Part 1

The Academy of the Arzel Commonwealth was in the third semester.

It’s still cold season and it’s dim after school.

When the class is over, the students leave the classroom and go home because there are no club activities. All that remains are faculty members and some students.

Meanwhile, I come with Marie to a room that looks like the student guidance room of the academy.

It was Clement-sensei who was waiting for us there.

His body is huge, a nice guy with a full body of muscle armor! Instead, it was a teacher wearing a tight-fitting shirt with an older sister’s tone.

He has a thick beard, and after shaving, it looks blue.

He is a kind teacher, despite his appearance.

“Chi ~ suu. That? Only Clement-sensei?”

Marie greeted Clement-sensei without fear and entered the room, where she was displeased to find that the person she wanted was not there.

Clement-sensei was sitting in his chair with his thick arms crossed.

“Lelia-sama is not here yet.”

A strict teacher with older sister tone is a very strong character.

Marie and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and sat down in the chairs provided.

I decided to talk to Clement-sensei to kill time.

“More than that, I didn’t know that Clement-sensei was a knight of the Lespinasse House.”

When I broach the subject, Clement-sensei gives me a nostalgic look.

“Noelle-sama didn’t remember either. I’m a little disappointed, but two of them were five years old when we separated. It can’t be helped.”

Marie was slumped against the desk.

“It’s not surprising that she remembers him, since he’s such a strong character. So, what will Clement-sensei do from now on?”

Clement-sensei assured me without any trouble.

“I’ll stay by Lelia-sama’s side and protect her. Noelle-sama ―― will be safe with Leon-kun, right? After all, you are the guardian of the holy tree sapling.”

Guardian ―― It is the title of a person who has the highest level of blessings granted by the Holy Tree.

It is given to those whom the Holy Tree deems worthy to protect itself.

The sacred tree sapling that I got, I don’t know what it was thinking but it chose me.

Originally, one of the targets of the second game was supposed to be chosen as a guardian ―― it was supposed to be tied to Noelle.

Thanks to that, the plan keeps going messed up.

I looked at the clock in the room and saw that it was past the promised time.

Originally, I was here to discuss the future with Lelia Beltre ―― No, now it’s Lelia Zel Lespinasse.

I was supposed to talk to a girl from my hometown who had been reincarnated in the Commonwealth.

“Is Lelia late?”

When I show my restlessness, Clement-sensei apologizes.

“I’m sorry. Lelia-sama is also busy. The Commonwealth is busy and she has been recognized as the bereaved child of the Lespinasse House. It’s hard enough to make time to talk to you both like this.”

Reincarnated as Noelle’s twin sister, Lelia was a survivor of the former great noble ― Lespinasse House.

Now that it’s known, she’s busy.

Marie is irritated.

“I’m busy too! I want to prepare dinner! If I don’t, Julius will prepare skewers again on his own. We had skewers last time, and I’m getting tired of them!”

Whenever there is an opening, Julius prepares skewers for dinner.

Not just once or twice.

He had become such a picky eater that he wanted to eat skewers every day, and Marie and I were both troubled.

He prepares the meals and even cleans up.

Rather, if I touch Julius’s tool without permission, he will be upset.

Compared to before, when he didn’t do any housework, he has grown up a lot.

But ―― I don’t want skewers every day.

Clement-sensei is confused, but apologizes to Marie.

“I’m sorry. Recently, Lately, Emile-kun has been running errands, and Lelia-sama has been going out more often.”

When Emile’s name was mentioned, Marie let out a sigh.

“Emile again? No, he’s her fiancé, so I can’t help it ~”

Emile, Emile Laz Pleven is Lelia’s fiancée. And he was one of the targets of the second game, and even if you failed to capture a target, if you choose Emile, you can still see the ending without game over.

For this reason, Emile was called Safe Tile by the players.

It’s a terrible nickname.

As I continue to wait and talk with Clement-sensei, I hear footsteps.

The door was opened a little roughly, and standing there was Lelia, breathing a little unevenly.

She had the same side-ponytail hairstyle as Noelle, but her hair was silky and straight.

Her hair is all dark pink, and she has sharp eyes, unlike Noelle who has a softer atmosphere.

They are twin sisters, so they look a lot alike, but Lelia is a little smaller (?) in the chest than Noelle. Lelia has a slender figure.

