The capture target boy has become 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 Roland’s fault.

My bad, but I don’t have time to think about Roland right now.

After all, the boy who was the capture target has become 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 ―― 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
―― 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 and come to us, and people
who want to acquire this technology will come to us.

It may be too late 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 explained that it’s a lost
item that can only be used once. I’ve explained it to Aaron so clearly.]
[Well, that’s fine. But――]

While Luxion showed a certain understanding of Creare’s excuse.

[――Why 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 relaxed, 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 too late.]

Sensing that she was being forced to take responsibility, Marie looked up and glared
at Creare.

“By the time I remembered, it was too late, 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 ――”

[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 place, 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 glanced at each other and then began to talk about the details of
their spring break.

“Actually――”

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 uncomfortable 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 ――
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 fleet commander with a disgusting
smile on his face. Perhaps because of the artist’s feelings, he looks quite villainous.

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 become 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 becomes like a criminal.”

When Marie mistakenly thinks that Leon has become a criminal, Creare explains.

[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 foreign language. 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 success. 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 ―― 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 ―― 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 places 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) ――I (Ore) was the worst person. But then I realized my
true feelings.”

“True feelings?”
When Marie couldn’t understand, Creare explained 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.

” ―― 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 glad you can understand even just the feelings. But I really want to make this wish
come true. I (Ore) ―― I (Watashi) want to be a woman.”

In front of the determined boy, Creare explained 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 glanced at the large 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――”

Noticing that Marie’s eyes are fixed on a large 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――]

“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 exclaimed when she heard the
name of the boy.
” ―― 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 explained 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’s land, so I took their
flagship, a flying battleship, to ask them to leave peacefully.

So I just took the commander aboard the flagship 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 the commander 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 their commander, and they were humiliated to return to
their country without any serious damage.]

Creare, who agrees with Luxion, also blames 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.

“――I 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 the last 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 explained 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 our network, 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 play it safe, so I’ll stay in this time. But still ―― “

[What is it?]

” ―― No, I just remembered that in a previous life, I also bought a paid item, an evil
armor.”

The other paid item I bought to complete that first otome game was the immigrant
spaceship Luxion at my side.

It was a piercing black 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 also complains 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, complaining about the story of my previous life.”

But that evil armor ―― If that thing existed in this world as well as Luxion, it would
be quite troublesome.
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 and complains 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
accept 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 has come 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 hilarious 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 irreplaceable 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.]

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 occasionally received sharp glances 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 blamed? 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 place, 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――It was really tough, wasn’t it? In the summer time, when the plants were
in bloom, I had to take care of the garden every day or else it would quickly become 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 ―― 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 played it.

(It’s become a very convenient world for boys. Does aniki be delighted?)

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 fiancees, [Angelica Rafa Redgrave] ――
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] ――
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 fiance, [Noelle Jill Lespinasse], who makes the guess ―― 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 clapped 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 according to Marie, he was an outlaw royalty.

But I can hear a more detailed explanation from Ange.

“From the point of view of His Highness Julius, he is his half-brother. He is currently
the first in line of succession to the throne, and is the most powerful candidate to
become 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 claim 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.
―― 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 palace. 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 flatter a marquis who only has a
name?”

I laugh carelessly, but Ange’s face was serious.

“If you just have a name, then all the nobles in the kingdom will be treated as
incompetent.”

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 relaxed a little.

“You’ll have an incomparable amount of upper-class socializing that you’re not very
good at. From now on, don’t let them get to you unnecessarily. ――Be 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 declares 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.

“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――and Marie and her merry band of friends.

I was supposed to be invited to lunch, but I found myself in the backyard.

A net was placed 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 plate.

“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 it comes 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 glasses 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 flashiest 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 ―― Fuwaaaa,
the sauce spilled on my uniform ?!”

Ignoring Brad, who was lamenting over the staining of his new uniform, I turned my
attention to Marie and the others, she was talking to Kara.

Kyle ―― 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 do laundry or something like that.

Kara also nodded as she ate the skewers.

“But, Kyle-kun and his parent can relax 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 ――”

Before Julius can finish his excuse, a guest appears in this place.

“Long time no see, Ani-ue”

Here comes 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 you come here? Did you come here to laugh
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 according 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 want later. As long as you know who to side with.”

“You want me to side with His Highness Jake?”

“I don’t like complicated 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 my last 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?”

” ―― 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 glaring 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. ―― 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 are comparable 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 ―― 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 a complicated 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.”

” ―― 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 place.

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 ―― report to the school?”

As Ange said right after the entrance ceremony, the academy tends to dislike
succession 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.

“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 palace into the
school.

It seems that the teachers could not forgive him for bringing in the very sensitive issue
of succession disputes.

It seemed that the royal palace 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 succession 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 as competent as Jilk)

Jake really wished that the quick-witted Jilk would switch places 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 ―― 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.

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 class.”

Jake and Finley are both first-year students and in the same advanced class.

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 ――Are 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 teacher comes and
scolds him.
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
popular pub. The restaurant had private rooms with dividers, but the place 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 is laid 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 plate 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 some later.”

“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 plates.
“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 played 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 Internet once for the last part of the game. In
other words, she didn’t have any detailed information about the game after the middle
stage.

I’ve only played 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――The 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 to
come study abroad.”

A war with the Principality, and a coup d’etat in the Republic.

It must have been a courageous decision to come 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 ―― Her style is also better than Marie’s.

“You lost to a first-year in styl ―― Buh!”

I tried to laugh, but Marie splashed me with a small amount of water from the glass.

“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 placed in the
advanced class. However, there are some differences from the information.]

“What? If she’s in the advanced class, 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 had come 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
irregular guardian knight.

“Isn’t he so handsome!”

