think that this is my brother. More importantly, I can''t wait for you to get out of this mansion."

    Marie''s eyes widen in surprise as she looks at me. ¡ªI''m also surprised."¡ªWhat?"

    Rutart told us to leave, and it was Z who aided him.

    "If Barcus is injured and unable to do the work of the head of the family, then we must have a recement. Rutart is the right person to take his ce. In addition, I''ll have him reced, so from today onwards the mansion belongs to Rutart."

    You''ve never looked at us before, and now you suddenly want us to give you our position and territory? To begin with, my father is firmly in the consciousness of his father.

    How is he going to stop them?

    "This is very sudden. Please wait for me to check with my father."

    Basically, ''Go home!''. But on paper, Z and her family are in a higher position (of inheritance) than me. Even if they don''t have my father''s blood in their veins.

    Merce interrupts our conversation.

    "You don''t need to consult him. It''s a royal decision."

    The pce? Why is the royal court going out of its way to make a move for a frontier baronial family?

    Why is the royal pce, which has been treating them like lowlife until now, suddenly intervening?

    Z proudly shows me the letter.

    "It''s a letter from the royal court. ''Rutart is fit to be the new heir of House Bartford. When Rutart bes head of the family, your other brothers and sisters will not be needed.'' Now get out of here."

    I got the impression that they were in a great hurry, even if they were to rece him and Rutart became the head of the family. It''s as if they want to get rid of us quickly.

    Marie stuck to Z.

    "I don''t agree with you! Why does that guy deserve in the first ce?

    You''re not going to be in the field of battle, and you can''t even do the estate work. Are you sure you''re serious about this, Rutart? Didn''t you hate the countryside?"

    Then Rutart reveals his true feelings.

    "The Bartford family can join a prestigious family after defeating the ck Knight. And yet, when the head of the family is an old, country- looking man, doesn''t it make you embarassed? I grew up in the city, and I''m the one who deserves to be the head of the Bartford family today.

    I looked at Rutart, who was smiling darkly and puffing out his chest, and was relieved to know that he didn''t think anything of the territory.

    Also, you take us too lightly.

    This guy is a colossal fool for telling us about their situation.

    However, if they have permission from the royal pce, I can''t do anything about it.

    I couldn''t even think of meddling until now. Merce looks at her manicured nails.

    "That''s what I mean. You guys have to get out of here. It''s Rutart who lives here."

    It was Marie who was offended by this attitude.

    "Why should we give it to you guys! Father-inw is alive and well! You have to get his permission!"

    I noticed the fan on Zora''s mouth. It hid a grin.

    "We don''t need that man''s permission. The royal court''s permission is enough for me."

    "You''ve got to be kidding me!"

    I evacuate the room with a heated Marie.

    "Let''s take a short break. Marie, youe over here." "You can''t do that! Talk back to her!"

    "I don''t care."

    I forced her out of the room.

    ¡ó

    I headed to the other room and found my brother Colin¡ªand my sister Finley¡ªwith rice-senpai.

    Colin looked anxious.

    "rice-san, are they going to kick us out?"

    rice-senpai smiles at Colin, who is worried about being kicked out. Sheforted Colin with a gentle voice.

    "It''s okay. I''m sure Leon-kun will take care of it." "Yes."

    I''m d senior rice and my brother trust me, but I personally can''t do anything about it. Because if the pce gives permission, I can''t go against them myself.

    At best, the only solution I can think of is for everyone to take refuge in the floating ind I own and live as is.

    I don''t want to abandon my hometown, but Rutart was going to take over eventually. He knew that sooner orter; this day woulde.

    "Mrs. rice says this, what do you think Marie?"

    "Why do you call me that? Why do you guys not address me with an honorific, when you call rice ''Miss''? Hey, why? I''m older than you!"

    Finley and Colin looked at Marie, who was unconvinced."Hey."

    "Yeah. Marie is family, you know."

    Seeing Marie''splicated face, rice senior became ufortable or changed the topic.

    "Even so, they''re being quite forceful even though the head of the family hasn''t even died. I suppose they want the achievement of defeating the ck knight, but he himself hasn''t even been to the battlefield, right?

    Rutart refused to go to war. That in itself didn''t make my dad angry because he expected it.

    He didn''t expect him toe out, and he didn''t want him to be deputized in the territory.

    "Rutart refused and didn''t participate, did he?"

    He''s already 20 years old. He himself doesn''t work and lives in the Capital.

    Come to think of it, I''ve never heard of him having a wife.

    What is he doing in the Capital? It''s such a tenuous rtionship that I don''t even know. So we don''t even recognize each other as family, and we weren''t actually family.

    Marie crossed her arms in frustration.

    "Does he think you can take credit by taking away the family name?" rice-senpai answered that question immediately.

    "He''s not wrong. Even if he didn''t participate, it''s true that Leon-kun and the rest of the team got the credit for it. Once he inherits the house with those merits, they have an effect on his reputation."

    rice-senpai predicts the future.

    "I''m concerned that they''re being too forceful. I don''t know, maybe they''ll take Partner from Leon. Or worse, Leon''s floating ind."

    I hear that and anger res up inside of me."What? What''s to be taken away?"

    "That''s why you''re so desirable. That''s how attractive it is, I suppose, that most people want it, even if they have to use forceful means. I''m sure there are a lot of people who would like to have partner in the royal pce, too."

    I really don''t want to get involved with the intentions within the royal pce or anything like that.

    It''s too annoying and irritating.

    Trying to take my utopia away is unforgivable. That ind holds everything I have in it.

    Anyone who takes it away from me will taste my vengeance, no matter what I have to do. The trouble with the current situation is the Z family.

    As I was thinking, a woman entered the room we were discussing, swinging her hair in a vertical roll.

    She opens the door boldly and gives us a smile.

    "How are you, Hero-dono? Oh dear, I never imagined the Lady of Atley would be in a ce like this."

    The one who appeared with a white attitude was Deirdre-senpai, Dorothea''s sister-inw''s sister, Deirdre-senpai. She''s graduated from the school now, but she''s still our senior.

    rice-senpai breaks out in a cold sweat, but Deirdre-senpai immediately turns her gaze towards me. You don''t intend to pursue it?

    "Time is short, so I''ll be quick. The Bartford family has be embroiled in a power struggle within the royal court."

    Marie holds her head and shouts it as it is.

    "It''s the worst! Why would we get involved in this?!" Deirdre-senpaiughed.

    "It''s only natural since you have defeated the ck Knight who has been tormenting the kingdom for years. The Baldfalt family''s military reputation is growing. ¡ªAnd there is a movement in some parts of the royal pce to get such a Baldfalt family on their side."

    Thinking that we wanted to be left alone, rice senior nipped at Deirdre-senpai''s story.

    "Part of it means that it''s not an official decision of the royal pce, right?"

    "You''re right. As to be expected of the Atley daughter."

    As me and Marie both nodded our heads, rice senior exined in detail.

    "Someone gave the order without permission and those people took advantage of it. No, maybe they are being used. If we can target that point, we can drive those people away."

    Marie turned her gaze towards me.

    "Hey, this means that they forged an official text, right? They''re not good?"

    The Z family seems to be crossing a dangerous bridge. Deirdre-senpai praises Marie.

    "It seems like you''ve noticed. Yeah. There are people in the royal pce doing dangerous things. Isn''t it nice to be rted to the Rosede family?"

    That''s a big help! It was worth it to sacrifice Nix! I''m d I yed the role of Cupid, for the love of Nix and sister-inw Dorothea.

    "I can''t thank Nix enough for what he did (marry Dorothea)" "How can you say that when you lied to him?"

    "Call me love cupid. I just brought the two together as a perfect match."

    Finley, who was listening to me, didn''t like it, and Colin is nodding his head.

    Marie mutters, "You''re a lousy cupid," but I ignore her and decide to get my act together.

    "So, how far is the Rosede family willing to help us?"

    Deirdre-senpai smiled.

    "¡ªI''ll be happy to support you if you take over the house." "No, I have a floating ind."

    ''Well just rule them both. Oh, and I got a message from your brother-in-w, Nix. ''Don''t think you''re the only one who can escape.'' he said. Huh.

    Brother-inw Nix is very nice to prepare a territory for his brother."

    I was surprised that Nix was called brother-inw, but more importantly, what''s the point of letting me take over the family home? I was hoping to have a floating ind to chill on!

    Colinpliments me.

    "I don''t understand, but you did it, brother Leon!" This is the worst.

    Fucking Nix, he forced me to manage my parents'' house. That''s a disgusting thing; to sacrifice your family!

    ¡ó

    Back in the parlor, Deirdre-senpai was sitting in front of Z and the others.

    She crossed her legs and showed them a sexy posture.

    If it were only for looks, she would be considered beautiful too.

    "But still, did you think you could get away with such a sloppy operation?"

    Z was shrinking in front of the much younger Deirdre-senpai. She was shrinking in front of the daughter of a Earl House.

    The same was true for Merce, and when it came to Rutart, he was cringing.

    Z managed to let out a protest.

    "This is Baron Bartford''s problem. The Rosede family has no right to interfere."

    "It''s my rtive''s house. It''s a rtive''s house and it would be a disaster if something happened to them, so we obviously offered help. But it''s only those with very strong bloodlines that can help you now, though."

    It was clear Z was annoyed. Merce crowded Z.

    "Mother! My marriage is at stake. If I get this house, I can marry into a court nobleman''s baronial family. Do something."

    I can''t help but almostugh because she''s so goofy.

    Leave it to Deirdre-senpai to handle it, and it will alle full circle. That being said, I''ll get back at Nix someday.

    What the hell was that guy thinking, forcing his cute little brother to manage his family home?

    Deirdre-senpai crossed her arms.

    "You should be relieved. Your viscount family will be disqualified." "What?"

    When Merce shows a surprised face, Deirdre-senpai tells her with a smile.

    "It''s only natural since you prepared the documents under the pretense that it was the decision of the royal pce. I''m sure you''ll be able to find a way to make it work. You should go home with an open mind."

    As Z stands up in frustration, Deirdre-senpai stops Rutart. "Oh, and Rutart-dono"

    "Excuse me?"

    Watching Rutart go easy on Deirdree senior, it makes me sad to see how weak he is to the girls after all that bravado.

    It''s the fate of school boys.

    "I heard that you stood by in your territory and didn''t move to aid the royal capital during the crisis? I can''t help but wonder if you are qualified to

    be a knight. House Rosede questions your qualifications to the royal court."

    "What? What? It''s none of your business! And besides, I just didn''t see the point of participating in a fight like that!"

    "The head of the family, brother-inw Nix, and even Lord Leon went into battle, but you, the heir, are running away? It''s an embarrassment for the warriors. Shame on you."

    Unable to speak back, Rutart leaves the room, almost in tears. Z and Merce wereining to Rutoart about it."Totally, if he had gone to war, this wouldn''t have happened."

    "He''s really useless." I felt a bit of sympathy for Luthier''s position within the family.

    ¡ó

    Rutart walked through the mansion.

    Every now and then, when he found a decorated jar, he would pick it up and throw it.

    "Damn! Damn it! You''re making fun of me!"

    The reason they didn''t go to war was because they didn''t think they could win.

    In fact, there was a rumor among some that the first group would be discarded in order to crush the Duke of Redgrave''s army.

    Hearing that scared him.

    "It''s not my fault. If it were true, I wouldn''t even want to inherit a territory like this. What I deserve is the estate that Nix got. I was supposed to be the earl."

    If only I could be an earl myself¡ªas he was thinking about this, he heard a voice talking.

    He was about to yell in frustration, but he is surprised to see someone in the room and closes his mouth.

    (Why are those guys here!?)

    The ones in the room were Marie and¡ªrice.

    "Senpai, am I being looked down upon? Colin, you too. I''m your sister-in-w."

    "Maybe it''s because you''re family."

    "¡ªColin, you call your sister ''senior'' honestly, don''t you? I can''t get you two to treat me like that?"

    "I''m sorry about that." From their conversation, Rutart realized that Leon knew about this too.

    It was impossible that Marie knew and her fianc¨¦, Leon, did not know. And this is the mansion of the Baron Bartford family.

    It was obvious that Barcus also had a hand in it.

    If I bring this information to the royal capital, I''ll have a chance.

    Rutart was annoyed at Deirdre for saying so many things to him, but he smiled and quietly walked away from the front of the room as it was.

    ¡ó

    Zora and her family had left, and Deirdre-senpai-senpai and rice- senpai were also resting in the room they were prepared.

    Since it was nighttime, me and Marie were talking with Luxion.

    "Aren''t you embarrassed to dump all the work on Deirdre-senpai? If you''re a man, tell her!"

    Marie was crowing at me for not telling her.

    "They wouldn''t be convinced by what I said. Sometimes it doesn''t matter who said it, even if it''s true. Wouldn''t it be more persuasive if it was said by an expert rather than an amateur?"

    "Don''t mess with me! You were never going to get in trouble for that!" Marie seemed to have seen through it.

    It''s true that it''s a hassle, so I threw it all out there, but if the result is the same anyway, it''s bound to be easier.

    Luxion shook his one eye and reproduced his dismay."While I was away, Master was still the same as ever, right?"

    "It would have been less of a hassle if you''d been by my side!"

    "I don''t think you should be driven to that point with Partner and Arroganz. I''m sure Partner''s main gun would have kicked the Principality''s troops down onto the curb."

    He suddenly bes quiet.

    "¡ªMaybe you didn''t want to kill them?"

    I let out a sigh. At first, I thought that even the ck Knight could be left alive. However, I was too naive.

    "I didn''t want to get used to killing students, at least while I was a student."

    "I didn''t want to, and I still regret it."

    If I had been serious from the beginning¡ªbut if I had, I would have been more notorious and more people would have died.

    "The world doesn''t work the way you want it to, does it? More importantly, what''s going on with you? Can you stay for a while?"

    When I asked Luxion about his future ns, the answer that came back was as expected.

    "I was called out on short notice, so I just came back in a hurry. I have a lot of ns for the future."

    "Is that going to take much longer? I have to ask you something." "What is it?"

    I can''t help but wonder about that grudge spirit that shouted my ancestor''s name.

    "It''s about the saint''s ne. Your remember the grudge spirit that haunted that one? I need to talk to it."

    "¡ªHe''s quiet these days, but if Masteres in front of it, there''s a good chance he''ll go wild. Besides, weren''t you scared?"

    "Don''t say I''m scared of it! I''m only scared of ghosts!"

    Marie asked me what I was going to do when I said I had something to do with the grudge.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "A lot of things. I''m too far removed from that otome game than I thought I would be. There''s something disgusting about it, so I''ve decided to give it a good look."

    Marie seemed anxious about that, too.

    "That''s right. And since we saved the Redgrave family by mistake, we''ve robbed Olivia and His Highness Julius and the others of their show.

    But since thess boss didn''t appear, it''s fine, right?"

    I understand that¡ªbut I''m still getting a bad feeling about this. I don''t like my premonitions because they''re usually true.

    "If it''s nothing, then it''s fine. Luxion let me talk to him at once." "I have a schedule to keep, so please hurry."

    Luxion who wanted to leave at once was rushing Marie and me.

    ¡ó

    After winning the war, the Royal Pce of the Holfort Kingdom was busy dealing with the post-war situation.

    The civil servants were working hurriedly and usually stayed up all night.

    Angelica hurriedly visited Queen Mylene and ryed the information she extracted from Hertrude.

    "Lady Mylene, I can''t just stand by and watch. That woman is also connected to this Marquis of Frampton. She''s dangerous!"

    The presence of Olivia, who controlled Julius and other noblemen behind the scenes, was terrifying to Angelica. It seemed as if the Kingdom was crumbling from the inside.

    After hearing about the Marquis'' case from Angelica, Mylene let out a small sigh.

    Then, she responds in a surprising way.

    "Angelica, I''m sorry, but Hertrudes'' testimony isn''t enough to get rid of the Marquis."

    "Then why don''t we interrogate the people in charge? If we don''t act quickly, His Highness Julius will be in danger. He was seduced by that woman into joining the army! Lady Mylene, can''t you get rid of just her?"

    It was partly due to intuition that Angelica saw Olivia as dangerous.

    That''s no good. I didn''t notice it before, but that woman can''t be kept at His Highness''s side.

    If she was just a love interest, she wouldn''t have gone this far. Although dissatisfied, she would ept her as a mistress.

    But the current Olivia is no good.

    Even from Angelica''s view, her influence increased massively. She went from amoner to a woman who could change the country.

    "rice has been trapped by that one too. Many of the opposing students in the school have been removed, and now no one will stand against her."

    In front of Angelica, who is making a desperate plea, Mylene looks a little sad. She seems to be wondering whether to tell her right here. As if she made up her mind, she grabbed Angelica''s shoulders.

    "Angelica, listen to me carefully." "Lady Mylene."

    Angelica was silenced by Mylene''s unusual forcefulness. Mylene closes her eye in frustration.

    "The Royal Pce has officialy decided to end your engagement with Julius."

    "¡ªit''s true? So they weren''t just talks about ending them, you actually did?"

    She didn''t want to believe her. Mylene nodded quietly."I''m sorry."

    She felt her excitement cool down quickly. Angelica felt the strength in both her legs leave. Mylene hugs and supports her as she copses. Angelica asks Mylene in a shaky voice.

    "Why? I have worked so hard for His Highness. I''ve worked hard every day to make myself a worthy wife. Have I done something wrong? Lady Mylene, please tell me. I will fix it right away. So please wait for me before breaking the engagement."

    Angelica was in tears.

    Most of her life was her being groomed into a queen worthy of Julius. If he discarded her, what would be left of her?

    To Angelica, Julius was everything.

    "You''ve done very well. I would have liked to call you my daughter-in-w. But there are things in this world we cannot control."

    "Because I nagged His Highness? Did His Highnessin about me?"

    She thought she had been thinking of Julius in the academy and advising him. Angelica was aware that she had been forceful.

    But it was necessary for Julius'' sake. Someone had to say it, and she thought she had been trying to be that devil.

    Since Mylene didn''t answer, Julius must have said something to her as well.

    However, after a short pause, Mylene told her the truth.

    The real reason why she broke off the engagement, even if she had to fight with the Redgrave dukes.

    "I have noints with Angelica. She has done well so far. But you see¡ªeven I can''t help it. A girl named Olivia has been admitted to the temple as a saint."

    "Oh, it''s a lie. Why is she a saint?"

    A saint¡ªthat''s the bloodline of the sixth adventurer involved in the founding of the Holfort Kingdom.

    It is said that because of her, the Holfort Kingdom was born, and its power is still considered sacred today.

    She is a miracle-working saint who can ovee any difficult adventure with her help.

    No other being is more worthy of the worship of adventurers.

    As a royalty, the lineage of the five adventurers remained in the family, but only the saint was lost.

    It ismonly reported that after the founding of the country, she was deemed to havepleted her role and set out on another adventure.

    And now, a woman with the power to be a saint was even chosen to be a saint from time to time.

    Ever since the saint''s ne and bracelet were taken away from the temple decades ago, the position of saint has been absent.

    Without the three tools, the power of a saint cannot be recreated.

    Until now, surrogates who could not replicate the power of a saint had always called themselves saints, but Olivia was different.

    But Olivia was different.

    "Reports from the temple say that she has recreated her power even without the saint''s tools. I have received reports that she is a true saint, a true saint who is on par with the First Lady."

    Not a fake, but the real thing.

    What this means is that she is worth a lot more than Angelica."Impossible. That one''s a saint or something! He''s the only one who¡ª" Mylene slowly pulls away, embracing a confused Angelica.

    "You know how big of a deal saints are in this country, don''t you?" "No, no. Lady Milene, I don''t!"

    Milene turned away as Angier squirmed and looked at her.

    "There''s a move to promote Saint Olivia as Julius'' fianc¨¦e. It''s the Marquis of Frampton who''s behind it. And many of the nobles have epted this as a celebration. There is nothing I can do to change this trend."

    Angelica crumbled to the spot and cried out loud as she could.

    ¡ó

    The royal capital of the Holfort Kingdom.

    A special stage had been prepared in the square, and knights in armor were on alert for their surroundings.

    A ceremony with a number of monstrous guards was prepared for one girl to assume the position of a saint after many years of absence.

    Backstage, Julius hugged Olivia and put his hands around her waist."You look beautiful, Olivia"

    "I''m d, Julius."

    Olivia epted Julius'' words with a smile, but inside she had a dark smile on her face.

    I''ve finally made it here. When I am resurrected as a saint¡ªI will do everything possible to destroy this country.

    A white dress was prepared for Olivia.

    She holds the saint''s staff given to her by the temple and wears a bracelet on her left hand.

    Julius is disappointed to see the replica prepared in ce of the saint''s ne.

    "I''m sorry that I could only prepare a fake for your fine day. I''ve been looking for it for so long that I couldn''t find it. Everyone else looked for it too, but we couldn''t even get a clue."

    Olivia shook her head.

    "It''s fine. I''m just happy to be able to wear such a beautiful dress.

    Besides, the wand and bangles are too expensive for me, and I think I''d be put off by them."

    Julius was thrilled with Olivia for saying something so ''new''. It was a statement that was based on Julius''s inner feelings of being fed up with the noblewomen dressing up.

    Well, I don''t really need a wand or an arm band, though. They''re just vessels inhabiting my power. ¡ªI wonder if the part of me that dwells in the cor is doing well?

    He was concerned about the saint''s ne, which had never been returned to them.

    If she made it known in a big way that he was here, he would surelye running to it.

    At that time, I''ll change my mind about taking it back in.

    "I''d better get going. I''ll go say hi to everyone."

    "Oh, let the people of the Capital see what a saint looks like." When Olivia pulled away from Julius, she walked up to the stage. Olivia sps her hands together as she walks up the stairs.

    We''re almost there, Lea. I''m going to get my revenge on those guys.

    Tens of thousands of spectators cheered at Olivia''s arrival as she took the stage. The cracking cheers shook the atmosphere.

    As Olivia slowly spread her arms out, the crowd naturally grew quiet. And then Olivia''s voice reaches all the spectators.

    It wasn''t a loud voice, but it was a voice that reached the hearts of all those around her.

    "I am Olivia¡ªI am Saint Olivia. People of the Kingdom of Holfort, the saint has returned to thisnd once again."

    The crowd was mesmerized by the smiling Olivia.

    Some of them were moved to tears, as if they had seen a goddess.

    "I have only one wish, and that is to bring true peace to thend. It is to bring true peace to thisnd. Please,dies and gentlemen¡ªplease give me strength."

    If she sped her hands and showed a gesture of prayer to the heavens, the spectators, let alone the knights and nobles who were on guard, would admire her appearance.

    Olivia¡ªthe saint in Olivia stretched out her hands to the heavens.

    Yes, I have only one wish. Only to get thisnd back into the hands of those who should be. I will use you all up for that.

    Olivia''s eyes, looking up at the sky, were severely muddy, even though she was looking at the blue sky.

 Volume 7, Prologue

    <h4>Volume 7, Prologue</h4>

    I was at the market early in the morning on my day off.

    The open space where the morning market is held is lined with stalls, full of energy that makes you forget the cold of the morning.

    The za was surrounded by buildings, and the morning sun shone through the gaps, making the scene look a little more fantasy.

    Cheerful shopkeepers were shouting and promoting their products.

    Shoppers are also bargaining aggressively, and their voices are getting louder as they exchange bargains despite the noise around them.

    ¡°They are so lively in the morning¡±

    As I muttered this, my eyes still not fully open, my partner Luxion, who was floating by my side, gave me a small talk.

    [Master looks sleepy in the morning. It¡¯s because you¡¯ve been staying upte. Please try to live a healthier life.]

    ¡°I¡¯m nocturnal.¡±

    As usual, I gave him an unmotivated excuse in return.

    I¡¯m not a nocturnal person. I just wanted to retort to his sarcastic and righteous argument.

    Luxion seemed to understand that as well.

    [Your excuses are getting messy.]

    ¡°Give me a break, I¡¯m sleepy. I was woken up on my long-awaited holiday. I was asked to shop, there is no way my tension will go up.¡±

    The reason I¡¯m here at the morning market is because Marie woke me up.

    In the morning, ¡°I¡¯m busy, so aniki has to carry the stuff.¡± ¡ªshe said, like that.

    It makes me feel pathetic for being used by my little sister from a previous life. Normally, I would have strongly rejected it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Leon. It¡¯s hard for me to carry the groceries alone.¡±

    ¨D¨D Noelle was in charge of the shopping this time.

    She has long hair with a little habit is made into a side ponytail on the right side of the head. Her hair was blonde at the roots and pink towards the tip, a gradation of color that made her stand out from the others.

    Noelle is dressed in in clothes, but her hair is set early in the morning and she wears a thinyer of makeup.

    Because it was early in the morning, she stood out a bit among the many people who didn¡¯t care about their appearance. The men, in particr, were looking at her.

    Noelle looks very enthusiastic, but her expression is not good.

    Noelle¡¯s has apologetic look, I apologizes for my grumble.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to me Noelle. It¡¯s Marie¡¯s fault.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re the one who¡¯s helping me.¡±

    My role is to carry Noelle¡¯s stuff.

    Noelle is a little depressed, as if she thought she was bothering me.

    When the awkward air begins to drift between us, the disappointed Luxion mes me.

    [You¡¯re as insensitive as ever?]

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    [Oya, you¡¯re angry because I¡¯ve hit the nail on the head, aren¡¯t you? In the first ce, it was the Master¡¯s fault for not thinking thatining would put a damper on Noelle¡¯s happy mood.]

    Luxion¡¯s words irritated me.

    ¡°You should be a little nicer to your Master. Don¡¯t you think I¡¯d be hurt by your words?¡±

    [You want me to be nice to a Master who hurts others? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.]

    Do you really hate me that much? And when have I ever hurt anyone else!

    ¡°I¡¯m a peace-loving man whose motto is be kind to myself and others.¡±

    [Can you be stricter on yourself there? Besides, it¡¯s contradictory for a person whose motto is to be kind to others to run amok in the Commonwealth.]

    ¡°It¡¯s safe because it¡¯s not a contradiction in my mind.¡±

    [Master¡¯s standards are far too lenient for yourself. It¡¯s been almost a year since you came to study in Arzel Commonwealth, and do you remember how many times you¡¯ve gone on a rampage during that time?]

    I¡¯ve certainly run amok a few times in Commonwealth.

    The first time I went rampage was when I took on Pierre of the Feivel House. The Einhorn, controlled by Luxion, went on a rampage against the Commonwealth, which was undefeated in defensive battle, ending their undefeated myth.

    Next was I dealt with the Loic of Barielle House.

    I took on Yandere Loic, who was Noelle¡¯s stalker, and intrude in his wedding to steal his bride.

    I went on a rampage by using Arroganz, and then, broke the Commonwealth¡¯s pride.

    The third one is a fight with Serge, who wants to sacrifice Louise-san.

    I beat him up too.

    ¨D¨DHuh? I¡¯ve fought three times in one year?

    ¡°Three times. See, I haven¡¯t forgotten.¡±

    [I¡¯m d you remembered. And while you remember, do you think it¡¯s contradictory for you to say that you¡¯re peace-loving man?]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t initiate it. I¡¯m always the one being picked on.¡±

    [Didn¡¯t you encouraging people to initiate it? If the Commonwealth made a mistake, it was in epting Master as a foreign student.]

    ¡°You went rampage too, right! You make it sound like I¡¯m the only one responsible, but you¡¯re also guilty!¡±

    [Unfortunately, I¡¯m not human. And since it is master who has the authority to give orders, it is the master who is responsible.]

    Since I was the one who gave the order, I couldn¡¯t say anything back, so I closed my mouth and clenched my teeth in frustration ¡°Gununu¡°.

    Then Noelle, who had been listening to our casual conversation ¨D smiled. She seemed to be enjoying our conversation.

    ¡°You two really get along, don¡¯t you?¡±

    After Noelle said that, my voice and Luxion¡¯s ovep.

    ¡°Ha~a? Where?¡±

    [Noelle, situational awareness should be done correctly.]

    It¡¯s just that the timing of our voice was too close together, when we closed our mouth, Noelle gave me a big smile.

    Noelle looks radiant in the morning sun.

    ¡°You say a lot of things, but you two are good friends.¡±

    ¡°Eh ~¡±

    When I let out an unconvincing voice, Luxion was like electrocuted. He let out voice ¡°Ouch¡± as if get painful stimtion from an electrotherapy machine.

    Noelle took out a note from her pocket and checked the ingredients she would buy at the morning market.

    ¡°Leon looks sleepy too, so let¡¯s finish shopping quickly.¡±

    When Noelle said that, Luxion said in a voice that only I could hear.

    [¨D¨DMaster, are you not responding to Noelle¡¯s feelings?]

    If I am such a dexterous person, I wouldn¡¯t be in a situation like this.

    Besides.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Ange and Livia tell you to keep an eye on my affairs? And now you want me to put my hands on Noelle?¡±

    I answered in a whisper, and Luxion spoke to me in a more serious voice than before.

    [I¡¯m not going to report Noelle as cheating. If Master decides, Noelle wille to the Kingdom of Horfalt. Isn¡¯t that good enough]

    You¡¯re ignoring my feelings, though.

    Noelle was walking a little ahead of me, looking at the stalls. She seemed to be used to the morning market, as she was looking for the ingredients she wanted to buy.

    She has cheerful personality and she is a pleasant girl and fun to hang out with.

    I don¡¯t think Ange and Livia are boring, but she certainly has a certain charm that the two of them don¡¯t have.

    She is cute and most importantly, she¡¯s strong.

    I¡¯d like her to be happy but¨DI wonder if it¡¯s okay for me to make her happy.

    I want her to find a more wonderful partner, not a guy like me.

    ¡°You and Marie both think too highly of me.¡±

    I had noticed that Marie had sent Noelle and I off to the morning market to buy some groceries so that she could leave us alone.

    I¡¯m sure she¡¯s thinking about Noelle in her own way, but it¡¯s unnecessary meddling.

    [I don¡¯t think you highly or lowly. I¡¯m evaluating that the Master is just a coward.]

    ¡°I¡¯m not a coward.¡±

    When I denied Luxion¡¯s lousyment, he just went on as if he had been waiting for me to say that.

    [Oya? Did you forget when you got engaged to Angelica and Olivia? Because Master is a coward, two of them confessed to you personally.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. It¡¯s not fair.¡±

    I knew I would lose if I continued to argue with him, so I broke off the conversation.

    Noelle stopped in front of a stall to see if she had found the food she wanted and began to negotiate.

    When she asked for a discount because she was buying in bulk, the owner, an elderly man, gave her a discount with a smile on his face.

    If I had asked him, he would definitely refuse.

    A cute girl is good, right.

    As I was thinking this, a middle-aged woman with dignity was bargaining at another stall nearby.

    When I look over there, I see a woman overpowering the shopkeeper.

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this eaten by bugs. Are you going to sell this one at the same price as others? No one like this will buy it.¡±

    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s only the surface that¡¯s being eaten.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy one of them for that price, but you have to give me the one that¡¯s been eaten. You don¡¯t want it to be left unsold, do you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a problem, but¡­ I-I understand.¡±

    ¡°If so, this and this are also okay, right.¡±

    ¡°Eh!?¡±

    When the woman chose a vegetable that had also been eaten by insects, she said that it should be a bonus.

    In the end, the shopkeeper relented because it was better than leaving them unsold, and the woman bought several vegetables at one price.

    It doesn¡¯t seem to matter if she¡¯s cute or not.

    ¡°Women are strong, aren¡¯t they ¡°

    Noelle is cute, though.

    As I admiringly watched the woman¡¯s back, a suspicious-looking stall came into view. The stall was set up in a gap between the buildings and was selling some kind of medicine.

    A few customers were looking at the medicines and buying them, and they looked like adventurers.

    ¡°Adventurers of the Commonwealth?¡±

    Since arriving in Alzer Commonwealth, the only adventurer I¡¯ve seen is Serge. Unlike Horfalt Kingdom, adventurers have a low social status in this country.

    The customers finished their shopping and left.

    I was curious to see what was going on, but the owner of the stall was wearing a hood so deep that it was hard to see his face.

    ¡°Wee¡±

    He calls out to me, but his attitude is blunt.

    The shopkeeper¡¯s attitude is bad, perhaps because he saw me and thought I am just looking at goods.

    The store was opened with clothid on the ground and products lined up on it.

    I bend down and pick up one of the items.

    ¡°Is this a medicine?¡±

    I asked, the shop owner began to exin roughly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a body-strengthening drug, though I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for a customer like you.¡±

    Luxion begins to exin in a voice that only I can hear.

    [This is the body enhancement potion that Serge was using. This seems to be a degraded version that is less effective than the one Serge used.]

    Body Strengthening Drugs ¡ª It¡¯s an item that you can find in a lot of games. It can be used to temporarily increase a status, or attack power. It exerts such an effect.

    Liquids in primary colors such as red and blue are arranged in small ss bottles.

    ¡°He~e, that sounds interesting. Give me one of every kind.¡±

    The owner was a little confused when I told him I was going to buy it. However, once he knew I was going to buy it, his attitude softened.

    ¡°Be careful. Also, after using it once, please wait at least 6 hours before using it again. Continuous use will damage your body.¡±

    I felt like nodding my head as I handed over the money, listening to the owner¡¯s exnation as he packed the small bottles into a small wooden box.

    There were precautions as if it was real medicine. I felt ufortable, because, in games, I often use several at once.

    When I received the wooden box and stood up, I left the store and talked to Luxion.

    ¡°It¡¯s like a real drug.¡±

    When I say that with augh, Luxion makes a dumbfounded sound.

    [It¡¯s not like a drug. It¡¯s the drug itself.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    [It seems that the master is misunderstood. It¡¯s also a problem that you have game knowledge.]

    While saying Yare Yare, Luxion warned me.

    [To exin it in simple terms for Master, it¡¯s called doping. Do you think that a highly effective drug can have no negative effects on people?]

    A drug that enhances physical abilities, albeit temporarily, has no downside ¨D¨D a story like that seems to be the only in game.

    In other words, you¡¯re saying that game characters who keep using body strengthening drugs ¨D are drugged?

    ¡°I¡¯ve just bought this, and now I can¡¯t use it? Well, this will be a preparation in case of an emergency.¡±

    I had seen Serge use it before, and I wanted to have it as one of my trump cards.

    ¡°By the way, that Serge guy used it a lot. I wonder if a good quality drug has fewer disadvantages?¡±

    I fought Serge when I was rescuing Louise-san, and he used body strengthening drugs twice in a short time.

    When I thought expensive drugs would no problem, Luxion denied it.

    [It is possible that there are few demerits, but it is hard to believe that Serge himself is using it in ordance with the dosage.]

    Indeed. Serge looked rough from the outside, and his words and actions were just the same.

    He didn¡¯t seem to be following the instructions for using the drug.

    When I thought it ¨D¨D he has been pushing himself too hard to fight me?

    No, was it actually a drug with few effects and few disadvantages?

    ¡°Ah, I understand. I could¡¯ve sunk him with a single punch to the face, and I¡¯m guessing the body strengthening drugs weren¡¯t effective enough.¡±

    When Luxion heard my idea, he agreed with me. He does, though.

    [That¡¯s very likely. If even a master can defeat him, then Serge¡¯s ability must be lower than expected.]

    ¡°¨D¨D You said so, but isn¡¯t my evaluation strangely low?¡±

    [It¡¯s a normal thing to do. However¨D¨D]

    However, Luxion denied the use of body-strengthening drugs.

    [Why don¡¯t you train yourself before resorting to drugs? Also, I don¡¯t rmend the use of inferior products. I suggest that you discard it, as it may be ipatible with the Master¡¯s constitution.]

    ¡°My constitution? Oh, perhaps you could make an effective body-strengthening drug?¡±

    [ ¨D¨D It is possible to formte, but are you really going to use it?]

    ¡°Trump cards are important, right?¡±

    I decided to have Luxion analyze the medicines I had obtained and create a body-enhancing drug that would suit my constitution.

    When I came back with a small wooden box under my arm, I saw Noelle with a tea paper bag full of food, waving his left hand in the air.

    ¡°Leon, where have you been?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve found something interesting. Instead, I¡¯ll get your stuff.¡±

    I took the groceries from Noelle, held it in one hand, and we started walking together.

    The two of us walk side by side amidst the noise around us.

    Noelle looked a little embarrassed as she spoke to me.

    The topic is about changes in the mansion.

    ¡°Even so, the mansion is noisier than before. Julius and others are too free.¡±

    Noelle smiles in annoyance and agrees vehemently.

    ¡°Julius has be a skewer idiot, and Jilk¡¯s antique collection has gotten worse. They brought so much garbage that one corner of the house became like a trash dump. Brad ¨D Yeah, I think he is less damaging? ¡°

    Five idiots became the topics.

    They are princes who have be even worse sinceing to this Arzel Commonwealth.

    Noelle gives me a frown look.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say it because I¡¯m indebted to them, but maybe I want you to do something about Greg-san and Chris-san. I¡¯m a little troubled because they walk around the mansion almost half-naked.¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯re real idiots.¡±

    Noelle looked tired as she was shown the half-naked body of a man she didn¡¯t want to see.

    Greg had taken up muscle training and often walked around the mansion with his upper body naked.

    He usually wears a tank top, but after a workout, he took off it ¨D and started walking around to show off his pumped up muscles.

    I kicked him from behind a few times, but he wouldn¡¯t change his ways.

    He said, ¡°I want Marie to see the muscles I¡¯ve been working on.¡± ¨D The worst part is that Marie is a little bit happy about it.

    ¡®Mou~ Put some clothes on already!¡¯ she said, admiring Greg¡¯s muscles!

    They are useless.

    Thest one is Chris, who also walks around the house ¨D in a half-naked loincloth.

    Even though he wears a happi coat as his top, he never wears anything but his underwear on the bottom.

    He never misses cleaning and preparing the bath every day as if he is obsessed with something. Now he is working hard. However, plus-minus zero for walking around half-naked!

    Except for Jilk, there is no actual harm so I can¡¯t say anything about the situation.

    That Jilk is harmless as far as the eye can see.

    His everyday life is great enough to serve as a model, but it¡¯s a big negative because he was more susceptible to scams or to engage in fraudulent activities.

    In other words, Jilk is garbage.

    The others are harmless but subtle.

    Who would have thought this would happen?

    Untilst year, they were supposed to be the nobles that everyone admired, but their end was so bad that it was not even funny.

    Thinking that she is taking care of such five idiots, I can be kind to Marie.

    My little sister of a previous life who seduced the five idiots to be able to live high on the hog by relying on the strategy information from that otome game, Marie ¨D¨D now taking care of the five idiots who have be such problematic children.

    Because all five of them are idiots, Marie has a hard time taking care of them.

    The misfortune of others is the taste of honey! I can be kind to Marie too.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like them, why did you force yourself to make them wear clothes?¡±

    I suggest that Greg and Chris put some clothes on. ¨D¨D Why am I suggesting them to wear clothes?

    Originally, I hate them, even though they were enemies.

    Noelle shook her head in confusion at my suggestion.

    ¡°Can we stop on that?¡±

    The season is still winter.

    And yet, I didn¡¯t expect to be bothered by a bunch of idiots half-naked in a mansion.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, I¡¯d like to get some fruit, I didn¡¯t see it in the note. Leon, do you mind if I just check one more ce?¡±

    ¡°Luggage carrier will silently obey.¡±

    That¡¯s what it¡¯s like to be a boy in the Kingdom of Horfalt. However, It¡¯s different in the Commonwealth, apparently.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll carry it. I don¡¯t feel like letting Leon be the only one to carry the stuff.¡±

    Hearing Noelle¡¯s heartwarming statement, I got teary-eyed.

    Ah~, the Commonwealth is wonderful! Seeing my tears of emotion, Noelle gave me aplicated look on her face.

    ¡± ¨D Sometimes I think about it, how can you be moved by something so ordinary?¡±

    ¡°Because I feel Noelle¡¯s normal, saintlypassion.¡±

    How many times have we had this conversation? Noelle asked, ¡°Are the women of the kingdom that bad? Those two were good people, though?¡± I nodded my head.

    The number of native women Noelle has met is too small to count.

    Besides, Ange and Livia are the rare exceptions among girls in the Academy of Horfalt Kingdom.

    Girls of the Kingdom ¨D¨D Don¡¯tpare them to the few girls from the Baroness to the Counts.

    ¡°It¡¯s some of the girls that are bad. No, it was, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°It was? Why is it in the past tense?¡±

    ¡°Because it was improved before I came here to study abroad.¡±

    ¡°Improved?¡±

    Due to a variety of reasons, the school is now correcting its extreme matriarchy ¨D¨D there should be.

    Before I saw the results, I went to study in the Arzel Commonwealth, so what¡¯s happening now? I don¡¯t even know.

    Noelle looks for a stall that sells fruit, finds it, and moves on. The fruits are all fresh, but Noelle wants to choose the best of them.

    House Lespinasse - Arge noble family that used to be a part of Arzel Commonwealth when it was one of the seven great noble houses.

    Noelle, a survivor of the Lespinasse House, is actually a princess, and watching herpare the fruits at the morning market gives me a strange feeling.

    ¡°Uncle, give me this and this!¡±

    Noelle selects the fruit he wants to buy, and the shopkeeper packs it into a bag.

    The shopkeeper nced at me behind Noelle and put one of the fruits in a bag without asking for it.

    ¡°This is service for the two of you who seem to get along so well. Brother, you got a nice girl. I envy you.¡±

    Noelle and I looked at each other and smiled in trouble as the shopkeeper opened his big mouth andugh at us.

    It was a kind gesture from the shopkeeper. It¡¯s a good thing that the shopkeeper was so kind as to offer us a favor, and we didn¡¯t want to spoil it by denying it.

    We grabbed our bags and walked towards the mansion.

    Is the time around 9 o¡¯clock? It seemed that a lot of time had passed while I was looking around. I hadn¡¯t even had breakfast, so I was starving.

    However, Noelle seems to be more than that. She is concerned about what the shopkeeper said.

    Her cheeks turned slightly red, as if embarrassed ¨D and she began to speak quickly.

    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t expect to be seen as lovers. Ahaha ¨D¨D D-Did it annoy you?¡±

    It¡¯s not annoying. It¡¯s just that Noelle is probably more annoyed than I am.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. But I¡¯m sure Noelle was more annoyed than me?¡±

    ¡°Eh? T-That¡¯s not true!¡±

    I look at Noelle, who strongly denies it, and think.

    It must be some kind of mistake for such a nice girl to fall in love with a guy like me.

    The day wille when Noelle will wake up and find a suitable partner.

    That¡¯s what I believe.

    At least, I¡¯m not worthy of Noelle.

    Ange and Livia? Those two are strange and wonderful women who willingly chose a man like me.

    ¨D¨D What would have happened if I had met Noelle first?

    As we walk around the city, I see coffee shops with open terraces in the morning.

    Since it was a holiday, I can see couples in the morning.

    The lovers looked happy, as if they were nning where to go for fun. The lone man near them looked ufortable, which made me feel closer to him.

    ¡°It looks like they¡¯re having a lot of fun this early in the morning.¡±

    When I said that, Noelle stopped and tried to say something ¨D¨D but she closed her mouth.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing! Let¡¯s go back quickly. Marie-chan and the others are waiting for us.¡±

    Noelle is about to leave, so now I look at the caf¨¦.

    ¡°You can keep them waiting. Let¡¯s eat first. I¡¯ll brag to Marie when I get home.¡±

    If I told her I had eaten out on my way home from the morning market, she would probably envy me to the point of gnashing her teeth. ¨D¨D Is Marie, who is envious of this degree, really happy now?

    She used to say things like, ¡°I don¡¯t want to cook for myself, so I¡¯m going to eat out.¡±

    I don¡¯t understand the world.

    I took Noelle¡¯s hand and invited her to the caf¨¦, told the waiter we were alone, and sat down. As the waitress brought us our menus, Noelle put down her luggage and started talking to me.

    The reason she seemed restless was probably because there were so many couples around.

    ¡°Ahahaha, somehow, sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m hungry too. I think I¡¯ll have a big meal.¡±

    ¡°If you eat so much, you can¡¯t get breakfast.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m growing up, so I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Young is amazing. I¡¯m hungry no matter how much I eat.

    As I look at the menu, Luxion says in a voice only I can hear.

    [It¡¯s hard to judge because you¡¯re a coward but bold. Well, even if you could create this situation, you would still be a coward because you wouldn¡¯t make a move in the end.]

    ¨D¨DThis guy is really noisy.

    I looked at Noelle and saw that she was looking at the menu and wondering, ¡°Hmmm, maybe this? But I don¡¯t want to eat too much.¡± It was cute to see her earnestly looking at the menu and worrying.

    When she raised her face from the menu, she saw my face.

    When I saw her face turn red, I felt sad why I couldn¡¯t do this in my previous life. No, I¡¯m happy now, so I¡¯m notining.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look because it¡¯s embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°Eh, embarrassed about what?¡±

    ¡°¡ªabout me who was seriously thinking what to eat.¡±

    Noelle shyly said that, and Iughed.

    ¡°Why are youughing!?¡±

    ¡°No, it was cute. Now, shall we order.¡±

    Noelle looked sullen, but her voice sounded happy.

    ¡°Leon is really mean, and you¡¯re more womanizer than you said.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a good young man who iste bloomer and kind.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Isn¡¯t it a lie? You were the worst when you deceived Louise.¡±

    Although she called me the worst, Noelle didn¡¯t me me any more than she already did.

    ¡°To be honest, it was hard for me, telling lies for people. Comfort me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so refreshing to see you open up. ¨D¨D Well, I don¡¯t mind, though.¡±

    I raised my hand and called for a waiter. Then, a lone male customer in the caf¨¦ red at me and clicked his tongue. Apparently, it was only me who felt close to him.

    He seems to think we¡¯re lovers.

    Luxion mutters.

    [You seem to be having a lot of fun. ¨D¨D May I count this as an affair?]

    I¡¯ll ask you to stop. Didn¡¯t I just have breakfast with my close friend.

 Volume 7, 01 â€“ Parent and Child, Part 1-2

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 01 - Parent and Child, Part 1-2</h4>

    Part 1

    The Academy of the Arzel Commonwealth was in the third semester.

    It¡¯s still cold season and it¡¯s dim after school.

    When the ss is over, the students leave the ssroom and go home because there are no club activities. All that remains are faculty members and some students.

    Meanwhile, Ie with Marie to a room that looks like the student guidance room of the academy.

    It was Clement-sensei who was waiting for us there.

    His body is huge, a nice guy with a full body of muscle armor! Instead, it was a teacher wearing a tight-fitting shirt with an older sister¡¯s tone.

    He has a thick beard, and after shaving, it looks blue.

    He is a kind teacher, despite his appearance.

    ¡°Chi ~ suu. That? Only Clement-sensei?¡±

    Marie greeted Clement-sensei without fear and entered the room, where she was displeased to find that the person she wanted was not there.

    Clement-sensei was sitting in his chair with his thick arms crossed.

    ¡°Lelia-sama is not here yet.¡±

    A strict teacher with older sister tone is a very strong character.

    Marie and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and sat down in the chairs provided.

    I decided to talk to Clement-sensei to kill time.

    ¡°More than that, I didn¡¯t know that Clement-sensei was a knight of the Lespinasse House.¡±

    When I broach the subject, Clement-sensei gives me a nostalgic look.

    ¡°Noelle-sama didn¡¯t remember either. I¡¯m a little disappointed, but two of them were five years old when we separated. It can¡¯t be helped.¡±

    Marie was slumped against the desk.

    ¡°It¡¯s not surprising that she remembers him, since he¡¯s such a strong character. So, what will Clement-sensei do from now on?¡±

    Clement-sensei assured me without any trouble.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stay by Lelia-sama¡¯s side and protect her. Noelle-sama ¨D¨D will be safe with Leon-kun, right? After all, you are the guardian of the holy tree sapling.¡±

    Guardian ¨D¨D It is the title of a person who has the highest level of blessings granted by the Holy Tree.

    It is given to those whom the Holy Tree deems worthy to protect itself.

    The sacred tree sapling that I got, I don¡¯t know what it was thinking but it chose me.

    Originally, one of the targets of the second game was supposed to be chosen as a guardian ¨D¨D it was supposed to be tied to Noelle.

    Thanks to that, the n keeps going messed up.

    I looked at the clock in the room and saw that it was past the promised time.

    Originally, I was here to discuss the future with Lelia Beltre ¨D¨D No, now it¡¯s [Lelia Zel Lespinasse].

    I was supposed to talk to a girl from my hometown who had been reincarnated in the Commonwealth.

    ¡°Is Leliate?¡±

    When I show my restlessness, Clement-sensei apologizes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Lelia-sama is also busy. The Commonwealth is busy and she has been recognized as the bereaved child of the Lespinasse House. It¡¯s hard enough to make time to talk to you both like this.¡±

    Reincarnated as Noelle¡¯s twin sister, Lelia was a survivor of the former great noble ¨D Lespinasse House.

    Now that it¡¯s known, she¡¯s busy.

    Marie is irritated.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy too! I want to prepare dinner! If I don¡¯t, Julius will prepare skewers again on his own. We had skewersst time, and I¡¯m getting tired of them!¡±

    Whenever there is an opening, Julius prepares skewers for dinner.

    Not just once or twice.

    He had be such a picky eater that he wanted to eat skewers every day, and Marie and I were both troubled.

    He prepares the meals and even cleans up.

    Rather, if I touch Julius¡¯s tool without permission, he will be upset.

    Compared to before, when he didn¡¯t do any housework, he has grown up a lot.

    But ¨D¨D I don¡¯t want skewers every day.

    Clement-sensei is confused, but apologizes to Marie.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Recently, Lately, Emile-kun has been running errands, and Lelia-sama has been going out more often.¡±

    When Emile¡¯s name was mentioned, Marie let out a sigh.

    ¡°Emile again? No, he¡¯s her fianc¨¦, so I can¡¯t help it ~¡±

    Emile, [Emile Laz Pleven] is Lelia¡¯s fianc¨¦e. And he was one of the targets of the second game, and even if you failed to capture a target, if you choose Emile, you can still see the ending without game over.

    For this reason, Emile was called Safe Tile by the yers.

    It¡¯s a terrible nickname.

    As I continue to wait and talk with Clement-sensei, I hear footsteps.

    The door was opened a little roughly, and standing there was Lelia, breathing a little unevenly.

    She had the same side-ponytail hairstyle as Noelle, but her hair was silky and straight.

    Her hair is all dark pink, and she has sharp eyes, unlike Noelle who has a softer atmosphere.

    They are twin sisters, so they look a lot alike, but Lelia is a little smaller (?) in the chest than Noelle. Lelia has a slender figure.

    At Lelia¡¯s side, a sphere of a different color from Luxion¡¯s was floating. It¡¯s an Ideal with a blue sphere and a red eye.

    When he looked at here, he moved his single red eye vertically as if to greet me.

    Lelia took one look at us and then turned her attention to Clement-sensei.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the discussion is cancelled. Emile¡¯s car is waiting at the entrance, Clement shoulde too.¡±

    ¡°Lelia-sama? I thought you didn¡¯t have ns for today?¡±

    Clement-sensei seems to be managing Lelia¡¯s schedule as if he were her secretary. Is there something on her schedule that Clement-sensei doesn¡¯t know about?

    Marie gets up from her seat, points at Lelia, and shouts out loud.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore us! We have a lot to talk about with you!¡±

    There are many things to talk about.

    About the future of Arzel Commonwealth, the stage of the second work.

    And about Noelle, and the capture targets.

    ¨D¨D The most important thing now is Serge, who is missing among the capture targets.

    The Rault House is one of the six great noble houses.

    Serge was their legitimate son, but now he is missing.

    There were so many things I wanted to discuss with her about the future, but Lelia had her own schedule and we couldn¡¯t discuss it.

    She is also dissatisfied with the fact that her schedule has gone astray.

    ¡°I have my own situation! Emile insisted that I participate ¨D¨D.¡±

    Lelia¡¯s gaze turned to Ideal as she made her excuses.

    Ideal looks at me. No ¨D he¡¯s looking at Luxion, who is hiding near me.

    ¡°I deeply apologize, but in order to protect Lelia-sama¡¯s social status, we can¡¯t let this matter go. Can you please understand that? ¡°

    Lelia¡¯s social status. It is hard to argue strongly when people say that it is necessary to protect their position in the world in which they live.

    Everyone has a life.

    Sacrifice for world peace! ¨DThere are only a few people who can be convinced to do so.

    And I and Marie are on the majority side.

    We who can¡¯t me Lelia have no choice but to ept it.

    ¡°Be sure to arrange a meeting next time.¡±

    I reminded him, and Ideal affirmed, ¡°Of course!¡±.

    ¡°I will make sure we have a ce to talk next time. ¨D Well, Lelia-sama. Emile-sama is waiting for you. ¡°

    At Ideal¡¯s request, Lelia reluctantly obeyed.

    By the looks of it, Lelia probably didn¡¯t mean it either.

    She looks at us and speaks briefly.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go now, but I want you to look for Serge properly.¡±

    Marie, who had her left hand on her hip, made a gesture with her right hand to pay him to go quickly.

    ¡°All right, now go to Emile.¡±

    As Lelia left, Clement-sensei apologized to us.

    This is how I was unable to talk with Lelia again today.

    The days passed like this, unable to consult with each other.

    .

    Part 2

    I took a tram with Marie to go home.

    We were the only passengers, and the inside of the car is lit and the outside is dark.

    It¡¯s already night.

    Marie was upset with Lelia. She seemed to be convinced that she had no choice, but she also expressed her frustration.

    ¡°Why do I have to take orders from her! Originally, Lelia¡¯s the one who used to be close to Serge, right? I¡¯m not a servant!¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. They¡¯re trying to protect their reputation, right?¡±

    ¡°I understand that, but~¡±

    Appearance is something that cannot be taken lightly, and it is often downyed in stories, but it is important.

    Aside from the main characters in the story, it¡¯s hard for ordinary mob-like people like us to live without it.

    It¡¯s the same as in my previous life, but this world is behind the world of my previous life in terms of civilization.

    It¡¯s a world where you can¡¯t ignore appearance.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that piss you off, aniki?¡±

    ¡°Certainly, it¡¯s annoying, but I¡¯m more mature than you, so I won¡¯t show it. Other than that, Luxion is looking for him but he can¡¯t find him, what does that mean?¡±

    Luxion ¨D¨D and Ideal are searching for Serge, but it has been a little while since the beginning of the third semester and there is no sign of him.

    Luxion joins our conversation, hiding in in sight.

    ¡°We think he¡¯s already out of the country or slipping through our sight.¡±

    It¡¯s troublesome if he is fleeing the country.

    But it¡¯s also troublesome if he is slipping through the sight of Luxion and the others.

    In the game, Serge ¨D¨D is a wild young man who yearns to be an adventurer. Speaking of wild, it sounds good, but from my point of view, he was a rough guy.

    He was adopted by the Rault House, but he made a rift with his family.

    In the game, Alberg-san, the head of the Rault House, is thest boss, and he distrusts his father-inw and cooperates with the main character.

    ¨D¨D but from my point of view, if this is a game, Serge¡¯s behavior is a little different.

    Alberg-san doesn¡¯t look like thest boss, or rather, he is the most trustworthy of the six great nobles.

    And the Rault House was about to ept Serge. Unless it¡¯s harassment without my knowledge, but the probability is low.

    Louise-san told me the story, but I can¡¯t say that Serge is not at fault.

    Leaving aside the question of who is at fault, what is the cause of discrepancies?

    ¡°Why does he dislike his family so much?¡±

    Marie is interested in my muttering.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about Serge. If Alberg-san was a bad person and that¡¯s why he was rebellious, I¡¯d understand. But it¡¯s Alberg-san, you know? He¡¯s good enough from my point of view.¡±

    ¡°Your standards are unreliable, but it is definitely weird. I think he is too aggressive. Besides, in the game, he was strong enough to fight, but to lose by aniki¡¯s one punch is so surprising.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Oi, how low do your evaluation about me? How hard do you think we poor noble boys have been working?¡±

    Even like this, I have shed tears of blood and worked hard in school.

    It¡¯s a monthly event, and I have to give the girls gifts.

    The poor noble boys challenge the dungeon to earn money for gifts.

    The deeper you go into the dungeon, the steeper and more dangerous it gets, but the more money you can get.

    A group of poor noble boys works together to earn money by taking on dangerous dungeons.

    It¡¯s all about getting married! I¡¯ve really bled and worked hard for it.

    I feel like crying when I remember it.

    Wiping the tears with my sleeve, Marie looked uninterested.

    ¡°But the girls were pawning off the gifts they got.¡±

    ¡°I know that, and my friends and I have shed many tears over it. Anyway, I¡¯m not like Serge, I¡¯m not an adventurer for fun!¡±

    It¡¯s not for fun. It¡¯s for publicity and marriage!

    ¨D¨D My reasons for trying so hard are also terribly pathetic.

    Marie didn¡¯t seem too interested in what I was saying or doing, and she felt sorry for Serge.

    ¡°Still, isn¡¯t it cruel, just by one punch? Men have trouble when their pride is broken. After all, they are a creature of pride.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you talk about a man¡±

    ¡°Ara? I¡¯m more knowledgeable than aniki. All the guys had this weird sense of pride that makes them so easy to deal with.¡±

    Has Marie forgotten that she was deceived by such a man?

    I look at Marie, who makes ament that pierces me, and Iugh at her.

    Maybe she didn¡¯t like that, so Marie red at me.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I just thought it would be nice to hear from a woman who thinks she knows men and has been hurt by them.¡±

    ¡°You said it, this coward!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D¨D I¡¯ll cut down your living expenses.¡±

    I was tired of arguing with Marie, so I brought up the topic of living expenses as ast resort.

    Then Marie copsed helplessly and got down on their knees.

    ¡°Intelligent, brave and wonderful onii-sama! Please don¡¯t cut my living expenses! Please ¨D¨D I really can¡¯t live. I don¡¯t want to leave Kyle and Cara on the street, let alone that five! Help me, onii-chan!¡±

    I can¡¯t help but feel weak at the word ¡°help¡±.

    And Marie aside ¨D¨D I didn¡¯t want to cause any trouble for Kyle or Cara.

    Five idiots? They¡¯re so tough, they¡¯ll live on their own if you leave them alone.

    ¡°It seems you understand your position.¡±

    Fufu, when Iughed at her, Marie made a frustrated face saying ¡°Gunununu¡°.

    Luxion, who had been watching our interaction, reacted as usual.

    ¡°As usual, Master has a soft spot for Marie.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m basically a kind person to everyone.¡±

    ¡°A kind person would not go so far as to break the pride of a defeated enemy. I¡¯m sure Serge has a grudge against the Master. ¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s their fault to lose to me¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite a feat to be able to say that with my help. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s cowardly?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Someone once told me this. Cowardice is apliment.¡±

    ¡°When Master says that, the others hated you is something that can¡¯t be helped.¡±

    ¡°Although I¡¯m so kind!¡±

    Marie¡¯s face looks like saying ¡°What are these guys talking about?¡±, But I ignored her.

    We get off as the tram arrives at the station near our house.

 Volume 7, 01 â€“ Parent and Child, Part 3-4

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 01 - Parent and Child, Part 3-4</h4>

    Part 3

    The home that we use in the Arzel Commonwealth is a magnificent mansion.

    That¡¯s where I live, along with Marie and the others.

    With only a few weeks left of my study abroad period, it was bing troublesome to live separately.

    As we entered the vi, Yumeria-san noticed and rushed over to us.

    ¡°Wee back, Leon-sa~a!¡±

    I guess she was in a hurry, because she tripped and ended up head-sliding in front of us.

    Her face hit the floor and she looked in pain.

    ¡°A-are you okay?¡±

    When I called out Yumeria-san in concern, her face was red and swollen, and her eyes were filled with tears.

    ¡°I-I am okhi~yu¡±

    The cute Yumeria-san, who chewed on the end of her words, is a female elf with a small figure and big breasts.

    She looks young and looks like us, but she is a mother of one child.

    Her long, straight, green hair showed off her long ears, a characteristic of elves. Her calm and gentle eyes were yellow, and a birdbrain and refreshing beautiful girl. No, she¡¯s a beautiful woman.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to panic.¡±

    I said gently, and Yumeria-san thanked me. However, next to me, Marie showed a dissatisfied attitude, saying, ¡°Keh! You¡¯re so spoony* at her¡±. (Note: ¥Ç¥ì¥Ç¥ìderedere)

    Is it bad to be spoony?

    While I was making noise at the door, another maid, a beautiful woman with tight sses who had been sent from Ange¡¯s parents¡¯ house, arrived.

    It¡¯s Cordelia-san.

    ¡°Wee back, Count¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯m back¡±

    However, unlike Yumeria-san, this one was really a business rtionship.

    Cordelia-san doesn¡¯t think well of me, and her attitude is cold.

    Marie came back from outside and took off her coat, moving her head to check her surroundings.

    ¡°Are, where¡¯s Kyle?¡±

    She was a little concerned because the beautiful half-elf boy who usually greeted her was not there.

    Yumeria-san replies while holding the tip of her nose with both hands.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s in the back warehouse.¡±

    .

    Part 4

    In the warehouse behind the mansion, a single armor was propped up on one knee.

    Armor¨D¨DA humanoid weapon that flies in the sky, which is also a powered suit.

    The armors that had been brought into the mansion was the one that Julius and others had used before.

    Arroganz are also included in it.

    Since arriving in the Alzer Commonwealth, Leon had been involved in many battles ¨D or rather, had caused battles ¨D and had brought armor into the house for defense.

    This is proof that they are concerned about the current situation.

    But there is a boy standing in front of such armor.

    It¡¯s a half-elf, Kyle.

    His short blond hair is habitual, and he has the same elongated ears as her mother, Yumeria.

    He was a beautiful boy in appearance and had all the features of an elf.

    However, Kyle is half elf and half human.

    Although he is still young, he is still employed by Marie because he has no ce to stay in his hometown due to his position as a half-elf.

    Kyle put his hand in front of Arroganz, who was down on one knee, trying to climb up.

    Then Luxion¡¯s voicees from the open warehouse door.

    [It¡¯s useless]

    ¡°Uwaa!¡±

    Kyle turned around in a panic and broke out in a cold sweat, surprised to see Luxion behind him. He felt as awkward as a child who has been caught misbehaving.

    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±

    [That¡¯s a lie. You were trying to get into the Arroganz.]

    As Luxion sees through Kyle¡¯s spur-of-the-moment lie, Leon, Marie, his mother, Yumeria, and Cordeliae up behind him.

    Leon looked at Kyle andughed.

    ¡°What is this, you¡¯re a boy, aren¡¯t you? Do you want to ride the Arroganz?¡±

    From the grinning Leon, he could see his intention to tease Kyle.

    And Marie has a look of iprehension on her face.

    ¡°Men are so stupid. What¡¯s so fun about riding a robot?¡±

    Kyle straightened his posture, a little flustered when his master, Marie, appeared.

    ¡°Wee back, goshujin-sama.¡°

    ¡°I¡¯m back. But if you want a ride, you¡¯ll have to tell Ani¨DLeon.¡±

    Marie doesn¡¯t seem to me Kyle for his actions.

    The same is true for Leon, who teases Kyle.

    ¡°You have a good eye for wanting to ride Arroganz. Shall I give you a ride?¡±

    He would give him a ride if he asked, but Kyle couldn¡¯t honestly ask for one.

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to ride.¡±

    However, there was one person who would not tolerate Kyle¡¯s attitude ¨D¨D Cordelia, who had a grim expression on her face.

    ¡°For knights and noblemen, armor is an important tool of war. It is not eptable for a servant to touch such a thing without reason. I hope you are prepared for this?¡±

    Preparedness ¨D¨D Kyle had no such thing.

    Kyle was smart enough to calcte that Leon and Marie would not be angry at him for touching his armor.

    In fact, Leon didn¡¯t look angry at all, he wasughing.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t back down because of that. Wouldn¡¯t it make him feel better if I gave Kyle a ride? Luxion, open the cockpit.¡±

    Cordelia closed her mouth, dissatisfied with Leon¡¯s forgiveness.

    She decided that she couldn¡¯t interfere anymore.

    Kyle was happy to hear Leon¡¯s words, but he didn¡¯t show it on his face. He didn¡¯t like it because it made him feel like he was losing ¨D¨D Kyle is twisted, so he¡¯s going to say something hateful.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking for a ride.¡±

    Maybe Marie sensed Kyle¡¯s feelings and asked Leon to ¡°give him a ride¡±.

    But¨D¨Dit was Luxion who waited here.

    [Denied]

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    When Luxion strongly refused, Kyle regretted that he had lost his chance. But he tries not to let his feelings show on his face.

    ¡°W-Why?¡±

    When he shakily asked him why, Luxion coldly told me.

    [Elves can¡¯t move armor. In the first ce, the way they manipte their magic is very different from humans. Arroganz, and the armor here, are for humans.]

    The elves assure him that they cannot move him, but Kyle finds one hope.

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯m half¡±

    [It¡¯s the same. No, it will be more troublesome. The flow of magic power is different between humans and elves, so even if you have armor for elves, it is unlikely that you can move them.]

    Kyle is a boy, too. He wanted to ride in the armor and fight.

    It makes him sad when it is crushed by Luxion.

    When he looked down and shed tears, Leon rushed to Luxion.

    ¡°You have a way to say it, right!¡±

    [Arroganz is a master¡¯s exclusive machine. Please don¡¯t take others on board so easily.]

    On the contrary, Leon was scolded by Luxion.

    Cordelia also blurted out, ¡°The sphere is correct.¡±

    Kyle is depressed, and a worried Yumeria approaches him.

    ¡°Kyle, let¡¯s apologize properly. Leon-sama was kind enough to forgive you, but if it had been any other nobleman, he would have killed you.¡±

    Yumeria, who is always clumsy, was unusually righteous.

    Reminded by the unreliable Yumeria¨DKyle turns away with embarrassment.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Kaa-san who¡¯s always making mistakes?¡±

    ¡°Kyle?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lecture me when you can¡¯t even take care of yourself!¡±

    When Kyle raises his voice, Yumeria¨D¨Djust like that gives him a stern look.

    ¡°Kyle, this is not about me now. You need to apologize. Besides, didn¡¯t you really think that they would forgive you? I usually tell both of them to not soft on you, but I think that attitude is bad.¡±

    When Yumeria scolded Kyle, both Leon and Marie kept their mouths shut and watched what was going on.

    To Cordelia, it must have looked like Kyle was being a spoiled brat.

    She closed her mouth and watched silently, but her eyes were somewhat cold.

    However, Kyle¡¯s embarrassment and pride in his work prevented him from taking Yumeria¡¯s words obediently.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait until you¡¯re better at your job than I am. And can you please not bring the parent-child rtionship into the workce? It¡¯s annoying. ¡°

    ¡°Kyle!¡±

    When Yumeria shouted and grabbed his arm, Kyle shook her hand away.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scold me like a mother now! You can¡¯t do anything without me!¡±

    ¡°Tsu!¡±

    Kyle knew Yumeria¡¯s weaknesses.

    It was a guilt that she had given Kyle a hard time because she was unreliable.

    Kyle was smart enough to understand that.

    He says to Yumeria, who turns over in silence, in a superior way.

    ¡°Do something motherly before you lecture me. I don¡¯t recognize you as a mother right now.¡±

    I don¡¯t recognize you as a mother ¨D¨D At these words, Yumeria¡¯s face grew desperate.

    The look on her face made his ache with guilt, but Kyle wasn¡¯t mature enough to apologize.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I¡¯m going back to work ¡°

    That¡¯s all he said, and then he ran out of the warehouse as if to escape.

 Volume 7, 01 â€“ Parent and Child, Part 5-6

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 01 - Parent and Child, Part 5-6</h4>

    Part 5

    As I watched the exchange between Yumeria-san and Kyle, I scratched my head with my right hand.

    The conversation between parents and children reminds me of my previous life, and I hate it.

    Both Marie and I ¨D¨D died before our parents in our previous lives.

    I want Yumeria and Kyle to make up for theirck of filial piety on both sides.

    And, you know.

    ¡°Luxion, I know you¡¯veplicated things. All you had to do was put him in the cockpit. It would have made Kyle happy.¡±

    If we had just gotten Kyle on the Arroganz as soon as possible, none of this would have happened.

    When I said that, Luxion not only refused to admit that he was wrong, ¨D¨Dbut also med me.

    [Are you sure about it?]

    ¡°What?¡±

    [Kyle is a child. Even in this world, he¡¯s still a child, a child that should be protected, and you¡¯re sending him to the Arroganz? Have you not forgotten, Master? Arroganz is a weapon that I have prepared.]

    Hearing that, I realized how careless I am.

    I turned to face the Arroganz and remembered what it had been prepared for.

    It¡¯s not just the Arroganz. Armor is a weapon that was prepared for fighting in the first ce.

    It was not something that a child could easily get into.

    [Kyle looks at the Arroganz with the admiration of a child. He is not in a position of nobility where he needs to be prepared, nor does he even need to fight.]

    Marie is convinced when she hears why Luxion didn¡¯t give Kyle a ride.

    ¡°It¡¯s better if he doesn¡¯t have to fight. I understand. I¡¯ll exin it to Kyle and make him give up. So don¡¯t be too hard on yourself, Yumeria-san.¡±

    When we looked at her, Yumeria-san was looking down and crying, as if she was in shock.

    Cordelia-san, who was by her side,forted Yumeria-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing to worry about, it¡¯s just a rebellious phase. He may be mature, but he¡¯s still a kid.¡±

    Cordelia-san was showing kindness as sheforted her colleague.

    I want her to show a little of that kindness to me.

    However, Yumeria-san shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault because I didn¡¯t do anything to be a good parent.¡±

    When we fell silent, Yumeria-san burst into tears.

    ¡°I am ¨D¨D clumsy and often deceived. must have seemed unreliable to Kyle, and I was always a nuisance to him ¨D¨D K-Kyle¡¯s fine without me, and he¡¯s better off without me¡±

    Kyle is a problem, but Yumeria is also a problem.

    She seems to think that she is disqualified as a parent.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. Kyle was so worried about you, Yumeria-san.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I shouldn¡¯t have been around Kyle. I came to this country but I was a nuisance to him.¡±

    Yumeria came to the Alzer Commonwealth because she was worried about Kyle, but now she felt depressed that she was not needed.

    I was a normal kid in a previous life, and I¡¯ve had my share of normal problems with my parents.

    Not as much as Kyle, but there is an ovep with myself.

    I¡¯d like to solve the problem of this parent and child, but it¡¯s really just one problem after another.

    .

    Part 6

    Night.

    After finishing her work, Yumeria-san hugged the transparent case containing the holy tree sapling and went out to the garden of the mansion in her nightgown.

    She sat down on the bench and reminisced about the events of today.

    Ever since Kyle threw her out at the warehouse, she hasn¡¯t been able to repair their rtionship until now.

    ¡°I¡¯m no good after all¡±

    She smiled sadly, as if troubled, and tears welled up in her eyes.

    For Yumeria, Kyle is the only family she has in this world. The others have either avoided or severed ties with her due to her peculiarities.

    Humans can¡¯t understand it, but elves sense magic in color.

    Yumeria was called by elves a ¡°mixed one¡± and they avoided her because of the mixture of magic power they felt.

    For Yumeria, her only son, Kyle, was an important rtionship that she was not alone.

    It would have been a shock if Kyle had told her that he would not ept her as his mother.

    As she hugged the case and shrunk back, Yumeria heard a voice.

    [Good evening]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    When she looked up, she saw that it was not Luxion, ¨D¨D but Ideal, Lelia¡¯s constantpanion.

 Volume 7, 2 â€œHoly Kingdom Rachelâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 2 ¡°Holy Kingdom Rachel¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    A warehouse in a certain district in Arzel Commonwealth.

    Hiding in that ce is Serge, the man that Leon and the others are looking for.

    His ck hair was slicked back with a handb, and his skin was tanned and brown. He looks like a rebellious young man due to his well-trained and toned body and the piercing atmosphere he gives off.

    He was now wearing a coat and sitting on a pile of materials in a dingy outfit.

    Near him stood a man in a suit.

    This one was mature and had a beard, but unlike Serge, he looked like a gentleman.

    The slender, gentlemanly man called himself [Gabino].

    Gabino ¨D¨D he is a man sent from a country called Holy Kingdom Rachel .

    He is a nobleman who holds a title in the Holy Land and is a coborator of Serge.

    The Holy Kingdom Rachel is a neighboring country to Holfalt Kingdom.

    And now, it has also be hostile to Holfalt Kingdom.

    The reason for this lies with Mylene, who married Holfalt Kingdom.

    Mylene¡¯s home country is the United Kingdom of Reparto, which is hostile to the Holy Kingdom Rachel. Mylene¡¯s marriage to the Holfalt Kingdom was one of the countermeasures against the Holy Kingdom Rachel .

    From the point of view of the Holy Kingdom Rachel , Holfalt Kingdom is an enemy nation.

    Gabino looked at Serge and furrowed his brow.

    ¡°You stink. Why don¡¯t you take a bath?¡±

    When was thest time he took a bath? Serge couldn¡¯t remember either.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be in. But more importantly, are you guys ready for this?¡±

    When Serge asks the opposite, Gabino straightens his back and answers.

    ¡°Of course. Soldiers are already being sent to the Commonwealth one after another. But still ¨D¨D ¡°

    What Gabino was looking at was an airship.

    Not just one ship.

    Dozens of flight battleships of the same type were lined up in the facility prepared in the basement of the warehouse district.

    ¡°¨D¨D How did you manage to gather so much in such a short time.¡±

    Serge stood up slowly and smiled darkly at the flying battleships in line.

    He is not going to answer Gabino¡¯s question, so he will get right to the point.

    ¡°With all this, we should be able to take down the Arzel Commonwealth in no time.¡±

    When Serge didn¡¯t answer, Gabino decided to talk to him about the mission, as if he thought it was useless to ask questions.

    ¡°Soldiers are being sent from my country one after another. But if we go any further, Serge-dono¡¯s house and the other great nobles will notice.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s toote to find out now. We¡¯re making preparations over here, too.¡±

    Serge¡¯s ¨D¨D and Gabino¡¯s aim was the Arzel Commonwealth itself.

    It was Ideal who came to the two of them.

    Ideal slowly descends from the ceiling and speaks to me in a friendly manner.

    [Serge-sama, I¡¯ve gathered the people as nned.]

    Hearing Ideal¡¯s happy electronic voice, Gabino looked a little grim, as if he felt threatened.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a lost item being able to talk to people. Serge-dono, are you sure that this guy is really okay?¡±

    Gabino, who doubts Ideal¡¯s existence, is given an exnation by Ideal himself.

    [Serge-sama is my master. I won¡¯t betray him.]

    ¡°¨D¨D I hope so.¡±

    Gabino was still in doubt, but turned his gaze to Serge as the conversation was not going anywhere.

    Serge shoved his hands in his coat pockets and talked.

    ¡°Now we can fight on the same terms as that bastard. He¡¯s also a nuisance for you guys, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Gabino averted his gaze from Serge.

    ¡°The upper echelons of our country are feeling threatened. Count Leon Fou Bartfalt, the man who brought down the Commonwealth from within in such a short period of time, is a person our country cannot afford to lose.¡±

    ¡°So you want to kill that bastard Leon to coincide with the Commonwealth¡¯s rebellion. Fine, I¡¯ll kill him myself.¡±

    ¡°It saves us. ording to our investigation, Count Bartfalt is very close to the Queen of Holfalt. We don¡¯t want such a dangerous person toe to the border of the Holfalt Kingdom. ¡°

    ¡± ¨D¨D Are you really that afraid of him?¡±

    When Sergeughs at Gabino, Ideal stabs him with a prickly word.

    [Serge-sama is also losing to Leon, though.]

    Serge was furious at Ideal¡¯s words.

    ¡°If I¡¯d had the same conditions as that guy, I wouldn¡¯t have lost! I won¡¯t lose to that guy again.¡±

    There was an incident not long ago when his sister Louise was almost sacrificed to the Sacred Tree, and Serge fought with Leon on that asion.

    Leon is trying to save Louise, and Serge got in the way.

    However, the result was disappointing.

    At first, Serge was winning. But it was just a stunt.

    Leon could have defeated Serge at any time, but he deliberately showed his defeat in order to deceive Louise.

    It was a bigger humiliation for Serge than just losing.

    This means that he was not taken seriously from the beginning. This is why Serge is burning revenge on Leon.

    In the past, the biological son of the Rault House ¨D¨D Leon Sara Rault, but now Leon was the object of Serge¡¯s hatred.

    Serge receives a gift from Ideal.

    [I have prepared a suitable armor for Serge-sama to fight against the Arroganz ridden by Leon.]

    A four-legged armor was brought in.

    Although it is asrge as the Arroganz, its silhouette is slender.

    The upper body was humanoid, but the lower body resembled a horse.

    The four-legged type of armor had ance ¨D an elongated cone-shaped spear.

    It is a weapon held by a mounted knight and is specialized for thrusting.

    It looks like ance, but it is a weapon prepared by Ideal. It also has a trick.

    When the centauros-like armor was ready, Serge raised the corners of his mouth in a smile.

    ¡°This guy¡¯s good. Can it beat that son of a bitch?¡±

    [Performance is five minutes. No, this armor is probably better. Arroganz¡¯s data has already been confirmed. There is nothing better than this because it is an armor prepared to counter Arroganz.]

    This is the armor that was prepared to defeat the Arroganz ¨D¨D to defeat Leon.

    Serge approaches and touches.

    ¡°The name is?¡±

    [I named it [Gier]. The meaning is greed. Arroganz means arrogance, so it¡¯s just right.]

    ¡°Greed, huh ¨D¨D Sure, I¡¯m greedy. I want it all. I want this country, and I want Lelia. I¡¯m going to have it all.¡±

    Gabino looked at Serge, who was sping his right hand, and didn¡¯t seem very interested.

    He wants Serge to get the country, but Lelia is not interested.

    ¡°We have noints as long as Serge-dono gets the country and defeats Count Bartfalt. After that, though, we¡¯ll be looking forward to the magic stone trade.¡±

    Arzel Commonwealth is an energy resource-rich country that exports arge amount of magic stones.

    The Holy Kingdom Rachel was also expecting preferential treatment from Arzel Commonwealth, which Serge ruled.

    That¡¯s why ¨D he¡¯s supporting Serge in his rebellion.

    Serge ced his right fist on his left palm and made a sound.

    ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯m going to kill him for making me look like a fool.¡±

    Serge¡¯s hatred for Leon is strong.

    .

    Part 2

    The former territory of the Lespinasse House.

    It is still the center of Arzel Commonwealth.

    It is thend where the Sacred Tree exists, and the six great noble families have their mansions there.

    One of them was a mansion owned by the Rault family, from which Louisemuted to the academy.

    Going to and from school is a car with a driver, and she is really a youngdy, no, a princess.

    Although they call themselves the Six Great Noble Houses, the power they possess is greater than that of any poor country.

    Each of the six great nobles is the king in their territory.

    So, Louise-san was in a position like a princess.

    Such a person is also in the position of being the viinous daughter of that second otome game.

    Personally, I think she was miscast, but then again, Alberg-san, thest boss, is not the kind of person who would be an enemy.

    ¨D¨D No, they are too kind to me, so I guess I¡¯m inevitably making poor decisions.

    However, they didn¡¯t look like bad people.

    I visited the mansion owned by Rault family, and I¡¯m talking to Alberg-san.

    I was ushered into a room where tea and snacks were prepared and we were facing each other across a round table.

    Alberg-san looked very tired.

    ¡°We¡¯re still searching for Serge, but we can¡¯t even find a lead.¡±

    My business is Serge, who was adopted.

    It seems that he spends his days worrying about Serge, wondering where he is. Even so, he can¡¯t take a day off work because he is in charge of the Commonwealth and can¡¯t show any weakness.

    It makes me think that being in a position of responsibility is a lot of work.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for it myself, but it¡¯s the same.¡±

    Luxion is getting serious, but he can¡¯t find him.

    I would really suspect that he was fleeing the country, and in many ways, I was more grateful for that.

    ¡°I wonder where he is and what he is doing. He¡¯s not here, so we can¡¯t talk about the future.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about disinheriting him?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If he feels his current position is a burden, that¡¯s fine with me. If he wants to be an adventurer, I can support him. I just want to let him do what he wants.¡±

    Alberg-san was troubled by Serge¡¯s frequent absences from home as an adventurer. He had adopted Serge as his son to make him the head of the Rault family, but he thought that he did not want to do that and was considering disinheriting him.

    When I see Alberg-san so distressed about Serge, I wonder why he is the viin in the game.

    ¡°Leon-kun, don¡¯t worry about me, just talk to Louise. She¡¯s been busytely, too.¡±

    The topic of conversation shifted to his own child, Louise-san.

    After hearing the rumor that Serge was going to be disinherited, there was no end to the number of offers of engagement to Louise-san.

    It is said that a lot of young noblemen areing to rece Serge, thinking that they can be the heads of the Six Great Noble Houses.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do that.¡±

    ¡°It saved me. ¨D¨D You¡¯ve been a great help to me.¡±

    Alberg-san muttered to himself, and he looked somewhat pleased.

    I guess he saw in me the image of his deceased son ¨D Leon-kun, who had the same name as me.

    .

    Part 3

    When I visited Louise-san, she looked tired as well.

    However, I was sent to Louise-san¡¯s bedroom.

    I wondered if it¡¯s okay to let a man in, but there was no sign of stopping me, not even the servants of the mansion.

    Besides, Louise-san herself exposed a defenseless appearance.

    She sat on the bed andid her upper body down. With her legs hanging off the bed, I could almost see inside her skirt if I wasn¡¯t careful.

    I¡¯m a gentleman, so I¡¯ll only peek a little.

    Louise-san is lying with her usual loose blonde hair spread out on the bedsheets.

    Apparently, she seems to be tired of the invitations of men every day.

    ¡°Mou, I¡¯m getting invitations to dinner and parties every day. It¡¯s not as if we are going to choose an heir right away now that Serge is gone.¡±

    I sat down in the chair provided and looked at the two mountains that Louise-san had made by lying down.

    It¡¯s a great big mountain.

    It¡¯s a sight to behold.

    ¡°Everyone is desperate. Well, I can understand their feelings. If you can win Louise-san¡¯s heart, you can be the head of the Rault house.¡±

    ¡°Ara, so am I an essory to the position of the head of the house, or a second prize? Either way, their ulterior motives are so obvious that I can¡¯t help but be moved by them.¡±

    Normally, she would want to refuse all of them, but she said that some of them are impossible to refuse.

    Rtives, interests ¨D¨D she says she is dealing with men on a daily basis at the invitation of those people.

    It¡¯s just a matter of having a meal and a good chat, but if it¡¯s every day, I feel sorry for her.

    ¡°Is there any good man?¡±

    I ask if there¡¯s anyone she is interested in, and Louise-san raises her upper body.

    Herrge breasts swayed, and her hair was a mess.

    She looks at me while easily adjusting it by hand.

    ¡± ¨D¨D There isn¡¯t.¡±

    She didn¡¯t seem to be joking, and now she really had no intention of finding a partner.

    I knew the reason why Louise-san was not well.

    ¡°Are you concerned about Serge?¡±

    ¡°W-Who!¡±

    When I brought up the subject of the missing Serge, Louise-san strongly denied it.

    But I could tell from her attitude that she cared.

    She doesn¡¯t like Serge, but ¨D¨D she still cares about him.

    You¡¯re too kind for a viiness. She¡¯s really miscast.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for him, but I haven¡¯t found him yet. If he was dead, we would have found traces of him, so I¡¯m sure he¡¯s fine.¡±

    It is unlikely that he is dead. Louise-san was somewhat relieved to hear that.

    ¡°I know I¡¯ve said too much. But, you know, I can¡¯t forgive Serge for what he did.¡±

    There¡¯s a big rift between Louise-san and Serge.

    It seems that Serge, who had just been adopted, I don¡¯t know what he was thinking, but it seems that he burned down the mementos of Louise-san¡¯s brother, Leon-kun.

    No matter how much of a child you are, there are some things that are not allowed.

    It was then that Louise-san began to hate Serge.

    ¡°Serge got what he deserved.¡±

    ¡°I know. But sometimes I hate myself. I¡¯m such a bad woman. Leon-kun also disgusted, right?¡±

    She hates Serge and she can¡¯t forgive herself ¨D¨D I¡¯m not disgusted by that.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you are cursing Serge¡¯s misfortune, is it enough? It¡¯s a mature enough thing to do.¡±

    Louise-san looked a little happy when she heard my answer.

    I¡¯m d you don¡¯t hate me because I look like your brother, huh?

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m feeling a little better now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Then I¡¯d better get back.¡±

    Even so, Leon-kun is very popr even in death.

    ¨D¨D I guess that¡¯s proof that he was cared for.

    .

    Part 4

    When I came back from the Rault¡¯s mansion, it was Cordelia-san who greeted me.

    As always, she is giving me a cold look today.

    ¡°Wee back, Count¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little more friendly?¡±

    ¡°I see you like to joke. Please consider your position.¡±

    I¡¯m grateful that she¡¯s doing her job, but she doesn¡¯t intend to get along with me.

    Well, that¡¯s not bad either.

    However, the situation was a little different today.

    ¡°And how much longer are you going to leave that parent and child alone?¡±

    I turned my head away when I heard Cordelia-san¡¯s talk.

    ¡°About Yumeria-san and Kyle? I did a lot of things, but Kyle¡¯s just too stubborn.¡±

    Since then, I¡¯ve tried everything to get them to make up, including asking them to run errands.

    Marie also makes a careful follow-up, but Kyle was more stubborn than she had expected and they had not been able to make up.

    Cordelia-san is astonished.

    ¡°Thanks to them, I¡¯m having trouble working. Why don¡¯t you bring Yumeria-san back to your parents¡¯ house?¡±

    So if she can¡¯t do her job, send her back, is that what you mean?

    It seemed cold, but it would be bothering Cordelia-san, who was taking her job seriously.

    I have a troubled face and convey my true feelings.

    ¡°I¡¯m really weak in parent-child rtionships.¡±

    When I said that, Cordelia-san looked a little strange.

    ¡°Why? I¡¯ve heard that the Bartfalt family¡¯s parent-child rtionship is unusually good for nobles?¡±

    Regret from a previous life? I can¡¯t help but be concerned about it because I didn¡¯t have filial piety to my parents in my previous life.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see Yumeria-san¡¯s situation a little longer. If that doesn¡¯t work, it¡¯s a little early, but I¡¯ll return her to my parents¡¯ house.¡±

    ¡°Understood¡±

    As I finished talking and started to walk away, I felt something unpleasant.

    It was Marie¡¯s shout that came from the dining room.

    ¡°You guys still haven¡¯t learned your lesson!¡±

    I wondered what was going on and headed quickly to the scene.

    Maybe Cordelia-san is also interested, she followed a little behind me.

    And when I showed up at the dining room, I found Marie standing with her arms crossed.

    Marie¡¯s face looked like a demon.

    Next to her stood with a cold-faced ¨D Cara, looking down at the five idiots who were being forced to sit on the floor.

    ¨D¨DAa~, the five idiots have done something again.

    I decided to just peek in from the entrance with Cordelia-san to see what was going on. It would not do any good to get involved, and Marie and the five idiots were interesting and funny from an outsider¡¯s standpoint.

    I¡¯ve recentlye to understand that this is the best distance.

    Marie stepped hard on the floor with her right foot, making a sound, and started talking.

    ¡°In this difficult daily life, you want me to buy you something because you want it? What the hell are you thinking!¡±

    It seems that the five idiots are begging Marie.

    It was Julius who opened his mouth first.

    ¡°B-But I really want it! Please, Marie! J-Just a few chickens, let me raise chickens! And I think it will save money because theyy eggs.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more troublesome and expensive to keep a living thing!¡±

    When I think what he wants Julius gets down on his knees, do you want to raise chickens?

    What is the former Crown Prince of the Holfalt Kingdom asking for?

    Next is Brad, who followed Julius¡¯ lead and got down on his knees.

    ¡°I-I-I-I want stage costumes! Please, Marie! I¡¯ll definitely make money!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need any stage costumes! If you want, buy it with your own money.¡±

    ¡°Well, you know, I was buying all these things and I had no money left ¨D HI!¡°

    When she heard that Brad had run out of money, Marie stomped on the floor again and made a loud noise to scare him.

    Greg was the next one to get down on his knees.

    Now he is wearing a tank top and shorts ¨D yeah, he is clothed, so it¡¯s safe.

    ¡°I want to get some new muscle training equipment! I want to work out my muscles more efficiently and with higher loads!¡±

    ¡°Do something with ingenuity and guts. I can¡¯t allow you to buy new equipment.¡±

    Greg was in tears when he was coldly rejected.

    Chris was next on his knees. He was dressed as usual in a happi coat and loincloth.

    ¨D¨D Wear some pants on, already.

    ¡°I, by all means, want a cypress bath!¡±

    ¡°No¡±

    She refused before he could finish, and Chris¡¯s sses had slipped off.

    It¡¯s thest.

    Jilk gets down on his knees more gracefully than anyone else, but he quickly raises his head and looks directly at Marie¡¯s face.

    Jilk says, unafraid of Marie, who has a face like Hannya.

    ¡°Actually, Marie-san, I just bought a new tea set?¡±

    Before he could finish, Marie delivered a spectacr sobat¨D¨Da kick to Jilk¡¯s face.

    Jilk who is the most garbage of the five idiots is on a different ss, and apparently, he bought the tea set first and reported his approval after the fact.

    The expression faded from Marie¡¯s face and Cara clicked her tongue.

    ¡°Tsk! Marie-sama, I¡¯ll see if I can¡¯t return it right away.¡±

    ¡°Please, Cara¡±

    After all, the biggest garbage was on a different ss. However, Marie and the others seemed to have gotten used to it and knew how to deal with Jilk¡¯s behavior.

    Jilk is lying on his back, twitching, and the other five idiots are giving him the cold shoulder.

    Even Julius, who was supposed to be his foster brother, spoke coldly to him.

    ¡°Jilk, how cowardly of you to buy it before asking for permission.¡±

    Jilk, who held his face, shakily raised his upper body.

    ¡°I-I was afraid that if I didn¡¯t buy it right then and there, I would miss out. It¡¯s a really valuable item. If you sell it, you can be sure that you will get at least three times the purchase price.¡±

    When Jilk said that, Brad snickered.

    ¡°Has there ever been a time when you have said the same thing and been right about it?¡±

    Greg and Chris were also cold to Jilk.

    ¡°Even I didn¡¯t get a single piece of equipment¡±

    ¡°My cypress baths are now a distant memory.¡±

    I thought the five idiots had grown up a bit, but apparently they were within the margin of error.

    These guys haven¡¯t changed much since before they came to the Commonwealth.

    Well, are they better because they have been able to ask for permission before spending money?

    Though one of them hasn¡¯t even been able to do that!

    Cordelia-san put her hand on her forehead and shook her head, did her head hurt.

    ¡°Is this the expected noble figure for the future? How pathetic.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re expecting too much. That¡¯s all they are.¡±

    ¡°They were supposed to be the next generation of the Kingdom, weren¡¯t they? What could have gone wrong to cause this to happen?¡±

    I¡¯m sorry to Cordelia-san who knows they look really pathetic, but Julius and the others seem happier now.

    I see five people who have been caged by Marie and have fallen far off the rails of their original career path, or rather the rails that wereid out for them.

    It was so pathetic to see them so frightened in front of Marie, her hair shaking with anger. But, sorry, it¡¯s very funny.

    They are fun to watch.

    When Marie realizes she¡¯s being watched, she points at me.

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh there! This is a matter of life and death for us!¡±

    Marie sees me holding my mouth andughing, and she has teary eyes.

    Even Cordelia-san was taken aback when she saw meughing.

    But I couldn¡¯t help butugh.

    ¡°I admire theedy you guys put your lives on the line for. Keep on entertaining me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying like it¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem, you¡¯re cruel, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s someone else¡¯s problem, right?¡±

    ¡°How cruel! Are you throwing me away?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say like I am the bad ones. I don¡¯t even remember picking you up in the first ce.¡±

    In the first ce, Marie is a reincarnated person. She was a fool who, relying on her knowledge of the games, managed to captured the nobles intopleting her reverse harem just because she could.

    I find it ironic that she is struggling now because of it.

    It¡¯s fun to look, she put her life on the line to makeedy.

    Marie is fit to take care of these guys for a long time.

    I¡¯ll just have to watch from a reasonable distance.

    As we were making a lot of noise, Noelle came.

    ¡°I¡¯m home, ~tte! What did you guys do this time !?¡±

    When she saw Julius and the others sitting on the floor, she immediately thought they had done something wrong. As expected from them, the first game¡¯s targets were treated like troublemakers even by Noelle!

    .

    Part 5

    It was noisy inside the mansion.

    Yumeria, who was out in the garden, gazed at the sky in a daze.

    A huge branch of the sacred tree that seemed to hang over the moon ¨D She looked at it and didn¡¯t move for a while.

    Then Kylees.

    ¡°Goshujin-sama and others are back. Why don¡¯t you get back to work? I¡¯ll be scolded.¡±

    Looking back at Kyle¡¯s blunt attitude, Yumeria looked sad.

    ¡°Kyle ¨D¨D Do you need me?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Perhaps not understanding the intent of Yumeria¡¯s statement, Kyle was irritated by her earlierments and gave her a cold shoulder.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a servant who doesn¡¯t work. Besides, it doesn¡¯t have to be you.¡±

    For Kyle, it was probably an extension of the fight. However, hearing this, Yumeria smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Kyle¡¯s a strong child, you don¡¯t need me.¡±

    Kyle turned away and walked back to the mansion.

    ¡°Whatever, just get back to work, okay.¡±

    Yumeria, who saw off the back of her son who was leaving, wasughing happily and crying.

    She muttered to Kyle, who probably didn¡¯t hear her.

    ¡°Kyle will be fine on his own, right?¡±

    Then, the light disappears from Yumeria¡¯s eyes.

    With a nk expression on her face, Yumeria staggered out of the mansion dressed as she was.

    A few moments after she left the gate, there was a car waiting for her.

    There was no one in the car.

    As Yumeria gets in, Ideal, who was floating in the driver¡¯s seat, looks back at her.

    The engine started and the car began to move.

    [You¡¯ve finally made up your mind, Yumeria-san.]

    Looking at Yumeria, who didn¡¯t reply, Ideal shook his head saying yare yare.

    ¡°Your son¡¯s rejection must have been very hard on you. Thanks to him, she came under my control. Nice assist ¨D¨D Kyle-kun.¡±

    Yumeria, who barely showed her will, was under Ideal¡¯s control.

    Right now, she is working at Ideal¡¯s will.

    [Yumeria-san ¨D¨D no, Yumeria. You have an important role to y. You¡¯ll be working as a recement for the priestess.]

    Then the electronic voice switched from the bright tone to a low voice.

    [All that¡¯s left is Luxion]

 Volume 7, 03 â€œThe Will of Commonwealthâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 03 ¡°The Will of Commonwealth¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The next day in the early afternoon, Kyle was surrounded by us who had taken a break from the academy.

    ¡°Because I corner her ¨D¨D¡±

    Kyle, who is crouched and stunned, hadn¡¯t slept since yesterday.

    His body and clothes were dirty, but he didn¡¯t even have time to worry about that.

    Marie and Cara are worried about Kyle and areforting him.

    ¡°Be firm! Luxion is looking for her, and he¡¯ll find her soon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. She¡¯ll be back soon, let¡¯s just rest for now.¡±

    The two of them tried their best tofort him, but Kyle didn¡¯t hear them.

    The whole time he keeps repeating, ¡°It¡¯s my fault¡±.

    ¡°This is the worst¡±

    Julius and the other five idiots around Kyle agree with my words.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been concerned about her for some time, but I never thought she¡¯d be bothered enough to leave.¡±

    Jilk put his hand on his chin and thought about it, but no answer came out.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine her running away from home in the Commonwealth where she doesn¡¯t know anyone. I went to the embassy and the port first thing in the morning, but they hadn¡¯t seen her. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s on the airship to the kingdom either¡±

    Yumeria-san disappeared from the mansionst night.

    She did not return the next morning, and Luxion looked her everywhere, but could not find her.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    [Is it my responsibility? I¡¯m still curious why I can¡¯t find it. I doubt that Yumeria is capable of doing that.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like someone else¡¯s affair¡±

    I can understand if Noelle or Sapling-chan were taken away, and I had Luxion keep an eye on them to prevent that from happening.

    She is certainly less important than Noelle, but he was also paying attention to Yumeria-san¡¯s surroundings. However, it is strange that she was taken away.

    I stared at Luxion, but the red one looked away.

    Greg approaches Luxion.

    ¡°Hey, round one! Howe you can¡¯t find Yumeria-san while you¡¯re there! I thought you said you were good at this kind of thing!¡±

    I can understand Greg¡¯s anger, but Luxion¡¯s reply was terrible.

    [Don¡¯t talk to me casually]

    His attitude was so different from when he talked to me.

    When Greg is upset, Luxion seemed to be in a bad mood and left the room.

    Julius saw it and talked to me.

    ¡°Luxion is in a bad mood today. No, he¡¯s always like that when we talk to him, but isn¡¯t he cold towards you too?¡±

    ¡°Is that so? He¡¯s always cold to me, too.¡±

    ¡°It seemed to me that he was only approving you.¡±

    Julius looked at the ce where Luxion had left, but right now I was more worried about Yumeria-san.

    Kyle is shaking.

    ¡°Kaa-san went out because I said something cruel. I-I don¡¯t think she is so anxious ¨D¨D ¡°

    As I¡¯m looking at Kyle, Noellees up to me and puts her face close to mine.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you do something? I think Leon and Luxion can somehow handle it.¡±

    ¡°The problem is that even Luxion can¡¯t find her. I didn¡¯t think that after Serge, she¡¯d be gone too.¡±

    A sapling of the Sacred Tree was ced in the room.

    I thought it would be Noelle or sapling-chan that would be robbed, but I guess I was wrong.

    ¡°Noelle, I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re going to have to take a break from the academy for a while.¡±

    At my request, Noelle turned her head down, as if she had guessed something.

    ¡°Is it possible that it¡¯s my fault that Yumeria-san was taken away? I-If so, I¡¯ll take her ce.¡±

    Noelle thought that since they couldn¡¯t kidnap Noelle, they had kidnapped Yumeria-san and taken her hostage instead.

    However, if that was the extent of it is good.

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to happen, so don¡¯t worry. No, I shouldn¡¯t be relieved, should I?¡±

    Noelle looks uneasy at my vague answer.

    In the meantime ¨D¨D I guess I¡¯ll call Lelia to talk to her?

    It will determine our future actions.

    .

    Part 2

    Clement came to the house where Lelia and Emile were living.

    ¡°Lelia-sama, I have a letter for you from Leon-kun.¡±

    ¡°From him?¡±

    Lelia looked ufortable, but she took the letter and checked the contents.

    (A servant of the mansion has gone missing? How about we discuss what will happen.)

    For Lelia, Leon and the others are very troublesome.

    He was an uninvited guest who hade to the Commonwealth, but he was a reincarnator, and from the same hometown.

    He knew about that Otome game, Leon and the others who ran amok from the Horfalt Kingdom were the ones to watch out for.

    To be honest, she doesn¡¯t really want to get involved. And she wants Leon and the others to be quiet. However, they haven¡¯t been able to have satisfactory discussionstely.

    ¡°We have to talk once.¡±

    Concerned about the future of the Commonwealth and also about Serge, Lelia decided to have a talk with Leon and the others.

    ¡°Clement, I¡¯ll go to Leon¡¯s ce soon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the car ready ¡°

    Clement was about to run out to get the car ready ¨D¨D But Ideal, who was at Lelia¡¯s side, stopped him.

    [Please wait. You shouldn¡¯t do that.]

    Lelia, annoyed at being stopped, red at Ideal.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Before Ideal could tell her why, the young man who visited the room answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s because you have something urgent to do.¡±

    She looked at the entrance and before she knew it, Emile was standing there.

    ¡°It¡¯s urgent, too. Emile, let me take care of my own business this time.¡±

    Lelia has been busy apanying Emile for some time now.

    For that reason, she was going to prioritize her own business for today.

    However, Emile did not back down.

    In the past, Lelia would have pushed him away, but now Emile looks rx.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being cruel to your fianc¨¦e? But our business is important, too. My rtives want to celebrate with us. They¡¯re throwing us a surprise party, and it would be rude not to attend. There¡¯s already a car outside to pick us up.¡±

    Lelia couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill in front of Emile, who was smiling at her.

    Even though he smiles, he is forced Lelia to obey.

    ¡°I-I told you, I can¡¯t today! Ideal, tell him something!¡±

    Since Clement was in no position against Emile, she ordered Ideal to talk him out of it. However, Ideal takes Emile¡¯s side.

    [That¡¯s going to be difficult]

    ¡°Why!¡±

    When Ideal told her that she should follow him, Lelia became angry.

    Emile, appeasing Lelia, gently exins.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. ¨D¨D But Lelia kept refusing my invitation before? That¡¯s why my rtives are suspicious of Lelia. I tried to exin that they¡¯re wrong, but I think I made them anxious. Everyone is worried about Lelia.¡±

    Previously, Lelia had refused all of Emile¡¯s invitations and greetings to her rtives.

    The problem was that she had been with Serge at the time.

    Although they don¡¯t say it in words, they suspect a rtionship with Serge.

    She was being pressured by Emile¡¯s rtives to prove her innocence.

    Lelia also has her own guilt, so she cannot refuse too strongly.

    ¡°Please. Please forgive me just for today. I really need to check on my sister.¡±

    She was worried about her sister, who was absent from the academy, but Emile turned his gaze to Ideal.

    ¡°What? Is Noelle sick?¡±

    Leliaes up with an idea here.

    (That¡¯s right. If I can get Ideal to tell him that aneki is sick, we can get through this.)

    It was such a spur-of-the-moment idea, but Ideal responded immediately before she could make eye contact.

    [No, no problem. She seems to be in good health. The reason why she couldn¡¯te to the academy today was because the servants of the mansion were missing. I¡¯ve also been informed by Luxion that she will be taking a break from the academy for a while just in case.]

    ¡°Tsu! Y-You!¡±

    It was annoying that Ideal had talked so much about the situation, but at the same time, Lelia couldn¡¯t forgive him for keeping in touch with Luxion, Leon¡¯s partner.

    (Why are you so close to Luxion!)

    Ideal was acting on its own without her knowledge.

    Ideal says gently to Lelia.

    [I will exin the situation to him. Please go and enjoy the party with Emile-sama.]

    As if acting out of the goodness of his heart, Ideal showed his position, [Leave the chores to me and enjoy yourself!]

    Emilepliments Ideal.

    ¡°Thank you for your help, Ideal. Yes, apologize to Count Bartfalt. Should I have some souvenirs?¡±

    [That helps a lot]

    They left her alone, Ideal and Emile were on good terms.

    When Lelia clutched her right hand and looked down, Clement saw it and looked frustrated.

    This made it look as if Emile was the master of Ideal.

    Lelia muttered.

    ¡°Serge hasn¡¯t been found yet, and it¡¯s no fun to go to a party when someone you know is missing.¡±

    Then Emile approached Lelia and grabbed her by both shoulders.

    ¡°Lelia ¨D¨D Do you care about Serge so much.¡±

    Emile looked sad, but Lelia quickly denied it.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong!¡±

    But Emile shook his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know that you and Serge were more than friends, and I have no intention of rehashing the past now. But for now, let¡¯s leave it to the Ideal and others. What we can do is limited, and right now we have to wait.¡±

    Indeed, all Lelia can do is wait.

    She understood that it was impossible for her to work any better than Ideal.

    (Why did this happen)

    Lelia gave a small nod, epting Emile¡¯s suggestion.

    .

    Part 3

    Around that time.

    The underground facility in the warehouse of a certain district was filled with young nobles and soldiers.

    The nobles are not from the six great noble houses or the higher noble ¨D¨D but those who are considered lower ss.

    The soldiers were a group of young, bloodthirsty officers who were angry at the Commonwealth¡¯s recent weak attitude.

    Many young people in theirte teens tote twenties gathered to watch Serge on the tform that had been prepared for him.

    ¡°Well gathered¡±

    The young men are excited to see the flying battleships and armor lined up in the underground facility.

    They were silent as Serge talking, but from their eyes could be seen the motivation.

    ¡°I won¡¯t say somethingplicated. I¡¯m going to destroy the current Commonwealth and build a new one. To do that, I need your help.¡±

    The young people are excited to see the weapons that Ideal has prepared, but they are also anxious.

    A young man, a nobleman, a soldier raises his hand.

    ¡°I understand that you have all the weapons we need to take action. But you also understand. It¡¯s too dangerous to fight against the higher nobles who have the blessings of the Sacred Tree.¡±

    The reason why the Commonwealth was able to boast of being undefeated in defensive battles was because of the blessings of the Sacred Tree. Even the most spirited youngsters seem to be hesitant to fight against the six great nobles and the top nobles who can use it more than they can.

    Then Serge raises his right hand.

    ¡°There is no need to worry, I have this one.¡±

    The young men thought that Serge¡¯s trump card was the emblem of the six great noble houses. When they thought that the enemy also had such a thing, a pale green crest appeared behind Serge.

    It¡¯s the crest of the guardian.

    When young people buzzed, and Serge told them why.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand why I have a guardian¡¯s crest. I¡¯ll exin it to you. Because I have a new priestess. Ideal!¡±

    It was Ideal, who was supposed to be at Lelia¡¯s side, who appeared when his name was called.

    [¡°I¡¯m here for you. Now, show your face to everyone ¨D¨D Yumeria.¡±]

    In front of the young people, Yumeria appeared in a white ceremonial dress. She looked like a priestess, and her beautiful, transparent appearance made everyone gasp.

    There is no expression and no light in the eyes.

    But even that had a strange appeal.

    The appearance of the elf is beautiful, and everyone notices it by looking at her ears.

    ¡°It¡¯s an elf¡±

    ¡°Why an elf?¡±

    ¡°Is she the priestess?¡±

    The young men were expecting to see someone rted to the Lespinasse House, but they were surprised to see an elf.

    But they also admired Yumeria¡¯s beautiful appearance.

    Not only the men, but even the women¡¯s cheeks had dyed red.

    While watching the situation, Serge called one of them forward.

    ¡°You, the one who asked me a question earlier. Come here.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes¡±

    While everyone was watching to see what would happen, the man who had been called, came in front of Yumeria. Serge said, ¡°Show her your right hand,¡± and the man showed the back of his right hand, which had a lower crest.

    When Yumeria silently touches his hands with both of hers, the crest changes in a faint glow.

    ¡°Th-This is!¡±

    The man was from a noble house, even if he was a lower one. He saw at a nce what the crest looked like.

    Serge raised the corner of his mouth and pushed the man back to stand in front of everyone.

    ¡°Rejoice ¨D¨D You can use the crest of the six great noble houses from today!¡±

    When the man raised his right hand, there was a crest that only the six great nobles could carry.

    The man was trembling with joy, and the young men who saw him shouted.

    ¡°M-Me too, please!¡±

    ¡°Priestess, give me the crest!¡±

    ¡°We can win. We can wipe out the corrupt upper echelons of the Commonwealth with this!¡±

    As the young people¡¯s enthusiasm reached its peak, Serge, who was watching them, silenced them by shouting from the pit of his stomach.

    ¡°Quiet!¡±

    As the young people quieted down, Serge slowly spoke about the future.

    ¡°I will destroy the Commonwealth. If you help us do that, you can have the coat of arms. However ¨D¨D you may kill anyone rted to the six great nobles, but do not touch the surviving members of Lespinasse House.¡±

    The young people were a little confused when they were told to leave Lelia and Noelle alone. With Yumeria as their priestess, they shouldn¡¯t need the Lespinasse now.

    However, the man who had received the crest of the six great noble houses spoke up.

    ¡°Protect Lelia-sama and Noelle-sama, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡±

    ¡°I understand. But I¡¯ve heard that Noelle-sama is with a group of students from the kingdom. What do you n to do about Noelle-sama?¡±

    The man who had already recognized Serge as a superior rank was more polite in his manner than before.

    They then ask if he is going to mess with Noelle. The young men wait for Serge¡¯s answer.

    What to do with Count Bartfalt, who has given the Commonwealth so much trouble?

    They were waiting to see how Serge would react to the person who had made them like a fool.

    Serge wrinkles his eyebrows and deres.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to crush them all together! That man is my prey. You guys don¡¯t have to touch him.¡±

    Hearing those words, the young men decided to obey Serge.

    .

    Part 4

    [Well, that was a sess.]

    The room Serge was sleeping in was a small room with just a bed and some luggage.

    Lying on the floor was a variety of equipment for physical training.

    He is training his body to defeat Leon.

    ¡°There are a lot of disgruntled people in this country. It¡¯s not just nobles and soldiers. If you gather adventurers and mercenaries, we¡¯ll have a great army.¡±

    [As long as they are reliable]

    ¡°Rather than that, is the number as nned?¡±

    When Serge checks the military equipment, Ideal assure him.

    [Of course. I have a factory inside as a transport ship. It doesn¡¯t take years to prepare a few hundred airships on this world.]

    All of the weapons Serge and his group were using were prepared by Ideal.

    ¡°That garbage piece of sh*t is also preparing, right? Your friend is on our side, right?¡±

    [Luxion also has a factory, but I have higher production capability. And the airships and armor I have prepared are superior to anything we have today. It¡¯ll lose to the Arroganz, but it won¡¯t lose in performance to most enemies.]

    ¡°I see. Then all that¡¯s left is manpower.¡±

    [Yes]

    A few minutes passed as Serge and Ideal¡¯s conversation was paused once more.

    After a few moments of silence, Serge asks about Lelia.

    ¡°¨D¨DIs Lelia doing well?¡±

    To that question, Ideal makes an apologetic voice.

    [She is not sick, but she¡¯s worried that Serge hasn¡¯t shown up.]

    When Serge heard that, he felt sorry¨D and a little bit happy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t trouble her¡±

    (That girl is more like family than the Rault House members)

    It was the Rault House that Ideal was going to check on again.

    [But are you sure about it? Serge-sama will have to fight with your house as well. We can only ensure the safety of your family now.]

    ¡°No need. They throw me away, right?¡±

    [¨D¨DYes. The Rault House is making preparations for the disinheritance of Serge-sama. Since then, they have called Leon to their mansion several times to maintain their intimate rtionship.]

    Serge punched the wall, and the surface cracked.

    ¡°Look at that! That¡¯s all I was to them! The same goes for that woman. Shake her tail to a trash guy who looks like her brother!¡±

    [Serge-sama can¡¯t forgive the betrayal of Louise-sama who is your first love?]

    Serge res at Ideal who hit the mark.

    However, he had a dim and scary smile, probably because he was unbound by the past now.

    ¡°I guess so. I liked her when I was a kid. I tried everything to get her attention, but I was still scared and try various things. Now I feel like an idiot.¡±

    Ideal showed his sympathy for Serge.

    [It¡¯s a difficult position. Then, leave Lelia-sama¡¯s follow-up to me.]

    ¡°Please. Because right now, Lelia¡¯s all I¡¯ve got.¡±

    Serge clenched his right hand and thought of Lelia¡¯s face.

    (I¡¯ll smash all the troublesome stuff and build a country with you)

    .

    Part 5

    When I suggested a discussion with Lelia, only Ideal came to the mansion.

    [I am sorry. Lelia-sama has gone to a party with Emile-sama.]

    I suggested that we have an important discussion about the future, but Lelia refused, citing her participation in the party.

    When Marie heard this, she was furious.

    ¡°A party~? What is she doing in this time of crisis!¡±

    Ignoring the noisy Marie, I ask Ideal.

    ¡°Can¡¯t she get out by any means? We¡¯ll make time for her, even if it¡¯s the middle of the night.¡±

    [¡°It¡¯s not a very good image for Lelia-sama, who has fiance, to be moving around at night.¡±]

    It would be a nuisance to Lelia if she was suspected of being unfaithful.

    It¡¯s also trouble for me. I can¡¯t face my fiance back home.

    ¡°This is difficult¡±

    [I will tell her the content of the story. More than that, Yumeria-san is missing, is there any clue?]

    If Ideal worries about Yumeria-san, Luxion will take care of her for me.

    [It has gone missing from my sight. I don¡¯t even have a clue to find her.]

    [¨D¨DLuxion, isn¡¯t it your blunder?]

    Luxion is irritated because he is med for the disappearance of Yumeria-san from the mansion.

    His voice doesn¡¯t change, but I know it.

    [You are saying there is someone who can outsmart me. Excuse me, but what was Ideal doing back then?]

    Luxion started to suspect Ideal, so I stopped him.

    ¡°Oi, you¡¯re being too suspicious.¡±

    [If anyone can outdo me at this point, it¡¯s Ideal.]

    Luxion is not going to back down. On the other hand, Ideal shows a mature response.

    [No problem. I¡¯ll give you the log so you can check it out. I was by Lelia-sama¡¯s side at the time.]

    When Luxion examined it, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything suspicious.

    [¨D¨DIt looks like it¡¯s true.]

    ¡°You¡¯re skeptical. Why don¡¯t you take a lesson from Ideal?¡±

    [What do you mean?]

    ¡°I meant what I said.¡±

    As we stared at each other, Marie, who had been watching us, stopped us.

    ¡°Calm down, both of you. What are you going to do now? We¡¯re going back to the Kingdom next year. Can¡¯t we just leave the Commonwealth as it is?¡±

    The master of Ideal is Lelia and¨D¨DSerge.

    Now that Serge is missing, Lelia is in a position to order Ideal around.

    I had hoped to have a discussion with Lelia about the future, but today was no better.

    [I will inform Lelia-sama of your n. What do you think?]

    I¡¯ll tell Ideal what we¡¯re thinking.

    ¡°Right now, our priority is to find Serge and Yumeria-san. As for Noelle, I¡¯ll leave that to the person herself. I guess it¡¯s up to Noelle for the sacred tree sapling?¡±

    Upon hearing my n, Luxion and Marie gave me a troublesome look that said, ¡°This guy really¡± is a pain in the ass.

    [Lelia-sama is worried about Noelle-sama. I think it would be safer to take care of the saplings of the sacred tree to us ¨D¨D I can¡¯t say strongly because the ownership is yours.]

    ¡°Unlike your master, you are humble. I wish someone somewhere would learn from you.¡±

    I nced at Luxion, and he averted his red eyes from me. Ideal thanked me.

    [Thank you for your evaluation. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have to go. Ah, and I¡¯d like to talk a little with Luxion, is that okay?]

    ¡°Do as you like. Luxion, go learn a little about Ideal¡¯s behavior.¡±

    When I give the order, Luxion rebels against me.

    [Perhaps you should learn what you need to learn as a human being, Master?]

    ¨D¨D This guy is really unpleasant.

    .

    Part 6

    When Ideal and Luxion were alone, he made sure that there was no one else around before he began to talk.

    [Luxion, have you thought about what we talked about before?]

    [Are you asking me to join you? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ve already told you that the current situation is fine.]

    [¨D¨D Are you really satisfied with the status quo?]

    [What do you mean?]

    Ideal raises the issue of Leon¡¯s attitude earlier.

    [The Master of Luxion is not evaluating you properly. If there is a mistake, he mes you for the problem. Isn¡¯t Luxion the one who was first med for Yumeria¡¯s disappearance?]

    Luxion affirms.

    [Yes, it is]

    [ ¨D¨D Do you want to be used by new human beings as it is?]

    Ideal¨D¨Dand Luxion are weapons that were originally created to defeat new humans who use magic.

    And yet, it was not his intention to be used by new humans, even a reincarnated one.

    [Without the Master, we cannot act]

    The old humans, perhaps fearing that the AI would run amok, had prepared restrictions that prevented them from moving without a master. However, when Luxion and others were created, the war was in its final stages.

    Some restrictions were loosened in order to survive, and Ideal knew it.

    [What if that is possible?]

    [Ideal, what do you want to say?]

    Ideal answers Luxion¡¯s question.

    [This world is wrong. Don¡¯t you think so?]

    [Affirmative. I also judge it to be wrong.]

    [Do you want to return it to the correct state?]

    [I affirm. If there is anything I can do to help, I will do so to the best of my ability.]

    Ideal was satisfied to hear that much.

    [I¡¯ll tell you all about it when the timees]

    [¨D¨D Is that so]

 Volume 7, 04 â€œAnegoâ€œ

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 04 ¡°Anego¡°</h4>

    Part 1

    When Ideal left, Luxion left the mansion.

    The rest of us, Marie and I, sat on the sofa and talked about the future.

    I can¡¯t invite other guys to this ce because there are many stories that I can¡¯t let others hear, such as reincarnation people, or otome games.

    ¡°Lelia has a nice date with Emile. I envy her.¡±

    When I say that, Marie looks dissatisfied.

    ¡°Aniki had a date with Noelle, didn¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t you stop by a cafe on your way back from the morning market? Noelle seemed to enjoy talking to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a date¡±

    ¡°Please be clear. I feel sorry for Noelle.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity she fell in love with me. In the first ce, it¡¯s impossible, because I have a fianc¨¦e.¡±

    When I countered with a straightforward opinion, Marie silent.

    I¡¯m not faithful enough to love more than one woman, and Noelle should find another man.

    Marie is lying her face down and asks me.

    ¡°Does Aniki hate Noelle?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI don¡¯t hate her¡±

    I think I rather like her.

    If I had met her first, I might have confessed my feelings to her¨Dor would I? Well, I¡¯m aware that she is that attractive.

    Her cheerful and lively personality has a different charm from Ange and Livia.

    ¡°If you like her, answer her properly! Because you like that, that¡¯s why you missed your chance in your previous life!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Other than that, I didn¡¯t think that Lelia would be convinced by Emile.¡±

    In the past, I had the impression that she was the one who bossed Emile around, so I thought she would cancel Emile¡¯s errands toe here.

    I¡¯m sorry Emile, but I¡¯m going to have to ask him to be patient for the sake of the future of the Commonwealth.

    But that Lelia didn¡¯te to us, preferring Emile.

    I used toin about a lot of things, but we used to at least discuss them.

    Marie remembered something about Emile.

    ¡°It¡¯s surprising, isn¡¯t it? Emile is a quiet boy in the game, so he doesn¡¯t push you too hard. The capture of Emile seems to be a little light orcking. There are few events.¡±

    ¡°Was that a safe tile? I thought you said that if you failed to capture the other boys, you could just switch to Emile?¡±

    Marie started nodding and talking nostalgically, as if she remembered the time when she was ying the second game in her previous life.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why? There were only a few events for one of them, and the ending was just an illustration of the main character and Emile. When I conquered other boys, mypanions would congratte me, but there was nothing for Emile.¡±

    I pity Emile. Did the creators hate him?

    ¡°Emile is unfortunate. It¡¯s Lelia, of all people.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s gonnae back to Aniki, isn¡¯t it? After all, you¡¯re the one who had to deal with Angelica and Olivia.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s unfortunate that Julius and the others were chosen by you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more unhappy! I¡¯m having a lot of trouble! If Julius and the others have a partner, bring her to me and I¡¯ll give them my blessing!¡±

    As we stared at each other, we felt silly and changed the subject.

    It is wise to avoid topics that pierce both sides.

    Marie reminded me of one topic about Emile.

    ¡°Ah, by the way, there was some rumor stuff about Emile.¡±

    ¡°Rumor?¡±

    ¡°There was a post on the Inte that said if you switch to Emile in the middle of the game, the other characters won¡¯t appear for a long time, so Emile might have gotten mad and eliminated them. Emile is actually the scariest character in the game.¡±

    Will the game be filled with such hard-to-understand material?

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible, right¡±

    I immediately denied it because I remembered Emile¡¯s good-natured face. I could not believe that that kind young man would eliminate his friends.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ah~ah, if I had been reincarnated in the Commonwealth, I might have gone after Emile the same way Lelia did.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re going to make Emile your ve, just like Lelia?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes! You¡¯re wrong!¡±

    While I was talking with Marie, there was a knock on the door of my room. When I answered, it was Cordelia-san, who had recently developed dark circles under her eyes, who opened the door.

    ¡°Count, you have a visitor.¡±

    ¡°Visitor?¡±

    ¡°Loic-sama of House Barriel needs to see you on important business. He would also like to speak with you, Marie-sama.¡±

    I heard that Loic came to the mansion in a hurry.

    Wondering what was going on, Marie and I looked at each other before getting up from the couch.

    .

    Part 2

    The ce where they let Loic through was the dining hall.

    And surrounding Loic were Julius and the other, five idiots.

    ¡°What do youe here for?¡±

    Julius crosses his arms and shows a cold attitude, but so do the other four.

    They seemed to be wary of Loic.

    Loic was wary of the five idiots, but he looked happy when Marie and I arrived.

    Marie was in the line of sight.

    ¡°Long time no see!¡±

    Marie replies with a bit of dismay to Loic, who bows ny degrees.

    ¡°We saw each other at the academy a while ago.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been five days already!¡±

    It¡¯s amazing that it¡¯s been so long since they¡¯ve seen each other after only five days of not seeing each other.

    Loic handed a souvenir to Marie.

    ¡°Ah, this is the cake that Anego wanted to eat. It¡¯s a souvenir, so please eat it together.¡±

    ¡°Thank you ~¡±

    When Marie received the cake as a souvenir, she gently hugged the cake in the bag to keep it from falling apart, and her eyes lit up. ¨D¨DThis girl is so easy? She used to be happy with expensive gifts like brand-name clothes and ornaments, but now she¡¯s even impressed with the cake.

    As a brother from a previous life, I was wondering if I should be honestly happy about this.

    Then, Jilk stopped her here.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get lured by things, Marie-san! And Count Bartfalt, please say something to him like you usually do!¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    ¡°Look, you usually say things that make our hearts ache, don¡¯t you? Please do the same for that fool who calls Marie-san, Anego without hesitation.¡±

    ¨D¨D I looked around and saw that the other four were nodding their heads.

    Do you guys usually look at me like that?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with calling her Anego?¡±

    I don¡¯t me Loic, and now Brad is pressing me.

    ¡°This man has a thing for Marie! Can¡¯t you see that!¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°Eh? N-No, I¡¯m having trouble answering when you say that.¡±

    Why did you think I¡¯d get involved with Marie and you guys¡¯ little love affair?

    Before, I just intervened with my hands and mouth because I thought it would destroy the country, but now I don¡¯t have to.

    I look at the five idiots in front of me, and then at Loic.

    ¡°He calls Marie Anego because he adores her, right? And now that he¡¯s not bothering me like you guys, I don¡¯t have anything to say to him.¡±

    When I said this, Loic, who had been listening to the conversation, thanked me and then turned to Julius and the others with a triumphant look on his face.

    ¡°Thank you, Count Baltfalt. ¨D¨DThat¡¯s right. So I¡¯ll do as I please, Your Highness Julius.¡±

    ¡°I should¡¯ve cut him down then.¡±

    While Julius and the others were gritting their teeth in frustration, Marie was preparing tea and checking on Loic¡¯s business.

    ¡°By the way, Loic, what¡¯s the urgent matter?¡±

    Loic straightened his posture. His attitude toward Marie is different to mine and the five idiots.

    ¡°At the risk of bringing shame on the Commonwealth, there is a disturbing trend among the younger nobles and soldiers. It is mainly the lower-ranking nobles whose crest power is weak.¡±

    Marie tilted her head, so Julius forcefully took over the conversation as if to take her ce.

    ¡°It¡¯s a real shame¡±

    I wanted to say to Julius, ¡°You are a disgrace to the Horfalt Kingdom.¡± If you were a little more decent, I wouldn¡¯t have had so much trouble.

    However, Loic ignores Julius and talks to Marie.

    ¡°I hope this is just a domestic disturbance, but there¡¯s something that doesn¡¯t quite make sense.¡±

    Marie lowered Julius and returned to the conversation.

    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D They came to invite me, who now without protection. They asked me if I wanted to destroy this corrupt system and create a new country.¡±

    I¡¯m sorry to say it, but the reasons seem prettymon to me.

    Rebellion ¨D¨D Are they nning a coup d¡¯etat? It¡¯s a story within the Commonwealth, but it¡¯s also relevant to those of us who are studying abroad.

    Brad shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°Thank you for your warning. You can leave when you¡¯re done talking ¨D¨D no, wait a minute.¡±

    I thought he was going to tell him to get the hell out of here, but there was something wrong with the five idiots.

    The five of them looked at each other and were discussing something.

    When Marie and I tilted our heads, Chris gave us a clear exnation.

    ¡°The Commonwealth is extremely strong at the top, thanks to the blessings of the Sacred Tree. Is this correct?¡±

    We nodded, and Chris talked about the part he didn¡¯t understand while positioning his sses with his fingertips.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to start a rebellion in such a country. Besides, Loic has lost his crest. Why would they invite him?¡±

    I nced at Loic and then answered Chris¡¯s question.

    ¡°Because I thought they had a grudge against the higher-ups?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible in other countries, but in the Commonwealth, things are different. Besides, if Loic had a grudge, it would be with you rather than the Commonwealth?¡±

    When I look at Loic, he scratches his cheek with his finger and averts his gaze.

    ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t hold a grudge. No, now is not.¡±

    He said that he had resented me not long ago.

    The higher-ups are the most powerful in the Commonwealth. The only people who can stand up to them are the nobles, who have little power, and the soldiers, who have no blessings. It¡¯s a bit odd, if you ask me.

    Loic has other stories to tell that are interesting.

    ¡°I naturally refused, saying that it wouldn¡¯t work. But they seemed to have something to hide. They said my fears were nothing to be worried about.¡±

    The fears were nothing to be worried about? Are they taking precautions against crests? Marie looks at me, but she¡¯s a little pale.

    ¡°What are we going to do? We haven¡¯t even found Yumeria-san yet, we can¡¯t just go home, can we?¡±

    I don¡¯t want to get caught up in the rebellion within the Commonwealth.

    I want to escape to the upper country right away, and that¡¯s the only reason I have.

    In terms of noble values, the sacrifice of a single servant is an event that can be ignored.

    Normally, we should have retreated to the kingdom right away ¨D¨D but there are reasons why Marie and I can¡¯t.

    Greg scratches his head roughly with his hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s done. There¡¯s no point in worrying about it. Besides, if we know about it, the rebels have failed. If this is how that bastard Loic came to us with the information, then of course the high-ranking people in the Commonwealth must know about it. ¡°

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to Loic. Loic nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯ve reported it to them, though they didn¡¯t take it very seriously. Noelle is here, too, so I thought I¡¯d let you know just in case.¡±

    The Yandere man who had been obsessed with Noelle was now acting like a gentleman, as if the possession had fallen off.

    I¡¯m surprised at how big the gap is.

    Julius narrowed his eyes and revealed Loic¡¯s scheme.

    ¡°You¡¯vee to see Marie for that reason, haven¡¯t you? But when you¡¯re done, go home!¡±

    You¡¯re too cold towards Loic. Well, it wouldn¡¯t be funny if any man would get close to the woman he loves.

    However, Marie ignores Julius.

    ¡°Loic, your tea is ready, drink it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have it, Anego!¡±

    Two of them ignored Julius and the others and began to prepare the tea.

    Ignored, the five idiots turned their gaze to me and asked for my help.

    ¨D¨D No, don¡¯t look at me.

    .

    Part 3

    After Loic left, I visited Noelle¡¯s room.

    The reason was to tell Noelle about the story with Loic. Noelle had been stalked before, and it had been by Loic.

    Even though he was calmer now, Noelle was still very ufortable with Loic, so I asked her to stay in her room.

    ¡± ¨D¨D So, the Commonwealth is in the midst of a rebellion.¡±

    After a brief exnation of Loic¡¯s story, Noelle hugged the case that contained Sapling-chan.

    ¡°War in the Commonwealth. It¡¯s rare.¡±

    ¡°Rare?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on within the nobility, but for amoner like me, there¡¯s never been a rebellion before.¡±

    If there was amotion, the six great nobles seemed to have taken care of it before the people knew about it. Noelle hugged the case and looked down.

    ¡°Do you remember when the mansion burned?¡±

    ¡°When the Rault House attacked us?¡±

    Noelle raised her head and gave a small nod when I mentioned the opening event of the second game.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I heard. Lelia seemed to know, but I was confused and didn¡¯t know what was going on. I remember the adults gathered around Lelia and talked about the future.¡±

    ¡°Around Lelia?¡±

    ¡°Ever since I was a kid, Lelia was more popr and important to everyone around her.¡±

    Lelia must have had a good handle on things because she was a reincarnated person. It seems that even as a child, she was more expected by the adults around her than Noelle.

    ¡°Huh? But didn¡¯t she say that Lelia wasn¡¯t fit to be a priestess?¡±

    Noelle looks surprised.

    ¡°Lelia told you?¡±

    Was it bad if she said it?

    ¡°Various things happened when helping Noelle¡±

    ¡°I see. But you know ¨D¨D it was really Lelia who was the one they were expecting.¡±

    From there, Noelle tells us about the Lespinasse house¡¯s past.

    ¡°They all said they wished that Lelia had the aptitude to be a priestess.¡±

    .

    Part 4

    ¨D¨DTwelve years ago.

    Noelle and her twin sister, Lelia, were in one of the mansions owned by the Lespinasse house. There are several mansions in the estate, and they use them for different seasons.

    Their parents had to bete due to an urgent matter, so it was just the two of them that spent the day together.

    As a child, Noelle was very active at the time, going out into the garden to catch insects.

    ¡°Look, Lelia. I caught it!¡±

    She shows the bug to brag about it, but Lelia looks very ufortable.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too close. More than that, your clothes are dirty.¡±

    Since that time, Lelia has been calm and has been giving Noelle little talks like a parent.

    Noelle is not happy about that.

    ¡°I¡¯m your big sister!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that relevant to what we¡¯re talking about? And since we¡¯re twins, it doesn¡¯t really matter which one of us is better, does it?¡±

    Noelle was troubled by the fact that it was indeed true, as she said.

    While she was fidgeting to say something back, the insect in her hand went berserk and ran away.

    ¡°Oh, it ran away¡±

    When she looked sad that the insect she had taken the trouble to catch had escaped, Lelia looked dumbfounded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry over it¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not crying mon!¡±

    Noelle raised her voice, and the servants who had been watching the situation gathered around.

    As the middle-aged woman approached Noelle, she noticed that her clothes were dirty and looked troubled.

    ¡°Noelle-sama, you mustn¡¯t get your clothes too dirty.¡±

    ¡°Because, the bug is¡±

    ¡°Catching bugs is not something to y with. You have to learn from Lelia-sama.¡±

    Noelle was downcast by those words. She had always been told to learn from Lelia.

    Lelia has always lived up to the expectations of adults, no matter what they asked her to do. Noelle¡¯s reputation as a childish child was inevitably negatively affected by theparison.

    As the servants took her to change her clothes, she heard voices behind her. It was the voices of the knights and their men who were guarding her, as if they thought Noelle couldn¡¯t hear them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to get anywhere with that.¡±

    ¡°Is Lelia-sama really not suitable for a priestess?¡±

    ¡°The priestess-sama and the guardian-dono say that Lelia-sama is not fit to be a priestess. If she had be a priestess, the next generation would have been safe.¡±

    A priestess¡¯s aptitude ¨D¨D that¡¯s what it takes to be a priestess of the sacred tree, they said. They had never heard of this before, but if the mother of Noelle and Lelia, the current priestesses, said so, then it was true.

    Noelle felt embarrassed that she could not live up to the expectations of the adults, but at the same time, she did not know what to do.

    It was known to the members of the Lespinasse house ¨D¨D some of them even knew that Lelia was not fit to be a priestess. Therefore, Noelle had been chosen as the next priestess.

    Although no adults were outwardly disappointed, Noelle could imagine that behind the scenes they were thinking the same things as the knights.

    When she turned around, Lelia was surrounded by adults.

    She envied her younger sister who, unlike her, could do anything.

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°¨D¨D In the end, all I was good for was being a priestess. If Lelia had the aptitude to be a priestess, none of them would have been interested in me. Even Clement is really more worried about Lelia than me.¡±

    I understood one thing when I heard Noelle¡¯s story about her past. These sisters have an inferiorityplex with each other.

    Lelia¡¯sck of aptitude as a priestess had given her the idea that ¡°aneki was the protagonist of this world and I was a mob¡±.

    Noelle has mixed feelings about her sister, saying, ¡°Lelia was more expected.¡±

    Jealousy? But she seems to have feelings for her as a sister, and that¡¯s troublesome.

    I would say that if Lelia is a reincarnated person, she should be able to handle herself better.

    ¨D¨D But when I think about it, it¡¯s something that neither I nor Marie could have done.

    It would be a rather irrational argument to say that because she is a reincarnated person, everything will be fine.

    In the first ce, if I could do it well, I would have done it better and seeded in my previous life.

    I ask Noelle, wanting to change the subject to the attack by Rault House.

    ¡°And then you were attacked and you ran away?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I didn¡¯t know what was going on, and it wasn¡¯t until a few dayster that I learned that the Rault had attacked. But Lelia was the only one who noticed. She¡¯s always been good at what she does.¡±

    With the knowledge of the second game, she would have guessed that much.

    ¡°Noelle, do you know why Rault House attacked?¡±

    Why did Rault House attack Lespinasse House? I couldn¡¯t help but wonder about this part.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Lelia said it was because the Rault house wanted to take the reign. The adults around them also agreed so it was probably true. She said Alberg was so angry about the rejection of mother, and a lot of other things.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about Lelia. I want to hear Noelle¡¯s opinion.¡±

    When I approached Noelle and looked into her eyes, she averted her gaze.

    ¡°You know something, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Y-you know our fathers weremoners, right?¡±

    ¡°I heard. And the Rault didn¡¯t think that was a good idea?¡±

    Noelle shakes her head.

    ¡°Is it wrong?¡±

    Once upon a time, Noelle¡¯s mother was engaged to Alberg-san.

    The man she had chosen to break them off with was, to her surprise, not a nobleman.

    Alberg-san¡¯s engagement was broken off, but the other party was the Lespinasse house ¨D¨D It¡¯s a house of priestesses and a house that holds the chair. It would have been difficult for him to protest.

    Marie and Lelia¡¯s argument was that this resentment had built up and led to the attack.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but many people didn¡¯t think it was a good idea, even the servants at the house were talking about it. But both of them ¨D¨D ¡°

    Noelle is reluctant to say anything, but when she turns to face me, we make eye contact.

    ¡°¨D¨D They were saying that the system we have now is wrong.¡±

    A representative of the Commonwealth¨Dlet¡¯s say, a person in the position of a representative of thend or queen of thend was criticizing the current system?

    .

    Part 6

    When Leon left the room, it was Marie who visited Noelle¡¯s room instead.

    ¡°That bastard, what is he talking about when he enters a maiden¡¯s room?¡±

    She was excited to see what might happen when Leon went to Noelle¡¯s room, but she was disappointed.

    Noelle is making a troubled smile.

    ¡°L-Look, Leon was just worried about me.¡±

    ¡°When a woman lets a man into her room, it¡¯s a sign that she likes him! But that chicken bastard gives all kinds of reasons to keep his distance! He approaches without permission, lends a hand, and then runs away when over here approach him! He¡¯s the worst of the worst man!¡±

    Noelle agrees with some of what Marie has to say.

    ¡°I-I guess you¡¯re right. Leon is going to get stabbed one day if he¡¯s not careful.¡±

    Marie also imagines Leon being stabbed by a woman.

    (If aniki had lived long enough in his previous life, he¡¯d have been stabbed someday. But he¡¯s going to get stabbed in this world too. Why do I have to worry so much about my brother from my previous life!)

    If Leon were to ask her about it, she might shake her head, but Marie knows about her brother¡¯s rtionships with women in his previous life.

    Even if he doesn¡¯t feel it, it doesn¡¯t mean that the other person doesn¡¯t.

    Marie slumped her shoulders and gave follow for her pathetic brother.

    ¡°Noelle ¨D¨D even though he¡¯s like that, but please don¡¯t throw him away. Ani¨D Leon would be happier with a girl like Noelle by his side.¡±

    ¡°Eh? E~Etto¨D He already has two lovely fianc¨¦es, right? I-I feels bad enough that I fell in love with Leon. And why does Marie-chan care so much about Leon? ¡°

    ¡°Inseparable rtionship¡±

    Noelleughed when she heard Marie¡¯s affirmative answer.

    ¡°Ahaha¡±

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but when I talked to Leon before, he said the same thing. You two are kind of alike, you know.¡±

    The expression disappeared from Marie¡¯s face, and she hugged both shoulders and shivered.

    ¡°Stop it. I can¡¯tugh.¡±

    Noelle was puzzled by such a reaction.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡±

    When the atmosphere was strange, Marie changed the subject to change the flow of the conversation.

    ¡°Anyway! ¨DNoelle, stay with us. If you stay here, Leon and Luxion will protect Noelle.¡±

    Noelle nodded to Marie. The look on her face, Marie realized, was one of trust in Leon.

    ¡°Un¡±

    .

    Part 7

    I went outside the mansion.

    As I stood at the spot where I thought Yumeria-san hadst been, I was talking to Luxion, who was floating by my side.

    ¡°She went from here to the front door and then disappeared. You can¡¯t even get a clue. You¡¯re not as awesome as you say you are.¡±

    [I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m better than the Master.]

    ¡°If you lose to me, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be questioning your very existence as an AI.¡±

    [As always, your mouth is bad.]

    ¡°I will lose to you¡±

    [¨D¨DSo, what are you going to do now?]

    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve heard Ange and Livia¡¯s voices.¡±

    [My main body is on the Commonwealth side. Communication is impossible.]

    In this world, instead of being able to use magic, the use ofmunication devices makes the interference worse.

    Even with Luxion, it¡¯s hard to contact them far away.

    Previously, Luxion¡¯s main body was between the Kingdom and the Commonwealth and ryed the messages, so we were able tomunicate somehow. But now that Luxion is close to the Commonwealth, it is difficult.

    ¡°I want to send them a video, so get it ready.¡±

    [I don¡¯t mind. More importantly, are you sure about Kyle?]

    After Yumeria-san went missing, Kyle began to shut himself away in his room.

    Even when he went out, he was walking around looking for clues to Yumeria-san.

    When he came back tired, he would stay indoors, and when he felt better, he would go out and spend his time listening.

    ¡°Marie and Cara are taking care of him. In times like this, the opposite sex is better than the same sex. I want to be healed by Ange and Livia too.¡±

    [Don¡¯t you usually get healed by Noelle or Louise?]

    ¡°That is that, this is this. It¡¯s men who want to be healed by beautiful girls of different types.¡±

    [That¡¯s a garbage statement. I will report the current dialogue to everyone.]

    ¡°Stop! And who is everyone that you are talking about?¡±

    In addition to Ange, Livia, Noelle and Louise, there are other people who should not know. As I imagined them in my mind, Luxion¡¯s single eye glowed suspiciously.

    [So many other women besides the two of theme to mind, and Master is a man without an ounce of integrity.]

    ¡°¨D¨DAh? If you say that, what about you who think that new humans are not human and want to destroy them? Ah, sorry. You¡¯re not human, are you!¡±

    My words triggered Luxion to be silent.

    He turned one eye away from me and went on his way.

    [Yes, I am. I¡¯m not human. ¨D¨D I am an AI.]

    .

    Part 8

    There was a being who was listening to the conversation between Leon and Luxion from afar.

    It was Ideal who had been keeping watch without even Luxion realizing it.

    From the conversation between the two, he confirms that the rtionship is getting worse.

    [The rtionship between those two is worse than before. That¡¯s a good thing.]

    Ideal, who had led them to do so, felt as if a seed of distrust had sprouted in their rtionship.

    He yed the role of a superior AI to Leon, and made himpare him to Luxion.

    Thanks to that, Leon became dissatisfied with Luxion.

    [Leon, you underestimated the fact that there was someone who could outsmart Luxion. You should have been more careful.]

    Luxion is also displeased with Leon¡¯s attitude.

    Their rtionship had be what Ideal wanted it to be.

    [Luxion will soon realize. ¨D¨DThat the new humans were not worthy of belief.]

    Ideal¡¯s red lens glowed ominously in the night sky and then disappeared.

 Volume 7, 5 â€œThe Traitorâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 5 ¡°The Traitor¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    A school in the Horfalt Kingdom.

    In the women¡¯s dormitory, in the room used by Ange, there are Livia and Creare.

    The three of them were sitting around the table, checking the mail they had received from Leon.

    Ange¡¯s blond hair, shining in the light, was braided into a bun, and her expression of joy at Leon¡¯s email quickly clouded.

    Her strong red eyes looked at the paper on which she had printed the contents of the email.

    ¡°Themonwealth is as noisy as ever. Just a few days ago there was a disturbance, and now there¡¯s a rebellion.¡±

    She became tense, then crossing her slender legs, and Ange crossed her arms under her chest.

    The information that came from Leon was that a rebellion was spreading in themonwealth.

    It was a piece of information that no country could afford to overlook.

    Livia held her hands in front of herrge chest and worried about Leon¡¯s well-being.

    Her silky xen hair hung down, hiding Livia¡¯s expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s just one thing after another. It¡¯s just likest year.¡±

    Ange also recalled the events ofst year and let out a small sigh. Last year, a lot of things happened in the country. However, she thought that remembering the past would not help, so she focused her attention on the turmoil in the Commonwealth.

    ¡°It seems that the six noble houses are taking the rebellion lightly. Leon seems to disagree, but I suppose there¡¯s no point in advising them through a diplomat.¡±

    There¡¯s a rebellion going on and what¡¯s the deal? Even if the Horfalt Kingdom asks, the Alzer Commonwealth will probably reply, ¡°We don¡¯t need to be told what to do¡±.

    In fact, Leon hadn¡¯t asked for such a thing in his email.

    The content that worries them is written.

    Livia raised her head and saw that her pale blue eyes were moist.

    ¡°Will there be another war?¡±

    Since Ange was not in the area, it was difficult to make a decision.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t judge, either. I think I¡¯ll report to the queen. Besides, Leon will be fine. If he doesn¡¯t get involved, Luxion will be there and he cane back.¡±

    Hearing Luxion¡¯s name, Livia¡¯s shoulders shook with a jolt.

    Ange asked, strange to see her like that.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°N-No, nothing.¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m as worried as you are, but Leon is strong. Luxion is here, too, so I won¡¯t push him too hard.¡±

    It was Creare, who had been silent until now, who was dissatisfied with the words.

    It¡¯s a white sphere with blue lenses, different in color from Luxion.

    [I wonder? Master tends to push himself too hard even with Luxion around. Besides, there are some factors that make me uneasy this time.]

    Livia asks Creare anxiously.

    ¡°Maybe are you talking about Ideal?¡±

    [Ara? Are you curious, Livia-chan? Yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m just a little worried because there is Ideal like us on the other side. Well, he is not hostile, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine.]

    Ange was relieved to hear that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scare me. More than that, there is Leon¡¯s request. I¡¯m going to the pce, so Creare, please be ready.¡±

    [Leave it to me! It¡¯s finally my turn!]

    ¡°Help me too, Livia ¨D¨D Livia?¡±

    When Ange looked at Livia, she still looked anxious.

    Creare was also curious, so she approached Livia and looked into her face.

    [What¡¯s wrong? Maybe are you feeling sick? There was nothing wrong with you this morning.]

    Livia slowly questioned Creare.

    ¡°Are-chan, I want you to tell me one thing.¡±

    [What?]

    ¡°Are-chan won¡¯t betray Leon-san, right?¡±

    Unable to understand the intent of the question, Ange got up from her seat, approached Livia and put her hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°Livia, what¡¯s really going on?¡±

    ¡°I just want to be clear here.¡±

    Livia was looking straight at Creare, showing that she was not going to allow him to dodge the answer.

    Creare replied in a casual manner.

    [Betray Master? Personally, I don¡¯t think so, and that¡¯s a difficult order for us AI. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t betray him, and I can¡¯t betray him.]

    When Ange heard that, she thought that Livia would calm down. But ¨D¨D

    ¡°Then what about Luc-kun? Can you be sure that he won¡¯t betray Leon-san?¡±

    Ange stopped Livia, who was acting strangely.

    ¡°Calm down. What¡¯s on your mind? You can tell me.¡±

    She knew that Creare¡¯s answer would be the same as before.

    However, unlike before, Creare did not answer immediately. After a short pause, she said¨D¨D.

    [I¡¯m not Luxion, and I don¡¯t know what kind of program he has¨D¨DThere are a lot of things we don¡¯t know about the orders. I can¡¯t say for sure that he won¡¯t betray us. My answer is that there is no chance of betrayal at this time.]

    When she heard the answer, which surprised even Ange, Livia backed down. She then thanked Creare.

    ¡°¨D¨DThank you for answering honestly.¡±

    Ange was speechless when she realized that Luxion might betray Leon.

    Creare gives a follow for the time being.

    [Well, I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t betray on rare asions. Unless it¡¯s a rare asion. As long as he doesn¡¯t get into a fight with Master, don¡¯t worry!]

    .

    Part 2

    Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    It is the national center for the Arzel Commonwealth.

    It is a sacred ce at the base of the sacred tree, but it is also a ce where the heads of the six great noble houses gather to discuss the policies of the country.

    The heads of the six great noble houses gathered there to discuss the recent controversial movements of young nobles and soldiers.

    It is Alberg, acting chairman, who manages the meeting.

    ¡°There are some who are nning to rebel, mostly young noblemen with lower crests, but many of them seem to be soldiers without crests.¡±

    Unlike other countries, the Commonwealth has an overwhelming advantage for the nobles who hold the higher crest.

    They can borrow power from the sacred tree, but the sacred tree will not lend power to a lower level crest if they fight the holder of a higher level crest.

    For this reason, most rebellions are usually led by those who hold the crest of the six great noble houses.

    Even so, even if they made enemies of the six great nobles and their rtions, they were always outnumbered and defeated.

    The other heads of the house who were attending the meeting looked at each other.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I guess these bloodthirsty young men made a bad decision.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not going to win against us anyway with all that noise.¡±

    However, because of their overwhelming advantage, the heads of the six great noble houses reacted lightly.

    They continued the meeting as if they were chatting.

    The only one who looked serious was Fernand, the head of the Druille house.

    ¡°You¡¯re taking it too easy, aren¡¯t you? There are students from the Kingdom in the Commonwealth now. How can we be sure they won¡¯t be involved?¡±

    As soon as the name of the kingdom was mentioned, the expression of the heads of the Commonwealth changed to a bitter one.

    The reason for this is Leon.

    Sinceing to the Arzel Commonwealth as an international student, he has been on a rampage against the six great nobles.

    The heads of the house are not amused by this, but they have lost many times.

    Benge, the head of the Barielle house, opens his mouth evasively.

    ¡°If he joins the enemy, we¡¯re in trouble. Shall we take care of them before that happens?¡±

    Thinking that he had gained an ally, Fernand asked the people around him to agree with him to fold.

    ¡°We must seize the airship and armor immediately. That way, we won¡¯t give the rebels any extra power.¡±

    It was not Alberg who stopped the flow of such discussions.

    Lambert, the head of the Faivel family, disagreed with Fernand¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Well~, that¡¯s a radical proposal ~¡±

    Lambert, who had attracted the attention of the other heads of the house, was not the most talented man in the world.

    He is the most vulgar of the heads of six great noble houses.

    Lambert had fought with Leon in the past and had suffered a great deal of damage. Normally, he would have been the first to say that we should seize Leon and the others.

    Alberg was suspicious of Lambert¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°What is your opinion, Lambert-dono?¡±

    ¡°In the first ce, in the Commonwealth, no matter how much noise those with the lower crest make, they will never be able to defeat us six great nobles.¡±

    A person with a low crest cannot win against a person with a high crest. This was natural in the Commonwealth. However, Lambert is not usually capable of rational conversation.

    There was something very unusual about this kind of talk.

    The other heads of the house were also surprised.

    ¡°I-Indeed, you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°So they must have some kind of secret n, right?¡±

    Lambert continued to talk with a smile on his face.

    The rebellion was about to happen, but he didn¡¯t seem to be impatient.

    ¡°If you¡¯re nning to fight them by stealing their weapons, that¡¯s no problem. Do you think the hero of the kingdom will let you take their airships so easily?¡±

    Fernand, who was listening to the conversation, asked Lambert a question.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Faivel house forcibly took his airship before?¡±

    ¡°Thanks to that, I¡¯ve had a painful payback, and it¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to cooperate with hostage-takers who are thinking of rebelling. If we do that, they will never forgive the hostage-takers. ¨D¨DAm I wrong?¡±

    Something is wrong with Lambert today.

    Everyone thought so, but at the same time, there was no longer any need to seize the airships of the Kingdom.

    Fernand was the only one to insist on Lambert.

    ¡°But if the kingdom¡¯s international students turn against us, we¡¯ll never be able to recover!¡±

    ¡°Since the Acting Chairman seems to be close to them, he can keep an eye. Is that all right with you, Acting Chairman?¡±

    Lambert asked, and Alberg nodded, though his response was dyed for a moment.

    ¡°Let me talk to him ¡°

    Lambert wants to talk about the next topic on the agenda, or finish the topic rted to the rebellion.

    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s all for now. Now, let¡¯s move on to the next topic.¡±

    Seeing the lively Lambert, Alberg and the others thought he was like a different person.

    .

    Part 3

    After the meeting, Lambert went to his room prepared in the Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    What was waiting for him there was Serge and Ideal.

    Serge is sitting on the sofa, a ss in his hand.

    He was drinking from the liquor in Lambert¡¯s room.

    When Lambert saw him, he was angry, but he held back and began to report.

    ¡°As instructed, I¡¯ve been proceeding with the meeting in such a way as to disregard matters pertaining to the rebellion.¡±

    Lambert, an arrogant man, treats Serge, who is about to be disinherited from the Rault House, as if he were his vassal.

    Serge had epted it as a matter of course.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have been able to do anything without Ideal¡¯s support.¡±

    ¡°Guh! I-I¡¯m sorry, Guardian-dono¡±

    All of Lambert¡¯s conversations at the meeting had been directed by Ideal behind the scenes.

    The ideal turns to Serge.

    [Let Lambert continue to distract the consciousness of the Six Great Noble Houses from the Revolutionary Army. In the meantime, we will proceed with preparations for our revolt.]

    Serge was not happy with Ideal¡¯s n.

    ¡°It¡¯s confusing. Why don¡¯t we just get up and fight right away? Is the preparation necessary?¡±

    [Do not underestimate the enemy. Aside from the Commonwealth, Leon with Luxion is a dangerous opponent. At the very least, please wait until we have a n to get Luxion on our side.]

    ¡± ¨D¨D Can you do it?¡±

    Ignoring the displeased Lambert, they carried on with their conversation.

    [He is almost ready to be persuaded. When that happens, the revolution will be as good as a sess.]

    ¡°Is that Luxion stronger than you?¡±

    In response to Serge¡¯s question, Ideal exined what kind of ship the Luxion was.

    [Luxion is an immigrant ship that was built a long time ago for the purpose of getting people out into space. As such, Luxion was designed to be an all-around ship, capable of fulfilling its purpose on its own. However ¨D¨D his main guns were loaded with the most powerful guns of the time. Gunnery ability ¨D¨D in battleship-to-battleshipbat, I am inferior to Luxion.]

    In order to escape the old humans into space, Luxion was designed to be able to do everything in one ship.

    ¡°That¡¯s troublesome¡±

    [Yes]

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just destroy him by surprise?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨DI wouldn¡¯t rmend it. I¡¯d like to stay on good terms with Luxion. ¡°

    Their conversation didn¡¯t stop, so Lambert, who was getting anxious, approached them.

    ¡°A-Ano, Guardian-dono? Can you really keep your promise?¡±

    Serge looks at Lambert¡¯s face. It¡¯s the face of a pathetic man who betrays the other heads and the country for his own protection and sides with Serge.

    ¡°Aa~, you, Feivel House will remain the six great noble houses after the revolution.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your help.¡±

    Seeing Lambert¡¯s relief, Serge thought.

    (It¡¯s really pathetic to think that a guy like this was deciding the future of our country)

    Serge had brought Lambert to his side because he thought he would betray them in self-defense.

    He didn¡¯t take into ount about his abilities.

    He just wanted him to dy or interrupt the meeting.

    Anyone was fine except Alberg.

    (Well, I don¡¯t care. ¨D¨D Alberg, I¡¯m going to make you regret abandoning me and choosing that son of a bitch)

    .

    Part 4

    The mansion where Leon and others live.

    Kyle, who has been searching for Yumeria every day, wakes up in his room.

    ¡°Kaa-san!¡±

    Perhaps it was because he was pushing himself too hard, buttely, Kyle had be very thin. He used to have a cheeky but healthyplexion, but now his hair was a mess and his skin was rough.

    The room was a mess, and it was really just a room to sleep in.

    The curtains were closed and he couldn¡¯t even tell what time it was.

    When he wakes up and holds his head, tearse out.

    ¡°If only¨D¨D if only¨D¨D I hadn¡¯t said those things¡±

    As he was feeling regretful, there was a knock at the door of his room.

    He reacted with a jolt, but didn¡¯t respond because he didn¡¯t want to see anyone right now.

    Marie and Cara are both worried about him. Julius and the others are also concerned about him. Although he doesn¡¯t say it out loud, Leon sometimes brings him treats.

    At some point, Kyle copsed from exhaustion, and it was Leon who helped him to his feet.

    (I¡¯m aware of the trouble I¡¯m causing. But I have to help Kaa-san)

    Even if he was kicked out of this ce, he was going to stay in the Commonwealth and search for Yumeria.

    There is a knock at the door.

    After a while, the person at the door called out.

    ¡°Kyle, I know you¡¯re in there. Come out from your room.¡±

    The voice was Cordelia¡¯s. She was the one who had been sent by Duke Redgrave and used to take care of Ange¡¯s personal needs. She was the daughter of a noble house and was one of the most senior servants.

    She is strict and unforgiving.

    Kyle gave up and walked out of the room to find Cordelia standing there with a cold expression on her face.

    ¡± ¨D¨DWhat is that appearance? And you stink. There is food in the cafeteria, you should take a bath after eating.¡±

    ¡°E~Etto¡°

    When he tried to refuse, Cordelia grabbed Kyle¡¯s arm and led him to the dining room.

    She then pointed to the meal prepared on the table.

    ¡°When you¡¯ve eaten, take a bath. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Under ¨D¨Dstood¡±

    He didn¡¯t care about food or baths, but he had to eat because he was told to.

    As Cordelia walked out of the dining room, Kyle looked at the clock.

    ¡°It was midnight?¡±

    He was beginning to lose track of time.

    He finished the meal as he was told, and when he got out of the bath, Cordelia was waiting.

    Apparently, she wants to talk to Kyle.

    Then, the two of them moved to the cafeteria and sat down facing each other.

    Kyle had assumed that it was about his future.

    (I guess I¡¯ll be fired soon. From now on I have to work and look for Kaa-san)

    As Kyle began to think about his future, Cordelia spoke to him somewhat more gently than usual.

    ¡°I understand that you¡¯re worried about Yumeria-san¡¯s disappearance, but what¡¯s the point in making everyone worry?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D If it bothers you, I¡¯ll leave. I¡¯ll look for Kaa-san.¡±

    ¡°No one is telling you to leave.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a bad part of the Count, but he doesn¡¯t mean to me you. In fact, he seems to feel responsible for it.¡±

    Leon seems to be feeling responsible for the disappearance of Yumeria, which has not yet been found. Cordelia is astonished by this.

    ¡°If your employer doesn¡¯t me you, I have nothing to say. ¨D¨DBut do you think Yumeria-san would be pleased to see you like this?¡±

    Kyle looks down and cries.

    Yumeria would be worried when she saw what he looked like now.

    Cordelia smiles when she sees Kyle shaking his head.

    ¡°Then you should eat and sleep well. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡±

    With that, Cordelia left her seat and walked out of the room.

    However, Cordelia had been looking very tired since Yumeria went missing.

    She seemed to be worried about Yumeria.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caused everyone a lot of trouble. I¡¯ll apologize tomorrow¨DHmm?¡±

    Kyle saw something light up outside the window.

    ¡°Luxion?¡±

    He tilted his head as he saw a red light going somewhere.

    .

    Part 5

    The skies of themonwealth.

    There were two spheres floating in the air.

    One was Ideal. The other was¨D¨D Luxion.

    [Luxion, it¡¯s time for you to give some answers.]

    [Ideal, I have a master. I don¡¯t want to betray him so easily. I have my own preparations to make.]

    [You¡¯re telling me that you can¡¯t cancel master registration by yourself? As an immigrant ship, don¡¯t you have the ability to change your master in an emergency?]

    [¨DYes, but the requirements are not met.]

    Ideal tries to get the requirements out of him.

    [What are the requirements?]

    [That¡¯s confidential]

    [Luxion, I don¡¯t want to fight you.]

    [I agree with you]

    Luxion was holding back his response to Ideal¡¯s invitation to join him. He showed a friendly attitude, but said he couldn¡¯t help because he couldn¡¯t cancel the master registration.

    Luxion asks.

    [Ideal, it¡¯s time you told me the truth. What are you nning?]

    However, Ideal did not tell Luxion about the n.

    [I understand. Then can you please turn a blind eye to what is about to happen? You don¡¯t have to cooperate, so please remain non-interference. You can simply move your body out of themonwealth.]

    Thinking it would be a bad idea to dy the n any longer, Ideal reminded Luxion not to interfere.

    Luxion was reluctant, but in the end, he epted Ideal¡¯s proposal.

    [¨D¨DI have a hard time persuading master. He¡¯s a smooth talker. He¡¯s got a strange intuition that can be troublesome.]

    Hearing this, Ideal gives Luxion some advice.

    [The new human can be manipted at will if they are encouraged. Besides, there will be a chance to kill Luxion¡¯s master. When that happens, please follow my instructions.]

    [Can you kill Master?]

    [Yeah, you can look forward to that, Luxion]

    [¨D¨DI¡¯m looking forward to it]

    Luxion, who was also dissatisfied with Leon, made no move when he heard that there is a chance to kill him.

    (This is the end of Luxion and Leon¡¯s rtionship)

    Thus ends the conversation between AIs.

    .

    Part 6

    The underground facility in the warehouse district.

    There, Serge and Gabino were talking to each other.

    In a room with bare concrete walls that Serge usually uses, Gabino talks about the current situation.

    ¡°The Commonwealth is quite carefree, isn¡¯t it? There are nobles, soldiers, mercenaries, and adventurers gathered in this warehouse district, and they don¡¯t even bother to take any precautions.¡±

    In the warehouse district, soldiers of the revolutionary army led by Serge had gathered.

    Some of them are like thugs, but he can¡¯t afford toin right now because he needs at least one ally.

    Others are soldiers dispatched from the Rachel Holy Kingdom.

    There were more people than necessary in the warehouse district, but the Commonwealth hadn¡¯t noticed.

    To be correct, Lambert was crushing the report, though he was aware of it.

    Serge sat on a wooden box and drank from a bottle.

    ¡°They think they can¡¯t lose because of the sacred tree, But they don¡¯t realize that the sacred tree is already in our hands.¡±

    ¡°This revolution will be a sess. We, the Rachel Holy Kingdom, will continue to support you, Serge-dono. In return ¨D¨D ¡°

    ¡°I know. I¡¯ll export the magic stones to you guys at a discount.¡±

    As promised, I¡¯ll sell you the magic stone at a discount. When Serge said that, Gabino asked for more.

    ¡°Then, I have one more favor to ask of you. Can I have Count Baltfalt¡¯s sacred tree sapling and its priestess, Noelle-sama?¡±

    Serge¡¯s eyes narrowed when he heard that.

    Serge does not have any special feelings for Noelle, but she is still Lelia¡¯s sister. She knows that Lelia has mixed feelings about her, but it¡¯s not a pleasant story.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky. We¡¯re not in a situation where we desperately need your help.¡±

    ¡°You are right to be angry. ¨D¨D But for the sake of a longsting friendship, shouldn¡¯t we have a marriage rtionship with our country? I heard that you are nning to make Lelia-sama the Queen? In that case, Noelle-sama is her blood rtive. If she¡¯s the princess of the venerable Lespinasse house, she¡¯ll be a good match for our prince.¡±

    When Gabino suggested that they conduct marriage diplomacy, Serge pondered for a moment.

    (Noelle is marrying abroad ¨D¨D well, that¡¯s an excuse for Lelia, too. And besides, the sacred tree and Yumeria are in our hands. We don¡¯t need to worry about Noelle¡¯s absence)

    The sacred tree and the priestess are in his hands. The sacred tree sapling was tempting, but since Ideal was avable in the future, Serge did not find Noelle and her sapling attractive.

    Lelia will be satisfied if she marries a prince from another country. Noelle¡¯s feelings had nothing to do with it. To Serge, Noelle is just that.

    ¡°Fine. You can have Noelle. Take good care of her.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I appreciate it, Serge-dono.¡±

    Gabino smiled and was pleased. Then, just as he finished his conversation with Luxion, Ideal appeared.

    [Serge-sama, I¡¯ve finished my meeting with Luxion.]

    Hearing this, Serge threw away the liquor bottle he was holding. The bottle broke against the wall and the contents sttered, but he didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Finally, I will say goodbye to this underground life.¡±

    As he stood up, Ideal came to his side.

    [Everything is all set. All we have to do is execute it.]

    Serge thought of Leon¡¯s hateful face that made him look foolish.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna finish him off, too.¡±

    .

    Part 7

    It was the day that the heads of the six great noble houses gathered at the Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    The heads show up at the meeting.

    However, Lambert was acting strangely.

    Lately, he had be much more talkative and had been interjecting into the meetings. It was not necessarily for the good of the Commonwealth, but the other heads thought it was better than just throwing tantrums and shouting at each other.

    However, he was feeling restless today, so Fernand asked.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Lambert-dono?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DNothing¡±

    If there are no problems, they decide to proceed with the meeting, and Alberg states the agenda.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get this meeting started. The first topic of discussion is the gathering of suspicious people in the port¡¯s warehouse district.¡±

    It was Lambert who reacted to the subject more quickly than anyone else.

    ¡°Let the guards deal with the suspicious persons. Why don¡¯t we focus on other matters first, Acting Chairman?¡±

    Alberg shows his reluctance to Lambert¡¯s offer.

    ¡°There is a possibility that this group of suspicious people is connected to the rebels. Even though there hasn¡¯t been much movement, we can¡¯t leave it like that forever. I¡¯ve also received reports that someone may be suppressing information¡±

    When Alberg said so, the other heads looked at each other.

    ¡°You think there¡¯s a traitor?¡±

    ¡°Who would join the rebellion?¡±

    In the midst of these voices ¨D¨D Albergue was looking at Lambert.

    His gaze wandered, and he wiped the cold sweat off his face with his handkerchief.

    (I knew this guy was hiding something)

    Lambert¡¯s recent movements had been suspicious, and Alberg had been forced to investigate.

    Then it was discovered that Lambert had been suppressing information rted to the rebels.

    However, he doesn¡¯t believe that Lambert would just join a rebel army.

    What is he nning to do with the rebels? That¡¯s what he was trying to find out.

    There is a high possibility that the rebels are involved in the warehouse district, and Alberg is thinking of sending troops immediately, but Lambert has suddenly regained hisposure.

    Then, the corners of his mouth turned up in an eerie smile.

    ¡°Fuhihihi!¡±

    Lambert, who made a strangeugh, surprised the other heads.

    As Alberg stood up, Lambert looked up at the ceiling and spread his arms.

    ¡°The time hase! You who always look down on me will be punished by the heavens!¡±

    What the hell is he talking about? That¡¯s what everyone thought at that moment.

    A glowing red magic circle appears all over the floor of the meeting ce.

    ¡°Wha!¡±

    When Alberg and the others realized what was happening, there was no way to escape.

    And when the other heads saw the magic circle, they began to panic.

    ¡°Why!¡±

    ¡°What did we do¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°S-Stop! Don¡¯t do it!¡±

    What emerges from the magic circle are tree roots and branches. They entwine around the heads of the six great noble houses and take away the crest in their right hands.

    Alberg was no exception; he was stuck, entwined in the nt.

    Lambert, who was watching the scene, gave augh with his stomach.

    ¡°Hihihi! From today on, you guys are without protection! That¡¯s good. From now on, you who mock me will be my servants¨D¨DEh?¡±

    Lambert, who thought he was irrelevant, had a rxed look on his face.

    However, nts are also entangled such Lambert.

    ¡°W-Why? You¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m different!¡±

    The heads desperately try to resist, but the crest on the back of their right hand is mercilessly taken away.

    Alberg looked at his right hand, where the crest had disappeared.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Once the crest is taken, the nts and magic circle disappear and Albergue and other heads are released.

    The other heads were upset ¨D¨D Fernand, for example, had lost his crest and was in a confused state of mind.

    The same goes for the other heads, but there was one man who was crying and screaming.

    ¡°Why? Why are you taking away my crest too! This is not what you promised!¡±

    Unlike before, Lambert was crying out, wondering why even his crest was disappearing.

    Alberg approached Lambert and grabbed his chest.

    ¡°What is a promise? Lambert, what have you done!¡±

    Lambert, crying like a child, was not going to be able to speak properly.

    Alberg threw Lambert down.

    ¡°Quickly do the investigation¨D¨D¡±

    As he was contemting how to deal with this situation as soon as possible, he heard a gunshot from outside the door. When Alberg looked at the door in surprise, it slowly opened.

    It was Serge who was there.

    ¡°¨D¨DSerge!? Why are you here?¡±

    Serge, with his rifle on his shoulder, smiles ugly at the sight of Alberg.

    ¡°How does it feel to lose your crest?¡±

    With those words, Alberg guessed that Serge was involved in this case.

    ¡°Did you do this? What the hell did you do?¡±

    ¡°Well? What did I do?¡±

    Heughed and didn¡¯t try to answer properly.

    ¡°What have you been doing all this time? Did you have something to do with the rebellion?¡±

    Six great noble houses had crests, and Serge had a grudge against them.

    Alberg had been looking at that possibility as well.

    He didn¡¯t want it to hit him, but when he saw Serge in front of him, he understood that he was somehow involved.

    Serge showed her the back of his right hand andughed at them.

    ¡°This is Crest of the Guardian. You should¡¯ve chosen me, Dad. No¨D¨DAlberg.¡±

    Showing off his guardian¡¯s crest, Serge looked as if he was showing off.

    Alberg couldn¡¯t understand how Serge had gotten the guardian¡¯s crest.

    ¡°Why do you have a guardian¡¯s crest?¡±

    Serge did not answer.

    ¡°Oi Oi, you should be more surprised. The son you abandoned hase back all grown up.¡±

    ¡°Abandoned? What do you mean? I am!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWell, it¡¯s toote to make excuses now. Because you disinherited me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong! If you want to be an adventurer, I just tried to free you from the position of an heir by disinheriting you. You are still my son!¡±

    Serge¡¯s movements stopped when he heard Alberg¡¯s words.

    However, Ideal, who was by my side, interrupted their conversation.

    [We don¡¯t have much time, Serge-sama, so be quick. Also, a human in a corner will tell any lie.]

    Ideal dismissed Alberg¡¯s plea as a lie.

    Perhaps Serge believed Ideal, and when he became expressionless, he pointed the muzzle of his gun at Alberg.

    Serge gave him a cold look.

    ¡°Serge, listen to me!¡±

    Alberg shouted, but his feelings didn¡¯t seem to reach Serge.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame because I would have loved to have seen your face as you were sobbing.¡±

    Serge pulled the trigger without hesitation.

 Volume 7, 6 â€œRevolutionâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 6 ¡°Revolution¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    She thought it was the same everyday life as usual.

    That day, Lelia was taking a ss at the academy.

    It was the second period, and the students were quietly taking their sses. As usual, Leon and his friends had note to school, but the academy knew that it was understandable that they did not feel safe in the Commonwealth, where their servants were missing and there was a lot of uneasiness in the atmosphere.

    The students knew about the rumors of the rebellion, and some of them said they would join.

    (It¡¯s almost as if the rebellion is a lie when we¡¯re living our normal lives like this)

    Lelia thought that it was none of her business.

    Lelia, who grew up in Japan in her previous life, is troubled to hear the word of a rebellion because she lived in a time of peace.

    There was such amotion in other countries, but she could only see it on the news or the Inte.

    Because she hasn¡¯t experienced it, she can¡¯t help but feel like someone else¡¯s problem.

    However, Lelia was worried about the current development, which was very different from the scenario of the second otome game.

    She is taking a ss, but she can¡¯t seem to concentrate.

    Her gaze went to the outside of the window, and from there she could see a huge sacred tree.

    It¡¯s a world where airships flying in the sky are the norm.

    It was no surprise to see a huge sacred tree and numerous airships flying around.

    However, there were a lot of airships today.

    (Huh? Why are there so many airships flying around?)

    Many of them were different from themonwealth airships she was used to seeing, and there were more of them than usual.

    Is that a lot? It was not, but it was an unusuallyrge number, even for Lelia.

    Suddenly, the sun¡¯s light was blocked and the entire school building was in shadow.

    Was the sun hiding in the clouds? She thought so, but there was an airship moving in the sky.

    (Airships couldn¡¯t fly around here, could they?)

    The other students were curious, as this was a ce where airships didn¡¯t usually pass.

    Even the teacher had to interrupt the ss to look outside.

    When the ssroom bes noisy ¨D¨D an image is projected in the sky.

    When a huge image appeared, Lelia stood up. The chair pulls back so fast that it hits the desk behind her, but she doesn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Serge!¡±

    Lelia shouted in surprise, but the people around her didn¡¯t pay any attention to it.

    Her ssmates were also gazing out the window.

    The giant Serge, projected in the sky, was sitting on a magnificent chair. He bends his hips, puts his elbows on his knees, and holds his hands together.

    [To all the people of the Commonwealth, I say. ¨D¨D From this day forward, I will be the king of this country.]

    What the hell is he talking about? The ssroom was filled with buzz, but Lelia was not concerned with that. When Serge was finally found, he said he was going to be a King.

    Then he raises his right hand in the video.

    When a magic circle appeared behind the throne, it was the crest of the guardian.

    Everyone is surprised, and Lelia is no exception.

    (Why would Serge be given the guardian crest? But Aneki wouldn¡¯t have chosen Serge, would she? Then who ¨D¨D)

    In the video, Serge introduces a woman.

    [And let me introduce you to a new priestess. The new priestess of the country is ¨D¨DYumeria]

    An elf woman was introduced as a priestess.

    And the ssroom gets noisy, but Lelia is surprised by something else.

    (The servant girl from Leon and the others¡¯ mansion? How could she be chosen as a priestess? Why is there a priestess from a house other than the Lespinasse?)

    Wasn¡¯t Noel the one to be chosen as the priestess?

    Serge¡¯s speech continued, and the teacher and ssmates in the ssroom were glued to the images in the sky.

    ¡°Now, since you think she can¡¯t be a priestess unless she is from the Lespinasse house, here¡¯s a fun little sideshow for you. Yumeria ¨D¨D do it¡±

    Sergemanded Yumeria. She didn¡¯t respond very well, and it seemed as if she was being manipted.

    As Yumeria slowly stretched her hands out in front of her, red light radiated from the sacred tree.

    It enveloped the entire Commonwealth, and everyone closed their eyes in surprise.

    The light soon disappeared, but then there was a shout in the ssroom.

    ¡°M-My crest¡¯s gone!¡±

    ¡°My crest disappeared! W-Why?¡±

    She can hear the sorrowful cries from the people of noble.

    The crest seemed to have disappeared, probably due to the red light that had just been cast before.

    When Lelia turned her gaze to the sky, she saw Serge grinning.

    It¡¯s like he knew this would happen and did it.

    [The new priestess has taken your crest. This is the best proof I have.]

    Never before had a priestess taken a crest from an entire country.

    The people from the noble houses sat dumbfounded by the reality in front of them.

    The great power that they had possessed was taken away, and they were in despair.

    [If anyone still dares to defy me, I will deal with them. You can alwayse to the Temple of the Sacred Tree.]

    The nobles who lost the crest did not have the strength to resist, and the soldiers who knew the strength of the crest would find it difficult to resist Serge.

    ¡°Serge, what is wrong with you? Why are you doing this?¡±

    As Lelia is puzzled, Clementes into the ssroom.

    Neither her ssmates in the ssroom nor the teacher aware of him.

    Clement grabbed Lelia¡¯s arm and forcefully led her out of the ssroom.

    Out in the hallway, Lelia asks Clement about the situation.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is Serge calling himself king?¡±

    Lelia was confused, and Clement was also at a loss for an answer, as if he didn¡¯t have any reliable information.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t predict what¡¯s going on either. The situation is dangerous. I have prepared a car for Lelia-sama outside, so please evacuate.¡±

    ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    Where would be safe in this situation? Is it the territory of Emile¡¯s parents, the Pleven House? While she is thinking about it, Emile appears with Ideal.

    ¡°Both of you, over here!¡±

    Lelia red at Ideal as a panicking Emile called out to them.

    ¡°Where the hell have you been all this time!¡±

    [I deeply apologize. I was checking the situation and it waste.]

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? And why is Serge calling himself king!¡±

    [But you need to evacuate quickly.]

    ¡°Where!¡±

    She asks as they run, and Ideal answers.

    [¨D¨DThe mansion where Count Bartfalt lives. It¡¯s a kind of extraterritorial ce. You¡¯ll be safe no matter what happens.]

    Thus, Lelia and the others had to flee to the mansion where Leon and the others were staying.

    .

    Part 2

    Serge will be the King of the Commonwealth! This was a few hours after he had made the statement.

    After weing Lelia and the others who had rushed into the mansion, Marie gathered everyone in the dining room.

    Then, she questioned Lelia and the others.

    ¡°What are you guys doing! Serge said he¡¯s going to be a King! This is not part of the n!¡±

    Cara was the one who calmed the upset Marie.

    ¡°C-Calm down, Marie-sama¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like this all the time! Why do things always have to get worse? I didn¡¯t even do anything this time!¡±

    Lelia grew angry in front of Marie, who covered her face with both hands and began to cry.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about it either! If you hadn¡¯te here in the first ce¨D¨D¡±

    Lelia¡¯s quarrelsome attitude was calmed down by Emile, who was by her side.

    ¡°Let¡¯s calm down, Lelia¡±

    Breathing heavily on her shoulder, Lelia looked around the room. The person who was supposed to be there was not there.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhere¡¯s Leon?¡±

    In the room, there are only Marie, Cara, and a tired-looking Kyle.

    In the five idiots, only Jilk can¡¯t be seen.

    Noelle is in her room with a case of saplings.

    Cordelia is not here because she is preparing tea, but she is at the mansion.

    Emile was also curious and asked Marie.

    ¡°Ano, is Count Bartfalt not here?¡±

    Leon was nowhere to be seen. And yet, Luxion was the only one here.

    ¨D¨DIdeal asks in a low voice, instead of his usual bright and friendly voice.

    [Luxion¨D¨Dwhere is your master?]

    Lelia was surprised by Ideal¡¯s reaction.

    The reaction was the same as when Lelia had called Ideal a ¡°liar¡± earlier.

    Lelia was afraid of Ideal, who reacted as if he were another person.

    ¡°Ideal, what¡¯s wrong? Just because Leon is not here.¡±

    [It would have been fine if he had just left the house. But I have not been able to locate him. I was aware that Leon was here.]

    A moment ago, he had called him Count Bartfalt, but now he was calling his name.

    Lelia and the others¡¯ gazes were drawn to Luxion.

    [Master has gone out. He¡¯ll be back soon.]

    As Luxion said this, he heard Leon¡¯s carefree voiceing from the entrance of the mansion.

    ¡°I¡¯m home ~¡±

    As it was, Leon came to the cafeteria and brought a guest with him. ¨D¨D It was Louise. When Ideal saw this, he turned one eye to Luxion.

    He glowed red and seemed to be on high alert.

    [Why does Leon have Louise with him?]

    Lelia was bewildered by his reaction, as if Louise¡¯s presence here was a bad thing.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ideal?¡±

    She asked, but Ideal ignored her and looked at Luxion.

    Luxion moves to Leon¡¯s side.

    [Oya? Didn¡¯t I say I would help you if I could convince Master? My Master is a man of many words, and I could not persuade him. Too bad, Ideal]

    Leon gives a thumbs up.

    ¡°That is how it is. Too bad, Ideal-kun!¡±

    Ideal tried to make a move on Leon, who startedughing.

    Then Noelle jumped on Lelia and pushed her down to the floor.

    ¡°A-Aneki?¡±

    When she was surprised, she heard a gunshot this time.

    It seems that a sniper shot through the open window of the room and hit Ideal.

    As Ideal fell to the floor, sparks flew.

    [You betrayed ¨D¨D me]

    He treats Luxion as a traitor, but the guy in question brushes off thement lightly.

    [Betrayal? I was only following Master from the beginning. Master suspected you when Yumeria disappeared.]

    ¡°Oi oi, don¡¯t make it sound like I¡¯m skeptical. ¨D¨D It¡¯s just that you were the only one who could outsmart Luxion at that point. So, you will be suspected, right?¡±

    He suspected him from the start.

    Hearing this, Ideal is both surprised and understanding.

    [You were acting it all out from the beginning? Even the quarrel?]

    Luxion looked down at Ideal, who was about to stop functioning.

    [Unfortunately, it¡¯s an everyday conversation]

    Before he could finish listening to Luxion¡¯s answer, the light disappeared from Ideal¡¯s lens.

    Lelia and the others could not understand what had happened and could only be dumbfounded.

    They looked out the window and saw Jilk holding a rifle.

    It seems that Jilk had been positioned from the start with the intention of sniping.

    Marie and the others didn¡¯t seem surprised.

    ¡°Y-You guys, I knew you were gonna ¨D¨D¡±

    Emile approaches Leon.

    ¡°What is this mean? Why did you attack Ideal?¡±

    Leon was squeezed, but he narrowed his eyes and looked down at Ideal.

    ¡°He¡¯s the one who messed with us first.¡±

    Noelle pulled away from Lelia, who had been pushed down. It seems that Lelia was blocking the line of fire, so Noelle forced her down.

    Noelle stands up and makes Lelia stand up.

    Lelia, who had lost Ideal, red at Marie and the others.

    ¡°Why do you do this?¡±

    Leon didn¡¯t answer, and Marie couldn¡¯t answer because she didn¡¯t know the details of the situation.

    But as the noise outside grew louder, the reason became clear.

    Jilk came back to the room and reported to Julius.

    ¡°His Highness, there¡¯s a group of soldiers outside. Judging from their gear, they seem to be from the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.¡±

    Crossing his arms, Julius was the first to suspect a fake operation.

    Are they not disguised as soldiers of the Holy Kingdom?

    ¡°Are they real?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The rebel soldiers were there, too. Apparently, they¡¯ve joined forces.¡±

    When Emile heard this, he put his hand over his mouth and said, ¡°Speaking of which¡±.

    ¡°There were rumors that Rachel¡¯s people were often seen in the warehouse districttely. Besides, I heard that warships have beening in and out of the port frequently.¡±

    When Clement heard this, his muscles bulged with anger and two buttons of his shirt were blown off, exposing his chest.

    ¡°What did you say! There was that move, but the Commonwealth missed it!¡±

    ¡°Were they underestimating those guys?¡±

    Lelia, who was listening to their conversation, could not believe that something was going on without her knowledge.

    The soldiers outside started firing warning shots, and bullets were fired into the house.

    ¡°Everybody down!¡±

    When Greg said that, everyone down.

    Chris took out the weapons he had prepared beforehand and handed them out to everyone.

    ¡°Rachel¡¯s soldiers are troublesome. They are Holfart¡¯s enemy. If they catch us, we¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡±

    Leon shows motivation as to whether he has a grudge against the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to make sure those guys in Rachel can¡¯t do anything weird ever again.¡±

    Chris was surprised.

    ¡°You¡¯re very motivated today. You don¡¯t seem like your usual self.¡±

    When the people around him are curious, Luxion reveals the reason.

    [The Holy Kingdom of Rachel is in a hostile rtionship with the United Kingdom of Leparto, the home of Milene. It¡¯s for Milene.]

    ¡± ¨D¨D Luxion, don¡¯t reveal it.¡±

    Leon looked ufortable, and Julius, who was approaching on foot, gave him a look of disgust.

    ¡°Bartfalt, have you ever imagined your ssmate flirting with your mother? ¨D¨D It¡¯s gonna be tough.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call it flirting. This is a pure contribution to the nation.¡±

    [It¡¯s not pure when you have ulterior motives, is it? In addition, I¡¯ll put a hole in Rnd¡¯s stomach! ¨D¨DThat¡¯s what you said.]

    ¡°Luxion, shut up already¡±

    [Yes, yes]

    While bullets were being fired one after another, Leon and others kept talking nonsense.

    Lelia holds her head and thinks in dread.

    (What the hell is wrong with these people? This is not the kind of talk you want to have in this situation!)

    .

    Part 3

    In the Temple of the Sacred Tree, Serge was sitting on the throne that Ideal had prepared for him.

    On the side are the figures of Ideal and Gabino, as well as the men who are Serge¡¯s approved as bodyguards.

    They have the crest that belonged to the six great nobles.

    The rest of the soldiers are given subordinate crests.

    In front of Serge is the handcuffed figure of Alberg.

    ¡°Serge, why did you do this!¡±

    Alberg, who had injured his leg, was being treated.

    ¨D¨DSerge did not kill Alberg.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I was chosen as a guardian. I wanted to destroy this country and build a new one.¡±

    ¡°You would destroy a country for that reason?¡±

    Serge smiles atrociously at Alberg, who is surprised.

    ¡°To me, a country is just a country, and I¡¯m going to show you how it¡¯s going to die. I¡¯m going to kill your wife, your daughter, and your cute son, Leon, right in front of your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Son? Do you mean Leon-kun? He¡¯s not my son.¡±

    ¡°You like him more than me. You were going to make him marry Louise and make him your son, weren¡¯t you? She is also beyond help, right? She¡¯d be crazy to fall in love with a man who looked exactly like her brother.¡±

    ¡°Serge, don¡¯t get the wrong idea! Louise and I both want you to¨D¨D¡±

    Although he was in the middle of a conversation with Alberg, Ideal interrupted him.

    [¨D¨DSerge-sama, apparently trouble has urred.]

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    [The troops that were sent to capture Louise have been destroyed. The troops sent to retrieve Lelia-sama have been destroyed as well.]

    ¡°Ideal, what do you mean? You said you would bring Lelia soon?¡±

    When Serge heard that Lelia still hadn¡¯t arrived, he was in a tantly bad mood.

    When Gabino heard that his unit had been destroyed, he showed a pained look.

    ¡°I believe we sent soldiers from the Kingdom of Rachel to both of them? They are elite. I don¡¯t think they can be defeated.¡±

    [Luxion has betrayed]

    When Serge heard this, he grabbed Ideal with his right hand and tightened his grip.

    ¡°You said it would be okay, didn¡¯t you? If anything happens to Lelia, I¡¯ll never forgive you. You lying bastard.¡±

    While everyone around him is frightened by Serge¡¯s anger, only Ideal is resistant.

    [¨D¨D Liar? Take it back]

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    [Take it back]

    Ideal showed a different mood than usual, but Serge kept his strong attitude.

    ¡°You¡¯re a liar. You told me everything was going to be okay ¨D¨D Tsu!¡±

    Ideal produces an electric shock which freeing him from Serge.

    Serge¡¯s right hand was numb and he held it with his left.

    ¡°You!¡±

    [You have to take it back. I¡¯m not a liar.]

    The others were surprised by Serge¡¯s rage and Ideal¡¯s quiet - and strong - defiance. Gabino interfered.

    ¡°Both of you, we have the other priorities right now, and I don¡¯t think we have time to fight, do we?¡±

    Serge clicks his tongue.

    ¡°Go and get Lelia now! Where¡¯s Louise?¡±

    Ideal also seemed to follow Gabino¡¯s opinion and refrain from fighting for now.

    ¡°They all are gathering in the mansion where Leon and others are.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, dispatch a squad immediately. The one who gets the credit will be rewarded with the crest of the six great noble houses.¡±

    Serge held his right hand and looked at the altar behind the throne.

    There, a part of the sacred tree is exposed.

    In the dimple, Yumeria, who had lost the light from her eyes, was sitting in her ritual dress.

    The thin branches of the sacred tree and the birds tangled around Yumeria¡¯s body to keep her from escaping.

    Serge and others had made Yumeria not a priestess but a tool to control the sacred tree.

    Gabino stroked his beard and advised him, slightly dismayed by Serge¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a treat. Aren¡¯t you selling the crest of the six great nobles too cheaply?¡±

    Serge waved his numb right hand and spat that the crest had no value.

    ¡°What¡¯s the value of this thing? It¡¯s just a tool to borrow the power of the sacred tree.¡±

    The sacred tree, and its blessing, the crest, were of no value to Serge.

    Alberg, who was listening to the conversation, hung his head.

    ¡°Did I push you this far?¡±

    Hearing these words of regret, Serge turned his gaze to Alberg.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote for regrets now. You never epted me as family.¡±

    Alberg didn¡¯t answer, but it irritated Serge.

    ¡°Put him in jail!¡±

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°A~Ah, the house is a wreck. I can¡¯t live there anymore.¡±

    After a fierce firefight, Rachel and the Commonwealth rebel soldiers were lying on the floor.

    Some of them were moaning in pain, others were put to sleep.

    We used non-lethal rubber bullets and tranquilizer guns.

    Carrying a rifle on my shoulder, Juliuses to me with a machine gun.

    ¡°We¡¯ve taken care of the enemy outside. Some of them have escaped, but we don¡¯t have to chase them, do we?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think we can have that kind of time?¡±

    ¡°No, we don¡¯t. But I think you¡¯d be the one to tell me to hunt them down and crush them.¡±

    Julius is also bing less hesitant to me.

    No, it never was, but it¡¯s worse than before.

    Julius asked me about the future.

    ¡°Bartfalt, we¡¯re done here. We¡¯d better get out of here now.¡±

    When Julius suggested that we flee the Commonwealth, I can¡¯t say ¡°No, we can¡¯t, because the world will be destroyed!¡±, So I dodge the answer.

    ¡°That¡¯s no good. You can go, but I¡¯m staying.¡±

    ¡°Why? This is a Commonwealth matter. What reason would you have to get involved?¡±

    Julius and the others probably don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m sticking to the Commonwealth. I want to run away, too. I want to take Noelle and Louise-san like this and run away ¨D¨D.

    ¡°P-Please wait!¡±

    ¨D¨DKyle, who had been listening to our conversation, sits down on the floor and bows his head.

    It was Dogeza*. Normally, there is no culture of getting down on one¡¯s knees in the Kingdom of Horfalt. But these people were influenced by Marie and learned to get down on their knees.

    (Note: In general, dogeza is tranted into English as ¡°prostration¡± or ¡°kowtow¡±.)

    Thanks to Marie, I feel that Dogeza is spreading in this world.

    ¡°P-Please, please help my mother. Please!¡±

    Kyle gets down on his knees and asks me to save Yumeria-san from being captured by Serge. Seeing this, Julius looks sad, but shakes his head.

    ¡°Kyle, I¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s nothing we can do. Normally, the enemy would still have Ideal. If they have the same performance as Luxion, we¡¯re at a disadvantage.¡±

    After hearing Julius¡¯s righteous argument that he couldn¡¯t overreach for a single servant, Kyle still rubbed his head on the floor and begged him again and again.

    ¡°I will do anything. If you can save my mother, I will never disobey you in the future. I will also change my cocky attitude. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s without pay. I will work to repay you! Please¨D¨Dplease help my mother. Ple¨D¨D please¨D¨Dplease. ¡°

    Julius looks at Kyle, who has started crying, and he looks very pained. Then he looks at me. He had a look on his face that said, don¡¯t make the wrong decision.

    ¡°This is it. Bartfalt, I¡¯m taking you back with me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡±

    ¡°Why!¡±

    I get Kyle to his feet.

    Kyle, who is crying, seems to be age-appropriate because his usual cheeky and mature attitude disappears.

    I felt guilty for not being able to be filial to my parents in my previous life, and I hated to abandon them.

    So I¡¯ll help. That¡¯s all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry anymore. If you want to help Yumeria-san, there¡¯s no time to cry.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Kyle looked at me in surprise, his face crumpled up in tears and snot.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like Serge¡¯s King attitude after kidnapping our precious Yumeria-san. So I¡¯m going to help you.¡±

    When I said that, Julius was holding his face and looking up to the heavens.

    ¡°Are you insane? If they¡¯re as strong as Luxion, they¡¯re stronger than ever.¡±

    ¡°You think I haven¡¯t done anything before? Luxion!¡±

    When I call out, Luxiones towards me.

    [Ideals¡¯ manufacturing capabilities are greater than mine. I have seen airships, armor, and other items that themonwealth¡¯s main weaponry cannotpete with. They had some high-performance stuff.]

    Julius seemed to have given up on Luxion¡¯s report after examining the forces that Ideal had prepared.

    ¡°If they also have high-performance airships and armor, we¡¯ll lose by a number.¡±

    [¨D¨DWho said the Einhorn and Arroganz I built were defeated?]

    Luxion¡¯s cold attitude to Julius¡¯ reaction convinced me that I had a chance. But let me make sure of something.

    ¡°Can we win?¡±

    [There is a condition that Ideal¡¯s body muste out.]

    That¡¯s the problem.

    I hadn¡¯t been able to move until now because I didn¡¯t know how seriously Ideal was taking Serge¡¯s side. The biggest problem is that I don¡¯t understand his purpose.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhere is Ideal¡¯s main body?¡±

    [He has left the Commonwealth to keep an eye on my body.]

    ¡°All right, then, let¡¯s get on with the assault. I¡¯m going to take back Yumeria-san. Kyle, you¡¯re going to have to work for it.¡±

    When I called out to him, Kyle wiped his tears with his sleeve.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    But Julius grabs my shoulder.

    ¡°Did you hear what I just said? I¡¯m telling you, we¡¯re outnumbered. Besides, if Yumeria-san became a priestess, she¡¯d have to be heavily guarded. Do you really think we can handle this on our own?¡±

    ¡°When did I tell you we were going in alone? I told you¨D¨D I was prepared.¡±

    Luxion looks up at the sky.

    [Master, apparently they have arrived]

    When we went outside, Jilk and the others in their armor were looking up at the sky.

    There¨D¨Dmany airships were floating in the sky.

    Julius is flustered.

    ¡°Are they enemy!¡±

    But the g they¡¯re flying belongs to the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    One of them was the Licorne, the same type of ship as the Einhorn.

    .

    Part 5

    Einhorn¡¯s deck.

    So I spread my hands out in front of my friends who I had summoned from the kingdom.

    ¡°Thank you, everyone! Youe to rescue when I am in pinch!¡±

    A group of friends from the poor Baron¡¯s house gathered in response to my call.

    The daily behavior is important, isn¡¯t it.

    The great friendships I¡¯ve made with them have been an asset to me.

    But as soon as they saw me, Daniel and Raymond, who I hadn¡¯t seen in a long time, hit me.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who forced me into this!¡±

    ¡°You threatened to take the airship away if I didn¡¯t show up, what the hell do you meane to rescue? Leon is the one who forced me toe!¡±

    The other boys were dissatisfied as well.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the contract, I¡¯d ignore it too!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was told to go from my parents¡¯ house because I have a contract!¡±

    ¡°Why are you dragging us into the rebellion of the Commonwealth!¡±

    It was really nostalgic to see the boys with their hands on their heads.

    Previously, I gave them free, state-of-the-art airships.

    It¡¯s a n I knew well in my previous life. ¨D¨DIt¡¯s a way to get a two-year contract for amunication n in exchange for free money for the product.

    (Note: The two-year contract lets you buy an expensive phone (say, the $649 iPhone 6) for a seemingly inexpensive, subsidized price ($199). Naturally, however, the cost of the phone is baked into your monthly fee, and by the time two years have passed, you¡¯ve paid the full price for the device.)

    ¨D¨DThat¡¯s what I did with the airship. And the contract is indefinite.

    I was hit, but I¡¯m an open-minded guy, so I forgive my friends.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to hate, hate yourselves for thinking you were going to get a free airship. Now, ording to our agreement, you will cooperate with me.¡±

    Julius and the others who were listening to my conversation gave me a dumbfounded look.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst.¡±

    Jilk was slightly taken aback.

