The seasons changed quickly. Just when it seemed like the hot summer had passed and it was a cool autumn until recently, before I knew it, it had become cold, cold winter.

Speaking of winter, it’s synonymous with snow. Even in Recommetys, snow falls, so mornings in this season start with shoveling the fallen snow.

I was currently in the living room, locking eyes with Father. Both of our expressions were dead serious.

In the next moment, we simultaneously raised our right hands.

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“Yes!”

“Damn it!”

My father clicked his tongue and expressed frustration as I celebrated my victory with a triumphant pose. The result of the rock-paper-scissors determined today’s snow shoveling duties, and I came out as the winner.

“Well then, Father. I’ll leave the snow shoveling activities to you.”

“Alright, I’m off,” Father left the house with the tools for shoveling snow.

By the way, Rin doesn’t participate in this “snow shoveling rock-paper-scissors.” It’s awkward to assign physical labor to Rin, who is a girl. However, in return, Rin takes charge of preparing breakfast every morning. “Those who don’t work shall not eat” is our family motto.

Several tens of minutes later, Father returned, trembling. “Phew, it was cold… Thanks to Lark’s magic, it’s warm inside the house…”

Saying so, Father sat down on a chair and drank the hot tea I had prepared in advance.

As Father just mentioned, this house is warmed by my “synthesis magic.” In normal households, they warm themselves with firewood, but this house is unusually spacious, and it doesn’t warm up evenly in all corners. So, I’ve trained extensively, adjusting it repeatedly before it gets significantly colder, so that I can produce a perfect temperature of wind.

Well, when I’m not around, they end up burning firewood anyway…

“By the way, Lark-kun and Guldo-san’s birthdays are coming up soon, right?” Rin asked Father, who was drinking tea.

“Yeah, it’s in two weeks.”

“Eh! So soon!? In that case, I’ll cook a feast on that day! I actually wanted to prepare a gift as well, but I haven’t saved up enough money to buy one yet… All I can do is…” Her voice gradually became smaller, and Rin wore an apologetic expression.

“Don’t you think… we would be the happiest with Rin’s cooking and your feelings? Right, Lark?”

“Of course. Rin, I’m really happy too.”

When Father and I said so, Rin returned to her smiling face and said, “Then I’ll do my best to cook!”

As I arrived at the school and was about to enter the classroom, someone unusual called out to me.

“Lark, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Rio-kun?”

He was the first prince of this country, and he was my senior two grades above me at school. Rio-kun, or Riolas A. Recommetys.

“Long time no see, do you have a moment?”

When I asked, Rio looked around nervously before answering, “Yeah, just for a moment… We still have time before the morning assembly. Sorry, can we go somewhere else?”

“Sure, that’s fine,” I casually replied and followed Rio as he led the way.

The place we arrived at was an empty classroom with no one inside.

“Sorry for suddenly dragging you along.”

“No, it’s fine. So, Rio-kun, do you have something you need from me?”

“…Hey, Lark. Is it true that you’ve been living with a girl recently?”

“Hmm? Oh, you mean Rin? Yeah, it’s true.”

When I answered like that, Rio said, “I-Is that so…” and started to worry about something. After groaning for a while, he placed his hand on my shoulder and said the following, “Lark, could you teach me how to interact with women?”

“…Huh?”

What is this prince saying?

Not understanding, I asked for a detailed explanation, and Rio began speaking with a somewhat pathetic expression. “The truth is, there’s a woman I like… But I don’t know how to approach her.”

“…? Wait, Rio-kun, you’re a prince, and you attend social parties, right? Don’t you talk to women on such occasions?”

“…I leave all of that to Wallis. I don’t know how to talk to women, so I always have Wallis by my side, taking care of everything for me. That’s how I’ve managed to get by until now.”

He considers talking to women as something to “get by” with… This is quite serious.

Come to think of it, when I was living in the castle before, Wallis-kun once complained, “It’s troublesome dealing with my brother’s incompetence.”

Was he talking about this?

Well, never mind that. Let’s move the conversation forward.

“So, who is this person you like? Is she in the same grade?”

“Yeah, it’s a female student in the same class named Aruna Labrassis.”

“If you’re in the same class, there must have been some opportunity to talk, right? Don’t you remember how she reacted back then?”

“…Actually, I’ve never talked to her.”

“Eh…”

Rio must have sensed my disbelief, as he hastily continued, saying, “We haven’t had a conversation, but I did speak to her once. It was when I dropped my pen during class, and she picked it up for me. I instinctively said ‘Thank you,’ and she gave me a little smile.”