As usual, Marie has a weakness for men with good looks, and I can’t help but laugh 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.”

“―― 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 ―― As I pondered whether he was a reincarnated

person like us or an unrelated knight, I heard a commotion 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 his complexion had changed.

I got curious and decided to check it out.

“I’ll check it out a bit. Luxion, come.”

[Yes, Master]
When I left the store, I saw a crowd of people a few dozen meters away.

There are many buildings around the popular tavern in a complicated place.

The road was narrow, and people were gathering from all around because of the
commotion that had occurred in such a place.

“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 placed 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 Roland, 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, just come along
for a while.”

I was wary of Roland’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 place, Roland tells me the identity of the nobleman who was killed.

“That man is an official with a considerable rank in the royal palace.”

From his appearance, he didn’t look like a low-ranking official, but he had some sort
of middle management position. Roland 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 ―― 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 Roland ignores it and goes on with his story.

“―― 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 fiancees will be very sad to hear that?”

He knew I was at the store with Marie.

I’m annoyed because he’s uselessly competent.

“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 you
come near her, I’ll execute you.”

I watched Roland leave after giving me a warning, and I called out to Luxion, who was
hiding.

“Who is Erika?”

[Erika Rafa Horfalt, the villainous princess according 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 the
commotion.

“The villainess of the third work. Let’s talk about that later. 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.

“――Back 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 plain 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 place like this?”

I became more cautious about the guardian knight who had escaped from the
academy and come all the way to this place.

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.”

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 occasionally 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’d come a little earlier”

“I apologize for that.”

In the hall where they are, there is a flag on the wall indicating a forest of ladies.

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 slaves, 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 of ladies, 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 place 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 plain clothes of commoners.

Gabino shows up to meet the forest of ladies 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 and competed for them.

Watching them, Gabino talked.

“By the way, ladies ―― Do you think you’ll ever be reinstated?”

When they heard of the reinstatement, the executives of the forest of ladies 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 of ladies 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 pillar of the Kingdom of Horfalt.

It is also a troublesome opponent for Gabino.

After all, Gabino’s homeland, the Holy Kingdom of Rachael, has a long-standing
relationship with Milene’s homeland, 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 of ladies 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, ladies. 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 eventually come. 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 the coming time, Gabino
encourages her strongly to dispel it.

“I’m sure we’ll succeed. 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, the ladies 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.)
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 a commoner. With no income and
no access to the luxuries she once had, her exclusive slave quickly ran away.

Zora, not knowing how to live, had to rely on the forest of ladies.

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 successfully 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 success.

(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.
Midnight.

Roland 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.”

Roland tries to hold the woman’s hand as she complains about Milene.

However, the woman quickly avoided his hand.

“Leon-san, you’ve been through a lot ~”

Leon ―― Roland 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.” (TLN: The word “firm” means
that a woman’s attitude toward life and her relationships with the opposite sex are
healthy and that she does not have sexual relations with men easily)

Roland looks sad at being avoided by a woman ―― 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 ―― Leon-san, it’s time for you to go return for the day.”

When the man said that to him, Roland 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 Roland left the scene, Melse let out a big sigh.

She then glared at the man who had approached her.

“Hey, you’re a little late 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 she complains until Roland 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, Roland 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 one last kiss――”

Melse responded with the palm of her hand to Roland’s lips.

“Maybe another time, Leon-san”

” ―― So heartless. I’ll see you next time.”

After being released from Roland, Melse made a smile and walked out of the store.

After out, Roland complains 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
Roland. He was an old acquaintance and Roland’s personal doctor at the royal palace.

He is also a friend of Roland’s from his school days and has a very close relationship
with him.

His name is [Fred].

“Your Majesty, you’re playing too much.”

“This much is fine, right. Now, Fred, I’m going to play 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.”

“Playing with women again? You never learn, do you.”

Roland took Fred to yet another store.

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 a large 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 played 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 played 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 played 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”

“―― 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 villainous princess, Erika, is very mean to her in the beginning.”

“A villainous princess. Seems like it evolved from a noble villainess.”

I pick up the picture of the villainous princess on the table.

She has long, gently wavy black 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 plays 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?”

I laugh 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 the last 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, Hertrauda comes 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 a last 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 quite large.

“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 explanation.

[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 popular 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
villain 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. ―― That enrages Hertrauda, and she
moves the Principality’s fleet to war. There are monsters coming out of the sky and
the sea, and Mia and her friends need Jake and the others’ help to defeat the last 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 explanation 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 normally come 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 place.”

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 villainous princess Erika at eye level, Marie’s figure also
entered my field of vision. As I moved my gaze to compare the two, I felt that they
looked alike for some reason.

There are few elements of resemblance as the hair color, facial expression, and
physique but all are different.

When I compare 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.
The day after the entrance ceremony.

The new students also started their classes, but the content was all about explaining
the future.

It’ll be a little while before the classes 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 classroom.

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 classroom 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 glances 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 palace. If it
were the Empire, they’d just claim it’s a palace 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’s lack 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 become 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 and laughed 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.” (TLN: 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 ――”

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 classroom, all eyes were on the male student who
apologized to the female student.

The girl got an apology ―― 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 ―― “A Fiend-san”?”

The rumors about Leon that had made their way to the Empire weren’t actually that
accurate.

Finn is a little stunned, but he’s trying not to laugh, 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.”

” ――You’re right.”

When Finn turned serious, he looked to where a crowd was gathering in the classroom.

There she was, her classmate, His Highness the First Princess of the Kingdom of
Horfalt. Today, she is surrounded by a large 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 black hair and a calm atmosphere that doesn’t match her age, the girl
stands out from the rest of the class.