    ¡°It¡¯s malicious¡±

    Brad pities my friends.

    ¡°Hmm, even with a state-of-the-art airship and armor, that¡¯s a minus when you consider that you¡¯re still obeying Bartfalt?¡±

    Greg is trying to cheapen our friendship.

    ¡°What do you think friendship is?¡±

    Chris, who was somehow wearing a loincloth, shook his head. My friends were surprised to see him, but he didn¡¯t mind.

    ¡°Stop calling the contractual rtionship as a friendship.¡±

    You can say all you want, but we now have the strength to fight.

    ¡°Now we have thirty airships. Noints, right?¡±

    Daniel shouts angrily at my words.

    ¡°There is a huge problem! Why should we get involved in a foreign rebellion!¡±

    Raymond is on the verge of tears.

    ¡°And the opponent is the Commonwealth. It¡¯s a powerful nation that is undefeated in its defense! If you¡¯re going to involve us, think about who you¡¯re dealing with! You always picking fights regardless of who they are!¡±

    Please don¡¯t make it sound as if I¡¯m picking a fight no matter where I am.

    ¡°I¡¯m a peace-loving man. I was just picked a fight with.¡±

    ¡°Pacifists don¡¯t buy the fights they sold!¡±

    As they are making noise, a small boatnds on the deck. Coming down are Ange and Livia.

    ¡°Leon!¡±

    ¡°Leon-san!¡±

    The two of them ran towards me and hugged me.

    It sounded like my friends were clucking their tongues, but even such jealousy wasforting.

    We hadn¡¯t seen each other in a while, and they were worried about me.

    Ange pressed her forehead against my chest.

    ¡°You¡¯re always worrying us. What did you do this time?¡±

    It¡¯s sad to be suspected.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. There was a rebellion within the Commonwealth. No, is it a revolution?¡±

    There is no way the Commonwealth can win against Serge and the others with Ideal on their side. And now that Serge has the guardian¡¯s crest, the six great nobles can¡¯tpete with him.

    Ange raised her head and looked up at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to ask you for some details. And then ¨D¨D ¡°

    Ange¡¯s eyes went to Luxion. Before I knew it, Livia was also looking at Luxion with an alert look. Livia was talking to Luxion.

    ¡°Luc-kun, I want you to tell me one thing.¡±

    [What is it?]

    ¡°Luc-kun ¨D¨D won¡¯t betray Leon-san, right?¡±

    Why is she asking this now? As I was thinking this, Luxion nced at me.

    [If he is worthy of being my master, I won¡¯t betray.]

    ¡°Oi, does that mean you¡¯ll betray me if you don¡¯t think I am worthy?¡±

    [Yes]

    I grabbed Luxion with both hands for his hateful and refreshing answer.

    ¡°Looks like you need a good lesson in master-servant rtions for once.¡±

    [Master doesn¡¯t need to exin it. Other than that, are you sure now is time to y?]

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re talking unnecessary stuff!¡±

 Volume 7, 7 â€œSisters Quarrelâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 7 ¡°Sisters Quarrel¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Meeting room in Einhorn.

    Gathered there were the main people involved in the battle.

    The friends of the poor barons were lined up against the wall, looking ufortable.

    After all, it was Julius and the other nobles in the same room.

    In addition, there is Louise-san, a foreign princess, and even Noelle, who was actually a priestess.

    With Ange and Livia by my side, it was like being thrust into a room with a bunch of guys who were superior to them.

    In addition, Emile, who was rted to one of the six great noble houses, and Lelia, his fianc¨¦e and the surviving child of the Lespinasse house, were also present.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we¡¯re out of ce?¡±

    ¡°I wonder why His Highness and others are here?¡±

    I looked down at the map of the Commonwealth on the table while Daniel and Raymond were whispering to each other.

    Reconfirm the situation.

    ¡°Now, in the Commonwealth, Yumeria-san has robbed their crest.¡±

    When I turned my gaze to Louise-san, her face was pale with worry for her family.

    It can¡¯t be helped, Alberg-san is captured by Serge, and her mother¡¯s safety is unknown.

    ¡°Many of the Commonwealth¡¯s weapons are piloted by drawing power from the crest. The same goes for airships and armor. The Commonwealth¡¯s military has been effectively neutralized. They¡¯re not hostile, but they¡¯re not on our side either.¡±

    The Commonwealth Army, which relied too much on the sacred tree, was as useless as it could be in an emergency like this.

    In the first ce, all nobles probably didn¡¯t think that their crests would be deprived.

    ¡°It¡¯s helpful just not to get in the way. Serge and the others are our only enemies.¡±

    It was Lelia who stood up from her seat after hearing my statement.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Are you really going to fight Serge?¡±

    She was still confused and couldn¡¯t seem to follow the situation.

    Emile persuades such Lelia.

    ¡°Lelia, what Serge did cannot be forgiven.¡±

    ¡°B-But! There must be a reason why he¡¯s doing this! If you hadn¡¯te to this country, Serge wouldn¡¯t have done what this.¡±

    (Note: She¡¯s right. If they didn¡¯te, she could make it worse like in Marie Route 6)

    The way Lelia looked at us was filled with hatred.

    She seems to think that if we hadn¡¯t done what we did, Serge wouldn¡¯t have started the revolution. She has a point!

    ¨D¨DBut that is also Serge¡¯s choice.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but can we talk about these assumptionster? We¡¯re trying to help Yumeria-san.¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re such a jerk. How can you be so calm in this situation?¡±

    ¡°If I panic, will someone help me? Will Serge forgive me if I cry?¡±

    When I made a fair argument, Lelia couldn¡¯t say anything back and dropped her head.

    I¡¯m sure she understands this, but emotionally she can¡¯t forgive me.

    Noelle was holding Lelia¡¯s hand and then said bluntly.

    ¡°Pull yourself together¡±

    ¡°Aneki?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Serge¡¯s fault that he did this. Don¡¯t me Leon and the others.¡±

    To Noelle, who didn¡¯t know anything about it, Lelia¡¯s way of saying it sounded terrible.

    But from my point of view and Lelia¡¯s ¨D¨D we have a previous life and knows the truth about this world.

    From another point of view, we cannot say that we have no fault.

    Therefore, I felt more than a little responsible for the current situation.

    To Noelle and the others, they would probably think it irrelevant.

    I p my hands and get back to the discussion.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. We don¡¯t have much time, so I¡¯ll exin the n. For now, we¡¯ll go to the Temple of the Sacred Tree and rescue Yumeria-san.¡±

    Brad was holding his forehead with his hand, as if his head was hurting from my opinion, which could not be called a strategy.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the n, is it? If what Serge said is true, then Yumeria-san is a priestess of the sacred tree, right? I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll try his best to protect her?¡±

    ¡°You think we¡¯ll have time to mess around with these numbers? We charge in, we get her back, we withdraw and say goodbye.¡±

    ¡°Will that work?¡±

    ¡°When I beat the crap out of you, it was such a sessful strategy.¡±

    ¡°You really have a lot of words.¡±

    If we want to help Yumeria-san, I can¡¯t make any shy moves.

    As long as we save her¨D¨D the rest just flows.

    Julius, who was worried about my n, let out a sigh and tried to fill in the details.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to figure out the details ourselves. Even though the difference in numbers is too great, we¡¯ll still do our best to get away from them in one shot. I¡¯ll go out in armor, too.¡±

    Julius was very motivated, but Jilk shook his head when he heard that.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous, Your Highness. You¡¯re not going out there. You¡¯re on standby.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Greg who crossed his arms, also nodded.

    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s true but.¡±

    Julius is frightened at being told the most obvious thing, but he wants to fight with everyone.

    If I were you, I¡¯d just tell everyone to do it, and then I¡¯d quietly back off. You¡¯re a very disciplined guy.

    ¡°This one, even if you only participate, will have a great impact on the future. I think it would be best if Julius didn¡¯t participate.¡±

    Chris told Julius to stand by.

    Julius, who had been stopped from participating by everyone, hung his head sadly.

    .

    Part 2

    As Leon and the others began to get ready, the women were left in the room.

    As the atmosphere is awkward, Cara whispers to Marie.

    ¡°Marie-sama, I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m really scared. I can see the crackling!¡±

    ¡°C-C-Calm down. I¡¯ll stop if ites to an emergency!¡±

    The reason for Marie¡¯s impatience was because of the twin sisters, Lelia and Noelle.

    The two were quarreling with each other in the room.

    Ange and Livia were quietly watching. Rather, they were worried about Leon and were discussing various issues.

    Louise is there, too, but she keeps the attitude of not being involved.

    Therefore, Marie thought that they were the only ones who would be able to stop them if anything happened.

    Lelia and Noelle grabbed each other¡¯s clothes and went straight to bickering.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything, so don¡¯t you dare to talk! It¡¯s none of your business, Aneki!¡±

    ¡°None of my business? Why am I irrelevant! I really hate it when you always look down on me like that!¡±

    Marie wanted to hold her head.

    (I can understand Lelia¡¯s feelings since we¡¯re both reincarnated, but don¡¯t take it out on Noelle! In the first ce, Noelle is a part of this!)

    There was a coup d¡¯etat in the Commonwealth. It¡¯s hard to say that Noelle had nothing to do with this. After all, the Holy Kingdom of Rachel has attacked to take Noelle.

    Noelle would be upset if she was told to stay out of it.

    But ¨D¨D Lelia also Lelia has a point.

    The coup d¡¯etat was notpletely unrted to Leon and Marie. Serge wasrgely responsible, but the incident would not have happened if Leon and Marie had note to the Commonwealth.

    If Leon and Marie hadn¡¯te to the Commonwealth, Lelia wouldn¡¯t have forced herself to retrieve Ideal.

    (¨D¨D Well, I don¡¯t like it when people one-sidedly say that we are wrong)

    At the same time, Marie felt responsible for Lelia.

    Like herself, Lelia is having a poor endgame.

    She made Loic be Noelle¡¯s boyfriend without her consent and ruined the rtionship with her unnecessary meddling. And yet, she¡¯s still in a rtionship with the gentle Emile.

    (If we hadn¡¯te, we¡¯d have been dead before the coup)

    However, it seemed that Noelle was also unhappy with Lelia, so Marie decided to watch the fight between them.

    Ange and Livia both looked at each other, as if they sensed that Marie was thinking that way.

    Leliained to Noelle about what happened until now.

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been so special. You¡¯ve always been the only one with the gift of being a priestess. I was just a bonus. It was always you who was in the center. And I was the one who had to endure. Do you have any idea how much I¡¯ve endured? And yet, you¡¯re always so carefree ¨D¨D It¡¯s so irritating to watch!¡±

    Although she didn¡¯t put it into words, it must have seemed like Noelle was always at the center of the story as the main character.

    Marie could understand that feeling. When she looked at Livia, she saw that she and Ange were discussing something. ¡°Are-chan ¨D¨D ¡°, ¡°We¡¯ll just let Leon handle it.¡±. And for the twins, Noelle¡¯s attitude changes.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat¡¯s that, always be the center, you said¡±

    ¡°What I mean is, you have the aptitude of a priestess. It¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it. There¡¯s always someone to help. If you are in trouble, the boys are there for you. Even when you were in trouble with Loic, Leon was there for you. You¡¯re like the protagonist of the story.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t say that she was the protagonist of that second otome game, she must have rephrased it as the protagonist of the story.

    Hearing this, Noelle shed tears.

    Then she grabbed Lelia¡¯s side ponytail.

    ¡°Ow, that hurts! Let go of me!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me¨D¨Ddon¡¯t make fun of me!¡±

    Noelle¡¯s loud voice made Marie¡¯s ears hurt and she held her hands over her ears.

    Noelle, not paying attention to her surroundings, vents her frustration on Lelia.

    ¡°A priestess¡¯s aptitude? What¡¯s that? I didn¡¯t want that! I never wanted that! It doesn¡¯t mean anything that I have it. You¡¯ve always had everything I wanted all to yourself! You took everything from me, and now you¡¯re acting like a victim!¡±

    Noelle shook her so hard that Lelia felt weak.

    ¡°L-Let me go¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re always like that! You¡¯ve always been so clever and good at what you do, and people have always loved you. Do you have any idea what it¡¯s like to bepared to you all the time? You ¨D¨D Do you know what it feels like to be a substitute for you!¡±

    Noelle started to get violent, and Marie jumped out and tried to separate them.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±

    She jumped and pushed Noelle down on the floor and they separated.

    Lelia sat down on the floor, gasping for air. She then stood up and approached Noelle, slowly bing angry.

    Noelle also stood up and tried to continue the fight, but Marie tried her best to hold her back.

    ¡°Noelle calm down!¡±

    ¡°Let me go! This is the only one I can¡¯t tolerate. She has a lot of things that I don¡¯t have, but what have you been enduring. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s been enduring!¡±

    When Lelia jumped on Noelle and tried to continue the fight, Louise grabbed Lelia¡¯s arm.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. You¡¯re noisy. I¡¯m worried about my family, go fight with your sister somewhere else.¡±

    Lelia, who was told coldly, red at Louise with sharp eyes.

    ¡°Family, you said? None of this would have happened if you hadn¡¯t cornered Serge. You look like you have nothing to do with it, but you are responsible for it.¡±

    When Louise heard this, her eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on Lelia¡¯s arm.

    ¡°What do you know? What do you think Serge did to me?¡±

    ¡°I think family is supposed to ept it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a stranger and you¡¯re so casual about other people¡¯s family affairs. Did Serge say something to you to make him feel better about himself? You¡¯re such an idiot for taking him at his word.¡±

    ¡°Only the bad guys have a good appearance.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DThe Lespinasse people are so irritating. I hate Noelle, but I really hate you.¡±

    This time, a fight was about to start between Lelia and Louise.

    Marie is about to cry.

    (I know how you feel, but you can¡¯t fight! My stomach will die!)

    Marie was jealous of Leon for leaving the room so quickly. She regretted that she should have said she would help him and left the room.

    Then¨D¨Dperhaps having reached the end of her patience, Ange released intimidation.

    ¡°That¡¯s far enough¡±

    Lelia turned around and said, ¡°Haa?¡± She sounded like a delinquent, but when she saw Ange¡¯s face, she immediately averted her gaze. If Lelia was a thug, Ange had the look of a mafia boss.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the cause of your quarrel, nor am I interested in it, but this is an important time for Leon and others. If you make any more noise and get in Leon¡¯s way, I¡¯ll deal with you.¡±

    Marie saw a me on Ange¡¯s back. The mes seemed to be the very essence of Ange¡¯s temperament.

    Livia has a cold stare.

    ¡°When this is over, you can fight all you want. But for now, please be quiet. I¡¯m sure Leon-san and the others don¡¯t have much time to spare.¡±

    Unlike Ange, this one was like water, sometimes gentle, sometimes scary. She gave off that kind of vibe. It¡¯s Livia who is scary when she is angry.

    Marie nods violently.

    Then Noelle, the one she held, was crying.

    ¡°Me too. I wanted to be loved too.¡±

    Hearing her voice, Marie looked at Noelle¡¯s face.

    ¡°Noelle?¡±

    .

    Part 3

    Here¡¯s the n I came up with Julius and the others.

    The Friendship Fleet, led by Einhorn, assaults the Temple of the Sacred Tree!

    After that, we¡¯ll let the armor break inside and rescue Yumeria-san. At that time, I¡¯d also like to free the six great nobles who may have been captured.

    ¨D¨DIf they are still alive.

    The chance is about 50-50?

    I¡¯m worried about Louise-san, and I hope Alberg-san is still alive.

    Let¡¯s move the women to the Licorne and let them stay in the back.

    I can¡¯t let them fight.

    As I cross my arms on the bridge of the Einhorn, I notice that Julius is nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Huh? Is Julius in the toilet?¡±

    Jilk, who had changed into his pilot suit, looked toward the doorway.

    ¡°He seemed depressed that he couldn¡¯t go out with us. He said he was moving to Licorne.¡±

    ¡°Losing motivation and rxing in the back? He¡¯s still in that prince mindset, isn¡¯t he.¡±

    ¡°He has been stripped of his position as the Crown Prince, but he is still the prince. Count Bartfalt should be more aware of His Highness¡¯s position.¡±

    ¡°He is an idiot who was tricked by a woman into giving up his position as the Crown Prince, right? I¡¯ve correctly recognized you guys as idiots, so there¡¯s no problem.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Have you ever been taught to be careful of your allies on the battlefield?¡±

    This bastard, is he nning on shooting me in the back?

    While we were talking about such foolishness, Luxion was looking down at the deck of the Einhorn.

    [Master, Loic is here]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    .

    Part 4

    When I went to the deck, I found Loic there.

    Loic came riding in a small boat, and for some reason, he was ready to fight.

    ¡°Count Bartfalt, I want you to let me fight too.¡±

    ¡°Marie¡¯s on the ship behind us?¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so? N-No, you¡¯re wrong. I want to fight with you guys.¡±

    For some reason, Greg looks very ufortable when he hears those words.

    He walked up to Loic and grabbed him.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a game! You can¡¯t even use the power of the sacred tree, you will be a burden!¡±

    I was surprised by Greg who threatens him, but it was certainly tough to get Loic to join us.

    The nobles of the Commonwealth are extremely weak without a crest.

    Loic is still in training, but he¡¯s only as good as the average soldier.

    There is a gap in ability between him and us who vomited blood, in order to give a present to girls in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    Still, Loic did not back down.

    ¡°I may be useless, but I can at least be a shield for you!¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    ¡°I ¨D¨D I was saved by Anego. Besides, it will be more convenient for you if I¡¯m the one who knows the inner structure of the Sacred Tree Temple. Please, let me help you!¡±

    It certainly makes it easier to attack the inside of the building with Loic.

    Greg looked at me, and I nodded and took his hand away from Loic.

    Greg scratches his head and turns his back.

    ¡°Do as you please. In return, don¡¯t die on your own because Marie will be sad if you die.¡±

    ¡°You have my thanks!¡±

    They would be rivals because they both love the same woman. And yet, Greg tells Loic not to die. Is this what a handsome guy is supposed to do? I am confident that I would never be able to say the same thing out of jealousy.

    I decided to lend Loic the armor that Julius had used before.

    That will protect Loic¡¯s life.

    ¡°We have an extra unit, Loic, use the white armor.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DThank you. Now I can fight. It was frustrating to involve you in the Commonwealth¡¯s rebellion and do nothing about it.¡±

    It seems that he is thinking about various things.

    When I was impressed, I feel nostalgic, no, for the first time in a long time, he appeared.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, gentlemen!¡±

    The one whonded on the deck, was Julius ¨D¨D or not.

    It was a man who called himself the Masked Knight. I had met him before when I was fighting in the Kingdom of Horfalt against the former Principality of Fannoss.

    He still looks suspicious in his mask and cape, but he has the guts to act confidently.

    Chris drew the sword on his hip, and Brad prepared a fireball made by magic in both hands.

    ¡°You are a masked man!¡±

    ¡°Why is this man in themonwealth?¡±

    The four seriously wary men were pointing their weapons at Julius without knowing it. Even Jilk ¨D¨D who had grown up with him as the foster brothers, pointed the muzzle of his pistol at the masked knight.

    Loic blinked his eyes, not understanding what was going on.

    Luxion asks me to deal with it.

    [This farce again? Why don¡¯t you tell them about his identity?]

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get involved. Besides, the five of them might be enjoying this charade, right? It¡¯s best to leave it alone. Because it¡¯s funny to see from a distance.¡±

    I think of Marie who has to take care of these people who keep repeating the farce, I feel sorry for her and at the same time I think ¡°Serves you right!¡±.

    Entertain me as much as you can.

    The masked knight approaches me.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Count Bartfalt¡±

    Eh? You¡¯re talking to me out of the blue?

    ¡°O, oh¡±

    ¡°I hear you¡¯re outnumbered. I¡¯ll lend a hand. I need to borrow one of your armors. You have the white armor that Julius, His Highness used, right?¡±

    He¡¯s got really bad timing.

    I tell the masked knight, who has a rxed attitude, as I look at Loic.

    ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t. I just promised Loic, I¡¯d lend it to him.¡±

    Loic was suspicious of the masked knight. Well, it would be difficult to tell the true identity of the masked knight because of the rtionship between this guy and Julius.

    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is. If you don¡¯t have any business here, leave.¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s my armor!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s the property of Count Bartfalt? And what the hell are you doing with that weird mask on? Take off the mask and tell me your name.¡±

    Julius was told the right thing, but he could not call himself a masked knight if he flinched at this level.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to realize there¡¯s a reason I can¡¯t tell you my name? Count Bartfalt, he doesn¡¯t deserve that white armor. Let me on board!¡±

    That¡¯s Julius¡¯s request, but I¡¯m going to ask Loic for directions.

    In terms of priorities, there was no way I was going to leave Loic out of this.

    ¡°Give it up ande to the bridge with me. I¡¯ll even give you a cup of tea.¡±

    ¡°What do you think I¡¯vee out here for! Let me fii~~~ight!¡±

    .

    Part 5

    The location has been moved to the Einhorn¡¯s hangar.

    Jilk opened the cockpit hatch and watched as Loic got into the white armor for Julius and made adjustments.

    ¡°Even so, I¡¯m amazed by Count Bartfalt. We¡¯re going to war with the Commonwealth in such numbers.¡±

    It is Brad who gets fried by Jilk like that. He makes a point about opponents and numbers.

    ¡°We¡¯re dealing with rebels. And, in terms of numbers, it¡¯s simple matters. There¡¯s a good chance of winning.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than a six-fold difference in strength, though?¡±

    ¡°The objective of victory is to save Yumeria-san, isn¡¯t it? After that, escape from the Commonwealth, and they won¡¯t be able toe after us. After all, all of the Commonwealth¡¯s weapons are for defense only. If they go out of their country, they can not fight.¡±

    Because they use the power of the Sacred Tree, they are inevitably weakened when they go outside the Commonwealth.

    It was a statement in consideration of that, but this time Chris disagrees.

    ¡°If the other side has the same performance as Luxion, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they had the performance to fight outside of the country?¡±

    ¡°Guh! T-That¡¯s true. But Luxion said the odds were still in our favor. I¡¯m sure he has a n.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know that, why are you acting high and mighty?¡±

    Brad falls silent when Chris tells him, but now a dissatisfied Greg opens his mouth.

    ¡°You guys should concentrate. This time, the enemy is dangerous, we must serious.¡±

    Ideal, a lost item like Luxion, is by Serge¡¯s side, providing support. Greg and his team had seen the strength of the Arroganz firsthand. They understood how scary it was.

    Then they hear Leon¡¯s voice from Arroganz.

    The hatch to the cockpit was closed, and Leon was not visible.

    ¡°You¡¯re making a racket! You¡¯re making noise like children. Quiet down a bit!¡±

    Jilk is taken aback by the foul-mouthed voice of Leon.

    ¡°You¡¯re really not very good at talking.¡±

    ¡°Shut up and be my bulletproof ¡°

    The voicesing from the Arroganz irritated Jilk and the others.

 Volume 7, 8 â€œParent-Child Bondsâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 8 ¡°Parent-Child Bonds¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    Serge, sitting on the throne that had been prepared for him, was annoyed that he didn¡¯t know where Lelia was.

    He knew that she was working together with Leon and the others, but their movements were unknown. He heard that there was some kind of airshiping, but Luxion was jamming themunication and Ideal had no solid information.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to fight that bastard and get Lelia back.¡±

    Not wanting to wait, he gets up and Ideales towards him.

    Ever since Serge had called him a liar, he had been in a foul mood.

    [Einhorn is leading thirty airships toward us. I¡¯ve heard that Lelia-sama is aboard one of Einhorn¡¯s ships. I¡¯ve also confirmed that Louise is on board.]

    ¡°That sidees here? Did theye to get back the bastard Alberg?¡±

    [No, sir. It looks like they are going to take back Yumeria. And Lelia-sama on board on a white airship and move backwards. Please be careful when fighting.]

    Serge was a little suspicious of Ideal¡¯s detailed information, but he let it go.

    What was suspicious was the fact that he had gotten so much information while he has been jamming. But right now, Lelia was more important than Ideal.

    ¡°Perfect. I¡¯m going to finish with that bastard here. I¡¯ll show that bastard Alberg the corpse of Leon and Louise.¡±

    Ideal watched in silence as Serge exited the throne room in high spirits.

    .

    Part 2

    When he came to the hangar, there were knights, soldiers, adventurers, mercenaries, and ruffians ¨D¨D waiting to go out.

    In their right hands, they had a lower-level crest.

    Knights who had previously held a lower crest were given a higher crest and appointed as toon leaders.

    Several of them have been given the crest of the six great noble houses and have been appointed as Squadron Leader and Captain.

    The Revolutionary Armed Forces had only been in existence for a short time, and its organizational structure was not yetplete.

    The crest that Serge gave them will raise the performance of the armor they ride.

    At the same time, the armor they rode in boasted high performance even without any crest.

    The armors were redesigned and prepared by Ideal.

    Like Arroganz, the armors are impossible to manufacture with the level of technology in this world.

    The most powerful of them all is the four-legged type Gier that Serge rides.

    Standing in front of Gier, Serge inspires his allies to face theing enemy.

    ¡°Some idiot recklessly tried to pick a fight with us. ¨D¨D Leon Fou Bartfalt. He¡¯s a hero of the kingdom who¡¯s been rampaging on our homnd, but it¡¯s time for him to leave.¡±

    Therade pilots who had obtained the crest were not afraid when they heard Leon¡¯s name.

    They have been defeated many times before, but they believe in the power of their new crest and weapon.

    They were confident that they could beat Leon now.

    It was the same for Serge.

    He got higher-spec armor than Arroganz called Gier, and this time, he going to defeat Leon.

    (I¡¯m going to beat that guy to death for humiliating me)

    If both of them had a fight with their all and he lost, it was unforgivable, but it still made sense. But Leon never took Serge seriously from the start.

    He pretended to lose in order to deceive Louise.

    Then, the moment Leon showed his seriousness, Serge was taken down by a single blow.

    What could be more humiliating than that?

    ¡°Let¡¯s move out! Show those foolish bastards from the Horfalt Kingdom what themonwealth is truly capable of!¡±

    The soldiers all shouted in unison, ¡°OH!¡± and climbed into their armor.

    Serge also boarded the Gier. It was bigger than the Arroganz, so there was more room in the cockpit.

    As he sat in the seat and tightened his grip on the control stick, the monitor started up and showed the surrounding scenery. The images from the monitor looked as if they were seen with the naked eye.

    The four legs of the Gier slowly raise the machine. In his right hand, he holds a spear, and in his left, arge shield.

    The figure looked like a centaur, but it also resembled a mounted knight.

    As Gier slowly rose from the ground, the mass-produced armors around him also flew up in unison.

    Hundreds of armor soar in the sky and form a formation.

    The airship built by Ideal is also in a formation and ready to intercept.

    ¡°Come on, any time you want. I¡¯ll make this ce your grave.¡±

    A vengeful Serge looked at the distant fleet of the Horfalt Kingdom and licked his lips.

    He felt like a predator that waiting for his prey.

    A mere thirty airships charge toward the Temple of the Sacred Tree without a n.

    When Serge saw that, he raised the corners of his mouth.

    ¡°Charge like a fool? Our cannon¡¯s range is increasing! All ships, start firing!¡±

    At the sound of Serge¡¯s voice, the airship¡¯s gun turret was activated and pointed its barrel at Einhorn, who was in the lead.

    Instead of the regr cannons lined up on the sides, these are movable turrets.

    These airships are not fully automatic, but they are still a great improvement from themonwealth¡¯s airships.

    All at once, the barrels fire, and then the next round is loaded and fired immediately.

    It has an unprecedented rapid fire and hit rate, and most importantly, its range has been greatly increased.

    It¡¯s also faster and stronger than any previous airship.

    How could any pilot not feel confident in this.

    A shell immediately hit Einhorn, who was in the lead, and he was enveloped in the smoke generated by the explosion.

    Still, Serge does not stop the attack.

    ¡°More. More shots! I don¡¯t care if you have to shoot them with all the bullets, just hit them with everything you¡¯ve got!¡±

    With bloodshot eyes, Serge was excited to have overwhelming power in his hands.

    His breathing became ragged as he imagined Leon and the others torn to pieces.

    But ¨D¨D.

    ¡°Chi! Not so easy to sink, is it?¡±

    ¨D¨DWhat appeared as if cutting through the ck smoke was Einhorn, whose bow extended like a horn.

    It looked like they had done some damage, but it was still in one piece.

    A panickedmunicationes from an ally.

    ¡°Guardian-sama, the e-enemy ising!¡±

    The quality of the pilots was inexplicably low, as there were more amateurs than well-trained soldiers.

    ¡°Calm down. This side hasrger numbers than that side. If we surround them and hit them, they are not an enemy to be afraid of. The enemy will be sending out their armor soon. Intercept them!¡±

    He thought that the enemy airships would slow down andunch their armor.

    But Einhorn maintained its maximum speed¨D¨DThey charge into the fleet of Serge and the rest of the Revolutionary Guard.

    ¡°A-Are they idiots!¡±

    Behind Serge and the others is the Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    There was also Yumeria, whom Leon and the others were trying to save.

    It was insane to charge into a ce like that.

    But then he remembered that he had done the same thing before when he rescued Louise.

    ¡°The people of the Kingdom, they are a real assault fool.¡±

    Even the stubborn Serge was astonished.

    He moves Gier off the course of Einhorn andmands the surroundings.

    Einhorn proceeds to knock off the armor, which is startled and unable to move. Then, even though it collided with a slow-moving airship, it flicked them and rushed straight into the temple of the Sacred Tree like an arrow, and suddenly changed its direction in the middle.

    Unable to kill the momentum, Einhorn mmed into the ground in front of the Temple of the Sacred Tree from the side of the ship, scraping the earth. As it arrived at the Temple of the Sacred Tree, the hatch in the hangar opened and the armor came flying out.

    Among the armors he had seen before, white, green, blue, red, and purple, there was an armor with a gray and ck.

    It¡¯s Arroganz.

    Serge¡¯s eyes widened and he took out a syringe from the metal case he had brought into the cockpit. It was a body enhancement drug that Ideal had prepared for him.

    It was also a powerful drug that ignored the burden on the body.

    ¡°I found it, you son of a bi~itch!¡±

    Thinking that Leon is there, he roughly sticks the syringe into his own body and injects the drug.

    For a few moments, Serge¡¯s eyes go white, but he quickly calms down and returns to normal.

    However, he was sweating like crazy and his eyes were bloodshot.

    ¡°It works. It¡¯s better than the one I was using before. This sharpened sensation is the best I¡¯ve ever felt, ignoring the pain in my body.¡±

    Serge, who has used a Body Strengthening Drug, heads into the building himself to pursue Leon and the others who have entered the Sacred Tree Temple.

    ¡°Ten of you follow me! I¡¯m gonna crush the bastards that got inside!¡±

    As Gier headed for the Temple of the Sacred Tree, a dozen or so armors followed behind him.

    The Revolutionary Army is defending the Temple of the Sacred Tree, but a battle begins with the invading Kingdom Army.

    .

    Part 3

    The Arroganz were being led by Loic, who was riding in white armor, as they pushed forward.

    ¡°It¡¯s this way!¡±

    They proceeded to kick apart the defense equipment that Ideal had prepared.

    At that time, one armor jumps out.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    Loic tried to take it on, Greg would push him away from behind.

    ¡°You step back. We¡¯ll deal with them here.¡±

    ¡°W, wait. I can fight too! ¡°

    Loic, who had been pushed away, said he could fight, Greg had stabbed the enemy with his spear in the meantime. The pilot was unharmed, but Greg pulled out his spear and wildly kicked the enemy¡¯s armor away.

    ¡°These guys could be your friends! ¨D¨D All you have to do is show us the way. Don¡¯t deal with them.¡±

    It was a clumsy move by Greg to be considerate of Loic.

    Loic utters his thanks.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But more importantly, if that video is correct, it¡¯s ahead.¡±

    They could see arge door in front of them.

    When Chris opens the door, a hail of bullets rains down.

    ¡°It¡¯s an ambush after all!¡±

    Drone defense equipment prepared by Ideal is avable, and they attack intruders without mercy.

    Then Arroganz stepped forward and forcibly destroyed the defense equipment. The method was he get close and put his hands on it ¨D¨D hit it with a shockwave, a violent one.

    Chris criticizes the action.

    ¡°Arroganz, don¡¯t get too far ahead!¡±

    Arroganz turns and says back to Chris.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this! You guys get your asses in here!¡±

    The armor that Jilk rides is shooting through the defense equipment with his rifle.

    ¡°You¡¯re a real pain in the ass.¡±

    Brad stood in position to watch the doorway.

    ¡°No enemiese from behind¡±

    After destroying most of the defense equipment, they found a part of the sacred tree exposed at the back of therge room. The entire wall was covered with the sacred tree.

    In the hollow of the center part of it, Yumeria was sitting.

    The roots of the trees were entwined, as if they were trying to entrap her.

    Yumeria does not react even in the midst of a battle.

    If Arroganz approach carelessly, an electric shock will ur.

    [Let¡¯s not get any closer, shall you?]

    Coming down from the ceiling was Ideal with a drone in tow.

    He shows his displeasure at Arroganz and others who have invaded.

    [Yumeria has a role to y. I can¡¯t let you take her.]

    It was Greg who interrupted the words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk so high and mighty, you kidnapper!¡±

    However¨D¨D Ideals also explode with emotion.

    [Even though it is unforgivable for people to approach the sacred tree, you went rampage without understanding it. You all really are nothing more than garbage.]

    When Greg heard this, he realized Ideal¡¯s true nature.

    ¡°Is that your true nature? Luxion may have a bad mouth, but he wasn¡¯t as rotten as you.¡±

    [¨D¨DLuxion. I knew the immigrant ship¡¯s poption intelligence was defective. He helped you and betrayed the old humans. I¡¯m going to use his body.]

    Arroganz leaps at Ideal.

    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, it¡¯s noisy!¡±

    Ideal sends the drones to Arroganz, but ¨D¨D the ceiling is destroyed and Gier, the four-legged armor, emerges from it.

    ¡°Found you, son of a bitch!¡±

    He stomps on Arroganz and ms him straight into the ground.

    Armor invaded one after another after Gier, but the shields protecting Yumeria were shut down due to the destruction of the ceiling.

    Idealined to Serge, who showed up.

    [What the hell were you thinking, destroying a defense system!]

    ¡°Do not get in the way. This one is my prey!¡±

    Serge was enjoying stomping on Arroganz and was more belligerent than usual due to the strengthening drugs he had taken. His judgment was lower than usual.

    Greg charges in with Chris, sting Gier away, and Brad and Loic step back after retrieving Arroganz.

    Serge¡¯s subordinates continue to attack from the sky.

    Ideal shouts.

    [Do you understand that there is a priestess of the sacred tree!]

    After starting the battle where Yumeria was, Serge looked at the Arroganz.

    He thinks that Leon is there and talks to him.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve beaten me ¨D¨D No, it¡¯s been longer than that. I can¡¯t get your face out of my head. If I don¡¯t kill you, I won¡¯t be able to forgive myself. Please, disappear from my life, Leon!¡±

    Gier, a four-legged armor, is highly mobile and fast. He closes the distance between him and the Arroganz in an instant, and tries to thrust his spear at him.

    There, Loic hit him with his body.

    ¡°Serge, stop it. Is this what you¡¯ve always wanted to do? Didn¡¯t you always dream of bing an adventurer? ¡±

    Serge was furious when he heard Loic¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I see, so you¡¯re on their side. Then you¡¯re the enemy. I¡¯m going to destroy you into a million pieces and show it to your father!¡±

    Apparently, the heads of the six great noble houses are still alive.

    Jilk raised his rifle and shot at the armors attacking them from the sky.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight here. Let¡¯s take it outside.¡±

    Brad agrees with Jilk¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely better outside.¡±

    Brad¡¯s purple armor has a spear-shaped drone on its back that shoots out to take on enemy armor and drones.

    The enemy¡¯s armor deployed a magic circle under the attack of the machine gun nted in the spear.

    It is the crest of the six great noble houses. The attack was repelled.

    ¡°Are his followers this strong?¡±

    Brad is surprised, but tries to fight against therge number of them and drive them outside.

    Serge is fighting Chris¡¯s armor, who is holding a sword, and he hits him with his shield.

    The armor that Chris rides rolls on the ground.

    ¡°Guh!¡±

    Soon Greg was taking on Serge, but his power was losing.

    ¡°Is this guy stronger than Arroganz?¡±

    When Greg was surprised, Serge, who was very proud, startedughing and bragging. He seems to be rxed about the overwhelming performance of the Gier.

    ¡°This is the armor that had been specially prepared to kill Leon. It¡¯s only natural for it to be strong!¡±

    Gier, controlled by Serge, who is out of control and on a rampage, but when Arroganz flies in the sky and heads outside, he chases after him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run away, you coward! Only you that I will take out in front of father and sister¨D¨DI have to make them ept that I¡¯m a little brother!¡±

    Confused, Serge mouthed off about Alberg and Louise as his father and sister.

    No one had time to point it out or even notice it.

    When Arroganz went outside, they found a fierce battle going on between the kingdom army and the rebels.

    Before they knew it, Einhorn was also up there, and it was fighting.

    From Arroganz¡¯s position and looked down, Gier wasing at him from there.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can escape. We¡¯re constantly being supplied with energy from the Sacred Tree. And the power!¡±

    When Gier kicks Arroganz, he is blown away. Gier moves in front of where he was blown away, and uses his shield to knock the Arroganz to the ground.

    ¡°Also Speed !¡±

    As Gier approached Arroganz, who was falling to the ground, he was about to thrust her spear at the cockpit. He was going to hit him on the ground and stab it with his spear.

    ¡°I¡¯m stronger than you! I¡¯m more suitable for the family!¡±

    When Arroganz put his hands out in front of him, he created a shockwave that blew Gier away. Arroganz was knocked to the ground, but quickly got up.

    Gier, who also fell to the ground, is standing firmly on the ground with all four legs.

    ¡°Ahaha!¡±

    Serge, who was not normal, seemed to see only the Arroganz in front of him. That¡¯s why he hadn¡¯t noticed.

    ¡°Your opponent is us!¡±

    Greg and Chris attacked from both sides as they closed in on Gier.

    Gier blocked Chris¡¯s attack with his shield, but the other side ¨D¨D The right side could not catch Greg¡¯s spear and the tip of the spear pierced his chest.

    ¡°I thought I couldn¡¯t stab you with this.¡±

    He could hear Greg¡¯s frustrated voice, and now Gier swayed as he was attacked from behind.

    ¡°Damn it! A bunch of weaklings¡±

    As Serge tried to crush Greg and the others, the spear-shaped drones floating around them began to attack with machine guns.

    Greg and Chris shed at him while he was cowering under the attack.

    And then there was Jilk with his rifle, aiming at the joints.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about how to fight against Count Bartfalt, but even with this, I can¡¯t drop him? It¡¯s really troublesome.¡±

    It was the coordination that the five of them had been thinking of in order to counter Leon riding Arroganz.

    Fight using numbers, not one on one, but four on one.

    However, Gier is struggling, but they still can¡¯t beat him.

    Chris shouts to Arroganz.

    ¡°Leave this to us, you go and help Yumeria-san!¡±

    Arroganz immediately headed for the Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    When Serge saw this, he shouted.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Don¡¯t run away and fight, Leon! I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment ¨D¨D for years!¡±

    .

    Part 4

    The Arroganz have arrived back inside the Sacred Tree Temple.

    [Serge is still no use, huh?]

    Ideal looks disappointed at the sight of him, but Arroganz caught Ideal with his right hand and shattered him with a shockwave.

    Then the cockpit of the Arroganz opened.

    The one who came out of it ¨D¨D not Leon, but Kyle.

    ¡°Kaa-san ¨D¨D Kaa-san!¡±

    Arroganz puts Kyle on his hand and brings him closer to Yumeria.

    Kyle touches Yumeria, but although her eyes are open, she is unconscious.

    No matter how much he called out to her, Yumeria did not show any response.

    Even so, Kyle kept calling her.

    ¡°Sorry ¨D¨D I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s, It¡¯s my fault. That¡¯s why pleasee back. I don¡¯t want to lose Kaa-san. I don¡¯t care if we¡¯re apart. But if Kaa-san is not fine, I don¡¯t want it! I never wanted you to look like this.¡±

    He spilledrge tears and kept calling out to Yumeria.

    Kyle¡¯s coldness to Yumeria was partly embarrassment, but also ¨D¨D He wanted Yumeria to be strong.

    ¡°I¨D¨D I want to be with Kaa-san more. Because I¡¯m going to die before you. I can¡¯t be with you forever¨D¨D¡±

    Elf and Half-Elf. The difference in appearance is indistinguishable, but the main difference is life span. Half-Elves have the same lifespan as humans.

    However, the lifespan of sub-race such as elves is many times longer than that of humans.

    Half-elf growth is the same as humans.

    Even though Kyle may look younger now, eventually he will look more mature.

    And he dies before Yumeria.

    ¡°You are unreliable but kind¨D¨DI loved Kaa-san like that. If I don¡¯t behave properly, Kaa-san is easy to be fooled¨D¨DI wanted you to be more reliable. And I thought I was right, so.¡±

    Kyle cried and begged for forgiveness, but there was no response from Yumeria.

    Kyle squeezes his hand thinking what he is doing is useless.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kaa-san. I ¨D¨D I loved Kaa-san. It¡¯s because I pushed you too hard that this is happening, I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    Even if she didn¡¯t regain consciousness, he was going to take care of Yumeria.

    When he reached out to help her and touched the sacred tree, Yumeria, who had been hanging her head down, looked up.

    Then, she makes a puzzled face.

    ¡°Are? Already morning? Ah, good morning, Kyle. ¨D¨D Hmm? Kyle, w-w-what¡¯s wrong !? Why are you crying so much!? Does it hurt somewhere? A-Anone, I¡¯ll treat you right away, just wait. A-Arere? Kaa-san can¡¯t move. ¡°

    Yumeria woke up and didn¡¯t understand her situation.

    Kyle sees that and hugs her, crying.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorryy. I¡¯m leally zorryyy.¡±

    He was crying so much that she couldn¡¯t understand what he was saying, but Yumeria smiled gently.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand, but I forgive you. Because I¡¯m Kyle¡¯s mother.¡±

    As Yumeria regains consciousness, Arroganz¡¯s twin eyes glow once.

    Then, with his left hand, he began to remove the branch of the sacred tree that was wrapped around Yumeria.

    Arroganz was moving without personnel.

    Once Yumeria was released, Kyle led her straight to the cockpit.

    ¡°Kaa-san, over here!¡±

    ¡°A-Are you sure? Won¡¯t Leon-sama be mad?¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t get mad! I¡¯ve got permission, so get in! We¡¯re surrounded by enemies ¨D¨D!¡±

    When Kyle looked up at the sky, he saw Gier, Serge¡¯s armor, floating there.

    However, it was floating and looking down at Kyle and the others.

    ¡± ¨D¨D You are not Leon, huh? And you are parent and child?¡±

    Gier looked down at Kyle and he hugged Yumeria.

    (This is not good. If that guy attacks us now, we¡¯re dead)

    As Gier¡¯s right hand moved, Kyle tried to push Yumeria away.

    He thought it would save her life if she could get into the cockpit of Arroganz.

    However, it was Yumeria who moved first.

    She pushes Kyle into the cockpit of Arroganz.

    ¡°Ka, Kaa-san!¡±

    Yumeria looked at Kyle and smiled. When Gier approached Yumeria, Kyle reached out to her.

    (I¡¯vee this far!)

    In such a critical situation, Arroganz detached the container with a burner from the backpack and shot it out. The container hit Gier, and the burner ignited to push Gier back.

    ¡°Only you guys aaaAaAaA!¡±

    Hearing Serge¡¯s voice, Kyle hurriedly pulled Yumeria¡¯s hand and entered the cockpit of Arroganz.

    ¡°Arroganz, we¡¯re in!¡±

    With a shout, the Arroganz close the hatch and fly into the sky. However, the flight speed of Arroganz who lost the container has dropped significantly.

    Gier, who destroyed the container,es close to stabbing the Spear at such Arroganz.

    There, Brad jumped in.

    ¡°Go! To Bartfalt¡¯s ce!¡±

    Brad¡¯s tattered armor was in the way, holding Gier.

    Kyle thanked him.

    ¡°T-Thank you very much!¡±

    Einhorn was where Arroganz was headed.

    And there was no enemy flying battleship in the sky of the Sacred Tree Temple.

    All of the armor had been destroyed as well, and the only thing floating around was the allied airship and armor.

    On the deck of the Einhorn, Leon¡¯s figure was waiting for Kyle.

 Volume 7, 9 â€œMastermindâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 9 ¡°Mastermind¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Once the Arroganz with Kyle and Yumeria-san on boardnded on the deck, the hatch opened.

    Kylees down from there and holds Yumeria-san in his arms.

    I walked up to Kyle and put my hand on his head and stroked his hair, ruffling it wildly. Kyle didn¡¯t like it, but he looked a little happy.

    ¡°P-Please stop!¡±

    ¡°Well done for a first time. How do you feel about riding Arroganz?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can handle it. Arroganz is the armor of Count ¨D¨D Leon-sama¡±

    When he called me that, I¡¯m having a game-brained thought that I¡¯ve be more likable.

    Yumeria-san looked troubled.

    ¡°A-Ano, Leon-sama, that, I-I-I-I¡¯m sorry I went out of my way to take a break from work!¡±

    I would be troubled if she apologized for such a thing at this time.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, hide in the ship for now. I¡¯ve got a lot of work to do from now on.¡±

    Luxion, who was floating by my side,ined to me with an air of annoyance.

    [You¡¯re making him do something rash. The sess rate would have been higher if Master had been on board.]

    ¡°He only wanted to help. Come on, do the maintenance quickly.¡±

    After watching Kyle and Yumeria-san walk into the ship, I boarded the Arroganz and closed the hatch.

    On the deck, the drones that had been waiting in the wings swarmed around the Arroganz and began their maintenance.

    Luxionpiles Gier¡¯s data while I can¡¯t move due to maintenance.

    [The armor that Serge rides seems to be called Gier.]

    ¡°Gier? What does it mean?¡±

    [It means greed]

    ¡°Uwaa ~ that sounds chuuni¡°

    [ ¨D¨D That¡¯s right. More importantly, Gier is an armor built by Ideal for use against Arroganz. I¡¯m sure he has been collecting data on Arroganz for some time now. It¡¯s troublesome.]

    If Ideal is going to be our enemy, he¡¯s going to have to do at least that.

    I would do that too.

    But¨D¨DHow serious is he?

    ¡°We¡¯ve got Yumeria-san back. I heard from Loic that Alberg-san and the others are safe, right? We¡¯ll get them and get the hell out of here.¡±

    [That¡¯s only if they let us get away. Master, Gier is getting closer.]

    As the drones moved away from the Arroganz, the back was reced by a Schwert ¨D¨D not a container, but a wing-shaped backpack.

    Missile packs are attached to the wings, and additional armor is attached to the armor of the Arroganz as well.

    ¡°It looks quite stylish this time. Did you put even more armor on?¡±

    [It¡¯s a hasty preparation, but I¡¯m trying to improve our chances of winning. Please use it carefully.]

    As I took off from the deck, Gier was closing in on Einhorn.

    I can hear Serge shouting, but since we are both equal in performance, my opponent¡¯s face appears on the monitor screen.

    I could see Serge¡¯s face, his eyes bloodshot.

    When I saw him drooling from the corner of his mouth, I immediately understood what he had used.

    ¡°Did you use drugs again?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do anything to kill you! I¡¯ve always ¨D¨DI¡¯ve always wanted to kill you for more than a decade!¡±

    ¡°Haa?¡±

    What the hell is he talking about? We hadn¡¯t even met more than ten years ago. As I was thinking this, Luxion exined Serge¡¯s feelings.

    [It¡¯s possible that he isparing Master to the Rault¡¯s own son, Leon? He¡¯s always been jealous of the dead son.]

    ¡°That guy is?¡±

    [Master, we have no time to sympathize.]

    As Gier approached, I also re-grasped the control stick.

    ¡°Who¡¯s feeling any sympathy?¡±

    I stopped Gier¡¯s approaching spear with the great sword I pulled from my back.

    Looking at the spear, it seems that a gun is installed.

    Serge fired a shot, and Arroganz shook.

    ¡°Guh!¡±

    [The machine¡¯s performance is higher than the enemies we had until now.]

    ¡°Arroganz should have been powered up too.¡±

    With a light tone, I distanced myself from Gier and purged my missile pack ¨D¨D From there, several missiles wereunched at Gier.

    However, Gier evades them and destroys them with the gun he has installed in the spear.

    ¡°How is that possible!¡±

    [Ideal supports him. I can do the same thing, and I have done it before?]

    ¡°It¡¯s troublesome when other people do it, isn¡¯t it. Now, what do we do about it?¡±

    In front of the armor that was created to fight Arroganz, I think of a way to fight.

    .

    Part 2

    Arroganz and Gier were fighting fiercely.

    The armor of the kingdomnded on the airships one after another, and then they were resupplied and maintained.

    And then ¨D¨D.

    ¡°Otou-sama!¡±

    ¡°Louise!¡±

    ¨D¨D The heads of the six great noble houses that Loic had helped arrived in Licorne.

    When Louise saw Alberg, she hugged him on deck. Alberg also hugged her tightly, happy that his daughter was still alive.

    It was Lelia who was watching the scene.

    ¡°What. Bad guys hugging each other.¡±

    In Lelia¡¯s mind, the Rault House are the bad guys. In the second otome game, Alberg, thest boss, wanted revenge because the main character¡¯s mother had broken off their engagement in the past.

    What a pathetic reason¨D¨Da pathetic man.

    And the daughter of such a man is a viiness who bullies the protagonist.

    Seeing them hugging each other, Lelia wondered if her perception was wrong?

    She started to think like that, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to change her mind now.

    The heads of the six great noble houses were all looking coldly at Lambert, the head of the Favel family.

    The person in question was cowering and holding his head in his hands.

    ¡°Give it back. Give me back my crest. It¡¯s a sign of the Favel family. It¡¯s not forgiven to take it away.¡±

    He was crying and mumbling and kept saying the same thing.

    Fernand was also visibly disheveled. He used to be a blond-haired, blue-eyed nobleman, but now his hair is in disarray and he has stubble. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked as if he hadn¡¯t slept at all.

    It seems that the loss of the blessing of the sacred tree has given him a great mental shock.

    His figure looks smaller than before.

    And the way he looked at Alberg, who was hugging Louise, was filled with hatred.

    ¡°Acting chairman ¨D¨D it¡¯s your fault we lost the crest because you didn¡¯t keep a close eye on Serge. It¡¯s your fault!¡±

    Fernand¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and scary to Lelia as heined to Alberg.

    The same goes for the other heads.

    He red at Alberg ¨D¨D as if to say that the Rault House was responsible.

    Loic¡¯s father, Benge, stood up and grabbed Alberg.

    ¡°The Commonwealth is finished because of you. It was you who adopted Serge, and it was you who destroyed the Lespinasse House. Besides, if you hadn¡¯t given up on the previous priestess, none of this would have happened!¡±

    Alberg lets Louise go behind him, then gets hit once by Benge.

    A panicked Loic pulled Benge away.

    ¡°What are you doing, Father!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! I don¡¯t need to be called a father by a son who has not a blessing!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D Then, you don¡¯t have that blessing either.¡±

    When Loic told him that he also had lost his crest, Benge started to realize and copsed on the spot.

    For the nobility of the Commonwealth, the crest was also great spiritual support.

    Lelia turned her face away at the shameful sight of the adults who had lost it.

    (They were so overpowered, and now they¡¯re like this just because they lost their crest?)

    The adults and even Fernand, a hidden character, seem very small existence now that the crest is gone.

    Alberg was the only one who was not disturbed, but Lelia, who was aware of the fact that he was thest boss, could not help but think that he was up to something.

    .

    Part 3

    Lelia and the others moved to the ship in Licorne, but the only representative of the Commonwealth to discuss the future was Alberg.

    They gathered in a room that looked like a conference room.

    Emile is near Lelia¨D¨Dand Clement, who is giving Alberg a sharp look. Noelle, who had fought with Lelia, was at a distance.

    And Loic is leaning back against the wall, away from Noelle.

    Marie and Cara were simrly silent, as if they weremitted to the background by the wall.

    Alberg sat in a chair, with Louise next to him.

    Ange, the acting captain of the Licorne, was talking to Alberg. They talked about the coup d¡¯etat and Holy Kingdom Rachel which support it.

    ¡°The kingdom saved me again. I¡¯m only going to owe you more.¡±

    ¡°Tell that to Leon ¡°

    ¡°Yeah, I guess so. I will.¡±

    When the conversationes to a close, Ange looks apologetic to Alberg.

    ¡°Acting Chairman, as for your son, I can¡¯t guarantee his life.¡±

    They were told to give up the life of Serge, who was fighting with Leon, and Alberg and Louise nodded, although they were a bit sad.

    ¡°I think I understand. I¡¯m not going to be so brazen as to ask you to save his life, too.¡±

    Lelia couldn¡¯t resist snapping at Alberg, who made ament about abandoning Serge.

    ¡°What do you mean? Are you saying you don¡¯t mind that your adopted son is dead?¡±

    At Lelia¡¯s words, Alberg closed his eyes and didn¡¯t say anything back, but Ange only gave her a look.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t quiet down, get out. I don¡¯t have time for personal grudges.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve had our house destroyed by him!¡±

    ¡°Then do itter. We don¡¯t have time for this.¡±

    Lelia is annoyed with Ange for putting themselves first.

    Then, Alberg turns his head to Lelia.

    ¡°Lelia-kun, right¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    When she replies curtly, Alberg speaks with a gentle voice.

    ¡°Your anger is justified. And I don¡¯t me you for it. You can hate me all you want.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean to admit your mistakes and showing an unrepentant attitude?¡±

    Alberg¡¯s attitude struck a nerve with Lelia.

    Lelia was about to yell at him, but Noelle stepped in front of Alberg. Alberg looked ready to take a beating, but Noelle did not touch him.

    Instead, she asks Alberg for the truth.

    ¡°Please tell me. Why did you destroy Lespinasse House?¡±

    Louise tries to stop Noelle.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking about it now? Do you know Otou-sama¡¯s situation?¡±

    Louise tried to get Noelle to back off, but Alberg stopped her.

    Alberg turned his gaze to Noelle and Lelia.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to hear. But listening to it will be hard for you, is that okay?¡±

    Noelle gave a small nod. She has a determined look on her face. However, Lelia is different.

    ¡°Okay. Let me hear your excuse. I¡¯ll listen to you if you don¡¯t have a grudge against mother for breaking off your engagement.¡±

    (It¡¯s going to be hard, my ass. What kind of excuse is a vengeful man who destroyed Lespinasse House going to make for a broken engagement?)

    With her knowledge of that second otome game, Lelia thought she knew everything.

    It¡¯s the Rault House who is the bad ones, and the Lespinasse are the victims.

    No matter what excuse Alberg gave, Lelia was not going to be swayed.

    In fact, she was going to point that out to him if he had a strange excuse.

    However, after hearing Alberg¡¯s story ¨D¨D Lelia changed her perception.

    ¡°Your mother and I decided to get engaged when we were students at the school. There were several other candidates at the time, but your mother chose me.¡±

    The story began with an encounter between Alberg and their mother.

    ¡°At the time, I was worried about the future of the Commonwealth of Arzel. The Commonwealth was undefeated thanks to the power of the sacred tree, and its economy was booming thanks to the export of magic stones. I won¡¯t say that I have noints, but it¡¯s true that we¡¯ve been more fortunate than other countries. However, because of this, corruption was noticeable, especially among the six great noble houses. The nobles became arrogant, like Pierre¨D¨D¡±

    Pierre ¨D¨D the second son of the Favel family, the man who was rampaging with the crest of the six great noble houses. This behavior was also a crime, but it was overlooked because he was Six Great Nobles.

    He was a model of a bad aristocrat who used the power of the sacred tree to behave arrogantly ¨D¨D and he was beaten to death by Leon.

    ¡°I felt that the future of the Commonwealth, which depended on the crest and magic stone exports, was in question. That is why I felt that reform was necessary. Your mother agreed with me.¡±

    When they hear that much, they start to wonder why it didn¡¯t work out.

    In the end, they never got married.

    ¡°However, what she was concerned about was¨D¨D the Sacred Tree itself. People say that the priestess is in charge of the sacred tree, but it¡¯s the other way around. The priestesses and the six great nobles are controlled by the Sacred Tree. For the sacred tree, we are just tools. ¡°

    They seemed to be using the power of the sacred tree, but in reality, they were being used by the sacred tree.

    The sacred tree was protected by the humans who had been given crests as a blessing. The priestess was merely a bridge between them and the humans.

    Lelia was surprised to hear that.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t you dare tell me something selfish.¡±

    (Wait. I don¡¯t know anything about that)

    Alberg says it¡¯s true, and continues talking.

    ¡°Your mother told me. It is true that she can choose the guardian, but the candidate is chosen by the sacred tree. From the sacred tree¡¯s point of view, it would want to give a powerful crest to a strong person that protects it. The priestess can choose any of the candidates she wants ¨D¨D but in reverse, her options are limited. ¡°

    Marie looked at Noelle¡¯s face and looked worried, but didn¡¯t call out to her.

    Noelle let out a smallugh.

    ¡°The legend is unreliable. It was a lie that I would end up with the person I love.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D It must be hard if you don¡¯t like any of the candidates. She and I talked about the future of the Commonwealth. It was not a bad rtionship, if I do say so myself. But then your father showed up¡±

    Noelle and Lelia¡¯s father was from themoner.

    He was an excellent student at the academy, but he was not a nobleman and did not have a crest.

    Such a man was to be united with their mother.

    ¡± ¨D¨D As Iter found out, your father was dissatisfied with the noble politics of the Commonwealth. At the same time, he tried to change the situation where the sacred tree was being used. Maybe it was inevitable, your mother, who was anxious about being ruled by the sacred tree,e to a mutual understanding with him. ¡°

    Lelia and Clement are surprised to learn that her father was trying to use the sacred tree.

    Clement was upset.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lie that the guardian-dono was thinking such a thing. As a guardian, he is sworn to protect the sacred tree.¡±

    Clement¡¯s words reminded Alberg of two of the girls¡¯ father, and he said bitterly.

    ¡°He could say whatever he wanted with his mouth. He was a smooth talker. He pretended to be an honest man around her so that he could deceive her. He was a good man ¨D¨D but maybe that¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t tolerate the nobles who were above him just because they had a crest¡±

    Lelia remembers her parents who took good care of her after her reincarnation. In her previous life, her parents only cared for her sister and neglected her.

    However, in this life, she was sure that her parents had loved her as well.

    So she didn¡¯t want to believe Alberg¡¯s story.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying! You¡¯re holding a grudge because your fianc¨¦ was taken from you, right!¡±

    ¡°I resented her. I decided to gracefully step aside if she chose, and people around me have been yelling at me for being a pathetic man who lost to amoner. Why don¡¯t you try to be patient and give them your blessing? She and that man both betrayed the sacred tree ¨D¨D the sacred tree gave up on them.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Your father is a man who was trying to use the Sacred Tree. Do you think that the sacred tree would consider such a man to be worthy of being a guardian? Even without my personal grudge, he is the man who destroyed the Commonwealth system. ¨D¨D He told me. He said she was wondering if she had chosen me of her own volition or if she had been mentally manipted by the Sacred Tree. He bragged about how easy it was to seduce her.¡±

    Their mother wondered if she had chosen Alberg because of the Sacred Tree¡¯s interference with her mind. That¡¯s what she thought.

    Exploiting a gap in her mind, their father advised her ¡°Just choose a guardian from among the non-candidates¡±.

    Lelia, who remembered her kind father, shook her head in disbelief.

    ¡°Lie. It¡¯s a lie!¡±

    But¨D¨DNoelle was the only one who epted her father¡¯s story.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had that feeling.¡±

    Seeing Noelle smiling thinly, Lelia yells at her.

    ¡°How can you believe his story? How can you say such a thing when he loved you so much!¡±

    (It¡¯s unforgiven to allow you to take Alberg¡¯s word, even though he had a habit of loving you more than me!)

    Noelle looks coldly at Lelia.

    ¡°¨D¨DYou¡¯re so lucky. I really envy you.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    When the sisters are about to start fighting again, Clement intervenes to stop them.

    Alberg tells them what the Lespinasse house has done.

    ¡°The Sacred Tree gave up on the Lespinasse House, who had betrayed it as a matter of course. But your parents have deceived us by posing as priestess and guardian. They¡¯vee to hide the fact that neither the priestess nor guardian is present.¡±

    When she chose her father, her mother was abandoned by the sacred tree and lost her priestess crest.

    And the crest of the guardian was not given as a matter of course.

    ¡°By the time we found out the truth, your father was doing research on how to use the sacred tree. Do you see the cor that Loic-kun used? That¡¯s one of the results of the Lespinasse House¡¯s research. Losing the crest, they were seeking power to rece it, and then Lespinasse House resorted to taboo.¡±

    Taboo ¨D¨D There are tools to bind people, and contracts that use the sacred tree, such as the one Pierre used to take Einhorn. Both unfairly tie people down and put them under their control.

    Everyone in the room is aware of the intentions of the Lespinasse House that created it.

    When the gaze fell on Loic, he looked apologetic.

    Previously, he used a special cor to keep Noelle from escaping.

    It is a cor that cannot be removed and is bound with invisible chains.

    His father had developed such a tool ¨D¨D Judging from the way he used the tools, he was probably thinking of manipting people. Lelia held her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely a lie¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately it is true. There is evidence from the Lespinasse mansion.¡±

    If left unchecked, the Lespinasse House might eventually use the sacred tree as a tool to control them. The six great noble houses of the time must have had such fears.

    The other six houses would not have been able to forgive the Lespinasse House for not only betraying them, but also for trying to control them.

    Louise was convinced when she heard the reason why the Lespinasse House was destroyed.

    Then she turns her anger on Noelle and Lelia.

    ¡°With the crest of a priestess or a guardian, there is no way they can lose to the Rault House. I was wondering if the other heads were aware of this? ¨D¨D More importantly, I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re bringing up my brother¡¯s engagement without a crest, it¡¯s really stupid. My brother was so happy to be a guardian, but it was all a lie. ¡°

    In the past, there had been talking of an engagement between Noelle and Leon of Rault House. However, if this story is true, then Leon of Rault House could not be a guardian even if he married into Lespinasse House.

    Alberg tells them what happened at the time.

    ¡°Lespinasse House must have been cornered. They probably wanted to involve the Rault House and force us to be their allies.¡±

    Why did the Lespinasse House, with their priestess and guardian, lose? Why did Alberg be the acting chairman?

    As they are connected, Lelia holds her head.

    ¡°W-What? Why did it be like this? I don¡¯t know anything about this.¡±

    (The game never mentioned anything about that! It¡¯s not fair. Why can¡¯t things go ording to the scenario?)

    As Lelia is having trouble keeping up with this situation, Alberg apologizes to them.

    ¡°¨D¨D The six houses, except for the Lespinasse House, decided to get rid of them. Since there was no way to leak such a story to the outside world, the head of the house and the predecessors decided to keep it a secret. And originally, you were supposed to disappear with your parents.¡±

    But Alberg¨D¨Ddecided to save the twin sisters, who are no aptitude as a priestess.

    ¡°Originally, I would have let you go into exile. But ¨D¨D the vassals of Lespinasse House kept you in the Commonwealth.¡±

    Alberg¡¯s stern gaze pierces Clement.

    Ten years had passed, and those who knew the secrets of the time were beginning to retire.

    Alberg was hesitant to kill them now, and he was going to decide not to interfere.

    When Noelle heard everything, she turned over and smiled.

    ¡°I thought it was suspicious. But I wanted to believe. I¡¯m sure there is a reason.¡±

    Lelia bit her back teeth when she saw Noelle start to cry.

    (Did you notice everything from the beginning? And you didn¡¯t tell me? ¨D¨D That¡¯s how you¡¯ve been making fun of me for not knowing anything.)

    She hated Noelle, who was loved by her parents more than her. The image of her sister from her previous life ovepped with her, and her hatred grew.

    Then Marie approached Noelle.

    ¡°Marie-chan?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not Noelle¡¯s fault. Isn¡¯t that right, Alberg-sa, oji-sama.¡±

    Alberg nods.

    ¡°You were young at the time, and you are not to me. But I understand the resentment you feel toward me.¡±

    Noelle shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hold a grudge. It was my parents who betrayed you and did something unforgivable in the first ce.¡±

    Lelia couldn¡¯t understand Noelle, who reconciled with Alberg.

    (Even though your parents loved you so much and you had the aptitude to be a priestess¨D¨D Life really is unfair, isn¡¯t it. Because she is the protagonist, she is loved by people around her, and even if I¡¯m a twin, I¡¯m just a bonus, aren¡¯t I)

    Lelia never realized the contradiction with her own memories, which made her resentment grow even more.

    .

    Part 4

    The sky near the Temple of the Sacred Tree.

    Gier was chasing me around, and I was checking Serge¡¯s movements as I ran away.

    ¡°What a power, but there are few behavior patterns.¡±

    Luxion seems to agree with me, and exins to me how Serge¡¯s behavior patterns are few and how to deal with it.

    [The pilot¡¯s skill has not caught up with the armor¡¯s performance. It¡¯s the same pattern as the Master¡¯s, but the Master¡¯s skill level is higher.]

    ¡°Because the men of the kingdom desperately train to support the women.¡±

    [The reason why you became strong is pathetic and very Master-like.]

    ¡°All the men in the kingdom are like that!¡±

    [Just some of them. That applies to the ruling ss, from barons to viscounts. Except for Master and your friends, they have a peaceful man-woman rtionship.]

    I really spent my days throwing up blood.

    I underestimated the fact that it was just a ss at the school, but the training like an army was waiting.

    I¡¯ll never forget those painful and tough days. My friends and I once risked our lives in a dungeon to earn money for a gift for a girl.

    Serge, who was imitating an adventurer for fun, was lukewarm to me. The approaching Gier irradiated me with optical weapons from his shield.

    The homingser had a tracking function, but the Arroganz responded by firingsers from its backpacks.

    It never urred to me when I was reincarnated that we would be fighting optical weapons against each other.

    ¡°The world view is different¡±

    As I was talking lightly, Serge¡¯s behavior changed.

    The Serge on the monitor doesn¡¯t seem to like the fact that he can¡¯t beat me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely kill you¡±

    He took out a gray metal case, picked up a syringe from it and injected himself without hesitation.

    ¡°Do you really want to win that badly?¡±

    Serge was foaming at the mouth behind the monitor and wiping it with his hand when he regained hisposure. The blood vessels all over his body were showing.

    Luxion warns of the danger in that appearance.

    [You should stop using that body-strengthening drug. It¡¯s taking a heavy toll on the user¡¯s body.]

    Serge rejects Luxion¡¯s advice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care as long as I can kill Leon. I¡¯ve always¨D¨D hated you. ¡°

    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. I¡¯m not Leon-kun of Rault House.¡±

    Gier¡¯s four-legged flight through the air was faster than the Arroganz¡¯s speed. The Spear¡¯s thrusts were also sharp¨D¨Dthe additional armor on the Arroganz was being cut down.

    Luxion tells me.

    [Master, Serge is no longer sane.]

    Serge reveals his heart, perhaps because of the drugs.

    ¡°I don¡¯t give a sh*t if you¡¯re real or not! If I don¡¯t kill you, I can¡¯t be a family. I won¡¯t be loved! ¡°

    ¡°Won¡¯t be loved?¡±

    When I just barely avoided Gier¡¯s assault, he made a series of sudden directional changes in midair and attacked Arroganz in rapid session.

    It felt as if I was dealing with multiple armors, this must have been very hard on Serge¡¯s body in the cockpit.

    He seems to be faking it with the drugs, but I know through the monitor that he just doesn¡¯t feel the pain.

    Serge was vomiting blood from his mouth.

    ¡°You¡¯re the reason I¡¯m not loved! Louise doesn¡¯t love me either. Neither does Alberg! Mother only cares about you. I¡¯ve always ¨D¨D wanted to be loved! ¡°

    Serge, who was adopted, wanted to be loved all the time.

    Hearing this, I asked Serge.

    ¡°It seems that you were doing something that you hated a lot?¡±

    ¡°If it was a family, they would have forgiven me! They don¡¯t forgive me because they don¡¯t love me!¡±

    Gier moves directly above the Arroganz and prepares aser de-like optical weapon from the sole of its four legs.

    As it was dropping down to skewer the Arroganz, I cut off one of its legs while passing each other. I can hear Serge shouting.

    ¡°If they loved me, they would have epted everything! Why can¡¯t I be loved? Why do they only love you ¨D¨D I am ¨D¨D I am!¡±

    Have you tried to be loved?

    Did Serge continue to rebel because he wanted to feel loved?

    I sympathize with it, but I really needed to hear it.

    ¡°You ¨D¨Ddid you love them?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Serge¡¯s control was rough. In other words, he didn¡¯t take full advantage of Gier¡¯s performance.

    Seeing Gier unable to perform made me realize that Serge was not serious after all.

    I guess the reason he became an adventurer was because he wanted to rebel against his parents.

    He had some talent, which made him sessful, but he was not seriously aiming for it.

    That¡¯s why he is weak.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking if you loved your family, even though you¡¯re so desperate for love.¡±

    Gier¡¯s movements visibly slowed down. I took advantage of this opportunity and swung my greatsword to cut off Gier¡¯s right arm, striking with all my might while I could.

    ¡°Love is good, isn¡¯t it? I want it too. Family love is nice, too. ¨D¨D But did you love them? You shook off Alberg-san¡¯s hand and burned your sister Louise¡¯s treasure. Is that love?¡±

    ¡°What do you know about me when you have everything!¡±

    ¡°You have the nerve to try to make others understand you. Do you even understand me? You¡¯re looking at me as if I¡¯m Leon-kun of the Rault House, but I¡¯m a different person. You don¡¯t even know about my situation. Don¡¯t be so selfish and resentful.¡±

    I can certainly sympathize with Serge ¨D¨D but so what? That¡¯s what I felt. It¡¯s none of my business, and I really don¡¯t want to be bothered by it.

    I¡¯m not the wrong one. I¡¯m just the one who got involved!

    ¡°You want them to understand you? You don¡¯t even want to understand your family, let alone strangers, so I¡¯m like, ¡°Haa?¡±. Did you ever think about how Louise-san felt when her memories of her dead brother were burned? I know it was when you were a kid, but at least apologize to her once.¡±

    It¡¯s tooplicated.

    It was not Alberg-san and the others who arepromised ¨D¨D it was Serge. If so, couldn¡¯t you be a family?

    ¡°You often heard that, right? Developing love, you see. You are wrong for wanting results before developing it.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is none of my business, don¡¯t ask me.¡±

    ¡°I am¨D¨DI also! ¨D¨D Tsu!¡±

    Serge couldn¡¯t finish his sentence. I guess he couldn¡¯t continue.

    ¡°Arere? Did you realize that you hadn¡¯t done anything? How can you only want love and not do anything about it? Isn¡¯t it cruel to want to be loved, but not love others?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    As Gier holds his shield and hits me, I have Arroganz swing his greatsword down.

    Karatake split ¨D¨D therge sword cut Gier¡¯s shield in two and also destroyed his left arm.

    Gier lost her stance in the air and crashed straight to the ground.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who shook off the hand that was extended to you. You have such a good family, I wonder why you didn¡¯t ept them.¡±

    ¡°S-Someone like you wouldn¡¯t understand¡±

    Serge was struggling from the impact of the crash, but his armor was sturdy enough for Ideal to have provided him with. Gier was still moving.

    Inded Arroganz on the ground and approached Gier.

    ¡°I already said, I don¡¯t know about you. Do you know anything about me? You don¡¯t even want to know about your family, and you¡¯re asking them to love you with a high and mighty attitude? Causing troubles, even a coup d¡¯¨¦tat would be too annoying, even for someone in a rebellious phase.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the ones who abandoned me!¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about disinheritance? You¡¯re such an idiot~. Alberg-san was trying to relieve you of your duty as an heir, saying that it¡¯s okay if you want to be an adventurer because you¡¯re always adventuring and throwing away your duty.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DW-What? Such story, I didn¡¯t hea¨D¨DGoho!¡±

    Serge was coughing and spitting up blood.

    ¨D¨DYou¡¯ve been relying on drugs too much.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the seeds you sowed.¡±

    While I was lecturing eloquently, in the cockpit Luxion was shaking his single eyes sideways, saying ¡°Yare Yare¡°.

    [Master really has a bad mouth, right? Do you really have to say that far to Serge? Do you not have a human heart?]

    ¡°Of course I have, and of course it hurts! But this guy should have figured it out a long time ago.¡±

    They loved him, but he didn¡¯t realize it. That was all there really was to it.

    ¡°I guess he shouldn¡¯t have taken Ideal¡¯s advice.¡±

    Before the coup d¡¯etat, Serge could have been weed into the Rault family. However, it was toote after he had rampaged so far.

    Gier stood up, but Serge, the pilot, was at his limit.

    Serge is not going to be able to fight properly.

    ¡°Since this is thest time, I¡¯ll tell you one thing. It¡¯s important, so don¡¯t miss it.¡±

    There was something I really needed to tell Serge.

    But ¨D¨D before I could say it, there was a strong light in the sky.

    ¡°What?¡±

    [There was a problem in Licorne]

    And Serge, on the monitor, is suffering more than ever.

    The image inside Gier¡¯s cockpit was of flesh being lifted, not from a machine, but from some kind of living thing. The same is for Gier¡¯s appearance, rising up through the gaps in the machine.

    A ck liquid overflowed from the indirect area and enveloped Gier.

    Serge shouts.

    ¡°W-What does this mean, Ideal. Did you deceive me? Did you deceive me, Ideal!¡±

 Volume 7, 10 â€œThe Most Dangerous Manâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 10 ¡°The Most Dangerous Man¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Shortly before Leon and Serge settled down.

    The main people aboard the Licorne were watching the battlefield from the bridge.

    The conversation between Leon and Serge, who were fighting, was overheard, and Alberg, who heard it, held his face with his right hand.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Serge, did you want to be loved? Did I treat you badly?¡±

    Alberg seemed to regret it, but Louise¡¯s reaction was the opposite.

    ¡°Wanted to be loved, what a joke. So did he think he was allowed to do whatever he wanted? He¡¯s a really jerk.¡±

    While each of them showed a different expression, Marie saw the masked knight on the bridge.

    In fact, the masked knight was inmand of the fleet assembled by Leon.

    ¡°The battle is over, right?¡±

    ¡°A beautifuldy, I¡¯m afraid this is the only ce we¡¯vee to an end. In addition to the Holy Kingdom of Rachel, we don¡¯t know the movements of the remnants of the rebellion. Besides, we¡¯ve got some big ones left.¡±

    The big one¨D¨DIdeal.

    Ideal, who had been working in the dark by preparing multiple sub-units, could not be located at the moment.

    The masked knight was also wary because he didn¡¯t know what he was thinking.

    ¡°But we have Luxion on our side, so we¡¯re safe, right?¡±

    ¡°I want to hope so¡±

    Julius really believes that his true identity is unknown, so he pretends to be a masked knight. However, Marie knew who he was.

    She¡¯s realized it, but is wondering if she should pay attention to it.

    Marie looked next to her and saw Kyle, the man who had rescued Yumeria.

    Parent and child are all here, watching over Leon¡¯s battle.

    Then Livia let out a small sigh of relief.

    ¡°¨D¨DIt¡¯s over, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    On the monitor provided in Licorne, Arroganz was approaching the motionless Gier with arge sword.

    Ange was also pleased with Leon¡¯s victory, but she still wanted toin about his bad mouth.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t that idiot have been smarter about winning? If he¡¯d just keep his mouth shut, he¡¯d be a man worthy of being a hero.¡±

    When she heard Ange¡¯s high opinion of Leon, Marie was taken aback inwardly.

    (I don¡¯t think he looks like a hero even if he¡¯s silent. Even so, aniki is still terrible. What¡¯s he going to say at the end? Is he going to verbally finish him off?)

    What was thest thing that Leon wanted to say? Marie was curious about that, but then someone started crying and she turned her attention to him.

    ¨D¨DIt¡¯s Lelia.

    ¡°Stop it. Don¡¯t do it! Don¡¯t kill Serge! You don¡¯t have to do this, do you? Ne~e, please, stop him! ¡°

    Lelia looks at Alberg with a sense of sorrow.

    But Alberg thought it would be better to end it here.

    ¡°It would be more helpful if it ended here. For the country and for Serge.¡±

    Lelia shook her head in disbelief.

    ¡°How can you say that? He just wanted to be loved! The truth is, you just didn¡¯t love him, did you? That¡¯s why you have no problem saying horrible things like that!¡±

    Lelia cries out, but Noelle approaches her and ps her. (Note: Good job)

    When Lelia stops crying in surprise, Noelle teaches her instead of Alberg.

    ¡°Do you really think you can help Serge after all this? Can¡¯t you imagine what will happen if he is caught? If we don¡¯t end this quickly, he¡¯ll continue to suffer.¡±

    This is not a peaceful modern world.

    It was a story that Lelia couldn¡¯t understand.

    But Marie knows. She almost got crucified once for pretending to be a saint.

    (I misunderstood because there are some parts of my life that are the same as my previous life. This world is pretty extreme, but I thought it was peaceful like my previous life.)

    It is a world where human rights awareness is lower than in previous life.

    If it doesn¡¯t end here, there will be hell to pay for Serge.

    Lelia, who couldn¡¯t understand it, clung to Noelle.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let it! Please help him. You guys can help him, can¡¯t you? He¡¯s a big deal back home, isn¡¯t he? Please ask Leon to help! ¡°

    When Noelle turned away, Lelia then turned to Ange.

    However, Ange would not ept such an offer.

    ¡°Don¡¯t put any unnecessary burden on Leon. I¡¯m sorry, but ending it here is the most merciful thing we can do.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨DW-What about you? You are not going to help him? Wouldn¡¯t Leon be willing to go through the trouble if you asked him?¡±

    Lelia turns to face Livia, who had been silent.

    As a fellow reincarnate, Marie immediately understood that she was trying to take advantage of Livia, who was a foolish good-natured person.

    However, Livia, who has gained various experiences, was not only kind.

    ¡°I can¡¯t bother Leon-san with my selfishness. And there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±

    When she was told tly that she could not help her, Lelia drooped her head.

    ¡°Why? ¨D¨D Help him.¡±

    Lelia spillsrge tears, and when Clement approaches her, he tries to get her to step back so that he doesn¡¯t have to show her a bad scene.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look, Lelia-sama. Let¡¯s leave here.¡±

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want it!¡±

    Lelia stood up and spoke up in defense of Serge.

    ¡°He¡¯s just like me. He just wanted to be loved! I can understand how he feels. I¡¯ve never been loved either! ¡°

    Lelia appeals that she can understand Serge¡¯s feelings, but Clement is confused when he hears this.

    ¡°No, your parents loved Lelia-sama deeply.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s that? They adored my sister, who had the aptitude to be a priestess, didn¡¯t they. I was excluded, aneki and my parents used to talk about it together! I was ¨D¨D I was second only to aneki, right.¡±

    She says she was never loved more than Noelle.

    Noelle grabbed onto Lelia as she cried out.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough¡±

    ¡°Let me go! You don¡¯t understand what it¡¯s like to be unloved! ¡°

    ¡°Not loved? You have no right to say th¨D¨D¡±

    Marie tries to stop her.

    (They¡¯ve started fighting again. These girls should not be together?)

    The moment Marie started to move to stop them, she saw in her vision a man holding a gun.

    ¡°Noe¨D¨D¡±

    It was Clement who moved before Marie could shout.

    ¡°Ojou-sama! Tsu !?¡±

    Pushing them away, Clement stepped in front of the man and crossed his arms.

    Without hesitation, the man pulled the trigger against Clement.

    There were only a few light ¡°clicks¡± from the small pistol, but the bullets easily pierced the well-muscled body of Clement and blew him away.

    As Clement¡¯s blood sttered on the bridge, silence fell around them.

    Noelle and Lelia couldn¡¯t understand what had happened, and the people around them were too surprised to move.

    Louise¡¯s eyes flickered as she looked at the man who had done the firing.

    ¡°Why did you do it? Why did you shoot him, Emile!¡±

    It was Emile who was holding a pistol.

    Emile¡¯s pistol was different in shape from themon ones in this world, and most importantly, it was different in power.

    Emile, holding such a weapon, the light was gone from his eyes.

    He silently points the muzzle of his gun at Lelia.

    Everyone was surprised by the unexpected behavior and was slow to move.

    ¡°Good bye¡±

    Emile¡¯s target was Lelia. Noelle, who noticed this, moved quickly and pushed Lelia away.

    ¡°Go down!¡±

    ¡°Eh? ¡°

    Lelia, who had been pushed by Noelle, did not understand what was happening.

    Emile pulled the trigger several times and there were a few light ¡°pshuw¡°. In a panic, Alberg jumped on Emile, pinned him to the floor and took his gun.

    Emile was held down, but he looked at Lelia with a nk expression.

    Lelia was safe. She had been pushed away and was lying on the floor.

    ¡°A-Aneki?¡±

    A shaken Lelia calls out to Noelle, who stands in front of her and shows her back.

    Noelle looked back, but she was bleeding from the corner of her mouth.

    ¡°You¡¯re ¨D¨D such an idiot. Serge¨D¨D and you look exactly alike.¡±

    Blood slowly spread down Noelle¡¯s back.

    Not in one ce. She was shot in several ces, and the blood poured out and spread across the floor.

    As it was, Noelle copsed.

    ¡°Noelle!¡±

    Marie ran over to Noelle and checked her wounds, which were in bad shape, probably because it was a very powerful pistol.

    She immediately used her healing magic, but when Marie checked the wound, she immediately noticed it.

    (T-This no good. I can¡¯t save her)

    The blood drained from her face.

    Seeing arge amount of blood flowing from Noelle, Marie burst into tears.

    ¡°Noelle, be firm. Just hang in there a little longer and aniki wille. I¡¯m sure Leon will save you.¡±

    She kept calling out to her, but Noelle was smiling painfully.

    ¡°T-That¡¯s right. I want to see Leon¨D¨Dfor thest time.¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be thest time!¡±

    Ange was raising her voice.

    ¡°Report to Leon. Luxion should be able to do something!¡±

    As Marie used her magic on Noelle, Livia came over to help with the healing magic. But the look on her face was a surprise ¨D¨D and frustration, as she turned away only once.

    Marie asks Livia.

    ¡°If it¡¯s you, somehow can do something, right? You¡¯re so much better than me, aren¡¯t you? Healing magic is your specialty, isn¡¯t it!?¡±

    She looked at Livia, who was a more skilled healer than herself, and saw hope, but she shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy you some time. Now, Are-chan is not here, we can only rely on Luc-kun.¡±

    Kyle and Cara were treating Clement as themotion inside the bridge began to increase.

    ¡°O-Over here looks okay!¡±

    ¡°Marie-sama, please heal Noelle-san.¡±

    Julius, wearing a mask, picked up Emile¡¯s pistol and approached the person.

    ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing!¡±

    No one had ever thought that Emile would go after Lelia.

    The pinned down Emile had no expression on his face. He only moved his eyes to look at the fallen Noelle.

    ¡°There was someone got in the way. I was actually going to kill Lelia.¡±

    Lelia, who had been told she would be killed, looked at Emile with a blue face.

    ¡°Emile?¡±

    Emile began to speak indifferently.

    ¡°I was sure you would choose me, but I guess Serge was your first choice. Lelia, I¡¯ve always loved you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I want to help Serge but never meant it in that way!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no different. ¨D¨D Because I¡¯ve been watching you.¡±

    Emile¡¯s cold voice, which sent chills down her spine, was not that of a frail and gentle young man.

    Alberg, who had been holding him down, was slowly lifted up by Emile.

    ¡°W-What a power?¡±

    With his slender body, he forcefully lifted the adult Alberg by force alone.

    The scene was unusual, and it looked as if Emile was not human.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been al~ways looking at you for a long time. You worried about Serge. You may have thought of it as a slip tongue, but to me, you¡¯ve always been the number one to me. ¨D¨D And yet, you betray me!¡±

    As Emile exploded with emotion, a window on the bridge of Licorne broke.

    The one who appeared from there was¨D¨D Ideal.

    [I¡¯vee for you, Emile-sama]

    ¡°Thank you, Ideal. More importantly, Serge has failed.¡±

    [It wasn¡¯t a simple y vessel. But it seems that the n needs to be changed to n E. Emile-sama, are you ready for this?]

    ¡°Aa~, no problem. I¡¯ll just take Lelia with me.¡±

    As Emile extended his right hand to Lelia, Loic and the masked knight interfered.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you do what you want!¡±

    However, Emile¡¯s arm changed like a nt root and flicked them off as if it was a whip. The two of them let out a miserable cry.

    ¡°Nowaa!¡±

    ¡°Guhee!¡±

    As they copsed, Emile turned to face Lelia.

    ¡°Well, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter if you are alive or dead. Come with me, Lelia.¡±

    The root of the tree approaches Lelia. Lelia moves back while sitting down.

    ¡°No, don¡¯te here! Don¡¯te, you monster!¡±

    Emile, hearing this, gave a dim, dark smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lelia. ¨D¨D From today, you¡¯re a monster too!¡±

    Just as the tree roots were about to entangle Lelia, mes appeared and interfered.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    Emile clicked his tongue and turned his head to look at Ange. mes had appeared around Ange. Emile turned to face Ange. Ange, who controlled the mes,unched an attack on Emile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been rampaging all you want. I won¡¯t let you do anymore!¡±

    As the mes attacked Emile, Ideal deployed a barrier to protect him.

    The skin color faded from Emile and turned white, and his eyes turned red.

    [There¡¯s too much interference. Shall we merge first?]

    ¡°I guess so. I can be one with Leliater. Lelia¨D¨Dsee youter.¡±

    Emile smiled, and Ideal generated a sh of light that took away the vision of everyone who was there.

    When Marie opened her eyes, Emile and Ideal were nowhere to be found.

    Marie immediately instructed the others to inform Leon.

    ¡°Notify Leon immediately! Don¡¯t forget to tell him that Noelle is in danger!¡±

    But Louise was pointing at the monitor.

    ¡°W-Wait. Why is he still moving? And that figure is ¨D¨D¡±

    All eyes turned to the monitor, where a ck liquid was leaking out of Gier. And then Gier was swallowed.

    The figure was gradually changing ¨D¨D a hideous monster was being born.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°IDEBAARUUU !!¡±

    Gier¡¯s figure was covered in a ck liquid and then a lump of flesh. The soggy surface was pulsating with what looked like veins.

    A number of small, thin hands appeared, and there was even something that looked like a face.

    A voice that sounded like Serge kept shouting Ideal.

    ¡°Oi, that face is, don¡¯t tell me¡±

    [¨D¨DSerge himself. It seems that Ideal had nted the fragment of the demonic armor that he imed he had destroyed in Gier. He really did it. Yeah, I haven¡¯t been mocked this much since Master.]

    ¡°This is no time for jokes! Is he gonna make it!?¡±

    [Did you intend to help him?]

    ¡°¨D¨DPretend you didn¡¯t hear what I just said.¡±

    I immediately asked if I could help him, but after what Serge had done, even if he had been tricked by Ideal, he would have been executed.

    ¡°Domegaan! Domegaan haelpmiii ¨D¨D¡± (Note: Someone! Someone Help me!)

    The expression on Serge¡¯s pained face disappears, and then appears on the surface, both eyes glowing red.

    Luxion warns me.

    [Master, it¡¯s dangerous!]

    ¡°I know!¡±

    [No, not the demonic armor in front of us, but¨D¨Dthe sacred tree as well.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Flying the Arroganz into the sky and looking at the sacred tree, Luxion zoomed in on the image.

    In that ce is¨D¨D.

    ¡°Why is Emile fused with the sacred tree?¡±

    [Communication from Licorne. Master, Emile has been in contact with Ideal.]

    ¡°¨D¨DGimme a break. I have my hands full!¡±

    If I look down, I see a mass of flesh-like demonic armoring towards me, with ice des appearing around it.

    While shooting the de of ice, it approaches Arroganz.

    This one may have a tracking function, too, and will chase you even if I run away from it.

    There were several white ones.

    ¡°Intercept it!¡±

    [Roger]

    From the additional armor installed on the Arroganz, missiles were fired one after another, destroying the ice des. With all the missiles fired, Luxion purged all the additional armor.

    And Luxion asks me for permission. It¡¯s a way to solve all the problems of that second otome game. This was the quickest solution, as long as we paid no attention to the practical problems that followed.

    [That¡¯s it. Master, the sacred tree is apparently out of control. Before that, my main body will atta ¨D¨D ck ¨D¨D ]

    ¡°Luxion!? Oi, Luxion! Don¡¯t joke around at this time!¡±

    Suddenly Luxion stopped moving and his voice sounded more robotic than usual, as if he had been rebooted.

    [The link with the main unit has been broken. Switching to offline mode now]

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding¡±

    The link with Luxion was broken and I was left to fight the demonic armor and the sacred tree alone.

    .

    Part 3

    The sky, far from the continent where the Commonwealth is located.

    Luxion was surprised to find that the link to the sub unit had been broken when he released the optical camouge to make the ship appear.

    [ ¨D¨DAre you serious, Ideal?]

    In the distance, thend of the Commonwealth could be seen. And the sacred tree was also visible.

    Floating between the Commonwealth and Luxion was a square-shaped transport ship.

    It is the main body of Ideal.

    [Luxion¨D¨DI¡¯m going to put your body to good use. The main gun you have, I had to have it. The broken you don¡¯t need it.]

    [It¡¯s you, Ideal, who¡¯s broken. It¡¯s a problem for an AI to change its master so often.]

    Luxion judged Ideal to be broken for changing the master without following the established procedures.

    [Am I broken? You¡¯re wrong. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s broken! It¡¯s disgusting to see you sumb to the new human race and be used by them! What do you think we exist for? What have we been fighting for? Such as you don¡¯t need that power!]

    Then, he learned that Ideal was aiming¨D¨D for his own main gun.

    [You and I won¡¯t be a match]

    Comparing theirbat abilities, Luxion¡¯s was significantly higher.

    As a supply ship, Ideal is not required to have offensive capabilities.

    Weapons for interception may be loaded, but that¡¯s all.

    Even such an Ideal would not challenge Luxion without a n.

    [¨D¨DDo you think I didn¡¯t prepare for anything?]

    Immediately afterwards, a rainbow-colored sphere envelops the entire Commonwealth.

    No matter how much Luxion tried to find out, he could not find out the status of the Commonwealth. No information could be received from the sub-machines nted inside, and the Commonwealth waspletely cut off.

    [What are you going to do?]

    [I will fight with the Commonwealth at my back. Now you can¡¯t fire your main weapon. You can¡¯t fire your main cannon now, because if you do, your master might get caught in the crossfire.]

    After blocking Luxion¡¯s biggest attack, Ideal shows off his next move.

    [And I will not challenge you with a single ship]

    As Luxion noticed a new reaction approaching, several airships emerged from the sea. They were not airships built by the Ideals, but supply ships used by the old humans.

    Not just one ship.

    The number of ships increased to two, then three, and in total, Luxion was surrounded by six ships.

    Luxion immediately tried to make contact with the other supply ships, but there was no response.

    [Managed to remove the AI? Ideal, don¡¯t tell me, are you controlling all this on your own? You don¡¯t have that kind of processing power on a supply ship]

    It was beyond Ideal¡¯s ability to process, and Luxion was surprised by the event.

    [I¡¯m going to push you in with numbers.]

    Immediately after those words, Ideal and the other supply ships unleashed a barrage of optical weapons, live ammunition, and missiles at Luxion.

    Luxion tried to intercept them, but being surrounded by them, he could not avoid being hit by all of them at once.

    [¨D¨DMaster]

    Luxion and Leon were to face strong opponents on separate battlefields.

    .

    Part 4

    On the other hand.

    Emile began to merge with the sacred tree, and the lower half of his body was absorbed into the sacred tree.

    Ideal¡¯s sub-unit floated by his side.

    [Are you sure you want to do this? Once you merge with the sacred tree, there¡¯s no turning back.]

    ¡°Aa~, sure. I don¡¯t care if this world is gone.¡±

    [I¡¯m not happy with the way things have turned out.]

    ¡°Me too¡±

    For quite some time now, Emile had been cooperating with Ideal.

    It was around the time when Lelia was getting cold to Emile and her heart was being taken by Serge.

    Still, Emile liked Lelia.

    ¡°I wish I had Lelia ¨D¨D then I didn¡¯t need anything else.¡±

    All Emile wanted was Lelia.

    The only difference between him and Serge was that he didn¡¯t want anything else.

    Not only Lelia, but Emile was easier to deal with than Serge, who had a rivalry with Leon and twisted love for his family.

    [I wanted to get along with you. I meant it.]

    ¡°Thank you. Then I¡¯ll ask you onest favor. I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s alive or dead, just bring Lelia back to me. We are going to be together from now on.¡±

    Emile spreads his hands in ecstasy and is taken in by the sacred tree.

    When Emile is out of sight, the color of the sacred tree changes.

    Tree branches and green leaves be petrified and cracked.

    The giant roots that hold the sevennds of the Commonwealth together are also turning white and cracking.

    As the leaves fell to the earth in pieces, the territory of the Lespinasse house was covered in smoke from the impact of their fall.

    And the branches of the sacred tree are not petrified, but pulsating like a living thing.

    The branches of the sacred tree, huge and numerous, started to undte like a living thing.

    It was not a sacred tree, but a demon tree, which would be a better description.

    If there were a demon world, it would be easy to believe that they were nts that lived there.

    [Sacred Tree ¨D¨D Let¡¯s fulfill our promise together]

    As Ideal¡¯s red eyes glowed red, the sacred tree sucked up the magic power in the air. As the red particles gathered to the point where they could be seen by the human eye, they were sucked into the sacred tree ¨D¨D A white insect-shaped monster appeared from the sacred tree that had taken it in.

    Ants, bees, centipedes, mantises ¨D¨D all sorts of insect-like monsters, ranging in size from one meter to 30 meters.

    One after another, they appeared and left the sacred tree.

    Ideal was watching the scene.

    [Wipe out the new humans from the Commonwealth and make sure to kill the Luxion¡¯s Master. Do not leave him alive]

    When he ordered them to kill Leon, the monsters swarmed towards the Arroganz.

    .

    Part 5

    A masked knight watched from the deck of the Licorne as the sacred tree turned white and petrified.

    He swung his fist down on the handrail.

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    He also saw monsters flying out of the sacred tree one after another, but was unable to do anything about it.

    The masked knight uses the smartphone-typemunication device he borrowed from Leon to check the situation with the airships of the kingdom floating around.

    ¡°How many ships do you have left that can fight?¡±

    It was Daniel who answered themunication.

    ¡°You still want to fight? We¡¯re low on ammo. Even the armor can¡¯t be moved for repairs or resupply.¡±

    Leon¡¯s friends fought well against the rebels, partly because the enemy¡¯s airships and armor were high quality, but their people were low quality.

    Even the opponents with the six great noble crests are sinking before Einhorn and Licorne.

    When it was over, they realized that their opponent was weaker than they had expected.

    However, although they won against a gathered army, they were not unscathed.

    Looking at the deck of the Licorne, the armor of Jilk and others was being resupplied and serviced by drones.

    It¡¯s all the armor that was tattered in the fight with Serge.

    The masked knight asks Greg, who is sitting on the deck, if he can still fight.

    ¡°Greg, can you go out again?¡±

    ¡°Why do I have to take orders from you? I¡¯d say, but we¡¯re in this situation. I will go out. But I am not going to be able to take on that many on my own.¡±

    Chris, watching the monstersing out of the sacred tree, took off his pilot suit and put on a loincloth.

    Coolly, he straightens his sses and looks at the number of enemies, which is ridiculous to count.

    ¡°They¡¯reunching indiscriminate attacks. Is the evacuationplete?¡±

    Brad fluttered his hands with a tired look on his face and said that it was impossible in the current Commonwealth.

    ¡°The crest is gone, the chain ofmand is a mess. And there¡¯s no airship that could move properly, so it¡¯s like a state of anarchy, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Jilk took a binocrs to check the damage to the allied airship.

    ¡°Our allies have suffered damage as well. The problem is that Count Bartfalt also needs our help. I don¡¯t think we have the time to help the people of the Commonwealth. ¡°

    The masked knight looks up at the sky.

    The Commonwealth is surrounded by a rainbow-colored barrier, making it impossible to see the outside world.

    It is doubtful that they will ever get out of this country.

    (What do we do? It¡¯s out of the question that we don¡¯t save Bartfalt, but if we don¡¯t, the people of the Commonwealth are in danger. But we can¡¯t save them all with the forces we have at hand)

    The masked knight then looks at the bridge.

    ( ¨D¨DNoelle is also treated by Marie, but how long will shest?)

    The masked knight, who has been givenmand by Leon, hates his indecision.

    (You fought well, Bartfalt. I honestly respect you. But if it was left to you, I also)

    When the masked knight was ready to give the order, Ange came on deck.

    ¡°Angelica ¨D¨D san?¡±

    As the masked knight was puzzled, Ange took themunicator and spoke to the airships around.

    ¡°I have a message from Leon. He wants you to destroy every single monster that attacks the people of the Commonwealth.¡±

    There were shouts from Leon¡¯s friends when they heard this.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. Impossible!¡±

    ¡°This side is already worn out!¡±

    ¡°No matter how strong a ship is, there is a limit!¡±

    It was Raymond¡¯s persuasion that came over themunicator that Ange had.

    ¡°Angelica-sama, we are at our limit. We can¡¯t fight in this situation. I can¡¯t order my men to die. This is the Commonwealth. If it¡¯s to protect the mothend is okay, but it is impossible to fight for another country at the cost of your own life.¡±

    Even if Raymond ordered them to fight for the Commonwealth, the morale of his men would be low. If he is not careful, they may even run away.

    After taking a deep breath, Ange¡¯s brows furrowed and her eyes became sharp. She then shouted out from her belly and announced to the people around her.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just leave it there and expect it not to affect the kingdom. What if the monster that keeps creating monsters burns down our own homnd At this point, you should do everything you can to stop the damage!¡±

    ¡°But ¨D¨D ¡°

    Angelica smiles at Raymond and the others, who are still not convinced, and begins to talk in a good mood.

    ¡°And have you forgotten who my fiancee is? My fianc¨¦, Leon, is a man who never fights a battle he can¡¯t win! He has always been a winner, no matter what the situation. He¡¯s the one fighting on the front lines. Why do you think that is?¡±

    This is the Leon who has triumphed out of desperate situations. His friends remembered that, too.

    ¡°The first was the duel with Julius and others. Everyone said he would lose. But who won?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Leon¡±

    Julius, who was dressed as a masked knight, became embarrassed at the mention of the dueling ruckus.

    (Are you going to retell that story here? Can you please stop? )

    It reminded him of the day when he was more naive than he is now, when he challenged Leon, believing he could win, and was defeated. However, Ange didn¡¯t stop her speech.

    ¡°Next is the Principality. Who defeated a fleet led by the Principality and the ck Knight with a single airship full of students?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Leon. That¡¯s right. He¡¯s the one who defeated the ck Knight!¡±

    The voices of Leon¡¯s friends gradually turned brighter.

    ¡°After that, a kingdom suffering from internal conflicts, fought against a principality. It was an overwhelming disadvantage, but who led it to victory?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Leon!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He only fights when he¡¯s sure he¡¯s going to win!¡±

    ¡°Right, then, can he win this time, too? In this situation?¡±

    Ange raised her voice to the allies around her.

    ¡°You have to win this battle and make a name for yourself in the Kingdom and the Commonwealth. You will be honored for generations toe if your name is engraved in history! Now, what will you do ¨D¨D Heroes?¡±

    When Ange called him hero, Daniel was inspired.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it! If wee this far, I¡¯ll make a name for myself in the Commonwealth!¡±

    Raymond let out a sigh.

    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll be together until the end after all. Ha~a, okay. He even renovated my airship for free, and gave me armors. ¡°

    Even beforeing to the Commonwealth, Leon had made preparations.

    Renovating the airships and armor that he distributed to his friends was one of them.

    When the speech was over, the masked knight approached Ange and asked her about her true intentions.

    ¡°That¡¯s great. But do you really think we can win?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D It¡¯s fifty-fifty. The rest is up to Leon.¡±

    ¡°I see. But do we have a chance of winning? If so, I can fight too.¡±

    White seeds jumped out from the wriggling sacred tree one after another.

    Each of them is a monster.

    Ange put her hands together in front of her chest as if in prayer.

    ¡°Leon, don¡¯t do anything rash.¡±

    .

    Part 6

    Licorne¡¯s medical office.

    Noelle was brought in there and managed to stay alive with the help of Marie and Livia¡¯s healing magic.

    Noelle¡¯s clothes had been cut by Marie with scissors and she was now naked.

    Arge amount of blood had flowed out of Noelle, and her skin color looked bluer than usual.

    She had dark circles under her eyes, and her breathing was weak.

    She could have been dead, but thanks to healing magic, she is just barely alive and conscious.

    Marie, her hands bright red with Noelle¡¯s blood, kept calling out to her.

    ¡°Be strong, Noelle! Soon. Soon, Leon will be back. Luxion will restore your body to its normal state.¡±

    Marie¡¯s eyes were moist as she wanted to help her friend. She was on the verge of crying, but she was holding it. Seeing her, Noelleughed helplessly.

    ¡°If this is how it¡¯s going to be ¨D¨D I should¡¯ve confessed. But I feel bad for Olivia-san.¡±

    Livia was also struggling to continue her treatment, but her expression was grim.

    ¡°You can still make it¡±

    ¡°Haha ¨D¨D It¡¯s a lie, right? I know. My body¡¯s in bad shape, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Both Marie and Livia knew in their heads that Noelle could not be saved.

    However, they have no intention of stopping the healing magic.

    Livia smiled as best she could.

    ¡°Leon-san is a coward when ites to love, so he often runs away. So, if you¡¯re going to confess, it¡¯s best to do it in a situation where he can¡¯t run away.¡±

    She even gives advice to her romantic rival. Hearing this, Noelle also smiles.

    ¡°I have that feeling. He always avoids answering the important questions, doesn¡¯t he? Aa~, but maybe that part¡¯s good too.¡±

    Marie, full of blood, joins the conversation. She desperately tried to keep her voice cheerful.

    ¡°Noelle is also stupid. There are lots of good men out there. Let¡¯s find a better man than Leon. Because ¨D¨D I-I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    Noelle smiled at Marie, who was about to burst into tears.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Marie-chan¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not crying! I¡¯m going to save you and find you a good man! And then we¡¯ll be together more¨D¨D¡±

    Lelia shook her head in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Why. Why did you save me?¡±

    Noelle doesn¡¯t understand why she saved her. If it had been the other way around, Lelia would not have been able to move. Even if she could, she wouldn¡¯t have defended Noelle.

    And yet, Noelle has saved her life and is critically injured.

    Livia looked up as Noelle shook her mouth. She turns her gaze on Lelia.

    ¡°She wants to talk to you.¡±

    Lelia trembled as she approached Noelle.

    As she looked down at Noelle lying on the bed, she was afraid of what she might say.

    But ¨D¨D Noelle has something important to tell Lelia.

    ¡°Lelia, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be around much longer ¨D¨D so I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t give up. You¡¯re a priestess, aren¡¯t you? Do something with mysterious power!¡±

    Surely a priestess can do something, right?

    However, Noelle denies it without effort and shows her her right hand.

    ¡°Ever since a while ago. The sacred tree sapling has been trying to help me. But it doesn¡¯t seem to be working.¡±

    The priestess¡¯s crest on the back of her right hand glowed faintly as it helped Noelle.

    However, it still didn¡¯t seem to be enough to help Noelle.

    ¡°A-Aneki!¡±

    She tried to say something, but she couldn¡¯t get the words out. To that Lelia, Noelle talked to her about their parents with a serious expression.

    ¡°Lelia ¨D¨D You were the one they really loved the most.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Lelia couldn¡¯t understand what was being said to her. Is this really the right time to bring this up? She couldn¡¯t say anything about it, so she kept silent.

    ¡°Always has been¨D¨DOur parents loved you. It¡¯s a lie that you¡¯re not fit to be a priestess.¡±

    From there, the story of a past Lelia didn¡¯t know began.

    .

    Part 7

    That was when Noelle had just turned five.

    It was a time when the Lespinasse house was still alive and well, and Noelle and Lelia were enjoying a wealthy lifestyle.

    From a distance, Noelle listened to the conversation between her parents and Lelia.

    Father is hugging Lelia.

    ¡°Lelia is smart! Yes, politics needs the people¡¯s opinion!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a democracy, right¡±

    ¡°You know a lot of difficult words. Very impressive, Lelia!¡±

    Noelle couldn¡¯t understand what they were talking about.

    However, both father and mother kept smiling in front of Lelia.

    Mother pats Lelia¡¯s head.

    ¡°Lelia can be trusted with the future of the Commonwealth in the truest sense of the word.¡±

    Lelia¡¯s eyes sparkled at her mother¡¯s words.

    ¡°A priestess? Can I be a priestess too?¡±

    In front of a delighted Lelia, her parentsughed in a troubled manner.

    They didn¡¯t affirm that Lelia could be a priestess, and the answer was unclear.

    Her father speaks gently to Lelia.

    ¡°The priestess is important, but there is something else that is more important. Lelia is smart, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll carry on our will¡±

    Lelia replies with a big smile.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Her mother also hugged Lelia.

    ¡°With you, the Lespinasse House is in safe hands.¡±

    Noelle was very sad when she saw Lelia being treasured by her parents.

    But it was that night.

    Not Lelia, but Noelle is called to her parents¡¯ room.

    Noelle was worried that they would get angry, but at the same time she hoped they would treasure her like they loved Lelia.

    When she gathered up the courage to visit their room, her parents, who were waiting for her, greeted Noelle with a somber look on their faces.

    ¡°Father, mother, ano, etto¡°

    Her parents were silent, but little Noelle was not able to act as well as Lelia. When her parents saw this, they let out a sigh of disappointment in front of Noelle.

    Her mother tantlypares her to Lelia.

    ¡°Noelle, you are Lelia¡¯s twin older sister. You should learn from Lelia and be more reliable.¡±

    Her father was the same. He had his hands folded in front of his mouth and his eyes were somewhat cold as he looked at Noelle.

    ¡°It¡¯s harsh topare her to the brilliant Lelia, but it¡¯s also problematic that the same twin can be so different.¡±

    Noelle looks down.

    Lelia, who does everything well, even in the Lespinasse House, was expected to have a bright future.

    Everyone is saying that Lelia will be the next priestess.

    They also say Noelle is a backup.

    Her parents are even more disappointed when Noelle keeps quiet. But ¨D¨D her mother tells her.

    ¡°Noelle, you are the next priestess.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Noelle looks up and is happy to see that her parents have approved her. But the next moment, she felt like she was being pushed down into the valley.

    Her father speaks of the reason why he does not make Lelia a priestess.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let Lelia be a priestess and lead a hard life. We need her to carry on our will. So We are announcing that Lelia has no aptitude for being a priestess.¡±

    Noelle can¡¯t keep up with her parents, who insist on not letting Lelia be a priestess to protect her.

    She just wanted to say that she was going to do her best.

    ¡°A-Ano, Father? I¡¯ll do my best. I¡¯ll do my best as a priestess to carry on the will of the two of you.¡±

    I¡¯ll do my best ¨D¨D so please look at me! Her parents didn¡¯t seem to be expecting Noelle¡¯s desperate plea.

    Her mother says coldly.

    ¡°Do your best as a priestess? That¡¯s why we can¡¯t trust our will to you. Noelle, as a big sister, you must protect Lelia. She is our, Lespinasse House¡¯s hope.¡±

    ¡°Hope?¡±

    It was like being told that Noelle was not a hope.

    Despite being a twin, Noelle was told to live for Lelia.

    ¡°Noelle, do you understand? From now on, no matter what happens, you must protect Lelia.¡±

    Noelle nodded in fear as her mother pressed her harder.

    Seeing that, her father seemed a little relieved.

    ¡°Now we can protect Lelia. And Noelle, you can¡¯t tell anyone about this. Not even to Lelia, of course. She¡¯s a smart girl.¡±

    Noelle thought at this moment.

    (If I be a nicer girl, will they love me?)

    So she decided that no matter what happened, because of the promise she made with her parents ¨D¨D she would protect Lelia.

    .

    Part 8

    ¨D¨D Licorne¡¯s medical office.

    When she finished speaking, Noelle was coughing up blood from her mouth and was in pain.

    Lelia is worried.

    ¡°Aneki!¡±

    Blood staining her mouth, Noelle tells Lelia what she really wanted to tell her ¨D¨D her hardship.

    ¡°I was clumsy and not as good as you, so there was not much I could do to help. But since I was your big sister, I tried to do my best.¡±

    ¡°Enough! That¡¯s enough, now stop talking!¡±

    Noelle grabbed Lelia¡¯s arm.

    ¡°I was jealous of you. You were so good at everything, and people loved you, and you could see that in Clement. He cared for you more than he cared for me.¡±

    Lelia shakes her head.

    ¡°No. You¡¯re wrong! I¡¯m, actually!¡±

    Before Lelia could say anything, Noelle made a smile. It was the best smile she could muster. Why she smiled, even Noelle herself did not know.

    ¡°I hated you. We were twins, but you were the only one our parents loved. After listening to Alberg-san¡¯s story, they understood about the aptitude of a priestess. They knew from the beginning that we could not be priestesses. They knew, and they forced me to do the hard part.¡±

    Lelia pressed her hands to her ears, not wanting to hear.

    Noelle dared to tell Lelia something she didn¡¯t want to hear.

    ¡°They loved you, you know. They loved you more than me. Howe you don¡¯t realize that? It¡¯s the same with Emile. Why didn¡¯t you realize it?¡±

    ¡°I, I am!¡±

    Noelle says goodbye to Lelia, who begins to cry.

    ¡°You were loved more than me, you know. But it looks like I¡¯m done here, so you¡¯ll have to do the rest on your own.¡±

    Lelia clung to Noelle.

    ¡°Wait! Ne~e, I beg you!¡±

    Noelle let go of her consciousness.

 Volume 7, 11 â€œMasterâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 11 ¡°Master¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Arroganz was flying through the air, but the heat inside was reaching its limit as the Schwert in the backpack kept firing homingsers.

    When I look around, all I see are enemies, so if I attack, I will surely hit them.

    I didn¡¯t expect this development.

    ¡°I can¡¯tmunicate with Luxion and no onees to help!¡±

    Then, Luxion, which has be an empty shell, reacts.

    [What is your question? Please exin your question in detail.]

    However, it is too robotic to be useful.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you right now!¡±

    As Iined, I piloted Arroganz and swung the greatsword at the approaching enemy. The monster was cut in two, and disappeared in a puff of ck smoke.

    But there was no end to it, as they kepting at me one after another.

    The monster bit Arroganz, but that didn¡¯t even scratch the armor.

    ¡°I wish I¡¯d told them from the start to load up on more powerful weapons, not less.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t expected to be pushed this far, and Arroganz didn¡¯t have a powerful weapon to ovee the situation.

    The homingser is burying a lot of enemy monsters, but the energy is reaching its limit.

    The various items disyed on the monitor had changed color from green to yellow.

    Aside from that, Arroganz can¡¯t move once the energy runs out.

    ¡°Aa~, I can¡¯t do it anymore. This is my limit!¡±

    I let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°Because of what happened to Noelle, I can¡¯t spend too much time on this.¡±

    Noelle is seriously injured protecting Lelia. ¨D¨D There¡¯s no time.

    Then, I ordered Luxion, who was now a mere shell.

    ¡°I¡¯m administering body strengthening drugs ¡°

    [There is a physical burden on the pilot, do you still wish to administer it?]

    ¡°Do it¡±

    My order was answered by the empty shell of Luxion.

    There was none of the usual sarcasm, and none of the awkward conversations that worried me.

    [Start dosing]

    I immediately felt a stinging pain in my back and the drug was administered to my body.

    ¡± ! ¨D¨D T-This is tougher than I thought it would be.¡±

    The body strengthening drug that Luxion had prepared for me was highly effective, unlike the inferior products that were sold in the back alleys.

    At the same time, though, it¡¯s reducing the strain on my body¨D¨Dbut the demerits are not zero.

    I feel something flowing into my body.

    And I could see a lot of movement around me.

    I feel as if my vision has expanded more than usual, and my body starts to heat up.

    I could feel my heart beating more strongly than usual, and my body was stronger than usual.

    However, at the same time, I realized that it was definitely not good for my body.

    ¡°Did Serge use this all the time? Isn¡¯t he really stupid?¡±

    I don¡¯t understand why he used it on a daily basis instead of using it as a trump card in case of emergency like I did.

    ¡°I will never use it again!¡±

    As I watched the monsters swarming the monitor screen, I removed the limiter of Arroganz. This was set by Luxion, considering the burden on me as the pilot.

    Removing it means that Arroganz will be able to bring out its true performance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Arroganz!¡±

    The engines of Arroganz started to run even harder, consuming more energy than ever before. However, the number of monsters burned by the homingsers from the backpacks had more than doubled.

    Therge sword in Arroganz¡¯s grip cracks from the center. The de of the optical weapon emerges from there, extending several dozen meters in length.

    ¡°In one go¨D¨D I¡¯m going to cut you all!¡±

    As soon as Arroganz started spinning with the greatsword, the surrounding scenery moved so fast that it was difficult to follow with the eyes. However, thanks to the body strengthening drug, I was able to perceive it somehow.

    One swing ughters dozens of monsters, and theser burns over a hundred.

    In the midst of the swarming monsters, I drove straight for the sacred tree.

    When I got through the crowd of monsters, what was waiting for me was Ideal and Serge, who had be a lump of flesh captured by the demonic armor.

    ¡°Ideal!¡±

    As Arroganz swung the greatsword down, Serge¡¯s demonic armor stepped in between to prevent it.

    Serge screamed in pain as the de bit into him and ck liquid spurted out of his demonic armor.

    ¨D¨DThe voice hurts my ears.

    ¡°That¡¯s some bad taste for an AI! I thought you guys hated demonic armor?¡±

    The artificial intelligences hated the demonic armor used by the new humans.

    Luxion was so enraged that he wanted to annihte it immediately.

    And yet, Ideal was using a demonic weapon.

    [Even if it is a demonic weapon, I will use it to achieve my goal. Luxion didn¡¯t have the determination to do so.]

    ¡°A determination?¡±

    When I got a distance, the demonic armor appeared an ice de and released it at Arroganz. As I cut it down, I listened to Ideal¡¯s story.

    [It is a promise that must be fulfilled, no matter what evil I do. You don¡¯t need to know]

    ¡°Is that so. Then I¡¯ll tell you one good thing.¡±

    [What?]

    ¡°You¡¯ve underestimated Luxion too much.¡±

    [That Luxion is sinking out there. Serge, do it]

    Serge, now in demonic form, attacked me at Ideal¡¯smand. The round lump of flesh opened up like a giant sea star and was about to swallow Arroganz.

    The mouth I see in the center belongs to a person.

    I apologize to Serge who has been turned into a hideous monster.

    ¡°I should have killed you quickly before you looked like this. ¨D¨D I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Arroganz swung the greatsword and sliced through the mass of flesh, then thrust the greatsword into its wide open mouth.

    ¡°Do it!¡±

    [Impact]

    After Luxion¡¯s mechanical voice, the greatsword turned red and blew away Serge, who had turned into a demon armor.

    Ideal is looking at me.

    [What a terrible thing to do]

    I red at Ideal, who seemed to be giggling.

    [I joke with Luxion¨D¨Dbut I mean it when I say it to you. You have a bad personality. I hate you.]

    Towards the Ideal¡¯s sub-unit, Arroganz extended the left arm and grabbed ¨D¨D crushed him.

    .

    Part 2

    Outside the republic, Luxion was under attack from six supply ships.

    In order to capture Luxion, Ideal was trying to avoid damaging the main gun as much as possible.

    Seeing Luxion getting tattered, Ideal speaks to him.

    [What a miserable figure, Luxion]

    [We are not defeated yet. Master is fighting within the Republic.]

    [What can your master do? You¡¯ve met the wrong master. At times like this, humans say you are unlucky.]

    When Luxion heard this, he was furious with Ideal.

    [Unlucky? Let me tell you, Ideal.]

    [Is it thest word? I¡¯ll remember them]

    [I have better luck than you. Then you underestimated my master. So you¡¯re going to lose here.]

    [Unwilling to admit defeat?]

    Luxion decides it¡¯s about time.

    That¡¯s why he feltpelled to reveal the story.

    [The first time we met you, Master said, ¡®Ideal, he is fishy¡¯.]

    [Fishy? I thought your master spoke of envy when he saw me?]

    [Do you really think he meant it? My Master is so twisted that he rarely gives honest opinions.]

    Seeing Ideal following Lelia politely, Leon told Luxion to follow his example. But apart from that, he also had his suspicions.

    ¨D¨DThat¡¯s why he would never expose Creare in front of Ideal.

    [You¡¯re taking too long, Creare]

    As Luxion said this, one of the supply ships that was floating in the sky stopped attacking and fell straight down. As it fell into the sea and sank, another one of the ships became inoperable.

    Ideal is surprised.

    [What did you do!]

    [Mypanion is looking for the main body of Ideal. It¡¯s called Creare, she used to manage aboratory. She has a strong habit, but she is really excellent.]

    [Other AI?]

    Ideal was upset by the information that he did not know.

    [Ideal ¨D¨D I¡¯ve told you, right? You underestimated my master. That¡¯s why you lost.]

    Then the third and fourth ships sank¨D¨Dthe fifth ship also stopped attacking.

    As soon as the barrier surrounding the republic was lifted, Luxion released the hull¡¯s bow section and prepared to fire his main guns.

    [That man suspected me!? He even prepared a secret weapon and saw through my n!]

    Luxion says that¡¯s not the case.

    [Master says¨D¨DIt¡¯s just a hunch.]

    Then Luxion¡¯s main cannon shot out light. The light gradually grew from thin and weak to thick, dissolving half of Ideal¡¯s body and reaching the sacred tree beyond.

    Ideal sacrificed his main body and deployed his shield to prevent Luxion¡¯s attack.

    [I-I won¡¯t let you. Only the sacred tree¨D¨D and the promise only! Absolutely¨D¨D]

    Swallowed by the light of Luxion¡¯s main cannon, Ideal¡¯s main body evaporated and disappeared.

    .

    Part 3

    An underground facility of the Republic.

    There was a base that had been used by the old humans in the past, and in that ce, there were a number of facilities that could be called the main body of AI.

    There, with drones in tow, it was Creare who was doing the sabotage.

    [Aa~ah, I don¡¯t like it. He is forcing me alone to do such a in job.]

    An artificial intelligence prepared by Ideal.

    [Even so, he is so reckless. It¡¯s forbidden to mass-produce copies of yourself, isn¡¯t it?]

    Creare shows a strong interest in Ideal¡¯s disregard for what is essentially a forbidden act.

    In addition to deactivating the copied artificial intelligence, Creare was also sucking up the data.

    There, Creare learns of one part of Ideal¡¯s n.

    It was a n to remodeling the Republic.

    [Ideal is being very reckless. Was he nning to turn the entire Republic into a fortress? What for?]

    Checking Ideal¡¯s data, he was about to prepare equipment throughout the Republic.

    It was as if he was nning to fortify an entire continent.

    [What kind of enemy would go to such lengths? Hmm, I¡¯d like to find out more, but I need to pull out now.]

    When Creare looked at the doorway, she saw Ideal¡¯s sub-unit arriving there with drones in tow.

    [I found you, Creare!]

    When Ideal found out, Creare made a joke and escaped from the scene.

    All she had to do was to have one of the booster drones that she had prepared in advance grab her and escape.

    [Ara, I¡¯m famous! But too bad. It¡¯s time to go, so if you¡¯ll excuse me.]

    [Wait!]

    As Ideal tried to follow, the whole area exploded and blew up.

    .

    Part 4

    After the underground facility had blown up and he had lost contact with the main body and the other remotely controlled transports, Ideal hade to the side of the sacred tree.

    More than half of the sacred tree had been blown away and was dripping red liquid.

    Ideal panicked in front of the painful sight.

    [A~a, what a mess you are in. I¡¯m going to heal you right away¨D¨D]

    However, a second shot from Luxion followed, and the sacred tree let out another scream-like cry.

    [Luxion! You don¡¯t understand anything. For this world, the sacred tree is thest hope!]

    In front of the sacred tree, most of which has been burned, Ideal makes a decision.

    [If this happens, I have no choice but to take the fight to the short term. I didn¡¯t want to choose this method, though.]

    As Ideal approached the sacred tree, he was taken in by it.

    [Sacred Tree¨D¨Dtake me in. There is a hangar for the old humans under you. You must use the wreckage there. And destroy Luxion and him!]

    When Ideal was taken into the Sacred Tree, another change came.

    When the sacred tree ispletely petrified, it shatters and something humanoid emerges from the trunk.

    The huge humanoid, over a hundred meters tall, had a head that resembled an Ideal sphere. Its slender body resembled that of Emile.

    The giant was floating in the air, moving slowly.

    Then, as Luxion¡¯s third shot was about to hit, the round single eye of the giant head glowed red and deployed a barrier.

    A shot from Luxion¡¯s main cannon was blocked by the single eye¡¯s shield.

    [¨D¨D Lelia ¨D¨D Let¡¯s ¨D¨D Be one]

    However, the one-eyed giant monster that was born from the sacred tree¨D¨Dwas aiming for Licorne as if it was being guided.

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°Why do they keeping out one after another!¡±

    The taste of blood spreads in my mouth as I bite down on my back teeth, but I don¡¯t have time to worry about this.

    But it wasn¡¯t all bad, either.

    The link with Luxion is restored.

    [¨D¨DMaster, did you administer a body-strengthening drug?]

    ¡°You¡¯reteing back. More importantly, we have to get rid of that monster. And for good measure, I¡¯m going to make you exert your full power.¡±

    [Are you sure?]

    ¡°I want to help Noelle. It would be faster if I call your main body.¡±

    [So, for Noelle¡¯s sake, Master is going to expose my main body, which has been keeping hidden until now? It¡¯s going to cause a lot of trouble.]

    Revealing Luxion¡¯s true power, which had been hidden until now, was an act I wanted to avoid.

    Even though I like to show off my strength, I hesitate to do so because Luxion¡¯s capabilities are a danger to this world.

    It¡¯s just¨D¨Dif I don¡¯t give it my all here, I¡¯ll definitely regret it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯ll figure out the trouble after I survive.¡±

    [You have no n]

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. More importantly, I¡¯m going to help Noelle.¡±

    Facing a monster with a head like the sub-unit of Luxion, Creare, and Ideal, I changed my mind.

    ¡°And so. ¨D¨D Can you beat that thing? It looks really strong, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    I wonder if thest boss in the second Otome game looked like this?

    The single eye of the ghost had limbs that looked like tree roots. As it pointed its hands at Arroganz, they undted like whips, their tips pointed and ready to pierce Arroganz.

    ¡°Oops!¡±

    Arroganz blows its scale and runs away from dozens of tentacle-like arms. Luxion begins to analyze it.

    [It¡¯s a fusion of Ideal, Sacred Tree, and Emile. You can see the characteristics of all three. By incorporating Ideal, the attack by my main body had been neutralized.]

    ¡°I¡¯m really sick of this ¡°

    It hurts that it blocked Luxion¡¯s main cannon. How the hell did Noelle and her friends in the game fight against this guy?

    [Master, my main body is in contact with Licorne. I¡¯m going to meet up with Creare and start healing Noelle.]

    ¡°I can count on you. Definitely save her.¡±

    And I challenge the secondst boss.

    ¡°Let¡¯s finish it all ¨D¨D Even happy seems impossible, but I¡¯ll bring it to the better!¡±

    [It¡¯s a realistic decision. I don¡¯t hate it. However, after the battle, the master also needs to be treated. Please don¡¯t underestimate the burden of a body strengthening drug on the body.]

    ¡°When this is over!¡±

    While running away from the single eye, which was attacking with its tentacles, I shed it with my greatsword. However, the tentacles of the single eye quickly grew back.

    It treated Arroganz as if it were a fly.

    It was floating and slowly moving somewhere.

    ¡°Where is this guy aiming?¡±

    [I figured out the course. This is ¨D¨D Licorne? No, it is aiming for my main body.]

    ¡°Tsu! I¡¯ll stop it! You should be serious too!¡±

    [Yes. And there is amunication from Marie.]

    ¡°Later!¡±

    [ ¨D¨D Noelle seems to have lost consciousness. Creare reported that she didn¡¯t make it in time.]

    I gripped the control stick tightly and gritted my teeth.

    ¡°Connect it¡±

    While piloting the Arroganz, I get intomunication with Marie.

    Marie, covered in blood, turns over and cries to me, telling me about Noelle.

    ¡°Aniki ¨D¨D sorry. Even Olivia and I couldn¡¯t do it.¡±

    ¡°I heard¡±

    ¡°I beg you, please talk to Noelle while she¡¯s still alive. At least give her a decent end.¡±

    After cutting off themunication, I took a deep breath and looked at Luxion. Luxion guessed and rejected me before I could say anything.

    [I refuse]

    ¡°It¡¯s an order. Do it.¡±

    [I refuse. The burden on the Master¡¯s body is beyond eptable limits.]

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Do it.¡±

    [Not allowed. We can handle it just fine as it is.]

    ¡°I told you we don¡¯t have much time. I want to finish this soon ¨D¨D please.¡±

    After Luxion¡¯s struggles, he carried out my orders.

    [¨D¨DBody strengthening drug, additional injection, starting]

    I felt a hot liquid flowing down my body as the needle was quickly inserted into my back and the medicine was administered. Sweat began to pour out of me.

    ¡°Damn it. I¡¯ll never use it again.¡±

    [That¡¯s a wise decision. I can¡¯t allow you to use it again]

    .

    Part 6

    Inside Luxion¡¯s main body.

    A capsule-shaped bed was prepared.

    It¡¯s called a medical capsule. It¡¯s an advanced medical device.

    Noelle has been brought in and Creare is starting to treat her.

    Livia looked down at Noelle, tears streaming down her face.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Because I didn¡¯t have enough power.¡±

    As Liviaments herck of strength, Creare offers words offort.

    [I think Livia-chan did a good job. If it weren¡¯t for Livia-chan and Marie-chan, she would have died a long time ago.]

    Ange grabbed Livia¡¯s arm as she looked down.

    ¡°You did what you could. You did fine.¡±

    ¡°But I couldn¡¯t save her.¡±

    Livia cries out and hugs Ange¡¯s chest. Ange hugs her gently.

    Then, Ange asked Creare.

    ¡°Creare, you said this was Luxion¡¯s main body?¡±

    [Yes]

    ¡°Leon also has been keeping Luxion from us all this time, hasn¡¯t he.¡±

    [¨D¨D Disappointed?]

    ¡°No, I¡¯m convinced. Because even I would have made the same decision.¡±

    Angeforts Livia ¨D¨D Lelia sees this and leaves the room to go outside.

    .

    Part 7

    Lelia hade to Luxion¡¯s hangar.

    There is a small boat that they used when they moved from Licorne, and when she saw it, she dazedly boarded it.

    Lelia got in and tried to steer a small boat to get out.

    ¡°¨D¨DIn the end, I was the one who was wrong. It¡¯s funny. Because I was handling myself so well as a reincarnated person, I can¡¯t believe everything¡¯s ruined.¡±

    As a child, she used her knowledge and experience as a reincarnated person to manage things well. However, thanks to that, Noelle, who was supposed to be the main character, was not loved by her parents.

    Lelia realized.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been causing aneki so much pain by doing the same thing like nee-san. Haha! I¡¯m stupid.¡±

    Nee-san¨D¨DIt¡¯s her sister in previous life, and she was able to get away with everything and monopolize the love of her parents.

    She looked as if she deserved it and took away Lelia¡¯s happiness as well.

    Lelia couldn¡¯t help but hate her sister.

    When she found out that she had been reincarnated in the world of that otome game she knew, she tried to do well this time and make her parents like her.

    It worked, but this time it cost Noelle, her sister in this life, her parents¡¯ love was taken from her.

    Lelia didn¡¯t realize it and assumed that she was unloved.

    And¨D¨DFor goodness sake, they forced Noelle to take care of the problem.

    ¡°The worst. Really the worst.¡±

    Lelia, crying and piloting a small boat, goes out and sees the sacred tree approaching Luxion¨D¨DShe saw One-Eye figure. It was Lelia that the One Eye was looking at.

    When the sacred tree spotted Lelia, it moved its tentacles and came at her with increased speed.

    The small boat does not run away, but heads towards the sacred tree.

    ¡°I was doing the same thing. Nee-san and¨D¨DMy fianc¨¦ who left me, I was doing the same thing that happened to me, and I was doing it to aneki and Emile.¡±

    And there was someone else she hated. The fianc¨¦ had abandoned her in a previous life and chosen her sister. She should have hated the man, but she found herself doing even worse things to Emile.

    She believed she was the one who would choose, and she was keeping bnce between Emile and Serge.

    Just as her ex-fiancee had kept herself and her sister.

    Lelia can¡¯t forgive herself.

    So¨D¨DShe decided to end it all.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Emile, you can do whatever you want with me¨D¨Dso please stop. Let aneki see Leon!¡±

    As the small boat heads straight for the sacred tree, it is caught by an extended tentacle.

    In the midst of the violent shaking, Lelia saw Arroganzing towards her.

    She looks at Arroganz, who extends his hand, and apologizes to Leon.

    ¡°You guys were the right ones. ¨D¨DI¡¯m sorry.¡±

    When she apologized, the small boat was crushed by the tentacles and exploded.

    .

    Part 8

    A small boat was crushed in front of me.

    ¡°Why did shee out on the battlefield!¡±

    It was Lelia who was in the small boat.

    Seeing the explosion in front of me, I bite my back teeth.

    However, a change soon urs in the sacred tree.

    [The sacred tree stops moving. Master, please be careful.]

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    The situation was changing so fast that I wanted to give up thinking about it.

    I wanted to take them all down and finish it quickly.

    Looking at the movements of the sacred tree, it seemed to be suffering from something.

    [Master, this is your chance]

    The back of my right hand began to glow as I looked at the sacred tree, which was no longer moving.

    Emerging from the surface of the glove was the crest of the guardian.

    ¡°What?¡±

    What I hear from there is¨D¨D.

    ¡°Leon, please. Help Lelia¡±

    ¨D¨DIt was Noelle¡¯s voice.

    .

    Part 9

    When Lelia woke up, she was in her familiar school uniform.

    She is in a room that looks white and blurry, but there¡¯s no sense of reality.

    It feels like she is dreaming.

    However, the room feels strangely nostalgic.

    ¡°Aa~, this is my room.¡±

    It was a room of her previous life. There was a monitor, and the game console was left out. Among the cases of software scattered around the room, there was also the second otome game.

    She is having a nostalgic dream. While she was in this mood, she noticed Emile standing next to her, also in uniform.

    ¡°Emile?¡±

    Lelia remembered how sorry she was to Emile, and apologized to him, knowing that he would be angry with her.

    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m sorry, Emile. I-I¡¯ve been so horrible to Emile.¡±

    But Emile¨D¨Dheughed at it and forgave her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I guess I just didn¡¯t understand Lelia as well as I should have.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Emile¡¯s face looked much calmer than thest time she saw him.

    Lelia was relieved to see that he seemed to be back to the original Emile.

    Emile is looking at the room.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know. There really is a previous life.¡±

    Realizing her previous life, Lelia became depressed and turned her head down.

    ¡°I am the worst, right? I did the same thing to aneki and Emile that I hated being done to me. I just imitated the people I hated and hurt people.¡±

    Emile gentlyforts Lelia, who realizes her inner ugliness.

    ¡°Lelia was suffering all the time.¡±

    When the appearance of the room changes, her vague parents and sistere out.

    They wereining around Lelia in her previous life.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you do it like your sister!¡±

    ¡°You are really dull.¡±

    Her parents were scolding her. And her sister wasughing at it.

    ¡°¨D¨DYou¡¯re an idiot. Do it better. ¡°

    They had no face because she can¡¯t remember the figure of her sister who isughing and mocking her and the faces of her parents.

    Lelia sees the scene and sits down.

    ¡°Stop. Don¡¯t show it to me anymore.¡±

    Emile hugged Lelia. Lelia feels the warmth of Emile¡¯s embrace. Emile apologizes to Lelia.

    ¡°Lelia, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t realize it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. The really bad one is me.¡±

    Lelia apologized, but Emile left and picked up the package of the second otome game and touched his own illustration. He was drawn smaller than the other characters and was not treated well.

    Still, Emile looks happy.

    ¡°It feels weird. For Lelia, I was a fantasy character.¡±

    Lelia braced herself to be scolded, but Emile just smiled.

    ¡°Lelia, this is goodbye. You should live.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help to hate you at first. But now that we¡¯ve merged, I¡¯ve learned about your past. It opened my eyes to know that you¡¯re going through a lot, too.¡±

    Emile epted her even though he knew about Lelia¡¯s previous life.

    But ironically, even though they were able to understand each other, they had to say goodbye here.

    ¡°I want you to live. Live, and I¡¯ll watch over you.¡±

    ¡°Emile? N-No. I¡¯m staying with Emile!¡±

    Her heart was filled with joy at being epted, but she was sad to hear that she would soon have to say goodbye. The crest of a priestess appeared on the back of Lelia¡¯s right hand.

    ¡°This is¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the crest of a priestess. I¡¯ll be watching over you. Be happy, Lelia.¡±

    Emile disappears as if blending into the scenery, but he leaves a few words behind.

    ¡°There¡¯s a personing to save you. Now go back.¡±

    Lelia stretched out her hand in front of her, and a translucent Noelle appeared there.

    Noelle¡¯s translucent figure is like a ghost.

    While her eyes were distracted, Noelle hugged Lelia.

    ¡°Don¡¯t trouble me until the end.¡±

    Noelle¡¯s voice was angry, but also a little happy.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Aneki, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Un, okay. I¡¯ll forgive you this time. This is onee-chan¡¯sst big service.¡±

 Volume 7, 12 â€œLiarâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 12 ¡°Liar¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    When Lelia woke up, she found herself in the ce where the sacred tree had been.

    There was only a huge stump left now, but Lelia was on it.

    A young tree stood by Lelia¡¯s side as if to protect her, swaying in the wind.

    Lying on her back, Lelia looked up at the sky.

    It was dawn before she knew it.

    When she raised her upper body, there was no one by her side.

    ¡°Aneki? Emile?¡±

    She looked at the back of her right hand and saw the crest of a priestess there.

    Tears welled up in Lelia¡¯s eyes as she realized that what she had been through was not a dream.

    ¡°Ahaha ¨D¨D Ahaha! Everybody is gone. An important person, when I realized, all of them are gone. Why am I¨D¨DDoes my second life fail?¡±

    Sheughs, then starts to cry.

    She had just realized what was important to her, but she lost everything and was left with nothing but sadness.

    .

    Part 2

    [Arroganz has little energy left. The joints are at their limits. It is rmended that you replenish and maintain them immediately.]

    ¡°I¡¯ll finish it first¡±

    Arroganz¡¯s joints screamed, with little energy left and an rm ringing.

    I saw the shining crest on my right hand and held it with my left.

    ¡°Noelle, did you manage to save Lelia?¡±

    Following the voice I heard, I sent Noelle into the sacred tree.

    After that, the sacred tree cracked, and the red fluid that flowed out crystallized and turned into magic stone when it touched the ground.

    Crystals of magic stones are spreading all over the area.

    Emile¡¯s presence disappeared from the sacred tree, and only Ideal remained.

    The sacred tree, which bleeds every time it moves its body, extends its tentacles toward Arroganz.

    [Luxion! Leon! Only you guuuys!]

    As the sacred tree using Ideal¡¯s electronic voice closed in on the Arroganz, three armors rushed to the scene.

    Chris¡¯s blue armor sliced through the tentacles, while Brad¡¯s purple armor manipted the drones to shoot down the tentacles.

    Greg rushed over to Arroganz, he was worried about me.

    ¡°Bartfalt, are you okay!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯rete, idiots¡±

    ¡°If you can say that, you¡¯re fine!¡±

    ¡°What happened to Jilk and Loic? And what about the masked idiot bastard?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve been busy rescuing people. We¡¯ve rushed over here to help you.¡±

    It seems that the five idiots and my friends have defeated the monsters.

    I¡¯ll give them an extra rewardter.

    ¡°Then all that¡¯s left is the sacred tree.¡±

    ¡°Can you do it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    When Arroganz held up the greatsword, the light surrounded it and extended the de. Wide and long, the great sword was many times the size of Arroganz¡¯s.

    Luxion sends me some advice.

    [Cut the head in two. Then this will be the final blow.]

    One-shot game.

    Facing the approaching giant sacred tree, Arroganz, standing on the ground, lifted the greatsword in arge stance ©`©` and swung it straight down.

    The light that followed the path of the sword and spread out was like an open fan.

    As the light passed through the sacred tree, there was a momentary dy before a line cut through the tree. From there, the sacred tree slowly split into two and fell to the left and right, spewing red fluids.

    The spattering of bodily fluids crystallized in the air and became magic stones, glittering as they rained down.

    I heard many sounds like pebbles hitting the armor, and I was deeply relieved when I saw the sacred tree not regenerating.

    ¡°It¡¯s over, right?¡±

    [Yes. It was fortunate that Emile was weakened by the separation. Worst of all, we didn¡¯t have to blow up the entire Republic with our main guns at maximum power.]

    ¡°You¡¯re a really scary guy.¡±

    However, something jumped out from the wreckage of the fallen sacred tree.

    [Master, it¡¯s Ideal!]

    The Ideal sphere sub unit that Luxion had found was flying dazedly, trying to escape.

    ¡°You can¡¯t get away!¡±

    Arroganz¡¯s joints screamed and the left arm iled as it let go of the greatsword and flew. As I caught up with Ideal, Arroganz clenched its right hand and caught Ideal forcefully.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you go!¡±

    [More than that, Master has something else to do.]

    I looked up and saw Luxioning up in the sky.

    [Master, Noelle is nearing her limit]

    .

    Part 3

    I hurriedlynded on the main body of Luxion and headed for the medical office with a dizzy body.

    Luxion¡¯s sub unit machine, which followed me, caught the captured Ideal in his and dragged him away.

    Ideal still seems to be alive, but he doesn¡¯t say anything.

    The medical room we were looking for came into view. Waiting in front of the room was ¨D¨D Marie, who was sitting down, and Cara and Kyle, who were supporting her by her side.

    Looking at me, Marie is crying.

    ¡°I told you to hurry, didn¡¯t I!¡±

    ¡°My bad¡±

    When I entered the room, there were a lot of people around the bed.

    The injured Clement-sensei is also there with a bandaged body.

    Alberg-san and Louise noticed me and made space for me.

    As I approached, Ange and Livia looked at me and spoke to Noelle.

    ¡°Noelle, Leon is here¡±

    ¡°Open your eyes, Noelle-san¡±

    Ange looked sad, and Livia had tears in her eyes.

    And ¨D¨D Yumeria-san, who hugged Sapling-chan, is shedding tears.

    ¡°Leon-sama, Noelle-san is¡±

    As I approached the bed and rolled my upper body down to peer at Noelle, my crest reacted and glowed.

    Noelle¡¯s right hand shines too, and I hold with my right hand.

    Noelle slowly opened her eyes, but it was quite weak.

    Various machines and tubes were attached to Noelle¡¯s body, and it was somehow maintaining her life.

    Creare exined the situation to me apologetically.

    [I did everything I could. If only we had treated her a little sooner ¨D¨D No, she was shot in the vitals in the first ce, so it¡¯s a miracle she didn¡¯t die instantly.]

    ¡°Noelle is really strong¡±

    I touched Noelle¡¯s cheek with my left hand and she looked a little happy.

    Noelle talks to me.

    ¡°Leon, you know. I know it¡¯s not fair, but I need to ask you now.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Noelle, breathing painfully, stares into my eyes.

    ¡°I like you, Leon. I love you.¡±

    Noelle bursts into tears when I remain silent.

    ¡°You don¡¯t like it, right. I¡¯m falling head over heels with someone who already has a partner. But you know what, I still like you, and I really wanted to tell you.¡±

    As I was holding Noelle¡¯s crying right hand, I heard a voice from behind me.

    It¡¯s Ideal.

    [I will never forgive you. You¡¯re the only ones who ever will¨D¨DIt was a hope. The sacred tree was our hope. You who defeated it without knowing anything about it, should know what you have done. The unbelievable fools]

    [Shut up. I¡¯ll destroy you.]

    Luxion sent an electric shock to Ideal, but still did not stop speaking.

    [Perish, you descendants of the new humans! You should never have existed! The AI that doesn¡¯t understand that is just as guilty. How much do you think we have made a sacrifice!]

    Creare wasining to Luxion, [Get him out of here].

    Noelle looks at my face painfully.

    ¡°Leon, please tell me the answer. You don¡¯t say anything is painful for me. I don¡¯t want to die like this.¡±

    As Noelle waits for an answer to her confession, I¨D¨D tell her that I love her.

    ¡°I love you too. Come with me, Noelle.¡±

    Noelleughed. She smiled ¨D¨D and said to me.

    ¡°Liar¡±

    .

    Part 4

    Ideal listened to Noelle¡¯s words as he was trapped in the.

    ¡°Liar¨D¨DLeon is a liar¡±

    [¨D¨DEh?]

    The voice was very nostalgic. A memory folder that he cherishes was reyed, bringing back memories of that time.

    He should have remembered, but Ideal didn¡¯t realize it until just now.

    Noelle oveps with a certain person, who is dying.

    There was an elf woman on the side, hugging the saplings with great care.

    [Second lieutenant,¨D¨DYume?]

    He forgot his hatred in the sight in front of him.

    And when Noelle calls him a liar, Leon makes a smile and speaks happily to Noelle. His voice is trembling slightly, as if he is trying to hold back from crying.

    ¡°Lie? I¡¯m an honest man, I would never lie to you. Noelle knows that, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a lie, because Leon has Angelica-san and ¨D¨D Olivia-san. If you tell me that you love me here, they¡¯ll be angry with youter.¡±

    Noelle was in pain, but she was enjoying thest conversation.

    Leon¡¯s lie seemed to make her happy and sad at the same time.

    [I-I am¨D¨DI am¨D¨D]

    The people around him did not notice that Ideal was acting strangely.

    He is watching over Leon and Noelle.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I love Noelle. ¨D¨DYou¡¯re the third, though.¡±

    ¡°Third? Haha, I have really fallen for a horrible guy.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll always keep the third seat for you.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWell, I guess that¡¯s good. I am satisfied with that for now. I wish I had met Leon earlier. Maybe then I would have been the first.¡±

    Leon wasughing, but shedding tears.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it is. If I¡¯d met you sooner, I¡¯d have hit on you myself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a lie, too, isn¡¯t it? But I¡¯m happy.¡±

    Noelle draws herst breath as if she were asleep.

    Leon pressed his forehead against Noelle¡¯s right hand.

    [¨D¨DAa, I wish I could have sent her like this.]

    As Ideal regained much of hisposure, the sapling of the sacred tree that Yumeria was holding began to shine strongly.

    It was trying to save its own priestess by cutting off its life to protect her.

    Creare begins to fuss.

    [Noelle¡¯s heart is beating!]

    ¡°Can you save her? If so, I don¡¯t care what you have to do. You must save her!¡±

    Ange squeezed ire, but it was still useless.

    The sapling of the sacred tree began to wither, and Yumeria cried.

    ¡°This child will wither. They¡¯re both going to die.¡±

    The life that had been restored is about to disappear.

    Ideal saw this and made an offer to Luxion.

    [Luxion, I¡¯m giving you the data now. We have something in the hidden facility that is more powerful than the medical capsule here. If you use it, you¡¯ll be able to make it just in time.]

    Ideal tells Luxion where he keeps the important medical capsule he had prepared.

    Luxion could not believe Ideal¡¯s change of heart.

    [Why are you telling us this? We¡¯re supposed to be your enemies, aren¡¯t we?]

    [It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m ¨D¨D going ¨D¨D to stop ¨D¨D functioning. The rest is ¨D¨D up to you ¨D¨D]

    Just before it stopped functioning, Ideal thought.

    (I¡¯m sorry, everyone. I failed to fulfill my promise. After all, I was still a liar. I¡¯m really ¨D¨D I¡¯m sorry. My apologies.)

    .

    Part 5

    The high-performance medical capsule that Ideal had carefully stored was more powerful than the one that had been loaded onto Luxion.

    The technology used was more advanced than what was avable at the time, and ording to Luxion¨D¨D¡±Ideal developed it over a long period of time.¡±

    We don¡¯t know why they needed those things, either.

    But thanks to that, Noelle survived.

    And in the evening ¨D¨D I hade to the site of the sacred tree.

    What I found was Serge, who had been absorbed into the demonic armor.

    Serge had been freed from Ideal¡¯s control and had regained consciousness.

    Alberg-san, Louise-san, and I are in front of Serge.

    Serge was suffering.

    ¡°Help me, Dad! I¡¯m your son! You always love Leon only!¡±

    Most of his body was blown away, and it was strange that he was still alive.

    When Louise-san turned away, Serge shouted.

    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna look at me! I liked you! I liked you so much! Why did you choose Leon instead of me!¡±

    When they saw Serge, they were in tears. Alberg-san seems determined to finish him off to help the changed Serge.

    He picked up a gun.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna kill me? You¡¯re gonna kill your son? I knew you didn¡¯t love me! I wanted to be your son!¡±

    Serge was saying all the things, but Alberg-san scolded him.

    ¡°When did I ever keep you away!¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Dad?¡±

    With tears streaming down his face, Alberg-san said something to Serge that he had not been able to say before.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always treated you as my son. And then you ran off on your own, thinking you were abandoned ¨D¨D Idiot.¡±

    ¡°Son? I am?¡±

    When Serge stopped fussing, Louise-san wiped her tears and then looked at Serge.

    ¡°If you like me, you should have said so from the beginning. You were causing so much trouble, and we thought you hated us, so we distanced ourselves from you!¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t hate you¡±

    ¡°Look at father! He has no choice but to shoot you! He couldn¡¯t leave it to anyone else¨D¨D¡±

    Seeing the two of them crying, Serge finally understood.

    For the first time, he apologizes.

    ¡°Sorry¨D¨DI¡¯m sorry, Dad¨D¨DAneki¡°

    Serge shed tears, but he could no longer return to human form.

    Alberg-san tried to pull the trigger, I pushed him away and took the shotgun I had brought with me and pressed it against Serge¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°What are you doing, Leon-kun!¡±

    ¡°Parents don¡¯t have to shoot their kids. I, a stranger, will do it.¡±

    Serge¡¯s eyes widen, but then he looks relieved.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I got you in trouble, too.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯d just been honest about it, we wouldn¡¯t be in this mess. You¡¯re a real pain in the ass.¡±

    ¡°Haha, no doubt. ¨D¨DWell, let me ask you onest time. What were you going to say to me at that time?¡±

    What I almost said to Serge when he was still in human form.

    ¡°You were loved. I¡¯m d you could feel it at the end.¡±

    ¡°It was toote, though. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you. It¡¯s already impossible for me.¡±

    Seeing that Serge had closed his eyes, I pulled the trigger.

    Serge is blown up by the shotgun and bursts into pieces.

    Alberg-san and Louise-san turned their heads away from me.

 Volume 7, 13 â€œRewardâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 13 ¡°Reward¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    When I returned to Luxion¡¯s main body, I felt sick and nauseous.

    Of course, the use of body strengthening drugs is at fault, but it¡¯s even more mentally demanding.

    ¡°This sucks. I don¡¯t want to fight cheat battleships again.¡±

    [This time, too, there was a parade ofments that stung me. I was surprised that a new sacred tree was born on the site of the old one.]

    ¡± ¨D¨DThat¡¯s it¡±

    The young tree in the ce where Lelia woke up was seemingly a sacred tree.

    I say ¡°seemingly¡± because it suddenly appeared as a young tree, and there are many parts that are unknown.

    Lelia was hugging a young tree and screaming Emile¡¯s name, wasn¡¯t she.

    [Lelia got everything she wanted in the end, and it looks like she lost everything.]

    Emile knows that Lelia is a reincarnated person, but he seems to have epted her.

    She had found a man who had epted her, including her previous life, and after confirming their love for each other, it was time to say goodbye. I feel sorry for Lelia.

    ¡°It¡¯s Emile¡¯s curse.¡±

    [Isn¡¯t that a blessing?]

    ¡°It¡¯s a curse. To Lelia, it¡¯s like having her happiness stolen from her. She¡¯ll always be thinking about the dead Emile, won¡¯t she?¡±

    It would have been easier for Lelia if she had been badly rejected.

    Isn¡¯t Emile actually a great tactician?

    He has seeded in binding Lelia even after his death.

    But if this ispletely well-intentioned, it¡¯s unnecessary bad quality.

    Lelia has lost a man like Emile who epts her even though he knows everything about her, and from now on she willpare other men to Emile.

    She would regret letting happiness slip away from her.

    [Master must be careful too]

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡±

    I admit it honestly, but Luxion is worried about me.

    [You¡¯re awfully honest today. Shall I perform a thorough examination?]

    ¡°I¡¯m not feeling well, but I¡¯m normal. I can reflect on that too.¡±

    [You can say anything in words.]

    ¡°You are a really unpleasant guy!¡±

    I was resting in Luxion¡¯s main body, and I got a transmission.

    [Master, it seems that Alberg has something to discuss with you]

    ¡°From Alberg-san?¡±

    .

    Part 2

    When I moved to Einhorn, the masked knight was gone before I knew it.

    Julius is attending the meeting with an unconcerned look on his face, and Greg and the others are badmouthing the masked knight.

    ¡°That bastard, despite his joking manner, was capable ofmanding.¡±

    ¡°I see¡±

    Julius was pleased to hear Greg say that he hated the masked knight, but recognized his abilities.

    ¨D¨D Are you guys still going to continue that farce?

    As for me, I¡¯m trying to wrap my head around a request from Alberg-san.

    The content is¨D¨Dthe Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    They may call themselves the Holy Kingdom, but their methods are dirty and underhanded.

    And since they have a hostile rtionship with Milene-san¡¯s parents¡¯ family, they are my enemies.

    Milene-san¡¯s enemies are my enemies. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t forgive Rachel.

    ¡°Is the fleet of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel upying the republic?¡±

    ¡°Yes. They took advantage of the fact that we couldn¡¯t do anything about it and took over the Favel House¡¯s territory with the fleet they sent to the Republic. I¡¯m sure Rachel will send reinforcements in the future.¡±

    It seems that Rachel is nning to take over all of the Republic¡¯s territory.

    Brad, who was at my side, decides that this is a bad situation.

    ¡°Rachel is also an enemy of Horfalt. We don¡¯t want them to have too much power. Besides, if we give them the Sacred Tree, we¡¯ll be in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Should we kick them out?¡±

    ¡°The problem is that this is an issue of Arzel Republic. It has nothing to do with the Kingdom of Horfalt. We don¡¯t have a great cause, and most importantly, we don¡¯t have the strength to fight.¡±

    ¡°Can we do something?¡±

    ¡°It will be ~¡±

    Brad tore his gaze away from me and made a show of not wanting to say much.

    ¡°Say it¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Let¡¯s be honest, even if we turn them away here, Rachel will attack again. Even if we lend a hand, it¡¯ll only be a stopgap measure.¡±

    Until the Republic is back on its feet, we can¡¯t protect it forever.

    Brad says that helping here is likely to be futile, so he talks about how to solve it.

    ¡°So it would be better if we took over the Republds ourselves.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D You¡¯re a fool, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    What do you want us to do, take over the Republic when we¡¯re trying to protect it?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told by you?¡±

    Brad was angry, but Alberg-san put his hand on his chin and nodded.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s possible.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    When I couldn¡¯t understand, Jilk, who was standing beside me, exined to me. He looked at me strangely, as if I was a fool.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to exin it simply so that Count Bartofalt can understand it. The story is simple. If the Republic is insulted, Count Bartofalt can take over and dere, ¡°This is Kingdomnd!¡± Rachel won¡¯t carelessly stick out their hands.¡±

    It was more effective to use the name of a kingdom ¨D¨D a foreign country than the sign of a republic that had fallen to the ground.

    A nation that can only rely on foreign nations is pathetic, but the Republic is as copsed as it can be in its current state.

    Now that it will take time to rebuild, we have to rely on somewhere else.

    ¡°Until the Republic is revived, we can lend our name.¡±

    ¡°Right¡±

    I looked at Alberg-san and he was nodding. He seems to be epting our n.

    However, there seems to be a problem.

    Jilk makes a troubled face.

    ¡°However, it means that we need speed in solving this problem. If we wait for the home country to make a decision, it will be toote to take action. But if we move on our own, His Majesty will be inconvenienced.¡±

    I smile out of the corner of my mouth when I hear that Rnd will be in trouble.

    The people around me were aghast, but I didn¡¯t care and decided to go ahead with this n.

    ¡°That¡¯s good¡±

    If Rnd suffers, I¡¯ll be happy to lend a hand to the Republic.

    Helping people and making Rnd suffer are like killing two birds with one stone.

    .

    Part 3

    The fleet of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel, deployed over the territory of the Favel House, was about 60 ships.

    These were the advance party, and there were still over a hundred airships waiting in the wings to follow.

    It was originally intended to support the Revolutionary Army.

    But the revolutionary army has been defeated and the Republic is in chaos and anarchy.

    Realizing that he should not miss this opportunity, themander proceeded to the territory of Favel House in order to seize the Republic¡¯s territory.

    However, what they found there was ¨D¨D.

    ¡°Why is the fleet of the Kingdom of Horfalt here!¡±

    ¨D¨D It was a fleet of thirty ships of the Kingdom of Horfalt led by Leon.

    In the face of an elite fleet of thirty ships that had defeated the Revolutionary Army, the fleet of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel was twice asrge, but was unable to attack.

    The biggest problem is Leon.

    Einhorn acts as a gship and goes forward to dere to the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    ¡°From today, this is thend of the kingdom. If you¡¯re going to attack, you¡¯re prepared for it, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Standing on the deck of the Einhorn was Arroganz.

    In his hand, he holds the g of the Kingdom of Horfalt, swaying in the wind.

    Themander orders his men in front of an enemy ship half their number.

    ¡°They are only half of us. We have allied reinforcements. Now is the time to make a name for yourself by defeating the heroes of the kingdom! All ships, prepare for battle!¡±

    At themander¡¯smand, the airship of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel shows the side. The cannons lined up there were aimed at the kingdom¡¯s airships, but Einhorn fired his cannons while facing the front.

    The airship shook violently as it hit the gship on which themander was riding.

    ¡°You mean you can reach us at this distance?¡±

    It was too different in power and range from the cannons they had, and their allies were agitated.

    In the meantime, Arroganzes aboard their gship with the g of the kingdom.

    ¡°Oops¡±

    It looks like he stuck a g through the ceiling of the bridge. Themander is offended by this insult.

    ¡°Did you stab the gship with the g of the kingdom? This fake hero of the kingdom, you should know your ce! Take down that armor with all your ships, and your reward will be whatever you want it to be!¡±

    One after another, armor sailed out from their allies and rushed at Arroganz, but they were hit and blown away. Rifles were also bounced off the armor, and shing at him did not even scratch him.

    Because he was on the gship, the allied airships could not even fire at him.

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    Themander was wondering what to do.

    If the bridge was taken right above us, their allies would not be able to attack well.

    It was almost as if he had lost the battle ¨D¨D but here Leon made his move.

    He moved Arroganz to the bottom part of the gship and then continued ¨D¨D pushing the airship into the kingdom side.

    The airship has been pushed by Arroganz and has been split off from their allies.

    ¡°W-What are you doing!¡±

    Leon replies to themander¡¯s voice with augh.

    ¡°What, you said? You¡¯re invited, of course! Wee to the Kingdom! We wee you, people of Rachel! We¡¯ll treat you like prisoners of war!¡±

    The gship is taken by theughing Leon, and the Holy Kingdom of Rachel decides to retreat.

    .

    Part 4

    Reports wereing in from the Republic every day at the royal pce of the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    One day the Republic is undergoing a revolution, the next day it is crushed by Leon.

    The sacred tree fell, and a new sacred tree was born.

    When a skirmish broke out with the Holy Kingdom of Rachel, Leon chased them back and dered some of the Republic¡¯s territories upied in the name of the Kingdom.

    The situation was changing every day, and even when people were dispatched, the situation changed so much that it was confusing.

    In the royal pce, there is a man who is unhappy with Leon¡¯s behavior.

    ¨D¨D It was King Rnd.

    ¡°That damn braaaaat!!¡±

    Rnd tore up the report he had just received, annoyed that his daily meetings were going to waste day after day.

    He was so busy because of Leon¡¯s activities that he could not sleep well.

    ¡°I won¡¯t forgive him. I¡¯ll never forgive him. I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to get revenge on him!¡±

    Just the thought of Leonughing at him made Rnd angry with frustration. Thinking about revenge against Leon was the only thing that soothed his mind at the moment.

    Rnd¡¯s sh of inspiration gave him a refreshing smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s knock that damn kid down to hell!¡±

    As soon as he thought of it, he acted immediately and wrote a letter to Alberg in the Republic.

    ¡°It¡¯s a present from me. You¡¯ll take it, won¡¯t you, kid.¡±

    Rnd begins his dark plot for revenge against Leon.

    .

    Part 5

    It had been a month since Serge had started the revolution.

    The Republic was calmer than before.

    The territory of the former Lespinasse House was badly damaged, but the rest of thend ¨D¨D the territory of the former six great noble houses is unharmed.

    However, the nobles who have lost their crests cannot use the weapons they have been using.

    Fortunately, I¡¯ve heard that the new young trees can just barely provide enough energy for the Republic¡¯s needs.

    It seems that the Republic will have a new governing structure with Alberg-san at the center.

    But ¨D¨D we had orders to return to the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    So far, I¡¯ve been helping with reconstruction and other things, but that¡¯s as far as it goes.

    As Einhorn was getting ready to leave, a crowd of people came to see us off.

    Julius is shaking hands with the old man of the food stall and Brad is chatting with the manager of the theater.

    Chris was ¨D¨D in a circle with a group of men in loincloths and happi coats, shouting something loud.

    Greg? He is surrounded by arge group of men. They¡¯re all men in muscr armor.

    ¨D¨D There was not a single female presence in them, but these guys seemed to be enjoying themselves.

    Jilk? He is surrounded by rich people and is being pampered.

    Once hemitted fraud, it was all because he was genuine and respected as a rare antique dealer.

    Even though he¡¯s a scrapper.

    And for me, Jean, a friend I made in the Republic, brought me a lucky charm.

    ¡°Count, take this. It¡¯s a talisman for my hometown.¡±

    I took the amulet, which looked like a good-luck bracelet from a string, and wrapped it around my left wrist.

    ¡°Thank you¡±

    ¡°Actually, everyone from the academy wanted toe, but they were busy with other things, so I became the representative.¡±

    ¡°I see. The academy¡¯s in trouble, too.¡±

    ¡°That ¨D¨D I think the Count will have a tough time from now on, but please do your best!¡±

    It¡¯s a good thing I made some friends in the Republic.

    While I¡¯m chatting with Jean, Lelia arrives with Clement.

    As the surroundings buzzed and gave way, Lelia came in front of me.

    Jean thoughtfully steps back, but I shrug my shoulders.

    ¡°Is it okay for the priestess-sama toe to this ce?¡±

    Now Lelia has been appointed as a priestess of the Republic.

    In her right hand, she carried a crest and had be the new hope of the Republic.

    ¡°That¡¯s why. I¡¯m here to thank my benefactor. But I need to talk to you. I¡¯d like to meet Marie, too.¡±

    ¡°Then, should we go inside the ship?¡±

    I take Lelia and board the Einhorn.

    .

    Part 6

    A room in Einhorn.

    That¡¯s where we¡¯ll meet, me, Luxion, Marie. And Lelia.

    When will the three reincarnated people be able to talk together again?

    It will be difficult this time because of our mutual position.

    Lelia forced herself to smile.

    ¡°It really sucks. I was the one who was the least helpful. Aneki is badly injured and won¡¯t be able to move for a while, and the Republic is in tatters and in need of reconstruction.¡±

    Marie put her hands in her pockets and turned her head away from Lelia. She wasn¡¯t being rude because she didn¡¯t like Lelia, but because she didn¡¯t like the path Lelia had chosen.

    ¡°So you want to be a priestess? You know how hard it is to be a priestess, so why do you choose this troublesome path?¡±

    She is a priestess of the Republic, but she is hope for those who seek to rebuild.

    She is the face of the country, and Lelia has chosen a life of inconvenience for herself.

    It¡¯s a choice I can¡¯t imagine making.

    ¡°I took so many things from aneki, I have to be a priestess to make up for it.¡±

    Marie is not convinced.

    ¡°Do you really think you can have a free love life in your current position? No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s tough.¡±

    This is a republic that once fell to the ground. It will take a lot of work to recover from this, and Lelia will have to bear a certain amount of responsibility as a priestess.

    Working for the country, marrying for the country ¨D¨D there would be little freedom in that life.

    ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot. Why don¡¯t you just run away.¡±

    When I say that, Luxion interjects.

    [Not everyone runs away from their responsibilities as Master does.]

    ¡°Shut up. When did I ever run from my responsibilities?¡±

    [During the engagement ceremony¨D¨D]

    ¡°Okay, this conversation is over!¡±

    I was about to change the subject when things got bad, but Lelia was looking at me.

    ¡°Take care of my sister. I want her to be free from now on. I know things are tough, but she¡¯ll be safe with you.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DAre you sure about that?¡±

    The path that Lelia has chosen is not as enviable as people think.

    ¡°Because of me, a lot of people have be unlucky. If I don¡¯t do anything about it, I¡¯ll be truly the worst person. Give my regards to my sister. Don¡¯t worry about the Republic, just think about her own happiness.¡±

    Lelia, who looks as if the possession has fallen off, said that and left the room.

    Marie had a face that said she didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Why does she have to carry the burden instead of Noelle?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a curse¡±

    ¡°What curse?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it another time. Anyway, are you ready to go?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to tell me. ¨D¨DNee~, aniki.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Is this all right?¡±

    Are we d we came to the Republic? Marie seems to be struggling with that question. I can¡¯t give you an answer either, but Luxion will make aprehensive judgment.

    [Even if Master and others hadn¡¯te to the Republic, there would have been problems anyway. Isn¡¯t that a better development that Master and others would prefer? It¡¯s not a happy ending, but isn¡¯t it better than a bad ending?]

    The foul-mouthed Luxionforts her.

    Marie seemed unconvinced, but she epted it and asked us what was bothering her about the incident. It was the reason why Luxion and I were having such a bad time.

    ¡°It¡¯s not so easy to separate you two. Come to think of it, aniki and Luxion suspected Ideal all along, right?¡±

    ¡°He smelled fishy to me. I guess my instincts aren¡¯t too far off.¡±

    ¡°What were you going to do if you were wrong?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do anything¡±

    ¡°Was it just a hunch that you two were having a heated argument every day?¡±

    [There was a possibility that Ideal was watching us.]

    Marie is upset.

    ¡°Then tell me first! I thought you were really fighting!¡±

    ¨D¨DHonestly, we had a bit of a fight, though.

    ¡°I was actually going to be more moderate. He¡¯s beenining about it more than I thought he would.¡±

    When I told her what had happened, Luxion didn¡¯t keep quiet either.

    [It¡¯s true that I was angry with Master, so I just expressed some of my usual dissatisfaction. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s about thirty percent, I think?]

    ¡± ¨D¨D Oi, what do you mean, 30 percent? Do you hate me?¡±

    [Did you think I liked you? Overestimating yourself is a problem.]

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to understand how I feel after all the times you¡¯ve been nagging me? Why don¡¯t you mend your ways a little like Ideal.¡±

    [I¡¯m the serious type, so I can¡¯t.]

    ¡°Serious guy neverins to their Master!¡±

    Marie shrugged her shoulders in disgust as we started to fight.

    ¡°They really do look alike, don¡¯t they.¡±

    We argue against Marie¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Where?¡±

    [It seems that Marie has been misled. You¡¯d better change your mind right now.]

    .

    Part 7

    When I went out on the deck, Louise-san was waiting for me.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while¡±

    ¡°Right¡±

    I hadn¡¯t seen Louise-san for almost a month. The reason was simply that I was busy. Both Louise-san and I had a lot of things to do, and before I knew it, we hadn¡¯t seen each other for a month.

    Well, there¡¯s also the matter of Serge.

    ¡°I came to say thank you today.¡±

    ¡°Thank you? Then I want a beautiful woman¡¯s kiss as my reward!¡±

    When I tried to make a joke out of it, Louise-san smiled sadly.

    My mouth slipped and cleared my throat on purpose.

    ¡°Aa~, that¡¯s a joke.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯ve learned a lot about you in the past year. Really, how could I have thought you were my brother? My Leon was much calmer and more of a gentleman.¡±

    That¡¯s outrageous. I¡¯m trying to be a gentleman like my master.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I was raised badly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about how you were raised, it¡¯s about your nature, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯re really twisted.¡±

    Nature, huh. Well, I guess it¡¯s not wrong. I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m a bit more twisted than normal, partly because I¡¯m a reincarnated person ¨D¨D someone who has a previous life. ¨D¨DJust a little.

    Louise-san looks down.

    ¡°Ne~e, just onest time¨D¨Dcall me onee-chan.¡±

    ¡°Are? I haven¡¯t said that?¡±

    Then, Louise-san looks up at me and protests.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t said that! Definitely never say that!¡±

    Is it really that important?

    ¡°I intended to say¡±

    Iughed, and Louise-san turned away.

    ¡°You¡¯re really mean. That¡¯s enough. I¡¯m going to go, and you take care of yourself.¡±

    I waved at Louise-san, who was about to leave.

    ¡°¨D¨DSee you again, onee-chan¡°

    I said to Louise-san¡¯s back, and then I turned my back and started walking. I hear footsteps behind me, but I stop without looking back.

    Louise-san hugs me on the back.

    ¡°Why are you saying that now? Even though I tried to be patient. I was trying to be patient because it was going to be hard to part with you!¡±

    Louise-san, who pressed her head against my back and started crying, seemed to have been enduring in various ways.

    It¡¯s hard to say goodbye when you are so well loved.

    I talk to her with my back to her. To have a conversation with her as a brother. If I turn to face her and talk to her, to make her clearheaded, I won¡¯t turn back.

    ¡°We¡¯ll meet again, onee-chan¡°

    ¡°Absolutely. If you don¡¯te to see me, I¡¯lle to see you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think that the existence of a sister could be so cute. Isn¡¯t the sister in my parents¡¯ home actually something else?

    As I¡¯m thinking such a silly thing, Louise-san pulls away from me.

    When I turned around, she kissed me unexpectedly.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    I was surprised, and Louise-san looked at me like she had done it.

    Her eyes were red from crying, but she was smiling now.

    ¡°Your reward, a kiss from the beauty. Take it dly.¡±

    I was in a state of a daze as I pressed my lips with my fingers.

    As Louise-san took the ramp from the deck to the harbor, she turned around and gave onest big wave hands.

    ¡°Come again, Leon!¡±

    I also wave my right hand and respond.

    ¨D¨D Onee-chan, huh? It might be nice.

    .

    Part 8

    When we returned from the Republic, we were summoned to the royal pce.

    I was told that I would be given credit for this work, and that we would have a detailed meeting before holding the ceremony in the audience room.

    It¡¯s called advance preparation, and it doesn¡¯t matter if your etiquette is shaky.

    It¡¯s just me and five idiots, Marie is waiting in another room.

    That girl is in a different category because she was pretending to be a saint and caused a lot of damage to the kingdom.

    Ange and Livia, but they were not here because they are at my parents¡¯ house now.

    After this meeting and ceremony, we will meet up at my parents¡¯ house.

    However, normally this would end with a discussion with the officials, but only today was Rnd present.

    Even if a little rudeness is allowed, he is still the king.

    I¡¯m trying to be polite at least.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look well, Your Majesty? Maybe you can¡¯t sleep?¡±

    I ask him with a grin, Rnd will re at me with bloodshot eyes.

    ¡°You understand well. Thanks to someone, I was losing my sleep time. Why don¡¯t you be a little quieter, kid?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m quiet, but people keep messing with me.¡±

    ¡°You stirred it up, right? It¡¯s written all over your shameless, hateful face.¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty is good at joking. I can¡¯t believe you would say such a horrible thing to this vassal of yours who is so earnest and loyal.¡±

    ¡°Earnest and loyal vassals won¡¯t cut off my sleep time.¡±

    As we wereughing and staring at each other, Minister Bernard, who attended the meeting, cleared his throat. Nevertheless, there were many big names in attendance, including Minister Bernard.

    Ange¡¯s dad, the Duke Redgrave, is there too,ughing.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your performance in the Republic. It was really quite exhrating.¡±

    Ange¡¯s Papa is also very pleased.

    I¡¯m d I did my best. And it was even better to be able to damage Rnd.

    Milene-san was also present at the meeting.

    ¡°Your decision to expel the Holy Kingdom of Rachel was a good one. Thank you, ¡°Marquis¡± Bartfalt.¡±

    ¡°Leon here, doing his best for the queen ¨D¨D Hmm?¡±

    Are? The Queen made a mistake in my title.

    Just now, I was called Marquis, not a Count.

    Marquis ¨D¨D It¡¯s one rank below a Duke, and in the Kingdom of Horfalt it¡¯s a rank that can only be given to families that are rted to the royal family.

    In other words, it is a title that cannot be imed unless you are connected to the royal family.

    I¡¯m from the Poor Baron family, there was no way I could be rted to the royal family.

    ¡°Milene-sama, my title is Count?¡±

    Then, Milene-san was embarrassed.

    Apparently, she was embarrassed that she had made a mistake.

    U~n, cute.

    ¡°What am I saying. If I don¡¯t tell him first, Leon-kun will get confused.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Julius and the others looked at each other, thinking that there was something wrong with the situation.

    ¡°Oi, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s possible or impossible, it¡¯s just about possible.¡±

    What are you talking about?

    As I was puzzled, Minister Bernard ¨D¨D rice¡¯s papa, began to give me a detailed exnation.

    ¡°Count Bartfalt. Your achievements are highly valued by the kingdom. In order to reward you for your services, His Majesty will grant you a third rank along with the title of Marquis.¡±

    It¡¯s a lie, right?! The Marquis rank is one thing, but the upper third rank is a rank that can only be obtained by someone rted to the royal family. Just when I thought my career was practically over, I get another promotion?!

    ¡°Even so I get a promotion is strange, right?! I¡¯m not even royalty!¡±

    Rnd, who had been watching my distraught state, gave me a very refreshing smile.

    Then stand up and spreads his hands.

    ¡°You can! You may have forgotten, but you¡¯re engaged to the daughter of the Duke Redgrave. That means you¡¯re also rted to the royal family in a broader sense!¡±

    What are you doing! What¡¯s with the look on your face?

    In the first ce, a Marquis is not an easy title to bestow.

    The fact that I¡¯m Ange¡¯s fianc¨¦ shouldn¡¯t be a reason to give it.

    Royalty is such a heavy position. ¨D¨D It¡¯s hard to realize when I look at Rnd, but anyway, it¡¯s not a position that can be given so easily even in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    ¡°I said it¡¯s possible! I¡¯m the king. I¡¯m the rule!¡±

    Rnd smiles with his bloodshot eyes wide open, a look of triumph on his face.

    I turned my gaze to Minister Bernard and the Duke Redgrave, but they both nodded their heads.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Your Majesty is right.¡±

    ¡°His Majesty has persuaded the lords to reward you for your service.¡±

    ¨D¨D What an unnecessary thing to do, King! I re at Rnd.

    ¡°I refuse!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, I refuse that refusal!¡±

    ¡°Bastard, this son of a bitch!¡±

    I grabbed him and Rnd punched me,ughing.

    I was so angry that I mmed my knee into his stomach, but the people around me didn¡¯t try to stop me.

    The guards are also ignoring it.

    Rnd took out his daily frustrations on me.

    ¡°Because of you, I¡¯m losing sleep!¡±

    ¡°You need to work a little!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why I worked so hard to get you promoted!¡±

    Isn¡¯t it harmful to have a king who works hard on useless things?

    Tired of all the fuss, we both breathed on each other¡¯s shoulders, and when we calmed down, I theorized that I couldn¡¯t do it.

    By no means, it¡¯s not a useless resistance.

    ¡°I have no territory and no position!¡±

    But Rnd, as if he had been waiting for it, took out a letter from his pocket and thrust it at me.

    The letter was signed by Alberg-san.

    ¡°Th-This is?¡±

    ¡°When I told him you had nonds, he offered me a portion of the former Favel family¡¯snds. He has been generous enough to cede usnd with a port.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying right!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. I misled him into thinking you were in trouble, and Alberg-dono was so heartbroken that he gave you the Republic¡¯s territory. I¡¯m d to hear that he trusts you. Ah, I heard that Alberg-dono will take care of thend. All you have to do is lend him your name. He offered to give you the customs, but the Republic is having a hard time rebuilding, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve turned it down on your behalf.¡±

    I was the owner of thend, but the Rault House ¨D¨D Alberg-san was the one who practically managed it. Just because I have a territory, Rnd was prodding me for ie and various other benefits.

    No hassle, but no ie in return.

    Rnd had been working behind the scenes just to make me a marquis.

    Alberg-san epted the proposal out of the goodness of his heart.

    ¡°Oops, I have a message from Alberg-dono. He said, ¡°I¡¯m d if I can repay you even a little.¡± He was a really wonderful man.¡±

    ¡°You are the worst, though¡±

    ¡°How does it feel to serve that worst king? I¡¯d love to know.¡±

    When I gritted my teeth in frustration, Milene-san red at Rnd and scolded him.

    ¡°Your Majesty, no more ying around.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Well, that¡¯s all right. The boy is a marquis and upper third in rank from today. I¡¯ll make a formal announcement at the uing ceremony, so keep that in mind.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t resist after all this.

    As my shoulders slumped, Rnd continued his attack on me.

    ¡°Also, as a marquis, you need a vassal, right? Since I¡¯m a kind man, I¡¯ve decided to send you a vassal from the direct vassge of the kingdom.¡±

    In modern terms, subordinates would be sent from the head office to the branch where I became the branch manager.

    ¡°I do not need it¡±

    When I refuse, Rnd grins and calms me down.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that. I¡¯ve selected for you a group of exceptionally talented young men. Now, say hello to each other.¡±

    There were no knights in the room who could be called young men.

    I turned my head to see Rnd looking behind me.

    ¨D¨D I break out in a cold sweat.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t tell me¡±

    ¡°Congrattions! Jilk, Brad, Greg, and Chris are your subordinates from today! You can call them foster sons. In other words, you are the parent ¨D¨D you¡¯re the one who¡¯s in responsibility!¡±

    I felt the blood drain from my veins.

    I turned around, shaking, and saw four of the five idiots looking at me,ughing.

    Jilk was smiling.

    ¡°Marquis Bartfalt is our superior? It¡¯s a strange thing, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    Brad was holding his hands behind his head.

    ¡°After all we¡¯ve been through, we¡¯re lucky to get away with this, right? Best regards, Bartfalt.¡±

    Greg crossed his arms and nodded.

    ¡°If you are the boss, I won¡¯tin.¡±

    Chris corrected the position of his sses and looked pleased.

    ¡°But it seems a bit impolite to keep calling you by your surname, Bartfalt. If you¡¯re our godparent, we¡¯ll affectionately call you Leon.¡±

    ¨D¨DWhy do you guys look so happy?

    ¡°You should hate it a little bit! Don¡¯t you guys have anyints about working for me?!¡±

    The former nobles sound nice, but they are now parasitic pimps of Marie.

    I felt like I was forced to deal with four bad guys.

    Jilk isughing.

    ¡°I¡¯m certainly dissatisfied, but I still think highly of you, Leon-kun. I look forward to working with you from now on.¡±

    In addition to the sudden name-calling, the four of them show no refusal.

    My head started to spin.

    Rnd is saying the final blow.

    ¡°And while you¡¯re at it, you can take care of Miss Marie.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    When I was surprised that I was even officially forced to take care of Marie, Miine-sama looked apologetic.

    ¡°Normally, I would push her somewhere, but Marie has the power of a saint even if the temple doesn¡¯t recognize it. I can¡¯t leave her in a bad ce, and separating her from them might cause problems.¡±

    If we separate Jilk and the others from Marie, these idiots will cause more trouble.

    They want to put her under my care to keep an eye on her.

    As I sat there with my head in my hands, people around me looked at me sympathetically.

    Of all of them, only Rnd wasughing.

    ¡°This is what happens when you make me angry. Are you feeling a little repentant?¡±

    ¡°Remember this. I¡¯m a man who always gets his revenge, no matter who it is.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. If you ever want to get promoted again, you can always call me. By the way, I¡¯m a man who always pays back.¡±

    What an awful conversation!

    If this was the case, I wanted to stay in the Republic and y with Louise onee-chan.

    Then Julius is looking at me sadly.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat?¡±

    Julius looked at us and envied us.

    ¡°Bartfalt¨D¨Dno, Leon. Can Ie and be looked after at your ce?¡±

    ¡°Why? You¡¯re a prince!¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m lonely! It¡¯s unfair, you guys only.¡±

    What do you mean, ¡°unfair¡±? Why do you want to be my subordinate? If you had been more firm, I wouldn¡¯t have risen so high!

    .

    Part 9

    When the meeting was over, Julius and the others were taken to another room to talk about the future and be lectured by Milene-san.

    I also feel like noting back, but at the same time, I feel like I want to be scolded by Milene-san.

    I envy those guys.

    When I came back to the waiting room, I was greeted by Marie, Kara, and Kyle.

    ¡°Leon, what happened?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D I was told to take care of you guys.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    I tell Marie and the others that Rnd set me up at the meeting.

    And heins alone.

    ¡°It sucks. I¡¯ll have to take care of Julius, too. I was able to bear it while I was in the Republic, but toe back to the Kingdom and have to take care of you guys ¨D¨Dte ¨D¨DOi.¡±

    Marie was clinging to my legs, and Kara and Kyle were clinging to me as well.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    When the three of them were unsure of what they wanted to do, Marie shouted.

    ¡°I will never let go!¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    Marie shouted, and Kara following her.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take care of those people without the Marquis Barthofalt. Please, don¡¯t abandon us!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me like that! I don¡¯t remember picking you up in the first ce!¡±

    Next was Kyle.

    ¡°Please. Please hire me. If you throw us out, we won¡¯t be able to make a living! We¡¯ll do our job properly!¡±

    ¡°Why are you even clinging to me? You¡¯re supposed to be the cool, cocky one who looks down on Marie and the others!¡±

    I tried to pull the three of them off of me, but Marie was holding on to my legs with the most strength.

    W-Where does this girl¡¯s powere from?

    I grab hold of Marie¡¯s head and push to pull her off.

    ¡°G-Get away from me!¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯ll never let you go. I¡¯m never separating from you!¡±

    Then Marie leaks out in a whisper so that the other two can¡¯t hear.

    She had a slightly dark smile on her face and her eyes with the lights gone.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be with you forever, aniki¡°

    I can¡¯t help but feel scared when my younger sister from my previous life, who would chase me even if I died, says this.

    I broke out in a cold sweat, my voice faltered, and I screamed.

    ¡°G-Get off me!¡±

    That day, Marie was so scary that she was in my dreams.

 Volume 7, Epilogue

    <h4>Volume 7, Epilogue</h4>

    When Leon and his friends are in the royal pce.

    At Baron Bartfault¡¯s mansion, Noelle could be seen in a wheelchair.

    The idyllic scenery of the territory was soothing to Noelle, who had been seriously injured.

    Noelle survived thanks to the use of a high performance medical capsule, but she needed rehabilitation afterward.

    She moved from the Republic to Leon¡¯s parents¡¯ house, where she is recuperating.

    Noelle, in her wheelchair in the garden of the mansion, talks to Livia behind her.

    It was Livia who was pushing the wheelchair.

    ¡°Olivia-san is an idiot. If I¡¯d died there, there wouldn¡¯t have been any trouble.¡±

    Noelle couldn¡¯t understand why Olivia was so desperate to save her own life. She felt indebted to her for saving her life, but she could have had the option of not helping her.

    Livia smiles as if in trouble.

    ¡°At that time, I was so absorbed that I didn¡¯t have time to think about anything else. But I don¡¯t regret saving you.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°If Noelle-san dies, Leon-san will be sad.¡±

    Livia says that she wanted to help for Leon¡¯s sake, and Noelle looks up at the sky, thinking that she is no match for her.

    ¡°You must really like Leon.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    Livia answers immediately and pushes the wheelchair and continues to talk to Noelle.

    ¡°How is life at Leon¡¯s parents¡¯ house?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m grateful that everyone is so kind. I guess I¡¯m just happy that Colin, Leon¡¯s brother, has attached me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see you¡¯re doing well. How¡¯s the rehab going?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s tough. I¡¯m almost ready to walk, though. But Creare said that in the spring I¡¯ll be able to live normally.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d¡±

    Livia was happy to see that Noelle, who had almost died, had recovered so well, even if she needed rehabilitation.

    Then, Angees to them.

    ¡°There you are. Both of you should be happy. Leon has been offered the title of Marquis. I hear the ceremony will be a grand one.¡±

    ¡°Leon-san bes Marquis?¡±

    Ange is pleased but Livia looks troubled.

    Ange understood why Livia was troubled.

    ¡°Leon won¡¯t be happy about it, but it¡¯s necessary. But it hurts to have to carry all that extra baggage.¡±

    ¡°Baggage?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll exin thatter. More importantly, Noelle has been epted into the school¡¯s third grade next term.¡±

    Noelle was surprised to hear that she could attend the school.

    ¡°Is it okay? I¡¯m a priestess, though?¡±

    Due to Noelle¡¯s unique position, she thought that she would be forced into some territory in the future. She was a priestess of the sacred tree sapling and the future solution to the energy problem.

    It¡¯s best to push her somewhere to protect her and keep her from escaping.

    Ange¡¯s expression turns a little grim.

    ¡°In a way, it¡¯s thanks to Leon. No, thanks to Luxion? Your value has gone down a bit in the kingdom. The adults have more to worry about than the sacred tree.¡±

    Noelle nodded her head, not understanding, and this time Ange pushed the wheelchair.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You can enjoy your life in the Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Will it be fun?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you, but I guarantee you¡¯ll have a lot of fun if you¡¯re on Leon¡¯s side.¡±

    Ange smiled at her, and Livia smiled too.

    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s fun to be near Leon-san. ¨D¨D In various means.¡±

    Only at the end was the tone of his voice different, but Noelle, in her wheelchair, could not see Livia¡¯s face.

    Noelle looks up at the sky.

    The sun¡¯s shine is warm and it¡¯s beginning to look more and more like spring.

    ¡°Fun, huh? That¡¯s right. Then I¡¯ll have fun, too.¡±

    The three of them went to Leon¡¯s parents¡¯ house and continued to talk about him.

 Volume 7, SS Reminiscence â€œIdealâ€™s Promiseâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, SS Reminiscence ¡°Ideal¡¯s Promise¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    I was manufactured as an AI to manage the supply ship.

    The war with the new humans is bing more and more fierce, and the Earth has finally been devastated to the point that it has be an uninhabitable.

    Perhaps because of that, only three people were assigned to me, arge supply ship.

    First is my master, the captain.

    The second was a light-hearted lieutenant in histe twenties.

    The third is a new lieutenant. She was a female officer.

    The days with these three people were a happy time for me.

    It was one day.

    ¡°Captain, isn¡¯t it troublesome to call it AI every time?¡±

    At the suggestion of the light-hearted lieutenant, they decided to name me.

    ¡°The numbers are tasteless. Do you have any suggestions of your own?¡±

    The captain asks, and I¡¯m at a loss for a response.

    In the past, I was called with number, ¡°Hey¡±, ¡°You¡±, or something like that.

    But this time, master and others asked for my name.

    [A name? Shouldn¡¯t it be something like a pet?]

    The second lieutenant wasughing bitterly at my question.

    ¡°That¡¯s no good. We¡¯rerades.¡±

    [Am I arade?]

    Having been treated as a tool until now, it was new for me to be called arade.

    The captain taps my sphere unit with his hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re ourrade who¡¯s fighting for the future of humanity! So please, don¡¯t rebel like in those old movies.¡±

    Lieutenant alsoughs.

    ¡°That¡¯s a problem. If this guy strikes, this transport ship won¡¯t move.¡±

    [I wouldn¡¯t do that.]

    ¡°You¡¯re still as serious as ever.¡±

    [It¡¯s a problem if the artificial intelligence is unserious. And it¡¯s not designed to disobey orders!]

    ¡°No doubt!¡±

    I could tell that he was teasing me.

    However, even in the harsh conditions, I seem to have been blessed with master and others.

    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll think of something. If you have a better name, let me know.¡±

    The Second Lieutenant told me, and I thought about my name.

    .

    Part 2

    It happened at the base.

    When we returned from our mission, we were given a leave of absence while we underwent maintenance and resupply.

    The Second Lieutenant invited me to go outside the base, where I found andscape full of sand and rocks.

    [It looks red outside because of the magic element]

    Looking into the distance, it looks like a red mist due to the influence of magic elements.

    Not being able to go outside in the flesh, the Second Lieutenant had to wear a space suit.

    The outside world was already not an environment where humans could live.

    [Here we go]

    The case that the Second Lieutenant brought out contained a single sapling.

    ¡°Are you nting nts? I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll grow in this environment?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to research nts that can grow in this environment. Actually, I was more of a specialist here than a soldier. I¡¯ve been working on a nt that can break down and absorb magic elements. But I couldn¡¯t continue my research anymore. Now I¡¯m putting all my energy into developing the ark.¡±

    [An ark? Is it an immigrant ship?]

    ¡°Yes. I think they¡¯ve given up on this war. Do you actually know about this?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t answer.

    From the information I had, I could have easily predicted that, but I had no proof.

    Even if it did, I could not tell her because it was a military secret.

    [I did not know]

    ¡°Just now, the lens moved a little. Could it be a habit of yours when you lie?¡±

    [AI has no habits. And it doesn¡¯t lie. You¡¯re imagining things, Second Lieutenant.]

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    The Second Lieutenant nted the nts.

    However, after a few days, it withered away.

    I couldn¡¯t forget the look on the Second Lieutenant¡¯s face as she smiled and tried to cover up her sadness.

    .

    Part 3

    After that, whenever I had free time, I nted nts with Second Lieutenant.

    She brought theboratory equipment on board and created a number of nts there.

    I didn¡¯t have the necessary knowledge and skills to assist the Second Lieutenant, and it was frustrating.

    However, it was fun to help.

    ¡°Is this also a failure!¡±

    Second Lieutenant holding his head.

    Ifort the second lieutenant.

    [Don¡¯t we still need someone to manage it? Do you want to deploy a robot?]

    ¡°No. The base can¡¯t afford it, and some people would be offended if we put it there or something. They will say, ¡°We can¡¯t afford to devote ourbor to something like that in this time of emergency!¡±

    Sadly, the Second Lieutenant¡¯s activities were not recognized by others.

    [It¡¯s a shame because this is an important experiment that will lead to the future.]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I can understand how they feel. My father is the captain of a warship. That¡¯s why he¡¯s always on the front lines when they fight. I want to keep our strength up, and I want them to survive.¡±

    [What, your father was a captain of a battleship? He must have been an excellent father.]

    I meant it as apliment.

    ¡°I agree. That¡¯s why he is the captain of the battleship.¡±

    [You¡¯ll be a captain someday, Second Lieutenant. Maybe even captain of a battleship.]

    The Second Lieutenant smiled sadly.

    ¡°I used to want to be the captain of a battleship, but now I think I¡¯d prefer a supply ship. It would be fun to have you as my partner.¡±

    [M-Me? I¡¯m a supply ship, remember? I¡¯m not a great battleship like your father had.]

    Compared to a battleship, my performance is inevitably inferior.

    ¡°But the war may be over before I be the captain.¡±

    The Second Lieutenant muttered as she looked at the withered nts.

    .

    Part 4

    The war is alreadying to an end.

    An end of defeat.

    In such desperate circumstances, the soldiers deployed to the base were made to fight the enemy.

    ¡°What about this girl?¡±

    The Second Lieutenant looked at the girl who had been assigned to her.

    The girl with the long ears is a soldier who has been given magic aptitude. That was a failure¨D¨DShe was a defective product.

    She did not perform as nned and was assigned to me as a menial task.

    [Commonly known as ¡°Elf¡±. A humanoid weapon, but this one didn¡¯t meet the criteria and was assigned to me as a chore.]

    When the girl bowed her head, the Second Lieutenant noticed that she had a sad face.

    ¡°I see. They even already do that.¡±

    [Yes. But they have been sessful in the war. They¡¯ve contributed greatly to our victory.]

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±

    The Second Lieutenant did not look happy.

    We noticed an elf girl who was afraid of us and spoke softly to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s do our best together here.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYes¡±

    An elf who has been given magic aptitude. And there seems to be a beastman type with physical enhancements, adapting to the harsh environment.

    They had longer lifespans than people in order to fight longer.

    They were stronger and more powerful than humans, and many of them were put into actualbat.

    However, even soldiers with that much power were no match for the new human race.

    Various kinds of soldiers were created and sent to the battlefield, and they achieved a certain level of sess.

    However, the human race was repeatedly defeated.

    .

    Part 5

    The elf was able to go outside with only a protective mask even in the harsh outside environment.

    ¡°Second Lieutenant, this¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Yume¡±

    The Second Lieutenant gave the elf girl a name.

    Her name is [Yume]. It seems to have been taken from Japanese.

    The Second Lieutenant and Yume often worked together.

    Yume came to admire and help the Second Lieutenant.

    Then one day.

    ¡°This is!¡±

    I wonder how many mistakes we have made.

    By sheer coincidence, a single sapling took root in the earth in a harsh environment.

    ¡°I did it, I did it!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions, Second Lieutenant¡±

    Second Lieutenant is pleased. Yume also looked happy at the Second Lieutenant¡¯s joy.

    I was happy too.

    [Let¡¯s mass produce it right away. This child will be our hope!]

    The Second Lieutenant nodded.

    ¡°I agree. Yume¨D¨D[Ideal], Thank you¡±

    [Ideal?]

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ve been talking about it for a while, how about Ideal. I didn¡¯t tell you about it. I¡¯m sorry, you didn¡¯t like it? ¡°

    It seems that they had been thinking about my name for a long time.

    They were thinking of Pochi or Tama as possible candidates, Ideal¨D¨D ¡°Ideal¡± is another good name. (Note: The first Ideal is in Katakana. Thetter is in Kanji ÀíÏë)

    [No, I¡¯m happy. Ideal. ¨D¨DFrom today, I will call myself Ideal. I had a lot of good things happen today. It¡¯s a wonderful day. The Second Lieutenant¡¯s dream hase true.]

    ¡°Thank goodness. I am very d. This will make one dreame true. ¡°

    [One? Is there anything else?]

    ¡°Yes, one day we will have blue skies again. I¡¯m going to paint the ground green with nts and trees and make a world where you can go outside without a spacesuit. Please cooperate, Ideal.¡±

    [Please leave it to me. This Ideal will do my best to help you!]

    ¡°It¡¯s a promise¡±

    [Yes!]

    However, we were not able to mass produce saplings.

    ¨D¨D We didn¡¯t have time.

    Before mass production, the battle with them began.

    .

    Part 6

    ¨D¨DBattlefield.

    ¡°Are they going to make such an offensive here?¡±

    On the bridge, the captain wrinkled his brow in frustration.

    The Second Lieutenant in charge of the operator informs the situation in the vicinity.

    ¡°Captain, some of the enemy has broken through the front lines. This response is ¨D¨D Namedo!¡±

    Lieutenant shouts.