After saying that, Rio recalled that incident and grinned with a creepy smile. I used to think of him as a reliable older brother figure…

Letting out a deep sigh, I asked him, “So, what do you want to become as toward that person?”

“If possible, I want to become friends and talk with her… and eventually, um, um, be in a relationship…”

“…Hmm, there are many things I want to comment on, but for now, I’ll support you. Does anyone else know about this?”

“Only Wallis knows.”

“Alright, let’s call Wallis-kun during lunch break and have a strategy meeting in the library.”

I said that and parted ways with Rio, returning to the classroom. According to Rio, I should inform Wallis in advance.

Seems like I’ve gotten myself involved in something troublesome…

※※※

Finally, lunch break arrived.

When Roeck invited me for lunch, I declined, saying I had something to do, and left the classroom heading towards the library.

Upon opening the library door, I saw Wallis at the back, who noticed me and waved me over.

“Lark-kun, over here.”

I walked towards Wallis, and next to him was Rio, who seemed smaller than usual, sitting down.

Once I took my seat, Wallis spoke up, “Thank you for coming, Lark-kun.”

“It’s no problem. So, I wanted to ask Wallis-kun something… What’s the real situation between Rio-kun and that girl?”

“Well, I heard about this embarrassing story about half a year ago. Since then, I’ve been researching various things, and it seems that the girl doesn’t currently have a boyfriend.”

“R-Really!?”

After hearing Wallis’s words, Rio stood up energetically. It seemed like this was the first time Wallis conveyed that information to him.

Wallis made Rio sit back down and continued speaking, “But in Rio-kun’s case, even if he becomes able to talk to the person he’s interested in, it wouldn’t be strange if she already had a boyfriend… First, he needs to improve his personality.”

“…That’s certainly a possibility. Wallis-kun, how desperate is Rio-kun’s situation?”

“Excluding family members, the only woman Rio-kun can talk to is a female soldier who works in the castle. And initially, Rio-kun thought that soldier was a man, so he was able to talk to her… Honestly…”

“…Hey, how can he go from that situation to dating a girl?”

“Well, to be honest, it would be tough even to become friends,” Wallis said with a wry smile.

Upon hearing our conversation, Rio, who had been listening, stood up again and retorted, “I… I’ve changed, you know! I talked to a woman the other day!”

“How old was she?” Wallis asked, and Rio-kun sat back down and murmured, “…An old lady. She thanked me when I returned the dropped item to her.”

“Is that what you consider as changed?” Wallis asked a sincere question, and Rio made a face like he was about to cry and slumped onto the desk.

Sigh… It seems even more difficult than I expected, but since Rio-kun asked me for help, I can’t just give up without doing anything.

Thinking that, I proposed to the two of them for now.

“Well, I think I should also meet this Aruna-senpai. Tomorrow, I’ll use the privilege of being the top student to observe the senior students’ class and infiltrate Rio-kun’s class with the excuse of wanting to see him.”

“Thank you, Lark. I’ll definitely repay this favor,” Rio bowed his head, and I replied, “Don’t worry about it,” and the meeting was adjourned.

◇

The next day, with the help of Teacher Karl and the school principal, I obtained permission to observe Rio’s class. The infiltration was a success for now.

Guided by the homeroom teacher of Rio’s class, I entered the classroom. Then, I greeted the senior students in front of the class and took my seat at the designated spot. I would be attending classes here for the whole day.

During the break before the first period, I was bombarded with questions by the senior students who surrounded me.

“Hey, hey, you’re that Lark-kun, right?”

“What’s it like living with Guldo-san?”

It seemed that rumors about me had spread among the senior students as well. They also asked a lot about my renowned hero Father.

(Where is Aruna-san…?)

Recalling the appearance details I had been informed of by Rio and the others, I searched for someone who matched the description of Aruna. Right then, I found a lovely lady at the edge of the classroom, perfectly matching the characteristics I had heard. She was currently smiling and chatting with her friends.

I see, that must be Aruna-san. She’s surrounded by people now and can’t move, but I’ll find a chance to talk to her.

After that, classes continued, and it was lunch break.

Where’s Aruna-san? I looked around the classroom and found that she was already gone. Instead, I spotted a friend of Aruna, who seemed to have talked to her in the morning, leaving the classroom.

Hmm, maybe I should approach her friend first.

I also left the classroom and followed after them, approaching Aruna’s friend in the corridor.

“Excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Hmm? …Oh, you’re Lark-kun who came for the observation. What’s up?” Aruna’s friend turned around and asked.

What should I say…

After thinking for a moment, I decided to hide the real reason.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity today to greet the senior students, so I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh, I see. I’m Rene. Nice to meet you, Lark-kun.”