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 become
expressionless.
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 a large 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 become 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 ―― 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 income, 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 glasses.

“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 since last
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 explained 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 flatter 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 ―― 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 feel comfortable giving them the cold
shoulder just for fun. When I thought about it, I began to feel uncomfortable even
accepting 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 relationship.”

I don’t know the situation at the school since I was studying abroad last 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 about last 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 was last 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 ―― 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 congratulating
them.

I was one of them. I didn’t cry ―― 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 fiancees 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 outcome 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 glasses 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 the commotion, 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 ―― 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 could come up with some solutions.”
“Solution from me? I’ve been away from the school for the last year, so I’m not as
familiar with the situation as you guys. Ah, and by the way――”

I decided to tell them about the School of the Republic.

“――In 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.

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 place.”

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 the commotion.

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 speaking ladylike language, 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.”

The ladylike 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 flabbergasted.

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 out later
and pay you back.

More importantly, it was uncomfortable 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, the ladylike 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 place?
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.”

“――Ha?”

“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 Ange. I looked over at Ange, 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 the ladylike girl and declares.

“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 the ladylike 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 then complained 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 was completely 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 classmates desperately tried to
stop him. It seems to be one of Marco’s cronies.

“Marco-bocchan, 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.

“――I’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 glad you’re here to help. ――I’ll take care of the rest, so please go back to your
room first. I’ll tell you the details later.”

“A-Aa~”

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 her comment 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.]

“――Is 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 bad last 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*. (TLN: *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 accusation.

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 a complicated look. She looked as if she
wanted to blame 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.

” ―― 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 outcome 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?
When the new students are getting used to life at the school.

Finley had come to the harbor on the floating island for a holiday.

The reason why she went to the trouble of visiting the port of this island floating near
the royal capital was because of a letter from her parents’ house.

At the meeting place, 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 welcome 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 almost completely
fallen into disuse. There are some women who have sub-racial slaves 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 place, 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 it comes 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.”

Jenna compared 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 Roseblade] comes 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 the largest 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
explain.

“They’re the ones trying to gain favor, Nix-sama. Leon-kun is really popular.”

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.

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 villainous 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 place, 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 villainous princess. I was reminded to never go near that
guardian knight guy, though.”

[Master was vigilant, wasn’t he]

Marie and Creare approach the target. However, they stopped moving when they
heard the voices of a man and a woman coming 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――nist?!”

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.

” ―― 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 ―― 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 ―― 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 ―― [Aare] smiles without saying anything.

“By all means, please”

“I thought you’d be upset with my attitude, but ―― 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
unacceptable, and I will definitely protest]

However, Marie had a blue pale face.

“This is ―― an encounter with His Highness Jake.”

Hearing the interaction now, Marie remembered.

This was because it was very close to the conversation that occurs 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 villainous 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 unacceptable 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 ――
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 relationship 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)

I was whispering to Luxion, who had been invisible at my side, as I walked through
the royal city at night in my plain 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 genetic 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’t come 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 fiancees 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 fiancees, though. Master, an incident has
occurred.]

“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
camouflage.

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 black 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 places for sightseeing. Why don’t you go there?”
And with that, I left that place,

“――I 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 resemblance.
How long have they been affiliated with each other? ――No, I feel like I learned it in
class.

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 class.”

” ―― 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.

“――Luxion, 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]

A woman broke into the school late 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 placed, was not very clean, to say the least.

“Couldn’t you have set up a more comfortable place?”

The woman ―― Merce accuses 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 manipulating 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 he compared 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 plan succeeds, I’ll take everything from them and become 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.

“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――This 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 relationship between Mia and the target here?]

I had a feeling that Luxion’s suggestion was right, but I couldn’t do it.

” ―― 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 little late for this, but we don’t want any more irregularities.

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, the last 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. ―― outside, there is seven incidents has occurred.”

“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 no comparison to this incident. I
thought it was a black 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’t compete 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.

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 and complained about it. Or rather, there’s
only wrong in the first place.

“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. The combination 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 ―― 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 ―― 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 class, 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 classmates’ 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?

“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 blamed 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 calculation, I might rather praise him.

And he’s not a bad guy, that’s for sure.

―― He’s stupid, though.

The problem is that Oscar is so enamored with Finley.

I blamed them for Jake and Aare a while ago, and now I’m being blamed 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!
Night.

Fred had come 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’re late, Fred”

Fred, who works as a doctor at the royal palace, 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 glad 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 incompetent king falls, you’ll have to stick to the plan. 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 planning?”

Fred falls on his buttocks as Merce pushes him away.

Merce looked down at Fred and laughed 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 place, heading for the store where Roland was
waiting.

“It’s been almost a month since we met, and you’re still as cold as ever, Merce.”

Late at night, Roland was in front of the tavern, trying to wrap up tonight’s play with
Merce. When he said play, he meant just drinking together and nothing more.

“You say that again. I’m not an easy woman, you know.”

Roland realizes that Merce is in a much better mood today and decides to press for a
kiss.

“Then a goodbye kiss ――”

When Roland brought his face close to hers, Merce’s finger was placed on his lips.

“That’ll have to wait until next time. It’s been fun, Leon-san.”

Roland, 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. ―― Now, I’d better get back”

After parting ways with Roland, Merce had come 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 plan 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 a compliment from a man in a long time, felt good at
Gabino’s words.

Zora, who had been watching the situation, approached Gabino to compete 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 of ladies looked relieved at Gabino’s words.

Then the representative asks Gabino, looking at the thick, sturdy, locked door.

“By the way, Gabino-sama ―― 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”

Gabino, who had left the forest of ladies’ hideout, was walking through the royal
capital with one of his men.

In addition to the forest of ladies, 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 accomplish
their goals? Don’t forget that we have another mission.”