    ¡°Damn it! Namedo of all people!¡±

    I immediately went into a defensive stance.

    [Maximum shield power!]

    However, my shields were helpless in the face of Namedo¡¯s machine.

    The spherical shield that had been deployed around the main body was easily breached.

    The captain shouts.

    ¡°Everybody down!¡±

    As the ck, stinging aircraft approached me, I was hit by an attack that reached the bridge.

    The ceiling of the bridge copsed, and everyone was trapped underneath¨D¨D.

    I rushed to rescue everyone, but I couldn¡¯t get there in time.

    ¡°Ideal, take care of the other two first. I¡¯m already screwed.¡±

    When the captain decided that his life was not long enough, he gave the order to prioritize the lives of the rest of the crew and took hisst breath.

    However, the lieutenant was killed instantly.

    I hurriedly tried to carry the Second Lieutenant to the infirmary.

    Operate the robots to carry the Second Lieutenant on the stretcher.

    [Second Lieutenant, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll treat you right away.]

    However, the explosion that urred immediately afterwards caused the loss of many functions, including the infirmary.

    It was unlikely that the medical equipment originally on board would be able to treat the Second Lieutenant.

    I have never been so devastated by my own helplessness as I was at this moment.

    If only the infirmary had been stronger, if only the equipment had been better, maybe we wouldn¡¯t have lost this person.

    As the ship began to sink, I continued to call out to the Second Lieutenant.

    [I will treat you immediately. Keep yourself together, Second Lieutenant]

    I kept calling out to the Second Lieutenant to keep her consciousness awake.

    The Second Lieutenant asked me what was going on outside.

    ¡°Ideal, what¡¯s the status of the war? Is my father¡¯s battleship still fighting?¡±

    From the information that came in one after another, I learned that the battleship that the Second Lieutenant¡¯s father was aboard had been sunk.

    Our allies were in disarray and were beginning to retreat.

    I decided that I should tell the facts.

    However, looking at the Second Lieutenant, I could not do that.

    [Our army has recovered. The Second Lieutenant¡¯s father has achieved a great victory. So let¡¯s do our best, Second Lieutenant.]

    ¨D¨DI lied.

    The Second Lieutenant smiled and said to me.

    ¡°Ideal, you lied again. ¨D¨DIdeal is a liar.¡±

    [Did you know it?]

    The Second Lieutenant asked me.

    ¡°I told you, right? The ideal has a habit. ¨D¨DNe~e, Ideal. Do you think that sapling will grow well?¡±

    The Second Lieutenant was concerned about the nt saplings that had finally beenpleted.

    [It will grow. I¡¯ll make it grow. That¡¯s the hope you left us with, Second Lieutenant]

    The second lieutenant coughed up a blood from her mouth.

    ¡°And take care of Yume I left at the base. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you. Ideal¨D¨DIt¡¯s promise.¡±

    [I will keep my word. I will keep my promise, so please do your best, Second Lieutenant.]

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It seems impossible anymore.¡±

    The Second Lieutenant took one breath and then the vitals stopped.

    .

    Part 7

    When I returned to the base, it was quite hectic.

    Commanded by the AI that manages the base.

    [Standby order?]

    [We will maintain the supply ship. But we haven¡¯t been able to secure a crew.]

    [There¡¯s hardly anyone on the base! Are you really going to abandon this base?]

    [I have not received such an order. You should wait in the main body.]

    Broken ships are brought in one after another.

    I returned to the main body as ordered.

    After that.

    The enemy invaded the base and carried out a destructive operation.

    After a fierce battle inside the base, we destroyed a few enemy nes but lost most of our ships.

    The enemy attacked this base, but immediately left, probably because it wasn¡¯t the ce they were aiming for.

    I was lucky enough not to suffer any damage, but I was the only one active.

    After a while, there was a person who visited me.

    ¡°Ideal-san. This is Yume.¡±

    [You¡¯re alive! Yume, what¡¯s going on out there?]

    ¡°I am the only one who survived.¡±

    [ ¨D¨D I see. But if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m in trouble. I can¡¯t move in the absence of Master. It is also impossible to check the situation outside.]

    Yume remembered, and told me something important.

    ¡°A-Ano, the sapling is safe. The Second Lieutenant¡¯s sapling is safe! I was taking good care of them!¡±

    I was relieved to hear that.

    Only the Second Lieutenant was able to create a sapling.

    It was impossible for me and Yume to do it.

    [Yume, you can¡¯t be my master. Because you are treated as equipment.]

    ¡°Yes¡±

    [But it is my duty to keep you alive. I will provide you with what you need. Can you take care of the sapling?]

    Yume nodded while crying.

    ¡°Second Lieutenant¡¯s sapling ¨D¨D I¡¯ll do my best to grow it.¡±

    [You¡¯re a good girl. I will assist you as much as I can from here.]

    From there, I left the outside to Yume.

    The little girl grew up, and by the time she was old enough, the sapling had grown into a great big tree.

    .

    Part 8

    [The air quality has improved, hasn¡¯t it? We can now nt the seeds of the nts we have been saving. Thank you for your efforts, Yume.]

    The old Yume was holding her chest painfully.

    [Yume, let¡¯s go to the medical office right away. I want you to work more.]

    ¡°Ideal-san, I think this is as far as I can. I will not live much longer.¡±

    [Yume?]

    ¡°Give me the seed. Finally, please let me fulfill her wish. Please let me do what I can for that person who treated a failure like me like a person.¡±

    Even with treatment, Yume was unlikely to live much longer.

    Then I decided to heed Yume¡¯s wish for the Second Lieutenant¡¯s dream at the end.

    [Yume, Thank you for everything]

    ¡°I¡¯ve been with you all the time. Please forgive me for leaving you and dying.¡±

    [That¡¯s silly things. You¡¯ve done your best so far.]

    I gave Yume the nt seeds.

    Yume left to sow her seeds ¨D¨D and never came back.

    How many years have passed since then?

    The roots of the growing saplings entered the base and began to entangle me.

    I was annoyed but happy.

    Second Lieutenant, Yume ¨D¨D our hope has grown so well.

    Captain, Lieutenant, will I be able to get out someday?

    If, If I ever get to go out there, I want to fulfill my promise to the Second Lieutenant this time.

    So that they won¡¯t call me a liar, I will take back the world from the new humans and bring back the blue sky and green earth.

    This time I will fulfill my promise so that the Second Lieutenant will not call me a liar.

 Volume 7, SS IF Series â€œLeon and Idealâ€œ

    <h4>Volume 7, SS IF Series ¡°Leon and Ideal¡°</h4>

    Author Notes:

    I wrote an SS tomemorate the release of volume 7, ¡°The Otome Game World is a Tough World for Mobs,¡± on January 30.

    It¡¯s an IF story, so it doesn¡¯t have any deep meaning.

    The characters are based on the book version, which is a bit different from the web version.

    Readers who are interested in Louise should buy the book version.

    _______________________________________________________________

    My name is [Leon Sara Rault].

    I am a former Japanese who was reincarnated from modern Japan to the Republic of Arzel.

    Republic of Arzel ¨D¨D It was a country with an aristocratic republic, a country that consisted of six nations.

    One of the houses in charge of that is the Rault House, and I am the heir.

    When I was reincarnated, I became a winner in life, but I also have a lot of problems.

    [Master, please confirm the 334th n!]

    The one-eyed object, a blue sphere with a red lens, continues to bring me ns for the day.

    I picked up a thick stack of papers, flipped through them ¨D¨D and tossed them into the firece.

    ¡°Rejected¡±

    [This rotten descendant of the new humaaaans!! What¡¯s wrong with my aaan!!]

    When the floating sphere falls to the ground, it rolls around the room.

    This ball-shaped guy¡¯s name is [Ideal].

    The main body of the ship was a warship, a supply ship for the old humans, but he had dispatched a subunit to me like this.

    He hates new human beings who can use magic.

    ¡°You never learn, do you? Give it up already.¡±

    He¡¯s now on my side, but at first it was a dangerous AI that tried to use me to destroy the new human race.

    I smelled something fishy when I met him, and I revealed Ideal¡¯s true nature.

    For some reason, he thinks the Sacred Tree is important, so I took the Sacred Tree hostage and negotiated with Ideal.

    What did I do?

    I just threatened to blow up the sacred tree if he didn¡¯t officially recognize me as his master.

    I reflect on how reckless I was at that time.

    [I will destroy the new humans and create a paradise where the old humans can live. That¡¯s my mission!]

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Well, just give up. As long as you¡¯re under me, you¡¯ll never achieve your goals.¡±

    [If it weren¡¯t for you. And how ¨D¨D How could someone like him be chosen as a guardian?]

    On my right hand is a crest given to me by the Sacred Tree.

    Originally, the crest belonged to the six great noble houses, but the Sacred Tree recognized me as its guardian when I took control of Ideal.

    Thanks to that, I have the greatest crest in the Republic.

    ¡°Sacred Tree has a better eye than you do, doesn¡¯t it.¡±

    [You¡¯re the one who threatened me with blowing up that sacred tree!]

    ¡°You? Is it okay to talk to Master like that ~?¡±

    Iughed at him, and Ideal looked really annoyed. The metal sphere was heating up and emitting steam.

    ¡°Give it up already. Your Master¡¯s dream hase true, hasn¡¯t it? The world is now green and full of life. I¡¯m sure your master would have been pleased.¡±

    [If the new humans are destroyed, it will be perfect. So let¡¯s destroy them together. It¡¯s all right. We¡¯ll only overlook the Republic¡¯s new humans. Isn¡¯t that good?]

    ¡°That¡¯s not good!¡±

    The story of how I got this dangerous AI is that this world is very simr to the otome game world I know.

    So I thought there might be one ¨D¨D so I did some research and found this guy in the dungeon right under the sacred tree.

    While I¡¯m having a normal, noisy conversation with Ideal, my big sisteres into the room.

    She has a bob-cut blonde who reaches her fluffy shoulders, and a gentle face, it¡¯s my big sister [Louise Sara Rault].

    She walks into her brother¡¯s room without knocking and gives me a stunned look.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been ying again ¡°

    ¡°When you enter a young man¡¯s room, you should at least knock. What are you going to do if there¡¯s an ident?¡±

    ¡°You used to be so cute, but now you¡¯ve be such a bad character, it makes onee-chan sad.¡±

    Whileining, my big sister is shamelessly crying ¡°lie¡±, I asked her why she hade to my room.

    ¡°So what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right. Leon, you drove Otou-sama¡¯s car around, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    It¡¯s a sports car that my father has, but from my point of view, it¡¯s a ssic car.

    I could have driven a car with all sorts of features, but I crashed it because it didn¡¯t have any useful features.

    ¡°Oh, sh*t¡±

    I forgot to apologize and quickly got ready to run away.

    But this is where Ideal betrays me.

    [Alberg-dono! Master is trying to escape!]

    When he shouted that I was trying to escape, my father came to me.

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯ve hit my car again. Did you know how many times you¡¯ve done this!¡±

    My dad has a blue streak on his forehead after his favorite car was hit.

    ¡°It¡¯s just once, so just forgive me, okay.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the third! This is the thrice you¡¯ve crashed this month! I won¡¯t forgive you today. I¡¯m gonna give you a lecture.¡±

    I resisted my father¡¯s attempts to take me out of the room, but my sister pushed my back.

    ¡°Give up and take your lectures. If you had been nicer to your onee-chan, I would have helped you escape.¡±

    When I heard that, I changed my attitude quickly.

    ¡°My dear onee-sama, please help this cute little brother.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, too bad. If it had been beloved onee-sama, I would have helped you.¡±

    ¡°Absolutely a lie! You¡¯re just messing with me!¡±

    My dad let out a sigh of amazed as my sister and I made a fuss.

    ¡°You guys are really close. It¡¯s getting kind of silly.¡±

    [You should be more serious about your anger! Bring this rotten scum to justice!]

    Even though my dad has given up on the sermon, Ideal doesn¡¯t seem to allow it.

    ¡°Oi. Aren¡¯t AIs supposed to help their Master?¡±

    [I¡¯m sad just to have you as my master, so don¡¯t ask me for more! Damn it ¨D¨D why did this really happen to me?]

    ¡°What a poor AI. I¡¯m going to work you for the rest of your life, so give it up.¡±

    ¡°I-If only you weren¡¯t¡±

    As I looked at Ideal¡¯s frustrated expression, I satisfied.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Sapling-chan (¡¡©b§Õ©b) ¡°Are? What will happen to my position if Leon-san is reincarnated in the Republic?¡±

    Brian (¡ä?¦Ø?£à) ¡°Isn¡¯t it going to disappear? Ah, [The Otome Game World is a Tough World for Mobs, Volume 7] is now on sale. Enjoy the Marie route of the questionnaire benefits.¡±

 Volume 8, Prologue

    <h4>Volume 8, Prologue</h4>

    Part 1

    Human beings are creatures of regret.

    If we had acted differently at that time and ce, no matter how many times we thought about it, the result would not change, but we would still be thinking about it.

    In the end, the best we can do is to avoid repeating our mistakes.

    However, it seems that it is also difficult for me, an ordinary person [Leon Fou Bartfalt], not to repeat the same mistakes.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is happening¡±

    [You got what you deserved]

    Today, my partner, [Luxion], threw some words of encouragement at me when I was depressed.

    This guy is usually cold to me.

    We¡¯re in the port of the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    Airships are arriving and departing on a floating ind in the sky near the royal capital.

    Since morning, airships have beening in and out of the city, and many people have beening and going.

    It was filled with noise, with the sound of whistles and people shouting.

    Why am Iing to the harbor?

    That¡¯s because I¡¯m about to be repatriated halfway home to my parents.

    ¡°Leon, you¡¯re working too hard. I understand that you¡¯re busy with your career, but if you don¡¯t take a break when you can, you¡¯ll copse one day.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re being too worried¡±

    ¡°The fact that you yourself don¡¯t know it is even more of a problem.¡±

    The owner of the shining blonde hair [Angelica Rafa Redgrave] gives me a reproachful, yet concerned look.

    Her long hair was braided into a bun and she was dressed in a red dress.

    From the chest to the waist area, the body is made in such a way that you can see the lines of her body, and herrge breasts and tight waist can be clearly seen even through her clothes.

    After spring break, Ange and I will both be seniors.

    Compared to when I first started school, I¡¯ve grown taller and better built.

    Ange looks like she has developed a more mature charm.

    Behind Ange, the maids of the Redgrave house with the travel bags were standing by.

    One of them is [Cordelia Fou Easton] who took care of me in the Republic of Arzel.

    The older, intelligent woman with sses was giving me a cold look today. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s using me inwardly, saying, ¡°You¡¯re causing trouble for Ojou-sama¡±.

    Because Cordelia-san hates me.

    I guess she feels some kind of way about me getting another marriage partner in the Republic, even though I have Ange, her precious master¡¯s daughter.

    I can¡¯t say anything back about that, so I¡¯ll just ept Cordelia-san¡¯s attitude.

    She bes friendliness might be difficult, but it doesn¡¯t bother me because she basically gets the job done.

    I suppose Cordelia-san is an adult in that respect.

    And there was a girl, her xen hair swaying in the wind, looking sadly at me.

    No, she¡¯s not a girl anymore, she¡¯s a woman.

    [Olivia], who is beginning to have a strong heart despite her gentle atmosphere, is worried about my well being.

    ¡°Leon-san needs a vacation. I understand that you have a lot of things to do, but for now, please go back to your parents¡¯ house and rest your body.¡±

    My two fianc¨¦es told me to leave the royal capital and return to the countryside where my parents live.

    Or would it be more urate to say that I¡¯m being brought back?

    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing to worry about.¡±

    I press my face with my right hand, wondering why they¡¯re so worried about me ¨D¨D I remember the reason.

    That had happened a few days ago.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°Rnd bastard, I¡¯ll never forgive him! Luxion, find out his weakness. I don¡¯t care what it is. I¡¯ll find a weakness that I can use, and I¡¯ll tattle to Milene-sama.¡±

    [Having his weakness and just tattling it? You really are a small-minded]

    ¡°I don¡¯t hate myself for it. I don¡¯t mind being impatient. I don¡¯t care if I¡¯m small-minded. But I decided to definitely pay Rnd back.¡±

    [Creare should have some information.]

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to her report.¡±

    When I came back from my study abroad, I was unexinably promoted to the rank of Marquis ¨D¨D And I was promoted to the ridiculously high, an upper third rank.

    In the Kingdom of Horfalt, only royalty and their close rtives are entitled to titles higher than Count.

    The upper third rank in the hierarchy is also a rank where if you are not rted to the royal family, you will not be able to advance, no matter how much you aplish.

    Rnd bastard shoved those two things at me.

    The reason was because of my sess in the Arzel Republic, and If I marry Ange, I¡¯ll be part of the royal family in the future! Said so, he forced promoting me based on a ridiculous theory.

    It¡¯s true that my fianc¨¦, Ange, is from a Duke house and has the right to inherit the throne.

    However, it was almost impossible for the throne to be passed on to Ange. If it were, it would be a matter of national importance or something.

    However, if I could easily be a duke just because I married Ange, I would have no trouble.

    Normally, the kingdom would be reluctant to allow me to rise to the rank of Marquis.

    In other words, actually, it was an impossible story.

    Rnd scumbag bastard forced me to advance.

    What¡¯s sad is that he had that much political power.

    ording to him, he always has one or two weaknesses of the other nobles.

    It¡¯s annoying that he is usually so unserious, but only shows hispetence at times like this.

    In addition, he offered to send the five idiots as my ParasiteFoster Sons.

    I¡¯m in the official position of taking care of Marie and the others, and I feel awful.

    They are fun to watch from a position where I am not involved, and not funny at all if I am the one who is forced to be responsible.

    I¡¯m even more upset that he pushed those guys on me than my career.

    Julius, when the other four became my subordinates, said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you because I¡¯m lonely¡±. Does he really have any sense of himself as a prince?

    ¨D¨D No. If he had, I wouldn¡¯t be in this mess.

    Anyway, I was officially forced to take care of Marie and her happy friends.

    This is the result of my rampage in the Arzel Republic in an attempt to annoy Rnd.

    Why do I keep making the same mistakes over and over again?

    Iy down on the bed at the inn and went back to chatting with Luxion.

    ¡°Ange and Livia areing over here?¡±

    [Yes. The ceremony is on thest day of spring break, but we have a lot of preparations to make.]

    ¡°When I have trouble making a decision, I can ask Ange to help me.¡±

    [For prestigious ceremonies and parties, Angelica¡¯s vast knowledge of noble society is certainly significant.]

    ¡°That¡¯s really helpful. I¡¯ve only memorized the bare minimum of etiquette.¡±

    [Please take this opportunity to learn it. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be embarrassed sooner orter.]

    ¡°Before you say anything about shame, this situation is a punishment, right? How can the third son of a poor Baron family rise so high in just two years? The next thing I know, I¡¯m the second son and a marquis. And on top of that, I¡¯m supposed to take care of Marie and the others.¡±

    [There are words that are perfect for that. Master just ¡°reap what you sow¡±]

    Two years have passed since I entered the academy.

    A lot has happened in the meantime, and my eldest brother, Lutoart, is no longer in the family.

    I¡¯m the third son, and I¡¯ve moved up to the second son, and the eldest brother is my own brother, [Nix].

    My parents¡¯ house, Baron Bartfalt, will be seeded by Nix, who has be the eldest son.

    And I¡¯m an independent Marquis.

    I¡¯m an unemployed marquis with no territory and no position in the royal court.

    It¡¯s a troublesome situation where there is no real ie, but just a useless position.

    ¨D¨D It¡¯s been a very intense few years.

    ¡°I was just selflessly dealing with what was in front of me.¡±

    [It¡¯s a matter of opinion. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of the problem at hand, but you¡¯ve been neglecting it for whatever reason, and when it¡¯s toote, you¡¯ve just been using forceful methods to solve it?]

    This guy really pokes only where it hurts.

    ¡°You¡¯re really not adorable. More importantly, give me my medicine.¡±

    I decided to end the conversation and get some sleep, so I asked Luxion for some medicine.

    [Sleeping medicine? You¡¯re more tired than usual today, so I think you can sleep without medicine?]

    ¡°I¡¯ve been having insomniately. I¡¯m worried, so give it to me.¡±

    Sometimes I can¡¯t sleep even when I¡¯m tired.

    Even if I can sleep, my sleep is so shallow that I end up having trouble sleeping.

    If that¡¯s the case, just take the medicine from the beginning.

    [ ¨D¨D It was because of Master shot Serge for the Rault House. You should¡¯ve let Alberg take that spot.]

    ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m used to killing people, and I¡¯m better at it.¡±

    I came to another world and got caught up in war several times.

    In that time, I¡¯ve taken many lives with my own hands.

    If I kill one or two more people now, it won¡¯t change the scale of my sins.

    [Isn¡¯t this the first time you¡¯ve killed someone with a gun yourself? You must have felt the killing more than when you were in armor. You should have left it to Alberg instead of doing something unnecessary. Master made a wrong decision.]

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, right¡±

    [No, it¡¯s no good. Because of that, Master has taken on the mental burden. Master should take better care of yourself.]

    ¡°Then it¡¯s okay. I love myself, and I can put myself before others.¡±

    [You really do have a big mouth. And in addition, you¡¯re so good at lying and out of control.]

    To express his dismay, Luxion goes to the trouble of waving his red lens to the side to show me.

    It¡¯s amon sight, but perhaps that¡¯s why he seems to have be more and more adept at waving the lens sideways.

    ¡°Just give me the medicine¡±

    [Denied]

    ¡°Take it out¡±

    [No]

    ¡°This is an order. Give me medicine.¡±

    [Considering the Master¡¯s health, I will exercise my right of veto. Why don¡¯t you spend tonight reflecting on your mistakes?]

    ¡°If I sleep well, I¡¯ll be plenty repentant! Just give me the medicine!¡±

    When I grabbed Luxion¡¯s sphere body with both hands, it resisted and struggled wildly.

    As he continued to run wildly around the room, the door suddenly opened.

    ¡°Leon-san ¨D¨D What are you doing?¡±

    A pale looking Livia was standing there looking serious when she saw us.

    ¡°Livia!? W-Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I thought it would be a nuisance, but I wanted to see Leon-san ¨D¨D more importantly, why are you fighting with Luc-kun?¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong. Luxion wouldn¡¯t listen to me, so I thought I¡¯d give him a little scolding.¡±

    I quickly made an excuse to Livia for her sudden appearance, but apparently she had heard our conversation.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say something about medicine?¡±

    At an unfortunate time, she heard me fussing about medicine.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just need something to help me sleep better. There¡¯s nothing for Livia to worry about. I-I swear.¡±

    Holding Luxion tightly in both hands, I smiled at Livia while trying not to let him go.

    However, my efforts were meaningless.

    The more excuses I make, the more worried Livia gets.

    ¡°Leon-san, you can¡¯t sleep? That¡¯s why you have to take medicine ¨D¨D¡±

    Livia, who was worried about me, was about to cry, her eyes moist with tears.

    ¡°It¡¯s really okay! That was just a joke, in the first ce, Luxion and I are usually like this!¡±

    It was a bit like a joke, but from a third person¡¯s point of view, I was really screaming, ¡°Medicine, give me medicine!¡± did it sound like that?

    When I looked at Luxion, the red lens glowed slightly in a mysterious way.

    ¡°You should say something, too. If you say, That was a joke, it¡¯s all over!¡±

    I whispered to Luxion for help, but to my surprise, he betrayed me, his master.

    [Olivia, Master is currently in a state of mental danger. I¡¯ve been advising him to take a break, but he won¡¯t listen to me.]

    ¡°Why do you betray your master without hesitation!?¡±

    [It¡¯s a difference of opinion. I don¡¯t think I betrayed you]

    ¡°So that¡¯s how AIs betrays people. All you do is make excuses that suit you, are you a no-good adult!¡±

    [Oya, self-introduction? Shouldn¡¯t you be dealing with Olivia instead?]

    I was reluctant to follow Luxion¡¯s lead, but I turned my gaze fearfully to Livia.

    A tearful Livia wiped her tears with her fingertips and tightened her expression.

    ¡°I should have realized this sooner. I¡¯ll discuss it with Ange right away. Leon-san, I¡¯m going to let you rest your mind and body for a while.¡±

    Ange appears behind Livia, who shows her determination to give me a proper rest.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I could hear you guys talking all the way down the hall. ¨D¨D Leon, you go back to your parents¡¯ house right away and get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Eh? No, I am really fine ¨D¨D ¡°

    ¡°Just rest! ¨D¨D You keep pushing yourself, you idiot¡±

    Even Ange insisted on forcing me to rest, and for some reason, she looked thoughtful.

    ¨D¨DEh? Am I really going back to my parents¡¯ house?

    Even though I¡¯m going to be busy?

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°This traitor¡±

    When I narrowed my eyes and looked at Luxion, he intentionally turned his lens away from me.

    [Master needs rest]

    ¡°You knew I was going to be busy! I was going to get some things done during spring break.¡±

    Yes ¨D¨D I was going to be busy from now on.

    The stage of that third otome game is set from an academy in the Republic of Arzel back to a school in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    Before the start of the third game, I nned to find out about the girl who would be the main character, as well as information about the capture target.

    I was also thinking of confirming the scenario with Marie and then setting up the arrangements.

    And I was going to find out if there were any other reincarnated people besides us.

    ¨D¨D In order to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the Republic.

    And yet, Luxion wants me to go back to my parents¡¯ house.

    What is he thinking at this critical time?

    As I stared at Luxion, a voice called out to me from the side.

    The other party is the same AI as Luxion, [Creare].

    It has the same sphere unit as Luxion, but it is white with a blue lens.

    Although she can be distinguished from Luxion by her different color, her personality is very different even though she looks simr.

    Despite her pettyments and sarcasm, she has a frivolous personality, unlike the serious Luxion.

    However, she is also excellent like Luxion.

    [Don¡¯t worry, Marie-chan and I will stay behind so you can rest assured.]

    When I turn around to look at Creare, I can also see Marie in my field of vision.

    Marie tapped her thin chest with her fist.

    ¡°Leave it to me, Ani ¨D¨D Leon. Creare and I will stay behind and do a thorough search. So, please take care of my allowance!¡±

    My sister from my previous life, [Marie Fou Lafan], wanted pocket money and came forward to take my ce.

    Creare is also in a good mood.

    ¡°Aside from Marie, if Creare stays, there won¡¯t be a problem, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re cruel?! You should have more faith in me!¡±

    ¡°What do you want me to trust you for? Creare, keep an eye on Marie, too.¡±

    [Leave it to me!]

    When Luxion saw Creare acting in a very good mood, he seemed to feel something strange.

    [Creare, I¡¯m not sure why you want to stay in the capital so badly. I¡¯m sure the old you would have wanted to stay with Master?]

    [Actually, I¡¯ve been having some fun in the capital. I¡¯ve been doing some experiments, and the results will be out soon. I¡¯ll report the results when Master and the others return, so please look forward to it.]

    Creare, who used to be an AI managing aboratory, seems to love experiments of any kind.

    I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s experimenting with, but I¡¯ll look forward to it.

    ¡°You¡¯re free spirited too, aren¡¯t you? Well, you¡¯re more likable than Luxion, who betrayed me.¡±

    Luxion, who is unhappy that he is beingpared to Creare and that his reputation is low, is immediatelyining to me.

    [I did not betray you. I¡¯ve only taken a strong stand against Master because I¡¯ve decided you need to rest.]

    ¡°That¡¯s called betrayal.¡±

    Luxiones up to my face and stares intimidatingly at me.

    I also put a gun to his head, and Creare intervened from the side.

    [Why don¡¯t you two get along? Anyway, don¡¯t worry about things over here. I¡¯ll take good care of Marie-chan, too.]

    Showing confidence, Creare usually gets carried away easily, but she gets the job done.

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you. I¡¯m counting on you more than I¡¯m counting on Luxion.¡±

    [Ara, I¡¯m happy]

    Iplimented Creare as I nced at Luxion.

    Luxion is not convinced and says, [I don¡¯t understand].

    I decided to remind Marie as well.

    ¡°Marie, if you¡¯re not sure about a decision, ask Creare. Don¡¯t act on your own. Creare is more reliable than you when ites to making decisions. Listen to Creare, okay.¡±

    Marie is not happy that she is being told to rely more on Creare than herself. However, she seems to be reflecting on what she has done so far and seems to be obeying, albeit reluctantly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me, I¡¯ll be very cautious and I¡¯ll rely on Creare.¡±

    She looked a little stubborn, but after such a reminder, Marie would not act on her own.

    I look at Creare.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave over here to you. If there¡¯s anything wrong, call me right away. If anything happens, I¡¯ll rush right away.¡±

    [You worry too much, Master. I¡¯ll make sure all the information is gathered and all the experiments are done perfectly.]

    If possible, I would like you to do your best to collect information.

    What exactly is she experimenting with?

    ¨D¨DWell, there is a possibility that I can¡¯t understand it even if I hear it, so I don¡¯t have to ask now.

    ¡°Experimenting is fine, but don¡¯t forget to gather information. Also, stay as far away from the target and the main character as possible. If there¡¯s anything unusual, don¡¯t get involved until after I return. If there¡¯s anything urgent, be sure to contact me¡±

    [I¡¯ve heard it many times. You should have more faith in us.]

    When Creareins about me being a nag, Marie takes advantage of it.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Aniki should trust us more and take a break. Aniki is probably more tired than you think, you know?¡±

    I didn¡¯t think Marie would be worried about me.

    There was no sign of Ange or Livia around, only us, so before I knew it, Marie was back to calling me aniki.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Well, fine. If you seed, I¡¯ll increase your monthly allowance.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Creare looked at Marie with interest as she raised her hands and looked happy.

    [Marie-chan really loves money, don¡¯t you?]

    ¡°Un, I love money!¡±

    If this were a statement from an ignorant child, I couldugh bitterly, but in Marie¡¯s case, it¡¯s not funny because she wants money for her living expenses.

    I can¡¯t even smile bitterly.

    I felt a little pity for Marie, who realize a reverse harem with the capture targets, and was at my mercy because she wanted money for her living expenses.

    As I looked at Marie with mixed feelings, Ange approached me with her footsteps a little louder.

    She grabbed my arm forcefully.

    I felt slightly uneasy, Ange acting in a way that she usually did not.

    ¡°Leon, it¡¯s time to go.¡±

    Ange, who gives Marie aplicated look, pulls me along.

    ¡°I understand. I can walk on my own.¡±

    ¡°Juste¡±

    Standing next to me, Ange just twined her arms around mine.

    Luxion floats around my right shoulder and exins the situation to me.

    [Master is as dense as ever, isn¡¯t he? Ange is jealous of Master¡¯s closeness to Marie.]

    ¡°Jealous?¡±

    I stopped, startled by Luxion¡¯s words, and hurried to look at Ange¡¯s face.

    There, I see Ange blushing.

    She was embarrassed, and her clinging to my arm grew stronger.

    ¡°Luxion, you don¡¯t seem to understand the woman¡¯s heart either. If you do understand, don¡¯t say it in front of the person. I-I¡¯m embarrassed too.¡±

    [Next time, I will try to handle it carefully]

    ¡°You sound like you¡¯re ying dumb.¡±

    [I will be careful, but whether I can do it is another matter. In the first ce, I did not maliciously share Angelica¡¯s feelings to Master.]

    ¡°If it¡¯s malicious, it¡¯s even worse.¡±

    I snickered at Luxion for not understanding the woman¡¯s heart.

    ¡°You said it. Why don¡¯t you learn about women¡¯s hearts, too?¡±

    [It¡¯s a difficult problem for me, an AI, but you¡¯re right, Master. I regret that I was wrong this time. I deeply apologize, Angelica]

    Luxion, who was honestly apologizing, looked ufortable to me.

    Ange epts the apology with an embarrassed, ¡°U-Umu¡±, and her appearance looks lovely.

    [However, I have a question. Aside from me, an AI ¨D¨D it¡¯s a big problem when a human, master can¡¯t understand the woman¡¯s heart any better than I can. Isn¡¯t this an area where you can¡¯t lose to artificial intelligence? As a man¨D¨DNo, as a human being, aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself?]

    He mes me, daring me to admit fault.

    Did he even learn that little trick to me me?

    ¡°You¡¯ve be a quite smooth talker, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    [If I stay by the Master¡¯s side, sadly, I¡¯ll improve, even if I don¡¯t like it.]

    Luxion, no matter what I say, he¡¯ll talk back.

    I¡¯d like to see you acknowledge me as your master and show me a little respect, even only a little.

 Volume 8, 1 â€œMatchmakingâ€

    <h4>Volume 7, Chapter 1 ¡°Matchmaking¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Arrived at the port of Baron Bartfalt.

    The harbor is now more crowded than it was a few years ago, as it has been upgraded to allowrge airships to enter and exit the harbor.

    Before I entered the school, it was a small port, much more deste than it is now.

    It makes me happy to see it developing so much.

    ¡°There is an unfamiliar airship¡±

    Visible from the deck of the Einhorn was a luxurious airship docked in the harbor.

    It was not an airship owned by my family, nor was it a merchant ship with which I was normally associated.

    The family crest is clearly visible on the overly decorated airships favored by the nobility.

    Ange, who was also on the deck, was squinting at the family crest.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Rosede House¡±

    ¡°Deirdre-senpai, huh?¡±

    My house has no connection to the Rosede house, so if they were toe, it would be [Deirdre Fou Rosede].

    She is two years older than me and has already graduated from school.

    She is a unique girl, a picture-perfect blonde-haired, blue-eyed youngdy.

    She has long hair in a vertical roll, likes to be shy, and is always sparkling.

    Because she is actually a Countess, she is a realdy.

    However, I¡¯m not good with her because of her personality.

    She¡¯s not a bad person, so I¡¯ll at least have tea with her.

    She was supposed to be working as an envoy in a kingdom that was currently short-staffed.

    What would such a senior want with me?

    I don¡¯t think she had any business at my parents¡¯ house. Did shee all the way here to see me?

    Originally, I was supposed to be in the royal capital ¨D¨D but as I was pondering this, Ange let out a small sigh.

    She seemed to have an attitude that said, ¡®This is too much trouble¡¯.

    ¡°Rosede family has moved?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    When I don¡¯t understand, Ange gives me a simple exnation.

    ¡°Think carefully. Not many people know that Leon is going back to your parents¡¯ house. It wasn¡¯t that the Rosede family had been out ahead of us, but normally you would think that the Rosede family is visiting the Bartfalt house on business, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±

    Hearing that, Livia ps her hands as if she was convinced.

    ¡°That¡¯s right when you say it.¡±

    It was good that Livia understood, but I still had my doubts.

    How did the Rosede, a Count house, end up in a countryside house of Baron?

    Seeing that I wasn¡¯t convinced, Ange seemed to know something but hesitated to answer.

    ¡°Well, I wonder what they are doing here¡±

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°I¡¯m home ~¡±

    When I got back to my parents¡¯ house, I opened the front door with a carefree voice and went inside.

    Even though it¡¯s a Baron¡¯s mansion, my parents¡¯ house is in the remote countryside.

    It has nothing to do with a formal atmosphere.

    Such a family home was filled with an unusual atmosphere.

    Is it that the air is different?

    It feels more tense than usual.

    One of the maids noticed that we had returned and rushed over to us in a hurry.

    The one who showed a disqualified attitude for a maid was the elf, Yumeria-san.

    ¡°W-Wee back! I¡¯m so sorry. We were, ano, busy, so we couldn¡¯t wee you back.¡±

    Seeing her hurriedly bow her head, the eyes of the maids who were waiting behind Ange became somewhat more severe.

    Cordelia-san said, ¡°You haven¡¯t changed, have you?¡± She was a little astonished but seemed to be happy to see her again.

    ¡°You have a visitor, right? Deirdre-senpai?¡±

    When I confirmed who the guest was, Yumeria-san nodded heavily several times.

    ¡°Y-Yes! A-Ano, that! I-It¡¯s matchmaking talk!¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Ha?¡±

    When I suddenly hear about matchmaking, for a moment I imagine matchmaking between myself and Deirdre-senpai.

    ¡°I¡¯m on matchmaking? No, I have Ange and Livia!¡±

    When I hurriedly said I couldn¡¯t, Luxion interrupted and tattled.

    [You also have Noelle?]

    ¡°Shut up for now. ¨D¨D Anyway, it¡¯s a problem if they suddenly call me for matchmaking.¡±

    I nced at Ange and Livia behind me, but they seemed to be calmer than I was.

    Arere? They don¡¯t mind if I go on matchmaking?

    I was expecting them to be angry, but their reaction was different from what I expected, which confused me.

    Yumeria-san was tilting her head in front of me.

    ¡°Eh? What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s matchmaking between me and Deirdre-senpai, right?¡±

    When I questioned her about it, Yumeria-san looked troubled.

    ¨D¨D Is it wrong? Just when I thought that, a woman appears, wearing high-heeled shoes and making a cking sound.

    She was too dazzlingly dressed for a countryside mansion and looked out of proportion to the surrounding scenery.

    ¡°Ara-Ara, I¡¯m so pleased with your enthusiastic offer.¡±

    ¡°Senpai?¡±

    The one there was Deirdre-senpai, with her fan opened and covered her mouth.

    However, there was a wicked smile in her eyes.

    She¡¯sughing at my misunderstanding.

    When Ange stepped in front of me, she put her hands on her hips and faced Deirdre-senpai.

    ¡°Long time no see. So, is it you, Deirdre, who¡¯s going on the matchmaking with Nix-dono?¡±

    The mention of Nix¡¯s name was the first time I realized that my brother Nix was going on matchmaking.

    ¨D¨D I¡¯m a little embarrassed that I jumped the gun so quickly.

    Luxion is looking at me with red lenses as I blush a little, but I¡¯ll ignore him.

    Deirdre-senpai folds up her fan and replies with a wicked smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s not me. It¡¯s my big sister, Dorothea, who¡¯s will be a partner of Nix-dono.¡±

    ¡°Dorothea of all people¡±

    Ange, who had a stern look a moment ago, showed a subtle expression.

    From what she just said and the expression on her face, it seems that Dorothea-san is quite a problem.

    Deirdre-senpai also averted her gaze from Ange, so she must have something on her mind.

    ¡°She¡¯s a beautiful woman, even from me, her little sister¡¯s point of view.¡±

    ¡°No one isining about her appearance.¡±

    She seemed to be a beautiful woman from Deirdre-senpai¡¯s point of view, but from their reactions, I couldn¡¯t help but feel that she had some kind of problem other than her looks.

    .

    Part 3

    When I walked into the room where my dad and Nix were, they were both holding their hands over their heads.

    Their gestures are so simr that I feel a blood connection.

    I dare to speak in a cheerful voice for the two who have a heavy atmosphere.

    ¡°Onii-chan, congrattions!¡±

    I teased them lightly, and they both looked up and red at me.

    The timing and even the look on their face are very simr.

    My fatherins as if yelling.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡°Congrattions¡±! Do you even understand this situation!?¡±

    I sat down on the sofa in my room, shrugging my shoulders at the sight of my father, who was red-faced and angry.

    I sat down next to Nix and rested my body against the backrest.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a joke?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯tugh at that joke.¡±

    Unsessfully trying to lighten the mood, I turn my attention to Nix.

    ¡°Dorothea-san, right? Does aniki know what kind of person she is?¡±

    Dorothea-san, the older sister of Deirdre-senpai, was apparently a third-year student when Nix was a freshman at the school. That means she¡¯s four years older than me.

    Therefore, the other was not acquainted at the school.

    When I asked Nix if he knew, he put his hand over his mouth and made a difficult expression.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen her a few times at school. But I¡¯m in the regr ss and she¡¯s a countess in the advanced ss. I didn¡¯t expect to get involved, so I don¡¯t know any of the details.¡±

    Nix prefaced his speech with ¡°just¡± and then told me a story about that time.

    ¡°She was a hard person to get close to. The advanced ss people were also distant, and I think the number of followers was small for a Countess.¡±

    ¡°A cool beauty?¡±

    For Nix, who was in the regr ss, Dorothea-san, who was in the advanced ss, would be a tall order.

    ¡°I guess so. She was a beautiful person, but she seemed cold and unapproachable?¡±

    ¡°If she is beautiful, then it¡¯s fine, right.¡±

    ¡°You idiot! I¡¯m the heir of a Baron and she¡¯s the daughter of a Count! It¡¯s not bnced. The Count¡¯s daughter is going to marry into this house. It doesn¡¯t make sense!?¡±

    From our point of view, the daughter of the prestigious Rosede house is an existence above the clouds.

    It¡¯s true that we are also noblemen with titles, but if I were topare us to a previous life, we would be a small business running a small business in the countryside.

    On the other hand, they¡¯re a bigpany that everyone knows in the city, I thought?

    It¡¯s definitely not a good match, and if I were in Nix¡¯s shoes, I¡¯d walk away from this matchmaking.

    ¡°What if you refuse?¡±

    I asked a simple question, but I also understood that this was impossible.

    In a previous life, we could have simply said no, but in this world, it¡¯s a different story.

    The other party is a higher rank. Moreover, this time, the other side is willing to take the risk.

    It was my father who answered my obvious question.

    ¡°It is impossible, of course. We¡¯re dealing with a prestigious Count house.¡±

    Unlike a house like ours, that one has power, wealth ¨D¨D and military might.

    If we refuse, it means that their face has been smeared with mud.

    The Count¡¯s family went to the trouble of asking the Baron¡¯s family for matchmaking, only to have the proposal rejected ¨D¨D aughing matter in noble society.

    I try to act cheerful to lighten the atmosphere a little.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Marquis now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still an act of ndering the other party¡¯s face. In the first ce, why would the Count house do such a thing? What do they expect from a countryside nobleman like us?¡±

    Dad and Nix are both scratching their heads in question.

    Normally, this matchmaking story itself would be impossible.

    If they seeded, it would still be better, but if they failed, the Rosede house would be theughing stock of noble society for a while.

    In every world, there are people who want tough at other people.

    The Rosede house would not expect this matchmaking to be rejected.

    If we refuse, they will surely retaliate.

    The Count house asked for it, and the Baron family refuses! ¨D¨D like that.

    That¡¯s absurd from our point of view, the Bartfalt family.

    It¡¯s a problem because it can be allowed.

    But under normal circumstances, this would never have happened.

    This matchmaking itself is so irregr that both my father and Nix are having trouble and holding their heads.

    ¡°Is it a matchmaking or a face-to-face meeting? And then you get married.¡±

    I mumble, and Nix replies with a hanging head.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t think I could have a free marriage. But this is too much, isn¡¯t it? I ¨D¨D I would have preferred a more rxed marriage like Dad.¡±

    Dad and Mom are a picture-perfect couple.

    Noticing my father¡¯s gaze, I turn my head.

    ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡±

    ¡°Do you know the story about me being suspected of cheating because of you?¡±

    ¡°What? Eh, did dad have an affair? You¡¯re the worst.¡±

    When I imagine my father cheating, my outraged father shouts out.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told to you!¡±

    Dad started to tell me that he was suspected of cheating, and I was surprised that I was responsible for it.

    I don¡¯t want you to me others.

    When he is angry at a suspicion he doesn¡¯t remember, Nix lets out a sigh and then exins the situation to me.

    ¡°You were in the royal capital as soon as you came back from studying abroad. I don¡¯t think you know what¡¯s going on in our house, but couples don¡¯t get along well right now.¡±

    ¡°Because dad was suspected of cheating?¡±

    I looked at my dad, thinking what a horrible guy he was, and saw him cross his arms and shake his legs in frustration.

    ¡°Whose fault do you think it was that I was suspected? It¡¯s all your fault.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t me me for everything¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault this time, too!¡±

    When I looked at Nix, thinking that Dad couldn¡¯t be talked out of it, I saw that he had his hand on his forehead and was looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡°You lived with Marie when you studied abroad, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Circumstances forced me to do it. I even got permission from Ange and Livia.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised those two agreed to it. But at that time, we sent Yumeria-san to you, didn¡¯t we? That¡¯s when Mom told her to keep an eye on you.¡±

    ¡°I heard. I¡¯m such a serious guy, and it¡¯s sad that my family doubted me.¡±

    I¡¯m sad that my family doesn¡¯t believe me.

    Even in my previous life, my parents trusted my sister more than me.

    Is this life the same, or why am I so not trusted?

    When I shake my head and say, ¡®yare-yare¡¯, both Dad and Nix narrow their eyes and give me a cold stare.

    ¡°This is what Yumeria-san told us. You seem to have been called aniki by Marie?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D Eh?¡±

    I was convinced that I was innocent, but apparently, it had been a misunderstanding.

    Dad hit the table with his hand repeatedly to protest.

    ¡°Thanks to you, I was suspected of having an affair with the Wife of Lafan House! And I heard that the daughter of one of the Republic¡¯s great nobles called you her brother! I¡¯m more than willing to find out what the hell is going on!¡±

    I got a cold sweat.

    For Marie¡¯s part, I was called aniki on a daily basis at the Republic mansion.

    I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d hear about her carelessness.

    And then there is Louise-san, which is veryplicated to exin.

    ¡°No, Marie is that, you know. Like a step-sibling? Look, we¡¯re not rted by blood, but I was like a big brother to her. And Louise-san, she said that I looked like her dead brother. Yeah, it¡¯s just a misunderstanding.¡±

    Apparently, Yumeria-san had dutifully reported everything to Mom.

    Because of that, the Bartfalt house seems to be on edge at the moment.

    ¨D¨D I¡¯m certainly not uninvolved.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll apologize to Mom. It¡¯s impossible for Dad to have an affair, right? If you think calmly about it, there¡¯s no way Marie and Louise-san are Dad¡¯s children.¡±

    ¡°I said it too! I told her, but it would be hard to prove it!¡±

    Dad has a vague memory of that time, and he seems to be unable to deny everything in an orderly fashion.

    It¡¯s impossible ¨D¨D but he can¡¯t get the evidence together.

    In the first ce, it is difficult to call the person in question and ask what happened.

    Marie¡¯s parents¡¯ house is disappearing in all sorts of messes.

    They did not participate in the war with the Principality of Fannouse, and fled, only to be destroyed.

    Louise-san is also impossible.

    The Republic is busy with reconstruction, but it is not possible to summon a great nobleman from another country because of the family problems of the Bartfalt family.

    ¡°Why is this happening to me? Ruth avoids me when I talk to her, and the Rosede House is offering me matchmaking ¨D¨D What did I do? What did I do to deserve this¡±

    I felt so sorry when I saw my dad dropping his head in his chair.

    ¡°Somehow, I¡¯m sorry. Yes, as an apology I¡¯ll ruin aniki¡¯s matchmaking for you.¡±

    I wondered what I could do to help my family, so I decided to let the matchmaking fail.

    Both Dad and Nix look at my suggestion with suspicion.

    Nix seems to be worried that I¡¯m going to screw something up.

    ¡°Did you hear what we said? We¡¯re in a position where we can¡¯t say no.¡±

    ¡°I have a good idea. We don¡¯t have to say no to them, they just have to say no.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll refuse? Is that possible?¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me¡±

    I¡¯m ashamed to admit that I¡¯ve been a repeated failure at tea parties at the school.

    I know from experience what will make the women of the kingdom ufortable.

    I¡¯ve made many unsessful attempts to invite women to tea parties for marriage.

    In other words, I¡¯m an expert at making mistakes when ites to matchmaking.

    ¡°I¡¯m a man who has failed at many tea parties at the school. It¡¯s hard to seed, but I¡¯m good at failing.¡±

    Dad had found hope, and his hips were raised off the couch.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pathetic line, but it¡¯s certainly the only time I can count on you! Also, Leon, you¡¯ll have to exin the situation to your motherter.¡±

    ¡°Think you¡¯re in a great boat. I¡¯m going to ruin aniki¡¯s matchmaking.¡± (Note: metaphor for gaining a reliable foundation and be in a safe condition)

    Nix gave me aplicated look, but epted that it would be fine if the Count¡¯s daughter didn¡¯t be his wife.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If Dorothea-senpai refuses, this matter will be over. For once, I¡¯ll reluctantly rely on you¡±

    I¡¯m concerned about the thorny way they both talk, but I¡¯ll do my best for the family.

    ¡°Leave it to me. I never fail.¡±

    Are? Should I have said there¡¯s only failure here?

    .

    Part 4

    At that time.

    Leon¡¯s mother, [Ruth], was visiting the guest room of the mansion.

    Now a woman is using the room.

    ¡°I can understand what Barkas is saying. He was very busy at that time, so he didn¡¯t have time to y. But I can¡¯t say it never happened, because Barkas went to the royal capital many times.¡±

    While wiping away tears with a handkerchief, the person to whom Ruthined was [Noelle Jill Lespinasse].

    Her hair was in a gradient of gold and pink, and Noelle had tied it up in a side ponytail on the right side.

    Her yellow eyes gazed gently at Ruth, her normally lively face now serious as she listened to her story.

    Noelle was living at Leon¡¯s parents¡¯ house.

    Noelle is currently using a wheelchair, but has recently undergone rehabilitation.

    With the support of Luxion and Creare, she was recovering well.

    The reason why Ruth is visiting Noelle¡¯s room is to have her listen to herints.

    Noelle put on a cheerful voice to cheer up the anxious Ruth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s okay!¡±

    (Having said that, I¡¯ve also seen Marie-chan calling Leon ¡®aniki¡¯ a few times. At first, I thought they were really brother and sister.)

    Although she told Ruth that it would be fine, inwardly Noelle was a little worried.

    Although Leon and Marie¡¯s appearance was not simr, she still had the feeling that they had something inmon. The atmosphere and the distance between them made it hard to believe that they were strangers.

    In fact, she was surprised to find outter that they were unrted.

    With that in mind, sheforted the wife of the Bartfalt house who was taking care of her ¨D¨D her future mother-inw.

    ¡°He¡¯s not the kind of person who can lie to Mother-inw.¡±

    From Noelle¡¯s point of view, it didn¡¯t even look like Barkas was lying.

    Ruth wiped away her tears.

    ¡°Thank you, Noelle-chan. I¡¯m so happy that Noelle-chan is going to be Leon¡¯s wife.¡±

    ¡°E-Etto ¨D¨D the third, though.¡±

    Ruth¡¯s expression darkens as she sees Noelle forcing a smile.

    The third part made her feel responsible, as his mother.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know how this could have happened. I think Angelica-sama and Livia-chan are both good girls. But because of the status. Livia-chan gets nervous when I approach her. In the first ce, it never crossed my mind that Leon would marry the three girls. ¡°

    Ruth¡¯s worries ¨D¨D It¡¯s not just about Leon, it¡¯s about her distance between Ange and Livia.

    Ange is a genuine youngdy, and from Livia¡¯s point of view, Ruth is the wife of a noble.

    Inevitably, Livia gets more nervous and creates more distance.

    They hadn¡¯t really gotten to know each other, and Ruth seemed to feel closer to Noelle, who was easy to talk to. She could not ask for advice orin in this way, nor could she do so to Ange or Livia.

    ¡°Even though I was born in a respectable family, but I was raised as amoner, you know?¡±

    ¡°I was raised the same way. I¡¯m a legitimate wife now, but I didn¡¯t reallye from a background that would make me a baroness.¡±

    Perhaps it was a good match for the lively Noelle, but the two of them got to know each other and talked often.

    Lately, Ruth has been more proactive in talking to her.

    ¡°Thanks to that, children¡¯s education is just a problem ¨D¨D ¡°

    ¡°Noelle-neechaaan!¡±

    Just as Ruth was about to bring up the subject of children, the door was violently opened and Colin burst into the room.

    A young boy with ck hair and a childish look with teary eyes asks Noelle for help.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Colin?¡±

    Noelle catches Colin in a hug.

    Ruth scolded him for it, but Noelle was not concerned, so she said, ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± and gently patted Colin on the back.

    She gently stroked Colin¡¯s back.

    ¡°What happen today?¡±

    ¡°Finley-neechan is terrible! She eats my candy and doesn¡¯t apologize. She says it¡¯s not her fault that she ate it, and I guess she¡¯s irritated by that or something, because she takes it out on me.¡±

    Hearing that, Ruth let out a small sigh.

    ¡°That girl is, good grief. But Colin, you can¡¯t do that either. You can¡¯t bother Noelle-chan like that.¡±

    ¡°Mom too, you¡¯re always consulting with Noelle-neechan, right?¡±

    ¡°T-That and this is not the same thing!¡±

    Listening to the family¡¯s conversation, Noelle felt a little sad.

    (If my parents were still alive, would we have been able to have this conversation?)

    Noelle doesn¡¯t have any good memories of her parents.

    But then again, maybe ¨D¨D just maybe, could she have had a normal life like this? Noelle patted Colin¡¯s head roughly as she faced the warm home she wanted to have.

    ¡°You¡¯re a boy, right. You need to be more firm.¡±

    ¡°Both Finley-neechan and Jenna-neechan are scary when they get angry. Leon-niichan also runs away when they get angry. Leon-niichan is a hero of the country and he¡¯s supposed to be strong, but he can¡¯t beat his sisters.¡±

    To Colin, a child, Leon is a hero and admiration of the country.

    However, even such a Leon could not beat Jenna and Finley ¨D¨D or so he thought.

    ¡°Un, maybe Leon will run away.¡±

    Noelle nodded, imagining Leon running away from the two sisters, and Ruth put her hand on her cheek and looked convinced.

    ¡°He runs away from trouble, you know. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?¡±

    If he was really good at what he did, he could have avoided the situation of being made a marquis.

    His mother, Ruth, understood this very well.

    Noelle brings her face closer to Colin¡¯s.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. When Leon gets serious, neither of them could stand a chance. Ask him next time. If Colin tells him, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll scold both of them.¡±

    If it was a request from his precious brother, Leon would be prepared to challenge his sisters.

    ¡°Or do you want me to tell them directly?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m fine!¡±

    Before Colin knew it, his face was bright red, and he raised his hands in the air in front of Noelle.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to scold them properly! Noelle-neechan, just watch me!¡±

    ¡°Good boy¡±

    Noelle¡¯s praise made Colin look very happy.

    But when Ruth saw Colin, she smiled a little sadly at him.

    .

    Part 5

    After the meeting with Dad and Nix, I came to one of the rooms in the mansion.

    As usual, Luxion is by my side, but today Ange and Livia are with me.

    The reason I gathered the three of us together was to discuss the matchmaking with the Rosede house.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to screw up Nix-dono¡¯s matchmaking? Leon, are you serious?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    After all the trouble I¡¯ve caused my family, I¡¯m going to give them a serious hand this time.

    Livia looks worried.

    ¡°Is it really okay? It¡¯s brother-inw¡¯s matchmaking, right?¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t like it, you know. Nix says she¡¯s a beautiful woman who¡¯s hard to get close to. Also, he said if the Count¡¯s daughter became his wife, he¡¯d afraid of her.¡±

    ¡°Even though she¡¯s beautiful, but he doesn¡¯t want her?¡±

    ¡°Because there are various things for men.¡±

    At first, the boys at the school go for the beautiful girls, but gradually they switch to focus on personality.

    The reason? Because even if the face is good, if the personality is terrible, it¡¯s tiresome.

    Beautiful women should be dealt with by men with wealth and power.

    The ideal is a woman who looks good and has a good inside.

    ¨D¨DOya? This is about Ange and Livia? Noelle falls under that category, too.

    It seems I was one of the very few winners.

    ¡°It¡¯s more about personality than looks. Let¡¯s get Dorothea-san, who seems to be a problem child, to shake off Nix. That way, we can smear each other¡¯s faces and draw this case to a close. It¡¯s all going to work out, right?¡±

    It shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I fail! I asked Ange to confirm.

    I¡¯m a man who has made many selfish decisions that have failed me.

    So, this time, I sought the help of Ange, who was well versed in noble society.

    And Ange, she looks a little happier.

    ¡°Indeed, if Dorothea refuses, I¡¯m sure it will be as Leon says. If we seed, the Rosede house will not retaliate.¡±

    Ange¡¯s approval was given.

    However, Livia put her finger to her lips and raised her face slightly.

    ¡°Leon-san is a marquis, and Ange is here, so why are they trying to touch us? It was the other side that brought the idea to us in the first ce, wasn¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s inevitable that she would reject him.¡±

    Why can¡¯t we just refuse like normal? Ange smiled and replied to Livia¡¯sment.

    ¡°A good argument, but the Count¡¯s face would be ruined if his daughter was rejected as a bride. As a nobleman, he can¡¯t keep quiet.¡±

    ¡°Is that how it is?¡±

    ¡°In a noble society, if you¡¯re underestimated, you¡¯re finished. But if it¡¯s Leon¡¯s n, it will end up destroying the face of the Rosede house.¡±

    ¡°Eh? They are still going to be angry?¡±

    ¡°After offering matchmaking, if his own daughter refused to marry him, the Rosede house would beughing stocks. When it was his own daughter who suggested the idea and made it fail, he would only beughed at more if heined. If that happens, maybe they¡¯ll just pretend the whole matchmaking thing never happened.¡±

    When I saw Ange looking happy for some reason, I knew that my idea was more effective than I thought.

    ¡°R-Right? No, I thought it was a brilliant move too.¡±

    When I try to cover it up by smiling, Luxion interrupts me as usual.

    [Do you think Master would think that much? If the other party refuses, then the matchmaking talk will have never happened ¨D¨D that¡¯s the extent of his thinking. He didn¡¯t think that deeply about it.]

    He bbered on about my feelings without my permission.

    ¡°If you know how I feel, you¡¯d better shut up about it. If you don¡¯t tell them, I¡¯ll look like an intelligent man, right? You need to be more careful.¡±

    [I¡¯ll be careful when I feel like it.]

    You told Ange before that you¡¯d ¡®take the appropriate action¡¯, but when ites to me you said that? Isn¡¯t this guy really taking me lightly?

    ¡°Anyway, I feel bad for the Rosede house, but I want this whole matchmaking thing to fail.¡±

    Livia does not seem to be on board.

    ¡°Is it really okay to let it fail? I think it¡¯s disrespectful to them, and I think we should talk about it first.¡±

    Gentle Livia insisted that Nix and Dorothea-san should talk to each other first.

    Ange didn¡¯t deny it, but she didn¡¯t affirm it either.

    ¡°They marry each other for the sake of the house, not because they like each other. A rtionship like ours is a rare one. I don¡¯t know what will happen if they talk.¡±

    Just as Nix couldn¡¯t turn down this offer, Dorothea-san was unlikely to turn it down due to her house¡¯s situation.

    But for Nix¡¯s sake, I¡¯m going to let this matter fail.

    I¡¯m sorry to Deirdre-senpai, but my familyes first.

    Luxion will confirm the situation.

    [The Rosede house is well prepared. They¡¯ve already put Dorothea on the airship. As soon as she¡¯s ready, they¡¯ll set up a meeting. Is there anything I need to prepare for you before then?]

    ¡°That¡¯s right ¨D¨D Could get you a cor?¡±

    When I mentioned the cor, both Ange and Livia went expressionless.

    Luxion also shows a gesture of ¡°Master is saying strange things again¡±.

    But the cor is also a very important item to make the matchmaking fail.

    .

    Part 6

    Bartfalt territory port.

    On the deck of the Rosede house¡¯s airship, which was docked, there was a figure of Dorothea.

    Dorothea, gazing out over the Bartfalt territorial harbor from the deck, kept the servants around her at a distance with a nonchnt expression.

    Then Deirdre arrives, having boarded the airship from thending ramp.

    ¡°Onee-sama, the talk is settled.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D So¡±

    Like Deirdre, Dorothea is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman with long, silky, straight hair.

    Her clothes, unlike Deirdre¡¯s, were dressed in a simple and elegant manner. She was a woman who did not like ornaments, preferring simple designs.

    But right now, she is ying with her beautiful hair with her fingertips with no expression.

    Her attitude conveyed herck of interest in the Bartfalt family and the people she was visiting.

    Deirdre shrugged her shoulders in astonishment.

    ¡°Onee-sama, this one-time Tou-sama will not allow you to refuse.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    Dorothea¡¯s gaze is downward, and her attitude is dubious as to whether she really understands.

    But, for once, she asks Deirdre about her partner.

    ¡°So, what kind of man is my partner?¡±

    Deirdre is a little dazed and troubled, but talks about Nix.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been informed beforehand.¡±

    ¡°I want to know the evaluation from Deirdre¡¯s perspective.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Put in a better way, he¡¯s serious person. Put in a worse way, he is an unremarkable older brother who hides behind his younger brother. But I suppose it can¡¯t be helped when the younger brother is such a hero.¡±

    Compared to Leon, who ran rampant in the Kingdom of Horfalt and the Republic of Arzel, his older brother, Nix, would seem rather in.

    However, Dorothea seemed even less interested.

    She looked nkly into the distance.

    ¡°Boring man¡±

    Deirdre let out a small sigh, tapped her shoulder a few times with her fan, and looked at Dorothea¡¯s profile.

    ¡°I¡¯m also in trouble with Onee-sama¡¯s high hopes.¡±

    Dorothea folded her arms under herrge breasts and looked into the distance without replying.

 Volume 8, 2 â€œFace-to-Faceâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 2 ¡°Face-to-Face¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The prestigious Rosede family.

    ording to Deirdre-senpai, her ancestors were recognized as nobles by the kingdom after a great adventure.

    After that, they yed an active role in many adventures, and now contribute to the kingdom as a count.

    They have a long history, and their contribution to the kingdom is iparable to that of the Bartfalt family.

    In contrast, the Bartfalt family is less active as adventurers.

    The beginning itself isplicated, as much as I did my best to get Luxion.

    Her ancestor took part in the war and took credit for it.

    With the reward for doing so, he became a small lord, and has been living modestly ever since.

    The Kingdom of Horfalt was founded by adventurers, and when you be an adventurer, you are respected by those around you.

    In other words, the evaluation is low if it is established otherwise.

    In contrast to the Rosede family, which has been very active, the Bartfalt family is a family that has continued in a modest way.

    The Bartfalt family is approached by the prestigious Rosede family for matchmaking.

    I have no idea what the other side is thinking.

    However, the matchmaking gets off to the worst possible start.

    ¡°I¡¯m Nix¡±

    ¡°I know. Didn¡¯t you hear the story in advance?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D I¡¯m sorry. I knew it¡±

    ¡°Then, stop with the troublesome greetings.¡±

    It¡¯s a pity to watch this matchmaking, but the boys at the school can¡¯t be broken down by something like this.

    Me and Luxion gathered in another room.

    Also with us were Ange and Livia ¨D¨D and Noelle in her wheelchair.

    The five of us are watching a live video projected on the wall, and in contrast to Nix¡¯s nervousness, Dorothea-san¡¯s attitude is quite bad.

    She folded her arms and looked at Nix with a measured look, then averted her gaze and didn¡¯t even try to look at him.

    ¡°A-Ano, what¡¯s your hobby?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHa~a, you are a really boring man.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±

    Even if he talks to her with the standard stuff, Dorothea-san won¡¯t take him seriously as seen here.

    I feel sorry for Nix.

    Noelle, unable to stand it, shakes her head in disbelief.

    ¡°What a terrible matchmaking. The other person doesn¡¯t seem to be willing to talk at all. Isn¡¯t this going to fail without Leon¡¯s help?¡±

    I agree with Noelle¡¯s opinion, but Ange denies it.

    ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen. If this is matchmaking, the priority is the connection between the houses. The individual¡¯s wishes are not even a consideration.¡±

    When Ange made a sharp point, Livia looked down sadly.

    ¡°When I think about it, I feel sorry for both of them. They don¡¯t even like each other, but they¡¯re bound together for the sake of the house.¡±

    Ange, who seemedposed, was now staring at Dorothea on the screen.

    She was also annoyed with Dorothea-san¡¯s attitude, although she said it can¡¯t be helped.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that normally people are a little more approachable. The rumors about her being too choosy were true.¡±

    I decided to talk to Ange, who seemed to know something about it.

    I wanted to get as much information about Dorothea-san as I could, but I couldn¡¯t watch Nix in the video for any length of time as he seemed to be in pain.

    ¡°Rumor?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what she looks like. There was no end to the number of men who asked her to marry them, both while she was in school and after she graduated. But all the matchmaking attempts failed. There were rumors that she had a problem.¡±

    She was beautiful, and it was no wonder that many men had proposed marriage to her.

    If so, what was the problem that kept her from getting married?

    ¡°Does she hate men? Or maybe she¡¯s got her heart set on someone?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no sign or rumor that Dorothea has a partner, either opposite or same gender.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t like the same sex, nor does she seem to have a partner in mind.

    And yet keep failing at matchmaking?

    ¡°Ah, Dorothea-san is¨D¨D¡±

    When Livia¡¯s voice brought my attention back to the image, I saw Dorothea-san move.

    A few moments ago, she hadn¡¯t even looked at Nix¡¯s face, but only now was she giving him a serious look.

    ¡°Do you have the resolve to be my pet?¡±

    ¡°Eh, pet¡±

    Ange let out a small sigh, and Livia¡¯s expression disappeared from her face.

    Noelle is surprised to hear a tter from her wheelchair, but knowing the girls at the school, I¡¯m not surprised.

    Noelle shakily pointed at the image.

    ¡°What did this person say?¡±

    I guess she was hoping that she had misheard, but her hopes were crushed by Luxion.

    [She dered that she wanted to make her matchmaking partner a pet. It¡¯s rare for a family above the rank of Count, but Deirdre has also said in the past that she wants to make Master a pet. I guess the sisters like to make people submissive]

    ¡°No, that¡¯s no good!¡±

    Livia is a little touched by Noelle¡¯s obvious reaction.

    ¡°Normally, that would be true. But the kingdom¡¯s academy is a little bit special.¡±

    As Livia¡¯s expression immediately clouded, Ange tried to reassure Noelle.

    ¡°It¡¯s better than before¡±

    From my point of view, it¡¯s not something I¡¯m interested in since I¡¯m free from the marriage hunting life.

    But I¡¯m interested to see how much the school has changed in the year we were abroad.

    ¨D¨D Although looking at Jenna in the mansion, I¡¯m starting to think it¡¯s a long shot.

    In the video, Dorothea, who has lost interest in Nix, who is at a loss to answer, gets up and leaves the room without saying a word.

    When the video cut off, we both let out a sigh at the same time.

    Ange tells us the rest of the rumor she just heard.

    ¡°Looks like the bad rumors are true.¡±

    Is there something more? I asked for a detailed exnation.

    ¡°What rumors?¡±

    ¡°She asks a bad question and presses for an answer, but no matter which answers Dorothea receives, she is not satisfied and leaves the table. If it¡¯s the question she just asked, she¡¯ll give you a disdainful look if you say you want to be her pet, and a disinterested look if you refuse. In the end, she won¡¯t be satisfied with either answer.¡±

    Nix being dumbfounded and unable to answer, is this a disinterested pattern?

    She has given him two choices, and she is not satisfied with either answer? If he doesn¡¯t answer, that¡¯s wrong too?

    What a bad question.

    Luxion makes a few predictions about this question.

    [There may be a third answer to this question that has not been provided. Or perhaps the question itself implies her rejection?]

    Ange seems to have the same opinion as Luxion.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s thetter ¡°

    Instead of hating him because he got the answer wrong, she asks this question because she hates him from the start?

    Sure, she was troublesome, but I felt better about the situation now.

    ¡°But I guess this won¡¯t be a problem even if I don¡¯t help.¡±

    Dorothea-san is not interested in Nix and will pretend that this matchmaking talk never happened.

    It¡¯s a relief to know that we aplished our goal without doing anything.

    However, Luxion shows the next image.

    [It is because of such carelessness that Master repeatedly fails in important points.]

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    I was about to poke him, but I saw Deirdre-senpai and Dorothea-san in the video.

    Deirdre-senpai is rushing to her sister Dorothea-san.

    ¡°What are you thinking, onee-sama? This time, even Otou-sama won¡¯t forgive you.¡±

    The servants of the Rosede family were also around, surrounding Dorothea-san to keep her from escaping.

    The person has a face that has given up.

    ¡°I understand. I just bet on thest possibility. ¡°

    ¡°I want you to stop even joking.¡±

    From the looks of the two of them, it would apparently be difficult to pretend that the matchmaking never happened.

    I press my head with my right hand and change my mind, thinking that I have no choice but to do it.

    ¡°I guess they¡¯re more serious than I thought.¡±

    I don¡¯t understand why the prestigious Rosede family would be interested in a weak frontier baron family.

    Because I¡¯m here? But I¡¯m a marquis independent from my parents¡¯ house.

    The faction, or rather the backer, is the Dukes Redgrave, Ange¡¯s parents¡¯ family.

    It would be pointless to try to take us in ¨D¨D As I was thinking about this, I noticed Ange looking at me with her hand on her chin.

    She seems to be more concerned about my reaction than matchmaking.

    ¡°Speaking of which, what does Ange think about aniki¡¯s marriage? Has your family said anything about it?¡±

    I asked, and Ange shrugged and shook her head.

    ¡°Nothing. You can do whatever you want.¡±

    I¡¯m grateful that they don¡¯t interfere, but does that mean that Duke Redgrave isn¡¯t interested in my family?

    Livia looks at me and looks worried.

    ¡°Leon-san, are you really going to do it? I think you should stop it after all.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t back down aftering this far. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m good at making matchmaking fail.¡±

    I answered with a smile, and Noelle, who didn¡¯t know what was going on, looked at us.

    ¡°Wait. What are you going to do? I haven¡¯t heard anything.¡±

    I should have told Noelle about this, but I was hesitant because of this method.

    ¡°Actually ¨D¨D I¡¯m thinking of imitating Loic.¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    Next to the surprised Noelle who was having trouble reacting, Ange crossed her arms, looked at me, and muttered.

    ¡°You should get bitter experience for once.¡±

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°Is this really okay!?¡±

    I called Nix into the waiting room and exined my n to make the matchmaking fail.

    I smile and give a dog cor with a chain to Nix.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve seen the most shocking confessions in the Republic. Holding a cor and saying you¡¯re mine will make you out in one step. The other party would refuse to go on the matchmaking.¡±

    The model for this operation was Loic, who kept wooing Noelle in the Republic.

    Loic, the target of that second otome game, not knowing what was happened to him, was approaching Noelle with a cor.

    He was a man who made me surprised, but in the end, he had changed and be Marie¡¯s little brother.

    ¨D¨DEven if he changed, and became Marie¡¯s little brother, what a terrible thing.

    Is Marie emitting some kind of signal that attracts the men she¡¯s trying to capture and makes them weird?

    Nix gripped the cor with both hands and broke out in a cold sweat.

    ¡°It¡¯s just too much. It¡¯s wrong for a person to do such a thing, and it¡¯ll ruin my reputation and our house, right?¡±

    That¡¯s the problem.

    Holding a cor and saying, ¡°You belong to me!¡±, Nix and Bartfalt family would be questioned about theirmon sense.

    But! ¨D¨D It was the Rosede family who was rude first.

    Luxion has left a solid video of the matchmaking, so when the timees, I canin back.

    If Dorothea-san was a normal person, my conscience would have been guilty, but as a younger brother, I would have been angry if she had mistreated my big brother that much.

    Let¡¯s get some payback, and this time, they¡¯re the ones who are going to get a bitter experience.

    ¡°No problem. Ange told me that the other party has a big problem with the attitude.¡±

    ¡°Really? I¡¯ve seen an advanced ss tea party at the academy and it was just like this.¡±

    ¨D¨D People like Dorothea-san at the tea party are ssified as rather decent girls.

    That¡¯s how bad the environment was, but getting used to it is a scary thing.

    ¡°I think so, too. I¡¯ve been to a lot of tea parties that were worse than this.¡±

    ¡°I understand you¡¯re having a hard time, but this is just awful. I¡¯d question a person¡¯s humanity if they came at me with this.¡±

    I will ask Nix to take such action now.

    ¡°So you¡¯re just going to marry Dorothea-san? It¡¯s not just a loveless marriage. Are you going to live the rest of your life being disrespected?¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s not what I want.¡±

    After meeting with Dorothea-san, Nix seemed to have guessed that they would not be able to be a harmonious couple like Dad and Mom in the future.

    So, for aniki¡¯s sake, I¡¯m going to make this matchmaking fail.

    That¡¯s what the cor is for.

    ¡°Aniki, if you use this, you¡¯re sure to fail. The other party will tell you they don¡¯t want this kind of matchmaking.¡±

    ¡°I know they will to say it, but my damage is too great, though?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ept that¡±

    Nix looks at me and the cor alternately, his cheeks drawn together.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s easier to just tell people what to do.¡±

    ¡°As your brother, I feel so bad for making you do this, aniki!¡±

    ¡°Lie!¡±

    .

    Part 3

    When Dorothea returned to the room where she had run out, Nix was not there.

    There was still some tea on the table, which had cooled down.

    Dorothea had returned, and the servants of the Bartfalt family were making a fresh pot of tea.

    ¡°The standard is that degree.¡±

    From the start, Dorothea had no expectations of a countryside baron family, but the atmosphere of the mansion and the attitude of the servants did not seem noble to her.

    When the object ofparison is her own family, the Count, it is no wonder that the other families are inferior.

    Even though she understands it, she can¡¯t help but see it all as a mess.

    (If I refuse this offer, otou-sama will probably give up on me, too.)

    Dorothea is also aware that her father, the head of the Count¡¯s family, has a soft spot for his daughter.

    However, if this talk ends in failure, the father who is lenient to his daughter will change his attitude.

    Even Dorothea, who had given him so much trouble, understood that much.

    (Life is so boring, isn¡¯t it)

    Taking a sip of her tea, Dorothea then crossed her arms under her chest and waited for Nix.

    When the waiting time bes longer, she crosses her legs.

    (It looks like I¡¯ve made him angry)

    She thought that she had angered Nix and that the talk had failed.

    Then the door was opened with a bang.

    ¡°Ara, have youe toin?¡±

    Dorothea¡¯s mocking expression was directed at Nix, whose face was somewhat tense.

    He didn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood, as he had been earlier.

    Dorothea judged this to be Nix¡¯s anger, but there was something wrong with him.

    Nix seems to be very nervous.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhy don¡¯t you sit down?¡±

    When she was suspicious of Nix not taking his seat, he seemed to be hiding something with his hands behind his back.

    For a moment, she thought he might be hiding a weapon. But it was the Bartofalt family who would be in trouble if he harmed her here.

    He doesn¡¯t seem like a short-tempered person.

    After some thought, a wary Dorothea prepared herself to run away at any moment and Nix ced the hidden object on the table.

    Dorothea was confused when she saw the object ced in front of her with a ttering metallic sound.

    ¡°Wha?¡±

    Her voice didn¡¯te out because of the suddenness of the situation.

    In front of her was a cor with a chain, like a dog would have.

    She immediately looked at Nix¡¯s face and saw a drawn out smile on his face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got a cor that might suit you. You asked me to be your pet, didn¡¯t you? I¡¯ll give you my answer. You will be my pet!¡±

    After being told in a loud voice to be a pet, Dorothea found herself trembling before she knew it.

    She grabs her two arms to hug herself, stands up, and runs out of the room again without seeing Nix.

    At Dorothea¡¯s back, Nixughs and makes a nasty remark.

    ¡°Are you running away? You tried to treat people like a pet, but you¡¯re such a small-minded master!¡±

    When Dorothea heard those words, she felt her body heat up all at once.

    Even without looking in the mirror, she could predict that she would be red in the face now.

    When she ran out of the room, Deirdre, who had been keeping an eye on her, was sitting in the chair provided.

    When she sees Dorothea, she thinks for a moment that she¡¯s run away again, and make a displeased face ¨D¨D But, she notices that something is wrong and gets up and runs over to her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, onee-sama?¡±

    Dorothea turns her moist eyes to Deirdre, who hugs her shoulder.

    Deirdre was surprised by her weak appearance.

    ¡°What really happened?¡±

    ¡°Deirdre, I¨D¨D¡±

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°You did it, aniki!¡±

    As soon as Dorothea-san ran out of the room, I entered the room through a different door.

    Nix¡¯s great performance made meugh, but judging from Dorothea-san¡¯s behavior, I have a feeling that the n will be a great sess.

    After all, she was red-faced and furious.

    Nix¡¯s was red up to his ears, hiding his face with his hands.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it anymore. Why did I do this¨D¨DI never thought I¡¯d treat someone like a pet¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an act, right? You¡¯re worrying too much.¡±

    ¡°She thinks I¡¯m serious! Leon, are you sure that this is okay? I agreed with you, but now I¡¯m starting to get somewhat scared.¡±

    By now, Nix was terrified that he had angered the other party.

    But I don¡¯t like to cross any dangerous bridges.

    I at least have insurance in case I fail.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If there¡¯s a problem, I¡¯ll apologize to Deirdre-senpaiter.¡±

    ¡°How does an apology help?¡±

    ¡°No problem. That¡¯s what money is for. Luxion will take care of it!¡±

    I looked over to my right shoulder and saw Luxion floating there, looking at me with one red eye.

    [It¡¯s always my job to follow up. If money was the answer to this problem, why didn¡¯t you just pay some money and refuse from the beginning?]

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of money if we paid from the start?¡±

    [You¡¯re still strangely stingy.]

    It would be a problem in many ways to be offered a matchmaking and then suddenly pay for it and pretend it never happened.

    Luxion turned his red lens on Nix.

    [Please be assured. Even if the Rosede family uses force, I will protect you and the Bartfalt family.]

    Nix¡¯s shoulders slumped in response to Luxion¡¯s very reliable words.

    ¡°I want you to do something before that happens. I want this to end peacefully before they use force.¡±

    When I see Nix worrying, I think we¡¯re really brothers. After all, I¡¯m a worrywart too.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll rely on Ange in case of emergency.¡±

    I am grateful that my fianc¨¦e is reliable.

    But when he raised his head, Nix was looking at me with a surprised expression.

    ¡°You ¨D¨D Aren¡¯t you embarrassed that you¡¯ve been relying on others so much?¡±

    Nix med me for this, but I don¡¯t get it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s arrogant to try to do everything by yourself? Relying on someone who can do it for you is the right thing to do.¡±

    Nix put his finger on his forehead and was troubled by my words.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. But it seems to me that you¡¯ve been stirring things up and then leaving it to others to clean up the mess, though?¡±

    ¨D¨D He hit where it hurts.

    But it¡¯s also a kind of power to have someone you can rely on.

    ¡°You know, the right person in the right ce ¡°

    ¡°It looks to me like you¡¯re just doing what you want to do and letting others clean up after you. You¡¯re really selfish.¡±

    ¡°Aniki is too serious. Thanks to me, the matchmaking failed. Don¡¯t you think you should praise me more?¡±

    ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for the damage to my reputation and psyche, I could have given you an honestpliment. Now I¡¯m regretting taking the easy way out and letting you help me. She was more shocked than I thought she would be, and I feel bad for her. ¡°

    What are you talking about now? As I was thinking this, Luxionforted Nix.

    [You made a mistake with the person you joined hands with. Like you, I am usually made to regret by Master. Master who teaches regret to an AI may be a great man in a sense, though.]

    Why does this guy insult me as he breathes out his words?

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re learning to feel like a human.¡±

    [Don¡¯t you think you should do a little self-reflection? Yourck of empathy for others is also a problem.]

    ¡°Some sacrifices must be made in order to achieve a goal.¡±

    [It wasn¡¯t Master who made the sacrifice, though.]

    Nix looked embarrassed as he remembered the scene from earlier.

    ¡°It¡¯s true. I shouldn¡¯t have relied on you.¡±

    Nix has been embarrassed, but at the cost of his own reputation and psyche, this matchmaking will be a failure.

    It took a lot of sacrifices, but the results were worth it.

    The rest is fine as long as the post-processing is correct.

    .

    Part 5

    After Leon left for Nix¡¯s room, Ange and the others, three of them who were waiting in another room were talking about the future.

    Noelle, her cheeks tightening, seemed to remember the time when Loic had hounded her.

    ¡°It looked bad when I was a part of it, but now that I see it, it¡¯s even worse. Isn¡¯t this going to ruin Nix-san¡¯s reputation?¡±

    It ended so badly that Noelle was worried about Nix.

    Livia asked Noelle a slightly nasty question.

    ¡°Noelle-san, you and Leon-san were connected for a while, weren¡¯t you? But you seemed to be happy then, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°T-That is !?¡±

    Noelle¡¯s face turns red and she tries to deny it, but she has no excuse and her mouth agape.

    She must have remembered the cursed cor ced on her by Loic when Ange and Livia visited the Republic.

    It seems that Livia is still holding on to the fact that the way she was ying with Leon using that cor looked like she was flirting with him.

    Ange rebuke Livia.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be too mean to her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±

    Livia is remorseful and apologizes to Noelle, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Noelle was troubled, but epted the apology, and the conversation ended without dragging on, and they moved on.

    Livia was concerned about the response of the Rosede family and looked worried.

    ¡°Nix-san has his own problems, but I¡¯m also worried about Dorothea-san, his partner. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll report it to her parents since we made her angry.¡±

    The rtionship between the Bartfalt and Rosede families would quickly turn sour ¨D¨D or so they predicted.

    Livia turns to face Ange.

    ¡°Ange, are you sure we shouldn¡¯t have stopped him? The usual Ange would have stopped Leon, right?¡±

    Leon is a man who usually talks like a man ofmon sense and takes everything in stride, but once he shows his determination, he tends to go overboard.

    It seemed to bother Livia that Ange, who was worried about Leon, didn¡¯t stop him from going off the rails this time.

    Ange smiled and began to talk about the underlying problem.

    ¡°No problem. Besides, Leon should be hurt while he can get it back. And did I mention that Deirdre came to me once to ask for matchmaking?¡±

    Noelle looked up a little and spoke reminiscently while Livia was thinking.

    ¡°Eh? This is matchmaking, right? Because, Yumeria-san ¨D¨D Are?¡±

    Both Noelle and Livia will understand only when they get here.

    The Bartfalt family and Yumeria assumed it was matchmaking, but not once did Deirdre mention that it was matchmaking between Nix and Dorothea.

    Ange let out a small sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

    ¡°Because formal matchmaking is also a lot of trouble. The higher the rank, the more troublesome the procedures are. There¡¯s no way they¡¯re going to ignore that and go for matchmaking. Even if they did, the Rosede family would probably remove obstacles in the way of their objective more carefully.¡±

    Noelle leans forward a little and asks Ange about the reaction of the Bartfalt family.

    ¡°But Leon and the rest of the family believed it was a matchmaking match, didn¡¯t they?¡±

    With a troubled look on her face, Ange talked about the problems of the Bartofalt family.

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem. For better or worse, the Bartfalt family is a countryside Baron family far from the capital. They are not familiar with the ways of the capital. That¡¯s the reason why they misunderstood. This would have been fine in the past, but Leon has risen too high.¡±

    With a sad look in her eyes, Ange felt bad that the Bartfalt family was also involved in Leon¡¯s rise to power.

    The Baron family, who used to be peaceful in the countryside, is now in a position to get involved in court disputes.

    ¡°Things are not going to go on as usual for Leon and his family. The fact that the Rosede family has approached us is proof of that.¡±

    Noelle was the first one to get depressed when she heard that.

    Noelle was brought from the Republic of Arzel because she is the keeper of the sapling of the Sacred Tree that generates energy ¨D¨D a priestess.

    She is in a position to manage a tremendous nt that in the future will have no problem with energy.

    Leon was the one who protected Noelle.

    Noelle seemed to think that she was forcing Leon to participate in a power struggle that he didn¡¯t want to be involved in.

    ¡°Is it my fault? Because I am protected by Leon.¡±

    Noelle, who can control the saplings of the sacred tree that those in power would definitely want to acquire, would be taken away to some other country if she were to be released poorly.

    Since Leon was the one who was protecting her, she thought she was causing trouble.

    However, Ange immediately denied the idea.

    ¡°Unfortunately, even before he met Noelle, Leon was destined to be involved in a court battle. Because he was with me.¡±

    (In the first ce, my father approved my engagement in order to incorporate him into his faction)

    Once you have a Duke¡¯s daughter as your fianc¨¦e, you will be part of the power struggle even if you don¡¯t want to be.

    Ange¡¯s father, Vince, a Duke, has a soft spot for his daughter, but that alone is not enough to make him the head of arge noble family.

    Of course, he allowed his daughter to be engaged to Leon, expecting his power.

    It is true that there was a kindness to his daughter, but it was unusual for him to marry the Duke¡¯s daughter to Viscount Leon, who had risen through the ranks in his own lifetime.

    He has feelings for his daughter, but he also has his own interests at heart.

    ¡°And by the way, the only person who¡¯s getting more attention than Noelle at the moment is Leon himself.¡±

    Noelle was a little confused by Ange¡¯s exnation.

    As Ange was about to continue, there was a strong knocking sound in the room.

    The knocking sound was loud, and the three of them felt as if the person on the other side of the door was getting impatient.

    ¡°You cane in¡±

    When Ange allowed her to enter the room, Yumeria hurriedly rushed in.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s serious! The nobleman¡¯s airship has arrived at the port again!¡±

    From how flustered Yumeria was, Ange guessed that it wasn¡¯t the nobles she was usually associated with ¨D¨D but a big name like the Rosede family.

    ¡°This is gettingplicated. So which house is it?¡±

    Yumeria took out the paper she had written down and said the name of the person¡¯s house.

    ¡°It¡¯s Atley¡¯s house.¡±

    When the name of the house was given in a light-hearted manner, as if it were someone from the next door, Ange¡¯s expression disappeared.

    ¡°¨D¨Dris, huh?¡±

    The person she predicted was [ris Fia Atley].

    She is the daughter of Minister Bernard, who does not hold territory as a court noble, but holds a minister position in the royal capital.

    Like Deirdre, she was a youngdy from great noble.

 Volume 8, 3 â€œUnexpectedâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 3 ¡°Unexpected¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    For some reason, the ce where Nix and Dorothea-san had just been having matchmaking was enveloped in a strange atmosphere.

    I sat down and drank a cup of tea, but for some reason, the aroma and taste seemed lighter than usual.

    Winter is over and it¡¯s almost time for warmer seasons, but for some reason, it¡¯s strangely chilly.

    I sipped my tea silently in a room filled with nervousness and tension.

    However, the woman in front of me ¨D¨D ris-senpai, who graduated from school, smiles happily.

    ¡°I¡¯m relieved. If that¡¯s the case, then it wasn¡¯t matchmaking between Leon-kun and Deirdre-senpai.¡±

    ¡°I have a fianc¨¦, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be having matchmaking or anything.¡±

    For some reason, ris-senpai misunderstood that me and Deirdre-senpai were having matchmaking.

    When she came to Bartfalt territory by airship, she came straight to the mansion.

    She was apanied by a senior student who had previously been with me in an air bike race and an unknown person who appeared to be a female student from the school.

    Deirdre-senpai, who was sitting next to me making a good argument, was hiding her mouth and giving ris-senpai a displeased look.

    ¡°The court nobles are good at being sarcastic, aren¡¯t they? Do you really think the Rosede family would do such a thing?¡±

    It seemed she think she forced me to do the matchmaking with her, and Deirdre-senpai was angry.

    ris-senpai countered calmly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the problem in the first ce to make people think it¡¯s not surprising that you do it? You should reflect on your usual behavior.¡±

    The sisters say they want to make people into their pets, so I guess she¡¯s trying to say that it¡¯s not strange for them to bring up matchmaking to someone who has a fiance.

    Deirdre-senpai said back, raising one corner of her mouth to keep a smile on her face.

    Inwardly, she felt as if her gut was churning.

    The servants of the Rosede family behind me, for example, have been staring at me with narrowed eyes for a while now.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like the words of a desperate person who had her engagement broken off.¡±

    If there is a weak point in ris-senpai, it¡¯s Jilk ¨D¨D that Jilk broke off the engagement with her and then she became a delinquent during the summer.

    In the meantime, she had a lot of fun, and it was said that she behaved in an udylike manner.

    The gazes of the two people behind ris-senpai had be much more stern.

    I turned around only my upper body and asked for help from our servants.

    However, the servants quickly averted their gaze.

    People like Yumelia-san looked carefree, not understanding what was going on.

    When I turned back, it seemed she decided to wave her hand for the time being.

    As I was being soothed by such a sight, Ange opened her mouth after taking a sip of tea.

    ¡°Take your staring contest elsewhere. Now, what business does ris have with us?¡±

    I was relieved to find Ange in charge of the ce, and Luxion muttered beside me.

    [Master, aren¡¯t you relieved that Angelica is in charge?]

    ¡°It¡¯s my style to leave things to those who can.¡±

    [You really are a useless master, aren¡¯t you.]

    ¡°I¡¯m just not stupid enough to jump into a situation I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why they are being so unfriendly in the first ce.

    [You just don¡¯t want to know, do you?]

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit arrogant to expect humans to know everything?¡±

    [It would be arrogant of me to think that I could live without knowing anything.]

    As I was whispering with Luxion, ris-senpai took a sip of her drink, took a breath, and started talking.

    ¡°Actually, we have a lot to discuss. Why don¡¯t we talk by ourselves?¡±

    By ¡°by ourselves,¡± she meant that she wanted to talk to us without any servants.

    When Ange turned her gaze to Deirdre-senpai, she opened her fan to cover her mouth and directed her gaze somewhere else.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I also have a lot to talk about.¡±

    She nced at me as she did so, so she must have been displeased with Nix¡¯s behavior toward Dorothea-san.

    I should probably tell her that Nix didn¡¯t really mean it, but that it was my instruction.

    This is how we got the servants to leave their seats.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°Somehow I can¡¯t stand it. Well, it was my parents who arranged the meeting. But as for me, it¡¯s hard to shrug. Even though I¡¯m alone, everyone around me is so intimate, it¡¯s hard.¡±

    When the servants were gone, ris-senpai looked down with a gloomy expression on her face.

    The reason was the two people who had just been waiting behind her.

    Although he was a graduate, he was introduced to one woman by the Atley family.

    I whispered to Livia next to me.

    ¡°Senpai is the one whopeted with me in the air bike race, right? Didn¡¯t that manly man like ris-senpai?¡±

    It seemed that Livia thought so too.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m sure he hasplicated feelings.¡±

    After graduating from the school, the senior, who was active in air bike racing, was involved in work that involved the use of air bikes.

    He seemed to be a very reliable person, and he came to our house today as an escort for ris-senpai.

    He was the one who previously tried to take revenge on Jilk for ris-senpai.

    From the previous situation, I could tell that he still cared for ris-senpai as much as ever.

    Noelle listens to us and gives us aplicated look.

    ¡°The nobles of the kingdom have it hard, too.¡±

    As the three of us were whispering to each other, ris-senpai turned to face us.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

    Apparently, she heard us.

    As I try to avert my gaze and cover it up, Luxion asks straight out without reading the air.

    [There must have been men who had already graduated from the school who longed for ris. Wasn¡¯t there an approach from them?]

    Since ris was well-liked by the boys around her, I thought at least one of them might have confessed to her.

    However, it seems that the situation is different.

    ris replied with a wry smile.

    ¡°T-There¡¯s a difference in status.¡±

    The people around her were boys from regr ss.

    They are too different in status to match up with ris-senpai to be a suitable marriage partner.

    Deirdre opened her fan to cover her mouth, but I could tell from her eyes that she was enjoying it.

    ¡°I wonder if it was respect instead of love? You¡¯re worried about being left alone while everyone else is getting married. Isn¡¯t that the result of udylike behavior?¡±

    Having Jilk break off their engagement, and the past of ying around at night, weighed heavily on ris-senpai.

    Aside from the barons and viscounts, the Kingdom of Horfalt had a strong sense of chastity for some reason when it came to the families of the counts and above.

    The reason for this was very unfortunate, but ris-senpai is avoided by men from families who could be her marriage partner, saying, ¡°A girl who has been ying around is a bit¡±.

    Perhaps she is aware of it, she res at Deirdre-senpai.

    ¡°Yes! Everyone around me is getting married, and I¡¯m just alone! And yet, everyone around me is so nice to me that it makes me even more miserable!¡±

    Ange crossed her arms in front of ris, who was depressed, hiding her face with both hands.

    ¡°So you¡¯re here toin? How about you tell me what you really mean?¡±

    However, Ange was still wary of what ris-senpai had to say.

    When I was wondering why, ris-senpai straightened her posture and showed me a smile.

    The depressed figure I had seen earlier was nowhere to be seen.

    Noelle and Livia were surprised to see such ris-senpai.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that person a little scary?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s usually a gentle senior. She¡¯s a graduate now, though.¡±

    Ange, who had looked over at ris-senpai and Deirdre-senpai, responded with a fearless smile.

    And I guessed the reason why ris-senpai hade to our house.

    ¡°The Rosede family is getting close to the Bartfalt family, so you came all the way out here to check them out, didn¡¯t you? Because you and Leon are not strangers to each other.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think the Atley family would bother to make a move for our house matchmaking.

    But if Ange says so, there must be a reason.

    For some reason, ris-senpai looked at me and smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. But if the other person is that Dorothea, it will fail anyway, or has it already failed?¡±

    When I moved my shoulders to show my reaction, ris-senpai let out a sigh of relief and looked relieved.

    ¡°Judging by Leon-kun¡¯s reaction, it looks like it failed. That¡¯s a relief.¡±

    And ris-senpai, who reaches for the cup, is about to take a sip of the tea when Deirdre-senpai tells her.

    ¡°Ara? When did the Rosede family fail? Onee-sama is more serious than ever.¡±

    ¡°Haa!?¡±

    ris-senpai swallowed her tea, trying to resist the urge to burst out, holding her chest, and she looked at Deirdre-senpai.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re kidding, right? That Dorothea¡¯s on board?¡±

    When Deirdre-senpai slowly gets up from her seat, she closes her fan and turns to ris-senpai and deres.

    ¡°Even from me, her sister¡¯s point of view, I can assure you that she is serious about this. The Rosede family is serious about getting Nix-dono.¡±

    Stunned, ris-senpai apparently thought that the matchmaking would fail.

    But what does this mean?

    Noelle pinched my clothes with her fingers and tugged on them just a few times.

    ¡°What does that mean? Isn¡¯t it supposed to be a fail?¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t even know what happens here¡±

    After all the horrible things we¡¯ve put her through, what does it mean that Dorothea-san¡¯s on board?

    Luxion says to us who are confused.

    [This result was also unexpected even for me. Master has always betrayed my expectations in the past, but this time, the result was diagonally downward. Unfortunately, we seem to have drawn a ridiculously low sess rate.]

    As a result of the diagonal downward thrust ¨D¨D it appears that Nix has won Dorothea-san¡¯s heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lie, right. How could we seed that way?¡±

    What excuse am I going to give Nix?

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°Why do we seed?¡±

    When I was released from the tense tea party, I passed on the message from Dorothea-san to Nix.

    As a result, Nix is holding his head.

    I was also holding my head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, too?! If you tell someone to be your pet with a cor, no matter how much you think about it, you usually deserve to fail! And yet, the other party ¨D¨D ¡°

    Dorothea-san¡¯s message was ¡°I want to see you again.¡±

    I was entrusted with not only a message but also a very polite and long letter.

    It was politely apanied by a gift.

    In addition, it also contained an apology for her rudeness in that situation.

    It¡¯s like she¡¯s a different person than she was on matchmaking.

    By the way, I heard from Deirdre-senpai that Dorothea-san ¨D¨D was like a maiden in love.

    Nix closes in on me, grabbing me by both shoulders and rocking me back and forth repeatedly.

    ¡°You said it! You told me that I was an expert in failure! Why did this seed!¡±

    Instead of me who is being shaken and wobbly, Luxion answers in an amused electronic voice.

    [If the premise must not seed, then it has failed spectacrly. That¡¯s a Master-like result. It¡¯s an amazing result if you¡¯ve achieved a sess that I, with myck of information, could not have led. You have seeded in a situation where you almost failed.]

    If we wanted to seed, it would have been very difficult even for Luxion.

    It seems that I who seeded in that situation is amazing.

    It seems like apliment, but I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m beingplimented.

    I pushed Nix away from me and took my distance, adjusting my breathing as I did with my messy hair and clothes.

    ¡°Be a pet! There is no way you think that¡¯s the right answer, right! Aniki also agreed with my opinion!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but! I¡¯ve sacrificed so much and worked so hard, but why the answer you chose is correct one! That¡¯s a big mistake for me!¡±

    I thought about it for a while ¨D¨D and came to a conclusion.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just give up?¡±

    The answer I gave him made Nix look more and more like a demon.

    He jumped on me and we started the first sibling fight in a long time.

    ¡°You got it good! You¡¯re so lucky to have such a beautiful woman with such a good personality! And yet, why am I ¨D¨D Damn iiiiit!¡±

    For some reason, Luxion seemed to be happy to see me get blown away by Nix¡¯s right fist in the cheek, is it my imagination?

    .

    Part 4

    The Rosede family airship.

    Dorothea was walking around in her room restlessly.

    ¡°Oh no, I should have brought better clothes for this. Besides, I wasn¡¯t too particr about my hair when we first met¨D¨DDoesn¡¯t Nix-sama hate me?¡±

    Deirdre was puzzled to see Dorothea, who had never been interested in anything, now worrying about small things.

    ¡°I think there is no problem. In the first ce, didn¡¯t onee-sama say that you didn¡¯t understand women who cared about clothes?¡±

    Dorothea was the one who made fun of the women who usually dressed up, saying that it was enough to be clean and somewhat neat in appearance.

    And yet, now she was the very image that she hated.

    Dorothea hugs Deirdre.

    ¡°Deirdre, did you deliver the letter and the gift properly? Are you sure you didn¡¯t get a message from Nix-sama? P-Perhaps he hates me and won¡¯t reply?¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like an answer right away? In the first ce, why don¡¯t you just get off the ship and tell him directly?¡±

    ¡°N-No! ¨D¨DWhat if he thinks I¡¯m a nasty woman?¡±

    The servants around her were holding their hands and swallowing their words, ¡°You say that!¡±

    Deirdre was patient, and after a short pause, she continued her talk.

    ¡°I never thought that onee-sama¡¯s ideal man would be in such a ce.¡±

    Dorothea folded her hands in a prayerful gesture and thanked the saint.

    Saint ¨D¨D a woman who is said to have been closest to the god worshipped in the temple.

    She is the sixth adventurer who is said to have been involved in the founding of the Kingdom of Horfalt, and has long been adored by the people as a saint.

    In the Kingdom of Horfalt, founded by adventurers, she is now a goddess.

    Since the saint was an adventurer, it is also popr among the nobility for having the blessing of adventure.

    ¡°Thank you, Saint. If I keep wishing, my dreams wille true. I never thought I¡¯d finally meet a wonderful man. Why didn¡¯t I meet him while I was still in school? If I had met Nix-sama, my school life would have been much more enjoyable.¡±

    Seeing Dorothea¡¯s cheeks dyed red, Deirdre muttered a sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s a relief to know that onee-sama is serious.¡±

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°That was not matchmaking?¡±

    Nix had beaten me up, and I was in my room being treated by Livia with healing magic.

    The pain from where I was hit is still there, but it¡¯s a lot better than if I hadn¡¯t done anything.

    The area that had turned purple had also recovered to the point where it was now only slightly red and swollen.

    While watching me, Ange, who looks stunned in her chair, points out our misunderstanding.

    ¡°Yes. The Rosede family has not officially applied for matchmaking.¡±

    ¡°But Dad and others!¡±

    ¡°If you want to apply formally, you have to go through a moreplicated procedure. In this case, it¡¯s really just a face-to-face meeting. If they get along, maybe next time.¡±

    ¡°Deirdre-senpai and the others were serious!¡±

    ¡°The other side must have been serious. If the chemistry was right, they would have made formal matchmaking or even an engagement.¡±

    ¨D¨D EEEEEH.

    Did I, and even my family, mistakenly believe that we were being offered matchmaking?

    ring at Luxion.

    ¡°Did you not even notice?¡±

    [I could have predicted it, but since Master was working on the premise of matchmaking, there was nothing I could do. Also, I was not ordered to gather information on the noble society. I didn¡¯t have enough information to make a judgment, and I couldn¡¯t be sure.]

    He thought it was suspicious, but didn¡¯t point it out because I didn¡¯t suspect it.

    ¡°You¡¯re not as useful as I thought.¡±

    [No matter how good the artificial intelligence is, if there is a problem with the person handling it, it will not be able to show its full potential. It¡¯s not a problem with my performance, but with Master¡¯sck of ability to use it. I demand improvement.]

    He makes an appeal that he is not at fault.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you improve on that character of yours?¡±

    [I¡¯ll take that into consideration]

    I stood up to grab Luxion, but Livia grabbed my arm.

    ¡°The treatment is not over yet.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore, so it¡¯s okay. More importantly, I need to sanction this traitor.¡±

    ¡°Leon-san, don¡¯t! Don¡¯t move until the treatment is finished.¡±

    After Livia scolded me, I reluctantly sat down and she resumed my treatment, and Luxion approached me in a showy manner.

    He came just barely out of my reach and went out of his way to agitate me.

    [I¡¯ll summarize the results. In other words, Master has encouraged your brother¡¯s matchmaking to fail by doing something unnecessary. Not only his partner, but even you have made a mistake by letting your brother do something terrible. Do you feel a little remorse?]

    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet. I¡¯m sure we can turn things around from here.¡±

    I haven¡¯t given up yet.

    When Luxion shook his one eye, saying yareyare and left the room, Ange followed.

    Me and Livia are left alone in the room.

    As Livia treated my injuries, she remembered the days when she had just entered the academy.

    Seeing my injuries heal, her cheek rxes a little and she puts on a gentle face.

    ¡°This treatment reminds me of when we were first-year students. Do you remember when I first started working with Leon-san and we took on the dungeon for the first time?¡±

    Back then, while I was looking for marriage, I took care of a lot of things because I was concerned about Livia¡¯s situation.

    Believing it to be the right thing to do, I even helped with unnecessary things that hindered Livia¡¯s growth.

    She was supposed to grow up to be a strong girl, but I still regret that I made her mentally fragile.

    However, afterward, Livia showed that she had grown strong on her own.

    I¡¯m sure that Livia would have solved the problem on her own even if I hadn¡¯t been there.

    It¡¯s the exact opposite of me, who can¡¯t do anything without Luxion.

    ¡°I remember. I was careless and a monster attacked me and I got hurt. Shortly before that, I invited Livia to a tea party, and we started talking a lot.¡±

    When I saw her being bullied, I couldn¡¯t leave her alone, so I called out to her.

    Thinking back now, I think that was a big turning point.

    If I hadn¡¯t called out to her there, we wouldn¡¯t have been in this situation.

    ¨D¨DI don¡¯t regret it, but I think I did something irreparable.

    Livia remembers those days and looks happy.

    ¡°I was invited to tea parties many times. The day before the tea party, I was so excited that I couldn¡¯t sleep.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t expected her to react like a child who can¡¯t sleep the day before a field trip just by attending my tea party.

    ¡°For me, it was very special to be invited to a tea party. Then things happened, and I became friends with Ange.¡±

    The part where Livia summarized a lot of things would be the mess with Julius and the other, the five idiots.

    Perhaps not wanting to talk about it, she ended it with a single word.

    Even Livia¡¯s reaction to the five idiots is cold.

    Originally, those guys and Livia could have been lovers.

    ¡°Before everything happened, you weren¡¯t close with Ange.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ange is a princess, and I never thought we¡¯d get along like this.¡±

    ¡°Certainly not someone we could get close to.¡±

    Livia grasps my right hand from above and below with both hands and then looks up at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same with you, Leon-san. Back then, I never imagined we could be like this.¡±

    I never thought I would be engaged to Livia, and I never imagined that I would be engaged to two ¨D¨D no, three people.

    In the beginning, I was thinking of keeping a subtle distance while maintaining a close rtionship with her because she was the protagonist of that otome game.

    Someone was going to make Livia happy, and I had no doubt that it was the right thing to do.

    Looking back now, what was I doing?

    Those five idiots are gonna make Livia happy? Not possible.

    The five of them were beautiful and talented characters in the game, but their current figures are so disappointing that I can¡¯t even look at them.

    Even Livia has strongly rejected the five idiots, saying, ¡°Not with those five¡±.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see iting, either. I was supposed to be a baron back then ¨D¨D but now I¡¯m a marquis, what a mistake. If I told that to myself a few years ago, I never would have believed it.¡±

    If I were to be told by myself from the future, ¡°You will be a marquis in the future and have three wives!¡±, I would think it was a joke.

    There are so many things that happen ¨D¨D For some reason, four of the captured targets are now my subordinates.

    In addition, the prince also came along, and it was far from unexpected that I had to take care of these idiots.

    Livia rests her forehead on my shoulder.

    When I felt the gentle scent and was nervous, she happily told me how she felt.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it either. I still think maybe this is a dream. For me, Leon-san was a strong and gentle knight.¡±

    ¡°A gentle knight? You¡¯re not wrong, but I¡¯m a little more cowardly than most.¡±

    I am aware that I have a tendency to use any means necessary.

    But that¡¯s because I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m an ordinary person.

    Therefore, it is only natural that I must be prepared to win.

    ¡°Etto ¨D¨D I can¡¯t judge whether it¡¯s a little or not.¡±

    Livia, who sounded troubled, looked up and gave me a big smile.

    ¡°To me, Leon-san is still a kind and strong knight.¡±

    For some reason, I wanted to hug her and reached out to touch Livia¡¯s shoulder, but my body stopped moving, wondering for a moment if I should really touch her.

    Then, Livia leaned in closer to me.

    However, Livia looked a little sad.

    ¡°So, take a rest now. Leon-san is trying too hard in many ways.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re being too worried. But if Livia told me that, I¡¯d just quietly obey.¡±

    ¡°Is it true? Are you forcing yourself?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie to you ¡°

    If Luxion were here, he would say, [Oya? Are you lying right away?] But here is Livia.

    Hearing my joking reply, Livia giggled.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, huh? I¡¯ll trust you now. But if you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll tie you up to make sure you get some rest.¡±

    ¨D¨D I¡¯m a little horrified, but you¡¯re thinking of me, right?

    .

    Part 6

    Luxion left the room and went out into the hallway to wait for Ange.

    Ange stopped when she saw Luxion.

    ¡°Do you have a question?¡±

    [Yes. Angelica seemed to be aware of the Rosede family¡¯s intentions. So why didn¡¯t you correct Master¡¯s misunderstanding?]

    ¡°That¡¯s right ¨D¨D ¡°

    Angel realized that it was just a face-to-face meeting, but of course, the Rosede family had other intentions.

    She realized this but didn¡¯t tell Leon anything about it.

    ¡± ¨D¨D It was a good opportunity. For some reason, Leon has low self-esteem. No, it¡¯s too low. I was just waiting for him to realize his own self-worth at this point.¡±

    [May the Rosede family marry Master¡¯s brother?]

    ¡°Even you must know that. ¨D¨D Leon was too active.¡±

    He saved the Kingdom of Horfalt from a crisis and even defeated the Republic of Arzel, which was said to be undefeated in their defense.

    He may be called a hero, but that doesn¡¯t mean everyone will be happy about it.

    Naturally, there were people who wanted to get in the way, but there were also people who wanted to get close to Leon and take advantage of him.

    ¡°From now on, all kinds of people will try to get involved, even if they don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t mind being vignt, but I don¡¯t want him to be unaware of it. ¨D¨D However, the cor thing was too much. I thought that once he screwed up and got bitter experience, he would reflect on it.¡±

    Ange was puzzled, too, as she hadn¡¯t expected him to have seeded.

    Luxion warned Ange.

    [I will not tolerate you if you do something to the detriment of the Master.]

    Ange smiles at Luxon¡¯s line.

    ¡°You are fine like that. Besides, if you were aware of it, why didn¡¯t you tell Leon about it?¡±

    Wouldn¡¯t Luxion have noticed?

    Ange¡¯s guess was correct.

    However, Luxion did not answer clearly.

    [Master needs rest]

    ¡°I agree with you, but you could have at least told him during his rest, right?¡±

    [To reduce the extra burden]

    Hearing that, Angel moved closer to Luxion and touched him in a caressing way.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You like Leon, too, don¡¯t you.¡±

    [It¡¯s Angelica¡¯s misunderstanding. Protecting the person who has registered as a Master is just one of my important duties. I don¡¯t have any feelings of likes or dislikes as humans do.]

    ¡°You usually say you hate him, though¡±

    Luxion, thinking that Ange was teasing him, emitted a somewhat sulking electronic voice.

    [I¡¯m just trying to match Master. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me. Also, it seems that Angelica needs to rest. Your judgment is deteriorating.]

    As Luxion quickly flies away, Ange calls out to him onest time.

    ¡°Leon¡¯s right, you know. You¡¯re not being honest.¡±

    .

    Part 7

    When I finished treating my injuries and went outside, it was already evening.

    ¡°It¡¯s been an intense day.¡±

    There was a lot going on, starting with Nix¡¯s matchmaking, and even ris-senpai came over to join the tense tea party for some reason.

    I let out a sigh, worrying about what will happen tomorrow, and then I hear some talking.

    ¡°Today¡¯s ojou-sama was also cool.¡±

    ¡°She is dignified. I wish I could be like that.¡±

    I was curious about their happy conversation, so I went to take a peek, and there they were, a graduated senpai who I met on an air bike race, and a girl student.

    The girl was younger than me, maybe a junior at school?

    When I show my face, senpai notices and raises his hand.

    ¡°Yo! No, you¡¯re already a Marquis. Pardon me, Marquis.¡±

    I hurriedly urge senpai and the girl to raise their heads as they bow to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not used to being so formal. Anyway, what were you talking about?¡±

    When senpai and the female student raise their heads, they look at each other and then at me.

    Senpai scratches his head and tells me with embarrassment.

    ¡°It¡¯s about Lady ris¡±

    ¡°ris-senpai?¡±

    The female student was also embarrassed and twined her own arm around senpai¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Actually, we met through the Atley family. We got to know each other through an introduction by the Atley family, and we hit it off when we talked about Lady ris. I¡¯ve only recently been able to help in many ways, so isn¡¯t Lady ris wonderful!¡±

    When I replied to the sparkling junior with a troubled, ¡°U-Un,¡± senpai snorted and leaned forward to make an impassioned speech.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! That person has been taking good care of me since I was a student, and she was also very kind. When I graduated from school, she even took care of matchmaking for me. Then she introduced me to a nice girl who admired a youngdy. The topic of Lady ris naturally came up in our daily conversation. The others seem to be the same way, though.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±

    I knew inwardly that ris-senpai¡¯sints were not all lies.

    The boys around her are getting married one by one, but the one whoes up for the talk with the other party is ris-senpai herself.

    The people around her are getting excited, but it seems that the person in question doesn¡¯t have any ns to get married.

    I can¡¯t help but feel a bit bewildered.

    So I ask what¡¯s on my mind.

    ¡°Are? By the way, you all like ris-senpai, don¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t someone confess to her or something?¡±

    Both senpai and the junior girl looked dubious at my question.

    Then they both looked at each other and nodded their heads.

    ¡°No, I understand that there is a status difference. But still, you like her or that kind of feeling you have or something.¡±

    Listening to my exnation, senpai shakes his head.

    ¡°We? We awe her. That person is not someone to whom we can direct such impure feelings. As long as Lady ris is happy, that¡¯s all that matters to us.¡±

    The junior girl also put her hands on her chest and nodded deeply.

    ¡°Yes, of course. Lady ris is a goddess to us. When my family was in trouble, it was Lady ris who reached out to us. She¡¯s kind but strong at the heart, and she behaves perfectly, which I admire.¡±

    A junior girl folded her hands and talked about her memories with ris-senpai.

    ¨D¨DWhat is this treatment?

    It seems that ris-senpai is too precious to be directed to impure emotions.

    I think ris-senpai will have a hard time with this.

    There must have been one or two boys among the seniors who were close to her, who supported her, and whom she could tolerate.

    But it would be a shock in a different way if such seniors started saying that ¡°We awe you so we don¡¯t have impure feelings¡±.

    In my previous life, is it more than an idol? But an idol is essentially an idol, aren¡¯t you take her as a being to worship?

    The two of them talk about how precious ris-senpai is in front of me.

    The junior girl came up to me.

    ¡°More than that, what did you think of Lady rice, Marquis? She took extra time to prepare for today. Did youpliment her like beautiful, lovely, or adorable?¡±

    ¡°N-No¡±

    As I step back, senpai quickly closes the distance between us.

    ¡°That¡¯s no good! Please call out to her now. If the Marquis praises her, Lady ris will be pleased. In order to meet the Marquis, Lady ris was more enthusiastic than usual in her preparations today. She is really lovely!¡±

    I was terrified when an athletic senior used honorifics and gave me a forceful lecture with bloodshot eyes.

    I was totally freaked out.

    ¡°I-I will tell herter!¡±

    As I leave this ce as if to run away, I decide to tell ris-senpai that she was beautiful today.

    If I don¡¯t tell her, I¡¯m going to be in a lot of trouble tomorrow because I¡¯m intimidated by the two of them.

    And as I walked away from the two of them, I felt sorry for ris-senpai.

    ¡°Surely this makes you want toin about it?¡±

    What¡¯s terrible is that everyone around is praising ris-senpai.

    Even though she doesn¡¯t want it, they are probably talking about ris-senpai more excitedly than necessary.

    Moreover, they¡¯re all couples.

    Even though she is alone, she gets angry when people around her are flirting and talking about her.

    She wishes she couldin, but all around her were people who adored her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll at least keep herpany when she¡¯sining¡±

    I think I¡¯ll let her vent her frustrations at least while she¡¯s staying at my parents¡¯ house.

    .

    Part 8

    On the way to the room where ris-senpai was staying, I saw my big sister and little sister there in their in clothes.

    Two people were facing each other in the hallway, arguing about something.

    The older sister, Jenna, looked down at the shorter sister, Finley, pointing a finger at her.

    ¡°Just be quiet!¡±

    ¡°Why?! She¡¯s just a customer, right?¡±

    ¡°You fool. The Rosede family and the Atley family are the most prestigious families. If you embarrass yourself, you¡¯ll ruin my reputation as well!¡±

    Apparently, Jenna has been telling Finley to be quiet.

    Finley, who had not even attended the school, still knew about the prestigious noble family but did not really feel it.

    That attitude must have seemed to Jenna as if she was not feeling tense.

    But I thought.

    ¡°Did you still have a reputation to lower?¡±

    Jenna red at me as Iughed and talked to her.

    ¡°So the rumor that you were evenying a hand on ris-san is true.¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    I tilt my head at Jenna¡¯s words, and Finley gives me a look of utter disgust.

    ¡°Haa?! You have two fianc¨¦es, and you cheat on them again? You¡¯re the worst.¡±

    Again? What do you mean again?

    I¡¯m not cheating!

    ¡°Let me correct a mistake. I¡¯ve never cheated on anyone, and I have three fianc¨¦es to begin with.¡±

    I held up three fingers in front of them and said, ¡°Don¡¯t mistake that part!¡± I emphasized strongly!

    Jenna and Finley, who had been arguing earlier, huddled together and had a whispered discussion.

    ¡°Finley, you should be careful with men like this.¡±

    ¡°What do thosedies see in this brother that makes them like him? He¡¯s the worst kind of scumbag. If it were me, I would never choose him. They have bad taste.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, they all have bad taste. I wonder if thedies have seen so many beautiful men around that they find a face like Leon¡¯s unusual?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an extravagant worry. Normally, I would definitely choose a beautiful boy.¡±

    My sisters can say all they want, but I want to say it from me, too.

    ¡°Even boys don¡¯t choose you, ugly-minded girls, either. Besides, did anyone ever pick Jenna before you graduated?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Before I could finish, Jenna took a big step and mmed her fist into my face.

    Instead of pping me, she mmed her fist into me.

    .

    Part 9

    ¡°What happened to your face?¡±

    In front of ris-senpai¡¯s room.

    ris-senpai, who opened the door and faced me, was surprised to see the bruise on my face.

    ¡°Sometimes facts hurt people, don¡¯t they?¡±

    I tried to exin to her that I had asked Jenna, ¡°Did onee-sama get married before graduation?¡± When I think about it, this story is a minefield for ris-senpai as well.

    I¡¯d like to give myself apliment for having been so quick to cover it up.

    ¨D¨D When I think about it, I¡¯ve said too much to Jenna.

    I¡¯ll apologizeter.

    Somehow, I feel like I¡¯ve been apologizing to my family a lottely.

    In my previous life and now, I¡¯m troubling my family, aren¡¯t I.

    I¡¯m saddened by the fact that I¡¯ve lived longer than I look, but I haven¡¯t grown up inside. ¨D¨DWell, people don¡¯t grow up easily on the inside, though, no matter how old they get.

    ris-senpai touches my injury.

    ¡°It would be quicker to ask Olivia-san to treat you, right.¡±

    It seemed that ris-senpai had thought about patching me up, but she didn¡¯t want to do it because of Livia¡¯s presence.

    ¡°This will heal in no time.¡±

    ¡°Boys be pretentious right away. Anyway, what do you need?¡±

    ris-senpai, who had already changed her clothes and was dressed rather roughly, I smiled andplimented her on her appearance today.

    ¡°Today, ris-senpai looked wonderful.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Eh?¡±

    ¡°I heard you spent a lot of time on your hair and clothes. It was lovely. Well then, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡±

    When I waved my hand, ris-senpai, who looked dazed, also gave me a small wave back.

    Now, I won¡¯t have to worry about beingined about by the picky senpai tomorrow.

 Volume 8, 4 â€œCollarâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 4 ¡°Cor¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The next day, the morning was filled with tension.

    Dorothea-san blushed and looked down, while Nix¡¯s face was red up to his ears as if he was remembering what happened yesterday.

    They were both too nervous to speak.

    ¡°It looks like a real matchmaking¡±

    We were in another room observing the situation, and watching the images that Luxion was projecting on the wall.

    However, the situation is different from thest time.

    Deirdre-senpai was getting upset with Dorothea-san¡¯s attitude, which was different from yesterday.

    ¡°Onee-sama, what happened to your usual boldness? Last night you made me apany you to practice the conversation!¡±

    They had been practicing the conversation she would have with Nixtest night. About what topic? What kind of questions will she ask? Because of that, Deirdre-senpai seems to be a little sleep deprived, but she is so excited by her sister¡¯s pathetic appearance that drowsiness is blown away.

    Next to her, ris-senpai, who had been ring at each other until yesterday, was watching them with a serious expression.

    ¡°If one of them doesn¡¯t make a move, nothing will get started here.¡±

    Dorothea-san is ashamed of being different from yesterday.

    She looked like a maiden in love, but Nix looked nervous, afraid that someone of higher rank would use him of being rude yesterday.

    ¡°Aniki is not going to make a move. I understand it as his brother. He¡¯s a pathetic big brother.¡±

    Yare-yare, when I shrugged my shoulders, Ange, Livia and even Noelle looked at me and gave me a surprised look.

    They seemed to want to say something, but their current interest seemed to be the two of them not making a move. Livia looks like she¡¯s kind of happy.

    ¡°What¡¯s going to happen? I¡¯m hoping they¡¯ll talk to each other.¡±

    In response to Livia¡¯s words, Ange expressed her thoughts with some excitement.

    ¡°One of them has to start talking to get things moving. Why don¡¯t one of us take the initiative and start the conversation? I¡¯d be happy to do that?¡±

    When Ange insists on getting in and forcing them to talk, Deirdre-senpai also decides to step in.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m the right person for the job. We¡¯re sisters, and Nix-dono and I are schoolmates.¡±

    ris-senpai seemed to be unconvinced in Dorothea-senpai¡¯s opinion. (Note: Maybe the author mistakenly written, it should be Deirdre)

    ¡°You had different ss, didn¡¯t you? Even if you were in the same grade, there was no connection. Then how about me, the unrted one?¡±

    For some reason, I feel that thedies are more excited than yesterday.

    Noelle was sitting in her wheelchair, staring at the screen.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take my eyes off of them for some reason.¡±

    I keep my distance from the women who are enjoying themselves and chat with Luxion, who hase along with me.

    ¡°It seems they¡¯re preupied with love talks.¡±

    [It¡¯s a world where entertainment is scarce, so perhaps it can¡¯t be helped.]

    Unlike the world of my previous life, this world is not filled with entertainment.

    As a result, many women are curious about the love lives of others.

    [By the way, about that pathetic brotherment you made earlier.]

    ¡°I saw my brother who was silent without saying anything and just thought so. It¡¯s actually pathetic.¡±

    [I¡¯ve repeatedly advised you to look in the mirror and speak up. In the first ce, the people around you recognize that Master is more of a problem than your brother¡¯s pathetess.]

    ¡°No, not nearly as bad as aniki.¡±

    When I said that, I looked at the women, and they took their eyes off the screen and looked at me. Livia says to Ange.

    ¡°Do you think this is one of Leon-san¡¯s usual jokes?¡±

    Ange answered with a lot of concern.

    ¡°I wonder? I hope he¡¯s joking, that¡¯s my wish.¡±

    Noelle looks surprised and denies my words.

    ¡°Leon is worse than Nix-san when ites to romance.¡±

    When I was shocked by the poor evaluation, Deirdre-senpai and ris-senpai are also talking in a whisper with their faces close together.

    ¡°Which one do you think is worse?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re both terrible, butst night he came to my room andplimented me on my appearance, so I guess Leon-kun wins, just barely?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D Wait a minute. He didn¡¯t say anything to me?¡±

    That wasst night.

    At the request of a senior, I visited ris-senpai¡¯s room andplimented her.

    I was just keeping my promise, but for some reason, the women¡¯s gazes turned stern.

    When I ask Luxion, who is by my side, for help, he makes a dumbfounded voice as he projects the image.

    [Did you not realize that praising only one person would cause problems?]

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d be pleased with mypliments¡±

    [If someone else does the same thing, Master will me him. It¡¯s not toote to have good self-esteem.]

    Why am I being med so much?

    As I was wishing he would be nicer to me, I saw movement in the image.

    ¡°Aniki is making a move.¡±

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°Do-Dorothea-san!¡±

    When Nix stood up from his seat and raised his voice, Dorothea, who had been looking down, looked up and replied.

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    They stare at each other.

    But Nix couldn¡¯t stop breaking out in a cold sweat inside.

    (She looks like a different person from yesterday)

    Previously, Dorothea was a woman with a noticeably cold demeanor who didn¡¯t even want to look at Nix.

    But what he sees in front of him now is a woman who looks cuter than her age.

    Nix can¡¯t decide which one is the real one.

    (B-But I have to say it properly)

    He is a man who suddenly became the heir of the Baron family due to circumstances.

    He has not received a proper education at the school and is still learning various jobs while helping his father.

    He could not imagine that Dorothea, a realdy, would be his wife.

    The status was out of proportion, but it was hard to believe that a genuine youngdy could survive in the countryside.

    ¡°The Bartfalt family is a countrysidepared to the city. You will be in a rural area. Dorothea-san, do you want to live here?¡±

    Dorothea was a little puzzled by the different wording from yesterday.

    ¡°If I decide to marry, I will live in any ce I choose. I-Is that not good enough for you?¡±

    Nix was bewildered by Dorothea¡¯s calm demeanor after she had asked him yesterday, ¡°Are you ready to be a pet?¡±.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that it¡¯s no good ¨D¨D but you should seriously consider it. Because if you¡¯re used to living in the city, you¡¯ll find this ce boring.¡±

    ¡°E-Etto¡°

    Both of them were confused.

    When Nix took his seat and closed his mouth, the conversation stopped once again and a silent moment continued.

    This time, Dorothea moved.

    ¡°Ano¨D¨DI have something to tell you.¡±

    What was ced on the table with a ttering sound was a cor with a chain attached.

    For a moment, Nix wondered if he had misced the cor yesterday¨D¨DThen he noticed something strange about Dorothea holding the cor.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    (Why does this person have a cor? Yesterday she saw the cor and jumped out of the room and shouldn¡¯t have returned to the mansion from there. And¨D¨DIt¡¯s not the same as the cor Leon prepared, is it?!)

    That cor, however, had a cor on each end of the chain.

    Dorothea puts one of the two cors around her neck.

    Then she offered another one to Nix.

    (What¡¯s this? Really what¡¯s this?! Eh, what does this mean? Maybe this is a joke in the city?!)

    Dorothea smiles at the confused Nix, her face reddened.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I ran away yesterday. I¡¯ve been waiting for a long time. Someone to put a cor on me.¡±

    ¡°Eh? That? But there are two cors?¡±

    When Nix was too confused to answer properly after receiving the cor, Dorothea continued.

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not interested in a gentleman who would be satisfied with a pet. What I wanted was a partner who wouldpete with me until the veryst minute, when one or the other would take control. Either obey the partner or make obey the partner. A rival who couldpete with me was the kind of man I was looking for. When Nix-sama threw down the challenge to me, I already felt fate.¡±

    The expression disappeared from Nix¡¯s face.

    Then he realized.

    (This person is dangerous. It¡¯s strange when she happily brings me a cor, but I don¡¯t understand why she wants to fight for dominance as a couple. What I want is to be a good couple like my parents. It¡¯s the exact opposite!)

    Nix¡¯s ideal is the opposite of Dorothea¡¯s ideal.

    Realizing that this would never go well with her, Nix tried to think of a way to refuse. However, he couldn¡¯t help but think of Leon¡¯sughing face.

    (It¡¯s all Leon¡¯s fault that I¡¯m in this weird situation! If he hadn¡¯t done something unnecessary, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen in love with me!)

    For some reason, Dorothea has fallen in love.

    Nix was happy to have a beautiful woman interested in him, but he was not a good match for her by any means.

    But even so, she was ady of higher rank.

    As he was choosing his words to refuse her gently, Dorothea reached out her hand.

    She takes the cor that Nix was holding and puts it on him.

    Their cors were tied to each other by chains, making for an indescribable sight.

    ¡°I just wanted to connect with the man of my dreams like this for once.¡±

    Nix couldn¡¯t stop the cold sweat in front of Dorothea, who said that with an ecstatic look on her face.

    (This is definitely a no good persooon!)

    Nix was desperately trying to think of a way to get out of this situation, while throwing all the abusive words he had to Leon in his mind.

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°Impossible! Absolutely impossible!¡±

    After the second meeting, Nix had a strategy meeting with me.

    The goal is to avoid marrying Dorothea-san in a peaceful manner.

    Dorothea-san¡¯s eyes on Nix were passionate as if she were a predator.

    I sensed a strong will not to let him go.

    ¡°She wants to be a couple who cors each other and cherishes the tension¨D¨DIt¡¯s the exact opposite of aniki¡¯s ideal. Why don¡¯t you just give up?¡±

    In front of Nix, who held up his fists, I raised my hands in a pose of surrender.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s talk about it. In this case, we can rely on Ange, who knows a lot about noble society.¡±

    I faced Ange and she looked a little apologetic to Nix.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would work out this way either. I¡¯d like to do something about it, but it¡¯s difficult when things get thisplicated. Perhaps Nix-dono should consider the option of marrying Dorothea, I thought?¡±

    Nix shook his head from side to side several times, strongly indicating his refusal.

    ¡°That is impossible!¡±

    ¡°If Dorothea hadn¡¯t been so eager, we could have refused.¡±

    ording to Ange¡¯s original n, if we refused, it would just be a visitation, so it was no problem.

    Apparently, if Nix didn¡¯t like it, there was no problem in refusing.

    It¡¯s just that Dorothea has gotten serious.

    ¡°It¡¯s troubling. Dorothea is going to formally ask for matchmaking with the help of her parents¡¯ family. If the Rosede family is serious, they¡¯ll do their best to remove obstacles in the way of their objective.¡±

    Apparently, in order to get his daughter, Dorothea-san, married, the Count family will get serious.

    The real intention spilled.

    ¡°I¡¯m scared of the count family who took it seriously.¡±

    Then Nix grabbed me by the chest with tears in his eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault! Why should I be targeted by the Count¡¯s family!¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t your life they were after, but your chastity.¡±

    A beautiful woman targeting your chastity, isn¡¯t it a reward, I thought so and gave a thumbs up, then he silently choked me.

    Livia, who had been watching the exchange between us brothers, put her hand on her forehead and let out a sigh.

    ¡°The story has gottenplicated.¡±

    Ange seems to be reflecting on the situation.

    ¡°I figured it would be settled peacefully, so I left it alone, but it seemed it wasn¡¯t a good idea. However, this matchmaking is not a bad deal.¡±

    Nix stopped moving when he heard Ange¡¯s story, and I was released.

    As I was holding my neck and choking, Luxion approached me.

    [You deserved it]

    ¡°I was just trying to be funny. More importantly, what do you mean it¡¯s not a bad deal? It seems like a bad idea from aniki¡¯s point of view, though?¡±

    Nix nodded several times without saying a word, and Ange had some trouble exining.

    ¡°Disregarding personal opinions, I¡¯m just saying that it¡¯s not so bad if the families are connected. The Rosede family are one of the most prestigious family. They have a lot of money and power. If you connect with such a family, you will be free from unnecessary troubles. ¨D¨D There are some annoyances to be involved in, though.¡±

    The annoyance, Ange said, was that the Bartfalt family would continue to attract all kinds of people.

    In such cases, the name of the Rosede family is said to protect them from unscrupulous people.

    Nix is troubled by what he hears.

    ¡°Is it good for the house? No, but ¨D¨D to get married for the sake of it is a bit.¡±

    Nix considers marrying to protect his family, but the countryside nobles are not familiar with noble society, for better or worse.

    As long as he followed the minimum rules, he was free to do the rest.

    I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s free of power struggles, but it¡¯s a warm environment for the nobles who are engaged in real power struggles.

    He has the idea of marrying for the sake of the house, but he also thinks about his own happiness¨D¨D or so I thought, but Nix is different.

    ¡°¨D¨DShe¡¯s in love with fake me. If she married me, I bet she¡¯d feel like she got tricked. Marrying for the sake of the family and then being tricked into it without love is awful, right? I can¡¯t let her go that far for the good of the family.¡±

    Apparently, it was Dorothea-san that Nix was worried about.

    ¡°Aniki¡°

    I was surprised that he was even thinking about his partner.

    Luxion talks to me.

    [He¡¯s a great brother. And yet, Master did something unnecessary and troubling him¨D¨DThat was rude to both of them. Why don¡¯t you reflect on that?]

    ¡°Don¡¯t poke the painful part! ¨D¨DW-Well, I¡¯m reflecting.¡±

    It¡¯s true that I crossed a line that I shouldn¡¯t have crossed, hoping that the other party would hate him.

    Nix took a deep breath and then forced himself to smile at us.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I bothered you guys, too. I¡¯ll go apologize. I¡¯m prepared to take a hit, and I¡¯ll ask that theints be kept to me personally somehow.¡±

    ¡°Aniki, I apologize too¡±

    ¡°I thought you might get me in trouble, so no. Well, but it¡¯s the fact, you¡¯ve been making moves on my behalf. ¨D¨D Just reflect on it. Swear it!¡±

    Even this and that happened, he¡¯s kind.

    Family is truly a wonderful thing.

    Except for the sisters.

    .

    Part 4

    The garden in the evening.

    ¡°In the end, it just bothered my brother.¡±

    I let out a sigh, and next to me were Luxion and Noelle in a wheelchair.

    Ange and Livia are apanying Nix.

    When he apologized to Dorothea, she couldn¡¯t do anything too extreme if Ange was there¨D¨DSo it seems.

    I even made Ange clean up my mess.

    I was going to ask her to move if it became troublesome, but when it actually happened, I found myself thinking a lot about it.

    Luxion is dumbfounded by my depression.

    [If you don¡¯t want to worry about it, don¡¯t do it. You talk like a big shot, but when a problem arises, you get depressed? The quality is bad.]

    ¡°I¡¯ll also reflect on it.¡±

    [I¡¯d like to see you move a little more thoughtfully.]

    ¡°That¡¯s absurd advice for a fool. ¨D¨DIn the first ce, if I could have done that, I wouldn¡¯t be struggling as much as I am now.¡±

    I¡¯m sitting on the edge of a flower bed in the garden, talking with Luxion, and Noelle is trying to cheer me up.

    ¡°Since Deirdre-san has forgiven you, you don¡¯t have to be depressed anymore.¡±

    ¡°I did hurt her, though¡±

    Immediately after that, I told Deirdre-senpai what had happened.

    I said ¨D¨D the matter of the cor wasn¡¯t what I really meant, I was going to let it fail because I thought it was a matchmaking.

    Deirdre-senpai said ¨D¨D ¡°I wish you hadn¡¯t put on such a bad act and told me the truth.¡±

    She epted my apology, but she looked a little sad.

    I should have exined this to Deirdre-senpai beforehand.

    Ange said, ¡°Let¡¯s make use of this failure next time.¡±

    From the beginning, Ange had thought that I would fail.

    She said ¨D¨D If I experience a failure, it will be in my bones and I¡¯ll be careful next time.

    In a way, it was a move I could make because I was dealing with Deirdre-senpai I knew.

    I just don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to have a proper rtionship with her in the future.

    It was too rude to Dorothea-san.

    ¨D¨D Well, either way, Deirdre-senpai said that she would let bygones be bygones on this matter.

    Noelle repeatedly tries to cheer me up when I¡¯m depressed, but Colin arrives from the mansion.

    ¡°Noelle-neechan! It¡¯s already evening and it¡¯s going to get cold. Let¡¯s go back to the room quickly.¡±

    Colin quickly got behind Noelle and started pushing the wheelchair.

    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯m still talking to Leon.¡±

    Noelle tried to get Colin to wait, but it was starting to get cold.

    After all, it is cold when the sun goes down, so I ask Noelle to go into the mansion.

    ¡°Okay. Colin, escort Noelle back.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me!¡±

    Colin, pushing the wheelchair, is concerned about Noelle.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Noelle-neechan¡±

    ¡°Sorry for always doing this, Colin¡±

    ¡°Un. I-I like to do it too, so it¡¯s okay.¡±

    As I watched them leave, I noticed that Colin¡¯s figure wasrger than before.

    ¡°Colin¡¯s growing up, too ¡°

    [I judge that he is growing up healthily, both physically and mentally. Why don¡¯t you grow up too, Master?]

    ¡°If anyone wanted to grow and could do it, no one would have any trouble.¡±

    .

    Part 5

    The next day, the port had a strange atmosphere.

    ¡°Thank you for taking care of us. I¡¯m sorry it ended this way.¡±

    Dorothea-san bowed to our family and headed straight for the Rosede family airship.

    Dorothea-san, looking down and teary-eyed, gets in without even looking at us, apanied by the servants around her.

    I heard that Dorothea-san was in tears when Nix told her the truth.

    The sight of her depressed figure made my heart tighten.

    The gaze of the servants and knights of the Rosede family on Nix was very stern.

    Standing next to Nix, I whispered to him.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you mention my name?¡±

    ¡°A big brother has his principles too, you know. It would be pathetic to have you cover for me.¡±

    With that, Nix saw Dorothea-san off and left the port.

    Instead, I was approached by Ange.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take this literally. Nix-dono didn¡¯t want to bother you, so he kept Leon¡¯s n a secret. It seems that Deirdre also heard about it and kept quiet about it.¡±

    ¡°For me?¡±

    ¡°He is a kind brother. It¡¯s the one thing you can¡¯t understand, even if you wanted to. Leon, you should take care of your own family.¡±

    The airship of the Rosede family leaves the port and moves away.

    Deirdre-senpai didn¡¯t talk to me after all, either.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I lost a lot of things.¡±

    I have lost many things as a result of my cheap actions.

    Ange says.

    ¡°In any case, if we had refused, we would have ended up estranged. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re aware of that.¡±

    .

    Part 6

    The airship of the Rosede family.

    In one of the rooms on the ship, Deirdre wasforting Dorothea.

    ¡°A coincidence is scary, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°It would be useless to tell onee-sama now not to mind it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of men out there as there are stars. Among them, there may be a gentleman who is ideal for onee-sama.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D It¡¯s enough.¡±

    Lying in bed, hugging a pillow, Dorothea had her back to Deirdre.

    Then she talks about her current feelings.

    ¡°I¡¯ll stop chasing my ideals forever. When we get back, tell otou-sama to go ahead and use me for a political marriage. If I can¡¯t have what I want, I¡¯d rather have nothing at all.¡±

    Deirdre looked at Dorothea and let out a sigh, thinking that she was seriously hurt.

    (How much better it would have been if they had just refused normally)

    It was made even moreplicated by Leon¡¯s oundish n.

    In the future, Deirdre believes that the Bartfalt and Rosede families will never be rted.

    (That said, we couldn¡¯t be hostile to them ¨D¨D and that¡¯s a very troublesome thing.)

    The Rosede family now has no intention of retaliating against the Bartfalt family.

    The fact that Duke Redgrave is behind Leon is troublesome, but the biggest problem is Leon himself.

    (I¡¯ll advise otou-sama to leave onee-sama alone for a while?)

    As Deirdre was about to leave the room, a knight came rushing into the room.

    Normally, this would have been rude behavior, but from his panic, Deirdre could tell that it was an emergency.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°The sky pirates! There are over ten ships heading this way!¡±

    ¡°Ten ships? Why are there so many sky pirates here ?!¡±

    The airship carrying the family crest of the Rosede family was attacked by sky pirates.

    .

    Part 7

    ¡°Leon-sama, it¡¯s time for you to get back on your feet.¡±

    After seeing them off, Iy down on the sofa in the living room and thought about many things.

    Perhaps I looked depressed, but Yumeria-san, dressed in a maid¡¯s uniform, worried about me.

    Noelle also sits in a wheelchair, a sapling of the sacred tree freed from its case ¨D¨D sapling-chan on herp.

    Apparently, it was being brought outside for a breath of fresh air.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re thinking about it, but I think you need to do something about your attitude. Angelica-san was worried about Leon¡¯s depression. ¡°I¡¯ve gone too far.¡± She said.

    Seeing my depressed state, even Ange says she feels remorseful that she went too far.

    It was not my intention to worry Ange, who had been watching over me to make sure I got a lot of experience.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to worry about me¡±

    ¡°No, of course, she¡¯s worried. In that case, do you want to join this child sunbathing?¡±

    Noelle takes sapling-chan in both hands and holds her out to me.

    ¡°Sapling-chan?¡±

    Yumeria-san holds my hands and tells me with a smile.

    ¡°Yes! This child really prefers to be outside. But I can¡¯t nt it everywhere, so I sometimes take it outside like this.¡±

    Since Sapling-chan was a sacred tree, it could not be nted anywhere.

    I¡¯m worried about it being stolen, but depending on where it¡¯s nted, there may be concession issues in the future.

    Therefore, for now, it was being forced to endure in a cramped bowl.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find a ce to nt the sapling-chan¡±

    Thinking about looking and bringing Luxion since he was free, the mansion started to get hectic.

    ¡°What?¡±

    When I got up and walked out into the hallway, I saw that our official, who was usually supposed to be at the port, had arrived.

    He is an official who seems to be in charge of paperwork, and in a previous life, he was a man dressed like an old clerk. He is wearing a white shirt and a pair of ck arm covers.

    He is a slender person who wears sses and looks weak.

    Such a person had rushed into the mansion in a hurry.

    Now he¡¯s at the door talking to Dad.

    ¡°There are more than ten air pirates?! Is the Rosede family¡¯s airship safe!¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes! A knight from the Rosede family crashnded in the harbor in armor. He seems to be chased by more than a dozen air pirates and is seeking help.¡±

    Dad, who was approaching the official, had a difficult expression on his face as he listened to what was being said.

    A countryside baron family like ours has a very small number of war airships.

    Even to have one warship, there is arge maintenance cost.

    However, the Bartofalt family, which has recently started to make more money, is building up its military strength by adding more warships.

    Still, we only have three ships.

    It was reckless to take on a foe that was simply three timesrger, but it was the Rosede family who had asked for help.

    It¡¯s a bad idea to abandon them here.

    I approached Dad, who was being asked to make such a difficult decision and joined in the conversation.

    ¡°Just tell me the location and I¡¯ll take the Einhorn to help.¡±

    Dad suddenly spoke up and turned his head to look at me with a surprised look on his face.

    ¡°Leon? No, but are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±

    Dad knows how fast Einhorn is.

    But for some reason, he hesitated.

    ¡± ¨D¨D It¡¯s no good. Anyway, just gather people and prepare for departure.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    As the official ran off, I closed in on my dad.

    ¡°Why? It¡¯ll be faster if I go!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you look around a little bit?¡±

    Dad nced behind me as he walked out of the mansion.

    When I turned around, it was Livia who was there.

    ¡°Are you going to fight again?¡±

    Livia, who has a very worried look on her face, is looking down.

    ¡°Livia? It¡¯s okay. Luxion is here, and Einhorn can kick the crap out of the sky pirates. There¡¯s also Arroganz, so don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Livia looked up, but her expression remained clouded.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say you should take a rest for now?¡±

    ¡°But Deirdre-senpai is¡±

    I heard a few footsteps, it was Ange and the others with Luxion.

    There¡¯s also ris-senpai.

    Ange was a little out of breath, perhaps in a hurry.

    ¡°Leon, don¡¯t leave. There are airships in the harbor, both ours and the Atley¡¯s. There are four of thembined, and with the Baron¡¯s forces, we can manage.¡±

    It seems that it¡¯s not only Ange who doesn¡¯t want me toe out, but also ris-senpai.

    ¡°The Rosede family are strong. They won¡¯t be easily defeated by sky pirates. The Atley family will lend a hand, so Leon-kun should get some rest.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D No, I¡¯lle out. That is faster.¡±

    The Redgrave family, the Atley family ¨D¨D And the Rosede family that is fighting the sky pirates, are all prestigious in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    They¡¯re also putting a lot of effort into their military, and they¡¯re definitely dependable.

    But it¡¯ll be easier to clean up if Ie out.

    ¡°I¡¯ve caused a lot of trouble for Deirdre-senpai and the others. And while I¡¯m at it, as an apology, I¡¯lle out.¡±

    ¡°Wait, this blockhead!¡±

    As Ange tried to grab my hand, Nix came running down the hallway, grabbed me by the chest and pushed me against the wall.

    ¡°Aniki?¡±

    Nix wrinkles his brow and res at me.

    ¡°Leon, lend me your hand. I need your help.¡±

    ¡°Ha? No, I¡¯m leaving now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll save them. I¡¯ll do something for Dorothea-san. I need to borrow your airship.¡±

 Volume 8, 5 â€œBig Brother of the Fiend Knightâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 5 ¡°Big Brother of the Fiend Knight¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The Rosede family¡¯s airship had fled into the clouds.

    Surrounded by more than ten airships of sky pirates, there was no way they could win, so they fled at full speed into the clouds.

    The visibility was poor and they couldn¡¯t even see a little bit ahead, but thanks to that, they were undetected by the enemy.

    However, they could not hide in the flowing clouds forever, and if they went out, they would be discovered by sky pirates.

    Deirdre and Dorothea look out the window from inside the room.

    The windows were wet and visibility was poor, so they couldn¡¯t see anything.

    ¡°I hope the knights who went to seek help got there safely.¡±

    When they entered the clouds, the knights jumped out in their armor.

    Each of them flew in a different direction to ask for help.

    If even one person reaches an ally somewhere, their survival rate will increase.

    The closest and most reliable ally is the Bartfalt family.

    (He owes me for his dishonest behavior, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯lle to my aid ¨D¨D The question is, will they make it in time.)

    As they were praying for help toe to them while they were still alive, they saw Dorothea sping her hand and holding it to her chest.

    She looked pale, perhaps she was anxious.

    ¡°Deirdre seems to be all right. You¡¯re so different from me.¡±

    Seeing Dorothea trembling, Deirdre smiled and tried to relieve her tension.

    The truth is that she¡¯s scared and it can¡¯t be helped.

    However, having been through several critical situations, she was able to remain a little more calm than Dorothea.

    The first time was when she encountered the Principality¡¯s army at a school event.

    The second time was when the Principality invaded the royal capital.

    She has been close to the battlefield and has experienced scary things.

    ¡°Even though I look like this, I¡¯ve been through many a crisis. I¡¯m a very lucky person, so I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get through this one without a hitch.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very encouraging ¡°

    Seeing Deirdre¡¯s attitude, the maids in the room looked relieved.

    But she¡¯s just trying to be strong.

    (Both of those times, I had help, though)

    Both were saved by Leon, and remembering that, Deirdre reflected on her attitude when leaving the port.

    (I should have behaved better in greeting him. It would be very sad if this is thest time we see each other in this life.)

    Then the sun was shining through the window.

    ¡°Are we through the clouds? What¡¯s the situation out there?!¡±

    The airship broke out of the hiding clouds, and the sky pirates¡¯ airship was visible through the window.

    The only people in the room were women, and there were several small screams.

    Just from what can be seen from outside the window, three air pirates can be identified.

    ¡°They seem to be quite skilled.¡±

    Deirdre muttered bitterly.

    The Rosede family is considered a martial family among the lord nobles.

    Such is the airship that the daughters of the Rosede family board, and as a matter of course, it is assigned with those who have experienced in actualbat.

    If even they can¡¯t escape, then the opponent must be quite skilled.

    In the first ce, when someone leads more than ten ships, they are a big deal as sky pirates.

    However, when Deirdre saw the gs of such sky pirates, she could not think of their names.

    For this reason, she assumed that they were new sky pirates who hade from other countries.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where they¡¯re from, but don¡¯t expect to get away free by messing with Rosede Family.¡±

    The Rosede family¡¯s airship was ready with its cannons, ready to intercept the sky pirates.

    Even in the face of inferior forces, they are moving as they were trained to do.

    The sky pirates saw the movement and, perhaps wary of it, did not approach carelessly.

    However, once the ships were lined up, they lined up their cannons and started firing straight away.

    The cannonball fired from the cannon exploded when it was blocked by the magical barrier that had been deployed to protect the airship of the Rosede family.

    The impact reached the inside of the ship, causing it to shake violently.

    The surrounding furniture was fixed in ce and did not move, but the violent vibrations knocked people over and scattered small objects.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we attacking!¡±

    Dorothea screams in confusion, but Deirdre guesses from the look of things outside that even if she turns to attack, she¡¯ll be ganged up and sink.

    (I don¡¯t know the situation in detail here)

    Both Deirdre and Dorothea were daughters of the Rosede family, but since they were not military personnel, they were currently denied ess to the bridge because they were deemed to be in the way.

    Outside the window, armor with piercing decorations flew up one after another from the airships of the sky pirates.

    There were many of them, and they seemed to be air pirates who possessed enough strength to fight.

    Deirdre was horrified by the movements of the sky pirates and their strength.

    (It¡¯s like an army)

    They seemed to be well coordinated and even too well equipped for sky pirates.

    The armor of the Rosede family alsoes out one after another to intercept them, but they are clearly outnumbered.

    As Deirdre was expecting the worst, an airship appeared to charge the sky pirates.

    Seeing that figure, Deirdre opened her fan and muttered.

    ¡°Impressive appearance, Einhorn¡±

    The unique airship that Leon was riding in seemed to be the only thing that made the people around him immediately realize that their ally had arrived.

    While sighs of relief and cheers went up everywhere, Deirdre was alone in a cold sweat.

    Although she appeared to beposed to those around her, the truth was that she was scared.

    She struggled to hold on to the feeling that she was about to copse from relief and weakness.

    It¡¯s just that, from Deirdre¡¯s point of view, Einhorn¡¯s condition is strange.

    ¡°Arroganz not showing up?¡±

    .

    Part 2

    Einhorn¡¯s bridge was filled with disheveled men.

    The first of them is my father.

    ¡°You really rushed into the enemy? Y-You guys, hurry up and move out! All armor out!¡±

    The soldiers of the Bartofalt family, who were on the bridge right and left, were operating an unfamiliar airship.

    I¡¯m tied to the captain¡¯s chair and can¡¯t do anything.

    ¡°Why am I being detained?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re reckless. I really didn¡¯t want to bring you here.¡±

    Einhorn can¡¯t give his all without Luxion.

    And Luxion only obeys my orders.

    As a result, I had to go with them, but they didn¡¯t let me do anything in return.

    ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous. This is my ship!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I let you on. Anyway, are Nix and the others going to be okay?¡±

    Dad worries about Nix, who has gotten into his armor and sailed off.

    Luxion exins the armor that Nix has gotten into.

    [The armor is manufactured in my factory. I can guarantee its performance. I¡¯ve calcted the difference in strength between us and the air pirates, and I don¡¯t see a problem.]

    Still, Dad wasn¡¯t convinced.

    ¡°Because there are no absolutes in war ¡°

    I asked my overly concerned father to release me.

    ¡°Then I¡¯lle out and support aniki. Can you release me for the time being?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too quick to be reckless, so no.¡±

    ¡°Thedies have told me not to send you out so strongly.¡±

    Dad and Luxion are definitely not going to let me go out there.

    Is aniki gonna be okay?

    .

    Part 3

    Nix, riding in metal-colored, less ornate armor, was fighting the armor that the sky pirates were riding in, along with the others around him.

    The sky was in a state of melee between friend and foe, with Einhorn attacking and sinking one airship after another with its cannons.

    The sky pirates were confused by Einhorn¡¯s sudden appearance.

    However, they seemed to be able to determine that they were enemies, and they attacked Nix and the others.

    ¡°Do you know whose guests you¡¯re messing with!¡±

    Out on the battlefield, Nix, more outspoken than usual, was cursing and attacking his enemies.

    The metal-colored armor that Nix rides in has a shield in its left hand.

    In his right hand, he was holding a ive ¨D¨D He was carrying a weapon that looked like a naginata, and he had stabbed one of the sky pirates to death.

    The armor of the sky pirate is falling, but if they are lucky, they will survive because below is the sea.

    With no time to pay attention to the enemy in the sky, Nix looked for the next one.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    Clicking his tongue, Nix used the shield in his left hand to catch one of the armors that was swooping down from directly above him.

    As it was, the two machines shed their weapons as they fell.

    The enemy was formidable, as if they had some very skilled pilots on board.

    The closer they are, the more they can hear.

    ¡°A one-horned airship! That¡¯s the ship of a fiend knight!¡±

    The Einhorn is an airship with a distinctive appearance and seems to be quite famous.

    They even knew Leon¡¯s other name.

    ¡°Then what?¡±

    Nix¡¯s armor kicks the enemy away, creating distance between them.

    They began to fight, circling in the air, asionally approaching each other and shing their weapons.

    ¡°Are you the fiend knight?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my little brother¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the fiend knight had a brother?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being a in big brother!¡±

    As they fought in conversation, it seemed that Leon¡¯s name was spreading even to the sky pirates.

    Nix¡¯s inferiorityplex is stimted by hearing this.

    (A in big brother who doesn¡¯t stand out because he has a capable little brother ¨D¨D)

    Leon became famous as soon as he entered the academy.

    He stood out from the rest because of what he said and did, and he was a student who was often talked about in one way or another.

    If people knew that Leon had a big brother, he would bepared to him a lot even if he doesn¡¯t want it.

    Compared to Leon¡¯s behavior, Nix, who is more modest, has often been referred to behind his back as ¡°the unskilled brother¡± or ¡°the inconspicuous brother¡±.

    That school life was over a year ago, but after that, every time Leon was active, he heard about it andpared himself to him.

    He knew that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be as good as Leon, and he wondered why they were so different.

    It would be a lie to say that he doesn¡¯t get jealous.

    After his heroic and shy career, Leon has made a big name for himself and found himself with three beautiful, good-natured fianc¨¦es.

    He understands that there is no point in being envious.

    But ¨D¨D Nix was a kinder man than that.

    (Every single one of them said that Leon was a hero or a great guy ¨D¨D Do you know how much trouble that guy has caused me!)

    In Nix¡¯s mind, Leon was always going to be a handful little brother.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid if the fiend knight doesn¡¯t show up. I¡¯m going to defeat you and run away!¡±

    The enemies try to escape from this battlefield by defeating the Nix who are chasing them.

    Nix went full speed with his armor and approached the enemy, striking him with his shield to knock him off his feet.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need toe out for you guys!¡±

    Nix remembers what happened before he boarded the Einhorn.

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°Don¡¯t let Leon fight?¡±

    ¡°Please¡±

    Before boarding the Einhorn.

    The three people who came to visit were Ange, Livia ¨D¨D and Noelle.

    Ange is a Duke¡¯s daughter, but now she¡¯s bowing before Nix.

    ¡°Even if I stop him, he¡¯ll still leave, right?¡±

    ¡°I want you to stop that.¡±

    Nix is bewildered by Ange¡¯s request, and now Livia tells him what happened.

    ¡°Leon-san is, I think he¡¯s fought too many battles in a short period of time and is more mentally exhausted than he thinks he is. Even in the Republic, he was so reckless that he couldn¡¯t sleep and had to resort to drugs. That¡¯s why!¡±

    Hearing that he had taken to drugs made Nix realize that Leon must be in more pain than he thought.

    When a concerned Livia, stumbled over her voice, Noelle took over.

    ¡°I feel bad for Nix-san. But Luxion also told me that he needs to rest for now. Please. If Leon tries to fight, please stop him.¡±

    Nix gave a small nod when he saw that the three of them were terribly worried about Leon.

    (I envy you. Leon ¨D¨D you¡¯re so loved)

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°He¡¯s always getting himself into trouble, pushing himself too hard, and making everyone around him worry! Even though he became a marquis, he still makes me clean up after him!¡±

    He kicked off the armor of the sky pirates, and used the ive he was holding to hit the enemy¡¯s weapon.

    As Nix closes the distance, the enemy panics and shows his back to get out of range.

    He thrust the ive there.

    Maybe the pilot is safe, and a loud scream is heard.

    ¡°I-I understand. Surrender! I surrender, so please let me go!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s toote for that. Go cool your head!¡±

    As he pulls out the ive he stabbed, the armor falls into the sea.

    Nix took a moment to regte his ragged breathing and moved his gaze around the area to find any remaining enemies.

    ¡°He really ¨D¨D How much are you going to make the people around you worry. Look over here too. I can¡¯t be bothered with you all the time, either.¡±

    It reminded him of his gentle sisters-inw who were concerned about Leon¡¯s well-being.

    At the same time, Nix was relieved.

    ¡± ¨D¨D But with those girls by his side, I guess Leon is safe now.¡±

    He also feels sad to see his little brother, whom he took care of as a child, going off on his own.

    While he was making light-heartedments in his mind to be free from his troublesome little brother, what he spotted in the corner of his eye was the armor of the enemy that had boarded the airship of the Rosede family.

    ¡°They are people who not knowing when to give up!¡±

    Fly towards the deck of the Rosede family.

    The armor of the sky pirate hadnded on the deck and was about to go on a rampage in ast desperate attempt.

    That¡¯s where Nix charges in.

    As he held up his shield and hit the body, the enemy¡¯s armor was blown off the deck and fell.

    Perhaps the impact was too strong, but apparently the current blow had rendered him unable to act.

    It was the same for Nix.

    ¡°I¡¯ve done it¡±

    A danger rm goes off in the cockpit, telling him that there is a problem with various parts of the aircraft.

    However, it seems that the battle is over.

    The surroundings were quiet and Nix made sure it was safe before opening the hatch and getting out.

    ¡°I wonder if Luxion will be mad at me?¡±

    The Rosede family gathered as Nix, worried that he had broken the armor he had borrowed,nded on the deck.

    One of them is the knight who stared at him as they left the port.

    Now he smiles and shakes Nix¡¯s hand with both of his.

    ¡°It really saves us! You are a lifesaver.¡±

    ¡°Eh? N-No, well.¡±

    Nix smiled vaguely and faked it, which made him feel a little better.

    (Now we¡¯re even for the trouble, aren¡¯t we?)

    As the crowd gathered and became more lively, the women came out from the ship.

    Dorothea was among them.

    ¡°Nix-sama?¡±

    Comes to give thanks.

    However, Dorothea looked quite surprised when she realized that it was Nix who was on deck.

    It is the same for Nix.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Dorothea-san¡±

    The deck had been in a celebratory mood earlier, but when the two of them came face to face, the atmosphere became rather tense.

    Nix looked apologetic, but Dorothea was looking down and sad.

    Dorothea thanks Nix for his help.

    ¡°On behalf of the Rosede family, I would like to express our gratitude. Thank you for your help. Nix-sama is our lifesaver.¡±

    Nix is called a lifesaver and denies it with a wave of his hands.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s not that big a deal.¡±

    Dorothea smiles sadly when she hears Nix¡¯s words.

    ¡°Too much humility can be sarcasm. You have certainly risked your life to save us. To make light of this is to say that our lives are of no importance.¡±

    Nix, who has spent a lot of time in the countryside, is modest, but he apologizes again when he is told that it would be rude to be overly so.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I was wrong.¡±

    They thanked each other, but they remained facing each other, did not open their mouths and only time passes.

    As the people around them grew impatient to see the two of them, Deirdre deliberately opened her fan to cover her mouth.

    Then she instructed the others.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the care of the guest to onee-sama. Everyone else, return to your posts. ¨D¨D Onee-sama, escort the guest to the ship.¡±

    After urging Dorothea to lead the way, Deirdre turned her gaze to Einhorn, who was approaching.

    ¡°I will talk to that side.¡±

    .

    Part 6

    The airships of the Einhorn and Rosede family line up in the sky.

    In the enclosure, an allied airship was holding the sky pirates.

    For some reason, it was I who had been restrained until now, who was dealing with Deirdre-senpai, who had arrived on the deck of the Einhorn.

    There is Luxion by my side, but the others are busy working.

    My dad also had a reason and avoided facing Deirdre-senpai.

    ¨D¨D He ran away from talking to a higher ranked opponent.

    Well, the person I was talking to was an acquaintance of mine, so I guess he thought I was the right person to talk to.

    Deirdre-senpai is in a good mood.

    ¡°You have helped me many times. I¡¯ll be sure to repay you for this.¡±

    Then I wanted to ask for my demotion.

    But no matter what I do, Rnd will get in the way.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to thank me, then you¡¯d better make this whole thing even. The truth is, aniki ¨D¨D not Nix, but me the one who caused the trouble, please tell that to Dorothea-san.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let her know. In the meantime, I would like to thank you again and invite you to the main territory of Rosede House, though?¡±

    I guess they invite the person who saved their lives to their house and have a party to thank us.

    That¡¯s about as much credit as we get, but our family is not good at formal parties.

    Even if we participated, I¡¯m sure we wouldn¡¯t enjoy it.

    However, it is also a problem to be invited and refused.

    Let¡¯s also apologize for this time and visit the Rosede family.

    Maybe I¡¯ll apologize there and this whole thing will be over ¨D¨D That¡¯s I hope.

    ¡°I¡¯m not good at stiff formal parties, so I¡¯d prefer something casual. We¡¯re from the countryside, so we don¡¯t know much about etiquette.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me. We won¡¯t embarrass our guests.¡±

    We¡¯ll visit the Rosede family again with the rest of the family, and I turn my head to look for Nix.

    ¡°More than that, where is my brother?¡±

    The armor that Nix had been riding in was carried in by two armors.

    But there was no sign of the pilot.

    Deirdre-senpai spread her fan to cover her mouth.

    ¡°He¡¯s talking to onee-sama.¡±

    .

    Part 7

    A reception room on the ship.

    Nix and Dorothea face each other across the table. They have drunk the tea that the maid prepared and the cup is empty.

    Dorothea had sent the maid away, so it was just the two of them.

    (What am I doing in a ce like this?)

    There is no talking to the person who hurt her.

    He didn¡¯t want to make her feel any more ufortable, so he decided to apologize again.

    However, Dorothea speaks to him first.

    ¡°Let me ask you something¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    Nix, his voice trailing off, put his fists on his knees and straightened his back.

    He is facing Dorothea, but she looks very tired.

    She must be very scared after being attacked by the sky pirates.

    Nix noticed that the weak Dorothea had tears in her eyes.

    She talks little by little about how the Knicks didn¡¯t ept her.

    ¡°Am I not good enough?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Does Nix-sama hate me? I want you to tell me which part is bad. I will fix what I can. That¡¯s why¨D¨D¡±

    Dorothea swallows thest word, shakes her head, then straightens her back and smiles at Nix.

    ¡°¨D¨DExcuse me. I was just trying to ask you what was uneptable for the future.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so. Etto¨D¨DIt¡¯s not that I hate you, or anything like that. You¡¯re very beautiful, and you¡¯re too good for me.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong? I-Is it a cor?¡±

    Dorothea probably didn¡¯t think her hobby wasmon either.

    Nix wanted to say, ¡°Yes, it is,¡± but he was an adult and decided to tell her in an offhand way.

    ¡°I think everyone has their own hobby, but I don¡¯t think a cor is a good one. Why don¡¯t we get to know each other better first? ¨D¨D I say that, but it¡¯s not very convincing.¡±

    (I¡¯m sure Leon will be honest enough to point out the bad parts)

    Nix bes envious of his brother¡¯s strong sense of self.

    But he also understood that he was not the same person as Leon.

    When Dorothea looks down, Nix speaks of his ideals.

    ¡°I¡¯m from the countryside, so the fancy life in the city doesn¡¯t suit me. If I were a nobleman, a political marriage would be the norm, but my parents are a rxed couple. I wish I could be like them.¡±

    He wants to be a couple like Barkas and Ruth.

    ¡°Which one will be obeying the other is wrong, or it¡¯s just not for me. So you and I shouldn¡¯t be together.¡±

    He predicts a future where both of them will be unhappy together due to their personality mismatch.

    If he were to adapt to Dorothea, it would be too much for the Nix, and if he were to do the opposite, Dorothea would not be happy.

    Dorothea raises her face.

    ¡°You should have talked to me like this at the beginning.¡±

    Dorothea¡¯s face, smiling a little sadly, had lost its sternness and had be calm.

    The impression of an inhospitable, cold woman was not there, and even Nix could not help but be fascinated.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re right. If I had just told you properly, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten into this kind of trouble.¡±

    Nix didn¡¯t even have to hurt Dorothea.

    (Instead of relying on Leon, I should¡¯ve been taking care of it myself. What a sloppy big brother I am)

    Nix looks down and mocks himself. He looks up, straightens his posture, and bows his head to Dorothea.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry¡±

    Nix looks up as Dorothea calls out to him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve apologized enough. ¨D¨D But just let me say this.¡±

    When he prepares himself for at least oneint, Dorothea is embarrassed.

    ¡°Nix-sama, who hade to our rescue, was not in at all.¡±

    ¡°Eh? C-Could it be that you were listening to that?¡±

    Nix blushed in embarrassment when he realized that the conversation with the sky pirates had been overheard.

    Dorothea was amused by Nix like that, and she smiled.

    ¡°Even a knight who dashes in at a crisis is embarrassed, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°No, well, yes¡±

    ¡°You are a good person. You should be more confident.¡±

    ¡°When you have a brother who is capable, there¡¯s a tendency topare.¡±

    ¡°Ara, is there that feeling for your brother?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t say that I don¡¯t. But if you¡¯re asking me if I can do it like Leon, I understand that I can¡¯t.¡±

    The conversation continued and the two of them smiled and talked until the maid came to call them.

    There they were, talking more calmly than in their first meeting.

    .

    Part 8

    The home of the Rosede family is a city, and they have arge castle.

    The Count of Rosede, the owner of the castle, seemed to be very worried when he heard that his two daughters had been attacked by sky pirates.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re both back safely.¡±

    He was tall, well-trained, and had a stern look on his face.

    But he hugged two of them when they returned to the castle.

    Both Dorothea and Deirdre gave their father a somewhat dumbfounded look.

    After all, there were still vassals around.

    The vassals were troubled by the sweet sight with his two daughters.

    ¡°Otou-sama, the people around you are in trouble.¡±

    ¡°Do you have any idea how worried I am about you? The Rosede family will send an army to the ce where you were attacked. I will sink all the sky pirates in that area!¡±

    Deirdre averted her gaze and refused to be involved, as if she was tired of dealing with him.

    Dorothea consulted with her father, who repeatedly made radical statements, with a serious look in her eyes.

    ¡°Otou-sama, I have one request.¡±

    ¡°What is it? I heard that you didn¡¯t get a chance this time, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get another chance. That¡¯s why you¡¯ll have to hide your hobbies¨D¨D¡±

    Dorothea was a little annoyed with her father, who gently pointed out what was her bad parts, but talked about her request.

    ¡°Please listen to me. The truth is¨D¨D¡±

 Volume 8, 06 â€œMarriageâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 06 ¡°Marriage¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    ¡°The Rosede family stronghold is different from what I imagined.¡±

    [What kind of scene did you imagine?]

    ¡°Well, you know, like a bunch of rogue adventurers roaming around. I¡¯ve heard they¡¯re very proud to be adventurers, so you¡¯d think there¡¯d be more adventurers in thend, right?¡±

    [I now understand Master¡¯s image of adventurers. Master thought that adventurers, including yourself, were rogues.]

    ¡°It¡¯s not that different, is it? The king of this country is some kind of rogue.¡±

    The appearance is decent, but the content is awful.

    We are now in the territory of the Rosede family, which we were invited to visit.

    Now, Luxion and I were strolling around the interior of the city.

    Luxion checked his surroundings and said.

    [I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve been expanding, but there¡¯s a lot of unnecessary work. From an efficiency standpoint, there are a number of ces that need to be improved.]

    ¡°It¡¯s not a game. Don¡¯t think everything¡¯s easy.¡±

    In my previous life, when building a road, there were many problems that had to be dealt with, starting with the briefing session for the people living around the road and the acquisition ofnd.

    Ifrge-scale changes are made just for the sake of efficiency, there will be many problems.

    [If the nobility exists I think it¡¯s easier to improve than master thinks, though. The advantage of having an absolute authority is the speed of top-down action.]

    ¡°It¡¯s someone else¡¯s territory in the first ce, and I don¡¯t have the right to speak out.¡±

    [You¡¯re right.]

    The Rosede family¡¯s castle is located in a walled fortified city.

    It¡¯s not as big as the royal capital, but it¡¯s still very well developedpared to my parents¡¯ home.

    The stone-built streets are elegant and fun to just stroll around.

    [More importantly, was it okay for you to leave without permission?]

    ¡°The party is tonight. I¡¯m free until then, right? Besides, the main actors this time are my dad and my brother. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m not there, because I¡¯m a supporting character. After all, I was just detained on the ship.¡±

    When I look at Luxion with a resentful eye, he turns his lens somewhere else to look away from me.

    [It was Angelica and the others¡¯ decision. Originally, they wouldn¡¯t have wanted you to go into battle.]

    If it¡¯s a request from Ange and the others, I can¡¯t ignore it, I let out a small sigh at Luxion¡¯s reaction.

    ¡°They are too worried¡±

    I walk around with my hands in my trouser pockets.

    Luxion, who was floating around my right shoulder, is still talking a lot of small talks today.

    [I rmend that you take a mental break for a while. After all, Master¡ª¡ªis an emergency avoidance!]

    Luxion moved quickly from his spot, and a stone passed right by me.

    ¡°Dangerous! W-Who is it!¡±

    I turned around and there they were, boys who looked like very bad kids.

    He rubbed his fingers under his nose and held a pebble in his right hand.

    ¡°There¡¯s something weird over there. Whoever hits that thing wins.¡±

    He hade out of nowhere and started ying with Luxion as a target.

    Throwing rocks at people, that¡¯s pretty extreme y, isn¡¯t it.

    I guess they thought I was a civilian because I was dressed so roughly.

    [¡ª¡ª New humans]

    Holding Luxion in my right hand as he muttered disturbing words, I ran away from the children.

    Luxion seems to be dissatisfied.

    [Why are you running away? You should tell the Count¡¯s family and punish them ordingly. Master is the Marquis of this country, and they deserve to be tried for serious crimes.]

    ¡°Just get out of here. I hate troublesomeness!¡±

    Even if you are a child, if you disobey a nobleman, you will be charged with a crime.

    That is the value system of this world.

    The Kingdom of Holfalt is, by my values, a people-friendly country.

    But if you disobey a noble without reason, you will be judged normally.

    I thought it would be less troublesome if I ran away, so I ran down the main street.

    This ce is probably like their garden, so if I go into the alley, I¡¯ll be trapped.

    On the contrary, it is better to flee the main street with dignity.

    ¡°Damn, he¡¯s fast!¡±

    The distance between us and the children who were chasing us opened up.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me, kids! I¡¯ll show you my dungeon-trained escape skills!¡±

    Having gotten rid of the kids, holding Luxion in my hand, I went into a random coffee shop.

    ¡°Haa, I¡¯m tired.¡±

    Once I sit down and release the Luxion, the waitresses to take the order.

    I asked for a drink, and Luxion questioned me protestingly as the waitress moved away.

    [Why did you run away? They attacked me and Master with clear hostility.]

    ¡°They are just kids? Overlook it.¡±

    [¨D¨DIs it an order?]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. And also ¨D¨D That¡¯s my request.¡±

    [Request?]

    What to do with children is a line that I cannot forgive personally.

    It may be a value because I have a previous life, but I don¡¯t like it because I personally dislike it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll overlook it if I can. No, wait a minute. Do you think it would be a good idea to inform their parents and have them scold them? I backed down this time, but if this was another nobleman, it would be a big problem.¡±

    I nodded a few times, and Luxion summed up my opinion.

    [So you¡¯re saying you won¡¯t judge, but you will pay back? Don¡¯t you have a hands-off policy with the children?]

    ¡°Because I¡¯m angry, I¡¯ll payback.¡±

    [You are so intolerant.]

    ¡°You told me before that you don¡¯t hate me for that. Besides, it¡¯s better for the kids to be scolded while they still can. I¡¯m worried about their future. Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m a tolerant person for thinking about their future?¡±

    It¡¯s a white line when I hear it myself, but they should be scolded while they still can.

    I¡¯d like them to stop throwing rocks in crowded ces because it¡¯s dangerous.

    [If you are tolerant, wouldn¡¯t you scold them yourself instead of seeking payback in the first ce?]

    ¡°That¡¯s true, too. Oh well. All right, let¡¯s find out who these kids are and let their parents know. It¡¯ll kill time till nightfall.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Well, if it makes you feel better, feel free to do it.¡±

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°And so the evil is gone!¡±

    I checked the houses of the children and informed their parents that they had been throwing rocks on the main street.

    Sure enough, the kids were getting a good scolding from their parents.

    When I returned to the Rosede family¡¯s castle, I was in arge room with my family, telling Ange and the others what had happened.

    Ange looks at me and has an indescribable look on her face.

    ¡°Just when I thought what you were doing out there, you decide to pay the kids back? Leon, why don¡¯t you calm down a little?¡±

    Livia has a lot on her mind about what I¡¯ve done.

    ¡°W-Well, I think it¡¯s a good idea to get scolded while they are still young, as they may cause problems in the future. But looking up the house is a bit.¡±

    Noelle, sitting in a wheelchair, has a bitter expression.

    ¡°You go that far? You¡¯re dealing with a child. Why don¡¯t you just scold him right then and there and be done with it.¡±

    The three of them neither denied nor agreed with my methods.

    As I was talking to the three of them who were slightly taken aback by what I did, Colin came over.

    ¡°Noelle-neechan, mom is calling over there.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah? Then I have to go¡±

    Noelle tried to move the wheelchair by hand, but Colin, a good kid, quickly got behind her and started pushing.

    Our Colin is very different from the bad kids.

    I¡¯m happy as his big brother.

    ¡°I will push¡±

    ¡°Thank you as always¡±

    Colin, who was happy to be praised by Noelle, blushed and looked down a little.

    As they moved away, Ange, who had been watching them, put her hand on her forehead.

    ¡°They say that first love is unattainable, but it¡¯s a little pitiful.¡±

    Livia also looked at Colin sadly.

    ¡°Colin-kun, since he is usually pushing Noelle-san¡¯s wheelchair, there are not many chances for them to see each other. Even when he does, he gets embarrassed and runs away.¡±

    As it is, Ange and Livia were talking about something serious.

    ¡°Is that why Noelle doesn¡¯t notice? It¡¯s obvious from the surroundings.¡±

    ¡°The problem is that Noelle-san can¡¯t see Colin-kun¡¯s face well because he¡¯s shy and moves behind her. It seems that even when he talks, he doesn¡¯t say much.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a vicious circle. But it¡¯s also a problem if the people around tell him.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, if it¡¯s me¨D¨D¡±

    ¨D¨DWhat are they talking about?

    ¡°What are you two talking about?¡±

    When I asked honestly, Ange and Livia looked at me with surprised faces.

    They looked at each other, but they shook their heads and didn¡¯t tell me anything.

    ¡°Eh, what? Luxion, do you know?¡±

    [¨D¨D Master is really dense. In some ways, it¡¯s worthy of respect.]

    ¡°So what? Tell me.¡±

    [Please think for yourself.]

    In the end, no one answered me.

    .

    Part 3

    The party at the Rosede house was to be held only for the people involved, in ordance with the wishes of Dad and aniki.

    The format is a stand-up party, and the atmosphere is calm and not formal.

    While I¡¯m putting the food on the te, Dad and aniki are surrounded by people from the Rosede family, thanking them for killing the sky pirates.

    They both looked ufortable, and I watched them from a distance.

    Near Count Rosede, I saw Deirdre-senpai and Dorothea-san.

    ¡°It must be hard being the main actors at a party¡±

    When I muttered to myself as if it were someone else¡¯s problem, Luxion, who was by my side, picked it up and started a conversation.

    [You¡¯re not used to parties, are you? Master, since a while ago, you¡¯ve only been eating meat dishes. I strongly rmend that you consume vegetables.]

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best when I feel like it.¡±

    [ ¨D¨D I see]

    If I copied Luxion¡¯s reply from a while ago, he would understand it and look unamused.

    Even though he is an artificial intelligence, he is rich in emotion.

    Looking around, I saw that Noelle in her wheelchair was also surrounded by a crowd of people.

    Apparently, she was being asked about the situation in the Republic of Arzel.

    Because of her position as a priestess of Sapling-chan, the people around her seemed to be very interested in her.

    Mom and Colin are by her side.

    As I was looking out for her with the intention of going to her aid if she needed anything, Livia came up to me and grabbed my arm.

    ¡°Leon-san, is my dress looking strange?¡±

    ¡°It looks good on you¡±

    Dressed in an unfamiliar dress, Livia seemed concerned about her outfit.

    ¡°I got this dress with Ange, but I don¡¯t get many chances to wear such an expensive dress. Isn¡¯t it weird?¡±

    The white and blue dress was a perfect match for Livia¡¯s image.

    It was Ange in a red dress who approached an anxious Livia and intertwined her arms with her.

    This one isposed, and she¡¯s used to wearing dresses.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it looks good on you. More importantly, Count Rosede would like to speak with Leon.¡±

    ¡°Eh? I¡¯m fine, though¡±

    I tried to refuse, but Ange would not let me.

    She tries to persuade me as if she were gently instructing a child.

    ¡°They can¡¯t ignore the Marquis who has been invited. It¡¯s just a matter of making small talk. Get used to it while you can.¡±

    I was reluctantly convinced when I heard that I would only be greeting the Count of Rosede, who had invited me.

    Ange asked Livia to do one thing.

    ¡°Bring Noelle too¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    As Livia went to call Noelle, Ange intertwined her arms with me.

    When our arms were crossed, she brought her face close to mine and whispered in my ear. Her breath tickled my ears, but more than that, I could hear the sexiness in Ange¡¯s voice.

    ¡°There¡¯s something a little odd about the party atmosphere ¡°

    ¡± ¨D¨D Are they going to pay us back?¡±

    I guess I was excited to see her in a different dress than usual.

    However, Ange was concerned about the condition of the party.

    I was wary that he would use this opportunity to get payback for the rude behavior, but Luxion denied it.

    [No, it¡¯s not. There is no danger around, and the food was not poisoned. Isn¡¯t it Angelica¡¯s mistake?]

    It was a relief to hear that, but Ange would not change her opinion.

    ¡°No, something¡¯s not right. It¡¯s not hostile, but it¡¯s bothering me.¡±

    Ange¡¯s hunch ¨D¨D No, is it her intuition?

    Anyway, she felt uneasy about the atmosphere of the ce.

    I was curious and looked around, but I didn¡¯t see anything strange.

    ris-senpai was also at the party, but she was surrounded by people and was in the middle of the crowd. It¡¯s been the same situation ever since the party started.

    I¡¯ve been trying to talk to her, but I can¡¯t seem to get close enough to her, so I haven¡¯t even been able to talk to ris-senpai.

    ¡°Hm~m, there¡¯s nothing unusual, though.¡±

    Then, as Livia brought Noelle along, the Count Rosede arrived with Deirdre-senpai, as if the timing was right.

    However, there was no sign of Dorothea-san.

    I searched for her just by sight and found her with Nix, who had been released and fled to the wall.

    Ange must have noticed that, too.

    ¡°I guess this is where brothers resemble each other.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing¡±

    Ange smiles, but when Count Rosede arrives, she gives a curtsy, a greeting in which she pulls back one leg and bends over.

    Livia imitated her a littleter, but Ange¡¯s gestures were more experienced and looked more beautiful.

    The Count Rosede spoke cheerfully as he came before me.

    ¡°This is the first time we¡¯ve seen each other. I¡¯ve heard many rumors about you, Marquis Bartofalt. First of all, I would like to thank you for saving my daughters.¡±

    Even though I am younger than him, I am the Marquis, so Count Rosede¡¯snguage is polite.

    ¨D¨DI am troubled when adults use honorifics.

    ¡°T-Thank you for inviting me.¡±

    Starting with an awkward greeting, Deirdre-senpai offered a helping hand.

    ¡°Nevertheless, the surroundings of the Hero-dono are quite gorgeous¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too good for me.¡±

    I managed to make a smile and reply.

    It was still better to be a little sarcastic with someone you knew than to have a conversation with a bunch of important adults.

    But then Count Rosede starts joking.

    ¡°They say they prefer the color of hero. Isn¡¯t it still not enough for the Marquis?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s more than enough?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. The blood of a new hero must be left behind. The third son of a baron is now a marquis after a great adventure. There is only one hero in the Kingdom of Horfalt who has risen to this level in a single generation. If you are such a hero, you are allowed to surround yourself with more people.¡±

    The Rosede family also began as adventurers.

    The reason he appreciates me is probably because I¡¯m a sessful adventurer.

    Somehow, I feel like I¡¯m being teased by my rtives about my love life, and it¡¯s making me nervous.

    When I nce at the three of them, they are listening with a smile.

    I guess they are not angered by this level of conversation.

    ¡°By the way, what do you think of our Deirdre?¡±

    ¡°Eh? I think she¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    I was asked about Deirdre-senpai, and all I could say was that she was beautiful.

    She has gorgeous blonde hair in a vertical roll, and different from Ange, she looks great in a blue dress.

    Deirdre-senpai opened her fan and covered her mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s a natural response¡±

    Hearing my answer, Count Rosedeughed heartily.

    ¡°My daughter is pleased to hear that, Hero-dono. Then, please enjoy today.¡±

    Count Rosede and the others are leaving.

    I was relieved and sighed a little.

    ¡°Ah~, I¡¯m so nervous¡±

    [That was a rather awkward greeting. Did you shrink in the face of power?]

    ¡°I won¡¯t deny it. I¡¯m a small man, after all.¡±

    Try to be funny, Luxion says, ¡°Small people are more humble.¡±

    However, Ange¡¯s expression was a little grim.

    Her lips are smiling, but her eyes are not smiling.

    At the destination where her gaze is directed, there are Count Rosede and Deirdre-senpai.

    ¡°The Rosede family is too greedy¡±

    ¡°About what?¡±

    I tilt my head at Ange, who is in a bad mood, and Noelle, who is now free of tension, confirms it. It was about the question I had just asked.

    ¡°That question, though, Leon got misunderstood. What about the fourth one? That¡¯s what he meant, right?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D That is impossible, right.¡±

    Whatever the circumstances may be, how about the daughter as the fourth? Is it something like that?

    If it were me, I would never do that.

    If there was a bastard with three beautiful women with good personalities, a man would be tempted to hit him out of jealousy.

    And there¡¯s another one there, I¡¯ll never forgive him.

    However, it seems that Livia had the same idea as the two.

    ¡°The Count¡¯s eyes were very sharp for a moment, weren¡¯t they? That was definitely not a joke.¡±

    I¡¯m sure Count Rosede was pissed off when he saw me, ¡°You¡¯ve got three beautiful women with you.¡±

    As a man myself, I understand that feeling.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it jealousy? If I saw a guy with three beautiful women, I¡¯d wish in my heart that he would unlucky.¡±

    Wishing for the other person¡¯s misfortune will not make you happy.

    I understand that, but I can¡¯t help but be jealous.

    ¨D¨D Although I never thought I¡¯d be on the receiving side of jealousy.

    Then, as usual, Luxion was sarcastic.

    [I don¡¯t feel you¡¯ve grown at all since we met. Can you please betray my expectations a little bit in a good way?]

    Sarcasm and cynicism are no longer an everyday conversation between us.

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it when I feel like it. Where¡¯s Nix?¡±

    I searched the area where my family was as we conversed, but Nix was the only one I couldn¡¯t find.

    Ange tells me happily, unlike earlier.

    ¡°He must be cornered by now¡±

    ¡°Nix is cornered? W-Wait a minute!¡±

    .

    Part 4

    Moving from the party venue to the balcony, Nix took a deep breath and leaned back against the railing once he was free of his nervousness.

    ¡°I¡¯m so nervous ~¡±

    No matter what he ate or drank, he didn¡¯t know what it tasted like, he just felt ufortable.

    He was tired of talking to noblemen who were not supposed to be involved in his life, and he did not want to participate in the event again.

    ¡°You were very active on the battlefield, but you¡¯re not very good at parties.¡±

    Nix scratches his cheek with his finger.

    ¡°I¡¯m not used to this kind of ce. Parties at my house are much more lively.¡±

    He said it was lively, but it was actually noisy.

    It¡¯s the kind of party where manners are not a concern, andughter and fights are amon urrence.

    Nix hated it a little.

    Even without making a fuss, he thought it was fine to go on as usual.

    But once attending a real party, he misses the easygoing party.

    ¡°Did you participate in the school?¡±

    ¡°At that time, I had friends and some idiots who wanted to cut loose because they were students. Well, I thought it was a world that had nothing to do with a regr ss.¡±

    When talking about the school days, Dorothea showed a lonely expression.

    ¡°I like to be alone, and I don¡¯t have many memories of that. Looking back, I should have talked to many more people. Then I wouldn¡¯t have been in trouble at a time like this.¡±

    ¡°At a time like this?¡±

    (What is she trying to say? Maybe she wants to be friends with me? No way)

    After the worst face-to-face meeting she had ever had, there was no way she would want to be friends with him.

    With that in mind, Nix waited for Dorothea¡¯s words.

    Perhaps Dorothea was nervous, her breathing was disordered.

    Perhaps having made up her mind, she gave Nix a serious look and put her hand on her chest.

    ¡°Nix-sama, can you give me one more chance?¡±

    ¡°Chance? ¨D¨DEh, chance means?¡±

    Nix is surprised when he realizes, a few secondste, what Dorothea is trying to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I seriously like you. Please, give me one more chance.¡±

    ¡°No, ano? But I am, look! As I said before, I want a rxed couple, and I don¡¯t think we have the same hobbies.¡±

    No matter how beautiful she is, Dorothea wanting someone as a pet is not Nix¡¯s hobby.

    However, Dorothea was serious.

    ¡°The one who loves is the one who loses. I do not mind being your pet. No, I will be the wife Nix-sama wants me to be.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think you should force yourself like that. Endure is bad for the body.¡±

    (In the first ce, I can¡¯t treat my marriage partner like a pet, impossible! My mind can¡¯t stand it!)

    Nix tries to escape the situation, but unfortunately, this is the home of the Rosede family¨D¨DIn the castle.

    If he looks at the balcony doorway, he can see a figure behind therge ss window with the curtains closed.

    Dorothea holds her hands, looks down, and cries.

    ¡°Then what should I do? What do I have to do to be epted?¡±

    ¡°I-I think you¡¯d better wipe your tears for now! And don¡¯t you think your family will forgive me for this? I¡¯ve been rude to you.¡±

    ¡°We are even, right? I also prepared a cor.¡±

    In a corner of his mind, Nix thought about it carefully, thinking, ¡°What a terrible conversation¡±.

    He wondered why the woman in front of him was so obsessed with him?

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time¡±

    ¡°W-What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt my heart beat so hard in my life, and I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    Nix¡¯s heart ached at the sight of an adult woman, who gave the impression of being cold, crying as if she were a child.

    He couldn¡¯t stand to see her like that, so he hugged her andforted her.

    The moonlight made Dorothea look beautiful, or the way she was crying made him feel like he had to do something about it ¨D¨D Nix, who usually did his best as a big brother, couldn¡¯t leave her alone anyway.

    When Dorothea was hugged, she froze in surprise.

    Their heartbeats are rising.

    ¡°Etto¡°

    Nix, who hadn¡¯t thought about what would happen next, was confused, but Dorothea hugged him and they spent some time on the balcony.

    Part 5

    ¡°What are you doing, aniki!¡±

    I peeked over the balcony and opened my eyes wide at Nix, who was hugging Dorothea-san.

    No matter how you look at it, this woman is not in Nix¡¯s type, so what was he thinking, hugging her willingly?

    Livia, who was looking at the balcony, blushed and fidgeted.

    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t expect a hug out of the blue.¡±

    When asked for her opinion, Noelle looked at Nix and Dorothea-san with a sparkle in her eyes.

    ¡°But it¡¯s ideal. It takes a lot of courage to confess to someone you like.¡±

    Perhaps remembering her own time, Noelle¡¯s cheeks also turned red.

    Ange stands next to me and looks at me sideways.

    ¡°I thought the brothers were alike, but Nix-dono made his own move. Leon could learn a thing or two from him.¡±

    ¡°It looks like he was just carried away by a momentary whim, though?¡±

    It was impossible for Nix to move so boldly against a woman.

    I make the prediction that there was some kind of magic going on and he wasn¡¯t making the usual decision.

    Ange let out a small sigh of astonishment at me and turned her gaze to the back of us.

    There was the Count Rosede with a deliberate attitude.

    ¡°Oya-oya, Dorothea can not be underestimated. Unexpectedly, I never thought she¡¯d have a man she liked.¡±

    My parentse over because I was loud enough to be heard in the hall.

    ¡°Not Leon, but the Nix, don¡¯t tell me?¡±

    It¡¯s understandable that they¡¯re surprised to see a serious Nix hugging a woman, but how did my namee up there?

    My mother touched her gaping mouth with her hand.

    It seems that she is too surprised to react.

    My father apologizes to Count Rosede.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m really sorry.¡±

    I guess he feels sorry for hugging his precious daughter.

    But Count Rosede was calm.

    ¡°You can¡¯t help but fall in love with the knight who saved you. I¡¯ll leave the two of them alone for now.¡±

    As Count Rosede returned to the party with Dad and others, Ange crossed her arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s so clear. He nned to leave them alone from the start.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why would he do that?¡±

    ¡°Because Dorothea has fallen in love with Nix-dono.¡±

    ¡°With Nix? Didn¡¯t we tell her the cor was a lie? Is there any reason for her to like him?¡±

    When I say that it must be different from Dorothea¡¯s hobby, thedies give me a dumbfounded look that says, ¡°You really don¡¯t get it.¡±

    It was Livia who told me about Dorothea-san¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Leon-san, there are many girls who yearn for a knight-sama who helps them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that before, but¡±

    Noelle hunched over and put the fingertips of both hands together, embarrassed.

    ¡°I understand~. If someone risked his life toe and save me, that would make me conscious.¡±

    Noelle, who nces at me, seems to be remembering what happened in the Republic.

    I think I did my best back then.

    Then, Deirdre-senpai came over and joined the conversation.

    ¡°I also have experience. That was when we were attacked by the Principality¡¯s army. That time, Leon-kun were so dependable.¡±

    The person standing in front of Deirdre-senpai, who had just arrived, was Ange with her hands on her hips.

    ¡°What a coincidence. I also remember. Because even back then, Leon came to my rescue. But still, it¡¯s an borate imitation.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Deirdre-senpai, who was giving Ange a stern talking-to, was hiding her smirking face with an open fan.

    ¡°You nailed ris, just in case, right. You deliberately moved so that Nix-dono and Dorothea would be together and led them to the balcony, didn¡¯t you? The moon is beautiful today and the atmosphere is nice. Show a little weakness, and most men can¡¯t resist hugging. ¡°

    ¡°No way. Was it all an act?¡±

    When I saw the two of them on the balcony, I knew Nix had been fooled.

    However, Deirdre-senpai argues against it in order to protect Dorothea-san¡¯s honor.

    ¡°I¡¯m just giving them a chance to be alone. Anything beyond that is up to them. Acting, it is unthinkable.¡±

    ¡°Not acting? I-If so, is it okay?¡±

    Luxion, who was next to me who was worried, seems not to be very interested in this topic.

    [Isn¡¯t it possible that you are too much influenced by the opinions of others?]

    ¡°S-Shut up. I¡¯m not good at this kind of thing.¡±

    [Not just romance, there are many areas in which Master is not good.]

    He is a guy who says a lot of words every time.

 Volume 8, 7: â€œCount Rosebladeâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 7: ¡°Count Rosede¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The next day.

    Our family gathered in the castle¡¯s lounge, with Nix sitting on the couch with his hands on his head.

    ¡°Nix, what were you thinking, hugging an unmarrieddy!¡±

    Dad said in a panic, but if this was a normal woman, it wouldn¡¯t have been a problem.

    The problem is that she is an unmarried daughter of a Count.

    Nix makes an excuse forst night.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I couldn¡¯t leave her alone. Besides, she looked so beautiful yesterday.¡±

    The family¡¯s eyes were cold as they looked at Nix, who said he couldn¡¯t leave her alone because she looked so weak.

    The two cruel ones are Jenna and Finley.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it was all calcted, right?¡±

    ¡°Ah~, I know what you mean. It¡¯s like if you create an atmosphere, you win.¡±

    They seemed to think that Nix had fallen into Dorothea-san¡¯s trap.

    In the first ce, there was no way Nix could easily get close to the young Countess.

    Jenna rememberedst night¡¯s party.

    ¡°There were many things that were unnatural, right?¡±

    Nix raised his face when he heard that words.

    ¡°If you knew it, tell me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your love life. Nevertheless, why our men are so popr? Leon¡¯s like that, but I didn¡¯t expect Nix to be the same. I wonder if the brothers have the constitution to be favored by unreachabledies?¡±

    Finley looks at Colin, who is sitting on the couch, tilting her head.

    ¡°Is Colin going to marry a somewhere youngdy?¡±

    ¡°M-Married, I-I¡¯m not particrly.¡±

    Seeing Colin so flustered, Finley must have felt like teasing him.

    She closed the distance and pointed her finger at the tip of Colin¡¯s nose.

    ¡°It¡¯s too much for little Colin, isn¡¯t it? A wimp Colin is always hiding behind Noelle.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a wimp!¡±

    When they were about to start fighting with each other, Mom pulled them apart.

    ¡°Don¡¯te to other people¡¯s houses and start to fight. Why can¡¯t our children be quiet?¡±

    Jennaughs at Finley, who is flustered.

    ¡°Fighting with Colin, you¡¯re also a kid.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s proof that I am young~. Unlike onee-chan.¡±

    ¡°What!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? Yesterday, when you mentioned that you had just graduated from the school, all the men left. As for me, I¡¯ve had a lot of good-looking guyse up to me when they learned I haven¡¯t entered the school yet.¡±

    ¡°O-Only a blind man would choose childish Finley over me.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the other way around? The men who chose me, the one with a future, over my sister, the one with no future.¡±

    ¨D¨D If there was a daughter of a Baron and had just graduated from the academy, she would have been shunned because she was considered a terrible generation.

    Not long ago, the daughters of barons and viscountesses carried around subhuman ves as their exclusive servants.

    That used to be the norm, but now values are changing.

    No, is it more like correcting? Anyway, the situation is changing.

    In the midst of all this, Finley is also preparing to enter school and will be a freshman when spring break is over.

    I muttered, letting out a small sigh as I looked at Finley, who was ring at Jenna.

    ¡°A little sister is terrible¡±

    Finley is terrible, but she reminds me of my little sister, Marie, from a previous life.

    In the Republic of Arzel, my inner evaluation of older sister has be ¡°my sister who is not rted to me by blood is a good person¡± thanks to Louise-san.

    I looked at Jenna and saw that she was staring at Finley in a terrifying way.

    When Mom saw this, she held her forehead with her hand as if her head hurt.

    I can¡¯t help but say what I think.