“Yes, nice to meet you too, Rene-senpai.”

“I haven’t really interacted with underclassmen before, so it’s the first time I’ve been called senpai. It feels quite nice.”

After that, Rene-senpai said she was going to the school store, so I asked if I could accompany her. She agreed, and we went to the store together.

As we were walking, I casually asked about Aruna. “Rene-senpai, I saw you talking with someone at the edge of the classroom this morning. I also wanted to greet that senpai…”

“Oh, Aruna-san? Well, she’s not good with boys, so I wonder how it will go with Lark-kun. She might be too nervous to talk to you.”

“Huh, really? What about male friends…?”

“She doesn’t have any. Oh, wait. Could it be that Lark-kun has his eyes on Aruna-san?”

I was misunderstood in a terrible way.

I shook my head and replied, “No, that’s not true. Besides, we haven’t even talked yet.”

Rene-senpai narrowed her eyes and looked at me, then smiled. “Well… let’s trust you for now. By the way, here’s some useful information for Lark-kun. It seems that Aruna doesn’t currently have anyone she likes. We talked about love the other day, and she said she doesn’t really understand it yet.”

Oh? I received some valuable information. Although the suggestive way she said it is a bit concerning.

After that, I received various pieces of information about Aruna from Rene-senpai.

※※※

“I learned that Aruna-san doesn’t have anyone she likes today.”

“Wow… Lark, you’re amazing!”

After school, I got on the carriage for transportation with Rio and Wallis and told them what I had learned from Rene-senpai.

While calming down Rio’s excitement, I continued my report, “So, it seems Aruna-san is not good at talking to the opposite sex like Rio-kun and doesn’t actively engage with them. That’s why she doesn’t have any close male friends. Her circle of friends isn’t that wide, and the only person she can call a close friend is Rene-senpai, who is in the same class as Rio-kun.”

“…Lark-kun, aren’t you too fast at this? It’s a bit complicated for me that you gathered more information in a day than I did in six months…,” Wallis said with a rare dejected tone.

Well, I think it’s just my luck, so I don’t think there’s any need to be discouraged.

◇

Three days later. I infiltrated Rio’s class for only one day, but thanks to the opportunity to talk to upperclassmen I hadn’t had any contact with before, I started talking to some of them in the cafeteria and hallway.

Of course, Rene-senpai was among those seniors I talked to.

Now, it’s lunch break. I’m currently talking to Rene-senpai in the cafeteria.

“So, Lark-kun. By asking so much about Aruna-san, does that mean there’s someone that likes her near you?”

At first, Rene-senpai suspected that I liked Aruna, but that misunderstanding was cleared up in the past few days. Instead, I’ve been asked “Who likes Aruna?” whenever there’s a chance.

I thought I should protect privacy to some extent, so I always evaded the question. “I can’t say that. Just think that I’m curious and doing some research.”

“Hehe, I see. Well, for me, it’s fine because I can eat popular grilled rice balls and rusks for free.”

Rene-senpai said so and ate the rusk I brought with a delighted expression.

The day after I met her and asked for information about Aruna, she said, “I can tell you if you give me grilled rice balls and rusks for free,” so I agreed to the deal.

I’m not sure if I’m just easy to bribe or if it’s problematic for Rene-senpai to easily give me information about her friends in exchange for food.

When I looked at Rene-senpai with sympathy, thinking that she was a friend and that Aruna was a bit pitiful, she puffed up her cheeks and protested, “Oh, you thought I was a terrible person, didn’t you? Well, it’s true that I’m selling information about my friends, but you’re also at fault for accepting the deal, Lark-kun.”

“Wow, how did you know what was going on in my head?”

“Female intuition, I guess. By the way, did you really think that way? That’s mean. I’m only giving information that isn’t a problem, so it’s fine, isn’t it?” After saying that, Rene-senpai put the last rusk in her mouth and left the seat. “Well then, if you want to know something else, call me,” and she waved her hand lightly and left the cafeteria.

After that, I returned to my classroom and attended the classes. Then, after school, I went to the library, which we use as a meeting place, seeing Rio and Wallis were already there.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, both of you.”

“We just got here a moment ago. But more importantly, did you get any new information?”

“Well, today I was told about her favorite foods and her best subjects. I didn’t find anything useful…”

When I reported today’s results, Rio bowed his head, “I’m sorry. You’ve done so much for me.”

“It’s alright. It’s not just you, Rio-kun. I’m also involved,” Wallis sighed and said, and Rio bowed even deeper.

...Yeah, I guess we need to solve the fundamental problem somehow.