“But if this succeeds, the Kingdom of Horfalt will become 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 succeed. They’ll probably fail anyway, so just use them up. Well, I’ll give
them credit for getting that crook Roland 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 blank expression and headed for the next hideout.

Next morning.

At the royal palace, Milene and Roland were eating at the same table.

They sat at opposite ends of a rectangular 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 relationship without love for each other.

She thought that this was normal, but she was annoyed with Roland, who usually
seemed to be enjoying his nightlife.

Therefore, she couldn’t help but say something sarcastic.

“I heard you were out late drinking again last night.”

Roland was pale and not eating well, and Milene was amazed to see that he was
hungover again.

Milene hated Roland, who pushed his political duties onto her and played around.
If he was incompetent enough to do anything with this, she would have left him alone,
but Roland was not less competent 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, Roland 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 Roland.

“It’s been very dangerous lately. We’ve been increasing our patrols, but it’s dangerous
for you, too, so please refrain from playing――”

Before she could finish, Milene got out of her seat, knocked over her chair and headed
straight for Roland. Those who were around her were also in a panic and rushed to
Roland.

Roland 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 Roland’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, Roland opened his eyes. Then he grabbed
Milene’s arm and squeezed his voice out.

“Keep it a secret that I collapsed ―― and then ―― if anything happens ―― the brat ――
“
As it is, Roland coughs, and Milene bursts into tears.

“Your Majesty ―― Dear!”

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 plain 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 accompanying me.

Now I’m reading a book about the relationship between the Holy Magic Empire of
Voldenowa and the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

I learned a little about it in class, 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 ―― 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 bland 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 relationship, 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?”

“――Who told you that? Roland?”

Livia shakes her head when I mention the name, thinking that if anyone knows I’m out
at night, it’s Roland.

“If you go out often enough, even the students at the school will notice. It has become
a rumor.”

I avert my gaze at Livia’s accusing stare as she narrows her eyes slightly.

I couldn’t explain in detail why I was out at night, so I decided to play dumb.
“I-I’m not doing anything wrong. R-Really.”

I don’t want people to think I’m playing with women at night, so I’ll go ahead and say
that’s not the case.

However, Livia was not worried about me playing 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 explain 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. ―― 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 explain 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.

” ―― 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 glad to hear that it was for me, but I still didn’t want to take them to a dangerous
place.

“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――”

When it comes to magic, Livia has more knowledge and skills than I do.

I also acknowledged Livia’s abilities.

But still ―― 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――If 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 planning 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.

” ――Nothing”

In the first place, 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.

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 not complain about that. Rather, she feels uncomfortable 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 regular basis.

When Noelle was looking at the room, Ange explained why she had called her.

“I’m sorry to have you come 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 fiancee.

“Marie-chan says that he never plays 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 ―― 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. ―― 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.

” ―― 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 ―― that the other party was probably too scared to stare at
the strong-willed Angel.

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 ―― “

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. ―― Isn’t Marie-senpai a reincarnated person?”

“――Eh?”

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 accurately, 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.

“Until last 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, Erika laughs 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 related 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――”

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 ―― rry. I’ve been feeling sick ―― for a while. That’s why ―― Knight-sama
wanted me ―― 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 relaxed, and Marie was relieved.

“I am glad”

(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 uncomfortable with Mia’s condition.

“Last year, I suddenly started suffering more. I never had this problem before, and I
was running around normally.”

“――Is that so”

Hearing Mia’s story about how she suddenly became a sickly setting last 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 available anywhere else?”

“Buu-ku――N-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. ―― Your knight-sama is well versed in pharmacy.”

When Erika complimented 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.
――He’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 had come 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.”

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’t complain. 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 place where the buildings facing away from each other, and there are few people
coming and going.

The officials who seemed to have just been killed were surrounded by men who
seemed to have been hired as guards.

These muscular 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――Barto――Falt――F-Found――you”

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 too late for this man.]

The word “too late” 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.”

[――Is 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 blade and is covered in blood.

“There’s no mistake you’re the culprit, right? What’s your purpose?”

“Bartofalt is――an enemy――our――enemy――kill him”

“Does it feel like he can’t communicate?”

[It would be more difficult for a regular person to remain conscious if a demonic armor
is implanted 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 black 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.”

[――If 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 accurate, 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 blatant 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――”

[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 black 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 black 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――Looks 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 black 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
black 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 black 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 black guy ―― 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
Roland would laugh 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――”

Before he can finish, Luxion says to Herring.

“I’m sorry for you. The filth left behind by the new humans ―― 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 and come 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 black 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 ―― but I didn’t think it was you, Brave.”

At my words, the black armor narrowed its glowing eyes.

“How do you know Kurosuke’s name?”

Before I could answer, Herring, clad in black 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 clawed 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. ―― Data verification complete. 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 flare, launch.]

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?
―― I’m gonna hit you for sure.”

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 a commotion. We will take advantage of the opportunity and accomplish 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 to come out if there was a commotion – but now it
seems he’s in combat with someone else. It’s not what we planned, 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 and laughed, 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.”

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 by law.
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 flag indicating that it was a sky pirates.

If you looked closely, you could see ropes being lowered from the airship, and people
were coming 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 place.

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. ―― 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 ―― Leon’s fiancees.

“Make sure you get the fiancee 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 its commander 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 become an
unforgivable enemy of the Holy Kingdom of Rachel.

For that reason, this time the strategy of taking Leon’s fiancee as a hostage was
executed.

They have a purpose to cause damage to the Kingdom of Horfalt, but their main
concern is rather his fiancee.

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 ―― Leon, who is still fighting in the
distance, and predicts a future where the mission will be successful.