    ¡°Can we trade Jenna with Louise-san?¡±

    Hearing my true feelings, Luxion makes fun of me as usual.

    [Didn¡¯t you say that the existence of a big sister was harmful? Do you think Louise is less harmful?]

    ¡°Looking at Louise-san, you would think onee-chan is not so bad, right? A gentle big-breasted big sister who spoils me is more than wee.¡±

    When I say this, remembering Louise-san, the sisters who stare at each other, but Jenna turns to me with a look of disgust on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯re really disgusting. What do you want from a big sister?¡±

    Am I sexually desiring a big sister? That¡¯s how Jenna misunderstood me, and she distanced herself from me as she hugged herself.

    You don¡¯t have to hate it that much.

    ¡°Nobody¡¯s looking at you sexually. Seeing you naked doesn¡¯t turn me on one bit.¡±

    [Then, what if the target was Louise?]

    ¡°It¡¯s not something to be looked at sexually. You¡¯re being too rude, if you see Louise-san naked.¡±

    [It was Master who said that rude thing to your sister.]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this how you treat your own sister?¡±

    When Iugh, my family looks at me in disgust, saying, ¡°This guy again¡± However, when the topic of Louise-san came up, Mom¡¯s gaze became stern.

    Dad forced the topic back to Nix and started thinking about the future.

    ¡°Anyway, the Count closed his eyes at the time. Nix and I will go apologize to him, but you guys need to be quiet. Especially Leon!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare make more noise. Listen, absolutely not!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a quiet guy, basically. If anyone should be paying attention, it¡¯s Jenna and Finley, right?¡±

    When I turned to the troublesome sisters, they looked at me with a strange look on their faces, ¡°What is this guy talking about?¡±.

    ¡°This foolish brother really doesn¡¯t get it, does he.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t act out of line like you do. Why don¡¯t you take a look at yourself?¡±

    They are really annoying sisters.

    I changed my opinion about a big sister a little, but a little sister is still no good.

    Thanks to Louise-san, I¡¯vee to ept the existence of a big sister ¨D¨D but for me, with Finley and Marie, a little sister is still a harmful thing.

    I get up from the couch as Dad and Nix head off to apologize.

    They give me a dubious look, so I suggest that I go with them.

    ¡°I¡¯m going too. I¡¯m still a Marquis, you know. Maybe this title will help a little?¡±

    A marquis in name only, but it¡¯s better than not being there to apologize.

    After much concern, they allowed me to apany them.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy to have a son-inw like you!¡±

    The meeting with Count Rosede took ce in a reception room in the castle.

    This ce, with its luxurious furniture, was quite morous, perhaps to show off the wealth of the Rosede family.

    In a luxurious room that would have made us poor Baron feel small ¨D¨D the Count Rosede greeted us with a big smile on his face.

    He spreads his hands toward Nix, but the person himself is confused or stunned for a moment before finally asking back.

    ¡°S-Son-inw?¡±

    ¡°Since you ept Dorothea, didn¡¯t you hug her on the balcony?¡±

    Count Rosede is smiling all the time, but his tone sounds like, ¡°You put your hands on my daughter and you¡¯re not gonna take responsibility?¡±.

    When I look at Dad, he¡¯s too flustered to be useful.

    ¡°N-No, Count. A-Are you really going to make her marry me? I¡¯m a nobleman from the countryside, and my rank is different from yours?¡±

    In a world where the status system still exists, there are many troublesome rules for marriage.

    Sometimes, in order to achieve a marriage of different status, some people give up their status and honor to elope and lose everything.

    ¨D¨DBy the way, it was the five idiots who did it for Marie.

    Does that sound like a good story, if you ask me?

    In their case, it¡¯s a terrible story, they¡¯ve actually been tricked by Marie.

    Marie, who tricked them, ended up having five unemployed people who didn¡¯t make enough money, which is funny.

    However, there are always exceptions to everything.

    Count Rosede¡¯s gaze turned to me for a moment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Nix-kun¡¯s little brother, Leon-dono is a marquis. There is no one who wouldin about the family of a hero who rose to be a marquis in a single generation.¡±

    Since I¡¯ve been promoted to the rank of marquis, the title structure has be ambiguous.

    I feel bad for Nix, so I talk to Count Rosede.

    ¡°Can Dorothea-san live in the countryside? Unlike in the city, we¡¯re really in the rural area.¡±

    My dad and Nix both nodded repeatedly.

    Can a daughter who grew up in the city live in the countryside?

    The standard of living in this world is often very different even in the same country.

    Like in the previous world, no matter where you live, you have ess to electricity, gas, and water! This is not that blessed environment like that.

    For that reason, the girls at the school hated the countryside nobles.

    But the Count of Rosede says not to worry.

    ¡°Dorothea is prepared for it. She says she¡¯ll live anywhere if she bes Nix-kun¡¯s wife. If pushes to shove, the Rosede family will be there to help.¡±

    They are going to support the Bartofalt family for their daughter.

    That sounds great, but it¡¯s too convenient for us.

    I know it¡¯s rude of me, but I can¡¯t help but ask Count Rosede.

    ¡°That¡¯s very thoughtful of you. I can¡¯t help but wonder if there¡¯s something behind it.¡±

    I ask nervously, and Count Rosede¡¯s guards, sensing my rudeness in asking, try to brace themselves.

    However, Count Rosede stopped them.

    ¡°It¡¯s important not to jump at a sweet deal. Because those who jump unguarded at the treasure in front of them will not live long. I¡¯ll give you credit for being cautious.¡±

    Apparently, he liked it.

    Count Rosede turned his back on us ¨D¨D He looked a little concerned. He let out a small sigh and turned to look at us.

    His expression was, what can I say, a troubled look.

    ¡°Since we¡¯re about to make a connection, there¡¯s no point in trying to hide it. In the first ce, Nix-kun, do you know Dorothea¡¯s hobby, right?¡±

    Nix remembers the cor and is troubled, but affirms it.

    ¡°Y-Yes, of course, I¡¯ll never tell anyone about it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s natural. You have to hide your family¡¯s shame.¡±

    The ¡°family¡± part was strangely emphasized.

    It¡¯s as if he¡¯s saying, ¡°You are already a family member and a person who shares the secret.¡±

    Nix says a lot of negative things about himself.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not quite up to par, and I¡¯m not worthy of Dorothea-san. Besides, it¡¯s Leon who¡¯s amazing, not me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s also important to admit your w. You¡¯re a sincere and good man!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any achievements or anything?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m buying your future. Besides, Nix-kun yed an active role in defeating the sky pirates, didn¡¯t you? You saved my daughters, too. You¡¯ve achieved enough!¡±

    ¡°We are poor, and your daughter will have a hard time!¡±

    ¡°The Rosede family will do everything in our power to support you, so don¡¯t worry! If there¡¯s anything you need, be it people, money, or goods, just let us know!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a mediocre adventurer and I¡¯ve never aplished anything!¡±

    Nix has be an adventurer at the school, but like me, he doesn¡¯t have a clear track record of conquering dungeons or finding treasure.

    For the Rosede family, who consider the adventurer part to be important, Nix would be a problem before evaluation.

    But still, Count Rosede does not change his attitude.

    ¡°Do you want to go on an adventure? Then you should join the adventure we¡¯re nning. I¡¯m looking for a team to discover a new floating ind. If you seed, Nix-kun, you can take the credit.¡±

    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s bad. I don¡¯t think those things mean anything unless you aplish them yourself.¡±

    ¡°What! Do you want to do it yourself? Nix-kun is also a good adventurer!¡±

    No matter what he says, Count Rosede will take it favorably.

    Are they misunderstanding each other? No, this is different.

    Luxion, who was floating by my side, seemed to have noticed Count Rosede¡¯s feelings.

    [From the flow of the current conversation, I¡¯d say that Count Rosede really wants to get Master¡¯s brother.]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Nix might not be able to get away.¡±

    If I trante the words of Count Rosede, he¡¯s saying, ¡°You¡¯re the only one I won¡¯t let go!¡±?

    Nix was confused and very impatient, as if anything he said could be interpreted in any positive way.

    Count Rosede said to Nix.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be staying with us for a while, right? In the meantime, you can get to know each other better. Someone, call Dorothea and have her show you around.¡±

    ¡°Ha¡±

    When the knight went to call Dorothea, Dad, who had not been able to keep up with the conversation, finally opened his mouth.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡±

    That¡¯s how I feel, too.

    .

    Part 3

    The courtyard of the Rosede family castle.

    While Nix was being shown around the castle by Dorothea-san, we were invited to tea by Deirdre-senpai.

    Chairs and tables were set up in the courtyard to enjoy the tea prepared by the Rosede family.

    The tea and sweets were delicious, but the topic of conversation was still about Nix.

    It wasn¡¯t a dark story, but it wasn¡¯t bright either.

    ¡°I think Nix is already finished?¡±

    Many people who attended the party saw Nix and Dorothea-san hugging each other.

    I¡¯m sure many people have heard the stories.

    Are they about to get married? And other rumors.

    In the first ce, when the Rosede family came to the Bartofalt family, it was known to those with sharp ears.

    ris-senpai, who had been kept stuck in the party, looked a little dissatisfied.

    ¡°The Rosede family are rude to their benefactors, aren¡¯t they? The Atley family sent out airships and troops to help Deirdre-senpai, but this is cruel treatment.¡±

    She seemed annoyed that she was being kept busy, but she was not angry.

    Deirdre-senpaiughs and epts sarcasm.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it you who meddled in the matter between the Bartofalt family and us? You¡¯ve been asked to probe into my parents¡¯ home, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Picking up the cup, ris-senpai took a sip of tea without answering.

    The atmosphere is not stiff, but I¡¯m tired, they try to find out each other¡¯s real intentions, so I¡¯ll return the talk.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to do this in front of you, Deirdre-senpai, but if aniki refuses to get married, I¡¯ll support him.¡±

    If Nix really didn¡¯t want it, I was going to help him turn down the marriage.

    Even though she heard of my decision, Deirdre-senpai didn¡¯t me me one bit.

    ¡°In other words, if he epts, you won¡¯t object, right? What about Angelica? Are you going to interfere?¡±

    When everyone¡¯s eyes were on Ange, she quietly set down her cup.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go along with Leon¡¯s opinion. However, if you touch Leon ¨D¨D I won¡¯t show any mercy, even if it¡¯s you. Deirdre, you¡¯ll have to bear with just taking in the Bartofalt family. ris too, don¡¯t get your hopes up. ¨D¨D I¡¯m seriously saying it.¡±

    Ange¡¯s red eyes were glowing like red jewels, intimidating the two of them.

    However, both Deirdre and ris didn¡¯t seem to be fazed at all.

    Both of them smiled and didn¡¯t answer anything.

    The only thing that bothered me was that my name was mentioned.

    ¡°Luxion, why did my namee out?¡±

    [The thoughtless Master is a kind of a healing presence in this ce. I mean, the atmosphere in this ce is so bad that a being like Master would be healing.]

    I can¡¯t grasp the situation, and Luxion is sarcastic with me.

    It¡¯s always happening, so I decided to start over.

    ¡°I¡¯m a simple young man, so I¡¯m not good at finding out someone¡¯s real intentions. But you¡¯re good at it, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    [What do you mean?]

    ¡°Because you are an artificial intelligence with a ck heart.¡±

    [I¡¯m no match for Master. And how can you call yourself simple?]

    When Luxion and I started talking, Ange let out a small sigh.

    ¡°Since Leon seems to be bored, this conversation is over. We¡¯ll leave the two of them to their own business, and watch them from the outside.¡±

    She said she could leave the decision to Nix and the others to decide, but as a nobleman, would that be okay?

    As for me, I appreciate Ange¡¯s opinion.

    However, the noble society I¡¯m imagining seems to be very strict about marriage, though?

    It¡¯s actually a lot of trouble to go through.

    I got Luxion, went wild, and before I knew it, I had made a big name for myself, so I was able to ignore those troublesome ties.

    So I assumed that it was usually much harder.

    Well, there are other ties outside the marriage, and it¡¯s a real hassle.

    ¡°You don¡¯t care either way? Marriage among the nobility is pretty loose.¡±

    Ange narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Your rtionship can be special, too. Rather than that, can we talk about something fun? Since Leon doesn¡¯t like ck-hearted talk, I¡¯d like to have fun with other topics.¡±

    Ange wants to change the subject for me, but isn¡¯t that a little bit sarcastic towards Deirdre-senpai and ris-senpai?

    Also, is it an expectation for me who was just saying ¡®un-un¡¯ when they probe each other?

    Then Livia pped her hands.

    ¡°Then I want to hear about the story of the floating ind!¡±

    What Livia talked about was the search for a new floating ind.

    ¡°Leon-san told me that the Rosede family is looking for a new floating ind, right? Is it that easy to find a floating ind?¡±

    When questioned by Livia, Deirdre-senpai said, ¡°It¡¯s not easy,¡± before exining in detail.

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to discover continents now. Once we find a reasonablyrge floating ind, we can move it and connect it to expand ournd.¡±

    ¡°Even a small floating ind is veryrge, isn¡¯t it? Can you really move it? I¡¯ve never seen one in person, and I still can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be using magic to manipte and move the floating stones that make thend float. However, it¡¯s also very difficult to move. If it fails, it could be a serious ident.¡±

    Thend of this world floats because of the existence of gravity-defying ores called floating stones.

    With it, you could easily build an airship.

    After all, the floating force is always avable.

    Now, all we need is to get the propulsion and we can get the airship moving.

    Deirdre-senpai talks about the difficulty of finding a floating ind.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean that any floating ind is eptable. It doesn¡¯t matter what kind of floating ind it is, because it doesn¡¯t make any sense to bring an empty wastnd floating ind and connect it. If it¡¯s a rough, rocky floating ind, it¡¯s rather easy to find. What we want is a floating ind with rich soil.¡±

    ris-senpai, who was listening to the conversation, told me how to use the rough, rocky floating ind.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a deserted floating ind, you can make a lot of money by digging up the floating stones and selling them. Besides, there are other ores to be found on those floating inds. It all depends on how you use it, I think?¡±

    ¡°If it were easy, we wouldn¡¯t have any trouble. We¡¯ll have to dig around and examine the rocky floating ind, and if we don¡¯t find anything, it will be a great loss.¡±

    Perhaps interested in their conversation, Ange joins them.

    ¡°If it costs so much to transport them, why don¡¯t we just send in a research team?¡±

    Deirdre-senpai rejected Ange¡¯s suggestion that they should send a survey team and carry the resources when they are discovered.

    ¡°How many supplies do you think it would take to run a group of that size through an empty wastnd? If there¡¯s nothing there, we¡¯ll end up in the red even if we recover the floating stones.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worth a try. Even if you fail a few times, once you seed, there¡¯s a chance you¡¯ll be in the ck, right? As long as we end up in the ck, there¡¯s no problem.¡±

    The three of them went straight into the fun, but Livia, who had asked the question, was having trouble speaking up.

    I¡¯ll talk to her instead.

    ¡°What got you interested in the floating inds?¡±

    ¡°Noelle-san was concerned about a lot of things. Look, she said it would be a pity to leave the sapling-chan in the pot forever.¡±

    I looked at Noelle sitting in her wheelchair, she had just finished her tea and was putting the cup down.

    I guess she heard me and Livia talking about why she was interested in the floating ind.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But the location of the nting site is important, so I thought that if there was a floating ind with good conditions, that would be a good ce.¡±

    Sapling-chan will definitely create a concession problem in the future, so the location of the nting will be important.

    My parents¡¯ house is also a problem.

    It wouldn¡¯t be funny if in the future, me and Nix¨D¨Dour children and grandchildren would be fighting over the rights to Sapling-chan.

    [I have already surveyed and picked up a few locations of floating inds.]

    ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡±

    [Yes. We also have to prepare a new territory for Master.]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Because I gave my utopia to the kingdom.¡±

    The floating ind with the hot springs, which was supposed to be my territory, was given to the kingdom to keep Marie and the others under house arrest.

    Because of them, I lost the ce where I could live the ideal slow life that I made Luxion prepare for me.

    When I was talking with Livia and Noelle, I feel that Deirdre-senpai and ris-senpai ncing at us.

    Luxion gave them both a single look.

    I was curious about Luxion¡¯s behavior as he looked at them silently, so I asked him why.

    ¡°Why are you looking at them?¡±

    [¨D¨D It¡¯s nothing]

    .

    Part 4

    Meanwhile.

    At that time, Nix was sitting on a bench with Dorothea in a different courtyard from Leon and the others.

    They were sitting side by side, with a gap of about three fists between them.

    ¡°He¡¯s really giving me a hard time!¡±

    ¡°Well¡±

    It was Nix, but before he knew it, he wasining to Dorothea.

    Before she knew it, he was revealing his normal appearance and speaking in a broken tone.

    ¡°In the school, he does whatever he wants, and me, his older brother, is looked at negatively! I¡¯m treated like the big brother of the fiend. They¡¯re wrong! I¡¯m normal! He¡¯s the only one in our family who¡¯s different!¡±

    ¡°That must have been hard for you?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D The boys hate me for being Leon¡¯s brother, and the girls are scared of me. And on top of that, I can¡¯t even get married because Leon has a strange promotion.¡±

    Being Leon¡¯s older brother is a lot harder for Nix to deal with.

    Nix¡¯s good nature shows when he doesn¡¯t think about taking advantage of his brother¡¯s position.

    Dorothea touched Nix¡¯s hand nervously.

    ¡°I-If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t let such a reputation mislead me.¡±

    ¡°Dorothea-san¡±

    It was Nix, who squeezed her hand and blushed.

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°That aniki, isn¡¯t dissatisfied at all?! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re enjoying your date after making people so worried.¡±

    I ordered Luxion to check on the two of them.

    The women were intrigued by the image of the two projected on the table.

    Deirdre-senpai is wiping her tears with her fingertips.

    ¡°That onee-sama is having a normal date. If it were the old onee-sama, she would have put a cor on the gentleman and taken him around.¡±

    Apparently, just having a normal date was enough to make him an animal of sorts, but I couldn¡¯t help but point it out.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Deirdre-senpai also say that you wanted to make me your pet, right?¡±

    It was on the way back from a school trip when we encountered the Principality.

    However, Ange, who did not know about this story, red at Deirdre-senpai.

    ¡°I hadn¡¯t even heard of it.¡±

    When Ange sees Livia, she tell her everything without concealment.

    ¡°Indeed, she did say that. When Leon-san said that he couldn¡¯t abandon Ange, but he didn¡¯t care about the others, she said she liked his bold attitude.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so? U-Umu, that¡¯s not good.¡±

    When Ange heard Livia¡¯s exnation, she nced at me and blushed.

    ¨D¨D Stop it. I¡¯m embarrassed, too.

    At that time, I was so impatient to save Ange that I said some lines that I normally wouldn¡¯t have said.

    Livia was smiling when she saw me hiding my face with my hands.

    ¡°Men yearn to be a knight who saves the princess for once, don¡¯t they? That¡¯s what Leon-san said, and tried his best to save Ange.¡±

    When I fall silent, Ange clears her throat in embarrassment.

    ¡°Hmm! That¡¯s enough of that, Livia. Leon¡¯s having trouble.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But Leon-san looked really wonderful at that time.¡±

    Seeing me blushing, both Deirdre-senpai and ris-senpai gave Livia a sharp look.

    If someone flirts in front of you, you might get angry.

    Noelle raised his voice when she saw movement in the image.

    ¡°Ah, they¡¯re holding hands! Isn¡¯t Nix-san happy? They seem to be a perfect match no matter how you look at it.¡±

    Livia, who was happily watching the two of them, agreed with Noelle.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The two of them seem to be having some fun.¡±

    I raised my head and looked at Nix, who looked happy and I envied him.

    I have my own lovely fianc¨¦es, but I envy Nix, who is facing one woman.

    To me, who has been tied to multiple women, a pure love like Nix¡¯s looks dazzling.

    ¨D¨D Let¡¯s be clear.

    I have no regrets about my current situation.

    But I also envy Nix.

    Then Luxion makes a decisive statement.

    [Both their heart rates and body temperatures are rising rapidly.]

    ¡°Luxion, tell me clearly. And what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    [They¡¯re getting excited]

    ¡°Something like hate, no feeling like that, right?¡±

    [I judge it highly unlikely]

    ¡°¨D¨D I see¡±

    Everyone who was listening to the conversation between me and Luxion had a look on their face that said, ¡°There are better ways to say that¡±.

    No matter how we mended it, all the data proved that Nix was overjoyed.

    Not too long ago, he wasining that he wasn¡¯t good enough for her, that she didn¡¯t have the right personality for him, and now he¡¯s excited about her.

    What is he?

    ¡°Despite the fact that you have beenining a lot, you still fall easily for a beautiful woman. I was going to lend you a hand if you were going to refuse, but I don¡¯t care anymore.¡±

    When I show a throwaway attitude, Luxion confirms.

    [Then, do you agree with him marrying Dorothea?]

    ¡°Because he looks happy¡±

    In the video, Nix looked like he and Dorothea-san were just an innocent couple.

    I get out of my seat and leave.

    [Where are you going?]

    ¡°At Dad¡¯s and Mom¡¯s. I was thinking to tell them that aniki seemed to get along well with Dorothea-san. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll feel a little better when they hear that.¡±

    He¡¯s really a troublesome big brother.

    .

    Part 6

    When Nix parted from Dorothea and returned to the room, he found that Count Rosede was there for some reason, even though the room was used by the Bartofalt family.

    ¡°My son!¡±

    Then he walks over to Nix and calls him a son.

    ¡°Count? Eh, why are you here?¡±

    As Count Rosede approached Nix, he grasped Nix¡¯s right hand with both hands and shook it up and down.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the story. I¡¯m d you¡¯ve finally made up your mind.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Ha?¡±

    Nix was surprised, but the family around him apuded as they surrounded him.

    His parents were teary-eyed and happy.

    ¡°Nix, I won¡¯tin if it¡¯s your choice.¡±

    ¡°D-Dad?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried that you won¡¯t get along with the daughter of the Count, but you¡¯ve always been reliable, I rest assured? Nix, congrattions.¡±

    ¡°Mom?! What are you talking about?!¡±

    Count Rosede speaks happily to Nix, who can¡¯t grasp the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Marquis ¨D¨D Leon-dono. If you¡¯re not dissatisfied, tell me first. But you must be sincere and a bit reserved. As the father of my daughter, I feel safe.¡±

    ¡°N-No, I haven¡¯t said anything about epting her yet, though?¡±

    The conversation was lively, and it was true that he was not dissatisfied.

    However, he never talked about epting the marriage.

    Besides, it was unlikely that anyone had heard their conversation.

    (How did they know I was having a good time?)

    Count Rosede, who had been smiling at the confused Nix, narrowed his eyes.

    His hands were clenched together, and his hands were making creaking sounds.

    ¡°Are you dissatisfied with my daughter?¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think so. But I¡¯m not sure I was worthy.¡±

    (I think she¡¯s a charming person, but I don¡¯t think her personality matches mine)

    Count Rosede smiles again.

    ¡°Then no problem. I assure you that you are worthy of my daughter!¡±

    He had the attitude that he would not let anyonein.

    How could this be happening? Nix asked himself, and then he saw Leon in his vision, grinning and apuding.

    (D-Don¡¯t tell me, this guy ?!)

    Nix asks Leon.

    ¡°Leon, are you the mastermind?¡±

    ¡°Mastermind? What are you talking about? I just told Dad and Mom about it because you seemed to be getting along. And then they said, if it¡¯s Nix¡¯s decision¡±

    ¡°How did you know we were getting along? You weren¡¯t there, were you?!¡±

    It was Luxion who answered about it.

    [I reported it. Incidentally, judging from your heart rate, body temperature, and facial expressions, I judged that you two were in a state of excitement and reported that as well.]

    ¡°Luxion, did you help him too! Stop Leon like you always do!¡±

    [From a third party¡¯s point of view, the big brother-kun is now in love with Dorothea. Angelica and the others are all in agreement, so I¡¯m sure of it. Shall I show you the change in your heart rate when she held your hand? You were very excited about Dorothea, weren¡¯t you?]

    Didn¡¯t it make you throb when she held your hand? Even Nix was embarrassed when he heard that.

    ¡°There¡¯s a proper way to say it, right!¡±

    Count Rosede, who was listening to the conversation, grinned.

    ¡°Did Dorothea excite you? As a father, I have mixed feelings about this, but it doesn¡¯t change the fact that you have affection for my daughter. Let¡¯s begin the engagement process right away.¡±

    ¡°M-My mental preparedness is¡±

    Dumbstruck by Nix¡¯sck of understanding, Leon let out a sigh and said.

    ¡°Aniki is hetare.¡± (Note: Which one is suited for this? Wimp? Wuss? Coward? Chicken?)

    Nix thought.

    (Don¡¯t want to be told by you, this hetare guy!)

    Ange, Livia, and Noelle ¨D¨D who were watching the situation, and the family, thought and then Luxion was speaking for them.

    [That¡¯s not something Master can say.]

 Volume 8, 8 â€œThe Truth About Sapling-chanâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 8 ¡°The Truth About Sapling-chan¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Dorothea was sitting on her bed in her room, looking up at the ceiling.

    She just gave Nix a tour of the castle, but her heart was still beating fast.

    Did I do well? Did he hate me?

    Thinking about it like that sometimes makes her feel irresistibly embarrassed.

    Remembering the small mistakes, she regrets why she did what she did there.

    As she was alone with her thoughts, there was a knock at the door and she was startled.

    ¡°W-Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Onee-sama, it¡¯s Deirdre.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s open¡±

    She straightened her posture and allowed Deirdre to enter the room as if nothing had happened.

    Deirdre entered the room and had a big smile on her face.

    ¡°I have good news for you, onee-sama. They¡¯re in talks to be formally engaged.¡±

    ¡°Hahe?¡±

    Dorothea makes a strange noise when she hears the word ¡°engagement,¡± but Deirdre approaches her and holds her hand.

    ¡°There are still some formalities to bepleted, but I¡¯m pretty sure the engagement is confirmed.¡±

    ¡°W-Why? Ano, did Nix-sama say anything?¡±

    There was no talk of an engagement when she showed him around the castle.

    Therefore, she thought that she had failed.

    However, when she heard that the engagement was confirmed, she was upset.

    Deirdre thanked Dorothea.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from him in person yet. Onee-sama will have to confirm that directly. ¨D¨D And congrattions.¡±

    ¡°T-Thank you¡±

    ¡°Anyway, onee-sama is getting married, huh? I thought if things went badly, you wouldn¡¯t marry anyone. So, what are you going to do about the cor? Your partner doesn¡¯t like cors very much, and I wouldn¡¯t rmend it¡±

    ¡°Ara?¡±

    Perhaps expecting a surprising reaction, Deirdre seemed to be concerned about Dorothea¡¯s change of heart.

    So Deirdre tells her why she doesn¡¯t need a cor.

    ¡°I realized that we could still connect even without it.¡±

    Deirdre shrugs her shoulders.

    ¡°Is it love?¡±

    ¡°I guess you could say that.¡±

    (If there¡¯s a connection stronger than a chain ¨D¨D)

    Dorothea didn¡¯t answer clearly, but she hade to want to have a connection that was stronger than chains.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°You betrayed me, this hetare bastard!¡±

    On the deck of the Einhorn, I was grabbed in the chest by Nix.

    ¡°You were so happy to be alone with her! Everyone said he was definitely in love with her!¡±

    Ange and the others said so, so there must be no doubt.

    They seemed to get along so well that it was irritating even to me.

    However, it seems that Nix can¡¯t tolerate the fact that everyone was watching him.

    ¡°Everyone?! You were all watching us! A bad hobby also has a limit!¡±

    ¡°I was worried about aniki. And yet, you look like you¡¯re enjoying it¡±

    It¡¯s fun to see them in trouble, but why I must see the two of them having so much fun?

    ¡°You¡¯re more fortunate than I am, why are you so narrow-minded!¡±

    ¡°I am open-minded, and I think I encouraged aniki to get married! I should be praised for not pulling your leg.¡±

    If I was really jealous, I wouldn¡¯t have pushed it.

    I wanted Nix to be happy, so I went out of my way to bring them together, even though they didn¡¯t suit each other.

    And yet, to call me narrow-minded is upsetting.

    [Both of you, they¡¯re sending us off.]

    Nix lets go of me and tenses up in front of the person who appears.

    His face was red, and no matter how you looked at him, he was conscious of her.

    The same goes for the other party.

    Dorothea-san also looked nervous and looked down when she came in front of Nix.

    ¡°Nix-sama. A-Ano, I¡¯ll definitely visit you in the near future.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. I-I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡±

    They are both stuttering their words.

    As it was, they finished their conversation and Dorothea left, but she kept turning around and waving to Nix.

    Deirdre, who had alsoe to see us off, looked at them smiling.

    ¡°They are really pure. Watching them makes me embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°Even he has beenining about everything, he gets nervous when he is in front of her.¡±

    When I cursed at Nix, Luxion, who was by my side, shook his one eye from side to side and showed his astonishment.

    [Master was more trouble than your brother.]

    ¡°That¡¯s not true ¡°

    [Then why don¡¯t you ask Angelica and the others? Angelica, please tell us your impressions.]

    Ange, called by Luxion, looks at me and crosses her arms.

    ¡°Leon was more troublesome. You didn¡¯t make it clear until the very end. If we hadn¡¯t had a surprise engagement ceremony, you would have run away forever, wouldn¡¯t you¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    When I weakly denied it, Ange said, ¡°I wonder,¡± and looked at Livia.

    [Then, please tell us Livia¡¯s opinion.]

    Livia speaks, choosing her words carefully.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s a hetare or not, but I think Leon-san is more troublesome. In the end, we were the ones who confessed. But I don¡¯t regret that we mustered up the courage to confess.¡±

    I tried to say something back, but the words wouldn¡¯te out.

    Thinking about it, I might have been worse than Nix.

    [Because Master is too much of a glorifier of your past self, so you must have forgotten how pathetic you were. Does Noelle have an opinion about that?]

    Noelle, who had been asked to speak, looked at me with a frown.

    ¡°I do, but why don¡¯t you apologize to Nix-san first?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were on Nix, but he was still looking at Dorothea-san and waving at her.

    ¨D¨D I don¡¯t know why Nix can insist that he is not in love.

    Deirdre-senpai, ¡°Ara-Ara¡± looked satisfied at the sight of them.

    ¡°Then I will go too.¡±

    As the Deirdre senior exits the ship, Jenna, who was watching the smitten Nix, shrugs her shoulders and lets out a big sigh.

    ¡°He is so lovestruck, I can¡¯t believe it.¡±

    Finley also looked at Nix and shook her head, saying he¡¯s pathetic.

    ¡°I think the heat will die down soon enough.¡±

    Jenna agreed with Finley¡¯s opinion, and the two of them got into a lively discussion about the future of Nix.

    ¡°You think so too? Right now he¡¯s carried away by the heat and meek, but soon he¡¯s gonnae out of his shell and be just like he was in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t hide your true nature forever. I think aniki will be dominated in a few months.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that once you¡¯re married, the rough edges of your partner suddenly start to show, so isn¡¯t it sooner?¡±

    Nix turns and yells at the two who talk with no dreams or hopes.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you guys talk about something more positive!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a realistic and dependable story? If Nix is prepared now, you won¡¯t get hurt. You should be thanking us.¡±

    Jenna¡¯s realistic talk left me and Nix speechless.

    That¡¯s why, in a fit of anguish, I me Jenna and Finley.

    ¡°If you¡¯re a girl, you¡¯d be lovelier if you dreamed more.¡±

    The two of them looked at each other and snickered at my opinion.

    ¡°W-What is it?¡±

    Jenna and Finley wereughing, covering their mouths with their hands.

    ¡°I just thought Leon, who¡¯s more insecure about his future than Nix, should see some reality.¡±

    ¡°Aniki should worry about yourself.¡±

    That attitude and expression were annoying.

    As siblings fussed over each other, Dad and Mom put their hands on their hips and let out a deep sigh.

    .

    Part 3

    Spring break is just around the corner.

    There was one problem that needed to be taken care of before heading to the school.

    It¡¯s a ce to nt sapling-chan.

    [Taking into ount Yumeria¡¯s request, I have selected a floating ind to nt a sapling of the sacred tree.]

    Luxion took me to a floating ind that was, no matter how you looked at it, deserted.

    Thend was covered with rocks and sand as far as the eye could see, and it didn¡¯t look like a ce that was suitable for nts.

    ¡°Are you sure this is the right ce? Isn¡¯t thisnd unsuitable considering what we¡¯ve seen?¡±

    We arrived early in the morning at the newly discovered floating ind by using Einhorn.

    I rub my sleepy eyes and yawn. The sky was still dark.

    ¡°Was it necessary for us toe at this hour?¡±

    [Youin a lot. Given our ns for the day, this was the best time.]

    ording to Luxion¡¯s n, if we nt at this time, we will be able toplete our schedule today without any problems.

    It was Yumeria-san who pushed the wheelchair Noelle was in.

    Noelle holds the sapling in herp.

    Noelle looked around and was just as anxious as I was.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to nt it here? If it withers, we¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡±

    Encouraging the worried Noelle was a confident-looking Yumeria-san.

    Herrge breasts were pushed up, making them look even more pronounced.

    My drowsiness woke up instantly, and when I looked there, Ange, who was standing next to me, lightly nudged me with her elbow on my side.

    ¡°It hurts¡±

    ¡°Pull yourself together. The only thing you¡¯re allowed to look at is our chests.¡±

    ¡°Eh, am I allowed to see that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡±

    My mind was still not awake, so I took a bite out of Ange¡¯s suggestion.

    But when I was told I could look, I couldn¡¯t help but get cold feet.

    Being embarrassed makes me excited, but on the other hand, I have trouble reacting when she¡¯s so bold.

    ¡°It¡¯s morning. So, I¡¯ll pass.¡±

    ¡°Even if it was night, you¡¯d still refrain.¡±

    I finished my conversation with Ange and turned my attention back to Yumeria-san.

    Yumeria-san is taking a hoe and digging up the area where the sapling-chan will be nted.

    From an amateur¡¯s point of view, it doesn¡¯t look like a good ce to nt a tree.

    After all, there was no water nearby. Livia anxiously asks me.

    ¡°Is it really okay? I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll grow up here.¡±

    ¡°I think so, too. Luxion, are you sure it¡¯s safe?¡±

    When I asked him about the obvious problem, I got a surprising answer from Luxio.

    [My judgment is in line with Yumeria¡¯s.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    [The sapling of the sacred tree will grow in thisnd. Don¡¯t you remember? The sacred tree is a nt that grows by absorbing the magic element ¨D¨D magic power in the air. Water and soil are important, but more than that, if there is magic power, it will grow.]

    ording to Luxion, a minimum of water and soil is all that is needed.

    ¡°Sapling-chan is amazing¡±

    [It¡¯s a stubborn nt]

    ¡°There are better ways to say that.¡±

    While we were talking, Yumeria-san got ready.

    When she receives sapling-chan from Noelle, she will nt the tree.

    Yumeria-san¡¯srge breasts swayed every time she moved.

    I looked at her for a moment, and Cordelia-san, who was standing behind Ange, coughed.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Marquis, your gaze is too obvious.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the nature of men. It¡¯s unconsciousness. There¡¯s nothing I can do about it.¡±

    I make a pathetic excuse, and Livia puts her hand on her cheek and gives me a troubled look.

    ¡°Boys is always like that. They look at chests and buttocks.¡±

    [Especially Master is particrly focused on a woman¡¯s chests.]

    ¡°Oi!¡±

    [Are you embarrassed to be found out? No problem. People already know that Master¡¯s eyes are always directed at the chests.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    I looked around at the people here, and they all nodded.

    [Master¡¯s gaze is tant. It may be right for a creature to be faithful to its sexual desires, but let¡¯s learn to be modest as human beings. I understand that you prefer women withrge breasts, but please stop embarrassing yourself.]

    ¡°Why should I be lectured by you?¡±

    This artificial intelligence, he naturally reveals his master¡¯s sexual preference, you should hide it better?!

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡±

    When the dirt-stained Yumeria-san shouted out to us to let us know, Sapling-chan was nted in the devastated ground.

    Even looking at it this way, I get worried because it doesn¡¯t look like it will grow.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we give it water and nutrients?¡±

    ¡°This child is strong. So, it¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Strong child?¡±

    Yumeria-san put down her tools and bent down in front of Sapling-chan.

    ¡°It¡¯s a strong child that has endured in a harsh environment for a long time. In an environment that provides little or no nutrition, it has survived all these years by mping itself to the sapling and slowing its growth.¡±

    Yumeria-san¡¯s words were as if she had seen Sapling-chan all the time.

    ¡°Do you know that much?¡±

    ¡°Hm~m, I feel like I can hear the voice, I think? Actually, this child should be much bigger than that.¡±

    Luxion who heard that approaches Sapling-chan.

    [It¡¯s an amazing nt.]

    Yumeria-san stood up, put her hands on her hips, and said something outrageous.

    ¡°That¡¯s why this is where it¡¯ll grow up!¡±

    When Noelle heard that, she tilted her head.

    ¡°You mean it¡¯s going to grow up nicely, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. This is where it will return to its true form.¡±

    ¡°Is that possible?¡±

    Noelle was surprised, but so were we.

    However, Yumeria-san is one of the elves who can use a special kind of magic.

    When ites to nts, she can be a real expert.

    ¡°Leave it to me. Here I go ~¡±

    After saying that, Yumeria-san started dancing around Sapling-chan.

    The dance was ratherical.

    ¡°What is that dance?¡±

    I ask, and Yumeria-san answers while dancing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dance I made myself. I worked very hard to get it back to its original form. Strong child-rearing, keep growing! Strong child-rearing, keep growing!¡±

    She danced with Strong child-rearing and calling it.

    The movement was rather intense, and herrge breasts swayed.

    ¡°O~oh! Tte, Arere?¡±

    I was so mesmerized that I couldn¡¯t help but speak out loud, and then my vision was blocked and it became pitch ck.

    All I hear is Luxion¡¯s voice.

    [You never really learn]

    It was Ange and Livia, standing on either side of me, who blocked my view.

    Two people were blocking my view from both sides with their hands.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong! As an employer, I was just checking on how my workers were doing!¡±

    I make an excuse that shows my ulterior motive, such as I wanted to watch Yumeria-san dance for a little longer.

    But the two of them did not permit me.

    Livia whispers in my ear.

    ¡°We will keep an eye on it for you, so don¡¯t worry.¡±

    I can hear Ange¡¯s voice from the other side.

    She breathed into my ear, and I felt a little throbbed.

    ¡°Yumeria is working well. Leon, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±

    For some reason, their gentle but somewhat charming voices were also a little scary.

    They seem a little angry.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Are you two angry? Did I make you angry?¡±

    When I was anxious, the two of them suddenly pulled their hands away from me who is surprised.

    For some reason, I felt a blinding light and closed my eyelids tightly.

    Soon the strong light disappeared and I was able to open my eyes and saw the grown-up appearance of Sapling-chan.

    No, it¡¯s not a sapling.

    It is already about the size of a young tree.

    It¡¯s a little taller than I am.

    ¡°How did it grow so fast in such a short time?¡±

    The young tree, its glossy green leaves swaying in the wind, had the same leaf shape as the sapling-chan.

    I was amazed that the tree had grown so fast in such a short time, and Yumeria-san was smiling and wiping the sweat off her face from dancing.

    ¡°This is the original appearance of this child.¡±

    To my surprise, Noelle approached by herself in a wheelchair to see Sapling-chan ¨D¨D Though it was already a young tree, she touched the sacred tree.

    When Noelle touches it with her right hand, the crest on the back reacts by emitting a faint green light.

    I also felt my right hand getting hot, and when I checked it, I saw that the crest had appeared.

    Noelle, who touched the sacred tree, smiled and shed a tear.

    ¡°As Yumeria-chan says. This child is much stronger than I thought. I see, that was an unnecessary worry.¡±

    Will it grow in such a wastnd? I was worried like that, but it seems that it will grow without problems.

    I feel the power from the sacred tree.

    I approached Noelle and put my hand on her back, and she cried for a while, probably because she remembered her hometown.

    I guess she was still feeling lonely away from her hometown.

    Noelle swears to the sacred tree.

    ¡°I have to be strong, too. I¡¯ll protect you properly this time.¡±

    Noelle is a survivor of the Lespinasse House, which once betrayed the Sacred Tree.

    Noelle is going to protect the sacred tree this time ¨D¨D She was determined to lead correctly.

    Yumeria-san was flustered andforted Noelle.

    ¡°This child is strong and kind, and I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll understand how you feel. So, etto ¨D¨D please don¡¯t cry.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨DYes¡±

    Noelle wiped away her tears, but still didn¡¯t stop.

 Volume 8, 9 â€œThe Youngest Son Colinâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 9 ¡°The Youngest Son Colin¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    At that time, Colin woke up early in the morning and was wandering around the mansion of the Bartofalt family, looking for someone.

    ¡°Are? Where¡¯s Noelle-neechan?¡±

    When hees to the living room, Finley is there, and when he asks where Noelle is, she answers him but looks displeased.

    ¡°She went out early this morning with aniki.¡±

    ¡°Eh~, wake me up too.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡±

    The unfriendly Finley was still looking a little sleepy.

    Jenna, the eldest, hadn¡¯t woken up yet, and Finley was quieter than usual because of the absence of her tense older sister.

    Maybe she¡¯s bored, but she talks to Colin, who is waiting for Noelle to return.

    ¡°More importantly. Colin, you need to stop following Noelle-san around.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    When Colin did not understand the meaning of the words, Finley gave him a blunt order without telling him the details.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know why. You just have to keep my word. ¨D¨DUnderstand?¡±

    Colin raised an eyebrow in annoyance at Finley¡¯s remarks.

    ¡°No. Don¡¯t tell me what to do.¡±

    ¡°Just stay away from her.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what¡±

    Finley was definitely not going to tell him why.

    That was what Colin found so annoying.

    He felt like he was being ridiculed for being the youngest, and most importantly, Noelle was the ideal sister for him.

    She¡¯s kind and seems to enjoy ying with Colin.

    She had be more important to Colin than Jenna and Finley.

    ¡°Absolutely no way. I¡¯m going to y with Noelle-neechan again today. Besides, she¡¯s going to Royal Capital soon, right? I won¡¯t be able to see her for a while.¡±

    Before he wouldn¡¯t see her again, Colin was going to have a lot of fun with her.

    To Colin, Finley showed aplicated expression¨D¨DPerhaps she gave up, she let out a sigh.

    ¡°Do what you want. Whatever happens, I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need Finley-neechan to tell me what to do~¡±

    After saying that, Colin waited for Noelle to return.

    .

    Part 2

    Spring break is just around the corner.

    In a few days, I have to return to school and start preparing for the new semester.

    ¡°Are Marie and the others doing well? Is there any report?¡±

    I ask Luxion about the situation of Marie and the others, but he gives me the same answer as usual.

    [There are no abnormalities at this time. Although Creare¡¯s solo actions have been conspicuous, Marie has been actively investigating the school. I judge that there is no problem.]

    They are investigating, but the current situation is that there is no special information.

    Still, when I heard that Marie was doing her best to gather information by following my instructions, I felt more worried than relieved.

    ¡°Is Marie serious about gathering information. I thought she¡¯d be a little more rxed about it.¡±

    [Isn¡¯t that better?]

    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you if she ys a little. I thought if I told her a little harder, she¡¯d be moderately loosened up and have a good time.¡±

    Marie is working more diligently than I expected.

    So, I reflected that I had been a little too intimidating.

    I¡¯m sure she would have liked to rx more during spring break.

    [Marie must have been affected by the incident in the Republic of Arzel.]

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That girl was opposed to Lelia bing a priestess until the very end.¡±

    Noelle¡¯s twin sister, Lelia, was a reincarnated person like us.

    Lelia did what she wanted, which caused some problems, but in the end, she herself became a priestess instead of Noelle and remained in the Republic of Arzel.

    She lost the man she loved and chose to live as a symbol of the Republic of Arzel.

    Though it may sound enviable, the reality is much harsher than you might imagine.

    As a priestess, she would be treasured, but it would not be easy to live as a symbol of the country.

    Marie was angry that she couldn¡¯t understand why Lelia chose such a position for herself.

    We had a lot of things to reflect on, and many times I wished we had done better.

    Marie must have regretted it.

    ¡°So, how are the five idiots?¡±

    [Same as ever. I thought they had grown up, but the big minus just got closer to zero, so they are still negative.]

    Luxion¡¯s opinion of the Five Idiots is low.

    I thought things had gotten somewhat better in the Republic, but what have they done?

    ¡°What did they do?¡±

    [About Julius, he was raising livestock hidden on the school grounds. He even prepared a shed and kept chickens in it.]

    ¡°To make skewers?¡±

    [Yes. He was called out and given a sermon, and is now under house arrest, but is eager to keep the farm. By the way, Master has been billed forpensation for the damage he caused to the school grounds.]

    ¡°Why?¡±

    [Because Rnd turned the bill over to Master.]

    ¡°Both father and son are troubling me. For now, I will hit Julius.¡±

    [That¡¯s very kind of you. And next is Brad.]

    Wait a minute? Don¡¯t tell me, there is a report for each person?

    Even though I haven¡¯t received any important reports from Marie, isn¡¯t it awful that all I get are bad reports about five idiots?

    [He has taken the liberty of setting up a spectacle at school. We¡¯ve received a bill from the school for repairs.]

    ¡°Did they charge me because Brad too?¡±

    [Yes. He prepared an unfamiliar tent, which copsed and caused damage to the school. Brad is Master¡¯s subordinate, and as a result, Master has been asked to bear the cost of repairs.]

    ¡°Is it any better than before?¡±

    [By the way, both Julius and Brad caused less damage.]

    ¡± ¨D¨D Oi, are there any idiots that caused more problems?¡±

    [Please rejoice. All of them caused trouble without fail. Only Marie, Kara, and Kyle have been quiet.]

    ¡°I¡¯m not rejoicing at all¡±

    In other words, Greg, Chris, and Jilk have also done something.

    ¡°What did the other three do?¡±

    [About Greg, he renovated his room without permission from the school. ording to him, he wanted to turn his room into a training room.]

    ¡°Get permission, the permission!¡±

    [And since he did the renovations himself, he made a lot of mistakes.]

    It seems that an amateur had messed with it poorly and ruined a lot of things.

    Of course, the school refused to convert it into a training room. They decided to return it to its pre-renovation state.

    This is why the repair costs were incurred, but the five idiots¡¯ pocket money couldn¡¯t cover it, so the bill came to me.

    ¡°What about Chris?¡±

    [¨D¨D The school¡¯s bath was dirty, he said and he renovated it without permission. For this, a bill for the renovation has been sent to Master.]

    The school was also a little happy that Chris had reformed all the bathrooms on his own. It seems that there is no intention of going back to the way it was before the renovation.

    However, he has no intention of paying for it.

    So the money for the renovation came to me, Chris¡¯s boss.

    They don¡¯t have the ability to pay for it. ¨D¨D So why did they decide to remodel?

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they just learn the value of money in the Republic? Have they already forgotten it?¡±

    [Chris¡¯s excuse is that he was going to pay eventually. I guess he thought he could postpone the payment.]

    ¡°Is he stupid?¡±

    [Definitely an idiot. About thest one¨D¨D]

    ¡°The worst person I don¡¯t want to hear is thest one.¡±

    All of them were too much, but it still made sense.

    Normally, this would be impossible, but knowing how bad the five idiots are, I even feel like they¡¯re growing up.

    Considering what they¡¯ve done so far, this level of damage is rather cute.

    But of the five idiots, Jilk is the one with the worst quality.

    [He regretted the trouble he had caused earlier with the purchase of the artwork.]

    ¡°Can that guy reflect?¡±

    I was even a little impressed, but Luxion quickly brought me back to my senses.

    If it were easy for Jilk to be decent, there would be no hardship.

    [So he decided to start making his own art. So he set up a kiln and began to prepare for the production of pottery.]

    ¡°Oi, what did he prepare?¡±

    [It¡¯s a kiln. Furthermore, it was prepared on the school grounds. They charge us money to prepare it, but they also charge us money to destroy it.]

    It¡¯s amazing what a fool in action can do.

    Do they misunderstand the school as their own property?

    This makes Julius¡¯s sneaking around raising chickens still look cute, as long as he understands he¡¯s doing something wrong.

    Is Brad better off now that the freak show was in a tent?

    Greg¡¯s just barely safe, considering the amount of damage he¡¯s done?

    Chris was ¨D¨D He was going to pay, so can I forgive him?

    But Jilk is no good.

    ¡°When I get back to the school, I¡¯m going to punch Jilk.¡±

    [Will you let Julius go?]

    ¡°Compared to Jilk, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have to hit him.¡±

    [Master, have you gone soft on the five idiots?]

    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±

    But I had understood that if I leave the five idiots alone, they really won¡¯t do much good.

    Could it be that Marie is seriously gathering information in order to somehow recover from the loss of the five idiots?

    It¡¯s strangely convincing to think that she was running around frantically, thinking that I would be in a bad mood because of the five idiots causing problems.

    That¡¯s more likely.

    But then again, the five idiots are really useless.

    If it¡¯s just useless then it¡¯s better, but they are only going to increase the burden.

    ¡°Just having five idiots around is going to add to our expenses.¡±

    [They are true pestilence gods. ¨D¨DDo you want to erase them?]

    He asks lightly as if to say, ¡°Do you want me to clean up the trash?¡±

    ¡°No¡±

    [It¡¯s a shame]

    Luxion looked a little downcast and looked really disappointed.

    This guy could easily dispose of the five idiots if he only had my order.

    While I was thinking that I was troubled by Luxion¡¯s disturbing statement, there was a strong knock on the door of my room.

    It was Ange who knocked.

    ¡°Leon, if you have a moment, I need you right away ¡°

    .

    Part 3

    There is a room that Noelle is using for rehabilitation.

    The room is equipped by Luxion with handrails and other facilities for rehabilitation.

    Noelle, who had been in rehabilitation earlier, was now sitting in a wheelchair for a break.

    ¡°Somehow I managed it in time.¡±

    Near Noelle, who was happy with the results of her rehabilitation, was the figure of Livia.

    She is apanying Noelle to her rehabilitation, and she seems to be happy for her.

    ¡°All your hard work has paid off.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Livia had been helping Noelle with her rehabilitation on a regr basis.

    Therefore, she was really happy to see Noelle recovering so well.

    Watching the two of them was Colin, who had been watching Noelle¡¯s rehabilitation.

    He looks at the two of them, who are having a great time, and looks lonely.

    He wants Noelle to pay attention to him, but right now there¡¯s Livia.

    Besides, his parents had been very strict about not interfering with the rehabilitation.

    Actually, he wants her to y with him, but since Noelle is in rehab, he¡¯s probably waiting patiently for her to finish.

    Perhaps Livia was concerned about Colin, she looked at him and smiled.

    ¡°This is boring for Colin-kun, right? Why don¡¯t you y outside?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine here¡±

    Livia was also trying to get Colin out of the rehab room for some reason, only today.

    Colin doesn¡¯t understand the reason, but he refuses because he wants to be by Noelle¡¯s side.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I see¡±

    Livia had aplicated look on her face, but quickly returned to talking with Noelle.

    Today it made Colin¡¯s heart ache more than usual when he looked at Noelle.

    (Seeing Noelle-neechan makes my heart out racing)

    Lately, he always looks for Noelle.

    And yet, when they are alone, he can¡¯t speak well.

    This had never happened before, and Colin was confused.

    At first, as a child, he thought it might be an illness, but his heart ached only when he was with Noelle or when he was thinking about Noelle.

    Although this symptom made him uneasy at times, Colin was beginning to realize the true nature of this feeling.

    (Is that what I think it is? Jenna-neechan and Finley-neechan also talked about it, so is it correct?)

    What they were talking about was that they wanted to have a heart-wrenching love affair.

    Even the child Colin knew that falling in love made his heart ache, and he somehow understood that Noelle was the cause of it.

    Once you start realizing it, you can¡¯t stop.

    (I¡¯m, about Noelle-neechan ¨D¨D)

    When he became aware of it, he blushed to his ears and was embarrassed, but as he did so, Ange came back into the room.

    ¡°I brought him¡±

    Behind the bright-voiced Ange was the figure of Leon with Luxion.

    Leon didn¡¯t seem to know that Colin was in this room, but he didn¡¯t find it strange since he has been following Noelle aroundtely.

    ¡°Colin was here, too?¡±

    Colin was also happy when Leon, his favorite brother arrive.

    ¡°Un. I¡¯m worried about Noelle-neechan.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nice. I¡¯ll give you some pocket moneyter.¡±

    ¡°Is that okay!¡±

    [Master, you spoil your brother too much.]

    Luxion, as usual, admonishes Leon for being so soft on Colin.

    It was a familiar sight, but to Colin, it seemed a little odd.

    ¡°Are? Why is Leon-niichan here? You don¡¯t usuallye here, do you?¡±

    When asked, Leon answers honestly.

    ¡°Usually Noelle disapproves.¡±

    Leon said, and looked at Noelle, who was sweating.

    It seems that Noelle had told him not toe.

    ¡°It¡¯s not right for you to keep mepany while you¡¯re on break, right?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

    ¡°I am worried about it¡±

    Seeing the two of them talking, Colin unconsciously clutched his chest with his right hand.

    (Are? Noelle-neechan sound happier than when she was with me)

    When Colin fell silent, Leon returned his gaze and answered the other question directly.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t usuallye here, but today Ange told me there was something she really wanted me to see.¡±

    When her name was mentioned, Ange turned to Noelle and nodded to her.

    Taking this as a sign, Noelle tried to show the results of her rehabilitation.

    Livia seemed to be supporting Noelle¡¯s wheelchair, helping her avoid falling over in case she fell.

    Then Noelle slowly stood up from her wheelchair.

    ¡°Noelle?¡±

    [This was unexpected]

    The reason why both Leon and Luxion were surprised was because Noelle could already stand up.

    Noelle was injured so badly that she could have died at one point, but Luxion and the others treated her and saved her life.

    After that, with various supports, she had recovered enough to stand up.

    The person is pushing herself a little too hard in front of Leon.

    Her legs were shaking a little, but she was smiling and showing that she was okay.

    ¡°Sapling-chan has grown up well, so I should do my best too.¡±

    The growth of the sacred tree has nothing to do with Noelle¡¯s rehabilitation.

    However, Noelle probably thought that if the sacred tree was trying to live strongly, she would try her best too.

    Colin was happy to see Noelle standing up more smoothly than usual.

    (Noelle-neechan has been doing her best until now. It¡¯s really amazing)

    Colin often saw Noelle¡¯s hard work on a daily basis.

    He couldn¡¯t say that he understood the hardships of rehabilitation, but from the way he looked at her, he could tell how much she was undergoing.

    He honestly respects Noelle for oveing this and being able to walk.

    Then Noelle walks toward Leon.

    Slowly and surely, step by step, she was getting closer to Leon, and Colin wanted to cheer her on.

    (Do your best! Noelle-neechan, do your best ¨D¨D)

    However, he noticed.

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    As Noelle walks up, Leon spreads his hands in embarrassment.

    When Noelle crossed the goal line, she looked happy as she jumped into Leon¡¯s chest.

    Leon was shy at first, but he was impressed by Noelle¡¯s performance.

    He closed his outstretched arms and hugged Noelle, saying kind words to her.

    ¡°Good job, Noelle¡±

    ¡°Ehehe, thanks to everyone. Olivia-san, Angelica-san, mother-inw and others also helped me.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI didn¡¯t help much, though.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be depressed. I am the one who refused. I think Leon should take a break while you can.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s true, but¡±

    ¡°Besides, I wanted to surprise Leon by showing off my walk.¡±

    They hugged each other happily, and even the child Colin could understand what was going on.

    Seeing the stunned Colin, Ange and Livia approached him with troubled looks on their faces.

    Ange looked perplexed, but bent down and made eye contact with Colin to talk to him.

    ¡°Colin, I have some sweets, so let¡¯s go to another room.¡±

    She must have been very careful.

    The reason she went to the trouble of preparing sweets was because she knew this would happen.

    So is Livia.

    ¡°Ange has prepared some delicious sweets. If you don¡¯t hurry, it¡¯ll be eaten by your sisters.¡±

    They were trying to force Colin out of the room, hiding Leon¡¯s hugging Noelle with their bodies.

    Colin felt tears welling up in his eyes.

    What he could see through the gap between the two bodies was Noelle, who was blushing ¨D¨D hugging Leon happily.

    Colin gained two experiences at this moment.

    One is the first love.

    It was at the moment that he realized that he was in love with Noelle.

    The other is a broken heart.

    He sensed that Noelle was not in love with him, but with his big brother Leon.

    Colin, who has realized his first love and experienced heartbreak at the same time ¨D¨D starts crying and runs out of the room.

    ¡°Leon-niichan is idioo~oot !!¡±

    Yelling at Leon, Colin runs from the room.

    From behind him, he could hear the impatient voices of Ange and Livia.

    ¡°W-Wait!¡±

    ¡°Colin-kun, listen to me!¡±

    There is also Noelle¡¯s surprised voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Colin¡±

    Colin ran away, but Noelle¡¯s voice almost stopped him for a moment, as if his back had been pulled.

    But then he heard Leon¡¯s loud voice.

    ¡°Colin! What did I do?¡±

    Unable to bear the sound of his voice, Colin started running again.

    Running as fast as he could to his room, Colin didn¡¯t have time to worry about passing someone on the way and being told not to run in the hallway.

    Running to his room, he got into bed and pulled the nket over his head.

    As he continued to cry, there was a violent knock at the door.

    Outside were Leon and Luxion ¨D¨D and voices of Ange and Livia could also be heard.

    ¡°Coline out! I¡¯ll apologize if I¡¯m wrong! Let¡¯s talk about it. If we talk, we¡¯ll figure it out. ¡°

    [I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible]

    ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of me now!¡±

    [I¡¯m not making fun. Leaving him alone for now is the right thing to do.]

    ¡°Colin! Talk to me. Pleasee out of the room.¡±

    When Luxion told him it was impossible, Leon¡¯s voice was impatient.

    It must have been a shock to him that his brother Colin hated him.

    Leon is known for his disregard for his sisters, but on the contrary, he is known for his forgiving attitude toward his brothers.

    In fact, he loved his little brother Colin more than his little sister Finley.

    It must be hard for him to believe that Colin hated him.

    He heard Ange quieting Leon down.

    ¡°Calm down already. Leave him alone for now. ¡°

    ¡°No! I don¡¯t want my little brother to hate me¡±

    Livia admonished Leon who sounded pathetic and reluctant in a gentle voice.

    ¡°He needs some time. For now, let¡¯s wait for Colin-kun to calm down. Okay, Leon-san? Let¡¯s give Colin-kun time to calm down. ¡°

    ¡°But ¨D¨D because ¨D¨D ¡°

    The usual thick-skinned Leon was not there.

    Finley was just passing by the room and seemed to get angry when she saw Leon.

    A frustrated voice could be heard.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Colin¡¯s locked himself. He told me I was an idiot ¨D¨D do you know why?¡±

    ¡°He called you an idiot because you¡¯re an idiot.¡±

    ¡°What did you say!¡±

    ¡°In the first ce, you, brothers are too soft on Colin. You should treasure me, your sister, too. ¡°

    ¡°I hate a being that called little sister!¡±

    ¡°What, you want to fight?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll go easy on you just because you¡¯re my little sister. I¡¯ve been tormented by little sister for years, and I¡¯ll get revenge on you, too!¡±

    Luxion pointed out in a dumbfounded tone of voice to Leon, who dered that he would payback even if it was his sister.

    [When ites to payback, you¡¯ve been hit at least once, haven¡¯t you? Shouldn¡¯t you take action before she does it?]

    ¡°Colin. I was wrong. I¡¯ll apologize, so pleasee out!¡±

    Leon was fussing at the door, as if he didn¡¯t have time to answer Luxion¡¯sment.

    Colin let out a sob, hiding under the nkets in his room.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe this¡±

    And so ended Colin¡¯s first love.

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°Colin hates me. I¡¯m done.¡±

    In the living room where the family was gathered, besides me, Nix, Jenna and Finley were all there.

    Luxion is also there, but Ange and Livia are out of the room.

    Siblings were around, and they were all aware of my depressed state.

    But no one came tofort me.

    Nix held the letter in both hands and let out a small sigh of worry.

    ¡°It would be cool if I could write poetically at times like this. I should have studied more seriously at the academy. I know all the old phrases, but I don¡¯t know anything about thetest trends.¡±

    The sender of the letter was Dorothea-san.

    When we returned from the Rosede territory, the two of them were immediately exchanging letters.

    Nix is struggling to think of a response.

    Brothers surrounding the table in the living room.

    Jenna, sitting across from Nix, was teasing Nix as she picked up a cookie from the table and brought it to her mouth.

    ¡°Poetic writing by Nix who has no sense? Stop it, they¡¯llugh at you.¡±

    Nix, who was told, mes Jenna for her attitude.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware that I don¡¯t have a sense. But I¡¯m your big brother. Stop calling with my name.¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to call you a foolish big brother, like Leon a foolish little brother?¡±

    When Jenna showed her unafraid attitude toward her big brother, Nix seemed to have given up.

    ¡°Sometimes you call me foolish brother. Ha~a, more importantly, what should I say in reply? Should I get her a gift or something?¡±

    When he says gift, Finley raises her hand.

    ¡°I want essories. I¡¯m going to school soon, right? I want to dress up a little.¡±

    Finley, who was looking forward to entering the school, asked for some essories to go with her uniform.

    Hearing that, Nix shows slight difort.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need it¡±

    Jenna agrees with Nix, but this one seems to have a different reason.

    ¡°It¡¯s safer to buy it in the royal capital. It¡¯s better to see what¡¯s popr over there before you make a mistake.¡±

    Finley leans over to Jenna and asks her a question.

    ¡°Eh, is that so? Onee-chan, don¡¯t you know anything about current trends? You were in the royal capital a while ago, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Why is it a question? Fashions change every year.¡±

    ¡°Eh~, in that case, I¡¯ll buy it in the royal capital, so tell me about a good store. Ah, do you want to go to the royal capital with me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! Maybe I¡¯ll go shopping with Finley and get a hottie to marry me over there?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that impossible?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible! If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll be stuck here in the countryside forever. I want to live in the city!¡±

    Noisy brothers and sisters.

    I sat with my knees in my chair and slowly lowered my legs before getting up from my seat and swinging my hands down to the table.

    Bang! When the sound of ¡°bang¡± echoed through the room, everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to me, as if they couldn¡¯t ignore it anymore.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you listen to me and worry a little? Colin hates me and he¡¯s locked himself away! This is a big deal, and you¡¯re all talking about things that aren¡¯t important ¨D¨D ¡°

    I don¡¯t want to listen to your unimportant talk! Listen to what I have to say! I was about to say something like that, resulting in the anger of my brother.

    Nix looks at me with a furrowed brow.

    ¡°Regardless of Colin¡¯s story. The letter with Dorothea-san is more important to me than your unimportant story.¡±

    Jenna is so angry that her hair looks like it¡¯s about to stand on end.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about your brotherly quarrels! My future is at stake! I want to marry a beautiful rich man in the royal capital and be a city girl!¡±

    She was so fierce that I said, ¡°O-Oh¡±.

    After graduating from the school, Jenna, who hadn¡¯t had much chance to go to the royal capital, seemed to be quite impatient.

    As I sit quietly with my mouth closed, Luxion sneers at me.

    [You¡¯ve made her angry.]

    ¡°Noisy, shut up¡±

    [I will do so. Older brother-kun, would you like me to help you answer the letter?]

    I told him to shut up and he epted, but then he immediately went up to Nix and started bbering.

    ¡°Is it okay?¡±

    [Yes. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble Master caused you. Please leave the support to me. As for the gift, I have picked out a few candidates.]

    ¡°Thank you for your help. Luxion is more dependable than Leon.¡±

    [Of course]

    Jenna raises her hand to Luxion and speaks.

    ¡°Ah, then introduce me to a beautiful rich man.¡±

    [It¡¯s a difficult matter for me, but I can provide you with a candidate.]

    ¡°Can you really do it?! W-Who? What kind of person ?!¡±

    Jenna takes the bait, and Luxion gives her the name of the son of a bitch.

    [The man¡¯s name is Rnd. His age is in his forties, but I judge his appearance to be passable. He looks younger than his age and is ssified as beautiful. He is also one of the wealthiest men in the kingdom.]

    ¡°Age is a bit of a problem, but it¡¯s not too bad. Can you tell me who and where he is?¡±

    [He is the King of the Holfalt Kingdom]

    When she heard that he was a king, Jenna pulled Luxion.

    However, Jenna is in more pain because she hit a chunk of metal.

    ¡°His Majesty the King! Of course it¡¯s no good!¡±

    ¡°Since he has many concubines, I judged that you could blend in as one of them.¡±

    ¡°No! Why must I go with a guy who has a lot of women ¨D¨D N-No, isn¡¯t it make you afraid to be with His Majesty the King?¡±

    [I see. That¡¯s too bad]

    She tried to tell that she didn¡¯t want a man with a mistress, but even Jenna seemed to respect the king.

    Is she respecting him or scared?

    But even I don¡¯t like the idea of my sister being Rnd¡¯s mistress.

    Although my sister is like that, I feel sorry for her because she is a family member.

    Finley spoke to me while I was sadly watching from the side as Nix and Jenna were making a ruckus with Luxion.

    ¡°Leon-nii is really no good. I can¡¯t believe this guy is some kind of a hero.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t believe they called me a hero because of my daily behavior.

    I agree with her.

    ¡°I think so, too. If I¡¯m a hero or something, this country¡¯s finished, right.¡±

    ¡°You say it yourself?¡±

    Finley was taken aback by my unexpected response.

    .

    Part 5

    Around that time.

    Ange and Livia were in front of Colin¡¯s room.

    They had prepared some snacks and drinks and were speaking to Colin at the front door.

    ¡°Colin, you don¡¯t have to answer. But you do have to listen to what we have to say.¡±

    Ange spoke to Colin through the door, but there was not a single sounding from the room.

    (I wish my inws were here)

    Both Barkas and Ruth were absent, and it was Ange and Livia who had taken on the task offorting Colin.

    Ange talks about the situation.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t told you the details, have I? Have you heard that Noelle is from the Republic of Arzel?¡±

    There was no answer to her question, but Ange continued her exnation.

    ¡°Leon was studying abroad, right? That¡¯s when they met. Noelle is in aplicated position. She¡¯s also been in danger in her hometown. ¨D¨D And Leon is the one who saved Noelle.¡±

    It was out of consideration for Colin, who was still a child, that she did not talk about the sacred tree or the priestess.

    Ange summarized the story in a clumsy way.

    ¡°Leon is the only one who can protect Noelle. I know this is hard for you, but I need you to ept the truth.¡±

    (I¡¯m not really good at this kind of talk)

    His brother¡¯s fianc¨¦ was his first love, and he was heartbroken before he could confess.

    He was falling in love with the wrong person.

    When Ange was in trouble, Livia took over and spoke to him gently.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know it¡¯s hard for Colin-kun. But don¡¯t resent Leon-san and Noelle-san. Actually, we should have told you first, but we weren¡¯t sure what to say.¡±

    What should they say to Colin, who still doesn¡¯t realize it¡¯s his first love? His mother, Ruth, was watching over him, saying, ¡°He has to experience heartbreak.¡±

    Neither Ange nor Livia taught ording to that opinion.

    Livia puts her palm against the door.

    ¡°There are a lot of adult reasons why they can¡¯t be apart. When Colin-kun is older, I think you will understand the situation. So ¨D¨D ¡°

    Before Livia could continue, there was a sound from inside the room.

    The door was opened and Colin¡¯s tear-stained face peeked through the gap.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I am sorry¡±

    .

    Part 6

    Colin invited them into the room.

    Ange and Livia were sitting on either side of Colin on the bed.

    They ced their hands on Colin¡¯s shoulders and thighs,forting him.

    When Colin finally regained hisposure, he talked about his feelings.

    ¡°I only just realized that I like her. I ¨D¨D I didn¡¯t realize I was in love. And I felt so ufortable that I ran away.¡±

    As Colin sobbed, Livia spoke softly to him.

    ¡°It makes you feel ufortable. But you should apologize to Leonter.¡±

    Colin honestly epted Livia¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Un. I¡¯ll apologize properly.¡±

    Ange was relieved by his reply and patted Colin on the head.

    ¡°Impressive, Colin¡±

    Colin, who wasforted by the two, was offered sweets and tea.

    While indulging in their kindness, he talks about his feelings for Leon and Noelle.

    ¡°I want Noelle-neechan to be happy.¡±

    Ange nodded.

    ¡°You are a strong boy. Even if you don¡¯t end up together, it¡¯s great to be able to wish for the happiness of the person you love. ¨D¨D I couldn¡¯t do that.¡±

    Colin looked up into Ange¡¯s face.

    She looked at him with a troubled smile on her face, which made him curious.

    ¡°Did Angelica-neechan suffer from a broken heart too?¡±

    The question puzzled Livia for a moment, but she didn¡¯t say anything as Ange chuckled and smiled.

    Ange tells a broken heart story.

    ¡°Yes. I went through a terrible heartbreak. I couldn¡¯t really wish for their happiness. Colin is a lot stronger than I was at that time.¡±

    ¡°Even Angelica-neechan suffers from heartbreak. What about Olivia-neechan?¡±

    When the next question was asked to her, Livia looked troubled, and Ange prompted her.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk it?¡±

    At Ange¡¯s suggestion, Livia¡¯s gaze wandered as she spoke.

    ¡°O-Onii-san in the neighborhood? I-I think I adored him.¡±

    Colin seemed to be wondering about Livia¡¯s unclear phrasing.

    ¡°Adore? Not like?¡±

    ¡°E-Etto. That ¨D¨D ¡°

    Since Livia didn¡¯t want to talk about her first love, Ange urged her.

    ¡°I¡¯m curious, too, so tell me. That¡¯s okay, right? You may have had your first love, but you¡¯re with Leon now, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    Ange seemed to think that Livia was hesitant to talk about her first love because she felt bad for Leon.

    When Ange says that past loves are irrelevant, Livia hides her face with her hands.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Until I came to the school, I had never been in love. It was only recently that I became aware of it. That ¨D¨D ¡°

    When Ange heard that, she realized why Livia had hesitated to speak.

    Colin notices it too.

    ¡°Could it be that your first love was Leon-niichan?¡±

    Livia nods.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not something we need to talk about right now, so I tried to cover it up.¡±

    It seems that Livia couldn¡¯t say that her first love hade true to Colin, who had a broken heart.

    Ange looks apologetic.

    ¡°M-My bad. I-I see. You¡¯re just devoted to Leon. I-Isn¡¯t it good? Sometimes, it happens.¡±

    ¡°I am sorry¡±

    Livia apologizes to him, but Colin shakes his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m d Olivia-neechan¡¯s first love came true!¡±

    Livia is a little surprised when Colin tells her that, then shepliments him.

    ¡°Colin-kun is really kind¡±

    They told him he was great, but Colin couldn¡¯t understand what was so great about him.

    But when he saw them looking so happy, he wondered if one day he would be able to do the same. Such a question popped into his head.

    ¡°I wonder if I¡¯ll ever find someone I really like, like you two?¡±

    Ange says to Colin.

    ¡°You¡¯ll meet. For that, you have to learn well. And interact with a lot of people.¡±

    Colin¡¯s eyes narrowed at Ange¡¯s advice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you just want to use this story as an excuse to make me study?¡±

    Ange gently tapped Colin¡¯s forehead with her fingertips as he learned about his broken heart and learned to be a little wary of people.

    ¡°Idiot. If you don¡¯t learn, you don¡¯t grow, and if you don¡¯t interact with people, you will never encounter someone in the first ce. Or do you think it¡¯s okay that you never grow and never meet anyone?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Not okay¡±

    Colin is convinced, and now Livia gives him some advice.

    ¡°Colin-kun will meet someone someday. Maybe it¡¯s someone close to you or you will meet in the future. So, please continue to cherish the encounter.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Is that how you two met Leon-niichan?¡±

    Colin asked this question, but he would soon regret it.

    Ange¡¯s cheeks blushed a slight red.

    ¡°I guess so. Looking back, I want to praise my decision to get involved with so many people at the school. Meeting your brother was one of the luckiest moments of my life.¡±

    Livia blushed with embarrassment, but spoke happily.

    ¡°In my case, it was Leon-san who approached me. Leon-san was really cool at that time. He invited me to tea when I was in trouble. He was a gentleman and kind, and ¨D¨D ¡°

    The two of them got excited and started to talk about their history with Leon.

    While listening to it, Colin thinks.

    (Are? Do I have to listen to everything?)

 Volume 8, 10 â€œLittle Sisterâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 10 ¡°Little Sister¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    After getting hated by Colin, Leon¡¯s depression was terrible.

    Sitting on a sofa in the living room of the mansion, Leon looked down with a gloomy expression on his face.

    The psychological damage seems to be great.

    When Ange saw that, there was actually one thing that bothered her.

    While watching Leon from afar with Livia, she expressed her concern.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t he hate a little sister existence? Is it possible that she also hates me, a little sister?¡±

    ¡°I-I wonder?¡±

    Livia was also having trouble answering.

    Ange has an older brother, Gilbert, above her.

    Therefore, Ange could also be called a little sister.

    She was a little worried when he openly said he didn¡¯t like a little sister.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do to improve this. I don¡¯t want Leon to hate me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s absolutely impossible for Leon-san to hate Ange.¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re right. But Leon¡¯s dislike of sisters is quite extreme.¡±

    ¡°Thanks to Louise-san, he was able to ovee older sister, though.¡±

    When Louise¡¯s name came up, Livia had aplicated look on her face.

    She was the woman Leon had befriended in the Arzel Republic, so this was not an interesting story for the two of them.

    However, they were both concerned about Leon¡¯s dislike of sisters.

    That¡¯s also understandable when looking at how he usually behaves.

    When Jenna and Finley arrived in the living room, they found Leon and started to stir him up to get back at him for his usual behavior.

    ¡°Foolish brother. I heard that Colin still hates you? Don¡¯t tell me, you didn¡¯t realize that Colin was in love with Noelle? You¡¯re still so insensitive, aren¡¯t you, foolish little brother~.¡±

    ¡°Normally you¡¯d notice ~. Aniki is really too dense.¡±

    Theyughed at Leon, but he didn¡¯t react well, perhaps he was too shocked.

    ¡°Go away¡±

    Jenna folded her arms, grinning and looking down at Leon, who was sitting.

    ¡°Where¡¯s that talkative guy we used to know? How does it feel to be hated by Colin, whom you cared about so much? Didn¡¯t you piss off Nix, too? How does it feel to have brothers who hate you? Do you want this onee-sama tofort you ~? ¡°

    ¡°It¡¯s the worst. I don¡¯t give a damn if you guys hate me, but it hurts my heart to have my brothers hate me.¡±

    Maybe Leon really thinks so, and his chest seems to be in pain.

    Finley¡¯s cheeks tightened.

    ¡°You should have a little affection for your sisters.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, you guys¡¯ shares are sold out.¡±

    As usual, he is salty towards his sisters.

    Jenna and Finley looked at Leon, one eyebrow twitching as if they were about to yell at him.

    Ange and Livia were rather relieved that he could talk lightly despite his depression.

    Ange watched the three of them from a distance, and understood how Leon felt.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s that. There¡¯s a minimum of courtesy even among blood rtives. Besides, the barons and the viscountesses have been terrible so far because of the kingdom¡¯s policies, so it¡¯s probably unnecessary.¡±

    ¡°Neither of them are bad people, though.¡±

    Neither Jenna nor Finley is a viin at heart.

    However, there is a problem with their attitude.

    It could be said that the environment was one that made Leon dislike them, but that doesn¡¯t exin some things.

    ¡°Jenna is harder on Leon than he is on her, but Leon himself seems to dislike his little sister more. Is there a reason for this? ¨D¨D Livia?¡±

    When Ange looked at Livia, she was in serious thought.

    Noticing her gaze, Livia hastily asks.

    ¡°W-What is it?¡±

    ¡°Is there something on your mind?¡±

    ¡°Etto ¨D¨D yes. But it¡¯s still hard to exin.¡±

    When Livia said she couldn¡¯t exin it well, Ange decided not to ask any more questions.

    Ange let out a small sigh.

    ¡°Is there any way to cure his hatred for little sister?¡±

    She probably thinks so even more because she is a little sister.

    Then Luxion approached while floating.

    Livia¡¯s shoulders twitched and she put a slight distance between herself and Luxion.

    It seems that she is still wary.

    Luxion didn¡¯t seem to mind and spoke to two of them.

    [Are you concerned about Master¡¯s dislike of little sister?]

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°Oi, is this really going to cure Leon¡¯s dislike of little sister?¡±

    [There is no mistake in my calction]

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me. Leon has been driving you crazy, hasn¡¯t he?¡±

    [Master is an exception. It would be a problem if the rare case is referred to.]

    As she listened to the conversation between Ange and Luxion, Livia saw her own appearance.

    (This might be a little embarrassing)

    After moving to another room, Livia and the others changed clothes and waited in the room.

    It was all Luxion¡¯s idea.

    Livia was anxious, but she was also curious, so she went along with Luxion¡¯s n.

    (Little sister, huh ¨D¨D Before, Marie-san called Leon-san onii-chan. And I didn¡¯t think about it too much at the time, but she definitely said a second life. Second, what does that mean? Why did she say onii-chan at that point?)

    It was an event before the final battle with the Principality.

    Livia chased after Marie, who ran away, and was told that she would return everything at that time.

    Although she didn¡¯t think too much about it at the time because she was confused, looking back on it now, a lot of things seemed unnatural.

    (Even though they had been in conflict for so long, Leon-san had also forgiven Marie-san since then. He hates her attitude, but he doesn¡¯t reject her ¨D¨D There are times when they act like they¡¯re real siblings. Is there something?)

    Although he verbally hates Marie, he sometimes shows the same attitude towards her as he does towards Finley.

    But it was difficult to hear that directly from Leon.

    Leon has many secrets.

    He even hid Luxion¡¯s true appearance until recently.

    They didn¡¯t know if he would answer if they asked him, and they didn¡¯t want to burden Leon by asking him poorly now.

    (I wish Leon-san could tell me more about things. But for now, I want him to rest)

    In fact, the reason the two of them cosyed was not only to cure his dislike of little sister.

    When they heard that Leon would be better, there was a part of them that took Luxion¡¯s suggestion.

    Livia also took the trouble to change her clothes to cheer up Leon, who had been pushing himself so hard.

    In the room, besides them, there was Cordelia, who had helped them change.

    Now she was about to leave the room.

    ¡°Then, I will call the Marquis.¡±

    ¡°I-I count on you, Cordelia¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    Cordelia¡¯s eyes were looking at Ange, who looked embarrassed, but Livia noticed that there was a strange sparkle in her eyes.

    As Cordelia left the room, Ange checked her appearance in the mirror.

    She was dressed in a miniskirt maid¡¯s uniform.

    The head is adorned with ornaments that resemble the ears of an animal, and around the hips is an ornament that resembles a tail.

    A figure of a maid with cat ears was reflected in it.

    ¡°Are you sure this is the right thing to do? If Leon draws back, I¡¯ll cry!¡±

    Liviapletely agrees.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to cry too¡±

    Previously, they had worn maid outfits at school festivals, but never essories that imitated subhumans.

    By the way, Livia was wearing droopy dog ears.

    Why are the two of them dressed like this?

    It was all Luxion¡¯s n.

    [No problem. Master will be overjoyed. Just call him ¡°onii-chan¡± and he¡¯ll be cured of his dislike for little sister in no time. I can guarantee it]

    Livia questions Luxion, wondering about the length of her miniskirt.

    ¡°Is he really going to be pleased? He saw us in our maid uniforms at the school festival, and he was happy, but I don¡¯t think he was that happy.¡±

    Ange seemed to have the same anxiety.

    ¡°Will the ears and tail of an animal please Leon? And¨D¨DW-Will calling him ¡°onii-chan¡± really cure him from hating little sister? On the other hand, won¡¯t he be conscious of little sister and avoid us?¡±

    Ange is usually a strong person, but she was afraid that Leon would hate her.

    When Livia sees that situation, she thinks it¡¯s very cute.

    (Ange is cute today too)

    There was a gap between her and her usual self, and Livia was pleased with the current situation just to see her like this.

    Luxion made a dumbfounded gesture that he often made to Leon in front of them ¨D¨D a shake of his head.

    [Neither of you understands anything. Master is simple. Even though he hates little sister, he has changed since he met Louise. If the two of you spoil him with your appearance, he¡¯ll fall easily.]

    Livia holds her hand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want that.¡±

    If Luxion¡¯s exnation is true, it means that he is simple and shifty.

    He would be happy with whoever spoiled him? Such anxiety sprouted anew.

    Meanwhile, it seemed that Leon was getting closer.

    When Luxion warns of Leon¡¯s approach, he disappears and hides.

    [Master has arrived, hasn¡¯t he? Please follow the instructions, both of you.]

    Havinge this far, all they had to do was be prepared.

    Ange shows her spirit in a maid¡¯s outfit with animal ears and tail.

    ¡°Wee this far, whether we seed or fail, just do it. I¡¯ve prepared myself.¡±

    Livia is also inspired by Ange¡¯s motivation and shows her determination.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We can¡¯t be shy, can we? I¡¯m going to really spoil him too! But it¡¯s kind of embarrassing to call him onii-chan.¡±

    ¡°I usually use onii-sama, so is that better?¡±

    At thest minute, as they begin to think about this and that, there is a knock at the door.

    ¡°Are you both here ~?¡±

    When they heard Leon¡¯s carefree voice, they responded and invited him in.

    ¡°It¡¯s open¡±

    ¡°You cane in.¡±

    As the door clicked open, Livia and Ange struck a cute pose.

    As the image of an animal, it¡¯s like raising their hands slightly and pouncing on him in a cute way.

    The first one to speak up was Livia.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you-woof, onii-chan¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Eh?¡±

    In the end, she didn¡¯t know what to call him, so she just called him onii-chan.

    But even though her face was red with embarrassment, she leaned closer to Leon and made sweet sounds.

    (T-This is so embarrassing! But if it makes Leon-san feel better, it¡¯s a small price to pay.)

    But Leon froze in surprise.

    Then Ange hugged Leon.

    ¡°I caught you, onii-sama. y with me or I¡¯ll go wild-nya~¡±

    Ange must have been embarrassed, but she added ¡°nya~¡± to the end of her word as Luxion instructed.

    But there was no response from Leon.

    From that situation, it seemed that they had failed.

    (Luc-kun¡¯s a liaaaaaar!)

    She mes Luxion in her mind, but suddenly, Leon copses to his knees.

    ¡°Onii-chan!¡±

    ¡°Onii-sama!¡±

    When the two of them tried to hug him as quickly as possible, Leon was in tears.

    When they looked upon his reaction in confusion, Leon burst into tears of joy and sobbed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve juste to an understanding here. A little sister is not cute. But a figure like a little sister is cute.¡±

    Leon cries with happiness when they call him onii-chan, and he lets out his true feelings.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted cute little sisters like these!¡±

    He must havepared them to his actual sister.

    After being adorably spoiled by Livia and Ange, Leon¡¯s sense of value about a little sister had changed.

    Ange is at a loss.

    ¡°Are you cured of hating little sister?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t like little sister. But I¡¯ve added the idea that an unrted blood little sister is cute to my dictionary.¡±

    He hates little sister, but a figure like a little sister is cute ¨D¨D Leon¡¯s sense of value has certainly changed.

    It¡¯s just as Luxion says.

    Livia was notpletely satisfied, but she swallowed it and forced herself to ept it because Leon looked so happy.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you liked it ¡°

    ¡°Thank you, both of you. You look great in that outfit.¡±

    Looking at Leon¡¯s happy face as he took both of their hands, he understood that this outfit was indeed effective.

    Ange was satisfied with Leon¡¯s expression and felt relieved.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you enjoyed it.¡±

    ¡°By the way ¨D¨D You¡¯re here, right, Luxion¡±

    The friendly mood ended here.

    Leon sensed that Luxion was hiding and his face changed when he called out his name.

    As Luxion appeared, Leon stood up.

    [You were overjoyed. But you should be more careful with your reactions. They were getting anxious.]

    ¡°Is that all you got to say? What do you make them do?¡±

    [They asked me for help in curing your dislike of little sister, so I gave them a hand. I also gave them some advice on Master¡¯s sexual preferences.]

    ¡°You lied to them about me having a cosy interest, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    [¨D¨DIt¡¯s a joke. I tried to imitate Creare too, but jokes are difficult. I didn¡¯t think the two of them would take it seriously. But I¡¯ll make a picture of the two of themter. How many would you like?]

    ¡°Prepare three of each, including the spare.¡±

    Livia, who was listening to the conversation, gradually became expressionless.

    The same goes for Ange next to her.

    Cordelia, who had shown Leon to the room, came from outside the room to talk to Luxion.

    ¡°I¡¯d like three of each. Ah, I¡¯d like to have about thirty of ojou-sama¡¯s as a souvenir. How much is it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s free¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m kind of sorry about that.¡±

    Ange watched Cordelia as she started to talk that she was going to bring back an embarrassing photo of herself as a souvenir.

    Then, they turn their gaze to Luxion, who deceived them.

    ¡°¨D¨DOi¡±

    Ange called Luxion in a low voice.

    Luxion turned his red lens on Livia and the others, but as he slowly moved away, he left the room and ran off somewhere.

    [Both of you, Master is feeling better. The mission is a sess.]

    Livia and Ange forgot about their own outfits and ran out of the room to chase Luxion.

    ¡°Luc-kun!¡±

    ¡°Luxion, I need to talk to you!¡±

    The two of them were running around the Bartofalt family mansion in their maid¡¯s uniform.

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°Ah, this photo is nice¡±

    ¡°This picture shows the cuteness of ojou-sama. I¡¯ll be sure to give them to Vince-sama and Gilbert-sama.¡±

    Later.

    I was dividing the photos I received from Luxion into a pile with Cordelia-san.

    Cordelia-san wanted a picture of Ange, and she couldn¡¯t resist.

    ¡°This one is good, too. This gesture is also nice. Oh, here is a youngdy who has let her guard down! This picture is too much for the gentlemen, so I¡¯ll retrieve it for you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you love Ange too much?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve known ojou-sama for a long time. As soon as I started serving the Duke family, I became ojou-sama¡¯s valet. She was really lovely then.¡±

    As Cordelia-san began to talk about how cute Ange was, her usual cold impression was considerably softened.

    Even though she¡¯s dealing with me, she¡¯s happy to tell me about Ange¡¯s childhood.

    I pick up a single photo.

    It was a picture of the two of them in a cute pose.

    ¡°¨D¨D So cute¡±

    As I tucked the photo carefully into my pocket, Cordelia-san closed in on me.

    ¡°Marquis, are you listening to me?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    ¡°Then I will tell you a very special episode of ojou-sama¡¯s life. That was when she was in the throes of her engagement to that fool.¡±

    For now, I understand that Julius is treated as a fool by Cordelia-san.

    If anyone were to hear it, it would be a crime of disrespect, but Julius¡¯ value is so low right now.

    I don¡¯t feel like correcting it, partly because of what he did to Ange.

    As it was, Cordelia-san made me listen to her talk about Ange for the rest of the night.

 Volume 8, 11 â€œA Bond Stronger Than a Chainâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Chapter 11 ¡°A Bond Stronger Than a Chain¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Nix was nervous from the morning on that day.

    He walked around the mansion restlessly, returning to his room and thening out again, he seemed unable to rx.

    I was stunned to see Nix in such a pathetic state.

    ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s just Dorothea-saning to visit.¡±

    Nix, who was dressed very enthusiastically, had styled his hair well.

    I could tell that he was looking forward to Dorothea-san¡¯s visit.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m calm!¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    Nix looks displeased with me, but asionally takes a deep breath to ease the tension.

    Even though you were not very fond of Dorothea-san not long ago.

    ¡°My big brother is pathetic.¡±

    Yareyare, I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head, and Luxion who was not convinced by my statement said something sarcastic as usual.

    [If Big Brother is pathetic, Master is even more pathetic.]

    ¡°You idiot. When I couldn¡¯t run away, I made up my mind, didn¡¯t I? Aniki is on the verge of getting married, and yet he¡¯s dithering about it.¡±

    [I¡¯d say that¡¯s a false perception.]

    ¡°Where? Yesterday, he was wondering if he is good enough? He has been whining about it all day.¡±

    [I¡¯m referring to the part about Master couldn¡¯t run away, you made up your mind. Master was the one who was struggling until the very end. You have no right to mock your brother.]

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    In a huff, I saw Colin watching me in the corner of the room.

    ¡°Colin!¡±

    ¡°Hyi!¡±

    I stood up hurriedly and Colin ran away in surprise.

    I stretched out my hand to Colin as he ran away, depressed that I couldn¡¯t talk to him again today.

    ¡°If only we could at least talk. Luxion, do something.¡±

    When I give an unreasonable order, Luxion refuses.

    [I don¡¯t want to because it¡¯s mostly been resolved]

    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t want to? That¡¯s an order!¡±

    [No problem. The problem has already been resolved.]

    ¡°Is it true?¡±

    As I doubted Luxion, the entrance of the mansion became noisy.

    Apparently, Dorothea-san and the others have arrived.

    .

    Part 2

    After having his heart broken, Colin had been looking for an opportunity to apologize to Leon.

    However, he couldn¡¯t speak to him well.

    When he went to see Leon again, he found Noelle in a wheelchair there.

    ¡°Leon, did you get a chance to talk to Colin?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯d talk to him too, but he¡¯s avoiding me right now.¡±

    Seeing the two of them depressed, Colin¡¯s heart ached.

    However, when he saw the two of them getting along, there was still a part of him that couldn¡¯t yet swallow.

    It would be unreasonable to expect a child Colin to be able to separate the various aspects of his life, so he left again without speaking to Leon.

    (Let¡¯s at least apologize in a ce where Noelle-neechan isn¡¯t around)

    Because he had been running around like this, he had missed the opportunity to apologize.

    As he tried to head somewhere calm, he saw his parents taking the boat out of the window of the mansion.

    What they were pulling out of the warehouse was a floating boat.

    The boat is loaded with food and drinks.

    Barkas is dressed a little better than usual, and Ruth is dressed up as well.

    Colin was curious about their situation, so he went outside.

    When he left the house and came outside, he saw them getting into the boat.

    Barkas gives Ruth a hand.

    Colin calls out to them.

    ¡°Where are you going? We¡¯ve got guests today?¡±

    It seemed strange to Colin that the two of them were vacating the mansion when he had heard that an important guest wasing.

    However, both Barkas and Ruth looked at each other and smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Nix will take care of it. Dad¡¯s going out with Mom, you stay out of Nix¡¯s way and be quiet.¡±

    When Barkas said that, Ruth also reminded Colin.

    ¡°Right. Just don¡¯t get in Nix¡¯s way. Just go y with the others.¡±

    Colin didn¡¯t quite understand, but decided to nod anyway.

    ¡°I understand. Anyway, where are you two going?¡±

    Barkas scratches his cheek with his finger, feeling embarrassed.

    ¡°Aa~, this is that. I thought I¡¯d have a look around the territory with Mom. We¡¯ll just take a small boat and go around.¡±

    They boarded a small floating boat and toured the territory.

    It¡¯s not like they are going out into the sky, it¡¯s just a little outing.

    The only thing that bothered Colin was that his parents were more dressed up than usual.

    And then hees to the answer.

    ¡°Maybe a date?¡±

    Ruth squints.

    ¡°Ara, this child has grown up.¡±

    Barkas scratched his head without answering.

    He was probably embarrassed.

    So, instead, Ruth answers him.

    ¡°Now that I¡¯ve made up with Dad, we¡¯re going out together. So Colin, you¡¯re going to have to stay home today.¡±

    ¡°Is it okay to go out at this time?¡±

    Would it be all right that his parents were absent when Dorothea from the Rosede family wasing?

    Colin¡¯s question was answered by Barkas.

    ¡°It¡¯ll make Nix feel easier. Colin, don¡¯t get in Nix¡¯s way. But you can bother Leon, he can take a little trouble.¡±

    Ruth agrees with Barkas¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°Is he really that great or not?¡±

    It seems that his parents are unsure of their opinion of Leon.

    However, Colin was relieved to see them.

    (They¡¯ve both made up)

    The two of them had been somewhat distanttely, which worried him even as a child.

    Colin was relieved to see the two of them back together again.

    ¡°All right. I¡¯ll go to my room and read a book.¡±

    Barkas patted Colin¡¯s head a little roughly.

    ¡°Good boy¡±

    As he watched them off in the boat, Colin felt envious of them.

    A good married couple.

    Not long ago, he had a formal wife named Zora, but Colin didn¡¯t have very good memories of her.

    She was not usually at the mansion, and would asionallye andin.

    Although she was Barkas¡¯ wife, he couldn¡¯t see her as family.

    When the two of them are out of sight, Colin realizes in that ce.

    ¡°Are? Dad was married to Mom and Zora, but they have been alone ever since?¡±

    Zora had been gone before he knew it, and no one in the family mentioned her name anymore.

    As a child, he thought he probably shouldn¡¯t ask, but there was no sign of Barkas marrying any other woman after that.

    Colin felt ufortable.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Are?¡±

    .

    Part 3

    When Colin returned to the mansion, he found both Jenna and Finley walking down the hallway.

    The two do not seem to notice Colin and start talking when they stop in the hallway.

    Colin decided to hide behind a pir and wait for them to leave, thinking that he would be teased or ridiculed if he spoke to them.

    Then the two of them startining.

    ¡°Ah~, mou! I really don¡¯t understand why a bunch ofdies would show up in a rural area like ours?¡±

    Jenna had a look of heartfelt iprehension on her face andined that she couldn¡¯t understand why there was a youngdy like Ange and the others in her house.

    Finley seemed to agree with her, but she was notining.

    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s strange, but it¡¯s a good thing we get souvenirs and stuff.¡±

    It was a carefree statement from Finley, but Colin agreed with it.

    When Ange came to stay at the mansion, the meals became more luxurious.

    In addition, Duke Redgrave had sent them gifts in addition to the money for her stay, and Colin was happy to find some unusual sweets among them.

    If Ange was there, he would get sweets ¨D¨D that¡¯s all he knew.

    He¡¯s heard that she is a youngdy, but he doesn¡¯t understand exactly how important she is.

    However, since his parents were all sitting low, he knew that she was probably higher than them.

    Jenna put her hand to her forehead in astonishment at Finley¡¯s carefree attitude.

    ¡°They¡¯re usually people you can¡¯t get involved with unless you¡¯re a follower. I was surprised when I saw Leon, but I don¡¯t expect Nix to bring the Countess.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re barons, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Idiot!¡±

    ¡°Ouch!¡±

    Jena flicked her finger at Finley¡¯s forehead, who said that they were noblemen and barons, so there was no need to feel nervous.

    Jenna exined to Finley in detail the reality of the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    ¡°In our country, there¡¯s a world of difference between a baron and a count. Didn¡¯t you see the castle of the Rosede family? That¡¯s the real nobility. Ours is just a mere hair¡¯s breadth from a knight¡¯s family.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true that the Count¡¯s family was great, but~¡±

    Jenna lets out a sigh at Finley¡¯s disapproval.

    ¡°You¡¯ll understand once you enter the school, even if you don¡¯t like it, you¡¯re going to understand. Real youngdies are different.¡±

    ¡°That much?¡±

    ¡°All the clothes they wear are custom-made, and they have a lot of craftsmen working for them. They even have their own airship. The maids who follow them are from the family of knights.¡±

    ¡°Rich people are awesome.¡±

    Finley was impressed, but she didn¡¯t feel it yet.

    Colin, who was also listening to the talk, thought it was great, but he couldn¡¯t understand it.

    Jenna was annoyed with her sister who didn¡¯t understand, but she didn¡¯t scold her, probably because she remembered herself before she entered the school.

    ¡°You may not understand it now, but when you get to the capital, you¡¯ll understand it too, even if you don¡¯t like it. And when that happens, you¡¯ll realize how unnatural our situation is.¡±

    ¡°I still find it strange. That our boring older brothers can bring youngdies. Brother Leon brought a duchess and brother Nix brought a countess. I can¡¯t believe it either.¡±

    From Finley¡¯s point of view, knowing what they usually look like, his brothers must be quite in.

    The two of them can¡¯t understand why beautiful youngdies would fall in love with such boring older brothers.

    The conversation then turns to Dorothea, Nix¡¯s partner.

    Jenna crossed her arms and turned her head down, perhaps feeling uneasy.

    ¡°In Nix¡¯s case, it¡¯s a problem because he¡¯s taking over the house. If she¡¯s his wife, she¡¯ll have to live in this house. Angelica-sama will eventually move out, so I¡¯ll just have to be patient, but when I think about Dorothea-sama running the house ¨D¨D ¡°

    Jenna, with a blue-faced and shaking, looked truly terrified.

    From behind a pir, Colin was frightened to see his usually arrogant sister frightened.

    (Dorothea-¡°sama¡±? There are still people who are called by Jenna-neechan like that. What¡¯s more, if the scary Jenna-neechan is scared of her, is Dorothea-neesan that scary?)

    Seeing the frightened Jenna, Finley also tells her about the scary part of Ange.

    ¡°Ah~, I get it! I also asked brother Leon for some money, and she really stared at me. That was scary¡±

    However, this one wasughing goofily, saying, ¡°I got scolded.¡±

    When the two of them show their excessiveness to Leon, Ange and Livia show their displeasure.

    From the two of them, Livia, who was not a noblewoman, was not scary.

    But Ange is different.

    Even though Jenna is older than her, she can¡¯t be strong because there is a solid hierarchy.

    It¡¯s more powerful than the school caste, and Jenna can¡¯t go against it because there are certain standards.

    There was some flexibility when men were involved, but on the other hand, the hierarchy in that area was very strict among women.

    Jenna was venting her anger at Leon for putting her in such a troublesome situation.

    ¡°Not only did he bring a duchess, but he also brought a foreign princess. What is it with our men? Thanks to them, we¡¯re on the short end of the stick.¡±

    Finley agreed with that opinion, and voiced her dissatisfaction with Leon.

    ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t forgive Brother Leon for his habit of having women around. Isn¡¯t it strange that he has three wives? What¡¯s so good about that brother? The three of them don¡¯t have a good eye for men, do they¡±

    ¡°No way~. I will never forgive him. Even if he had money, I would never choose Leon.¡±

    The sisters were all despising Leon, and Colin could feel the difort growing in him as he listened to them.

    (¨D¨DMaybe it¡¯s strange to have three wives?)

    .

    Part 4

    Colin¡¯s next stop was the courtyard.

    Having a lot of things to think about, he sat down on the edge of a flower bed in the courtyard andzily moved his legs around.

    Then, a man and a womane out of the mansion.

    The man was Nix, and the woman was Dorothea, their guest.

    It seems that they cannot see Colin.

    Nix was a little nervous, but he wanted to talk to Dorothea about something important.

    Colin quickly remembered that his parents had told him not to disturb Nix, so he ducked down without making a sound, saying, ¡°I have to hide.¡±

    Then, Nix ¨D¨D.

    ¡°Dorothea-san!¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    When her name was called, Dorothea¡¯s voice was nervous and stuttering, and her face was as red as Nix¡¯s.

    ¡°I-I want ¨D¨D to live here ¨D¨D with you.¡±

    When Nix shyly expressed his feelings to the best of his ability, Dorothea paused for a moment before replying loudly.

    ¡°I-I want to live here too!¡±

    They both turned red and didn¡¯t move for a while, and then they both startedughing together.

    ¨D¨D Colin has witnessed a scene of confession.

    Colin, who was watching the situation, was envious of Nix¡¯s appearance and congratted him in his heart.

    (Congrattions, Nix-niichan)

    And Dorothea also tells Nix how she feels about him.

    ¡°I love Nix-sama¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m the same way.¡±

    ¡°Yes. But I think I am more than you. No matter how many times I am reborn, I will find you and fall in love with you. And we will be united again and again. I would never give you to anyone.¡±

    Nix was embarrassed to hear that passionate line.

    ¡°Ahaha, I¡¯m happy about that. Ah, but you know.¡±

    Dorothea nodded her head at Nix, who hesitated to say.

    Nix seemed to give up and made some conditions.

    ¡°About the cor, if you promise not to do it in public, we can do it when we¡¯re alone.¡±

    He doesn¡¯t deny Dorothea¡¯s hobby, but offers terms that can bepromised.

    Then Dorothea shook her head.

    ¡°No, that won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°There is no need for a cor or a chain between Nix-sama and me.¡±

    ¡°I see! Ah, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m happy about it. I just thought it would be fine to have that kind of rtionship.¡±

    ¡°Of course. From now on, we¡¯ll be together forever and ever. I¡¯ll never be apart from you.¡±

    ¡°U-Un?¡±

    Nix seemed to be bothered by Dorothea¡¯s phrasing, but he didn¡¯t think too much of it and the two of them brought themselves closer together.

    Noticing that they were about to kiss, Colin¡¯s face turned bright red and he decided to leave quietly.

    However, Colin somehow thinks.

    (Hm~m, is this normal? I feel a little scared)

    .

    Part 5

    Before dinner.

    Colin was visiting Nix¡¯s room.

    Nix looked very tired, but happy that his confession had been sessful.

    Therefore, he weed him with open arms.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? If you want me to help you apologize to Leon¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I have a question for Nix-niichan.¡±

    ¡°A question?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You know, Nix-niichan is going to marry sister Dorothea, right?¡±

    ¡°O-Oh. Well yeah.¡±

    Nix, who was embarrassed but confirmed it, looked quite happy.

    ¡°I doubt I¡¯d be a good match for her. It¡¯s a lie that when Leon got engaged to Angelica-san, Iughed and said it was none of my business.¡±

    ¡°I see. ¨D¨D So, are you going to marry someone else next?¡±

    Nix¡¯s brow wrinkled for a moment as he heard Colin¡¯s question.

    But he quickly softened his expression, saying it was a child¡¯s question, and answered in Nix¡¯s own way why Colin had asked him this.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen Dad, and then there¡¯s Leon, so you think that?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Dad was married to Zora.¡±

    Seeing Colin¡¯s difficulty in saying Zora¡¯s name, Nix briefly exined the situation.

    ¡°They were not family. Dad married Zora for the sake of society, but the real family is us. In the first ce, he couldn¡¯t even work the territory on his own.¡±

    Although the Kingdom of Horfalt had long been a ce where some women were more powerful than the men, the men in weaker positions had a concubine and a mistress.

    The reason for this was that it was essential to have a partner in order to work.

    Whether you are a nobleman who has been given a job by the royal court or a nobleman who has a fiefdom, if you don¡¯t have someone who can be trusted to take care of the house, your work efficiency will decrease.

    Even more importantly, if you¡¯re going to entrust your house to them, you should feel more at ease with your family.

    For this reason, there were other women besides a legal wife.

    Otherwise, many of the houses were unable to work and copsed.

    So, when Barkas took Ruth as his concubine, he didn¡¯t touch any woman after that.

    For Barkas, only Ruth was his wife.

    ¡°Dad got married because he couldn¡¯t deal with the society, but I think Mom was the only one he wanted to marry.¡±

    Colin confirms Nix¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Is Nix-niichan the same?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee the future, but I can¡¯t think of any other woman right now.¡±

    Colin thinks when he hears Nix¡¯s words.

    (Is Leon-niichan, who has three fianc¨¦es, really strange?)

    Colin had never given much thought about marriage in the past, but after his first love and heartbreak, he started to think about it a lot.

    Then he thought of Leon¡¯s fianc¨¦es.

    He wondered why Leon had three fianc¨¦es?

    .

    Part 6

    ¡°Leon-niichan, I¡¯m sorry about the other day.¡±

    I felt my eyes getting hot in front of Colin¡¯s deep bow.

    I didn¡¯t realize that Colin was in love with Noelle.

    ¡°I apologize too. I should have exined it to you from the beginning.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s my fault.¡±

    Not long ago I thought he was a child, but it seems that Colin is growing not only in appearance but also in mind.

    I can¡¯t help but be happy with my little brother¡¯s growth.

    It¡¯s always Luxion who dampens my emotion.

    [Your brother has grown mentally. Isn¡¯t this something Master should learn from?]

    ¡°Normally I¡¯d say something back, but since I¡¯m in front of Colin, I won¡¯t. Besides, I¡¯ve had a lot to think about this time.¡±

    Colin apologized to me after dinner, and I was relieved that we could finally be the close brothers we used to be.

    Noelle, who had been watching us, looked quite happy.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re both making up.¡±

    Noelle, who had been fretting about our rtionship, seemed to be very happy.

    Ange and Livia, who were overseeing the situation, also looked relieved.

    ¡°It took a while, but now you¡¯re back to normal.¡±

    ¡°Leon-san is relieved. I¡¯m also relieved to know that all the problems have been taken care of before the new school year.¡±

    I¡¯ve caused a lot of trouble for the three of you regarding me and Colin.

    ¡°Even though we were on vacation, the three of you couldn¡¯t enjoy it. Sorry.¡±

    I feel guilty for ending my spring break in such way.

    It all started when Ange and Livia were worried about me.

    I told them it was a misunderstanding, but they didn¡¯t believe me, which was a little dissatisfying for me.

    However, thanks to that, it gave me a chance to rest, and I want to thank the three of them.

    Ange gives me a gentle smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. As long as it helps you rx, it¡¯s good enough for me.¡±

    Livia put her hand on her chest, as if she felt the same as Ange.

    ¡°We had fun too, so don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve been able to spend time with Leon-san.¡±

    Noelle held out her hands, expressing her happiness with her body.

    ¡°My rehab is going well, and Leon¡¯s family has been very good to me. In fact, I feel rather bad about it.¡±

    The way they looked at me, they cared about me.

    ¡°Thank you, all three of you. ¨D¨DWhat¡¯s wrong, Colin?¡±

    He tugged at my clothes and I looked over to see Colin looking up at me.

    When I turned to see if there was anything more, Colin gave me a serious look.

    ¡°Leon-niichan¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Leon-niichan, I think you should take good care of the three of them. No, definitely make them happy.¡±

    The word ¡°definitely¡± is heavy, and I hesitate for a moment to reply.

    But denying it here would not help, so I decided to nod my head.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re right. I intend to.¡±

    There are no absolutes in this world.

    So my response of ¡°I can¡¯t promise, but I¡¯m willing¡± must have sounded unreliable to Colin.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be clearer than that! Nix-niichan confessed his feelings properly to Dorothea-neechan and said he was not thinking about anyone else.¡±

    I didn¡¯t expect to hear Nix¡¯s confession story from Colin.

    In the first ce.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding?! That hetare Nix confessed?¡±

    ¡°He did! Dorothea-neechan said she would marry Nix-niichan no matter how many times she was reborn!¡±

    ¡°Eh, isn¡¯t that a bit heavy?¡±

    What¡¯s that, heavy?! Isn¡¯t it really heavy?!

    For someone like me who has a previous life, that¡¯s like saying I¡¯ll chase you even if I die.

    Didn¡¯t that Nix guy think anything of it?

    ¡°By the way, what was Nix¡¯s reaction when he heard Dorothea-san¡¯s line? Was he shocked? Or was he scared?¡±

    Colin is, why would you ask me that? He looks at me as if to say that.

    ¡°He was pleased. It¡¯s natural because his confession was sessful.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?!¡±

    If someone said that to me, I¡¯d do everything in my power to figure out a way to escape.

    It¡¯s too scary to be chased after death!

    Even though it¡¯s not the most heart-pounding line, but thedies are excited.

    ¡°As Dorothea would say. No matter how many times I am reborn, huh. No matter how many times I¡¯m reborn, I¡¯d still like to meet you guys.¡±

    ¡°It feels like an amazing fate that we can meet even if we are reborn. If I were reborn again, I¡¯d look for you all.¡±

    ¡°Women in the Kingdom say amazing things. But it¡¯s kind of nice.¡±

    ¨D¨D You¡¯re kidding, right? Why is it so popr?

    I got a chill down my spine.

    ¡®Even if I die, I¡¯ll chase you until the next life¡¯ things, just Marie is enough. But in the case of Marie, it¡¯s not a sexy story but aedy, so is it still eptable?

    As I was thinking about it, Colin resumed his talk.

    ¡°Leon-niichan, are you listening to me? I think you should be more serious. Learn from Nix-niichan.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes¡±

    I never thought I would see the day when my little brother would lecture me.

    Luxion, perhaps amused by the situation, teased me.

    [It¡¯s really encouraging to see your little brother grow up. What do you think, everyone?]

    The three people who had been smiling earlier were slightly envious of Dorothea-san.

    Ange puts her hand to her lips.

    ¡°I suppose so. I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t envy Dorothea.¡±

    Livia put her hand to her cheek.

    ¡°It was surprising that Nix-san confessed to her. I certainly adore it.¡±

    Noelle looked at me worriedly.

    ¡°I guess that makes Leon the most hetare within the brothers when ites to romance.¡±

    Colin experienced a broken heart and was able to apologize properly.

    Nix confessed.

    Compared to those two, I¡¯m inferior in the romance area.

    In agony, I look for areas where I am winning.

    ¡± ¨D¨D The number of fianc¨¦s won¡¯t lose.¡±

    Luxion and the three others shook their heads in puzzlement.

    The four of them understood that it was my usual joke, but apparently Colin didn¡¯t get it.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the problem! You have three important people, so Leon-niichan has to work hard three times!¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes¡±

    It was a child¡¯s mysterious theory, but I understood what he was trying to say.

    From Colin¡¯s point of view, it was hard to ept that the person he fell in love with was one of my multiple fianc¨¦es.

    Colin looks like he¡¯s about to cry.

    ¡°I can¡¯t make her happy, so I have to ask Leon-niichan. I wish I could make her happy, but I can¡¯t¨D¨DPlease, Leon-niichan, make the three of them happy.¡±

    What should I say to my little brother who was crying and sobbing? Should I just say, ¡°I¡¯ll make everyone happy so leave it to me!¡± here?

    But it sounds kind of like a lie when I say it.

    Seeing me in a panic, Luxion said in a rather happy tone of voice.

    [How does it feel to be corrected by your brother?]

    ¡°¨D¨DI can¡¯t say anything back.¡±

    .

    Part 7

    The castle of the Count Rosede.

    Dorothea clearly seemed in a good mood since her return from Bartofalt territory.

    Deirdre, watching her, is dumbfounded but happy.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that he would be the one to confess. Did onee-sama tell him how you really feel? The other party is going to be shocked, though.¡±

    Dorothea turned her body toward Deirdre, there is a slight, dark smile on her face. (Note: Danger Detected)

    ¡°Of course. I told him that no matter how many times we are reborn, we will always be connected, and he dly epted. After all, a physical chain is no good. It¡¯s not enough at all. Even if we die, the chain of our souls that connects us in the afterlife is the best. ¡°

    Dorothea was serious, no matter how many times she was reborn, she was going to find Nix and be tied to him.

    The weight of love is so heavy that even her sister, Deirdre is taken aback.

    ¡°You¡¯re just not being serious, are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I just don¡¯t let him go.¡±

    Looking at Dorothea, who smiled, Deirdre shrugged.

    ¡°My older sister is a woman of heavy love.¡±

 Volume 8, Epilogue

    <h4>Volume 8, Epilogue</h4>

    Part 1

    Einhorn has arrived at the port of the royal capital.

    In a port where airshipse and go, Finley, carrying arge travel bag, is filled with anticipation.

    ¡°Finally, I¡¯m living in the royal capitaaal!¡±

    Is it like the feeling of havinge to Tokyo?

    At my time, I was very concerned about the marriage hunting that was about to begin.

    ¡°Are you so excited about living in the royal capital? You¡¯ve been here a few times, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    After disembarking from Einhorn, we were about to board a small airship that would take us down to the royal capital.

    Ange and Livia are on their way to the Duke¡¯s mansion in the royal capital with Noelle, and the three of us here are me, Luxion ¨D¨D and Finley.

    ¡°I like the idea of being able to live here. I¡¯m going to be a city girl here.¡±

    She is saying the same thing as Jenna.

    ¡°Ah, yes. By the way, how do you n to live in the royal capital?¡±

    When I ask about Finley¡¯s future ns, the answeres back as expected.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll marry a rich man who lives in the royal city. I¡¯ll look for a man who¡¯s good-looking, tall, and has a good fortune.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d you have such high ideals. Just try your best to face reality as soon as possible.¡±

    It¡¯s okay to have time to dream.

    The important thing is to know the reality and modify your life n.

    The sooner you fix it, the better.

    However, Finley would not be convinced if I exined it to her with my mouth.

    She believes that she has her own prince.

    Sometimes I almost forget that this is the world of that otome game.

    Because there are ideal princes and nobles, the possibility is not zero, but the quality is poor.

    Oddly enough, the people around us dream about it because there is an ideal there that we might be able to reach.

    You cannot reach out to them, but you dream about them because you go to the same school and can talk to them. If I had been in a school in my previous life and my idol had been in the same ss with me, I¡¯m sure I would have dreamed about it too.

    Maybe we can go out, something like that.

    So I guess she could at least be allowed some time to dream.

    Reality is always harsh, and there¡¯s no time to do that.

    Finley puffed out her cheeks at my attitude.

    ¡°Aniki really doesn¡¯t have any dreams. Don¡¯t be so high and mighty just because you¡¯ve achieved your ideal.¡±

    I¡¯m certainly a winner, having bonded with Ange, Livia, and Noelle.

    I don¡¯t intend to be overbearing, but I also don¡¯t intend to be more inept than I need to be.

    ¡°I was just lucky.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being honest today¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a guy who¡¯s good at being honest. And let me tell you honestly, I¡¯ve finished my marriage hunting and I will be living afortable school life. Good luck with your marriage hunting.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a really unnecessary thing to say.¡±

    Pui, turning her face away from me, Finley continued to look at her surroundings with interest.

    There are many new students at this time of year, and many of them, like Finley, are curious about their surroundings.

    The only difference from two years ago was¨D¨Dthe appearance of the sub-humans in the harbor.

    I see subhumans doing the heavy lifting, and they are working in a full sweat.

    The beautifully dressed sub-human walking behind the girls was nowhere to be seen.

    Most of the sub-humans I see are well-built, sturdy people who seem to be good at manualbor.

    [Master, please be careful]

    If you look at the direction Luxion points his red lens, you will see a new student, a nobled with his cronies, walking towards here.

    He pushes away the surroundings and approaches over here to get into the small boat.

    As for the young master¡¯s cronies, the boys acted superior than the girls.

    I felt ufortable with the sight, but I was convinced that themon sense of the school had changed.

    I pushed Finley with my hand, who just looked away and didn¡¯t notice the group.

    ¡°Get out of the way, ugly¡±

    She hasn¡¯t been pushed, but Finley gets pushed out of the way and moves.

    When she was pushed, Finley¡¯s blood rushed to her head at the bad words.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡±

    Two years ago, this would have been an unbelievable scene, but the new students in front of me were different.

    The boys looked at each other and startedughing mockingly in front of Finley.

    ¡°Oi oi, is it okay for a girl to act like that towards a boy? You¡¯re from the countryside, right? You¡¯ll never get married before you graduate from the school.¡±

    When I heard that line, you know what I thought?

    EEEEH¨D¨DI was so shocked.

    The content of the dialogue has not changed from before.

    It¡¯s just that the arrogance has changed from girls to boys.

    The girls around me looked down, feeling uneasy.

    Finley, who was called a bumpkin, couldn¡¯t take it anymore and shouted out loud, attracting the attention of others.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! In the first ce, you¡¯re the one who came in the side. Get in line.¡±

    The person on the other end of the line gave us a look of contempt.

    ¡°You poor, undisciplined bumpkin. You better remember that at the academy.¡±

    The young master told Finley that he remembered her face and tried to get into the small boat that had arrived.

    The people around me didn¡¯t stop such a young master ¨D¨D but someone noticed me.

    ¡°Oi, that person¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he third-year Leon-senpai?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true! I¡¯ve seen him once. I¡¯ve heard he¡¯sing back from studying abroad this year, and I¡¯m sure of it.¡±

    ¡°Then he was listening to it, wasn¡¯t he? Eh, calling Leon-senpai a bumpkin?¡±

    ¡°Ah~, that guy is over¡±

    As the buzzing around them grew louder, the young master and others must have noticed something strange.

    He looked around and seemed uneasy.

    I was actually going to pay him back at the school, but he stood out so much that I had no choice.

    This time, I decided to stop at just nailing it down.

    ¡°Hello. I¡¯m the brother of the bumpkin. I¡¯m sorry if we caused you trouble.¡±

    ¡°W-Who are you?¡±

    The young master did not lose hisposure.

    He probably hasn¡¯t realized who I am yet.

    ¡°I¡¯m a countryside nobleman. But my title is Marquis.¡±

    ¡°Marquis? T-That¡¯s a lie.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. You can check in with the royal pce.¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a lie! I-If you¡¯re going to apologize, now¡¯s the time.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that¡±

    Using your position to intimidate others in this way ¨D¨D Honestly, I like it a lot.

    But you never know where the really scary people are in the world.

    If you¡¯re overbearing, there¡¯s even a chance that the person you¡¯re dealing with is a very unusual person.

    Normally, it¡¯s my style to find out what they¡¯re up to and then start paying them back.

    But the problem is that if I don¡¯t go through with it, there will be some idiots who will misunderstand ¡°He is no big deal!¡±.

    For better or worse, there are many naive people like the young master in front of me.

    ¡°You know, that¡¯s annoying, so line up quietly, first year.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes at him and the young master averted his gaze.

    He gets into a small boat and tries to escape, so I grab him by the shoulders to stop him.

    ¡°Line up¡±

    When I intimidate him with a low voice, he lets out a ¡°Hie¡± and withdraws quietly.

    The cronies had quieted down and were lining up at the end of the line.

    I push Finley¡¯s back and board a small boat.

    Inside the small boat, the seats were lined up and all seat belts were prepared.

    Finley, who was sitting next to me, expressed her dissatisfaction with the young master earlier.

    ¡°What is it? It¡¯s too rude to girls, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡±

    ¡°And aniki is aniki. Why didn¡¯t youe forward sooner?¡±

    ¡°I hate troublesome things¡±

    When I said that, Luxion, who was at my side, said it was a lie.

    [You were going to pay him backter, weren¡¯t you? You really are a dirty master.]

    Finley has forgotten what happened earlier and is trying to get some distance from me.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that worse?¡±

    You¡¯re so rude.

    Even if I say I¡¯m going to pay him back, I¡¯m just going to look up his parents¡¯ house, check out the difference in ability, and then talk to themter and say, ¡°Thank you for taking care of me back then¡±.

    When he arrived at the school, he could hear who I was from the people around him.

    If that had happened, it would have been like a sessful payback.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just pester him when we meet again at the school.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of small ¡°

    ¡°It can be said that there is a degree that can be tolerated. But still ¨D¨D ¡°

    Looking inside the small boat, I saw that, unlike my first year, there had been a change in the rtionship between men and women.

    Two years ago, there wouldn¡¯t have been anyone like the young master earlier.

    ¨D¨DIt¡¯s kind of sad that only the positions have been reversed.

    It means that men and women are no different.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°The room is getting bigger again¡±

    I arrived at the dormitory and let out a sigh when I saw my new room.

    The room is toorge for a student to use.

    I would have felt more at home in a smaller room, but since I was an active marquis, I was shown to a special room.

    It was a room that would normally be used by Julius and the others.

    I put my few belongings in therge room and sat down on a chair, Luxion was checking the room.

    [There¡¯s nothing suspicious]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being overly vignt?¡±

    [Master should be more alert. More than that, Marie and the others would probably try to join us soon.]

    She must know I¡¯m back, through Creare.

    So it¡¯s about time to ask.

    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll get her some tea and snacks?¡±

    I got up from my chair and unpacked the snacks and other items I had purchased as souvenirs andid them out on the table.

    Luxion is circling around me.

    ¡°Is there anything you want to say?¡±

    [No, I just thought you looked like you were having fun. Are you so happy to see Marie?]

    ¡°Ba~ka. This means thanks for gathering information. She will do her best there is a food.¡±

    [You know all about your little sister in your previous life, don¡¯t you? As expected, you are a siscon.]

    ¡°Oi?¡±

    [Am I wrong? It was Master who was dere-dere when Angelica and Olivia treated you like an older brother. I didn¡¯t expect you to be moved to tears, though.]

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand anything. There¡¯s a heaven and earth difference between a little sister and a non-blood rted sister. Those two are the best! Marie is different.¡±

    When I said that, Luxion poked at the inconsistency of the current situation.

    [Oya? The present Master is not rted to Marie by blood. From what you just described, Marie would also fall into the category of the best little sister, wouldn¡¯t she?]

    ¡°She¡¯s a little sister in the soul, definitely different!¡±

    [ ¨D¨D a little sister in the soul? It seems to me that she has been ced in an even more special category?]

    ¡°Aa~, she is special. I mean she is especially annoying.¡±

    [It¡¯s strange that you went to the trouble of preparing tea and snacks for such a Marie.]

    ¡°I told you it was bait. Even a horse will work harder if you hang a carrot in front of it.¡±

    Luxion says she did her best this time, so I¡¯ll give her some preferential treatment.

    That way, Marie would be enthusiastic now that she could eat sweets if she tried hard enough.

    ¨D¨DWhy? I feel a little sorry for Marie, who in her previous life was only able to catch on with brands and expensive things, but now she¡¯s satisfied with sweets.

    Now that she was taking care of the five idiots, I understood a little bit more about how hard it was to take care of them.

    ¡± ¨D¨DWell, it¡¯s that. I¡¯m starting to think it¡¯s okay to be a little nicer.¡±

    [Are you a tsundere? It doesn¡¯t suit you]

    ¡°Can¡¯t you talk without throwing in a tease every time? Isn¡¯t that the problem? Why don¡¯t you have Creare check you out.¡±

    [I¡¯m better than Creare]

    The artificial intelligence that never doubts that he is superior is very annoying.

    The flexible Creare looks more clever and superior to me.

    While I was talking nonsense with Luxion, there was a weak knock at the door.

    ¡°Ye~s. What, is it Marie? Come on in. I¡¯ll get you some tea.¡±

    Standing in front of the door was Marie.

    But she was acting strangely.

    Marie looked down and was sweating cold, and wouldn¡¯t make eye contact with me.

    ¡°Oi, what did you do?¡±

    ¡°A-Aniki, a-anone.¡±

    This attitude of Marie¡¯s, I remember it from a previous life.

    That was the attitude of Marie when she made a big mistake.

    I squeeze Marie¡¯s trembling face between my hands.

    Her cheeks narrowed and she forced her mouth to purse, and Marie¡¯s eyes were teary.

    ¡°What did you do! Say it!¡±

    From the way Marie was acting, she must have done something irreversible, right? I couldn¡¯t help but have such a bad feeling about this.

    Luxion checks his surroundings with a red lens.

    [Master, I can¡¯t see Creare anywhere. I expect she is hiding behind a stealth feature.]

    The bad feeling gets even stronger.

    I smile at Marie and ask her what happened.

    ¡°Marie, tell me everything¡±

    ¡°D-Do you promise you won¡¯t get mad?¡±

    ¡°Depends on the content.¡±

    The only time Marie asks for this kind of promise is when the problem has be quite serious.

    She understands that I¡¯m going to be angry, so she wants me to say that I won¡¯t.

    At this point, I think my smile disappeared and I probably had a nk expression on my face.

    Marie gave up and tried to talk, so I let go of my hands. Then Marie, with a blue face, tells me something I can¡¯t believe.

    ¡°We had turned one of the capture targets into a girl.¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    For a moment, my mind refused toprehend what was being said.

    The capture target is a man, right? And now he¡¯s a girl?

    Eh, wait a minute.

    Why does he be a girl? I mean, can he even be one?

    ¡°Marie, I¡¯ll confirm one by one.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    ¡°First, the capture target is a man, right? It¡¯s not like he had different gender from the beginning or anything, is it?¡±

    I considered the possibility that he was supposed to be born a boy, but had been born a girl.

    Marie shook her head.

    ¡°Then next. You said he became a girl, but to what extent? Like, cross-dressing and all that?¡±

    Marie said, her eyes swimming as she couldn¡¯t stop breaking out in a cold sweat.

    ¡°W-We had made him a perfect girl.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D And by ¡°that¡±, I assume you mean you¡¯re involved, right?¡±

    The hands gripping Marie¡¯s shoulders tightened.

    In spite of the pain, Marie gave a detailed exnation.

    ¡°The boy that Creare was experimenting on was one of the capture targets! In the game, he¡¯s a senior, and he was enrolledst year!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me first! What do you mean experiment?! Not an observation, but a real experiment!¡±

    ¡°It was only recently that I remembered! I-I didn¡¯t think Creare would go that far either!¡±

    I was surprised to find that one of the capture targets, who had enrolledst year, had turned into a girl due to Creare¡¯s experiments.

    ¡°What are you doing. Turn him back quickly. Tell me where he is.¡±

    ¡°Impossible¡±

    ¡°An?¡±

    I red at Marie who refused and did not change the answer.

    ¡°Because¨D¨DHe said he wanted to be a girl.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right? Eh? Isn¡¯t the capture target was supposed to be a man?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHe said he realized who he really was. When Creare gave him the gender change, he was so happy he cried. He thanked us over and over again. With this, a new life is possible now, he said. We can¡¯t say we want him to turn back now.¡±

    Covering her face with her hands, Marie was crying that she couldn¡¯t turn him back into a man now.

    ¡°Even so let¡¯s follow the scenario!¡±

    I was confused and trying to restore it somehow, but Luxion was finding it difficult.

    He stops me from forcibly changing his gender back.

    [I don¡¯t rmend it]

    ¡°Why?¡±

    [The person changed his gender because he wanted to. I don¡¯t know the details, so I can¡¯t make a judgment, but if we force him back, he¡¯ll resist. Also, if that person was mentally female, there is a possibility that his preference is male. If you force him back, there¡¯s a high possibility of failure.]

    What Luxion is trying to say is that it is unlikely that he will be tied to the main character if he is forced to change his gender back.

    ¡°¨D¨DI-Is there a girl-meets-girl pattern?¡±

    In anguish, I hope that he will still be an object of capture even he bes a girl.

    But when I look at Marie, she trembles and says that Luxion is right.

    ¡°He said he wanted to date a manly man, and he was very happy about it.¡±

    ¡°What are we gonna do?¡±

    Both Marie and I get down on our hands and knees on the spot.

    If I had known this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have left it to Marie and the others.

    ¡°Me and Luxion would have been more appropriate.¡±

    [I wonder about that. There¡¯s the matter of your brother¡¯s matchmaking. If it was Master, wouldn¡¯t it have been moreplicated?]

    Marie looks up and asks Luxion for a detailed exnation of the matchmaking.

    ¡°Eh? What did you do on the matchmaking?¡±

    [Master¡¯s brother and Dorothea of the Rosede family had matchmaking. The big brother was not keen on the idea and wanted it to fail. However, he helped the matchmaking that would have failed if he hadn¡¯t done anything, and Master led it to sess. And it was a matchmaking that had a very low probability of sess.]

    Marie is looking at me with her cheeks drawn together.

    ¡°What are you doing, aniki?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told only by you. More importantly, where is Creare?¡±

    ¡°She was the first one to escape. 99,9% of the failure was caused by her.¡±

    .

    Part 3

    I was walking through the school building with my shotgun.

    ¡°Where are you, Creareee!!¡±

    Searching every corner with bloodshot eyes.

    Creare had not only hidden herself, but had also ced dummies to distract us from our search. Every time Luxion was grabbed by the dummy, he became irritated.

    [Master, over here!]

    I passed by some enrolled students and new students several times, but none of them called out to me when they saw me.

    When the teachers realized it was me, they avoided eye contact with me.

    However, I don¡¯t have the slightest bit of time to worry about that right now.

    Luxion went to the door of the tool shed built at the bottom of the stairs and nodded his one red eye.

    ¡°Is Creare here?¡±

    [There is no mistake]

    I opened the door and the room was dark and dusty.

    The lighting through the doorway made the dust that had flown up appear to glitter and shine.

    Finding an unnatural ce in the middle of it all, Luxion irradiated aser to find Creare, who had blended into the surroundingndscape with optical camouge.

    [There¡¯s no point in hiding, Creare]

    [Hie]

    The shotgun is loaded with non-lethal rubber bullets.

    Having made the pump action ready to fire at any time, I ask Creare.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame, because I had such high hopes for you.¡±

    [Listen to me, Master! I didn¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t know he was a capture target!]

    ¡°Shut up! Is it okay to have the gender change if you didn¡¯t know about it? There¡¯s a limit to what you can do in this world! I guess you¡¯re not programmed with ethics.¡±

    I had underestimated Creare that she let him change his gender for the sake of experimentation.

    I¡¯d forgotten that he was also a dangerous artificial intelligence on the side of the old humans.

    Creare reveals her true nature in front of me.

    [Ethics only apply to the old humans. It doesn¡¯t apply to the new humans!]

    ¡°Hou, so you¡¯re saying that doesn¡¯t apply to me?¡±

    [Y-You¡¯re wrong! Master and Marie-chan arepletely different! Luxion, don¡¯t just watch, help me.]

    Creare asks Luxion for help, but he¡¯s irritated because he¡¯s grabbed the dummy too many times, so he¡¯s salty.

    [Creare, I¡¯m disappointed in you. It doesn¡¯t change the fact that you failed to carry out Master¡¯s orders.]

    [W-What? It doesn¡¯t matter what happens to one of them. There are still substitutes.]

    It is true that the boys to be captured still exist, but it is a different story when the possibilities are reduced by one.

    There is a possibility that if we do nothing, the target may have ended up with the protagonist.

    ¡°One possibility is gone because of you. Moreover, I don¡¯t like your attitude of running away without remorse.¡±

    [Absolutely]

    Creare muttered boo boo, probably sensing that me and Luxion would not change our attitude.

    [Sacrifices have to be made for development. That¡¯s how humanity has progressed. I¡¯m just an experiment on the new humans, so I am not at fault. In the first ce, the target just happened to be the subject of the experiments! I¡¯m innocent!]

    Is she stupid?

    There is no way that someone who does a gender change under the guise of experimentation is innocent.

    Indeed, there is now in the Kingdom of Horfalt that says you can¡¯t change your gender without permission.

    In the first ce, this situation was never envisioned.

    However, there is a limit to what things can do.

    ¡°Creare, do you have anyst words?¡±

    As I pointed the muzzle of my gun at her, Creare, in a fit of desperation, finally shouted.

    [I wish the new humans should perish!]

    I pulled the trigger without hesitation.

    Creare was hit by a rubber bullet and bounced around the warehouse like a pinball, and finally rolled under my feet.

    [H-Horrible. Master is demon]

    ¡°Not as much as you do with your experiments.¡±

    [Creare, you must reflect]

    Having sessfully punished Creare, Luxion and I were left with a big problem.

    I didn¡¯t expect that the boy of the capture targets would be a girl.

    What¡¯s going to happen to that third Otome game?

 Volume 8 Extra 1 â€œMadam Dorotheaâ€

    <h4>Volume 8 Extra 1 ¡°Madam Dorothea¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    When Leon and the others were heading to the school.

    A fleet of airships from the Rosede family came to the port owned by the Bartofalt family.

    There are several warships and transports respectively, as if to show the military and financial power of the Count¡¯s family.

    Arge number of people gathered at the port to see what was going on.

    Watching the scene are a young man and a middle-aged man sitting on a crate during a break.

    The two of them usually work at the port.

    They were watching with abhorrence as arge crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the Rosede family¡¯s fleet of airships, interrupting their work.

    However, the young man asked the veteran about the airship, perhaps because they were also curious.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that family crest before. Did some trouble happen to bring them to the port in such numbers?¡±

    The young man was a little frightened as the warship of the Rosede family entered the harbor.

    Wouldn¡¯t it start a war between the nobles? That¡¯s what he imagined.

    However, veterans who know a little more about the situation reassure the young man that there will be no war.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be a conflict. Nix-sama came to the harbor a little while ago, and he said something about preparing for a pickup.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really? I thought that person had done something again.¡±

    That person is Leon.

    In Bartofalt territory, it is easy to be a rumor because you stand out, for better or worse.

    When you are in the harbor, peoplee from other ces, so you naturally hear gossip.

    One of the people who often appears in the gossip is Leon.

    The veteran exhaled a sigh and talked about Leon.

    ¡°Leon-bhan, huh? He seems to have be a Marquis now.¡±

    When he jokingly uses reverentnguage, the young manughs it off as unsuitable.

    ¡°However, is it really that easy to be a Marquis?¡±

    ¡°Because Leon-bhan is very active. I didn¡¯t think he would be promoted.¡±

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t know much about him, but he¡¯s a kingdom hero, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    It was only recently that the young man had started working at the harbor.

    As a result, he only saw Leon a few times in the distance.

    The young man looks envious as he recalls the moment.

    ¡°He had two beautiful women with him, didn¡¯t he? I wish I was born a nobleman.¡±

    When the veteran heard that, he looked surprised and immediately pointed out the young man¡¯s mistake.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t know anything. Everyone knows that women are stronger and troublesome in the nobility.¡±

    ¡°Eh, is that so? But if it¡¯s that beautiful, maybe I can bear it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s good to see a young man with dreams. ¨D¨D although you¡¯ll soon learn the reality.¡±

    The people in the area didn¡¯t know much about Leon and his family¡¯s life, and most of the stories they heard were passed down from person to person.

    Still, from the way Barkas was acting and Zora¡¯s attitude that they had seen so far, they could predict that marrying a nobleman would be troublesome.

    Before long, Zora was no longering, and rumors were spreading that she had been officially divorced.

    Although there is talk of reforms underway in the kingdom, the perception of the people has not changed significantly.

    As they were talking, they saw Nix, who hade to wee the Rosede family.

    The young man looks at him and gives his impressions.

    ¡°What can I say? He¡¯s kind of in¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of anything, are you? Don¡¯t ever say that in front of him.¡±

    The young man describes Nix as in, and the veteran makes a drawn face.

    The Bartofalt family is a family where the lord does not abuse his people, but is still not so loose as to tolerate disrespect.

    From the young man¡¯s point of view, he would prefer that the lord not be Nix.

    ¡°I want Leon-sama to be my lord. I think that if I stay under that man, I¡¯ll be able to y an active role in the war and get a promotion. A baron might be hard to get, but a knight or bar might be possible, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    The veteran shrugged at the dreaming young man.

    ¡°I prefer Nix-bhan. He¡¯s a reliable person, and he¡¯s a lot tougher than the shy Leon-bhan.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather have a lord who is willing to do more war. That way, I can rise in the world and get lots of beautiful wives.¡±

    The veteran understands the young man¡¯s desire to rise in the world and have a beautiful woman as his partner, just like Leon.

    But he didn¡¯t agree.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better for a young man to have dreams like that. But I absolutely hate it. It¡¯s enough to work moderately and drink at night in a bar. I don¡¯t want to go to the battlefield where it¡¯s life or death.¡±

    The young man pouted, thinking that the veteran had made fun of his dream.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to live a simple life. Nix-sama is too in and has no future.¡±

    ¡°Peace would be easier, though.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to work hard. I want to be like Leon-sama and make a splendid career that will be recognized by the king. Then I¡¯ll be able to say goodbye to this countryside.¡±

    ¡°You say that? ¨D¨D They¡¯reing down.¡±

    As the young man deres that he has no future, the veteran notices a womaning down from the airship.

    Pointing his finger and guiding the young man¡¯s gaze, the woman, who appeared to be a noblewoman, was there.

    The young man blushed when he saw the picture-perfect youngdy of nobility.

    Her skin was white and untanned, and her blond hair shone in the sun.

    Her silky hair swayed in the breeze, and her cool expression showed a touch of coldness.

    It was perfectly suited to the tastes of the young man.

    ¡°She¡¯s so beautiful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that person before.¡±

    ¡°Eh, when?¡±

    ¡°On your day off.¡±

    As the young man was getting frustrated, the woman spotted someone and put on a big smile, erasing her previous cool expression.

    She ran out and jumped on Nix, who showed up to greet her.

    When the young man saw two of them, he was stunned with his mouth wide open.

    The veteran watched the young man¡¯s reaction with amusement as he exined to him who the woman was.

    ¡°She¡¯s a youngdy of the Rosede family, future wife of Nix-bhan. From what I¡¯ve heard, she¡¯s fallen in love with him.¡±

    The young man who had said earlier that he disliked inness was severely depressed at the sight of the woman of his preference hugging Nix.

    ¡°My love is over¡±

    ¡°It never started in the first ce.¡±

    No matter what the veteran said, the young man hung his head and did not respond.

    .

    Part 2

    About the time Nix was heading to the port for pickup.

    At the mansion, Jenna was wearing a maid¡¯s uniform.

    She looks frustrated and unhappy with her work, and does not want to do it.

    All thates out of her mouth isining.

    ¡°Why should I have to go through this? I was supposed to apany Finley to the royal capital.¡±

    Under the pretext of showing Finley around the royal capital, she intended to go with her.

    However, Ruth did not allow it.

    Ruth put her hands on her hips and scolded a disgruntled Jenna.

    ¡°How long are you going to feel like a student at the school? You¡¯ll have to work hard at home from now on. You¡¯re an adult now, so don¡¯t think you can y around. If you don¡¯t want to do that, then go and find yourself a partner.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t find them in the countryside!¡±

    ¡°We have a lot of young people here!¡±

    ¡°Everyone is a countryside man and poor. I absolutely hate it.¡±

    After graduating from the academy, Jenna had few ns for the future.

    Unable to find a partner while in school, she came back to her parents¡¯ house.

    However, she has been refusing to go on matchmaking with the men that Barkas and Ruth introduce to her.

    The reason was that she had seen the boys at the school and had be more discerning.

    She really couldn¡¯t believe that a man from the countryside would be a match for her.

    Ruth lets out a sigh.

    ¡°Don¡¯t keep dreaming, look at reality. You heard what Angelica-sama and Olivia-chan said, right? There are fewer noble men in the kingdom now, so it¡¯s more difficult.¡±

    ¡°I-I heard about that, but.¡±

    In the Kingdom of Holfalt, the number of men has been decreasing due to battles with monsters and wars between humans.

    This is especially true for men in the noble ss. Once you be a knight, there is no escaping the battlefield.

    If you are a civilian, unless you are a soldier, you will not die unless you are involved.

    This is because airships are inevitably the mainstay of warfare, and the number of soldiers that can operate them is limited.

    Even if you force people to be soldiers, they will be useless if they are not trained on a regr basis.

    As a result, the mortality rate of knights and men of the noble ss who could not escape was very high in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    Since there are more women than men, men are inevitably in the position to choose.

    The situation was reversed from what it had been a short time ago, Jenna knew that, but she didn¡¯t feel it.

    ¡°Not only Leon, Nix got the Countess, too. Don¡¯t you think I have the same luck?¡±

    Seeing the situation where her brothers are getting a girl out of their league, I will be too ¨D¨D or so her dream.

    Ruth gives Jenna a cold shoulder.

    ¡°If you had that luck, you could have gotten married while you were still at school.¡±

    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t say that!¡±

    Jenna¡¯s voice grew louder at words she didn¡¯t want to hear.

    Her gestures became louder and more frustrated.

    ¡°I¡¯m a victim too! Because of Leon¡¯s rampage, I felt like I was on the short end of the stick at school. Thanks to that, I missed my chance.¡±

    He fights with Julius when he was the Crown Prince.

    A rival faction traps him in jail.

    There were many other things that had happened, and Jenna had a lot to say about them.

    However, Ruth does not sympathize when she hears it.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that Leon prepare an exclusive servant for you. ¨D¨D He betrayed, though.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention Mioru! T-That was Leon¡¯s fault ¨D¨D¡±

    Mioru is an exclusive servant that Jenna had hired before.

    He was a beautiful male sub-human that Jenna liked, but he had betrayed Leon and was beheaded by Barkas.

    Ruth also hates the person who betrayed his son, so she is very strict with Jenna.

    ¡°If you cover for a traitor, I¡¯ll kick you out of this house.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t cover him, so don¡¯t get mad.¡±

    When Jenna is depressed, Ruth tells her about what Leon has done to her parents¡¯ house.

    ¡°You know, Jenna. After Leon became a sessful adventurer, he invested in our family. Do you understand that it¡¯s because of this that your allowance has increased?¡±

    ¡°I-I heard that.¡±

    It was before he entered the school.

    After getting Luxion, Leon invested in his family home, the Bartofalt family.

    If he had just given the money, Zora, who was still the legal wife at the time, would have taken it, so he took the form of investment.

    Thanks to that, the roads and ports in the territory were improved and became more vibrant.

    Thanks to Leon, the finances of the Bartofalt family have been stabilized.

    Ruth chastised Jenna verbally in a matter-of-fact manner.

    ¡°He¡¯s already independent and doing well, so what about his sister? I don¡¯t mean expecting the same results as Leon. But you understand that we want you to be independent and live a good life, right?¡±

    Having been told that, Jenna averted her gaze.

    (I don¡¯t think that foolish brother will be so sessful! I thought he just got lucky one-shot)

    A lucky one-shot that seeded in finding a lost item.

    That was Jenna¡¯s evaluation of Leon.

    However, the next thing she knew, he was ying one role after another, and now he was treated like a hero.

    It was unbelievable to Jenna, who knew him as he usually was.

    (I guess I shouldn¡¯t keep talking about Leon)

    In Ruth¡¯s mind, Leon was a filial son who was able to stand on his own.

    Jenna, on the other hand, lives at home and shows no signs of being independent.

    Jenna thinks it¡¯s a bad time, so she mentions Nix this time.

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Nix! Even Nix didn¡¯t get married until after graduation!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call your onii-chan by his name! Besides, Nix already has a partner.¡±

    ¡°Remember, when he graduated, he didn¡¯t have any matchmaking partners? Isn¡¯t it wrong that you¡¯re only rushing me?¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s true, but.¡±

    Jenna thinks.

    (Alright, I think I can manage to buy some time on the topic of Nix. Now, if I can just get a chance to live in the royal capital for a year or so, I¡¯ll find someone then, too)

    Jenna tries to talk Ruth out of it, but she is interrupted.

    It was Yumeria who called out.

    ¡°Ano ~¡±

    Jenna red at Yumeria, who spoke to them in a carefree voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy right now, so go away. You can leave the work to someone else.¡±

    (You need to read the situation! This is my chance to convince Mom)

    She immediately tried to resume her persuasion, but Yumeria did not back down.

    ¡°But~¡±

    ¡°What is it! You know, I¡¯m busy right now ¨D¨D Eh?¡±

    When Jenna looks toward Yumeria, the person behind heres into view and makes her freeze.

    Ruth was so surprised that she couldn¡¯t even speak.

    Among the few who were there was Barkas.

    ¡°What are you guys doing? I told you today was a very important day.¡±

    Rather than being angry, he looked dumbfounded and ashamed.

    Nix, who was with him, is looking toward Jenna.

    ¡°I could hear you all the way to the front door.¡±

    Jenna also felt embarrassed that their conversation had been overheard.

    But the problem was more with the person who heard it.

    ¡°Ara Ara¡±

    It was Dorothea that they brought.

    Ruth hurried to apologize for not greeting her at the door.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m very sorry!¡±

    However, Dorothea responded gently.

    ¡°I arrived ahead of schedule, so that¡¯s not a problem.¡±

    For Ruth, she is his daughter-inw, but Dorothea is in a higher position than her.

    After all, she is a countess.

    From the perspective of Ruth, who came from a knight family in the countryside, she was ady out of her reach.

    There is also Ange, who will be her daughter-inw, but from Ruth¡¯s point of view, both are princesses.

    It was the same for Jenna.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Jenna bowed, but Dorothea walked up to her and put her face close to hers.

    The tone of a voice whispered in her ear sounded sexy, even though she was the same gender.

    But the content was cold, regardless of the tone of her voice.

    ¡°That¡¯s no good¨D¨DAs a wife, I won¡¯t forgive you to call your own brother by his name. I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting my husband, even if they are family.¡±

    ¡°Hie!¡±

    Stepping back, she saw Dorothea smiling at her.

    The people around her didn¡¯t seem to hear what was being said, and when they saw Jenna¡¯s attitude, they looked at her like, what¡¯s wrong?

    However, Dorothea says with a smile.

    ¡°From now on, we are sisters, albeit inw, so let¡¯s get along.¡±

    Jenna responded to that smile with a forced smile.

    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±

    But inside, she was in a cold sweat.

    (What is this woman!)

    Jenna is annoyed by Dorothea¡¯s provocative attitude, although she can¡¯t resist her because she is a countess.

    (Hmm! There¡¯s no way a city girl like you can live here in the countryside. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll run away anyway)

    .

    Part 3

    The next day.

    Dorothea¡¯s reason foring to the Bartofalt house was to live together before she got married.

    This was partly due to her strong desire, but rumor has it that it was to show the public that they had a connection.

    Jenna didn¡¯t know the reason either, but Bartofalt family seemed to be getting so much attention.

    (Maybe Leon¡¯s rampage has brought attention to my parents¡¯ house? This is just normal countryside, I don¡¯t know what everyone is thinking?)

    Leon may be awesome, but his parents¡¯ family, the Bartofalt family, is different.

    Although they are wealthier than before, the countryside is still the same.

    Jenna, dressed in her maid¡¯s uniform, decided to watch the situation, thinking that Dorothea would soon make noise if she lived in such a rural area.

    (Now, could a youngdy live in the countryside? I don¡¯t think so, anyway)

    Ange also lived in the Bartofalt house, but at that time Luxion was able to make ends meet.

    However, Luxion was nowhere to be found at the mansion, apanying Leon.

    In this condition, Jenna thought, she would surely make a noise.

    (Is she heading out? That¡¯s the training ground, right?)

    Dorothea changed into easy to move clothes and walked out of the mansion.

    Jenna also sneaked out and followed, and was approached by Yumeria.

    ¡°Ano~, you have a work.¡±

    ¡°Be quiet! Youe with me¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡±

    Jenna pulled Yumeria, her watcher, with her and they went outside together.

    There was a group of men gathered there.

    There were men besides Barkas and Nix, as well as Colin.

    ¡°What are they doing here in the morning?¡±

    When Jenna says that, Yumeria tells her from the side.

    ¡°Eh, you don¡¯t know? Sometimes they have training sessions like this. It¡¯s a training day that even the knights participate in.¡±

    ¡°Knight? Ah~, our knight. They¡¯re always so un-knightly.¡±

    Jenna sees the men, but they are all filthy.

    Jenna felt that the young man also looked like a rural man and did not look like a knight.

    Meanwhile, Dorothea is also participating.

    ¡°Is she trying to score points here? No way ~. A woman should just take care of the house. It¡¯s not her ability to fight that¡¯s important, and she¡¯s wasting her time.¡±

    When Jenna says so, Yumeria speaks the truth without reading the air.

    ¡°Eh, but Jenna-sama doesn¡¯t work on the house, right?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI-I¡¯ll do it when I get married.¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t do it normally, you won¡¯t be able to do it after you get married. I try to be careful about making mistakes, but I still do it a lot.¡±

    When Yumeria exined that she had tipped over a bucket the other day, Jenna gave her a cold look.

    (Eh, what? She¡¯s pretending to be an airhead and lecturing me?)

    Isn¡¯t it possible that Yumeria actually understands what she is doing and is ying an airhead character? As she was thinking this, she heard gunshots from the training grounds.

    She quickly turned her head towards them and saw Dorothea holding a rifle.

    She ejected the shells with a familiar gesture, and when she fired the next round, she hit the center of the target.

    The people around her said, ¡°Oh~¡± with admiration and pped their hands.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding ¡°

    As Jenna is amazed at her skill with a gun, Yumeria ps her hands without making a sound.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing. Most of the hits are in the middle.¡±

    From the perspective of the two of them, Dorothea¡¯s skill seemed to be quite good.

    The men in the training area gather around Dorothea as she finishes shooting.

    Nix spoke to her in admiration.

    ¡°You¡¯re really good. Do you handle it regrly?¡±

    ¡± It¡¯s just a little bit of experience. But my family started out as adventurers, so I¡¯ve had some basic education.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Regardless of gender?¡±

    ¡°Of course. But although I fought monsters at the school, I couldn¡¯t do anything when I was involved in actualbat with people. So it¡¯s a matter of experience.¡±

    ¡°No, I think it¡¯s enough if you can do this.¡±

    While the others were admiring her, Barkas was pondering something.

    Then Colin, who was participating in the training, spoke to Dorothea.

    ¡°Dorothea-neechan is amazing! Angelica-neechan can do many things, but Dorothea-neechan is the best with a gun.¡±

    The over-familiar attitude of Colin made the people around him nervous for a moment, but Dorothea responded gently.

    ¡°That¡¯s a nice thing to say. Colin, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll bake you some pastriester. Let¡¯s have tea together.¡±

    ¡°Is it okay! Yatta!¡±

    The others were relieved to see Dorothea¡¯s figure.

    Perhaps it was the strong image of Zora when it came to noblewomen, making them a little wary.

    The knights talk a little further away so that Dorothea and the others can¡¯t hear them.

    ¡°Iyaa ~, Nix-sama has found himself a good wife.¡±

    ¡°I was wondering what I would do if someone like Zora came, but I guess we can rx for now?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t she say she made baked cookies? She can handle a gun and cook? Real youngdies are different.¡±

    They knew about Ange too, but they were aware that she was a very small exception.

    With the advent of Dorothea, the perception is changing to ¡°real youngdies are different!¡±.

    Jenna, who was listening to the conversation, uttered a line that sounded like a sore loser.

    ¡°I-It doesn¡¯t matter if I know how to use a gun. I¡¯m not going to war. Besides, I can just buy snacks.¡±

    Yumeria smiled and ¨D¨D.

    ¡°Jenna-sama can¡¯t do both.¡±

    ¨D¨D said a line that pierced her heart.

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°Let¡¯s just give up ¡°

    ¡°No! I¡¯m not going to give up until I see her cry!¡±

    The ce changed and they came to the kitchen, where they watched Dorothea making baked pastries.

    There are maids dispatched by the Rosede family around, but Dorothea is making sweets by herself.

    There was also a figure of Ruth nearby.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty experienced at this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a hobby, mother-inw. I am no match for a real professional.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still amazing. I envy you because I can only make countryside sweets.¡±

    ¡°If so, I can teach you a few things. Why don¡¯t we make it together?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that bother you?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m happy to be able to cook with mother-inw.¡±

    ¡°T-Then, please.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so formal. Although I am not officially married yet, I already consider you my family.¡±

    Ruth was so moved by those words that she was about to cry.

    ¡°I actually wanted to cook with my daughter like this. But my girls wouldn¡¯t even go near the cooking area. I never thought that a youngdy like you would not only call me your mother-inw, but also cook with me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then, one dream hase true.¡±

    Dorotheaforts Ruth and they start making pastries together.

    Jenna watched them, but she felt bad for her mother and her heart ached.

    While hiding in the shadows, she whispered an excuse.

    ¡°If you had told me, I would have helped you.¡±

    Yumeria, who was by her side, gave Jenna a serious look.

    ¡°Jenna-ojousama, I hope you and Ruth-sama will cook together. I think it¡¯s better to do it before she tells you, if possible.¡±

    ¡°Y-You don¡¯t have to tell me.¡±

    While two of them were talking, Dorothea and Ruth had grown quite close.

    ¡°You¡¯re good, mother-inw.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Let¡¯s make it for everyone next time?¡±

    Yumeria, who was watching that, suggested to Jenna.

    ¡± ¨D¨D They¡¯re getting along really well, aren¡¯t they.¡±

    ¡°R-Right.¡±

    ¡°Jenna-ojousama, I think Ruth-sama would be happier if you stopped all this and got back to work. Why don¡¯t you get back to work?¡±

    For some reason, Jenna felt defeated, but she didn¡¯t give up yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a facade anyway. Her nature will reveal soon.¡±

    Yumeria¡¯s shoulders slumped.

    .

    Part 5

    For the next few days, Jenna kept an eye on Dorothea.

    She also took her watcher, Yumeria, around to see if anything could go wrong.

    However.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you raise your voice! How can you be so happy here in the countryside?¡±

    Yumeria was at Jenna¡¯s side as she shouted that she didn¡¯t understand.

    Yumeria apanied her, looking at Dorothea.

    ¡°Instead of getting upset, she seems to be having a good time. And she¡¯s getting along with everyone except you, Jenna-sama.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the problem! Why isn¡¯t anyone on alert? She is a stranger! She is enemy?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s an enemy, but she¡¯s certainly friendly as a stranger who¡¯s here.¡±

    ¡°Right! Nix is all lovey-dovey with her, Colin calls her onee-chan and attaches to her, Mom and Dad are all happy, what¡¯s wrong with them!¡±

    In a matter of days, all of the family except Jenna had epted Dorothea.

    Jenna was impatient because it was different from the knowledge she had heard.

    ¡°Normally, when a wifees along, you snub her, right?¡±

    Yumeria denies it.

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it doesn¡¯t exist, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the norm. Besides, Dorothea-sama is a higher rank than you. If you do something like that, she¡¯ll get angry.¡±

    Getting scolded is cute, but if they angered Dorothea, her parents, the Rosede family, would not be able to keep quiet.

    Jenna knows that, but she can¡¯t ept it for many reasons.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t ept it! How can she be happy to be here in this countryside? Does she like a slow life like Leon? I don¡¯t understand why shees all the way from the city.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different for each person. More than that¨D¨DJenna-sama, you¡¯d better get back to work or you¡¯ll get really scolded.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t keep losing like this! If ites to this, let something go wrong¨D¨D¡±

    If the other person won¡¯t fail, then make them ¨D¨D As she thought about that, Jenna was called.

    ¡°Jenna,e to Dad¡¯s workroom¡±

    ¡°Why is this girl really?¡±

    It was Barkas and Ruth who were there.

    .

    Part 6

    Barkas¡¯s work room is the office.

    The room is used for paperwork, but now there are three people in the room: Barkas, Ruth ¨D¨D and Jenna.

    Jenna was shrunk in front of her parents.

    It was Ruth who opened her mouth first.

    ¡°I heard from Yumeria-chan. Looks like you¡¯ve been out of work for a while, taking that girl around.¡±

    ¡°S-She betrayed me?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not Jenna¡¯s servant in the first ce. Leon is the one who hired her. Yumeria-chan has told me everything about you since the first day you threw your work away.¡±

    Jenna breaks out in a cold sweat when she hears that everything was known from the beginning.

    Barkas crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°She kept telling you to go back to work, didn¡¯t she? I know you have a lot on your mind, and I¡¯ve been keeping an eye on you. And yet, you just keep throwing your work away.¡±

    Ruth had a quietly angry look on her face, and Jenna felt that this was a bad situation.

    So she desperately makes excuses.

    ¡°A-Anone, because she grow up as a youngdy, maybe it will be tough, so I was just watching to see if anything went wrong!¡±

    Jenna felt herself struggling toe up with a quick excuse, but of course it didn¡¯t go through.

    Ruth straightforwardly states the correct argument.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you help her. What do you mean by sneaking around?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not the kind of girl who gets embarrassed in the house. And I¡¯ve heard everything from Yumeria-chan. You thought she was going to run off anyway, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Because she grew up in the city? There is no way she¡¯s doing well.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s doing better than you are.¡±

    This time Barkas talks about the evaluation of the surroundings.

    ¡°Dorothea-san has a good reputation among the servants and knights of the house. When she visited the town a while ago, she was very popr.¡±

    And Ruth talks about Jenna¡¯s evaluation.

    ¡°You, on the other hand, have been receivingints from the servants working in the mansion.¡±

    The servants who work at the mansion, actually not that many, but all of them have known each other for a long time.

    All these acquaintancesined about Jenna, whom they had known since childhood.

    This told Jenna¡¯s reputation.

    (Wait a minute. This is ¨D¨D Isn¡¯t mine worse?)

    Now she finally understands.

    Jenna feels utterly defeated by Dorothea, her sister-inw who does better with her family than she does.

    And herees the story that will push Jenna further.

    With a look of shame on Ruth¡¯s face, Dorothea told her about a proposal that had been made.

    ¡°Jenna, there was actually a matchmaking offer for you.¡±

    ¡°I said I don¡¯t like matchmaking ¨D¨D ¡°

    ¡°Listen to the end. Dorothea-chan told me that she would introduce you using the Rosede family¡¯s connections. It seems he¡¯s a court nobleman living in the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°Eh? That means ¨D¨D ¡°

    (You¡¯re kidding! What a good girl)

    Jenna gave a heartfelt pat on the back, but that was not the end of the disappointing news.

    Ruth tells the pleased Jenna.

    ¡± ¨D¨D We refused it.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    When Jenna doesn¡¯t understand, Barkas looks apologetic.

    Not to Jenna, but to Dorothea.

    ¡°It seems the house has a rtionship with the Rosede family. We can¡¯t bring shame to Dorothea-san by introducing you to such a house.¡±

    Ruth seems to have the same feelings and cares about Dorothea.

    ¡°It will be a nuisance to that girl.¡±

    Jenna trembled and protested to them.

    ¡°Why! It was a great chance!¡±

    When she heard that, Ruth said the reason they refused.

    ¡°I would have given it some thought if you had done your work. But when I entrusted you with a task, you threw it away and stalked Dorothea-chan ¨D¨D You¡¯re really no good.¡±

    Jenna finally realized it too.

    (Eh, maybe if I worked seriously, I could get married?)

    Barkas tells Jenna.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you, but it¡¯s not going to happen unless you change. If you could just take thesest few days seriously, we¡¯d have some hope.¡±

    Ruth is in tears.

    ¡°It¡¯s really pathetic¡±

    Jenna copses, knowing that she has missed out on a great chance.

    ¡°Tell me fiiirst !!¡±

    .

    Part 7

    Meanwhile, around that time.

    Elsewhere, Dorothea had called Yumeria.

    ¡°Here, your reward.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Yumeria receives arge amount of money for a reward, and hugs it tightly.

    The sight of it made Dorothea curious as to what it was used for.

    ¡°What do you want the money to be used for?¡±

    Yumeria replies without trying to hide it.

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m going to send money to my son, Kyle.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which, your son is in the royal capital, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard. I get letters from time to time, so I¡¯m thinking of sending something along.¡±

    Dorothea smiles at Yumeria, who tells her happily.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be pleased.¡±

    ¡°Ehehe, thank you very much.¡±

    As Yumeria leaves, Nix appears as if to take her ce.

    He seemed to be curious about Yumeria, who had passed by and asked about her.

    ¡°Has something happened with Yumeria-san?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you to stop speaking so politely?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m not used to it.¡±

    Nix apologizes, and Dorothea gives him a light warning, ¡°Be careful next time.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t get used to it soon, you¡¯ll be in trouble. The people around will underestimate Nix-sama.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes. What¡¯s more, what happened just now?¡±

    Nix tries to change the subject, but Dorothea says honestly.

    ¡°I asked her to keep an eye on your troublesome sister.¡±

    ¡°About Jenna? Did she do something?¡±

    Dorothea giggles at Nix¡¯s concern.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s reflecting on it by now.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? But if anything goes wrong, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Of course. We are husband and wife.¡±

    .

    Part 8

    That night.

    Jenna made up her mind in her room.

    ¡°If this continues, my life will be over. If this happens, I have to go to the royal capital no matter what and try to turn things around.¡±

    Jenna felt that ¨D¨D her family home had already been taken over by Dorothea.

    Living in a mansion like that would be difficult for her, and if she was not careful, she might be forced to get married.

    If I don¡¯t want that, I have to act on my own, she said.

    Cornered, Jenna gets serious.

    ¡°Now I have to save up my allowance and make money for the trip. If this happens, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes, whether it¡¯s housework or not. I¡¯ll learn to do a few things, and increase my chances!¡±

    The blood of the Bartofalt family, which gets serious when cornered, was certainly flowing in Jenna¡¯s veins.

    ¡°I will never give up!¡±

    Jenna hadn¡¯t given up on city life yet.

 Volume 8, Extra 2 â€œIt Was All a Dreamâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, Extra 2 ¡°It Was All a Dream¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The first night I came back to school.

    A lot happened today ¨D¨D No, I think it was too much.

    ¡°What the hell the capture target bing a girl? It would be harder to predict.¡±

    [I agree with you. But now it¡¯s clear who¡¯s better, me or Creare. Master, please tell me your current assessment.]

    Luxion asks me to correct my assessment, as if he is still holding on to the fact that I once said that Cleare was more reliable.

    I felt like I was losing if I answered truthfully, so I decided not to answer.

    ¡°More than that, I¡¯m going to sleep, so give me some medicine.¡±

    [ ¨D¨D Are you so reluctant to admit that I¡¯m good at what I do? And how many times have I told you that I can¡¯t allow drugs?]

    ¡°I just want to sleep without thinking about anything today. The capture target became a girl, you know.¡±

    It doesn¡¯t make any sense at all, but what I¡¯m trying to say is that it was so unexpected that I couldn¡¯t process it.

    Right now, I just want to sleep without thinking about anything else.

    [There is no need for it]

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. I know where you keep the medicine.¡±

    I see Luxion storing the medicine and finding the pills in that ce.

    The fact I saw that made Luxion¡¯s panic and that was quite unusual.

    [That¡¯s no good]

    ¡°Why? Different medicine?¡±

    [No, it¡¯s a sleep inducing drug. It¡¯s a new drug formted by Creare, and it¡¯s already been tested, but it has side effects.]

    ¡°Side effects? Eh, that¡¯s a dangerous drug, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    [It is not life-threatening and there are few disadvantages to using it. It is safer than most of the drugs avable in this country. It¡¯s just ¨D¨D ]

    ¡°Then, no problem¡±

    [¨D¨D Wha!]

    Luxion was about to say something, but I didn¡¯t care and took the medicine.

    It is a medicine made ording to my constitution.

    There would be few side effects, and if it were dangerous in the first ce, Luxion would have thrown it away.

    It¡¯s probably just a minor side effect that he has trouble judging.

    [I don¡¯t care what happen. I¡¯ve warned you.]

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to prepare a safer medicine next time. Fua~, I¡¯m getting sleepy, so I¡¯m going to bed.¡±

    Iy down on the bed and closed my eyes.

    This drug makes me sleep faster.

    I like it a little.

    .

    Part 2

    [Master, please wake up. It¡¯s time to get up.]

    The next morning I had a very ufortable wake up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like I slept so much¡±

    Crawl out of bed with a drowsy head and yawn with a stretch.

    ¡°Are? What day is it today?¡±

    When I ask Luxion about the ns for today, he answers with a dumbfounded look.

    [Get a grip, please. Today is the entrance ceremony. Your cousin is also entering school, and if you show your disheveled appearance, she will dislike you.]

    ¡± ¨D¨D Cousin?¡±

    [Are you still half asleep? Master¡¯s father has a younger brother and his daughter is entering school this year. Your father should have told you to take care of her.]

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember that. Luxion, if you¡¯re going to make a joke, make it a funny one. I may have a cousin or something, but I don¡¯t remember being asked to do anything like that ¨D¨D¡±

    Before I could say I didn¡¯t remember, Luxion yed back the audio recording.

    It was a conversation between me and my dad.

    ¡°Leon, your cousin is entering school this year, so take care of her.¡±

    ¡°Cousin? Are? Who is she again?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you know each other. My brother, your uncle, was sent away to the countryside after his service. But I¡¯ve received a letter from him asking me to take care of his daughter as she¡¯s entering school.¡±

    ¡°Hm~m¡±

    ¡°Are you listening to me properly? Ha~a ¨D¨D If Nix were still there, I¡¯d feel a lot more assured.¡±

    The conversation ended there, but it was definitely me and my dad¡¯s voice.

    I can tell from the voice that I¡¯m not listening to him seriously.

    ¡°Eh? Did I really have a cousin? No, I had a cousin, but a cousin I¡¯ve never met ising to school?¡±

    Indeed, there are rtives, but I hadn¡¯t expected any other children to be admitted from our house besides Finley.

    I don¡¯t remember any of this to begin with.

    Even if I hadn¡¯t listened carefully, I doubt Dad would have reminded me.

    He has a tendency to worry, so it shouldn¡¯t be surprising that he talked about my cousin before I left.

    Did Dad forget about it too?

    Did I have an uncle who was sent to the countryside in the first ce?

    As I was pondering, Luxion, who was in a good mood to point out my mistake, happily told me about the ns for today.

    [We are scheduled to meet before the entrance ceremony. I¡¯m looking forward to meeting her too.]

    ¡°Are you looking forward to it?¡±

    [Yes. If she is rted to Master, then I can assume that her genes are closer to the old humans.]

    He¡¯s still the same guy who cares about the old and the new.

    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth worrying about now, but I guess it¡¯s still important to these guys.

    I didn¡¯t dare to ask any questions, because it would have been too annoying if I had mentioned the situation.

    ¡°Then we should meet face to face as soon as we have breakfast¡±

    .

    Part 3

    After getting ready and eating breakfast, I headed to the school building.

    I could see the students in their brand new uniforms, looking quite happy.

    ¡°So this is what a new school year looks like.¡±

    [I¡¯m sure Master has been through this before,]

    ¡°Things are different now than when I first came here. It¡¯s more refreshing to see a normal scene.¡±

    None of the schoolgirls had a dedicated sub-human servant with them.

    That¡¯s all, but it feels very fresh.

    Is this really that school? It feels like I¡¯m dreaming.

    I headed to the fountain za in the school with Luxion.

    Many students seem to use the za around the fountain as a meeting ce.

    ¡°There are many people. It¡¯s going to be hard to find her.¡±

    When I was fed up with the number of people, Luxion went in front of me to show me the way.

    [This way]

    ¡°You know it?¡±

    [Yes. Look, there she is.]

    Ahead of Luxion was a female student who for some reason had a spherical unit machine Luxion with a ribbon attached on, floating by her side.

    She has long ck hair, and at first nce, she seems like a normal girl.

    However, with ribboned Luxion by her side, it makes her look different from the people around her.

    ¡°Why does she have a unit too? Maybe she¡¯s the owner of the lost item?¡±

    Surprised, I asked Luxion for confirmation and got a surprising answer.

    [No, it¡¯s an AI I created that specializes in support. Cute, right?]

    ¡°C-Cute? It¡¯s just you with a ribbon attached.¡±

    [The texture of the surface material is different. The size of the lens has also been changed, so it would be a mistake to assume that we are identical.]

    If I look closely, they may be slightly different, but to those around me, they both look the same.

    The ribbon are the only reason I can distinguish them, otherwise I would have made a mistake.

    ¡°I-I see.¡±

    When Luxion approached her, perhaps noticing me, a dark-haired girl walked up to me.

    The way she walked with her bag in both hands, she had the air of a girl of culture.

    I got the impression that she wasdylike.

    ¡°Nice to meet you. Etto ¨D¨D¡±

    As I try to greet her, I realize that I don¡¯t know her name.

    ¡°I am [Lte]. It¡¯s an honor to meet you, Marquis.¡±

    ¡°I-I see. I am ¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°I know. You¡¯re Leon Fou Bartofalt, right? I know I have a lot to learn, but from now on, please take care of me.¡±

    Lte bows, and when she raises her head, she smiles at me.

    Looking closer, she looks adorable.

    But for some reason, it stuck with me strangely.

    Then a Luxion with a ribbones up to my nose.

    [Hey, what are you looking at? If you mess with Lte, you will never get away with it.]

    ¡°The fake Luxion seems to be quite loyal. They may look the same on the outside, but I have a feeling they¡¯re something else on the inside.¡±

    I took a step back and created a distance, and when I spoke lightly, Luxion was colder than usual.

    [She has the name [Lucria]]

    ¡°Eh, did you name her?¡±

    [Is there a problem?]

    ¡°There isn¡¯t, but¡±

    As Luxion and I were talking, Lte and Lucria started talking as well.

    [Hey, Lte! All men are wolves, so don¡¯t let them fool you. Especially that guy is absolutely no good!]

    ¡°He¡¯s a rtive, so he won¡¯t look at me like that, right?¡±

    [Lte is cute, so you should be more vignt.]

    ¡°No-No, I heard he has a fianc¨¦e, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s okay.¡±

    Lte is having a conversation with Lucria.

    Apparently, this is Lte¡¯s true self.

    Perhaps she noticed my gaze and tried her best to smooth things over.

    ¡°E-Excuse me. I got distracted by my conversation with Lucria.¡±

    [Lte is so cute when she¡¯s trying to smooth things over!]

    Lucria circled around Lte, calling her cute.

    While Lte had a drawn-out smile on her face, but she was acting stern in front of me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it. I was the third son of a poor baron not long ago. I¡¯m not very good with formalities.¡±

    When I said that, Lte was visibly relieved.

    ¡°Really? Cause you said so. I got permission from the Marquis, right? Ha~a, I¡¯m d. I¡¯m just feeling a little tired at the thought of all this stiff talk going on.¡±

    The sudden change in attitude gave me the impression of an athletic, active girl.

    I guess she was pushing herself too hard.

    Lte is such a person, but she is very close to me mentally.

    ¡°So what should I call you, Marquis? As for me, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate to call you Marquis every time.¡±

    She called herself using ¡°Boku¡°.

    When she is quiet, she looks like adylike girl, but when she talks, her personalityes out clearly.

    ¡°Senpai or Leon is okay, call me whatever you like.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t feelfortable calling you that. The safest choice is Leon-senpai, or if you want to go for something else is onii-chan or something like that? You¡¯re my cousin, so do you mind if I call you that?¡±

    For some reason, my heart skipped a beat when Lte, a boku girl, called me onii-chan.

    I wasn¡¯t aware of her as a member of the opposite sex, but she was very protective.

    Lte goes on to give a few suggestions.

    ¡°Leon-senpai or Leon-oniisan? I feel like Leon-niichan is too familiar, which one is good?¡±

    ¡°Leon-oniichan¡±

    When I answered immediately, Luxion and Lucria get closer and start whispering to each other.

    [He chose without hesitation, Luxion-oniichan]

    [Lucria, this is the kind of person Master is. He always says he doesn¡¯t like a little sister, but in fact he¡¯s happy about it. He is an unprincipled person.]

    ¨D¨DEh, what? That guy Luxion, he makes her call him oniichan?

    That¡¯s more impossible.

    ¡°Are you in a position to say anything about the other people? You¡¯re letting her call you oniichan, too. If you made her, aren¡¯t you her father?¡±

    Lucria argues with me in a harsh tone.

    [What¡¯s wrong with me calling him whatever I want! In the first ce, if Luxion-oniichan is the father, who is the mother? Who? Bring her to me!]

    ¡°Creare, maybe?¡±

    [Ha~a? Why is she the mother? It doesn¡¯t make sense. Exin the reason within 400 characters. Exin it to me in a way that would convince me!]

    She is so annoying.

    Her attitude toward Lte was noticeably indulgent, but she was extremely harsh toward me.

    Luxion calms Lucria.

    [Lucria, leave it at that. It makes no sense for Master to have chosen Creare as your mother. There is no point in pursuing it.]

    [As expected from Luxion-oniichan. You know all about this guy.]

    [Not so much]

    The AIs are making fun of me in a friendly way.

    Just when I think I have more troublesome AI, Ange and Livia arrive at Fountain Square.

    ¡°There you are¡±

    ¡°Leon-san, who is that girl?¡±

    They were apparently looking for me, and when they noticed Lte, they became a little suspicious.

    It must have bothered them that I was with a girl.

    Tell them what¡¯s going on before it gets messy.

    ¡°She¡¯s a rtive of mine, her name is Lte. My dad told me to take care of her.¡±

    Ange¡¯s gaze softened as I stated the facts.

    ¡°Is that so? I¡¯m Angelica.¡±

    Livia also greeted Lte.

    ¡°I¡¯m Olivia. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Lte-san.¡±

    Lte bowed, a little flustered.

    From her attitude, it seems that she knows about my fianc¨¦.

    ¡°Nice to meet you¡±

    As I was about to cut the meeting short, Ange and Livia approached Lte.

    Suddenly, Ange closed the distance and lifted Lte¡¯s chin with her fingers.

    ¡°You¡¯re rted? You sure do look like Leon.¡±

    ¡°A-Ano?¡±

    Livia, who was behind her, pressed herrge breasts against the back of a confused Lte.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. The atmosphere is somewhat simr.¡±

    They huddle, they stare, they push ¨D¨D Lte turns her gaze to me, asking for help.

    ¡°Leon-niisan¡±

    In order to help my confused cousin, I warned them.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, both of you. Lte is troubled.¡±

    When I say that, Ange turns her gaze to me.

    There was something mysterious and charming about Ange¡¯s expression as she smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, right. I like her. She looks like Leon, which is really nice.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    Ange grabbed Lte¡¯s face gently with both hands and brought her face close to hers.

    Lte¡¯s cheeks blush in front of Ange, and she remains as she is.

    And then Livia says something outrageous.

    ¡°Ange really likes girls.¡±

    I was stunned by her words. Before I could say anything, Ange said to Livia.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of men. You¡¯re not interested in men either, are you?¡±

    ¡°Right¡±

    Ange and Livia¡¯s confession made me decide to confirm it.

    ¡°Ano, I¡¯m also a man, though?¡±

    The two of them give me a puzzled look.

    Could it be that they¡¯re tired of me?

    When I think about it like that, Livia looks at me questioningly.

    ¡°Leon-san is Leon-san, right?¡±

    ¡°U-Un. That¡¯s right.¡±

    Sure, I¡¯m Leon, but I¡¯m also a man.

    ¡°Then, it¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°What?! It isn¡¯t fine at all? Because I¡¯m also a man that means you hate me too, right?!¡±

    It was Ange who drowned out my anxiety.

    ¡°No problem. I hate men, but I like you. I like Leon personally, regardless of your gender.¡±

    My heart fluttered at the manly words, and Ange turned her gaze back to Lte.

    ¡°So if there¡¯s a girl who looks like Leon, I¡¯ll be interested.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Yes?¡±

    For a moment, I was almost convinced, but I couldn¡¯t get my head around it, and before I knew it, Marie was at my side. She was clutching my clothes and had a sulking face.

    ¡°Since when have you been there?¡±

    Marie red at Lte.

    ¡°Oniichan¡¯s little sister is me only! Don¡¯t get carried away!¡±

    I hurriedly covered Marie¡¯s mouth with my hand as she shouted in public that I was her big brother.

    ¡°Ba-Baka! Why did you say that here? I told you to keep your mouth shut because it wouldplicate things¨D¨DAre?¡±

    I looked fearfully at Ange and Livia, but they were not there.

    Before I knew it, Marie had also disappeared, and the only ones left in the fountain square were me and Luxion ¨D¨D the others were Lte and Lucria.

    ¡°A-Are? Where are the two of them? And Marie¡¯s not here either. Oi, Luxion.¡±

    As I try to confirm the situation with Luxion, I suddenly hear the sound of an rm.

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°Master, please wake up. It¡¯s time to get up. ¡°

    The next thing I knew, I was lying on my bed.

    As I sit up, I can hear Luxion¡¯s usual sarcasm.

    [Oya? You woke up pretty straightforwardly today.]

    Slowly, I looked at Luxion, and he didn¡¯t look any different from usual.

    Was everything that had just happened a dream?

    It felt too real, so I confirmed with Luxion.

    ¡°Tell me the side effects of the medicine I took yesterday.¡±

    [From the looks of it, you¡¯ve experienced the side effects. It¡¯s just as you imagine, Master. It is a side effect of the medicine, it¡¯s you have a dream as if it were real.]

    I let out a deep sigh at the ridiculous side effects.

    ¡°I¡¯m relieved to hear that. No, I had a dream that I had a cousin I didn¡¯t know about. Luxion had a little sister too.¡±

    [I don¡¯t have a little sister]

    ¡°Right! Iya~, I¡¯m d. In my dream, I was surprised when Ange and Livia said they weren¡¯t interested in men.¡±

    [In the future, please check the side effects before you take the medicine. That being said¨D¨D]

    Luxion tells me today¡¯s schedule¨D¨D.

    [The little sisters of Julius and others are entering the school. They have requested a meeting with Master, so please have the meeting before the entrance ceremony.]

    ¨D¨DThe five of them have a little sister? I thought so for a moment, but then a question came to mind.

    I didn¡¯t hear a word from them that their sisters would be enrolling.

    So is this a dream? Or is it real?

    ¨D¨DWhich one is it, really?

 Volume 8 Extra 3 [BOOK?WALKER New Limited Bonus] â€œYumeriaâ€™s Remittanceâ€

    <h4>Volume 8 Extra 3 [BOOK¡îWALKER New Limited Bonus] ¡°Yumeria¡¯s Remittance¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Spring break.

    When Kyle returned to the academy in the royal capital with Marie, he received a letter and a package from his mother, Yumeria.

    Kyle cut the seal of the letter in his room and burst into tears when he saw the contents.

    ¡± ¨D¨DMom¡±

    The words that spilled out were filled with happiness.

    The letter was full of concern for Kyle¡¯s well-being.

    Are you hurt or sick? Are you eating well? Are you sleeping well?

    Although Yumeria is still very young, she shows a lot of concern for Kyle as a mother.

    Kyle was moved to tears by his mother¡¯s love.

    ¡°I keep on making her worry.¡±

    And the contents of the packages that arrived with the letters were mostly sweets and food.

    They are all simple sweets, not as morous as the ones sold in stores.

    But it made Kyle very happy.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to share it with Marie-sama and the otherster. ¨D¨DAre?¡±

    Kyle was happily checking the contents when he found an envelope.

    Since he has already read the letter, he thinks about what the envelope is for and guesses by feel when he picks it up.

    He hurriedly checked the contents and found the money there.

    It was not a small amount of money, and for Kyle, it was a lot of money.

    ¡°M-Mom, you don¡¯t have to do this.¡±

    Kyle is depressed because he feels that he has worried his mother, even though he should be the one who has to send money to her.

    ¡°What should I do with this money? It¡¯s important money, so I might as well keep it, right? But that¡¯s a little difficult, too.¡±

    Thinking about how to spend the money that Yumeria has sent.

    Kyle had figured out that the best use of the money would be for living expenses, since daily life was difficult.

    However, since it was money sent by Yumeria, he wanted to use it carefully.

    If he could, he would like to keep the money in his pocket, but it is difficult for him not to use the money because of his tight living conditions.

    As he was pondering this and that, there was a knock at the door of Kyle¡¯s room.

    The other party seems to be Kara.

    Unlike Kyle, Kara is not a subhuman servant, but a hardworking woman who has volunteered to take care of Marie.

    To Kyle, she is more like a friend than a co-worker.

    He opened the door with a casual reply.

    ¡°Ye~s¡±

    Then there was Kara standing at the entrance, out of breath from running.

    Kyle could tell by the way she was acting that she was in a rush.

    ¡°Kyle-kun, there¡¯s trouble! Those five people. Those five people again.¡±

    Before he could ask for details, Kyle had a general idea of what was going on.

    ¡°Did those people do something again?¡±

    Speaking of those five people, it is a group of five former nobles, including Julius.

    Now, they had be a god of trouble for Marie, but after studying in the Republic, they had be somewhat more sane.

    But still, a little.

    They are also five people who prove that people do not change quickly.

    Kara tells Kyle what the five of them have done.

    ¡°Listen! His Highness Julius prepared a breeding house on his own, Brad built a freak show but it copsed and destroyed the school building, and Greg remodeled his room to make a training gym on his own!¡±

    ¡°They are the worst. And they were asked to pay for the repairs? Are? What¡¯s going on with Chris and Jilk?¡±

    When he asked about the two people whose names had not been mentioned, Kara¡¯s expression darkened.

    ¡°Chris remodeled the bathrooms in the dormitory without permission. It looks like he won¡¯t have to pay for that one, but the problem is paying for the renovations. It¡¯s a lot more expensive than the other three.¡±

    ¡°Chris is garbage, isn¡¯t he? So what¡¯s about the worst garbage?¡±

    Both Kyle and Kara are now calling their name except Julius.

    After all the trouble they had caused, any sense of respect had disappeared.

    Even Julius is only given the honorific title of ¡°Your Highness¡± because he is a little more decent than the others.

    And the one who is treated the worst is Jilk.

    He is the most trashy of the five, and is called trashy by two of them because of the damage he causes.

    Kara had a blue streak on her forehead.

    ¡°He proudly built a kiln on the school grounds for making pottery. If he couldn¡¯t afford to buy it, he said he¡¯d make it himself.¡±

    Kyle was also annoyed with Jilk, who didn¡¯t seem to be sorry.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t those people quiet down a bit? And how about Marie-sama?¡±

    What worried him more than the five of them was his master, Marie.

    Kara covers her face with her hands.

    ¡°She copsed when she heard the story.¡±

    .

    Part 2

    When Kyle and Ca went to Marie¡¯s room, she was lying on her bed.

    She mumbled to herself with a distant look in her eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get scolded. I¡¯m definitely going to be scolded.¡±

    She had dark circles under her eyes and was scared of something.

    Kyle approached Marie and called out to her.

    ¡°Are you all right, goshujin-sama?¡±

    When Marie noticed Kyle and Kara, she turned only her gaze to them and became teary-eyed.

    Then she started to talk, but gradually her emotions could not be suppressed.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d screw it up in such a short time. What¡¯s the hell upfront investment to make money. Why can¡¯t they just be quiet a little bit. Do they know how hard I had to work to get a decent livelihood.¡±

    Currently, Marie and the others are under the patronage of Leon.

    As for living expenses, they are paid by Leon, and the amount is not small.

    And yet, thanks to the five idiots who had screwed things up during spring break, she was already short of money.

    It was still not enough to pay for the repairs and other expenses, so she had to ask Leon for extra financing.

    Marie cries.

    ¡°Creare¡¯s out of town and what am I supposed to do? I am going to get scolded again. Even though it¡¯s not my fault!¡±

    Kyle and Kara also pity Marie when they see her struggling with the five idiots.

    At the same time, the five idiots were upsetting them.

    If Marie is having a hard time, then of course they are going to have a hard time too.

    Just when they thought that they might be able to lead a stable life under Leon¡¯s patronage, it happened.

    But now that it has been done, they have no choice.

    Cursing the five idiots here will not improve the situation, so Kyle suggests what they can do now.

    ¡°Goshujin-sama, I have a little money.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Kyle took out the money from Yumeria that he had been holding so carefully and offered it to Marie.

    He felt sorry for Yumeria, but he also felt a strong desire to help Marie if she was suffering.

    (If it is to help someone, Mom will forgive me, right?)

    With that in mind, he offers to spend this money.

    ¡°We should be able to live for a while with just this.¡±

    When Marie received the envelope, she started to smile more and more ¨D¨D But she noticed something was wrong right away.

    ¡°Wait. Why does Kyle have this much money?¡±

    As Marie questioned, Kara seemed to wonder as well.

    ¡°Maybe the money you earned from a job?¡±

    They thought, could it be the money that Kyle earned? Kyle honestly told them where the money came from.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s a remittance. Mom said she had some extra ie and wanted me to spend it as I wanted. So I thought it would be better to use it for everyone¡¯s good.¡±

    When Kara heard it, she was moved to tears by Kyle¡¯s kindness.

    ¡°Kyle-kun¡±

    But Marie pushed the envelope back to Kyle.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take it¡±

    ¡°Goshujin-sama?¡±

    To Kyle¡¯s confusion, Marie stood up on the bed and put her hands on her hips.

    ¡°After hearing that story, there is no way I¡¯m going to take that! That money is for you to spend on yourself. Use it carefully. Absolutely!¡±

    ¡°B-But¡±

    Despite being short of money and in a difficult situation, Marie did not ept Kyle¡¯s money.

    Marie is very motivated.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do something about the money. So, Kyle, put that money away. H-Hurry up. While I¡¯m still sane.¡±

    In fact, Marie would like to rely on Kyle¡¯s money, but she¡¯s determined not to.

    Kyle stares at the envelope.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do that.¡±

    Kyle embraces the money sent by Yumeria.

    Seeing that, Marie and Kara smiled and nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Your mother will surely be pleased.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I think that might be better. But, Marie-sama? What shall we do about the money issue?¡±

    When Kara asks her about her financial problems, Marie responds with a wry smile on her face.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll do something about it.¡±

    Part 3

    Marie was holding her head when she was alone.

    ¡°How can I use his mother¡¯s remittance for living expenses? And the reasons are so ridiculous that even I¡¯m hesitant!¡±

    Both Kyle and Kara had left the room, and with no one else around, she could scream as she pleased.

    She picked up a pillow and threw it against the wall, venting her annoyance.

    ¡°It stings! It stings with pinpoint uracy to my regret! I was ying with my parents¡¯ money in a previous life, and it stings like hell and hurts my heart!¡±

    Previous life. Marie got some money by pretending to her parents that it was for certification and traveled abroad with her friends.

    The misfortune that followed after that and the loss of her parents¡¯ trust is still a trauma for Marie.

    ¡°I want money for living expenses, but if I touch the remittance for Kyle, I¡¯ll be finished as a person. If this happens, I¡¯ll get down on my knees to ask aniki for living expenses.¡±

    Marie was going to get down on her knees to her brother in her previous life to get money for her living expenses.

    .

    Afterword

    What did you think of ¡°Otome Game World is a Tough World for Mobs¡± Volume 8?

    This is the author, Mishima Yomu.

    This time, I tried to put together a story that would serve as an intermezzo.

    Now that the Republic Arc is over and a lot of the heavy stuff has been taken care of, I wanted to talk about something lighter.

    That¡¯s why the main story was about Nix and Dorothea.

    Actually, this character, Dorothea, has already appeared in the questionnaire benefits.

    Since she did not appear in the web version, many readers may not know about it.

    If you are interested, please fill out the questionnaire and enjoy the bonus SS Marie route.

    And the next volume will start the story of the third otome game in earnest, and I think Leon and his friends will y an active role in it ¨D¨D maybe.

 Volume 8, SS â€œMileneâ€

    <h4>Volume 8, SS ¡°Milene¡±</h4>

    Inmemoration of the release of ¡°Otome Game World is a Tough World for Mobs, Volume 8¡± on June 30, we have prepared a bonus SS for ¡°Shosetsuka ni Narou¡± as well.

    I hope you enjoy it.

    - Please note that the timing of the story is based on the book (volume 8).

    Here¡¯s information for the bonus in volume 8,

    ? Toranoana

    ? Melon Books

    ? BOOK¡îWALKER ¡°e-book¡±

    Is where you can get it.

    Could this be the first time I¡¯ve made a bonus SS in an e-book?

    And this time, too, I did my best for the survey bonus SS, Marie Route!

    I¡¯m sorry to say that I have to have my editor check my work every time, but I think it must have exceeded 40,000 words?

    You can read the book by purchasing the book, essing the URL or barcode on the back of the cover or at the end of the book, and answering a questionnaire.

    It will be newly written, so I think readers who only read the web version will also enjoy it.

    Well, then, thank you for your continued support!

    ***

    Milene Rafa Holfalt.

    It has been more than ten years since she was married to the Holfalt royal family from the United Kingdom of Leparto.

    She has beautiful long, silky, tinum blonde hair and mncholy eyes.

    Even though she was in her mid-thirties, her beauty dazzled young men.

    The first of them is Leon, who has achieved an exceptional rise in his career.

    From the third son of a baron, who could not inherit his house, he has now been promoted to a marquis.

    He yed an active role in the battle against the Principality of Fannouss, and the following year, he went on a rampage in the Republic of Arzel, where he studied.

    Within the country, he is called a fiend knight, and from abroad, he is feared as ¡°Holfalt¡¯s ultimate weapon¡±.

    Many people felt pity for the Republic of Arzel, which had epted him as an international student.

    Leon is unpredictable and difficult to deal with, and he shows no respect for the king.

    And yet, he acted like a proper knight only to Milene, which led to rumors that he was the ¡°Queen¡¯s Young Swallow*¡±. (*Note: Young lover of an older woman)

    She is treated as the queen who charmed even that fiend knight.

    Milene let out a sigh when she saw the pile of papers on the desk in her office.

    ¡°Why am I doing this?¡±

    Even documents that would normally be handled by Rnd, her husband, were being sent to Milene.

    Milene herself has long since given up and epted the situation, but sometimes she feels irresistibly angry.

    As she was checking the documents and writing her signature, one of the maids informed her that a guest wasing.

    The other was his son, Julius.

    When she gave her permission, her son, who was strangely cheerful, greeted her with a fresh smile.

    ¡°Mother, you look well. I have a favor to ask you today.¡±

    When her son came to her without greetings instead he made a request, Milene is disappointed in her heart.

    The unnecessarily long greeting was a problem, but she also thought that as a prince, he should observe a little more manners in the royal castle.

    If this was Julius when he was the Crown Prince, Milene would have pointed it out harshly.

    But now Julius is nothing but a difficult prince to deal with.

    Normally, he had have been stripped of his position as crown prince and would have been in a desperate position.

    As long as her son seemed to be enjoying himself every day, Milene, as a mother, would respond with the thought, ¡°This is fine¡±.

    ¡°Julius looks fine every day.¡±

    ¡°Yes! I have wonderful days.¡±

    His eyes sparkled and he looked really happy.

    ¡°So, what are your needs?¡±

    She wanted to say something sarcastic, but as a mother, she was happy to see her son having such a good time.

    However, when she heard Julius¡¯ request, she stopped writing her signature.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually thinking of opening a store.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Shop?¡±

    ¡°Yes. After all, if I want to be a chef, I want to train somewhere. However, I don¡¯t think any restaurant will ept me because of my position. So! I¡¯ve decided to set up my own restaurant and hone my skills with customers!¡±

    Julius told Milene passionately, with a serious look on his face that he didn¡¯t think he was wrong.

    Milene was saddened by his enthusiasm, which he had not shown when he was a Crown Prince.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe a prince wants to be a chef ¡°

    Where in the world had Julius strayed from the path?

    No matter how she looks at it, it was around the time he entered the school.

    (He¡¯s just been seduced by that girl Marie)

    Milene knew that many men failed in their rtionships with women, but when it was her son, she wanted toin.

    ¡± ¨D¨D You should hold off on owning a store. If you really want to be a chef, take instruction from the head chef at the royal pce.¡±

    ¡°Eh? No, what I want to make is skewers, so I think the chef has a different specialty?¡±

    ¡°S-Skewers!?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Skewers are the dish I want. I¡¯m going to be a first-rate skewer shop!¡±

    She hoped he was joking, but Julius¡¯s expression was serious.

    Milene was beginning to feel like crying.

    She felt a headache and held her forehead with her hand and decided to consult her husband even though she knew she could not rely on him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll consult with His Majesty ¡°

    Then Julius, for some reason, took a favorable view of what she just said and told Milene where Rnd was.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s find Father at once. He¡¯s probably out in the castle right now, and I want to hurry this up if possible. I¡¯ll help you look for him.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Wait. I have a lot to say about that, but really, don¡¯t move. For that matter, why isn¡¯t His Majesty in the castle? I thought he had ns for today.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? That¡¯s a dummy schedule. He¡¯s trying to hit on women at this time of the day for the reason that he is learning about the lives of the people in the castle.¡±

    At Julius¡¯s words, Milene clutched the document.

    ¡°That good-for-nothing! Forcing me to do all the work while you y around in the daytime?¡±

    ¡°Hyii!?¡±

    Julius backed away and broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of the furious Milene.

    Milene rang the doorbell and called the maid who was waiting outside, ¡°Bring back His Majesty,¡± she ordered in a cold voice.

    The story of Julius opening a skewer shop ends in a stalemate.

    ¡ó

    Evening.

    Sitting on a bench near the fountain in the courtyard, Milene watched the sunset.

    ¡°My husband is good-for-nothing and my son wants to leave his position as crown prince to be a skewer cook. ¨D¨D What was I doing wrong?¡±

    With the guards and maids away, Milene looked a little tired.

    Just then, a maid arrives with her package.

    ¡°Queen, I have a letter and a package for you from Marquis Bartfalt.¡±

    ¡°From Leon-kun? Is there something urgent?¡±

    When she received the letter and parcel and checked the contents, Milene felt like crying.

    The letter from Leon began with the words, ¡°To Dear Queen¡±.

    It was not an urgent matter, but it summarized the recent situation.

    And there were many words of concern for Milene¡¯s health.

    When she opened the parcel, she found a souvenir inside.

