“Fuuh …… I ate well …… I didn’t expect this to happen on the first day ……”

“U-Um, I’m sorry, because my sister ……”

My brother and Luciera went back to their class and the stormy lunch was over. Luciel apologizes, but there’s no apology from her sister, and I’ve been declared her a dangerous person in my mind. 

“～♪”

“I was so close!”

“Gununu, tomorrow ……!”

The battle was won by Makina alone, who was humming softly at her desk as she ate the sweet-looking bread. It’s a shame, she’s so beautiful when she remains quiet.

So today’s events peaked by noon, and the rest of the class ended without incident. Nora dozed off during the class, and it was funny to see Luciel wake her up.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Me too! I have to help with the house ……”

“Me too! I can’t wait to go to the Capital.”

Yogus, Urka, and Helena went home early.

“I’m going to go to the store for some food and drink.”

Jack stayed at the school, and Makina–

“I was curious about the clubs, so I’m going to look around the club building. I heard there’s a club called the Holy Knights. If it looks good, I’m going to join and train there!”

She left the class in high spirits.

“I hadn’t thought of that. Are you going to join?”

“Hmmm, I think I’ll go home and study? I think My skills aren’t very useful at home, so I’m thinking of learning some math.”

“My family is a merchant family. Lars-kun, if you marry Luciel, you might become rich.”

“G-Geez, Nora-chan!”

I don’t know how big of a merchant they are, but I’m interested in marrying Luciel. I looked at Luciel’s blushing face and thought that Nora had given me a good pass.

“That’s right. Well, we don’t have a lot of money, so we might not match well.”

“That’s not–“

“Hahaha! You know exactly what I mean, you pauper!”

And when we talked about money, of course, Ryuuze showed up. But I took advantage of the rules and spoke to Nora.

“Nora will be waiting for big brother, aren’t you?”

“Yes. What about you, Luciel-chan?”

“I’m thinking of going home with my sister. She should be here any minute ……”

“I see. Well, I’ll be home before you …… But I’m just going to the guild, though.”

“To the guild? What are you going to do?”

Ryuuze, who was listening to it from the side, grabbed me by the shoulder and raged. I’ve been ignoring him for most of the day, and I was expecting this to happen. Even so, I silently removed the hand from my shoulder and replied to Luciel’s words.

“Yes. I’ve been taking requests from the guild for a while now. I need to save up some money.”

“Wow, that’s great!”

When Luciel looked at me with a twinkle in her eye, Ryuuze poked me on the shoulder and said. This one was red in the face.

“…… you, you’re seriously out of line! Why are you ignoring me!”

“You’re the one who should be ignoring me, Ryuuze.”

“He, hehe …… you finally looked at me ……”

When I looked at Ryuuze, he backed up a little and tried to open his mouth, but I kept going.

“I’m sorry, but I have set “rules” for you. According to the “rules”, I’m not going to talk to you.”

“W-What did you say!? You’re talking to me, a nobleman, as if you’re looking down on me ……!　And what are the “rules”!”

“I don’t have to tell you, do I? I’m not going to get along with you in the first place, so don’t worry about it. If you don’t talk to me, I won’t be offended. You don’t like me, do you?”

“…… Why …… Why are you saying you don’t want to be friends with me? Tell me!”

I let out a sigh and then decided to say one last thing to him. 

“You can ask your father, the lord you’re so proud of at ……”

“What the hell does father have to do with this?”

Ryuuze was upset by the unexpected name.

“Lars, Nora, thank you for waiting.”

“Let’s go home, Luciel! We have to help with the house.”

My brother and Luciela came to class. I quickly turned away from Ryuuze and called out to them.

“We were just about to leave too, so we’re glad we didn’t get mixed up.”

“I see. Er, what about him?”

“What? Yeah, we’re not friends or anything, it’s fine.”

“Lars-kun, I don’t think that’s a good thing to say, you know?”

Luciel frowned at me. You’re right, though. But even if Luciel will come to hate me, I wouldn’t change my mind about this.

“He doesn’t think I’m his friend. So why not?”

“You pauper, getting so cocky ……!”

“If you keep that up, I’m not going to be talking to you forever, am I? Come on, guys.”

“What? What? A fight? Count me in!”

“Sister, no!”

We left Ryuuze behind and left. He tried to follow us, but Tigre-sensei caught him in the hallway and prevented him from doing so.

This is the “rule” that I imposed on myself.

I’ve set myself a “rule” that if he calls me a pauper or says something demeaning, I’ll ignore him. I’ve been listening to him talk and talk all day, and he’s still arrogant. Especially to me.

Probably, as my father’s son, Brao is probably filling his head about things. To be honest, I think Ryuuze is being forced to take the place of his father.

It’s all bravado, but it’s all pretense. I knew it was a sign that he was afraid of me when he came at me during the entrance ceremony.

I didn’t like to think about it too much, but there are two types of people like that: those who are near-perfect and look down on others, like my little brother in my previous life, and those who know they are weak and try to protect themselves by putting down the weaker ones.

Brao is the latter. Whether Ryuuze will be like that or not will be seen in the way he lives his life from now on.

And there is another reason not to be friends with Ryuuze.

If I’m going to send Brao to hell someday, he’ll inevitably have to go through the same pain. If that’s the case, I’d rather have them hate me from the start than have people think I’ve betrayed them after I’ve gotten to know them.

“Lars-kun, you look scary ……? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, no, nothing, we’re together until midway, aren’t we?”

“Where do you guys live? We’re in the Shopping District.”

“I’m in the orphanage.”

“You know me and Lars live in the same house, don’t you?”

“Oh, right.”

When I saw everyone talking, the dark thing in my heart cleared up a little.

Lars-kun’s determination is quite something ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“If the child is ten years old, is there any chance for rehabilitation?”

Will the teacher take care of that part?