“Your fiancees is in our hands, Fiend Knight”

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 ―― they expect.

“All right, you guys go ahea――”

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.

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 were large enough to operate indoors, floated around Ange and
kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings.

Ange smiled at the sight of them.

“Is this another one of Leon’s calculations?”

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 replaces.

“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 place.

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”

Noelle’s room in the girls’ dormitory.

Noelle was getting ready to go out, complaining 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, plant 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 planted 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.]

Plants 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.

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 not coming 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.

The last remaining one tried to take Marie and the others hostage ―― 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.

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 it comes 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 ―― 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-It landed, 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!”
The rooftop of the student dormitory.

Standing there, Livia had her hands outstretched.

The small white orb of the accessory 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 collapse.

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 ―― 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.”

“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 Black 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!”

[Missiles launched. 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 black longsword appear in his right
hand. The buzzing and discharging are apparently due to the fact that the blade is
covered with magic.

“You think you can knock out a missile with a sword like that ―― “

As Herring swung his magic-infused blade out to the side, an electric shock spread to
the surroundings. Yellow light was released as a longsword slash, and as it discharged
and spread, all six missiles exploded.

” ―― 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 black 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 blade remains.]

I had used up most of it in the battle so far, and all that was left was the blade.

“I don’t want to get into melee combat with that guy.”

Arroganz equips the blade, 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 ―― Emergency Evasion?!”

Luxion interjected a serious commentary, but Herring didn’t give him time for that.

Looking at the video behind us, I can see a number of large 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 and come 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 will launch 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 one last
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 ―― 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 accelerates towards Herring, who is coming straight
at me.

Herring’s demonic armor comes 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 blade 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 ―― at me.

“This is the end”

In the cockpit, I thanked Herring for his kind sweetness.

“You’re going down!”

Arroganz’s right arm slams 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 a last desperate attempt.

However, when Arroganz’s right fist glowed red, a full-powered shockwave slammed
directly into the inside of the demonic armor.

[――Impact]

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 a large 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 the communication failure had delayed 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 place 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!”
“―― 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.

” ―― 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 you company as much as I can
later, so be patient.”
[ ―― Very well. Don’t forget that word.]

“If I remember. ―― Bring out Schwert.”

As I stepped on the pedal and accelerated, the situation at the school gradually became
visible.

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 a large 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
binoculars.

“Sir, we have Fiend Knight and an unidentified aircraft approaching!”

” ―― 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 to launch the Demon Knight.” (TLN: 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 black 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 muscular, 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 ―― “

The young man’s narrow eyes widened, and anger flashed through his calm tone.

” ―― 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 ―― 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 become a holy knight? To all the holy knights of the past, from
now on, I too will be one of the heroes ―― Kaha!”

As he spat out the black liquid from his mouth, the young man’s body was enveloped
in the black 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 accepts 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 applauded 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 become a demon armor replied with the same humble
attitude as before.

“I’m glad 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.

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 ―― 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 a large barrier, and using the device would consume a
large 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――”

As Herring said this, he held his chest in intense pain.

“――Is 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!]

” ―― 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 ―― “

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 armor landed 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 place?”

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 uncomfortable.

He seems to be a person who has a fragment of demonic armor in his body, and his
mind is becoming 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 and laughed 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?”

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 ―― Please take care of the rest.”

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 annihilate
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, a large 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 to come 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 color
compared 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!”

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 had come 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.

“Then come over here”

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 are complaining 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 blatantly 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?”

“――What 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?”

“―― 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.”

“――Ha?”

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――It 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 villains.

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. ―― I just got a little painful. I’m just lacking 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 palace as planned?”

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 palace
―― “
While Marie and her group are discussing their future plans, 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. ―― 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 ―― 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 palace. 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 palace to find out what it is.

[――When Master comes 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 ―― 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.

[―― 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.

“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 tracking lasers 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, the laser 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 accuses 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 black 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 black knight is superior in terms of pilot performance.]

“I won, didn’t I? I’m so lucky.”

[The lucky ones don’t come 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 becoming unstable. The monster’s skin is coming 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 ―― Hero ―― “

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 playing 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?]

[―― And we have completed guiding him to a place 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 homing
laser with all his might.
Each of them was a thicker laser than the one before. As they attacked the armor one
after another, they pierced through the armor plate and began to burn the inside.

“GUAaaAAaaA!”

The pained demon armor deployed barriers for protection, but the lasers penetrated
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 the laser, the demon armor swung its trident and fired a series
of lances made of water. Arroganz avoided such attacks that lacked 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 ―― 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 become
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 become a mass of stubby flesh.

A large meat eye had formed on the surface and was glaring at Arroganz with
bloodshot eyes. Black liquid flowed from them like tears.

“Let’s finish this. Blast 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 the laser.

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
blade 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 splattered all around me, and I confirmed that I had defeated him, and
I blamed Luxion for his selfish actions.

“Why did you cut the audio? And did you really need that last 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”

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 pillar and took a moment to regulate 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 a lantern in his left hand and a dagger clutched in his
right hand.

“He must have run this way, Daniel.”

Next to him is a large 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――the 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.
――They’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 a large 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 the large
female student called Aare.

“Don’t move! If you move, that girl over there――”

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――She 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――)

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 real combat 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.”

“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 palace. You follow me.”
“Yes!”

As the two are about to leave, a red-haired boy appears.

“Your Highness! Have you seen Finley-san?!”

Royal palace 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 place, 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.”

―― 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 occurred 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 incompetent 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 place
designated by the officials of the royal palace. In front of a rather large 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 vigilance.

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 place 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――”

After saying that much herself, she realized something and closed her mouth and
opened her eyes.

Then she asks the knight.

“――What happened?”