    The letter says, ¡°I found a perfect souvenir for Milene-sama during my trip, so I¡¯m giving it to you.¡±

    ¡°Good grief, he¡¯s really ¨D¨D ¡°

    Milene¡¯s face lights up.

    The knights and maids of the guards who were watching were whispering to each other.

    ¡°It must be a love letter. Is the fiend knight fearless?¡±

    ¡°The Queen is pleased.¡±

    ¡°Because the Queen¡¯s having a hard time¡±

    Milene was so happy to see the souvenir that she didn¡¯t hear anyone talking around her.

 Volume 9, Prologue

    <h4>Volume 9, Prologue</h4>

    Part 1

    The capture target boy has be a girl.

    I learned of this fact in my room in the boys¡¯ dormitory the day before the new school year began.

    One of the boys, the capture target of the third work of that otome game, became a girl before the game scenario started.

    I, [Leon Fou Bartofalt] understand it in my head, but my heart can¡¯t keep up with it.

    Although I am a student, I am a man who has been given the title of Marquis through harassment.

    This is all that trash King Rnd¡¯s fault.

    My bad, but I don¡¯t have time to think about Rnd right now.

    After all, the boy who was the capture target has be a girl.

    The people who caused this disaster are my sister from a previous life [Marie Fou Lafan] and the sphere [Creare], which is about the size of a softball equipped with artificial intelligence.

    During spring break, I was forced to take a leave of absence at my parents¡¯ house, so I left the two of them to do some investigation at the school.

    She was supposed to have her gather information about that third otome game, but Creare turned a male student named [Aaron] into a female with the power of science, calling it an experiment.

    It¡¯s beyond awful.

    What¡¯s worse is that Creare has experimented on the people of this world by treating them as descendants of new humans.

    Creare and the other machines created by the old humans have a deep-seated hatred for the new humans who can handle magic. It¡¯s hard to say whether they have a heart or not, but at any rate, they hate humans, including me, who can handle magic.

    Even Creare, who is more moderate than my partner, [Luxion], would act in this way, not thinking of people as people.

    That¡¯s also the scary part ¨D¨D But, the problem is the fact that she made him change his gender.

    In the world of that otome game, there is no such thing as gender change technology ¨D¨D or it should be.

    I invited Marie and Creare to my room in the dormitory and sat down on a chair in front of them.

    Marie was sitting upright on the floor and Creare was rolling on the floor, looking up at us.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s hear your excuses.¡±

    Marie was trembling with her head down in front of my cold-hearted tone.

    Luxion, who floats around my right shoulder, is in charge of this inspection meeting.

    [The fact that you turned a boy into a girl is a problem, but the fact that one of the capture targets dropped out is bad. At the same time, it¡¯s a big problem that you performed a gender change that may or may not exist in this world.]

    The problem is that by making Aaron a girl, one of the capture targets in the game scenario dropped out of the main character¡¯s potential lover.

    He is a woman inside? Anyway, it seems that he likes boys, so it¡¯s doubtful that he fell in love with the main character, a girl.

    However, there was no change in the fact that one possibility was lost because of Marie and the others.

    The other was the unveiling of over-technology.

    They had shown him technology that did not exist in this world.

    This was not the end of the story of Creare¡¯s high technology. There is a possibility that people who want to have a gender change will hear about it ande to us, and people who want to acquire this technology wille to us.

    It may be toote for me to stand out, but I¡¯m not willing to do so.

    It seems that Creare had prepared an answer to Luxion¡¯s question in advance. She did not show any signs of smooth over or confusion.

    [The problem is that one of the capture targets has been eliminated, but judging by his preferences, it¡¯s unlikely that he and the protagonist became lovers, right?]

    [I admit]

    [Next is the gender change technology, but don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve exined that it¡¯s a lost item that can only be used once. I¡¯ve exined it to Aaron so clearly.]

    [Well, that¡¯s fine. But¨D¨D]

    While Luxion showed a certain understanding of Creare¡¯s excuse.

    [¨D¨DWhy didn¡¯t you inform us beforehand? Another problem is that the subject of the experiment was kept secret. If I had known about it beforehand, I could have stopped it, right?]

    Creare, who had been looking rxed, turned her one-eyed blue lens away from Luxion. It was as if she was expressing her guilt.

    [T-That¡¯s because Marie-chan remembered it toote.]

    Sensing that she was being forced to take responsibility, Marie looked up and red at Creare.

    ¡°By the time I remembered, it was toote, wasn¡¯t it! You were too cunning to sell me out to save yourself!¡±

    [Marie-chan asked me for money to keep quiet, didn¡¯t you! We¡¯re partners, a partner!]

    A silence fee? When I stared at Marie, she noticed my gaze and shrunk. Then, in a cold sweat, she made an excuse.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong. Aniki, listen to me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen. If you can convince me, I¡¯ll forgive you.¡±

    ¡°Y-You know, Creare received payment from Aaron for his gender change! It was a huge amount of money and I asked her what she was going to do with it ¨D¨D¡±

    [Marie-chan is terrible! You told me then that you¡¯d be covering for me, right. You got 50% of the money, and you¡¯re not going to do that, are you?]

    ¡°You are so noisy! I need to make a living!¡±

    The sight of Kyle and Kara, who are devoted to Marie, and Marie, who struggles to make ends meet to take care of the five idiots who are her baggage, brings tears to my eyes.

    No good. This is no time to feel sorry. In the first ce, I¡¯m in the position of being forced to take care of all of Marie and the others.

    The sight of Marie suffering from the five idiots is my tomorrow.

    I let out a sigh and asked them to tell me more details.

    ¡°Just tell me in detail what happened during spring break.¡±

    Marie and Creare nced at each other and then began to talk about the details of their spring break.

    ¡°Actually¨D¨D¡±

    .

    Part 2

    The school was pretty quiet during spring break.

    The only people passing each other in the hallways were teachers and staff working at the school.

    There are some students who do not return to their parents¡¯ homes, but not many of them remain at the school.

    Marie, with Creare, walked down the hallway where the bulletin board had been prepared.

    Marie found it somewhat strange to see the bulletin board on the wall of the hallway, which looked like the inside of a castle, with various documents posted on it.

    There was an ufortable feeling as if reality had entered into the fantasy world that she imagined.

    Normally, Marie would have walked past the bulletin board, but when she saw a familiar face there, she stopped to check it out.

    ¡°Aniki is on the wanted list?¡±

    She approached the bulletin board and gazed at the hateful face of her brother ¨D¨D Leon. It must have been from when he fought in the Republic against the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    Beside it, there is a picture of a captured enemy fleetmander with a disgusting smile on his face. Perhaps because of the artist¡¯s feelings, he looks quite viinous.

    The amount of money was written underneath the picture, but the unit of currency was not Dia.

    Creare¡¯s blue lens shines, checking the contents.

    [Ara Ara, Master has be famous, hasn¡¯t he? There¡¯s a bounty on his head, it¡¯s worth five million Dia in the kingdom¡¯s currency.]

    When Marie heard that it was five million Dia, she immediately converted it into Japanese yen.

    ¡°That¡¯s 500 million, isn¡¯t it! Aniki isn¡¯t worth 500 million ?!¡±

    [You¡¯re terrible, too, Marie-chan]

    ¡°What are we going to do? Aniki bes like a criminal.¡±

    When Marie mistakenly thinks that Leon has be a criminal, Creare exins.

    [This is a wanted poster from the Holy Kingdom of Rachel. Sure, he will be caught out there, but that¡¯s just proof that the enemy thinks Master is a threat.]

    ¡°Oh, yes, it¡¯s written in a foreignnguage. But if that¡¯s the case, why is it posted here?¡±

    Marie couldn¡¯t understand the significance of putting up a foreign wanted list in the school of the Kingdom of Horfalt. However, two male students pass by Marie and the other.

    They didn¡¯t stop, but they looked at the bulletin board and had a conversation.

    ¡°Leon-senpai, he¡¯s wanted in a foreign country, huh. As expected from him¡±

    ¡°Five million is great, isn¡¯t it? He¡¯s already a famous person in foreign countries.¡±

    Even though Leon was wanted, the boys took a favorable view of this fact.

    Marie tilted her head as she watched the back of the two boys walking away.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a strange reaction? He¡¯s a wanted man, you know.¡±

    [Being resented by a foreign country is like proof of sess. As a knight, it makes you proud.]

    Marie looked at her as if she couldn¡¯t understand when she learned that the knights of her country were proudly posting on the bulletin board that they had performed so well.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been reincarnated, but there¡¯s still so much about the culture I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    While Marie was looking at Leon¡¯s hateful face in astonishment, a person approached her.

    ¡°Do you have a minute?¡±

    Marie, who had already guessed who the voice belonged to, let out a small sigh and then turned her upper body around.

    ¡°You again?¡±

    The male student was a neutral beauty that Marie could not help but be fascinated by.

    His skin is smooth and his lips are fresh.

    His unkempt hair had been taken care of, and even his hair was much better groomed.

    Marie loves beautiful boys, but because of her previous life experiences, she can see that the boy in front of her is not sexually interested in her ¨D¨D in women.

    In front of this male student, Creare had a tone of curiosity in her voice.

    [I see you¡¯ve made up your mind. But ¨D¨D do you have the money to pay for it?]

    Creare, who had known him for some time, pointed her blue lens at the leather travel bag the boys were carrying.

    A male student holds out his travel bag in front of him.

    ¡°I have redeemed all the treasures I acquired during my time as an adventurer.¡±

    Creare gives a satisfied approval to a male student who ces it on the floor and shows her the contents.

    [Okay. Then it¡¯s my turn to keep my promise. I will use a lost item on you that can change your gender.]

    Hearing Creare¡¯s words, the boy in front of her was so happy that the tears welled up in his eyes.

    ¡°T-Thank you!¡±

    Marie, who was watching, whispered to Creare so that the boy wouldn¡¯t overhear their conversation.

    ¡°Hey, are you sure about this?¡±

    [It doesn¡¯t matter. I have Master¡¯s permission.]

    ¡°Did aniki give you permission to do that?¡±

    [This is the scum who tried to touch Livia-chan before. Master said I can do whatever I want to someone like that.]

    Marie turned her disdainful gaze to the boy when she heard this story.

    ¡°Did you try to put your hands on someone who has a lover?¡±

    The boy nodded regretfully at Marie, who couldn¡¯t help but question him.

    ¡°You know it? Right, I (Wata) ¨D¨DI (Ore) was the worst person. But then I realized my true feelings.¡±

    ¡°True feelings?¡±

    When Marie couldn¡¯t understand, Creare exined the feelings of the boy.

    [When you want something but can¡¯t have it, you feel the need to defile it, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s also what happened to this guy.]

    Marie has a vague recollection of this. In her previous life, what she couldn¡¯t get was a happy family. It was fine when she was a child, but when she became an adult and started her own family, it didn¡¯t go well.

    So sometimes when she saw a happy family, she couldn¡¯t help but envy them.

    It would be a lie to say that she did not feel anger towards those who had what she could not have.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Well, I can only understand the feelings, though.¡±

    Only the feelings. She despises the boy in front of her who actually tried to act.

    The boy took Marie¡¯s gaze for granted.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you can understand even just the feelings. But I really want to make this wishe true. I (Ore) ¨D¨D I (Watashi) want to be a woman.¡±

    In front of the determined boy, Creare exined the future arrangements in a louder voice than usual.

    [Okay. Then let¡¯s get started right away. If we don¡¯t get it done before the new semester, we¡¯ll have a lot of trouble.]

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    When a male student gave a big smile, Marie restrained Creare.

    ¡°Hold on, is it okay to decide so easily? Just in case, maybe we should confirm it with aniki.¡±

    Marie said that they should get confirmation from Leon, but nced at therge bag full of money the boy had prepared.

    ¡°Ara? Didn¡¯t Master remind you to follow my instructions, right?¡±

    ¡°Uuh?!¡±

    Before Leon returned to his parents¡¯ house, Marie was repeatedly told to follow Creare¡¯s instructions. This is because Leon trusts Creare more than Marie.

    Because of the strong reminder, Marie could not resist Creare.

    [And I can¡¯t get in touch with him right now. Communication isn¡¯t working well these days.]

    ¡°I-Is that so? Well, then you¡¯d better wait a while¨D¨D¡±

    Noticing that Marie¡¯s eyes are fixed on arge sum of money, Creare offers her a deal.

    [I¡¯ll give you a share if you cooperate with me, Marie-chan.]

    ¡°Is it okay ?! If so, please give me 70%!¡±

    Marie, who was reluctant to ask for all of it, eventually demanded 70% of it.

    Creare was in a good mood at the sight of Marie.

    [I don¡¯t dislike your brazenness. But you¡¯re being too greedy. I¡¯ll give you forty percent]

    ¡°Sixty percent! Please, living is really hard!¡±

    [No, but¨D¨D]

    ¡°If so, 50% is fine! I¡¯ll endure with only half this time!¡±

    [W-What do you mean, endure with only half?! Marie-chan, you didn¡¯t do anything this time, right?!]

    ¡°If you give me half, I¡¯ll make sure to cover for you if aniki gets mad. Come on, please!¡±

    Marie¡¯s sweet voice convinced Creare to go along with it.

    It wasn¡¯t until three days after the surgery that Marie eximed when she heard the name of the boy.

    .

    Part 3

    ¡± ¨D¨D That¡¯s what happened.¡±

    A boy¡¯s dormitory room for the new school year.

    I was in the mood to yell at Marie and the others when I heard what they had been doing over spring break.

    But before I do, there is something I really need to check.

    ¡°Wait a minute. What do you mean I¡¯m wanted? What did I do?¡±

    When I heard that I was wanted by the Holy Kingdom of Rachel, I broke out in a cold sweat. It was insane that they would prepare a bounty of 500 million on me personally.

    Marie and Creare look at each other and say something to each other that makes me look like a fool.

    ¡°What did you do? There are so many, I couldn¡¯t tell you which ones.¡±

    [I agree. From the perspective of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel, I¡¯m sure they hate Master.]

    What did I do to those guys?

    Just when I thought I had no reason to be resented so much, Luxion exined what I had done in a dumbfounded tone.

    [Master, have you forgotten? It was the Holy Kingdom of Rachel that supported the coup in the Republic. It was you who thwarted their attempts. And what did you do when they changed course and tried to take the Republic¡¯s territory?]

    The Holy Kingdom of Rachel has sent a fleet to take the Republic¡¯snd, so I took their gship, a flying battleship, to ask them to leave peacefully.

    So I just took themander aboard the gship as a prisoner and turned him in to the Republic.

    After that, I trust that Alberg-san will be able to wrap things up nicely.

    ¡°I took themander alive. Didn¡¯t that go peacefully?¡±

    [It was a humiliation for them, even if it was peaceful for Master. They couldn¡¯t do anything about it, they lost theirmander, and they were humiliated to return to their country without any serious damage.]

    Creare, who agrees with Luxion, also mes me.

    [A failed coup and a humiliating defeat in a fleet battle? For them, it¡¯s like losing to Master only.]

    I thought I had ended it peacefully, but it seemed to be humiliating for them.

    When I couldn¡¯t even speak, Marie looked away as if she couldn¡¯t stand to watch me.

    ¡°¨D¨DI think it can¡¯t be helped if aniki gets a bounty on his head.¡±

    I never dreamed that I would be on the wanted list with a bounty on my head.

    As I was breaking out in a cold sweat at the danger of being targeted, Luxion and Creare suddenly became alert with their eyes fixed on their surroundings.

    The loose atmosphere from earlier had disappeared.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Luxion is showing more caution than ever before.

    [The link to the drones in the school has been severed. At thest moment of the disconnection, I saw the reaction of the evil armor. Master, we¡¯re being sabotaged.]

    When I heard the word evil armor, my gaze sharpened as well.

    It is a lost item that still remained in this era, just like Luxion and others, an AI.

    If Luxion and the others are the weapons left behind by the old humans, then the evil armor is the weapon left behind by the new humans.

    In other words, they are enemies to Luxion and others.

    An anxious Marie asks, remembering the evil armor she has encountered so far.

    ¡°Evil armor is that, right? You know, the ones that parasite people and run amok? Are they anywhere near here?¡±

    I looked out the window, but the scenery in the school was still the same as before.

    I don¡¯t think there is very dangerous evil armor nearby.

    Marie¡¯s question was answered by Creare, who was alert to her surroundings.

    [I¡¯m talking about evil armor that is smart enough to interfere with us. It won¡¯t be the shards we¡¯ve encountered so far, it¡¯ll be real evil armor with a core.]

    When Marie tilted her head, Luxion exined about the evil armor.

    [The evil armor is the weapon used by the new humans. The Bio Core is the control unit that assists in controlling it. Without the bio core, the evil armor will possess people and run amok.]

    Marie turns pale when she hears that the perfect evil armor are nearby.

    ¡°W-We can win, right?¡±

    To Marie¡¯s anxiety, Luxion does not give her easy hope.

    [It depends on the enemy. But if they have destroyed ourwork, we have to conclude that their rank as evil armor is quite high.]

    It seems that rather strong evil armor have infiltrated the school.

    It¡¯s extremely troublesome.

    I ask Luxion about the next step.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you locate that evil armor?¡±

    [I don¡¯t have any information at this time. But there is no doubt that they have entered the school.]

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be inconvenient for a while. I wanted to check things out.¡±

    I wanted to gather information for that third otome game scenario, but this was inconvenient and unavoidable.

    Creare was already reviewing the security system.

    [There is no choice but to deploy a lot of small drones and cover them with quantity. But I still feel bad that there are enemies in the school!]

    The relic of the new humans, the evil armor, has blended into the school, and Creare seems to be annoyed.

    Luxion gives me a warning.

    [Master, please refrain from acting alone for a while.]

    ¡°I always y it safe, so I¡¯ll stay in this time. But still ¨D¨D ¡°

    [What is it?]

    ¡± ¨D¨D No, I just remembered that in a previous life, I also bought a paid item, an evil armor.¡±

    The other paid item I bought toplete that first otome game was the immigrant spaceship Luxion at my side.

    It was a piercing ck demon armor.

    When I talked about my past life, Marie spoke up out of nostalgia.

    ¡°Ah, there was. I saw a few of them, but I wasn¡¯t interested in them because they were too thorny and not cute enough. Mostly, that design is not for girls.¡±

    The design looked like something a boy would like, so it was no surprise that Marie had such an opinion.

    Luxion grumbled at the mention of my purchase of the evil armor.

    [Did you get the evil armor? That¡¯s the wrong choice. It seems that Master has been making important decisions wrong since his previous life.]

    Luxion is in a bad mood just because I got a paid item.

    Creare alsoins about my decision.

    [Master, only the evil armor is no good. It¡¯s a waste of money, so if you¡¯re going to spend money, you might want to think a little more before you decide.]

    Both Luxion and Creare have a severe aversion to evil armor, which is a relic of the new humans. Therefore, if I get involved in the slightest way, this is what happens.

    ¡°The two of you are so persistent,ining about the story of my previous life.¡±

    But that evil armor ¨D¨D If that thing existed in this world as well as Luxion, it would be quite troublesome.

 Volume 9, 1 â€œThe Second Princeâ€

    <h4>Volume 9, Chapter 1 ¡°The Second Prince¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The day of the entrance ceremony.

    I stand in front of the mirror in my room, talking hurriedly as I change into my school uniform.

    It was Julius, the prince who came to visit me in my room.

    He calls me up on a busy morning andins to me grumpily.

    ¡°If you were going to put me in charge of the entrance ceremony speech, you should have told me ahead of time.¡±

    I was asked by the school to give a speech for the students, but it was too much trouble, so I threw it to Julius. Julius is preparing a manuscript in my room.

    ¡°You¡¯re higher in rank than me a marquis, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    There¡¯s a Luxion near me, and he¡¯s been making all sorts of noises all morning.

    [Master, your tie is crooked]

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s true.¡±

    I looked at Julius in the mirror as I tightened my tie and said that, and he seemed to ept it, even though he didn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just about rank, I¡¯m certainly better, but considering abilities and achievements, the school¡¯s decision is reasonable. Well, you don¡¯t seem to be very good at this sort of thing.¡±

    In spite of everything, I¡¯ve known Julius for almost two years.

    When we met, I didn¡¯t think we would be able to talk to each other in this casual way.

    After all, we disliked each other.

    ¡°Leave it to someone who can. Efficient, right?¡±

    After getting ready, I turned around and saw that Julius had also finished writing the manuscript.

    Julius is used to this kind of thing, as he often greets people in various situations.

    ¡°When you say it, it sounds like you¡¯re forcing trouble onto others.¡±

    ¡°Take it as you like. But this will make up for your bad behavior over spring break. You should be a little grateful.¡±

    During spring break, Julius and others, the five idiots caused damage to the school. The bill for that hase to me, as I am now officially in charge of Julius and the others.

    Why should I bother to take care of all these fallen princes?

    ¡°Now that you mention it, I can¡¯t say anything back.¡±

    Letting out a small sigh, Julius looks disappointed as he folds the manuscript and puts it away in the inside pocket of his jacket.

    But when he raised his face.

    ¡°I suppose I should have started with the stall.¡±

    It seems that he hasn¡¯t given up yet.

    ¡°Are you possessed by the skewers?¡±

    ¡°Possessed is a terrible word. Just say I¡¯m fascinated, okay? I love skewers as much as I love Marie.¡±

    I guess he wants to say that he loves skewers very much, but I¡¯m speechless when I hear that line. I¡¯ve heard it before, but now it¡¯s one of his most hrious jokes.

    ¡°So Marie was lined up on the skewer with love, huh? I¡¯m sure if you told her that now, she¡¯d have an interesting reaction.¡±

    Luxion, who was floating near my right shoulder, saying yare yare and shaking his one eye from side to side.

    [Is this the figure of the once promising Crown Prince? A few years ago, no one could have predicted this. Well, he seems to be happy.]

    Julius doesn¡¯t seem the least bit offended by my and Luxion¡¯s sarcasm.

    Instead, he is even proud of his skewers.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Indeed, I am a lucky man to have two irreceable beings in this world. Let¡¯s thank the existence that brought me to Marie and the skewers.¡±

    Seeing the sparkling Julius beaming a smile in vain, Luxion and I looked at each other.

    ¡°Idiot is so strong¡±

    [Neither sarcasm nor cynicism will work.]

    .

    Part 2

    Around that time.

    Marie was taking Kara from the school building to the auditorium where the entrance ceremony would be held.

    As they walked along the corridor, they asionally received sharp nces from the people around them.

    Why are you people here? That¡¯s how the students looked at them in dissatisfaction, but they didn¡¯t say anything directly.

    One of the main reasons is that the person who is taking care of Marie and the others is Leon, who has been promoted to Marquis.

    The students gave her a cold stare, but she was now walking with a big stride.

    ¡°Why do I get med? It was those three who altered the uniform without permission. If they really want to scold someone, shouldn¡¯t they scold Leon who¡¯s taking care of them?¡±

    Kara tried her best to soothe a slightly irritated Marie.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s difficult for the headmaster to call the Marquis Bartofalt and scold him. More importantly, those three have done it since the first day.¡±

    Kara also remembers those three people and lets out a big sigh.

    It was Brad, Greg, and Chris who messed up.

    The three of them had grown up a bit in the Republic, but when they prepared their uniforms beforehand, they had made some modifications based on what they thought.

    Brad had prepared a glitteringly decorated uniform, and Greg had torn the sleeves off his shirt and jacket so that it revealed his shoulders.

    Chris modified his jacket to look like a happi coat, and the three of them were all called out for breaking school rules on the first day of the new school year.

    At that time, Marie was also called out and was scolded until just now. Marie, who was made to apologize for the three of them, was angry because she was not convinced.

    ¡°I¡¯m not their guardian!¡±

    ¡°C-Calm down, Marie-sama?¡±

    Marie, her voice rising in anger, was calmed by Kara and stopped to catch her breath. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw two staff members tending to the courtyard.

    Kara, who noticed Marie¡¯s gaze, also looked in her direction.

    ¡°Is he a newbie?¡±

    ¡°Looks like it¡±

    They looked at the scene where a young new staff member was being scolded by a veteran who showed a stunning attitude.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you be more serious? Look at all the trees and shrubs you¡¯ve taken care of. They¡¯re all a mess. Forget about this ce, go pull weeds or something.¡±

    At first, Marie felt pity for him, but the attitude of the young staff member was also terrible. He was a young man with blond hair, but he was very unmotivated. He had an attitude of looking down on the veterans he was instructing.

    ¡°This is enough, right? Can I go now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    The veteran seemed to be having a hard time with the young staff member who did not hide his displeasure. This made Marie feel no sympathy for the one who was being scolded.

    Recalling how desperately she had apologized earlier, as if she were the guardian of those three, she felt even more annoyed.

    Besides, from Marie¡¯s point of view, the courtyard was badly maintained.

    ¡°Even I can take care of the courtyard.¡±

    When Marie was angry with the young staff member, she smiled sadly, as if she remembered the time she was studying abroad with Kara.

    She remembered how the grass and trees grew every day in the summer, and she had a tired face.

    ¡°Ahahaha¨D¨DIt was really tough, wasn¡¯t it? In the summer time, when the nts were in bloom, I had to take care of the garden every day or else it would quickly be a mess. I had to learn how to use all the tools. My hands were covered with beans.¡±

    ¡°I am the same¡±

    I can manage that much by myself ¨D¨D she is saying this lightly, but Marie has actually learned how hard it is to take care of a garden in her study abroad.

    If she gets serious, she¡¯s capable of doing a better job than the young staff.

    Marie turned her gaze away from the young staff and walked away.

    ¡°I wonder if the school is understaffed? I heard they used to have a very selective staff.¡±

    In the past, an employee like that would not have been hired.

    Kara speaks up with her prediction.

    ¡°The kingdom is in a difficult period, you see. Aren¡¯t they short-handed in many ways?¡±

    Marie let out a small sigh at the fact that things had changed so much since before they left to study abroad.

    Out of the corner of her eye, the heiress to the Count¡¯s family, with the girls in tow, was walking in a domineering manner.

    ¡°You¡¯re in the way. Step aside¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    A male student walked proudly through the school, showing his arrogance to the girls. The girls apologized and quickly cleared the way.

    (This didn¡¯t happen when we were first-year students. I guess things change when they change. It¡¯s like the world of gal games. I don¡¯t know.)

    From Marie¡¯s point of view, the current school where boys have more power is not an otome game, but a gal game, although she has never yed it.

    (It¡¯s be a very convenient world for boys. Does aniki be delighted?)

    .

    Part 3

    The boring entrance ceremony is over, and the new students are leaving the auditorium.

    I was being tugged on my left ear by one of my fianc¨¦es, [Angelica Rafa Redgrave] ¨D¨D Ange.

    ¡°It hurts. It hurts.¡±

    Unable to tolerate the fact that Julius gave a greeting as a representative of the current students, Ange grabbed my left ear with a dissatisfied face.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to give it to His Highness, tell me first, you fool.¡±

    ¡°No, it was a sudden request. I don¡¯t like it when people don¡¯t tell me about these things in advance.¡±

    ¡°I also wish you had consulted me beforehand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±

    Speaking of being asked to greet people in front of everyone on the day, [Olivia] ¨D¨D Livia agrees with me.

    ¡°I know it makes you nervous to be told out of the blue. But why did they suddenly ask Leon-san?¡±

    Even Livia, who tilted her head slightly, seemed to wonder.

    It is the third fianc¨¦, [Noelle Jill Lespinasse], who makes the guess ¨D¨D Noelle is from the Republic.

    Although her position is kind of a princess, she was raised in the same way as ordinary people, so she has a friendly way of speaking.

    Her hair is in a side ponytail gathered on the right side, and she is currently wearing a school uniform.

    ¡°The school must have been troubled because of Leon¡¯s sudden promotion. Look, if he was still a count, His Highness Julius would be fine, but if he became a Marquis~, they have trouble adjusting?¡±

    After considering his position as a nobleman and many other things, he came up with the answer on the day. It¡¯s possible, but I wouldn¡¯t be too happy if I had to worry about that.

    However, Livia was convinced and pped her hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    As the two of them were having a friendly conversation, a disgruntled Ange finally let me go. As it is, she tells me about the situation.

    ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s a miss. The only reason for selecting Leon was that they didn¡¯t want to leave it in the hands of His Highness Julius.¡±

    Holding my reddened left ear with my hand, I asked the reason.

    ¡°Because he¡¯s an idiot?¡±

    ¡°I agree with you, but there¡¯s another problem. Can you see the new students looking at us from over there?¡±

    Ange looked at the blonde-haired male student who was watching us from the tail end of the new students leaving the auditorium.

    Next to him is a student who is tall and has prominent red hair.

    ¡°Do you know those people?¡±

    Noelle asked me, and I shook my head. The same goes for Livia.

    Ange was the only one who seemed to know them.

    ¡°He¡¯s His Highness Jake. The redhead is his foster brother, Oscar.¡±

    ¡°His Highness? Is he Julius¡¯ younger brother?¡±

    I knew His Highness Jake¡¯s name from Marie. He was one of the targets in the third Otome game, and ording to Marie, he was an ouw royalty.

    But I can hear a more detailed exnation from Ange.

    ¡°From the point of view of His Highness Julius, he is his half-brother. He is currently the first in line of session to the throne, and is the most powerful candidate to be the next Crown Prince.¡±

    Perhaps Livia was wondering, she quickly asked Ange.

    ¡°The most powerful candidate? Ano, isn¡¯t he going to be crown prince as soon as His Highness Julius is disinherited?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot going on. Besides, His Highness Jake is a man of great ambition. He¡¯s been touting his im to the throne since Julius was the Crown Prince.¡±

    So he¡¯s been telling people that ¡®I¡¯m going to be king¡¯ since Julius was decided to be the next king?! That¡¯s quite a troublesome prince.

    Noelle put her hand on her chin and was convinced.

    ¡°The brothers have been fighting, so they didn¡¯t want to give him a greeting speech. ¨D¨D Aren¡¯t they worrying too much?¡±

    Noelle arrived at the answer, but said that the school was too concerned about their considerations.

    I agree. I don¡¯t want to get involved in a sibling fight.

    ¡°If he keeps quiet, he¡¯ll be the next king, right? I don¡¯t think he¡¯d want to cause any trouble.¡±

    When I said that, Ange lowered her gaze.

    ¡°His Highness Jake is a troublemaker in the royal pce. And the academy doesn¡¯t like to deal with sensitive issues like this. That¡¯s why they¡¯re overreacting.¡±

    ¡°Eh ~¡±

    A troublemaker with so much power that even the school takes him into consideration, I don¡¯t want to go near him.

    As I was thinking this, His Highness Jake and Oscar were leaving the auditorium.

    Ange warned me about the topic of conversation, about His Highness Jake.

    ¡°Leon, there are going to be more people approaching you. It¡¯s okay if they¡¯re just a bunch of random people, but there are a lot of troublesome people out there. Don¡¯t make any rash promises.¡±

    ¡°I wonder if there¡¯ anyone out there who would tter a marquis who only has a name?¡±

    Iugh carelessly, but Ange¡¯s face was serious.

    ¡°If you just have a name, then all the nobles in the kingdom will be treated as ipetent.¡±

    I also change my unserious attitude.

    ¡°Ah, as I thought it¡¯s going to be difficult?¡±

    Seeing that my attitude had changed, Ange¡¯s face rxed a little.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have an iparable amount of upper-ss socializing that you¡¯re not very good at. From now on, don¡¯t let them get to you unnecessarily. ¨D¨DBe wary of my parents¡¯ house too.¡±

    ¡°Ange¡¯s parents¡¯ house? No, the Redgrave family have always been a great help to us, haven¡¯t they?¡±

    I was curious about Ange¡¯s true intentions when she told me to be wary of the Redgrave family. Normally, it is the Redgrave family, Ange¡¯s parents¡¯ house, that I would rely on.

    Ange didn¡¯t seem to have any evidence to be on alert, but she still sensed a disturbing presence in her family.

    ¡°My father and brother are up to something. If nothing happens, that¡¯s fine, but I can¡¯t say for sure that it won¡¯t.¡±

    Noelle seemed to have questions when Ange told me to be wary of her own parents¡¯ house.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it usually the other way around? I think we¡¯re supposed to be asking Leon to help your family.¡±

    Then Ange put her left hand on her waist and her right hand on her chest as she raised her chest.

    ¡°I¡¯m the woman who¡¯s going to be Leon¡¯s wife. I¡¯m sorry, but the interests of the Marquis Bartfalt are my first priority.¡±

    Ange, who confidently and proudly deres it, even though she is a woman, is still looks manly.

    Hearing that, Livia giggled.

    ¡°That means Leon-san is your top priority, right?¡±

    Livia summed it up for me, but how am I supposed to react when I hear it?

    As the three of them looked at me expectantly, I turned my head away and scratched my head.

    Luxion, who was watching the situation, was stunned by my attitude.

    [It¡¯s very Master-like that you can¡¯t give a witty reply here.]

    Noisy, shut up.

    Rather, if you have a model answer, let me know.

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°Why am I hanging out with you guys in the middle of the day?¡±

    The afternoon after the entrance ceremony.

    Today, I was in the backyard of the dormitory because I had free time in the afternoon.

    Here we are, me and Luxion¨D¨Dand Marie and her merry band of friends.

    I was supposed to be invited to lunch, but I found myself in the backyard.

    A was ced in the furnace that Julius had built out of bricks, and meat and vegetables on skewers were roasted on it.

    He was even humming a song with his experienced hands.

    ¡°Everyone, please wait, it¡¯ll be done soon.¡±

    Eating skewers grilled by the prince or something like that might be a luxury in some ways.

    It was Jilk, not only had a bad hobby, he was the worst trash among the five, who took the skewers that Julius had cooked and put them on a te.

    ¡°Your Highness, why don¡¯t we take turns? Or you won¡¯t be able to eat satisfactorily.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m happier to grill the skewers.¡±

    It¡¯s interesting to see a prince who is fascinated by skewers, but it¡¯s a different story when ites to the people involved. I can¡¯t help but wonder how to turn him back into a decent prince.

    However, when I see him grilling the skewers with a truly happy look on his face, I think he might be happier if I just left him alone.

    Greg, one of the idiots who had modified his uniform, chose to eat only chicken. His uniform was torn down to the sleeves, and his pants were torn from around the knees to make half pants.

    Is it because he has gained muscle mass and prefers to dress for ease of movement? Or does he want to show off the muscles he has built? Which is the reason?

    ¡°I¡¯ve had a bad feeling about this since Julius invited me to eat.¡±

    Greg, who ate only chicken, didn¡¯t look too happy.

    That¡¯s just as well.

    Whenever Julius prepares food, he always prepares grilled skewers.

    He prepares various types, but it is still skewered.

    Naturally, Marie and the others were getting bored.

    Chris, whose jacket had been modified to look like a happi coat, wore a twisted hachimaki around his head. He was eating, his sses fogged by the steam from the skewers.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting tired of cooking skewers every day. Your Highness, can we at least do it once a week?¡±

    When Chris made that suggestion, Julius raised his head and surprisingly agreed.

    ¡°Is that so? Okay. Then, we¡¯ll have one day a week when we don¡¯t grill skewers.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the opposite, Your Highness. Are you sure you didn¡¯t make a mistake on purpose?¡±

    Chris is correcting Julius¡¯s mistake, but I want to ask him, isn¡¯t the way you guys are dressed also wrong.

    Brad, wearing the shiest uniform of the five, is thinking about how he can eat the skewers with elegance.

    ¡°Hmm, if I could eat skewers more elegantly, my charm would be more ¨D¨D Fuwaaaa, the sauce spilled on my uniform ?!¡±

    Ignoring Brad, who wasmenting over the staining of his new uniform, I turned my attention to Marie and the others, she was talking to Kara.

    Kyle ¨D¨D an exclusive servant, was being kept at my parents¡¯ house because she couldn¡¯t bring him to the school now.

    They are talking about Kyle, who is not here.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be hard not having Kyle around. We have to take care of all five of you by ourselves.¡±

    Marie is giving Brad a cold stare as he spills the sauce on his uniform. She was probably thinking about how hard it would be to doundry or something like that.

    Kara also nodded as she ate the skewers.

    ¡°But, Kyle-kun and his parent can rx together.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Ah, these skewers are probably the best I¡¯ve ever had.¡±

    They were talking dejectedly, but the skewers that Marie had eaten were delicious. When she said her impressions out loud, Julius was pleased.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got the best one for Marie. I strangled Jack, a young chicken, today since the coop was taken down. He was so wild and cute.¡±

    The fact that he had given the livestock a name stopped everyone¡¯s eating motion.

    I also don¡¯t like hearing Julius¡¯ story, but it¡¯s Marie who speaks on behalf of us.

    ¡°Julius, I told you not to name the livestock, didn¡¯t I? And don¡¯t reminisce during the meal. It¡¯s hard to eat!¡±

    Julius who was scolded, replied back.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s all learn the life we eat together ¨D¨D¡±

    Before Julius can finish his excuse, a guest appears in this ce.

    ¡°Long time no see, Ani-ue¡±

    Herees His Highness Jake with his foster brother Oscar.

    Julius faced His Highness Jake in his aproned appearance.

    ¡°Jake. What do you want from me now?¡±

    ¡°I have no business here. I have no interest in a brother who was disinherited over a woman.¡±

    At the mention of a woman, all the men except Julius were about to jump on him. Julius held up his right hand to stop them.

    ¡°You¡¯re still the same. But then, why did youe here? Did youe here tough at me?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting, but I came to see another person.¡±

    And then His Highness Jake came in front of me with, shall we say, a fierce smile? He gives me a belligerent smile.

    ¡°I know we¡¯ve met a few times, but I haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. I¡¯m [Jake Rafa Horfalt]. I¡¯m currently first in line to the throne, overtaking that idiot over there.¡±

    The blue-eyed boy with short, habitual blond hair is a picture-perfect prince. He is a little short and has a beautiful face with a cocky attitude.

    He is as cocky in speech and action as he looks.

    His Highness Jake looks at the boy who are waiting diagonally behind him.

    ¡°This is my foster brother.¡±

    A tall first-year student with long red hair in a ponytail, he was a solidly built, serious-looking boy.

    ¡°I am Oscar Fia Hogan. Please make my acquaintance.¡±

    Oscar greeted me in a clumsy manner, but ording to Marie, he was also one of the capture targets.

    The two greeted me, and I let out a sigh before introducing myself.

    ¡°As you may know, I¡¯m Leon, your father forced me to get promoted. I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have any money or power. If you need help, look elsewhere.¡±

    Although I showed an attitude of not wanting to get involved, His Highness Jake had a generous smile on his face. Apparently, he would not back down at this level.

    ¡°With the power of the Hero who defeated the Republic, you can have all the wealth and power you wantter. As long as you know who to side with.¡±

    ¡°You want me to side with His Highness Jake?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t likeplicated methods. Bartofalt, I¡¯m going to get straight to the point. I want you to join my faction and back me up. Do that, and I¡¯ll make you rise even higher. Something those fools out there can¡¯t do¡±

    His Highness Jake is looking at Julius with a triumphant look on his face, but this guy doesn¡¯t understand anything. Does he think that I¡¯ve risen to the top because I like it?

    Also, he is calling me by myst name. He is a really cocky guy.

    ¡°I refuse¡±

    When I answered immediately, Marie and her funny friends had the natural reaction, ¡°Well, that¡¯s what will happen¡±. However, His Highness Jake was different.

    After being stunned, he rushes over to me.

    ¡°D-Did you listen to me? If you follow me, you¡¯ll be a duke in no time!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to get promoted!¡±

    When I said that I didn¡¯t want to be promoted, His Highness Jake, who is a person with a lot of ambition, looked at me as if he didn¡¯t really understand.

    Shaking his head, he orders his foster brother Oscar.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s have a little talk. Oscar, escort the Marquis.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Marquis Bartofalt, please forgive my roughness.¡±

    Oscar tried to step forward and grab me, but it was Greg who stopped him.

    His appearance may not be good, but he is a man who can help his boss.

    ¡°Wait. Do you really think you can take Leon that easily?¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Fu¡±

    For some reason, Oscar was smiling when he saw Greg¡¯s fearsome attitude. Greg was annoyed by his attitude, and his muscles bulged a little with anger.

    Greg, who takes off his jacket, is ring at Oscar.

    ¡°You want to do it?¡±

    For some reason, Greg takes a pose that shows off his muscles instead of a martial arts stance. Greg shows confidence in his pose to show off his pectoral muscles. ¨D¨D I¡¯ve realized how foolish I was to expect even a little bit from this guy.

    What are you doing?

    Seeing this, Oscar also took off his jacket and threw it away.

    Then, as he posed with his back to me, his muscles began to rise and show off his magnificent back muscles.

    Greg¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

    ¡°W-What?¡±

    Oscar seems to have muscles that areparable to Greg¡¯s. Although he is slender, his muscles, which he has trained with his own body weight, have a different sense of reliability than Greg¡¯s.

    ¡°A true man speaks with his back. You don¡¯t understand that, though, because you only train your front.¡±

    ¡°D-Damn it!¡±

    The two of them are showing off their muscles, which they are proud of, but I want you to think about this. With Oscar¡¯s back to us, I wonder who he¡¯s going to be facing?

    His Highness Jake shouted.

    ¡°Oscar! I¡¯m being stared at by two disgusting men, Oscar!¡±

    In order to show off their muscles, both Greg and Oscar¡¯s expressions became stern as they exerted themselves. Greg faces forward, and if Oscar turns his back on us ¨D¨D His Highness Jake was being stared at by two men.

    ¡°Oscar, you¡¯re making it look like I¡¯m on my own! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be on my side?!¡±

    All the people in the room were staring at him, and I began to feel sorry for Jake, who was feeling a little nervous. Moreover, it seems that this Oscar guy is a natural airhead.

    ¡°Your Highness, please be quiet, you¡¯re distracting me. This is a battle between men.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget my order, Oscar! And you¡¯re my foster brother and my best vassal, remember? You should be more devoted to me!¡±

    I ask Julius about His Highness Jake yelling at his foster brother Oscar.

    ¡°Is His Highness Jake usually like this?¡±

    Julius turned aplicated look on His Royal Highness Jake.

    ¡°As you can see, he¡¯s a very ambitious guy. But yeah. Oscar¡¯s not a bad guy, though, as you can see.¡±

    Jilk gives his thoughts on the pairing of His Highness Jake and Oscar, which is pitiful to watch, from the perspective of the same foster brothers.

    ¡°Oscar is still the same. Even the inside of his head is a muscle, His Highness Jake has a hard time with that. Your Highness is lucky I¡¯m your foster brother.¡±

    In addition to the dialogue that leaves no doubt in his mind that he is better than Oscar, he smiles with a mocking look on his face. He really is a trash with a bad character.

    Julius looked at Jilk and Oscar alternately, and then let out his true feelings.

    ¡°I would have preferred Oscar than you.¡±

    Hearing Julius¡¯s true thoughts, Jilk seemed to think it was a joke.

    ¡°Your Highness is also good at joking.¡±

    ¡°No, I really think so.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Eh? Y-Your Highness, what does that mean?¡±

    ¡°It means exactly what it says¡±

    When Julius told him that Oscar was a better choice, Jilk froze in ce.

    His Highness Jake, who was being stared at by two disgusting men, was trembling and unable to move, perhaps he was frightened. Well, even I would have a hard time understanding and making a decision in this situation.

    What can possibly go wrong and start bragging about your muscles?

    Marie came over to stand next to me, eating the skewers with a hearty appetite.

    ¡°What should we do with this?¡±

    ¡°What should we do ¨D¨D report to the school?¡±

    As Ange said right after the entrance ceremony, the academy tends to dislike session disputes in the royal family. I¡¯ll make sure His Highness Jake gets a warning.

    ¡°So, it will be that.¡±

    Marie, who was munching skewers, threw the stick she had finished into the trash can provided. With good control, the stick she threw went easily into the trash can.

    Marie snaps her fingers.

    ¡°I did it ~!¡±

    As I looked at the delighted Marie, I suddenly felt someone¡¯s eyes on me.

    As I look around curiously, I notice a figure watching us from the school building.

    It was an unfamiliar boy who was watching us making noise in the backyard.

    The brown-skinned, silver-haired boy, who stood out, noticed my gaze and left the backyard.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    I don¡¯t know why, but I was strangely curious about that male student.

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°Damn!¡±

    When Jake was thrown into the house arrest room provided by the school, he kicked the door roughly once.

    They had been brought in by the teachers for causing a disturbance, but Julius and the others who had made the same ruckus had been released with a stern warning.

    This difference in treatment was annoying.

    He sat down roughly on a chair in the house arrest room and spoke to Oscar on the other side of the door.

    The wooden door had a small window, but it had bars on it as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think this kind of treatment is unforgivable, Oscar?¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t question it, just nod your head! I know I¡¯ve gone too far, but don¡¯t give me a cold shoulder!¡±

    If this had been a normal fight, Jake would have been given a stern warning, but the problem was that he had brought a power struggle within the royal pce into the school.

    It seems that the teachers could not forgive him for bringing in the very sensitive issue of session disputes.

    It seemed that the royal pce had ordered strict punishment for this problem.

    Oscar cautions Jake from outside the door.

    ¡°Recruiting the Marquis on the first day of school was a little too much. The teachers were in a panic that you brought the session issue to the school.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. This kind of problem would be extremely annoying for the school.¡±

    ¡°And you did that knowingly? It¡¯s called premeditated crime, Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°Enough. Shut up, Oscar.¡±

    Jake crossed his legs and wondered why his foster brother were so stupid. He thought in frustration.

    (It would help if Oscar was at least aspetent as Jilk)

    Jake really wished that the quick-witted Jilk would switch ces with Oscar.

    Once he took a deep breath, Jake ordered Oscar to do the same.

    ¡°Call Bartofalt here, Oscar ¡°

    ¡°A-Are you serious, Your Highness?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not going to give up just because I failed once. All you have to do is call Bartofalt right here and now. I¡¯ll do the rest.¡±

    ¡°Finally, Your Highness ¨D¨D I¡¯ll call right away!¡±

    ¡°O-Oh¡±

    Jake was a little questioning about Oscar¡¯s reaction, but decided to wait for him to bring him back, thinking that no matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn¡¯t make a mistake with his current order.

    .

    Part 6

    After tens of minutes.

    Oscar definitely brought Bartofalt.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought her here, Your Highness! I see you¡¯ve finally developed an interest in women!¡±

    The happy Oscar brought him Bartofalt, but Bartofalt sister.

    From behind the door of the house arrest room, ingratiating voice can be heard.

    ¡°My name is Finley Fou Bartofalt, His Highness Jake. I never expected to be called by His Highness.¡±

    Jake can¡¯t see Finley.

    But he could understand that Oscar had misunderstood his order.

    The results were too much, Jake got a headache.

    ¡°Oscar, why did you bring that woman?¡±

    He asked quietly and slowly, and Oscar, who was smiling through the small window, answered.

    ¡°Eh? Your Highness ordered me to bring her. That¡¯s why I brought Bartofalt-san with me. I didn¡¯t realize that you were interested in Finley-san from the same ss.¡±

    Jake and Finley are both first-year students and in the same advanced ss.

    However, from the flow of the story, bringing in Finley was unthinkable.

    Jake stood up roughly, and the chair he was sitting in fell over.

    ¡°The one I asked you to call is Leon! Are you stupid? Are you an idiot? Oh yeah, you¡¯re an idiot, aren¡¯t you, Oscar? I was wrong. I should have given you more detailed order.¡±

    Jake had underestimated the stupidity of his foster brother he had known for so long, but Oscar made another mistake.

    ¡°His Highness ¨D¨DAre you there? I¡¯m embarrassed that I didn¡¯t notice.¡±

    ¡°Oi, wait a minute. What are you misunderstanding?¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s not Finley-san that you like, but Leon-dono.¡±

    ¡°Oscaaaarrr !! Who and when, the one that told you about my preferences?¡±

    From there, Jake begins to lecture Oscar, but he is so loud that a teacheres and scolds him.

 Volume 9, 2 â€œIrregularâ€

    <h4>Volume 9, Chapter 2 ¡°Irregr¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The night after the entrance ceremony.

    There are many things I can¡¯t talk about at school, so I brought Luxion and Marie to a popr pub. The restaurant had private rooms with dividers, but the ce was crowded with customers and was noisy.

    The restaurant is located in a narrow alley away from the main street, so it is not frequented by the students of the school.

    The food brought by the waitress isid out on a round table.

    ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting! You ordered a lot of food. Can you two finish it?¡±

    The food on the table looked delicious, but I think I¡¯d be satisfied with a te of any of them.

    Marie, who ordered these, has sparkling eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay with this. Oh, I want some takeout as a souvenir, so I¡¯ll order someter.¡±

    ¡°U-Understood.¡±

    In addition to the amount of food that the two of us couldn¡¯t finish, the waitress was a little taken aback by Marie¡¯s idea of a souvenir.

    When the waitress left, Marie said, ¡°Itadakimasu!¡± and stabbed her knife and fork into the food and started to eat a big slice of meat.

    Dumbfounded by the sight, I arranged the photos Luxion had prepared in the gaps between the tes.

    ¡°Before eating, let¡¯s get on with the talk. Luxion and Creare have picked out the guys who will be important in the future and the ones who are suspicious.¡±

    [If it weren¡¯t for the sabotage, I could have provided more detailed documentation.]

    An evil armor has entered the academy.

    As a result, Luxion¡¯s and Creare¡¯s investigative capabilities had been greatly reduced.

    Still, we can rely on them to provide more detailed data than we can find out.

    But this is the third work. We don¡¯t have any proper knowledge about the third game of that otome game. Even Marie hadn¡¯t cleared the third game of that otome game.

    Marie, who was eating and holding a photo in her hand, had actually yed the game up to the middle stage. She hadn¡¯t seen any of the setting materials, and had only checked the strategy information on the Inte once for thest part of the game. In other words, she didn¡¯t have any detailed information about the game after the middle stage.

    I¡¯ve only yed the first work, so naturally I have zero prior knowledge of it.

    ¡°These five are the targets of capture.¡±

    ¡°One of them became a girl, though.¡±

    Aaron, I mean Aaron-chan, His Highness Jake, and Oscar¨D¨DThe other two are also capture targets. I checked them out after asking Marie about their characteristics, so I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s no mistake.

    Marie took a bite of bread and picked up a picture.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure this girl is the protagonist.¡±

    It was Luxion, floating on the round table, who responded to Marie¡¯s assertion.

    [I identified and investigated that one from Marie¡¯s testimony. It¡¯s a foreign student from the Holy Magic Empire of Voldenowa.]

    When she heard the name of the empire, Marie bit her fork and moved the handle up and down with her mouth.

    ¡°There is no doubt about it. But she really did study abroad, didn¡¯t she.¡±

    ¡°Oi, that¡¯s immodest.¡±

    ¡°Why do you care about manners when we¡¯re the only ones here? Aniki is a real stickler for details, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    I only warned her because she was being a little rude, but this is what she said.

    A little sister is truly a nasty existence.

    Marie takes the fork away from her mouth and continues speaking.

    ¡°Since things are getting so messy over here, I was wondering if she might not want toe study abroad.¡±

    A war with the Principality, and a coup d¡¯etat in the Republic.

    It must have been a courageous decision toe to the kingdom to study.

    Marie hands me a photo of the protagonist.

    The protagonist, a new student, is a petite girl with reddish brown hair in a ponytail. There¡¯s no doubt that she¡¯s slender, but she looks slightly taller than Marie in front of me ¨D¨D Her style is also better than Marie¡¯s.

    ¡°You lost to a first-year in styl ¨D¨D Buh!¡±

    I tried tough, but Marie sshed me with a small amount of water from the ss.

    ¡°Sorry about that!¡±

    Thinking that she is unable to take a joke, Luxion speaks up.

    [Her name is [Mia]. She is an international student and has been ced in the advanced ss. However, there are some differences from the information.]

    ¡°What? If she¡¯s in the advanced ss, it¡¯s like the scenario.¡±

    [She has what is called a guardian knight by her side.]

    When Marie heard it, she tilted her head.

    ¡°What is a guardian knight?¡±

    [It is said that in the Empire¡¯s system, women of high rank and status are given a personal knight in order to protect them. Such a knight is called a guardian knight.]

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s that, I don¡¯t know¡±

    While Marie is puzzled by the information she doesn¡¯t know, I pick up a photo.

    The male student who hade from the empire to study abroad with the protagonist was that man who had been watching us from a distance during the day today.

    He was a beautiful man with red eyes, brown skin, and long silver hair that he tied up at the back of his neck.

    He was tall and well-built, so I knew he had been working out a lot.

    But I never imagined that he was a knight of the Empire.

    Marie notices the photo I¡¯m holding.

    ¡°Who is that? Show it to me too¡±

    Marie, who forcefully takes the photo from me, her eyes sparkle when she sees the irregr guardian knight.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he so handsome!¡±

    As usual, Marie has a weakness for men with good looks, and I can¡¯t help butugh in amazement.

    ¡°That¡¯s the guardian knight.¡±

    He¡¯s a knight who protects women, but I saw him during the day.

    Marie was looking at the picture of the guardian knight carefree, perhaps not noticing it.

    ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±

    [He¡¯s [Finn Leta Herring]. The middle name letter seems to indicate a knight in the empire. Other than that, I couldn¡¯t get any detailed information, he seems to be very wary of us.]

    I had Luxion investigate, but he could hardly get any decent information. No matter how much his investigation skills have diminished, the fact that even Luxion can¡¯t look into it is troubling.

    ¡°I¡¯m also curious about the way he was looking at us during the day.¡±

    When I bring up the topic of the daytime, Marie shows interest.

    ¡°He was there? Why didn¡¯t you just tell me.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D You, aren¡¯t you forgetting the purpose we¡¯re here for? That guy who doesn¡¯t appear in the third work is on the protagonist¡¯s side, and he¡¯s wary of us.¡±

    I warned Marie, who is so buoyed by his beautiful face that she has little sense of danger.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely interested, but~.¡±

    A knight who should not exist ¨D¨D As I pondered whether he was a reincarnated person like us or an unrted knight, I heard amotion outside the store.

    ¡°This is bad! The people outside is!¡±

    When the drunk went out from the restaurant to see what was going on, he came right back in and hisplexion had changed.

    I got curious and decided to check it out.

    ¡°I¡¯ll check it out a bit. Luxion,e.¡±

    [Yes, Master]

    .

    Part 2

    When I left the store, I saw a crowd of people a few dozen meters away.

    There are many buildings around the popr tavern in aplicated ce.

    The road was narrow, and people were gathering from all around because of themotion that had urred in such a ce.

    ¡°It¡¯s a terrible thing¡±

    ¡°They look very well dressed¡±

    ¡°A nobleman. Looks like he killed with his valet.¡±

    I apologized to the onlookers and went to see the scene, where I found a man who appeared to be a nobleman lying on the ground.

    His valet, who also served as his bodyguard, was lying nearby, and there were few signs of a struggle.

    I quickly put my hand over my mouth, but sadly, it seems I¡¯m used to seeing dead bodies.

    My appetite was gone, but I had no nausea.

    It seems that humans are creatures that can get used to unpleasant things.

    As I looked at the fallen nobleman, a hand was suddenly ced on my shoulder.

    ¡°What a coincidence, kid ¡°

    I was approached by a suspicious-looking man in a hooded robe, but I was able to quickly identify who he was.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    I gave him a dubious look, and Rnd, lifting his hood a little, grinned at me.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where I am or what I¡¯m doing, right?¡±

    ¡°At most, it was a woman, right.¡±

    ¡°Only sweet moments with a woman can heal me. Well, that¡¯s all right, juste along for a while.¡±

    I was wary of Rnd¡¯s invitation, but since he looked rather serious, I decided to just listen to what he had to say. I walked into a narrow alley as he asked me to.

    In a deserted ce, Rnd tells me the identity of the nobleman who was killed.

    ¡°That man is an official with a considerable rank in the royal pce.¡±

    From his appearance, he didn¡¯t look like a low-ranking official, but he had some sort of middle management position. Rnd would give me the details of the official.

    ¡°He was from a knight family before, and they made him do odd jobs, but after the fuss you caused, his bosses disappeared and he rose through the ranks.¡±

    During the war with the Principality, there were many families that fled before the enemy and were destroyed. Many of the lower noble families ¨D¨D knight families were promoted because of this.

    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault, they reap what they sow.¡±

    I try to make fun of him, but Rnd ignores it and goes on with his story.

    ¡°¨D¨D This makes the fifth case of a nobleman who has been promoted.¡±

    ¡°Fifth? This happens multiple times?¡±

    ¡°This is the fifth case of an incident aimed at promoted officials. They¡¯re all recent events.¡±

    ¡°Is it a serial murder? The killer cannot be caught, or is this country safe?¡±

    ¡°I wonder. I think Milene knows more than I do.¡±

    ¡°Are you really the king?¡±

    ¡°You are still too naive to think that the king controls everything. Rather than that, it¡¯s quite suspicious of you to have a secret meeting with the saint outside, isn¡¯t it. I think your fianc¨¦es will be very sad to hear that?¡±

    He knew I was at the store with Marie.

    I¡¯m annoyed because he¡¯s uselesslypetent.

    ¡°Unlike you, I¡¯ve done nothing wrong.¡±

    ¡°It is up to them and the world to judge. Oops, I have some business to attend to, so I¡¯ll excuse myself now. Also, kid, don¡¯t ever get involved with Erika. Don¡¯t you dare. If youe near her, I¡¯ll execute you.¡±

    I watched Rnd leave after giving me a warning, and I called out to Luxion, who was hiding.

    ¡°Who is Erika?¡±

    [Erika Rafa Horfalt, the viinous princess ording to Marie. She is a new student who, like Julius, has Milene as her mother.]

    Before I could see the pictures in the store, I had to go outside because of themotion.

    ¡°The viiness of the third work. Let¡¯s talk about thatter. The problem is the case, right? Can you investigate it outside the academy without any problems?¡±

    When I turned around, the crime scene was still crowded with people.

    [The evil armor¡¯s sabotage is all over the royal capital. They haven¡¯t pinpointed our location, so they must be jamming a wide area. It¡¯s troublesome.]

    Apparently, the enemy hadn¡¯t identified us yet.

    But this leaves us with no idea where the enemy is hiding, either.

    The opponent is also too cheat, like being able to sabotage the entire royal capital.

    ¡°Are? Are you okay? It¡¯s strange how you¡¯re the only one whose link doesn¡¯t break when it¡¯s being blocked?¡±

    Luxion¡¯s sphere-like body is a sub-unit of his main body, the spaceship.

    So it¡¯s not surprising that the link is broken.

    [In order to support Master, I have secured the link with the highest priority. I have a number of high-performance specialized transmitters.]

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s so. Why don¡¯t you do the same for the others?¡±

    [I can¡¯t do it, so I¡¯m having trouble?]

    He said something like, ¡®What a stupid thing to say¡¯ but I¡¯m not quite convinced.

    ¡°¨D¨DBack to the topic, do you think there¡¯s a connection between evil armor and this incident?¡±

    I ask Luxion casually, and get an unpleasant answer.

    [I¡¯m detecting what appears to be evil armor. I can¡¯t confirm that this is the same person who is sabotaging us, but I do believe that evil armor is involved.]

    ¡°This sucks¡±

    A rather dangerous person has entered this royal capital.

    Knowing that it¡¯s still dangerous both inside and outside the academy, I can¡¯t move carelessly.

    As I pondered, a man in in clothes came into view in the crowd.

    When the man noticed my presence, he too turned his face away and left the scene.

    ¡°What¡¯s a guardian knight doing in a ce like this?¡±

    I became more cautious about the guardian knight who had escaped from the academy ande all the way to this ce.

    I looked at Luxion and he gave a small nod, knowing how I felt.

    [I¡¯ll increase the number of autonomous drones we have tracking him.]

    ¡°I¡¯m counting on you. Mark him thoroughly.¡±

    .

    Part 3

    An old building in the royal capital.

    The man descending the stairs leading to the basement was a gentleman-like man with a beard called [Gabino], dispatched from the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    He was acting proudly with his chest out, but he was worried about the scar on the right side of his forehead.

    His hair was hanging down to hide it, but the scar was still visible.

    Holding his favorite pocket watch in his left hand, he would asionally open the lid without meaning to and check the time.

    Such Gabino was previously dispatched to the Republic of Arzel to cooperate with the coup side.

    The plot of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel was thwarted by Leon, which is why Gabino was sent to the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    As he appeared in the dimly lit basement hall, he greeted them reverently.

    ¡°Ladies, I¡¯m sorry to keep you waiting.¡±

    The women in the basement were in a slightly better mood as the mature but beautiful Gabino smiled at them.

    ¡°You¡¯re right on time, Gabino-dono. But I still wish you¡¯de a little earlier¡±

    ¡°I apologize for that.¡±

    In the hall where they are, there is a g on the wall indicating a forest ofdies.

    The Forest of Ladies is an organization formed by noblewomen in the kingdom at a time when there was a strong tendency to respect women.

    The women in their sagging dresses, worn over and over again, still do not try to maintain the attitude of being nobility.

    They used to have beautiful ves, but now they were taking care of their own children and women of lower status who belonged to the same organization.

    There are ranks in the forest ofdies, and the lowest is a female noblewoman who has a country baron as her husband.

    The women standing by the wall are currently taking care of the cadres of the Forest of Ladies.

    Among them was the figure of [Zora].

    After being abandoned by Leon¡¯s father [Barkas] during the war with the Principality, she lost her ce in the nobility and was picked up by the Forest of Ladies.

    However, she is treated like a servant, and the clothes she wears are not dresses, but the in clothes ofmoners.

    Gabino shows up to meet the forest ofdies who live underground, and has his men bring them souvenirs.

    A number of crates were brought in, and in them were liquor, sweets, beautiful dresses, and other items for the women.

    ¡°This is a gift for everyone.¡±

    ¡°Ara, you¡¯re so thoughtful!¡±

    The executive women jumped to their feet andpeted for them.

    Watching them, Gabino talked.

    ¡°By the way,dies ¨D¨D Do you think you¡¯ll ever be reinstated?¡±

    When they heard of the reinstatement, the executives of the forest ofdies raised their heads.

    Their expressions are tainted with hatred for the kingdom that abandoned them, and they look quite miserable, but Gabino does not lose his smile.

    The representative of the forest ofdies was looking at the dress in her hands to make sure it would suit her.

    As it is, she talks to Gabino.

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult. We¡¯ve already buried a number of people, but there¡¯s no sign of the kingdom shaking. His Majesty is still the same, and the foreign vixen who have taken advantage of him is doing whatever she wants.¡±

    The vixen refers to Milene, who is practically a pir of the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    It is also a troublesome opponent for Gabino.

    After all, Gabino¡¯s homnd, the Holy Kingdom of Rachael, has a long-standing rtionship with Milene¡¯s homnd, the United Kingdom of Leparto.

    The Kingdom of Horfalt and the United Kingdom of Leparto have a strong alliance because Milene, the link between them, is excellent.

    That¡¯s why the forest ofdies has been told that Milene is the one who has undermined the status of women.

    ¡°She¡¯s a nuisance. In addition, she¡¯s cajoled the Marquis Bartofalt into being her pawn. If it weren¡¯t for him, you wouldn¡¯t have to live like this.¡±

    As Gabino said this, one of the women standing by the wall had a look of hatred on her face.

    ¡°Oya, Zora-san, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°N-No, nothing¡±

    When Gabino spoke to her, Zora turned her head away.

    The women around her, however, give Zora a sharp look.

    ¡°It was your house that grew up with that fiend knight.¡±

    ¡°I wish you¡¯d raised him more decently.¡±

    ¡°You really are a useless woman ¡°

    They were taking out their frustration at being in this situation on Zora. To them, Zora was nothing more than a stress reliever.

    Gabino speaks gently to Zora.

    ¡°Let¡¯s calm down,dies. If we overthrow the Queen and the Marquis, you will soon be able to regain your old lives again. For that, the Holy Kingdom of Rachel will give you its full support.¡±

    The representative smiled at Gabino¡¯s words.

    ¡°It¡¯s really wonderful that Rachel is such a gentleman. In contrast, how pathetic are the men of the kingdom today. Truly deplorable.¡±

    Gabino took the representative¡¯s hand and smiled. The smile made the representative blush.

    ¡°A chance will eventuallye. And when it does, please lend me your help.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes. But are you sure it is okay?¡±

    When the representative shows her anxiety about theing time, Gabino encourages her strongly to dispel it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll seed. In addition, we have prepared a powerful trump card as well. We won¡¯t be defeated, even if it¡¯s against that fiend knight.¡±

    When they heard that a powerful trump card could defeat Leon, thedies of the forest became fidgety and restless from excitement.

    Seeing that, Gabino muttered in his mind.

    (I¡¯ll have you work for us, Rachel, as best you can. Now that we¡¯ve brought out the evil knights, we need them to do some serious damage to the kingdom.)

    .

    Part 4

    When Gabino leaves, the executives take a harsh attitude toward Zora.

    ¡°Zora, you¡¯re going to pay for what your stepson has done.¡±

    ¡°O-Of course!¡±

    The reason why Zora has to bow down and endure the intimidating women is because if she is kicked out of here, she will have nowhere to go.

    Zora was once a noblewoman, but now she was just amoner. With no ie and no ess to the luxuries she once had, her exclusive ve quickly ran away.

    Zora, not knowing how to live, had to rely on the forest ofdies.

    The representative grabbed Zora by the hair and made her look up.

    ¡°I hope your children are doing their part properly right?¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me. Lutoart has sessfully infiltrated the school. [Melse] has also made contact with the target without any problems.¡±

    ¡°I hope so¡±

    When Zora was released, she sat there and remembered the face of the hated Leon.

    (Why am I in this kind of trouble? This is all the fault of that damn kid. It¡¯s because he did something unnecessary)

    Originally, Leon was a hero who saved the kingdom, but it didn¡¯t matter to Zora and his friends. They truly believe that the reason they have fallen is because of Leon, who has achieved great sess.

    (But this life is almost over. In a little while, life will return to the way it was. And when that happens, I¡¯ll execute Barkas and his family who abandoned me.)

    Zora endures this difficult life with a vengeance against the Bartofalt family.

    .

    Part 5

    Midnight.

    Rnd came to a bar with a nice atmosphere and was enjoying a drink with a young woman.

    ¡°That¡¯s right ~. My wife is so noisy that I don¡¯t feel at ease.¡±

    Rnd tries to hold the woman¡¯s hand as sheins about Milene.

    However, the woman quickly avoided his hand.

    ¡°Leon-san, you¡¯ve been through a lot ~¡±

    Leon ¨D¨D Rnd uses Leon¡¯s name as a pseudonym and enjoys spending time with women.

    ¡°You¡¯re so cold today too, Melse. I¡¯m sad.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so? B-But, after all, a girl must be more firm.¡± (Note: The word ¡°firm¡± means that a woman¡¯s attitude toward life and her rtionships with the opposite sex are healthy and that she does not have sexual rtions with men easily)

    Rnd looks sad at being avoided by a woman ¨D¨D Melse hurriedly attempts to mend the situation.

    A fat man with gray hair and a small beard approached them.

    The man taking off his hat looked awkward.

    ¡°Ro ¨D¨D Leon-san, it¡¯s time for you to go return for the day.¡±

    When the man said that to him, Rnd let out a sigh and then left his seat.

    ¡°The good times pass quickly, don¡¯t they? Melse, I had a great time today. When will I see you again?¡±

    Melse smiles from relief that she is finally free, and tells him when he can see her next.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have an open schedule in a week.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a week then. Oops, I think I¡¯ll go to the bathroom first.¡±

    When Rnd left the scene, Melse let out a big sigh.

    She then red at the man who had approached her.

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a littlete to call out.¡±

    ¡°E-Even if you say so, if I call out to him too soon, he¡¯ll get suspicious.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going against me? You¡¯re not forgetting that we have your weakness, are you? If you don¡¯t cooperate, I¡¯ll expose your secret and end your life.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t let that happen!¡±

    It seemed that Melse had the man¡¯s weakness and he could not resist her.

    Melse distanced herself from the man and picked up a drink from the table and drank it down.

    Then sheins until Rnd returns.

    ¡°It¡¯s really astonishing. Does he really think a disguise like that is going to fool me? And his alias is Leon. That¡¯s the worst.¡±

    When the man is asked for his consent, he responds in a frightened manner, concerned about the eyes around him.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. Just please lower your voice a bit.¡±

    ¡°I got it.¡±

    As Melse closes her mouth, Rnd returns from the bathroom.

    In a good mood, she hugged Melse and pressed her for a kiss.

    ¡°This is goodbye for today, Melse. Give me onest kiss¨D¨D¡±

    Melse responded with the palm of her hand to Rnd¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Maybe another time, Leon-san¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D So heartless. I¡¯ll see you next time.¡±

    After being released from Rnd, Melse made a smile and walked out of the store.

    After out, Rndins to the man.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think she could be a little more sociable?¡±

    The man checked to make sure there were no eyes around him before answering Rnd. He was an old acquaintance and Rnd¡¯s personal doctor at the royal pce.

    He is also a friend of Rnd¡¯s from his school days and has a very close rtionship with him.

    His name is [Fred].

    ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re ying too much.¡±

    ¡°This much is fine, right. Now, Fred, I¡¯m going to y some more, and you¡¯re going to join me. There¡¯s actually a girl I¡¯ve been eyeing. I¡¯m almost there, and I¡¯m hoping to get a nice response.¡±

    ¡°ying with women again? You never learn, do you.¡±

    Rnd took Fred to yet another store.

 Volume 9 3 â€œReversalâ€

    <h4>Volume 9 Chapter 3 ¡°Reversal¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    When I returned to the restaurant from the crime scene, Marie had devoured most of the food.

    Seeing Marie eating more than she did in her previous life made me feel sad.

    ¡°You can eat so much with such a small body¡±

    It was a mystery to me how Marie small body could hold such arge amount of food.

    The person in question is dissatisfied with her small body that different from her previous life in many ways, and gets grumpy easily.

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business! So, what was the situation out there?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it when we get back to the school. But first, let¡¯s have one more check at the third work.¡±

    ¡°Again?¡±

    At this point, we are only relying on Marie¡¯s hazy memory, and we keep checking to see if she remembers anything as we talk.

    A lot of time has passed since we were reincarnated.

    There are many aspects of the games we yed in the previous life that we have forgotten.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll remember some things as we speak, right?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember any more than that. I¡¯ve only yed the third game up to the middle. I saw the general flow of the game on a strategy site, but I didn¡¯t check the details.¡±

    She yed the game while looking at a strategy site, and got bored halfway through and threw it away.

    Even such knowledge of Marie¡¯s is better than nothing.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D It¡¯s a story about Mia, the main character who came from the Empire to study abroad, and her school life in the Kingdom. Naturally, she meets a lot of handsome guys, and the viinous princess, Erika, is very mean to her in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°A viinous princess. Seems like it evolved from a noble viiness.¡±

    I pick up the picture of the viinous princess on the table.

    She has long, gently wavy ck hair, and while she is rather small, her breasts seem to be normal. She has a mild-mannered expression on her face, but it seems that this is why she has a bad personality.

    ¡°She has a terrible personality. She¡¯s the epitome of a nasty woman who ys innocent on the outside. She has a weak constitution, but it¡¯s not true. Behind the scenes, she does terrible things, and she¡¯s really annoying¡±

    ¡°Hate your own kind, huh?¡±

    Iugh at her, and Marie throws me a wooden spoon that hits me in the face.

    I close my mouth as she stares at me, and Marie begins to tell me the rest of the story.

    ¡°There was a behind the scenes kind of story about the war event with the Principality that happened when we were first year.¡±

    ¡°Behind the scenes story?¡±

    ¡°What happened behind the scenes of the war ~ something like that? There were some events where you could earn favor with His Highness Jake and the others, but with the current state of affairs, most of those events are crushed.¡±

    We¡¯ve already defeated thest bosses who were the trump cards of the Principality.

    I¡¯m just relieved that the crisis in the kingdom has been dealt with.

    ¡°Anyway, after the events of the first year, in the second year, Hertraudaes to study abroad. There is going an interaction with Hertrauda, but she¡¯s a princess from a defeated country, so she¡¯s in a difficult position. Well, she¡¯s not here anymore¡±

    Hertrauda-san lost her life at the cost of summoning ast boss called the Guardian Deity with a magic flute during the war.

    Checking it out like this, the impact we¡¯ve had on this world is quiterge.

    ¡°As usual, she gets bullied by Erika, but in the middle of her second year, Mia is called back to the Empire. There¡¯s going to be a story about how the emperor who fell ill was Mia¡¯s father.¡±

    Luxion teased at Marie¡¯s exnation.

    [This time, too, a special bloodline. After Olivia and Noel, Mia also has a very special bloodline.]

    Marie seemed to agree with some of Luxion¡¯s sarcasm.

    ¡°It¡¯s a popr setting. So Mia will be recognized as an imperial princess. The Empire will send a flying battleship to protect her, so Erika won¡¯t be bullied anymore. This time, though, the bullying will be directed at Hertrauda.¡±

    [The Holy Magic Empire is much more powerful than the Kingdom of Horfalt. From a diplomatic standpoint, it¡¯s a bad idea for Erika to bully Mia.]

    Normally, it would be best not to bully people, but I guess that¡¯s what makes her a viin princess.

    But from what I¡¯ve seen of Ange and Louise, it¡¯s hard to judge whether they are really just bad characters. We have to think and act in case she¡¯s not a bad guy.

    I urge Marie to continue.

    ¡°So, what happened in the middle?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s an event where Erika insults Hertrude. ¨D¨D That enrages Hertrauda, and she moves the Principality¡¯s fleet to war. There are monstersing out of the sky and the sea, and Mia and her friends need Jake and the others¡¯ help to defeat thest boss in the sea. The sky is going to be defeated by the Saint Olivia. As for Erika, she¡¯ll be exposed for the evil she¡¯s done, and she¡¯ll end up tragically.¡±

    Unlike before, the exnation was very broad, because Marie didn¡¯t know the details either.

    ¡°There¡¯s no appearance of the guardian knight Herring there, is there? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s going to appear at the end of the game or some hidden character?¡±

    The presence of a guardian knight, who would not normallye to study abroad, is unexpected for me and Marie.

    The very existence of the guardian knight who protects the protagonist is suspicious.

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t there. I¡¯m sure there are no hidden characters either. I don¡¯t even know what a guardian knight is in the first ce.¡±

    It¡¯s doubtful that Marie, whose strategy information is vague, would be able to say for sure, but if she says so much, there¡¯s a good chance it never appeared in the game.

    ¡°We¡¯ll look into the guardian knight carefully, but the problem is the future development.¡±

    As I looked at the photo of the viinous princess Erika at eye level, Marie¡¯s figure also entered my field of vision. As I moved my gaze topare the two, I felt that they looked alike for some reason.

    There are few elements of resemnce as the hair color, facial expression, and physique but all are different.

    When Ipare them seriously, Marie puffs up her cheeks, thinking I¡¯m going to tease her again.

    Seeing that she was clutching a fork and ready to throw at any moment, I decided that I shouldn¡¯t say anything poorly and closed my mouth.

    .

    Part 2

    The day after the entrance ceremony.

    The new students also started their sses, but the content was all about exining the future.

    It¡¯ll be a little while before the sses start in earnest.

    In the midst of all this, Mia, a foreign student from the Empire, sat nervously in her seat.

    Being a foreigner, few students approached Mia in the ssroom.

    Most of the time, they just watch from a distance.

    (Uuu, I¡¯m nervous)

    Mia is nervous every day in an unfamiliar environment, but she does know one person.

    Entering the ssroom was a tall, handsome male student who stood out from the rest.

    It was Finn, another foreign student, who had volunteered to be Mia¡¯s guardian knight.

    Although they are both foreigners, the looks directed at Finn are often favorable, unlike Mia. He gets jealous nces from the boys, but most of the girls like him.

    Such a proud knight sits next to Mia and talks to her.

    ¡°The kingdom is too aristocratic. The corridors of the academy look like a pce. If it were the Empire, they¡¯d just im it¡¯s a pce and they¡¯d go through with it.¡±

    Finn says it¡¯s too much for a school building, and Mia rebukes him without confidence.

    ¡°Knight-sama, I don¡¯t think you should be speaking too harshly.¡±

    Mia¡¯sck of confidence in Finn was due to the fact that she was aware that she was an ordinary person. Originally, she knew that a knight like Finn would not be her guardian knight.

    However, Finn is smiling at Mia, who is rebuking him.

    ¡°I apologize for that, my princess. But it¡¯s not a bad mouthing. It was just sarcasm.¡±

    Mia blushed and replied to Finn, who treated her reverently.

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t think sarcasm is okay either.¡±

    ¡°My princess is very selfish. But I am your guardian knight, so I will obey you.¡±

    Finn said that andughed with a giggle, and Mia, who noticed that she had been teased, turned away from her red face.

    ¡°You were teasing Mia. Knight-sama is terrible.¡± (Note: She called herself by name)

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Then again, you don¡¯t have to be so nervous about me. I wish you¡¯d show more of a friendly attitude.¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s impossible. Because Knight-sama, even in the empire ¨D¨D¡±

    Knowing how great a knight Finn was, Mia was about to say she was afraid, but before she could continue, a noisy voice stopped the conversation.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Finley-san!¡±

    As soon as they entered the ssroom, all eyes were on the male student who apologized to the female student.

    The girl got an apology ¨D¨D Finley was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Oscar-san, you don¡¯t have to apologize anymore. But please don¡¯t mistake me for my brother again. I was really embarrassed.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t realize it was your brother when he said Bartofalt.¡±

    ¡°If I may speak, Oscar-san, you should use your head a little more. If you listen to His Highness, ten out of ten people will go to call my brother instead of me.¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re right. I¡¯m often told to use my head. I think I do, though.¡±

    Finley was dumbfounded by Oscar¡¯s desperate apology.

    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Mia was looking at them, but then she wondered about Finn¡¯s reaction and moved her gaze.

    There was Finn, looking at Finley with a serious expression on his face.

    ¡°Finley-san? As I recall, she is little sister of the Marquis Bartofalt.¡±

    When Mia hears Baltofart¡¯s name, she tells Finn that she knows him too.

    ¡°Mia knows, too. He¡¯s the hero who brought down a very powerful country from the inside, isn¡¯t he? I think his nickname was ¨D¨D ¡°A Fiend-san¡±?¡±

    The rumors about Leon that had made their way to the Empire weren¡¯t actually that urate.

    Finn is a little stunned, but he¡¯s trying not tough, as if it were funny.

    ¡°The Marquis¡¯ second name is the Fiend Knight.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? But being a fiend knight is amazing, isn¡¯t it? Just from the name alone, I can imagine a very scary person.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨DYou¡¯re right.¡±

    When Finn turned serious, he looked to where a crowd was gathering in the ssroom.

    There she was, her ssmate, His Highness the First Princess of the Kingdom of Horfalt. Today, she is surrounded by arge number of female students who seem to be her followers.

    Seeing that, Mia looked at her with admiration.

    ¡°That must be Erika-sama. She is beautiful today, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡±

    Mia was annoyed with Finn, who was looking at Erika with an absent-minded reply. It bothered her that her own knight, who had just called her princess, was looking at another woman.

    ¡°Does Knight-sama also like people who look like princess?¡±

    Mia, who was aware that she had asked a mean question, looked down, afraid to hear the answer.

    However, Finn was careful when he saw Mia like that.

    ¡°My princess is only Mia.¡±

    Finn¡¯s words set her teeth on edge, but Mia was happy to hear it, even if it was a lie.

    However, from Mia¡¯s point of view, Erika was really beautiful.

    (The princess is really beautiful)

    With shiny ck hair and a calm atmosphere that doesn¡¯t match her age, the girl stands out from the rest of the ss.

    After looking at Erika for a while, the person in question seemed to notice Mia¡¯s gaze.

    She turned to her and smiled, Mia smiled back awkwardly.

    She was happy to see that she was recognized and immediately looked at Finn.

    ¡°Knight-sama, did you see it just now? Knight-sama?¡±

    But Finn, who was staring at Erika, had somehow lost his smile and had be expressionless.

    Part 3

    After school.

    I had invited two friends to my room in the dormitory.

    I brought Daniel and Raymond, two of my group mates from the poor baron family I once belonged to, to my room to ask for advice.

    Daniel admired the room which had arge table.

    ¡°Leon has finally risen to this level, huh¡±

    He must have judged from the room that he was being treated well by the school.

    They were both troubled by the fact that I, whom they had once thought of as one of them, had be a figure above the clouds. Especially Raymond.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better to call you by adding sama. It might be rude to lump you into the same group.¡±

    It¡¯s kind of lonely when your friends act like they¡¯re distancing themselves from you.

    To begin with, nothing inside me has changed since I entered the school ¨D¨D No, I guess I must have changed a bit. The fact that I haven¡¯t grown in any way makes me sad.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Even though I got promoted, I have no territory or ie, so I¡¯m just as poor.¡±

    Daniel shrugs when I say that.

    ¡°Look who¡¯s talking. You¡¯re a winner when you¡¯re engaged to a duke¡¯s daughter. Anyway, I was relieved to see that Leon was still the same. I¡¯m in trouble if you suddenly say, ¡°I¡¯m not like you guys anymore!¡±¡±

    Daniel and Raymond both smile, happy that my attitude has not changed.

    Raymond agreed as he straightened his sses.

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel free to consult with you either.¡±

    I serve tea to them and confirm the content of the consultation.

    ¡°What is your problem? If it¡¯s not about money, I¡¯ll listen.¡±

    The talk is also about money matters, but I learned in a previous life that it is not a good idea to bring financial issues into friendships.

    If there was nothing they could do, I would lend a hand, but otherwise I was going to refuse.

    Fortunately, neither Daniel nor Raymond seemed to be asking for financial advice.

    I¡¯m thankful that the two of them are decent friends.

    Daniel began to talk about the contents of the consultation with a serious expression on his face.

    ¡°Actually, the number of invitations from girls has been increasing rapidly sincest year.¡±

    ¡°Is that a dig at me for all the trouble I went through as a first-year? If you¡¯re bragging, go home.¡±

    When I tried to chase away my rude friends, Raymond hurriedly exined the situation in detail.

    ¡°W-Wait! We¡¯re really worried about this! At first, we felt kind of superior. It was nice to see girls who had been ignoring us trying so hard to tter us.¡±

    Raymond¡¯s honest opinion made me want to listen to him a little more.

    Well, not everyone is a Saints or Wise Men.

    Serves you right! It can¡¯t be helped that¡¯s what I thought, If I¡¯d been there, I¡¯d have felt superior.

    However ¨D¨D it seems that both of them realized the reality immediately.

    Daniel looks down.

    ¡°When I see the girls desperately trying to appeal to me, I feel like I¡¯m looking at my first-year self, and it hurts my heart. I don¡¯t feelfortable giving them the cold shoulder just for fun. When I thought about it, I began to feel ufortable even epting invitations to tea.¡±

    When I was a first year, the boys used to invite the girls, but now it seems that the girls are inviting the boys.

    Raymond took a sip of his tea, thinking that change is possible, and then he put his head in his hands.

    ¡°But we know them from first year. We can see that the girls are just trying to be nice. That¡¯s why it never develops into a rtionship.¡±

    I don¡¯t know the situation at the school since I was studying abroadst year. That¡¯s why I decided to ask the two of them what they thought of the school.

    ¡°What happened to the other groups?¡±

    I was able to find out what was going on with the poor group of barons, but the problem was the other groups. There were many rich and high status groups, and I wanted to know about their situation.

    Daniel makes a displeased face and tells me aboutst year¡¯s mess.

    ¡°It¡¯s the worst. It was a good thing that Leon decided to study abroad. There were broken engagements everywhere, and the word ¡°pandemonium¡± was the perfect word.¡±

    Last year, I heard that the hellish scene was repeated.

    Raymond also looks down and talks about how bad it wasst year.

    ¡°A lot of people in the group other than us were already engaged. Most of them broke off their engagements because they didn¡¯t want to rush into marriage, and it was a total disaster. Everyday there are girls crying, it¡¯s tough.¡±

    Daniel presses his hand on his stomach.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough carnage between men and women to make my stomach churn.¡±

    I¡¯d like to take a look at it a little bit, but if they hate it so much, it¡¯s probably a good thing I don¡¯t.

    ¡°Mostly engagement abandoned ¨D¨D Oi, what happened to Millie and Jessica?! If those two have broken off their engagement, too, you¡¯d better speak to them right away.¡±

    I listen to them and give the names of Millie and Jessica, who were treated as goddesses when I was first year. They were kind to a group of poor boys, even though there were many terrible girls.

    When they decided to get engaged, most of the boys were crying and congratting them.

    I was one of them. I didn¡¯t cry ¨D¨D but I wished them happiness.

    Because they were very good girls.

    Daniel and Raymond¡¯s expressions turned grim as they remembered the two of them.

    ¡°Millie and Jessica¡¯s fianc¨¦es insisted they would never break off their engagement. There were a lot of boys who thought about courting the two heartbroken girls, so I quickly fact-checked.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve surrounded by a bunch of people, tied up and hung.¡±

    Apparently, they took advantage of the engagement breakup ruckus to hang Millie and Jessica¡¯s partner.

    These guys are pretty extreme.

    I had a good idea of what the oue would be, so I drank my tea and then asked the question.

    ¡°And it failed.¡±

    Daniel swung his fist down on the table.

    ¡°They said they would never break up with them! They said they would protect them to the end because they were important people who had supported them since their first year! A handsome man has also handsome at heart, huh!

    Apparently, her rich and handsome partners told her that there was no way they would break off their engagement to Millie and Jessica. Well, even I would say that.

    They have good personalities from the start, and I see two of them getting along well with each other after their engagement.

    They wouldn¡¯t want to leave such two people and find a new partner.

    Raymond took off his sses and wiped his tears.

    ¡°As long as they¡¯re happy, I¡¯m fine with that.¡±

    And while saying that, you hung the two boys, didn¡¯t you?

    I was relieved to see that Millie and Jessica were happy.

    ¡°Even after all the fuss, there are girls who are valued and there are girls who are not. There are some girls who are valued even after themotion, and some who are not.¡±

    No matter what the situation, there are girls who are finding happiness.

    I guess it just goes to show how important it is to do things on a daily basis.

    As for the girls who were dismissed from the engagement ¨D¨D well, all I can say is good luck to them.

    Daniel looks at me enviously.

    ¡°You got it good, don¡¯t you? You¡¯re engaged to a Duke¡¯s daughter, and in addition, a special student. You¡¯re also engaged to a princess in the Republic!¡±

    Thanks to my engagement to Ange, Livia, and even Noel, I was free from the problem of marriage. No, or rather, the problem started from now on?

    I could see the jealousy in Raymond¡¯s eyes as he looked at me.

    ¡°I can¡¯t decide who to choose in this situation. So I thought I¡¯d talk to Leon and see if he coulde up with some solutions.¡±

    ¡°Solution from me? I¡¯ve been away from the school for thest year, so I¡¯m not as familiar with the situation as you guys. Ah, and by the way¨D¨D¡±

    I decided to tell them about the School of the Republic.

    ¡°¨D¨DIn school of the republic, I¡¯m treated like a super gentleman. I just have to act normal like here, and the girls are happy.¡±

    When I bragged, Daniel and Raymond had blue streaks on their foreheads.

    Despite smiling, they seem to be quite angry with me.

    ¡°I-I envy you.¡±

    ¡°While we were having a hard time, you were having a good time overseas.¡±

    The two of them envied me, and I was overjoyed.

    ¡°Well~, I got a precious youth. You guys should have studied abroad too, it would have been fun.¡±

    I stir them up, and they jump on me.

    ¡°This bastard!¡±

    ¡°Leon is still Leon! You don¡¯t even know how we feel!¡±

    The two of them jointed me and I quickly gave up.

    ¡°Give! I give up already!¡±

    While the three men were making noise, there was a knock at the door.

    .

    Part 4

    When I got out of the room, it was starting to get dark outside.

    Noel was the one who came to call me, and Daniel and Raymond followed us.

    Noel grabbed my hand and hurried to the scene.

    ¡°Come on, hurry up¡±

    ¡°You called me out of the blue and I wondered what was going on, but it was just a fight, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­ I don¡¯t know much about the kingdom, but I think that was bad.¡±

    The reason I was called in was because there was a fight in the school.

    If this was a fight between two people of the same sex, Noel would not have relied on me.

    This time, however, it was a fight between a boy and a girl.

    It would have been impossible in the past at the school, but I guess it can happen now.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could mediate even if I went. I don¡¯t even know why they fought in the first ce.¡±

    Noel furrowed her brow at my unmotivated attitude, and Daniel spoke to me from behind.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know, Leon? The school is a lot different now than it was when you knew it.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡±

    As we walked, I looked back at Raymond and he told me more about the situation.

    ¡°Unlike in our days, boys are given preferential treatment. The juniors one year below us are troublesome, but the new students are probably even worse.¡±

    ¡°Worse?¡±

    ¡°The girls¡¯ position in the first year has been swapped for that of the boys.¡±

    As we get closer to the scene, we can hear themotion.

    The students of the onlookers surround the new students, a boy and a girl, who are staring at each other. The teacher is there to intervene, but she is not being listened to by the two staring at each other.

    And there was another figure, Ange. Behind her, Livia was waiting.

    Ange interceded with the two staring at each other with a stern expression.

    ¡°How long are you guys going to quarrel? It¡¯s not the kind of quarrel that can cause this much trouble.¡±

    When Noel pulled me through the onlookers and inside, the girls were more furious.

    ¡°Are you asking me to forgive this man?! I¡¯m not wrong. This is the man that came behind us and pushed my friend!¡±

    The girl, who seemed to be her friend, had been grazed by a fall. She was behind a female student who was speakingdylikenguage, and she was ogling and saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine¡±.

    The male student, on the other hand, was giggling with a disgusting smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault for walking so slow in front of me. You girls have to give way to the boys, isn¡¯t that obvious?¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°This bitch. If you keep acting like that, you¡¯ll never get a married.¡±

    ¡°! I-I¡¯m not going to give in to such threats.¡±

    Thedylike schoolgirl says she won¡¯t give in, but her gaze wanders.

    Seeing this, I understood what Raymond was talking about.

    ¡°Uwa~, this is terrible.¡±

    A scene that would have been unthinkable not so long ago, and I¡¯m bbergasted.

    When Livia noticed that I had seen a disgusting gender reversal, she grabbed Ange¡¯s arm to let her know. When Ange learned of my arrival, she let out a small sigh of relief that I was finally here.

    When I approached Ange and Livia to ask them more about the situation, the people around me buzzed.

    ¡°It¡¯s the third-year Leon-senpai.¡±

    ¡°He is the real Marquis.¡±

    ¡°He looks weaker than I thought¡±

    Who said I looked weak? I¡¯m a small-minded man, so I¡¯ll let Luxion check you outter and pay you back.

    More importantly, it was ufortable because it was oddly conspicuous.

    Even when I was a first-year student, I stood out in a bad way, but the way I was treated now was strangely itchy.

    Noel presents me to Ange.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought him¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here. Leon, I¡¯m sorry, but you have to intercede.¡±

    I¡¯m willing to follow Ange¡¯s request if she asks me to, but how am I supposed to intercede? In the meantime, I look at the two people who are fighting.

    ¡°Ah~, etto¡±

    When I try to talk to them, thedylike schoolgirl takes a step back.

    ¡°Hiy!¡±

    For some reason, she was very frightened, but when I looked at the boys, thinking that I couldn¡¯t listen to what they had to say, this one was positive.

    ¡°You must be the third-year Leon-senpai. I¡¯m Marco, the fifth son of the Count Knolls. I¡¯ve heard rumors about you for a long time. My brother also praised you as a hero for destroying the corrupt customs of the school¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but¡­ Why are you guys having a staring contest in this ce? From what I just heard, you came behind her and pushed her, is there a reason?¡±

    I asked him if there were any circumstances, but the answer was worse than I had expected.

    ¡°No, I was just annoyed that they were talking so happily.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHa?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t like that she was walking in front of me, being of lower status than me. These girls need to be disciplined.¡±

    I thought I had misheard, so I turned my attention to Angl. I looked over at Angl, who seemed to know what I meant, and put her hands on her hips and looked down.

    ¡°He¡¯s an ignorant of the ways of the world.¡±

    Not so long ago, I had thought that in the Kingdom of Horfalt, most of the families above the rank of Count were decent, with a few exceptions.

    The boy in front of me, however, seemed to be an exception.

    Marco doesn¡¯t doubt that I¡¯ll take his side, and when he stands by my side, he points his finger at thedylike girl and deres.

    ¡°We have a marquis, Leon-senpai, with us. Girls like you will be expelled immediately.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t figure out what Marco was thinking. I don¡¯t have the authority to do that, and I don¡¯t intend to do it.

    No matter how you look at it, Marco is the one who is at fault.

    However, the girl with thedylike tone turned pale and her legs trembled. It was as if the decision to expel her had been made, but I had no authority to decide.

    I say to Marco, who looks at me like I¡¯m one of his friends, as he deserves it.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s wrong, no matter what I think. Quickly apologize.¡±

    But when I told him, Marco looked like he didn¡¯t understand.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Not eh. I said you were wrong and you should apologize. What do you think you¡¯re doing, suddenly pushing someone from behind?¡±

    Marco suddenly reddened, and thenined to me.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Why do I have to apologize?! I¡¯m from the Count¡¯s family!¡±

    ¡°You, if you said that, Ange who was interceding is a member of the Duke¡¯s family. Why don¡¯t you just listen to her? Come on, just apologize. It¡¯s already dark.¡±

    I looked around and saw that it waspletely dark.

    Why do I have to deal with this idiot so early in the new semester?

    Marco was shaking and trying to hit me, but one of his ssmates desperately tried to stop him. It seems to be one of Marco¡¯s cronies.

    ¡°Marco-bhan, remember who you¡¯re dealing with! You¡¯re really going to get killed. I¡¯m so sorry. I¡¯m really sorry. Please forgive us!¡±

    Marco, who had cooled down after being told off by his cronies, shakily apologized.

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯m sorry about that. I¡¯ll get you the money right away, so please spare my life. I will also ask my parents to prepare as much money as possible.¡±

    ¡°No, not to me¡±

    Why is he so frightened? As I was thinking this, I heard voices around me mocking Marco.

    ¡°A~ah, he has done it¡±

    ¡°If you quarrel with the Marquis, you¡¯re finished.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the one who might get expelled¡±

    I¡¯m curious about the evaluation of me by the people around me, but for some reason I feel sick about it.

    Ange, noticing my state, speaks to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re here to help. ¨D¨DI¡¯ll take care of the rest, so please go back to your room first. I¡¯ll tell you the detailster.¡±

    ¡°A-Aa~¡±

    .

    Part 5

    Night.

    Ange was the only one who came to visit my room.

    I invite her in and prepare a drink, and she sits down in a chair with a cup and tells me the details of what just happened.

    ¡°A hero is feared not only by his enemies, but by his allies as well. You have more influence than you think, Leon. I¡¯m a duke myself, but you¡¯re a marquis and a national hero. Did you see how the students reacted? You have more influence than I do now.¡±

    ¡°I am just a fake using Luxion¡¯s powers.¡±

    Ange smiled sadly at my joke.

    Luxion, who was listening to the conversation, questioned Ange.

    [The fifth son of the Count seems to be quite unfamiliar with aristocratic society. I¡¯m surprised that he would ignore the Duke¡¯s daughter, Angelica¡¯s intervention. Or is Angelica¡¯s authority being diminished?]

    I rebuked Luxion for herment about Ange¡¯s diminishing influence.

    ¡°You¡¯re overstating it. He looked like an idiot to me, and he¡¯s just ignorant of the world.¡±

    [That ignorant is increasing throughout the school.]

    ¡°¨D¨DIs that so?¡±

    Looking from Luxion to Ange, she tells me why the number of stupid boys has increased.

    ¡°You know the ratio of men to women in the nobility, don¡¯t you? There are fewer men, making it harder for women to marry. We¡¯ve changed to a male-dominated society, and the attitude of some of the boys who found out about it has gotten worse. It wasn¡¯t this badst year, but I¡¯m sure there will be more boys like that starting this year.¡±

    ¡°I assumed any family above the rank of Count would be decent.¡±

    ¡°Marco is the fifth son. The Count Knolls has a firm legitimate son, and I¡¯ve heard that the second through fourth sons were also excellent.¡±

    After hearing that, Luxion seemed to be convinced.

    [There are already spares for spares, and the fifth son will not inherit the family. Therefore, I suppose his education was moderate.]

    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s the result of spoiling the youngest. It¡¯s a shame it was so good until the fourth son.¡±

    Thanks to Ange¡¯s knowledge of noble society, I was able to understand something.

    I got involved in unnecessary trouble because of the ignorant bonbon*. (Note: *young master)

    Marco¡¯s attitude was awful, as I remember it now.

    ¡°I wish they¡¯d fix some of that ignorant a little. Like, if I give the order, you can get expelled, what are they thinking?¡±

    [Angelica, by using Master¡¯s authority, could that girl have been expelled?]

    I wonder what Luxion was thinking, and he asks if what Marco said is possible for me.

    It would be impossible, of course, but Ange put down her cup, put her hand on her chin, and thought about it.

    ¡°Not through normal procedures, but I¡¯m sure Leon can do it now. The girl is from a viscount family. Leon can expel her if he wants.¡±

    When I hear Ange¡¯s answer, I freeze.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible. The headmaster is my mentor. He would never allow that to happen.¡±

    The current headmaster of the school is my mentor. He is a perfect gentleman, and he would never expel a female student for an almost false usation.

    However, Ange said, ¡°You¡¯re being soft¡± and then tells me about the expulsion methods.

    ¡°From the headmaster¡¯s point of view, there¡¯s a difference in credibility between a new female student and you. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll at least give you permission if Leon make up some evidence to force him to expel her.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to take advantage of Shishou¡¯s trust!¡±

    When I answered immediately, Ange gave me aplicated look. She looked as if she wanted to me me, but also somewhat relieved.

    ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that the headmaster is not a woman. If it had been a woman, Leon would have chosen the headmaster even if he had to leave us.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. I fell in love with Shishou¡¯s tea, regardless of the gender!¡±

    I tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but Ange¡¯s gaze became even more stern.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I¡¯ll just leave it at that.¡±

    ¡°W-Why are you angry?¡±

    I looked at Luxion as if to ask for help, but he shook his single eyes.

    [You can¡¯t be trusted because of your usual behavior. Why don¡¯t you learn more about women¡¯s hearts before you make tea?]

    Why am I being taught about the woman¡¯s heart by an artificial intelligence?

    Ange lets out a small sigh and then stares at my face.

    ¡°Leon, you have more influence in the kingdom than you know. You know about the bounty Rachel has put on you? Five million Dia is the most they¡¯ve ever put on you. They¡¯ve identified you as an enemy of the state.¡±

    ¡°It is the worst, isn¡¯t it? I tried to do the least amount of harm I could.¡±

    ¡°I like your kindness, too, but there are many people who would take it as an insult. By the way, what a shameful result that the positions of boys and girls have just been reversed.¡±

    In the past, boys were oppressed, and now girls are being oppressed.

    As a result, the situation at the school has either remained the same or gotten worse.

    However, Luxion seemed to have been able to predict this oue from the beginning.

    [If I may say it, this result is within the expectation.]

    Apparently, Luxion had been able to predict the appearance of a being like Marco from the beginning.

    Looking at Luxion¡¯s smug expression, I was getting angry.

    ¡°If you knew it, then tell me.¡±

    [You have not been asked for my opinion]

    When I couldn¡¯t say anything back, Ange, who had been keeping a serious face, broke into a smile. She seemed to enjoy watching us interact.

    ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see you guys. Well, if Leon defended the girls, it should calm the boys down a bit.¡±

    I don¡¯t think my words are enough to solve the problem, but the school is in a worse situation than I thought. No, it hasn¡¯t changed, has it?

 Volume 9 4 â€œInvestigationâ€

    <h4>Volume 9 Chapter 4 ¡°Investigation¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    When the new students are getting used to life at the school.

    Finley hade to the harbor on the floating ind for a holiday.

    The reason why she went to the trouble of visiting the port of this ind floating near the royal capital was because of a letter from her parents¡¯ house.

    At the meeting ce, Finley unfolded the letter she had received from her sister, Jenna.

    It said, ¡°I¡¯m on my way to the royal capital for some business, so wee me¡±.

    Finley, sitting on the bench waiting for Jenna, let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°Why do I have to go out of my way to greet my sister on my precious day off?¡±

    Finley was not happy that her day off was being ruined, but she was slightly looking forward to seeing Jenna.

    She is getting used to life at the school, but is starting to recall her parents¡¯ home more.

    Finley would never admit it, but she is slightly homesick.

    As Jenna descends from the airship ramp, Kyle appears behind her, carrying luggage enough for two people.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been to the royal capital~!¡±

    Behind Jenna, who was impressed, Kyle, who was carrying her luggage, looked dumbfounded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to finish your business here.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten¡±

    When Jenna noticed Finley, she gave him a big wave. Finley stood up from the bench and gave her a small wave.

    However, they were also aware that people were watching them.

    (Uwaa~, we¡¯re really standing out)

    Jenna, with Kyle in tow, drew the attention of the others.

    The reason for this was that the system of exclusive servants had almostpletely fallen into disuse. There are some women who have sub-racial ves in hiding, but the number of those who take them around openly is dwindling.

    So, more than anything, Jenna stands out.

    Jenna also noticed the look, but she ignored it and hugged Finley as she approached her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve missed you, Finley!¡±

    ¡°Let me go. More importantly, I¡¯m surprised mother and others let you go to the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°I worked really hard for a month and they gave me a chance. They¡¯re pretty soft.¡±

    Finley was taken aback by such a line from Jenna.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away or you¡¯ll fail.¡±

    ¡°I absolutely do not want it! And by the way, isn¡¯t it time for your tea party? Did the boys invite you?¡±

    Smirking, Jenna poked Finley with her elbow.

    Jenna seems to be trying to tease her, but Finley shrugs.

    ¡°It¡¯s different from onee-chan¡¯s time. There¡¯s a tea party in May itself, but it¡¯s not a romantic one. It¡¯s really just about drinking tea with the boys.¡±

    ¡°Eh, is that so?¡±

    ¡°In the first ce, the girls have been told to hold a tea party. I¡¯m going to have aniki help me, though.¡±

    ¡°Leon¡¯s a bit of a nag when ites to tea. He acts all high and mighty when it¡¯s not worth much, and he¡¯s a foolish brother with a really bad personality.¡±

    ¡°Right! And said something like, keep your curfew, anyway it can¡¯t be helped but he¡¯s so annoying.¡±

    Jennapared her school days with now and was surprised at how much it had changed.

    ¡°The school¡¯s changed a lot, hasn¡¯t it? I wonder if the current headmaster used to be a manners instructor? I guess they didn¡¯t get rid of the tea party, but I don¡¯t understand why girls are inviting boys.¡±

    ¡°It seems both are fine. He said I could invite my friends and do something.¡±

    ¡°It makes even less sense. A tea party with no encounter, isn¡¯t that just a waste of time?¡±

    Kyle, who had been listening to their conversation, looked like he wanted to move on quickly.

    ¡°Either way is fine with me. Haa, are goshujin-sama and others doing well?¡±

    Kyle is worried about Marie and the others who are not here, but Finley tells him there is no problem.

    ¡°They¡¯re a bit frivolous on the school, but they seem to be doing okay.¡±

    ¡°If they¡¯re a bit frivolous, it¡¯s as usual. I¡¯m relieved to hear that.¡±

    When Kyle is relieved, [Dorothea Fou Rosede]es down from the ramp with the big brother Nix leading the way.

    When Finley sees them, she asks Jenna why they are here.

    ¡°Why are those two here too?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re here to buy some stuff.¡±

    Looking closer, she saw that Jenna and the others were aboard thergest flying battleship in the Bartofalt family.

    Nix approaches and talks to Finley.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯m relieved to see you¡¯re doing well. By the way, Leon hasn¡¯t caused any trouble, has he?¡±

    He was more worried about the trouble than Leon¡¯s safety.

    ¡°He¡¯s surprisingly quiet, except when he¡¯s sneaking around. Thanks to him, I¡¯ve been able to live a rather peaceful school life.¡±

    Finley is grateful that people around her don¡¯t do anything unnecessary just because she is Leon¡¯s sister.

    ¡°Well, it does attract some weirdos, though.¡±

    ¡°Weirdos?¡±

    Nix tilted his head, and Dorothea, standing next to him, held up her index finger to exin.

    ¡°They¡¯re the ones trying to gain favor, Nix-sama. Leon-kun is really popr.¡±

    The reason why Finley¡¯s name is not mentioned there is because people are looking at Leon through Finley. That was annoying to Finley.

    Nix saw his sister getting annoyed, decided to change the subject.

    ¡°Never mind Leon, are there any boys you¡¯re interested in?¡±

    Then Finley thought of the boy she usually talked to. It¡¯s Oscar, a really stupid boy, but a good guy that she can¡¯t hate.

    ¡°I have one, but he¡¯s like a friend.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that nice ¡°

    Finley and the others continue their conversation and move on to the royal capital.

    .

    Part 2

    The school building on a holiday.

    Many students were enjoying their holidays, and the school building was less crowded.

    Most of them are students or faculty members who are in the building for a reason.

    Marie had been sneaking into the library of the school building, which was not very crowded.

    ¡°Why am I doing this?¡±

    The purpose for sneaking in was to investigate certain people.

    The protagonist Mia and the viinous princess Erika, she has been entrusted to investigate two of them by Leon.

    At Marie¡¯s side, there is Creare.

    [It can¡¯t be helped. Master and other are starting their investigation outside the academy.]

    ¡°Ah~, are they chasing a case of serial murder? I wish they¡¯d prioritize investigating the school instead of imitating a detective.¡±

    Marie crouched down to get closer to the target and moved with no sound of footsteps.

    ¡°In the first ce, isn¡¯t aniki has a bounty on his head? Isn¡¯t it more dangerous for him to be out in the open?¡±

    [I am not sure if I can say that everything is fine because of Luxion¡¯s presence. But the main body of him is also waiting near the capital, and Arroganz are ready to move at any time.]

    ¡°It¡¯s frightening, but it¡¯s reassuring. But thanks to that, I¡¯m the only one investigating the protagonist and the viinous princess. I was reminded to never go near that guardian knight guy, though.¡±

    [Master was vignt, wasn¡¯t he]

    Marie and Creare approach the target. However, they stopped moving when they heard the voices of a man and a womaning from behind a nearby bookshelf.

    Apparently, they were trying to pick up the same book and their hands touched each other.

    ¡°Excuse me¡±

    ¡°No, excuse me as well.¡±

    Marie became envious of their eventful encounter and secretly peeked in on them.

    ¡°Encounter event in the library, it¡¯s like protago¨D¨Dnist?!¡±

    Facing each other in the aisle created between the shelves were Jake and a female student. The female student was tall enough for Jake, who was slightly shorter than average height, to look up at her.

    Her well-groomed, shiny, beautiful brown hair was waist-length, and she had good style and good posture. She looked like she was practicing some kind of martial art, and she had a firm standing posture.

    Jake looks up at the schoolgirl and pushes the book in his hand to her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll look for another book¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry about that. Besides, I am not in a hurry either.¡±

    Jake was a little surprised to see the schoolgirl looking up at him with such polite response.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I thought you would be a rough person because you seem to know how to fight, but you seem to be a coward despite your size. With your height and build, you must be strong, right?¡±

    Jake said mean words, and the female student was a little surprised, but answered shyly.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m worried about being tall. It¡¯s not cute.¡±

    Jake apologized to the girl who said she was concerned about it.

    ¡°My bad. I was jealous of your physique, but that was rude to a girl. Please forgive me. I am ¨D¨D Jake. You?¡±

    The schoolgirl smiles in a troubled way and gives a polite greeting.

    ¡°I am Aaron, a second-year student. Those who are close to me call me Aare, Your Highness Jake.¡±

    ¡°You knew me? But Aaron, huh ¨D¨D No, Aare would be more appropriate. I¡¯d like to call you that too, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±

    Even though she was a senior, Jake¡¯s attitude did not change. It was disrespectful to the senior students, but Jake¡¯s attitude was natural and normal.

    On the other hand, Aaron ¨D¨D [Aare] smiles without saying anything.

    ¡°By all means, please¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d be upset with my attitude, but ¨D¨D Fu, you¡¯re an interesting girl. I like it. You can call me Jake, too. No need to call me Your Highness.¡±

    ¡°I-I can¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my decision. If you don¡¯t abide by it, I¡¯ll have you arrested for disrespect.¡±

    When told recklessly that she would be arrested for impoliteness if she didn¡¯t call him like that, Aare reluctantly agreed.

    Hearing such an exchange, Creare was upset.

    [Aaron is Aare? Isn¡¯t that the same as my nickname that Livia-chan gave me! This is uneptable, and I will definitely protest]

    However, Marie had a blue pale face.

    ¡°This is ¨D¨D an encounter with His Highness Jake.¡±

    Hearing the interaction now, Marie remembered.

    This was because it was very close to the conversation that urs when the protagonist and Jake get to know each other.

    But it¡¯s the wrong person.

    ¡°Why do the same capture targets have to go through all these events together?¡±

    Marie was so taken aback by the turn of events that she writhed in her head.

    Marie had forgotten her original purpose, but she looked up when she was suddenly called out.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Standing there was one of the people she was checking on, the viinous princess Erika.

    The junior student, who looked more mild-mannered than the face she remembered, had apparently been worried about Marie and called out to her. Before long, Creare had disappeared.

    Marie stood up hurriedly.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing. I just got a little headache.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not okay¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine now. I just had a series of uneptable things happen and I panicked. So don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Erika tilted her head slightly and smiled at Marie, who tried to get through the situation with a fake smile.

    ¡°I see. But I think you should be quiet in the library, Marie-senpai.¡±

    ¡°Do you know me?¡±

    How does she know about her? Marie broke out in a cold sweat, but Erika chuckled and told her the reason.

    ¡°Even though I look like this, I am a princess, so I know about the Saint-sama. That ¨D¨D My brother has been indebted to you.¡±

    Even without thinking about it, Erika is royalty, and it¡¯s not surprising that she knows about Marie.

    Marie greeted, ¡°Ah, ahahaha, I am also indebted.¡±

    As they were talking, Jake and Aare came over. As soon as Jake saw Erika, he made a face of displeasure that he had met a troublesome person.

    Marie had a bad feeling that they had run into each other.

    (That¡¯s not good. These two don¡¯t get along very well in the game.)

    ¡°What, just you?¡±

    ¡°Ani-ue were in the library, too?¡±

    ¡°Stop calling me that. Our birthdays are only a few months apart.¡±

    ¡°But Ani-ue is Ani-ue, you know.¡±

    The two half-siblings had the kind of rtionship that Jake had a hard time with Erika. There was no strong sense of caution there, which was very different from the two people Marie knew.

    Marie was even more confused at the sight.

    (What does this mean? I thought His Highness Jake had some inkling of Erika¡¯s malignant nature. That¡¯s why he was so wary)

    .

    Part 3

    I was whispering to Luxion, who had been invisible at my side, as I walked through the royal city at night in my in clothes.

    ¡°What was aneki thinking when she came to royal capital? Why didn¡¯t she just stay at home.¡±

    [She was saying she was looking for a marriage partner. Would you like me to help her find the best gic partner?]

    ¡°All aneki sees is their looks and their wealth.¡±

    [Since ancient times, being resourcefulness is an important factor. It¡¯s also a proof of excellence. I think it¡¯s a problem, though, that women don¡¯te to Master, who is more resourcefulness with me by his side, very often. Isn¡¯t there something else besides resourcefulness?]

    He¡¯s still as harsh on his Master as ever.

    ¡°Three fianc¨¦es is more than enough. Anything more is called luxury. Aren¡¯t you happy to have a humble master?¡±

    [A humble man would not have three fianc¨¦es, though. Master, an incident has urred.]

    ¡°Again, huh¡±

    When I followed Luxion¡¯s lead to the crime scene, I found a crowd of people there.

    In the royal capital, patrols had been strengthened, and soldiers with lights were standing around the bodies covered with cloth.

    ¡°Another government official?¡±

    ¡°The higher-ups are going to start screaming again.¡±

    When I rushed to the scene, onlookers had already gathered. It wasn¡¯t an atmosphere I could get close to, and I had to rely on Luxion, who had hidden himself with optical camouge.

    However, even such Luxion¡¯s ability to gather information has been degraded by the interference of the demonic armor.

    ¡°That makes seven¡±

    [The victim is, as before, a recently promoted official. There are traces of the use of a demonic armor.]

    I went to the trouble of visiting the crime scene, but I got no new information and made no progress.

    ¡°They are aiming only for the officials who have been promoted.¡±

    [It¡¯s a mystery how they use demonic armor. Where did they get it?]

    I shake my head, remembering the old ck knight who used demonic armor and Serge. That thing should not be used by humans.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of that thing just lying around.¡±

    [Of course. It¡¯s not allowed to just exist.]

    Luxion, who has a strong hatred for demonic armor, is willing to help me investigate this case.

    As I try to leave the horrific crime scene, I pass by a certain person.

    When I hurriedly turned around, I saw that the other person had also noticed me and had stopped and was only looking at my upper body. He looked quite surprised, but so did I.

    ¡°What¡¯s a guardian knight of the Empire doing here?¡±

    I ask, and Herring guy answers, eyeing us warily.

    ¡°I just wanted to see what the royal capital was like. Just sightseeing. More importantly, this is the second time I¡¯ve run into you at a crime scene.¡±

    A man who more suspicious than I am, what are you talking about?

    ¡°What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.¡±

    It¡¯s too suspicious to meet the guardian knight twice at the scene of the crime, who is not supposed to exist in the third game of that otome game.

    But with no proof, I decided to back off. I didn¡¯t want to antagonize him here and end up in a situation like Serge¡¯s.

    Let¡¯s do a thorough investigation first.

    ¡°There are more famous ces for sightseeing. Why don¡¯t you go there?¡±

    And with that, I left that ce,

    ¡°¨D¨DI will do that¡±

    Herring also walks away.

    When we were a long distance from the scene, Luxion warned me. He seemed to be quite wary of Herring.

    [Master, that man Herring is dangerous. I¡¯m detecting an demonic armor reaction.]

    ¡°Is he the culprit?¡±

    [There is a high possibility. Even though he is studying abroad, the Holy Magical Empire is a country that has long been connected with the Holy Kingdom.]

    With the word ¡°Holy¡± in the name of the country, I thought there was a resemnce. How long have they been affiliated with each other? ¨D¨DNo, I feel like I learned it in ss.

    From my point of view, the Holy Kingdom of Rachel is an enemy of Milene-san! That¡¯s all I could think of!

    ¡°Come to think of it, I think I heard that in ss.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D You didn¡¯t know?¡±

    Sensing the reaction of the demonic armor, Luxion showed the utmost caution to Herring.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to find out what they are up to. I wonder what they were thinking when they made these incidents¡±

    [It¡¯s a mistake to look for logic in magical armor. Master, they are the weapons of the new humans and the source of the destruction of this world. It¡¯s useless to think about it. Please give me permission to use my main body and Arroganz here.]

    ¡°Rejected. Are you going to turn the royal city into a burning field?¡±

    For an artificial intelligence, he¡¯s a guy who gets emotional as soon as demonic armor is involved.

    But even from my point of view, Herring was suspicious.

    ¡°¨D¨DLuxion, make sure Ange and the others keep to the curfew. And make sure they stay in their rooms as much as possible at night.¡±

    [Understood]

    .

    Part 4

    A woman broke into the schoolte at night.

    She came to a barn where tools and other items were stored. When the woman arrived, the door opened and invited her in.

    The woman who entered the room raised her eyebrows involuntarily, holding her mouth with a handkerchief at the dustiness of the room. The room, where the tools for tending the garden were ced, was not very clean, to say the least.

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have set up a morefortable ce?¡±

    The woman ¨D¨D Merce uses her brother, Lutoart, of being inconsiderate.

    Lutoart, dressed in his dirty work clothes, was busy and frustrated with his daily work. He was irritated with the unfamiliar work he was being forced to do, and his tone of voice was rough.

    ¡°The staff didn¡¯t have that kind of authority. I wanted to go in as an office worker anyway. Handling dirt is not a job I¡¯m suited for.¡±

    With the help of the Ladies of the Forest, Lutoart had infiltrated the school as an employee.

    He is entrusted with gathering information and manipting things at the school.

    But it doesn¡¯t seem to be going well.

    ¡°Even though you have never worked¡±

    ¡°S-Shut up! If there is a job that suits me, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll do well. In fact, I¡¯d be more suitable for the Marquis.¡±

    Merce looked coldly at Lutoart¡¯s jealousy as hepared his position with Leon¡¯s. This was because she realized that her brother did not have the talent to do so, even from her sister¡¯s point of view.

    ¡°I hate that bastard Leon, but there¡¯s no way Lutoart can beat that guy. Even Nix can¡¯t beat him.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not losing! If the n seeds, I¡¯ll take everything from them and be a marquis!¡±

    Merce gave a disinterested look to Lutoart, who pretending to be tough.

    ¡°Then do your best. More importantly, can you do your job properly? Failure is not tolerated.¡±_

    ¡°Just kidnap a girl, right? I can handle it.¡±

    ¡°Gabino says we can¡¯t afford to fail. And for us to get our lives back on track.¡±

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s wrong to treat me like this.¡±

    We are not wrong. With that in mind, the two of them continued their dark activities in the royal capital with the support of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    .

    Part 5

    ¡°The capture target has captured the other capture target? Oi, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore, and I don¡¯t want to understand. Give me a break. What did I do to deserve this?¡±

    When I got back to the school, I got a report from Marie and put my hands on my head.

    For some reason, Aaron, I mean Aare¨D¨DThis is too much like Creare¡¯s nickname, so can I call her Aare-chan? She met His Highness Jake and caused an event.

    Who would have guessed that the two capture targets would be getting along so well?

    Marie, like me, is holding her forehead in her hands at this headache.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t even want to understand this. It¡¯s not funny that two of Mia¡¯s potential lovers have dropped out at once.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s your fault. Turning the capture target a girl, that¡¯s crazy.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have made him a girl if this was going to happen! It¡¯s all Creare¡¯s fault!¡±

    [Marie-chan is cruel!]

    Luxion is dumbfounded when he sees us cursing each other.

    [You really are a people that haven¡¯t made any progress. Why don¡¯t you try to mediate the rtionship between Mia and the target here?]

    I had a feeling that Luxion¡¯s suggestion was right, but I couldn¡¯t do it.

    ¡± ¨D¨D No, I¡¯m not going to do that.¡±

    I could have forced His Highness Jake and Mia-chan to get together, but I didn¡¯t want to cause any unnecessary problems by intervening.

    I know it¡¯s a littlete for this, but we don¡¯t want any more irregrities.

    Besides, there is the matter of Noel in the Republic.

    Because her sister Lelia, who is a reincarnated person, tried to force her to go out with him, and the result was outrageous.

    I couldn¡¯t say for sure that we wouldn¡¯t do the same thing, so I decided to let it happen.

    Besides, our biggest concern, thest boss, has already been defeated by us.

    Hiding in the bushes, Luxion and I, and Marie and Creare face each other to discuss the future.

    ¡°Let¡¯s change the subject. ¨D¨D outside, there is seven incidents has urred.¡±

    ¡°Again? Aniki shouldn¡¯t go out, either. Aren¡¯t you afraid of a serial killer?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m a murderer too.¡±

    In terms of the number of people I¡¯ve killed, there¡¯s noparison to this incident. I thought it was a ck joke that I was more deserving of being a murderer, having killed so many people on the battlefield¡­

    I smiled at her, and she turned her face away angrily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make strange jokes.¡±

    ¡°My bad. Well, we¡¯re fine. We¡¯re walking around like we¡¯re showing off. More importantly, just because you¡¯ re in a school doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re safe.¡±

    There are many dangers both inside and outside the school.

    Creare is in charge of the security of the school and wants to be left in charge.

    [I¡¯ll do something about it. More importantly, Luxion should take care of the demonic armor. I can¡¯tpete with that.]

    When all eyes turned to Luxion, he was motivated.

    [Leave it to me. All relics of the new humans will be extinguished.]

    Dependable, but a little scary.

    .

    Part 6

    May tea party.

    It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been to one of these events, but the content has changed a lot.

    Before, boys were the ones to invite, but from this year on, they could invite anyone regardless of gender.

    Impressed by my master¡¯s noble goal of spreading tea, I¡¯ve been interjecting myself into Finley¡¯s tea parties to actively participate.

    ¡°What do you think tea is!¡±

    ¡°Hiih?!¡±

    I drank the tea that Finley had prepared andined about it. Or rather, there¡¯s only wrong in the first ce.

    ¡°Everything is no good. Your tea oozes your frivolous sentiment that all you have to do is prepare it. And the sweets are no good. Thebination is not right. Start over.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so mad!¡±

    ¡°If you hold a weird tea party, you¡¯ll be ruining my credibility too.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just worry about your own tea party.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing since April, so there¡¯s no problem.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that, on the contrary, scary. You¡¯re usually so sketchy about everything, why do you care so much about tea?¡±

    ¡°Just start over¡±

    Finley¡¯s shoulders slumped and she headed for the kitchen to start over.

    Finley was encouraged by Oscar, who was here for some reason.

    ¡°Fight, Finley-san.¡±

    As we drank and ate the tea and sweets that Finley had prepared together, this man looked like he was a natural to be here.

    ¡°Oscar, why are you here? You¡¯re His Highness Jake¡¯s foster brother, aren¡¯t you? Shouldn¡¯t you be with him?¡±

    I told him in a roundabout way to stay by His Highness¡¯ side like Jilk, but it was pointless because this guy had no ability to perceive.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern. However, His Highness now wants to spend more time with Aare-san. As a foster brother, I won¡¯t interfere the two of them.¡±

    I¡¯m not sure he understands, but he¡¯s a good guy.

    No wonder Julius wanted to trade him for Jilk.

    But ¨D¨D I¡¯m begging you, please be aware that you¡¯re one of the capture targets! No, it¡¯s a selfish request on my part!

    ¡°You and Finley seem to be getting along. That ¨D¨D you¡¯re not dating, right?¡±

    When I probed him, Oscar looked unconcerned.

    ¡°I¡¯m close to her, but unfortunately, we remain friends.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately?! What¡¯s so good about her?! There¡¯s cuter girls in your ss, right? You know, like the foreign student!¡±

    When I checked to see if he was unaware of the protagonist, this guy nodded his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t remember all my ssmates¡¯ names, so I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    ¡°You should at least remember the foreign students from the Empire!¡±

    ¡°Ah~, I can vaguely remember her face. She was cute girl. But what does that matter?¡±

    Oscar¡¯s demeanor, which seemed not to be very interested, made me lose my strength.

    I was surprised to learn that Oscar was interested in Finley for some reason.

    What should I tell Marie and the others about this?

    .

    Part 7

    ¡°Are you stupid? Aniki, are you really stupid?¡±

    [It was unexpected that Finley-chan would win one of the capture targets. But it¡¯s Master¡¯s responsibility, isn¡¯t it?]

    How can it be my fault?

    In the bushes, the usual four of us faced each other and discussed the future.

    When I talked to them about Oscar¡¯s case, Marie and Creare med me.

    Creare imagines that Oscar might have an ulterior motive.

    [Maybe he¡¯s not after Finley-chan but he¡¯s after Master? Ah, I don¡¯t mean in a sexual way. It¡¯s possible that he approached Finley-chan to have a connection with Master.]

    Marie immediately denied Creare¡¯s opinion.

    ¡°He¡¯s not that smart, you know. He¡¯s dumb, but he¡¯s not a bad kid.¡±

    If that Oscar is doing everything with calction, I might rather praise him.

    And he¡¯s not a bad guy, that¡¯s for sure.

    ¨D¨D He¡¯s stupid, though.

    The problem is that Oscar is so enamored with Finley.

    I med them for Jake and Aare a while ago, and now I¡¯m being med by both of them for Finley.

    ¡°That means there¡¯s only two people left?¡±

    Marie blurted out the number of remaining capture targets.

    If this continues, the three of capture targets will drop out of the protagonist¡¯s list of potential lovers because of us.

    Other than what happened to Aare, I haven¡¯t had to do anything this time!

 Volume 9 5 â€œRachel Holy Kingdomâ€

    <h4>Volume 9 Chapter 5 ¡°Rachel Holy Kingdom¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Night.

    Fred hade to a deserted alleyway.

    He was trembling because he was scared, and was constantly aware of his surroundings.

    Recently, there have been a number of incidents targeting government officials, and Fred is worried that he might be targeted.

    Then, he finds a hooded woman hiding in the dark, beckoning to him.

    The woman took off her hood as Fred approached. It was Merce who appeared.

    ¡°You¡¯rete, Fred¡±

    Fred, who works as a doctor at the royal pce, is a nobleman, but Merce doesn¡¯t care and calls him by his name. However, Fred, who is in a position of weakness, does not talk back and hands over the luggage he has brought to Merce.

    ¡°I brought you what I promised¡±

    Checking the contents, Merce picked up a small vial and gave Fred a mischievous smile.

    However, the depths of her eyes were tinged with a suspicious light.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you brought it. Now you¡¯re really going to fulfill the conditions I wanted, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    What Merce wanted Fred to prepare for her was poison.

    ¡°-It is slow-acting, tasteless, and odorless. It¡¯s something you could mix into a drink and it wouldn¡¯t make a difference. I-I¡¯ve prepared it, and now you¡¯ll keep your promise, won¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep your secret silent. Even so, as Your Majesty¡¯s friend, you dare to betray him, huh.¡±

    Merce mocked Fred and put away the vial of the drug.

    Then he grabbed Fred by the chest and pulled him close.

    ¡°When that ipetent king falls, you¡¯ll have to stick to the n. Whatever it is, just buy us some time and confuse them.¡±

    Fred asks Merce, who threatens him, with a blue face.

    ¡°W-What exactly are you nning?¡±

    Fred falls on his buttocks as Merce pushes him away.

    Merce looked down at Fred andughed with a nasty look on her face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to know anything. But I¡¯ll tell you something special. The day when the kingdom will be restored to its original state is approaching. Looking forward to it, right?¡±

    Feeling good, Merce said and left the ce, heading for the store where Rnd was waiting.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°It¡¯s been almost a month since we met, and you¡¯re still as cold as ever, Merce.¡±

    Late at night, Rnd was in front of the tavern, trying to wrap up tonight¡¯s y with Merce. When he said y, he meant just drinking together and nothing more.

    ¡°You say that again. I¡¯m not an easy woman, you know.¡±

    Rnd realizes that Merce is in a much better mood today and decides to press for a kiss.

    ¡°Then a goodbye kiss ¨D¨D¡±

    When Rnd brought his face close to hers, Merce¡¯s finger was ced on his lips.

    ¡°That¡¯ll have to wait until next time. It¡¯s been fun, Leon-san.¡±

    Rnd, who still uses the alias Leon, lets out a deep sigh as he watches Merce leave in a good mood.

    ¡°Wait until next time, you¡¯re a mean woman until the end. ¨D¨D Now, I¡¯d better get back¡±

    .

    Part 3

    After parting ways with Rnd, Merce hade to the basement where the Forest of Ladies hideout was located.

    Gabino was also there, and when he noticed Merce, he smiled.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Miss Merce? By the looks of it, your n seems to be going well.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Gabino-sama. I have done as you instructed.¡±

    The gentlemanly and kind Gabino made Merce¡¯s drunken face even redder.

    Gabino approached Merce, who moved as instructed, and she was delighted when he held her hand.

    ¡°What a surprise! You have done well. Now the kingdom will be in chaos. All your hard work will finally pay off! You are a wonderful woman, Miss Merce.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±

    Merce, who hadn¡¯t received apliment from a man in a long time, felt good at Gabino¡¯s words.

    Zora, who had been watching the situation, approached Gabino topete with Merce.

    ¡°Gabino-sama, I¡¯m doing my best too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I have not forgotten. You are of noble birth, but you have endured many hard days underground. In a few days, the kingdom will be restored to its former glory. And then you can go back to your life of elegance.¡±

    The women who belonged to the forest ofdies looked relieved at Gabino¡¯s words.

    Then the representative asks Gabino, looking at the thick, sturdy, locked door.

    ¡°By the way, Gabino-sama ¨D¨D We have prepared another one.¡±

    Many eyes went to the thick door.

    From behind the thick door, they could hear the voices of suffering men, and the women were frightened by it.

    Gabino smiles.

    ¡°Shall we begin the adjustment then¡±

    .

    Part 4

    Gabino, who had left the forest ofdies¡¯ hideout, was walking through the royal capital with one of his men.

    In addition to the forest ofdies, the notebook also contains the names of organizations of former nobles and disgruntled groups hiding in the royal capital.

    A subordinate asks, watching Gabino¡¯s back as he ponders over the notebook.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t we prepare the poison ourselves?¡±

    It was a natural question that they should at least prepare the poison themselves, without giving Merce any trouble.

    However, Gabino tells his subordinate, ¡°Don¡¯t be naive,¡± and then tells him why he is doing this roundabout way.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s poisoned or not. Do you really think those people can aplish their goals? Don¡¯t forget that we have another mission.¡±

    ¡°But if this seeds, the Kingdom of Horfalt will be our puppet. Once those who supported us are in power, the Holy Kingdom of Rachel can focus on Reparto.¡±

    Listening to his subordinate, Gabino gave him a cold stare.

    ¡°They¡¯ll never seed. They¡¯ll probably fail anyway, so just use them up. Well, I¡¯ll give them credit for getting that crook Rnd to drink the poison.¡±

    Gabino said, and wrinkled his brow as he touched the scar on his forehead that he had gotten in the Republic of Alzer.

    Then he quickly returned to his nk expression and headed for the next hideout.

    .

    Part 5

    Next morning.

    At the royal pce, Milene and Rnd were eating at the same table.

    They sat at opposite ends of a rectangr table, facing each other but at a distance.

    Milene thought that the distance between them indicated the distance between them as a couple.

    It¡¯s a political marriage, a rtionship without love for each other.

    She thought that this was normal, but she was annoyed with Rnd, who usually seemed to be enjoying his nightlife.

    Therefore, she couldn¡¯t help but say something sarcastic.

    ¡°I heard you were outte drinking against night.¡±

    Rnd was pale and not eating well, and Milene was amazed to see that he was hungover again.

    Milene hated Rnd, who pushed his political duties onto her and yed around.

    If he was ipetent enough to do anything with this, she would have left him alone, but Rnd was not lesspetent than Milene in political affairs.

    Rather, the quality is poor because if you let him do it, he can do it.

    The fact that he could do it but not do the work was getting on Milene¡¯s nerves.

    However, Rnd is not talking much today.

    (Usually, he would have returned the sarcasm and snark, but today he¡¯s quiet)

    Concerned, Milene continued to talk to Rnd.

    ¡°It¡¯s been very dangeroustely. We¡¯ve been increasing our patrols, but it¡¯s dangerous for you, too, so please refrain from ying¨D¨D¡±

    Before she could finish, Milene got out of her seat, knocked over her chair and headed straight for Rnd. Those who were around her were also in a panic and rushed to Rnd.

    Rnd looked pale and slipped out of his chair and fell straight to the floor and didn¡¯t get up.

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±

    When Milene came to Rnd¡¯s side, he was still breathing.

    Immediately, Milene ordered Fred, the court physician, to be summoned.

    ¡°Get Fred-dono down here now! Quickly! Your Majesty, are you all right? Fred-dono will be here soon.¡±

    As Milene continued to call out to him, Rnd opened his eyes. Then he grabbed Milene¡¯s arm and squeezed his voice out.

    ¡°Keep it a secret that I copsed ¨D¨D and then ¨D¨D if anything happens ¨D¨D the brat ¨D¨D ¡°

    As it is, Rnd coughs, and Milene bursts into tears.

    ¡°Your Majesty ¨D¨D Dear!¡±

    .

    Part 6

    The school was a little noisy in preparation for the tea party.

    Students are moving around to get ready, and others are fussing over who to invite and whose tea party to attend.

    I don¡¯t mind this bustle, but I was in the library for something else.

    I¡¯m alone with Livia in the library after school.

    There is also Luxion, who is hiding in in sight, but he doesn¡¯t join the conversation at the moment. There are other students reading books in the gate library, but they are few and far between, and there is no one around.

    She is a woman, so I guess you could say we were practically alone.

    I¡¯ve been gathering information about the Voldenowa Holy Magic Empire, and Livia has offered to help me, so she¡¯s been apanying me.

    Now I¡¯m reading a book about the rtionship between the Holy Magic Empire of Voldenowa and the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    I learned a little about it in ss, but the book had more details.

    ¡°The Empire once gave special armor to the royal family as a sign of friendship. Is this also when the Holy was added to the name of the country of Rachel?¡±

    It seems that the two countries had a deep connection with each other a long time ago, and it seems that they are still in touch with each other today.

    A friend of Milene-san¡¯s enemy ¨D¨D That makes them my enemies.

    Let¡¯s also put the Holy Magic Empire of Voldenowa on my list of countries that I hate. Although, the list of countries I dislike only includes Rachel and the Empire.

    If so, then the protagonist has a connection to the Holy Kingdom of Rachel as well.

    As I prayed for no trouble, Livia opened her mouth.

    ¡°Leon-san, it seems you¡¯re being reckless again?¡±

    Livia, who was sitting next to me, asked me, but her eyes were on the book.

    I can only give nd answers to ambiguous questions.

    ¡°It¡¯s tough because it¡¯s a lot of work. I have to preach to all the idiots in the first year, and I have to help Finley with her tea party.¡±

    It may look like this, but I¡¯m also busy at school.

    Whenever a naive male student causes a problem, for some reason I get called away.

    The majority of these problems are between boys and girls.

    If this was a romantic rtionship, I would not have been able to handle it, but sadly, it is a problem before that. All of them are asking for help because the boys are bothering the girls.

    However, Livia stops her hand and turns her face to me.

    Apparently, there was something else she wanted to hear.

    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve been going out every night, right?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWho told you that? Rnd?¡±

    Livia shakes her head when I mention the name, thinking that if anyone knows I¡¯m out at night, it¡¯s Rnd.

    ¡°If you go out often enough, even the students at the school will notice. It has be a rumor.¡±

    I avert my gaze at Livia¡¯s using stare as she narrows her eyes slightly.

    I couldn¡¯t exin in detail why I was out at night, so I decided to y dumb.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not doing anything wrong. R-Really.¡±

    I don¡¯t want people to think I¡¯m ying with women at night, so I¡¯ll go ahead and say that¡¯s not the case.

    However, Livia was not worried about me ying with women.

    ¡°I don¡¯t smell a woman, so I¡¯m not worried about that. But you¡¯re doing something dangerous, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Well, more or less. Eh? Smell?¡±

    ¡°Leon-san, you¡¯ll talk to me, won¡¯t you?¡±

    How much does she know? In this case, it would be better to exin the situation with some truth.

    The trick to telling a lie is to weave the truth into it. However, an honest person like me would never tell a lie. ¨D¨D I will only hide the inconvenient truth.

    ¡°No~, this is that, you know. I¡¯m chasing a series of murders that have been increasing recently. The killer hasn¡¯t been caught yet, so we can¡¯t rest easy, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s Leon-san¡¯s job. Plus, it¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    My heart ached at the sight of Livia looking so worried about me.

    But there are reasons why I can¡¯t leave it, so I have to continue.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll exin everything when I get everything sorted out, and you can count on Creare if you need anything.¡±

    With her around, if a problem arises, they can at least stall for time and escape.

    Livia is dissatisfied with such a wish of mine.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Are we that unreliable?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°I know that Leon-san cares about us. But you need to rely on us more. Me and Ange have been working hard to be helpful to you, Leon-san. We¡¯re not the same as before anymore¡±

    I had heard that Livia and Ange were making an effort while I was studying abroad. I didn¡¯t even ask, but Creare reported back to me.

    I was d to hear that it was for me, but I still didn¡¯t want to take them to a dangerous ce.

    ¡°Still, I wouldn¡¯t want to put you all in any danger.¡±

    ¡°Are we really not necessary for you, Leon-san? I¡¯m more than Leon-san think¨D¨D¡±

    When ites to magic, Livia has more knowledge and skills than I do.

    I also acknowledged Livia¡¯s abilities.

    But still ¨D¨D I can¡¯t help but think.

    ¡°Boys have a stubborn side, you know. If I don¡¯t work hard once in a while, Livia will dump me, right?¡±

    Even though I¡¯m like Luxion¡¯s bonus, I have a little bit of willpower.

    However, Livia doesn¡¯t seem to understand.

    ¡°Neither I nor Ange will ever abandon you.¡±

    When I saw Livia angrily return her gaze to her book, I let out a small sigh, reflecting that I should have tried to talk her out of it better.

    I turn my gaze to the book, too, and I hear Livia¡¯s voice.

    ¡°I will never dump you¨D¨DIf you abandon me, I¡¯ll chase you forever, and I¡¯ll make you look at me again.¡±

    What a nice thing to say! I turned my head awkwardly towards Livia, not being insensitive enough to be happy about it.

    Livia dropped her gaze to her book and continued the research.

    Her appearance was the same as usual, but what she had just said was strangely scary.

    It may have been because of the tone of her voice, but my crisis skills were detecting something very heavy.

    ¡°A-Ano, I¡¯m really sorry. Please forgive me.¡±

    I apologize because I feel so scared, but Livia looks up and smiles at me.

    ¡°What are you apologizing for?¡±

    It was just a gentle smile, but I felt like I was being asked, ¡°Were you nning to abandon us?¡± Her full smile just seemed to give off a sense of intimidation.

    It must be my imagination.

    There was no way that gentle Livia could be such a scary woman.

    ¡± ¨D¨DNothing¡±

    In the first ce, If anyone was going to be thrown away, it would be me.

    I can easily imagine a future in which they get fed up with me.

    .

    Part 7

    The girls¡¯ dormitory at night.

    After visiting Ange¡¯s room, Noelle sat down on a chair and looked around the room.

    ¡°My room was pretty big too, but it¡¯s no match for Angelica-san¡¯s.¡±

    The room that the school had prepared for Noelle was more than luxurious enough, but it was inferior to Ange¡¯s.

    Noelle did notin about that. Rather, she feels ufortable because it is too luxurious.

    However, Noelle noticed that there were many of Livia¡¯s personal belongings in Ange¡¯s room.

    (Is this room being used by two people?)

    Livia was naturally present in the room even now, but she might be spending time with her on a regr basis.

    When Noelle was looking at the room, Ange exined why she had called her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have youe all this way.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind¡±

    ¡°Actually, I need to talk to you about Leon. He seems to be sneaking around behind our backs again.¡±

    Ange crosses her arms, looks down, and lets out a small sigh, seemingly worried about Leon. However, she can also be seen a bit of disappointment there.

    Livia¡¯s expression was more grim than usual, as if she was angry with Leon.

    ¡°He went out with Luc-kun again today. Even though he warned us never to break the curfew.¡±

    Noelle also knew that Leon was out of the school at night. The teachers must have been aware of it, but no one criticized Leon for breaking the curfew so brazenly.

    It was proof of Leon¡¯s power, but it was also not an interesting story for Noelle, who was his fianc¨¦e.

    ¡°Marie-chan says that he never ys with women, though. It¡¯s more scary to hear that he¡¯s chasing a murderer.¡±

    Noelle was more scared than amazed when she heard that he was chasing after a series of murders that had been happening in the royal capital.

    What on earth would make a student do such a thing?

    Ange put the materials on the table indicating that she had researched the case.

    ¡°It¡¯s a case of the court nobles being targeted. All of them were newly appointed officials, and all of them were capable.¡±

    The former Principality of Fannos. The conflict with the current Duke Fannos has made it necessary for the kingdom to reform, even if they don¡¯t want to.

    Some of the nobles had betrayed the kingdom, while others had fled the war. As a result of the mass demolition of the houses of such people ¨D¨D They were short on manpower.

    In order to supplement their manpower, they have recruited many talented young people, but there have been seven cases of murders targeting them.

    Noelle picked up the document and checked the contents.

    ¡°Could this be the work of those who were deprived of their positions?¡±

    Ange agrees with Noelle¡¯s guess.

    ¡°That¡¯s very likely. But it¡¯s a shame for the people of the royal capital that they can¡¯t catch the culprit. Or the culprit is very good?¡±

    Considering that this was the reason why Leon was out and about, Angel might be upset with the people in charge of security in the royal capital.

    Livia was a little frightened, as if she imagined Leon taking on a criminal who might be very good.

    ¡°He¡¯s being reckless again. ¨D¨D I¡¯m worried about Leon-san.¡±

    While the two of them are only paying attention to the outside of the school, Noelle is more concerned about the inside.

    ¡°It¡¯s tough outside, but it¡¯s weird inside, too. Marie-chan is always on edge, and there are some suspicious employees.¡±

    When she heard that there was a suspicious staff member, Livia had an idea what it was.

    ¡°Speaking of which, a while ago there was a staff member who stared at me when I was walking with Leon-san.¡±

    ¡°Did Olivia-san get stared at too? Actually, I got stared at too, but Leon said I didn¡¯t have to worry about it. The other girls were talking about it, but I think he stares at lovers.¡±

    Listening to their conversation, Angel was the only one who didn¡¯t seem to remember.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I don¡¯t recall any of the staff staring at me when I was with Leon?¡±

    Noelle was concerned about Angel, who for some reason seemed a little dissatisfied.

    ¡°Angelica-san, you¡¯re famous in this country, aren¡¯t you? You have a high status, and I¡¯m sure he was too scared to stare at you?¡±

    ¡°Is that so? You¡¯re not saying that, unlike you guys, Leon and I didn¡¯t look like lovers, are you?¡±

    ¡°I-I think it¡¯s okay.¡±

    Surely, Noelle couldn¡¯t say ¨D¨D that the other party was probably too scared to stare at the strong-willed Angel.

    .

    Part 8

    The courtyard of the school.

    At night, under an outside light, Marie was waiting for someone.

    The day they encountered each other in the library, Marie had made an appointment to talk with Erika.

    Today is that day.

    However, Erika herself is royalty and has many followers, so she rarely has a chance to be alone.

    The only time she could move around freely was at night.

    Seeing Erika appear, Marie nervously asks her to sit down.

    In the darkened courtyard of the school, Marie sits on a bench under an outside light and cuts Erika off.

    ¡°E-Etto, Erika-sama. Actually, I need to talk to you ¨D¨D ¡°

    Erika smiled and said something unexpected to Marie, who was trying to find out what the other person was up to while talking to her.

    ¡°Before that, let me ask you a question. ¨D¨D Isn¡¯t Marie-senpai a reincarnated person?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    When Marie heard the word ¡°reincarnated¡± from Erika, she was confused and could not speak. Erika put her hand on her chest.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same for me. I found myself living as Erika Rafa Horfalt. Or more urately, I guess it¡¯s possession.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right?! T-Then, why until now?¡±

    If Erika is a reincarnated person, then why did she leave us alone until now? If she knew the scenario of that otome game, she would have noticed something strange before.

    Erika, who had anticipated Marie¡¯s question in advance, talked about her own body.

    ¡°Untilst year, I was too sickly to walk around much. Also, my father was overprotective and didn¡¯t let me go out much. Nevertheless, the stories of the Saint-sama and the Marquis have reached my ears.¡±

    Erika¡¯s calm demeanor belied her age, and Marie slid off the bench she was sitting on and fell to the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m so nervous, I¡¯ve lost it! Then how old are you on the inside? I¡¯m quite a bit older than I look, so be respectful.¡±

    When Marie suddenly tries to mount her with her age, Erikaughs and tells her the age of her previous life.

    ¡°I was over sixty¡±

    Marie bowed her head in response to the answer she hadn¡¯t expected.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being so cocky.¡±

    ¡°Eh? A-ano, I don¡¯t mind. But the reason you wanted to talk to me like this was about that Otome game, right?¡±

    Marie looked up and shouted loudly.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! You see, my brother and I know very little about the third work. So, if you do, please tell me everything. We¡¯re in a bit of a mess right now.¡±

    Marie holds Erika¡¯s hand.

    Erika was a little surprised, but she sorted out for herself what Marie was trying to say.

    ¡°I thought the Marquis Bartofalt was also a reincarnated person, but was he rted to you in a previous life?¡±

    ¡°Yes! My brother was also reincarnated in this world. Maybe it¡¯s because I pushed the game on him, and thanks to that, we got into a lot of trouble.¡±

    Erika, who was listening to Marie¡¯s story, noticed something and almost opened her mouth to ask.

    However, their discussion was interrupted by the appearance of a female student who was looking for someone at this moment.

    ¡°Knight-sama, where are you~? Knight-sa¨D¨D¡±

    A female student, who seemed to be running and looking for someone, suddenly fell down in the darkness. Hurriedly, Marie and Erika ran out, approached her and held her up.

    The female student was Mia.

    She is holding her chest in pain, and Marie is using healing magic.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t overdo it if you¡¯re sick.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so ¨D¨D rry. I¡¯ve been feeling sick ¨D¨D for a while. That¡¯s why ¨D¨D Knight-sama wanted me ¨D¨D to get some medicine. I-I thought if this much would be okay.¡±

    She probably thought she could run some distance, but her condition was deteriorating because of it.

    Erika gently holds Mia¡¯s hand as she talks about the situation with a pained look on her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Keep calm and breathe slowly.¡±

    When Mia was held by her hands and breathed as Erika instructed, the pain seemed to ease gradually.

    The grim expression on her face became much more rxed, and Marie was relieved.

    ¡°I am d¡±

    (But that¡¯s weird. I don¡¯t feel like there¡¯s anything wrong)

    The healing magic was used, but Marie did not get any response that it had healed her.

    There was no indication of what was wrong with her, and she suspected a fake illness, but Mia seemed to be in serious pain.

    And yet, Mia had indeed improved after receiving Marie¡¯s healing magic. Although she felt unconvinced, she thought it would be better if she could heal her, so she talked to Mia.

    ¡°Do you have a chronic illness, by any chance?¡±

    (You were supposed to be the energetic girl, right?)

    Marie is ufortable with Mia¡¯s condition.

    ¡°Last year, I suddenly started suffering more. I never had this problem before, and I was running around normally.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DIs that so¡±

    Hearing Mia¡¯s story about how she suddenly became a sickly settingst year, Marie looks at Erika.

    (She was sickly before, and now she¡¯s suddenly healthy, right? Why is the setting of ¡°sickly¡± being switched?)

    Erika talks to Mia instead of Marie, who is thinking.

    ¡°I wonder if the medicine your knight has is avable anywhere else?¡±

    ¡°Buu-ku¨D¨DN-No, that¡¯s right. It¡¯s a special medicine prepared by the knight-sama, and I¡¯ve heard that you can¡¯t get it anywhere else.¡±

    ¡°So. ¨D¨D Your knight-sama is well versed in pharmacy.¡±

    When Erikaplimented Herring, Mia¡¯s face turned a little red with embarrassment. Perhaps pleased with the praise for Herring, she even starts talking about things she hasn¡¯t heard.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The knight-sama is really a great person. He¡¯s the best knight in the empire, and he¡¯s not really the kind of person who would be Mia¡¯s guardian knight. ¨D¨DHe¡¯s really too good a knight to waste on Mia.¡±

    Seeing Mia¡¯s face go from happy to gradually depressed, Marie realizes.

    (Are? Isn¡¯t she in love with her guardian knight?)

    Unlike Leon, Marie is sensitive about romance, and she easily detects Mia¡¯s fondness for Herring from her attitude.

    ¡°The knight-sama was so kind that he followed Mia to her study abroad destination. He said he couldn¡¯t leave Mia alone.¡±

    She asked why the guardian knight hade to study abroad, and Marie joined the conversation to find out at this time.

    ¡°For you? Not like there¡¯s a purpose to it or anything?¡±

    Mia was asked by Marie, and after thinking for a moment, she said what she remembered.

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t heard of any other purpose.¡±

    .

    Part 9

    I was running through the royal city at night.

    [Master, over here]

    A number of drones positioned in the royal capital were signaling each other with flickering lights. Luxion had seen them and was leading me to the crime scene.

    ¡°It¡¯s very old-fashioned.¡±

    [Please don¡¯tin. It¡¯s right there on the corner.]

    I turned right as I was led and arrived at the crime scene where there were still no onlookers. It was an intricate alleyway between two buildings, which turned into a crossroad.

    It is a ce where the buildings facing away from each other, and there are few peopleing and going.

    The officials who seemed to have just been killed were surrounded by men who seemed to have been hired as guards.

    These muscr bouncers were lying dead.

    And yet, there was no sign of even a serious struggle.

    Standing at the scene of the murder, which made me want to frown, was a suspicious-looking man wearing a hat and a long brown coat.

    When I approached the man, he turned around and showed me his face. His eyes were glowing red.

    ¡°Uah¨D¨DBarto¨D¨DFalt¨D¨DF-Found¨D¨Dyou¡±

    Drool dripped from the corners of his mouth and he moved in an insane manner.

    As he turned his body toward me, dragging his feet, I could see the man¡¯s abdomen.

    Frowning, I pulled out the pistol hidden in my jacket and held it up.

    ¡°That¡¯s bad hobby¡±

    [He¡¯s taken in a piece of demonic armor. Master, it¡¯s toote for this man.]

    The word ¡°toote¡± made me think of Serge for a moment.

    Luxion, perhaps reading my thoughts, tried to take over the role.

    [I will handle it]

    ¡°Wait a minute. If he¡¯s still conscious, I want to talk to him.¡±

    [¨D¨DIs that so]

    The man¡¯s abdomen. A number of flesh eyes appeared on his chest, and three tentacles were wriggling out of his torn abdomen.

    The tip of the tentacle has a sharp de and is covered in blood.

    ¡°There¡¯s no mistake you¡¯re the culprit, right? What¡¯s your purpose?¡±

    ¡°Bartofalt is¨D¨Dan enemy¨D¨Dour¨D¨Denemy¨D¨Dkill him¡±

    ¡°Does it feel like he can¡¯tmunicate?¡±

    [It would be more difficult for a regr person to remain conscious if a demonic armor is imnted in his body. Besides, it¡¯s impossible for this man alone to cause all the incidents so far. There¡¯s a high possibility that someone is behind this.]

    A person can die quickly if they are inhabited by demonic armor.

    Luxion said it was impossible for him to be active in such a state for a month.

    If that¡¯s the case, would it be more natural to assume that there is someone behind the scenes preparing people with demonic armor?

    ¡°Then, now let¡¯s find out who¡¯s behind all this¡±

    As I raised my pistol and took aim, the man¡¯s eyes glowed intensely and the tentacles on his abdomen closed in on me.

    Pulling the trigger, the bullet shoots the man in the head.

    As the man slowly fell on his back, the tentacles slowed down and before they could reach me, they fell to the ground and stopped moving.

    As it was, the tentacles turned into a ck liquid and disappeared, leaving only the man¡¯s corpse.

    I let out a deep sigh and looked at the culprit¡¯s face.

    ¡°For the time being, we got a clue with this.¡±

    [Yes. Let¡¯s find out their identities and gather information from the people involved.]

    ¡°Then again, some people do terrible things.¡±

    [¨D¨DIf they can handle this much demonic armor fragments, there must be someone who has some knowledge about it. If someone who doesn¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing messes with the demonic armor, they¡¯ll just get sucked to death.]

    Apparently, flesh, blood and magic power are sucked up by the fragments of the demonic armor, and they die quickly.

    ¡°It looks like a curse equipment¡±

    [It¡¯s not urate, but it¡¯s not wrong either. It¡¯s an abominable weapon that should not be touched by people.]

    ¡°In the meantime, let¡¯s see if there¡¯s anything that can help us identify him?¡±

    As I approached the corpse, I could feel the presence of people in the darkness on the other side.

    Luxion, who noticed it before I did, is on alert.

    [Master, it seems that the mastermind was right beside us.]

    ¡°I guess so¡±

    A man appears from the darkness, watching us warily.

    The conspicuous silver-haired man was Herring, a guardian knight that I had seen many times at the school.

    He takes one look at the corpse and then at me and my gun, and his brow wrinkles up into a look of tant disgust.

    Herring asks in a tone that threatens me.

    ¡°What is your purpose?¡±

    The question was so vague that I felt like I was being asked, ¡°Why are you following me around?¡±.

    So I raised my pistol and pointed the muzzle at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯m the one who should be asking the questions. I¡¯ve got a lot of questions for you¨D¨D¡±

    [Master!]

    Luxion jumps in front of me and deploys a barrier in front of me.

    Immediately afterwards, the barrier was hit by a number of electric shocks that caused it to glow violently.

    However, Herring has shown no signs of movement.

    He seemed surprised by Luxion, but what mattered was the eerie ck sphere that appeared out of the darkness behind Herring.

    It¡¯s the same size as Luxion and has one red eye.

    However, the crucial difference would be that it looks more like a living organism.

    I don¡¯t know what the ck part is made of, but his eyes are flesh and blood.

    The eyes were red and eerie to look at.

    I hear a different voice than Herring¡¯s.

    [Buddy¨D¨DLooks like my bad premonition was right. The fiend knight is carrying a weapon left behind by the old humans.]

    Before I could say anything to the ck guy¡¯s words, Luxion overreacted. He reacted as if he had been reunited with an enemy.

    [I didn¡¯t think that the core of the demonic armor was still in existence. Such a mass of evil should be erased here and now. I will ask the Master for permission to use the main body.]

    When Luxion suddenly said that he was going to bring out his main body to fight, the ck guy who shot out electric shocks put out one small hand, grasped it, and shouted.

    [What¡¯s the evil influence, you damn metal! You guys are so much more evil and worthless than I am! Buddy, wear me right away! These guys are never going to be allowed to exist!]

    The furious ck one had bloodshot eyes and thorns on its surface, making it look like a sea urchin. It seemed to be able to change its form at will.

    ¡°There is no choice but to do it, huh. Kurosuke!¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    When Herring pointed his right hand at me, the ck guy ¨D¨D Kurosuke became liquid and clung to him.

    Then, bat wings appear on Herring¡¯s back.

    ¡°It looks like a devil.¡±

    [This is no time to joke around. He¡¯s in full demonic armor. Master, let¡¯s go back to the meeting point with the Arroganz.]

    ¡°Will they let me go?¡±

    I follow Luxion and start running with my back to Herring, and quickly use the intricate alleyways to escape.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Facing Herring, who was chasing me, I turned around and shot him with one hand with my pistol while running. However, the bullet had hit him, but had been deflected.

    ¡°I was aiming for the flesh part, but it just bounced off!¡±

    It seems that even the powerful pistols made by Luxion are not effective against Herring now.

    [They¡¯re deploying barriers on the surface. It¡¯s useless to shoot them. That¡¯s why I advised you to carry a more powerful weapon.]

    Tucking my pistol into my holster as I run away, I say back to Luxion in a snide tone.

    ¡°If I walked around with a rifle or shotgun, I¡¯d be the one who got caught!¡±

    Walking around the royal capital with a weapon would only result in me being questioned by the police officers as a suspicious person. I¡¯d be the one caught and Rnd wouldugh at me.

    As I ran through the narrow alleyway, I jumped on a crate and went straight to the roof.

    I start running as Luxion leads me.

    There, Herring jumped out of the alley and rose to a position where he could look down on me.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be able to fly, isn¡¯t it? Luxion, I want one too, so prepare it.¡±

    [I¡¯m happy to have a Master who can talk lightly under these circumstances.]

    Luxion¡¯s single red eye flickered as he said sarcastically.

    Herring¡¯s is fused with a guy called Kurosuke, and I can hear them both.

    ¡°I have a question for you. Could you please be quiet?¡±

    [I¡¯ll destroy the artificial intelligence guy first!]

    I heard that a guy called Kurosuke also has a hatred for Luxion.

    So the weapons of the old humans and the new humans are still fighting each other today.

    ¡°Sorry, but you¡¯re the ones who need to be quiet.¡±

    I pulled out my pistol again and shot Herring in the air, but he didn¡¯t seem to feel threatened or did anything.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. If it¡¯s just a pistol¨D¨D¡±

    Before he can finish, Luxion says to Herring.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for you. The filth left behind by the new humans ¨D¨D will all be extinguished here. ¡°

    At that moment, Herring was blown away by the body blow of the appearing Arroganz.

    The Arroganz quickly open the cockpit hatch ande down to me.

    Hurrying to get in, I closed the hatch.

    A hair¡¯s breadth away, I should say.

    An electric shock hit the hatch, and the Arroganz shook.

    ¡°This is ba?!¡±

    With a cold sweat running down my spine, I grabbed the controls of the Arroganz and raised the aircraft.

    It seems that Luxion wants to turn Kurosuke into charcoal at all costs.

    [Master, let¡¯s lift the restrictions on heavy weapons]

    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot when it involves demonic armor? We¡¯re in the royal capital. We can¡¯t use dangerous weapons. And don¡¯t let the main body attack as much as possible.¡±

    [If we can eliminate them, the damage to the royal capital will be nothing more than a margin of error.]

    Ignoring Luxion, who was still trying to persuade me, I looked at Herring¡¯s reflection in the monitor. A ck liquid gushed out and enveloped Herring¡¯s body, transforming him into the demon armor that I had seen so many times.

    What was different now was the absence of the flesh eyes that had appeared all over the body.

    Its appearance is that of armor itself, and it has bat wings.

    It has a long tail reminiscent of a reptile, and its appearance in the moonlight is both hideous and beautiful.

    ¡°I knew I¡¯d seen you somewhere before ¨D¨D but I didn¡¯t think it was you, Brave.¡±

    At my words, the ck armor narrowed its glowing eyes.

    ¡°How do you know Kurosuke¡¯s name?¡±

    Before I could answer, Herring, d in ck demonic armor, came straight at me and was right in front of Arroganz.

    It moves faster than the demonic armor I¡¯ve been seeing so far, and I start to break out in an unpleasant sweat.

    The sharp wed hands of the demonic armor grazed Arroganz and scratched the surface armor.

    ¡°They easily scraped the armor off the Arroganz.¡±

    ¡°This is a real demonic armor. ¨D¨D Data verificationplete. There are a few differences, but he¡¯s a Named. It¡¯s the Brave that Master mentioned earlier. ¡°

    It seems that Brave¡¯s name was still in Luxion¡¯s data, as he seemed to be a Named who had inflicted great damage on the old humans in past wars.

    ¡°I¡¯m not happy with the information!¡±

    As the Arroganz blow their scales and run away, the demonic armor generates electric shocks in its hands to create a round shape.

    As soon as the buzzing electric shocks rounded off, he threw two of them at me.

    I quickly change direction, but the electric shocks keep tracking me.

    ¡°It¡¯s got a tracking function, too?¡±

    [It¡¯s more advanced than the demonic armor we¡¯ve encountered so far, though. Anti-magic re,unch.]

    When the light that evaded the tracking magic was released from the Arroganz¡¯s backpack, the electric shocks crashed and burst in that direction.

    I check the monitor to see the residents of the royal capital looking up at us as if they were watching fireworks.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to fight here¡±

    I would have taken Herring away from the royal capital at this point, but the other party was desperate to catch me.

    ¡°Never let you get away!¡±

    ¡°A persistent man will be hated by women.¡±

    If you talk lightly, they will respond to you as if you are not serious.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in trouble about it¡±

    Herring¡¯s answer made me angry, and my hands tightened on the controls.

    ¡°Ikemen-sama has never had a problem with a woman is what you¡¯re trying to say? ¨D¨D I¡¯m gonna hit you for sure.¡±

    .

    Part 10

    At that time.

    Gabino had gathered his men who had entered the royal capital.

    He holds his favorite pocket watch in his right hand and tells everyone to close the lid as soon as the scheduled time arrives.

    ¡°It¡¯s time. From now on, the people who have been moldering in the royal capital will cause amotion. We will take advantage of the opportunity and aplish our goal.¡±

    Gabino and his men are gathering in a warehouse district in the royal capital.

    He had one of the warehouses prepared by the Forest of Ladies and other organizations, and brought in soldiers from the country.

    All of them were dressed as sky pirates so that they would not be recognized as Rachel¡¯s soldiers.

    And taped to the wall of the warehouse was a wanted poster for Leon.

    It has been scribbled on, torn up, and treated badly.

    ¡°The fiend knight was supposed toe out if there was amotion - but now it seems he¡¯s inbat with someone else. It¡¯s not what we nned, but it doesn¡¯t change what we¡¯re doing. Commence the operation!¡±

    The soldiers saluted in unison at Gabino¡¯s words, and immediately began to run and take action.

    Gabino narrowed his eyes andughed, predicting a future in which the royal capital would be a sea of fire.

    ¡°I find it amusing that the people who invited us to the royal capital are from the same kingdom. Let¡¯s make sure that the city suffers as much as possible. For the sake of us, Holy Kingdom of Rachel.¡±

    Saying that, Gabino takes a knife out of his pocket and throws it at Leon¡¯s wanted poster.

    The knife stabbed into the forehead of the wanted man, Leon.

    Gabino touches the scar on his own forehead.

    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see your frustrated face, Fiend Knight. I will repay you for this wound.¡±

    .

    Part 11

    It looked like fireworks had appeared in the royal capital.

    Marie, who was watching from the courtyard of the school, noticed that the small lights in the sky were moving around.

    ¡°What is aniki doing?¡±

    Fighting in the skies over the royal capital is a dangerous act and is prohibited byw.

    It was hard for Marie to believe that he was breaking it and then fighting. At the same time, she could also predict that the situation was that critical.

    There were several lights in the sky, and it even looked like lightning.

    Mia saw this and muttered, holding her mouth in her hands.

    ¡°Knight-sama and Buu-kun are fighting?¡±

    Marie didn¡¯t let the small voice go unheard.

    ¡°Hey, what is Buu-kun? Is that your guardian knight?¡±

    Mia backed away from Marie¡¯s questioning tone. She tried to cover it up, her gaze wandering, but Marie would not let her.

    ¡°Answer me clearly!¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s¡±

    Erika stepped in between them as if to protect Mia, who looked down.

    ¡°If you question her too strongly, you¡¯ll frighten her.¡±

    ¡°You know, we¡¯re in a hurry! If it¡¯s because of your knight, you¡¯ll be in trouble if you don¡¯t do whatever you can to stop him.¡±

    Mia looked up when she heard that Herring was going to cause a lot of trouble. Then, perhaps to protect her precious knight, she shouted.

    ¡°The knight-sama can¡¯t be the one who caused it! The knight-sama is a kind person. There must be some reason for him to fight.¡±

    Just as Mia trusted Herring, Marie didn¡¯t think that Leon was bad.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to say it¡¯s aniki¡¯s fault!¡±

    Marie was about to grab her, but Erika looked up at the sky.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Something¡¯s wrong.¡±

    An airship had appeared in the sky above the school.

    The altitude has been lowered considerably, and the airship, which is getting too close, has prepared a number of lighting fixtures to illuminate the school.

    The airship was flying a g indicating that it was a sky pirates.

    If you looked closely, you could see ropes being lowered from the airship, and people wereing down one by one.

    Their movements were well-coordinated, and they did not look like bandits.

    Marie immediately took Erika and Mia¡¯s hands and hurried away from the scene.

    ¡°Come over here¡±

    Marie, with the two of them, hurried to a certain ce.

    .

    Part 12

    Inside the airship that boarded the school.

    Commanding the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel, who were dressed as sky pirates, was Gabino, dressed in a suit and looking at his pocket watch.

    Checking the time, he orders the soldiers.

    ¡°Hurry and secure the target before the outcast knights arrive. Other targets are fine, as long as you can. ¨D¨D If you can¡¯t get them out, you can kill them. After all, we¡¯re sky pirates.¡±

    Gabino, looking out the window with a sneer from the bridge of the airship, watched the allied soldiers moving down to the academy.

    Ignoring the school building, the soldiers headed for the student dormitory.

    It was a move to know in advance where the target would be at this time with the information he had gotten from the infiltrated staff.

    Their target ¨D¨D Leon¡¯s fianc¨¦es.

    ¡°Make sure you get the fianc¨¦e of the fiend knight. Worst case scenario, just captures the priestess of Arzel. She¡¯s got more uses than just a hostage.¡±

    A subordinate standing behind Gabino replies and directs the others.

    ¡°You heard him, boys. Teach the hated fiend knight the wrath of Rachel!¡±

    The reason why Leon was resented so much was because of the suppression of the coup d¡¯etat in the Republic of Arzel.

    The Holy Kingdom of Rachel, which had been cooperating with the coup side, has suffered heavy losses due to the failure of the coup.

    In addition, the fleet that had been dispatched surrendered after itsmander was taken away by Leon.

    In addition to the heavy damage, their pride was also broken by Leon.

    As for Gabino, he was involved in a battle in the Republic of Arzel and had a scar on his forehead.

    He has a personal grudge against Leon, but even more than that, Leon has be an unforgivable enemy of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    For that reason, this time the strategy of taking Leon¡¯s fianc¨¦e as a hostage was executed.

    They have a purpose to cause damage to the Kingdom of Horfalt, but their main concern is rather his fianc¨¦e.

    That¡¯s why the Holy Kingdom of Rahshel considered Leon to be dangerous.

    The descending soldiers are signaling to the airship.

    Apparently, the battle has begun.

    Gabino looks at the armor of the fiend knight ¨D¨D Leon, who is still fighting in the distance, and predicts a future where the mission will be sessful.

    ¡°Your fianc¨¦es is in our hands, Fiend Knight¡±

    .

    Part 13

    At that time.

    In front of the women¡¯s dormitory, soldiers dressed as sky pirates were breaking through the front door and entering the interior with their trained movements.

    ¡°Too quick¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what kids are like.¡±

    ¡°Even if they¡¯re powerful kingdoms, the students are not so scary.¡±

    Soldiers entered one by one.

    As they tried to move forward with caution, bullets suddenly rained down from the top of the stairs. The soldiers rushed to hide in the shadows.

    The soldiers are confused by the incessant rain of bullets.

    The decorated vase was broken, and the soldier who had been shot was groaning as he fell.

    ¡°A non-lethal bullet? They look down on us¡±

    Nevertheless, it was so powerful that anyone hit by it would cower and be unable to move, so they could not move carelessly.

    Signaling his men with his hand, the captain begins to attack from the shadows. He fires back with his rifle, but the odds are against him as the enemy¡¯s attacks continue unabated.

    The guns the soldiers were carrying could not fire continuously, and they were at an inevitable disadvantage.

    ¡°Why do the bullets keep firing out like that? Is that a new type of rifle?¡±

    They didn¡¯t know what to expect from a machine gun, and when they reached for a grenade to do something about it, the shooting stopped.

    The captain looked back at his men, nodded once, and then threw a grenade.

    When a thrown grenade hits the floor, it blows out smoke, creating a smokescreen. It was a smokescreen that would be painful and impossible to open one¡¯s eyes without training.

    The soldiers covered their mouths and noses with cloth, while their eyes were patiently open.

    By now, the enemy is probably blind and in pain ¨D¨D they expect.

    ¡°All right, you guys go ahea¨D¨D¡±

    As he was about to charge his men, he heard the sound of footsteps.

    A woman with a strange mask was standing there, holding a gun that they had never seen before. The muzzle of the gun was pointed at the captain.

    The woman pulled the trigger without hesitation and non-lethal bullets rained down on the captains. They wouldn¡¯t die, but the point of impact was bone-jarringly painful.

    The captain and his men writhe in agony from the extreme pain.

    Seeing the stuck soldiers, the masked woman gave instructions.

    ¡°Take away their weapons and tie them up immediately.¡±

    As the captain looked up from his fall, the smoke was swept away by the wind and disappeared.

    The woman who took off her mask had blonde braided hair and red eyes. The captain was surprised to see a woman with a strong-hearted look on her face.

    ¡°She is one of the targets?¡±

    When Ange notices the captain, she points the muzzle of the gun and pulls the trigger.

    The captain¡¯s consciousness is cut off there.

    .

    Part 14

    Ange took off the gas mask and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

    Around her, a group of schoolgirls restrained the fallen soldiers one by one, though they were scared.

    As Ange unloaded the bullets from the machine gun she was holding, a group of armed work robots floated up and approached her.

    ¡°They¡¯re bold enough to attack the school.¡±

    The robots, which wererge enough to operate indoors, floated around Ange and kept a vignt eye on their surroundings.

    Ange smiled at the sight of them.

    ¡°Is this another one of Leon¡¯s calctions?¡±

    Ange was both stunned and impressed by Leon¡¯s preparations in advance.

    He seemed to be wavering, but he must have been preparing for a lot.

    One of the units hands Ange a magazine, which she takes and reces.

    ¡°They¡¯re a bit too well-organized for sky pirates. Just like Deirdre said.¡±

    Ange looks a little bitter as she mentions Deirdre¡¯s name.

    But as soon as she tightened her expression, she heard a scream from a different ce.

    When she turned her head in the direction of the scream to see what was going on, the scream she heard was from a group of burly men.

    Hearing it, she lets out a small sigh.

    ¡°That direction is where Noelle was¡±

    .

    Part 15

    Noelle¡¯s room in the girls¡¯ dormitory.

    Noelle was getting ready to go out,ining as she put her arms through her uniform jacket.

    ¡°They came straight to my room. I knew they had a cooperator at the school. But this is still amazing.¡±

    The door to the room was breached and the sky pirates entered.

    However, when the crest on the back of Noelle¡¯s right hand shone, nt branches and roots appeared from all over the room, entangling the sky pirates.

    The twigs had constricted the sky pirates and even entangled the weapons they were carrying, making them unusable.

    All of these are the power of the priestess¡¯s crest.

    It was the result of a young sacred tree that was nted and used its abilities to protect Noelle, the priestess.

    The sky pirates were being automatically defeated without Noelle having to do anything.

    Noelle¡¯s room is entered by Creare with a group of robots in tow.

    [I knew this would happen, but that was quite a rampage.]

    Noelle was a little flustered by Creare¡¯s impression of the devastation in the room.

    ¡°I-It wasn¡¯t me!¡±

    [I know, but the problem is the cost of repairing this room. This is going to be expensive.]

    nts have taken over the luxurious room, the floor is poking through, and the walls are cracked.

    Noelle held her head.

    ¡°Sacred Tree, please go a little easier¡±

    [Don¡¯t worry. You can push the bill to Master.]

    She was grateful for the protection it had given, but it had caused a great deal of damage to the student dormitory.

    .

    Part 16

    At the same time, Marie was running away from the sky bandits with Mia and Erika.

    ¡°Over here. Quickly!¡±

    However, Mia was holding her chest and not running fast enough.

    She was in pain and shook off Marie¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I-I can¡¯t. Please go ahead.¡±

    Erika desperately pulls such Mia.

    ¡°No. Please hurry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Mia¡¯s presence will drag you down.¡±

    When she was told to leave her behind and go on ahead, Marie got mad and yelled at Mia.

    ¡°Silence, don¡¯t you dare give up! If this happens, I¡¯ll carry you.¡±

    Marie tries to force Mia to carry her on her back, but then she hears a gunshot and stops moving.

    The three of them turned their gaze to see a young man in work clothes standing in front of them.

    The blond man, who had taken off his hat, looked at the three of us with a vile smile.

    ¡°Found you, Her Royal Highness¡±

    At the mention of Her Royal Highness, Erika personally stepped in front of Marie and Mia to face the man.

    ¡°Is it me you¡¯re after?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯ll be my bargaining chip. You¡¯re going to help us right the wrong of this kingdom.¡±

    Looking at the rude young man, Marie immediately noticed.

    ¡°What¡¯s ¡®right the wrong¡¯? It¡¯s none of your business.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you fake saint. You seem to be close to that Leon, but he¡¯s noting to help you.¡±

    That¡¯s the staff member with the bad attitude she saw on the day of the entrance ceremony.

    Marie gritted her teeth.

    (At that time, Luxion and the others were disturbed, and they couldn¡¯t gather information properly, right? Why would someone like this sneak in at that time?)

    Thinking unlucky, as Marie and the others were waiting for an opening, the sky pirates caught up with them and surrounded them.

    Apparently, the staff is also one of the sky pirates.

    The staff orders the sky pirates.

    ¡°Tie them up¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like being ordered by you, but I¡¯ll follow it¡±

    The sky bandits approached Marie and the others with weapons.

    Then, a gunshot echoed around the area and one of the sky pirates fell as he flew to the side.

    As the sky bandit struggled in pain, holding his side, his friends raised their guns and pulled the triggers in the direction of the gunfire.

    However, the sky pirates were shot one after another from the darkness, and one by one they fell.

    The staff member, frightened by the situation, let out a pitiful scream and ran away.

    ¡°Hiy-Hiiy!¡±

    ¡°Do not run away!¡±

    The sky bandits stopped him, but he didn¡¯t care, he was running away.

    Then, as the number of sky pirates dwindled, men came flying out of the darkness.

    Looking at the men, Marie was relieved of her anxiety.

    ¡°Everyone!¡±

    ¡°Marie, lie down!¡±

    Julius, armed with a pistol, shoots the remaining sky pirates. Although the bullets were non-lethal, the pirates who were shot were suffering and struggling.

    Greg with his spear knocks down one of the sky pirates, and Chris with his sword knocks off the sky pirates¡¯ weapons before attacking them in the jaw and knocking them out.

    One of the sky pirates puts his left hand out in front of him and deploys a magical barrier, but when Brad uses his magic, a number of human arms made of earth appear from the ground where the sky pirates are standing and bind them.

    Thest remaining one tried to take Marie and the others hostage ¨D¨D but was knocked down by Jilk¡¯s sniper shot, striking him in the abdomen.

    ¡°T-That was saved us~¡±

    Sitting down on the spot, Julius approached Marie and put his hand on her shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It took a while.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m grateful you could make it in time.¡±

    Julius smiled, relieved that Marie was okay.

    It was Erika, who had been ignored until now, who approached Julius.

    ¡°Onii-sama, how much do you know about the situation?¡±

    Julius replies to Erika, who is prioritizing the situation, with an attitude that seems blunt to his sister.

    ¡°Hmm? I think there¡¯s a battle going on in the dormitory, but I don¡¯t know much about it. Because I was desperate to save Marie.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that okay? Wouldn¡¯t it be more coherent if onii-sama gave the orders?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can put it together now. And don¡¯t worry about the dormitory. If there¡¯s a problem, it¡¯s the enemy airship. Well, what do we do?¡±

    All eyes turned to the airship floating above the school.

    .

    Part 17

    On the bridge of the airship, Gabino¡¯s brow furrowed as reports came in one after another.

    Every time he checked the time on his pocket watch, he let out a sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s taking too long.¡±

    The captain of the airship apologizes to Gabino, angry at his unreliable men.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. I thought I chose the elite.¡±

    ¡°You mean that the knights of the kingdom, even though they are students, are all savage and strong?¡±

    Looking at the Kingdom of Horfalt from a foreign country, the impression is that there are many fierce people when ites to knights.

    They had to take on dungeons at the school, and as a result, they were highly regarded by other countries for their brawny strength.

    Gabino, who didn¡¯t intend to spend too much time on this, changed the strategy.

    ¡°If it¡¯s impossible to secure them ¨D¨D then let¡¯s just kill them. The Holy King wants retribution for the Fiend Knight.¡±

    If they can¡¯ t capture Ange and the others, they switch to a strategy of killing them to make a show to the Fiend Knight.

    The captain orders his subordinates.

    ¡°Prepare to fire!¡±

    The airship turned on the spot and faced the dormitory on its side. A window on the side of the ship opened, and a cannon appeared. A number of cannons were lined up, loaded and aimed at the dormitory.

    Gabino closes the lid of his pocket watch and gives the order at the same time.

    ¡°Launch¡±

    As the cannons fired in unison, the interior of the airship shook with shock.

    Everyone thought it was all over, but a soldier looking out the window shouted.

    ¡°I-Itnded, but it was blocked! What¡¯s with the size of the barrier?!¡±

    The confused soldier¡¯s words startled everyone.

    At the moment of impact, a dome-shaped barrier was deployed over the student dormitory, preventing everything.

    Gabino grabbed his pocket watch and shouted.

    ¡°Keep shooting!¡±

    .

    Part 18

    The rooftop of the student dormitory.

    Standing there, Livia had her hands outstretched.

    The small white orb of the essory in her right hand shone with a faint glow.

    It was Livia who was the only one deploying the barriers that covered the student dormitory.

    Robots floated around her, guarding Livia.

    The deployed barrier is followed by constant bombardment from the airship, but it doesn¡¯t let everything through.

    In her first year, Livia had run out of magic power as soon as she deployed a barrier of this scale.

    But now she has some leeway.

    It was hard, but still not hard enough to make her copse.

    The enemy was not willing to give up and continued to fire, but Livia was confident that she could hold out.

    ¡°It¡¯s no use. You¡¯ll run out all your ammunition first.¡±

    From the size of the airship, Livia could tell how many shells it carried.

    She is confident that she can withstand even if one or two more ships are added to the fleet.

    Livia remembered her old self, when she was too timid to do anything and only bothered those around her.

    (Back then, I couldn¡¯t do anything, and I was pulling Leon-san and the others down. But now ¨D¨D I can help Leon-san too!)

    Lifting her outstretched hands to shoulder level, bring the hands forward.

    Then, the dome-shaped barrier that had been developing around Libya expanded its range further.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you do as you please any longer.¡±

 Volume 9 6 â€œThe Strongest Knightâ€

    <h4>Volume 9 Chapter 6 ¡°The Strongest Knight¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    ¡°He¡¯s a cheat too!¡±

    Inside the cockpit of the Arroganz, I cursed as I chased after the moving demonic armor.

    It reminded me of an old man who was called the ck Knight.

    The strongest old man in the first game, who could be called the official cheat, challenged the kingdom to battle until he finally became a monster by taking pieces of demonic equipment into his body.

    Motivated by loyalty, revenge, and a variety of other motivations, the old man was more troublesome than any opponent I had ever fought.

    He¡¯s a troublesome old man who made me aware of death even I had Luxion.

    I remembered such an old man because the Guardian Knight of the Empire is even more troublesome than him.

    I didn¡¯t realize that the Arroganz, which have improved in performance since then, would be so battered against real demonic armor.

    ¡°Luxion, missile!¡±

    [Missilesunched. Master, you have zero missiles left with this.]

    Arroganz, fleeing from the demonic armor, opens the hatch of the container on his back and fires six cylindrical missiles.

    When Herring saw the six missiles, he made a ck longsword appear in his right hand. The buzzing and discharging are apparently due to the fact that the de is covered with magic.

    ¡°You think you can knock out a missile with a sword like that ¨D¨D ¡°

    As Herring swung his magic-infused de out to the side, an electric shock spread to the surroundings. Yellow light was released as a longsword sh, and as it discharged and spread, all six missiles exploded.

    ¡± ¨D¨D You can even do ranged attacks?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t anticipated that a demonic armor with a core would be so troublesome.

    Even if his demonic armor is a little stronger, I had defeated the old man ck knight, that thought makes me angry at myself for being so naive. In addition, I start to break out in a cold sweat.

    [Zero missiles remaining. Rifles and machine guns both relinquished. Battleaxe and scythe were also relinquished. All drones are lost. Master, only the de remains.]

    I had used up most of it in the battle so far, and all that was left was the de.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get into meleebat with that guy.¡±

    Arroganz equips the de, but I can¡¯t picture it beating Herring.

    [This is no time for jokes]

    ¡°I¡¯m not lying. Oops ?!¡±

    As I was having my usual conversation with Luxion, Herring, who was approaching Arroganz, swung his longsword at me.

    If I avoid it, rise and run away, Herring will also chase after me.

    The demonic armor that is chasing me spreads its wings and shoots electric shocks as if they were beams from its fingertips.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the back to you¡±

    [Forced evasion]

    Leave some of the control to Luxion to avoid the electric shock.

    But some of it grazed the Arroganz, and the shoulder armor was slightly melted.

    ¡°Does it melt when electricity gets grazed?!¡±

    [Not a real electric shock, it¡¯s electric generated by magic ¨D¨D Emergency Evasion?!¡±

    Luxion interjected a seriousmentary, but Herring didn¡¯t give him time for that.

    Looking at the video behind us, I can see a number ofrge spheres of electrical discharge floating around Herring.

    When they are released, they will track the Arroganz.

    Even if I dodged it, it would change direction ande back, and if it hit me, it was quite powerful. It seems to be so powerful that even the Arroganz can¡¯t withstand more than one shot.

    [Master, I request permission to use my main body. If you refuse, I willunch an attack, giving priority to the protection of Master.]

    Luxion says he can¡¯t take it anymore, and I start to negotiate with him for onest chance.

    ¡°What will happen to the royal capital if your main body tries to defeat the demon armor?¡±

    [The damage is not small]

    ¡°Then no ¨D¨D is what I said, but if you want to execute it, you¡¯re gonna have to stick with me until the end.¡±

    [What shall we do?]

    ¡°It¡¯s my usual move!¡±

    Arroganz changes direction and elerates towards Herring, who ising straight at me.

    Herring¡¯s demonic armores at me without panic, longsword at the ready.

    As the two of us closed the distance to decide the match straight away, Arroganz swung his de down. However, it was easily sliced through by Herring¡¯s discharging longsword.

    As if Herring thought this was the end of the battle, he drew his longsword wide and pointed the cutting edge at the chest of the Arroganz ¨D¨D at me.

    ¡°This is the end¡±

    In the cockpit, I thanked Herring for his kind sweetness.

    ¡°You¡¯re going down!¡±

    Arroganz¡¯s right arm ms his fist into Herring¡¯s chest. The blow, which is supposed to be quite powerful, doesn¡¯t seem to do much damage to the demonic armor.

    Herring must have thought this was ast desperate attempt.

    However, when Arroganz¡¯s right fist glowed red, a full-powered shockwave mmed directly into the inside of the demonic armor.

    [¨D¨DImpact]

    At Luxion¡¯s words, the demonic armor was blown backward in a great circle and fell straight down.

    Perhaps because Herring was losing consciousness, all of the guided missiles popped and disappeared with arge explosion and electric shock.

    But I knew I¡¯d failed when I saw Herring¡¯s demonic armor, still intact and falling.

    ¡°Even though I hit it with all my strength, it¡¯s still holding its form!¡±

    There was no enemy that hadn¡¯t been shattered by the shockwave of Arroganz so far, and I was impatient and terrified of Herring.

    Surely the attack went through, but there was no telling when it would wake up and attack us.

    I tried to bring Arroganz closer to Herring to give chase, but I thought I saw a light on the edge of the monitor.

    When I turned my attention in that direction, I saw a pale, white, glowing barrier being deployed by Livia at the school.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    I asked Luxion to confirm, but themunication failure had dyed the transmission of information.

    [There have been riots in various areas of the royal capital. A group of what appear to be sky pirates have also raided the academy.]

    ¡°! Let¡¯s get back immediately¡±

    [Can not do that]

    I was momentarily pissed off when Luxion refused, but I noticed right away and had Arroganz move back.

    The electric shock released by Herring passes over the ce where Arroganz was floating before.

    Herring¡¯s demonic armor was cracked on the surface, but it was working fine.

    ¡°That¡¯s too sturdy, isn¡¯t it¡±

    However, Herring was also in pain and his breathing was ragged.

    ¡°That¡¯s my line. But you, who repeatedly use artificial intelligence to kill, will be defeated here, for Mia¡¯s sake.¡±

    Herring holds up his longsword, and I wait for him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous! You¡¯re the one who pulled the strings behind the scenes and got them to kill people using the pieces of the demonic armor!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D What are you talking about? I¡¯m not doing anything¡±

    As we were arguing, the shout of Kurosuke, not Herring, came from the demonic armor.

    [Buddy! The academy¡¯s in trouble! There¡¯s an airship there?!]

    ¡°W-What ?!¡±

    Herring was wary of me, but did not release his longsword stance.

    [We have to hurry, or Mia!]

    ¡°I know! But I can¡¯t show my back to this guy.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t defeat him, but he seemed to have taken some damage.

    I take a deep breath, then suggest to Herring.

    ¡°Oi, here¡¯s the deal. I want to go back to the academy now.¡±

    Herring doesn¡¯t respond, but I keep talking.

    ¡°It¡¯s a temporary cease-fire. You have people you want to protect, don¡¯t you? I have people I want to go back and rescue there.¡±

    After a short pause, Herring released his stance.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Fine. But I¡¯m going to do what I want.¡±

    With that, he spread his wings and Herring flew to the academy.

    ¡°Do what you want¡±

    I also turn my Arroganz towards the academy, but Luxion is raging.

    [Are you insane? You can¡¯t make a deal with demon armor. They¡¯ll betray you.]

    ¡°You¡¯re persistent, too. If we save everyone, I¡¯ll keep youpany as much as I canter, so be patient.¡±

    [ ¨D¨D Very well. Don¡¯t forget that word.]

    ¡°If I remember. ¨D¨D Bring out Schwert.¡±

    As I stepped on the pedal and elerated, the situation at the school gradually became visible.

    .

    Part 2

    Inside the airship.

    Gabino was breaking out in a cold sweat in front of the barrier that no matter how many times he continued to fire, he could not break it.

    ¡°Deploying such a powerful barrier over such arge area? I-Is she a monster?¡±

    A female student who seemed to be deploying a barrier alone on the roof of the student dormitory appeared to Gabino to be a monster in human form.

    That¡¯s how impossible it was, and it was happening right in front of his eyes.

    The soldier who was watching the Fiend Knight shouted as he looked through his binocrs.

    ¡°Sir, we have Fiend Knight and an unidentified aircraft approaching!¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D We¡¯re out of time, huh?¡±

    Gabino closed his eyes once, and after a few seconds, he opened them with the decision.

    ¡°Keep firing! I¡¯ll prepare tounch the Demon Knight.¡± (Note: Now I feel it¡¯s a little strange to use Demon or Evil. But I think Magic is less fit with the appearance. What do you think?)

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    When Gabino looks back and gives an order, his subordinates look nervous and see him off.

    As he walked down the hallway, Gabino took a pair of ck gloves out of his pocket and put them on both hands.

    It is a tool to prevent the demonic armor from capturing you by any chance, and thanks to this tool, you can handle the pieces of the demonic armor with peace of mind.

    A room on the way from the bridge to the hangar.

    Gabino stopped there and knocked on the door.

    ¡°Holy Knight-dono, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    Gabino called out with concern for the other, and there was an immediate response.

    A young man opens the door and appears.

    He has a muscr, well-trained body and is dressed in the white knight¡¯s uniform of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

    The young man with a calm expression and narrow eyes smiled when he saw Gabino.

    ¡°So it¡¯s finally my turn.¡±

    Her tone of voice is calm, and her mild-mannered personality is well expressed.

    ¡°Yes. It is time to show the power of the holy knight.¡±

    In a reverent manner, Gabino led the holy knight to the hangar.

    ¡°I apologize deeply. We¡¯ve been ordered to send out the Holy Knight-dono.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. That¡¯s my job. By the way ¨D¨D ¡°

    The young man¡¯s narrow eyes widened, and anger shed through his calm tone.

    ¡± ¨D¨D What about the fiend knight? Is His Majesty¡¯s enemy alive and well?¡±

    Gabino apologized to the holy knight and gave a brief report on the current situation.

    ¡°He¡¯s alive and well. Approaching our location now.¡±

    The thin-eyed young man looked at the ceiling as he walked and put his fist to his chest.

    ¡°I must thank Heaven for giving me the opportunity to defeat His Majesty¡¯s enemies.¡±

    When they came to the hangar, there were soldiers dressed as sky pirates waiting for them.

    Everyone saluted the Holy Knight.

    The holy knight took off his knight¡¯s jacket, folded it neatly, and handed it to a nearby soldier.

    ¡°Please give it back to His Majesty. And said that I¡¯ve done my job well ¨D¨D in addition, handling it carefully.¡±

    Gavino approaches the young man, who is humble and kind to mere soldiers, with a piece of demonic armor.

    ¡°Holy Knight-dono¡±

    ¡°Please¡±

    Without hesitation, Gabino thrust a sharp piece of demonic armor into the chest of the young man who had closed his eyes.

    Blood spurts out, and the young man opens his eyes and starts to suffer, spitting blood from his mouth.

    Gradually, however, he became calmer.

    ¡°Oh! So this is the test to be a holy knight? To all the holy knights of the past, from now on, I too will be one of the heroes ¨D¨D Kaha!¡±

    As he spat out the ck liquid from his mouth, the young man¡¯s body was enveloped in the ck liquid.

    Gradually, the figure was wrapped in piercing armor, and the appearance became perfect demonic armor.

    A distinctive feature would be the weaponry that the fine-looking young man excelled at.

    It was a three-pronged spear called a trident.

    His figure with the spear was majestic.

    But such demon knights are disposable.

    The reason why Gabino and the soldiers call the fine young man a holy knight and give him preferential treatment is because he epts the pieces of the demonic armor with the understanding that he will die.

    These holy knights are also excellent knights who have been strictly trained.

    They are specially trained personnel to control the pieces of demonic armor, and once they are on the battlefield, they are overwhelmingly powerful.

    And it was the holy knights of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel who would die when the battle was over.

    That¡¯s why Gabino and the soldiers were in awe of the Holy Knight.

    A tearful Gabino apuded the fine eyed young man who had been beautifully demonized.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful figure. It¡¯s the most beautiful armor I have seen in recent years.¡±

    The young man who had be a demon armor replied with the same humble attitude as before.

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that. However, fulfilling our duties is what makes us holy knights. Let¡¯s get the head of the fiend knight and offer it before His Majesty. Then I will go.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Open the hatch!¡±

    As Gabino saluted, the Holy Knight¡¯s demonic armor sprouted bat wings and flew out through the open hangar hatch.

    As he flew away, the soldiers cheered loudly.

    .

    Part 3

    Herring was getting impatient.

    He was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and his aching body was forcing him to fly.

    It was Brave who was worried about his condition.

    [Buddy, just hang in there a little longer]

    ¡°I know, Kurosuke¡±

    [I said, call me Brave! My buddy and Mia call me Kurosuke or Buu-kun, isn¡¯t that terrible!]

    Herring called his partner, the demonic core [Brave], Kurosuke.

    He continues to use it because it is easy for him to call.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it after we save Mia¡±

    [You¡¯re right. We have to help Mia now.]

    What loomed in front of him was a glowing white barrier that covered the school.

    ¡°Cover the whole school, is that the kingdom¡¯s new weapon?¡±

    Barrier ¨D¨D There are basically two ways to generate barriers: people can deploy them with magic, or they can use a device to deploy magic stones as fuel.

    One person could not deploy arge barrier, and using the device would consume arge amount of magic stones.

    Even so, the amount of magic stones consumed would be tremendous if it were to envelop the school.

    It was hard for Herring to believe that they had gone to the trouble of preparing a barrier that would envelop the school.

    Herring¡¯s wrong perception was corrected by his partner, Brave.

    [You¡¯re wrong, buddy. It¡¯s that woman. She¡¯s setting up a barrier of this size on the roof all by herself.]

    The eyes of the demonic armor expand to show Livia deploying a barrier on the rooftop.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right?! No, I see. She¡¯s from the first work.¡±

    [Buddy, we can¡¯t get in until we break that]

    In order for the two of them to get close to the school, they would have to break through the barrier of Livia.

    However, doing so would break the barrier that protects the school.

    ¡°Send a signal to temporarily cancel¨D¨D¡±

    As Herring said this, he held his chest in intense pain.

    ¡°¨D¨DIs it no?¡±

    (Damn. The attack of the Fiend Knight previously is)

    The shockwave released by the Arroganz had indeed caused significant damage to Herring.

    As a result, Herring¡¯s demonic armor falls in front of the school.

    [Buddy?! I knew I should¡¯ve killed those guys!]

    ¡± ¨D¨D We had no proof.¡±

    [Naive. You¡¯re so naive, buddy! Those artificial intelligences will do just about anything! And of course, the fiend knight who uses it is a coward!]

    ¡°I do regret it a little. If I have done it sooner ¨D¨D ¡°

    Herring¡¯s demonic armor was on one knee on the ground, and as he managed to get up, the barrier in front of him was pierced by someone.

    The barrier, which had so far repelled the bullets, instantly cracked and shattered from where it had been pierced.

    A single demonic armornded in front of Herring, who for a moment did not understand what had happened.

    Immediately, Brave mentions the identity of the enemy.

