Chapter 4: A Weakness Found 

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 snide comments 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 black 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  becoming one of the villainess’ followers. Anyways, how about we begin?” 

Luxon inserted a cord coming 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 villainess. I didn’t think that it would have been a simple matter for them to become 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 tribulations 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 upperclassman arrived. He was tall, had short hair, and held a stern figure. It seemed that the  upperclassman 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 popular in the bets. 

“Are you Jilk’s substitute?” The upperclassman 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 for later? 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 Clarice’s follower. 

It felt like the third-year upperclassman was loosening his guard around  me. 

“So you do understand the situation you’re in? In that case, I didn’t need to come 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 upperclassman 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 declaration of war?! There was no point in trying to apologize. I hated pain. 

“Do you have some kind of special circumstance going on? Did Clarice  threaten you?” 

“That’s not it!” 

The upperclassman took offense at my joke, but soon apologized with “My  bad.” He then cleared his throat and talked to me about Clarice’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 upperclassman was someone from the regular class who was one of Clarice’s followers. 

It seemed that he was indebted to her. 

“My lady 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 upperclassman placed 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 heard complaints coming from the followers of other ladies, making us glad that we’re with her.” 

I remained silent, and the upperclassman spoke about his past. 

“My lady’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. The lady 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 my lady 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, upperclassman! 

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 my lady’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 Clarice so popular. 

The upperclassman then spoke to me about Clarice’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 my lady. She has changed since the summer vacation. She owns slaves and goes wild with them all night. She was not that kind of person in the past.” 

Owning slaves 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 slack?” 

The upperclassman 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 just complaining out loud. You can ignore me.” 

While seeing the upperclassman 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 has completed.] 

“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 a large 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 place, 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? 

◇ 

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!” 

I laughed 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 trouble coming 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’re completely surrounded.] 

“God damn!” (TLN: Spoken in English) 

[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 and  launched 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 claimed 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 occur 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 to come face me!” 

◇ 

In a paid lounge that gave off a high-class aura, there were students who gathered to cheer people on in the race. 

“Do it!” 

“Over there. Give him a larger 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 accumulate, 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 particularly  wro──w, well, actually…” 

Anjie comforted 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 related to Clarice aren’t near.” 

Clarice’s followers were attempting to thwart Leon. 

However, before those followers could surround him, other boys had  gathered around Leon and persistently launched an attack. 

Instead of getting near him, Clarice’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 glass, 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, Milaine, an old lady, 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. 

Anjie laughed scornfully. 

“If you’re looking for something to blame, then how about blaming 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’t lay a hand on Anjie!” 

“──Livia.” 

When Anjie felt a little reassured by Livia, the girl squinted her eyes. 

“Don’t interrupt our conversation, lowly commoner.” 

“──Err, um.” 

When Livia flinched upon being called a commoner, 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 for commoners. Could it be that you’re clinging onto one in desperation? You’ve changed despite having looked down on commoners like her. Or perhaps it’s that your household is on a decline, so you can only  draw close with them.” 

Anjie glared 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’t come 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 a commoner? 

“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 glared at her. 

“──What do you know?” 

“Huh?” 

When seeing the girl laugh, Anjie proceeded to slap 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  collar 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. 

◇ 

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, blabbermouth!” 

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 play that happened. Aren’t you being hated on a little too much?] 

“I should have bribed the referee with some money.” 

[You really come up with the worst ideas. However, I think the other students have already done some bribing, so the referee probably wouldn’t comply 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 now competing against each other. As I increased the speed, I broke up the commotion. 

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’ll commend 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 Clarice’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 bit late on shifting your weight. To say it plainly, 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 according 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 be competing 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 place, 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 upperclassman. 

When I tried to pass him through the outer track, the upperclassman 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, this thing is at its limit.] 

“──Huh?” 

When I turned around, I saw white fumes coming 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 upperclassman drove up to me from behind and picked me up. 

The upperclassman 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 upperclassman 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 upperclassman hated Jilk and made a bet on me during the duel. 

◇ 

We were in the medical office. 

Now that I had been awarded, I came 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, similar 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’ll comply as long as it remains within my limits.” 