The knight guides us to Roland’s bedroom in a hurry.

“Please ask the Queen for a detailed explanation.”

I turned around, and Livia and Noel gave me small nods.

Neither of them seemed to be complaining 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.”

When we entered Roland’s bedroom, we found a canopied bed in a much larger room.

On the bed, which is large enough, there is Roland 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 Roland’s hand.

“His Majesty, Marquis has arrived.”

Roland opens his eyes at Milene-san’s words and calls out to me in a faint, weak voice.

“Marquis Bartofalt come here”

When I was called to stand near Roland, a man in a white coat who appeared to be a
palace doctor explained 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 palace doctor turned his gaze away from me and was addressing Roland.

“Your Majesty, this is medicine.”

“Sorry about that, Fred”

The palace doctor, called Fred, was giving Roland a little bit of medicine that seemed
to be dissolved in water.
After calming down a bit, Roland 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 Roland 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.”

Roland coughs occasionally, regulates his erratic breathing, and then gives me an
order.

“I’m lending you all my command 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 Roland 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 the command 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 Roland doesn’t even speak to him.

His attitude seemed cold.

“No. Julius has no track record and a bad reputation in the royal palace. Even if Julius
gives an order, there will be those who disobey.”

“That’s why you nominated me?”

“―― Kid, I hate you.”

I wondered what he was going to say in a near-death situation, but Roland 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――Marqu――is”

“Your Majesty!”

As Roland lost consciousness, Milene-san let out a scream.

As the palace 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 Roland’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 Roland. In the
meantime, I was walking side by side with Milene-san to get an explanation of the
current situation.

“There have been riots in many places. 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――Rachel moved behind the scenes.”

Because the demon armor with the trident also claimed 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 Roseblade family for their investigation. They are really helpful.”

“Roseblade? 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 flashy dress and holding the fan as usual is [Deirdre Fou Roseblade].

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 blatantly 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-in-law Nix-sama has already taken care of it.”

“Aniki did?”

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 annihilated 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 direct combat with Leon ―― 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 ―― 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 ―― 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 to launch 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.
A flying battleship of the Bartofalt family.

It was Nix who was on the bridge.

Nix, who is on the bridge as commander, 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 flanks, 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 smoke coming
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, comes over to compliment him.

“You’ve been a fine commander, Bocchan.”

Nix looks disgruntled when the captain calls him Bocchan.

“Stop treating me like a child.”

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 ablaze.

Watching from the deck, Gabino glared 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 ―― Dorothea doesn’t care.

“Even that’s coming 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――”

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 Roseblade family a while back, weren’t
you?”

Gabino frowned when he realized that the woman in front of him was related to the
Roseblade 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 Roseblade 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――”

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――is not worth it anymore.”

Dorothea looked sincerely bored and ordered those who were around her. The people
around Dorothea were from the Roseblade family.

“Take them away. I need to show him what happens to people who pick fights with the
Roseblade family.”

Just as the airship of the Roseblade family was approaching the airship of the Bartofalt
family, Gabino and others imagined their worst future, and the blood drained from
their faces.

A room in the royal palace.

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 the command, 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 declare 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――That’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 slack off when it comes to protecting my partner or Mia!]

“You’ll protect me if you unjam it, right? Besides, if the royal capital goes up in flames,
it’s not good for me and Mia.”

[Uuuh――It’s just this one time!]

It’s not the same as our relationship, 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. ――It’s also Roland’s last 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 ―― At the very least, I want to make his last request come
true.

I still hated Roland, but I didn’t want him to die. Besides, this commotion would be a
nuisance to the residents of the royal capital.

――I’ll finish it quickly.

“Let’s just go. Milene-san is waiting.”

When I said that, Luxion blamed 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.]

“――Please 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.]

――You almost got us killed, too!

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.

——Now, the royal capital was under Luxion’s complete control.

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, Claris-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 ―― 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 ―― 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 occasionally 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 in command?”

The only people I have on hand that I can move are my friends ―― 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 blatant 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?”

“――Leon, 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 a
complicated 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 him command it, he’ll be able to use it well. In a place 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 in command, you know?”

There is a rift between Jilk and the Atley family. Jilk is one-sidedly to blame, he had
broken off his engagement to Claris-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? ―― Well,
It’s not me who’s having trouble with the relationship, it’s Jilk.

I accepted 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.

” ―― 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 ―― “

Then, Milene-san objected to my going out.

“No! Leon-kun――No, 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.

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 accompanied 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 in command 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 place 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.

(――From 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 incomprehensible at
Brad’s desire for beauty on the battlefield.
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 too late to lament 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 pillaging
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 have completed 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”

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 of ladies are fleeing in droves.

Behind them, the members of the forest of ladies and their families with their large
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 of ladies for help.

“I didn’t hear about this, that the kingdom is raiding the hideouts of our people all over
the place! 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 were late
running away.

“I don’t care! It’s because of their family that we’re in this mess. I hope they get caught.”

Forest of ladies 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――”

When the exhausted representative collapsed to her knees on the spot, she was
surrounded by soldiers on air bikes.
When they turned around and looked at the road they had come 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――sama”

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 the last 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. ―― Catch them all. “

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 Claris-ojousama”

The air bikers, who verbally cursed Jilk, obeyed the orders in dissatisfaction.
One of them was a man who was one of Claris’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 ―― Dan felt his guts churning.

“――I’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 of ladies.

The air bikers that Minister Bernard had assembled were still holding on to the fact
that Jilk had broken off his engagement to Claris. They were only following orders
because they were given in an emergency.

Originally, their common 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 certainly
competent. 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 they
complained 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.
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 playing 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 playing, a commotion suddenly broke out.

While they were wondering what was going on, a battle broke out in various places 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 play.