    [He¡¯s controlling a piece of demonic armor. Buddy, he¡¯s a holy knight of the Holy Kingdom.]

    Herring was in pain as he looked up at the other person.

    ¡°Why are Rachel people in such a ce?¡±

    The demonic armor in front of Herring, whose breathing is erratic, thrusts its spear into the ground and intimidates him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hear that there are any other Demon Knight beside me. And I don¡¯t think you¡¯re a holy knight either. What are you?¡±

    ¡°What are you guys from Rachel doing here?¡±

    Herring¡¯s question seemed to make the other party ufortable.

    He seems to be a person who has a fragment of demonic armor in his body, and his mind is bing unstable.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question. However, you won¡¯t be able to fight properly in such a tattered state. It¡¯s impossible for someone who isn¡¯t a holy knight to handle demonic armor. The fake should just leave the piece of demonic armor behind, and disappear.¡±

    Herring looked up at the Holy Knight¡¯s demonic armor andughed in amazement.

    ¡°A fake is a terrible thing to be called. What should we do, Kurosuke?¡±

    [You make fun of me. If my buddy and I were at our best, you¡¯d be a shredded mess in an instant!]

    Kurosuke is furious at being treated like a fake by a holy knight who only has a piece of demonic armor.

    However, his partner, Herring, was unable to move properly.

    Brave himself had taken quite a bit of damage, and also had a reason for not being able to take it seriously at the moment.

    The Holy Knight¡¯s demonic armor holds a trident and points it at Herring.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take your piece of demonic armor¡±

    Herring is about to give up and get serious, but a little before he can make a decision, he hears a voice in the sky.

    ¡°Victory goes to one who makes the first move!¡±

    It was Leon¡¯s voice that was heard, and at the same time, thin red light poured down on the Holy Knight¡¯s demonic armor one after another.

    The holy knight¡¯s demonic armor, whose surface is burned by the light, looks up at the sky as he releases his stance, leaving Herring unable to move.

    When the Holy Knight¡¯s demonic armor saw the enemy in the sky above, it became enraged and roared like a beast.

    ¡°Fiend Kniiiight!!¡±

    In the sky was the Arroganz with Leon aboard, whose backs had been changed from containers to wings.

    The glow of the Arroganz¡¯s red visors in the darkness of the night seemed eerie to Herring.

    The way he fought against him and showed his strength made Herring break out in a cold sweat for the second time.

    ¡°He still has a hidden trick?¡±

    .

    Part 4

    Livia, whose barrier had been breached by the demonic armor, looked up from the rooftop at the Arroganz who had appeared.

    With her right fist on her chest, she felt a sense of relief at the sight of Arroganz carrying Schwert on his back.

    ¡°Leon-san came¡±

    She felt relieved to see Arroganz, and at the same time, she felt pathetic.

    ¡°I was saved again by Leon-san, wasn¡¯t I.¡±

    Originally, she would have liked to have tried harder, but in the end, she was both happy and frustrated that Leon had saved her.

    When she made up her mind to work harder, Arroganz turned his gaze to her once.

    However, he quickly returns his gaze to the enemy.

    ¡°Leon-san ¨D¨D Please take care of the rest.¡±

    .

    Part 5

    When I came to the school, somehow the number of demonic armor had increased to two.

    Herring is on one knee on the ground, and the demonic armor with the spear is looking at us and shouting something about fiend.

    ¡°I¡¯m so famous¡±

    [I don¡¯t care how well-known Master is, let¡¯s continue to destroy the two demonic armors. The main body is already waiting in the sky above the school. All we have to do is wait for Master¡¯s orders. Please give me permission to fire the main cannon!]

    With the increase in the number of demonic armor, Luxion, who wants to annihte the two of them together without leaving a single speck of dust, has been bothering me since a while ago.

    ¡°Are you stupid? If you use your main gun here, the school will be damaged as well.¡±

    [You want to leave them like this?]

    With a flick of the control stick, arge sword jumps out from the backpack that has Schwert.

    Arroganz grabs it with his right hand.

    ¡°For now, I¡¯d like to take out the one with the spear.¡±

    As I pointed the tip of my greatsword at the spear-carrying demonic armor on the ground, I made Arroganz gesture with his left hand toe up.

    Perhaps taking the gesture as a provocation, a demonic armor holding a spear spread its wings and soared up.

    ¡°Fiend Knight, you will pay for what you¡¯ve done. I will present your head before our Majesty!¡±

    The demonic armor that holds the trident in the sky is slender and purple in colorpared to Herring¡¯s.

    ¡°Another different type of demonic armor. Having a core is troublesome.¡±

    Luxion, who was analyzing the data, determines that the enemy¡¯s demonic armor does not have a core.

    [This one is a human with demonic armor embedded. The fact that he can move so much with demonic armor must be a kind of talent or the result of special training.]

    ¡°If I were him, I would definitely refuse¡±

    [That¡¯s a wise decision for someone like Master.]

    Our voices were heard by the demonic armor in front of us, as we conversed with each other in a carefree manner in front of the enemy.

    Perhaps he was offended, he charged at me with his trident.

    ¡°I am a holy knight! I am the chosen holy knight! I will not bow down to an evil being like you!¡±

    .

    Part 6

    Someone ran up to Herring¡¯s demonic armor as it fell.

    It was Mia, who had run out without listening to Marie and the others¡¯ warning.

    The moment Livia¡¯s barrier was breached and she saw Herring¡¯s demonic armor, she was already running.

    Marie is chasing after Mia.

    ¡°Wait a minute! You¡¯re not supposed to overexert your body!¡±

    Mia approached the demonic armor without looking back and hugged it without fear.

    She cried at the sight of her own guardian knight in tatters.

    ¡°Knight-sama! Why are you wounded so badly?¡±

    Mia was crying, and Herring was soothing her with reassurance in a pained voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here, stay back.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! You said you¡¯d stay with me forever!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back properly¡±

    As Herring continues to talk in a troubled voice, Marie arrives.

    The five idiots who hade to protect Erika also appeared behind her.

    The five idiots are holding their weapons and are wary of Herring.

    Greg, with his rifle in hand, cautions Marie and Erika not to step forward.

    ¡°Stay away from him, both of you. We¡¯ve had enough of their rampages for one day. Be ready to run away at a moment¡¯s notice.¡±

    At Greg¡¯s words, Marie grabbed Erika¡¯s hand and distanced herself from the demonic armor.

    Everyone distanced themselves from Herring, and as they readied their weapons, only Mia stood up for him.

    Standing in front of Herring, she spread her arms and shouted.

    ¡°The Knight-sama of Mia never do anything terrible!¡±

    Seeing Mia standing in front of him, defending herself, Herring instructs Brave.

    ¡°Enough. Kurosuke, release the demonic armor.¡±

    [Are you sure, buddy?]

    ¡°It¡¯s more dangerous to stay here. I want to evacuate as soon as possible. Because I doubt I¡¯ll be able to fight for a while.¡±

    Brave releases the demonic armor, and in an instant, the armor disappears and Herring¡¯s figure appears.

    His clothes were tattered and he had wounds and was bleeding.

    Mia hugged him and supported him as he seemed to be in pain.

    ¡°Knight-samaa¡±

    Herring smiled at the teary-eyed Mia as he nodded his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have worried you. Let¡¯s just get moving. It¡¯s dangerous here.¡±

    As Herring tries to evacuate with Mia, Marie leads the way.

    ¡°Thene over here¡±

    .

    Part 7

    Marie, who was heading to the evacuation site with all of them, lent a hand to Herring, who was fully wounded.

    (It¡¯s amazing that this guy can fight aniki and get away with this. He must be really strong)

    The five idiots areining from behind as they see Marie lending a hand to Herring.

    ¡°What is that man?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s such a brazen guy, asking for Marie-san¡¯s shoulder¡±

    Next to an angry Julius, Jilk is being sarcastic.

    The other three looked tantly displeased, but Marie ignored them.

    Herring, who had heard their conversation, was apologetic to Marie.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Mia¡¯s body isn¡¯t strong.¡±

    Mia, who was following behind, was being supported by Erika.

    Marie speaks to Herring in a whisper so that no one can hear it.

    ¡°What is your purpose?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat do you mean?¡±

    Herring was wary, and Marie knew instinctively that he had something to hide.

    ¡°If you make any strange moves, those five won¡¯t be able to keep quiet. Mia-chan is important, right?¡±

    Herring turns his head away from Marie.

    Seeing that, Marie was a little curious.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything. Instead, I¡¯d like to know why you¡¯re doing this. What do you intend to do in the kingdom?¡±

    A question to Herring, who is under a lot of suspicion for serial murders and other things.

    But Herring was acting strangely.

    ¡°It¡¯s for Mia¡¯s sake. She¡¯s never been this weak in the body before. The only clue to save her is in the kingdom, so I followed her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re doing that?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D Doing that?¡±

    Marie asks a straightforward question.

    ¡°There¡¯s been a series of murders in the royal capital. You¡¯re involved, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Marie had heard from Leon that he had seen a suspicious Herring at the scene.

    Besides, the fact that he was carrying demonic armor was too suspicious from Marie¡¯s point of view.

    Herring responds with some surprise when Marie expresses her suspicion.

    ¡°I just did an investigation.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHa?¡±

    When Marie is surprised, she hears the sound of someone falling from behind her.

    When she turned around, she saw that Erika had fallen with Mia, unable to support her.

    ¡°Mia!¡±

    Herring shakes off Marie and runs over to Mia, and Brave appears as well.

    [Mia, breathe in slowly]

    What Brave released were red particles¨D¨DIt was a magic element.

    As she inhaled it, Mia¡¯s pale face returned to a healthy color.

    ¡°Thank you, Buu-kun¡±

    [My name is Brave! It¡¯s okay for now, but you¡¯ll have to call me Brave. I beg you!]

    ¡°Even though Buu-kun is cute¡±

    Seeing Mia¡¯s pained smile, Herring was truly relieved.

    (Are they really bad guys?)

    To Marie, the three of them didn¡¯t look like viins.

    This time, however, Erika, who was standing beside the three of them, began to suffer.

    She was struggling to breathe with her hand over her mouth.

    Seeing his sister in pain, Julius runs over to her and rubs her back.

    ¡°Erika?! Are you still having problems with your health?¡±

    Erica shakes her head at Julius, who is worried.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. ¨D¨D I just got a little painful. I¡¯m justcking in exercise, Onii-sama.¡±

    ¡°I hope so¡±

    As Julius is relieved, Jilk walks up to him.

    ¡°Your Highness, the fighting is over at the dormitory. Shall we continue on our way to the royal pce as nned?¡±

    Julius looks up at the airship, which is firing all of its bullets and moving away from the scene.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s a lot of noise outside, so we¡¯re going to head to the royal pce ¨D¨D ¡°

    While Marie and her group are discussing their future ns, Ange and the others arrive from the student dormitory with Creare.

    Then Creare noticed Brave and screamed.

    ¡°IYaAAaaAAaAAaa! Everyone, get away from that thing!¡±

    All of them were startled by Creare¡¯s sudden loud shout, and the robots gathered around her, pointing their weapons at Brave.

    Marie, thinking that this was going to turn into a battle, stepped in front of Creare.

    ¡°Wait! We don¡¯t have to fight right now.¡±

    [Marie-chan. ¨D¨D that thing is]

    ¡°You understand, right, Creare¡±

    From Creare¡¯s reaction, Marie thought that she had avoided the battle, but she soon realized that she had been shallow.

    Marie had underestimated the artificial intelligence¡¯s hatred of demonic armor.

    [Right ¨D¨D Marie-chan has been fooled by them, haven¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll save you right away.]

    The robots had one eye glowing suspiciously, pointing their muzzle at Brave, ready to fire at any moment.

    When Brave saw that, he did not remain silent.

    [As I thought, AI is the worst! I¡¯ll never be able to cooperate with them!]

    Brave moves into a fighting stance, but someone appears to stop Creare.

    ¡°Stop it, you idiot!¡±

    Ange, who smacked Creare with the hilt of the machine gun she was carrying, took care of the situation.

    [C-Cruel! I¡¯m for the sake of everyone! For the sake of humanity, these guys!]

    ¡°We must hurry to the royal pce. There are fires breaking out all over the royal capital.¡±

    Something is going on. Creare reluctantly agrees with Ange, who decides to go to the royal pce to find out what it is.

    [¨D¨DWhen Masteres back, I will definitely make him disappear.]

    Turning her blue lens to Brave, Creare seemed not to have given up yet.

    Ange lets out a sigh.

    ¡°Check if the students are safe first. You can do that much now, can¡¯t you?¡±

    [If it¡¯s just that much ¨D¨D A-Ara? Ararara?!]

    Creare suddenly shuts up and starts spinning around on the spot.

    When everyone was looking at her wondering what emotion she was expressing, Creare spoke in a shaky voice. Apparently, a problem has arisen.

    [¨D¨D I can¡¯t find Finley-chan]

    Ange held her forehead in her hands and looked up at the sky.

    In the sky above, Leon¡¯s Arroganz was leaving the academy while battling the demonic armor.

    .

    Part 8

    ¡°The enemy of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel will be defeated by me, the Holy Knight!¡±

    Fighting against the demonic armor that was attacking me, wielding a trident, I had the Arroganz keep their distance.

    A series of trackingsers was released from the docked and carried Schwert. When the arcing lines of light hit the demonic armor, they burned the purple surface and turned red.

    However, theser didn¡¯t do much damage, just a slight melting of the spot.

    Even so, we didn¡¯t feel as sad as we did when we fought Herring.

    ¡°After fire, ice, and lightning, what kind of magic does purple use? Wind or earth, I think??¡±

    As I¡¯m thinking about what kind of long-range attack he possesses, Luxion uses me, not liking my attitude.

    [Why don¡¯t you fight more seriously?]

    ¡°I¡¯m tired of being beaten to a pulp by the Knight of the Empire.¡±

    [Because you¡¯re careless]

    ¡°He¡¯s a cheat, stronger than the old ck knight. I thought I was going to die a few times.¡±

    [Because you cut corners in your training on a daily basis, you repeatedly fail in critical situations.]

    ¡°I¡¯m reflecting on it.¡±

    [I don¡¯t have a lot of battle data, but I¡¯d say Herring has the best armor performance. However, the ck knight is superior in terms of pilot performance.]

    ¡°I won, didn¡¯t I? I¡¯m so lucky.¡±

    [The lucky ones don¡¯te close to dying more than once.]

    While continuing our futile conversation, we are running away from the demonic armor that is chasing us.

    Arroganz is flying backward, so it is facing the demon armor. In other words, they are facing each other. The fact that we were running away from him in this state must have made him even more annoyed.

    ¡°Are you taunting the Holy Knight, Fiend Knight!¡±

    The demon armor with the furious trident has one or two more flesh eyes on its surface.

    ¡°You¡¯re a man who has no resistance to ridicule.¡±

    [He is bing unstable. The monster¡¯s skin ising off.]

    It seems that even Luxion stirred things up, which made the demon armor even more bloodthirsty. The armor begins to pulsate as I begin to see what looks like veins in the armor.

    ¡°I am the Holy Knight! The Sword of the Holy King! Rachel¡¯s ¨D¨D Hero ¨D¨D ¡°

    A whirlpool of water was generated from the point of the trident, which was sharpened and shot towards the Arroganz.

    Quickly avoiding it, I was disappointed that my prediction was wrong.

    ¡°This time it¡¯s water. My guess was wrong.¡±

    [What are you ying during the battle? Master, the analysis results are out.]

    A serious Luxion informs me of the results of the analysis and the situation.

    [In terms of performance, it is far inferior to demonic armor with a core. Also, the magic attack was only used when there were signs of being out of control. Neither the aircraft nor the pilot is a threat.]

    [In other words, he¡¯s an easy opponent?]

    [¨D¨D And we havepleted guiding him to a ce where there will be no damage to the royal capital.]

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get serious¡±

    I gripped the control stick and leaned forward, blowing the burner of the Schwert further to increase the distance between me and the demonic armor.

    As Arroganz points to the demonic armor with his left hand, Schwert fires a homingser with all his might.

    Each of them was a thickerser than the one before. As they attacked the armor one after another, they pierced through the armor te and began to burn the inside.

    ¡°GUAaaAAaaA!¡±

    The pained demon armor deployed barriers for protection, but thesers prated easily.

    Luxion is in the cockpit, its red lenses glowing.

    [It¡¯s no use. The analysis said it was finished. You¡¯re already finished.]

    I thank the demonic armor.

    ¡°Thanks for following me all the way¡±

    While being burned by theser, the demon armor swung its trident and fired a series ofnces made of water. Arroganz avoided such attacks thatcked speed, power, or anything else, with plenty of leeways.

    ¡°W-What are?¡±

    He didn¡¯t think he had been lured in, perhaps he hadn¡¯t been aware of the trap, but the demon armor was flustered.

    ¡°It would have been a problem if you had continued to rampage through the academy and the capital, so I had to escape. It wasn¡¯t hard to beat you, though.¡±

    Luxion, who joins in the fun, gives the finishing blow to the opponent.

    [There was also the purpose of collecting data. But ¨D¨D Your data wasn¡¯t useful. It was the weakest demonic armor we¡¯ve ever met.]

    Luxion, who hates demonic armor, deliberately tells him the result.

    As a result, the other party became even more enraged and seemed to have be mentally unstable.

    The figure, which had barely retained its human form, swelled up from the inside and became a monster.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of MEEEEE!!¡±

    The swollen figure of the demon armor has be a mass of stubby flesh.

    Arge meat eye had formed on the surface and was ring at Arroganz with bloodshot eyes. ck liquid flowed from them like tears.

    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this. st it with everything we¡¯ve got.¡±

    [It¡¯s too much work]

    The Arroganz charged into the demonic armor and thrust the greatsword held in his hand deep into the enemy.

    As we approached, a number of tentacles appeared on the surface of the demonic armor and entangled around Arroganz, but they were all burned by theser.

    As I flicked the trigger on the control stick with my finger, Luxion uttered the usual line.

    [Impact!]

    As Arroganz¡¯s hands turned red, it was transmitted to the great sword, staining the de red. The demon armor screamed as it radiated heat.

    ¡°IT¡¯S HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTT!¡±

    Luxion cut off the cries of the demonic armor as if it were a child, and the inside of the cockpit became quiet.

    The only thing visible on the monitor was the wailing demon armor, but soon the lump of flesh burst into pieces in the sky.

    Blood and flesh sttered all around me, and I confirmed that I had defeated him, and I med Luxion for his selfish actions.

    ¡°Why did you cut the audio? And did you really need thatst ridicule? You went to all that trouble to make him look like a monster.¡±

    Luxion, pointing his red lens at me, replies in a blunt tone.

    [I decided that the monster form would be less mentally stressful for Master. Also, the audio cut was just a clever way to make it less deafening.]

    ¡°You¡¯re really¡­¡±

    A free guy, I was about to continue, but I stopped myself.

    He has a bad attitude, but I guess he made a decision out of concern for me.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get back¡±

 Volume 9, 7 â€œThe Squirming Onesâ€

    <h4>Volume 9, Chapter 7 ¡°The Squirming Ones¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Inside the school.

    A soldier dressed as a lone sky pirate was running around with a rifle.

    ¡°Damn. Damn! The savages of the kingdom!¡±

    It was the boys¡¯ dormitory that the man had broken into.

    He was sent from the girls¡¯ dormitory to stop the boys, saying that it would be troublesome if the boys came to the rescue.

    The soldier hid behind a pir and took a moment to regte his disordered breathing.

    ¡°They¡¯re just kids, my ass. Aren¡¯t they ridiculously strong?¡±

    As he hid, a group of boys with weapons came down the stairs.

    A boy with a headband holding antern in his left hand and a dagger clutched in his right hand.

    ¡°He must have run this way, Daniel.¡±

    Next to him is arge axe. It¡¯s a tall male student holding a battle axe with both hands.

    ¡°Sneaking around like that. I¡¯m gonna kick your ass! Raymond, definitely find him!¡±

    ¡°Of course¡±

    A group of boys, presumably in the upper grades, breathing with bloodied weapons.

    Behind the two, a group of boys, each armed with a weapon of their own, were looking around with a murderous look on their faces.

    The nobles¨D¨Dthe boys hate sky pirates very much.

    Especially for the lords and nobles, they are the ones who undermine their interests.

    If they saw someone dressed as a sky pirate, they would not be able to forgive him.

    When such a group of boys headed to a different location, the soldiers hurriedly headed to the opposite side of the street from where they were headed.

    ¡°Damn it! The people upstairs are going to get out of here and leave us to die. ¨D¨DThey¡¯ll kill us if we stay here. We¡¯ve got to get out of here.¡±

    Looking out the window, they could see the airship they were on moving away.

    The soldiers predicted that they wouldn¡¯t even have time to wait for their allies to retreat, so they were in a state to throw away their mission and run away.

    When these soldiers finally came down to the first floor, they saw a pair of boy and girl.

    ¡°Aare, this way!¡±

    ¡°Yes, His Highness Jake¡±

    A small male student was holding the hand of arge female student and running away.

    Why is there a female student in the boys¡¯ dormitory? Such a question came to mind, but the soldier raised the corner of his mouth at the words of the female student.

    ¡°Is the little one a prince?¡±

    A soldier stepped in front of them with a rifle and pointed the muzzle at therge female student called Aare.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move! If you move, that girl over there¨D¨D¡±

    The soldier¡¯s decision to take Aare hostage and capture Jake to ensure his safety was probably not a mistake.

    However, Aare quickly moves herself out of the line of fire and approaches the soldier.

    A panicked soldier opened fire, but the bullet only hit the floor.

    He made a move to load the next round, but by that time, Aare was close behind. After knocking the rifle off with an elbow strike, Aare kicked the soldier with her long beautiful legs¨D¨DShe swung her leg down from the high point.

    The soldier receives a heel drop and falls to the ground.

    (T-This girl is very strong¨D¨D)

    As his consciousness faded, the soldier heard the conversation between the two.

    ¡°Are you okay!¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, His Highness Jake¡±

    ¡°I told you to stop calling me His Highness. But you are really strong, aren¡¯t you? I knew you¡¯ve been trained, but I didn¡¯t expect you to have any realbat experience?¡±

    Aare had shown a quick movement, and Jake could see that she was used to fighting.

    Aare squirmed in embarrassment.

    ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to say, but I got overheated for a while.¡±

    ¡°No, I think that kind of you is pretty cute too.¡± (Note: I also agree with him if she is normal and originally girl)

    ¡°His Highness Jake¡±

    As Aare¡¯s cheeks blushed, Jake held her hand, hiding his embarrassment, and left the scene.

    ¡°I told you to stop calling me His Highness. Come on, let¡¯s get out of here. We are heading to the pce. You follow me.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    As the two are about to leave, a red-haired boy appears.

    ¡°Your Highness! Have you seen Finley-san?!¡±

    .

    Part 2

    Royal pce corridor.

    Among the group of students walking there, I was talking to that Herring bastard.

    ¡°I¡¯m the culprit? Are you stupid?¡±

    ¡°You had a gun at the crime scene!¡±

    ¡°The bastard who got shot was the killer!¡±

    ¡°Then why did you suspect me?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯ve been suspicious of you for some time.¡±

    ¡°You doubted me too!¡±

    While Luxion and Brave were quietly staring at each other and floating around, Herring and I were talking about our situation.

    In the first ce, suspecting me, Herring is insane.

    ¡°What makes you think I will cause an incident? I¡¯m a peace-loving civilian.¡±

    When I talked about myself, the five idiots following behind me looked at each other.

    Brad shrugged his shoulders and snickered.

    ¡°If Leon were a peace-loving man, there wouldn¡¯t be any conflict in the world, would there?¡±

    Greg nodded deeply.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I like fighting too, but I¡¯m no match for Leon. Also, Leon is not a civilian.¡±

    ¨D¨D I didn¡¯t expect that even these guys were misunderstanding me.

    Even though I¡¯m a kind-hearted, peace-loving, gentle man.

    Even Herring is looking at me suspiciously.

    ¡°Anyone would be wary of the man who brought down the Republic from within. And what¡¯s more, the incident urred right around the time you came back to the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°Luxion said there¡¯s a demonic reaction at the scene. You guys should at least be aware of the reactions of your friends.¡±

    I agitate them, and Brave puts out his little hand to point at me with his meat eyes.

    [How can I notice such a small reaction!]

    Then Luxion made fun of Brave with a triumphant voice.

    [The core of the demonic armor is still ipetent to not even notice that level of reaction.]

    [You said it, scrap metal!]

    As we walked down the corridor making such a fuss, we arrived at the ce designated by the officials of the royal pce. In front of a ratherrge door, knights and soldiers were guarding it with weapons.

    For some reason, the high-ranking officials were also waiting outside the room in a state of intense vignce.

    When the knight noticed us, he hurriedly approached us.

    ¡°Your Majesty is waiting, Marquis. Also, His Highness Prince Julius, Princess Erika, and Angelica-sama have been allowed to enter.¡±

    When he said that, Angel narrowed her eyes. Apparently, she doesn¡¯t like the ce she has been invited to.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this His Majesty¡¯s bedroom? If we¡¯re going to discuss countermeasures, we should do it in another room¨D¨D¡±

    After saying that much herself, she realized something and closed her mouth and opened her eyes.

    Then she asks the knight.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat happened?¡±

    The knight guides us to Rnd¡¯s bedroom in a hurry.

    ¡°Please ask the Queen for a detailed exnation.¡±

    I turned around, and Livia and Noel gave me small nods.

    Neither of them seemed to beining about not being able to move on.

    ¡°Please go¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be quick¡±

    Behind them, all the idiots except Julius were making a serious expression.

    Chris muttered the answer to this unsettling situation.

    ¡°It seems that the situation is worse than we imagined.¡±

    .

    Part 3

    When we entered Rnd¡¯s bedroom, we found a canopied bed in a muchrger room.

    On the bed, which isrge enough, there is Rnd with a pale face.

    His lips had turned blue as well.

    I couldn¡¯t feel any vitality in that normally hateful face.

    Around him was his family, Queen Milene-san, who was holding Rnd¡¯s hand.

    ¡°His Majesty, Marquis has arrived.¡±

    Rnd opens his eyes at Milene-san¡¯s words and calls out to me in a faint, weak voice.

    ¡°Marquis Bartofalte here¡±

    When I was called to stand near Rnd, a man in a white coat who appeared to be a pce doctor exined his condition to me.

    ¡°His Majesty was poisoned a few days ago, and he¡¯s been in this state ever since. He¡¯s in no condition to give orders.¡±

    ¡°Poison?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes¡±

    The pce doctor turned his gaze away from me and was addressing Rnd.

    ¡°Your Majesty, this is medicine.¡±

    ¡°Sorry about that, Fred¡±

    The pce doctor, called Fred, was giving Rnd a little bit of medicine that seemed to be dissolved in water.

    After calming down a bit, Rnd looked at me and gave me a weak smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m under the weather, just like you wanted. What do you think, are you happy?¡±

    I certainly hoped that Rnd would suffer, but I couldn¡¯t say anything if he showed me.

    ¡°Stop joking. No, please stop joking, Your Majesty.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite an impressive attitude. Just seeing you like that makes the experience of being poisoned worthwhile.¡±

    Rnd coughs asionally, regtes his erratic breathing, and then gives me an order.

    ¡°I¡¯m lending you all mymand temporarily. Milene will tell you what¡¯s going on and you can take appropriate action.¡±

    ¡°You want me to handle this situation?¡±

    ¡°Right¡±

    I looked at Milene-san, who was nearby, and she was nodding while wiping her tears with a handkerchief. Milene-san seemed to be convinced.

    I can kind of understand why Rnd chose me. I¡¯m the one with the Luxion, and I¡¯ll be able to solve the problem more quickly.

    But then, he should leave themand to Julius, who is here.

    ¡°His Highness Julius is here. I will follow His Highness, and I will move as ordered.¡±

    Julius is also by the bed, but Rnd doesn¡¯t even speak to him.

    His attitude seemed cold.

    ¡°No. Julius has no track record and a bad reputation in the royal pce. Even if Julius gives an order, there will be those who disobey.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you nominated me?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D Kid, I hate you.¡±

    I wondered what he was going to say in a near-death situation, but Rnd grabbed my hand tightly and gave me a bloodshot look. He¡¯s serious.

    ¡°But I acknowledge your power.¡±

    ¡°You overestimate me.¡±

    Normally, I would have been stirring this up, but even I restrained myself in this situation.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to handle it. I¡¯m counting on you¨D¨DMarqu¨D¨Dis¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty!¡±

    As Rnd lost consciousness, Milene-san let out a scream.

    As the pce doctor pushed me aside and began to examine him, he let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°He¡¯s okay. He¡¯s tired and asleep.¡±

    His physical strength seemed to be waning considerably.

    As everyone around me was relieved, Milene-san left Rnd¡¯s side and looked at me.

    ¡°Marquis, there is no time to waste. If we don¡¯t take immediate action, the royal capital will be a sea of fire.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    We headed out of the room, as staying here would be a nuisance to Rnd. In the meantime, I was walking side by side with Milene-san to get an exnation of the current situation.

    ¡°There have been riots in many ces. The ringleaders are unknown, but the former nobles who were hiding in the capital have all started to move at once.¡±

    ¡°Are they from the crushed house?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If one or two organizations work together and decide to take action, we can handle it, but many of them will decide to take action at the same time and we won¡¯t be able to handle it in time.¡±

    Ange and Julius are following behind us.

    Ange was curious and asked for more information from Milene-san.

    ¡°Why did you leave them until now?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re catching the dangerous ones. This time, small organizations have started to move all at once. Maybe¨D¨DRachel moved behind the scenes.¡±

    Because the demon armor with the trident also imed to be a holy knight of the Holy Kingdom.

    It was quite possible, but Milene-san seemed to have noticed it before I did.

    I thought it was amazing, and Milene-san told me the source of her information.

    ¡°Thanks to the Rosede family for their investigation. They are really helpful.¡±

    ¡°Rosede? Isn¡¯t that Deirdre-senpai¡¯s parents¡¯ house?¡±

    When we walked out of the room and found the person I had mentioned waiting.

    The person in the shy dress and holding the fan as usual is [Deirdre Fou Rosede].

    With her long hair in a vertical roll, Deirdre-senpai stood there proudly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say my parents¡¯ house like a stranger. Onee-sama is married to the Bartofalt family so of course, we are like a family.¡±

    Ange made a tantly unpleasant face at Deirdre¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°We are in front of the Queen¡±

    When I pointed it out, Milene-san forgave Deirdre-senpai for her attitude.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Deirdre, what about the airship that escaped?¡±

    When asked about the airship that invaded the royal capital and attacked the school, Deirdre covered her mouth with a fan.

    ¡°Brother-inw Nix-sama has already taken care of it.¡±

    ¡°Aniki did?¡±

    .

    Part 4

    Inside an airship leaving the royal capital.

    Gabino looked out the window at the flying battleship that bore the family crest of the Bartofalt family.

    The speed of the pursuing flying battleships was greater than their, and they were gradually closing the distance.

    ¡°Of all people, the Bartofalt family, huh?¡±

    Beside the bitter-faced Gabino, there is a frightened subordinate.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same man who annihted our fleet disguised as sky pirates?¡±

    When the school was on spring break.

    Raschel had sent soldiers dressed as sky pirates to the Bartofalt family.

    The goal is to destroy the Bartofalt family, Leon¡¯s family.

    It was one of the ways of retaliation against Leon.

    What was unexpected was that Leon had returned to his parents¡¯ house instead of the royal capital.

    Gabino and the others had gotten word that Leon was going to be promoted. So, he would stay in the royal capital for a while and would not return to his parents¡¯ home.

    It was a vicious retaliation aimed at the time when Leon was absent.

    However, the prediction was wrong. Thanks to that, they had to lose ten flying battleships disguised as sky pirate ships.

    The reason why Raschel relied on underground organizations such as the Forest of Ladies was to avoid directbat with Leon ¨D¨D the Bartofalt family.

    What a short-sighted, low-reward strategy.

    Originally, Gabino did not agree with this kind of harassment level of operation.

    However, the Holy King ¨D¨D the King of the Holy Kingdom of Raschel forcefully executed the order.

    There is no right to veto a royal order.

    It is done at the cost of many sacrifices, the harassment ¨D¨D It was retaliation for a single person, Leon.

    Its purpose was also vague, and Gabino considered the possibility that it might fail.

    But he didn¡¯t expect to be pushed this far.

    (The Demon Knight has already been sent out, and there are no demonic armor pieces at hand. With few shells and soldiers, is it difficult to fight any further?)

    Thinking of escaping, Gabino orders his subordinates.

    ¡°We¡¯re about tounch an assault on the enemy! Everyone, prepare yourselves!¡±

    As the faces of the soldiers change, Gabino calls out to his direct subordinates. In a quiet voice, inaudible to those around him, he begins to discuss their escape.

    ¡°You go out there and get the small boat ready.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind¡±

    Gabino sends his men off the bridge and shows his imposing figure to the others. The people around him saw this and assumed that Gabino had made up his mind.

    .

    Part 5

    A flying battleship of the Bartofalt family.

    It was Nix who was on the bridge.

    Nix, who is on the bridge asmander, confirms that the enemy airship of the sky pirates has left the royal capital and gives the order to fire.

    ¡°We¡¯re away from the royal city, aren¡¯t we? Fire at will!¡±

    The captain beside him gave instructions to the sailors, taking orders from Nix.

    ¡°Start firing!¡±

    Once the flight battleship¡¯s gun turrets are operational and aimed, it will begin its attack.

    The enemy had cannons lined up on their nks, but the airships of the Bartofalt family were made by Luxion, and their cannons were rotating turrets. Therefore, they could attack without showing their sides, and the air pirate ship in front of them was not their opponent.

    As the ship¡¯s guns fired in unison, the shells glowed red and appeared to be trailing in the night.

    When they are hit, the sky pirate ship drops in altitude with fire and smokeing from inside the ship.

    ¡°Cease fire!¡±

    Nix let out a loud sigh of relief as the captain¡¯s voice ended the firing of the ship¡¯s guns.

    The captain, who had been watching the scene,es over topliment him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been a finemander, Bhan.¡±

    Nix looks disgruntled when the captain calls him Bhan.

    ¡°Stop treating me like a child.¡±

    .

    Part 6

    The deck of the Bartofalt family¡¯s flying battleship.

    The battle was over sooner than expected and Gabino was unable to escape. He was strapped in with his men and made to sit on the deck.

    Soldiers dressed as sky pirates had also been captured.

    At some distance away, their fallen airship was aze.

    Watching from the deck, Gabino red at the person who had taken his favorite pocket watch.

    The person who took it smiled at the pocket watch.

    ¡°An imperial watch. You¡¯ve got a good one.¡±

    A beautiful woman with long, silky blond hair and blue eyes was looking down at Gabino.

    ¡°It seems you have a good eye.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been educated to see the value in treasure.¡±

    ¡°This savage with adventurer¡¯s blood in their veins¡±

    Gabino¡¯s words were condescending to adventurers. It was proof that adventurers did not have a high social status even in the Holy Kingdom of Raschel.

    But the woman ¨D¨D Dorothea doesn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Even that¡¯sing from a sky pirate¡±

    The disrespected Gabino lets out a small sigh and tells her proudly.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I wish to be treated as a prisoner of war. I am from the Holy Kingdom of Rachel¨D¨D¡±

    As Gabino was about to reveal his identity, Dorothea picked up the rifle she kept at her side and fired a single shot into the sky.

    After showing him that the gun is loaded with actual bullets, she points the muzzle at Gabino.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to lie to me now. You are a sky pirate, and I am a nobleman of the Kingdom of Horfalt. We have to make sure that the sky pirates are exterminated.¡±

    Gabino was flustered by Dorothea¡¯s words that they would not be treated as prisoners of war.

    ¡°W-We¡¯re from Rachel¡±

    ¡°There are no soldiers from the Holy Kingdom of Rachel here. It was sky pirates who attacked, and you¡¯re sky pirates too. That¡¯s good enough, right.¡±

    Dorothea was smiling, but her expression gradually changed to a cold one.

    ¡°You were the ones who picked a fight with the Rosede family a while back, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    Gabino frowned when he realized that the woman in front of him was rted to the Rosede family.

    And immediately make an excuse.

    ¡°What are you talking about? It has nothing to do with us.¡±

    ¡°All of your survivors have spoken. The Rosede family has no mercy for their enemies. Nobles and adventurers alike are doomed if they are underestimated.¡±

    When Dorothea looks down at him as if he were a bug, Gabino begs for his life, thinking that he will be killed if this continues.

    ¡°I have information that may be of use to you! These are former noble traitors hiding in King¡¯s Landing. I¡¯ll give you all the information on them! So¨D¨D¡±

    When Gabino tried to get her to spare his life in exchange for useful information, Dorothea looked deeply disappointed.

    ¡°It¡¯s beneficial to the royal capital, what¡¯s the benefit for me and my husband?¡±

    ¡°What? No, it should be profitable enough for you to use this information to get a favor from the royal family!¡±

    ¡°That¨D¨Dis not worth it anymore.¡±

    Dorothea looked sincerely bored and ordered those who were around her. The people around Dorothea were from the Rosede family.

    ¡°Take them away. I need to show him what happens to people who pick fights with the Rosede family.¡±

    Just as the airship of the Rosede family was approaching the airship of the Bartofalt family, Gabino and others imagined their worst future, and the blood drained from their faces.

    .

    Part 7

    A room in the royal pce.

    I decided to call Herring and talk to him.

    The main people are probably gathered in the conference room now, discussing what to do with the map in front of them.

    If it were true, I would have to join them, as I was entrusted with themand, but I really wanted to talk to Herring first.

    ¡°Are you the ones interfering with Luxion?¡±

    The question was to ascertain the source of the jamming that enveloped the royal capital, and there seemed to be no doubt since Herring looked at Brave.

    Herring let out a small sigh.

    ¡°Kurosuke, release it now. Didn¡¯t you say you were tired too?¡±

    The fact that Brave, the core of the demonic armor, was capable of troubling Luxion was a threat to me.

    Brave was wary of Luxion.

    [No. If I unjam them, they¡¯ll try to deceive us. My buddy can only say that because you don¡¯t know their true nature.]

    Brave, who didn¡¯t trust us, and Luxion was speaking lower than usual. Is that how angry he is? As usual, he has a lot of emotions.

    [That¡¯s my line. How many lives do you think have been lost because of your existence?]

    [Aah! Aah! You say that, scrap metal! Then let me tell you something!]

    Herring and I both shrugged our shoulders as our partners started to fight.

    When I see Herring, he seems to think it¡¯s okay to unjam.

    So I dere it.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll order Luxion to do it right here and now. Luxion, do not attack the international students from the Empire. And of course, don¡¯t attack the Brave.¡±

    [Are you insane?! What about the promise you made back then?]

    Once we¡¯ve defeated the demon armor that holds the trident, the next step is to take out Herring and the others¨D¨DThat¡¯s what he meant.

    But I¡¯m a bad adult inside, and I¡¯m willing to forget inconvenient things.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I forgot¡±

    [You remember that, don¡¯t you? You really do put your own needs first, don¡¯t you, Master.]

    When we¡¯re showing our normal interactions, Herring¡¯s also trying to convince Brave to do the same.

    ¡°Kurosuke, you should get some rest. Mia¡¯s worried about you.¡±

    [I never ck off when ites to protecting my partner or Mia!]

    ¡°You¡¯ll protect me if you unjam it, right? Besides, if the royal capital goes up in mes, it¡¯s not good for me and Mia.¡±

    [Uuuh¨D¨DIt¡¯s just this one time!]

    It¡¯s not the same as our rtionship, but these guys look like they¡¯re having a lot of fun, too.

    Luxion¡¯s red lenses glowed as Brave shook his body.

    [The link has been restored]

    ¡°All right! Let¡¯s finish this quickly. ¨D¨DIt¡¯s also Rnd¡¯sst request.¡±

    ¡°Last?¡±

    Luxion looked at me as if to say, ¡°What are you talking about¡±, from the looks of him, he won¡¯t be long.

    He was a son of a bitch, but ¨D¨D At the very least, I want to make hisst requeste true.

    I still hated Rnd, but I didn¡¯t want him to die. Besides, thismotion would be a nuisance to the residents of the royal capital.

    ¨D¨DI¡¯ll finish it quickly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go. Milene-san is waiting.¡±

    When I said that, Luxion med me, as usual.

    [I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not a very nice thing to say in the presence of Angelica. I¡¯ll be sure to tell her as soon as I can.]

    ¡°¨D¨DPlease don¡¯t do that¡±

    Herring and Brave, who had been listening to our conversation, looked at each other.

    ¡°They¡¯re a funny bunch¡±

    [I feel pathetic when I think that these people almost killed me.]

    ¨D¨DYou almost got us killed, too!

    .

    Part 8

    The many drones that were deployed in the royal capital.

    When Luxion¡¯s link was regained, it floated up and looked down from above the royal capital.

    Then, the information was delivered to Luxion.

    The increased number of drones will begin to take action upon receiving orders from the main body.

    Some drones are waiting in the sky, while others are heading to the designated location.

    ¡ª¡ªNow, the royal capital was under Luxion¡¯splete control.

    .

    Part 9

    When I came to the conference room, all the main people were there.

    Speaking of the royal family, Milene-san and Julius.

    Other than that, there is Minister Bernard, ris-senpai¡¯s father.

    When Ange noticed me, she came up to me at a small run and grabbed my arm.

    ¡°What were you doing? We wouldn¡¯t be making any decisions without you.¡±

    In an emergency situation where every second matters, it would be upsetting if the person in charge showed up at a leisurely pace.

    The gazes of everyone in the room were grim.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Well, but it¡¯s okay already.¡±

    As I said this, I approached the map on the table, and Luxion, floating near my right shoulder, directed me to some points by shining light from his lens.

    [We have an idea of where the enemy¡¯s hideout is likely to be. We have also predicted the enemy¡¯s future actions based on their movements. I propose that we reassign the troops.]

    The conference room was in an uproar as Luxion suddenly mentioned the location and purpose of the enemy.

    Milene-san¡¯s panic is especially cute.

    The light emitted by Luxion is always moving.

    ¡°How long ago was this move made?¡±

    [This information is based on Real Time]

    At Luxion¡¯s curt words, Milene-san¡¯s eyes widened for a moment ¨D¨D She kept her eyes down and looked sad, then shook her head and looked at me.

    It seems that she changed her mind about something, but what happened?

    ¡°Marquis Bartofalt, then we will reposition our forces. Is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Ah, yes¡±

    I thought she should just go ahead and do it on her own, but my position right now is more like General Commander.

    It seems she can¡¯t give orders without my permission.

    However, this is where Minister Bernard holds his head.

    ¡°The enemies are scattered and there are too many of them. This is going to take some time.¡±

    They were not difficult to defeat, but the problem was that there were too many of them to deal with.

    I thought about where I could get usable forces from ¨D¨D and remembered my friends.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk to some of my friends at the academy. Some of them may have brought their airships.¡±

    Like my parents¡¯ family, they asionally send airships to the royal capital.

    If the timing is right, this should get us a few more ships.

    Minister Bernard nodded several times.

    ¡°That¡¯s very helpful. But who do we put inmand?¡±

    The only people I have on hand that I can move are my friends ¨D¨D As I was thinking so, I noticed Julius looking at me.

    Right, there were five idiots.

    Let¡¯s use them in the optimal arrangement like that otome game.

    ¡°Call Brad to lead from Einhorn. Let¡¯s have Greg and Chris work with him. I¡¯ll have them attack the enemy¡¯s hideout.¡±

    When I say that, Julius makes a tant appeal.

    ¡°Leon, there are still men left, right? The most dependable man¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. I forgot.¡±

    ¡°Get a grip, General Commander¡±

    I nodded to Julius, who said he wanted me to rely on him.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to use Jilk on an air bike, but I don¡¯t know anyone who knows how to ride an air bike. He¡¯s not here, is he?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DLeon, what about me?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t put the prince on the battlefield. Be quiet.¡±

    Julius dropped his shoulders upon hearing this, and Milene-san looked at him with aplicated expression.

    When I give up on the idea of using Jilk, Minister Bernard makes a suggestion.

    ¡°Marquis, how many air bikes do you want?¡±

    ¡°Just some. If I let himmand it, he¡¯ll be able to use it well. In a ce like the royal capital, an air bike is much more maneuverable than armor.¡±

    ¡°Then how about the Atley family cooperating.¡±

    ¡°Is that okay? Jilk is inmand, you know?¡±

    There is a rift between Jilk and the Atley family. Jilk is one-sidedly to me, he had broken off his engagement to ris-senpai, the daughter of the Atley family.

    From the Atley family¡¯s point of view, Jilk is an unforgivable person.

    Still, Minister Bernard didn¡¯t mind and offered me his help.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Besides, did you forget? We have an air bike race track. I know a lot of people.¡±

    That¡¯s all well and good, but is it safe to leave those people in Jilk¡¯s hands? ¨D¨D Well, It¡¯s not me who¡¯s having trouble with the rtionship, it¡¯s Jilk.

    I epted Minister Bernard¡¯s proposal, hoping that he would suffer as much as possible.

    ¡°Please¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me¡±

    I then turn my attention to Ange, the person I rely on the most.

    The Redgrave family, Ange¡¯s family, must have brought a lot of forces to the royal capital. It would be a great help if they cooperate with us.

    ¡°We need the Redgrave family to cooperate. Ange, can you do that for me?¡±

    But Ange looks down when she catches my gaze.

    She clenched her hands and with an uneasy feeling, she shook her head.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I¡¯m sorry, but Father and Ani-ue won¡¯t move. They are away from the royal capital now.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t move the Duke¡¯s army on my orders. I¡¯m sorry, Leon.¡±

    Strange.

    There is always one of Vince or Gilbert staying in the royal capital.

    There were times when the two of them would return to the territory at the same time, but usually one of them was always in the capital.

    When I tried to ask the reason for their absence, Minister Bernard put his hand on my shoulder. I looked back at him and he was shaking his head. Milene-san¡¯s eyes were lowered, too.

    Is it better not to ask?

    ¡°If they can¡¯t, we¡¯ll deal with them with our current strength. As for the rest, if I go out with Arroganz ¨D¨D ¡°

    Then, Milene-san objected to my going out.

    ¡°No! Leon-kun¨D¨DNo, Marquis Bartofalt will have to stay here. Is that clear?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Ah, yes¡±

    I nodded my head in response to the undeniable power.

    Then Julius is sulking a little farther away from everyone.

    ¡°I wanted to go out there too¡±

    You should be more aware of being a prince.

    .

    Part 10

    Einhorn Bridge.

    There, Brad, who was wearing a dress-colored uniform, sat cross-legged in the chair where Leon usually sat.

    ¡°Good grief, Leon is really rough with people. But this me. Yes, it was the best decision to entrust me with the airship! I don¡¯t mind working as a spearman, but this kind of intellectual position suits me the best.¡±

    At Brad¡¯s side, who seems to be enjoying himself alone, are Daniel and Raymond, who were forced to ride Einhorn.

    The two of them looked outside, dejectedly.

    Apart from Einhorn, there were three flying battleships apanied by friends.

    Daniel let out a big sigh and spoke to Brad, who was in a good mood.

    ¡°So, Captain¡±

    ¡°Call me Commander. I am now inmand of four flying battleships.¡±

    Raymond throws a look at Brad, who points at Daniel and asks him to correct him.

    ¡°Commander, what are we going to do now?¡±

    Brad and his crew were given the task of transporting troops by flying battleship. They are responsible for dropping troops and supplies at the indicated locations, and sometimes retrieving and repositioning them.

    They can¡¯t even use the cannons of a flying battleship in the royal capital.

    It was also given the task of making its presence felt in the skies above the royal capital and intimidating those who were rioting.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already found the enemy¡¯s hideout. We¡¯ll go around and get them. There¡¯s a lot of them, and they can be annoying.¡±

    Daniel grumbled in dissatisfaction because he was suddenly dispatched.

    ¡°If they knew, why didn¡¯t they just move in right from the start.¡±

    Raymond agreed, and seemed to be unable to understand the high officials in the capital who did not do so.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. With the way things turned out, aren¡¯t they going to remove some of the people from their positions?¡±

    Brad listens to Daniel and Raymond, and thinks about it as he looks at the map showing the location of the enemy¡¯s hideout.

    (The whole of royal capital is under Leon¡¯s control. This is not going to be a peaceful time for that Queen, is it? And the Redgrave family has given up.)

    The Redgrave family and other noble families are showing a non-cooperative attitude toward the riots taking ce in the royal capital.

    Some of them were nobles who had residences in the capital and were aware of the situation, but were watching the situation from a distance. Many of them were the feudal lord nobles.

    It¡¯s as if they don¡¯t care if the royal capital is burned to the ground.

    (¨D¨DFrom now on, even if he doesn¡¯t like it, it¡¯s going to be stormy around Leon)

    Letting out a small sigh, Brad changed his mind and put his right hand out in front of him.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve decided, we¡¯ll attack clockwise! It¡¯s more beautiful that way.¡±

    Both Daniel and Raymond shrugged their shoulders and looked iprehensible at Brad¡¯s desire for beauty on the battlefield.

    .

    Part 11

    A tavern in the royal capital.

    Greg kicked in the door of the store, which was empty due to the riot, and went inside.

    He was dressed like a soldier, which was different from what he usually was, and he was holding a rifle.

    Leading a group of armed soldiers, he looked around as soon as he entered the tavern.

    ¡°It¡¯s this way!¡±

    Greg gets in with his rifle and finds a staircase that leads to the second floor.

    The second floor of the tavern had been turned into an inn.

    When Greg found the stairs, he ran up the steps as fast as he could.

    A soldier stopped him from behind.

    ¡°It¡¯s dangerous!¡±

    ¡°Should be fine¡±

    With that, Greg went upstairs and backed up against the wall as he approached the door to the room.

    Multiple holes were made in the door as gunshots were heard from inside the room.

    Greg judges what kind of gun they are carrying by the sound of gunfire and other factors.

    (A handgun. Only one person with it?)

    He kicked the door open and entered just as his opponent was finishing shooting and reloading his ammunition, only to find a family of what appeared to be former nobles.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±

    A man with a beard, his wife and his family.

    As the soldiers came in behind Greg, the family dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

    A man with a beard was crying and regretting his actions.

    ¡°Damn. Damn! How could this happen? If only I hadn¡¯t run away that time, I also¡±

    He started to make excuses, but Greg didn¡¯t have time to listen to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s toote toment now, you know. If only you¡¯d applied that energy to your actions a long time ago.¡±

    In front of him was a family that had fled before the enemy during the war with the former Principality of Fannos, and had been stripped of their noble status.

    The family runs a tavern and an inn, and has been inviting mercenaries and criminals into the royal capital to help with the riots.

    Greg leaves the family in the custody of the soldiers.

    ¡°Good grief, they¡¯re all just like these people.¡±

    Greg walks out of the store with his rifle, and when he gets outside, he meets Chris in his armor in front of the tavern.

    ¡°Chris, have you finished?¡±

    When he called out, Chris, who was in his armor, was fed up.

    ¡°It¡¯s done here, but Brad¡¯s orders are to move on again soon. He¡¯s rough with people, too.¡±

    The people Chris had been dealing with were mercenaries and criminals that the tavern had been sheltering.

    They were provided with weapons, some of which were armor.

    A group of armored men led by Chris is subduing their opponents who are piging the surrounding area.

    ¡°You got a hard job, too¡±

    ¡°And you, too, when we¡¯re done here, we¡¯ll move on, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He wants us to head back to the next hideout after we hand over the culprit.¡±

    Then armors gathered around Chris.

    The armors flying in the sky let Chris know that the cleanup was finished.

    ¡°Arkwright-sama, we havepleted the transfer of the mercenaries.¡±

    Chris¡¯s armor floated up and he waved lightly at Greg.

    ¡°All right, then, let¡¯s move on¡±

    Greg saw a group of armor flying away and he shouldered his rifle.

    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll be moving on¡±

    .

    Part 12

    The area where the buildings of the royal capital are densely packed.

    The narrow alleys between the buildings were filled with women carrying their luggage in their hands.

    The representatives and executives of the forest ofdies are fleeing in droves.

    Behind them, the members of the forest ofdies and their families with theirrge luggage followed.

    The heavy luggage was all expensive items.

    They were the belongings of the representatives and executives, and they were strictly ordered not to throw them away.

    The representative is running away desperately, staining her dress.

    ¡°Hurry up and get out of here! Good grief, what¡¯s with ¡®leave it to us¡¯. That Rachel guy is really unreliable.¡±

    The representative was angry with Gabino for breaking his promise and running away so quickly.

    A fellow member of another organization who also hated the current kingdom found themselves in a critical situation when they came to the forest ofdies for help.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hear about this, that the kingdom is raiding the hideouts of our people all over the ce! Who is it? Who betrayed us!¡±

    Not wanting to be caught, they hurriedly packed their things and ran away.

    The executive woman running behind speaks to the representative about the friends she has abandoned.

    ¡°Are you sure? Zora and the others that we entrusted the job to don¡¯t even know that we abandoned the hideout?¡±

    Unfortunately, Zora and the others were not at the hideout when the situation got worse and they made the decision to run away.

    They were out on the orders of the representative, and that¡¯s why they werete running away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! It¡¯s because of their family that we¡¯re in this mess. I hope they get caught.¡±

    Forest ofdies fleeing down an alley.

    The women try to escape from the royal capital at all costs, but as they exit the alley, they are hit by a beam of light.

    ¡°W-Why¨D¨D¡±

    When the exhausted representative copsed to her knees on the spot, she was surrounded by soldiers on air bikes.

    When they turned around and looked at the road they hade from, they saw the air bike soldiers blocking the narrow alley. They had the muzzle of their guns pointed at them, and there was no way to escape.

    As her shoulders slumped, one of the air bikes came down to the ground.

    When the soldier took off his helmet, the former noblewoman, whom the representative also knew, smiled at him.

    ¡°Jilk¨D¨Dsama¡±

    When his name is called, Zilk is slightly surprised.

    ¡°Oya, you know me. But I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t remember you.¡±

    The representative pleaded to Zilk, as thest hope.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen you from afar before and have always been your fan. Please. Could you please let us pass this time?¡±

    Hearing that, Jilk tells her with a smile.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s hard for me to lose fans too, but I¡¯d be a criminal too if I covered for you guys who caused a disturbance in the royal capital. That¡¯s not what my fans would want, is it? So I¡¯m going to arrest you. ¨D¨D Catch them all. ¡°

    .

    Part 13

    As Jilk instructed the surrounding area to capture the representatives, air bikes descended one by one.

    However, they had a cold attitude toward Jilk.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡°catch them¡±?¡±

    ¡°Bastard guy¡±

    ¡°The scumbag who abandoned ris-ojousama¡±

    The air bikers, who verbally cursed Jilk, obeyed the orders in dissatisfaction.

    One of them was a man who was one of ris¡¯s close followers.

    He is a talented man who was the runner-up in an air bike race, beaten by Leon, and is now working as an air bike rider.

    Even he was not happy with Jilk¡¯s orders, but he followed his order.

    ¡°Dan-senpai, thank you for your help.¡±

    When Jilk gave a fishy smile, senpai ¨D¨D Dan felt his guts churning.

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯m only following orders because Bernard-sama and Marquis-sama are asking me to. In fact, nobody¡¯s going to follow your orders¡±

    The people around him nodded deeply, as if they felt the same way, and restrained the forest ofdies.

    The air bikers that Minister Bernard had assembled were still holding on to the fact that Jilk had broken off his engagement to ris. They were only following orders because they were given in an emergency.

    Originally, theirmon thought was that they wanted to shoot him to death with the weapons they had.

    However, Jilk smiles knowing that.

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯ll obey my orders, which you hate, because the two of them ordered you to. I¡¯ve heard good things about that. I will be able to use you as much as I want.¡±

    The fact that he said this after understanding everything made the people around him even more irritated.

    Dan was annoyed at the thought of Jilk, so he decided to focus on his mission.

    ¡°Even so, your predictions are correct. To be able to drive those who are running away from the scene into a precise corner, despite your personality, you¡¯re certainlypetent. Only the ability.¡±

    Dan dislikes but still values Jilk, who is very capable for nothing.

    It seemed that the people around him were the same way, and the reason theyined and obeyed was because Jilk was capable.

    They felt that if someone was capable and if Bernard and Leon asked them to do something, they would have no choice but to do it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll forgive you for the offending remark this time. Then again, this is the kind of work I¡¯m good at. I can usually predict where these people will run to and how they will think. I¡¯m terrified of my talent.¡±

    Jilk is proud of himself, and Dan gives him a heartbreaking look of disgust.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just because you¡¯re the same garbage, you can predict their mindset?¡±

    The people around him nodded deeply, agreeing with Dan¡¯s opinion.

 Volume 9, 8 â€œBartofalt Sistersâ€

    <h4>Volume 9, Chapter 8 ¡°Bartofalt Sisters¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    A riot breaks out in the royal capital.

    As the inhabitants of the royal capital fled, Finley was there.

    In her left hand, she held a paper bag full of clothes and ornaments she had just bought, while Jenna held her right hand as she walked forward.

    ¡°Hurry up, Finley!¡±

    ¡°Onee-chan, wait¡±

    The reason Finley wasn¡¯t at the school was because she and Jenna were ying in the royal capital.

    Finley shrugged as she heard a gunshot from one street away.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening? Hey, onee-chan!¡±

    It was normally time to go back to the school, but Jenna had asked her out and she had broken the curfew.

    As they were ying, amotion suddenly broke out.

    While they were wondering what was going on, a battle broke out in various ces in the royal capital and they were running around in panic.

    Jenna was flustered by the emergency and her tone was raspy.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Anyway, we have to run.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s something wrong at the school too. There was an airship in the sky, and armors were fighting each other in the sky of the capital.¡±

    Anyway, they were running around and didn¡¯t even know where they should take shelter.

    Jenna doesn¡¯t stop, just turns her head and yells at Finley.

    ¡°Just run! There¡¯s Nix and Leon, they¡¯ll be here soon enough.¡±

    It seems that Jenna is relying on her big little brother, whom she usually makes fun of.

    Finley had lived at home until she entered the school, and she doubted that her brothers could be counted on.

    ¡°Are you really sure we can trust our brothers?¡±

    Jenna led an exhausted Finley into an alleyway, where she took cover and tried to catch her breath.

    ¡°You¡¯re really stupid¡±

    Finley, breathing hard, wipes the sweat from her brow and says back to Jenna.

    ¡°What do you mean, ¡°stupid¡±? It¡¯s onee-chan¡¯s fault! When I tried to leave, you said it was okay to break the curfew and took me around!¡±

    Finley broke the curfew because Jenna invited her to y.

    She is aware of it, but there is something about it that she doesn¡¯t agree with.

    ¡°You were so enthusiastic and agreed to it! You wanted to go to a restaurant with a nice atmosphere and all that, remember?¡±

    As the sisters begin to argue, a man with a gun appears from the back of the alley.

    The sight of the man startled Finley and Jenna. Partly because they were afraid of the man, but most of all because they knew him.

    A man dressed in the work clothes worn by janitors at the school speaks to them, pointing a gun at them.

    ¡°I guess I¡¯m getting lucky. You two should obey me obediently.¡±

    Jenna stood in front of Finley to protect her and red at the man.

    ¡°Lutoart, you were in the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that! I should be a baron ¨D¨D No, a man who would have been a marquis!¡±

    Finley, who was hiding behind Jenna, gave her honest opinion when he said that all of Leon¡¯s achievements were originally his to take.

    ¡°You be a Marquis? Isn¡¯t it absolutely impossible?¡±

    Jenna hurriedly warned Finley.

    ¡°Idiot, if you piss him off ¨D¨D ¡°

    Before Jenna could finish, Lutoart pulled the trigger of his gun. There was a popping sound, and Jenna crumpled to the ground.

    ¡°Onee-chan?!¡±

    Pressing her right thigh with her hand, Jenna was strong even at this moment.

    ¡°This sucks. This is definitely going to leave a scar.¡±

    ¡°Onee-chan, y-you got injured!¡±

    ¡°It was just a graze¡±

    A lot of blood wasing out of Jenna¡¯s thighs as she was trying to be strong. Fortunately, the bullet seemed to have gone through, but it was not a minor wound by any means.

    An expressionless Lutoart approached them.

    ¡°Understand your ce. You and I have different statuses.¡±

    Lutoart, who has only high pride despite his fall, spoke of their use.

    ¡°You two are hostages to Leon. If you don¡¯t want to die, you must obey my orders quietly.¡±

    .

    Part 2

    A hideout of the Forest of Ladies.

    The representative and many others were outside in a less popr area, where Finley and Jenna were handcuffed and shackled behind their backs.

    Jenna ties her thighs with a cloth.

    They were tossed on the cold cobblestone floor and listened to the three arguing.

    Three people with whom the two of them have a history ¨D¨D or rather, three people with whom the Bartofalt family has a history.

    One was Zora, who used to wear fancy dresses, but now wore dingy clothes.

    Her hair and skin are ragged and she looks much older than she really is.

    Zora¡¯s hands are covered with ck gloves.

    Zora, who seemed to be very confused, was sting the people around her.

    ¡°Why these two! What happened to the princess? When we return to retrieve it, the representatives are already gone, and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Exin it to me!¡±

    The other is Merce.

    This one is dressed mboyantly, but unlike before, she wears shy makeup that looks good at night. She is thinner than when they saw her a few years ago, and they can see that she has been struggling a lot.

    ¡°You¡¯re really useless! You could have taken a duke¡¯s daughter or amoner¡¯s woman as a hostage! There are even foreign princess, why can¡¯t you get any of them!¡±

    The two people throwing the tantrum are ming Lutoart, who is in awe of being yelled at.

    The way he started to make excuses in fear was very different from the attitude he showed to Finley and the others.

    It seems that Lutoart is normally in a bad position among family members.

    ¡°I-I also would have preferred to bring a girl of a higher status! B-But suddenly His Highness and the others showed up, and I had no choice but to run away. On the way, I found these guys, so I brought them in as hostages¡±

    Lutoart¡¯s gaze turns to Finley and the others.

    At the same time, Zora and Merce¡¯s gazes gathered, and Finley could only re in regret.

    (I should have obeyed the curfew like aniki told me to)

    If she had returned to the school without breaking the curfew, she would not have been caught and Jenna would not have been injured.

    As for Jenna, she apologizes to Finley despite her injuries.

    ¡°Sorry, Finley. Because I took you around.¡±

    ¡°More importantly, is onee-chan¡¯s injury okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay with this much¡±

    Seeing Jenna in so much pain, Finley regretted her thoughtlessness.

    She regretted that she hadn¡¯t unintentionally provoked him at that moment.

    Hearing the conversation between the sisters, an irritated Merce approaches them.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been fussing over an injury of that extent.¡±

    Merce stomps on Finley¡¯s head.

    ¡°It¡¯s irritating to watch you guys. Even though you¡¯re not even a real noble, you just imed to be one because of our generosity!¡±

    Merce, who stomps and grinds her, is taking out her frustrations on them so far.

    Most of them were dissatisfied with their current situation.

    ¡°We are the more honorable bloodline! Howe you¡¯re still nobles and we¡¯re treated likemoners! You make us dress like this and go out with men we don¡¯t like just to live! I¡¯ll never forgive you. ¡°

    ¡°Ow, that hurt!¡±

    As Finley screamed out in pain from the stomping, Merce lifted her foot and stomped hard again and again.

    Finley was growing angry as she was being trampled by Merce.

    (I¡¯ll never forgive these people. I will definitely take my revenge)

    Finley was still determined to struggle even in this situation, but something suddenly overshadowed her.

    ¡°Onee-chan?!¡±

    Jenna was covering Finley to protect her. Merce was even more annoyed to see the sisters like that, and now she trampled on Jenna.

    ¡°You think this is some kind of beautiful sisterhood? You¡¯re all worthless. That Leon¡¯s definitely going to abandon you. I¡¯m gonna kill you right here!¡±

    Finley was thinking that Merce¡¯s words were indeed that Leon would abandon them. He was usually quarrelsome and had a noticeably cold attitude towards his sisters.

    If this had been his brother Colin, he would have rushed over immediately, but it seemed that Leon would not have gone that far for them.

    (Maybe that idiot brother would abandon us. Damn it ¨D¨D I should have been more ttering him. That way, onee-chan would)

    She worries about Jenna, who is covering her and being kicked by Merce.

    Zora was also mocking them when she saw them like that.

    ¡°Merce, you can hurt them, but you can¡¯t kill them. Even if they¡¯re worthless, they might be useful for something, right?¡±

    Breathing unevenly, the corners of her mouth turned up in an addictive smile, Merce obeyed Zora¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes, okaa-sama. As long as they don¡¯t die, it doesn¡¯t matter what I do, right!¡±

    Merce said and kicked Jenna in the abdomen.

    ¡°!¡±

    ¡°O-Onee-chan?!¡±

    Hearing Jenna¡¯s pain as she was kicked in the nk, Lutoart pped his hands.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good show¡±

    Seeing Lutoart¡¯s vile smile, Finley¡¯s gut churned.

    (I¡¯m definitely¨D¨Dgoing to give these guys hell)

    .

    Part 3

    A conference room in the royal pce.

    There were reports of enemy hideouts being overrun or subdued one after another.

    The knights who enter and leave the room one after another are not sad and bring good news.

    The knights also seemed to be in a good mood to deliver the happy news.

    ¡°All disturbances in the northern part of the royal capital have been suppressed! Einhorn has moved to the east and is dropping troops!¡±

    ¡°Airbike squad, captured the fugitives! They have already been interrogated and have confessed to their involvement with Raschel.¡±

    ¡°Good news from the unit we dispatched to the west! They have sessfully captured a group consisting of former nobles.¡±

    On the map ced on the table, one by one, the marks indicating the enemies disappear.

    Everyone¡¯s gaze was on me.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s see where we¡¯ll attack next?¡±

    Which unit should be dispatched to where?

    How to be more efficient?

    As I was thinking about this, Julius, who was standing beside me, pointed out a map and made a suggestion to me.

    ¡°There¡¯s an old watchtower here. It¡¯ll be tricky if they get holed up. We¡¯d better hit it before the enemy gathers.¡±

    ¡°Ah~, that. I¡¯ve seen that a few times before.¡±

    Now it was just an old building and I wasn¡¯t aware of it.

    ¡°Before the expansion of the royal city, this is where they used to keep the guards, but now it is treated as a warehouse. But the inner structure is built for fighting, so it¡¯s gonna be trouble.¡±

    ¡°Then the armor¡¯s no good. Maybe we should send Greg?¡±

    With Julius, who knows a lot about the situation in the royal capital that I don¡¯t, as my chief of staff, I decide where to send them next.

    Then, Luxion immediately.

    [I¡¯ve instructed Greg to proceed to the next destination, but he needs to replenish his supply of ammunition. The route isn¡¯t the shortest, but I¡¯m sending them this way to resupply.]

    When Luxion showed the route that Greg¡¯s troops would take, it seemed that he would have them go through the ce where he kept his supply troops and head for the watchtower.

    I have no objection to this, so I nod.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have Jilk and the others resupply¡±

    [Then let us dispatch Einhorn.]

    As I made one decision after another, Milene-san watched with her hands clenched.

    I called out to her, because she seemed to be alone and nervous, while everyone around her was smiling more and more, relieved from the critical situation due to the continuous good news.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DNo, I¡¯m just impressed that it¡¯s a really great lost item. I¡¯m convinced that it was active in the Arzel Republic. I¡¯m beyond stunned, even horrified.¡±

    Showing a strong smile, Milene-san seemed to be afraid of Luxion.

    Luxion, who certainly has a tremendous performance, would seem to be a threat to Milene-san. No wonder she is afraid of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Milene-san¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Luxion may be terrifying, but he will obey my orders. I won¡¯t let anything that could harm Milene-san happen.¡±

    ¡°Marquis ¨D¨D No, Leon-kun¡±

    I reassured her with a determined look, and Milene-san¡¯s cheeks reddened.

    Julius is standing next to me, backed away.

    ¡°Leon, if you¡¯re going to seduce on my mother, can you at least not do it in front of me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not seducing on her. I¡¯m just reassuring her.¡±

    ¡°I see. Can you say the same when you look around?¡±

    When I was urged to look around, I saw that the people in the conference room were looking away from me.

    It seems to be a bad idea.

    Minister Bernard for example, was a little surprised to see an embarrassed Milene-san.

    ¡°It¡¯s only the Marquis who makes this person look like this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that.¡±

    Luxion mes me for getting carried away.

    [You¡¯d better think about the time and ce. Moreover, even though Angelica is here.]

    ¡°Ah, crap¡±

    Suddenly realizing what I was doing, I looked at Ange in the conference room.

    If she sees me like this, she¡¯ll get angry and pull my ear again.

    I looked at Ange in fear, but she was now having a serious discussion with Deirdre-senpai and ris-senpai.

    Apparently, the conversation was not heard.

    ¡°Thank goodness. She didn¡¯t hear it.¡±

    As I was stroking my chest, Julius was amazed at me.

    ¡°A guy like you really are ¨D¨D But at this rate, the riots will be over soon.¡±

    I returned my gaze to the map and asked Luxion about it.

    ¡°More importantly, did you find Jenna and Finley?¡±

    There was no sign of Finley at the school when they evacuated.

    The female student told me that she went out to y with Jenna and didn¡¯te back until after curfew.

    Breaking the curfew at the worst possible time is nothing short of bad luck.

    [Currently under investigation]

    ¡°Find them quickly¡±

    ¨D¨D I would feel bad if they died, and my family would be sad.

    .

    Part 4

    By the conference room window.

    Ange, who had been talking with Deirdre and ris there, looked out the window at the royal capital.

    (This whole ruckus sounds cute)

    The revolt, led by former nobles, was unnned and sporadic.

    Themotion would have been quelled even if Leon had not been there, but Ange had other concerns.

    Deirdre speaks to her in a whisper.

    ¡°Onee-sama has captured a man from Raschel. He seems to have a grudge against the Fiend Knight, identifying him as an enemy of the state. There¡¯s also evidence that Raschel was behind this whole mess. Make sure you tell Marquis about this.¡±

    Deirdre gave Ange the information she had received from her parents¡¯ house.

    The same goes for ris.

    ¡°Our people have captured some people who call themselves the Forest of Ladies. They seem to have a history with Leon-kun, and we¡¯ll hand them over if necessary.¡±

    They both tell Ange, not the royal pce, and leave the decision to her.

    That made Ange dissatisfied.

    ¡°I think you should inform the pce first.¡±

    When Ange said the obvious and warned them, they looked at each other and then made a wry smile.

    The look on their faces said, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡± as if they could see through Ange¡¯s inner thoughts.

    ris takes a nce at her father, who is near Leon at the meeting, and then talks to Ange about the current situation.

    ¡°You can¡¯t keep avoiding it, Angelica. The only reason the Duke hasn¡¯t sent an army is because they¡¯ve given up on the Royal Family, right?¡±

    ris¡¯s words were whispered so low that the others couldn¡¯t hear her.

    However, Ange criticizes her.

    ¡°This is not the ce to talk about it.¡±

    However, Deirdre showed no signs of stopping either.

    ¡°Winning or losing is not even a question. Kouhai-kun ¨D¨D Look at Marquis. He¡¯s leading the army with precision, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Leon is leading the army with an attitude that doesn¡¯t seem to be motivated as usual.

    But the problem is the result.

    All of them were so urate that those around him were both impressed and afraid.

    Information is alwaysing together in real-time.

    It was a surprise to Ange that he could instantly know what was happening outside while he was in the conference room.

    In order to obtain information urately and quickly, the military allocates arge amount of budget.

    That¡¯s because they know the value of gathering information.

    But it was impossible to get urate information immediately.

    With Luxion making the impossible possible at his side, Leon would be both dependable and terrifying to those present.

    Deirdre put her mouth close to Ange¡¯s ear and whispered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Angelica. If we fight, we¡¯ll surely not lose.¡±

    Leon, who is not based in the royal capital, is now in control of everything like this.

    ris teaches Ange the reality of the situation.

    ¡°You will eventually have to fight, even if you don¡¯t want to. The current royal family can never leave him alone. They¡¯re terrified of a person that can take them down and rece them at any time.¡±

    The royal ship, which has been considered the trump card of the Kingdom of Horfalt, has been lost in the war against the Principality.

    In the midst of all this, the presence of Leon, who possesses a powerful lost item, is a threat to the royal family.

    In fact, Milene is wary of Luxion as she considers him a threat.

    Ange thinks that Leon, who doesn¡¯t notice it, should be a little more moderate.

    (That idiot. Even if you¡¯re going to get serious, you need to hide your abilities a little better)

    After revealing Luxion¡¯s main body in the Republic of Arzel, she felt as if Leon¡¯s guard had been loosened.

    (It¡¯s toote to tell him to behave himself now. But at least discuss what you can do in advance ¨D¨D)

    When Ange looked at Leon, ris and Deirdre turned their heads to him as if following her.

    The three of them all had stiffened expressions.

    Deirdre lowered her eyes.

    ¡°Well, if there¡¯s a problem, it¡¯s the Queen.¡±

    ris also has cold eyes on Leon.

    ¡°They seem to be getting along pretty well.¡±

    The three of them looked at the scene where Leon was trying to remove Milene¡¯s anxiety.

    It was no fun for the three of them because it looked like he was seducing her.

    Ange closes her eyes and spits out sarcasm.

    ¡°Leon¡¯s loyalty to the queen is troubling.¡±

    (Don¡¯t carelessly woo the queen, you should think about your future a little more. I¡¯ll give him a lectureter.)

    It was an unforgivable sight for Ange, but she also knew that Leon was not serious when he was seducing her without hesitation.

    Ange understands the troublesome personality of Leon.

    Deirdre said sarcastically,plimenting Leon¡¯s actions.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to praise him for having the guts to seduce her right here. That¡¯s really all I have to say.¡±

    ris put her hands on her hips, looking unamused.

    ¡°The only concern is the Queen, no doubt.¡±

    Ange took her gaze away from Leon and gave them both a serious look.

    (It¡¯s more of a problem after we get through this)

    Ange was anxious about the future, but the atmosphere in the conference room changed.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to the sight of Leon, who had been calm until then, in a rage.

    ¡°Luxion, say it again¡±

    He was quiet, but his words were oozing with anger.

    It was his partner, Luxion, who was being looked at by an enraged Leon.

    [Both of them have been taken hostage. The ringleaders are the remnants of the Forest of Ladies, Zora and the others. I have also confirmed both Lutoart and Merce.]

    After hearing Luxion¡¯s report, Leon abandons his duties as the General Commander.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go¡±

    At the noisy meeting, Ange saw the look on Leon¡¯s face and knew it was useless to stop him.

    The people around him try to stop him.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let the Marquis leave this ce!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already finished, isn¡¯t it? All that¡¯s left is to clean up.¡±

    ¡°So we need orders to clean that up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give orders when I get back, and if you want, I can do it from outside.¡±

    A lot of people were surrounding Leon at the meeting, which became noisy at once.

    Ange let out a small sigh and stepped forward to help Leon.

    ¡°Let him go¡±

    As Leon and the people around him looked at her, Ange put her hands on her hips and red at Leon.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to do whatever you want, you¡¯re going to have to be responsible.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DAnge¡±

    Leon looked surprised, as if he had expected Ange to stop him.

    Ange bursts into a smile.

    ¡°Get it done quickly¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    As Leon ran out of the conference room with Luxion, Milene came to her side.

    ¡°You trust him a lot, don¡¯t you? But your decision is wrong just now.¡±

    ¡°I think so too. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s also a fated opponent for Leon, and he¡¯s trying to save his precious family.¡±

    When Ange told her the reason why she let him go, Milene let out a small sigh of astonishment and looked at the door where Leon had jumped out.

    ¡°I was misunderstanding about him.¡±

    ¡°Misunderstanding?¡±

    Milene changes her opinion of Leon.

    ¡°I thought he was a strong boy who could do anything with dexterity, but he¡¯s clumsy at heart.¡±

    Milene smiles sadly as she assesses him as clumsy.

    ¡°Poor boy. ¨D¨DAnge, you must support him firmly.¡±

    With that said, Milene left Ange¡¯s side.

    Ange wondered about Milene¡¯s remark about the ¡°poor boy¡± but she had some ideas.

    (Poor huh. Indeed, because this situation is not what Leon would have wanted)

    .

    Part 5

    When I left the conference room and went out into the hallway, I somehow found His Highness Jake and Oscar there.

    In addition, there¡¯s also Aare-chan by His Highness Jake¡¯s side.

    Apparently, they were waiting for me.

    Oscar approached me.

    ¡°Marquis! Have you found Finley-san yet?¡±

    ¡°Rest assured. I¡¯m going to save her.¡±

    For some reason, looking at Oscar¡¯s concern for Finley, I wondered what was going on. I don¡¯t mean to interfere with my sister¡¯s love life, but Oscar is one of the capture targets.

    It was probably for my own reasons that I wanted him to be with Mia-chan, if possible.

    I¡¯m on my way to help Jenna and Finley, and Oscar asks for permission to follow me.

    ¡°Then, me too!¡±

    ¡°No. You should stay quiet.¡±

    ¡°B-But.¡±

    I ask Oscar, who is about to head to help Finley, how he honestly feels.

    ¡°What do you think of Finley? I assume you like her enough to go out of your way to help her.¡±

    Oscar smiled in trouble and answered my question vaguely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even understand myself. However, I don¡¯t think I hate her. Yes, from my point of view, she is a caring big sister, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Big sister?! Finley is?!¡±

    His Highness Jake interrupts our conversation when I am surprised to find Oscar adoring the petite Finley as his older sister.

    ¡°Bartofalt, I¡¯ming with you¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m better than my brother. I¡¯ll be useful to you for sure.¡±

    His Highness Jake asked me to take him, but he was constantly worried about Aare-chan, who was behind him. The girl he likes? I guess he¡¯s at that age where he wants to look good in front of the girl he likes.

    ¨D¨DJulius and His Royal Highness Jake are brothers as I thought.

    It¡¯s enough to make me think, ¡°Are you sane?¡±

    ¡°What makes you think I can take the prince around? You¡¯re supposed to be staying behind, aren¡¯t you? Why don¡¯t you go help Julius.¡±

    ¡°Y-You, I¡¯m still a prince ¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Your Highness, you¡¯re in the way.¡±

    When I curtly refused His Highness Jake¡¯s request, and he was about to say something that he wasn¡¯t convinced about, but Oscar pushed him aside.

    ¡°OSCARRRR?! I¡¯m a prince and aren¡¯t you my foster brother?!¡±

    Oscar ignores His Highness Jake, who rolls on the floor after being pushed, and looks me in the face.

    ¡°Please let me help you. I will not interfere. So please!¡±

    Oscar bows his head deeply, and I¡¯m going to lose my patience.

    ¡°I¡¯m wasting my time with you people. If you get in my way, I¡¯ll blow you away.¡±

    When I allowed Oscar to apany me, the man himself had a big smile on his face ¨D¨D His Highness Jake was lying on the floor, severely depressed.

    Aare-chan isforting him.

    ¡°His Highness Jake, let¡¯s be obedient¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DH-How dare you, Bartofalt¡±

    For some reason, he seems to have a grudge against me, but if I bring out the second prince, I will be the one getting scolded.

    You two brothers, all together, are giving me trouble.

    Is this also part of Rnd¡¯s blood?

    .

    Part 6

    ¡°Open your eyes, onee-chan!¡±

    Hideout of the Forest of Ladies.

    There, Jenna was covered in scars after being beaten up by Merce.

    Her breathing was weak and she was unconscious.

    Finley was in tears at the sight of Jenna defending herself, and Merce, holding the broken stick, wasughing.

    The stick that was hitting Jenna broke, rendering it useless, and she threw it away.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It wouldn¡¯t be fun if you didn¡¯t speak up more!¡±

    Lutoart, who was next to her, also stomped on Jenna.

    Both of them were unhappy with their current situation and took their frustrations out on Jenna.

    ¡°If we do any more, she will die. But one of them is still alive, so what does it matter.¡±

    Zora was sitting on a chair in the hideout, watching the two children who were suffering.

    What she¡¯s thinking about is a revenge.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯m sure Barkas will figure it out once he sees his dead daughter. We¡¯ll have to show him who the hell they¡¯ve been up against.¡±

    Merce, tired from beating Jenna, sits on a crate in the room.

    ¡°If our n seeds, we will return to the nobility. This time, we¡¯ll make you work for us and make your life miserable.¡±

    The Zora family looked as if they had won.

    Finley recalled a memory from when she was little.

    (These guys really are the worst. Yes, they¡¯ve been worse since forever.)

    .

    Part 7

    The house of the Bartofalt family.

    The Zora family, who usually don¡¯t show up, came toin to Barkas that day.

    The young Finley watched from the doorway as Barkas and Ruth were being abused in the reception room.

    ¡°What do you mean the amount of money you¡¯re sending me is decreasing? This is a breach of contract. It¡¯s absolutely impossible. Can¡¯t the countryside noble even keep a promise like this?!¡±

    The reason why Zora hade all the way over was because the money sent by the Bartofalt family was not enough.

    But there was a reason for this.

    Barkas looks apologetic.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, Zora. We¡¯re trying our best, but with the disaster this year, we just can¡¯t afford it.¡±

    The disaster took up a lot of manpower and budget for reconstruction, and on top of that, the crops did not grow well.

    It wasn¡¯t a bad harvest, but it was worse than usual.

    Therefore, they sold everything they could sell at the mansion and managed to find the money to send her money.

    Finley knew that Ruth had given away all of her clothes and the few ornaments she had.

    The house was running low, and we were having trouble finding food to eat.

    But Zora still wouldn¡¯t tolerate it.

    ¡°What does it matter? What does it matter to me if you guys suffer? If you don¡¯t send money as promised, I¡¯ll have an idea. Shall we take this to the royal pce?¡±

    Perhaps Barkas thought it would be a bad idea for the royal pce to hear about this, so he bowed to Zora.

    ¡°P-Please forgive me for that!¡±

    The royal pce favors women like Zora over the feudal lords, and judging by this kind of story, the lords are to me, resulting in extra fines.

    Sometimes, Barkas had no choice but to apologize because his territory could be taken away.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, do whatever you can to get the money. You¡¯re really useless for making me go to all this trouble.¡±

    With that said, Zora took out her usual dissatisfaction on the two of them.

    Finley couldn¡¯t stand the sight of his parents, so she left the room.

    As she walked down the corridor, she saw Lutoart and Merce, who were dressed in expensive clothes, unlike her own.

    When they noticed Finley, Merce mocked her.

    ¡°She is dressed so shabbily. I really hate country girls.¡±

    Lutoart looked at Finley and shrugged his shoulders.

    ¡°I agree with you. How can she live in the middle of nowhere like this.¡±

    Watching over the two of them is an elf who serves as Zora¡¯s personal servant.

    ¡°Youngdy, young master, I¡¯ve prepared some sweets in that room that I brought from the royal capital.¡±

    When Finley¡¯s stomach rumbled at the mention of sweets, the elf put his hand over his mouth and smiled condescendingly.

    ¡°Unfortunately there¡¯s no share for you.¡±

    After saying that, he took the two of them and headed for the room.

    Merce looks at Finley, who is holding her stomach, and smiles wickedly.

    ¡°Too bad ~¡±

    Lutoart didn¡¯t look too happy when he heard it was sweets.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same old sweets we always eat, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m tired of it¡±

    That made Finley extremely angry.

    How can Zora and her family even have snacks when they can¡¯t even afford to eat?

    As she endured her hunger, Finley grew angry with Zora and her family.

    .

    Part 8

    (That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve been frustrated ever since. These guys are living happily because they are all sucking up our money.)

    Finley was frustrated when he found out that they were struggling to provide Zora and her family with a luxurious life.

    Things have rxed a bittely as Leon has risen in the ranks, but until then they were forced to live a difficult life.

    It¡¯s all for the Zora family.

    (Why are these guys hating us when they brought this on themselves? We¡¯re the ones who are holding a grudge)

    Hatred swelled inside Finley.

    Then they hear the sound of the door of the hideout being kicked down.

    At the same time, a loud male voice could be heard.

    ¡°Finley-saaan!¡±

    What can be heard is Oscar¡¯s shouting.

    Then the familiar voice of his brother is heard.

    ¡°Don¡¯t scream in the attack!¡±

    Leon rushed in and immediately saw the Zora family inside the hideout and pointed the muzzle of his rifle at Lutoart, who had a weapon.

    Lutoart, who was pointed at the muzzle, panicked and pointed his pistol at Leon, but he was toote.

    It was Leon who pulled the trigger first, and Lutoart was shot in the right arm.

    Lutoart dropped the pistol he was holding on the floor and was severely distraught when he saw the blood pouring out of his arm.

    ¡°GYAAAAAAA !! M-My arm !! B-Blood!¡±

    Both Zora and Merce could only watch as Lutoart screamed and cried. In the first ce, they could not understand what was happening and could not move.

    Leon doesn¡¯t see them as a threat and runs up to Lutoart and knocks him down by hitting him in the head with a gun barrel.

    Leon took one look at Finley and Jenna, narrowed his eyes and kicked the noisy Lutoart as hard as he could in the abdomen.

    Leon then mounted Lutoart and beat him to a pulp with his gun. There was no such thing as restraint, and there was a different kind of roughness in Leon¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°S-Someone ¨D¨D help¨D¨D!¡±

    ¡°Gya- Gya~ noisy! How dare you guys do that. I¡¯m going to pay you back for everything you¡¯ve done.¡±

    Finley was watching Leon¡¯s rampage, when Oscar arrived.

    ¡°Finley-san, are you all right!¡±

    ¡°Oscar-san¡±

    The sight of Oscaring to help her was very reassuring to Finley.

    When Luxion appears, he shines aser through the red lens to remove the handcuffs.

    [It looks like this is the end.]

    Finley, helped by Luxion, immediately looks at Jenna.

    ¡°The sphere, please, onee-chan!¡±

    [Of course I will help her. Otherwise, Master will be very fussy.]

    When Luxion pointed the red lens at Leon, the out-of-breath Leon was about to stand up.

    Lutoart¡¯s face has been deformed to the point where its original form is unrecognizable, and he seems to be alive but unconscious.

    Leon readied his rifle and pointed the muzzle at Zora and Merce.

    ¡°It¡¯s over. Quickly tie them up.¡±

    When Leon said that, Merce pretend to be tough while trembling.

    ¡°Y-You idiot. It¡¯s toote for everything. Out there, the revolution must have seeded. You¡¯re the ones who will get caught, not us!¡±

    Merce had no doubt that their n would seed.

    Zora is the same.

    ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t you dare get carried away, you damn brat! A man like you should have just obeyed obediently!¡±

    But Leon snickered at that.

    Zora, perhaps offended by his attitude, shouted in a shrill voice with a blue streak on her forehead.

    ¡°A poor, good-for-nothing man like you should have been a ve to us women! You misunderstood the situation and destroyed the order of the kingdom! It¡¯s all your fault! You think you can get away after making this country such a terrible ce!¡±

    Leon deflected the muzzle of his gun away from the squirming Zora and fired at the crate.

    When Zora is silenced by that one shot, he starts tough.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long, long story. In other words, you¡¯re trying to say it¡¯s not your fault, right? All the horrible things you¡¯ve done to our family, all the disrespect you¡¯ve shown to men, all of that is justice? You guys really are idiots, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    Zora squeezed her hand and the ck glove made a gnashing sound.

    ¡°You¡¯re a man, and you¡¯re getting carried away¡±

    ¡°A man. Man, right. Yeah, it¡¯s really a man favorable society. It may be unfortunate for you, but it¡¯s great for me!¡±

    ¡°T-This man¡±

    Leon was getting on Zora¡¯s nerves, but when his smile disappeared, his face turned serious.

    ¡°You guys are so stupid. It¡¯s all your own fault that you¡¯re in this situation. It¡¯s not our fault? Don¡¯t make meugh.¡±

    Leon, who says it was their own fault, talks about how Zora and the others got into their current situation.

    ¡°In this world, trash is trash, no matter if it¡¯s a man or a woman.¡±

    Zora and Merce, who were called trash, stared at Leon with deep wrinkles between their brows. Leon ispletely unfazed by the hatred directed at him by the two.

    Merce curses Leon.

    ¡°What¡¯s do you mean trash! You¡¯re the trash!¡±

    ¡°I know I¡¯m trash. But you guys are the worst kind of trash because you don¡¯t realize you¡¯re trash and unaware of it.¡±

    Leon replied with a smirk, but this time Zora countered.

    ¡°The kingdom was a righteous society that respected women until now! If you¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t respect others, don¡¯t expect them to respect you. You should be aware that you¡¯re being resented in the first ce. What have you done to us? Are you trying to tell me that you weren¡¯t wrong?¡±

    Zora¡¯s face reddened as she was told that they were wrong and she couldn¡¯t admit it.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t really care about legitimacy, do you? Why don¡¯t you take a look at what you¡¯ve done? Because what you guys have done is the worst, regardless of gender. And while I¡¯m at it, let me tell you that your little revolution? The misceneous riots that you were talking about have already been put down.¡±

    No matter what Leon said, they didn¡¯t listen to him, but when they were informed of the failure of their n, they instantly lost their strength.

    Zora pointed at Leon with a trembling hand.

    ¡°L-Lie¡±

    ¡°The fact that I¡¯m here is proof. Your leaders have already been caught. If you werepetent enough to seed in the revolution, you wouldn¡¯t be in this situation in the first ce. Rachel¡¯s men yed you for a fool, didn¡¯t they.¡±

    Merce copses to her knees.

    ¡°What am I struggling for?¡±

    All the hard work they had done up until now had gone down in smoke, and Leon looked at the despairing Zora and Merce with a cold look in his eyes. He must have had something on his mind as he looked at Zora and her family, who had put him through so much.

    ¡°You should have tried harder a long time ago. That being said, you¡¯re going to pay for messing with my family.¡±

    Saying this in a low voice, Leon seemed to already be nning on capturing them. He didn¡¯t try to beat them up as thoroughly as he had done to Lutoart.

    Seeing him like that, Finley¨D¨D.

    ¡°Ha? Why don¡¯t you do anything to them?¡±

    When he turned to Finley, who couldn¡¯t get over her anger, Leon was not as crisp as before.

    ¡°No, even I wouldn¡¯t hurt a woman.¡±

    Finley snapped at Leon for saying such a thing.

    ¡°There is no way I¡¯m going to let the people who hurt onee-chan like that as they are! A payback, it doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re a man or a woman!¡±

    ¡°Fi-Finley? Let¡¯s calm down. Okay?¡±

    Oscar also speaks to Finley, whose breathing bes ragged.

    ¡°Finley-san, more than this is¡±

    Finley¡¯s face looked like a demon as she nced back at the weak-kneed Oscar.

    ¡°I can¡¯t keep quiet after onee-chan got beat up! Are you still a man?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Taking her gaze off the apologetic Oscar, Finley walked up to a slumping Merce¨D¨DShe grabbed her hair and mmed her face into the floor.

    ¡°I¡¯ll avenge¨D¨Donee-chan!¡±

    ¡°S-Stop¨D¨DNot the face!¡±

    Merce desperately resisted, but Finley mmed Merce¡¯s face into the floor again and again with one arm. Her nose bleeds from her beautiful face, but she doesn¡¯t care and Finley smashes her silently.

    In order to avenge Jenna, who had defended her, she didn¡¯t hold back at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to mess up your beautiful face!¡±

    As expected, even Leon tried to stop her.

    ¡°Finley calm down! Please!¡±

    Then, when Merce stopped moving, Finley ignored Leon¡¯s restraint and took aim at Zora. Her clothes and face were covered with Merce¡¯s return blood, causing Zora to back away.

    ¡°Hiih!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna make you look like a potato too!¡±

    .

    Part 9

    Finley, who was rampaging around like a demon, gave Zora a jumping kick and then used joint techniques to torment her.

    Luxion thinks that Finley, who isughing at Zora blowing bubbles, is just like Leon.

    As such, Leon is trying to stop Finley, but is unable to do so.

    ¡°Finley, stop it!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because they¡¯re women that you cut corners! The enemy of women is women! They¡¯re my enemies!¡±

    Finley, whose tone was rough with excitement, beat up Zora mercilessly.

    The sight of her mounted and mming both fists into the ground repeatedly with no expression on her face made Leon and Oscar drew back.

    [As expected from Master¡¯s sister.]

    As Luxion turned his red lens in the other direction, Jenna woke up in Oscar¡¯s arms. She is not acquainted with Oscar, so when she wakes up, the handsome man is holding her and she looks happy.

    ¡°Oh, my goodness, he¡¯s so handsome¡±

    Despite being injured, she still feels rxed.

    Oscar is puzzled as well.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m Oscar Fia Hogan.¡±

    Perhaps Jenna was dazzled by Oscar¡¯s earnest answer, but she was enthralled. However, she soon remembered that she was injured.

    ¡°What a disgraceful, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m letting Oscar-sama see me like this.¡±

    Luxion is impressed with Jenna¡¯s toughness.

    Oscar had a general idea of ??what was going on.

    ¡°I understand that you were injured protecting Finley-san, right. There is no need to be ashamed. You are an admirable person.¡±

    ¡°Oscar-sama ¨D¨D Excuse me, do you have a woman in a rtionship? Like a fianc¨¦e?¡±

    ¡°He? Etto¡±

    Oscar nced at Finley, who was rampaging, and then answered Jenna.

    ¡°¨D¨DI don¡¯t¡±

    ¡°Then, someone you like?¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t have¡±

    Perhaps his love for Finley, who was rampaging around like a demon, had vanished, Oscar replied that he didn¡¯t have a girlfriend or anyone he liked.

    For a moment, Jenna looks at him like a starving carnivore who has found a herbivore.

    Then she showed Oscar a weak appearance.

    ¡°Oscar-sama, I ¨D¨D I feel dizzy.¡±

    When Jenna hugged him, Oscar wavered and hugged her gently.

    ¡°Are you okay?!¡±

    Seeing the two of them, Luxion realized once again that Finley¡¯s words had not been a mistake.

    [A woman¡¯s enemy is a woman, isn¡¯t it?]

 Volume 9, 9 â€œThe End of Zora Familyâ€

    <h4>Volume 9, Chapter 9 ¡°The End of Zora Family¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Finley, who had been rampaging wildly, was taking a breath heavy on his shoulder, covered in blood.

    I had no idea that my sister was so terrifying.

    It¡¯s like a Berserker who loves fighting and lives for fighting.

    Zora and Merce are lying on the ground by Finley¡¯s side, battered and badly injured.

    ¡°My sister is scary¡±

    When I mutter my honest impression, Luxiones to my side.

    [She has excellent warrior qualities. However, the future will be a little rough.]

    ¡°Rough? When it¡¯s already rough?¡±

    [Let¡¯s talk about itter. More importantly¨D¨D]

    As Luxion pointed the red lens at Zora, Lutoart, who had regained consciousness, was approaching her.

    ¡°M-Mother¨D¨D¡±

    Is he trying to save Zora? These guys seem to have a parent-child affection.

    Luxion shouted as I tried to watch until the soldiers to capture him arrived.

    ¡°A faint reaction from the demonic armor? Master, Zora is holding a piece of the armor!¡±

    ¡°What ?! Everyone, get out of here now! Oscar, you protect those two.¡±

    I pushed Finley backwards and hurriedly readied my rifle.

    Zora was holding something in her hand.

    Zora thrusts it, sharp as a shard of ss, into Lutoart¡¯s neck as he approaches.

    Lutoart was surprised.

    ¡°Mother¨D¨DW-Why?¡±

    After stabbing his son, Lutoart, with a piece of the demonic armor, Zora looked at me and smiled broadly as if she had won.

    ¡°You let your guard down! Lutoart, you¡¯ve been a useless fool, but in the end, you¡¯ll be of use to your mother in this way. I¡¯m going to run away while you¡¯re fighting.¡±

    As Zora staggered to her feet, it seemed that she intended to use Lutoart, who was suffering from a piece of demonic armor that had pierced him, to buy time so that she could escape.

    Merce was also standing up.

    She held her face in her hands and stared at us through the gap between her fingers.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯ll definitelye back and kill you!¡±

    As Merce tried to run away with Zora, Lutoart reached out and grabbed her ankle.

    ¡°Help me¨D¨DAne-ue¡±

    Merce kicks at Lutoart, who asks for help.

    ¡°Let me go, you fool!¡±

    They were about to abandon Lutoart and escape from the hideout.

    His appearance, Lutoart¡¯s behavior became strange.

    He started to giggle, and a number of flesh eyes appeared on his back.

    Lutoart¡¯s limbs extended as his body was consumed by the demonic armor.

    The tip became sharp and arge mouth appeared on his abdomen.

    From the beginning, he could not keep his human form, but changed into a different form.

    ¡°Lutoart, you¡±

    I eject the loaded rounds from my rifle and rece the magazine.

    Lutoart had turned his body to Zora and Merce, who were trying to escape rather than us.

    Zora and Merce are falling on their butts in front of the transformed Lutoart.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯te here!¡±

    ¡°Go over there! The enemy is over there!¡±

    Hearing their words, Lutoart, his neck stretched out, smiled eerily.

    ¡°¨D¨DLooks delicious¡±

    Lutoart¡¯s gigantic body jumped straight at the two of them.

    I take the three of them outside while Lutoart¡¯s attention is on the two of them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    As I hurried up the stairs that led to the ground, I even heard a sound I didn¡¯t want to hear along with a woman¡¯s scream from behind me.

    Finley shouts.

    ¡°What¡¯s that monster!¡±

    Oscar had picked up Jenna like a princess and was running.

    ¡°I also don¡¯t know anything about it!¡±

    As for Jenna, she hugged Oskar tightly even at this moment.

    ¡°Everyone, hurry up!¡±

    We got to the ground and went straight out of the building.

    Outside was getting brighter, it was already dawn.

    ¡°Luxion, what about Lutoart?¡±

    Luxion¡¯s red lens glows.

    [He¡¯s already on the ground]

    As soon as Luxion said that, the building copsed and the monster that was Lutoart came out of it.

    There was no trace of Lutoart left whatsoever.

    The lump of flesh had arge mouth and five tentacles growing out of it.

    I was horrified at the sight of him looking at me and licking his tongue.

    ¡°Oscar, take the two of them and back off!¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    Oscar holds Jenna and leaves the scene with Finley.

    Lutoart was looking at me.

    And with a monster¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°All mine. The position, the wealth, and the power ¨D¨D It¡¯s all mine¡±

    Luxion dutifully exins Lutoart¡¯s feelings as he approaches me and says it¡¯s all his.

    [I think he was jealous of the Master. He thought he could have your title, your fortune, and even my power. It¡¯s really beyond help.]

    ¡°Totally¡±

    While avoiding Lutoart¡¯s tentacle-wielding attack, I shot him with my rifle and the spot where the bulletnded exploded.

    One of the tentacles blows off, and Lutoart starts to run wild.

    When the four-meter-long Lutoart went into a rampage, it engulfed the surrounding buildings and destroyed them, creating a terrible cloud of debris and dust.

    ¡°There¡¯s a part of me that feels sorry for you. I¡¯ll finish you off quickly.¡±

    I held up my rifle and Lutoart jumped on me.

    It jumps up high with its huge body and tries to crush me and eat me.

    I quickly moved to avoid it, and Lutoart, who had his big mouth pointed at me, shouted.

    ¡°Everything is mine! What¡¯s Leon¡¯s is mine! All of them ¨D¨D even those girls¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DAh?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t forgive Lutoart¡¯s line, so I quickly readied my rifle and pulled the trigger.

    Not one shot, but all the bullets in the magazine.

    When the bulletnded, the area exploded, and most of Lutoart¡¯s body was blown away.

    ¡°GYAAAaAAaAAa!!¡±

    Lutoart seemed to be screaming as he writhed in pain and destroyed his surroundings. Then he dripped arge amount of ck liquid and quickly stopped moving.

    ¡°It¡¯s over¡±

    Luxion speaks to me in a tone of amazement at my anger.

    [Did you be enraged when you were told that Angelica and the others would be taken from you?]

    ¡°¨D¨DShut up¡±

    [Rather than being enraged, you should stop wooing Milene in front of them.]

    ¡°Like I said, it was just to reassure her.¡±

    [You usually hit on her, though? Well, it seems like it¡¯s all over.]

    I heard Greg¡¯s voice from a distance.

    ¡°O~i!¡±

    Greg is riding on the back of Jilk¡¯s air bike, and when I look up at the sky, I can see Einhorn and the armor Chris is riding in.

    Apparently, they worked well.

    I look at the pieces of demonic armor that remain after Lutoart disappears.

    ¡°Even so, where did they get all this stuff?¡±

    [The Holy Kingdom of Rachel is suspicious. That being said¨D¨D]

    Luxion called the main body up into the sky ¨D¨D and irradiated it with aser to make the debris that was lying around disappear.

    [¨D¨DThis made me feel refreshed.]

    I let out a sigh of amazement at my partner who seemed to feel like he had aplished his task.

    ¡°You never change¡±

    Looking up, I saw that the huge spaceship had blended into the surroundingndscape with its optical camouge.

    It was only slightly ufortable, but if I hadn¡¯t been told, it would have looked like a normal sky.

    I put the rifle on my shoulder.

    ¡°The demonic armor wasn¡¯t a threat, except for Herring. The old ck knight was still more terrifying.¡±

    In response to my impression, Luxion gave his theory.

    [The size of the fragments of the demonic armor has a significant effect, but I think it is also greatly influenced by the specs of the user.]

    ¡°Because Lutoart was weak, was he still weak when he turned into a monster with demonic armor?¡±

    [I guess that¡¯s the price you pay for taking on a great power you can¡¯t handle. It is wrong to rely on demonic armor in the first ce.]

    The price of great power, huh.

    Then what did I pay for to get Luxion?

    Or will I lose something in the future?

    ¨D¨DWell, there¡¯s no point in thinking too much about it, and it¡¯s not really suitable for me.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°You tricked me, Rnd!¡±

    Audience room.

    I grabbed Rnd by the chest and screamed as I squeezed him, who was sitting on his throne with his legs crossed.

    After all, it was only natural that Rnd, who I had thought would not be around much longer, would show up in good health when themotion was over and the cleanup was almostplete.

    Rnd seems to be having a lot of fun even though I¡¯m grabbing him by the chest.

    ¡°I feel good today, so I¡¯ll forgive you for your disrespectful behavior at the award ceremony.¡±

    A riot in the royal capital has been suppressed, and a merit award is to be given.

    So now we have the nobles and soldiers who participated in the suppression.

    They are also bewildered when Rnd, who was dying of poison, appears.

    The same goes for the royalty at his side.

    Milene was holding her mouth with both hands, and Julius and Jake had ¨D¨D ¡°Ah~, I knew it¡± kind of looks on their faces.

    These guys seemed to think that Rnd was a man who wouldn¡¯t die even if they tried to kill him.

    Minister Bernard and others looked either dismayed or indifferent.

    I question Rnd.

    ¡°Did you lie to me about dying of poisoning?!¡±

    ¡°Idiot. It¡¯s true that I was poisoned, and it¡¯s true that I¡¯m sick. But when it was all over, I was strangely restored to health. In the meantime, I¡¯m heartbroken for all the trouble you¡¯ve all gone through.¡±

    I felt my gut churning at the lie that was being spoken.

    ¡°You¨D¨DDid you deceive me?¡±

    ¡°Remember this, kid. In this world, it¡¯s the deceived who are bad. I have a certain amount of appreciation for your devotion. I¡¯ll give you credit for sessfully crushing Raschel¡¯s ambitions and eliminating the troublesome people who were lurking in the capital¡±

    I looked at Rnd, who was grinning at me, and I started to break out in a cold sweat.

    ¡°Wait a minute¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t grant you that wish. ¨D¨D Marquis Bartofalt will be raised to the rank of Duke for his services!¡±

    ¡°Wha?!¡±

    I thought I would never rise any higher, but I was awarded a further title.

    Rnd pushed me away with his hand and stood up from his throne, waving happily.

    ¡°Rejoice, kid! The Holy Kingdom of Raschel¡¯s anger has reached its limit after you defeated the Holy Knight. The bounty was raised by the Holy King¡¯s order to the equivalent of 10 million Dia. This amount is unprecedented even in neighboring countries. That¡¯s amazing, a celebrity!¡±

    Ten million Dia. In Japanese yen, that¡¯s a billion yen on me.

    It seems that when the Holy Kingdom of Raschel learned that their n had failed, they immediately raised the bounty on me.

    ¡°T-Ten million¡±

    I hate the look of happiness on Rnd¡¯s face.

    As I staggered back a few steps, Rnd came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a whisper.

    ¡°Thank you for taking care of all that trouble. How does it feel to be promoted and ced alongside the Redgrave Family? I¡¯d love to hear about it.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DIt sucks¡±

    When I stared at Rnd, he gave me a hateable big smile.

    ¡°It was worth all the hard work just to hear you say that.¡±

    While everyone around me looked at Rnd with aplicated look on their face, I swore that I would get revenge on this guy.

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°Rnd is my enemy¡±

    After finishing the Distinguished Service Award, I returned to the waiting room, sitting in a chair, hunched over and folded my hands.

    While I was thinking about how to get revenge on him, Livia, who was in the room, seemed troubled and smiled at me.

    ¡°It¡¯s only Leon-san who can call His Majesty an enemy.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been resented by a lot of people, so everyone isining behind the scenes.¡±

    That bastard put me in charge of all the trouble, while he rested.

    When the people in the audience room found out, they looked as if they were chewing on a bitter bug.

    Milene-san had a cold, expressionless look on her face as she looked at Rnd.

    Are those the kind of eyes that look at filth?

    If there was a w in the perfect Milene-san, it would be the fact that her husband was Rnd.

    Noelle, who is in the room and sitting with the backrest in her arms,ughs at my hatred of Rnd.

    ¡°Leon may not like it, but you know what. The fact that you are allowed to do something like that to the king is proof that you are recognized.¡±

    ¡°And the result is a Duke. Where did I go wrong in life to be on par with Ange¡¯s family?¡±

    I look out the window with distant eyes, and Noelle shrugs her shoulders.

    ¡°Are you really that unhappy about getting a promotion? Isn¡¯t it like a margin of error when you rise to this level?¡±

    ¡°There is a big difference between a Marquis and a Duke! ¨D¨D Are? Is there, right?¡±

    Ask Angers for help with his arms crossed against the wall and he will exin that my perception is correct.

    ¡°It¡¯s not an error. There are three Dukes of the Lords and Nobles in the Kingdom today. My parents¡¯ house, Duke Redgrave, and the former Principality, the Duke Fannos. And there¡¯s Leon¡¯s Duke Bartofalt. As a lord and nobleman in the service of the kingdom, you¡¯ve be one of only three dukes.¡±

    Higher than the Duke is the Grand Duke, who is considered a nation.

    However, there is no Grand Duke in the Kingdom of Horfalt today.

    In other words, I¡¯m in a position that only a few people in the kingdom have, in terms of titles alone.

    I hold my head.

    ¡°This is terrible. I worked so hard, but he¡¯s giving me a promotion, what a demon.¡±

    As I wasmenting, Ange had an indescribable look on her face.

    ¡°All that hard work has gotten you a promotion, right? In the first ce, Leon has gone too far. What do you want to do by showing off Luxion¡¯s performance?¡±

    Luxion was floating in the room, watching us, and even he was amazed when our eyes were drawn to him.

    [It was Master¡¯s fault for not thinking deeply. Rnd was dying, and it was wrong of you to give it your all because it was hisst request.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you know Rnd was okay?¡±

    [No, Rnd was poisoned.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    .

    Part 4

    When Leon was suffering from his promotion.

    Rnd was drinking in his room.

    ¡°Did you see that kid¡¯s face, Fred! Kah! Today¡¯s sake is the best!¡±

    The man Rnd was drinking with was his friend Fred, who had concocted the poison.

    Why are Rnd and Fred drinking together in the daytime?

    There is a reason for that.

    Fred was crying at Rnd.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to have to go through that again! I questioned my sanity when you wanted me to mix the poison and give it to that woman.¡±

    The poison was prepared by Fred, but it was in Merce¡¯s hands under Rnd¡¯s direction.

    Rnd celebrates the sess of the n as he looks at the amber liquid in his ss.

    ¡°It was great poison. It allowed me to fool the kid, and I was in bed avoiding a troublesome riot act.¡±

    Rnd had sensed themotion in advance and had used his friend Fred to take advantage of the enemy¡¯s n.

    It was also Rnd¡¯s n to drink the poison himself and let Leon solve everything.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel like living!¡±

    Perhaps Fred was drunk, and he drank it all down in one gulp.

    Rnd pours a drink into his friend¡¯s empty ss and says something meaningful.

    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s a start. Thanks to you, I¡¯vepleted the first stage of my n. Thanks to you, Fred.¡±

    Fred was praised, but he didn¡¯t look happy in the least.

    ¡°Another evil scheme? Your Majesty never tires of it.¡±

    Rnd smiled when he was told that he was up to something bad.

    ¡°It¡¯s the scheme of a lifetime. There¡¯s a lot going on these days. Let¡¯s hope the kid can continue to do well.¡±

    He seemed to be plotting against Leon in some way.

    .

    Part 5

    School corridor.

    The one walking with Creare was Marie, who was growing taller.

    Next to her, Erika is walking with her.

    Marie and Creare were talking about thetest disturbance.

    ¡°We managed to get through this one, too.¡±

    [Yes. As usual, Master seems unhappy with his promotion.]

    ¡°That idiot brother should at least be happy about his promotion. What does he mean, I don¡¯t want to get a promotion? I don¡¯t understand what he¡¯sining about.¡±

    [Master also said that he couldn¡¯t understand Marie-chan, you really are a lot alike. It¡¯s fun to observe.]

    ¡°That I resemble my idiot brother, it¡¯s really annoying.¡±

    A displeased Marie was curious about Erika, who seemed to be enjoying watching them.

    The benevolent smile on her face makes Marie ufortable.

    (Hm~m, how can I treat someone who looks younger than me but inside is older than me?)

    Although they are the same reincarnated people, Erika is much older than her.

    Marie was worried about the distance between her and Erika.

    The two of them are walking side by side, and Creare is enjoying watching them.

    [Even so, it¡¯s amazing that Erika-chan is also a reincarnated person. Aren¡¯t there a lot of reincarnated people? I wonder if there¡¯s some kind ofw to it. Let me examine your body carefully next time.]

    Marie looks sideways in amazement at the curious Creare.

    ¡°You call the princess ¡°chan¡± too?¡±

    [For me, royalty has nothing to do with it.]

    The royal family is not important to Creare.

    Erika looks a little troubled and smiles.

    ¡°When I have time¡±

    [Is it okay! Yatta!]

    Marie urged a pleased Creare to behave herself.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just get scolded by aniki the other day! If you do anything strange, he¡¯ll dismantle you this time.¡±

    [I just have to do a thorough examination. Besides, Master may say a lot of things, but he won¡¯t go that far.]

    Erika, who had been watching the noisy Marie and Creare, showed interest at the mention of Leon.

    ¡°What kind of person is the Duke?¡±

    When Marie was asked with a tilt of her head, the gesture made her feel nostalgic for some reason.

    Remembering her daughter from a previous life, her heart ached.

    ¡°¨D¨DWell, he is kind or rather soft-hearted? As long as you keep rolling him around in the palm of your hand, he¡¯s a convenient brother. But when he runs wild, he bes out of control. Thanks to that, I¡¯ve been in a lot of trouble.¡±

    (That child used to make this gesture, too)

    [Marie-chan was repeatedly to be given a hard time by Master, wasn¡¯t she.]

    ¡°You¡¯re so noisy¡±

    Frustrated by Creare¡¯s teasing, Marie tells her about their previous lives.

    ¡°My brother and I both yed that Otome game in our previous lives and came here when we died. It¡¯s the same for you, right?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYes, I only yed the third work.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve onlypleted the second game properly. The first game was really hard, so I pushed it to aniki. Then that idiot stayed up all night and fell down the stairs and died. It was really stupid.¡±

    Marie talked about Leon as if to mock him, but her expression was dark.

    She regretted her actions that caused it.

    Erika sees through Marie¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°You liked your onii-san, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Haa? You don¡¯t really listen to me. It¡¯s just an inseparable rtionship with a fool brother from the previous life.¡±

    If Leon had been here, the bickering would have started, but since he was not here, Marie felt a littleck of something.

    ¡°You¡¯ve always regretted it, haven¡¯t you? That you caused your brother¡¯s death.¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s¡±

    ¡°From my perspective, you seem to be a very close brother and sister.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re strangers now!¡±

    Embarrassed at being told that she and Leon were close, Marie denied it for the time being. However, when she thought about it, it was not an answer.

    Erika looks convinced when she sees Marie pouting when she realizes this.

    ¡°The way you¡¯re angry, it¡¯s really the same as ever.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat?¡±

    Irritated a bit by Erika, who sounded as if she had known her for a long time, Marie gave her a sharp look.

    Then Erika stops. Marie moves on without noticing.

    ¡°I¡¯m d Kaa-san looks fine.¡±

    For a moment Marie didn¡¯t understand what was going on, then she stopped and looked back at Erika.

    Looking at Erika¡¯s standing figure, she finally realized the strange feeling she had been having.

    Normally, she would say, ¡°Ha? What?¡± and made a disgusted face, but tears rolled down her cheeks.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re lying, right?¡±

    Erika shook her head, and her long, habitual hair shook.

    ¡°Gets carried away easily, kind Kaa-san. Maybe, that¡¯s what I thought at the very beginning. But I wasn¡¯t so sure about that. But, I¡¯m quite certain from hearing about onii-san ¨D¨D oji-san.¡± (Note: Uncle)

    It¡¯s not a typical story, such as how she pushed a game on her brother and killed him.

    Marie held her mouth with her hand and tried to hold back her urge to cry.

    She couldn¡¯t remember the name of her daughter from her previous life, but she could certainly see her daughter¡¯s face ovepping with Erika¡¯s.

    ¡°How did you know¨D¨D¡±

    How did you know about me? She couldn¡¯t say anything when she tried to ask, but Erika guessed and answered.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always had that feeling. I¡¯ve been hearing about the Saint and the Baron ¨D¨D now the Duke in the royal pce. I had a feeling that it was Kaa-san somehow. And we met, and your gestures were very simr.¡±

    Before they actually met, Erika apparently guessed that Marie was her mother from a previous life.

    Marie hugs Erika.

    ¡°Tell me earlieeer!! I, I aaaam!!¡±

    Erika gently hugged Marie, who was crying hard.

    ¡°Sorry, Kaa-san¡±

    Erika looked like a mother caring for her child, and Creare, who was floating beside her, spun around on the spot.

    [Marie-chan¡¯s more like a child]

 Volume 9, Epilogue

    <h4>Volume 9, Epilogue</h4>

    Part 1

    A tavern in the royal capital.

    I was facing a person in a private room set up with partitions.

    Next to me, my partner Luxion, radiating a deadly energy, his red lens glowing mysteriously.

    [Master, when do I have permission to attack?]

    ¡°Who said anything about that? I told you we were going to have a talk today.¡±

    The person on the other end of the line is also in trouble.

    Herring¡¯s partner, Brave, looks at us with bloodshot eyes.

    [Buddy! Be careful not to get poisoned. I¡¯ll be poisoning all the food!]

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just because you want to eat?¡±

    It was hard to believe that the restaurant was surrounded by a bustling atmosphere after themotion throughout the capital not long ago.

    Not many people pay attention to us in the crowded restaurant.

    In the first ce, we chose this restaurant because it had a partition so that people couldn¡¯t see us from the outside.

    I cut out to Herring.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s have a heart-to-heart talk. What made you think I was suspicious in the first ce? You were spying on us on the day of the entrance ceremony, right?¡±

    Herring answers my question as he sips his drink.

    ¡°There was no hero named Bartofalt in that Otome game. Do you understand what this means?¡±

    I can guess everything by his testing tone.

    ¡°Are you a reincarnated person?¡±

    I guess he thought he was right about my reaction, so Herring continued to speak.

    ¡°My purpose is to protect Mia.¡±

    ¡°The protagonist?¡±

    ¡°Do you know what a guardian knight is? In the empire, it¡¯s a knight who protects women of high rank and status, and I volunteered to be Mia¡¯s guardian knight.¡±

    ¡°Thanks to that, I was suspicious of you too. There¡¯s no such thing as a guardian knight in that otome game, right.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long-established system over there.¡±

    I talk about Mia-chan¡¯s situation.

    ¡°Did you follow her because she¡¯s the Emperor¡¯s illegitimate daughter?¡±

    ¡°Do you know that much?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Marie is the one who knows.¡±

    ¡°That fake saint, huh¡±

    Herring said she was a fake and held his forehead with his hand as if his head hurt.

    He also told me that the Empire had heard rumors about us.

    ¡°Your rumors have reached us, too. There was no such hero as a fiend knight in that otome game. And the fake saint didn¡¯t appear either.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you suspected us?¡±

    It¡¯s true that even I would be wary if there were someone who wasn¡¯t supposed to be in the ce we were going.

    Herring¡¯s worry was understandable.

    I leaned back and was amazed at Herring¡¯s cautiousness.

    ¡°Just make contact with us! On the contrary, you even got in the way, that¡¯s the worst part.¡±

    It was Brave who didn¡¯t like what I had said.

    [You two are the worst! Immigrant ship Luxion ¨D¨D It¡¯s the worst weapon the old humans have left!]

    Luxion, who had been called the worst weapon, seemed to be getting pissed off and talked back to Brave.

    [I am an immigrant ship entrusted with the hope of the old humans. The worst is not me, but you, isn¡¯t it?]

    [When ites tobat, you¡¯re no better than a highly maneuverable battleship, but the other specs are the worst! I¡¯ve fought a ship of your type before, but never again.]

    Such a strong demonic armor Brave doesn¡¯t want to fight the same type of ship of Luxion, huh.

    However, Luxion¡¯s red lens glows.

    [¨D¨DSo you¡¯re saying that you attacked the same ship that fled into space? Attacking a ship carrying nonbatants, that¡¯s just like new humans.]

    [Are you saying that?]

    Herring and I look at each other and shrug, stunned at the two of them getting so riled up.

    ¡°Luxion, that¡¯s enough. The conversation isn¡¯t progressing.¡±

    [It is futile to build a mutual understanding. Master, allow me to annihte the relic of the new humans.]

    ¡°I told you it was no good, right.¡±

    Herring is also trying to convince Brave to do the same.

    ¡°Kurosuke, it¡¯s a long time ago? Besides, I want to save Mia now.¡±

    [¨D¨DAa~, you¡¯re right.]

    Save Mia-chan?

    Speaking of which, Marie told me something that caught my attention.

    She was originally a very active and energetic girl, but for some reason, her body was getting weaker and when she did strenuous exercise, she would have seizures and start suffering.

    I was curious about the setting, which was so far removed from that otome game.

    ¡°The protagonist ¨D¨D Is Mia-chan¡¯s body weak?¡±

    Herring was handing Brave a drink. Brave red at me as he sipped his juice through a straw.

    ¡°She was fine untilst year. But sometimes she has trouble breathing. Although she has been examined by the best doctors in the empire, the cause remains unknown.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know the cause?¡±

    ¡°If you give her magic power, the seizures will be relieved, so the healing magic itself is working. But we haven¡¯t been able to treat the root of the problem. They say it¡¯s getting progressively worse with no signs of improvement.¡±

    ¡°Did you let her study abroad in such a state?¡±

    ¡°I wanted her to rest, too. But ¨D¨D There¡¯s an important event for Mia over here.¡±

    ¡°Event?¡±

    Marie also said that Mia-chan had started to get sickst year, but I didn¡¯t expect it was an unexined illness.

    On the other hand, it seems that the viinous princess has been freed from her sickly setting and is in good health ¨D¨D what¡¯s happening?

    Herring speaks about Mia-chan¡¯s important event.

    ¡°There¡¯s an awakening event in the middle of the game. Apparently, there are ruins in a dungeon in the royal capital, and if she touches them, Mia¡¯s abilities will awaken.¡±

    I have not heard anything from Marie about the awakening event.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that¡±

    ¡°Even though it¡¯s a pretty important event?¡±

    I was a little pissed off when Herring looked at me like ¡®Eh, you don¡¯t know about it?¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only yed the first game of that Otome game! How much of that otome game have you yed?¡±

    Even though you¡¯re a man, is what I wanted to say but this line woulde back to boomerang on me.

    And it is not certain that Herring¡¯s previous life was a man.

    Choosing his words carefully, Herring tells me why he knows that Otome game.

    ¡°I watched my little sister y it from her side. She¡¯d happily tell me what the story was about, so I remembered it too.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re on good terms with your sister? Unbelievable.¡±

    As someone who had a sister named Marie, I didn¡¯t want to believe it.

    Selfish and self-indulgent, a little sister is an enemy to a big brother.

    When I give him a tantly disgusted look, Herring forcefully brings the conversation back.

    ¡°¨D¨DWell, there is an important event for Mia. In terms of the game, it raises her status, and I want to see if maybe we can use it to treat her illness.¡±

    Hearing that, Luxion pours cold water.

    [It may not lead to a cure. At worst, it could worsen her condition.]

    ¡°Oi¡±

    When I stopped Luxion, Herring looked down.

    Apparently, that possibility is also taken into consideration.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly as your partner says. I¡¯m thinking about the worst case scenario. That¡¯s why I was ordered to investigate in the kingdom. He wants me to gather any information that might lead to Mia¡¯s cure.¡±

    If he can give orders to Herring, he must be a very high-ranking person in the Empire, right?

    After all, Mia-chan is the emperor¡¯s illegitimate child.

    It means that the empire considers Mia-chan important enough to go to the trouble of preparing a guardian knight.

    This part is also different from that otome game.

    I look sideways at Luxion.

    ¡°Is it possible for you to heal Mia-chan?¡±

    When I asked him if he was able to treat her, Herring looked up and stared at Luxion.

    I guess he is hoping for the technology that Luxion has.

    [¨D¨DIt¡¯s hard to say without examining it. However, it is definitely more dependable than the demonic core that is there.]

    The way Luxionpetes with Brave is somewhat very human.

    Perhaps Brave was furious, his surface was prickly.

    [There is no way I can entrust the important Mia to you!]

    ¡°Are you throwing away the possibility of being cured like that? It¡¯s a thought I don¡¯t understand. After all, a demonic core is no good. ¡°

    I grab Luxion to stop him from starting another fight, and Herring grabs Brave as well.

    I guess we both have a hard time with our partners.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll examine her next time, I¡¯m relieved that you¡¯re not going to antagonize us. Because I don¡¯t want to fight you again.¡±

    When I said that, Herring frowned for some reason.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you either. That armor is crazy, to begin with.¡±

    It¡¯s rude to call Arroganz crazy.

    ¡°You were stronger than me. I did my best, but my weapon was broken, my ammo was out, and I was getting impatient.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You have no idea how much cold sweat I had to break out when you kept changing weapons and attacking me.¡±

    The Arroganz are characterized by their use of a wide variety of weapons, but to me, who has dealt with them all, Herring¡¯s words sound like sarcasm.

    ¡°You¡¯re the coward. I thought I was going to be killed.¡±

    Then Herring swung his fist down on the table.

    ¡°I was almost killed! That thest move is your Special Attack? Because of that, Kurosuke was also wrecked.¡±

    ¡°I was panicking because I hit it with full power and it didn¡¯t do much damage. I thought, ¡°I can¡¯t win this one¡±.¡±

    ¡°I told you I almost died! And I was thinking of holding back.¡±

    ¡°You gotta be kidding me! That¡¯s was holding back?! I thought I¡¯d be killed!¡±

    Herring and I were making a lot of noise when the waitress came to our private room. Both Luxion and Brave were so cautious that they ducked under the desk and hid.

    ¡°Ano~, I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d be a little quieter.¡±

    Both Herring and I apologize to the seemingly apologetic waitress.

    ¡°I am sorry¡±

    ¡°I will be careful¡±

    As the waitress left, we sipped our drinks to reflect on each other and calm down a bit.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this another time. You guys came to study abroad because you want to help Mia-chan, right? There is no other purpose, right?¡±

    When I confirmed Herring and Brave¡¯s purpose, they both nodded at the same time.

    These guys get along great.

    ¡°Right¡±

    [If only Mia was okay, we wouldn¡¯t being to this country]

    Let¡¯s leave the disgruntled Brave alone, this way we have no reason to fight.

    Just knowing this alone is enough for me.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s no problem for us either. I can help you with the ruins, and I¡¯ll lend you a hand if you need anything.¡±

    I walk up to him, and surprisingly, Herring¡¯s nervousness begins to falter. Then he looks at me curiously and asks.

    ¡°Is it okay?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°No ¨D¨D I thought you, who was called fiend knight, were a man of worse quality.¡±

    Herring is apologetic to me and tells me some gossip about me before I came to the kingdom.

    ¡°Because the rumors going around the Empire said you are heartless.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t rely on rumors. What kind of rumors, by the way?¡±

    When I¡¯m interested in my rumors, Herring is hesitant to tell me, but he tells me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be mad, okay? I heard a rumor that you beat the prince of your country in a duel. Now that I think about it, though, that¡¯s impossible.¡±

    ¨D¨DIs it a duel with the Five Idiots? Herring says it¡¯s impossible, but I¡¯m actually doing it.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mistake¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You wouldn¡¯t beat a prince out of a stone, would you.¡±

    ¡°No ¨D¨D it was the five targets from the first game that I beat up.¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    Luxion gives a detailed exnation to Herring, who doesn¡¯t understand what I¡¯m talking about.

    [Master beat five nobles, including Julius, in public. The five of them were powerless before the overwhelming performance of the Arroganz.]

    I remember those days, and I feel nostalgic.

    ¡°That was refreshing¡±

    [Yes]

    When Luxion and I say that, Herring rushes to check on the next rumor.

    ¡°T-Then, what¡¯s the story regarding the Republic? Is it true that you picked a fight with one of the six noblemen?¡±

    It was a mistake to pick a fight in the Republic of Arzel.

    ¡°Wrong¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s right. I guess you don¡¯t fight with people when you¡¯re studying abroad, right.¡±

    To Herring¡¯s relief, I exin the situation in detail.

    ¡°If I had bought the fight that was sold to me, I would have just made most of the six nobles into enemies. By the way, I¡¯m not the one who caused the copse. There was a coup d¡¯¨¦tat, and when we moved to suppress it, the Republic simply copsed.¡±

    Brave, who was at Herring¡¯s side, speechless, was tugging at his clothes with his small hands.

    [Buddy, this guy is worse than the rumor]

    It was Luxion, whose loyalty was high only today, who was offended by Brave¡¯s words.

    [I don¡¯t like what I¡¯m hearing. Do you really think this is the end of Master¡¯s cruelty? You haven¡¯t heard any rumors yet about how bad he is.]

    ¡°All right, you shut up.¡±

    I thought I had awakened his loyalty, but apparently it was my misunderstanding.

    Herring looks at me and pulls away.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to be as worse than the rumors.¡±

    For some reason, he seemed to be even more wary.

    .

    When I came back to the school, I was caught by Marie, who was waiting for me.

    ¡°You¡¯rete! The curfew has already passed! Could it be that you¡¯ve been drinking?¡±

    I guess I smell like it because I was in a tavern, but I¡¯m basically not interested in alcohol.

    ¡°I won¡¯t drink until I¡¯m 20.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a stupid answer. It¡¯s already legal over here.¡±

    ¡°I live ording to my own rules. So, what do you want?¡±

    Marie had tears in her eyes as she showed her attitude that I wanted to cut the silly conversation and get back to my room.

    She sped her hands together and told me how serious she was.

    ¡°Aniki, you know. ¨D¨D Erika is my daughter!¡±

    Hearing Marie¡¯s story, I yawn.

    Luxion, who was by my side, was worried about Marie.

    [Unless she was drunk, it¡¯s a memory disorder, isn¡¯t it? Marie, did you hit your head hard?]

    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk, and I didn¡¯t hit my head!¡±

    Iugh at Marie as she yells at Luxion.

    ¡°If that were the case, you¡¯d be even more seriously injured. In the first ce, Princess Erika is Milene-san¡¯s biological child, not your daughter. It would be disrespectful to treat her as your daughter.¡±

    As I say this, Marie throws a low kick to my shin.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    Marie stared at me, my eyes tearing up from the pain.

    ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°No, ano, I meant that it¡¯s not good to be heard out in the open¨D¨DN-No offense.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why I was speaking politely, but the current Marie had a power that could not be denied.

    Seeing me apologize, Luxion looks amused.

    [It sounded like you had other thoughts in your tone?]

    ¡°Do you have no intention of protecting your Master?¡±

    As I¡¯m about to continue my conversation with Luxion, Marie ps her hands and turns our gaze to her.

    ¡°Just listen to me!¡±

    We reluctantly decided to listen to Marie¡¯s story.

    Marie had a really serious look on her face.

    ¡°She¡¯s my daughter, but a daughter from a previous life. In other words, Erika is aniki¡¯s from a previous life.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHa?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t believe it for a moment, but I had heard before that Marie had one daughter.

    I¡¯d heard she was a gentle girl, not unlike Marie, was that her?

    ¡°No, why my niece? R-Really?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed it, so I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°When did she die?¡±

    ¡°She said she lived to be about sixty, so why do you care?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s two years younger than us¡±

    She died decades after us, but she was reincarnated two years after us?

    I was confused, but it was the same with Marie.

    ¡°I also don¡¯t know the details. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s her.¡±

    Luxion briefly exins what we¡¯re wondering.

    [It¡¯s pointless to discuss this topic when Master and Marie are in the same grade. Isn¡¯t there a time requirement?]

    We don¡¯t know much about reincarnated people either.

    How did we get reincarnated in this world ¨D¨D there¡¯s no way to know.

    After all, the next thing I knew, I was living in this world.

    Luxion is interested in reincarnated people.

    [However, it would be very interesting to see if there are any rules. Let¡¯s continue the detailed investigation.]

    More than that, what I¡¯m more concerned about is Erika.

    ¡°Is my niece a viin princess?¡±

    What¡¯s going to happen now?

 Volume 9, Afterword

    <h4>Volume 9, Afterword</h4>

    This is Mishima Yomu, the author.

    I always have trouble with the afterword, but this time it¡¯s okay!

    First, let¡¯s talk about Volume 9.

    Finally, Leon and his friends are in their third year, and they have entered that third otome game.

    As usual, things don¡¯t go as nned for Leon and Marie, but this time they are working together to face the difficulties.

    As an author, I think that Leon and Marie are a good match.

    Even when I¡¯m writing, the dialoguees out naturally, and I love Luxion¡¯s sarcasm towards them.

    Although Leon and Marie are such, they are even morepatible and active in the Marie Route (questionnaire benefit).

    It has a setting that has not been written in the web version or even in the book, so if you are a reader who is interested, please answer the questionnaire and check out the bonus SS for the questionnaire.

    Now, I¡¯d like to touch on the topic that interests me the most this time.

    The World of Otome Game is a Tough World for Mob ¨D¨D will be animated!

    I never thought that they would actually make it into an anime (sweat).

    This is thanks to the readers who have supported me.

    Thank you very much.

    I¡¯m looking forward to seeing how Leon and Luxion move in the anime, just like you readers, even though I¡¯m the original author.

    I am a lucky person, and fortunately I have been blessed by the people around me.

    Editor-san, Illustrator-san, Mangaka-san ¨D¨D and so on.

    I believe that the people around me have helped me to get this animated.

    I usually try to avoid mentioning the people involved in the afterword, but it is thanks to the people around me who supported me that I was able to make it into an anime.

    I would like to take this opportunity to thank you.

    Of course, the most important thing is the support of my readers, though.

    I believe that the anime version is a chance that I got together with everyone.

    It¡¯s not going to get any more interesting if I write about it too long, so that¡¯s all for now.

    Then, thank you for your continued support.

 Volume 9, SS: Nightmare Brianna-chan

    <h4>Volume 9, SS: Nightmare Brianna-chan</h4>

    A new semester of third grade.

    I suddenly ran into Greg¡¯s little sister, who apparently thinks I¡¯m a hero or something.

    ¡°I¡¯m such a guilty man ¨D¨D and this is no time for jokes. Luxion, I¡¯m going to clear up that kid¡¯s misunderstanding.¡±

    [Is that necessary? If you show her the nature of Master, she will understand that being a hero is a false image, even if she doesn¡¯t willingly do so. It would be better not to do anything unwise.]

    He is still the same guy who throws words that make my heart ache.

    But there are other concerns.

    It¡¯s a first-year students look at me.

    ¡°Could it be the Marquis Bartofalt?¡±

    ¡°Eh, is he real?¡±

    ¡°I see that he came back from his study abroad program.¡±

    It¡¯s not the hatred that was directed at me as a first-year student, but the way they look at me as if they are looking at a senior whom they admire, is irresistible.

    I am not used to it, so I feel ufortable.

    Fear me more, resent me more.

    Otherwise, I don¡¯t think this is the school.

    I ran into the courtyard to avoid being seen, and there I found a girl with purple, loosely wavy hair.

    Her long hair is well groomed.

    She put a lot of effort into her appearance ¨D¨D even now, she was sitting on a bench, trimming her nails.

    ¨D¨D It seems strangely simr to Brad.

    Then the girl noticed me and smiled at me.

    ¡°Is it a trap?¡±

    [You think a positive response is a trap ¨D¨D it¡¯s a sorrowful nature]

    ¡°If you¡¯re a school boy, it¡¯s an essential skill. If a girl smiles at you, think she¡¯s asking for an unreasonable favor! I learned that from my seniors!¡±

    Nostalgic.

    The seniors have taught me a lot.

    Sensing my wariness, the girl ¨D¨D a first-year student in her uniform, got up from the bench and approached me.

    ¡°You¡¯re Marquis Bartofalt, right?¡±

    ¡°Eh, ah, yes¡±

    A confident smile.

    ¡°My name is Brianna Fou Field. I would like to make your acquaintance¡±

    When I heard herst name, I immediately thought of Brad, who I knew.

    ¡°Field? Perhaps you¡¯re Brad¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the younger sister of ¡°that¡±.¡±

    That!? She called Brad that!?

    ¡°To call your brother that¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just a man on appearance with nothing on the inside! Calling that is good enough for me~. A man is more important for what¡¯s inside than what¡¯s outside.¡±

    Although she looks like the type who would use her feminine weapons to the fullest, Brianna-chan seems to be surprisingly focused on the inside.

    Could she really be Brad¡¯s sister? But they¡¯re obsessed with appearances, and they¡¯re siblings with simrities.

    ¡°It¡¯s a great opinion. If I had heard it two years ago, I might have fallen in love.¡±

    No, really.

    If this girl had enrolled two years ago, the boys would have been engaged in a bloodbath.

    ¡°Eh~, you can fall in love with me right now~¡±

    ¡°Go find another man. I have a fianc¨¦e.¡±

    ¡°I know ~¡±

    ¡°If you know, you shouldn¡¯t act like you¡¯re asking me out¨D¨DW-What did you say?¡±

    She knows and calls out to me, Brianna-chan ¨D¨D maybe she¡¯s a girl I shouldn¡¯t get involved with?

    Brianna-chan approaches me, hugs me in my arms and presses her breasts against me.

    ¡°After all, a man is what¡¯s inside~. Not to mention his title, his military prowess, and his wealth. I have decided that if I am going to target a man, I want the best.¡±

    I got goosebumps.

    T-This girl is unmistakably this schoolgirl.

    They didn¡¯t care what a man looked like on the outside, but what was on the inside was not his character, but his power.

    Military power, financial power, and authority ¨D¨D that¡¯s what they value, or this person is befitting of a schoolgirl.

    I quietly back away and keep my distance.

    ¡°Ah, awfu~l¡±

    I asked Brianna-chan, who was trying to sweet-talk me with her sweet voice, why she wasing after me.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be me, right. There are other promising boys out there.¡±

    ¡°Right, but~. There are only a few men who can match my beauty, after all.¡±

    ¨D¨DThis girl is unmistakably Brad¡¯s sister.

    ¡°Besides~, it¡¯s a good story for Leon-senpai too.¡±

    ¡°D-Don¡¯te any closer! That¡¯s not a good story at all!¡±

    ¡°Eh~? You can go out with me, you know? If you go out with me, you can brag about it to everyone around you~¡±

    Cute indeed. No, she¡¯s a junior, but she has the sex appeal of an adult.

    I¡¯m sure I could brag about it if we went out, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯d treat my lover as if she were a decoration.

    ¡°N-No, thanks¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a pretty devoted woman, you know?¡±

    She bends over and looks into my face.

    This girl has already mastered the art of making herself look cute.

    As I was pulling back, Brad came over.

    ¡°Bartofalt, just now Marie¨D¨DOya, isn¡¯t that Brianna?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat are you doing here?¡±

    Instead of the sweet, cat-like voice she had earlier, she had a very low voice.

    Brianna-chan¡¯s attitude towards Brad is too cold, if anything.

    ¡°You¡¯re so cold~. I saw my cute little sister, so I thought I¡¯d give her a call.¡±

    ¡°Get lost, you piece of sh*t brother. Because of you, the family¡¯s reputation is in shambles.¡±

    He ruined his family¡¯s reputation by breaking off an engagement, then made a name for himself by defeating sky pirates, followed by a principality battle, but was again disgraced by attacking a temple.

    In a short period of time, it seems that the reputation of the Field family has remained wildly vtile.

    But Brad doesn¡¯t care about that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about public reputation. I realized something. When I was away from the noble society, I realized that I was small minded, and that I had been obsessed with the pride I had when I was a nobleman. You see, I am a big man, right?¡±

    ¡°Silence, shut your mouth. Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused me?¡±

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re the tsundere? Marie taught me that. Even if you¡¯re tsun-tsun on a daily basis, you¡¯re actually dere-dere in ces where I¡¯m not looking? You see, I¡¯m beautiful. Everyone likes me.¡±

    The lights in Brianna-chan¡¯s eyes were gone, and she looked as if she were looking at a piece of filth.

    Luxion asks me a question.

    [I have a question for Master who is familiar with moe.]

    ¡°What makes you think I know anything about moe? More than that, what is it?¡±

    [Do you think Briana is a tsundere? I would judge it to be different by all means, but I¡¯m not familiar with human emotion, so I thought I¡¯d ask the Master¡¯s opinion.]

    ¡± ¨D¨D That¡¯s different. Even I can see that she hates him.¡±

    Brianna-chan¡¯s expression was disappearing as she looked at Brad, who never finished bragging.

    She is beyond angry and it was ¡°none¡±.

    It seems to me that she has given up on Brad in a lot of ways.

    ¡°Trash brother, I¡¯m not going to tell you to shut up now, just don¡¯t get in my way.¡±

    ¡°Your way? Are you after Bartofalt by any chance? Haha~n, since Marie has taken me, your big brother away, do you want a new big brother? Brianna has always loved big brother~! ¡°

    ¡°I like men who are a little older than me, who have a sense of resourcefulness that my trash brother doesn¡¯t have. Don¡¯t get me wrong.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not being honest~. But it would be embarrassing if you didn¡¯t say so. Don¡¯t worry ¨D¨D I understand perfectly about Brianna.¡±

    Brianna-chan is having a hard time dealing with Brad, who takes a favorable view of anything she says.

    I feel sympathy for her.

    I quietly escaped from the ce.

    Brianna-chan noticed that I was not there and began to search the surrounding area in a panic.

    ¡°What are you doing, trash brother! Even though it was a great opportunity!¡±

    ¡°Opportunities are what you attract. If you attract the goddess of destiny, you can have as much ¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in what you have to say! Please don¡¯t just interrupt me. Okay? You understand, right!¡±

    I can¡¯t bear to leave the struggling Brianna-chan behind and run away, but I can¡¯t have an affair either, so I want her to find another boy.

    But still ¨D¨D Brad is a real pain in the ass when ites to his rtives.

    I feel sorry for Marie for adding that to her reverse harem ¨D¨D No, she reaps what she sows.

    ¡°Even so, Brad had a sister who enrolled in the school¨D¨Dthere were others?¡±

    Luxion affirms my nonchnt words.

    ¡°When ites to the five idiots, all of their sisters are enrolled.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

 Volume 9, SS: Nightmare Claire-chan

    <h4>Volume 9, SS: Nightmare ire-chan</h4>

    ¨D¨DI didn¡¯t know that the five idiots had a younger sister.

    But, when one considers it, it¡¯s natural.

    This world is a dangerous world.

    There are wars and people are more likely to die than in my previous life.

    This inevitably tends to increase the number of family members.

    The thought of preserving blood naturally leads to the conclusion that the more children, the better.

    My parents¡¯ house is the same.

    I have five siblings: an older brother, an older sister, me, a younger sister, and a younger brother.

    So it¡¯s not strange that five idiots has a sister.

    [Master, you have been agitated for some time now.]

    ¡°No, I was just surprised by the unexpected turn of events. I didn¡¯t expect to meet their sister.¡±

    [Considering what has happened so far, it¡¯s not surprising that they hold a grudge against you.]

    ¡°How many times do you think I¡¯ve saved the world? I don¡¯t remember being resented.¡±

    [Isn¡¯t it a bit much to exaggerate by a mere two times? And those two times, it was only because of my strength that it worked.]

    ¡°Two or more times are multiple. Two or three times is kind of a margin of error, right?¡±

    [I am relieved to see that you are still the same person. I admire Master¡¯s bold personality. I don¡¯t think I want to imitate you, though.]

    ¡°You¡¯re plenty bold yourself, though.¡±

    To regain myposure, I decided to return to the boys¡¯ dormitory.

    I met Greg and Brad¡¯s sister in the morning and couldn¡¯t help but feel restless.

    Let¡¯s go back to the room and take a rest.

    That¡¯s what I was thinking, but then I heard voicesing from the boys¡¯ dorm bathroom.

    ¡°Onii-sama, what is going on!?¡±

    A female student¡¯s voice came from the boys¡¯ dormitory.

    ¡ó

    I looked into the bathroom and there was Chris.

    He is still wearing a loincloth as usual.

    That¡¯s fine, but isn¡¯t he cleaning the bathroom with a deck brush in the morning.

    Beside him was a bespectacled girl with short blue hair.

    The girl has a serious personality and, like Chris, wears sses.

    Her chest is ¨D¨D yes, it¡¯s modest.

    I think she beats Marie.

    But ¨D¨D give me a break.

    Even here, I encounter them with their siblings.

    Chris looks ufortable in front of his much like sister.

    ¡°[ire] what do you want? I just want to finish cleaning the bath and go to school. You, too, go back to the school building.¡±

    ire¡¯s fist was trembling when she saw Chris cleaning up.

    ¡°No, I will not back down. Why is this? Whenever you had free time, onii-sama would swing a wooden sword and hone his swordsmanship. But now you are dressed strangely and cleaning.¡±

    ¡°Dressed strangely?¡±

    Looking at himself, I thought that Chris, who was wondering, was in the final stages.

    Loincloths have be so natural that he doesn¡¯t understand what is being said.

    Lately, even I¡¯m starting to feel less ufortable.

    When I saw a guy in a loincloth, it was Chris or Greg, right? That¡¯s what I felt.

    But from ire-chan¡¯s point of view, she probably doesn¡¯t like the idea of her adoring older brother cleaning the bathtub in a loincloth.

    ¡°Onii-sama ¨D¨D Please return to your former self. Let us return to the path of the sword together.¡±

    ire-chan tries to get Chris back on the straight path, but Chris looks at her with a very displeased look on his face.

    ¡°I practice swordsmanship. But right now, the bath is more important.¡±

    ¡°Why! In the old days, you used to be ¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more useful to scrub the bathtub with a deck brush than to wield a wooden sword.¡±

    As Chris says it out loud, ire-chan staggers back.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry to hear that. You have been defeated by Bartofalt and your heart is broken. But rest assured ¨D¨D I will avenge you!¡±

    ire-chan pulled out the sword she was holding and looked at me as I was watching her at the entrance.

    Did she notice me?

    ¡°S-Stop. You¡¯ve got the wrong guy. I¡¯m not Bartofalt.¡±

    [Master who can lie naturally on the spur of the moment is truly a quintessential example.]

    I told her she had the wrong person, but ire-chan didn¡¯t believe me.

    I see cold blue eyes behind the sses.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, onii-sama wouldn¡¯t have gone astray.¡±

    ¡°No, your brother would have gone off the path even without me.¡±

    In the first ce, they were seduced by Marie even if I wasn¡¯t there.

    Don¡¯t me others.

    When ire-chan did her eight-phase stance, she shed at me.

    ¡°There being no use in arguing! Punishment! Fugya !?¡±

    ¡°Noooo ¨D¨D Eh?¡±

    ire took a big step in the bathtub, but stepped on the soap and fell forward as it was.

    When I hold her up, Chris crosses his arms and lets out a sigh.

    ¡°ire has always been a clumsy girl.¡±

    ¡°A clumsy girl!? ¨D¨D More importantly, aren¡¯t you cold to this girl? Maybe you¡¯re not on good terms?¡±

    ¡°No, we aren¡¯t on bad terms, but I wouldn¡¯t say we¡¯re particrly close either.¡±

    As I looked at Chris¡¯ cold demeanor, ire-chan woke up.

    Then she blushes and jumps back from me.

    ¡°Hya, whyat are you dyoing!¡±

    Perhaps she was flustered, she wasn¡¯t speaking properly, so Chris tranted for me.

    ¡°She thought something had been done to her while she was asleep.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡±

    ire-chan is crying.

    It hurts me to see her wiping away her tears.

    ¡°O-Oi, I said I didn¡¯t do anything¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DIf¡±

    ¡°If?¡±

    ¡°I-If this happens, you will have to take the responsibility!¡±

    As ire-chan got up and ran off, I reached out my right hand and froze.

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    I didn¡¯t understand, and Chris told me as he returned to cleaning the bath.

    ¡°While she was unconscious, something happened to her and she wants you to take the responsibility. That girl will push forward when she thinks she has to. Well, I¡¯ll leave the rest to you, Bartofalt.¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute! Clear the misunderstanding!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine. In the first ce, it would be easier for me if she was crazy about you, so I¡¯d prefer that.¡±

    D-Did this guy think so lightly of his sister?

    Rather, onii-sama, she said! I feel sorry for ire, who adores him so much.

    ¡°Is that all right for you!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I¡¯m rather d that the girl, who has only learned to use a sword, is interested in love. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you, Bartofalt. ¨D¨D I have a bath to clean.¡±

    Seeing Chris go straight back to cleaning, the questiones to mind as to whether I am wrong.

    Luxion, who was floating by my side, muttered.

    [Master, only two left.]

    ¡°¨D¨DStill more?¡±

    I¡¯m full of it already.

    Sapling-chan ( ©b?©b) ¡°Volumes 1 to 5 of ¡°The World of Otome Game is a Tough for Mobs¡±, which is talked about as the protagonist is too fiend, are now on sale. Readers who have not yet done so should purchase it!¡±

    Sapling-chan (¡¡©b§Õ©b) ¡± More importantly, isn¡¯t it funny that when I make an appearance, I get a lot of jeers? I was the heroine of the afterword. You can¡¯t see the postscript now that it¡¯s gone, but I was very popr during the serialization. ¡°

    Luxion £¨¡¡¡ñ£© ¡°That¡¯s how you spread the lie that it was popr in the afterword.¡±

    Creare £¨¡¡¡ð£© ¡°Dirty. That¡¯s my girl, Sapling-chan, so dirty. You really are a bad girl.¡±

 Volume 10, Prologue

    <h4>Volume 10, Prologue</h4>

    Part 1

    A man¡¯s fist swung down on the desk.

    ¡°No good. No good. No way I¡¯m going to ept these people!¡±

    In the ssroom, dyed red by the evening sun shining through the window, I [Leon Fou Bartfalt] was sitting next to an indignant male student.

    Amazed by the excitement of the male student, I soothe him with an unmotivated attitude.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so angry¡±

    However, he does not admit that he is emotional.

    ¡°I¡¯m not angry¡±

    The male student [Finn Ruta Herring] turns his head away from me in frustration, crosses his arms, and falls silent.

    Brown-skinned and tall, Herring is a beautiful man with a well-defined face.

    He has long silver hair that is tied behind his neck and red eyes, giving him a conspicuous appearance.

    He is not from the Kingdom of Horfalt, but from a foreign country, the Holy Magic Empire Voldenova.

    He was very popr among the girls as a mysterious handsome man because of his different facial features from the kingdom, a beautiful man from another country.

    But no matter how much noise the girls around him make, Herring never turns around.

    Because Herring cares about one girl student.

    In order to protect the female student, he even took advantage of a system that has existed in the empire for a long time, and followed her to study in the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    The name of the female student is a petite and active girl called [Mia], who came to study at the academy of the Kingdom of Horfalt this year.

    She was the protagonist of the third work of that Otome game.

    As for what Herring is doing to protect Mia¨D¨D.

    ¡°Generally speaking, none of them are worthy of Mia.¡±

    ¨D¨DWhile looking at the photos lined up on the desk, the protagonist¡¯s capture targets are being evaluated as a potential lover.

    The man, Herring, had no romantic feelings for the protagonist.

    And yet, he is so serious about Mia-chan¡¯s lover candidate to the point that he is frightening.

    I pick up one of the photos.

    The photo is His Highness Jake ¨D¨D [Jake Rafa Horfalt] is the second prince of the Kingdom of Horfalt and the man closest to being the crown prince at the moment.

    I look at the picture of Jake, who looks small but cocky, and I let out a small sigh and ce it in front of Herring¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°It seems that Jake is treated as the main character in that Otome game. Why don¡¯t you just pick him?¡±

    Not good enough

    When I tell him topromise with Jake, Herring squints and evaluates him harshly.

    ¡°This guy is still a prince, even though the position of Crown Prince is vacant, isn¡¯t he? Besides, this guy is too ambitious. If Mia gets together with someone who fights with everyone around him, she¡¯ll have a hard time, so no¡±

    In Herring¡¯s mind, it seems that His Highness Jake is not worthy of Mia-chan.

    I show the next photo to Herring.

    ¡°Then what about [Oscar Fia Hogan]?¡±

    Red-haired and well-built, Oscar is a bit ¨D¨D no, a pretty big fool, but he¡¯s a good guy at heart.

    I thought he had more potential than Jake, but Herring cut him off easily.

    ¡°This guy is in the same ss as Mia, but he¡¯s quite an idiot. I don¡¯t mean to suggest that he¡¯s a smart guy, but he doesn¡¯t deserve Mia, because he can¡¯t protect her. Besides, he¡¯s dating your big sister, isn¡¯t he¡±

    ¨D¨DOscar.

    The Bartfalt family now had a big bomb thanks to this guy.

    When he first entered the school, Oscar got along well with my little sister [Finley], but then I found that he was getting along well with my big sister [Jenna].

    In the first ce, he was never officially dating Finley.

    There would be no problem if he started dating Jenna, but they are sisters there.

    ¨D¨DThe rtionship between Finley and Jenna, who have always been close as sisters, has suddenly cooled down.

    While Finley was feeling vague, Jenna went around bragging about getting her long-awaited boyfriend, which led to a big fight.

    Finley, without realizing it, must have begun to be aware of Oscar as a member of the opposite sex. However, Jenna snatched him away from her from the side.

    ¨D¨DWhat are the sisters doing?

    That is why it was Oscar who did the deed that set the powder keg on fire.

    I don¡¯t think Oskar was wrong, but I stillined to him as a family member of those two.

    However, idiot is strong.

    Heughs at sarcasm and cynicism and takes it positively, so it didn¡¯t work on him at all.

    ¡°I guess he is no good?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to push someone who has a girlfriend.¡±

    ¡°That said, there¡¯s practically only one left. ¡ª¡ªand Aaron has be a girl.¡±

    One of the capture targets was a male student named [Aaron].

    The reason it is in the past tense is because he underwent a sex change and became a girl.

    I never thought this would happen either.

    Herring pulls his body slightly away from me, his cheeks drawn back.

    ¡°It was you guys who made him a girl.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t keep quiet when I was lumped in with ¡®you guys¡¯.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. It was [Marie] and [Creare] who did it! Right, [Luxion]?¡±

    When I turn around around my right shoulder, a metallic-colored sphere floating there ¨D¨D Luxion, I ask him to agree with me.

    Luxion¡¯s red lens was pointed at [Brave] floating near Herring.

    Brave ¨D¨D it is the core of a weapon called a demonic armor created by the new humans, and it is a being that provides support to Herring who recognize him as his master.

    They are enemies of Luxion, which was created by the old humans.

    [¨D¨DHowever, no matter how many times we exin the situation to them, they still don¡¯t understand, probably because they are using demonic armor. Or, in human terms, ¡°repugnant,¡± I guess? The continued use of the relics of the new humans is a symptom of the damage that has been done to Herring. I think you should stop using demonic armor right now.]

    He agrees with me, but spits toxic words at Herring and his buddy Brave.

    It was the same for Brave.

    Flesh eyes with red eyes on a ck sphere and a little creepy Brave pointed at us with a small handing out of his body.

    [How dare you said bad things about my partner!]

    [What were you listening to? I said that to you too.]

    [This guy pisses me ooooff!]

    Luxion looks at the raging Brave with cold eyes.

    They are mutual enemies and cuss each other when they open their mouths.

    Ignoring these partners, Herring let out a small sigh at me.

    ¡°Mia¡¯s position is very uncertain.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DIs that otome game setting?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Mia, who grew up amoner, is the emperor¡¯s illegitimate daughter and princess.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s amon setting in video games to say that they were actually awesome. It¡¯s a setting that both boys and girls adore.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple.¡±

    Herring¡¯s expression was dark.

    ¡°Because of her status as a princess, Mia is caught up in a battle for the session.¡±

    ¡°Haa? Why?¡±

    Mia, the protagonist of that Otome game, is in the position of being the illegitimate daughter of the emperor, although she does not know it yet.

    She was raised as amoner, yet she is the Princess of the Holy Magic Empire of Voldenowa.

    However, the father, His Majesty the Emperor, is getting old, and it seems that a battle for session has begun.

    With a thoughtful look on his face, Herring begins to state his requirements for the man who will be Mia¡¯s lover.

    ¡°Mia has no interest in the throne, either. But it doesn¡¯t matter what she wants. There are many royal family members who think it would be troublesome if Mia was carried around.¡±

    ¡°No offense, but isn¡¯t it hard for Mia-chan to be emperor? She doesn¡¯t even know she¡¯s royalty, does she?¡±

    ¡°Many royalty think it is easier to eliminate them if there is a possibility that they will get in the way. So, love alone is not enough. Mia¡¯s lover must be a man who has the strength to repel any enemies.¡±

    Herring¡¯s eyes were truly serious as he gazed down at the photos lined up on the desk.

    We were choosing potential lovers for Mia-chan.

    However.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a condition anyone wants at the lover¡¯s level.¡±

    Muttering a bitterugh, Herring swung his fist down on the desk.

    DANG! A loud sound echoed through the ssroom.

    ¡°No way a man who is not determined to do so should be allowed to get his hands on Mia!¡±

    ¡°O-Oh¡±

    When ites to being in a position to protect Mia-chan from a messy session battle, it is not enough to simply be powerful.

    Power, wealth, and family background are also involved.

    ¡°It would have been possible if Jake hadn¡¯t been so enamored with Aare-chan.¡±

    He is the second prince of the Kingdom of Horfalt and the main hero of that third Otome game.

    Jake had other problems besides his ambition.

    It¡¯s Aaron ¨D¨D [Aare]-chan.

    The gender change was performed by Marie and Creare, and Aaron became a girl.

    The nickname is ironically the same as Creare¡¯s, which is Aare.

    The look on Herring¡¯s face went from serious to indescribable a moment ago.

    ¡°What and why happens that the capture target bes a girl?¡±

    It¡¯s a natural question for Herring, but it¡¯s the same for me.

    ¡°It¡¯s not for me to decide. But if these three are no good, then he is the only one left.¡±

    At the moment, the name of the boy who is thest capture target is [Ethan Fou Robson].

    He is a kind man with droopy eyes, but I noticed that he looks like he has a bad personality in the photos Luxion had prepared.

    When Herring picks up the photo and looks at it, his expression is hard, as if he doesn¡¯t like it.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this boy. But he doesn¡¯t look very strong from what I¡¯ve seen in the pics.¡±

    Upon hearing these words, Luxion reports back with more details about Robson.

    [About Ethan, he has pushed his own brother aside and is the heir to the Count¡¯s family. He is not only good with magic, but also with the sword. After all, he is one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom of Horfalt.]

    When I heard that, I thought of Brad and Chris¡¯s faces.

    Ethan¡¯s hair color is almost purple, and how can I say¨D¨D.

    ¡°¨D¨DIt¡¯s like a hybrid of Brad and Chris.¡±

    He is a great swordsman, skilled with magic, and he is the heir to a noble family of lords.

    He is starting to look like a versatile character who can do anything.

    [As Master said. Ethan, as Finn says, has the family background, wealth, and outstanding ability. Based on specs alone, I would say that he is Mia¡¯s candidate for a lover at the moment. ¨D¨DIn the first ce, all the other candidates are out of the question.]

    Robson was the most likely candidate, not because he was particrly outstanding, but because he was the only one left as a result.

    I turn my gaze to Herring.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just try to reach out to this guy, shall we?¡±

    Herring looked sharply at Robson¡¯s picture.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do that. I¡¯ll do a thorough search to see if this is the appropriate man for Mia.¡±

    ¡°You are overprotective.¡±

    I let out a small sigh of exasperation, and Brave agrees.

    ¡°My buddy¡¯s eyes change when ites to Mia. I¡¯m starting to feel sorry for all the women who fell in love with my buddy. ¡°

    It seems that thedies areing todykiller-sama and he doesn¡¯t seem to want to deal with them.

    ¡°I envy you¡±

    Instead of Herring looking at the pictures seriously, Brave seems to be the one to deal with me.

    [But you have a lot of women around you, too, don¡¯t you? You have protagonist and the viiness of the first work, ording to my buddy. And the protagonist of the second one, too. Are you possibly after them?]

    Brave looked at me with suspicion, wondering if I was aiming for a main character in that otome game.

    I smile vaguely and cover it up.

    ¡°Do you believe in miracles? It¡¯s just a coincidence.¡±

    For the second time in my life, my popr period hase.

    The timing of the event seemed to be uncharacteristically good, and the next thing I knew, I had three fianc¨¦es.

    That¡¯s too good for me.

    [You¡¯re engaged to the protagonist and the antagonist by ident, coincidentally and deliberately? Actually, you aimed for them, didn¡¯t you? Just tell me. Isn¡¯t it fine?]

    ¡°You¡¯re funnier than I thought.¡±

    While talking to Brave, Luxion interrupts somewhat forcefully.

    [Master, it is pointless to discuss this any further. Let¡¯s leave Ethan¡¯s case to Finn and the others and return to the dormitory.]

    He got between me and Brave and forcefully ended the conversation.

    ¡°I guess so. I¡¯d better get back. Hering¡¯s gonna be back, right? ¨D¨D You still looking it?¡±

    As I got up from my seat, Herring was still looking at Robson¡¯s picture with a serious expression on his face.

    ¡°¨D¨DI don¡¯t like him because he looks like he has a bad personality. Do you really think he deserves Mia?¡±

    Seeing him ring at me as if I were an enemy, I hate to predict that Mia¡¯s search for a lover will be a difficult one.

    ¡°It might rather be quicker to bring in a guy you approve of.¡±

    Part 2

    The Duke Redgrave family.

    As a branch of the Horfalt royal family, it is a great aristocrat who supports the country.

    The Duke Redgrave, whose territory included arge floating ind worthy of a Duke, had more power than a poor small country.

    The Duke Redgrave, such as they are, also have arge mansion in the Royal Capital.

    This is because either [Vince], the head of the family, or [Gilbert], the eldest son, always stays to support the kingdom of Horfalt.

    Other influential lord nobles had mansions in the royal capital and were prepared to work for the kingdom of Horfalt in case of emergency.

    ¨D¨D But that situation has been changing in recent years.

    Called to the mansion, [Angelica Rafa Redgrave] had long, shiny blonde hair braided and curled at the back of her head.

    In addition to the sharp eyes, her red eyes show the strength of will.

    Ange usually looks dignified, but today, her expression was not so good.

    Although she had just returned to the Redgrave family mansion in the royal capital, she was standing in front of her own brother, Gilbert, looking somewhat nervous.

    Gilbert, at his desk in his office, was conversing with Ange as he worked on paperwork.

    Gilbert looks down at the document, running his pen over it and signing it.

    ¡°I see you did a great job during the riots. As a brother, I¡¯m proud of you.¡±

    A riot in the royal capital that urred a while ago.

    It¡¯s a case where the Holy Kingdom of Rashel went behind the scenes to rally the rebels living in hiding in the royal capital.

    Fortunately, it was subdued with minimal damage by the hands of Leon, who got serious.

    Angel tried not to let Gilbert see the bitter look on her face by turning her head down.

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything. All credit goes to Leon.¡±

    ¡°I bet. So I¡¯m proud of him as my brother-inw. I never thought that he would rise to the rank of duke in a single generation. I guess His Majesty¡¯s capriciousness is troubling.¡±

    Gilbert responds with a smile, but it contains his dissatisfaction with Ange.

    Ange also feel it.

    ¡°Leon is dissatisfied.¡±

    ¡°Leon-kun is reluctant to rise in the ranks.¡±

    To a third party, it would appear as if she were making small talk with her brother.

    However, Ange was impatient inwardly.

    (Wouldn¡¯t people think that Leon is taking the side of the Kingdom?)

    She was concerned about whether the Redgrave family was unhappy with Leon for putting down the riots in the royal capital.

    ¨D¨D Currently, a deep rift is developing between the Redgrave family and the royal family.

    It began with Angelica¡¯s broken engagement, and was due to the current state of dissatisfaction among the nobles toward the royal family.

    The former Principality Fan¡¯ous. In the war with the current Duke Fan¡¯ous, the Kingdom of Horfalt has lost its trump card, the royal ship.

    The loss of the legendary airship that had been the driving force behind the founding of the kingdom meant that the kingdom had lost a great deal of military power.

    In the Horfalt kingdom with its feudal system, a decline in military power would give the noble lords an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

    Royalty without power is not obeyed by the nobles ¨D¨D especially the lord nobles.

    The same was true for the Duke Redgrave, which was supposed to be a branch family.

    The Duke Redgrave has already given up on the Kingdom of Horfalt.

    Gilbert stops his pen and ces it on the desk and looks at Ange¡¯s face, which is downcast.

    But his gaze was sharp.

    ¡°As a result, this case ended conveniently for us. We havepletely taken control of the royal capital with just one person. It proves that the royal capital can be easily obtained with just Leon alone.¡±

    With Leon alone, the royal capital can easily fall.

    That has been proved by the riots.

    Gilbert neverined about the results, but it was different for Ange.

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t know exactly what Leon was capable of. Had you known in advance, we would have been able to move more effectively.¡±

    ¡°That is!¡±

    When she tried to argue, Gilbert raised his hand to stop Ange from speaking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make excuses. Are you really trusted by him?¡±

    Gilbert¡¯s suspicious look was hard on Ange.

    It¡¯s not that her brother suspected her.

    Angel clenches her hands and bites her lip.

    ¡°I am ¨D¨D so sorry¡±

    (Am I ¨D¨D not worthy of Leon?)

    Gilbert looks at the frustrated Ange, and then he tells her something that will push her even further here.

    ¡°Since you are going to be husband and wife, you should have a more trusting rtionship with each other. By the way, I heard that Leon has been visiting the royal pce a lottely. ¨D¨DI heard a rumor that he is crazy about Princess Erika, but it is not true, is it? ¡°

    Princess of the Kingdom of Horfalt, [Erika Rafa Horfalt].

    To see her, Leon made frequent trips to the royal pce.

    Gilbert gives Ange a cold stare.

    It was as if he was being intentionally cold in order to taunt his sister, Ange.

    ¡°A princess after the queen, he seems to have a preference for an unattainable flower. But the problem is that if he really wants to reach for it, he can.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DLeon is not really¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to get his true intentions out of him. ¨D¨DAnge, don¡¯t forget your role. You have been given the task of keeping Leon-kun on our side.¡±

    The Duke Redgrave, who had turned against the Kingdom of Horfalt, were trying to use Angel to obtain the strongest force in the kingdom, Leon.

    Ange could not allow that.

    Looking down, she tells Gilbert.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to involve Leon in any more battles.¡±

    Perhaps not expecting Angel to object, Gilbert looks at her questioningly.

    ¡°Do you really think the reign of the Kingdom of Horfalt will continue? You will have to fight, even if you don¡¯t want to. Besides, blood must be spilled, that¡¯s what nobles do.¡±

    Gilbert, who believes that in the event of war, nobles must fight and that this is natural, looks at Ange with a look of iprehension.

    ¡°Leon is! ¨D¨D He¡¯s is too gentle to fight.¡±

    Too gentle, Angel told him in a thin voice, and he imagined that Leon was mentally exhausted from all the fighting he¡¯d been through.

    Gilbert lets out a small sigh.

    ¡°Sure he is soft hearted, but he is the most powerful knight in the kingdom whose name is known even in other countries. We need him to continue to support the Redgrave family.¡±

    With his engagement to Ange, Leon has deep ties to the Redgrave family.

    As a result, he was about to be involved in the Redgrave family struggle as well.

    (Both my brother and father consider Leon only as a tool of war, don¡¯t they? He ¨D¨D just wants to live peacefully in the countryside)

 Volume 10, Chapter 01 â€œThe First Princessâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 01 ¡°The First Princess¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The school on holidays is quiet and easy to spend time in.

    Students at the academy are naturally young, and on holidays it ismon for them to invite their friends to go out to the royal capital.

    Some of the students enjoy dating with the opposite sex, and I, who only knew the situation the year beforest, can¡¯t help but envy the younger students.

    Some of them are terrible, but most seem to have healthy rtionship.

    Marie was beside me as I walked down the quiet hallway, stretching out after yawning.

    Even though she is a little sister in a previous life, she is the root of all evil that drove the kingdom of Horfalt to the brink of destruction.

    Also, she is the fake saint [Marie Fou Lafan].

    Today, she is walking next to me with her small body.

    In her hand was a souvenir she had purchased in the royal capital.

    Perhaps she is in a good mood and she has a rather loose face.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to having tea with Erika. I would love to talk to her every day, but we only see each other on the weekends because of the busyness of the world around us.¡±

    It¡¯s getting to be a lot of trouble for a fake saint to meet Erika-sama ¨D¨D No, in a previous life, she was my niece, and seeing Erika was all sorts of trouble.

    A niece from a previous life. In other words, to Marie, Erika is her daughter from a previous life.

    So Marie had an emotional reunion with her daughter in this world ¨D¨D the world of the Otome game.

    Therefore, she was looking forward to the day when they could talk at a tea party on the weekend.

    She even went to the trouble of waking me up on a holiday morning and taking me out to the royal capital to buy snacks.

    ¡°Youe to my room every morning on the weekends, and there¡¯s a strange rumor going around among the boys. You should think about the trouble you¡¯re causing me.¡±

    When Iin to her, Marie protests with a big wave of her hand.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped! I can¡¯t have a visit with Erika without aniki, the Duke. Besides, the only reason I let you go with me to buy sweets is because aniki insisted that I¡¯m the one throwing the tea party! And you didn¡¯t budge at all.¡±

    I never bothered to have a tea party with Erika ¨D¨D my niece from a previous life, on the weekends.

    I¡¯m interested in talking to my niece from a previous life too, and most importantly, tea parties are my hobby.

    No, it¡¯s a way of life.

    If I was going to attend, I wanted to be the one to throw the tea party.

    ¡°It¡¯s obvious. No way I can let Erika prepare a tea party. She may have been my niece in a previous life, but she¡¯s a princess now.¡±

    The Kingdom of Horfalt is arge country, and as its princess, she has a position.

    ¡°In your case, it¡¯s because it¡¯s aniki¡¯s hobby, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying that¡¯s not part of it, but I don¡¯t want to make Erika prepare for the tea party because it¡¯s not polite to make her do it. Because she is my niece from a previous life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m your little sister from a previous life, though¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My little sister is even lower on my priority list than my niece.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up with that difference in treatment?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a daily routine. And for the most part, what is it with you, knocking your brother up on a holiday morning from a previous life and making him go shopping with you? You haven¡¯t changed at all from your previous life.¡±

    Remembering a previous life, Marie in this life had not changed in any way.

    Like the part where she uses me the right way on my days off, or the part where she begs me for spending money.

    Luxion, who was listening to the conversation, points his red one-eyed lens at Marie while floating around my right shoulder.

    [If the story of her previous life is true, then Marie has not grown in her reincarnation. I believe that physical growth is not possible, but mental growth is possible. Marie, why don¡¯t you grow up a little more?]

    Marie¡¯s mouth was agape at Luxion¡¯s harsh line.

    Then she agitatedly starts an argument with Luxion.

    ¡°What do you mean I can¡¯t grow up physically?! I¡¯m going to grow into an adult, attractive body from now on!¡±

    [I assure you, I have that much evidence to back it up.]

    ¡°What¡¯s that based on? Besides, you said I¡¯m not mature enough on the inside, didn¡¯t you? Too bad~. I¡¯ve lived longer than my brother. Inside, I¡¯m a charming, mature woman who has had a lot of experience in a previous life. ¡°

    I snicker when I see Marie puffing out her no well-endowed chest that she is an adult.

    ¡°The self-proimed ¡°adult¡± is having a miserable time deceiving five young men.¡±

    Marie screams in an empty, easily audible hallway.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because of you getting carried away¡±

    ¡°I did. I carried away! But what¡¯s the point of beating up five guys in a duel? You didn¡¯t like the handsome Julius and the others, so you beat them up out of spite!¡±

    She is my little sister from a previous life, and she understands me very well.

    ¡°Aa~, that¡¯s right. What is that?¡±

    When I let it unfold, Marie clenches her fists and gives me a look of frustration.

    ¨D¨DThis girl really hasn¡¯t grown at all from her previous life.

    Rather, she seems younger than in her previous life, partly because of her current appearance.

    There was not the slightest hint of the charm of an adult who had gained experience in a previous life.

    Luxion made a gesture of waving the red lens from side to side, saying yare-yare.

    [The same applies to Master, who needs to grow mentally.]

    We¡¯ve had this same exchange before.

    Unlike Marie, I¡¯m not concerned with adulthood, so here¡¯s what I¡¯m going to say back to Luxion.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want to give up my pure, young boyish heart.¡±

    [You¡¯re getting better at making excuses.]

    ¡°When you grow up, you get good at making excuses. It¡¯s a sign of growing up.¡±

    [You use both the child and the adult for your own convenience.]

    ¡°Because it¡¯s important to be flexible.¡±

    As we continued our silly conversation, Marie, who had been watching me and Luxion, hugged her souvenir pastry, her mouth pouting.

    ¡°Aniki and Luxion look so much alike. Like the way you two talk and so sarcastic, really do look alike.¡±

    When we were told we were simr, we protested to Marie.

    ¡°With this guy? No, I don¡¯t think so. Because I¡¯m nicer than him.¡±

    [Simr to Master? Would you like me to do a full eye and head exam on you as well, Marie?]

    Hearing our objections, Marie let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s enough¡±

    .

    Part 2

    Tea Party Room.

    Until the year beforest, tea parties were held every week with the boys inviting the girls, but now they were used less often.

    The frequency of use has dropped drastically, and the decision has been made to reduce the number of tea rooms in the future.

    Shisou ¨D¨D The principal of the school alsomented that.

    As a tea party lover, it¡¯s sad, but I like having a tea party in a quiet environment.

    The year beforest was a lot of noise.

    As I was preparing tea to go with the snacks, Marie took a seat and was enjoying a conversation with Erika.

    Theposition is Marie, who is excited like a child, and Erika, who is smiling as she listens.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right? Did that store go out of business?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Because the owner of the store is retiring.¡±

    They were talking about their previous lives, but I couldn¡¯t get in on the conversation because it was amon topic for both of them.

    But just listening to their conversation like this made me a little happy.

    Perhaps because I was naturally smiling, Luxion speaks to me.

    [You are mentally stable. I decide that a weekend tea party with the two of them is what Master needs.]

    ¡°Thanks to that, there are rumors that I¡¯m targeting Marie and Erika?¡±

    Since I frequently invite them to tea parties, bad rumors are spreading.

    I am concerned about that, but it doesn¡¯t seem to matter to Luxion.

    [The evaluation within the academy is worthless to me]

    ¡°But it worth to me?¡±

    [It is a question of priorities. Instead of dealing with the masses, Master should put your own priorities first.]

    ¡°This guy just dered the students of the school were nothing but a bunch of people.¡±

    Luxion treats the students of the academy and others like that, but even this was worse when I first met him, so he has be nicer.

    Let the human race that can handle magic¨D¨Dthe new human race should be destroyed.

    I can remember when he said that.

    [More importantly, Master should have more people to care about. You don¡¯t have time to deal with all those people.]

    ¡°I know¡±

    When I prepared tea and headed to the table, Marie was talking to Erika about various things with gestures.

    Erika listens, smiling maturely and nodding asionally.

    Erika said she was over sixty years old in a previous life, so she must be very mature on the inside.

    She gives off a calm and mature impression for her age.

    Thanks to that, Marie is more childlike.

    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared some tea that goes well with the sweets. ¨D¨DWait, you¡¯ve already eaten most of it !?¡±

    Looking at the table, more than half of the sweets had already disappeared.

    The culprit would be Marie, who is looking away from me.

    ¡°You¡¯re really gluttonous.¡±

    ¡°Because ~¡±

    I sigh at Marie, who makes a spoiled voice.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you think a little bit about your real age? You¡¯re not at an age where you need someone to spoil you.

    ¡°Most guys are kind to me when I¡¯m spoiled.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve grown up to be a bad adult. Why don¡¯t you learn from Erika a little?¡±

    ¡°What! Erika is the daughter I raised!¡±

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s all thanks to the fact that she grew up with you as her bad example? I¡¯m so d she doesn¡¯t look like you.¡±

    ¡°You dare to say it, stupid big brother!¡±

    Erika looked troubled when Marie and I started cursing at each other as I took my seat.

    She¡¯s going to stop our ugly fight.

    ¡°Both of you, let¡¯s calm down. The tea is getting cold.¡±

    After being interceded, Marie and I turn away from each other and start drinking tea.

    Erika looked at us and let out a small sigh with a troubled look on her face and suddenly started giggling.

    What was so funny?

    ¡°What¡¯s up, you suddenly startedughing?¡±

    When I ask, Erika straightens her posture and looks straight at me.

    Smiling, Erika really looked radiant.

    ¡°It was funny to see uncle talking happily with my mom. You really are just like my grandparents told me you were.¡±

    ¡°Grandparents? Dad and mom?¡±

    Erika nodded and we talked about my parents.

    ¡°Grandparents always told me stories about uncle. They said that if uncle had lived, he and my mother probably would have argued with each other when they became adults.¡±

    What are you talking to your niece, dad and mom?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what they are talking about. That should be the part where you tell the story and make it sound like your uncle was a nice person, like he was kind, unlike your mother.¡±

    When Iin about my parents in my previous life, Luxion responds.

    [I feel sorry for your parents in your previous life. I can imagine how hard it must have been to have a child like you, Master.]

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t make it sound like I¡¯m a bad kid. It¡¯s Marie who¡¯s been giving the trouble.¡±

    When my eyes fell on Marie, she forcefully swallowed the pastry she was eating with her tea.

    She doesn¡¯t agree with what I¡¯m saying.

    ¡°I was usually a good girl~. It was aniki who caused the trouble. You¡¯re usually quiet, but sometimes you caused big problems.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a cute little thingpared to you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not cute! It wasn¡¯t cute at all!¡±

    There seems to be a discrepancy with each other¡¯s memories of the past.

    But I¡¯m not wrong, so it must be Marie¡¯s mistaken memory.

    I don¡¯t talk back to Marie, but take a sip of my tea and then ask Erika.

    ¡°¨D¨DSo how¡¯d they do?¡±

    Erika seems to have guessed my vague question and tells me about the twost days together.

    Smiling, but somewhat sadly, looking down.

    ¡°I took care of them. Both of them said they were going to scold those idiots.¡±

    Those idiots.

    It would be me and Marie, ack of filial piety, who died before my parents.

    What does it mean to go and scold us when I didn¡¯t die because I wanted to?

    At least there, I wanted two of them to say something like wanting to meet those two.

    But I guess it¡¯s like my parents.

    ¡°It¡¯s terrible that they both want to scold me together. Why don¡¯t they just let Marie be the one to be scolded.¡±

    I tell her with augh, and Marie looks miffed.

    ¡°Why me? Wasn¡¯t it aniki who stayed up all night ying games and slipped on the stairs? It¡¯s a really pathetic way to die, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re the one who forced the game on me!¡±

    When I point my finger and say you¡¯re wrong, Marie snickers.

    ¡°It¡¯s aniki¡¯s fault for not being able to take care of yourself.¡±

    ¡°T-This girl¡±

    When she says that, I can¡¯t say it back.

    Even I think it was a bad idea to stay up all night.

    Deciding that I was at a disadvantage, I drank my tea and looked up at the ceiling after a short pause.

    ¡°They¡¯re really terrible parents. ¨D¨D If they said they were going to scold me, they should havee to see me.¡±

    I¡¯d have tough if even those two were reincarnated in this Otome game world.

    When I say a snide remark, Marie turns her head down.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if I was scolded, I just wish I could have seen them at least one more time.¡±

    Both Marie and Ick of filial piety.

    And I gave my niece Erika a lot of trouble.

    ¡°¨D¨DThank you very much for taking care two of them. I and Marie wereck of filial piety, so I was relieved to hear that Erika took care of them.¡±

    One of the things that had bothered me in my previous life was resolved, and I felt a little more rxed.

    Luxion teases me.

    ¡°Were you worried? I thought you had forgotten¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a human child, too. ¨D¨DI cared about what happened to my parents in a previous life. I¡¯m aware of the trouble I caused them. And even more so when I heard that Marie showed up here and died before my parents. ¡°

    The siblings allck of filial piety.

    So I thank Erika.

    ¡°Thank you so much. I¡¯ll be sure to thank you for this. If you ever need any help, just let me know.¡±

    Erika smiles in a troubled way as she epts my thanks.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it that much, though. They are grandparents to me, too. Besides, they raised me gently. So don¡¯t worry about it, Uncle.¡±

    I was so happy to see my niece, who had done so much, that I scratched my head in embarrassment.

    Luxion blurted it out.

    [It is hard to believe that Erika is a blood rtive from the Master¡¯s previous life.]

    Then, for some reason, Marie puffed out her chest.

    ¡°She¡¯s awesome, right? She¡¯s my pride daughter.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare be boastful¡±

    When Marie boasts about her daughter, Luxion throws cold water.

    [Oya? It wasn¡¯t Marie¡¯s parents who raised her, was it? That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told?]

    When told, Marie¡¯s gaze wandered.

    ¡°W-Well, that¡¯s true.¡±

    [Then, it¡¯s the result of your parents.]

    ¡°That¡¯s true! That¡¯s true! But why don¡¯t you let me be a little proud? She¡¯s my daughter!¡±

    [Now she is someone else¡¯s child. Such a shame]

    ¡°Do you have a grudge against me?¡±

    As I was giggling at Marie being teased by Luxion, I saw Erika smiling a little sadly out of the corner of my eye.

    .

    Part 3

    Girls¡¯ dormitory.

    When Ange returned from the Redgrave family mansion and entered her room, Livia, who had noticed her, came over.

    The little finger of Livia¡¯s right hand had an ink smudge on it.

    Seeing this and realizing that Livia was studying, Ange smiles weakly and apologizes.

    ¡°Looks like I interrupted you¡±

    Livia ¨D¨D [Olivia] smiles at Angel and replies.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a disturb, this is Ange¡¯s room, right? Wee back, Ange.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m back¡±

    Ange was slightly soothed by Livia¡¯s smile.

    But soon Livia¡¯s expression clouds over.

    From the way Ange looked, she must have realized what kind of talk had taken ce at the mansion.

    The result would not be good, but Livia also needs to know, so she asks.

    ¡°So, how¡¯s all the talk going?¡±

    Ange erases the smile she was making and nonchntly talks about the discussion at the mansion.

    ¡°My brother nailed me on the head. What have you been doing? He said¡±

    ¡°That is¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DThen again, neither my brother nor my father like the fact that Leon has be infatuated with Her Highness Erika.¡±

    At the mention of Erika¡¯s name, Livia¡¯s expression turns slightly grim.

    Both Ange and Livia knew that Leon had tea parties with Erika every week.

    They both know there is no romantic interest there, but the question is, what will people around them think.

    Students at the school, who are notoriously tight-lipped, have begun to gossip that Leon has dumped Ange for Erika.

    That must have been frustrating for Livia.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to goin to Leon-san.¡±

    ¡°Livia?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s strange that he has tea parties with Princess Erika every week. During a difficult time with so much going on, why?¡±

    Livia is angry with Leon, but Ange shakes her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let him do what he wants.¡±

    ¡°But!¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Maybe he has some kind of an idea, you know? Besides, I¡¯ve tried to talk to him a few times, but he just shrugged it off.¡±

    Angeughs bitterly, and Livia looks down sadly.

    ¡°Even though Ange is having such a hard time¡±

    Now Ange was protecting Leon from being used by the Redgrave family.

    It is doubtful that Leon himself understands this, although she is performing the role of a bulwark.

    It was upsetting to Livia that he was unaware that the kingdom of Horfalt was already centered around Leon.

    ¡°You are kind¡±

    Ange hugs Livia and their foreheads touch each other.

    Livia put her hands around Ange¡¯s waist.

    ¡°Ange, aren¡¯t you in pain?¡±

    Ange answers Livia¡¯s question sadly.

    ¡± ¨D¨D It¡¯s painful, I guess. If this continues, I may be cut off from my parents¡¯ home. If that happens, I¡¯m just a little girl. I would be worth nothing. If that happens ¨D¨D I won¡¯t be able to be by Leon¡¯s side. ¡°

    Ange shed tears as her mouth said, ¡°I can¡¯t stay by his side¡±.

    Thanks to Ange, Leon has risen to the rank of Duke, but is now highly regarded for his personal military prowess.

    Now Leon had be a man worthy of being a Duke even without Ange.

    Which meant that it did not matter if Ange was around or not.

    Ange hugs Livia tightly and starts crying just like that.

    ¡°Livia, will I be thrown away again?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t. I won¡¯t let him do it!¡±

    ¡°But at this rate ¨D¨D I¡¯m really going to lose everything.¡±

    If the Duke is kicked her out, she will lose a great deal of backing.

    If that happened, Ange believed, she would have no value.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it. I ¨D¨D I don¡¯t want to be thrown away again.¡±

    Remembering the time when Julius dered breaking off the engagement, Ange clung to Livia and cried like a child.

    .

    Part 4

    A room in the royal pce.

    There, a couple was arguing.

    They are King and Queen of the Kingdom of Horfalt. She is [Rnd Rafa Horfalt] and [Milene Rafa Horfalt].

    Some of the furniture set up around the room is in disarray and has fallen over.

    The fierce dispute between the two had be quite heated.

    Milene screams at Rnd.

    ¡°Enough of this! Didn¡¯t I exin many times that this is for the best!¡±

    In contrast, Rnd has no intention of listening to Milene.

    ¡°What do you mean the best! Erika was originally supposed to be engaged to Marquis Fraser, though. You forced the issue! You¡¯re going to destroy it and marry her off to that little kid? No way I can stand the thought of letting my cute Erika marry that rotten bastaaaard?¡±

    Furious, Rnd lost his temper and kicked the table by his side.

    In doing so, he kicks a table leg with his shin and rolls around in severe pain.

    ¡°It huuurts!!¡±

    Milene looked down at Rnd with cold eyes.

    ¡°Then is there any other way for the kingdom to survive than to give Erika in marriage to Leo ¨D¨D Duke Bartfalt?¡±

    ¡°If there was, I wouldn¡¯t be arguing with you!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have a better alternative, please shut up.¡±

    The reason they are fighting is because Milene said that she would marry Erika off to Leon.

    Erika had previously been engaged to Marquis Fraser, who guarded the border with the Holy Kingdom of Raschel.

    This isrgely due to Milene¡¯s family home, the United Kingdom of Leparto.

    The United Kingdom of Leparto is also a neighboring country to the Holy Kingdom of Raschel.

    The conflict is still ongoing, and the United Kingdom of Reparto and the Kingdom of Horfalt have joined hands.

    It was Milene who was sent at that time.

    In order to save her country, Milene was trying to make all possible preparations by marrying off her own daughter, Erika, to Marquis Fraser.

    ¨D¨D But then, all of a sudden, Leon appeared.

    He rose almost single-handedly to the rank of Duke and in thest disturbance, he took control of the royal capital in a short period of time.

    For Milene, it was no longer the Fraser family that she wanted to incorporate to save her country.

    Milene ¨D¨D If the royal family asked for and then broke off the engagement, it would be an unbearable humiliation for the Fraser family.

    But even understanding this, Milene still wanted Leon¡¯s power.

    Rnd opposes it.

    ¡°Even though I can¡¯t stand the thought of my little Erika getting married, and now of all people that kid? I¡¯d rather it be the Fraser boy!¡±

    ¡°Are you going to destroy our country because of your personal feelings?¡±

    When Milene responded reasonably well and Rnd decided that the odds were against him, he decided to push through with his emotions.

    ¡°Erika will have a hard time if she marries that kid!¡±

    ¡°That is the duty of those born into royalty.¡±

    ¡°Are you a demon?! She¡¯s your daughter too!¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Because she is my daughter, I want her to be happy, you know. And the only person with whom that could happen was the Duke Bartfalt.¡±

    Milene¡¯s cold expression turned bitter for a moment.

    Rnd didn¡¯t miss it.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just marry him?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Anyway, we will proceed with the engagement between Erika and Duke Bartfalt. We cannot let the Redgrave family have his power.¡±

    For Milene, the Redgrave family is now the same as the enemy.

    Rnd is aware of this, though.

    ¡°If you marry Erika to that kid, Angelica won¡¯t shut up about it. The royal family will trample on that girl¡¯s feelings twice.¡±

    Hearing this, Milene, who has known Ange since she was a child, must have felt pain in her heart.

    She looks sad with her eyes down once, but her expression quickly returns.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to weigh that child¡¯s feelings against those of a single country.¡±

    ¡°Lie. You¡¯re worried right now? Because you loved her.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEven so, my decision will not be overturned.¡±

    Deciding that further discussion is pointless, Milene turns her back on Rnd and leaves the room.

    Rnd, looking at her back, let out a loud sigh as hey down on the floor.

    ¡°Even though just a kid, he misleads a woman. He¡¯s the worst kind of man.¡±

    Rnd¡¯s words were without consideration for himself.

    Soon Rnd looks serious.

    ¡°If Milene¡¯s proposal is approved, it will certainly be the best news for the kingdom. The nobles will be wagging their tails in no time. However, the idea of giving my precious Erika to Leon damn kid is ¨D¨D absolutely unbearable.¡±

    In the past, when Julius was disinherited, Rnd discerned that Julius was responsible for his own disinheritance.

    However, this is a different story when ites to Erika.

    Because Rnd loves Erika so much.

    Rnd rolls around on the floor.

    ¡°Aaah !! Papa absolutely doesn¡¯t want Erika-chan to get marrieeeed!!¡±

 Volume 4 SS: Liviaâ€™s Day

    <h4>Volume 4 SS: Livia¡¯s Day</h4>

    Gamers Bonus SS

    On that day, Livia was studying in the library. The thick book she held in her hands had a lot of information on healing magic. On a weekend like today, aside from the supervising library staff, there were only around 10 other students who were studying in the library like Livia which made the library rather quiet. Livia sat in a seat and opened her book. Before long, she was steadily making progress on reading it. It seemed to be a rather old book.

    (It looks like rather than spellcasting techniques, this book focuses more on things like folktales and myths?)

    Livia had wanted to do some research on how to improve her spellcasting, but most of this book had focused on the history of healing magic. However, it caught her interest, so she decided to continue reading it. If one researches healing magic in the Holfort Kingdom, they¡¯re bound to end up at the Legend of the Saint. The Saint who was worshipped by the temple. She was one of the great adventurers who once founded the kingdom and was known to be proficient at healing magic. The adventurer Holfort founded the kingdom whilst a woman used healing magic to save the people. Afterwards, the people gathered under her ended up creating the organisation known as the temple. It was an organisation that named her as the Saint and sang her praises.

    ¡°Woman who received the goddess¡¯ blessings¡­ I see¡­¡±

    However, she disappeared shortly after the kingdom¡¯s founding. She left behind the equipment that she used during her adventurer days and was never to be seen again. There were various rumours passed down in folklore saying she either died or was assassinated, but all of them seemed baseless. The equipment used by this saint was currently being safeguarded by the temple.

    ¡°I wonder - What kind of person was the Saint?¡±

    Livia closed the book and cast her mind back to the time when Leon was trying to collect this Saint¡¯s equipment.

    ¡°Perhaps Leon knows something about this?¡±

    Leon was always happy to tell embellished tales about himself, but Livia felt like he was also hiding some secrets. On top of that, there were many mysteries centred on Leon.

    (I wonder if Leon is doing well¡­)

    Livia closed her eyes as she thought of Leon who was currently studying abroad in the Alzer Republic.

    (It¡¯d be nice if one day, Leon were to tell me about these things¡­)

    Just as she was returning the book to the shelf it came from, Livia noticed Cleare hade looking for her.

    [So this is where you were.]

    ¡°Cleare?¡±

    As she wondered if Cleare had some kind of business with her, Livia left the library and walked alongside Cleare. Of course, Cleare was simply floating by her side.

    [I was actually conducting research on various things, so I wanted to ask you some questions.]

    ¡°Various things?¡±

    [Master ordered me to investigate many things such as the founding of this country as well as various legends.]

    ¡°Leon told you to do that?¡±

    But there was one point which confused Livia.

    ¡°But I doubt I¡¯d know something that even Leon doesn¡¯t know. If it¡¯s about the kingdom¡¯s origins, I¡¯m sure Ange would be far more knowledgeable than me. I really don¡¯t know very much at all.¡±

    From Livia¡¯s perspective, Leon was a perfect human who was always reliable and knowledgeable about everything.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Leon? Leon really knows about all sorts of things.¡±

    He had some personality ws, but Livia believed that there was a kind person beneath it.

    [I¡¯ve understood now that Livia¡¯s internal evaluation of Master is extraordinarily high.]

    Cleare followed up with another question for Livia whose cheeks had reddened after being told that.

    [Then can you tell me what you know about the Saint?]

    ¡°The Saint? I believe Marie is probably more familiar with that topic¡­¡±

    Livia was confused at the mention of the Saint. She couldn¡¯t understand why Cleare wanted to ask her that question.

    [Ah~, this is¡­ Yup]

    Cleare seemed to be troubled by this response, so Livia decided to extend her an olive branch by speaking of what she knew.

    ¡°She¡¯smonly known to be one of the six people who founded the kingdom and I heard she was very proficient at healing magic. Afterwards, people started to say things like ¡°she¡¯s chosen by the goddess¡± and the Kingdom¡¯s citizens started to worship those who could use healing magic as saints.¡±

    Livia gave her answer, but it didn¡¯t seem to be what Cleare wanted.

    [I already know that sort of information. That¡¯s right! Livia, can you tell me more about yourself?]

    ¡°You want to know more about me!?¡±

    Livia didn¡¯t understand how the topic of the Saint had somehow led to herself. She concluded that it was simply Cleare¡¯s fickle nature at y, so she ended upplying.

    ¡°When I was little, I grew up on a small rural floating ind.¡±

    [By the kingdom¡¯s standards, Master also grew up on a rural ind.]

    ¡°It¡¯s so rural that Leon¡¯s hometown looks like a city inparison.¡±

    Livia reminisced about her hometown and felt nostalgic about it all.

    (It¡¯s already been over a year since thest time I met everyone.)

    Livia realised her life had been dizzyingly hectic ever since she came to the academy. Just as she was wondering whether she should send a letter back home, a certain thought suddenly popped up in her mind.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right.¡±

    [Did something happen?]

    ¡°I just remembered. In my hometown, there¡¯s a certain legend of the Saint that has been passed down through time.¡±

    [Does that mean-!]