He said for it to remain within his limits, but that indicated how black-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 planning on having him do? Have him do a handstand nude?” 

Kyle, with his hands clasped 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 to compete in the final race. However, I decided to give Marie the full amount, just as she wished. 

“Alright. Take it.” 

“H, how awfully compliant 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 some large 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 glared 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?” 

◇ 

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 had come to an end. 

I was in my cafe, beginning to put away the utensils. 

Also in there were Jilk, Clarice, and her followers. 

Jilk was wearing a hospital gown and had his head and arm wrapped in  bandages. 

Clarice 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 Clarice. 

Before coming here, I also allowed my older sister to apologize. That  matter was not as important as this one, though. 

Clarice had teary eyes. 

“You’re late 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?” 

Clarice 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.” 

Clarice took a step forward and slapped Jilk in an instant. 

What a nice sound it made within the room. 

Do it some more! Go on, Clarice! 

Jilk didn’t talk back. However, it seemed that he was prepared to accept 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 plain 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 slap 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 according to the game, the reason for it was for the sake of Julian. However, this was a matter of apologizing to his ex-fiancee! 

Clarice’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, Clarice spoke. 

“──Stand down.” 

“My lady?” 

The third-year upperclassman was concerned about Clarice. Clarice 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, Clarice.” 

Clarice 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  upperclassman spoke up. 

“I’m sorry. We inconvenienced you.” 

“N, not at all.” 

Clarice 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’t come. We have to thank  you, Baron. We’re sorry for the numerous rude things we did!” 

“We’re sorry!” 

Speaking plainly, this was a situation where a first-year student like me  was being surrounded by upperclassmen 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 slaves simply watching us. 

Servants had no devotion. Their relationships were purely contractual. 

“If you’re not satisfied, I don’t mind if you hit me. Do whatever you need  to do. However, leave my lady unrelated to this matter.” 

“Will that really do?” 

The upperclassman made a small smile when I made that mean-spirited  comment. 

“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, Clarice 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, my lady!” 

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 upperclassman looked at me. 

“Y, you──err, is that so? Are you going to forgive us?” 

Did they think I was here to drive Clarice into a corner? In the first place, 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. 

“Clarice, you should get back on your feet. There are as many stars as  there are men out there.” 

Clarice 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. He’s too late anyways. I’ve already been sullied.” 

Behind Clarice, 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 being sullied. However, you should do something about those exclusive slaves of yours.” 

When I glared back at the sub-race exclusive servants, each of them had a flustered expression. To them, Clarice 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 upperclassman disregarded that by saying “That’s definitely a lie.” 

Clarice 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 play 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 Clarice’s sake. 

I intervened because of circumstances that were larger than Jilk himself. 

Clarice 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, Clarice 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? 

◇ 

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 at comforting 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 accurate to claim 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 a complicated 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 place, you two come from entirely different backgrounds and you have no points in common. Honestly speaking, the relationship 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, claimed 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 to comfort Livia. 

──So, I decided that I would comfort 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 replacements 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 to comfort people. Generally, when I try to  look cool and comfort 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 get laughed 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.” 

◇ 

That evening, Livia heard a knock when she was in her room. “C, coming.” 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 class. 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 slam 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’s compliance. “If you don’t help, misfortune will come 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 dullard.” The earl 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 earl daughter glaring at her, Livia continued. 

“Both Leon and Anjie are very strong people. E, even with your threats, those two will──” 

When hearing that, the earl daughter laughed 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 earl 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 not comprehend 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 uncommon for friends to betray others. This is Anjelica we’re talking about. You know it yourself just from seeing her, don’t you? Her strength comes 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 earl 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 pompous lady 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 earl 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 a commoner due to his unpopularity. 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 earl daughter. 

They began laying waste to the room. 

“S, stop it! Stop this!” 

The earl 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 earl 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──commoner.” 

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 to laugh. 

“You made her cry.” 

“So this is what commoners amount to.” 

“And she thought that she was at the same level as us, she doesn’t know her place.” 

The earl daughter left the door, accompanied 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.