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 glared at the man.

“Lutoart, you were in the royal capital.”

“Don’t call me that! I should be a baron ―― 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 become a Marquis? Isn’t it absolutely impossible?”

Jenna hurriedly warned Finley.

“Idiot, if you piss him off ―― “

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 was coming 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 place. 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.”

A hideout of the Forest of Ladies.

The representative and many others were outside in a less popular 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 ―― 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 black gloves.

Zora, who seemed to be very confused, was blasting 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. Explain it to me!”

The other is Merce.

This one is dressed flamboyantly, but unlike before, she wears flashy 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 a commoner’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 blaming 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 glare 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
claimed 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! How come you’re still nobles and we’re treated
like commoners! 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 ―― I should have been more
flattering 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 flank, Lutoart clapped his hands.

“It’s a good show”

Seeing Lutoart’s vile smile, Finley’s gut churned.

(I’m definitely――going to give these guys hell)

A conference room in the royal palace.

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 successfully captured
a group consisting of former nobles.”

On the map placed 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 place 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?”

“――No, 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 ―― 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 glad to hear that.”

Luxion blames me for getting carried away.

[You’d better think about the time and place. 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 Claris-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 ―― 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 play with Jenna and didn’t come back
until after curfew.

Breaking the curfew at the worst possible time is nothing short of bad luck.

[Currently under investigation]

“Find them quickly”

―― I would feel bad if they died, and my family would be sad.

By the conference room window.

Ange, who had been talking with Deirdre and Claris there, looked out the window at
the royal capital.

(This whole ruckus sounds cute)

The revolt, led by former nobles, was unplanned and sporadic.

The commotion 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 Claris.

“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 palace, and leave the decision to her.

That made Ange dissatisfied.

“I think you should inform the palace 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.

Claris takes a glance 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?”

Claris’s words were whispered so low that the others couldn’t hear her.

However, Ange criticizes her.

“This is not the place to talk about it.”

However, Deirdre showed no signs of stopping either.

“Winning or losing is not even a question. Kouhai-kun ―― 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 accurate that those around him were both impressed and afraid.
Information is always coming 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 accurately and quickly, the military allocates a large
amount of budget.

That’s because they know the value of gathering information.

But it was impossible to get accurate 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.

Claris 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
replace 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 too late to tell him to behave himself now. But at least discuss what you can do in
advance ――)

When Ange looked at Leon, Claris 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.”

Claris 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 lecture later.)

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, complimenting 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.”
Claris 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 place!”

“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
glared at Leon.

“If you’re going to do whatever you want, you’re going to have to be responsible.”

“――Ange”

Leon looked surprised, as if he had expected Ange to stop him.

Ange bursts into a smile.

“Get it done quickly”

“――I’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. ――Ange, 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)

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’m coming 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.

――Julius 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 ――”

“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 accompany me, the man himself had a big smile on his face
―― His Highness Jake was lying on the floor, severely depressed.

Aare-chan is comforting him.

“His Highness Jake, let’s be obedient”

“――H-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 Roland’s blood?

“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, was laughing.

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 plan succeeds, 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.)

The house of the Bartofalt family.

The Zora family, who usually don’t show up, came to complain 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 had come 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 palace?”

Perhaps Barkas thought it would be a bad idea for the royal palace to hear about this,
so he bowed to Zora.

“P-Please forgive me for that!”

The royal palace favors women like Zora over the feudal lords, and judging by this kind
of story, the lords are to blame, 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.

“Young lady, 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.
(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 relaxed a bit lately 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 too late.

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
place, 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 ―― help――!”

“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 Oscar coming to help her was very reassuring to Finley.

When Luxion appears, he shines a laser 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 too late for everything. Out there, the revolution must have succeeded.
You’re the ones who will get caught, not us!”

Merce had no doubt that their plan would succeed.

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 slave 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 place!”

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 to laugh.

“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 black 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 me laugh.”

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 is completely 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――”

“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 place. 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 miscellaneous 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 plan, 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 were
competent enough to succeed in the revolution, you wouldn’t be in this situation in
the first place. Rachel’s men played you for a fool, didn’t they.”

Merce collapses 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 planning on capturing them. He
didn’t try to beat them up as thoroughly as he had done to Lutoart.

Seeing him like that, Finley――.

“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 becomes ragged.

“Finley-san, more than this is”

Finley’s face looked like a demon as she glanced 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――She
grabbed her hair and slammed her face into the floor.

“I’ll avenge――onee-chan!”

“S-Stop――Not the face!”

Merce desperately resisted, but Finley slammed 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!”

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 is laughing 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 slamming 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 relaxed.

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 ―― Excuse me, do you have a woman in a relationship? Like a fiancee?”

“He? Etto”

Oscar glanced at Finley, who was rampaging, and then answered Jenna.

“――I 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 ―― 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?]

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, Luxion comes 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 it later. More importantly――]

As Luxion pointed the red lens at Zora, Lutoart, who had regained consciousness, was
approaching her.

“M-Mother――”

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 glass, into Lutoart’s neck as he approaches.

Lutoart was surprised.

“Mother――W-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 definitely come back and kill you!”

As Merce tried to run away with Zora, Lutoart reached out and grabbed her ankle.

“Help me――Ane-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 a large 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 replace 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’t come here!”

“Go over there! The enemy is over there!”

Hearing their words, Lutoart, his neck stretched out, smiled eerily.

“――Looks 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 collapsed and the monster that was Lutoart
came out of it.

There was no trace of Lutoart left whatsoever.

The lump of flesh had a large 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 ―― It’s all mine”

Luxion dutifully explains 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 bullet landed 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 ―― even those girls”

“――Ah?”

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 bullet landed, 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 a large amount of black liquid and quickly stopped moving.