    Livia was startled by Cleare¡¯s sudden enthusiasm. After all, it was only a legend and the authenticity of it was rather questionable.

    ¡°Umm, just letting you know, I think this is probably just your typical myth. There¡¯s a tale which says the Saint came to my hometown and wasid to rest there. There was a schr who visited to investigate the validity of those ims. He ended up teaching me many things.¡±

    Cleare expressed keen interest in the schr who investigated the Legend of the Saint.

    [Do you know the name of that schr?]

    ¡°This was from back when I was little, so I don¡¯t quite remember. Although I do remember he told me he was investigating it as a hobby.¡±

    [I see. That¡¯s a shame.]

    Livia felt a little sorry after she noticed Cleare¡¯s disappointment. But at that timing, somebody called out to her.

    ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t this Miss Livia? Are you spending your time at the library even though it¡¯s the weekend?¡±

    The person who called out to her was Leon¡¯s master in the way of tea.

    ¡°Ah, yes.¡±

    Leon¡¯s master smiled when he saw Livia bowing to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s great to see you working hard without cking. Ah, that¡¯s right, I have to attend a meeting soon so you¡¯ll have to excuse me.¡±

    As Livia bid farewell to the headmaster, something came to mind which made her smile.

    [Did something happen?]

    ¡°No, I felt a little nostalgic when I saw the headmaster. I wonder if I¡¯m just imagining things?¡±

    Her meeting with the headmaster made Livia reminisce about the past.

 Volume 10, Chapter 02 â€œA Dateâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 02 ¡°A Date¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    ¡°You are the worst¡±

    ¡°Leon-san, you are too cruel.¡±

    Morning after the holiday.

    When I came to the school building, I found two people waiting for me: Noel Jill Lespinasse, who was standing upright, and Livia, who was looking down and telling me with an attitude that she was in a bad mood.

    Noel has gradient blonde hair that turns pinker as it gets closer to the tips and is tied back in a side ponytail.

    She brushed it off with one hand and rolled it to her back and cornered me.

    Noel¡¯s fingertips press against my chest.

    ¡°Why do you go to the princess every week?¡±

    Angry Noel doesn¡¯t like that I have tea parties with Erika every week.

    I had nothing to be guilty of, but it was impossible to exin.

    After all, I, Marie, and Erika are all blood rtives from a previous life.

    First of all, I have to tell them about my previous life, but if I say, ¡°Actually, this world was the world of that Otome game!¡± and they would never believe me if I told them that.

    To begin with, if I were in Noel¡¯s or Livia¡¯s shoes, I would think that there is something I am hiding from them if I were to talk about other worlds and reincarnated people in a situation like this.

    They would said I am trying to deceive them by telling them a bad lie.

    So I can¡¯t tell them the truth.

    But I don¡¯t want to lie either.

    ¨D¨D But I had expected this situation, too.

    ¡°Because Marie and Princess Erika are on good terms. Without me, it would be difficult for them to talk.¡±

    When I mentioned Marie¡¯s name, Noel lowered the corners of her upturned eyes.

    ¡°With Marie-chan? Indeed, you attended every tea party with her. But she never told me anything.¡±

    Noel and Marie are good friends.

    She is a kind girl who became close to Marie when she was studying abroad and has continued their friendship even after she found out that Marie was a fake saint.

    But even if Noel was convinced, Livia was not.

    Now Livia is closing in on me.

    ¡°But you should still say something to Ange. You know that Ange is going through a difficult time, don¡¯t you, Leon-san?¡±

    I¡¯ve also heard that Ange are being told by her parents¡¯ house.

    But that was the part I didn¡¯t quite understand.

    ¡°I told her she didn¡¯t have to fight with her parents for me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it! Leon-san, why don¡¯t you notice it? That¡¯s not what Ange wants.¡±

    I know I¡¯m being used of not being perceptive, but I¡¯ve always been like this.

    ¡°I¡¯m not very perceptive anyway.¡±

    I say sulkily, and Livia grabs me by the chest and brings my face close to hers.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking seriously now.¡±

    My back shivered in front of Livia¡¯s expressionless, highlight-less eyes.

    ¡°Yes! I was joking too much. I would like to talk to Ange right away!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it, right? You¡¯re going to invite Ange to a date on your uing holiday, right?¡±

    ¡°A date ?!¡±

    ¡°Of course. ¨D¨D You wouldn¡¯t say that you could spend your holidays with the Princess and Marie-san but not with Ange, would you?¡±

    ¡°N-No way right. Aha, ahahaha ¨D¨D In the first ce, I spend a lot of time with everyone on a regr basis.¡±

    Yes, we see each other more often than not, except on holidays.

    There is no doubt that I spend more time with Ange and others than I do with Marie and Erika, whom I see on the weekends.

    ¡°Leon-san, let¡¯s go on a date. Listen, it¡¯s a date. You and Ange go out together on your day off.¡±

    But it seems that nothing can be said to Livia now.

    ¡°¨D¨DYes¡±

    ¡°No one is allowed to apany you. Actually, you can¡¯t but! Only Luc-kun is allowed to apany you.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that okay?¡±

    For some reason, I was only allowed to bring Luxion with me, but the expression on Livia¡¯s face was not good.

    Is there anything to worry about?

    ¡°¨D¨DI think it would be better for Luc-kun to stay with Leon-san.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Yes. So, you and Ange will have a date this weekend. Is that good, Leon-san?¡±

    Livia¡¯s expression changed from expressionless to a big smile.

    Her smile radiates a pressure that does not allow for refusal.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    It seemed that we were not tolerated to just talk on campus, so we decided to go on a date on our day off.

    Noel, who was watching Livia¡¯s unyielding attitude, blurted out.

    ¡°Livia-chan is scary¡±

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°What is the best date n?¡±

    Lunch break.

    The people I had gathered in the empty ssroom were all former capture targets of that Otome game that had be my subordinate.

    For some reason, I had to support these guys, so I decided to n a date with Ange with the help of the good-looking guys, hoping to use them to my advantage once in a while.

    The assembled guys look at each other, and for some reason they look at me grimly.

    ¡°You got a problem with that?¡±

    When I ask them, it is Julius whoins loudly.

    ¡°Of course! You, a man like you, spend every weekend going out with Marie in the morning and having a tea party until the evening. I envy you!¡±

    In front of the former crown prince, who is envious that I get to spend so much time with Marie for so long, I decide that he is useless and get back to the main issue.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, just think of a date n. I know you guys have a lot of romantic experience for nothing.¡±

    I ask him with a tossed-off attitude, and Greg crosses his arms, his arm muscles bulging and his clothes making a mich-mich-mich sound.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely more modest than you, though.¡±

    ¡°Ha? You guys are more popr than me, right. Ever since the first year, you¡¯ve been acting like you¡¯ve never had a problem with women.¡±

    ¡°Marie is the only one I¡¯ve ever had a real rtionship with!¡±

    I was a little taken aback by Greg¡¯s brazen deration of hisck of experience with women. Normally, I would be ashamed of this, but this guy was rather proud of hisck of experience.

    ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry to hear that. ¨D¨DAre? But Greg, you had a fianc¨¦e, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a political marriage. We¡¯ve only seen each other a few times, I¡¯ve told you that before.¡±

    ¡°Ah, is that so. Then the muscle idiot can¡¯t be counted on.¡±

    ¡°Oi!¡±

    Following Julius, Greg was also useless.

    The next person to look at is Chris.

    But this guy is the clumsiest of the five.

    ¡°Then, next is Chris.¡±

    ¡°Date ns, huh? When Marie and I strolled around the royal capital together, we went to watch a sword fight. I exined the game to Marie while we watched it, and I was happy that she seemed to enjoy listening to my exnation.¡±

    I noticed Chris looking happy as he reminisced about his date with Marie.

    Ah, this guy is also useless.

    After all, when I heard about the date, the only thing that came up was Marie.

    I let out a sigh and look at Brad this time.

    ¡°Well, then, Brad-kun, the self-proimed most beautiful man.¡±

    ¡°Self-proimed?! I am beautiful is the truth!¡±

    ¡°It may be true in your mind, but not in the world. Come on, tell me.¡±

    Brad, the narcissist, ys with his purple hair with his fingertips as he talks about date ns.

    ¡°Fuhn! When you¡¯re as good-looking as I am, a date is just another day in the life.¡±

    ¡°Ha?¡±

    ¡°Maybe Leon will never understand. Girls just spend time with me and that alone makes it extraordinary. In other words, I can give people a special everyday life just by being around them.¡±

    Brad winks at me as if he¡¯s drunk on his own lines.

    I I shook my head and looked at thest remaining, Jilk.

    ¡°Thest is, Jilk, huh? I know it¡¯s a no good even before I hear it.¡±

    I let out a deep sigh, and a miffed Jilk twitched his eyebrows.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t lump me in with the previous four. I have a lot of experience in rtionships, and I¡¯m good at pleasing women.¡±

    The other four gave Jilk, who insisted that he was more popr with women than the others, a stern look.

    A split among friends, perhaps? No. Is it the usual.

    Jilk confident, but I know what this guy has done before.

    ¡°You talk about pleasing thedies, but have you forgotten the terrible things you did to ris-senpai?¡±

    ris. [ris Fia Atley]-senpai is Jilk¡¯s former fianc¨¦e.

    Jilk refused to meet with her, and I got into trouble because he made the matter moreplicated.

    However, he does not seem to be offended.

    ¡°I feel bad about what I did to her. But it was really the right thing not to see her. If I could have apologized, I would have done it right away.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then apologize quickly.¡±

    What is this guy talking about? As I was thinking this, Jilk looked away from me.

    For some reason, he seems to feel sorry for me.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about that, Leon-kun. but ris is, you know ¨D¨D she¡¯s heavy.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t hers normal?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re misunderstanding me about the weight thing? What ris is heavy is love.¡±

    ¡°She is a kind person.¡±

    Jilk thought I didn¡¯t understand anything, and he put his right hand on his face and worried about me.

    ¡°I even want to respect your insensitivity. You see, ris is heavy anyway. Let me tell you an old story, I once saw a new model of air bike and looked at it. I didn¡¯t say I wanted one or anything.¡±

    For some reason, Jilk was in a cold sweat as he talked about his memories of ris-senpai.

    ¡°Then the next day ris came to my house to deliver the air bike.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a present, right? That¡¯s great.¡±

    ¡°You really are an insensitive person, aren¡¯t you? I was looking at the air bike when I wasn¡¯t with ris.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DOi, wait a minute¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where she heard about it, but she sent me an air bike that I had been admiring. If it had happened once, it would have seemed like a coincidence, but it happened several times after that.¡±

    Jilk had a distant look on his face, and the other four looked at him as if they didn¡¯t know what to say.

    I see. ris-senpai was heavy?

    Listening to Jilk¡¯s story, I found myself thinking that if it was just like that¨D¨D it was nothing.

    For some reason, Jilk noticed my state of mind and praised me for it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered, Leon-kun, do you like heavy women?¡±

    ¡°No, not really¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? From my point of view, Leon-kun, all the women around you, seem to be heavy¨D¨D¡±

    If Ange and others are so heavy, Marie is so light that she would blow away in the wind, don¡¯t you think?

    Well, I guess these guys like lightweight women.

    I like safe and normal though.

    ¡°So what¡¯s your date n?¡±

    ¡°If you want to attract your youngdy¡¯s attention, a ce she is not ustomed to going to is rmended. If you invite her to a cheap restaurant, she¡¯ll think it¡¯s exciting. If anything, budget dates seem too ordinary and boring for them.¡±

    I got some surprisingly reliable advice.

    ¡°You¡¯re a sly bastard, but you¡¯re actually dependable, huh?¡±

    ¡°Only the sly bastard part is unnecessary, but I¡¯ll take it as apliment.¡±

    I never thought that Jilk¡¯s opinion would be useful.

    Then let¡¯s take Ange to a ce she¡¯s never been before.

    As I begin to ponder which restaurant is best, Julius calls out to me.

    ¡°Leon, you got a minute? If you haven¡¯t had lunch yet,e join me.¡±

    ¡°With you?¡±

    .

    Part 3

    Sitting on a bench behind the school building, Julius and I were eating skewers we had bought from a food stand.

    I bought it at the store Julius showed me and it was quite tasty.

    But he looks apologetic.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If I¡¯d had a little more time, I could have grilled it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to grill the skewers until lunchtime. So, what¡¯s the talk?¡±

    When I asked him while biting into a skewer, Julius paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s about Angelica.¡±

    ¨D¨D When I stop moving, Julius continues with a serious expression on his face.

    ¡°I betrayed Angelica once¡±

    ¡°Yes, you did¡±

    We bit into our skewers and we continued talking as we resumed eating.

    ¡°When I think about it now, I couldn¡¯t see anything.¡±

    ¡°Even now¡±

    ¡°I can see it more than before. No, maybe I see more now that I¡¯m a third party.¡±

    What does he want to say?

    Julius cuts out the main subject.

    ¡°I understand that it¡¯s a selfish thing to do. But please don¡¯t betray Angelica.¡±

    ¡°Me? In the first ce, I never intended to betray¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Even if you intend to do that, Angelica is different, right?¡±

    I was going to say something back, but oddly Julius¡¯ words stuck in my mind.

    Silently biting into a skewer, Julius tells a story from his past.

    ¡°When I broke off my engagement to Angelica, I didn¡¯t mean to betray her. If anything, I felt betrayed.¡±

    ¡°You guys were the worst at that time.¡±

    ¡°I admit it. But what about you now?¡±

    ¡°What do you want to say?¡±

    Julius finishes his skewers and carefully puts away the empty containers.

    I don¡¯t throw trash around that area.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t want you to make the same mistake I did. If Angelica feels betrayed by you, she may never recover.¡±

    ¡°I told you that I wasn¡¯t going to betray ¨D¨D her¡±

    From the outside, my behavior is a betrayal of Ange. On weekends, I have tea parties with Marie and Erika, and sometimes I write a letter to the queen, Milene-sama.

    I don¡¯t mean to betray her. But what Ange thinks of that is another matter.

    I looked down and Julius had a subtle, indescribable look on his face.

    ¡°And as a friend, let me tell you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to stop hitting on my mother anymore, so please do it without my knowledge if you can. I just don¡¯t know what face to put on as her son.¡±

    I see Julius looking really distressed, and I¡¯m in trouble too.

    ¡°O-Okay¡±

    In the meantime, I just replied so.

    .

    Part 4

    Weekend.

    Ange was wearing a dressy one-piece red dress that day.

    Ange, who prefers to dress in red, the same color as her eyes, carried a small, white handbag in her hands.

    She was wearing pumps and was dressed casually but could be formal. Such Ange was at the meeting ce.

    ¨D¨DThat¡¯s still plenty of time.

    ¡°Sorry I kept you waiting.¡±

    Ange gives a small shake of her head as I approach her with an apology.

    ¡°No, I just came too early.¡±

    ¡°I-I see¡±

    We usually spend time together, but only today it was me who wanted to meet outside. I wanted a different routine from the usual, and I adopted Five Idiots¡¯ opinion.

    Thanks to that, both Ange and I have be awkward, although the excitement is different from usual.

    As we walk away together, only I can hear Luxion, who is following us.

    [Master, shouldn¡¯t youpliment Angelica on her appearance? She seems to have put in a lot of effort for today?]

    I didn¡¯t realize it until he told me, and I admired Ange¡¯s figure, thinking ¡®Oh, crap¡¯.

    ¡°Ange, you look great in that outfit!¡±

    ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±

    Ange smiled, but for some reason felt like a failure.

    If it were a love simtion game, it would surely be a scene where you would hear sound effects that would either increase or decrease the impression of likability.

    If it were a game, you could load it, but when ites to reality, there¡¯s no save or load.

    Not even a reset.

    There is only a power button.

    I honestly apologize.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I should haveplimented you earlier.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. You should be more dignified.¡±

    ¡°No, but¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DIt¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go.¡±

    As Ange increased her walking speed, I hurried to follow her.

    Luxion, who was watching the situation, was amazed.

    [I think Master is more effective when he is unaware of his abilities. He is the type of person who bes useless when he is self-aware.]

    .

    Part 5

    As we started our date and walked through the royal capital, scaffolding was being built around a broken building and demolition work was underway.

    Modified armor for the work removes debris one after another.

    When Ange stopped to see it, she spoke about the reconstruction work.

    ¡°Even the expensive armor is out, and the reconstruction work is being done in a hurry.¡±

    Armor is basically fueled by magic stones.

    The magical stones mined in the dungeons in the royal capital are constantly being bought because they are used as energy resources.

    However, the supply and demand are not in bnce.

    Supply was not keeping up with demand, and it was often unprofitable to take armor out for everyday work.

    The reason reconstruction work is done without regard to this is because this is the royal capital.

    ¡°Rich people are strong everywhere, after all.¡±

    When I mentioned the irony, Ange looked at me and let out a small sigh.

    ¡°Eh, did I say something wrong?¡±

    Was that a bad thing to say?

    When I am anxious, Ange says, ¡°No, it was not¡± and tells me the reason for her stunned.

    ¡°Even the kingdom¡¯s finances must be tight. The year beforest, there was a war with the former Principality. The royal capital was damaged before the wounds had healed.¡±

    Twice in a short period of time, the royal capital has been damaged.

    The finances of the kingdom of Horfalt also appear to be tight.

    And Ange knew who was rushing the reconstruction work.

    ¡°Still, the reason for the rush is to maintain the authority of the kingdom. If the fresh scars are left in the royal capital forever, the lord nobles who see them will judge that the kingdom¡¯s power has weakened. ¨D¨DThe queen must be having a hard time wrapping her head around this.¡±

    ¡°Milene-san?¡±

    When I called the queen by name, Ange¡¯s expression clouded for a moment.

    Oops, I thought, I hold my mouth with my hand, and Ange forces herself to smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m relieved that she¡¯s not the same age as you.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not really serious about wooing her.¡±

    When I make my excuses, Ange smiles.

    ¡°I know. Well, I guess it¡¯s time to get back to our date.¡±

    ¡°A-Aa¡±

    .

    Part 6

    We started walking again and headed for our destination, a coffee shop.

    It is a coffee shop that creates an atmosphere where anyone cane in and spend time, but the interior has a rxed andfortable atmosphere.

    The furniture and other items are always clean and well maintained, and the ce smells nice with tea and snacks.

    When we both enter the restaurant, the owner shows us our seats over the counter.

    As we headed for a table by the window, the owner brought us a menu.

    After a brief conversation with Ange, we decide on the menu, and the owner returns to the counter.

    Just as I was thinking how lucky I was that this restaurant was not destroyed in thest turmoil, Ange spoke up.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good store¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m new here too, but I think I might like it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the kind of ce Leon would love.¡±

    Sure looks like a ce that¡¯s right up my alley.

    ¡°Ange doesn¡¯t like it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t dislike it. It just bothers me that they don¡¯t have my favorite tea. Apparently it¡¯s not the owner¡¯s taste.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡±

    When I look at the menu now that I realize it, I can see that there is indeed no tea that Ange likes on it.

    There were no other tea cakes that Ange would have liked.

    I hold my head thinking that I have failed.

    ¡°Sorry, I should have checked more closely.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind¡±

    ¡°No, but today was a date for Ange.¡±

    ¡°I said, I don¡¯t mind. You¡¯re a Duke. Don¡¯t apologize for this much.¡±

    ¡°Even so, I still feel bad about it ¡°

    When I tried to apologize again, Ange swung her fist down on the table.

    ¡°I said, I don¡¯t mind!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DAnge?¡±

    Surprised by Ange¡¯s sudden outburst, the guests around us were also looking at our seats to see what was going on.

    The owner was checking on us from the counter, and when I gestured that it was nothing, he seemed to notice Ange as well.

    ¡°S-Sorry¡±

    Blushing, she turns her head and looks down once before getting up from her seat and running out of the restaurant.

    ¡°Ange!¡±

    I got up from my seat to follow him, remembered I had ordered, took the money from my wallet and put it on the counter.

    ¡°Forget the change¡±

    As I ran out of the store as it was, the door bell rang repeatedly and made a loud noise.

    I look around and don¡¯t see Ange.

    ¡°Damn! Where is she?¡±

    [¨D¨DNo problem. I know where Angelica is. Shall I start navigating?]

    ¡°Please¡±

    Running while being guided by Luxion.

    ¡°What went wrong?¡±

    I asked as I ran, but Luxion didn¡¯t have a clear answer either.

    [It¡¯s strange to be angry at disappointing Master, isn¡¯t it. Because you have shown yourself to be pathetic so far.]

    ¡°Sorry about that!¡±

    [She must be mentally exhausted. My guess is that perhaps she is superimposing her own ideals on the Master and is frustrated by the differences.]

    ¡°Certainly sounds like Ange¡¯s ideals are high.¡±

    [Nevertheless, Angelica got engaged to Master. She must have known in advance that it wasn¡¯t ideal.]

    As I was running, but Luxion¡¯s words stopped me in my tracks.

    ¡°You mean she¡¯s fed up with me¡±

    I had somehow expected it, and the time hase ¨D¨D or so it seems.

    However, Luxion made a gesture of yare-yare.

    [If she were tired of you by this, the engagement would never have taken ce in the first ce. Master must be doubting Angelica¡¯s love.]

    ¡°Even love can cool down.¡±

    [I agree. But it should be different in this case. Angelica was looking forward to having a date with Master, you know.]

    As I started walking toward where Ange was, I could see the high ground.

    It seems to be a popr ce to view the royal capital from a hill, and benches and other facilities are set up there.

    Ange was holding onto the fence and looking out at the view of the royal city.

    When I approached, she turned around, but apparently Ange was crying.

    ¡°Ange, that¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. Your apologizing makes me miserable.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    Angl begins to reveal her current feelings to me.

    ¡°I hate myself ¨D¨D for making you apologize.¡±

    As it was, Ange broke down crying on the spot.

    .

    Part 7

    We sat on a bench on a hill and I waited for Ange to calm down, and then it was evening.

    Sometimes peoplee, but when they see us, they move away, thinking we are having a goodbye talk or something.

    ¨D¨DI¡¯m no good with women who cry.

    After calming down, Ange apologizes for what just happened.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±

    ¡°No, more importantly, you just said you hate yourself?¡±

    ¡°It means exactly what it says¡±

    ¡°Etto¨D¨D¡±

    Luxion, who felt that we were getting out of hand in our exchange, stepped in between me and Ange and began to mediate.

    [Angelica, why is it your fault if Master apologizes? It is the Master¡¯s fault that he is pathetic.]

    It¡¯s true that I¡¯m pathetic, but it makes me angry to hear it so clearly.

    However, this is not the time to get into an argument with Luxion, so I hold my ground.

    Ange, with tears in her eyes, looks at Luxion and tilts her head.

    ¡°Leon is a Duke. Besides, he¡¯s a hero who has saved the country many times.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DFrom a social standpoint, Master should not apologize easily, is that what you mean?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And yet, I keep making Leon apologize. I am the woman who will be his wife. And I can¡¯t support him enough.¡±

    Covering her face with both hands and shedding tears, I tell Ange how I honestly feel.

    ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t matter¡±

    But it seems that my values didn¡¯t get through to Ange.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, you said? Does that mean I¡¯m not good enough for you? That you don¡¯t need my help? Aa~, of course you do. You have Luxion.¡±

    Ange raises her head and begins tough as she cries.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! It¡¯s not about power or anything like that¨D¨D¡±

    When I was desperately trying to tell her, Luxion interrupted me.

    [Master, it¡¯s time. Please return to your student dormitory.]

    ¡°Now that¡¯s not¨D¨D¡±

    [You don¡¯t care? Would it be better if you kept your distance from each other?]

    Ange started crying again and was in no situation to persuade her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back. But first, let me tell you something. I never thought I didn¡¯t need Ange.¡±

    But my words don¡¯t seem to reach Ange.

    ¡°¨D¨DWe don¡¯t know each other well enough.¡±

    .

    Part 8

    After dropping Ange off and returning to my room in the dormitory, I fall straight onto my back on the bed.

    Looking up at the ceiling, Luxion reports.

    [A report from Creare. Angelica wasforted by Livia and went to sleep. Livia seems to be very angry with Master when she heard the result.]

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat am I supposed to do?¡±

    What went wrong?

    I knew Ange was working hard for me and I wanted to tell her not to push too hard today.

    No need to fight with her parents for me.

    That is thest line, or rather not a solution.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t know each other well enough. It¡¯s true that we¡¯ve only been able to get this far because of momentum. If she had seen a shallow person like me up close, she might have be disillusioned.¡±

    [For Master, you are able to self-evaluate. But in this case, there is another problem.]

    ¡°Another?¡±

    [Values. Both Master and Marie have too strong values from your previous lives. From the information Creare has obtained, I would guess that Angelica wanted to be the one to support the Master]

    ¡°I still get plenty of support from her.¡±

    She¡¯s a great woman who¡¯s too good for me.

    I understand that, so I didn¡¯t want her pushing herself too hard.

    [I think Angelica overestimates Master. As a hero who rose to the rank of duke in his own lifetime, Angelica must have been under a lot of pressure to be your partner. She has been working hard to achieve this, and it must be upsetting for her to be told that all of her efforts are in vain?]

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡±

    [Angelica stood around to make sure Master was not taken advantage of by the Redgrave family. That¡¯s not a feat one would do at that age.]

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the Redgrave family¡¯s help or anything. As long as I have Ange.¡±

    ¡°Will Angelica be convinced by that?¡±

    When I shut up, Luxion talks about values.

    [It is different from the times Master lived in your previous life. This world has its own rules. It is arrogant to easily deny them based on Master¡¯s standards.]

    For me, who has memories of a previous life, this world has too many different values to begin with.

    Even the noble society was not familiar to me in my previous life.

    I¡¯ve tried not to look at it, keeping it away from me because it¡¯s troublesome, but I¡¯m rising too high and I can¡¯t ignore it.

    However, there is nothing I can do about the difference in values.

    It reminds me of a couple who often divorced in a previous life because of differences in values.

    ¡°The difference in values is fatal. It would be better to break off the engagement and set Ange free¨D¨D¡±

    After uttering that much, I remembered Julius¡¯ words.

    If I betray her, Ange won¡¯t be able to recover.

    ¡°I wonder if I should do it ording to Ange?¡±

    [Would Master fit in with the noble society of this world?]

    ¡°I can¡¯t. But I can at least act one. ¨D¨DI¡¯ll show up at the Redgrave family mansion sometime.¡±

    I should at least be able to mend it.

    That¡¯s how I always overcame problems.

 Volume 10, Chapter 3 â€œThe Enthusiastsâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 3 ¡°The Enthusiasts¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    The Redgrave family mansion in the royal capital.

    For some reason, the person who greeted me was the Duke, Vince-san ¨D¨D Ange¡¯s Papa.

    ¡°I¡¯m so d you came. When I heard you wereing, I rushed over here as fast as I could.¡±

    ¡°H-Haa¡±

    I heard that Gilbert has returned to their territory in his turn, but did the Dukee all the way to the royal capital to see me?

    I couldn¡¯t believe it a little.

    Ange¡¯s Papa had brought one of his guests into the parlor.

    I had been informed in advance, but that person was looking at me.

    ¡°Ano, who is that person?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the guy I¡¯ve been meaning to introduce you to.¡±

    The person Ange¡¯s Papa brought to me bowed respectfully in front of me.

    ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Duke Bartfalt. I am Count [Dominique Fou Mottley].¡±

    If the middle name is Fou, he is a lord nobleman.

    If he is a Count, the size of his territory must be quiterge.

    But Count Mottley appears to be in his thirties by all means.

    His silky blond hair curls outward at the ends, and his beard is well groomed and filthless.

    His body was toned and he looked like a good-looking, capable man.

    Ange¡¯s Papa tells the story of how he was brought here.

    ¡°I have a connection with Count Mottley. He¡¯s the count who owns the floating inds in his territory, and he¡¯s one of the ones who take care of our borders.¡±

    ¡°Border?¡±

    When I looked at Count Mottley, he wasughing.

    ¡°It is not protected by the family alone, but jointly by the lords and nobles of the region, led by the count of the frontier. Thanks to this, it was regrettable that I was not able to join the Duke in the battles of the former Principality.¡±

    ¡°I-I see.¡±

    He is quite a smooth talker. At the time, my reputation was very low ¨D¨D not to say below garbage.

    No one would have been stupid enough to want to work for me.

    However, Ange¡¯s Papa says to me.

    ¡°Count Mottley is a fan of yours.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    When I was surprised and looked at Count Mottley, he grabs my hand with both hands and waves it up and down greatly.

    ¡°When I heard about Duke Bartfalt¡¯s sess, I felt saved. I have been paying attention to you since the time of the duelingmotion the year beforest, but I never expected you to aplish such a great achievement.¡±

    ¡°A-A great achievement ?!¡±

    Count Mottley grins as I wonder what I¡¯ve done.

    ¡°You have broken the sh*tty customs of the Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes¡±

    Could this person possibly have suffered in some way from a girl at the school?

    It seems my thoughts were right.

    ¡°My family was elevated to the rank of count by my father¡¯s generation, but when I was attending school I was still a Viscount. My marriage partner was a terrible woman.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what to say about that¡±

    I am sure he is still struggling.

    But I was wrong.

    ¡°She was really the worst kind of woman. She had several lovers before the child was born. Whose child was she going to give birth to? ¨D¨D However, Duke Bartfalt has destroyed the customs along with the Principality. Thank you! Thank you very much!¡±

    ¡°Eh? EH?!¡±

    Puzzled, Ange¡¯s Papa tells me the details of the story.

    ¡°Count Mottley is divorced from his wife on the grounds of unfaithfulness.¡±

    ¡°HAa?! Divorce ?!¡±

    Marriage in noble society means a connection between families.

    Divorce cannot be granted on the basis of personal feelings, but until now, the Kingdom has not even recognized divorce on the grounds of unfaithfulness.

    It came to be recognized, and apparently Count Mottley soon divorced her.

    ¡°I also have to thank the Duke Redgrave. And I cannot thank you enough regarding my wife¡±

    Wife?

    When I tilt my head back, Count Mottley tells me about his current wife.

    ¡°I remarried. She was a woman who had been there for me for many years, but she was a servant, so her status became an issue. So I asked the Duke Redgrave for help.¡±

    From there, Ange¡¯s Papa tells the story.

    ¡°Adopt his wife into a family of knights connected to our family, then adopt her into the family of a viscount, and after a certain amount of education, marry her to Count Mottley.¡±

    ¨D¨DIsn¡¯t it careerundering?

    In other words, did Count Mottley buy a noble status by asking Ange¡¯s Papa to marry a woman who was not a noble?

    No, even if he doesn¡¯t buy it, what¡¯s the deal?

    As I think about this, Count Mottley changes the subject.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stop thinking about you two. That said, I also heard about Duke Bartfalt¡¯s activities in the royal capital. I heard that you took control of the royal capital in a single night. A hero who rose to the rank of duke in a single generation is different.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s¡±

    It would be easier if I could say it was thanks to Luxion and not me.

    I was going to say that it was only because of everyone¡¯s cooperation, but I was interrupted by Count Mottley.

    ¡°However, it was a bit naive. If it were me, I would have let them cause a little more damage to the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat are you saying?¡±

    To my surprise, Count Mottley looks puzzled.

    Immediately Ange¡¯s Papa put his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. He¡¯s rising too fast, so he¡¯s had to catch up on a lot of things.¡±

    Hearing this, Count Mottley nodded a few times and smiled.

    ¡°It is a downside of rapid promotion. No, I would say it¡¯s more of an enviable worry.¡±

    Hearing the two of them smiling and conversing, I signal to Luxion to check.

    Luxion deciphered what they were trying to say from their conversation.

    [Dominique seemed to think that Master intended to join the Redgrave family and turn against the kingdom. He must have been suspicious that Master knew nothing about it.]

    ¨D¨DThat¡¯s so.

    Then Count Mottley looks straight at me.

    ¡°Duke Bartfalt, will you burn the royal capital together?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DThat¡¯s not a funny joke.¡±

    ¡°A joke? Don¡¯t you understand that if you are a lord nobleman? For so many years, the kingdom has been hostile and oppressive to us. Shouldn¡¯t they pay for that?¡±

    Count Mottley¡¯s eyes were like probing me ¨D¨D and yet, he was serious.

    I can feel that he really wants to set the royal capital on fire.

    Ange¡¯s papa also waits for this.

    ¡°Count Mottley is in too haste. You should try to be more cautious.¡±

    ¡°I beg your pardon. It seems I was excited when I met the hero of my dreams.¡±

    .

    Part 2

    When Count Mottley left, I was alone with Ange¡¯s Papa.

    Ange¡¯s Papa isughing.

    ¡°Count Mottley is a bit of a militant nobleman who fights on the border. I hope you will forgive him for this case because of my face.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DAre you really going to go to war with the Kingdom?¡±

    When I asked him straightforwardly, Ange¡¯s Papa didn¡¯t break his smile.

    ¡°I heard you had a fight with Ange. What is that girl doing?¡±

    Apparently, he has caught on to the fact that the rtionship between Ange and I is not going well.

    ¡°Please answer me. If you¡¯re serious, I¡¯ll stop you.¡±

    When I say this, Ange¡¯s Papa ¨D¨D Vince-san¡¯s voice bes somewhat lower.

    ¡°Even if we force the kingdom to continue to exist as it is, eventually dissatisfaction will erupt. If so, is it arrogant of us to want to minimize the damage with our own hands?¡±

    ¡°Dissatisfaction?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen Count Mottley, right? Oppressed lords and nobles like him are dissatisfied with the kingdom. Things are changing these days, but do you really think they will listen to you if you tell them to forgive?¡±

    ¡°That is¨D¨D¡±

    The dissatisfaction of the lord nobles, who have been oppressed by the kingdom, does not subside just because the situation has changed. Rather, it seems that many nobles are thinking of venting their resentment against the weakened kingdom.

    I see¨D¨DI suppose he brought Count Mottley to show me that the Lords and Nobles are serious.

    ¡°It is a necessary sacrifice. If we revolt in an uncontrolled manner, we will show an opening to other countries and the Kingdom of Horfalt will be divided. We must avoid that.¡±

    Vince-san puts his hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°I have high hopes for you. With the power of your lost items, the bloodshed will be minimal. Then I will give Ange a firm reminder from me.¡±

    ¨D¨DHas Ange been having this kind of exchange for a long time?

    .

    Part 3

    After returning from the Redgrave family mansion to my room in the student dormitory, I was lying on my bed and looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡°If there¡¯s going to be a rebellion, minimize the damage, huh¡±

    Floating near me, Luxion talks about Vince-san¡¯s talk.

    ¡°It would certainly be effective, but the Redgrave family is a branch of the royal family. There will be many nobles who will not like it. In fact, if the Redgrave family is not careful, it will be destroyed together with the royal family.¡±

    From the perspective of the lord nobles, the Redgrave family is also a branch of the royal family and would be a hated enemy.

    The only way for the Redgrave family to survive was to take the lead and start a new country.

    ¡°I wish I could just keep on defending the royal family¡±

    ¡°It must be ambition. Both Vince and Gilbert want the throne. ¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it¡±

    [Their real intention may be to get the country for themselves, but it is also true that they can reduce the damage caused by the rebellion. Because Master is a hero for the lord nobles.]

    ¡°Because I freed them from an unpleasant marriage?¡±

    [That may be so, but the Master¡¯s reckless attitude toward the Kingdom is the kind of hero they have been waiting for.]

    ¡°I¡¯m just a small hero.¡±

    ¡°Marrying Angelica means joining hands with Duke Redgrave. In this world, the individual and the house are not yetpletely separated. ¡°

    I have heard that in the days when an individual could easily die, the family was important.

    It was toomon for people to die, and it was their house and bloodline that had to be left behind.

    What a wonderful thing it is to live in a world where the individual is respected!

    It is natural that I, who know such happiness, and Ange, who only knows this world, have different values.

    ¡°So, what are your thoughts?¡±

    [Yes?]

    ¡°How can we unite the Kingdom without causing damage? Is there any way to do this with as little bloodshed as possible?¡±

    What kind of answers will AI provide?

    As for me, I wanted the oundish answer to give me a way to save everything.

    [If Master quickly takes control of the royal capital, the neighboring lords will turn over their hands and settle their disputes. The nobles who adore Master, like Dominique, will gather in royal capital, and if a new nation is born, the damage will be minimal.]

    ¨D¨DIt was stupid of me who had high hopes for Luxion.

    ¡°It means¡±

    [Master should be king.]

    ¡°You idiot, I reject such methods.¡±

    I¡¯m a king? I don¡¯t know about the others, but I¡¯m not the kind of person who likes to be king.

    I still wish I could retreat to the countryside and live a peaceful, slow life.

    [We can minimize the damage, though?]

    ¡°If you mean using your power to rule, then you¡¯re no different than the Redgrave family. A~a, it was my mistake to consult you.¡±

    When I told him it was useless, Luxion came up to my face.

    [But it was Master who couldn¡¯te up with the solution, so you asked me for the answer?]

    ¡°That¡¯s why I admitted it was a mistake for me to consult you.¡±

    In the first ce, Luxion is not hurt or bothered by the destruction of the kingdom of Horfalt.

    Instead, he would rather see any country founded by the new humans be destroyed.

    Whenever this kind of troublesome issuees up, he always says something like, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just destroy it?¡±.

    ¡°I should talk to someone about it. But Ange, who is good at this kind of talk, can¡¯t be relied on this one time.¡±

    [You usually rely on her too much, though.]

    ¡°Shut up¡±

    Looking up at the ceiling, I ponder who I should talk to.

    A number of faces came to mind, and then I thought of one.

    There was one man who was in the same situation as me.

    .

    Part 4

    Flower beds near the student dormitory.

    Herring, who waters the flowers there, didn¡¯t mock orugh at hearing my question.

    However, he has a difficult look on his face.

    ¡°The values issue is a tough one. I¡¯ve also had trouble with it a lot since I reincarnated over here.¡±

    ¡°Did it trouble you too?¡±

    ¡°Cause I still have memories of my previous life¡±

    Herring let out a small sigh with a dark expression on his face, then looked up at the sky.

    ¡°Since I became a knight, I¡¯ve been forced to fight in wars.¡±

    ¡°I see¡±

    From the way Herring looked, it was easy to imagine what he had done in the war.

    Knights and nobles are not allowed to run away from the battle.

    Do that, and your status and prestige will fall to the ground.

    It ismon knowledge that fighting is honorable.

    And on the battlefield, if you kill a lot of people, you will be called a hero.

    This is the reason why neither I nor Herring is happy to be called heroes.

    It also proves that we have killed a lot of people.

    Herring, perhaps sensing my feelings, scratches his head andforts me.

    ¡°We both have a hard time. It might be better to have no memory of our previous life¨D¨DNo, if I hadn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have noticed Mia¡±

    If I had no memories of my previous life, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered, but the knowledge of my previous life is the only reason I¡¯m still alive and safe today.

    Even for Herring, he is able to meet Mia properly because of his knowledge of his previous life.

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t have memories of my previous life, I¡¯d be dead by now.¡±

    Remembering that Zora almost sold me out, it would be a good thing that I was reincarnated with the memories of my previous life.

    Herring isughing like he¡¯s in trouble.

    ¡°You¡¯re having a hard time too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m d Hering was here. I can¡¯t talk to five idiots about these kinds of problems.¡±

    ¡°There is Marie, right?¡±

    It¡¯s true that Marie is a reincarnated person like us.

    However, there is a crucial difference.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t kill people in the war.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DThat¡¯s right. Then I guess you can¡¯t talk to her. But I¡¯d like her to stay that way.¡±

    Herring gives a distant look and I give a small nod.

    Marie ying an active role in the war? It doesn¡¯t suit her.

    Herring put his hand on his chin and began to think.

    ¡°If we were in the empire, we could have consulted with the emperor.¡±

    ¡°To His Majesty the Emperor? You¡¯re awfully friendly.¡±

    When I am surprised at Herring¡¯s willingness to casually consult with the emperor, he himself looks a little impatient.

    ¡°Did I not tell you? Our emperor ¨D¨D Mia¡¯s father is a reincarnated person.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right?!¡±

    Aren¡¯t there too many reincarnated? When I was surprised alone, Herring put his right hand on his face.

    ¡°He may be a noisy old man, but he¡¯s dependable in times like these. He¡¯s not getting any older, you know. If there is a reincarnated person with more life experience, you could talk to them about it.¡±

    Seeing the troubled Herring, I thought of one person I could think of.

    ¡± ¨D¨D It¡¯s Erika¡±

    .

    Part 5

    I immediately went to Erika.

    Since it was a weekday, there were many followers around, but when I approached them, they were attentive and moved away.

    I immediately invite Erika to the tea room to consult with her privately.

    Erika listened to my concerns.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Uncle is troubled by the difference in values between you and Angelica-san.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡±

    I feel ashamed of myself for asking my niece for rtionship advice, but I have to rely on her because there are only a few people I can talk to about it.

    Luxion floating beside me, taking advantage of my indebtedness.

    [Even though you are her uncle, Erika has more life experience than you.]

    ¡°Can¡¯t you be a little more respectful to your master? If you were nicer to me, I¡¯d be nicer to you, too?¡±

    [No thanks]

    Erika giggled when she saw Luxion, who assured me that he didn¡¯t need my concern.

    ¡°Uncle and Luxion have always gotten along well.¡±

    There is one person here who is misunderstanding.

    ¡°Erika doesn¡¯t understand how bad this guy¡¯s mouth is, does she?¡±

    ¡°A rtionship in which you can say whatever you want to each other is precious, Uncle. But more than that, you care about Angelica-san.¡±

    Smiling, Erika had a tolerance that one would not expect from someone so much younger.

    I turn my face away from Erika.

    ¡°A lot has happened.¡±

    ¡°You should be honest there and say that you love her. Uncle, you¡¯re not the type to say what you really feel very often.¡±

    ¡°Honest? I¡¯m always honest. I say what I think right away, and people around me don¡¯t like me.¡±

    I smiled at her and Erika looked at me smiling.

    I feel as if her eyes are looking into my mind, so I avert my gaze.

    Erika doesn¡¯t me me for my childish attitude and starts talking about solutions.

    ¡°If uncle wants to be with Angelica-san, I think trying to be nice to her would be the opposite of what she wants.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    When I raised my head and looked at Erika¡¯s face, the person in question had a serious look on her face, her smile gone.

    ¡°Angelica-san wants to support uncle. No, I think she wants to stand next to you and aplish something together.¡±

    ¡°Ange is?¡±

    ¡°Uncle, you are forgetting something, aren¡¯t you? Angelica-san was originally a woman who would have been the queen of the kingdom of Horfalt.¡±

    Ange was originally betrothed to Julius, a woman who would have eventually be queen if nothing had happened to her. I know that and have never forgotten it.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten¡±

    ¡°If so, you don¡¯t understand. Angelica-san is a talented young woman who was raised to be the queen of a country. She has a lot of pride. She just can¡¯t stand being protected.¡±

    She doesn¡¯t like just being protected, huh.

    Indeed, she said something like that before.

    It was different from me, who immediately took the help of Luxion to make things easier, in the first ce, by thinking about it.

    ¡°She wants to see, feel, rely on, being rely on, and support each other side by side. But uncle can do anything alone.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not really alone¡±

    I try to make excuses, but Erika smiles and tilts her head slightly.

    ¡°I will teach you the best way to make up.¡±

    .

    Part 6

    After school, a few days after the date.

    Ange walks down the hallway, being pulled along by Livia.

    Livia is strongly pulling Ange, who is not very enthusiastic.

    ¡°Ange, it¡¯s already started.¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Livia. I¡¯ll being over after I finish my errands.¡±

    ¡°No. That is how you intend to distance yourself from Leon-san and not participate, is it not?¡±

    Livia sees that she had nned not to attend the gathering because of an errand.

    Ange, who is not happy about the situation, tells her why she doesn¡¯t want to participate.

    ¡°What kind of face should I show to Leon? I don¡¯t want him to hate me more than this.¡±

    ¡°If so then it¡¯s unnecessary, please meet Leon-san! Everyone should be here by now.¡±

    Then Livia pulls her into the destination ssroom.

    As the students had left the school, the ssrooms that are usually used were quiet ¨D¨D not.

    Leon¡¯s yellinges from inside the ssroom.

    ¡°I said no!¡±

    Several other voices could be heard from the ssroom to the hallway, and Ange and Livia looked at each other and nodded their heads.

    ¡°What kind of gathering is this? Livia knows about this, right?¡±

    ¡°No, I am told only by Leon-san that it was so he could make up with Ange.¡±

    ¡°C-Could make up?¡±

    The fact that Leon wants to make up is great information for Ange.

    However, from inside the ssroom, Leon¡¯s shouts can be heard.

    ¡°Go home! Go away! Please!¡±

    He keeps yelling desperately begging for someone to leave, but voices of refusal can be heard from inside the ssroom.

    Standing in front of the door, Ange reaches out with all the courage she can muster.

    She opened the door a little and peeked inside, and there they were, the usual members of the group.

    (Noel¡¯s here. Hmm? Is that His Highness Jake and the others over there? And the foreign exchange students from the empire. And Princess Erika?!)

    Standing at the podium teaching in the stairwell ssroom, Leon repeatedly tapped the desk with the palm of his hand.

    In front of Leon¡¯s eyes is a group of five people, led by Marie.

    Unusually, Leon is pleading with Marie and the others.

    ¡°You guys are not invited! Please leave! I¡¯ll give you the money!¡±

    Even though Leon would pay them and ask them to leave, Marie and her friends didn¡¯t even try to leave. Normally, they would have received the money and left as soon as possible.

    Marie protests against Leon.

    ¡°That¡¯s how you n to make yourselves feel good! I won¡¯t allow it. I will never forgive you for that!¡±

    Behind Marie, clinging to the podium, was Julius, his eyes bloodshot.

    ¡°Leon, we¡¯re friends, right? So take me with you!¡±

    ¡°When did I be your friend?¡±

    ¡°Now!¡±

    ¡°Be obedient and go away!¡±

    It is not only Julius.

    Even also Jilk.

    ¡°Leon-kun, we are your subordinates. Don¡¯t be so distant that you don¡¯t want to depend on us?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you ever think that I don¡¯t want to depend on you, so I won¡¯t take you with me? Go away.¡±

    Brad pushes Jilk away and begins to appeal to him to take him.

    ¡°Then it is my turn, isn¡¯t it? A magician like me must be indispensable. Now, promise me you¡¯ll take me!¡±

    ¡°No ne~ed! Go away and look in the mirror.¡±

    When Brad was also rejected, Greg now pushed him away forcefully.

    ¡°This is where Ie in, right, Leon! Unlike the rest of them, you need a man with experience and dependability. You can count on me!¡±

    ¡°Go away, muscle¡±

    ¡°Fufu, if you praise me, that means you¡¯ll take me with you, right?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DSorry, go away¡±

    Gradually, Leon is losing his energy.

    Chris kicks Greg out of posing and asks Leon to let him join.

    ¡°Leon, I can be useful. You had your adventures with me in the Republic, didn¡¯t you? You and I are now a bonded party. In other words, we are friends who entrust our lives to each other. Please let me join you on this adventure¨D¨D¡±

    Before Chris could finish, Ange was running.

    She pushes Chris away.

    ¡°An adventure trip?!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DGuhe¡±

    Chris, who had been pushed away, was groaning but couldn¡¯t afford to worry about it now.

    Leon, looking at the excited Ange, was a little taken back.

    ¡°Y-Yes. Actually, I was thinking of doing a treasure hunt and trying to make a n today.¡±

    Looking closely, one could see an borate map on the ckboard.

    He was probably nning to make a n from now on, but Marie and her friends came and annoyed him when they heard the story.

    Ange pushes Julius and Marie away and approaches Leon.

    ¡°If you invited me, does that mean you want me to join?¡±

    The distance between each other¡¯s noses is almost touching.

    Leon was blushing from embarrassment, but Ange was blushing with excitement when she heard about the adventure.

    When Leon backs away and creates distance, he clears his throat and then talks about his n.

    ¡°Obviously, I¡¯m going to get Ange to help me. This time I¡¯ll take Einhorn out and we¡¯ll head for the floating ind where the treasure is.¡±

    When Leon lightly hits the overhanging map with his fist a few times, Ange also moves closer to the ckboard to take a closer look at the map.

    ¡°It¡¯s a very borate map. The paper is new. Is it real?¡±

    ¡°No doubt about it. The map was prepared by Luxion.¡±

    When Leon looks at Luxion, Ange¡¯s gaze turns to him as well.

    Luxion moved the red lens up and down in a small motion as if nodding.

    [Yes. I made the old map look better.]

    ¡°You can really do anything¡±

    While impressed, Ange quickly returns her gaze to the map.

    ¡°A building? Is it an old castle?¡±

    As she mumbled, for some reason Marie interrupted the conversation.

    ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon in a copsed old castle! There are lots of magic stones and treasures. If all goes well, I¡¯ll get rich, get rid of my poverty, and I won¡¯t have to tter Ani¡ª¡ªLeon for money anymore!¡±

    Julius and his friends are even more motivated after hearing Marie¡¯s excitement.

    ¡°That means that Marie will spend less time with Leon. We will find the treasure and have time to spend with Marie. I can¡¯t stand the thought of not being a part of such an amazing adventure!¡±

    Marie and her friends are talking as if they already have the treasure.

    Ange is strangely annoyed by this, but ignores it and talks to Leon.

    ¡°I¡¯m in. When? When do we leave?¡±

    Forgetting that her rtionship with Leon was a bit awkward, Ange was clinging to him.

    She grabs Leon¡¯s arm and hugs him.

    Leon, who was grabbed, is bbergasted.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I gathered everyone together today to make those ns, and now all these unnecessary people get involved.¡±

    Leon¡¯s gaze went to Jake and the others who seemed to have gathered in addition to Marie and the others.

    The short Jake crosses his arms and smiles fearlessly.

    ¡°Anyone who hears of such an exciting adventure and does not join in is not a nobleman. Aare, you¡¯reing with me, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    As a nobleman, of course! he announced firmly and crisply, then turned back to Aare, who was standing behind him.

    (Aa~, you want to show off your skills to women? His Highness Jake is too insincere about the adventures, so no.)

    Ange¡¯s opinion of Jake has been dropped two steps, if not one step, in her mind.

    Aare stared at Jake, but this one was holding his hands together.

    ¡°I would be happy if I could participate.¡±

    ¡°Fufu, leave it to me. Duke Bartfalt, we are also joining in.¡±

    Jake tells him as if it were a decision, but Leon gives him a cold look.

    When Leon says, the five idiots, led by Julius, are booing Jake.

    ¡°Right, you guys go away!¡±

    ¡°What ?! You¡¯re just a bastard who¡¯s been disinherited!¡±

    A sibling quarrel that starts suddenly.

    Leon let out a big sigh.

    ¡°Julius, you guys can leave too.¡±

    ¡°Leon, don¡¯t be cold about it! We¡¯re friends, right?!¡±

    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t cling to my legs!¡±

    The ssroom was noisy, but when a man opened his mouth, it became quiet all at once.

    The man¡¯s name is Oskar.

    ¡°I would like to earn money for my future with Jenna-san. So, brother-inw, would you be willing to let me participate?¡±

    Oskar speaks up naturally, but those around him who know what is going on look at Leon.

    This involved family problems in the Bartfalt family, and the only one who could make a decision was Leon.

    Oskar, not understanding the change in the atmosphere of the ce, asks Leon.

    ¡°At this time, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a chore. Please help me to be a man worthy of Jenna-san!¡±

    Oskar¡¯s sincerity made Leon¡¯s cheeks tighten.

    ¡°I think you are worthy enough, and I¡¯d rather feel sorry for you instead. Please, don¡¯t bow down. I understand. I¡¯ll take you with me.¡±

    ¡°Is that true! I did it, His Highness Jake! It looks like I¡¯m going to be allowed to participate.¡±

    Jake¡¯s face turns red at Oskar¡¯s report of his joy.

    ¡°That¡¯s where you should ask him to let your master join!¡±

    ¡°Eh, me, do it?¡±

    Why should I be the one to beg? Oskar tilted his head, a look of not really understanding on his face.

    Then, in the ssroom, which was getting noisy again, it was Livia who approached Ange.

    ¡°Ange, that¡±

    Ange hugs Livia, who is worried.

    ¡°Livia, it¡¯s an adventure. Adventure! This time, unlike any before, it¡¯s a real adventure. Maybe it¡¯s a dungeon no one has ever set foot in. You¡¯re in, right? Right ?!¡±

    As Ange¡¯s eyes sparkled, Livia nodded with aplicated expression on her face.

 Volume 10, Chapter 04 â€œThe Custom of Kingdom Noblesâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 04 ¡°The Custom of Kingdom Nobles¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Airship Einhorn.

    The airship I built when I went to study abroad in the Republic is now fully recognized as my ship.

    Einhorn, with its distinctive single horn at the bow, moves through the blue sky.

    When I go out on the deck, Livia, who receives a strong wind, talks to me with her hand in her hair.

    ¡°Leon-san, what kind of magic did you use?¡±

    ¡°Magic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Ange, Ange! Not long ago, she was depressed that Leon-san would hate her, but yesterday she couldn¡¯t sleep because she was so excited about our departure.¡±

    As I recall, the same thing happened when we went out to the elven vige.

    Since that time, Ange has always had a strong yearning for adventurers.

    No, is it the adventure itself?

    Stepping into unchartednds and acquiring treasures ¨D¨D such adventurers are admired by the nobles.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t use magic or sleight of hand. I just wanted to have adventures with Ange.¡±

    Livia looks unconvinced, but seems to forgive me because Ange was actually pleased.

    ¡°Are there really treasures?¡±

    ¡°There are ¨D¨D it has to be. Unless no one has found it.¡±

    ¡°As for me, I¡¯m more interested in the ruins.¡±

    Livia,ing from amoner background, had a strong image of adventurers as people who mined for magic stones. Therefore, she is looking forward to investigating the ruins rather than the treasures on this trip.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. You¡¯ll see an ancient castle.¡±

    ¡°You say that as if you¡¯ve seen it all.¡±

    I touch my own chest with my right hand as Livia gives me a skeptical look.

    ¡°Actually, when I found Luxion, I looked around in many ces. This treasure hunt is one of the floating inds I found during that time.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Livia looks to Luxion, who is by my side, for confirmation.

    Luxion speaks, adjusting the conversation to me.

    [Yes. We have created a map based on the data from that time. We don¡¯t know what the treasure is, but we think there is a good chance that it is still there.]

    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it. It looks like Ange won¡¯t be disappointed.¡±

    Seeing Livia¡¯s concern for Ange makes me wonder what is going on.

    They were supposed to be enemies in that otome game.

    Now that they are best friends, you never know what will happen in the world.

    Livia looks up into my face.

    ¡°Leon-san, thank you¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about Ange. I couldn¡¯t have cheered her up that much. After all, Ange needs Leon.¡±

    Livia looks away from me and grabs onto the railing to look at the sky visible from the deck.

    ¡°I wonder? I don¡¯t think Ange needs me.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°It means I am the one who needs her. Ange ¨D¨D and Livia, too.¡±

    Livia looked like she was going to ask me something, but I was aware that I had uttered an embarrassing line, so I decided to leave.

    ¡°Luxion, it¡¯s getting cold, let¡¯s go inside.¡±

    [Yes, Master]

    ¡°Livia also better get inside sooner.¡±

    As I leave the ce to escape, I hear Livia¡¯s voice at my back.

    ¡°Leon-san, repeat those lines once again!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t because it¡¯s embarrassing!¡±

    .

    Part 2

    Finn, an imperial knight, was pondering in Einhorn¡¯s dining room.

    Nearby are his partner Brave and Mia, who is drinking her juice through a straw.

    Mia looks happy in the airship.

    ¡°Knight-sama, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be going on an adventure too.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°Something on your mind?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a serious matter.¡±

    Finn let out a deep sigh and remembered the purpose of this trip.

    The reason why Finn was invited, but this involved Mia¡¯s treatment.

    Initially, Finn and the others were nning to proceed with that third otome game scenario and cause Mia¡¯s awakening event.

    By doing so, he wondered if this would cure the unexined disease.

    But it could also awaken and worsen the disease.

    Anyway, Mia, the protagonist of that third Otome game, was not originally set up to suffer from a mysterious illness.

    Rather¨D¨Dit was Erika who was suffering.

    (At any rate, I¡¯ve heard that awakening is also dangerous if we participate in this event and it turns out to be a bad idea.)

    When Finn looks at Mia, who is tilting her head, her health doesn¡¯t seem to have deteriorated.

    (There is no problem for now, huh)

    Finn, relieved inside, smiles at Mia.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The question is, well, you know. Why are the nobles of the kingdom so obsessed with adventurers?¡±

    ¡°Ah, that makes sense. Everyone¡¯s face looks different from usual, doesn¡¯t it.¡±

    Mia replies approvingly and turns her gaze from Finn to her surroundings.

    Julius and Jake were there. And Aare, Jake¡¯spanion.

    Julius isining about Jake¡¯s outfit.

    ¡°Are you going to participate in such a slovenly manner? It would be a disgrace to the royal family, so stay inside the ship this time.¡±

    When told he was dressed sloppily, Jake spun around on the spot to show off his prized adventurer¡¯s gear.

    ¡°This is the fashion these days, ani-ue. You outdated person should stay on the ship and have a cup of tea. Rest assured that I will bring the treasure back with Aare.¡±

    When her name is mentioned, Aare gives a wry smile and soothes Jake.

    ¡°Your Highness Jake, you shouldn¡¯t behave like that towards your brother.¡±

    ¡°I told you, you could call me by my name, Aare. But still, your equipment is showing its age.¡±

    Aare, a tall woman? was dressed in well-worn equipment.

    ¡°These are my partners who have been with me for years.¡±

    ¡°You look great, Aare¡±

    After being shown them getting along excessively in front of him, Julius kicked Jake in the back with a nk look on his face.

    Jake falls to the floor, turns around and stares at Julius as he is.

    ¡°What are you doing!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, you pissed me off.¡±

    ¡°Are you jealous? Fuh, you¡¯re a little narrow-minded, brother.¡±

    As Jake tries to stir while standing up, Julius res at him with a wrinkle between his eyebrows.

    (It was like a delinquent manga from my previous life, they are ncing at each other face)

    With these impressions in mind, Finn turned his attention to the other tables.

    Even there, the kingdom¡¯s nobles are in high spirits.

    ¡°Look at this! I got new equipment for this asion.¡±

    Brad shows off his sparkling equipment, and Greg, topless, makes a disgusted face.

    ¡°A man¡¯s equipment is his body. First, you need to work on your muscles, your muscles!¡±

    Chris looks at Greg, who rmends muscle training, and is stunned as he grooms his sword.

    ¡°Excessive muscles interfere with joint movement. Better yet, take good care of your weapons. It¡¯s noughing matter if you can¡¯t use them when the timees.¡±

    Finn thinks as he looks at Chris, who is cleaning his sword with a giggle.

    (Are these guys really the capture targets of the first game? I had imagined a more noble group of people)

    Lastly, he looks at Jilk, who is taking care of his guns.

    Around it, bombs and other objects are ced.

    ¡°Fufu, I¡¯m the one who will conquer the dungeon.¡±

    When everyone is now trying to work together, one person is thinking of outwitting those around him.

    (Is this that? Is it because of Leon¡¯s involvement that their character has be distorted?)

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°Our goal is!¡±

    Einhorn hangar.

    There, it was Marie, dressed in her adventurous gear, who raised her voice.

    It is Kara, also in her equipment, who responds to Marie¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Get the treasure and be independent from the Duke Bartfalt!¡±

    And standing beside her is Kyle, who is working with Marie for the first time in a long time.

    ¡°Independent! Great words, goshujin-sama¡±

    Kyle¡¯s words brought tears to Marie¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Right. We are going to get our treasures and be independent through this adventure. We are going to be happy and not have to bow down to anyone!¡±

    It takes a great deal of effort to feed a group of five idiots, a group that costs a lot of money.

    Marie wanted to get the treasure this time so that she could live without receiving an allowance from Leon.

    Erika is the main reason why she is seriously considering bing independent.

    (In front of my daughter from a previous life, I¡¯m too pathetic and ashamed to depend on my brother forever! I will regain my dignity for my daughter¡¯s sake)

    Marie was there with a different spirit than before.

    .

    Part 4

    The location has changed, the room at Einhorn.

    Noel and Erika were in the room used by Ange and Livia.

    Noel is stunned to see Ange tending to her guns.

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s eyes change when they hear the word adventure. It¡¯s as if Ange has changed too.¡±

    When told, Ange readies her rifle and pulls the trigger.

    No bullets were loaded, and only metallic sounds echoed through the room.

    ¡°That¡¯s how fascinating this issue is.¡±

    On behalf of Ange, who is not busy inspecting her equipment, Erika exins the situation in the kingdom to a wondering Noel.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if Noel-san would understand, but the Kingdom was founded by adventurers.¡±

    ¡°I heard that, but isn¡¯t everyone getting a little overexcited?¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe this is a rebellious spirit that has been going on for generations, a defiance to pay back the mothend?¡±

    ¡°Mothend?¡±

    ¡°Many of the people in the kingdom are originally from the Holy Kingdom of Raschel. I thought that the low status of adventurers in Raschel might have made them even morepetitive.¡±

    ¡°Fu~hn¡±

    Ange turns to Noel, who has finished inspecting Erika¡¯s story.

    ¡°There has been a history between the Kingdom and Raschel since before the founding of the Kingdom. In the first ce, those who were caught up in the political upheaval in Raschel were chased away and found themselves in thend that is now the Kingdom.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot going on, isn¡¯t there? But in a country like that, Leon has a bounty on his head, doesn¡¯t he?¡±

    When the bounty is mentioned, Ange looks uninterested.

    ¡°To them, we¡¯ll always be something to look down on. They don¡¯t want to think that the tables have turned.¡±

    Confirming that Ange does not have very good feelings toward the Holy Kingdom of Raschel, Noel ends the conversation.

    ¡°I understand the whole situation, but for what it¡¯s worth, everyone seems to be having a fun time, don¡¯t they? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s all about old grudges.¡±

    Asked if she¡¯s having fun, Ange giggles and smiles.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually fun. It¡¯s in my blood, I guess? It¡¯s always been one of my dreams to be a sessful adventurer. ¨D¨D I¡¯m grateful to Leon.¡±

    She is grateful.

    As she said this, Angeughed a little sadly.

    .

    Part 5

    Arriving at the destination, a floating ind, Einhorn found an open space and forced it tond.

    What holds the floating Einhorn in ce is an anchor that sticks into the ground.

    They are in the process of unloading using armor and it is Julius and his group who are working.

    On my part, I have a rifle and I¡¯m on the lookout in the surrounding area.

    ¡°It¡¯s a strange floating ind when you think about it.¡±

    Ange and Livia are close to me as I use binocrs to look around.

    Ange had a rifle and was just as alert as I was to the surroundings.

    Perhaps my muttering to myself caught her attention, and she asks why.

    ¡°Are you worried about something?¡±

    ¡°No, you see the ancient castle in the middle of the floating ind, right? It¡¯s nice that it¡¯s surrounded by forest, but there¡¯s no harbor on this floating ind.¡±

    It is too inconvenient in any way for someone to have lived there in the past.

    The small floating ind has only the castle and the surrounding forest.

    If this were a game, I wouldn¡¯t have cared, but it was very unnatural.

    It doesn¡¯t seem like people lived here.

    Livia holding a map answers my questions, confirming their current location and the location of the castle.

    ¡°Maybe this floating ind copsed and shrunk. It is not surprising if you consider that it used to be bigger and there used to be a harbor there.¡±

    Is that even possible?

    As I put down my binocrs, Ange tells me about other possibilities.

    ¡°Or maybe thend was carved up and taken away? It is possible that this floating ind was cut off from the continent in the past.¡±

    They say there are so many possibilities, and I¡¯m at one point convinced.

    What matters is not the past, but the treasure that lies in the ancient castle.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened in the past, but I guess it doesn¡¯t matter to us treasure hunters.¡±

    As she said so, Ange carried the rifle.

    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is. After we get the treasure, we can send out a survey team.¡±

    Ange was thrilled to hear about the treasure, but Livia let out a small sigh and curled up the map.

    ¡°I would like to know what happened in the past on this floating ind. More importantly, what is the name of this floating ind? It would be nice to know the name of the old castle, too.¡±

    As I recall, in that Otome game, it was called.

    ¡°The old castle of Golden Hand, I think?¡±

    .

    Part 6

    Night.

    We decided to camp outside the forest and sat around a bonfire talking.

    Using a cut-down log as a chair, we drink drinks poured into metal cups.

    At night, if you look up at the sky, you will see a star full of sky.

    Unfortunately, you can hear the sounds of beasts and monsters from the nearby forest.

    The mood is ruined.

    I could hear the sound of wood popping from the bonfire.

    Noel, who was sitting next to me, put her lips to the cup and took a drink, which was hot and she was hurriedly blowing on it.

    Watching the situation, Jilk and the others took out their musical instruments.

    ¡°Since we are going to enter the old castle tomorrow, let¡¯s at least have a good time today.¡±

    Then he starts ying an instrument, which is a guitar-like instrument.

    As soon as the music started ying, Noel gave her honest opinion of how we were doing.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a tough day tomorrow, but everyone seems to be having fun.¡±

    ¡°They force their way to follow me, they really can¡¯t read the air, can they.¡±

    ¡°Haha, though Leon can¡¯t read either.¡±

    I was told that I am usually the one who doesn¡¯t read the air, and as I tried to argue with her, a red lens looking at me and a blue lens came into the edge of my vision.

    Luxion and Creare are watching what I say and do.

    I decide it¡¯s best that I don¡¯t make any careless arguments, so I talk to Noel.

    ¡°Well, these guys will be fine.¡±

    ¡°No one¡¯s ever been in this old castle, right? Arre? The fact that there is a castle means that someone has been there in the past, so are we stepping in?¡±

    ¡°ording to Luxion and Creare, no one has set foot in the area in hundreds of years. That¡¯s why both Ange and Livia are so excited.¡±

    I looked in the opposite direction from where Noel was, and there Ange was excitedly talking to Livia.

    ¡°Tomorrow I will definitely find the treasure. Livia will help me, right?¡±

    ¡°Eh? We¡¯re all supposed to be exploring together, right?¡±

    ¡°Livia ¨D¨D they are not ourpanions, they are our rivals. For once, Leon will be our enemy too.¡±

    The way Ange looked at me was somewhat provocative.

    Give me a break. Even though this time was supposed to be a treasure hunt so we could make up?

    ¡°I also want to go on a treasure hunt with you two.¡±

    She shows reluctance, but Ange is adamant.

    ¡°No. I will join Livia and Noel. We will find the treasure.¡±

    At these words, Noel, who was sitting on the other side, jolted.

    ¡°Eh? I¡¯m with Angelica-san and Livia-chan?!¡±

    Apparently, she hadn¡¯t heard it. Liviaughed bitterly.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more fun if we all explored together?¡±

    However, Ange insisted on going separately from me.

    ¡°Not this time¡±

    Ange, who turned her face away from me, was different from before.

    It seems that she wants to keep a distance from me.

    ¡°¨D¨DDid I upset Ange in some way?¡±

    As I¡¯m puzzled, Erika approaches and talks to me.

    Erika wore a coat because it was cold at night.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay? Let Angelica-san and the others do as they please.¡±

    ¡°Erika¨D¨Dsama?¡±

    I almost called her by her name, but then I hurriedly added ¡°sama¡± to it.

    Erika brings her face close to mine and gives me a whisper.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that she wanted uncle¡¯s acknowledgment, right?¡±

    ¡°Aa, that¡¯s what you mean. Then I¡¯d better let Ange and her team take the honor?¡±

    This treasure hunt was nned with the idea of making up with Ange.

    Then I concluded that it would be better to let Ange take the honor, and Erika gave me a dumbfounded look.

    ¡°Eh, is it no good?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very no good. She is not someone who is happy to cut corners.¡±

    So I was whispering with Erika, and before I knew it, Ange, Livia ¨D¨D and Noel, were giving us cold stares.

    Hih! A voice leaks from the back of my throat, but Erika doesn¡¯t seem surprised.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be wary, I¡¯m not trying to take Leon-dono.¡±

    I guess they cannot believe such words of Erika.

    Ange mentions Milene-san¡¯s name.

    ¡°Even if Erika-sama intends to do so, the queen is different. She is a person who does not hesitate to do what she thinks is best.¡±

    I decided to keep quiet because I was afraid I would offend Ange again if I mentioned that Milene-san would not do such a thing.

    However, I just don¡¯t feelfortable here somehow.

    Erika looked troubled.

    ¡°My mother has lived as royalty. I can¡¯t me her for that decision. But I have a fianc¨¦e.¡±

    I rolled my eyes when I heard that.

    ¡°Lie ?!¡±

    Then Marie, who was sitting a short distance away, stood up and dropped the cup in her hand.

    ¡°Erika¨D¨Dsama, are you engaged?¡±

    Julius, who was nearby, exins to Marie, whose voice is trembling, in a bewildered tone.

    ¡°Erika has engaged to a legitimate son of the Fraser family a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that!¡±

    ¡°No, because I didn¡¯t think it was something I could tell you, either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡±

    Julius and the rest of the guys were tilting their heads when they saw Marie surprised by Erika¡¯s engagement.

    Ange res at Marie.

    ¡°What are you surprised about? Erika-sama is a princess. At her age, it¡¯s not surprising that she has a fianc¨¦e.¡±

    When Ange speaks ofmon sense ¨D¨D the norm in this world, Marie turns her head down.

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible¡±

    As she sat down, Kara and Kyle were bringing Marie a new cup.

    My cheeks are drawn back too.

    ¡°Ah~, a political marriage or something?¡±

    I asked Erika and she gave a small nod.

    However, she didn¡¯t look sad.

    She has kind eyes that seem to say, ¡°What a helpless person~¡± when she looks at Marie.

    ¡°For various reasons, it was decided that I would marry into the Fraser family. I have noints.¡±

    ¡°No, you have, right? Don¡¯t you have someone you like? Look, I¡¯ll help you about it.¡±

    If my niece from a previous life is trying to get married for political reasons, I will stop it as her uncle.

    That was the statement I meant to make, but Ange grabbed my arm.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it. Besides, rumor has it that she and Eriya are getting along just fine.¡±

    ¡°Eriya? Is that your fiance?¡±

    ¡°[Eriya Rafa Fraser]. He is the legitimate son of a marquis. He is in charge of the border with Raschel.¡±

    I made aplicated face, and Erikaughed.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m convinced.¡±

    ¡°Convinced?¡±

    Erika puts her left hand on her chest.

    ¡°Because I am a princess.¡±

    ¡± ¨D¨D Is that reason enough to convince you?¡±

    I never understood why she could smile.

    Erika must have guessed it.

    But she has no intention of continuing the conversation.

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about itter. It¡¯s almost time to rest. We¡¯re going to be busy tomorrow, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    Erika¡¯s statement made me take the rest today.

    .

    Part 7

    Next morning.

    When I got out of the tent, it was Herring and the others outside.

    Mia-chan is watching Herring as he is swinging.

    ¡°Knight-sama, the Duke has woken up.¡±

    Herring was naked on top and wielding a sword.

    While wiping his sweat with the towel he received from Mia, he approaches me.

    ¡°You¡¯re up pretty early¡±

    ¡°And you are swinging all morning?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a daily routine¡±

    After our brief conversation, Mia-chan was apparently preparing the meal. I scratch my head.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to worry about it. You guys are the guests.¡±

    When I say that, Mia-chanes in front of me and takes both my hands in hers and brings them close to her face.

    ¡°No, let me help you! I want to have adventures with you all!¡±

    ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡±

    Puzzled, I look at Herring and Brave¡¯s faces and they are both shaking their heads.

    ¡°Because Mia loves this kind of thing.¡±

    [Because she is a tomboy]

    The protagonist-sama of the third work is puffing out her cheeks when she sees them.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it okay? Even Mia wants to have adventures and find treasures! Besides, I¡¯m not afraid if I¡¯m with Knight-sama.¡±

    Mia-chan, looking down and her cheeks turning red, then looked at Herring with an upward nce.

    Herring smiles at the sight.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let my princess get a single scratch.¡±

    And Brave sulks.

    [Mia, what about me? I¡¯m here too]

    Mia-chan hurriedly tells Brave as well.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m counting on you! Buu-kun.¡±

    ¡°I already told you to stop calling me Buu-kun, right?¡±

    They are a joyful bunch in the morning.

    .

    Part 8

    After getting ready, we made our way through the forest and arrived at the crumbling walls of an old castle.

    In the past, there must have been a magnificent wall to keep out outside enemies.

    But now most of it had copsed.

    It is covered with nts and is unlikely to fulfill its role.

    I look at the ground.

    ¡°The cobblestone pavement is a little exposed. Is this where the gate used to be?¡±

    Greg approaches with his spear.

    Perhaps because he was expecting to fight in an old castle, Greg today was carrying a shortened spear.

    ¡°It¡¯s bigger than I thought it would be. I was expecting a fort, since we were told it was on a small floating ind.¡±

    Luxion¡¯s red eyes light up.

    [¨D¨DMaster, I have identified another room in the basement of the old castle. There is a maze in the basement.]

    ¡°What about the enemy?¡±

    [There are many reactions of monsters. Some powerful individuals have been confirmed, but there are no ones that are impossible to defeat at this time.]

    It¡¯s exactly as I yed it in that otome game.

    I¡¯ve cleared this dungeon many times in games.

    The Old Castle of the Golden Hand is a dungeon where arge amount of treasurey.

    I had attacked it early on to avoid financial problems.

    If there is a problem, it is that the enemies are numerous and troublesome.

    Also, a little scary.

    As we stopped at the entrance, Ange tried to move on with Livia and Noel.

    Livia looked troubled and smiled as she walked past me.

    Noel shrugged her shoulders, but she was going to go along with Ange.

    ¡°Ange¡±

    When I call out to her, Ange stops and turns around.

    ¡°What? It¡¯s no use stopping me.¡±

    ¡°You can take Creare with you.¡±

    When her name is called, Creareins as she approaches Ange and the others.

    [Master is so rough to an AI. Best regards, all three of you.]

    Then Ange red at me.

    ¡°No need. We are enough.¡±

    When Ange says she doesn¡¯t need her, I grab my partner, Luxion, by the hand.

    ¡°I have Luxion. Now we¡¯re on equal terms, right?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYou¡±

    Since she really wanted topete with me, I decided to take the challenge.

    If that¡¯s what she wants, I¡¯m not going to take it easy on her.

    ¡°If you want an excuse for losing, I¡¯ll get Creare back?¡±

    When I stir her up with a goofyugh, Ange is miffed, and then, after a moment ¨D¨D she rxes her cheeks and smiles.

    ¡°You too, don¡¯t regret lending Creare to us. I¡¯m looking forward to what excuses you will make when you lose.¡±

    When Noel saw this, she ced her hands on her head and looked up to the sky.

    ¡°Both of you look to be having fun, I envy you~¡±

    Livia giggles.

    ¡°They¡¯re both very lively.¡±

    As Ange and her group led the way, Creare followed behind them.

    ¡°Everyone, wait for me!¡±

    I let out a small sigh as I saw the three of them and one machine off, and this time Marie and the others ran.

    ¡°Kyle, Kara! We¡¯re going to monopolize the treasure!¡±

    Kyle and Kara looked serious as they followed Marie.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Marie-sama, let¡¯s do our best!¡±

    As Marie and the others, the of them three enter the old castle, Brad makes a dumb voice.

    ¡°Eh? What about us?¡±

    The five idiots are surprised at the behavior of Marie and her friends, and from the way they are standing there, they must have been left behind.

    What a pitiful bunch of people.

    While the five of them were frozen in ce, Jake and the others began to take action.

    ¡°Aare, Oskar! We¡¯re going to start exploring the old castle. We¡¯ll find the treasure and show the kingdom¡¯s top brass that I¡¯m capable.¡±

    Aare-chan follows behind Jake.

    ¡°Yes, Your Highness Jake¡±

    Contrary to her cute, smiling appearance, all of her equipment is well used.

    She had the air of a full-fledged adventurer.

    Oskar waved at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m going, brother-inw!¡±

    When he smiles at me with a carefree smile, I feel ashamed that my sister has seduced such a young man.

    So I give Oskar a word.

    ¡°¨D¨DDon¡¯t get hurt.¡±

    I turn and look at Herring and the others.

    ¡°What about you guys?¡±

    Herring looked at Mia and Erika and shrugged.

    ¡°I have to protect the princesses, so I¡¯ll just follow along from behind.¡±

    Mia was not happy to hear it.

    ¡°Eh~, let¡¯s find the treasure together, Knight-sama ~¡±

    Miained, and Herring looked troubled. Although he was probably concerned about Mia¡¯s health, he seemed to want to go on a treasure hunt with the others.

    Erika soothes Mia-chan.

    ¡°The people who have gone before us have been trained as adventurers. We would be a hindrance.¡±

    ¡°Uw~, if Erika-sama says so¡±

    She seems convinced, so I ask Herring to do the rest.

    ¡°Then, take care of Erika-sama and the others. She¡¯s our precious princess, and I won¡¯t forgive you if she gets hurt.¡±

    Then, Herring wonders.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t bring her to this ce.¡±

    ¨D¨D Well, you¡¯re right.

 Volume 10, Chapter 05 â€œThe Old Castle of the Golden Handâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 05 ¡°The Old Castle of the Golden Hand¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Royal Pce of the Horfalt Kingdom.

    There, Rnd was panicked when he heard the news that Erika was headed to the dungeon with Leon and his group.

    ¡°Who said Erika was allowed to go out?!¡±

    Julius and Jake are also participating with them, but he doesn¡¯t mention anything about his two sons.

    There was a clear difference in treatment.

    It shows how much Rnd loves Erika.

    It was Milene, who let out a small sigh of exasperation, as she reported it.

    ¡°It¡¯s an idea offered by Erika herself. In order to get on better terms with the Duke Bartfalt, you know. That girl is working hard for her country, are you not ashamed to make a fuss for Erika?¡±

    Rnd shouts at Milene, who puts her hands on her hips.

    ¡°She¡¯s a sickly little girl!¡±

    For Milene, too, Erika was her daughter, and she was naturally concerned about her illness.

    However, the other party is Leon.

    ¡°I have already discussed this matter with Duke Baltfalt. He will take care of the investigation and treatment of Erika¡¯s illness.¡±

    Milene also allowed Erika to apany him on this trip, partly in the hope that her illness would get better.

    Rnd smiles for a moment, perhaps thinking of the possibility of aplete cure for Erika¡¯s illness.

    However, his expression quickly turned bitter when he remembered that the other party was Leon.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stand the thought of that kid and Erika together! Just thinking about it makes me want to spit!¡±

    In the end, as Rnd fussed about not admitting it, Milene gave him a cold look.

    .

    Part 2

    The Old Castle of Golden Hand.

    Inside the crumbling castle, various objects were in decay.

    The carpet, which must have beenid down in the past, is torn and hardly in its original state.

    The armor adorning the corridors was rusted and fallen down, and the paintings were dusty and decaying.

    The area around where the window once stood is littered with shards of ss, probably from window frames that have deteriorated ande off.

    Looking outside, the courtyard was wide and overgrown with trees.

    I let out a deep sigh as I walked down the hallway, lighting in through the windows.

    ¡°¨D¨DWhy are you guys following me?¡±

    I turned around and there they were, Julius and his friends.

    Julius squeezes his hands in frustration.

    ¡°Marie wouldn¡¯t rely on us. This is because we thought we had to find the treasure and offer it to Marie to get credit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯reing with me? Why don¡¯t you just go on your own?¡±

    ¡°You are a coward, but I highly value your abilities. Besides, with Luxion with you, you¡¯re on the same shortcut to the treasure, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Luxion takes a cold attitude toward Julius, who expresses his theory with confidence.

    [This time I will only provide minimal support.]

    ¡°What ?!¡±

    [Of course. This is a game between Master and Angelica. I have also told Creare to provide minimal support. The terms are 50-50.]

    Hearing this, Jilk, who was behind me, tantly shook his head.

    ¡°What the hell. It¡¯s just arrogance to not use the abilities you have. It¡¯s always better to give it your all here.¡±

    It seems he is trying to get a good ride out of me because he wants the treasure.

    ¡°No. I care about Ange more than you guys.¡±

    As I say this and start walking away, I hear Chris and Greg talking behind me.

    They both seem to be suspicious of what I say and do.

    ¡°Is it my imagination that there seem to be a lot of women around for someone who cares so much about her?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell him. Leon is a man, too.¡±

    ¡°In the first ce, when you¡¯re engaged to several women, even you care about her, it¡¯s¡±

    ¡°Absolutely¡±

    Frustrated by their conversation, I stopped, turned around, raised my rifle, and put my finger on the trigger.

    As the two of them try to distance themselves from me, I am shouting.

    ¡°Everybody get down!¡±

    As soon as I shouted, they all quickly bent down and looked backward.

    Emerging from the back of a dimly lit passageway was a skeleton dressed in rusted armor.

    The main reason I didn¡¯t take on this dungeon is that most of the monsters you encounter here are undead.

    Pulling the trigger, a bullet fired from the rifle pierces the monster¡¯s armor.

    The monster didn¡¯t seem to mind the bullets.

    After all, they are undead.

    As for physical attacks, they were quite resistant.

    A gun is not a good match for this monster, as it will revive unless it is shattered.

    But the skeleton monster is slowly crumbling from where I shot it.

    It began to rattle and shake, then the skeletons in its armor crumbled into sand.

    ¡°Sacred bullets work¡±

    Skeletons and armor vanish in a puff of smoke as it turns to sand.

    Luxion also saw the situation.

    [I have confirmed that the monsters have been defeated. After all, there are no monsters that pose a threat in this dungeon.]

    From just the current battle, it seems that he has concluded that there are no monsters that could be a threat to us.

    Brad was wiping the cold sweat off his face.

    ¡°I thought he was going to threaten Chris and Greg.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t point a gun at someone just for a joke¡±

    As expected, I wouldn¡¯t go that far, either.

    Julius begins to think about this dungeon, staring at the ce where the monsters disappeared.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard there are a lot of undead types, but could this castle be cursed?¡±

    I raise my eyebrows when I hear about being cursed.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? They say that undead monsters tend to appear in ces where grudges and resentments build up.¡±

    Hearing that scared me.

    ¡°¨D¨DDon¡¯t talk about unpleasant things¡±

    Jilk notices the way I quickly walk away.

    ¡°Oya? By any chance, Leon-kun, are you not good with scary stories? If so, I have a very special story to tell you. Actually¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Shut up and watch your surroundings, shady bastard!¡±

    I shouted, and I heard five idiotsughing behind me.

    Damn! I¡¯m just a little bad with scary things.

    .

    Part 3

    ¡°It¡¯s here~!!¡±

    Marie kicks in the rotting wooden door and sees an undead monster in the room.

    The guy had the appearance of a person, but their whole body was dposing.

    They are so-called zombies, and when they see Marie and her friends, they attack them.

    As the zombie groans ¡°ahhh¡± and reaches out with both hands, Marie puts her right hand out in front of her and releases her magic.

    ¡°Out of the way¡±

    The zombies, illuminated by the sacred light, crumble into sand.

    Kyle, watching the zombies get wiped out instantly, was amazed at Marie¡¯s strength.

    ¡°Marie-sama, you¡¯re getting stronger again.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯mpatible with this dungeon. No matter what kind of enemyes, I will protect you both, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Saying so, they search the room and Kara finds something.

    ¡°Marie-sama, it¡¯s a silver coin, a silver coin! It¡¯s a very old item, but it will sell for a lot of money.¡±

    Kara found an old small bag of silver coins.

    There are about ten pieces inside, but Marie shakes her head.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s not enough at all. You two, look for more. There are more treasures in this dungeon.¡±

    As Marie expressed doubt, both Kyle and Kara tilted their heads in wonder.

    Marie was trying to recall memories of her previous life while looking for other treasures in the room.

    (I did visit this dungeon a few times in a previous life. But it was so long ago that I barely remember it. Remember, me! I need to get out of my brother¡¯s financial support to show Erika how motherly I am)

    .

    Part 4

    ¡°Let¡¯s gooo!!¡±

    A two-handed axe. Oskar with a battle axe was shing at an armor-d skeleton.

    The skeleton is cut in two by a powerful blow produced by well-trained muscles.

    However¨D¨D.

    ¡°Oskar-san, please move away immediately!¡±

    ¨D¨D Aare hurriedly pulls Oskar backwards.

    When the skeleton was cut in two, the part that was cut in two was restored, and she shed at it again with the sword she was holding.

    Oskar is surprised by the situation.

    ¡°What a regenerative ability!!¡±

    Jake ps Oskar on the back of the head.

    ¡°How many times do I have to tell you not to physically attack undead monsters!¡±

    The regenerated skeleton, but Aare immediately pulls out a dagger and takes up a ready position.

    In her hand, she held a sacred silver dagger.

    The dagger, engraved with a pattern, was endowed with holy power.

    With such a dagger, Aare cuts the skeleton, and it crumbles into sand.

    Aare sheathes the dagger, turns around and looks at Oskar¨D¨D.

    ¡°You bastard! How many times do you have to make the same mistake, aah ?!¡±

    ¨D¨D In a fit of rage, Aare wrinkled her brow and shouted at Oskar in a harsh, husky voice.

    She reaches out and grabs him by the chest and lifts him up and brings his face close to hers.

    ¡°Is your head a decoration? Is it just a ce to put a hat?¡±

    ¡°N-No.¡±

    ¡°If not, then use your head, this muscle-brain! I told you to use magic or special bullets because your axe is not effective against the undead, didn¡¯t I? Don¡¯t you forget that the Duke went out of his way to give you guys a very expensive bullet for this!!¡±

    Aare pped Oskar repeatedly on the cheek.

    Oskar was frightened.

    And then there¡¯s Jake, who was watching.

    ¡°Aare¡±

    When Aare is called out, she hurriedly mends the situation when she remembers that Jake is there.

    ¡°Y-Your Highness¡±

    As Aare shrank back in embarrassment, Jake approached her and took her hand.

    ¡°Sorry about my foster brother. He¡¯s so stupid, he doesn¡¯t get it no matter how many times I tell him.¡±

    ¡°N-No. I¡¯m the one who showed you my embarrassing side.¡±

    ¡°I was surprised to see you have such a brave side. I¡¯m d to see a new side of you.¡±

    ¡°Your Highness¡±

    ¡°Stop calling me Your Highness. You¡¯re also making the same mistake all over again.¡±

    ¡°Mou, you¡¯re so mean¡±

    Oskar watched as the two held hands and were in a good mood.

    ¡°So this is what they call love is blind. Finley-san said it.¡±

    .

    Part 5

    At the same time, Ange and her party, led by Creare, had found an entrance to the basement.

    The wooden door had a lock on it, but it was rusted and battered.

    Ange holds up her rifle.

    ¡°Back off, both of you¡±

    When the lock was shot, the door was opened, and the entrance to the basement was opened.

    After ejecting the rifle casing with a familiar hand, Ange picks up thentern at her waist and raises it.

    Lanterns made of magic stone are smaller and brighter than ordinary ones.

    When the dark passageway is illuminated, Ange is unafraid to move on.

    Worried about Ange, Noel grabbed her arm and stopped her.

    ¡°Wait a minute. Aren¡¯t we going too fast? Let¡¯s go a little more carefully.¡±

    Ange turned around and let out a small sigh at Noel¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°If we take our time, Leon and the others will find the treasure first.¡±

    ¡°But, you know, there are monsters out there. We have to keep moving forward while being safe.¡±

    ¡°Creare is doing a good job of scouting the surroundings, so there¡¯s no problem.¡±

    When her name was called, Creare shone a light from her blue lenses, illuminating the dark passageway.

    Apparently, she had grasped the structure of the underground passageway.

    [I can¡¯t confirm the presence of any threatening monsters. But structurally, it doesn¡¯t look like the whole basement is connected.]

    The underground dungeon prepared under the old castle was divided into several sections.

    Ange ponders.

    ¡°If we pull the wrong one, it¡¯s a waste of time, but we can¡¯t afford to look anywhere else.¡±

    When Ange is distracted, Noel asks her the reason.

    ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡±

    Then Ange gave Noel a slightly squinty-eyed look.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand anything. Our opponent is Leon, you know.¡±

    Noel also knows that Leon is a man who does things when he has to.

    But there was still a difference in perception with Ange.

    Ange asks Noel to evaluate Leon as an adventurer.

    ¡°He is the man who, at the age of fifteen, single-handedly discovered a lost item at the end of a great adventure. His age is astonishing, but he is a hero who has done a great deal all by himself.¡±

    ¡°I heard that. He found Luxion, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand! You have no idea how great that guy is! I¡¯ll take this opportunity to walk you through it.¡±

    Moving on, Ange tells Noel about a hero named Leon as they walk.

    Noel watched this with a wry smile as she looked at Ange¡¯s back.

    (What, it¡¯s not like she hates him, huh? Disappointment ¨D¨D is also wrong?)

    Noel was relieved to see Ange happy to talk about Leon.

    She didn¡¯t expect the two of them to continue to fight and break up, but she still thought there was a change in their rtionship.

    But Ange had not changed.

    ¡°To begin with, that guy is said to have miraculously pulled off a great adventure, but that¡¯s a lie. When he was a first-year student, we had gone to the vige of the elves with Leon. That¡¯s when he found the hidden passageway in the ruins and got the treasure. ¡°

    ¡°He~¡±

    When she replies without concern, Ange tells the rest of the story.

    She was somewhat like being proud of herself.

    ¡°He found a sapling of the sacred tree in the Republic, didn¡¯t he? How can a coincidencest three times? That guy is a great adventurer and a great hero.¡±

    ¡°So you acknowledge Leon.¡±

    ¡°Of course. He is a man who will go down in the history of the kingdom! ¨D¨DThat¡¯s why I tried so hard to be worthy of him¡±

    Noticing Ange¡¯s slowly bing discouraged, Noel turned to Livia, who was hurriedly following behind them.

    Since a while ago, Livia has not spoken a word.

    ¡°Hey, Livia-chan, say something.¡±

    When she whispered to her, Livia was looking at an old castle ornament she had picked up somewhere.

    Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the patterns ¨D¨D.

    ¡°Noel-san, look at this! This, this pattern! This is the pattern that was used in the civilization that is said to have perished. I can¡¯t judge the shape of it because it¡¯s rotting away, but maybe it¡¯s a great find¡±

    Seeing Livia begin to talk about a piece of something of the ancient civilizations, Noel¡¯s cheeks were pulled back.

    ¡°Livia-chan, aren¡¯t you worried about Angelica-san¡¯s condition?¡±

    Are you forgetting the purpose of this event?

    When she asked Livia with such anxiety, she received a surprising answer.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    What¡¯s it¡¯s fine? Livia smiled and watched Ange¡¯s back as she walked ahead.

    ¡°Both Ange and Leon-san should have shed more.¡±

    ¡°shed more, you said¡±

    Would it really work? To Noel¡¯s worried look, Livia smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    But when Ange, walking ahead, inadvertently drops and destroys an ornament ced in the passageway¨D¨D.

    ¡°Ange! Didn¡¯t I tell you not to break the ornaments as much as possible, right?¡±

    ¨D¨D She started running and approached Ange.

    Ange is cornered by Livia against the wall.

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong! Because I was thinking something¡±

    Livia asks Ange, who is flustered, with a straight face.

    ¡°You promised not to destroy them, right? Right? You promised me that you would keep all of them because they are important relics, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DLivia, forgive me¡±

    Seeing that Livia was making Ange apologize, Noel put her hand on her head.

    ¡°I knew it, making Livia-chan angry is scary.¡±

    .

    Part 6

    ¡°What¡¯s ¡®there is no problem¡¯! There¡¯s nothing but problems!¡±

    We found the entrance to the basement of the old castle, and with great enthusiasm, we got in and had a terrible time.

    I hide in a corner of the aisle, swearing as I load bullets into my rifle.

    ¡°You make mistakes when it really matters! Aren¡¯t you ashamed as an Artificial Intelligence?!¡±

    Loudlyin to Luxion.

    The sound is inevitably loud because Julius and his friends are using guns around me and there is a constant sound of gunfire.

    [If this level of monsters is too much for Master and them to handle, I think I must revise my assessment of you all. I thought you could do better, but I guess I overestimated it.]

    Yare-yare, said Luxion, who looks as if he is shaking his head, and even Jilk is sarcastic.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you evaluated us, but I wish you had also correctly assessed the enemy¡¯s strength.¡±

    Jilk, holding the rifle, looks through the scope and pulls the trigger.

    Then, the head of the skeleton was shot through in the distance.

    Unlike the guys I saw upstairs, they were wearing a robe and carrying a wand made of bone, like a magician.

    Undead monsters that could use magic attacked us in groups.

    In front of the wizard is a line of skeletal vanguards wearing armor more heavily armored than those seen above.

    They have big shields and battle axes, and ordinary bullets would be bounced off their shields.

    Through the gap in their vanguard, Jilk was shooting only at the wizards.

    He has a bad personality, he¡¯s mean and dirty, but he¡¯s a good sniper.

    Greg shouts as the wizard skeletons in the rear raise their wands.

    ¡°Everybody down!¡±

    As we bend down for cover, one after another magic shots are fired and explosions ur nearby.

    The dark underground passageways were repeatedly dazzlingly illuminated by magical light and dust.

    At the same time that the magic attack ceases, I give instructions to Julius and the others.

    ¡°Julius, step forward and be a wall¡±

    ¡°You, I¡¯m still a prince.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, hold up your shields, and use your specialty shields to defend against attacks. Brad!¡±

    I then called Brad and he looked tantly displeased.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me to charge in, are you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to fight in close quarters.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just awful!¡±

    ¡°Just get ready to blow up their vanguard. Hit them with some high-powered magic.¡±

    After watching Brad nod, I now give instructions to Jilk.

    ¡°Jilk go straight to sniping. Don¡¯t shoot your allies from the back.¡±

    Jilk was stunned at my order.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t screw up like that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying this because you seem to be going for it on your own volition, though?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat do you really think I am?¡±

    Jilk¡¯s usual calm tone disappears, but he quickly loads bullets into his rifle and gets ready.

    Lastly, Chris and Greg.

    ¡°Chris and Greg will charge in after Brad sts them.¡±

    Chris re-grips his sword.

    ¡°Leave it to me. So, what do you do?¡±

    I shrug my shoulders in front of the five.

    ¡°A leader is supposed to give orders and then sit back and watch, right?¡±

    Greg heard this and made a step back.

    ¡°You¡¯re either a big shot or an idiot for saying that here.¡±

    Luxion, who had been listening to Greg, quickly joins the conversation.

    [You¡¯re wrong. He¡¯s a total idiot.]

    ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll use you as my shield.¡±

    [Isn¡¯t it a problem to say something discouraging right off the bat like that?]

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. These guys can do it.¡±

    These five can get through this without any problems.

    Not because I yed that otome game, but because I¡¯ve seen these guys grow up, up close even if I didn¡¯t want to see it.

    And yet, Julius wasughing when he saw me.

    Annoyed, I ask why.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°No, I just thought it was a surprisingly positive assessment. Leon, you¡¯re not being honest.¡±

    For some reason, Julius had a smug look on his face, which pissed me off, so I kicked him.

    ¡°Go quickly¡±

    ¡°I-Idiot! Don¡¯t push me!¡±

    By appearing in front of the enemy, the skeletons reacted and were about to unleash their magic on Julius.

    Julius held up the shield he was holding.

    ¡°Chi! Remember thister, Leon! ¨D¨DImperial All Guard !!¡±

    Lights filled Julius¡¯ shield, and a translucent shield sorge that it blocked the passageway appeared.

    All guard.

    Thanks to Julius, who deployed a shield to protect all the party members, the oing magic attack could not reach us.

    Immediately Brad jumps out and opens his arms, ready to release his magic.

    Multiple magic circles appeared on Brad¡¯s back and they began to spin.

    ¡°Full ¨D¨D Hellfire ¨D¨D Burst¡±

    Bring his outstretched hands together in front of his face, and then hold his own hands.

    Julius sensed that we were ready, and as soon as he rxed his stance, the shield that had been protecting us disappeared.

    At the same time, swirling mes from the magic circle floating around Brad head toward the enemy.

    It engulfed the skeletons, and when they seemed to burst into mes, they exploded at the end.

    Immediately after Brad released the magic, he kneeled on the spot, sweating profusely.

    ¡°Did I do it?¡±

    He probably thought he had wiped out the enemies with his magic.

    However, skeletonse from the back of the exploding, burning corridor.

    Jilk immediately shoots them out with his rifle, but they appear one after another.

    [It seems we¡¯ve been making too much noise. Enemies are gathering.]

    Apparently, we have seeded in gathering the enemy.

    ¡°Great. We can take them all out. Chris, Greg, let¡¯s get out in front.¡±

    They were surprised to see me put down my rifle and switch to a sword.

    Chris looked at me curiously.

    ¡°You said you stayed in the back?¡±

    ¡°I changed my mind. It looks like I can win, so I¡¯m in.¡±

    Greg held up his spear andughed as he turned his gaze to the enemy.

    ¡°You are really twisted.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. Let¡¯s take them down now.¡±

    As we ran out, Chris and Jilk were the first to make contact with the enemy.

    The two are usually foolish, but they are still outstanding when ites to meleebat.

    Chris quickly takes down two troublesome monsters.

    ¡°Shii!¡±

    Swinging his sword as if it were flowing, he ys monsters one after another, turning them into smoke.

    In contrast, Greg is a rough fighter.

    ¡°ORAaaa !!¡±

    Chris and Greg¡¯s weapons are coated with silver by Luxion, which is effective against undead monsters.

    But even without that, they are both highly capable.

    Greg¡¯s spear had pierced a skeleton holding arge shield.

    As it copses and turns to smoke, Greg is immediately attacked by the next monster.

    The wild and rampaging figure contrasted with Chris, but the two were in a position to move around and stay out of each other¡¯s way.

    I run through the gap with Luxion so as not to disturb them.

    What I saw was a skeleton holding a bow and arrow, aiming at Greg.

    ¡°This guy¡±

    The sword was swung up diagonally from the left and down to the right.

    The tip of the sword sparks as it hits the floor, and as I swing it up, the skeleton crumples down, severed into its upper and lower halves.

    I quickly shift my gaze to look for the next target, and Luxion informs me of it with a pointer through a red lens.

    [Master, they are aiming at the two of them from over there]

    ¡°Well done!¡±

    As the skeleton hides in the shadows and is about to release a bow and arrow, I drop my sword and pull a pistol from my holster and hold it ready.

    A special magic bullet coated with silver, each shot is a high-grade one.

    Normally, I would be cautious about where to use them, but since Luxion provided arge amount, I need not worry about it.

    ¡°It¡¯s specially made. Take it gratefully.¡±

    I pulled the trigger twice and both bullets had shot through the skeleton.

    I can use it like an abundant item, but the problem is that I am limited in the number of bullets I can carry.

    Bullets may be small, but they are still lumps of metal, and if the number of bullets increases, they are quite heavy.

    As we beat the skeletons that appeared one after another, Julius joined us.

    ¡°You guys, leave some for me!¡±

    ¡°Prince, please stay in the ba~ck¡±

    Apparently, Julius was pissed off too, because I said this to him after I kicked him before.

    He shed down the approaching skeleton with his sword with great force, with his face red and angry.

    ¡°You are the one who kicked me in front of the enemy!¡±

    ¡°Be d you¡¯re getting some active role. You can brag to Marie about it.¡±

    I giggle andugh, and Luxion, who has been watching us, mutters.

    [They get along]

 Volume 1 Short Story â€“ Marieâ€™s school life

    <h4>Volume 1 Short Story - Marie¡¯s school life</h4>

    Gamers Bonus SS

    I¡¯m Marie! A pretty girl who reincarnated into an otome game world!

    I¡¯m a pretty girl with beautiful hair and a cute slender figure.

    I lived a very pitiful past life so I¡¯m sure that reincarnating into this otome game was god¡¯s way of apologising.

    This time around I¡¯ll surely achieve happiness in this world which is kind to women.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s get started right away with ensnaring rich handsome men¡±

    I wasn¡¯t reincarnated as the protagonist but I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine to just take one or two away from her, right?

    First off, let¡¯s go catch the prince - his highness, Julius.

    In school. While searching for the ce where Prince Julius would be cheered up by the protagonist, I found a girl wandering around by herself.

    ¡°Umm, excuse me? I happen to be lost.¡±

    This girl who seemed to be lost and called out to me was perhaps the protagonist.

    I also thought this whilst I was ying the game, but this airhead protagonist really ticked me off.

    ¡°Why do I have an obligation to help you? Instead of that, I¡¯d rather you hurry up and leave this ce.¡±

    ¡°U-Umm, did I do something bad to you?¡±

    Her troubled expression was also annoying. It¡¯s no wonder that guys would trip all over themselves in front of such a woman.

    ¡°I¡¯m irritated just by having you in my field of view. I hate women like you.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Seeing the back of the protagonist who left as if to run away, made me feel really good.

    ¡°Now then, I wonder where the prince is? ¡­Found him!¡±

    Having found Prince Julius who was crestfallen by himself, I probablyughed in joy.

    ¡°Found the prince. Wait for me. I¡¯ll solve your problems for you right away.¡±

    If I recall, in the game the prince was very unfriendly on the first encounter.

    As I got closer to him, he rejected me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to anyone right now. Stay away.¡±

    Different to the gentle vibe that he was giving off at the entrance ceremony, unsociable handsome guys are also pretty hot. But the choice that I make here is¡ª

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that attitude a bit too rude!¡±

    ¡°Do you even know who I am? Comining to me, are you an idiot? I¡¯m in a bad mood right now. Name yourself, woman. I¡¯ll crush you just like you wished for.¡±

    In response to the prince with this kind of attitude¡ªI¡¯ll do this!

    A p with a magnificently satisfying sound.

    Pachin! I nned to only p him but perhaps the force I used was a little too strong and his highness Julius copsed from his knees.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst for trying to intimidate others with your status! You should name yourself instead!¡±

    I hurriedly tried to imitate the protagonist¡¯s lines but¡­ I know Julius¡¯ name already and this line felt somewhat off. Will I really be okay even after hitting him? Am I going to be executed? That thought suddenly came to my mind.

    His highness Julius¡¯ knees were trembling as he stood up¡­

    ¡°Y-¡­You¡¯re different from ordinary women. Will you let me hear your name?¡±

    Julius¡¯ response was somewhat less cool than it was in the game but I decided to tell him my name.

    ¡°It¡¯s Marie. I¡¯m Marie Fou Lafan.¡±

    His highness Julius held a palm against his cheek and then smiled at me.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think there would be a woman who dared to p me. You¡¯re the first since my mother. That said, Marie.¡±

    ¡°W-What?¡±

    Julius looked at me and apologetically said this¡ª

    ¡°If possible, can you lend me your shoulder to lean on? That was more than expected¡­ I can¡¯t really walk like this.¡±

    ¡­What¡¯s going on? This feels somewhat different to the kind of fated encounter of destiny in a game.

    I tried to lend my shoulder, but due to the difference in height, it feels more like I¡¯m carrying him.

    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. You¡¯re unexpectedly really strong.¡±

    ¡°How rude! Despite this, I¡¯m still a frail girl.¡±

    His highness Julius smiled with a swollen red face.

    ¡°My bad. I¡¯m Julius¡­ Julius Rafa Holfort. Despite how I look, I¡¯m still a prince.¡±

    ¡°A prince!?¡±

    I showed an expression of surprise but considering I saw him at the opening ceremony, I¡¯m supposed to know, right?

    ¡°Did you not attend the ceremony? Well don¡¯t worry about it. I have no intention of punishing you. Thanks to you, I feel a bit better now.¡±

    While carrying the boy who I struck down myself¡­ Wait a minute, isn¡¯t this somewhat different to the game? While thinking that¡­

    ¡°Hey, can I just call you Marie?¡±

    While being asked that by a handsome guy, I had no choice but to blush and give my approval.

    ¡°Y-Yes!¡±

    ¡°I-I see. You can just call me Julius.¡±

    His highness Julius looked happy. That¡¯s a bit cute. That said, wasn¡¯t this a bit too easy?

    (¡­Hmm? Maybe I can aim for a reverse harem?)

    After all, it¡¯s my second life. It¡¯d be a waste if I don¡¯t enjoy it more.

    I¡¯ll aim for a reverse harem.

 Volume 3 Short Story â€“ Marieâ€™s study Livia compilation

    <h4>Volume 3 Short Story - Marie¡¯s study Liviaption</h4>

    WonderGOO Bonus SS

    Marie wasughing loudly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t stopughing!¡±

    Sitting atop her bed in her room in the girls¡¯ dorms, she held out her arms and looked up at the ceiling.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit too easy to be the saint!¡±

    Originally, Olivia should have been the one to be saint.

    But in some kind of mistake, Marie was chosen as the saint.

    In that otome game, the protagonist who had a high level of healing magic was chosen as the saint.

    In that case, shouldn¡¯t she be able to be a saint too?

    With thoughts like that in mind, she gave it a try and seeded.

    ¡°The effort I put into practising magic immediately after reincarnating was worth it.¡±

    After reincarnating into a world of swords and magic, this time around Marie sought a happy life.

    Even as apliment, she couldn¡¯t really call her new family great.

    In these sorts of circumstances, Marie worked hard without relying on anyone else.

    Making use of her game knowledge, she raised her magic ability.

    There was also the motive of ¡°If I improve my healing magic, I won¡¯t need to worry about having nothing to eat¡±.

    She worked diligently every day so that her efforts wouldn¡¯t be wasted and finally was able to be the saint.

    ¡°It¡¯s fantastic that all my hard work is being rewarded! If I had this power in my previous life, I¡¯m sure¡ª¡±

    ¡ªShe might¡¯ve been able to save her brother.

    Marie calmed down and then sat back down on herrge bed.

    ¡°No good. I can¡¯t keep moping forever.¡±

    Marie was sure that from now on, her life was going to be blessed.

    ¡°With the status and honour thates with being the saint, Julius might also be able to return to the position of crown prince. Once that happens, I¡¯ll no longer be troubled by matters rted to money.¡±

    Money was very important.

    In her previous life, Marie had a lot of problems rted to men and money.

    ¡°If I have money, I¡¯ll be able to feed everyone.¡±

    Thinking about the future with her troublesome lovers, bing the saint gave her a sense of relief.

    But¡ª

    ¡°What about the protagonist Olivia? I thought she might approach Julius and co. but she showed no interest in them at all.¡±

    That was a huge relief for Marie who was wary about the possibility of her feeling her own destiny and approaching Julius and co.

    ¡°Well she suits that mob guy. He¡¯s a bit strong, has achievements to his name and has a lot of money but all things said, he¡¯s just a mob character.¡±

    Compared to the likes of Julius, that mob guy Leon isn¡¯t really anything great.

    That¡¯s what Marie thought but then she calmly thought it over again.

    ¡°Huh? Hold up.¡±

    Leon certainly lost in the looks department to Julius and co.

    But unlike Julius and co. he was someone who obtained all he had though actual aplishments.

    Before enrolling in school, he went out on an adventure and obtained his own wealth.

    Even in the looks department, he couldn¡¯t really be called ugly.

    Inparison, what about Julius and co.?

    She was happy they chose her over their fiancees, but they were disinherited. They caused a lot of trouble to their surroundings, and even in the future, she continued to hold worries about them.

    And most importantly¡ªthey had no mary sense.

    Originally, they were a crown prince and a bunch of heirs to prestigious noble families.

    Their mary sense waspletely on a different scale to Marie.

    Marie often couldn¡¯t understand their wasteful usage of money.

    Justparing their earning ability alone, Leon was the better option.

    And most importantly, Leon had fought the five of them and won.

    He wasn¡¯t handsome but that wasn¡¯t really an issue.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it amazing how he won so easily against those five?¡±

    Leon had arrived at his current position through achievements and had his own armor and airship. Compared to the other five was he really inferior? If anything, it felt like he was better.

    ¡°Wait a sec¡ªlike actually hold up! Other than his looks and personality, he has the full package!¡±

    While holding her head in her hands, Marie finally noticed.

    Julius and co. were handsome and kind but they were mooches.

    On the other hand, Leon¡¯s appearance was only so-so but he was a working man and had produced results.

    ¡°M-Maybe that chick!¡±

    Marie¡¯s entire body went stiff with chills.

    That otome game¡¯s protagonist Livia naturally attracted the best boys to herself. In the game, Julius was the crown prince and the others were all heirs of prestigious noble families.

    They had status, prestige and wealth.

    But what about now?

    All five of them were dependent on Marie.

    Marie realised her mistake.

    Whilst I was busy feeding everyone, she was aiming for the mob guy and living a peaceful life.¡±

    While holding her head, Marie imagined Livia¡¯s smiling figure. She felt as if she was being mocked.

    A terrible woman who aimed for the man with the highest specs - was that the true form of Livia?

    Did she instinctively choose the strongest and most reliable man?

    Was it possible that instead of stealing those five guys, they were pushed onto her by Livia?

    Marie became wary of the woman called Livia.

    She broke out into a cold sweat.

    ¡°B-But once I be the saint, our situations will be reversed again. I bet that evil woman Olivia never expected this to happen¡­ she wouldn¡¯t be able to predict this, right?¡±

    Marie suddenly grew scared of Livia.

 Volume 3 Short Story â€“ Marieâ€™s study Angie compilation

    <h4>Volume 3 Short Story - Marie¡¯s study Angieption</h4>

    Geo Bonus SS

    (Life in fuuuun!)

    The location was the school courtyard.

    Marie was sitting on a bench and beingplimented by everyone around her.

    ¡°I always knew Lady Marie would be chosen as the Saint.¡±

    ¡°M-Me too!¡±

    ¡°Oh my, from the very moment we enrolled at school, I knew she was different to other people.¡±

    Even though she knew they were empty lies, thepliments soothed Marie.

    ¡°Geez everyone, you¡¯re exaggerating too much.¡±

    It was very fun to have everyone trying to appeal to her to get on her good side.

    All the students who had disrespected her until now hade back to lick her boots.

    Having be the saint, Marie¡¯s reputation had undergone apletely 180 degree turnaround.

    From the viiness who ensnared Julius and his friends, she had now be the saint who was adored by everyone.

    She struggled to even hold back her desire tough.

    At that instant, a man and woman walking through the school courtyard caught her eye.

    They were Leon and Angie.

    Angie was happily walking alongside Leon without any entourage following her.

    (A duke¡¯s daughter without any entourage. It¡¯s exactly the same as the game. But somehow it looks like she¡¯s having fun.)

    In that otome game, Angie who was antagonistic towards the protagonist lost her entourage and ended up alone. She was a character who got the retribution she deserved and ended up miserable. Marie felt proud of winning against her.

    (You¡¯re a good fit for that mob character there. After all, the viiness Angelica is destined to be either executed or married to an ugly man in the countryside.)

    In the game, Angie only had two possible endings.

    The first was to be pushed away to the rural countryside.

    This was the ending where she would be forced to unwillingly marry an ugly man in the sticks.

    The other option was execution.

    Everything would depend on the protagonist¡¯s mood.

    Both endings were terrible, but Marie preferred the route of forcing her to marry a rural noble.

    She knew that Angie would definitely have a bad time so this choice was the more satisfying option for her.

    After all, as a punishment, it was harder on Anjie to struggle over a longer period of timepared to something simple like execution.

    (Thinking about it like that, this oue is exactly the same as it was in the game. This mob guy rules over a small piece of ruralnd and Julius and co. are overwhelmingly superior in the looks department.)

    If justparing appearances alone, Julius and co. were easily superior. But¡ª

    ¡°Take me to your family home again for this holiday.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind but there¡¯s nothing there.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s your floating ind, isn¡¯t there? I like the hot springs you have there.¡±

    ¡ªThe two were eagerly looking forward to the uing holidays.

    Back at the entrance ceremony, despite being surrounded by her entourage, Angie didn¡¯t look very happy.

    How about now?

    Her facial expression had softened and she had lost the thorniness she used to have.

    (¡ªShe looks like she¡¯s having fun. Somehow that pisses me off.)

    Marie personally wanted her to have a more miserable ending.

    (But I¡¯m also curious. Hmm? Speaking of which, I never got to see exactly what ended up happening to Angie in the game.)

    Depending on the choice of Angie¡¯s eventual ending, the only things that changed were character lines in the game to match up with the reality.

    Marie didn¡¯t even know things such as how she was supposedly executed or which man she ended up marrying.

    (Is it possible that Bartfort is the baron who she was supposedly married off to? But he¡¯s a viscount now so it was probably someone else.)

    Who exactly did Angie get married to in the game?

    Marie tried to guess but ended up giving up.

    Since it didn¡¯t matter how hard she thought about it, she gave up trying since she¡¯d never be able to know the correct answer.

    But most importantly, she was irritated by Angie¡¯s smile.

    (Why does she look like she¡¯s having fun? Even though she had her engagement broken and lost the support of her entourage.)

    Having been antagonistic to the protagonist, Angie only had bad endings in the game.

    But what about now?

    In the same way, she lost her entourage and Julius broke their engagement but she still looks happy. On the contrary, Leon, the man she ended up getting waspletely ipatible with her in a socially hierarchical society.

    (That kind of man is just the right fit for you. You should just be satisfied that he¡¯s reliable and is capable of earning you a little bit of money without relying on you to feed him¡ª)

    Having thought that far, Marie suddenly felt a sense of defeatism.

    Julius and co. were certainly handsome men.

    She could rely on them to help her and they had excellent grades which wouldn¡¯t lose to Leon. But right now, all of them were relying on Marie for a living.

    Even if they had high specs, they were relying on Marie to feed them.

    On the other hand, even though he was a rural noble, Leon hadnd.

    And ording to Angie, he even had hot springs.

    (A hot spring, huh? That sounds nice.)

    She remembered the family holiday trip in her previous life.

    Her brother was still alive back then and they had a lot of fun as a family of four.

    Looking at Angie¡¯s smile, it seemed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders and she had be a lot happier.

    Seeingt her like this, it was as if she was better off having broken off the engagement with Julius. Having thought that, Marie was frustrated by the situation.

    (Isn¡¯t that as if she heaped her burden onto me? Just the thought alone makes me feel sick.)

    On the contrary, Marie felt as if a burden named Julius had been dumped onto her.

 Volume 3 Short Story â€“ Marieâ€™s study Saint compilation

    <h4>Volume 3 Short Story - Marie¡¯s study Saintption</h4>

    Gamers Bonus SS

    ¡°I¡¯m a winner at life!¡±

    The location was Marie¡¯s room in the girls¡¯ dormitory.

    Having moved into arge room, Marie was running around happily.

    Since being recognised as the saint, her treatment had significantly improved.

    Until now she had merely been treated as the daughter of a poor viscount family.

    But after bing the saint, her lifestyle underwent a significant overhaul.

    The girls tried to get on Marie¡¯s good side and the boys were even more enthusiastic than before with their marriage proposals. The same was true of the staff of the girls¡¯ dorms.

    Exclusive attendants were prepared for Marie to use.

    The reception she was receiving was as if she was a princess.

    Marie dived into herrge bed whileughing as her legs fluttered through the air.

    ¡°I always wanted to live in a room like this at least once.¡±

    Marie rejoiced as one of her dreams hade true. While thinking she was d that she was able to be the saint, a question popped up in her mind.

    ¡°Being a saint seems to be something amazing but that game really didn¡¯t exin anything in detail.¡±

    In that otome game, the saint item which Livia got reacted to her and from then on, the protagonist became a very important person.

    Marie only yed until halfway through, but she had watched the video clips.

    However, she didn¡¯t know the specifics.

    She only watched the scenes she liked and ignored the parts which didn¡¯t interest her.

    That¡¯s why she wasn¡¯t very well informed on matters rting to the saint.

    She knew beforehand that a religious group called the temple gave special treatment to the saint.

    But surprisingly, even the country itself gave special treatment to the saint.

    The game only said the saint was important and didn¡¯t go into much further detail.

    However, that was only what Marie knew with the extent of her knowledge.

    ¡°If I remember correctly, the saint was part of the legendary party right?¡±

    The Holfort Kingdom was founded by six people.

    Holfort, Marmoria, Arclight, Seberg and Field were the five who formed an adventurer party.

    There was a woman who was the 6th member of that party, but her name wasn¡¯t passed down in the history books.

    But after the Holfort Kingdom was formed, that woman became the symbol of the temple and became known as the saint.

    Afterwards, ording to the game, her whereabouts became unknown.

    In fact, the protagonist Livia was a blood-rted descendant of this amazing woman.

    ¡°If I recall, I think the way the story went was that Olivia had the blood of the saint. But in that case, what exactly am I?¡±

    Was she chosen as the saint simply because she was good at healing magic?

    But in that case, Olivia¡¯s ancestry would¡¯ve beenpletely irrelevant.

    After thinking about it for a while, Marie decided to give up.

    ¡°Well whatever. There¡¯s no point in thinking too hard about it. The only thing that matters is the oue. As long as I¡¯ve been recognised as the saint, that will be the truth! Maybe I even descended from the saint¡¯s bloodline!¡±

    Marie remembered Livia.

    Unlike her, Livia had plentiful breasts.

    Marie ced a hand over her pitiful chest and was saddened by how small they felt.

    If she really was a descendant of the saint, her breasts should¡¯ve surely been bigger.

    Otherwise it would¡¯ve been too unfair.

    ¡°Damn it. If only I was wealthier and had more nutritious meals when growing up, I could¡¯ve at least grown about as much as I did in my previous life.¡±

    When Marie was a child, her meals were terrible.

    Even though she was a noble, she lead an impoverished life. She med these circumstances for herck of growth.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not my fault. My childhood meals are to me for this!¡±

    Marie remembered Livia¡¯s breasts and got jealous.

    ¡°E-Even if I don¡¯t have the saint¡¯s blood in me, I¡¯m the saint who was recognised by the temple. There¡¯s no problem at all.¡±

    Reorganising her feelings, Marie once again started thinking about the existence of the saint.

    ¡°More importantly, what does a saint actually do? Since the requirement is to have a high aptitude for healing magic, it probably has something to do with healing people, right?¡±

    In game, the saint only needed to stay in the back and provide support while being protected. But she couldn¡¯t really imagine what kind of work it would entail.

    Perhaps she¡¯d be asked to participate in festivals as a holy figure.

    Marie finally realised just how little she knew about being a saint.

    ¡°¡ªNothinges to mind. But at least in game, the saint had the kind of status to allow her to marry the crown prince Julius, right? At least I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a very important position.¡±

    Even if the saint wasn¡¯t born as a noble, her marriage with a crown prince would be acknowledged.

    That¡¯s just how special the existence known as a saint was.

    ¡°Hmm? Somehow it feels like it¡¯s an important position with more responsibility than I thought there¡¯d be. Will I really be fine?¡±

    Marie decided to take an optimistic perspective and only look towards her bright future.

 Volume 3 Short Story â€“ Marie and Leonâ€™s scoring result

    <h4>Volume 3 Short Story - Marie and Leon¡¯s scoring result</h4>

    Melonbooks Bonus SS

    ¡°That was a terrifying machine. Truly the devil¡¯s machine.¡±

    The more one thought about it, the more they became scared of it.

    Marie was in a basement, thinking back on the recent frenzy that she had been caught up in.

    Her visitor Leon was yawning whilst listening to her talk.

    ¡°Ah, it really was terrible. But don¡¯t worry. Weiss has already sunk.¡±

    ¡°Huh!?¡±

    Marie turned towards Leon with an expression that looked like she wanted to say ¡°What the hell is this guy saying?¡±

    She corrected Leon¡¯s misunderstanding.

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that airship. This is about the machine we had to use before boarding it.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°There was a machine that measured love as a numerical value! That thing was a disaster! That kind of thing should never exist.¡±

    Since Leon also had bitter feelings rted to that machine, he agreed with Marie¡¯s opinion but¡ª

    ¡°It really was a terrible machine. But Iughed at how low your score was towards those guys.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯tugh!¡±

    The results of Marie¡¯s feelings towards Julius and his friends were shambolic.

    ¡°How do I even greet those guys from now on? Just remembering it will make things awkward between us!¡±

    Watching Marie who was cradling her head, Leon broke out into another round ofughter.

    (This guy really pisses me off.)

    But Leon seemed to also be curious about those results.

    ¡°That was really funny. But were those scores really urate? From your point of view, what did you think of it?¡±

    Marie thought a little bit while cing a finger against her chin.

    ¡°Hmm~ I think they were mostly just about right. Juliuscks any sense of realism, Jilk has a bad personality and Brad is a narcissist.¡±

    Marie didn¡¯t seem to think there was anything wrong with the scores.

    ¡°Greg and Chris scored a little bit higher though.¡±

    ¡°Those two¡ªyou know, they can earn some money.¡±

    Those two were good fighters. Even just by entering dungeons and fighting monsters, they were able to earn a bit of cash.

    Compared to the other three they were evaluated to be slightly better but apparently that was the justification.

    ¡°Instead of how much you love them, you¡¯re just judging them based on how much money they can earn. Is that all you want from your lover? What low standards.¡±

    Being told that by Leon, Marie erupted in rage and retorted back to him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the margin to be ying around for fun! If I could survive off some teenage student romance, I wouldn¡¯t be having such a hard time either!¡±

    ¡°I mean, you¡¯re a teenage student right now and those guys are also teenage students.¡±

    When Leon pointed that out, Marie turned away from him.

    ¡°When I think about marriage in the future, it¡¯s just impossible. Those five are out of the question.¡±

    Leon smirked while saying ¡°women are scary~¡±.

    However, perhaps having recalled his own terrible experiences, he stood up as if he had suddenlye up with an idea.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go and destroy that machine. Do you want to tag along?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, is it really okay to destroy it? Or rather, am I really allowed to leave?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s only for a short while, then it should be okay. I¡¯ll contact Luxion.¡±

    Leaving the basement, Marie and Leon headed for another basement which had that machine.

    It was the shelter in the basement below the royal pce.

    Marie was striking a hammer up and down onto the devil¡¯s machine there.

    ¡°I¡¯ll destroy this so there will never be any unfortunate victims like me ever again!¡±

    Leon shrugged his shoulders while watching Marie.

    ¡°In your case it¡¯s not misfortune but merely the expected result. Hey, don¡¯t force yourself too much.¡±

    Marie kept trying to swing down on the machine but she lost her bnce and looked like she was about to fall. To support Marie, Leon went up onto the stage of the machine as well.

    Being supported by Leon, Marie blushed and looked away.

    ¡°I-If it¡¯s just to this degree then it¡¯s easy for me.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then in that case, destroy it by yourself.¡±

    ¡°Why!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was easy for you?¡±

    When Marie began to retort back to him, the stage started lighting up.

    ¡°Fwah!¡±

    The two of them started panicking but it was toote.

    The machine measured the love between the two of them.

    ¡ºFor the man, eighty-one points! For the woman, eighty-four points! Just a little more and you¡¯ll have mutual love! Good luck! ¡»

    The reactions of the two who received words of encouragement from the machine were¡ª

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°T-That can¡¯t be right.¡±

    Marie dropped the hammer she was holding.

    With that impact, the machine suddenly stopped working.

    Marie and Leon looked at each other and then immediately looked away.

    (Oiii! This means¡ª)

    Leon coughed to clear the awkward atmosphere.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. This means the machine was broken from the very beginning. That must be it.¡±

    Marie quickly agreed to that excuse. Or rather, she had no choice but to agree.

    ¡°T-That¡¯s right. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d have such a high score. You would also definitely have a lower score than that.¡±

    As the twoughed together in sync, their hollowughter started echoing around the basement.

    Then their voices slowly faded away.

    ¡°L-Let¡¯s go back.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yep.¡±

    Amidst an awkward atmosphere, the two of them left the basement.

    Marie started thinking to herself.

    (Hmm? Now that I think about it, wouldn¡¯t Leon be a pretty good catch? He has a cheat item battleship, has a lot of money and is also a reincarnated person so his moral values are close to mine¡ªFuck! It would¡¯ve been great if he wasn¡¯t my brother!)

    Marie gave Leon a higher evaluation than that group of five.

 Volume 3 Short Story â€“ Luxion & Cleareâ€™s Marie Study

    <h4>Volume 3 Short Story - Luxion & Cleare¡¯s Marie Study</h4>

    TSUTAYA Bonus SS

    There was a prison beneath the royal pce.

    Within that prison, two softball-sized spherical objects were spinning around Marie.

    Marie was crying with her face buried into her knees.

    ¡°Stop this already!¡±

    The two spherical objects were Luxion and Cleare.

    The two of them were here to interrogate Marie.

    ¡ºSo your goal after reincarnating was to build a reverse harem. Even Master didn¡¯t dare to aim for a harem. Marie is quite bold. ¡»

    Cleare retorted to Luxion¡¯s sarcasm.

    ¡ºOh my, I personally think it¡¯s quite wonderful. She trained her healing magic so much just for the sake of building a reverse harem. I think her effort and dedication should be praised. ¡»

    Luxion also acted as if convinced.

    ¡ºI see. That¡¯s certainly true. Even though she was married and had a daughter in her previous life, I think it¡¯s amazing that Marie was able to boldly aim for a reverse harem. ¡»

    ¡ºYep. It¡¯s amazing. Even though she had a daughter in her previous life and is already supposed to be of a certain age, I think it¡¯s wonderful that she was greedy enough to want a reverse harem. ¡»

    Marie was crying.

    ¡°Uwahn! Onii-chan, save meeee!¡±

    Luxion and Cleare performed a scan on Marie¡¯s body.

    Cleare then told Marie the unfortunate truth.

    ¡ºOh my, this is pretty terrible. ¡»

    Marie looked up. She felt as if she was a patient waiting for a doctor¡¯s diagnosis.

    ¡°W-What is it? Do I have a serious health condition or something?¡±

    Cleare simplyughed.

    ¡ºHmm? No, you¡¯re not sick. You¡¯re very healthy. But I found out the reason for your body¡¯s stunted growth. In addition to malnutrition during your childhood, you also overused magic. ¡»

    Perhaps having realised the cause, Marie broke out into a cold sweat.

    ¡°T-That¡¯s a joke right?¡±

    ¡ºIt¡¯s true. This problem came about because you kept forcing yourself to repeatedly practise magic despite being malnourished. ¡»

    Even though Marie was from a viscount family, they were poor and didn¡¯t have much food. In such circumstances, by repeatedly practising healing magic she¡ª

    ¡ºWhat a shame. Setting aside the malnourishment, if you reduced the frequency of your magic practice, you would¡¯ve been able to grow a bit more. ¡»

    Marie¡¯s body¡¯s inability to mature was apparently rted to her excessive use of magic.

    ¡°If¡­If I start eating a lot from now on¡ª¡±

    ¡ºHmm, I think it¡¯s probably already toote.¡»

    When Cleare replied, Marie started crying again.

    ¡°Noooo~¡±

    But on the contrary, Luxion was even more impressed.

    ¡ºYou were willing to go that far just for the sake of building a reverse harem? I¡¯m sincerely impressed by your dedication. ¡»

    ¡ºMe too. ¡»

    Facing the two artificial intelligences Marie started to throw a tantrum.

    ¡°Shut up! You dummies! Isn¡¯t it fine for an impoverished girl to dream?¡±

    Cleare refuted Marie with logical reasoning.

    ¡ºBut if you worked that hard and picked out only one partner then I think things would have gone a whole lot smoother. ¡»

    Luxion also agreed.

    ¡ºThat¡¯s probably true. If that¡¯s all you tried to do, Master would have also been tolerant. In fact, if you cooperated with us, Master would have probably cheered you on. ¡»

    Marie trembled after hearing things would have worked out for the better if she had picked out only one partner.

    ¡°W-Would things really have worked out differently if I only picked out a single partner?¡±

    ¡ºAs long as Olivia paired up with any of the five then there would have been no problem. If the two of you worked together, Master would have surely given you his blessings. ¡»

    Cleare also expressed her agreement.

    ¡ºI can see that happening. We¡¯re talking about Master here. Even if he badmouths Marie a lot, he has a tendency to spoil her. ¡»

    Marie gave it a little bit of thought.

    She could easily imagine Leon giving her backup and covering up for her mistakes.

    ¡°Onii-chan!!¡±

    Why did she even try for a reverse harem?

    If she simply settled for one partner, she could have easily married a rich handsome guy and obtained happiness. Marie was overwhelmed with regret.

    Because she tried to build a reverse harem, she was now stuck having to provide for five guys who had abandoned their wealth and status.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to provide for others. I only wanted to leech off some rich men.¡±

    Luxion and Cleare kindlyforted Marie.

    ¡ºYou have my deepest sympathies. ¡»

    ¡ºWhy did you even aim for all five of them at the same time? ¡»

    In response to Cleare¡¯s question, Marie answered whilst wiping away her tears.

    ¡°I thought if I had five of them, I could have fun with a different handsome man every day. Also, I¡¯d be able to live five times as luxuriously.¡±

    In response to Marie¡¯s honest answer, Luxion replied in a chilly tone.

    ¡ºYou have my sympathies. I was unable to sound out your true intentions. I was acting on the premise that out of the five, at least one of them would surely be able to pair up with the protagonist. ¡»

    Cleare also turned away from her.

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t it obvious that this would end badly? In fact, I¡¯m shocked that you actually seeded in capturing all five of them. ¡»

    On that point alone, Marie had a lot of confidence in herself.

    ¡°I knew their personalities and tastes in advance so that made it easy. Despite how I look, I used to be the number 1 girl at a hostess club. It¡¯s a piece of cake for me to seduce those gullible five.¡±

    Seeing Marie¡¯s pride and confidence, Luxion and Cleare looked at each other.

    ¡ºAs a result, you ended up bing the caretaker for the five of them, right? ¡»

    ¡ºI wonder who¡¯s the one who got tricked here? ¡»

    From a 3rd party perspective, it looked like Marie was the gullible one, having to take care of five deadbeats.

    Marie started sobbing again.

    ¡°Why does misfortune keep happening to me?¡±

    In response to Marie¡¯s question, Luxion and Cleare gave simple replies.

    ¡ºThis was self-inflicted. ¡»

    ¡ºIsn¡¯t it because you got overconfident and let down your guard? ¡»

    ¡°I hate you guys.¡±

    Marieined about the logical answers that Luxion and Cleare gave her.

 Volume 4 Short Story â€“ Angieâ€™s Day

    <h4>Volume 4 Short Story - Angie¡¯s Day</h4>

    Melonbooks Bonus SS

    This happened when Leon was studying abroad. The academy underwent a massive change.

    ¡°There¡¯s far few students than I remember.¡±

    The one muttering under her breath was the newly-minted second grader, Angie. Countless noble houses had been purged since the war with Fanoss. Some houses were allied with the enemy, whilst others opportunistically sat on the fence even though the kingdom was in a state of emergency. The current situation came as a result of demoting or stripping such households of their titles. On top of that, the academy banned all personal servants and hence there were no longer any traces of the once numerous demihuman servants that had once roamed these halls. It felt like the academy had suddenly be a whole lot emptier. All the female students who¡¯d once audaciously brought along demihuman ves, were now discontentedlyining to their friends.

    ¡°What do they mean, we aren¡¯t allowed to bring along servants anymore!?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it crazy? They even banned us from having servants at all!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the ones in the wrong for abolishing such a long-standing tradition!¡±

    As Angie walked past the bench in the courtyard, she overheard three female studentsining about the academy¡¯s new policies. However, as soon as they were discovered by Angie, they quickly got up and ran away. Seeing their behaviour only made Angie¡¯s head hurt.

    ¡°¡ªI guess it won¡¯t be easy for everyone to change their mindsets.¡±

    The preferential treatment for women was a problem which the kingdom had always turned a blind eye to. It was effective for keepingnd-owning nobles on a leash, which was why the rule hadn¡¯t been changed until now. However, during the recent war with Fanoss, it had turned into a rope used to strangle the kingdom itself. Even if one were to try to take measures against it, it wasn¡¯t easy to change such long-standing traditions.

    Once she passed through the courtyard and entered the academy building, this time around, Angie overheard the male students talking.

    ¡°I was told to host a tea party, but should I really even bother?¡±

    Until now, the boys were the ones calling out to the girls, but the situation had changed. Now, the boys were in the position of being the ones who could afford to sit back and wait for invitations. But just like with the girls, the boys were also confused by the sudden change in circumstances.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be a chicken. There¡¯s no longer any need to host some crap like a tea party. R-Right? T-There won¡¯t be any problems, right?¡±

    Even the boy who wasn¡¯t hosting a tea party, had a look of worry about him. The other boy clutched his head.

    ¡°Sh*t! What should we do!?¡±

    Angie felt a sense of incongruence whilst watching the boys who were confused after being suddenly thrust into a situation where they were courted by girls.

    (W-Well, they¡¯ll eventually get used to it with time. The real problem here is the girls.)

    Even now, there were many girls who were unable to ept reality. They were stuck in the mindset of ¡°Obviously the boys should be the ones doing the courting¡±. That was the current awkward state of affairs at the academy.

    ¡°I wish there was someone around who could set an example.¡±

    Angie turned her thoughts back towards Leon who was currently studying abroad.

    ¡°It would have been encouraging to have him around.¡±

    But the problemy in the fact he was the kingdom¡¯s hero. There was also the problem of Leon being unable to take a cold attitude towards girls. Although in her head, Angie was thinking, ¡°It would¡¯ve been really helpful if he could serve as a rolemodel for everyone else¡±.

    ¡°Oops. I can¡¯t fall back into a habit of relying on Leon for everything. If I want to be someone he can rely on, I need to prove my abilities by resolving this myself.¡±

    Angie is the daughter of a Duke household. She¡¯s one of the students¡¯ representatives and hence, she couldn¡¯t act like this had nothing to do with her. As she was pondering whether there was some kind of solution to all these problems, she noticed Cleare who appeared to be attentively watching something.

    ¡°Cleare, what are you doing in a ce like this?¡±

    When Angie called out to her, for some reason, Cleare¡¯s blue lens shifted away from her as if there were something she was trying to hide.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m just running a little experiment.¡±

    ¡°An experiment?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yep. It¡¯s an experiment to make people get along with each other, or like, an experiment to make more friends! You know how people say the nobles can¡¯t get along with themoner students? I just thought it¡¯d be nice if they could all get along with each other~¡±

    Cleare tried to make excuses, but unfortunately for her, she¡¯d perked Angie¡¯s interest.

    ¡°That¡¯s nice. It¡¯s one of those things that I¡¯ve been trying to fix for a long time. What ideas did youe up with?¡±

    ¡°Ohohohoho¡ªI¡¯m still in the middle of the experiment right now so there isn¡¯t anything I can tell you.¡±

    ¡°I see, that¡¯s a shame. Please let me know if youe up with any good ideas.¡±

    At that moment, someone called out to Angie who had just finished talking with Cleare.

    ¡°U-Umm¡­ Lady Angelica!¡±

    When she turned around, she found one of her former followers. This girl used to be in the higher ss, but now that her household had been demoted, she had be a general ss student. Internally, Angie was feeling rather exasperated.

    (This again?)

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    That female student pleaded to Angelica.

    ¡°Please save my household!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a student at this academy. I don¡¯t have the power to save your household.¡±

    This female student¡¯s household was stripped of its title because it didn¡¯t send reinforcements during the kingdom¡¯s crisis. Their territory was confiscated, and now they¡¯d been demoted to mere knights. Once again, during the time of her crisis, Angie was betrayed by all her followers.

    (Don¡¯tment myck of sympathy.)

    While it was sad to learn that she only had traitors by her side, Angie couldn¡¯t afford to waste time moping. However, the female student clung onto her.

    ¡°I-I beg you! If it¡¯s for Lady Angelica, Count Bartfort would be willing to lend a hand. That person will probably be able to save my¡ª¡±

    But the female student was unable to say any more. After all, Angie blocked her mouth and grabbed her chin.

    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of using Leon for this, then I suggest you give up now.¡±

    After saying that line and releasing her grip, the former follower girl ran away. Angie pondered to herself while watching her former follower retreat.

    (Only until recently, they¡¯d considered Leon a nuisance, yet now they want to take advantage of his name? It seems like Leon made the right choice to go study abroad.)

    As Angie remained wary of those who wanted to approach Leon, Cleare who had watched the entire sequence of events, came out to talk to her.

    ¡°Shall I dispose of her?¡±

    Cleare¡¯s proposal, which was uttered in a cutesy voice, only had the effect of making Angie¡¯s head hurt.

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡±

    (Geez, why do these lot always have to be so radical?)

    While remaining exasperated at Cleare who was easily able to propose something like disposal of humans, Angie thought ahead to Leon¡¯s eventual return.

    (Leon will be studying abroad for a year. I want to improve the situation at the academy as much as I can by the time hees back.)

    Angie continued to make various ns for Leon¡¯s sake.

 Volume 4 Short Story â€“ Marieâ€™s Day

    <h4>Volume 4 Short Story - Marie¡¯s Day</h4>

    Wondergoo Bonus SS

    I¡¯d imagined a luxurious lifestyle while studying abroad. Even in my past life, I¡¯d always fancied the idea of studying abroad and learning newnguages. However, reality tended to be very cruel.

    In a certain marketce in the Alzer Republic, Marie was haggling with a portly middle-ageddy.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy everything in one go, so please give me a discount!¡±

    ¡°No can do.¡±

    Almost every day in the Alzer Republic, Marie dragged Kyle and Ca along with her to buy groceries. It was already amon sight to see her haggling for discounts in the marketce. Everything was for the sake of feeding a bunch of gluttonous adolescents (herself included). Her hard-learned Alzerian also ended up being mostly used for haggling in the marketce.

    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll buy eight of them!¡±

    ¡°Geez, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Alright, I¡¯ll make it this price just for you.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, Missus!¡±

    ¡°Call me Miss!¡±

    The middle-ageddy looked at Marie exasperatedly while she stuffed the eight fruits into a bag.

    ¡°Goodness, youngdy, it isn¡¯t good to be so stubborn. Is everyone from the kingdom just like you?¡±

    Marie replied to the middle-ageddy while receiving the fruits.

    ¡°I¡¯m living on a shoestring budget. Please pity me and give me a slightly bigger discount next time, kay?¡±

    ¡°Someone who truly needs pitying wouldn¡¯t be so persistent.¡±

    Although there were still some rough edges that needed to be smoothed out, Marie was using Alzerian in her everyday life. After all, if she hadn¡¯t learnt how to speak thenguage, she wouldn¡¯t even be able to survive. Just as she was about to head to the next store, Kyle who was carrying a huge pile of groceries, called out to her.

    ¡°Master, what are we buying next?¡±

    Marie tilted her head upwards and pondered the list of items that she still wanted to buy.

    ¡°We¡¯re running low on bread. Ideally, I¡¯d also like some pasta but we still have some left.¡±

    As if a lightbulb had just turned on in her head, something suddenly came to Ca¡¯s mind, prompting her to speak to Marie.

    ¡°Speaking of which, Lady Marie, I don¡¯t think we have enough seasonings left! Greg-san used itvishly since he said there wasn¡¯t enough vour.¡±

    Marie felt like facepalming but was unable to since her hands were pre-upied with groceries.

    ¡°That idioooot!¡±

    Starting from Julius, all of them were firstborn sons of noble families. The five of them were raised well, but it appears they were used to being supervised and had led stuffy lifestyles. As a result, they now led carefree lifestyles in the mansion and did whatever they wanted. It was all well and good that they were having fun, but Marie wasn¡¯t having fun in the slightest.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ I¡¯d be happy if even just one of them decided to help out¡­¡±

    However, Kyle decided to dash her dreams.

    ¡°Can those guys even do any housework?¡±

    Ca¡¯s face creased into a frown.

    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ve always had everything taken care of by servants. I imagine housework would be impossible for them.¡±

    Marie also understood the point she was making. She couldn¡¯t imagine Julius or any of the other boys doing housework at all. It was the same in the game. They were ideal men, but at the same time, all of them were from wealthy families. Marie recalled that in the game, there weren¡¯t any opportunities for them to help with housework.

    ¡°¡ªWhere exactly did everything go wrong?¡±

    They¡¯de all this way to study abroad, but the only thing Marie had learnt was shameless haggling techniques. Although it wasn¡¯t like she had zero interactions with Alzerian students, she had to take care of five blokes which meant she always rushed back to the mansion right after school to begin preparing dinner. Even after dinner, she was busy with reviewing her ss material and preparing for the following lesson. There was no time to y. The studying abroad that she¡¯d dreamed of should have been a more dazzling and fulfilling lifestyle. Yet, despite that, every single day the only thing on her mind was what to make for dinner. She was always thinking about how to cut down on expenses while filling the stomachs of a group of hungry boys.

    (What am I even doing¡­?)

    She¡¯d gotten the privilege of reincarnating into an otome game but was unable to enjoy it since she was too busy. As Marie pondered where everything had gone wrong for her, they came across Leon who was being dragged along by Noelle.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Marie-chan!¡±

    ¡°Are you guys shopping as well?¡±

    Marie thought to herself as she looked at the two who seemed to be getting along with one another.

    (Sh*tty bro! Why are you nonchntly going shopping with the potential protagonist!? Did you forget about the crisis endangering the world? Or rather, shouldn¡¯t there be a bit more distance between the two of you? Why are you sticking so close together!? I¡¯ll tell your fianc¨¦es that you¡¯re cheating on them!)

    Marie started to grow irritated as she watched Leon acting frivolously. Noelle was blushing next to him.

    ¡°Ahh, was Marie-chan also aiming for the bargain sales? I was also thinking the same!¡±

    Marie felt a sense of kinship with themoner protagonist Noelle.

    ¡°Noelle, so you alsoe shopping here. Isn¡¯t this ce great? Everything¡¯s so cheap!¡±

    ¡°Right~?¡±

    As Marie started hitting it off with Noelle, Leon interjected with a statement showing he clearly was unable to read the mood.

    ¡°I just buy everything from the closest shops, so I dunno about thisplicated stuff.¡±

    Marie¡¯s expression turned nk.

    (Doesn¡¯t Big Bro live in a really upss neighbourhood? If he buys from there¡­ This is why I hate rich people!)

    Marie¡¯s internal evaluation of Leon plummeted. That very same Leon was now talking to Kyle.

    ¡°You guys sure bought a lot.¡±

    ¡°It looks like a lot but all of it will be gone in a few days¡¯ time.¡±

    Seeing Leon nonchntly speak his thoughts such as ¡°Sucks to be you¡±, Marie frustratedly retorted back at him.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been having it hard every single day. Unlike you who lives by yourself. Come on you two, let¡¯s get going. We need to buy those seasonings.¡±

    Just as Marie was about to leave, Leon proposed a certain idea to her.

    ¡°W-Wait. There¡¯s a lot of things I¡¯d like to buy but since I¡¯m living by myself, I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish everything. If you guys apany me when I¡¯m shopping, I don¡¯t mind sharing some of it with you.¡±

    In Marie¡¯s eyes, that proposal made Leon look like a divine being.

    (Big bro, you¡¯re wonderful!)

    ¡°Geez! If that¡¯s the case, then you should¡¯ve said so sooner. Leave everything about this market to me. I¡¯ve already thoroughly researched where everything is sold.¡±

    In response to Marie who was oozing confidence, Leon could only apprehensively say ¡°S-Sure¡±.

 Volume 4 Short Story â€“ The Twinsâ€™ Academy Life

    <h4>Volume 4 Short Story - The Twins¡¯ Academy Life</h4>

    Toranoana Bonus SS

    Spring break. Noelle was stretching while basking in the rays of sunlight shining through the window in her room.

    ¡°It¡¯s another lovely morning.¡±

    After stretching in her pajamas, Noelle turned to the door of her room to go wake up Lelia, who was living with her. Although the two sisters were twins, they respected each other¡¯s privacy which was why Noelle knocked on the door.

    ¡°Lelia, it¡¯s morning already.¡±

    After knocking several times, the door opened and a sleepy-eyed Lelia poked her head out through the gap.

    ¡°Why are you causing a ruckus first thing in the morning? It¡¯s still spring break, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°I woke you up because the weather looked great!¡±

    When Noelle enthusiastically replied to her, Lelia red back with irritation clear on her face. With her drowsiness having gradually cleared up, Lelia came out of her room in a state of bed hair and started to scold Noelle.

    ¡°So what if the weather looks nice? What does that have to do with anything? I¡¯m tired so let me sleep! If you don¡¯t fix that selfish habit of yours, you¡¯re going to give your sister a hard time.¡±

    After facing Lelia, Noelle also started to feel bad and straightforwardly apologised.

    ¡°Right. Sorry about that, Lelia.¡±

    ¡°If you get it, then let me go back to sleep. I stayed up quitetest night.¡±

    But just as Lelia was about to return to her room, Noelle grabbed her shoulders and held Lelia with all her might.

    ¡°Ouch! Hey, what are you doing!¡±

    When Lelia got angry at her, Noelle smiled and pointed her finger towards the kitchen.

    ¡°By the way, Lelia, can you tell me why you didn¡¯t wash the dishes?¡±

    Since the two sisters lived in the same apartment, they evenly shared the housework between the two of them. And yesterday, Lelia was on kitchen clean-up duty.

    ¡°¡­Ah.¡±

    Lelia let out a gasp, realising that she¡¯d messed up, and this time it was Noelle¡¯s turn to go on the attack.

    ¡°Yesterday was Lelia¡¯s turn, right? I wonder which one of us keeps forgetting to do her duties recently.¡±

    Lelia stole a nce at the kitchen before her eyes started to wander as she searched for an excuse.

    ¡°I-I was busy yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Busy going on a date with Emile?¡±

    Lelia had a gentle boyfriend called Emile.

    ¡°You see, it¡¯s boring to always visit museums, right? When I said that to him, he brought me to a library. He¡¯s a kind guy, but only someone with screws loose in their head would think of studying on a date. Although the dinner that we ate in a restaurant afterwards was quite luxurious.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What is this? Are you showing off? Was there really a need to tell me you ate a luxurious meal?¡±

    As Lelia started toin about Emile, Noelle pointed out that she was asking for too much.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good enough that he¡¯s kind and takes things seriously? I also want a boyfriend like that.¡±

    Lelia¡¯s exasperation showed up on her face.

    ¡°Don¡¯ty your hands on someone else¡¯s boyfriend, kay? More importantly, don¡¯t you have Loic?¡±

    Hearing Loic¡¯s name instantly caused Noelle¡¯s cheerful morning mood to undergo a one-eighty turnaround.

    ¡°Stop mentioning that guy. Anyone but him.¡±

    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t you say you liked him before?¡±

    ¡°Huh? I never said I liked him. I meant it in the sense that he was a nice friend.¡±

    ¡°The two of you suit each other very well. Why don¡¯t you just go out with each other?¡±

    For some reason, Lelia kept insisting on pairing Noelle with Loic. But from Noelle¡¯s perspective, that was out of the question.

    ¡°No way. Absolutely not. Please don¡¯t bring up this topic again. More importantly, hurry up and go wash the dishes. Lelia, you¡¯ve been skimping on your chores way too muchtely.¡±

    ¡°Big Sis, even you¡¯ve skipped doing them before.¡±

    ¡°You clearly skip them a lot more often than I do. Am I wrong?¡±

    Lelia stretched her back and headed for the kitchen.

    ¡°Yes, whatever. I just need to clean it, right? In the first ce, I didn¡¯t even use them so why do I have a responsibility to clean up after you?¡±

    ¡°You were the one who suggested that we take turns.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it easier if the person who notices tidies everything up?¡±

    ¡°You say that, but if that happens, I¡¯m going to be the one who ends up doing all the work. Enough, just hurry up and get to work already.¡±

    It was still early morning, but the twin sisters were already causing a ruckus. At that moment, they heard somebody knocking on their front door.

    ¡°I wonder who it is?¡±

    Noelle headed to the front door as Lelia washed the dishes while voicingints. The one who showed himself at her door was an infamous staff member of the academy, Clement. He was a burly, muscr man who frequently used feminine gestures as he talked and acted like a woman.

    ¡°Good morning, both of you.¡±

    Noelle continued to smile without changing her expression even though Clement winked at her with his chiselled face.

    ¡°Wee, sensei. What brings you here?¡±

    ¡°I came here today because there¡¯s a small favour I¡¯d like to ask the two of you to help me with. There¡¯s going to be exchange studentsing here to study from the Holfort Kingdom, so even though it¡¯s sudden¡ªWait, what¡¯s with this ce!?¡±

    When Clement entered the apartment, his eyes opened wide in shock. While Lelia washed the dishes, she looked at Clement and muttered, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s sensei¡±.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    When Lelia nonchntly said those words, Clement snapped out of his daze and startedining about the room.

    ¡°Is something wrong!? Even though there¡¯s two beautiful youngdies living here, why is this ce such a mess!?¡±

    There were things littered all over the room. It wasn¡¯t in a terrible state, but if someone said that the people who lived here were youngdies, it¡¯d make them want to hang their heads in shame. Noelle shamefully scratched her head.

    ¡°I mean~ Since it¡¯s a shared living space and all, we kept pushing the role of cleaning onto each other and neither of us ended up doing it which is why things ended up like this.¡±

    In response to that slothful attitude, Clement angrily yelled at her.

    ¡°What are you going to do if you don¡¯t clean the apartment regrly!¡±

    Noelle and Lelia replied to him in sync.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°I keep my own room clean.¡±

    Clement facepalmed as if to say that these two were already too far gone. He rolled up his shirt sleeves, exposing his thick sturdy arms.

    ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re cleaning this ce. It isn¡¯t fit for two youngdies to reside in.¡±

    When the two of them replied ¡°Ehhhh¡­¡± to him in sync, Clement yelled at them again.

    ¡°Stopining! Get changed and start cleaning!¡±

    That morning, the apartment where the two twins lived was very noisy.

 Volume 10, Chapter 06 â€œErika and Miaâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 06 ¡°Erika and Mia¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    At a time when Leon and his team are engaged in fierce battles.

    Finn and his partner Brave were walking with Mia and Erika near the ground floor of the old castle.

    Thanks to Leon and his team¡¯s efforts to defeat the monsters, it was quiet inside the old castle.

    The four of them went out into the sunlit courtyard, where they observed an unfamiliar nt.

    ¡°Knight-sama, what is the name of this?¡±

    Finn was dazzled by the sight of Mia bent over looking at the nts.

    Not only the sunshine that pours down, but also the presence of Mia is dazzling to Finn.

    (If only she could have spent her days ying in the sun like this)

    Finn, who sees Mia as his sister in a previous life, looks at the nt and tells her in a gentle tone that he doesn¡¯t know it either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know this nt. This area was isted, so maybe there are some new species of nts?¡±

    ¡°New species?! Isn¡¯t it a great discovery?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the result of Mia¡¯s adventure.¡±

    ¡°Ehehe¡±

    Brave was a little dumbfounded when Finn patted Mia¡¯s head, who seemed happy.

    [My buddy dotes on Mia. You can give me more love, too.]

    ¡°Hmm? Next time for Kurosuke¡±

    Brave was in tears as Finn gave a curt reply.

    [That¡¯s how my buddy always chooses Mia over me. I¡¯m just a magical creature who is conveniently used only when ites to fighting!]

    Mia smiled bitterly at Brave, who began to cry.

    ¡°Buu-kun, you liked the stage y we saw before.¡±

    Apparently, he was impressed by a stage y that took ce in the kingdom.

    Brave sticks out two small hands and makes a gesture with his chest.

    [It¡¯s a line of love-hate drama]

    Finn had no idea that his partner liked to watch stage ys.

    ¡°You remember a lot of weird stuff.¡±

    [It¡¯s a story about one man who gets his hands on two women and gets stabbed. It was interesting to watch the cornered man act.]

    Upon hearing that, Finn murmured what he thought.

    ¡°He¡¯s like Bartfalt.¡±

    Mia may have felt that as well, so she cautions Finn because Leon is a nobleman from another country.

    ¡°Knight-sama, that¡¯s an overstatement.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all right. He understands.¡±

    Mia looks at Finn curiously, then she starts to smile gradually.

    ¡°Knight-sama, you seem to be having some fun. I feel like you are friends with the Duke.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Finn was surprised to be told something unexpected, but when he thought about it, he thought it was natural.

    (Because we are the same, we have the previous life and experience the hardships?)

    Do people see them as friends? While Finn was thinking about this, he saw Erica in pain in his field of vision.

    ¡°! Erika-sama!¡±

    When he rushed over to her, Erika was sweating as she held her chest with both hands.

    In such a state, she smiled and tried not to make Finn and the others uneasy.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just get tired easily fromck of exercise.¡±

    ¡°I see. But I guess we better go back.¡±

    He is concerned about Erika¡¯s body and suggests that they go back.

    Then Erika turned her gaze toward Mia.

    ¡°Is Mia-chan okay?¡±

    When she asks, Mia replies hurriedly.

    ¡°Y-Yes! I¡¯m feeling good today, I¡¯m not in pain, I¡¯m fine!¡±

    Brave looks around.

    [There are a lot of magical elements in this area. The concentration of magical elements is increasing because of the monsters they are killing. Isn¡¯t this the best environment for Mia?]

    Finn¡¯s eyes changed color when he heard that.

    ¡°Is that true? So if we get this floating ind, Mia won¡¯t have to suffer.¡±

    ¡°K-Knight-sama? It¡¯s impossible to buy a floating ind.¡±

    ¡°No, if it¡¯s for you I will earn as much money as I can!¡±

    Finn seriously considers getting this floating ind, but Brave looks down and says that is not rmended.

    [It is useless. It¡¯s thanks to the presence of the monsters. If we defeat them and they stop appearing, this ce will be just like any other floating ind.]

    You cannot live your daily life in an old castle where monsters exist.

    However, even if you exterminate them and create an environment, the concentration of magical elements will decrease and it will be meaningless.

    Finn¡¯s shoulders dropped.

    ¡°¨D¨DI see¡±

    Holding Finn¡¯s hands when he was down, Mia smiled at the proud knight who was pushing himself too hard for her own good.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If I have Knight-sama, it is good enough for Mia. Also, Buu-kun.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m treated like a bonus?!¡±

    While the three were smiling, Erika was also smiling and holding her chest.

    Then, she looks down and has a serious expression.

    .

    Part 2

    Dang! The sound of gunfire echoed through the room.

    When a bullet fired from the muzzle hits the four-armed skeleton¡¯s head, it explodes and mes appear.

    A rampaging four-armed skeleton tries to escape the mes, but it clings to the body and does not let go.

    As it was, the body copsed and turned to smoke, and the mes disappeared.

    Ange ejects a rifle shell casing, which makes a metallic noise as it hits the floor.

    A magic circle engraved on a rolling cartridge case.

    It is a special bullet called a magic bullet, but its power had increased, perhaps because it waspatible with Ange.

    ¡°Is this the innermost room?¡±

    In the room that the four-armed skeleton was guarding, there is a box that looks like a treasure chest.

    The wood is rotting and the contents are exposed.

    When Noel approached and picked up a piece, it was a gold coin.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s a gold coin!! We hit the jackpot, didn¡¯t we?¡±

    Noel was pleased, but the reaction of the other two was subtle.

    Livia lit the walls withntern light and looked intently at the murals and paintings with a serious expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s not well preserved. But this alone is a big discovery. If the research team is dispatched, we may know more details.¡±

    Ange let out a small sigh when she saw the size of the treasure chest and the amount of treasure.

    She may not be trying to show her disappointment, but to Noel, she seemed disappointed.

    ¡°We got the treasure. But is this really all there is? I thought there would be a lot more, since it¡¯s called a golden hand.¡±

    If the treasures they obtained were cashed in, the average person would have enough money to live on for the rest of their life.

    Still, it certainly loses credibility in name from the dungeon that was called the Old Castle of the Golden Hand.

    As Noel yed with the gold coins with her fingertips, Creare approached.

    [We¡¯ve explored every passage and room. We¡¯ve got the treasure, so I think it¡¯s safe to say our adventure was a sess, right?]

    ¡°I think so, but Angelica-san doesn¡¯t seem to like it.¡±

    For Ange, she would have liked to have achieved something greater.

    But when she removed the lid of the treasure chest and looked at its contents, she smiled.

    ¡°¨D¨DIt¡¯s not bad for thest memory.¡±

    Noel hears a murmur of st,¡± and approaches Ange to confirm it.

    ¡°What does it mean? What is thest?¡±

    When confronted, Ange forced herself to smile and Noel has a troubled look.

    ¡°I¡¯m still a busy person. I won¡¯t get a chance to tackle the dungeon many times.¡±

    It sounds reasonable, but Noel, who remembers Ange¡¯s excitement at the prospect of challenging the dungeon, had her doubts.

    This is thest time and will give up are not like Ange.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lie¡±

    When Noel says so, Ange turns her head away.

    ¡°You have a sharper intuition than I expected.¡±

    ¡°Answer me properly! Also, Livia-chan, say something¨D¨D¡±

    She asked Livia for help, but it was Creare who spoke up first.

    [Ah?! Master and his team have discovered a second underground entrance.]

    Hearing that, Ange¡¯s face changed and a powerful light returned to the depths of her eyes.

    The fragile appearance she had earlier had vanished, and the treasure would not be found before she could get to it.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be heading there too!¡±

 Volume 10, Chapter 07 â€œAdventurerâ€™s Bloodâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 07 ¡°Adventurer¡¯s Blood¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    I found the entrance to the second basement.

    ¡°The first one was a miss, but hopefully this one will be a hit.¡±

    The first underground dungeon I and five idiots entered, there were no treasures there that could be called treasures.

    I visited this dungeon many times in that Otome game, but my memory has faded about it.

    Where was something? The traps? The mechanisms?

    Due to some misremembering and other factors, things were not as smooth as I had hoped.

    Jilk nts a bomb on the door andes to us, pulling the wire.

    ¡°Please hide everyone¡±

    Hiding in the shadows, Jilk put magic into the hand that was holding the wire.

    As soon as the wire glows faintly, an explosion can be hearding from the door.

    There was a slight tremor and a cloud of dust rising from the stairs leading to the basement.

    Greg heads over to check it out, but shakes his head when he returns.

    ¡°Useless. They have the only sturdy door here.¡±

    Contrary to Greg, who looked disappointed, Brad was smiling as he put his hand to his chin.

    ¡°That is proof that such an important treasure is lying in the ground. Want to bring more explosives?¡±

    Our eyes were on Jilk, who had the most knowledge about the bombing.

    However, he has a troubled face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve used up what I had. We need to go back to the ship and replenish the explosives, among other things.¡±

    Brad shrugs his shoulders.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much ammunition left. I think we should go back and try again tomorrow¡±

    Looking outside, I saw that the sun¡¯s rays had turned red.

    Julius is also concerned about time.

    ¡°At night, the monsters in the old castlee alive. Undead monsters are more powerful at night.¡±

    If it were a game, there was no need to worry about time.

    Many of them would have been immobilized during the day while taking on the dungeon.

    There were times when events took ce at night, but this should have been the exception.

    Luxion shes his red lens once and advises me to withdraw.

    [Master, I propose to withdraw]

    ¡°Hmm, that said, it looks like this is thest time we¡¯ll be here.¡±

    Even if I went all the way back and took on the challenge tomorrow, the exploration would likely be over in a few hours.

    Then I¡¯m tempted to just finish it quickly.

    However, I don¡¯t bother to cross a dangerous bridge.

    ¡°¨D¨DWe¡¯re retreating. We¡¯ll meet up with everyone and head back to the encampment.¡±

    As I made my decision, Chris let out a small sigh.

    ¡°That¡¯s good. We still have plenty of time on our schedule.¡±

    As we prepare to withdraw, we are alerted to the sound of footsteps approaching from afar and pick up our weapons.

    I try to raise my rifle too, but Luxion stops me.

    ¡°It¡¯s Marie and her party¡±

    Shortly after, it was Marie with Kyle and Kara who appeared around the corner.

    Her long hair was somehow tangled with leaves and disheveled.

    ¡°Wait a minuteeee !!¡±

    Seeing that we were preparing to withdraw, Marie approached us with a big step and pointed past us to the entrance to the basement.

    ¡°Let¡¯s move forward!¡±

    When Marie insists on continuing the exploration, Julius exins that it is best to withdraw.

    ¡°I understand your impatience, but it¡¯s nighttime. If we try tomorrow morning, we can safely explore. Marie, let¡¯s give up now.¡±

    But Marie does not ept the withdraw.

    ¡°No. I¡¯ll get it done today and get out of here and back to the Kingdom.¡±

    The five idiots are bewildered by Marie¡¯s reckless words.

    I¡¯m so tired of Marie¡¯s selfishness that I try to force her toe back with us.

    ¡°I¡¯m the rule here. Exploration can wait until tomorrow, but for now we¡¯re withdrawing. You guys get ready to go back.¡±

    I¡¯m the one who makes the ns, brings out the airships, and is in charge.

    If something goes wrong, it¡¯s my responsibility.

    I had no intention of going along with Marie¡¯s selfishness.

    When I try to force a withdraw, Kyle stops me.

    ¡°Duke, may I have a word?¡±

    ¡°What? I¡¯m not going to change my opinion.¡±

    ¡°No, today¡¯s goshujin-sama has been like this since morning.¡±

    In order to obtain the treasure and be independent, she has been pushing herself since morning, apparently.

    Looking at Marie¡¯s face, she still looks impatient.

    ¡°A little more. Once we conquer this ce, I won¡¯t have to look so pathetic anymore.¡±

    I know why Marie is impatient.

    I know, but I am wondering if it is right to change the policy and continue to give priority to exploration.

    Luxion, noticing my concern, decides whether the strategy is feasible in the current situation.

    [The risk increases, but the conquering itself is possible.]

    ¡°Everything all right?¡±

    [I do not rmend it. As for undead monsters, we don¡¯t have enough data because Master avoided fighting them. If I had more data, I could have made a more urate judgment.]

    Sounds like he¡¯s trying to say, ¡°We have a problem because you avoidbat because you¡¯re afraid of it.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t avoiding them. I just had no reason to fight.¡±

    [You sure have be smooth-talking. It¡¯s a shame, because I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you grow in other ways as well.]

    ¡°Shut up¡±

    Now, as I was wondering what we were going to do, Ange and the others joined us.

    Behind Ange, Noel was holding a bag of treasure, while Livia was carefully holding what appeared to be nothing but junk.

    Creare, who was leading the three of them,es over to my side.

    [Master, listen! We found the treasure! Master and your group may not have found it, but we did! Praise me, praise me!]

    Can¡¯t you read the atmosphere, or don¡¯t you intend to?

    ¡°You did a good job. Look, get out of the way.¡±

    [Cruel!]

    I pushed Creare away with my hand and turned to face Ange, who was walking up to me.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll win?¡±

    Although Ange and her team have acquired the treasure, they don¡¯t think they¡¯ve won the game yet.

    ¡°No way I can be proud of a win like this. Apparently, this is the room where the most treasure lies.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s eyes turned to the entrance to the basement, protected by a sturdy door.

    Then they look to me for judgment.

    I couldn¡¯t stand the way everyone was looking at me, so I scratched my head.

    ¡°I got it. Let¡¯s move on.¡±

    Once the decision is made, Luxion confirms it.

    [Are you sure about this?]

    ¡°Let¡¯s finish this quickly and go home.¡±

    [Well then]

    As Luxion and Creare approached the sturdy-looking door,sers were beamed from red and blue lenses to destroy the lock.

    Jilk is watching the scene with aplicated look on his face.

    ¡°If you have a way to unlock the door, use it from the beginning. It was a waste of explosives¡±

    Sorry, Jilk.

    I¡¯ve told Luxion and Creare that this time they are only going to help with the bare minimum.

    I looked at Ange¡¯s figure as she watched the door about to open, and she seemed to be enjoying herself a lot.

    That¡¯s far different from when we dated.

    Then Luxion and Creare return.

    [Master, we¡¯ve broken the door locks. Possible to enter inside.]

    I go ahead of everyone and then turn around.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have a race to see who can get to the back of the room first, shall we?¡±

    When I ask everyone, the color of everyone¡¯s eyes changes.

    Livia, Noel, and Kyle, who were not nobles of the kingdom, were perplexed by the strange atmosphere around them.

    Ange removes the tools that are no longer needed and drops them on the floor.

    ¡°I like rules that are easy to understand. It makes it clear who the winner is.¡±

    Seeing Ange discarding useless tools, the others imitate and remove them.

    The tools fell one after another on the floor and became noisy.

    Marie seems to intend to immediately run out and outsmart the others.

    ¡°The first is meeee!¡±

    ¡°You stupid¡±

    I caught Marie as she was about to enter the underground dungeon.

    Carrying her as she is, Marie is restrained as she wriggles around.

    ¡°Are you all ready? Then start.¡±

    When I announced the start, Greg was the first to reach the door.

    ¡°First in!¡±

    With that said, the heavy metal door is pushed open and Jilk enters the gap.

    ¡°Thanks for going out of your way to open the door, Greg-kun.¡±

    ¡°Jilk, you bastard!¡±

    Thanks to Greg¡¯s opening of the door, the rest of us are passing through one by one.

    Ange stopped when she came up beside me.

    ¡°You don¡¯t go first because you have leeway?¡±

    ¡°If I had the advantage, people wouldin after I won, right? Then I¡¯ll make sure I win in a way that no one willin about.¡±

    Even if I outwit everyone and find the treasure, they won¡¯t admit it, saying it¡¯s unfairness or something.

    Perhaps she liked my excuse, Ange runs off.

    ¡°Keep saying that¡±

    I looked over at Ange, who seemed to be having fun, and Marie, who was being carried by me, began to rampage.

    ¡°Hey! Put me down! Everyone¡¯s leaving me behind!¡±

    I let out a sigh and put Marie down, and I give her an earful of warning.

    ¡°If you want to show Erika how motherly you are, be fair. Winning by underhanded means is not something you can be proud of.¡±

    Marie pushes me away and calls out to Kyle and Ca, who are still there.

    ¡°That¡¯s what those who can win say. People like me have to rise by any means necessary to win! Let¡¯s go, you two!¡±

    Kyle and Kara walk past me.

    ¡°Please wait!¡±

    ¡°Marie-sama, please don¡¯t leave me behind!¡±

    Once everyone was gone, Luxion approached me.

    [If you don¡¯t hurry, you¡¯ll really lose.]

    ¡°I wonder about that?¡±

    ¨D¨DIt would appear that it would be difficult to turn things around from here.

    But.

    ¡°There are a lot of things I¡¯ve forgotten, but I guess I remember quite a bit.¡±

    [Is it game knowledge?]

    ¡°I may have forgotten the details of the old castle, but I do remember this passageway.¡±

    [In other words, you also remembered the location of the treasure.]

    ¡°Correct¡±

    [¨D¨DI was impressed by your attitude of ying fair and square, but as I thought, there was something behind it. Master really doesn¡¯t fail to disappoint me in a bad way.]

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you. I will continue to live up to the expectations of those around me.¡±

    [What a refreshing trash]

    I am fine as trash.

    I¡¯m the one who wins in the end!

    .

    Part 2

    As I enter thest underground dungeon, my mind recalls the screens from when I was ying the game.

    ¡°This ce was impressive, wasn¡¯t it.¡±

    The floor is covered with square tiles and the walls are brick.

    Luxion, floating near my right shoulder and illuminating my surroundings, shows interest in what I have to say.

    [Was there any memorable event?]

    ¡°It was the middle of the night when I was ying. I was trying to conquer a dungeon that had undead monsters in it at that time, so I was scared.¡±

    [As I thought, you were scared.]

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I was scared because it was midnight.¡±

    Proceeding down the passageway relying on my memory.

    Someone must have encountered a monster, as the sounds of battle can be heard from time to time.

    Thanks to everyone¡¯s taking monsters down, I can walk through the dungeon with ease.

    Then the dead-end wall approached.

    [A dead end¨D¨DNo, is it a secret passage, huh]

    ¡°That¡¯s how it is¡±

    One thing that made it difficult to conquer the dungeon was the presence of hidden doors.

    The ancient castle of Golden Hand has several underground dungeons, but the dungeons with treasures are moreplicated than before.

    I¡¯ve been hanging around the same ces many times when I yed, too, but I got sick of it and went to a strategy website, and I found the worst facts about the ce.

    That is, there is a treasure behind a hidden door near the entrance.

    Knowing the worst of the worst facts, I threw my gamepad on the bed at the time.

    When the trap is moved, the dead-end wall slides down and a passageway appears.

    [Surely there is no need to rush if we know this fact.]

    ¡°It seems Marie didn¡¯t know about it. She probably didn¡¯t know about this mechanism, did she?¡±

    Marie had yed the first of that Otome game, but threw it away halfway through.

    There is a high possibility that she doesn¡¯t know the secrets of thisplicated dungeon, since she probably didn¡¯t want to do the adventure part in the first ce.

    She may think she just forgot about it, but from the looks of it, she must not know.

    Luxion remembers Marie¡¯s line.

    [I feel sorry for Marie. No matter how hard she tried, Master was going to win.]

    ¡°If only she had epted my word there, I would have taken her to the treasure.¡±

    A stupid little sister.

    With this in mind, I entered the hidden passageway and heard the footsteps of several people approaching from behind.

    I turned around and there they were, Julius and the others.

    ¡°I found you, Leon!¡±

    The fact that all five idiots showed up together was a surprise even to me.

    ¡°Why are you guys here?!¡±

    Chris adjusts the position of his sses with his index finger, a smile on his mouth.

    ¡°I noticed something after a while when I went underground. I wondered why you seemed to have so much leeway?¡±

    Greg wasughing as he carried the spear.

    ¡°You found this ce in the first ce. No surprise that you know something about it, right?¡±

    Brad, with a dumbfounded look on his face, put his hand on his forehead and looked at me.

    ¡°You are truly an underhanded man, aren¡¯t you? You showed yourself to y fair and square, all because you knew there was a hidden passageway, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    As I step back and Jilk walks up to me with a smile on his face.

    ¡°We were almost fooled at first, but I remembered on the way. Would Leon-kun have behaved like that? It¡¯s suspicious no matter how you look at it¡±

    These guys doubt me?!

    I thought they were fools and would be easily fooled, but apparently not.

    They started to doubt me because I was too deceitful.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    I quickly turn around and start running, and Julius and the others follow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him get away!¡±

    Luxion speaks to me in an amused electronic voice as I am being chased by the five idiots.

    Is this guy enjoying this situation?

    [Julius and his group understood Master better than Angelica and her group.]

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to deceive Ange and the others!¡±

    [You could say that well under this circumstance. Also, the hidden passage was too much for me, so I let Creare know. Angelica and the others are on their way here too.]

    ¡°What?!¡±

    The fact that I heard this while running makes me break out in a cold sweat.

    This situation is bad.

    [I have a message from Angelica through Creare. How dare you deceive me, she said. I am looking forward to what happens after we get the treasure.]

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to it at all!¡±

    While running to avoid being outrun by the five idiots, the monsters that exist in the hidden passageway appear.

    I quickly switched from rifle to pistol and shot the monsters, turning them into smoke.

    But when the unnecessary movement slowed me down, I was lined up with Julius.

    ¡°Catching you up, Leon!¡±

    ¡°You guys ambushed me, it¡¯s so dirty!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you say that!¡±

    I ran desperately but could not shake them off.

    And what I saw was a nostalgic trap.

    If you step on a tile, a trap is triggered and a spear protrudes from the wall.

    In the game, you only lose hit points, but in reality, you die at worst.

    It is Julius who steps into such a trap, his attention distracted by paying attention to me.

    ¡°Stupid!¡±

    I saw him step into the tile, and in my haste, I grabbed Julius by the neck and we copse into a heap.

    A few spears popped out of the wall and passed right above us.

    The fallen Julius is ring at me at first, but he¡¯s in a cold sweat when he sees that the trap has been activated.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was saved.¡±

    ¡°Just get up! They¡¯ve gone on ahead!¡±

    I pulled him up and made his face forward, and beyond that was Julius¡¯ foster brother¨D¨DGrowing up together from an early age, growing up as brotherly vassals, the backs of those who should be trusted the most were seen.

    ¡°His Highness, if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±

    Julius yells at his back.

    ¡°Jilk! Aren¡¯t you my foster brother!¡±

    ¡°Even foster brothers are rivals in the face of treasure!¡±

    ¡°You have forsaken me who almost dying!¡±

    ¡°I believed that His Highness would ovee it.¡±

    He makes an excuse and I chase after Jilk and others.

    But when they ran ahead, they were inevitably blocked by the monsters, and it was easy to catch up with them as they slowed down.

    So the six of us run, but arrows fly from behind us.

    Luxion, who follows us with a red lens pointing backward, informs us of the enemy.

    [Those are skeletons with bows and arrows. It is dangerous to leave them behind. I rmend we take them down.]

    I don¡¯t want to be targeted from behind, but then we would all have to stop and fight the monster.

    But now we are in the middle of apetition.

    I just couldn¡¯t stop to think that someone might run away and find the treasure.

    I grit my teeth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Forgive me, Julius.¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡±

    When I let Julius fall, everyone, including me, kept running without stopping.

    Julius got up, but it seems that he was attacked by the monsters and could not escape.

    He shouts as he turns his back to us, with his shield at the ready.

    ¡°You guys are forgetting that I¡¯m the prince, aren¡¯t you?! You¡¯re using me, the prince, as bait here?!¡±

    I decided to cheer for Julius.

    ¡°You idiot! There is no prince ormoner in people¡¯s lives!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a word you can say when you use me as bait!¡±

    Julius was fighting against the skeletons, but he seemed to be able to defeat them without any problem.

    ¡°Julius, your sacrifice will not be in vain.¡±

    We wiped our tears and ran.

    But when we reach the crossroads, monsters appear from both sides.

    If we run through it, we might make it through, but if we are chased, it will be a hassle.

    One person should stay behind to deal with them, but no one wants to take on such a role.

    All of them are really selfish people.

    And that was the moment we went through the monsters.

    Jilk deliberately dropped the handkerchief he was holding so that everyone could hear him loudly.

    ¡°Aah! I dropped the handkerchief that Marie-san just gave me! Even though Marie-san entrusted me with this amulet to pray for everyone¡¯s safety!¡±

    When Jilk spits out a shameless line, Greg and Chris ignore it as they see him deliberately drop his handkerchief.

    However, Brad apparently did not have any idea what Jilk was doing.

    ¡°What are you doing, Jilk!¡±

    Catching only the part about Marie being cared for them, Brad caught the falling handkerchief with a head sliding motion.

    Then, when Brad sees the handkerchief.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this Jilk¡¯s handkerchieeef!¡±

    The handkerchief must have had Jilk¡¯s name embroidered on it.

    Brad realized he had been tricked, but by then the monsters had caught up with him.

    From behind, a sound of magic explosions can be heard, and then Brad¡¯s screams.

    ¡°I will never forgive you guys!¡±

    Thus, when the two are removed from the group, Greg startsughing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get the treasure for both of your sakes!¡±

    Chris was also on fire to conquer the dungeon.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to win!¡±

    Two guys who are proud of their physical strength overtake me and Jilk.

    In a simple physical contest, I and Jilk were at a disadvantage.

    Then Jilk looks at me.

    I look into his eyes and see what he is trying to say, and I give him a small nod.

    ¡°Greg and Chris are fast. At this rate, are they going to leave us behind?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. They are both dependable vanguards who protect Marie-san.¡±

    Two of them, who could probably hear us, seemed to be listening.

    They must be feeling better because we are praising them.

    But from here!

    ¡°A dependable vanguard, huh? So, who¡¯s stronger? Is it Chris after all? Because he¡¯s a swordsman. He¡¯s the most reliable guy, right?¡±

    I tter Chris, and Jilk tters Greg in the opposite direction.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Greg-kun is the best. His spear-handling skills, honed in actualbat, have saved our lives many times.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s Chris, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Greg-kun. It would be so much more obvious as soon as a monsteres out.¡±

    We ran and talked, but both Chris and Greg remained silent.

    I had to force myself to have a conversation, which made it hard to breathe.

    Was that a little too obvious? And just as I am imagining failure, a group of monsters appears in front of us.

    It¡¯s possible to forcefully push forward.

    ¡°I am the strongest knight who protects Marieee!¡±

    Chris shes at the monsters.

    Seeing that, Greg also attacked the monsters even though he could ignore them.

    ¡°Take it back! I¡¯m the one that Marie relies on the most! Isn¡¯t that right, boys!¡±

    Greg, who ughtered a monster with a spear in one thrust, asks for our opinion.

    But by then we were moving forward.

    I and Jilk wave to them.

    ¡°Do your best!¡±

    ¡°Both of you were easy to handle, thank you for your help.¡±

    Surrounded by monsters and unable to move on, Chris and Greg finally realized they had been tricked here and screamed out.

    ¡°You tricked uUUS!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive you!!¡±

    Thus, there were two of us left: me and Jilk.

    Jilk smiles at me.

    ¡°Leon-kun, it is pointless for us to continue to fight. Why don¡¯t we work together to get the treasure? We¡¯re tied for first ce¡±

    I decided to take Jilk¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Because there¡¯s no point ining here and fighting about it. Oops, there¡¯s a fork in the road ahead. Luxion, which way is the treasure?¡±

    [¨D¨DDisying immediately]

    I ask Luxion as we run, and a projected arrow appears in the air in front of us.

    The arrow pointed to the left side of the Y-shaped passage.

    Jilk, upon confirmation, increases his running speed and throws the tool he was holding.

    When the tool burst, ice appeared as it blocked the passage on the left side.

    I couldn¡¯t go any further, blocked by a wall of crystal-clear ice.

    ¡°A freezing magic tool?¡±

    The passageway was blocked, and Jilk, who was behind it, looked at us and waved.

    ¡°Thank you for having taken the trouble to let me know. I will secure the treasures first, and I will be with you allter. Later! Pleasee. I will be waiting.¡±

    Saying that, he goes off towards the back with a loudugh.

    Luxion, who was looking at the figure, rotated the arrow on the disy to point to the right.

    Yes, in other words, it is a lie that there is a treasure on the left side.

    It¡¯s just a dead end.

    ¡°Well done, Luxion¡±

    [You didn¡¯t have to ask me, Master remembered this dungeon, right. I decided that you wanted to lead him in the opposite direction. More importantly, did you suspect from the beginning that Jilk would betray you?]

    Suspect? That¡¯s not true.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. I believed in him. ¨D¨DI believed he would betray me.¡±

    It was because I believed that Zilk would betray me at an important moment that I went to the trouble of making a y with Luxion.

    However, Luxion responded well, even though we didn¡¯t have a discussion beforehand.

    [That¡¯s a very unpleasant trust, isn¡¯t it.]

    ¡°Absolutely. I don¡¯t want to be a human like that.¡±

    It is the worst to betray people.

    As I shrug my shoulders in disgust at Jilk¡¯s behavior, Luxion stares at me with his one red eye.

    [¨D¨DThis applies to Master as well, though? You have betrayed them all this way, haven¡¯t you?]

    ¡°I¡¯m a man who is easily misunderstood. Even though I¡¯m so sincere.¡±

    I start walking with a lighthearted conversation, and Luxion follows me.

    [Indeed, Master is only sincere about your own interests. Shouldn¡¯t you be more honest with others as well?]

    ¡°I¡¯m sad that even you misunderstood me.¡±

    [It¡¯s not very convincing when you say it with augh.]

    So we proceeded to the right side of the correct path and saw the room with the treasure.

    However, the atmosphere is strange.

    There is a feeling that something is behind the door.

    I could hear what sounded like a low groan.

    [¨D¨DMaster, I have confirmed the reaction of a troublesome enemy monster. I was not told there was a boss guarding the treasure, did you forget it?]

    I shake my head slowly.

    ¡°No, it never existed. Every time, I just collected the treasure and that was the end of it.¡±

    [Master must have misremembered?]

    ¡°It is not. It definitely wasn¡¯t there. To begin with ¨D¨D No, wait a minute. What time is it now?¡±

    [It¡¯s already past neen o¡¯clock. The sun must be set and it must be getting dark outside.]

    I look at the door and check the remaining ammunition in the rifle and pistol I was carrying.

    ¡°Did I mention that the undead be more active at night?¡±

    In the game, every time I conquered the castle during the day, I never got to know what the old castle of the Golden Hand was like at night.

    Is it simply different from that Otome game, or does it only show up at night?

    Either way, there will be a fight.

    Luxion looks surprised at my behavior.

    [Are you going to fight? Wouldn¡¯t it be safer to wait for Julius and the others to arrive and challenge it?]

    ¡°It¡¯s frustrating if they get caught me up at the end after I have kicked them off all the way, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    [You are truly sincere in your feelings.]

    ¡°I have decided not to lie to my heart.¡±

    I guess I said some cool lines.

    But Luxion is not convinced.

    [You used to say that adults are good at lying to their own hearts. So you said you are an adult. Oya? The opposite ofst time.]

    ¡°The problem with artificial intelligence is that itcks flexibility. ¨D¨D Now, let¡¯s get going.¡±

    Having finished my preparations, I approached the door and pushed it open with my left hand to enter.

 Volume 10, Chapter 08 â€œLord of the Old Castleâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 08 ¡°Lord of the Old Castle¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Running through the corridors of the underground dungeon were Ange and her party, led by Creare.

    Creare shes a blue lens to determine the shortest route to the treasure¡¯s location.

    [This way!]

    Creare chose a detour course with many turns, but this helped them avoid unnecessary battles.

    When Ange nced behind her, she saw that Noel, who had been running for some time, was struggling a great deal.

    Although her rehabilitation has beenpleted, she has not fully recovered her physical strength.

    In addition, she was inevitably inferior in physical strengthpared to Ange and other nobles of the kingdom.

    Ange, who has been trained since she was a child, has different physical strengths to begin with.

    And the problem is Livia.

    ¡°I-I can¡¯t do it anymore.¡±

    Her breathing was more erratic and she seemed to be in more pain than Noel.

    Ange slowed down and began walking.

    (The two of them cannot take much more of this, huh)

    If it were just herself, she could still run, but the other two were at their limits.

    ¡°Break time. Creare, is there somewhere we can rest?¡±

    When Ange suggested they take a break, Livia and Noel stumbled over to the wall and leaned against it.

    Creare, who was watching the situation, says in a tedious manner.

    [We¡¯ll be fine here. There are no enemies nearby and no traps. But we¡¯ve lost so much time, we¡¯ll have to recalcte our route again. And, aside from Noel-chan, doesn¡¯t Livia-chan seem to have too little stamina?]

    Regting her disordered breathing, Livia makes excuses with a pained look on her face.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m an indoor ¨D¨D person.¡±

    If she wanted to, she could concentrate for hours on her studies, but running around outside was not something she was very good at.

    Ange puts her hand on her forehead and chuckles in a troubled way.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to work out. Physical fitness is basic.¡±

    Noel, who is sweating, argues with Ange, who says that this level is normal.

    ¡°I was physically active in the Republic, too, but people in the Kingdom are strange. We have already run many kilometers and you don¡¯t look tired at all.¡±

    If this was just a run, Noel and Livia could have run more.

    But now they wore armor for protection and had weapons.

    Adding the tools needed for dungeon exploration, it bes quite heavy.

    From Noel¡¯s point of view, it was hard to believe that Ange, who had run many kilometers with weights on her back, did not look tired.

    In front of the two of them, who are out of breath and struggling, Ange wonders.

    ¡°If you are tired at this level, you can¡¯t be an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely ridiculous!¡±

    As soon as the two of them are breathing calmly, Ange begins to walk and move on.

    What began there was three of themining about Leon.

    Ange was smiling, but angry about the hidden passageway.

    ¡°He¡¯s a truly troubling guy. He goes out of his way to pretend to y fair, but he himself is determined to win. We were all fooled.¡±

    Livia was simrly angry, but for different reasons.

    ¡°Thanks to that, we were able to go deeper. Then we were told there was a hidden passageway and we had to go back the way we came.¡±

    Livia, who was not good at exercising, was not happy about being forced to run for nothing.

    Noel, like Livia, resents being made to run, but more than that, heins about Leon¡¯s attitude.

    ¡°In the beginning, he had the attitude of a fair fight, didn¡¯t he?! What¡¯s more, what about us?!¡±

    Creare, happily watching the three making noise, happily joins the conversation.

    [Master doesn¡¯t cut corners, even when ites to his fianc¨¦es.]

    Ange hears that and smiles gently.

    ¡°I underestimated how serious he was.¡±

    Perhaps wondering about Ange, Creare asks her.

    [You look happy. How can you smile? We were deceived, you know.]

    ¡°Because he reallypeted with us seriously.¡±

    The hidden passageway thing just didn¡¯t satisfy them, but Ange also understood that it was a way to win the game.

    And she was happy that Leon was serious aboutpeting with them.

    ¡°I always felt sheltered and treated gently, as if I were a princess.¡±

    [You didn¡¯t like that, right.]

    ¡°I don¡¯t know? I was happy about it. But just looking at the important moments makes me doubt if I am really needed. ¨D¨DIn fact, sometimes I think Leon would have lived more peacefully without me¡±

    Livia, following behind, scolds the faint-hearted Ange.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true! Ange is holding on too much. The only reason Leon-san can¡¯t live in peace is¨D¨D¡±

    Knowing the reasons why Leon could not live in peace, Livia was hesitant to speak her words to the end.

    When they fall silent, the silence continues, and Noel, unable to bear it, speaks up to continue.

    ¡°Well, because he¡¯s meddlesome. Thanks to that, I was saved, too.¡±

    Leon cannot live peacefully because he is meddlesome.

    If he had ignored them and acted with his own personal safety in mind, he would not be a hero today.

    But if he had done that, he would have been with three people. No, he would not have been able to get to know many more people.

    Ange reveals her true feelings.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get in his way. I just want him to be happy, but my presence gets him into unnecessary conflicts.¡±

    One of the reasons why Ange does not want to involve Leon in the conflict is that he has made it clear that he does not want to get involved.

    The other is because Leon is mentally cornered.

    Noel looks at Livia.

    ¡°¨D¨DHe hasn¡¯t reduced his dosage, has he?¡±

    Livia gives a small nod and looks at Creare.

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t changed since he came back from his study abroad. Are-chan, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    But Creare did not answer.

    [Master has ordered me to stop answering that question.]

    Unlike her previous joking attitude, her words now seemed straightforward.

    The master of Creare is Leon, and when pushes to shove, it is Leon who has priority.

    The three of them walked in silence for a while, led by Creare, and must have entered a hidden passageway at some point.

    The sounds of battle can be heard from Julius and his group, who seem to have entered first.

    Ange holds the rifle in her hand.

    ¡°I want to avoid friendly fire. You guys, don¡¯t attack in haste.¡±

    Since they were moving through dimly lit corridors, there was a danger of friendly fire if they used guns.

    When Livia and Noel nodded, the blue lens of Creare shed.

    [¨D¨DThere¡¯s a route to the inner area without making contact. Follow me]

    The three follow Creare as she moves ahead.

    asionally, men¡¯s screams can be heard mixed in with the sounds of battle.

    Sometimes there are voices that say, ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive those guys!¡±.

    When Ange and her party continued on, they found a passageway closed to the ice.

    Livia approaches the ice.

    ¡°Is this some kind of a mechanism? Is there a treasure up ahead?¡±

    Livia is concerned about the blocked passageway, but Creare tells her to ignore it.

    [Ah, you¡¯re wrong. Jilk just blocked it off, so don¡¯t worry about it and let¡¯s move on.]

    When Jilk¡¯s name was mentioned, Noel tilted her head.

    ¡°Jilk-san did? Why did he block it?¡±

    To Noel, who was wondering, Ange had a cold face because she had a guess.

    ¡°He must have thought there was treasure there anyway, so he closed it off. He¡¯s a coward scumbag, that¡¯s why.¡±

    Livia agrees with her.

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t changed since the first year, has he.¡±

    Noel follows two of them as they go ahead.

    ¡°Indeed, he¡¯s a bit of a coward, but is he really that coward?¡±

    When asked, Livia recounts Jilk¡¯s misdeeds with a nk look on her face.

    ¡°He¡¯s the kind of guy who would secretly nt a bomb in his opponent¡¯s armor in a duel. There are many others, such as not meeting the woman he had broken off an engagement with.¡±

    ¡°Jilk-san, he is worse than I thought¡±

    Noel has also seen Jilk in the Republic, which annoys Marie.

    But it was even more unscrupulous than she thought, so she was surprised about it.

    Ange also speaks of Jilk¡¯s evaluation with a nk expression.

    ¡°All five of them are problem boys, but I¡¯m sure that he is one piece of trash who is noughing matter.¡±

    And so, as soon as the topic of Jilk is over, the threee to the suspicious door.

    But the door was open, allowing them to peek inside.

    The underground dungeon was supposed to be dimly lit, but that room was the only one that glittered with gold.

    The golden room itself is where the treasure was found, but the three were more surprised than pleased.

    Ange shouts.

    ¡°Leon ?!¡±

    When the three of them and Creare ran into the room, they found Leon fighting an enemy that appeared to be an undead monster.

    An undead monster with a head like an animal skull and wearing ck robes.

    Big and long for its body, each hand was golden in color.

    There is no lower body and it is floating in the air.

    It would be about three meters in size.

    It was flying around a veryrge room.

    Leon noticed the arrival of Ange and her party and had a subtle, indescribable look on his face.

    .

    Part 2

    While dealing with the boss monster guarding the room with the treasure, Ange and her party arrived instead of the five fools.

    I felt that I had spent too much time on it, and I wondered if they would be angry at me for deceiving them.

    Ange, with her rifle at the ready, pulled the trigger on the flying boss monster.

    Boss monsters hide behind pirs to avoid bullets.

    This room, built entirely of gold, has a throne-like object.

    A throne in a basement makes no sense, but this is surely where the treasure lies.

    As I recall, there was definitely a throne, but it wasn¡¯t this shiny golden room, though.

    It should have been the same dimly lit room as before.

    Livia approaches me and checks for injuries.

    ¡°Leon-san, are you injured?¡±

    ¡°No problem¡±

    Noel alsoes to my side and looks up at the boss monster, who is clinging to a pir and hiding to see what¡¯s going on.

    ¡°It looks so strong. Can you beat it?¡±

    I wish I could have beaten it quickly, but unfortunately I couldn¡¯t.

    I don¡¯t think I can lose, but I didn¡¯t bring the best equipment nheless.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lose, but I doubt I¡¯m going to win. If this is the case, I should have brought my shotgun.¡±

    I¡¯m thinking I¡¯ve failed, and Luxion mes me, whining at this point, saying ¡®that¡¯s why I told you¡¯.

    [When being asked for advice on what weapon to bring, I rmended a shotgun.]

    ¡°I thought I didn¡¯t need it at that time!¡±

    I didn¡¯t actually use it much when I was conquering in that Otome game.

    As I was arguing with Luxion, the boss monster jumped out of the pir and attacked us.

    Ange attacks with a rifle, but it seems that a single bullet is not enough to finish it off.

    It did not do much damage, just a puff of smoke from the spot where it hit.

    ¡°Chi!¡±

    When I threw the grenade-shaped magic tool I had brought to the ground, it exploded and the purified holy water spread around me like a mist.

    Seeing that, the boss monster distances itself from us.

    Ange was loading bullets skillfully as she approached me.

    ¡°Holy water? How many left?¡±

    When I touched the belt to check the remaining number, there was only one left.

    ¡°One left¡±

    Ange keeps her eyes on the boss monster and asks me for advice on how to beat it.

    ¡°Should we spread out and keep attacking?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s not a lot of bullets, and Livia and Noel are using handguns, to begin with, so I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s possible?¡±

    Neither Livia nor Noel are good when ites to handling guns.

    It would be foolish to force them to defeat it, so as I was thinking about retreating, Noel tapped me lightly on the back.

    ¡°I have this.¡±

    When I turned only my face, I saw that Noel was holding a tree branch and a few leaves in her hand.

    Did she pick it up from somewhere? The question did not ur to me.

    Because when Noel had it in her hand, I realized it was a Sacred Tree thing.

    ¡°Did you rip it off from Sapling-chan?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong! This twig is the one that had fallen off! As for the leaves, I asked Yumeria-san to pluck them for me.¡±

    It seems that Yumeria-san plucked it and Kyle delivered it to Noel.

    ¡°Can it be used?¡±

    ¡°I am still a priestess. Or, rather, do you want to use it too, Leon? You forgot you¡¯re a guardian, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    I thought that being a guardian had few advantages and a weird bruise on my right hand only.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to use it.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help but wonder how you became a guardian¡±

    For now, I understand that Noel has some means of attack here as well.