“Hey, Rio-kun. Isn’t it time for a change?”

“…Change?” Rio frowned at my words.

“Yeah. Honestly, I think there’s no need to investigate Aruna-san’s information anymore. Now that we know she doesn’t have a lover or someone she likes, all you have to do is make a move from your side, right?”

Wallis nodded in agreement. “I see, it’s finally time to overcome your aversion to women, brother.”

“Huh?!”

Rio exclaimed in despair, but Wallis-kun continued without minding his brother, “Well, think about it. There’s no chance she’ll confess to you, so if you don’t confess, nothing will progress. Besides, even before confessing, you need immunity toward women to build a friendship. It’s better to train properly.”

“…Ugh, I get it. I’ll do my best. But how do we train?”

I answered his question, “I have an idea, so why don’t you come to my house?”

Both of them nodded, and we immediately moved to my house.

“…So, basically, I just have to have a conversation with Riolas-san?”

After explaining the situation to Rin, who was at home, she made a puzzled face and asked, “Yes, please. If we ask the girls at school, it might start strange rumors, making it difficult for him to confess to Aruna-san. So, you, Rin is the most suitable person for this.”

When I bowed my head, Rin smiled and nodded, “Sure, I don’t mind. If it’s me.”

“Thank you!”

And so, Rio’s training began.

Rin and Rio stood facing each other.

“Good afternoon, Riolas-san.”

“…”

When Rin made eye contact and greeted him, Rio quickly averted his gaze.

“Um, what does Rio-san like?”

“…”

“…Um, so, um, what do you do on your days off?”

“…”

“…Ah, ahaha…”

An awkward silence filled the air. It was the first time I had seen the sociable Rin struggling with a conversation and forcing a smile.

“Wallis-kun, now that I look at him again, Rio-kun is quite troubled, isn’t he?”

I whispered to Wallis, who was secretly beside me, and he replied in a hushed voice, “Yeah, I’ve tried various things in the past, but none of them worked. But this time, it feels like my brother is reluctantly doing it, so I think it might succeed.”

I wondered if that was really the case as I looked at Rio-kun, who was frozen with a bright red face.

◇

“Rio-san, hello.”

“…H-Hello, Rin.”

Two days later, Rio finally managed to reply to Rin’s greeting.

Since then, Rio-kun had been coming to my house and practicing conversations with Rin. Today was the day when the results of that practice came out. Once Rio replied, his nervousness seemed to dissipate, and he started having everyday conversations with Rin.

Watching that scene from a few steps away, Wallis opened his mouth in genuine surprise. “Wow, my brother is talking to a girl normally…”

I felt the same way. To someone who didn’t know the circumstances, it might seem strange that we were impressed by something so ordinary, but for us, it was a great achievement.

I approached Rio and spoke to him, “Rio-kun, you’ve made amazing progress!”

“…I myself am surprised. Rin-chan, thank you.”

“No, I’m glad I could be of help. Do your best with the confession, okay?”

“Yeah, with this, I feel like I can do it,” Rio said confidently.

◇

“…So, in the end, did you talk to her?”

“…I’m sorry, I couldn’t do it.”

The next day after school, when I asked Rio in the usual library, he shrunk his body and replied.

Wallis, who seemed resigned, spoke up, “Yeah, well, I kind of expected that result. If everything had gone smoothly, what was the point of my efforts so far?”

“I’m sorry for always causing trouble.” Rio apologized, placing his head on the desk.

However, I wondered what to do… And when I was worrying, the library door opened, and a female student entered.

She walked straight toward us.

“Hey there, Lark-kun. And Rio-kun and Wallis-kun too.”

The female student, Rene-sempai, greeted us in a casual tone.

“Rene-sempai, what’s up?”

“I asked a lower-classman where Lark-kun was, and they said he was here… So, it’s true that Riolas-san has been making Lark-kun sniff around Aruna-san, huh?”

“Huh! Th-That’s not…” Rio tried to refute, but as soon as he saw Rene-sempai’s face, his words stopped, and he looked down.

Hmm… There’s no escaping now. Well, maybe I should ask her for cooperation.

“…At this point, how about having Rene-sempai on our side too?”

When I made that suggestion to the two of them, Wallis nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”

Rio didn’t seem thrilled, but he didn’t say anything. Well, let’s assume he agrees.

“So, Rene-sempai, I’m sorry to ask, but can you help Rio-kun?”

“Sure, helping a friend’s love sounds fun.”

I thought she might refuse, but Rene-sempai readily agreed.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, being connected to Lark-kun has its perks, right?”

As expected, Rene-sempai had a cunning personality.