“It’s over”

Luxion speaks to me in a tone of amazement at my anger.

[Did you become enraged when you were told that Angelica and the others would be
taken from you?]

“――Shut 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――]

Luxion called the main body up into the sky ―― and irradiated it with a laser to make
the debris that was lying around disappear.

[――This made me feel refreshed.]

I let out a sigh of amazement at my partner who seemed to feel like he had
accomplished his task.

“You never change”

Looking up, I saw that the huge spaceship had blended into the surrounding landscape
with its optical camouflage.

It was only slightly uncomfortable, 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 black 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 place.]

The price of great power, huh.

Then what did I pay for to get Luxion?

Or will I lose something in the future?

――Well, there’s no point in thinking too much about it, and it’s not really suitable for
me.

“You tricked me, Roland!”

Audience room.

I grabbed Roland 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 Roland, who I had thought would not be around much
longer, would show up in good health when the commotion was over and the cleanup
was almost complete.
Roland 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 Roland, 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 ―― “Ah~, I
knew it” kind of looks on their faces.

These guys seemed to think that Roland 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 Roland.

“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――Did 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 successfully crushing
Raschel’s ambitions and eliminating the troublesome people who were lurking in the
capital”

I looked at Roland, 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. ―― 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.

Roland 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 plan had failed,
they immediately raised the bounty on me.

“T-Ten million”

I hate the look of happiness on Roland’s face.

As I staggered back a few steps, Roland 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
placed alongside the Redgrave Family? I’d love to hear about it.”

“――It sucks”

When I stared at Roland, 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 Roland with a complicated look on their face, I
swore that I would get revenge on this guy.
“Roland 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 is complaining 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 Roland.

Are those the kind of eyes that look at filth?

If there was a flaw in the perfect Milene-san, it would be the fact that her husband was
Roland.

Noelle, who is in the room and sitting with the backrest in her arms, laughs at my
hatred of Roland.

“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! ―― Are? Is there, right?”
Ask Angers for help with his arms crossed against the wall and he will explain 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 become 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 was lamenting, Ange had an indescribable look on her face.

“All that hard work has gotten you a promotion, right? In the first place, 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. Roland was dying, and it was wrong of
you to give it your all because it was his last request.]

“Don’t tell me, you know Roland was okay?”

[No, Roland was poisoned.]

“Eh?”

When Leon was suffering from his promotion.

Roland was drinking in his room.

“Did you see that kid’s face, Fred! Kah! Today’s sake is the best!”

The man Roland was drinking with was his friend Fred, who had concocted the poison.

Why are Roland and Fred drinking together in the daytime?

There is a reason for that.

Fred was crying at Roland.

“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 Roland’s
direction.

Roland celebrates the success of the plan as he looks at the amber liquid in his glass.

“It was great poison. It allowed me to fool the kid, and I was in bed avoiding a
troublesome riot act.”

Roland had sensed the commotion in advance and had used his friend Fred to take
advantage of the enemy’s plan.

It was also Roland’s plan 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.

Roland pours a drink into his friend’s empty glass and says something meaningful.

“Well, I guess that’s a start. Thanks to you, I’ve completed the first stage of my plan.
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.”

Roland 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.

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 the latest 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’s complaining 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 uncomfortable.

(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 of law 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.

“――Well, 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 becomes
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 played that Otome game in our previous lives and came here
when we died. It’s the same for you, right?”

“――Yes, I only played the third work.”

“I’ve only completed 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 relationship 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 little lack 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.”

“――What?”

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 glad 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 ―― oji-san.” (TLN: 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 overlapping with Erika’s.
“How did you know――”
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 ―― now
the Duke in the royal palace. I had a feeling that it was Kaa-san somehow. And we met,
and your gestures were very similar.”

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]

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 poison testing 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 the commotion throughout the capital not long ago.

Not many people pay attention to us in the crowded restaurant.

In the first place, 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 place? 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 place 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 ―― 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 it comes to combat, 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.

[――So you’re saying that you attacked the same ship that fled into space? Attacking a
ship carrying non-combatants, 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 annihilate 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.”

[――Aa~, 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 ―― Is Mia-chan’s body weak?”

Herring was handing Brave a drink. Brave glared at me as he sipped his juice through
a straw.

“She was fine until last 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 ―― There’s an important event for Mia over here.”

“Event?”
Marie also said that Mia-chan had started to get sick last year, but I didn’t expect it was
an unexplained illness.

On the other hand, it seems that the villainous princess has been freed from her sickly
setting and is in good health ―― 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 played the first game of that Otome game! How much of that otome game
have you played?”

Even though you’re a man, is what I wanted to say but this line would come 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 play 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 blatantly disgusted look, Herring forcefully brings the conversation
back.
“――Well, 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.

[――It’s hard to say without examining it. However, it is definitely more dependable
than the demonic core that is there.]

The way Luxion competes 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 the last 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 be coming 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 ―― 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.”

――Is 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 ―― it was the five targets from the first game that I beat up.”

“Ha?”

Luxion gives a detailed explanation 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 explain 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 collapse. There was
a coup d’etat, and when we moved to suppress it, the Republic simply collapsed.”

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’re late! 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 according 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 clasped her hands together and told me how serious she was.

“Aniki, you know. ―― 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!”

I laugh at Marie as she yells at Luxion.

“If that were the case, you’d be even more seriously injured. In the first place, 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――N-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 claps 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.”

“――Ha?”

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 explains 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 ―― 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 villain princess?”

What’s going to happen now?

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 planned 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 dialogue comes out naturally, and I love Luxion’s sarcasm
towards them.

Although Leon and Marie are such, they are even more compatible 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 ―― 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 ―― 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.