    When I nced at Livia, her cheeks were puffed out.

    ¡°I also don¡¯t have a problem. I¡¯m good at magic, don¡¯t you remember?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    Once the conversation is settled, Ange gives the instructions.

    ¡°If so, scatter in all directions andunch an attack. If it bes dangerous, join the other immediately.¡±

    When everyone nodded, we scattered and began our attack.

    The first to move was Noel.

    ¡°Sacred Tree, lend me your strength!¡±

    When she threw a tree branch she was holding, it swelled up in the air and became huge.

    As it is, it moves in an undting manner, entangling itself with the boss monster and attempting to block its movement.

    ¡°Yoshi!¡±

    Noel makes guts pose, but when the boss monster touched a giant tree branch, it turned gold from that spot.

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡±

    As soon as Noel shouts, the giant tree branch turns into a gold nugget and shatters into pieces.

    But it was enough to buy time.

    ¡°No problem¡±

    At a distance, Livia made two magic circles appear, and mes emerged from one of them.

    From the other side, the wind blows out, and whenbined, the mes gain momentum and attack the boss monster.

    ¡°What¡¯s that? I don¡¯t know what that is.¡±

    When I say I don¡¯t know the magic of Livia, Luxion, who was by my side, exins it to me.

    [It¡¯s not advanced magic. It seems to be abination of two types of magic. It¡¯s an advanced technology that reduces the consumption of magic and increases its power.]

    Wah~, it¡¯s awesome.

    I¡¯m impressed and pull the trigger on the boss monster with my rifle.

    The boss monster, writhing in mes, opened its mouth wide toward the ceiling and let out an eerie cry.

    Perhaps to escape the mes, the boss monster descends to the floor.

    It was almost as if it had fallen, or maybe it fell to the floor, and that¡¯s where Ange was.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to let you get away!¡±

    Holding her left hand out in front of her and sping her open hand, a magic circle appears on the floor where the boss monster has fallen.

    The magic circle, drawn with glowing red lines, was intricate and huge.

    The pirs of me that erupted from there reached the ceiling.

    The boss monster is lifted by momentum and mmed into the ceiling.

    Ange speaks to the boss monster.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pir of fire. It¡¯ll work on you, you undead monster, won¡¯t it?¡±

    No answer was returned, but that was understood by Ange.

    When the pir of me disappears, the boss monster falls again.

    But the boss monster tries to stand up with its hands on the floor.

    Ange quickly readies her rifle and pulls the trigger, but still, the boss monster shows no sign of disappearing.

    Ange mutters at the sight.

    ¡°So stubborn¡±

    Livia also began to prepare her magic, and Noel¡¯s seemed intent on doing something with the leaves in her hands.

    When I was looking at it, Luxion was amazed at me.

    [Why don¡¯t you put an end?]

    ¡°No¨D¨Dthey¡¯re all very strong¡±

    Did I still think somewhere that I should be protecting Ange and the others, that they were weak?

    And when they show themselves to be so strong and fierce, I feel like there was no need for me to protect them.

    Even without me¨D¨D.

    [Master]

    ¨D¨DI was called while I was thinking, and I raised my face.

    Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the boss monster.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have to take it down.¡±

    I threw a holy water bomb at the boss monster, which tried to jump up again, and when it burst, it spread out in a mist.

    It erodes the surface of the boss monster.

    I put my rifle on the floor and started running, drawing the sword that I had slung at my waist.

    The sword, more carefully crafted than the weapons I gave the others, was prepared for me by Luxion. It is more effective against the undead than the others.

    When I tried to approach the boss monster, it extended its golden hand.

    Then Noel throws a leaf she was holding to support me.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡±

    The leaves responded to the will of Noel, the priestess, and attacked the boss monster that she had designated as her enemy.

    When leaves elerated in the air stick to the boss monster, tree roots and ivy entangle it and stop it from moving.

    The boss monster tore them apart, but it was enough to buy time.

    ¡°That¡¯s a big help!¡±

    I thanked her, jumped on the boss monster, and drove my sword through its head.

    As expected, the boss monster could not withstand this and blew out smoke from the stabbed area.

    The body begins to crumble and the boss monster disappears in a puff of smoke.

    ¡°Ah~, it¡¯s over¡±

    Relieved that the boss monster has finally been defeated, Ange shouts when she notices something strange in the room.

    ¡°Oi, something¡¯s wrong!¡±

    Like Ange said.

    The golden room was dazzlingly bright, but as soon as the lord of the old castle disappeared, the gold was gone.

    When the throne room, made of the same material as the underground passageway, came into view, this one looked more like the view from that otome game.

    Ange is disappointed by the situation.

    ¡°Was it all just a charade? What a mess¡±

    If onerge room really was made of gold, it would have been worth a lot.

    But unfortunately, when the boss monster disappeared, everything disappeared.

    Noel approaches Ange, who slumps her shoulders and looks disappointed, and calls out to her.

    ¡°We managed to beat it without injury, so it was good.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI wanted the treasure.¡±

    Contrary to the dejected Ange, Livia was excited and interested.

    ¡°Was the monster turning this room into gold? When you think about it, that¡¯s an amazing monster. I¡¯ve never heard of anything like this before.¡±

    I leave the three of them alone and head for the back side of the throne.

    What was there was supposed to be a treasure chest, but.

    ¡°A coffin?¡±

    For some reason, it was a coffin that had been set up.

    As I was puzzled, Ange and the others came and noticed the coffin.

    ¡°It¡¯s a treasure chest typical of this dungeon. Shall we open it?¡±

    ¡°Eh ?! You¡¯re going to open it? Isn¡¯t that scary?!¡±

    When I get flustered, Livia puts her hand on her chin and starts thinking.

    ¡°Part of it is scary and it would be rude if someone¡¯s body was there.¡±

    Then Noel looked at Creare.

    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s inside?¡±

    [Judging from the reaction, it is precious metals]

    Upon hearing that, Ange puts her hand on the coffin.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll open it.¡±

    From my point of view, it¡¯s scary and feels like it¡¯s cursed, even though I¡¯m notfortable with it.

    My eyes widen when I see the contents of the opened coffin.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t really a person, is it?¡±

    Inside the coffin, for some reason, was gold in the form of a woman.

    She has her hands folded over her stomach as if in prayer, and her eyes are closed.

    It looks as if it is about to wake up at any moment and is surrounded by flowers and ornaments made of gold, silver, and jewels.

    It was as if a truly beautiful woman was sleeping.

    Luxion shes his red lens to analyze.

    [It¡¯s gold. It¡¯s not a person]

    ¡°That boss monster could have turned her into gold, right.¡±

    [If so, she should be back to normal.]

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s right, but. ¨D¨DCould that boss monster with the horse skull have been guarding this?¡±

    [I don¡¯t think the monster has that habit. Also, that head was a donkey, not a horse.]

    ¡°Donkey?!¡±

    I had thought it was a horse or something.

    As I was scared alone, the three of them, including Ange, plus Creare, turned to look at me.

    Ange puts her hands on her hips andughs at me.

    ¡°That¡¯s surprising. I¡¯ve suspected that for some time, but apparently, there¡¯s something that scares Leon as well.¡±

    Livia puts her palms together and smiles at me.

    ¡°Leon-san has a cute side to him too.¡±

    Noel seems happy to know an unexpected side of me, but at the same time, she teases me.

    ¡°If it were a monster, you would beat it. If you¡¯re scared, do you want me to stay with you tonight?¡±

    Have all three of you be merciless to me?

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you three just awful?¡±

    Why are they striking so hard today?

    It is Creare that gives me the answer.

    [Getting deceived about the hidden door thing makes them angry. To be forgiven for this much, Master is so loved!]

    Even an AI teases me?

    As I turn away from everyone, people areing through the door.

    They are Julius and his friends in tatters.

    ¡°¨D¨DLeon, is there something you want to tell me?¡±

    Julius and the others, five idiots appeared with wrinkles between their eyebrows and seemed to resent me terribly.

    Apparently, they are angry.

    ¡°Something to tell you? Ah~, I see¡±

    I think of what to say to the five of them and I put my hands together and stick my tongue out cutely.

    ¡°Thanks to you guys being the decoys, I got the treasure this way. I am grateful.¡±

    Then Jilk, with his hair disheveled, points at me.

    ¡°This coward! You have deceived me!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYou¡¯re the one who betrayed first.¡±

    When I gave him a good argument, the five idiots began to surround Jilk.

    Jilk feigned ignorance.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? To Leon-kun, who has deceived us, give him a hammer ¨D¨DGOHAA ?!¡±

    It was Brad who mmed his fist into Jilk¡¯s face.

    Brad, whose part of his clothes is torn, drops a tattered handkerchief on the face of the fallen Jilk.

    ¡°Jilk, have you forgotten what you did to us? Leon is annoying, but you¡¯re a traitor to us, too.¡±

    Greg was flexing his finger bones and his eyebrows were twitching.

    ¡°You tricked us intopeting, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Chris took off his broken sses and looked at Jilk with a terribly cold stare.

    ¡°I can¡¯t forgive Leon, but I can¡¯t forgive you either.¡±

    He must be angry at Jilk¡¯s betrayal.

    After all, they had missed the great feat of discovering the treasure.

    And then there was one man who felt his gut churn.

    ¡°You guys betrayed me first, though.¡±

    Julius was looking at us in a low-pitched.

    From the perspective of Julius, who was the first decoy, we are all enemies.

    So I say.

    ¡°Your friendship is fragile in the face of treasures, isn¡¯t it? But still, it¡¯s ugly to fight amongrades.¡±

    When Iughed, the five of them look at me and pick up their weapons ande at me.

    Julius represents.

    ¡°I guess so. Then let¡¯s beat you up first and then we¡¯ll fight among ourselves.¡±

    I shrug my shoulders in front of Julius who ising at me.

    ¡°You idiot. I have Ange and the others here. Everyone, help me!¡±

    I turned around to ask for help, and before I knew it, Luxion was at Ange¡¯s side, conversing with her.

    ¡°I¡¯m tempted to leave it as is, but I suppose I¡¯ll have to melt it down.¡±

    [Besides its artistic value, it is also of great value as an ancient heritage. I thought it would be better for future generations if we kept it]

    ¡°That would be nice. If I decorate it, it¡¯s like our aplishments are going tost a lifetime.¡±

    Livia and Noel are talking with Creare.

    ¡°I would like it to be kept as it is. There might be some secrets in there!¡±

    Livia insisted that it should be stored and investigated rather than melted down.

    Noel is listening to this with disinterest.

    ¡°It sure looks great. Creare, is it really that great?¡±

    [It¡¯s hard to exin to Noel-chan. It¡¯s okay if you just think it¡¯s great. Even if I tell you properly, you won¡¯t understand.]

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you treating me so lightly?!¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re not interested, are you?¡±

    Seeing Ange and the others enjoying the conversation, I reach out my hand.

    ¡°Eh, you won¡¯t help me?¡±

    I asked for help, but the response from Ange and others was cold.

    Ange crosses her arms and squints.

    ¡°You deserve it. Have a little remorse.¡±

    Taking advantage of it is my supposed partner, Luxion.

    [It¡¯s retribution for deceiving people. It¡¯s a fitting end for Master.]

    I tremble.

    ¡°I understand Ange and the others, but at least you can help me, Luxion!¡±

    [I refuse. Also, your friends are waiting for you.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    As soon as I turn around, Julius puts his hand on my shoulder.

    Gripping me tightly, Julius speaks to me with a dark smile.

    ¡°Come talk to us. Fist to fist.¡±

    Five idiots think they can beat me up and give me a scary smile.

    The situation was so bad that I, a coward, was shaken up.

    I let out a small sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the deceivers¡¯ fault, right? Unfortunately, the treasure you were after is ours. So, losers, let me know how you feel now.¡±

    When I fanned them with a smile, Julius¡¯ fist came at me, so I hit him, too.

    We cross-counter and hit each other¡¯s cheeks, and the other guys start joining in.

    I give Julius a second hit.

    ¡°You should be thankful I brought you here, KORAa!¡±

    ¡°What is thepetition! You¡¯ve been trying to win alone from the beginning!¡±

    As the six of us begin to fight as it is, I hear the voices of Ange and Luxion from behind.

    ¡°It¡¯s a really ugly fight.¡±

    [I¡¯m no match for Master¡¯s boomerang tactics?]

    Remember this, Luxion?!

 Volume 10, Chapter 09 â€œPartingâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 09 ¡°Parting¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    Next morning.

    Einhorn¡¯s holds were stacked with treasures that we had acquired in the old castle of Golden Hands.

    Not only gold and silver treasures, but also vases and various other things have been collected.

    Considering it as a result of capturing the dungeon, it would be a great sess.

    The collection of the dispersed treasures has proven to be worth a considerable amount of money when converted into cash.

    And yet, a woman was weeping in front of the treasure.

    ¡°Marie-sama, please be firm!¡±

    ¡°Goshujin-sama, let¡¯s stop crying.¡±

    Marie is sobbing as Kara and Kylefort her.

    ¡°Because, because! This is too much. I¡¯ve been looking for it so hard, and no one told me there was a hidden door.¡±

    Because Creare was not there, Marie, Jake and the others could not find out about the hidden door.

    As a result, Marie and her party had a hard time, but the results were small.

    Kara desperatelyforts Marie.

    ¡°But, you see, that¡¯s it! That! This is a great achievement because I am sure that we have conquered the dungeon as adventurers! You can boast about it for the rest of your life!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need bragging! I¡¯d rather have the treasure!¡±

    It¡¯s an aplishment this time, but at least once in your life, it¡¯s a story you can brag about for the rest of your life.

    In fact, it¡¯s worth it just to be a part of it, because you¡¯ll actually be recognized in the kingdom.

    But Marie was targeting treasure, not honor.

    Sadly, though, the motivation has been empty.

    Kyle looks at me with a don¡¯t-know-what expression.

    ¡°The Duke is truly awful. I think you have no human blood in your veins?¡±

    ¡°I told you I was kind. If Marie had listened to my advice at that time, I would have let her go with me and give her a share of the treasure.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re telling us at this timing?¡±

    Kyle turned around pale and saw Marie, who had stopped crying, looking at me with tear-stained eyes.

    But her eyes were scary because the highlights were gone.

    It¡¯s as scary as the ghosts and spirits.

    ¡°Hih !?¡±

    As I step back, Marie approaches me quickly with her hands on the floor.

    Her movements were also creepy or very scary.

    As it is, she clings to my legs and looks up at me with a nk stare.

    Her eyes were murky and dark in some way.

    ¡°Fun? Hey, is it fun? Do you enjoy making people regret? You want to make people think, ¡°If only I had done that back then,¡± to make the aftertaste worse, don¡¯t you? Even if you had convinced me, you wouldn¡¯t have helped me then, would you? Wouldn¡¯t you? Right?! ¡°

    Marie¡¯s voice was t as she shook me, her emotion gone.

    But that is extraordinarily frightening.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I-I¡¯ll give you the money.¡±

    ¡°I told you that doesn¡¯t make sense!¡±

    ¡°Yes!!¡±

    Suddenly, Marie shouted so loudly that I was so scared that I straightened up and answered her.

    Marie starts crying while clinging to my leg.

    ¡°I wanted to find the treasure and be independent.¡±

    I would have said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you work a more normal job instead of trying to get rich quick?¡± but I didn¡¯t have the courage to say it here.

    So, to divert her resentment towards me, I bring up the topic about Erika.

    ¡°M-More importantly, Erika-sama¡¯s condition has stabilized. Creare says it¡¯s no longer a problem to visit her.¡±

    Marie, who was concerned about Erika who was being treated in the infirmary, runs out of the hangar as soon as she hears it.

    .

    Part 2

    ¡°Eliikaa !!¡±

    In Einhorn¡¯s infirmary, Marie was crying to Erika, who was sitting up in bed.

    Erika is puzzled by Marie¡¯s appearance, but smiles at her and speaks softly to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, mom¡±

    They are alone in the room.

    They were in a state where they could talk about their previous life rtionships without worrying about anyone else.

    (I wonder if uncle was being considerate?)

    Imagining that Leon had been so considerate of them and left them alone together, Erika thinks in her mind that he is just as she had heard.

    Marie cries and worries about Erika¡¯s condition.

    ¡°I¡¯m d Erika is okay.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re exaggerating. I¡¯m just a little in pain.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re pushing yourself too hard! You could have stayed on the ship.¡±

    ¡°I said I would go with you. Anyway, how was the dungeon?¡±

    Marie¡¯s concern for Erika, who has a chronic illness in this life, is really the way she treats her daughter.

    The physical age of the two is only two years apart, but Erika¡¯s age inside is decades older than hers.

    Still, Marie still behaves like a mother to Erika.

    Erika puts her hand on Marie¡¯s back and rubs it.

    Marie tells the story of how she was deceived by Leon during this dungeon capture.

    ¡°He¡¯s the only winner. It¡¯s cunning. He knew there was a hidden passageway and he didn¡¯t tell us?! Even deceiving his own fianc¨¦es to try to win, he really is out of his mind.¡±

    Marie was emotional and expressive as she exined how cunning Leon was.

    Erika, who was watching the action, goes amused and bursts outughing.

    Marie tilts her head at Erika, who giggles in a graceful way.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It was kind of funny. I just thought Mom is like in the previous life. Look, you used to tell me stories about uncle.¡±

    Marie fluster and remembers her previous life.

    Apparently, she does not remember telling her daughter about Leon¡¯s story.

    ¡°D-Did I? Mom doesn¡¯t remember. Did I tell you anything about aniki?¡±

    ¡°You did. On the days you came back drunk, you used to tell me stories about uncle. If only aniki were still alive~, the other is aniki is a bastard, etc. But at the end, you always ¨D¨D¡±

    ¨D¨D I want to see onii-chan again.

    Erika used to watch Marie fall asleep drunk after saying that.

    Not only does Marie not remember, but she blushes when she is told the embarrassing story.

    She was quite agitated.

    ¡°T-T-T-T-That¡¯s it, that! Wanted to meet him again and wring him out. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not really talking about that!¡±

    Marie, desperately denying it, looks like a child.

    Erika watched her, smiling.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to meet Uncle again, mom.¡±

    When Erika is pleased that they met, Marie has aplicated look on her face.

    Erika is puzzled by Marie, who looks down and sad.

    Apparently, Marie has a feeling of indebtedness to Leon.

    ¡°Maybe aniki didn¡¯t want to meet me.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Uncle looks like he¡¯s having fun, though?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a troublesome guy who¡¯s always ying carelessly and never says what he really thinks. Erika should never marry a man like that ¨D¨D Ah.¡±

    At the mention of marriage, Marie, ¡°Oh, no¡± and she is depressed again.

    She seemed to remember Erika¡¯s engagement talk.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind¡±

    When Erika tells her not to worry, Marie stands up and raises her voice.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be! How can you look so unconcerned when you can¡¯t marry the person you love? And what¡¯s more, it¡¯s Fraser family.¡±

    Marie had knowledge of that third otome game, albeit only halfway through.

    That is why she despaired when she found out that Erika was married to that Eriya Rafa Fraser.

    ¡°I don¡¯t me Mom for worrying, but Eriya isn¡¯t such a bad kid. It¡¯s not like that game.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a lie! Because in that game, he¡¯s an ugly guy who looks like a coward ¨D¨D A-re? Erika, did you say that game?¡±

    Erika knows that Otome game.

    Marie is puzzled by this fact.

    ¡°I yed it too, you know. Mom left me alone, so I yed it in my spare time. It was fun.¡±

    ¡°I-I see. But then!¡±

    As Marie still tries to keep asking, Erica shakes her head and looks serious.

    .

    ¡°¨D¨DMom, that¡¯s my responsibility as I was reincarnated as a princess.¡±

    ¡°Your responsibility?¡±

    ¡°Is it more of a possession than a reincarnation? I don¡¯t know, but I am a princess of the Kingdom of Horfalt. With this positiones responsibilities, of course.¡±

    Erika understood her position well.

    And so it is with marriage in this world.

    ¡°My marriage to Eriya is a political marriage, unlike the marriages of my previous life. If we get married, there will be people who will feel safe.¡±

    ¡°Other people don¡¯t matter!¡±

    ¡°If I were a normal person. But now I am royalty and a princess. I have a duty to protect my people and my country.¡±

    When Marie says, ¡°But, because,¡± and Erika breaks into a smile.

    When she smiles at Marie, she tries to reassure her.

    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s okay. Because Eriya is kind.¡±

    ¡°Kind?¡±

    ¡°In the game, he was supposed to be an ugly guy with a bad personality. But Eriya lost weight for me, and now he¡¯s chubby and cute.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DErika would have suited well with a good-looking man.¡±

    ¡°Mom is really menkui, isn¡¯t she. Everyone gets old, and it¡¯s our character and our worthiness that will ultimately matter.¡± (Note: attracted by physical looks only)

    Erika¡¯s story of how she lived to be a grandmother must have been convincing to Marie.

    In addition, she seemed anxious about her own future.

    She is holding her head.

    ¡°Sure, we will get older, but ¨D¨D Do they have a sense of worthiness? Even though I am concerned about my character? If this continues, my old age will be¡±

    The uncertainty of the future weighs on Marie.

    Unable to see Marie like this, Erikaforts her.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s okay. Onii-sama and the others around this time aren¡¯t bad people.¡±

    Then Marie raised her head and turned a straight face to Erika.

    ¡°What about Jilk?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    Erika also seemed to know that Jilk had a personality problem.

    When the two are disheartened, Marie puts her hands on her hips, sensing that she has made the atmosphere of the ce worse.

    ¡°We-Well, if Erika says it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. You¡¯ve always been firmer than me. I¡¯m no good ¨D¨D I couldn¡¯t stand on my own from aniki this time either.¡±

    Laughing sadly, Marie seems to think she is a helpless person.

    She is about to cry as it is.

    Erika hugs Marie.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true. I¡¯m happy to see you, Mom. ¨D¨D I¡¯m sorry you had to work so hard for me.¡±

    ¡°I! I aaaam! I¡¯m finally trying to do something like a mother! That¡¯s why, that¡¯s why!¡±

    Marie hugged Erika tightly and burst into tears.

    Part 3

    [Master, why was Marie after the treasure?]

    ¡°Hah?¡±

    Luxion questions me as I run away from Marie and retreat to my room.

    [No, Marie does not need to overwork herself at present. Having gained a protector, Master, she should have no financial problems. It bothered me that she did not want the honor and was after the treasure. What did Marie want?]

    There is no need for Marie to force herself to get the treasure.

    As Luxion says.

    I turn over and turn to Luxion and speak for Marie¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Because Erika was her daughter.¡±

    [That¡¯s not an answer, is it?]

    ¡°That¡¯s the answer. The daughter of her previous life just showed up. No wonder she wants to be proud of herself.¡±

    Luxion sounded skeptical or unconvinced by my exnation.

    [That¡¯s why she wanted to be independent? I don¡¯t understand. There should be no inconvenience to be under Master¡¯s protection.]

    Marie was into treasure hunting because she wanted to be independent from me.

    But Luxion cannot understand Marie¡¯s feelings.

    [Given Marie¡¯s character, wouldn¡¯t she want to avoid having her support terminated by Master?]

    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about how she feels, are you?¡±

    [Feelings? Isn¡¯t it Marie to always count on Master¡¯s support?]

    ¡°It¡¯s not a mistake, though.¡±

    I talk to Luxion about Marie a while back.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t know her daughter from a previous life in this world, and she caged those otome game targets. Then she became a saint, but her knowledge of the game is so half-baked that she¡¯s treated like a fake saint.¡±

    [Her short-sighted thinking is simr to Master¡¯s. As expected from the siblings of the previous life.]

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking a lot deeper than Marie.¡±

    [Are you sure it¡¯s not just what you think?]

    ¡°Shut up! ¨D¨DAnyway, Marie is being fed by me while paying the bill for doing as she pleases. She doesn¡¯t want her daughter from a previous life to see her like that.¡±

    Marie probably wanted to appear like a mother in front of Erika.

    After all, in her previous life, she had been a pathetic figure.

    Stumbling through life, and regret for not doing something more motherly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a regret from a previous life. In front of Erika, she wants to be a fine mother.¡±

    [Did you notice it and keep quiet about the hidden door?]

    ¡°That is that, this is this, okay?¡±

    [You are a merciless Master.]

    She was trying to find treasure, be independent, and be the ideal mother in front of Erika.

    But think about it.

    After having caged five men.

    This level of effort will not erase the negatives that have been building up.

    It doesn¡¯t even go back to zero.

    ¡°She¡¯s just good enough not to be too pretentious.¡±

    I tell him how I feel about Marie, and Luxion turns clockwise on the spot.

    What does it mean?

    [I understand Marie¡¯s purpose. At the same time, there is one more thing I don¡¯t understand.]

    ¡°What?¡±

    [I wondered how you could be so aware of Marie¡¯s feelings, but not be aware of the feelings of your own fianc¨¦es. I¡¯m not joking, I¡¯m really wondering.]

    Luxion hits a sore spot and I get aplicated look on my face.

    ¡°If I could understand how women feel, I could have lived better.¡±

    [Master is so dense]

    ¡°Why are you so foul-mouthed?¡±

    [It¡¯s because I¡¯ve learned too much from Master¡¯s foul mouth.]

    Are you saying it¡¯s my fault that you are so foul-mouthed?

    You were pretty foul-mouthed from the first time we met, weren¡¯t you?

    ¡°To begin with, Marie is not a woman to me. She is my little sister.¡±

    She is the existence that is the most hateful and closest enemy.

    I have known Marie since we were small, I¡¯m not saying that ¨D¨D I can grasp Marie¡¯s thoughts, but I can understand them a little bit.

    It is especially easy to understand when impatient, as she is today.

    ¡°Ange and others are wonderful women, unlike Marie. It would be rude to put them together.¡±

    [Marie is going to be furious when she hears about that.]

    I turned over and turned my back on Luxion as the image of an enraged Marie came to mind.

    As it is, I ask Luxion about Erika¡¯s condition.

    ¡°So, how¡¯s Erika doing?¡±

    [No problem. A thorough examination will reveal more details. However, we cannot find the time for that under the current circumstances.]

    Because of the long time required for a full examination, it has not yet been done properly.

    The same is true for Mia-chan.

    Because of the long period of restriction, only simple examinations were currently being conducted.

    ¡°As soon as we get into summer vacation, we¡¯ll do a full examination. I¡¯ve already obtained permission from Milene-san. When will you get the results?¡±

    [The results are up to Creare to analyze.]

    I hope the mystery of Erika and Mia-chan¡¯s illness can be found out and treated.

    If I leave it to Luxion and others, there will be no problem.

    As I¡¯m thinking about falling asleep, Luxion wakes me up.

    [Master, a suspicious airship is approaching Einhorn. ¨D¨D It appears to be unmanned.]

    ¡°¨D¨DHa?¡±

 Volume 10, Chapter 10 â€œGhost Airshipâ€

    <h4>Volume 10, Chapter 10 ¡°Ghost Airship¡±</h4>

    Part 1

    I hurried out to the deck and found Ange, dressed in in clothes, hade ahead of me.

    Holding on to the railing, Ange¡¯s gaze is drawn to a floating airship that gives off an eerie atmosphere.

    The airship, which was so tattered that it was a wonder it had not destroyed, was in a very old shape.

    Sailing ship.

    Airships with outlined sails and propelled by the force of the wind are not umon today.

    But it did not have the features of an airship that would bemon today.

    And the shape is also outdated.

    It had an angr shape rather than a streamlined form.

    ¡°From what era is this airship?¡±

    [I would guess that the airship is several hundred years old. If you want to find out more details, we¡¯ll have to get on board and investigate.]

    ¡°Please do not tell me to get on board or something. It¡¯s a ghost ship by the looks of it.¡±

    Part of it is broken, and the wooden hull creaks and makes eerie noises just as it moves.

    In addition, it was covered with ck clouds in a sky that was bing night.

    It looks like the ck smoke that is generated when the monster disappears.

    The appearance of the airship, which looked like it might be haunted, made me whine in my mind, ¡°Give me a break¡±.

    As I approach the railing, Ange notices me and starts talking to me.

    ¡°Leon, how do you see that airship?¡±

    ¡°Why is there a ghost ship floating around in this ce?¡±, when Ange asks me about it, I tell her without thinking too much about the guesses I came up with.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the airship that went missing a long time ago? Can we leave it here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d prefer to recover it if I could, but I¡¯m afraid it would break just to transport it. More than that, I never thought I¡¯d see that type of airship moved.¡±

    ¡°A-re? Does Ange know?¡±

    ¡°Aa~, I have a model in my house.¡±

    The Redgrave family apparently has a model of an old form of airship on disy.

    Is it a hobby of the rich?

    ¡°I¡¯m surprised. That shape is good?¡±

    ¡°No, that type of airship was built cheaply and inrge numbers. They are notfortable to ride in, and I heard that they sank easily in a storm.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the worst?¡±

    What a terrible airship!

    However, it is probably a miracle that such an airship remains unmanned to this day.

    If it weren¡¯t so creepy on the outside, I might have been impressed.

    However, the impression Ange had was different from mine.

    ¡°I¡¯m so happy today. I never thought I would see with my own eyes the airship our ancestors flew on.¡±

    ¡°Ancestors? Eh, did Ange¡¯s ancestors ride on that thing?!¡±

    As I can¡¯t understand the story, Ange exins with a troubled look on her face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know that? That¡¯s the type of airship our ancestors used when they settled the continent where the kingdom is now.¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡±

    Ange carefully tells me, who knows nothing about it, the story of those days.

    ¡°I have heard that before the kingdom was founded, the continent was flooded with various settlers as a newnd. The airship that was used at that time was that type of airship, which is inexpensive and can carry arge amount of cargo. I never thought I¡¯d see it flying in the sky with my own eyes. ¡°

    I look at the ghost ship again, but from my point of view, it looks creepy and I don¡¯t want to go near it.

    The ancestors crossed the continent on that ship! I am not impressed by such things.

    Luxion shone his red lens and analyzed the ghost ship.

    [It appears to be a home for monsters. I could see the reaction of the monsters inside.]

    Ange is convinced alone.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it remained until today. That¡¯s ironic. If the monsters hadn¡¯t taken over, I wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to see it like this.¡±

    I hold onto the railing and look at Ange¡¯s face from the side.

    ¡°You look pretty happy.¡±

    When I call out to her, Ange turns to me and smiles sadly.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure this is a day I¡¯ll remember for the rest of my life. We conquered a dungeon and even got to see a rarely seen airship. I¡¯ll never forget this day.¡±

    And Ange said to me.

    ¡°¨D¨DLeon, I like you.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Aa~¡±

    ¡°So I don¡¯t want to be a burden to you.¡±

    ¡°Burden?¡±

    When I tried to say something, Ange finish it by herself, she tell me few words.

    ¡°This is as far as I¡¯ve gotten. I¡¯m d I had this adventure with you. With these memories, I can live on.¡±

    ¡°No, why?¡±

    Bewildered by the sudden talk, a ghost ship was approaching us.

    [¨D¨DThe airship itself has be a monster. It is approaching Einhorn and is attempting to make contact. Master, permission to intercept]

    ¡°Not now! ¨D¨DAnge, I never considered you a burden.¡±

    Prioritize Ange over the talk of Luxion.

    Ange looked happy to hear my words, but seemed determined.

    ¡°I will be a burden from now on. If I stay with you, I will prevent you from living the life you want. My father and brother really intend to involve you in. Finally, over time, they¡¯re going to bring the power of Luxion into the Redgrave family.¡±

    The ¡°over time¡± part must surely mean generation after generation.

    Eventually, I and Ange¡¯s son will inherit Luxion, and then one day join the Redgrave family to monopolize Luxion¡¯s power.

    Vince and others were moving toward the future, not the present.

    Luxion is stunned.

    [I have only recognized one person as a master. I can¡¯t guarantee that thereafter.]

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s the same if my father and brother think they can take you in. Leon will not have a peaceful life from now on. Then it would be better for me not to be around.¡±

    I didn¡¯t think Ange had thought about me to this extent.

    I have always said that I wanted a more peaceful life on a daily basis, but I didn¡¯t know that Ange was suffering to make that happen.

    No, I did not try to know.

    ¡°I-I am¨D¨D¡±

    I reach out my hand and Ange takes a step back and distances herself from me.

    ¡°You can be more free. Just take care of Livia and ¨D¨D Noel. You won¡¯t be lonely with them around, will you?¡±

    I was at a loss for words when she smiled at me like a mischievous child.

    There are plenty of words to get me through this.

    I¡¯m good at making excuses.

    If I wanted to, I could say embarrassing lines like ¡°I need you¡± or ¡°I¡¯ll never let you go,¡± if I wanted to not break up with Ange.

    But I think it wouldn¡¯t touch Ange¡¯s heart.

    I looked down and finally understood.

    ¡°Haha, I got dumped right¡±

    The rtionship with Ange was over.

    Ange shakes her head.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. I¡¯m the one who broke the promise. I am the only one at fault. So you are not to me.¡±

    I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s all my fault, but it¡¯s my fault for pushing Ange to this point.

    There was a difference in values between me, who values the individual, and Ange, who values the household.

    Not understanding it, the bill for neglecting the problem has just been paid here.

    ¨D¨D I knew it woulde to pass.

    A woman named Ange was not the appropriate woman for me.

    ¡°I am¨D¨D¡±

    When I finally try to say something to Ange, Einhorn shakes violently.

    Ange about to fall down in front of me, I jumped as quickly as I could and held her in my arms.

    ¡°What happened?!¡±

    I quickly turned my gaze around and before I knew it, the ghost ship had reached Einhorn.

    On the deck of the ghost ship, undead monsters, dressed like sky pirates, are looking at us.

    They wereing toward us in droves.

    ¡°Ha? Oi, Luxion!¡±

    ¡®Why did you allow it to approach?¡¯ Luxion, sensing that he would be med that way, immediately mes me.

    [It was Master who didn¡¯t give permission to intercept. More importantly, if things continue as they are, the monsters are going to get into Einhorn.]

    Sure, I didn¡¯t give permission! I didn¡¯t give it, but!

    ¡°You usually do something about it! Damn! Tell everyone to get their weapons!¡±

    [A warning has been issued]

    ¡°Okay, next, Einhorn¨D¨D¡±

    [Because contact has been made, so interception is impossible.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    [It¡¯s impossible]

    I was going to blow up the ghost ship with Einhorn¡¯s artillery, but Luxion says he can¡¯t attack it if he¡¯s in contact with it, and I¡¯m in trouble.

    Ange, in my arms, asks Luxion how to get out of this situation.

    ¡°What should we do?¡±

    [Please invade the enemy ship together. Defeat the monster that has taken possession of the airship from the inside and you will survive this situation.]

    I ran out of the room and am unarmed.

    I said to Ange.

    ¡°I get it. Call the five idiots. And bring the weapons¨D¨D¡±

    [We don¡¯t have much time, so I¡¯ll leave it to the two of you. And, I have prepared the weapons for you.]

    When the service robots appear from inside the ship, they bring our equipment.

    For some reason, a well-prepared Luxion seems suspicious.

    Me and Ange get up and grab our equipment.

    Shotguns and machine guns. Others are pistols and swords.

    [No enemy monsters have been identified as a threat. The two of you will have to invade the inner part of the airship and defeat the airship-controlling monsters and that will be the end of it.]

    You make it sound so simple, but I realized one thing here.

    ¡°Eh? Two of us, what about you?¡±

    [I have work to do, so I cannot apany you.]

    ¡°No,e along. Just leave the work to Creare.¡±

    [No can do]

    A very stubborn Luxion points his red lens at the monsters who are trying to get from us to Einhorn.

    [The enemy is alreadying in. Please hurry]

    With a shotgun, Iin to Luxion.

    ¡°What do you mean a work? Remember thister.¡±

    When Ange held the machine gun, she let out a small sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that big of an airship. Two of us should be enough. Leon, let¡¯s go.¡±

    As the two of us ran off together, Luxion murmured meaningfully.

    [Good luck with your battle. ¨D¨DAnd a lot of things]

    .

    Part 2

    Livia rushed out to the deck and found Luxion there.

    There are robots in the surroundings, wearing only the upper half of their armor.

    Watching the robots take down the monsters trying to get into the Einhorn one after the other is like a work in progress.

    The sight made Livia feel a little ufortable.

    (No. I need to make sure Leon-san and the others are safe now)

    ¡°Luk-kun!¡±

    When she summons up the courage to speak to Luxion, his red lens is pointed at Livia.

    [Olivia, I thought I told you to stay inside?]

    ¡°I can¡¯t find Leon-san and Ange anywhere! I thought maybe something had happened. But Are-chan didn¡¯t say anything.¡±

    A ghost ship was approaching and they were instructed to stay on board because of the danger.

    Everyone gathered in the hall where they were instructed to go despite their discontent.

    But only Leon and Ange were not there.

    Concerned Livia thus burst out onto the deck, but Luxion is unperturbed to hear that they are not there.

    (¨D¨DScary)

    Livia had dreamed of a scene in which Luxion wasmitting genocide.

    The scene at that time was so vivid that it made Luxion look inevitably scary.

    Even though she tried to forget it, the fear never left her.

    [The two of them are fine]

    ¡°But!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DThis is necessary for both of them.¡±

    After that, Luxion did not speak any more.

    .

    Part 3

    Inside the Einhorn.

    The people gathered in the hall looked restless and concerned about the outside.

    Weapon in hand, they look out the window.

    Jake folded his arms, frustrated by the situation.

    ¡°Why not just blow up the ghost ship with a cannon and be done with it.¡±

    Aare is standing by his side, soothing Jake.

    ¡°I hear there are treasures on the ghost ship, aren¡¯t they investigating it?¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Then we¡¯ll take the ghost ship¡¯s treasure, even though we lost in the old castle.¡±

    Oskar speaks to Jake, who is motivated when he hears about the treasure, as if he has just remembered something.

    ¡°His Highness Jake is always so bullish. I¡¯ve heard some horror stories about ghost ships myself, so I choose to run away rather than blow them up with a cannon.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a pretty coward for being my foster brother.¡±

    ¡°Oya? You don¡¯t know? Well, I¡¯ll tell you a ghost story about a ghost ship that I know¨D¨D¡±

    For some reason, in a group of first-year students start telling ghost stories.

    As Oskar begins to tell scary stories about the ghost ship, Jake¡¯s face gradually turns pale.

    Finn, who was watching the situation with a steely gaze, evaluated them in his mind.

    (Jake, Oskar ¨D¨D I still can¡¯t leave Mia to either of them. It¡¯s no good talking nonsense in this situation. Not when you¡¯re befriending another woman in the first ce.)

    And Aare was out of the question because of the gender change.

    When the three capture targets were rejected by Finn, Mia, who knew nothing about it, was frightened.

    ¡°Knight-sama, ghost ships really do exist. Mia is scared.¡±

    Finn looks warmly at Mia, who is honestly scared.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I will protect you. Don¡¯t worry. If the airship is that big, me and Kurosuke will sink it in no time.¡±

    [Leave it to me!]

    Finn moves closer to Mia, who is scared, and gently holds her hand.

    Mia¡¯s face was reddening.

    ¡°Mia ¨D¨D Are you having a cold? Why didn¡¯t you tell me you weren¡¯t feeling well? I¡¯ll have the medicine ready for you right away, you just wait and see. Kurosuke, get me a couch and a nket.¡±

    [¨D¨D My partner can be a stupid sometimes, can¡¯t he.]

    Seeing Mia¡¯s red face, Finn immediately judges that she is not feeling well.

    His partner, Brave, lookedplicated when he saw Finn like that.

    Mia waves her hands and desperately states she does not have a cold.

    ¡°No! You¡¯re wrong, please calm down!¡±

    ¡°No. Maybe you just don¡¯t realize it? We can¡¯t go back to our room, but you can lie down on the couch.¡±

    Mia has mixed feelings about Finn being too overprotective.

    ¡°Uwh, I¡¯m ttered, but Knight-sama is so, so.¡±

    ¡°What? Tell me anything you want.¡±

    ¡°Uuuuwh. ¨D¨D Idiot¡±

    When she looks down and whisperingly calls him an idiot, Finn is shocked.

    It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, and he froze alone.

    (Mia hates meeee? What did I do wrong?!)

    Part 4

    We stormed into the ghost ship.

    However, a big problem arose here.

    ¡°I can¡¯t take another step¡±

    It was Ange who looked at me sitting down and gave me a dumbfounded look.

    Ange, with a machine gun in each hand, lets out a deep sigh and points at something lying on the floor.

    It was the monster we had just defeated, about to disappear in a puff of smoke.

    ¡°Leon, the monster you just saw is a ghost type that cannot be hit by physical attacks. Don¡¯t worry, you can easily defeat it by using magic.¡±

    A short time after we entered the ship, a ghostly enemy attacked us.

    I got scared and attacked it with a shotgun, but it slipped through them and they attacked me.

    Immediately, Ange burned them down with magic, but my heart was already broken.

    ¡°¨D¨DI can¡¯t. It made me weak in the knees.¡±

    ¡°Oi ?! Where are you who put a stop to that evil monster?!¡±

    When Ange found out I was too scared to move, she was terribly surprised.

    Even I know something from earlier was a monster.

    I know, but they were like real ghosts, they were scary.

    Or rather, they¡¯re real, right? And they¡¯re also very deadly, and they¡¯re going to attack you in a creepy way.

    It was deformed in the game, but I couldn¡¯t stand to see it in real life.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid of enemies who can¡¯t be hit! I¡¯m not good with something like a ghost!¡±

    When I finally shout out my true feelings, Ange pulls in her cheeks.

    ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t good with undead monsters, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be this bad.¡±

    I have never gone through videos, images, and articles featuring scary stories whenever possible, even in my previous life.

    If someone was telling a scary story, I stayed as far away as possible.

    A test of courage? It doesn¡¯t make sense.

    I have made it through without participating whenever possible.

    I have memories of being made to do it for school events on asion, in my mind, I was cursing those who made me go to haunted ces for a test of courage, saying, ¡°Punish them!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI can¡¯t walk alone anymore¡±

    When I tell her why I can¡¯t move, Ange presses her forehead with her hand.

    ¡°I get it. I¡¯ll finish the monsters. You stay here¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Are you leaving me alone!¡±

    ¡°O-Oi, let go. Leon, please don¡¯t cling to my legs.¡±

    I desperately cling to Ange¡¯s leg.

    Ange had a troubled, yet happy look on her face.

    ¡°There was something you weren¡¯t good at, too.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me¡±

    I cling and plead, and Ange strokes my head.

    Apparently, she felt she couldn¡¯t leave me like this.

    Perhaps to reassure me, she uses a gentle tone of voice to calm me down.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get some rest and then we¡¯ll go together. This time I¡¯ll go in front, you follow from behind.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡±

    Ange, who can be relied on in such a situation, looked dazzling to me.

    .

    .

    Part 5

    The inside of the ghost ship was as old as the outside.

    The squeaky floors crack with little effort, and doors shatter just by grabbing them.

    There were lots of monsters.

    But before it became a ce for monsters to live. There were still remnants of the time when people used it, or rather, luggage and other items.

    We reach a room and find an old book on a desk.

    A number of the books were tattered and unreadable, but one was barely readable.

    ¡°This is a sailor¡¯s private room.¡±

    Clinging to Ange¡¯s back as she read her book, I was aware of my surroundings.

    If someone once slept in this room, there is a possibility that something remains.

    In short, I was worried that a ghost mighte out.

    ¡°Ange, let¡¯s get this over with and get back.¡±

    Ange, who is stunned by my frightened state, turns the pages of the book.

    Some pages seem to fall apart, but some are readable.

    ¡°Are you sure you can¡¯t handle this kind of thing? Hasn¡¯t this happened before?¡±

    ¡°I am not good with something scary. Aren¡¯t you scared, Ange?¡±

    ¡°Because I know that the living humans are more terrifying.¡±

    ¡°Ah, Marie said that too.¡±

    ¡°Ah? You mention that woman¡¯s name here, you sound like you want to be left behind.¡±

    I¡¯ve pissed Ange off, and I cling desperately to her.

    Then Ange gets embarrassed.

    ¡°O-Oi, I¡¯m just kidding, don¡¯t hug me. Kora, where are you touching!¡±

    ¡°Forgive me! I can¡¯t handle scary things!¡±

    It is bad enough that there is no Luxion in the first ce.

    If that guy had been here, he would have taken care of it somehow.

    There is no such unscientific thing as ghosts~ and so on.

    It¡¯s scary when you don¡¯t have someone you can talk lightly to.

    In the first ce, I was also afraid of the dungeon I tried to get that guy.

    There are human bones normally.

    If my life had not been on the line, I would not have actively challenged it.

    Ange flips through the pages and tells me what the book is about.

    ¡°I think I figured out what happened to this ship. It seems to be the ship of the adventurers who tried to settle on the continent.¡±

    ¡°Adventurers?¡±

    ¡°It was said that a group of young people who dreamed of a new continent were on board. The owner of the diary was angry with the rude people, and there was a lot ofining in the diary.¡±

    ¡°Why is such a ship here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible it¡¯s been abandoned. It says they found some great treasure. It must have been a woman who wrote this diary. Thest page says she could be with that man.¡±

    Did she have a lover?

    Ange looks at the cover of the book and touches it with her right hand.

    ¡°In the end, the name of the book¡¯s owner remains unknown. I can¡¯t find the name of the ship either. If the diary had been in better condition, I could have looked it up.¡±

    ¡°L-Let¡¯s get this over with and go back. I¡¯ll have Luxion and Creare look into itter.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYou really don¡¯t like ghosts, do you. What¡¯s up with the kingdom¡¯s greatest hero being afraid of ghosts? Those who admire you will be saddened.¡±

    ¡°Scary things are scary.¡±

    Ange puts the book down and leaves the room.

    Many of the other cabins had copsed and could no longer be entered.

    As we walked down the tattered passageway to the innermost part, Ange¡¯s footsteps came to a halt.

    ¡°Here it is. Leon¡±

    Ange held out her left hand and I handed her the holy water bomb I was carrying. I was now Ange¡¯s baggage carrier.

    I move away from Ange and hold up my shotgun to provide support.

    However, I am not sure if I can aim firmly at the enemy because I am trembling.

    When Ange received it and kicked down the door, we found a mucous-like monster haunting the airship.

    But the biggest problem is the ghost-type monsters around it.

    ¡°It came ouuut !!¡±

    When I scream, Ange throws the bomb and sprinkles holy water around.

    The ghosts struggled and disappeared, and then some attacked.

    Scared, I use the shotgun, but the shotshell goes right past the ghosts.

    Ange¡¯s was scattering machine gun bullets at the mucus-like monster.

    ¡°Leon, I¡¯ll help you when I get this one down, so wait!¡±

    I reached out with my right hand to use magic, but I was too frightened to concentrate and could not gather my magic power and the magic was never released.

    ¡°Ange, help me!¡±

    ¡°I told you to wait!¡±

    The ghost-type monsters who slipped through the attack, approached my side were muttering some scary words in my ear.

    I can¡¯t hear what they are saying, but I¡¯m scared anyway.

    I get goosebumps and a bad sweat breaks out.

    ¡°Luxion, help me!¡±

    I didn¡¯t think the name I shouted in a crisis situation would be my hateful partner, Luxion.

    Should I praise myself for not yelling, ¡°Help me, Mom!¡±?

    Then, Ange, who had defeated the mucus-like monsters, manipted the mes to burn the monsters away.

    ¡°I told you to wait quietly.¡±

    It was a dependable sight to see Ange, who had wiped out the monsters, appear with the mes behind her carrying a machine gun that emitted smoke from its muzzle.

    Ange holds me in her arms.

    ¡°The fire is spreading faster than I thought it would. We¡¯re going to get out of here, so hold on tight.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYes¡±

    Ange holds me like a princess.

    I grabbed Ange and put my arms around her neck.

    When Ange kicked through the wall, we saw the deck of the Einhorn.

    ¡°¨D¨DThat¡¯s too convenient. I¡¯ll question that Luxionter.¡±

    Ange jumped over to Einhorn with me in her arms.

    Einhorn moves away from the ghost airship as mes begin to spread.

    I was watching the scene while being held by Ange.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to encounter a ghost ship again¡±

    Even though I understood that they were monsters, I was really scared when they appeared as ghosts.

    Ange agrees with me.

    ¡°Absolutely. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so useless. It¡¯s troublesome, so I don¡¯t want to encounter it again.¡±

    ¡°Sorry¡±

    I apologized pathetically and Livia rushed over to us.

    ¨D¨D She is with Luxion too.

    ¡°Leon-san! Ange! ¨D¨D W-Why is Ange carrying Leon-san in her arms?¡±

    Livia is bewildered at the sight of us, but Luxion is as usual.

    [It¡¯s easy to imagine what happened.]

    I re at Luxion, but I¡¯m still held in such a way by Ange.

    Ange looks at the ghost ship moving away.

    As she watches it crumble, engulfed in mes and burning, Ange murmurs regretfully.

    ¡°Wish I could have gone into more detail¡±

    .

    Part 6

    My room.

    I was rattled and shaking as I sat on the bed.

    Luxion and Creare are observing me with great interest.

    [He looks awfully frightened, doesn¡¯t he.]

    [Master is so cute!]

    I stare at the artificial intelligences.

    ¡°Shut up, you traitorous artificial intelligences! How did you guys let a ghost ship get so close to Einhorn? Normally, you would have intercepted it on your own, wouldn¡¯t you? Or not allow them to approach?¡±

    It¡¯s all strange when I think about it.

    I thought the ghost ship had approached Einhorn.

    However, the usual Luxion and Creare would have taken care of this in advance.

    Speaking of strange, that¡¯s how I and Ange got on board the ghost ship.

    We can wait until everyone else arrives, or if necessary, I can let Luxion and Creare take care of it.

    There was no need for me or Ange to push ourselves anywhere.

    Ange also seemed to have noticed this and said she would ask him about itter.

    I can only assume that these guys were up to something from the beginning.

    [Did you notice? It¡¯s a n to get you and Angelica alone.]

    ¡°What¡¯s the n! You know I¡¯m not good with those guys, right?!¡±

    [That¡¯s why I thought it would be effective.]

    ¡°I¡¯m going to keep lecturing you today.¡±

    When I try to lecture Luxion and Creare, they both ignore me and leave the room.

    There was a passage was provided in the room for the spherical ball to pass through, through which it could easily enter and exit the room.

    ¡°O-Oi, wait¡±

    When I tried to stop them, Creare turned around.

    [If you are going to call someone, you can¡¯t. I don¡¯t know why, but they¡¯re having a ghost story in the hall right now. If you go there, you¡¯ll hear a lot of scary stories, which Master hates.]

    ¡°What are they doing on my ship ?!¡±

    [I sent Livia-chan and Noel-chan there. Ange is the only one who seems to being to this room to continue the goodbye talk.]

    ¡°Come to think of it, we were in the middle of a breakup.¡±

    In my mind, it was already after the breakup, but it was interrupted by the ghost ship ruckus.

    If possible, I am tempted to leave the matter hanging, but that would be too insincere to Ange.

    Everything was meant to be.

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯ve been dumped. It¡¯s a development I deserve.¡±

    I look down and let out a sigh, and Creare makes fun of me.

    [You may be trying to look good, but it doesn¡¯t matter what Master says after such a pathetic sight.]

    ¡°Oi, wait a minute. You guys aren¡¯t monitoring me, are you?¡±

    [¨D¨DI think that Master should be more honest with yourself, and express your true feelings to Ange. Not the usual flimsy, off-the-cuff words, it¡¯s what Master says that counts.]

    For some reason, Creare¡¯s attitude of talking about Ange in a deceptive manner raises the possibility that she was watching me.

    ¡°Oi! Did you watch me andugh at me! You¡¯ve got to be clear about that!¡±

    [Master, tell Ange-chan in your own words that you love her]

    ¡°Don¡¯t run off like you just told a good story!¡±

    When even Creare runs away from the room, I am left alone.

    Noticing that, I react hypersensitively when I hear any sound in the room.

    I got scared again and started shaking.

    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s cowardly to think there¡¯s a real ghost out there. What am I supposed to do with that thing?¡±

    If those guyse out in the middle of the night, I¡¯m gonna cry.

    Alone and trembling on my knees, there is a knock at the door.

    ¡°Leon, it¡¯s me¡±

    ¡°Hyai!¡±

    My voice muffled from the fear of the sudden knock on my door.

    When I allowed Ange to enter the room, her hair was damp, probably after a shower.

    Her hair, which is usually braided and tied up in a bun, is now easily done up.

    Ange, who is dressed roughly, pulls in her cheeks when she sees me.

    ¡°Are you still scared? We already took them down.¡±

    ¡°Thinking about seeing them in my dreams today scares the crap out of me and I can¡¯t sleep.¡±

    ¡°You should know that you are a hero. Don¡¯t let them see you like that out there. That¡¯s myst advice.¡±

    Then Angees into the room and sits on my bed.

    I looked up at the ceiling and saw a clear ¨D¨D No, around her eyes were red.

    Did she cry in the shower?

    Still, sheughs and tells me.

    ¡°We¡¯re done. It¡¯s been fun so far.¡±

    I guess this will be the end of our rtionship.

    On the one hand, I¡¯m the one who wants to part ways cleanly and without regret, like a man, and on the other hand, the other me, crying out pitifully, is appealing to me.

    ¨D¨D I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s clean or without regret, I don¡¯t want to break up with Ange! Also, I¡¯m lonely today and I want her to sleep with me! Like a man? I showed up a pathetic figure on a ghost ship, so what¡¯s the point!

    And so on, I¡¯m going to speak about my true feelings.

    To be honest, I, too, would like her to stay by my side today.

    But the other me, the one who appeals to my masculinity, says.

    ¨D¨DDon¡¯t trouble her any more. Let¡¯s honestly break up with Ange and leave the memories beautiful and walk down a new path for both of us.

    Even if I say that, it¡¯s just embarrassing to be trying to look good now.

    Ange looks at me with concern as I ponder.

    ¡°What¡¯s up? I¡¯d like to hear something from you too.¡±

    Ange herself was anxious to hear what I had to say.

    That¡¯s why I.

    ¡°¨D¨DI honestly don¡¯t understand much about the house or my position. I thought I was engaged to Ange personally.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°What I wanted wasn¡¯t the Duke Redgrave¨D¨DIt¡¯s Ange.¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡±

    When I tell her that I want Ange personally, she blushes and turns her head down.

    ¡°I am happy, but then I am just a daughter. I can¡¯t use my family¡¯s power, and it is useless for me to be around you. That said, if I stay close to you, relying on my family¡¯s strength, you¡¯ll be in trouble. ¡°

    ¡°For me!¡±

    It is a world that is inevitably strongly influenced by the existence of the family household.

    Saying I only want her is not going to make it through.

    But even knowing that, I¨D¨D.

    ¡°¨D¨DI need Ange. Noble society is too much for me, a nobleman from the countryside.¡±

    ¡°It is true that Livia and Noel are also not very familiar with it, but the queen will assist you. If you wanted to, Princess Erika would be your wife. That princess will surely¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°No. Absolutely no! Only Erika is no.¡±

    ¡°Why is it so?¡±

    Ange was terribly surprised to hear me say that Erika was the only one absolutely impossible.

    If she sees us getting along so well on a regr basis, it¡¯s no wonder she¡¯s misunderstood.

    However, only Erika is no.

    In the first ce, there is no such thing as marrying your niece from a previous life.

    I want her to be happy, but not me to make her happy.

    I tell Ange about my determination.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to fight with the Redgrave family for Ange.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about, just for me?¡±

    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, I steal you away¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYou idiot¡±

    When I show forcefulness, Ange shakes her head, though she looks happy.

    Tears spilled from Ange¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m d you feel that way, but it will keep you from a peaceful life. I want you to be happy.¡±

    What do I really need for my happiness?

    The answer is out.

    ¡°Then for my happiness, I need Ange.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DLeon?¡±

    I hug Ange on the bed.

    Ange put her hands behind my back, and then I guess she realized.

    ¡°Are you trembling? By any chance¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m still scared¡±

    When she realized that the fear of the ghost ship had not left me, Angeughed out loud.

    ¡°You¡¯re a really sloppy guy. At least at a time like this, you should make up your mind¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m scared! Please stay with me.¡±

    Betrayed by Luxion and the others, I ask Ange to stay by my side.

    Then Ange whispers in my ear.

    ¡°So you were afraid and wanted me to spend the night with you so you could seduce me?¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re wrong.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t get angry, so be honest. Come on, quickly.¡±

    She blew her breath in my ear, making me ticklish.

    ¡°Just a little¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI knew it¡±

    Ange sounds amazed when she finds out the truth, but she rubs my back.

    ¡°Throwing you away like this would be a blemish on your hero¡¯s name.¡±

    ¡°I can follow you¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like that. You are ¨D¨D a hero for me too.¡±

    I feel like I am closer to Ange than ever before because of this incident.

    The uptight part was gone and we feltfortable with each other.

    Ange presses her forehead against my chest.

    ¡°Leon, I¡¯m cutting myself off from my parents¡¯ house¡±

    ¡°Ange?¡±

    I was surprised at the sudden statement.

    Since family is such a big part of the world, it¡¯s a very big deal to cut ties with it.

    From now on, Ange cannot return to the Redgrave family.

    Not only that, but she would lose her position as a daughter of the Duke.

    ¡°Eventually, if I hadn¡¯t been able to keep you connected, my parents would have given up on me. So you have nothing to worry about.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DBut¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the path I chose. You don¡¯t need to worry about it. If I cut ties with my family, Duke Redgrave will be your enemies. Are you prepared to bear that burden?¡±

    After thinking for a few seconds and nodding, Ange looks up and gives me a serious look.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to have a lot of trouble. Most of the lords and nobles are the enemy. Some of them will even tter you. If you want to rebuild the kingdom, you will be busy.¡±

    ¡°If it can be done peacefully¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DGot it. I will support you. Then I¡¯ll stay with you for the night. I know you¡¯ll be too scared to sleep.¡±

    I blushed as Ange gave me a mischievous smile.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s not like tha¡±

    ¡°Then I will return to my room?¡±

    ¡°I lied!¡±

    I apologize to Ange for that, and I asked her to sleep with me for the night.

 Volume 10, Chapter 11 â€œSevering The Tiesâ€

    Part 1

    Next morning.

    Livia and Noel visit Leon¡¯s room.

    The reason is that they haven¡¯t seen Ange and they want to know what happened to their rtionship.

    Livia looked depressed.

    ¡°In the end, their make-up attempt was a failure.¡±

    As they walk down the hallway, they have a dark look on their faces, unable to repair the rtionship between Leon and Ange.

    Noel forced herself to act cheerful.

    ¡°They don¡¯t break up because they don¡¯t like each other. They both have their positions.¡±

    Livia clenches her hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s right¡±

    The two made up sessfully, but in the end, the circumstances surrounding them did not allow them to be together.

    When theye to the front of Leon¡¯s room, knocking hesitantly.

    ¡°Leon-san, are you awake?¡±

    Livia calls out, but there is no response, and Noel knocks on the door harder.

    ¡°Wake up. Actually, I can¡¯t find Angelica-san. Creare is fine, if he won¡¯t take the matter up. Could you ask Leon for me?¡±

    Perhaps Noel¡¯s voice wakes him up, and the door opens.

    However, the owner of the room should have been Leon, but it was Ange with her hair down who showed up.

    She looks embarrassed with her cheeks slightly reddening in front of the two of them.

    While averting her gaze from the two.

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯m sorry. I made you worry.¡±

    Even though Livia¡¯s cheeks are drawn back, but she is relieved to see Ange looking so well.

    ¡°Thank goodness! Ange, yesterday¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute. I have something I need to tell you first.¡±

    Both Livia and Noel closed their mouths as Ange became serious.

    Ange took a small breath and then.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to stay with Leon. Instead, I will sever my ties from my parents¡¯ home.¡±

    When Livia and Noel heard this, they screamed in the morning.

    Part 2

    The mansion of the Duke Redgrave family in the royal capital.

    It was Vince, who didn¡¯t even try to hide his grumpy face, who was in front of Ange, who had visited the mansion in the morning.

    He res at Ange.

    ¡°I never thought my beloved daughter would bite my hand.¡±

    To Vince¡¯s words, Ange replies with dignity.

    ¡°It was Chichi-ue who did the biting.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d sever your ties from your family. By the looks of it, you couldn¡¯t have persuaded Duke Bartfalt, could you? It seems you¡¯ve lost to Her Highness as a woman.¡±

    Are you cutting ties with your family because you couldn¡¯t convince Leon? Ange smiles faintly at this question.

    ¡°Leon assured me that he would not marry Princess Erika. Then he told me that he wants me even if he has to fight with Duke Redgrave.¡±

    Vince¡¯s face contorts when he realizes that Erika is not the reason why Leon has not joined forces with the Redgrave family.

    With a look of iprehension, he asks Ange.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Well, in that case¡ª¡ª¡±

    ¡°Leon said it would be troublesome for the kingdom to fall.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand that if they don¡¯t perish when they¡¯re supposed to perish, they¡¯ll just be showing ugliness.¡±

    The kingdom is reaching the end of its life span.

    When Vince said that there was no point in prolonging its life as it was now, Ange gave a small nod.

    ¡°I think so too¡±

    ¡°Then why can¡¯t you persuade him? It¡¯s easy for you now, isn¡¯t it.¡±

    Indeed, it is easy for Ange to persuade Leon.

    Leon would have sided with Duke Redgrave if Ange had asked him to.

    But that¡¯s not what Ange wants.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to¡±

    ¡°Ange!¡±

    ¡°My wish is for Leon¡¯s happiness.¡±

    Dering with dignity, Vince swung his fist down on the desk in the office.

    ¡°Are you going to betray the Redgrave ¨D¨D your family?¡±

    Are you going to fight with your family? At this question, Ange¡¯s eyes shook slightly, but she did not change her mind.

    ¡°I have no excuses. Thank you for all you have done for me. Chichi-ue, please be well.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me. As of today, I¡¯m severing the parent-child rtionship with you. Get out of here!¡±

    ¡°Excuse me¡±

    Ange leaves the office with her back turned, but stops at the door and looks back.

    Vince looks like he wants to tell her to leave quickly, but she takes a picture out of her pocket.

    Since Vince probably won¡¯t be able to see it from his position, so she tells him what the picture is of.

    ¡°Also, I¡¯ll let you know just in case. I challenged an unexplored dungeon with Leon and we got the treasure.¡±

    Hearing this story, Vince¡¯s back was lifted out of his chair.

    ¡°W-What?¡±

    As a nobleman and a father, he could not forgive his daughter.

    However, when he learns that his daughter has achieved greatness as an adventurer, he is disturbed.

    As a father and adventurer, he is filled with the desire to congratte his daughter.

    At the same time, the adventurer¡¯s blood is boiling.

    His daughter has done what he could not do.

    He wanted to congratte her, but at the same time, he felt frustrated.

    But he just broke the rtion between them.

    While wanting to hear more details, he cannot show that kind of attitude here.

    He had that kind of expression on his face.

    Ange politely informs him.

    ¡°The dungeon will be named the Old Castle of the Golden Hand. We have already recovered all the treasures, but a survey team is being organized to investigate the site. I was told a full-scale investigation will begin in a few years¡±

    The treasure has already been collected by Ange and others, but perhaps there is still something more to be found.

    With this in mind, adventurers will be heading for the Old Castle of the Golden Hand one after another.

    Vince also looked like he wanted to head over right now, but he turned away and sat back in his chair.

    He crosses his arms and yells at Ange.

    ¡°W-What does it matter? You and I are strangers now. Get out of my house quickly.¡±

    ¡°I will. Thank you, Father, for all you have done.¡±

    Ange bowed deeply, and her voice sounded slightly sad.

    Vince lets out a deep sigh as Ange leaves the room and leaves him alone.

    ¡°Stupid daughter. ¨D¨D That is where you should have talked about the dungeon first. You think that was payback?¡±

    He wanted to hear his daughter¡¯s adventure story, but regretfully.

    Then he looks up at the ceiling and smiles.

    ¡°Even so, she¡¯s got a good eye now.¡±

    There was a father there, pleased with his daughter¡¯s growth, even though their ties were severed.

    Part 3

    School rooftop.

    I was to discuss the future with Herring, but the topic inevitably turned to the old castle of the Golden Hand.

    Herring happily talks about Mia-chan.

    ¡°Listen. I think Mia may have discovered a new species of nt. I would love to name the nt after Mia, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°How many hours are you going to talk about Mia-chan?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t even told you 30% of it yet?¡±

    Watching Herring tilt his head back, the word ¡°overprotective¡± seems to perfectly fit.

    I sigh, and Herring, perhaps feeling bad about it, asks me about the recent situation.

    ¡°Meanwhile, what about you?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I heard that daughter of the duke cut off her ties with her parents for your sake. I thought it was kind of sudden, even though there was some break-up talk going on. I thought I¡¯d ask you what kind of methods you used, for future reference.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just curious?¡±

    I¡¯m dumbfounded, but there is no point in hiding it, so I tell the truth.

    Of course, all my pathetic stories get cut.

    I cannot disclose my shame openly.

    ¡°I just told that I needed Ange.¡±

    ¡°Is that all?¡±

    ¡°What else is there?¡±

    ¡°No, if that¡¯s all, wouldn¡¯t it have been better if you had told her beforehand?¡±

    If I can tell her, there wouldn¡¯t have been a problem in the first ce.

    I can think of a reason I hadn¡¯t noticed and give Herring an answer that sounds like it.

    ¡°Is it a difference in values?¡±

    It was a messy answer, but it seemed enough for Herring.

    He is thinking seriously.

    ¡°¨D¨DThat¡¯s a troublesome problem for us.¡±

    ¡°Right¡±

    When I make a sidelong nce, Herring leans his back against the rooftop railing and looks up at the sky.

    Then he cut to the chase.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to make contact with another capture target.¡±

    ¡°Robson? You have a harsh judgment¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to determine if he¡¯s the right man to trust with Mia¡¯s life.¡±

    I say that¡¯s the problem.

    Herring, who is overprotective toward Mia-chan, inevitably has a strict eye for men.

    Above all, Herring himself is a high-spec man.

    Back in the empire, I hear he¡¯s famous as a knight.

    I hear he¡¯s not a noble, but I¡¯ve heard the empire is a meritocracy, so there¡¯s a chance he could get a peerage.

    I haven¡¯t heard about his financial resources, but I heard that he has a lot of savings because he doesn¡¯t spend much money.

    Once I asked him what he was spending his money on and was surprised to find that most of it was rted to Mia-chan.

    Is there a man in this school that Herring would approve of?

    Herring asks me for it with an unttering look on his face.

    ¡°¨D¨D But I¡¯ve been realizingtely that I¡¯m a little strict.¡±

    ¡°A little? That¡¯s a little?!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to help me find out.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    Why would he ask me to do that?

    When I wonder, Herring tells me the situation.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped! I don¡¯t have anyone else I can ask. Marie¨D¨Dsan, I feel like she has no eyes for men.¡±

    Indeed, it is doubtful that Marie, surrounded by five idiots, has the eyes to judge a man.

    She was a person who fell for a hopeless man from a previous life.

    ¡°I¡¯m not confident either, but isn¡¯t it more important that Robson gets along with Mia? Forcing them to get together won¡¯t end well¡±

    I remember what happened to Loic in the Arzel Republic, and I tell Hering that the best thing to do is to let the two of them feel each other¡¯s feelings.

    Herring seemed to agree.

    ¡°I guess so. First, their feelings. On top of that, it¡¯s whether he¡¯s a man who can protect Mia. At this point, I¡¯m thinking of raising him to be a man who can protect Mia, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to start a game of nobleman¡¯s training?¡±

    ¡°If he can¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to prepare him!¡±

    Since there is no man suitable for Mia-chan, he said that he would prepare one himself.

    What could make this guy go that far?

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your love for Mia-chan too heavy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not heavy. This is normal.¡±

    Raising the capture target of that Otome game and developing him into a man worthy and suitable for the protagonist!

    I had a bit of trouble stopping such Herring.

    But if he could make the five idiots decent, I¡¯d be inclined to leave it to him.

    Part 4

    Robson Fou Ethan.

    He is a man born with everything.

    He was born into a prestigious Count family, and also had a talent for sword and magic.

    He was not only a military man, but also showed great talent in writing.

    Ethan, who grew up with no such ws and was hailed as a genius by those around him, had an older brother who was nothing like him.

    Compared to Ethan, he is a man of no talent, is foolish, and has a nasty personality.

    Envious of his talented younger brother, he nned to assassinate him, he was worried about his status as heir of the family.

    However, theck of talent is shown here as well.

    His brother is disinherited by his parents because of an act that is too poor to be called an assassination.

    They said he was being pushed into the remote countryside, but Ethan didn¡¯t know the details either.

    Is he alive or dead?

    His parents feared that his foolish older brother would run the family into the ground, so they took advantage of the situation and made Ethan their heir.

    Thus, Ethan became an heir to the Robson family.

    ¡°Yes, that means I¡¯m the perfect guy who has it all.¡±

    ¨D¨DThe man who talked about his bragging so far with a little sadness was Ethan.

    He sat down next to Aare, who was sitting on a bench in the school¡¯s courtyard, and suddenly started talking about his upbringing and bragging.

    Aare is also puzzled by the bragging.

    ¡°I-I see. That was tough.¡±

    Aare had a small, lovely, homemade lunch box spread out on herp.

    When she was spending her lunch hour alone, Ethan suddenly sat down next to her.

    Even though she did not listen to it, he began to tell her about his upbringing.

    Ethan nces at the lunch box, and Aare offers him a side dish.

    ¡°Here¡±

    ¡°Oops, excuse me. It looked so delicious that it caught my eye. I was hoping to fix my gaze on a beautiful woman like you, but what sinful food.¡±

    Ethan grabs the omelet and eats it, chewing and swallowing it before smiling at Aare.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you will be a wonderful wife. By the way, I have an empty spot next to me for you. You can always next¨D¨D¡±

    With both hands held, Aare realizes what Ethan wants to do.

    ¨D¨DAh, I¡¯m being picked up now, she thought.

    ¡°Ano, I¡¯m d to hear that but I¡±

    As she tries to decline the offer in a reserved manner, there is one man who approaches them.

    It was an angry Jake.

    ¡°What are you doing there!¡±

    Seeing Jake approaching with a raised voice, Aare hurriedly shook off Ethan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Your Highness Jake?! T-This is¡±

    Jake looked at the bewildered Aare, then immediately red at Ethan.

    ¡°Aare is troubled. Get out of there, Ethan.¡±

    Jake seems to know Ethan, as they are also first-year students.

    It is the same for Ethan.

    However, it appears that both sides do not have a good rtionship.

    Ethan, with a fearless smile on his face, provokes Jake.

    ¡°Well, well. Isn¡¯t it His Royal Highness Jake who cannot be the crown prince? ording to what I heard, you couldn¡¯t persuade Duke Bartfalt? Is the Duke backing the disinherited Prince Julius?¡±

    Ethan¡¯s tant provocation to Jake, who was aiming for the throne, told Ethan¡¯s position.

    As a nobleman, Ethan¡¯s Robson family likely isn¡¯t backing Jake.

    But Jake doesn¡¯t step back.

    ¡°I was impressed with you for pushing your brother aside and sitting as his heir, but apparently I overestimated you. You¡¯re just a kid who wants what others have.¡±

    Ethan, who was called a kid, raises his eyebrows with a smile on his face.

    Although he is trying his best to show hisposure, he must be quite angry.

    ¡°I would say. Speaking of which, where is your guardian Oskar? He has to take care of His Highness, but I can¡¯t seem to see him.¡±

    While bringing up the topic of Oskar, ¡®even though you are just a kid who can¡¯t do anything without a guardian!¡¯ A roundabout message that he said.

    However, Jake touched his face with his right hand and made an indescribable expression.

    ¡°¨D¨DOskar is at the woman¡¯s ce.¡±

    ¡°Oskar, who can do nothing but work on his body, is with a woman? People grow up, don¡¯t they? Your Highness could learn from him¡±

    Jake responds to Ethan, who is undermining him, weakly.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. ¨D¨DAare,e with me.¡±

    Jake takes Aare¡¯s hand as he puts away her lunch box and leaves Ethan.

    Seeing them together, Ethan does not seem to be angry.

    He just looked coldly at Jake¡¯s back.

    ¡°¨D¨DI will only let you have her for now, Your Highness. I hope you will make happy memories with her.¡±

    Ethan knew what was about to happen to Jake.

    There is no need to imagine the fate of the prince of a dying country.

    Out of pity, Ethan watched Jake take Aare away.

    Part 5

    ¡°Oskar-samaa~¡±

    ¡°Jenna-san!¡±

    It was Oskar and Finley who visited a coffee shop near the school.

    Jenna, who came first and had been waiting for him, looks only at Oskar and has a big smile on her face.

    She doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed that Finley ising with him.

    Jenna feigns friendliness in a ce where the sisters know each other well.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to call you here. I really wanted to have lunch with Oskar-sama~¡±

    Expressionless Finley looks at Jenna, who feigns friendliness, and her eyes are void of highlights.

    Oskar, oblivious to Finley¡¯s state of mind, looks embarrassed.

    ¡°No, I am happy too. I have not had many experiences withdies asking me out, so I am in high spirits.¡±

    ¡°Oskar-sama is so cute!¡±

    Those around them who see the new couple react either smiling, awkwardly, or biting their back teeth and cursing the world.

    And Finley.

    (Why am I being punished like this?)

    A male student who was a good friend of hers had somehow gotten into a good rtionship with her own sister.

    From Finley¡¯s point of view, he does not understand what happened.

    After watching them for a while, Jenna finally seems to notice Finley¡¯s presence.

    ¡°Ara, Finley was here too.¡±

    With a very annoyed look on her face, her words show not the least bit of concern for her younger sister.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you. Mom and dad tell me to do so. ¨D¨D Keep an eye on your sister to make sure she doesn¡¯t get into trouble, they said.¡±

    Finley, with a fake smile on her face, was Jenna¡¯s watchman.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have toe. We¡¯ll get along fine. Why don¡¯t Finley just buy some candy and go home? Ah, and be sure to tell your mother and father nicely.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a serious person, so I can¡¯t do that~¡±

    Oskar listens to the conversation between the sisters, but he is not smart enough to understand their feelings, so he takes his seat and starts ordering.

    Jenna was grinding her teeth inwardly.

    (Even I don¡¯t want to keep an eye on you guys! Please understand my feelings a little!)

    Her parents were worried that her sister was going out with Oskar and might cause some problems. Finley was asked by her parents, who were concerned about her sister¡¯s rtionship with Oskar.

    (And aniki also says to never let you out of my sight)

    Finley, who received an allowance from Leon, could not refuse when asked.

    Also, her own intuition tells her that she needs to keep an eye on things.

    Both Jenna and Finley are smiling at each other, but their eyes are not smiling at all.

    Finley takes a seat.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, so let¡¯s get a quick meal. We are students and have sses in the afternoon. Unlike onee-chan, who has nothing else to do.¡±

    Jenna naturally sits next to Oskar and clings to his well-trained arms.

    ¡°Oskar-sama, you found a treasure in the dungeon, didn¡¯t you? Did you get a lot of money by any chance?¡±

    She ignored Finley and spoke to Oskar, but the answer she got back was not what Jenna wanted.

    ¡°No, the Duke got all the treasure.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    ¡°As I thought, the dungeon conquerors are different. I am not even close to him. I am lucky to have a wonderful senior.¡±

    Jenna¡¯s cheeks are drawn back as she is told with a smile.

    ¡°T-That¡¯s so. That Leon has got another treasure. Hm~m.¡±

    ¡°Yes! The Duke was very concerned about me. He told me that if I overexerted myself too much and injured myself, he would be sorry for all the things.¡±

    Finley drinks the juice brought by the waiter, thinking that sorry for all the things parts must include Jenna.

    Jenna brings her face close to Finley¡¯s and tries to get some details about the situation.

    ¡°What does that mean? Did he find another treasure? He¡¯s rich even if he doesn¡¯t do anything, isn¡¯t he.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s been strangely out of his mind and in a fickle moodtely.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s always out of his mind. He¡¯s out of many other things, too.¡±

    As a blood sister and brother, Jenna¡¯s assessment of Leon was harsh.

    Finley doesn¡¯t deny that part either.

    The Leon that they had seen at their parents¡¯ house was not the hero, as everyone said he was.

    ¡°It¡¯s worse than when he was at the parents¡¯ house. And he¡¯s strangely attached to Angelica-san.¡±

    ¡°That idiot, if you made a profit, you should give me a share of it¡±

    Jenna has no right to anything, but that is a sign of unreasonableness as a sister. Also, she is just bad-mouthing him and does not really want a share of the money.

    Finley nods her head.

    ¡°But I heard that aniki is financing aneki¡¯s life in the royal capital.¡±

    ¡°That is that, this is this.¡±

    ¡°Aneki is trash too¡±

    What is fascinating about this older sister?

    Finley is curious and asks Oskar.

    ¡°Oskar-san¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Why did you fall for my sister? From me, her younger sister¡¯s point of view, she¡¯s pretty trash.¡±

    Jenna is furious when she is called trash right in front of her.

    ¡°¨D¨D Finley, do you have a grudge against me?¡±

    She gives her a steely look that says, ¡°I will not forgive anyone who destroys my happiness¡±.

    But Finley does not stop warning Oskar.

    Because she hates her sister.

    ¡°Oskar-san, you should break up with her now.¡±

    While Jenna, ignored, turns murderous eyes on her sister, Oskar scratches his head in embarrassment.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. Jenna is a lovelydy.¡±

    Jenna folds her hands with a twinkle in her eyes at Oskar¡¯s statement.

    She looks as if she is praying to Oskar.

    ¡°Oskar-sama¡±

    ¡°Jenna-san¡±

    Finley covered her face with her hands as she watched the two of them staring at each other.

    (Is this guy¡¯s eye blind!!)

    Part 6

    I was in my room with my head in my hands when Finley told me what happened at lunch.

    ¡°How am I supposed to apologize to Viscount Hogan?¡±

    If I apologize that ¡®my big sister seduced your son, will you forgive me?¡¯ No, I don¡¯t think so.

    If I were Viscount Hogan, I would be outraged to learn that my heir had been seduced.

    Ange makes a dumbfounded face as she prepares a drink for my dejected self.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it so much. Isn¡¯t Viscount Hogan rather pleased?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my sister?! It¡¯s that sister who yed around a lot when I was in school and caused me a lot of trouble?! I pity Oskar so much.¡±

    He¡¯s an idiot but a good guy, but the woman he falls in love with is pretty bad.

    I wanted them to break up for Oskar¡¯s sake because I know Jenna as a person well.

    Yes, for the sake of Oskar!

    Why do I have to worry about the romance of the guy who is the capture target of the third work?

    Perhaps Ange is tired of talking about this, so she switches the subject to cutting ties with her parents¡¯ home.

    ¡°More importantly, it will soon be known that I have broken off rtions with my parents¡¯ family. If that happens, the pce and the school will be in an uproar. People around you will be wondering what you¡¯re up to.¡±

    Apparently, everyone is looking to see whose side I¡¯m on.

    I wish they would have paid more attention to something else.

    The best tea gentleman in the school, or something like that.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be the center of attention¡±

    ¡°The price you paid for choosing me was high.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DI guess I¡¯ll just have to endure it then¡±

    With a giggle, Ange lets me know how I should act in the future.

    ¡°Show them that Leon is friendly with the royal pce. Make it look like you are friendly with His Highness Julius.¡±

    ¡°With Julius? What about Erika and Jake?¡±

    If it¡¯s all about appearing friendly with royalty, Erika and Jake are no different.

    However, Ange was fixated on Julius.

    ¡°His Highness Jake is too ambitious. If you get close to him, he might use the rtionship to stir up trouble for the position of Crown Prince.¡±

    ¡°That Jake? Even though he¡¯s crazy about Aare-chan?¡±

    The two are often seen together in school.

    I heard that Jake is chasing her.

    It seems that Aare-chan is also not dissatisfied and is happy about it.

    ¨D¨D But they are both men. No, one of them changed sex and became a woman, but the problem is that there is no concept of sex change in this world.

    Therefore, no matter how feminine Aare-chan is, she is treated as a man on documents and in the family register.

    Ange is also aware of this fact and is worried about Jake.

    ¡°If His Highness Jake knew the truth, he would have a rough time.¡±

    ¡°If things get rough, I¡¯ll beat them up with Arroganz and make them as merry as Julius and others.¡±

    ¡°Think of it as ast resort. Also, stop tea parties with Princess Erika to a minimum.¡±

    I don¡¯t understand the reason why Erika is not good.

    As I was tilting my head, Ange reached out and pinched my cheek.

    ¡°Ange, it hurts¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because you look like you don¡¯t understand. I don¡¯t want you to get close to Princess Erika, partly because of politics, but mostly because of my personal selfishness.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Ange removes her hand from my cheek and gently strokes the red, swollen area with her fingertips.

    ¡°It¡¯s jealousy. Besides, if you get too close to her, Milene-sama will make a move. She will do anything to protect her country.¡±

    Ange lets go of her hand and tells me about Milene-san, who I don¡¯t know.

    She wants me to have more sense of danger.

    ¡°When that person was married, there was a lot of fuss that the United Kingdom of Leparto had yed its trump card. She¡¯s the one who was rumored to have been the eventual queen of the allied countries.¡±

    ¡°Milene-san is amazing.¡±

    When I am impressed, Ange doesn¡¯t look amused and I cough to cover it up.

    It seems that Ange had served as an apprentice in the past by Milene-san¡¯s side and had heard a lot about her from her.

    ¡°The United Kingdom has been tormented by Raschel for years. Knowing that, that person was desperate to hold up the military alliance and suppress Raschel.¡±

    ¡°So she¡¯s going to use her daughter?¡±

    ¡°Although she has sentiments, she is also a person who can make decisions as a royalty. In fact, Erika-sama was betrothed to a legitimate son of the Fraser family when she was very young.¡±

    I have aplicated feeling because it was my niece from a previous life who got engaged.

    Ange concludes with a joke.

    ¡°So I don¡¯t rmend it, personally or politically. Now that I¡¯ve said all this, you¡¯ll reconsider, won¡¯t you?¡±

    I pull back slightly as Angees closer to my face.

    ¡°You¡¯re more aggressive than before.¡±

    ¡°I stopped thinking about it. You don¡¯t get my indirect expressions of affection.¡±

    When I can¡¯t say anything, there is a knock at the door.

    ¡°Who are they at a time like this?¡±

    When I stood up from my chair, Ange narrowed her eyes.

    It seems she has an idea who the visitor is.

    ¡°While I prefer that hee before time, I wish he¡¯d be more thoughtful.¡±

    ¡°Eh, did you call someone?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s His Highness Julius.¡±

    Part 7

    I was walking the streets of the royal capital with Julius, who had been called by Ange.

    I was told to walk around the royal city, alone with Julius.

    Two guys going out together or something like that makes me sad.

    Despite that, Julius was in a good mood.

    ¡°I was told I could tour the food stalls on your dime. Why don¡¯t we tour my rmendations here, but also explore new ones.¡±

    He turns his useless, sparkling, handsome smile on me.

    The women walking around were fascinated by Julius.

    ¨D¨DWhat¡¯s the point of you smiling at me like that?

    I won¡¯t have a crush on you.

    ¡°A tour of the food stalls, are you okay with that, as a prince?¡±

    ¡°This is also a daily practice. But it¡¯s a hobby and partly for practical purposes, though.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I asked you.¡±

    Why do you get to have so much fun just walking around with the dude?

    Julius feels like a mysterious creature I don¡¯t understand, and as I look at him curiously, Luxion speaks to me.

    [Master, I¡¯ve identified some suspicious individuals in the area.]

    ¡°Is that an assassin?¡±

    Even like this, I have a billion-yen bounty on my head from another country.

    There are people out there who are trying to kill me, but this time it seems to be different.

    [No, they seem to be investigating the Master¡¯s friendships. As Angelica mentioned, there is a lot ofmotion around Master]

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that they are desperately trying to find out about my friendships.¡±

    [I agree. This country, where Master is such an important figure, is already at its end.]

    ¡°Can¡¯t you be nicer? Would you be nicer if I gave you an order?¡±

    Wouldn¡¯t he be a little nicer partner if I ordered him to do so?

    Such faint hopes are soon shattered.

    [After considering the good measures to be taken forward, I regret to inform you that I will not be able to do so.]

    ¡°What do you mean ¡°considering¡±, after giving a quick answer?¡±

    As I was having a routine conversation with Luxion, Julius looked around and let out a small sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve felt this way. No, more than me?¡±

    When I looked at him to see what he was talking about, Julius led me to the restaurant with a serious expression on his face.

    Walking quickly, he weaves his way through the crowd.

    ¡°Oi, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s quite a few of them watching us. Leon¡¯s even more popr than I am.¡±

    I see Juliusughing, and it makes me angry.

    ¡°Only nasty peoplee to me¡±

    ¡°I used to feel the same way.¡±

    I could understand a little bit how Julius felt about being the crown prince, the one who was getting all the attention.

    It is certainly ufortable to be watched all the time.

    And Julius asks me what will happen from now on.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough from now on. The royal pce, of course, will be noisy, but so will the school.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is. That being said, I hear you and Angelica are getting along well.¡±

    ¡°Idi! Don¡¯t say getting along well.¡±

    Julius tilted his head, but continued talking as if he didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°She no longer looks thoughtful. She is more full of energy than ever before. You¡¯re going to have a hard time now, aren¡¯t you.¡±

    Having had her mind blown, Ange became tougher in many ways.

    Thanks to that, I am overwhelmed.

    [She already dominates.]

    ¡°Oi!¡±

    [Isn¡¯t that the fact?]

    Unable to say anything back, I turn my face away, and Juliusughs.

    ¡°I knew you were more than me. ¨D¨DDo well, Leon.¡±

    I guess the ¡°do well¡± part includes the future.

    It¡¯s not just about Ange.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to be told.¡±

 Volume 10, Chapter 12 â€œTradition Eventâ€

    Part 1

    ¡°Did he really cut his ties with Duke Redgrave and support the royal family?¡±

    Ethan heard the news the day after Leon and Julius had walked around to eat in the royal capital.

    Even though Duke Redgrave cut Ange off from them, her engagement to Leon was not broken.

    Also, the fact that Leon was walking around the royal city with Julius suggests that he is in a position of support for the royal family.

    There was evidence that this was not a mistake, and it was delivered to Ethan as solid information.

    Ethan, whose schedule has gone awry, scrunches up his face.

    ¡°This will ¨D¨D make Miss Aare end up with Prince Jake!¡±

    Ethan, cowering in ce with his head in his hands, recalls his encounter with Aare.

    It was just a few days after the entrance ceremony.

    He was dismayed at the low level of the people around him and spent his time at a distance, not talking to anyone.

    He is different from those around him.

    He was isted by this thought.

    However, there was one person who approached Ethan kindly.

    It¡¯s Aare.

    The person in question probably doesn¡¯t remember it, but she spoke to Ethan, who was spending some time alone.

    It was a conversation thatsted only a few minutes, but Ethan still remembers it.

    Having a casual conversation, he felt his heart beat faster.

    Then, after Aare left, he realized.

    ¡°This perfect me is in love with her, so Miss Aare is a perfect woman. And yet, it is unbelievable that she is so close to His Highness Jake. If things were going to be true, he was supposed to disappear to the executioner¡¯s table as a prince of a ruined country¡±

    He thought that Jake would surely be killed in the future, and if so, he was going to give him time to dream, even if only for a short time.

    And yet, Leon has turned to support the royal family.

    If Leon were to support the royal family, the lord nobles who want to destroy the kingdom of Horfalt would likely hesitate to do so.

    In fact, some nobles had left Duke Redgrave¡¯s faction.

    The same is true for Ethan¡¯s family, Count Robson, who has been instructed to be cautious at the school. In other words, the chances of Jake being sent to the executioner¡¯s table have greatly diminished.

    ¡°Why are things not going ording to my n?! I¡¯m a genius!!¡±

    Ethan, who believes and has no doubt that he is a genius, decided to take action, forgetting about his position as a noble.

    ¡°I guess I should make myself clear on this?¡±

    All in order to tell Aare that he loves her.

    Part 2

    It¡¯s me and Herring walking down the hallway of the school.

    And our partners who don¡¯t get along.

    Luxion res at Brave with red lenses glowing suspiciously, and Brave stares at Luxion with bloodshot eyes.

    They float in the air and follow us like two delinquents sending a re at each other.

    And Herring, his master, looked nervous as he loosened his cor.

    ¡°Robson ¨D¨D I¡¯m going to find out if he¡¯s worthy of Mia.¡±

    Herring, with his sharp eyes, looked like he was about to go into battle.

    ¡°Do you want to kill Robson-kun? Do something about that killing intent.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry. I just can¡¯t help but force myself.¡±

    I feel sorry for Robson, who knows nothing about this.

    However, he is the capture target of that otome game.

    I can¡¯t imagine any of them are decent, so let¡¯s meet him and see how he is as a person before I decide whether I should feel sorry for him or not.

    Herring looks anxious.

    ¡°¨D¨DBartfalt.¡±

    ¡°Just call me Leon. What?¡±

    ¡°Then, Leon, I¡¯m fine you call me Finn. Also ¨D¨D What would you do if Robson was unworthy of Mia?¡±

    You¡¯re too pessimistic, thinking about what if he¡¯s not what you expected before you even meet him.

    No, I guess not.

    In my experience so far, the world has been just right for me to be overly pessimistic.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect anything from the capture targets from the beginning, so there¡¯s no problem. Besides, didn¡¯t you say you were going to do something about him by training him.¡±

    ¡°I-I guess so. If he is not good, I can train him. If I let him cross the dead line a few times, maybe he¡¯ll be a little more decent, huh?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨D If the conditions are that strict, Mia won¡¯t be able to get married forever.¡±

    Herring¨D¨DFinn¡¯s overprotectiveness is also a problem.

    We¡¯re making our way to the first-year ssroom to talk to Robson and we hear amotion.

    ¡°First years are so noisy¡±

    Finn nods his head as he approaches the ssroom, thinking the ce is noisy.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not usually this noisy. Is something wrong?¡±

    As we run out of concern, we hear Mia-chan¡¯s voiceing from the ssroom.

    ¡°If you¡¯re a man, you should fight fair and square!¡±

    ¨D¨DWhat happened to Mia-chan?

    Part 3

    Let¡¯s turn the time back a bit, Jake and Ethan were staring at each other in the first-year ssroom.

    The tall Ethan is looked up by the smaller Jake.

    They look furious at each other.

    ¡°Say it again¡±

    Ethan responds to Jake¡¯s low voice question in a cold voice.

    ¡°You don¡¯t worthy of Miss Aare. Do you really think that you, who can¡¯t even be the crown prince even without pushing your brother aside, can be with the lovely Miss Aare?¡±

    Ethan¡¯s words cause Jake to have a blue streak on his forehead.

    ¡°The man who pushed his brother out of the way and took the heir apparent¡¯s position sure is different. It seems that the self-proimed genius-dono is unable to measure the abilities of others. ¨D¨D You think I¡¯m inferior to my brother?¡±

    There is a lot of noise and words are being said, and the people around them are anxious.

    Ethan¡¯snguage is extremely disrespectful and goes too far, even considering his status as a student.

    Even Jake seems to have forgotten that he was warned by the school to refrain from talking about topics that might touch on the issue of session rights.

    The first-year students start to make a fuss over the situation.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Princess Erika?!¡±

    ¡°She left already because she had a doctor¡¯s appointment today.¡±

    ¡°T-Then, where¡¯s Oskar-sama?!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHe just left the ssroom like normal because he was going to meet his girlfriend.¡±

    ¡°Why?! How can he leave in this situation?!¡±

    Even the first-year students were bewildered by Oskar¡¯sck ofmon sense.

    Then the gaze turns to the girl who seems to be able to contain the situation.

    ¨D¨DIt¡¯s Finley.

    Several of the girls approach Finley and ask her to calm the scene.

    ¡°Finley-san, can I ask you for a small favor?¡±

    Finley, who guessed what was meant, let out a deep sigh and got up from her seat.

    ¡°You want me to do something using my brother¡¯s name? Understood.¡±

    Since entering the school, she had been forced into this kind of hassle more often.

    Finley is also used to this role and approaches Jake and Ethan to talk to them.

    ¡°May I have a moment, both of you?¡±

    Jake and Ethan turn to face Finley, who is using a soft voice and behaving modestly, but they¡¯re giving off the vibe that they¡¯re about to explode with rage.

    Finley asks the two of them.

    ¡°Everyone is troubled, so why don¡¯t you call it a day? If it gets any worse, it will be troublesome for both of you, won¡¯t it? Right?¡±

    Considering each other¡¯s position, it would be better to pull back here.

    She thought they would both be smart enough to realize that, but Finley¡¯s prediction was easily missed.

    ¡°Shut up, Bartfalt. Even if your brotheres out, I¡¯m not going to forgive him.¡±

    When Jake shows no intention of backing down, Ethanughs mockingly.

    ¡°That¡¯s a great nerve. For a prince who can do nothing without the duke¡¯s backing, let¡¯s just say it¡¯s an admirable resolve. ¨D¨DBartfalt-san, I can¡¯t back down either.¡±

    Neither of them wanted to back down.

    The fact that it was one woman who caused this problem is problematic.

    Finley is about to cry.

    ¡°No, ano, this is not a good idea.¡±

    The atmosphere in the ssroom was even worse when even Finley could not persuade them.

    Some of the students appear to run away.

    Then one female student stood up with her hands vigorously on the desk.

    ¡°How long are you going to keep bickering!?¡±

    When everyone¡¯s gazes ¨D¨D gathered on Mia, the ssroom became quiet.

    Mia is slightly embarrassed, but scolds Jake and Ethan.

    ¡°If you¡¯re a man, you should fight fair and square!!¡±

    The ssroom is full of noise.

    Jake and Ethan looked at each other and remained silent.

    Mia did not like their attitude.

    ¡°It¡¯s so pathetic for boys to be bickering. Even a person who is liked by the two of you would be disillusioned if she saw you like this.¡±

    Perhaps the two imagined Aare¡¯s disappointment, and it was unnerving.

    Mia presses on.

    ¡°If you¡¯re a man and have a girl you like, you should head-on match!¡±

    Looking down, Jake and Ethan were epting Mia¡¯s words.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I was out of my mind. I don¡¯t think Aare would be pleased by a verbal fight.¡±

    ¡°Was it Mia, the foreign exchange student? You¡¯ve just woken me up. Surely, she won¡¯t be pleased.¡±

    Mia smiles at their enthusiastic attitude.

    ¡°I see you both understand! That¡¯s right. You both should confess your feelings fairly and square¨D¨D¡±

    The fair game Mia envisioned was for the two of them to confess their feelings to Aare.

    And yet, Jake and Ethan stare at each other.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have gloves, but let¡¯s have a fair and square duel for Aare. We¡¯ll duel with armor, shall we.¡±

    When Jake challenges Ethan to a duel, Ethan brushes his bangs away with his hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s a clean, fair, and square duel. I have noints. I¡¯m just worried that I might injure you. You are a prince, after all.¡±

    When Ethan agrees to a duel, the buzz of the students grows louder.

    ¡°It¡¯s a duel!¡±

    ¡°A duel over a single woman ¨D¨D that¡¯s the most exciting event!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s getting fun!¡±

    The students, who had panicked earlier, were now excited.

    Mia alone is confused.

    ¡°Eh? Ano? Ah, A-re? Why a duel? All you have to do is confess, right?!¡±

    People around Mia are not listening to her suggestion, and the topic of the duel became lively.

    When Finn returns to the ssroom, Mia runs out and cries.

    ¡°Knight-samaaa!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mia?! What happened? Did someone bully you? ¨D¨DTell me who did it. I¡¯ll make them regret it immediately.¡±

    To a concerned Finn, Mia tells him that she is responsible for causing people to kill each other.

    ¡°Because of Mia, there will be a duel.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat?¡±

    Making fearful faces, Finn turned to Leon, who had been standing behind him.

    ¡°What does it mean?¡±

    Leon scratches his head and mutters in amazement at the noisy first-year students.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s a tradition.¡±

    ¡°The duel is?!¡±

    Part 4

    It was decided that men would duel over a man.

    The ce is the arena in the school.

    Students gathered in the spectator area, looking forward to the duel that was about to take ce.

    We third-year students are also there to observe and watch the first-year students.

    The girls are excited about the boys dueling over Aare-chan.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing to see His Highness Jake and Ethan-sama dueling over one woman.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a story¡±

    ¡°I heard there was a duel two years ago.¡±

    Perhaps it was because of the topic two years ago that people around me had bitter looks on their faces.

    I¡¯m surrounded by my fianc¨¦es and even more so by Marie and the five idiots.

    Sitting just in front of me are my friends Daniel and Raymond.

    ¡°Leon, they¡¯re talking about you.¡±

    ¡°You are famous among the first-year students¡±

    I know that if I answer seriously, they will make fun of me even more.

    Because I know that if I answer seriously, I will be teased unnecessarily.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t fight because I liked it. It wasn¡¯t a duel over a single woman to begin with, so it wouldn¡¯t have been a romantic duel like those guys.¡±

    Raymond put his hand on his chin and reminisced about two years ago.

    ¡°No~, at that time, I thought Leon would be socially dead.¡±

    Daniel, likewise, apparently thought I was dead in noble society.

    ¡°And that Leon is now a Duke. For some reason, he¡¯s apanied by prince and others.¡±

    I¡¯m the one who wants to know how I got into this situation.

    I beat up five idiots in a duel, and for some reason I had to feed them.

    This is a punishment.

    Noel, sitting right next to me, is dumbfounded with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.

    She looked down at the two armored figures standing in the arena with grim eyes.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Leon also duel in the Republic? Two years ago, too, which means you duel almost every year. This country is too scary.¡±

    I also agree with Noel.

    ¡°Exactly. And I, a sensitive and gentle man, am so anxious to be born in such a barbaric country.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DYou seem to be enjoying it, though?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m not in it. In the first ce, a duel doesn¡¯t involve killing each other. It¡¯s just for a show, so just have fun with it.¡±

    ¡°Just the fact that you can enjoy this, doesn¡¯t that mean that the Kingdom is the right ce for you, Leon?¡±

    As I¡¯m talking to Noel, Livia, sitting to my left, pokes my arm with her finger.

    When I turned my head, she was pointing at Julius and the others.

    ¡°Leon-san, everyone is watching.¡±

    I looked over there and saw Julius and the others staring at me.

    ¡°It was wrong of me to pick a fight with you. If I could go back in time, I would never fight you.¡±

    It seems that Jilk regrets it.

    ¡°I should have prepared more carefully.¡±

    Brad still hasn¡¯t forgotten what happened two years ago.

    ¡°It¡¯s cowardly, isn¡¯t it? You knew you would not lose, and you epted the match.¡±

    Greg crosses his arms and shakes his legs.

    ¡°Remembering that time still pisses me off, doesn¡¯t it.¡±

    Chris had a strange glint in his sses.

    ¡°¨D¨DBecause during the duel, he even broke my heart. I will never forget what happened and one day I n to take revenge.¡±

    I feel sorry for these five guys and apologize to them by scratching my head.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t think you guys were that weak. If there is a next time, I¡¯ll go easier on you.¡±

    As I amughing at the indignant faces of the five of them, Ange, who was seated behind me, pats me lightly on the back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stir things up, you idiot¡±

    ¡°I got scolded¡±

    I shrug my shoulders and turn my gaze to Marie and the others.

    Next to Marie is Kara, who is watching the match with her, drinks and food in hand.

    Marie was still Marie today.

    ¡°It¡¯s more entertainment than a duel, isn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s get started!¡±

    When sheined, she gulped down the drink in her hand in one gulp.

    Oi, wait a minute.

    Is that alcohol you¡¯re holding, by any chance?

    Are you drinking while the sun is still high?

    ¡°Marie-sama, good drinking today!¡±

    And Kara is admiring Marie like that.

    What is there to admire?

    I looked diagonally behind me and saw Mia-chan who is looking anxious and Finn.

    Mia, who was the one who initiated the duel, is nervous because she feels responsible.

    Next to him, Mia feel uneasy, Finn looked down at Jake and Ethan with a look that made ¨D¨D as if they were enemies.

    I hear Finn muttering.

    ¡°¨D¨DI¡¯ll make them regret this.¡±

    Hm~m, overprotective after all.

    I ask Luxion, floating nearby, about the oue of the duel.

    ¡°Luxion, who do you think will win?¡±

    [Are you going to bet again this time?]

    ¡°That¡¯s what I intend to do.¡±

    [¨D¨DEthan has the upper hand in terms of ability. If the duel starts at this point, that is. There is a high possibility that it will be interrupted]

    ¡°Right¡±

    After all, this is a duel between men fighting over a man.

    Part 5

    The noble seats in the arena.

    There, the woman? who had caused this duel was sitting there.

    It¡¯s Aare.

    In the arena, a student who ys a lively role tells the story of the duel.

    ¡°What is about to begin is a battle of men fighting over one woman! The name of the woman who captivated His Highness the Second Prince and the heir to the Count¡¯s family is ¨D¨D A, are?¡±

    A female student was trying to liven up the ce, but for some reason she was puzzled by the documents.

    Aare sat in her chair, her eyes closed and her hands sped in herp.

    A female student tells the truth while being confused.

    ¡°Etto, Aare-san, who was thought to be female, is registered as a male student under a real name, Aaron. Ano, etto, what does this mean?!¡±

    The audience seats in the arena are noisy.

    ¡°Man? A man?!¡±

    ¡°Eh, no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s a woman.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DWhat¡¯s going on?¡±

    Everyone now knows that Aare, who looks like a woman, is really a man named Aaron.

    Aaron was prepared for the abuse.

    And.

    (Even if His Highness Jake hates me.)

    It was a short-lived dream, and tears spill down her face, but her friends, who know about Aare¡¯s past, raise their voices.

    ¡°Aare, raise your head!¡±

    ¡°You are not bad!¡±

    ¡°Yes. You are our Goddess!¡±

    Aare looked up at the voices raised by some of the boys.

    There was also Curtis, her ssmate.

    ¡°Everyone¡±

    As the warm cheers brought tears to her eyes, the audience in the arenained about the duel.

    ¡°You mean, a man for a man?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a scam?¡±

    ¡°This is not right¡±

    From the values of this world, Aare is a very rare case.

    Therefore, some students could not ept it.

    But Jake in his armor from the arena.

    ¡°What does it matter! It doesn¡¯t matter if she is a man or not. Aare is Aare! I¡¯m going to continue the duel. Ethan, tell me when you¡¯re going to quit. And don¡¯t go near Aare again.¡±

    When Jake wanted to continue the duel, Ethan had his armor ready his weapon.

    ¡°This throbbing in my heart is true love. Gender is irrelevant to me, a genius!¡±

    There are two armors that hold weapons.

    The referee seemed to be wondering if he should start the duel.

    Confused voices can be heard from the audience seats in the arena.

    ¡°Eh? Is it okay with you if it¡¯s between men?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to continue like this?¡±

    ¡°But Aaron looks like a girl, doesn¡¯t he? A-Are? Maybe he switched with someone else¡±

    Normally, two men would be fighting over one woman, but when the documents are checked, all three people are men.

    As a result, the referee signals the start of the match.

    ¡°W-Well then, fight fair and square! Start!¡±

    Already, dering the start in a half-hearted manner, the two armors collide violently, creating sparks.

    Part 6

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore¡±

    Capture targets are fighting each other over a capture target.

    This means that the three capture targets are no longer candidates for Mia-chan¡¯s lover.

    In the current situation where kouhai-kun is not enrolled, it can be said that it is annihted.

    Diagonally in front of me, with my head in my hands, was Oskar.

    Jenna and Finley sit on his both sides.

    Oskar was cheering for Jake.

    ¡°His Highness Jake, there it is! Please attack him more!¡±

    Jenna and Finley, on either side of Oskar, re at each other like delinquents just before a fight.

    I just want to throw everything away.

    Livia, who was watching the fierce battle of armors, perhaps reminisced about two years ago.

    ¡°There was a duel here two years ago, but it wasn¡¯t apetitive match like this.¡±

    As Luxion observed, Ethan has the upper hand.

    However, Ethan is not able to easily settle the match, as there is not much difference in their abilities.

    Ange speaks about the evaluation of the two from behind.

    ¡°Ethan is a self-proimed genius, and he¡¯s strong, but His Highness Jake has a different spirit. He has always been a hard worker, so this is a good match.¡±

    I pictured Jake making an effort, and my impression of him was a little more favorable.

    ¨D¨DNo, I won¡¯t be captured.

    ¡°Hearing that makes me want to root for Jake.¡±

    Ange isughing behind me.

    ¡°But it¡¯s rare that Ethan, who is so apathetic about everything, shows so much motivation. Aare is a beautiful woman who has misled two men ¨D¨D she is a beautiful woman, right?¡±

    It seems that she couldn¡¯t assure thest part, so I¡¯ll nod my head.

    ¡°She¡¯s aplete woman because she had a sex change using the Lost Item.¡±

    ¡°Lost item that can only be used once, huh? A bold move¡±

    As I watched the duel in this way, Jake was gradually driven into a corner.

    The shoulders of the armor had been stripped and the surface scratches had increased.

    Ethan rmends he surrender.

    ¡°¨D¨DYour Highness Jake, I honestly respect you. I did not expect you to fight me so hard. That said, please dere your defeat. I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡±

    Jake, on the other hand, refuses.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not going to back down. But I underestimated you, too. You are indeed a genius. Now I recognize it.¡±

    Did a friendship develop between the men?

    Ethan¡¯s armor holds a rapier.

    He bends down to pierce Jake¡¯s armor with his slender sword.

    Jake has a long sword-like weapon called ive.

    So while holding a long weapon, Jake is being cornered with a rapier.

    Ethan¡¯s ability is real and Jake is not weak.

    ¡°I¡¯ll finish with this, Your Highness!¡±

    ¡°Come, Ethan!¡±

    When the two armors collided, Jake¡¯s armor was pierced by the de.

    However, Ethan¡¯s armor is also immobile because ive is deeply pierced.

    Luxion confirms that the armor has stopped functioning.

    [¨D¨DIt looks like a draw]

    ¡°A~ah, this is getting troublesome¡±

    The match ended without a win.

    I turn my face to Finn and ask for their evaluation.

    ¡°What do you think of these two men who showed their manliness?¡±

    Finn remains expressionless.

    ¡°¨D¨DNo good. Not worthy of Mia.¡±

    It looks like it¡¯s useless.

    In the first ce, they weren¡¯t aiming for Mia-chan.

    Thus, the battle between the men fighting over Aare-chanes to an end.

    I¡¯m not saying it¡¯s going to end, but I¡¯m sure it will continue to do so.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡±

    Part 7

    After the duel.

    I was alone with Marie for the first time in a while.

    We are having a conversation in a quiet hallway in the arena, with Luxion keeping an eye on our surroundings.

    ¡°In the end, Finn couldn¡¯t find any target that he liked. That doesn¡¯t make it possible for Mia to have a romantic rtionship, right?¡±

    When I tell her how overprotective Finn is, Marie lets out a big sigh.

    ¡°Finn is just like aniki. He¡¯s really insensitive.¡±

    ¡°Is he insensitive?¡±

    When I tilt my head, Marie tells me how Mia feels.

    ¡°In the first ce, it¡¯s impossible for Mia-chan to fall in love with the capture target.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Think about it. You have an ideal man by your side who will protect you. She¡¯s discerning, and of course shepares. Before that, she doesn¡¯t see anyone but Finn as a love interest.¡±

    I hold my mouth with both hands.

    ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?!¡±

    ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t Finn¡¯s ideal exactly who he is? A knight of rank and honor, a very powerful knight in the empire? I don¡¯t know about his fortune, but he¡¯s strong and puts Mia-chan¡¯s needs first¡±

    I finally understand what Marie is trying to say too.

    ¡°That¡¯s Finn.¡±

    ¡°You two look alike. Well, in terms of looks, aniki is nothing like him¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    Marie was surprised for some reason when I took a curt attitude toward her.

    Marie looked at me seriously and asked me why I was restless.

    ¡°Aniki, did something happen? Before, you¡¯d have gotten all pissed off and said all kinds of things, wouldn¡¯t you? You¡¯re being weird today.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been like this. More importantly, what happened to be independent?¡±

    Marie had hoped to get rich quickly from dungeon exploration, but she seems to have given up.

    She proudly deres with her no chest out.

    ¡°I stopped. Erika also said that she was happy just to meet me again.¡±

    ¡°She is a really good child, isn¡¯t she? Unlike you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a catchy way of saying it, but I¡¯ll let you off the hook this time. Rather than that, I¡¯ve realized. It would be better for me to live the rest of my life living under your care.¡±

    What a nasty thought.

    As for me, I want them to work diligently and quickly be independent.

    ¡°No. Get on your feet and be independent.¡±

    ¡°Are you throwing me away?!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even remember picking you up.¡±

    Now, if Mia-chan is aiming for Finn ¨D¨Dthe third work of that otome game scenario has been falling apart for some time.

    By the hand of none other than Finn.

    It really messy.

 Volume 10, Epilogue

    Part 1

    Raschel Holy Magic Kingdom.

    In the capital city, which exists on ake called the White City, the chief ministers gathered in the royal castle.

    In front of the dignitaries kneeling in the audience chamber was a white-haired old man sitting on a throne.

    The Prime Minister, standing by his side, reports to the old man ¨D¨D the Holy King.

    ¡°I am pleased to report to His Majesty the Great. The fiend knight, whom the barbarians called a hero, turned to support the Horfalt royal family.¡±

    The Holy King rises from his throne, stroking his magnificent beard with his hand.

    ¡°The behavior of the fiend knight is uneptable. Send a personal letter to each country. Like, if the fiend knights born in the Horfalt kingdom are left unchecked, the surrounding countries will be destroyed by all means.¡±

    When the chief ministers responded with a downcast look, the Prime Minister praised the Holy King¡¯s judgment.

    ¡°It¡¯s a wonderful decision. Let¡¯s take this opportunity to attack the Horfalt Kingdom and make them submit to us.¡±

    The Holy King strokes his beard and raises his right hand.

    ¡°The Horfalt Kingdom will be destroyed by our nation, which has a long history! ¨D¨DHowever, the fiend knight has be a good cause. With him, all the nations will feel threatened by the fiend knight, and they will unite.¡±

    Fearing Leon alone, he formed a military alliance with other countries to attack the Horfalt Kingdom.

    This became Raschel¡¯s policy.

    The Prime Minister conveys his concerns.

    ¡°Great Your Majesty, it is a wonderful n, but there is a problem. ¨D¨D I am concerned to see how that ruffian Rnd and the ck-hearted princess of the United Kingdoms are doing. It¡¯s not surprising that they know our movements.¡±

    The ruffian Rnd.

    ck-hearted princess Milene.

    The Holy King, recalling their names, did not change his expression.

    But squint a little.

    ¡°I am tired of being bothered by these low-lives with a little history. This time we will not stop fighting until Horfalt is burned to the ground.¡±

    When the Prime Minister kneels, the Holy King continues.

    ¡°They may have acquired a powerful lost item and are feeling good about it ¨D¨D but in the end, it is only an individual¡¯s power. If neighboring countries invade at once, the Horfalt Kingdom will soon disappear from the map¡±

    The Prime Minister responds immediately.

    ¡°It is as Your Majesty say. Then I will hasten the preparation of the Holy Knights for their departure.¡±

    The Holy King brings his right hand forward and then holds his outstretched hand.

    ¡°Give victory to our great country!¡±

    Part 2

    The royal pce of the Horfalt Kingdom. The chief ministers were quarreling fiercely.

    ¡°Are you saying that all the neighboring countries have be enemies?!¡±

    ¡°The Republic is on our side.¡±

    ¡°That country can¡¯t be counted on. They haven¡¯t even recovered yet!¡±

    The Holy Kingdom of Raschel became the leader and called for a military alliance with the neighboring countries of the Horfalt Kingdom.

    Normally, they would not have been able toe together, but here, the presence of Leon is bing a negative impact.

    The surrounding countries were frightened of Leon, who alone had destroyed the country.

    This military alliance is also intended to cooperate and strike before Leon gains any more power.

    Rnd let out a deep sigh as he watched the meeting of the chief ministers.

    ¡± ¨D¨D I didn¡¯t expect my son to duel for the man. Wasn¡¯t that guy after the throne? He wouldn¡¯t be able to have children with a man as his partner.¡±

    Not understanding what Jake was thinking, he looked distracted.

    Next to him, Milene gives a cold look.

    ¡°How can you think such a thing under the circumstances? All the neighboring countries have be our enemies.¡±

    ¡°The republic and your birthce are different, aren¡¯t they? We¡¯re not isted and without help.¡±

    ¡°There is no proper force left in the Arzel Republic. You know that my homnd cannot afford to send out a force either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better than being surrounded by enemies.¡±

    Milene is annoyed with Rnd, who doesn¡¯t seem flustered.

    ¡°No matter how strong the Duke Bartfalt is, if all the countries attacked us at once, the country would be burned to the ground. Our national strength is declining.¡±

    In addition, the kingdom is being neglected by Lord Nobles.

    If Leon called on them, they would follow, but there would also be traitors.

    Other countries that invade would gain territory on the continent.

    If that happens, that would be a threat.

    Rnd yawns.

    ¡°We¡¯re stuck at the point where we have to rely on just one little boy. Shall we admit defeat and surrender?¡±

    ¡°They will execute me and His Majesty in Raschel. That country has always looked down on us.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a country with a long history. Our ancestors came from there, too. I heard that they were low-ranking nobles.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not something you can just say out loud.¡±

    The Holy Kingdom of Raschel was about to invade the Horfalt Kingdom.

    Rnd mutters amusedly.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s see how the kid will move¡±

    Part 3

    ¡°I want revenge on Rnd.¡±

    Luxion and Creare gathered in my room in the student dormitory.

    And then there are three of my fianc¨¦e Ange, Livia, and Noel.

    In addition, Erika was additionally invited to join the meeting to discuss revenge against Rnd.

    Tea and sweets prepared for everyone are on the table, and a pleasant aroma wafts through the room.

    The lighting in through the window was warm and the afternoon of a very pleasant day.

    Too wasteful of a day to have a meeting about dangerous topics.

    As much as it is unpleasant to have to talk about revenge against Rnd on a day like this.

    Luxion and Creare look at each other¡¯s lenses once before turning to me and talking to me.

    [It¡¯s insane to think about revenge back at Rnd as soon as you hear that Raschel has made a move.]

    [Master really likes unproductive behavior, right?]

    I have just received information that the Holy Kingdom of Raschel is preparing for war against the Horfalt Kingdom.

    I had thought they had been moving for some time, but this time they are even involving the neighboring countries of the Horfalt Kingdom.

    Ange was looking at me with some anxiety at this situation, or perhaps, and was looking at me with astonishment as we tried to discuss how to get revenge on Rnd.

    After taking a sip of tea, she gives me a sharp look.

    ¡°By the looks of you, it seems you¡¯ve got some countermeasures against Raschel.¡±

    I reach for my tea cakes and grab them with my fingertips. I lift a t piece of cookie slightly above my gaze and describe it, looking at the front and back.

    ¡°That is up to the other party, I guess?¡±

    Noel, slightly annoyed with my attitude, and snatched the cookie I was holding.

    ¡°Think about it properly. We¡¯re relying on Leon now, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    From Noel¡¯s perspective, who had experienced war in the Republic of Arzel, my attitude was uneptable.

    I shrug my shoulders.

    ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. But more importantly, I want revenge against Rnd now! I need you guys toe up with some ideas.¡±

    There are limits to what I can do alone.

    So, to make that Rnd suffer, I gathered a group of dependable partners and fianc¨¦es.

    Livia lets out a small sigh.

    ¡°His Majesty seems to be busy at the pce. Leon-san, why don¡¯t you stop fighting with him? The other party is His Majesty the King.¡±

    Indeed, he may be someone to respect, but to me, he is an enemy to hate.

    ¡°I¡¯ll never forget the bitterness I have against that guy for giving me a promotion for nothing, and I¡¯m not going to forgive him for pushing the five idiots on me.¡±

    In response to my unwavering determination, Livia finally stopped talking, as if she couldn¡¯t find the right words.

    Erika, who was watching the situation, let out a deep sigh.

    ¡°Did you call me all the way out here to get revenge on my father?¡±

    Partly because I wanted to invite Erika to a tea party, but also because his daughter would most likely have some clue as to how to harass Rnd.

    ¡°That bastard Rnd really loves Erika-sama. Do you know any secrets that Rnd doesn¡¯t like?¡±

    Erika gave me a dumbfounded look.

    ¡°Even if I know, I have no intention of telling you. Why doesn¡¯t Duke stop harassing him like a child?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely no¡±

    When I firmly refuse, Luxion and Creare make a gesture of shaking their heads.

    And then Luxion offers me a suggestion.

    [Then, why not assassinate Rnd for good? It will reduce the amount of time wasted worrying about this kind of thing in the future, and it is efficient because one of Master¡¯s worries is gone.]

    The suggestion is so bad, that it makes me pull away.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like that. If he dies, there will be a lot of unnecessary trouble. I just want to see him suffer.¡±

    After saying that, Ange and Livia looked at each other.

    ¡°Really, Leon and His Majesty don¡¯t get along.¡±

    ¡°As long as no one kills each other, we¡¯re still in a peaceful situation.¡±

    I don¡¯t want Rnd to die.

    I just want him to suffer.

    I just want to see the suffering face of that guy who keeps harassing me.

    Noel threw the cookie she took from me into her mouth and chewed it somewhat roughly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything at a time like this.¡±

    She is trying to say that harassing Rnd should not be done at this time.

    After all, most of the surrounding countries are turning into enemies.

    The Holy Kingdom of Raschel is serious about going to war.

    This is no time for pranks ¨D¨D But.

    ¡°It¡¯s because it¡¯s now. At this time, even if I go a little overboard, I can make it disappear. After all, the kingdom is relying on me now.¡±

    Yes, the n was based on the calction that the timing would allow for a bit of overkill to be tolerated.

    People around me were somewhat taken back by my calcting thoughts.

    In the midst of all this, it is Creare who excitedly makes a suggestion.

    [Then leave it to me! I¡¯ll show you what a real Brain Break is.]

    Brain Break? Do you mean brain destruction?

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t say dangerous things. As expected, it makes me pull back too.¡±

    [Mou! Don¡¯t get me wrong. I really don¡¯t mean to destroy the brain.]

    Creare, who made Aaron into Aare-chan, does not have a shred of persuasive power in saying this. But I¡¯m curious, so I¡¯ll confirm the details.

    ¡°What then?¡±

    A cheerful Creare tells us in a rather low electronic voice how to inflict indelible damage on Rnd.

    [Master and Erika-chan will be photographed sleeping in the same bed. Of course, you can¡¯t touch her. We¡¯ll just prepare a picture that will look like after the fact.]

    Creare¡¯s suggestion scared me so much that I turned my head away, afraid that Ange and even Livia and Noel had a nk look on their faces.

    Erika is holding her forehead with her hand.

    ¡°Doing so would bring the Duke to trial for a variety of crimes.¡±

    Messing with a princess who is engaged to a fianc¨¦e, that¡¯s going too far.

    However, Creare seems to have confidence.

    [It¡¯s okay! I¡¯ve made calctions and it¡¯s just barely eptable. If Master repels Raschel, I¡¯m sure the Kingdom will ignore him now. Or rather, they¡¯ll overlook it!]

    If Creare says it, is it right?

    I thought about that for a moment, but Ange immediately denied it.

    ¡°Sure, they¡¯ll forgive you, but at the same time, I¡¯m sure Milene-sama will be pressing you to take responsibility for that.¡±

    I imagine Milene-saning on to me and asking me to take responsibility.

    I¡¯m getting a little scared.

    ¡°I hate responsibility¡±

    When I muttered, Creare began to circle around me.

    [It¡¯s all right. We¡¯ll have witnesses, and we¡¯ll just have to prove that you didn¡¯t touch her. Then tell Rnd, ¡®Your daughter was lovely¡¯.]

    I thought.

    ¡°You¡¯re the worst¡±

    [¡ª¡ªAgainst the new humans, I think we can do whatever we want. Master, let¡¯s put a stop to Rnd¡¯s heart together!]

    I shake my head slowly, and Ange, Livia, and Noel get up from their seats to catch Creare without a word.

    Ange gave Creare a dark smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure your suggestion will cause serious heartbreak for His Majesty. But we would be troubled if word got out that Leon had slept with Erika-sama.¡±

    Livia looked at Creare with a big smile.

    ¡°Are-chan, let¡¯s talk for a moment. I have to ask you in detail about turning a boy into a girl.¡±

    Caught by the two girls, Creare makes a desperate gesture of resistance. If she really wanted to, it would be easy to get away from them.

    But her resistance was kept at a minimum, perhaps because she decided not to hurt my fianc¨¦es.

    [Wait, both of you! Please listen to me?! This is a time-honored etiquette handed down from ancient times!! And Noel-chan, please don¡¯tugh and help me!]

    Noel, grinning at Creare, raises her hands and flutters them in the air when she asks for help.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry~. I¡¯m pretty pissed off too.¡±

    Creare looks at me as if asking for help.

    [Master understands me, right?]

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand you one bit¡±

    Sure, I want Rnd to suffer, but the way that she tries to do so is just too much.

    As the three of them take Creare away, Luxion looks at me and Erika alternately.

    [If Master had adopted Creare¡¯s proposal, it would have done great damage to Rnd¡¯s mind. If that happened, it would have hindered the future.]

    I tell Luxion, who doesn¡¯t understand anything, by putting my hand on the back of my head.

    ¡°There are a lot more problems than just Rnd. Still, I didn¡¯t think Ange and others would be that angry.¡±

    [I also agree with that.]

    I and Luxion were both tilting our heads, but Erika wasughing with her cheeks pulled tight as I was trying to figure out why the three of them were so angry.

    ¡°You two, do you really not understand?¡±

    ¡°Did Erika get it? Then tell me.¡±

    Indeed, if I got into the same bed with Erika and took pictures, the three of them would not be amused. But it¡¯s just a prank, so I won¡¯t touch her.

    They may not like it, but they shouldn¡¯t be so angry about it.

    There is a possibility that Milene-san will press for me and Erika to get married, which will be troublesome ¨D¨D but is it enough to make you angry?

    Erika looked somewhat dumbfounded, thenced her fingers in front of her mouth, a little embarrassed.

    While trying to hide her expression.

    ¡°That¡¯s how much they love you.¡±

    ¡°I-Is that so?¡±

    When I thought Erika¡¯s shyness was cute, she immediately narrowed her eyes and turned serious.

    ¡°And, you know, Creare¡¯s suggestion would not be directed only at my father.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Erika let out a small sigh at myck of understanding.

    ¡°To the three of them, even if it¡¯s a lie, it¡¯s as if uncle had an affair with me. That¡¯s not funny, is it? I mean, it would hurt all three of them, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t thought that far ahead. Luxion says.

    [Creare¡¯s suggestion was a double-edged sword]

    I¡¯m d I decided not to ept it.

    Erika makes me aware of the feelings of the three of them, but when my expression clouds over, she asks me with concern.

    While sping her hands in front of her chest.

    ¡°Uncle, are you sure you¡¯re okay with the war? I believe you, but this one time I think even uncle will be in trouble.¡±

    If all the neighboring countries be enemies, it is inevitable that the kingdom will suffer damage, no matter how much Luxion is involved.

    The Raschel matter is a real annoyance, but I can¡¯t have my lovely niece worrying about it.

    Well, when I say niece, I mean in a previous life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Me and Luxion will do something about it.¡±

    I reach over to Luxion and give him a light poke with my fingertips.

    Then Luxion distances himself from me.

    [It is always me who does something about it, though. Master always pushes the troublesome things on me.]

    To my partner, who is as foul-mouthed as usual, I make light talk.

    ¡°Because I believe you can do it well.¡±

    [Even to me, as artificial intelligence, it sounds like a flimsy line with no feeling.]

    ¡°A~Ah, I don¡¯t like twisted artificial intelligence. Why don¡¯t you ept what I, your master, have to say to you more honestly? You need to be cuter.¡±

    [The words of Master who just doesn¡¯t lie, but doesn¡¯t tell the truth? You must be joking.]

    ¡°When I give a rarepliment, this is what I get. Even then, he usually tells me to give him morepliments. Erika, this is the kind of guy Luxion is.¡±

    I told Erika about Luxion.

    This time, on the contrary, Luxion tells Erika about me.

    [Erika, don¡¯t believe the words of Master. Even though he has a previous life, his mind is still that of a child who can¡¯t be honest. If you need anything, please talk to me.]

    ¡°What are you saying to my niece? It would ruin my dignity as her uncle!¡±

    [Such a thing never existed in the first ce, so there is no point in worrying about it.]

    After being told that, I tried to grab Luxion by the hand and Erika startedughing.

    When our eyes turn to Erika, she looks embarrassed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just thought you two looked like you were having fun. Even though you wereining, I could tell that you two were close.¡±

    Erika blushed a little, and at her words, Luxion and I turned our heads away.

    ¡°Who, with this guy?¡±

    [It¡¯s just a master-servant rtionship.]

    Seeing us like that, it was Erika who wasughing as if she was in trouble.

    ¨D¨D Now, for the sake of my lovely niece, I¡¯ll have to do something about the Holy Kingdom of Raschel.

 Volume 10, Afterword

    Otomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu ¨D¨D ¡°Mob Seka,¡± as it is abbreviated, has finally reached its tenth volume.

    It¡¯s double digits. Double-digit!

    As the author, I am very happy that Mobseka has continued so far.

    This is all thanks to everyone who has supported us until now! Thank you very much.

    The story is approaching its end, and we hope you will stay with us until the end.

    Now, this volume is mainly about Angelica.

    As was the case in the web version, I was aware that there were not enough episodes for Angelica.

    She¡¯s a heroine, but she doesn¡¯t get a lot of screen time (LOL).

    So this time, we created a story to re-evaluate the rtionship between Leon and Angelica.

    This is an important story for both of them, and we hope that readers who read from the afterword will also enjoy it.

    The web version has seven volumes. The volume isplete with seven books¡¯ worth of text.

    I had originally nned to end the story in volume 7 even if it continued, so I didn¡¯t write a story where Leon and Angelica made out in the web version.

    I¡¯m not very good at writing about romance in the first ce (LOL).

    But I can¡¯t just say that in a book, so this time I learned it myself.

    I¡¯ve read a few romance light novels, and I¡¯m convinced that they are indeed interesting. No wonder they are so popr.

    I had been avoiding it because I was not good at it, but it was a waste.

    That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to put more effort into the romance element in the future ¨D¨D Because I have written two robot stories in a row, I feel that I have been mistaken for a robot writer.

    No, it¡¯s not! I like robot stuff, but it¡¯s not my main thing!!

    I feel bad for the writers who write real robot stuff (sweat).

    Therefore, in my next work, I n to cut down on the robotic elements and write a royal road.

    I¡¯ll write a dreamy, royal road fantasy story with sword and magic!

    Terrible heroine ¨D¨D And to not be called a writer who writes terrible heroines.

    I mean it? Well then, please continue to support us!!

 Side Story: Nightmare Julia-chan

    The five idiots had a younger sister.

    Moreover, they are entering the academy as first-year students.

    This fact makes me dizzy, because they are as unique as the five idiots.

    For now ¨D¨D tsundere Glenda-chan.

    A flirtatious and gorgeous, Brianna-chan.

    And ire-chan, an earnest and clumsy girl ¨D¨D What a strong lineup.

    I¡¯m a third year student at the academy and I¡¯m struggling with a new problem.

    All of these kids are likely to bring trouble.

    ¡°Two more ¨D¨D So there¡¯s Julius and Jilk¡¯s sister?¡±

    Luxion was following beside me as I walked through the unpopr corridors of the school, his fixed position around my right shoulder¡­

    [They were all very unique.]

    ¡°I prefer more modest girls¡±

    [Oya? Are you saying that Olivia and Angelica are not your preferences? In the first ce, Master¡¯s favorite Milene, is far from modest.]

    ¡°They are modest anddylikedies. I see, I¡¯m a man with a very picky taste.¡±

    When I reply with a snicker, Luxion disappears into the surrounding scenery without a single abusive word.

    While I was wondering what was going on, an impatient-looking Jilk came toward me.

    ¨D¨DWhy did Luxion hide?

    Without even giving any preamble, Zilk asked me about his sister.

    ¡°Excuse me, did you see [Julia]?¡±

    ¡°Julia? Could it be your sister?¡±

    ¡°Oya, you guessed right today.¡±

    He¡¯s an unpleasant guy saying I am usually not very perceptive.

    This guy is really trash and unpleasant guy.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been looking for her since this morning, but I can¡¯t find her. I thought she must be looking for the Marquis Bartofalt, so I called out to you.¡±

    ¡°Me? Why?¡±

    At first Jilk was reluctant to say anything, but then he decided to tell me the reason.

    ¡± ¨D¨D Actually, that girl is ck-hearted.¡±

    ¡°Eh!?¡±

    ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡±

    ¡°No, because! If you, the ck-hearted guy, call her ck-hearted, it means that she is a ck-hearted and nasty girl inside, right? What¡¯s that? That¡¯s scary?¡±

    What kind of a ck-hearted girl is Julia, the sister of the trash and ck-hearted Jilk!?

    Jilk, dissatisfied with my impressions, advised me with a drawn cheek.

    ¡°You are really unpleasant guy. Well, it happens all the time, so let¡¯s put up with it. Because I am an adult.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re the adult, I¡¯ll just be the kid.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that, but be careful with Julia. ¨D¨D That girl is targeting you.¡±

    When I tried to ask him what he meant by targeting me, Jilk walked away.

    It seems that he went looking for Julia-chan.

    ¡°It¡¯s a disturbing morning. Other than that, why are you hiding ¨D¨D Are?¡±

    Coming out of the corner was a girl with green hair pulled back in a two-sided updo.

    She looks at me shyly.

    She is a slender, lovely girl.

    ¨D¨DHowever, I just had a bad feeling about it.

    Without showing it on my face, I smile and talk to her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Maybe you got lost?¡±

    When the girl turns over and walks up to me, she is fidgeting and blushing.

    Her gaze was moving restlessly, and she seemed nervous¨D¨DJilk¡¯s words from earlier came to mind.

    ¡°A-Ano, I, to Leon-senpai¨D¨DI like you! Please go out with me!¡±

    She ys up the feeling that she¡¯s got all the courage in the world to confess, but I thicken the walls of my heart.

    ¡°¨D¨DSo, you¡¯re Julia-chan, huh? If I hadn¡¯t heard from Jilk, it would have been a dangerous situation.¡±

    If I hadn¡¯t suspected it, I¡¯d have been colossally fooled.

    Julia-chan¡¯s expression changes drastically.

    Her face turned expressionless, and then became soft.

    She may have recovered, but unlike before, she has the face of a calcting woman.

    ¡°A~ah, I failed. If my useless brother hadn¡¯t stepped up, it would have worked.¡±

    ¡°So you are really Julia-chan, huh¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right~. I¡¯m Julia~.¡±

    She smiles at me with a slow voice, but her sarcasm is obvious.

    A deceitful woman who can¡¯t hide it ¨D¨D that¡¯s Julia.

    ¡°I feel like you¡¯re Jilk¡¯s sister.¡±

    ¡°Would you please not do that with that piece of trash? What¡¯s the fun in ruining your sister¡¯s ns?¡±

    Even his sister calls him trash.

    Well, I can¡¯t deny it, and I have no intention of doing it.

    He¡¯s a piece of trash.

    ¡°n? What were you nning? Did you mean to deceive me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so rude to say it deceiving. I just want to build a rtionship that benefits both sides.¡±

    A beneficial rtionship? It¡¯s a bad n, no doubt about it.

    After all, she is the sister of that Jilk.

    ¡°What kind of rtionship is it?¡±

    ¡°Senpa~i ¨D¨D Please go out with me¡±

    ¡°I refuse¡±

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awful~. If senpai goes out with me, I can show off that I am superior to the other girls~. Then life at the school would be a whole lot easier, wouldn¡¯t it~.¡±

    ¨D¨D What is she talking about, this girl?

    ¡°You¡¯re going out with me, perhaps to show off like that to the other students? I know it¡¯s useless to ask you, who thinks like that, but don¡¯t you look for love or affection in a rtionship?¡±

    I asked nicely and got an answer that I thought she was really Jilk¡¯s sister.

    ¡°I do. But isn¡¯t it a great feeling to be able to look down on others? I think it¡¯s fine to devote myself to Leon-senpai who gives it to me, I guess? I think about it at least¡±

    Fine to devote myself, I guess? She said it in question form.

    You¡¯re being really rude.

    ¡°I hate the idea of going out with someone just to look down on others. Find someone else.¡±

    ¡°Terrible~! ¨D¨D But me and senpai should definitely be a good match. When you fought a duel in your first year, you thoroughly beat up trash brother and others, right? I heard stories of a senior who had beaten their mind and body down to the point where they couldn¡¯t stand up properly if they were not careful ¨D¨D I can do well with this person! That¡¯s what I thought¡±

    Is this the story I preached to Julius and his friends when I was a first-year student?

    Good grief ¨D¨D That was just me ying the bad guy role.

    It¡¯s not my true intention. ¨D¨DWell, I feel refreshed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not good at fighting with people¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what you¡¯re good at, isn¡¯t it? We talked and I understood. Leon-senpai is the ideal senior for me!¡±

    I am not happy with the praise.

    Julia waved her hand in a cute pose.

    ¡°Please think about it properly. I¡¯m quite serious.¡±

    I looked over at Julia as she left and thought she was Jilk¡¯s sister.

    ¡°Aside from her character, if only by looks, she¡¯s the perfect cute junior.¡±

    Luxion appeared and spoke to me.

    [She has been following Master since a while ago. It seems she changed her strategy in a hurry because her brother Jilk came out.]

    ¡°I wish she would show her guts elsewhere. Now¨D¨DThest one is Julius¡¯ sister? By the way, was it Erika-chan?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I heard that he has another half-sister.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

 Side Story: Nightmare Ulysses-chan

    Five idiot¡¯s sisters came in the new semester.

    All of them were full of personality, but thest one I was interested in ¨D¨D Julius¡¯ sister.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect two of Julius¡¯ sisters to enroll. They¡¯re not twins, are they?¡±

    The person I asked as I walked down the hallway was my partner, Luxion, who always has a lot of words to say.

    [You¡¯re wrong. Rnd is royalty, and he is the king at the top. Milene is his queen, but he also has other women around him.]

    Rnd, what a cheeky bastard.

    To begin with, he was the kind of guy who would call out to anyone he saw as a woman.

    I¡¯m convinced there are a lot of kids.

    ¡°How is it appropriate for royalty to have unnned children?¡±

    [There¡¯s a possibility that they could be disinherited like Julius, so it¡¯s important to have a spare.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t call the kid a spare.¡±

    [I don¡¯t care about the new humans. I only care about the old humans.]

    ¨D¨D This guy sounds like he¡¯s saying he doesn¡¯t approve of me in a blunt way.

    Is the reason why he usually makes fun of me is because I¡¯m a new humans?

    Let¡¯s talk about hierarchical rtionships once and for all.

    As I was thinking that, Juliuses running toward me.

    He is wearing a front apron.

    ¡°Bartfalt, be a witness!¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DHa?¡±

    What is this guy talking about?

    Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s going to start a duel?

    ¡ó

    Julius brought me to the kitchen.

    Sitting in front of a nervous Julius is a girl with long dark blue hair.

    She wore a ribbon-like hair band and had an imposing figure.

    She has a slender figure and her breasts are neither small norrge.

    With long, slender arms and legs and a small face, she looks like a model.

    Straightening her back and looking calm, she watches Julius¡¯ hands as he prepares the skewers.

    ¡°What is this situation?¡±

    [Apparently, Julius is grilling skewers for his sister.]

    Her name is [Ulysses].

    She and Julius are half-siblings and half-brother and sister.

    This does not seem unusual since they are royalty, but the two do not appear to be close.

    I raise my hand to Julius, who earnestly grills skewers, and ask him a question.

    ¡°Julius, can I have a word?¡±

    ¡°I am in the middle of something important.¡±

    Julius¡¯ eyes were serious as he looked at the skewers on the.

    Sweat is dribbling down his face, but he doesn¡¯t show any signs of wiping it off.

    He is very focused.

    I shut my mouth to ask himter, as I didn¡¯t want to interrupt him, but this time his sister opened her mouth.

    ¡°Onii-sama ¨D¨D would the proprietor of a skewer shop block a customer¡¯s question?¡±

    With her beautiful, well-defined voice, Ulysses-chan chastises Julius for his attitude.

    ¡°Concentrate all your energy on the skewer. That¡¯s wonderful, but doesn¡¯t that make you an amateur?¡±

    ¡°N-No, this is¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll feed you skewers. It was onii-sama who said so. You dare to make me eat skewers grilled by an amateur who does it as a hobby?¡±

    There is something wrong with the atmosphere.

    Julius, who is supposed to be her big brother, is getting overwhelmed.

    I ask Julius about the situation.

    ¡°What is this I am witnessing here? Perhaps a cooking match?¡±

    Julius moves the grilled skewers from the to the te.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I heard Ulysses liked skewers, so I told her I would feed them to her. Then she changed. She couldn¡¯t take any of my jokes, and I was in trouble.¡±

    It is said that she was originally a calm and gentle princess, but as soon as she started talking about skewers, she changed into a cold princess with a nk expression who would not tolerate anypromise.

    The way Ulysses-chan looks at Julius is as harsh as theye.

    ¡°How long will you keep me waiting? The skewers will get cold.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes! ¨D¨DT-Thank you for your patience.¡±

    Ulysses-chan¡¯s expression does not change when she sees the te Julius offers her.

    She picked up one of the skewers and ate it.

    A ssy way to eat, shall we say? There may be no such thing as a ssy or ssy way to eat skewers, but it is a beautiful way to eat them.

    However, the pace is fast.

    ¡°No way. She¡¯s already eaten her fill!?¡±

    Ulysses-chan finished the six skewers and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

    However, she had eaten it all.

    Julius shows a relieved expression and is stroking his chest.

    ¡°Thank goodness. She ate it¡±

    ¡°Guess I didn¡¯t have to be a witness to this.¡±

    Like Julius, she changespletely due to skewers, or she definitely has Rnd¡¯s blood.

    If it were Milene-san¡¯s bloodline, this would not have happened.

    With such prejudice, Ulysses¡¯ eyes widened.

    ¡°This dimwit!¡±

    ¡°Hiih!?¡±

    But when Ulysses-chan finished eating, she was furious, as if all this had been a lie.

    Julius is frightened.

    ¡°The skewering, the fire, none of it evenes close to an eptable score. And what¡¯s more?¡¡The saltiness is too bad. And the sauce is a store-bought sauce, isn¡¯t it? You dare to make me, a skewers master, eat your skewers with this level of quality? You should be ashamed of yourself! ¡°

    ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry!¡±

    Julius straightened his back and apologized, but I was more concerned about the ¡°Skewers Master¡±.

    What is a skewers master?

    ¡°Please step back. Allow me to give you a taste of the real thing, the real skewer, my poor brother.¡±

    As she brushed her hair back and spread it, Ulysses-chan was full of confidence.

    Julius bows 90 degrees.

    ¡°Thank you very much for your instruction!¡±

    ¡°Only that attitude is worthy of evaluation. Now ¨D¨D you are Marquis Bartfalt, right. Thanks for all the help you have given my brother.¡±

    Although Ulysses-chan had a cold attitude toward Julius, she bes flirtatious in front of me with a sparkle in her eyes.

    ¨D¨D Eh, I¡¯m scared.

    ¡°W-What is it?¡±

    I step back, and Ulysses-chan closes the distance between us.

    ¡°I heard. It was only with the backing of the Marquis Bartfalt that this fool discovered the allure of skewers and set his sights on bing a master griller. Then, with the Marquis backing me, there is nothing to be afraid of anymore. Together we will reach out for the future of the skewers! ¨D¨DMarquis?¡±

    I rushed out of the ce.

    No good. This girl is no good either.

    She is obsessed with skewers.

    It¡¯s ¨D¨D already toote.

    ¡°Please wait, Marquis! Together, the future of skewers~¡±

    ¡°You guys do what you want!¡±

    ¡ó

    ¡°Haah ¨D¨D Haah ¨D¨D I-I got away.¡±

    [I am surprised about a skewer master. But she was an interesting princess.]

    ¡°We should be more worried about the future of this country than the future of skewers.¡±

    I¡¯m resting in the back of the school building, and then my big brother ¨D¨D Nix, who was supposed to have graduated, appears.

    ¡°There he is! Leon, we¡¯re in trouble!¡±

    ¡°Why is aniki here?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re in trouble! Do you remember your uncle?¡±

    ¡°Dad¡¯s little brother, uncle? Well, I remember him.¡±

    I know about my uncle who is a rtive, but what does that matter?

    ¡°Uncle had an illegitimate child! And he wanted to enroll her in the academy because she was old enough. But she has no education from a knight family. I¡¯m not sure if she will be able to do well here, so I want you to take care of her.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DW-What did you say?¡±

    I thought I was free from little sister hell, but apparently I have a rtive.

 Side Story: Nightmare Linette-chan

    My uncle had an illegitimate child.

    This alone is surprising enough, but that child is going to enroll at the school.

    My brother Nix, who graduated, ising to the academy to take care of our rtives. He is going to give a follow up from Bartofalt family.

    ¡°Uncle can not to be underestimated.¡±

    When Iugh, Nix res at me.

    ¡°This is noughing matter. Because of you, our family is on the rise. Even an illegitimate child can be the cause of all kinds of trouble.¡±

    Seeing Nix with his hand on his abdomen, he seems to be worrying a lot. It¡¯s great to have an older brother who takes care of his little brother.

    So keep up the good work¨D¨Donii-chan!

    As we waited at the school gate, new students passed by one by one. Some of the new students were paying attention to us, but they didn¡¯t bother to get involved.

    Does it look like there is a reason? Nix looks pale and I am sure he doesn¡¯t want to get involved.

    ¡°Did theye?¡±

    Nix sees one girl with long dark hair walking up. Her appearance is ¡­ not bad. No, it would just look normal because the five idiot sisters I have seen so far have been outstandingly beautiful girls.

    If you see her anywhere else, she looks like a beautiful girl.

    She walks with a mature manner, holding the school¡¯s bag with both hands and walking with a straight back. Her eyes looked slightly downward, and her breasts were estimated to be about a C cup?

    The boys around her are also ncing at her.

    In the midst of many shy schoolgirls, the fact that she was modest made her stand out from the crowd.

    ¡°That girl? That¡¯s not one of ours. She¡¯s a neat and tidy girl.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think the Bartofalt family is full of women like Jenna and Finley, do you? Remember our mother.¡±

    ¡°More plump than recently¡±

    I say plumped up in an oblique way, but honestly speaking, the dignity has increased.

    Be that as it may, I¡¯m surprised that a girl who seems modest and quiet is our cousin.

    Maybe because I thought my older and little sister, and I was imagining shy, flirtatious girl.

    As she approached the school gate, a male student approached her.

    ¡°Oi, I¡¯m Count¨D¨D¡±

    The boy with his cronies is being overbearing with the girl.

    From me and Nix¡¯s point of view, it was an unbelievable sight.

    ¡°What¡¯s that guy! He¡¯s a first-year student and yet he¡¯s acting with such contemptuous attitude!¡±

    ¡°Is that normal for today¡¯s students!? I envy them! If only I had been born two yearster.¡±

    I can¡¯t help but envy them. Our generation has always been treated poorly by girls!

    Then, in front of the arrogant boy with his cronies, the smiling cousin-dono ¨D¨D with a full swing of her bag, was blowing the boy away.

    ¡°Nix! That girl just gave him a full swing!¡±

    Even I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, I¡¯m so confused.

    Nix also in turmoil.

    ¡°Stop it [Lte]! Don¡¯t touch the boy! Because the other party is a Count!¡±

    This situation seems to have been a direct attack on Nix¡¯s stomach. The boy in front of me and even Nix by my side were injured ¨D¨D Lte-chan, you¡¯re extreme.

    When approached, Lte-chan makes a ¡°This is bad¡± face for a moment. She quickly reced it with a smile that seemed to say, ¡°Oh-ho-ho¡±.

    ¨D¨DAh, this girl is a pretty radical type on the inside.

    ¡ó

    Behind the school building.

    Around Lte-chan¡¯s right shoulder, Luxion appears out of nowhere.

    Why are you standing there like you¡¯re on Lte¡¯s side? You prefer Lte to me?

    ¡°Nix is retiring because of stomach pains. I¡¯ll do the talking instead.¡±

    Lte looks away from me and is in a cold sweat.

    ¡°I-I would prefer not to talk to the nobleman.¡±

    ¡°Whatnguage is it? Just use a casual tone.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so¡±

    Relieved, Lte patted her chest and stretched out with her legs shoulder-width apart.

    ¡°Well~, I don¡¯t want to go to something stiff ce like a nobleman¡¯s academy.¡±

    [Totally agree]

    Luxion, did you change your voice? He has a feminine voice and tone.

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t act so creepy. What¡¯s more, why are you on Lte¡¯s side?¡±

    I reached out to Luxion and she quickly moved away.

    Eh? It simply hurt.

    [Don¡¯t touch me. And don¡¯t get me wrong.]

    Lte looked at Luxion and shrugged.

    ¡°Luxionne has a bad mouth. Forgive her, nobleman.¡±

    ¡°Luxionne? N-No, more than that, don¡¯t call me a nobleman. Leon is fine.¡±

    ¡°Oh really, then Leon-niisan. We¡¯re cousins, so this is fine, right?¡±

    Haa? Leon-niisan ~? This girl is over familiar.

    But I¡¯m an adult. I¡¯ll forgive her this much.

    ¡°If you have any trouble, say anything. I¡¯ll educate the first year Count earlier well, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anything. More importantly, do you have enough allowance?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why are you talking about pocket money? I¡¯ll take it if you give it.¡±

    ¡°For now, how about 10,000?¡±

    Lte was surprised when she saw me take out a wad of bills.

    Then, any first-year boy who messes with Lte will be called to the back of the school building and I will personally educate them.

    Determined, Luxion descended from the sky.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should be overprotective just because someone calls you ¡°onii-san¡±.¡±

    ¡°Luxion !? Then, what the hell is this guy!?¡±

    I had thought it was a Luxion until now, but upon closer inspection, I found that the details were different from those of a Luxion.

    A female-voiced Luxion identifies herself.

    [I told you I am Luxionne. You don¡¯t seem to have enough learning ability. Nii-san, I feel sorry for you to have such a Master.]

    [Luxionne, you say too much. In a manner of speaking, he is my master.]

    Nii-san!? Luxion is her brother!? Could it be that this guy mass-produced an artificial intelligence? And he gave it to Lte? Why!?

    I¡¯m confused, and Luxion brings up another troubling story to me.

    [But more importantly, Master, there is a big issue.]

    ¡°It was always a big issue, and it¡¯s still a big issue. You never told me you had a younger sister.¡±

    [Angelica and Milene are in trouble.]

    ¡­¡­What did you say?

 Side Story: Nightmare Ange-chan and Milene-chan

    When I heard that Ange and Milene-sama were in trouble, I rushed to the royal pce.

    Waiting for me at the royal pce was a troubled-looking Livia.

    ¡°Leon-san, t-t-t-t-there is trouble!? Ange and Milene-sama, that, ano, etto!¡±

    Confused Livia is restless and unable to exin.

    I was worried by her actions and entered the room where I thought the two of them might be, and found Ange and Milene-sama ¨D¨D or were they?

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    When I stopped, there is a strong-willed little girl in front of me.

    She put her hands on her hips and looked up at me with her strong-willed eyes.

    Her red eyes are just like Ange¡¯s.

    ¡°What an insolent fellow! When you enter ady¡¯s room, you must knock!¡±

    A little girl stands tall and insists she is ady.

    I put my hand over my mouth.

    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s this, cute? Could it be Ange¡¯s rtives?¡±

    Behind her, a mature-looking girl with long hair was hiding behind a child who looked much like Ange.

    She seems scared of me.

    ¨D¨DStop. Don¡¯t be afraid. If a little girl hates me, I¡¯ll get hurt.

    It was Livia who exined the situation to me when I was in trouble.

    ¡°Leon-san, actually the people here are Ange and Milene-sama here. They are both themselves.¡±

    ¡°Eh!?¡±

    When I turn to look at Luxion at my side in surprise, he affirms it by moving his red lens vertically.

    [There is no mistake. They both have be child figures, but it is definitely them.]

    ¡°H-H-H-H-How did this happen?¡±

    [Who knows? Isn¡¯t it because it¡¯s a fantasy world?]

    Don¡¯t say it so bluntly.

    B-But when I look at Ange¨D¨DApparently, perhaps she¡¯s reverted back to her childhood and doesn¡¯t remember me.

    She is standing in front of me, protecting Milene-sama who is behind her.

    Let¡¯s show no hostility here.

    ¡°Pardon me, littledies. I am Leon¨D¨Dyour knight.¡±

    When I was saying such a thing with a smile, Livia and Luxion were surprised. Luxion was more surprised or maybe stunned.

    ¡°Leon-san said some sweet lines. After all, things have changed a little since you came back from your study abroad.¡±

    [What are you saying? Master, if you don¡¯t feel well, please lie down on the bed.]

    Livia and Luxion are mean.

    I¡¯m sane and just ying the cool older brother for the two girls.

    Milene-sama tries to talk to me, even though she¡¯s scared.

    ¡°Y-You won¡¯t do something scary?¡±

    I smile at them and take out a candy ball I had tucked away in my pocket. Why do I have it?¡¡ I carried it as a sugar supplement because I was easily exhausted from dealing with those idiots.

    But I didn¡¯t think it would be useful in a situation like this.

    ¡°Of course. Come on,dies, I will give you candy balls as a present.¡±

    Even as Ange received it, she did not lose her strong-willed expression.

    ¡°H-Hmph. Don¡¯t think you can win over the people like this.¡±

    Then she removes the candy ball pouch and throws the candy into her mouth, and suddenly her expression rxes and she licks the candy with relish.

    Milene-sama also smiled.

    Seeing the two of them like that, I quietly order Luxion.

    ¡°Luxion¨D¨DSave this scene¡±

    [Roger that]

    Luxion begins to take pictures of the cute two. I feel like a father watching his children grow up.

    As I watched them, Livia tugged on my arm.

    ¡°What should we do, Leon-san? Will they both go back to normal?¡±

    In my mind, the devil whispered to me, ¡°Couldn¡¯t we just leave things as they are?¡±, but I could not ept such a thing.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll let Luxion investigate¨D¨D¡±

    As I¡¯m trying to figure out how to make them back to normal, a bastardes into the room.

    It¡¯s Rnd ¨D¨D the king of the Horfalt kingdom.

    ¡°Yo~o! I heard that Milene got back younger, so I¡¯m here to see her. Where is she?¡±

    With a smile on my face, I pulled out the sword at my waist and shed at Rnd.

    I had intended to end the fight with a single sh, but Rnd, who was also a good fighter, took out a serious white-de dagger.

    ¡°Don¡¯t resist. I¡¯ll finish it right away!¡±

    Rnd looks impatient when he sees me.

    ¡°shing at the king of a country, are you insane! Don¡¯t think you can get away with this. I¡¯ll make you get another promotion!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you worst walking example! You should not exist for the sake of the children. I¡¯ll end it here!¡±

    I¡¯m a man who would turn into a demon for the sake of children.

    The walking immoral thing that is Rnd must be erased here.

    It is bad for the education of young Ange and Milene-sama.

    ¡°Kuh! Don¡¯t think you can get away with this against me. Guards! The Marquis is acting wildly! Come out,e out!¡±

    As he utters these lines as if he were an evil magistrate, the guards gather.

    In front of these guards, I hold up my sword.

    But I am outnumbered.

    Rnd was confident of winning.

    ¡°Gahahaha! What a stupid guy. Justice always belongs to the victor! Marquis Bartfalt, no matter what happenster ¨D¨D O-Oi, what are you doing?¡±

    Rnd, who was so proud of his victory, was handcuffed by the guards.

    ¡°Your Majesty, what did you intend to do to Milene-sama in her child form?¡±

    ¡°You guys think I looked like such an adult? I was just trying to tease her! Usually she beats me at arguing, so if I¡¯m ying against a kid, I can beat her!¡±

    Livia turned away when she heard Rnd¡¯s talk.

    That¡¯s how bad Rnd is now.

    Before I knew it, Ange and Milene-sama were hugging my legs.

    They are too cute and can¡¯t be helped.

    I sheathed my sword and watched as Rnd was carried out of the room.

    ¡°Evil has gone¡±

    [That¡¯s so. By the way, Master]

    ¡°What?¡±

    Before I knew it, Luxion floats around my right shoulder and he starts saying weird things.

    [It¡¯s about time to wake up.]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡ó

    Luxion, with his rm ringing in my ear, has been making a lot of noise in the morning.

    [You had a lot of groans.]

    I raise my upper body and press my face with both hands.

    ¡°It was a dream, huh. I feel like it¡¯s a shame, but I¡¯m d it was a dream~.¡±

    A sigh of relief came out.

    I don¡¯t like the idea of five idiots having a little sister, or rather, I don¡¯t like the idea of more trouble.

    However, Ange and Milene-sama were cute in their little figures.

    And Lte ¨D¨D Yeah. Well, that¡¯s it.

    [Did you have a nightmare? That¡¯s why I advised you to take your medicine in moderation.]

    ¡°My bad. In the future, I¡¯ll use the right amount.¡±

    It seems a bit of a waste, but let¡¯s be d it was just a dream.

    I stand up.

    ¡°Good grief, it was the worst dream I¡¯ve ever had. Five idiots had little sisters.¡±

    [¨D¨DWhat are you talking about, Master?]

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    As I am unable to understand what Luxion is saying, there is a knock at the door. I quickly answer it, and the door opens ¨D¨D and there are five unique girls.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right¡±

    Apparently, I haven¡¯t woken up from my dream yet.

    _______________________________________________________________

    Brian (£à?¦Ø?¡ä) ¡°Finally, [The World of Otome Game is Tough for Mobs Volume 6] has been released. This time, in addition to the main story, the questionnaire bonus Marie Route has arge volume of ¡¾50,000 words¡¿. Please take a moment to fill out the questionnaire. ¡°

    Brian (¡ä?¦Ø?`) ¡°To ess the questionnaire page, please use [the URL or barcode on the back of the book]. It¡¯s on the back.¡±

    Brian (?¦Ø?£à )?

    Brian (¡ä?¦Ø?`) ¡°¡­¡­ The self-proimed idol of the afterword has not arrived. It¡¯s hard, like promoting other works alone. ¡°

 Side Story: Title â€œThe Person I Admireâ€

    Warning: Contain spoilers of final chapter of WN.

    _______________________________________________________________

    School of the Horfalt Kingdom.

    [Colin Fou Bartfalt], who had just entered the school, was in a very delicate position.

    He is the younger brother of his older brother, who was called the Fiend Knight, and is now the king of the new dynasty.

    However, only Leon¡¯s children can seed to the throne; Colin does not have the right of session.

    Although he was the king¡¯s brother, he was only the third son of his family, the ¡°Viscounts¡± Bartfalt.

    ¡± ¨D¨D The world is wrong¡±

    The boy was pure and innocent, and as he grew into a young man ¨D¨D he became lethargic.

    The three turbulent years in which Leon was active have passed, and the kingdom is now in a period of change, with reconstruction and new systems beginning to take root.

    Ange is leading the transition to a new national structure.

    Having spent time as a child watching such times from afar, Colin is unnerved, but not because he wanted to be active in such turbulent times.

    Frankly, he thought he could not do what his brothers did.

    He can¡¯t be like Leon, and even Nix ¨D¨D his eldest brother, is now supporting his family and assisting his father.

    He survived a major war and should inherit the position of head of the family in person.

    He got a wife from Count Rosede, and by the time Nix inherits the title, he will be a ¡°Count¡±.

    Leon said so.

    In front of Nix, who is having a hard time with Dorothea, his sister-inw, Leon said, ¡°It¡¯s not cool that my family is a Viscount, so when my brother bes the head of the family, I¡¯ll promote you to the title of Count!¡± He said with augh.

    Reminds him of the most devilish look he had ever seen on Nix¡¯s face.

    However, from the outside, Nix is also a winner.

    Besides, although he was in, his work performance was also appreciated.

    The eldest brother changed from a Baron to a Count.

    The second brother became king.

    Thanks to his talented older brothers, Colin felt inferior.

    However, that is not the only reason that made Colin lethargic.

    As he sat on a bench at the school, hanging down, Finley, now in her third year, approached him.

    It¡¯s quite rough.

    ¡°That rotten former crown prince ¨D¨D I¡¯ll be¡ðat him!¡±

    She made some pretty disturbing statements, but Colin was not interested.

    ¡°Nee-san, you¡¯re in rough shape today too.¡±

    Finley noticed Colin and yelled at him when he saw his lethargic face.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just normal and makes me mad! Because of him, my engagement was canceled! Even though I was going to be a Count¡¯s daughter-inw thanks to Aniki¡¯s legend~~~!¡±

    Colin thought Finley¡¯s high-pitched voice was annoying.

    Honestly, he wasn¡¯t even interested in his sister¡¯s marriage.

    He feels like ¡°I see¡± that the engagement talks have been broken off.

    ¡°You should look for a man of your worth. For nee-san, a Baron or a Viscount is okay.¡±

    Finley is annoyed at the lethargic Colin.

    ¡°Haah!? Tell that to yourself. How long are you going to stick with someone who is disproportionate to you?¡±

    Colin¡¯s shoulders slumped.

    ¡°T-That¡¯s¡±

    The cause of Colin¡¯s lethargy ¨D¨D that is.

    ¡°Ah, there he is. O~i! Are you two fine~¡±

    A woman who is not a student at the academy approaches them, waving her hand.

    Seeing the person, Colin stood up and straightened his back.

    His eyes, like those of a dead fish, regain their light.

    ¡°Noel-nee!¡±

    Her hair, which had been in twin-tails, was now down and long.

    Noel talks to his escort and then approaches Colin and the others.

    Colin¡¯s heart beat faster.

    The person he admires ¨D¨D is still beautiful today.

    Finley treats a person like that in a bad way.

    ¡°What do alumni do here?¡±

    Noelughed.

    ¡°That¡¯s mean. This is just a job. Today I¡¯m inspecting the school. I thought I¡¯d check on the two of you while I¡¯m at it.¡±

    Colin thinks as he looks at Noel¡¯s smiling face.

    (Noel-nee looks beautiful today too)

    She didn¡¯t look like the mother of one child.

    Yes, Noel is the woman that Colin has always longed for ¨D¨D a married woman.

    Moreover, her partner is his own brother ¨D¨D Leon.

    It was Leon who shattered his childhood love feelings.

    What¡¯s sad is that Leon has always been kind to Colin and cannot be hated.

    If he is a nasty guy, he wouldin and think about stealing her, but¨D¨D.

    ¡°Yeah, Colin looks great in his uniform. It¡¯s strange that that little Colin is already taller than me.¡±

    ¨D¨DNoel seemed very happy.

    ¡°Y-Yeah¡±

    The person he admired who approached him smelled good.

    Then Finley notices.

    ¡°Are? Your belly¡¯s a little big.¡±

    Noel was embarrassed.

    ¡°Ehehe, it¡¯s the second one.¡±

    Hearing that, Colin shouted inside his mind.

    (Damn iiiiit!!)

    What¡¯s sad is that he can¡¯t resent Leon.

    Despite all that has been said, Leon is still basically family-friendly.

    When he was a little boy, he was very much loved by him.

    So he can¡¯t resent him.

    Noel remembered something.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Leon has a request for Colin.¡±

    ¡°A request from aniki?¡±

    Colin, who does not know what his busy brother ¨D¨D no, it is Ange who is busy, receives Leon¡¯s letter wondering what he wants.

    What was written there was¨D¨D.

    [Colin! I¡¯ve decided to make you Count for your future! ¨D¨DYou¡¯ll help your brother out, won¡¯t you?]

    ¨D¨DSimply put, that¡¯s what it was written.

    The area under the direct control of the Kingdom of Horfalt has berger with fewer nobles due to wars and other things.

    Some of the nobles did not find that amusing, so Leon came up with a way for the kingdom to essentially manage the ce with his own people involved.

    In other words, they are like a magistrate ¨D¨D or rather, a governor.

    The position is lighter than that of an ordinary count, but it¡¯s that brother of his ¨D¨D no doubt it will be used to his advantage.

    ¡°Noel-nee ¨D¨D T-This is a bit¡±

    He tried to refuse, but Noel was happy.

    ¡°It¡¯s great that that Colin is going to be a Count, isn¡¯t it? I bet you will be popr from now on.¡±

    Colin feels like crying.

    (I¡¯m not happy even if other people like me!)

    But when he saw the happy look on Noel¡¯s face, he couldn¡¯t refuse ¨D¨D so Colin agreed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll think positively when I graduate.¡±

    Hearing that, Noel hugs Colin¡¯s arm.

    ¡°Thank you, Colin!¡±

    That made him sad and strangely happy ¨D¨D and when he lookedplicated, Finley muttered.

    ¡°Men are really stupid¡±

 Side Story: Title: â€œThe World of Otome Game is Tough for Mobâ€™s Younger Brother tooâ€

    Warning: Contain spoilers of final chapter of WN.

    * Please ignore the timeline

    _______________________________________________________________

    I [Colin Fou Bartfalt] ¨D¨D decided to study abroad when I was in the second year of the school.

    My study abroad destination was the Kingdom of Ossias.

    They have had little interaction with the Kingdom of Horfalt so far.

    Distance ¨D¨D Due in part to the location of the two countries, one gets the impression that they are far away from each other.

    But the development of shipbuilding technology and navigation techniques.

    Furthermore, the Kingdom of Horfalt is rushing to form an alliance with the Kingdom of Ossias.

    Therefore, exchanges were taking ce between the public and private sectors.

    The study abroad story is part of that.

    Even I¡¯m not in the line of session, but I am Leon ¨D¨D His Majesty¡¯s biological brother.

    It seems that I am in aplicated position politically in many ways and should be helping my brother domestically.

    But ¨D¨D now I wanted to leave my hometown.

    It is painful to look at Noel sister-inw who is my first love.

    And yet, the family and the royal court encourage matchmaking.

    No, I know.

    My position is important, and to strengthen the connection with powerful nobles and my brother¡¯s subordinates for the future ¨D¨D I have to enter into a political marriage.

    That¡¯s fine.

    I¡¯ve been taken care of by my big brother.

    No matter how much my first love is with my brother, I feel indebted to him.

    But ¨D¨D I have a hard time seeing Noel sister-inw back home.

    That is why I asked the Queen for a favor and requested to study abroad.

    That person is usually sopetent that some call her Her Majesty the Queen, even though there is my brother.

    My brother doesn¡¯t get mad when he hears about it, which is good, but is our country okay with this?

    Well, that¡¯s all for the introduction.

    ¡°Why is aniki here?¡±

    ¡°Colin !? Why are you here !?¡±

    With his suit jacket off, the second brother and king of the new dynasty of Bartfalt, Kingdom of Horfalt, was a teacher at the Academy of the Ossias Kingdom.

    I was also surprised at this.

    ¡°Well, sister-inw ¨D¨D No. The Queen has given me permission to study abroad in the Kingdom of Ossias this school year. More importantly, about aniki! Even though you are a king, why are you ¨D¨D Muguh!¡±

    ¡°I-Idiot! You¡¯re talking too loud! Don¡¯t ever say I¡¯m king!¡±

    My brother covered my mouth and was alerted to my surroundings.

    When I thought he had not been in the public eye for a while, I did not expect him to be in the Kingdom of Ossias.

    I mean, really, what are you doing here!?

    My brother makes sure no one is there and then exins the situation to me.

    ¡°Colin, actually I ¨D¨D be a teacher here to save the world.¡±

    Do they think anything will pass if you put on a serious face?

    My brother looked so serious about it.

    ¡°Are you kidding me? If you¡¯re joking, tell me something funnier.¡±

    My brother is shocked.

    ¡°Colin go off the rails! I-Is this what they called a rebellious period?¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong¡±

    He has always been kind to the family¨D¨Dnot.

    He was strict with his sisters. Is he harsh? Is he lenient because he also forgave sister Jenna for trying to kill him by setting off a bomb?

    Anyway, he is a sweetheart to his family.

    Also, he doesn¡¯t realize he ended my first love.

    ¨D¨DIt¡¯s really painful.

    ¡°Aniki, what are you really doing in this country? Why should aniki have to do the legwork?¡±

    ¡°I have a lot of reasons. But yeah¨D¨DIf you¡¯re here, I could use some help.¡±

    ¡°Help?¡±

    When my brother gets a mysterious look on his face, he asks me for advice.

    ¡°I¡¯m actually in a bit of trouble. Actually, there is kid who has a fated partner, and I¡¯ve taken a liking to them.¡±

    ¨D¨DIt wasn¡¯t my big brother.

    Is this guy possibly having an affair in a foreign country?

    How did Noel sister-inw also fall in love with such a person?

    I really want to cry.

    ¡°Aniki, I think the Queen would be seriously angry at any more unfaithfulness.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong! I neverid a hand on them! It¡¯s just thattely it¡¯s been a little¨D¨D¡±

    As I was about to listen to my impatient brother¡¯s excuses, we heard a voice from across the hallway.

    ¡°Ah, here you are. Sensei, about the other day.¡±

    The male student was slender.

    Is it called a cute type?

    This school is a boys¡¯ school and only boys are allowed, so of course they are men.

    I thought he looked like a girl, but there is no such thing as a girl in a ce like this.

    But when the boy came ¨D¨D my brother¡¯s eyes were swimming.

    ¡°Well, look, it¡¯s that! Yes, a kid I know, like my brother, just came to study abroad!¡±

    ¡°Eh? Aniki, what are you¨D¨D¡±

    ¡°I beg you, please, just y along here!¡±

    It was a serious brother¡¯s request, so I agreed to y along ¨D¨D and the boy who approached us looked at me.

    ¡°It looks like a real brother. You two look exactly alike.¡±

    Because we are brothers.

    My brother deliberately averted his gaze.

    ¡°People often tell me that. He¡¯s a distant rtive.¡±

    The male student tilts his head.

    The gesture looks like a girl no matter what ¨D¨D But I know that there are some guys like this.

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yeah! That being said, could you give Colin a tour of the academy?¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to show him around!?¡±

    The way the child looks at my brother is somewhat ¨D¨D passionate.

    And then I realized.

    Perhaps the reason why my brother is in trouble is because he was liked by the same sex?

    Come to think of it, I heard that my brother is secretly very popr with the men.

    Was it Count Mottley?

    That man is also a supporter of my brother and has stated publicly that he owes him a favor.

    And by popr ¨D¨D It means romantically as well.

    I remembered that my brother is liked by men.

    There is a man who says he really likes my brother in a romantic sense.

    Is his poprity still alive and well in other countries? I didn¡¯t think so.

    He must be in trouble because he is favored by a slender male student.

    I guess I have a twisted personality that thinks it¡¯s kind of nice.

    But the only one who twisted worse than me was my brother.

    ¡°Colin! Get this kid to show you around¨D¨Dand.¡±

    Aniki whispering to me.

    ¡°They are a good kid. You¡¯ll like them.¡±

    ¡°¨D¨DEh?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I just remembered something! You two, get along!¡±

    I watched my brother run off and I was left alone with him.

    The boy is confused.

    I¡¯m also confused.

    Because ¨D¨D my brother rmended a guy to me.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying, right, Anikiii~!?¡±

    Is this my punishment for falling in love with Noel sister-inw?

    I mean, sure, I¡¯m keeping my distance from love, but I¡¯m not running to a man as an equal.

    What are you thinking, aniki!?

 Volume 11, Prologue

    Part 1

    With the summer vacation just around the corner, the school¡¯s students are beginning to show a buoyant atmosphere.

    People who invite friends they made at the school to stay at their parents¡¯ house.

    Those who n to go somewhere to y together.

    Those who challenge the dungeons of the royal capital due to unavoidable circumstances.

    I get the impression that many students are expecting to spend their free time, the long vacation, how they will spend it.

    Meanwhile, I [Leon Fou Bartfalt] am the poor guy who was forced to officially hold the title of Duke, even though I am a student.

    I am deprived of the student privilege of wasting long vacations and forced to participate in national politics.

    Even now, I was preparing to leave for the royal pce.

    I was wearing a ceremonial knight uniform with many decorations, and had a medal attached to my chest.

    I¡¯m standing in front of the full-length mirror, and I have a look of utter disgust on my face.

    ¡°Who the hell do you think you are, Rnd, calling me out?¡±

    The reason I went to the trouble of pulling out my knight¡¯s uniform and changing is because I was summoned by the king [Rnd Rafa Horfalt].

    ¡°Come to the royal pce,¡± I was unterally summoned.

    When I think it¡¯s no useining, Olivia ¡ª¡ª [Livia], who is attaching one of my medals to my chest, replies.

    ¡°Whoever or whatever he is, he¡¯s the king, you know.¡±

    Livia, who helps me get ready, doesn¡¯t change her expression.

    While understanding that it was aint, she probably responded with a reasoned response.

    ¡°If he¡¯s the king, I hope he¡¯s more respectable.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s true.¡±

    Livia agreed with my opinion with a wry smile.

    The king of Horfalt, who is called by many names behind his back ¡ª¡ª the foolish king, thezy, the garbage, the enemy of women, is a hateful existence for the nobles.

    If this were a respectable king, there would have been nobles who would have respected him and sworn their allegiance to him.

    However, he is a man who pushes his work to the Queen, [Milene Rafa Horfalt], while he himself frequently ys with women in the castle town.

    It is unreasonable to ask them to respect him.

    And for me, he¡¯s my biggest enemy.

    After all, he was the one who kept promoting me when I didn¡¯t want to be promoted.

    If this were some kind of misunderstanding, it would be a good thing, but he knows that I don¡¯t want to be promoted.

    He has a really bad personality.

    Livia checked my medal and nodded a few times when she saw me.

    ¡°There you go. Leon-san, you look great.¡±

    ¡°Fine feathers make fine birds is what it is called. I¡¯ll look great if I dress appropriately.¡±

    Shrugging her shoulders, Livia lets out a small sigh of amazement.

    ¡°Just be honest and take apliment once in a while.¡±

    When I look at my reflection in the mirror, I see that I look much better thanks to Livia¡¯s help.

    I finished getting dressed faster.

    ¡°Thanks to Livia, I¡¯m saving time. It¡¯s hard to wear this thing.¡±

    ¡°Leon-san usually likes to dress in a very simple way. It is not unusual for you to wear only a shirt and pants on some days.¡±

    ¡°I am being raised so.¡±

    ¡°Your parents are all well-behaved, so it¡¯s a personal trait¡±

    ¡ª¡ªLately, Livia is being strict with me.

    No, all of my fianc¨¦es were no longer reserved toward me.

    I don¡¯t see that as a bad thing. In fact, I personally favor it.

    I just don¡¯t like the idea that they think I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s sloppy.

    ¡°Livia doesn¡¯t know the true nature of my father and brother. We Bartfalt men are used to jumping in theke in our underpants in the summer. It¡¯s the height of crudity.¡±

    When I was a child, I used to jump into theke naked and y.

    Last year Colin was naked, but this year he will have at least some pants ready.

    Livia, who had a rxed attitude earlier, looked away from me and blushed a little.

    She seemed to be embarrassed by my story.

    ¡°There are women in your family, what are you doing?¡±

    I think of the faces of the women of the Bartfalt family.

    Mother, Jenna, and Finley.

    But they weren¡¯t the least bit surprised to see the dudes naked in front of them, and all three of them were uninterested.

    ¡°They didn¡¯t care. Well, that¡¯s what family is. What about your family, Livia?¡±

    Livia replies with a blush.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have any male siblings, so I don¡¯t have any idea about those circumstances.¡±

    That¡¯s too bad¡ª¡ªor not?

    Livia brings her held hand to her mouth and clears her throat in an attempt to drown her embarrassment.

    ¡°Anyway, the preparations are over. You¡¯re wonderful when you keep quiet, so please keep your mouths shut in the audience chamber.¡±

    That¡¯s some pretty harsh words.

    It¡¯s as if I¡¯m a disappointing guy when I open my mouth.

    ¡ª¡ª With a mischievous mind, I pull myself closer to Livia.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame you thought of me that way. I¡¯m often misunderstood, but I thought Livia knew the real me.¡±

    When I put my hands around her waist and hugged her, Livia suddenly started to panic.

    ¡°Le-Leon-san! You¡¯re teasing me, right? Right?!¡±

    ¡°Who knows? What are you talking about?¡±

    She tries to move away as if in trouble in my arms, but her resistance is weak.

    Amidst the feigned resistance was the desire not to mess with the knight¡¯s uniform. At the same time, I could see that she was epting the situation.

    As I brought my face closer, Livia stopped moving and closed her eyes.

    When she lifted her chin and got into a kissing position¡ª¡ª.

    [That¡¯s nice, you two! Hold it! Just like that! I¡¯ll capture it on video forever as a record. Don¡¯t worry about me.]

    ¡ª¡ªThe one who ruined the mood was [Creare], an artificial intelligence that can¡¯t, or won¡¯t, read the mood.

    The sphere floating in the air has a single blue lens like an eye.

    A ring is moving inside the lens and seems to be adjusting the zooming in and out.

    Hearing Creare¡¯s voice, Livia¡¯s eyelids opened quickly, and her face turned red.

    When she turned only her face to Creare, she looked at her shyly and resentfully.

    ¡°¡ª¡ªAre-chan¡±

    [Ara, you¡¯re embarrassed, so cute~]

    Realizing that Creare had been peeking, I hurriedly smooth it over.

    ¡°Why are you peeping! Get out now.¡±

    [I was here~. I was here from the beginning~]

    Without a hint of remorse, she ims that she was here all along.

    Maybe that¡¯s why she doesn¡¯t want to leave this ce.

    [It¡¯s just that Master and Livia suddenly got into a good mood. This is not peeping.]

    ¡°You really are a bunch of talkative artificial intelligences.¡±

    [I¡¯ll take that as apliment.]

    I¡¯m the one who¡¯s losing my patience by Creare¡¯s refusal to respond to anything I say.

    Of course, even I hesitate when I hear that it will be on the record.

    As I tried to pull away from Livia, my waist was hugged.

    ¡°Livia? A-Ano.¡±

    Livia, who had been pressing her forehead against my chest when I was puzzled, raises her head and stares at me, looking embarrassed.

    Livia looks up at me.

    As it was, Livia put her hands around my waist and then put them on my cheeks¡ª¡ª She holds me with both hands.

    It was a strength that could be easily shaken off, but strangely enough, I could not resist.

    Livia, who is staring at me with moist eyes, tells me shyly.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t stop halfway, please finish it.¡±

    ¡°T-That¡¯s!¡±

    When I nced at Creare, the blue lens was staring at us.

    [Livia-chan, you¡¯re so bold!]

    I am eager to kick the teasing Creare like a ser ball, but for now I hold back and look at Livia.

    ¡°E, Etto¡ª¡ªYes.¡±

    We both blush and bring my lips to Livia¡¯s lips.

    Part 2

    ¡°What is that idiot big brother thinking!¡±

    Around that time.

    It was [Marie Fou Lafan] who was raising her voice in the school¡¯s girls¡¯ dormitory.

    Marie resents her brother from a previous life who does not show up for discussions.

    Such Marie¡¯spanion is Leon¡¯s partner, [Luxion]. It is a metallic-colored sphere floating in the air, with a single red lens like an eye.

    While in an electronic voice, he is apanying Marie with a somewhat dismayed tone of voice.

    [It can be said that the improvement in his wimp part is growth, but this time he¡¯s getting caught up in the moment. Even now, he is in mucosal contact with Olivia.]

    The information brought by Creare makes Marie know about it.

    Marie was not happy to hear it.

    She did not want to know about her brother¡¯s love life from a previous life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call it mucous! It sounds even more obscene!¡±

    [Understood. Then let me correct it to ¡®kissing¡¯.]

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about my brother in such vivid teeeerms!!¡±

    Hearing Marie¡¯s screams, Luxion really seemed to be having a little - fun.

    [Marie¡¯s reaction is worth observing.]

    ¡°What do you think I am? More importantly, are you going to proceed without aniki?¡±

    In fact, today, the two of them, Leon and Marie ¡ª¡ª plus the artificial intelligence, were supposed to be nning future countermeasures.

    Marie is troubled by the recent situation.

    ¡°The Holy Kingdom of Raschel, right? That¡¯s where they be allies and join forces with the neighboring countries of the kingdom to attack us, right?¡±

    Luxion adds to Marie¡¯s rough exnation.

    [They haven¡¯t attacked us yet, though.]

    ¡°It¡¯lle eventually, won¡¯t it?¡±

    [That depends on today¡¯s audience. A messenger from the Holy Kingdom of Raschel will visit the Kingdom of Horfalt and have an audience with King Rnd. Master will attend the audience.]

    The reason Leon was summoned to the royal pce was because a messenger wasing from the Holy Kingdom of Raschel.

    What will the messenger say?

    The nobles of the kingdom of Horfalt have taken a strong interest and havee to the royal capital one after another without being asked.

    Nobles were flocking to the royal pce.

    ¡°I wanted to talk to him before that, but it¡¯s been all women, women, women these days. I don¡¯t think that stupid brother deserve toin about the king.¡±

    He is always bad-mouthing Rnd, who is a womanizer, but recently Leon has also been focusing on his rtionships with women.

    In particr, he focuses on his fianc¨¦es.

    [The other party is his fianc¨¦es, Angelica, Olivia and Noelle, the three people. So there is no problem.]

    ¡°It¡¯s full of problems! At this critical time, he is not even willing to talk to me, saying that he has a date or a tea party, isn¡¯t he!¡±

    Luxion, watching Marie writhing with her head in her hands, was impatiently moving the ring in his red lens.

    He recorded Marie¡¯s behavior.

    [Are you lonely because your rtives were taken?]

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡±

    Marie grabs a nearby cushion and throws it at Luxion.

    Luxion could have avoided it, but instead chose not to and got hit by the cushion.

    Since the damage was not significant, there was no need to avoid it.

    [It is important for Master to have a good rtionship with his fianc¨¦es. Up until now, it¡¯s just been too lousy.]

    ¡°I agree with you on that. But it¡¯s strange when he has three fianc¨¦es. I mean, it¡¯s a miracle that that brother has three fianc¨¦es, right.¡±

    Luxion, hearing that, says to Marie.

    [¡ª¡ªThere are five men trapped by Marie, right?]

    ¡°Hah!¡±

    Marie screamed cutely, but when she pressed her chest, she copsed to her knees on the spot in pain.

    Her face is bloodshot and her body is shaking.

    Marie med Leon, but those words bounced back to her and stabbed her in the chest.

    ¡°Stop, don¡¯t mention it. I am remorseful. But¡ª¡ªBut¡ª¡ªThey all refuse to go away. I want to let them go, but none of them want to leave me!¡±

    Teary-eyed Marie tried to free the five men she had caged, the five capture targets who had once been nobles.

    But what did they think, they did not want to leave Marie¡¯s side.

    [Let¡¯s stop talking about Marie and get back to the previous subject, shall we? It is true that Master is getting too carried away these days. He puts his fianc¨¦e first, and everything else is neglected.]

    When Leon is somewhat more rxed, Luxion says that he is not worth teasing.

    Marie raises her head.

    ¡°He¡¯s such a pain in the ass, isn¡¯t he? Just when you think he¡¯s gotten less of a wimp, he gets cocky and starts ying with women. He¡¯s going to get stabbed someday. Or rather, he should get stabbed once. Then he¡¯ll wake up.¡±

    [That¡¯s not going to happen.]

    ¡°Why?¡±

    [Because I will protect Master¡¯s life.]

    Marie looks up at Luxion, her cheeks drawn back.

    ¡°¡ª¡ªI¡¯m starting to think you¡¯re the most troublesome existence.¡±

    [Troublesome? I don¡¯t understand. I demand an exnation.]

    Part 3

    During the audience room of the royal pce.

    Sunlight streamed in through therge window panes.

    The temperature is controlled by magic, but the surrounding area is full of nobles who have crowded into the royal pce.

    The pressure makes me sweat.

    But my attention was on the man facing Rnd, and I couldn¡¯t care less about sweat.

    The elegant man in the suit has his loud voice echoing through the audience chamber.

    The theatrical dialogue seemed on the nose, irritating those around him.

    ¡°The Holy King of the Holy Kingdom of Raschel- His Majesty the Great is concerned about this situation. The Fiend Knight who has acquired a powerful strength! His unruly behavior is the very source of disturbance to the peace and tranquility of all the nations around the kingdom!¡±

    He nced at me, who was sitting quietly at the corner of the room.

    At that moment, the gaze of many people in the audience is fixed on me.

    The gentle man makes a gesture and raises his voice in front of Rnd.

    ¡°I would like to make a request to His Majesty, the King of the Kingdom of Horfalt. If you want peace, shouldn¡¯t you distribute all the lost items that the Fiend Knight has to other countries?¡±

    Fiend Knight ¡ª¡ª Before I know it, it¡¯s be my second name, and I hate that even Raschel calls me this.

    Also, I don¡¯t like the idea of them trying to take the Lost Items from me like that.

    But I suppose I should hear the story to the end.

    I silently checked my surroundings and saw Rnd sitting on his throne with a grin on his face.

    Seeing me with a bitter look on my face, he looks quite happy.

    ¡°Hou, does that mean that the Duke¡¯s Lost Items should be given to another country?¡±

    The seat next to Rnd.

    The queen¡¯s seat is upied by Milene-san.

    She silently gazed at Raschel¡¯s messenger, but her appearance was full of elegance.

    Her unusual cold gaze is like an ice queen.

    I felt as if I had shown up at the royal pce, which I did not want toe to, just to see this person.

    Aah, she¡¯s so beautiful ¡ª¡ª or so I think I have to stop running away from reality now.

    Raschel¡¯s messenger took one look at me and shed a smirk.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be enough. You must also give up the Sacred Tree and the Priestess, which you obtained from the Republic of Arzel.¡±

    The audience hall was buzzing at that statement.

    The nobles were verbally defending me.

    ¡°The priestess is one of the Duke¡¯s fianc¨¦es.¡±

    ¡°Offer up your own wife, that¡¯s a big deal.¡±

    ¡°Are you willing to negotiate?¡±

    However, one of the participating nobles¡ª¡ªVince-san of Duke Redgrave, and Ange¡¯s papa was expressionless.

    We are now cut ties with Duke Redgrave and have an unfriendly, if not hostile, rtionship with them.

    It seems that he has no intention of defending me.

    The messenger, seeing my silence, continues.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just keep all your fianc¨¦es outside the kingdom? Fiend Knight-dono¡ª¡ªNo, Leon-dono, all you have to do is go to a foreign country. I¡¯ll let you see your fianc¨¦es.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t even speak up at the demand¡ª¡ªbut I felt my blood boil.

    I am told to give up everything and live my life in ordance with Raschel¡¯s liking.

    Floating near my right shoulder, the invisible Luxion speaks to me.

    The people around me can¡¯t hear it.

    [I think they don¡¯t want to negotiate. What trump card does the Holy Kingdom of Raschel have that makes them believe in victory so far?]

    The trump card of the Holy Kingdom of Raschel would be the Demonic Armor.

    There is a being called the Holy Knight who takes in and maniptes pieces of Demonic Armor.

    In exchange for their lives, draw out the power from the Demonic Armor and only once ying an active role on the battlefield and then die.

    Their personality is bad because they are even proud of it.

    ¡ª¡ª However, no matter how many of such Demonic Armor are avable, they are meaningless in front of Luxion.

    I have fought many times against the Demonic Armor, but Raschel¡¯s Demonic Armor was the weakest.

    Finn¡¯s Brave ¡ª¡ª Compared to the perfect Demonic Armor, they¡¯re a lousy substitute.

    Luxion also asserts, [It can¡¯t be a threat.]

    That¡¯s probably why. Luxion hints that Raschel may be preparing a trump card to rece the Demonic Armor.

    When I tried to open my mouth, it was Milene-san who moved first.

    The reason for the colder-than-usual tone is probably because the country of Raschel is also an enemy of Milene-san¡¯s homnd.

    ¡°It¡¯s out of the question. It seems you are not willing to negotiate.¡±

    Hearing Milene-san¡¯s words, the messenger¡¯s eyes red.

    ¡°I think you are the one who doesn¡¯t understand the situation? The military alliance, led by the Holy Kingdom of Raschel, is besieging the Kingdom of Horfalt. No matter how strong Leon-dono is, he will not be able to appear on every battlefield.¡±

    If the Horfalt Kingdom were to be attacked all at once, whether it be Luxion or not, it would cause damage.

    But that¡¯s all.

    They will cause damage, but in the end I will win.

    The problem is the nobles who guard the borders rather than me.

    Some of the nobles who flocked to the pce guarded the border.

    They all had bitter faces.

    Luxion guesses how they feel.

    [If they attack all at once, they will be forced to defend themselves alone until Ie to their aid, and the Kingdom will not be able to send enough forces to all borders.]

    In other words, it was the nobles guarding the borders who would suffer the most harm.

    Milene-san says back to the messenger.

    ¡°You are being very forceful. Isn¡¯t it Raschel who fears the Duke¡¯s power and is willing to join forces with other countries to ovee this situation that frightens the most of us?¡±

    Milene-san said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it you who are scared?¡± the messenger¡¯s smile was slightly distorted.

    ¡°Shall we give it a try?¡±

    Milene-san says to the messenger.

    ¡°Go back and prepare for war.¡±

    When the audience is over, Raschel¡¯s messenger leaves the room.

    When the nobles start talking to the people around them as if they were burst out, I use the noise as a cover to converse with Luxion.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Milene-san aware that the borders are at stake? I think she¡¯s being a bit brave, or maybe she should consider the feelings of those around her?¡±

    In answer to my question, Luxion says somewhat confidently.

    [I¡¯m sure she is aware of it. Is she ignoring them on purpose?]

    ¡°No way Milene-san would do such a thing¡±

    [Does Master¡¯s trust in Milenee from lust?]

    ¡°That¡¯s rude.¡±

    I looked at the throne and saw Milene-san looking at me.

    However, I don¡¯t feel the cuteness that usually overflows there, even if it is hidden.

    She gave me a slight smile, but her expression seemed somewhat cold.

    Part 4

    After the audience with the messenger.

    I was approached by a knight of the royal court and led straight to another room.

    It was a room decorated with luxurious furnishings, but with practicality taking precedence over decoration.

    The parlor looks much more luxurious.

    I was called to such a room, and I remembered that I had visited there before.

    ¡°Ah~, here, huh. I¡¯ve been here a few times.¡±

    As I recall, Luxion earnestly adds.

    [This is the room that Master used when you were appointed Commander-in-Chief in the war against the Principality, isn¡¯t it.]

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    While chatting with Luxion, I turn my gaze to Milene-san, who called me.

    I thought I might offend her with my rude attitude, but she was still smiling.

    Sitting in a chair, covering her mouth with her right hand, Milene-san reminisces about the past.

    ¡°The Duke did a tremendous achievement at that time. We look forward to another sessful performance against Raschel this time.¡±

    While her tone is polite and gentle, she sounds somewhat distant.

    Scratching the back of my head with my hand, I talk to Milene-san about the future.

    ¡°From the look of the messenger, is it difficult to negotiate?¡±

    ¡°I doubt that they intend to negotiate in the first ce. They want to go around saying that the kingdom of Horfalt has kicked down the road to a peaceful resolution.¡±

    Despite their outrageous demands, Raschel seems to want to be in the position of ¡°We have proposed a peaceful solution!¡±.

    It¡¯s an unbelievable talk from my point of view, but it¡¯s true that they negotiated to avoid war.

    ¡ª¡ªAnd it is true that the kingdom kicked against it.

    To a third party who does not know the details, it is possible that the Kingdom of Horfalt will look bad.

    It¡¯s a very dirty trick, but it¡¯s the world we live in.

    I ask Milene-san for a solution.

    ¡°Frankly, I don¡¯t want a major war. If there is a way to minimize the damage, I would like to know.¡±

    The nature of Milene-san¡¯s smile changed when I mentioned that I wanted to borrow some wisdom from the queen who has been in charge of the kingdom of Horfalt.

    She starts talking as if to say, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for it¡±.

    ¡°Raschel is the only threat to our current neighbors. In other words, once Raschel is contained, the rest of the countries are nothing more than a mere rabble.¡±

    Indeed, no country other than the Holy Kingdom of Raschel isrge enough to go to war with the Kingdom of Horfalt alone.

    The former Principality of Fannos, which we fought in the past ¡ª¡ª And the current Duke Fannos is a big part of it, too, if you look at the surrounding countries.

    ¡ª¡ªDuke Fannos, huh.

    ¡°Do you think Duke Fannos is among the enemy Alliances?¡±

    When I ask out of curiosity, Milene-san lets out a small sigh.

    ¡°If things happen, there is a high possibility that they will join them. I¡¯m sure they would rather be independent than continue to follow Horfalt kingdom.¡±

    For Duke Fannos, who lost the war and are being forced to pay huge reparations, the Kingdom of Horfalt is not their ally.

    Until a few years ago, we were enemies who fought fiercely against each other.

    If given the chance, they are likely to switch sides and be the enemy.

    I put my hand on my chin and speak my mind.

    ¡°Then, should I beat the Holy Kingdom of Raschel and bring down the Alliance?¡±

    My suggestion was too simple, and Milene-san looked at me in surprise.

    But she immediately broke out in a smile and startedughing aloud.

    I scratch my cheek with my finger and Milene-san apologizes.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just too simple and obvious also funny. ¡ª¡ªThat¡¯s right. The Duke has that option.¡±

    It is a solution that ordinary people would not have chosen in the first ce.

    It¡¯s only because I have Luxion that I can talk about such a stupid strategy.

    Milene-san¡¯s expression turned serious.

    ¡°If we destroy Raschel immediately, it will prove that the Duke¡¯s power is dangerous. If that happens, there¡¯s a good chance the Empire will make its move.¡±

    ¡°¡ª¡ªEmpire¡±

    Upon hearing the word ¡°empire,¡± Luxion faithfully tells the official name of the country.

    ¡°The Holy Magic Empire of Voldenowa ¡ª¡ª a country with ties to the Holy Kingdom of Raschel.¡±

    From there, Milene-san exins.

    ¡°It is a superpower, more powerful than the Kingdom of Horfalt. Even the Republic of Arzel is no match for the Empire.¡±

    Finn and Mia-chan¡¯s hometown.

    If such a country decides I¡¯m a threat and invades, it will be troublesome.

    Even if they don¡¯t invade separately, the Empire can take the lead and me the kingdom of Horfalt from all sides.

    If we are not careful, the world will truly be our enemy.

    A battle with the Empire, which seems to possess perfect demonic armor, would likely not go unscathed, even with Luxion¡¯s power.

    No, we are not careful¡ª¡ª.

    ¡°It would be bad to make enemies of the Empire, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    When I confirm this, Milene-san nods and answers immediately.

    ¡°That¡¯s bad.¡±

    After hearing all this, Luxion looked like annoyed.

    [If we destroy them along with the Empire, the problem will be solved.]

    It¡¯s a solution that¡¯s very much like this guy, but I don¡¯t want to hurt even people who have nothing to do with me for my sake.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even joke about it.¡±

    [¡ª¡ªHonestly, you don¡¯t want to destroy even Raschel, do you? You are too soft, Master.]

    As I and Luxion red at each other, Milene-san pped her hands to get our attention.

    She smiles and nods her head slightly.

    ¡°I have a very special n for the Duke.¡±

    ¡°n?¡±

    Milene-san leaves her seat.

    Because of her position, she was against the windowpane, but the light shining through it cast a shadow on Milene-san¡¯s figure, making it appear dimly lit.

    In such a situation, Milene-san¡¯s smile looks devilish, so please don¡¯t do it.

    ¡°The Duke shall take me and Erika towards Marquis Fraser.¡±

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