At Lelia’s side, a sphere of a different color from Luxion’s was floating. It’s an Ideal with a blue sphere and a red eye.

When he looked at here, he moved his single red eye vertically as if to greet me.

Lelia took one look at us and then turned her attention to Clement-sensei.

“I’m sorry, but the discussion is cancelled. Emile’s car is waiting at the entrance, Clement should come too.”

“Lelia-sama? I thought you didn’t have plans for today?”

Clement-sensei seems to be managing Lelia’s schedule as if he were her secretary. Is there something on her schedule that Clement-sensei doesn’t know about?

Marie gets up from her seat, points at Lelia, and shouts out loud.

“Don’t ignore us! We have a lot to talk about with you!”

There are many things to talk about.

About the future of Arzel Commonwealth, the stage of the second work.

And about Noelle, and the capture targets.

―― The most important thing now is Serge, who is missing among the capture targets.

The Rault House is one of the six great noble houses.

Serge was their legitimate son, but now he is missing.

There were so many things I wanted to discuss with her about the future, but Lelia had her own schedule and we couldn’t discuss it.

She is also dissatisfied with the fact that her schedule has gone astray.

“I have my own situation! Emile insisted that I participate ――.”

Lelia’s gaze turned to Ideal as she made her excuses.

Ideal looks at me. No ― he’s looking at Luxion, who is hiding near me.

“I deeply apologize, but in order to protect Lelia-sama’s social status, we can’t let this matter go. Can you please understand that? “

Lelia’s social status. It is hard to argue strongly when people say that it is necessary to protect their position in the world in which they live.

Everyone has a life.

Sacrifice for world peace! ―There are only a few people who can be convinced to do so.

And I and Marie are on the majority side.

We who can’t blame Lelia have no choice but to accept it.

“Be sure to arrange a meeting next time.”

I reminded him, and Ideal affirmed, “Of course!”.

“I will make sure we have a place to talk next time. ― Well, Lelia-sama. Emile-sama is waiting for you. “

At Ideal’s request, Lelia reluctantly obeyed.

By the looks of it, Lelia probably didn’t mean it either.

She looks at us and speaks briefly.

“I’m going to go now, but I want you to look for Serge properly.”

Marie, who had her left hand on her hip, made a gesture with her right hand to pay him to go quickly.

“All right, now go to Emile.”

As Lelia left, Clement-sensei apologized to us.

This is how I was unable to talk with Lelia again today.

The days passed like this, unable to consult with each other.

.

Part 2

I took a tram with Marie to go home.

We were the only passengers, and the inside of the car is lit and the outside is dark.

It’s already night.

Marie was upset with Lelia. She seemed to be convinced that she had no choice, but she also expressed her frustration.

“Why do I have to take orders from her! Originally, Lelia’s the one who used to be close to Serge, right? I’m not a servant!”

“It can’t be helped. They’re trying to protect their reputation, right?”

“I understand that, but~”

Appearance is something that cannot be taken lightly, and it is often downplayed in stories, but it is important.

Aside from the main characters in the story, it’s hard for ordinary mob-like people like us to live without it.

It’s the same as in my previous life, but this world is behind the world of my previous life in terms of civilization.

It’s a world where you can’t ignore appearance.

“Doesn’t that piss you off, aniki?”

“Certainly, it’s annoying, but I’m more mature than you, so I won’t show it. Other than that, Luxion is looking for him but he can’t find him, what does that mean?”

Luxion ―― and Ideal are searching for Serge, but it has been a little while since the beginning of the third semester and there is no sign of him.

Luxion joins our conversation, hiding in plain sight.

“We think he’s already out of the country or slipping through our sight.”

It’s troublesome if he is fleeing the country.

But it’s also troublesome if he is slipping through the sight of Luxion and the others.

In the game, Serge ―― is a wild young man who yearns to be an adventurer. Speaking of wild, it sounds good, but from my point of view, he was a rough guy.

He was adopted by the Rault House, but he made a rift with his family.

In the game, Alberg-san, the head of the Rault House, is the last boss, and he distrusts his father-in-law and cooperates with the main character.

―― but from my point of view, if this is a game, Serge’s behavior is a little different.

Alberg-san doesn’t look like the last boss, or rather, he is the most trustworthy of the six great nobles.

And the Rault House was about to accept Serge. Unless it’s harassment without my knowledge, but the probability is low.

Louise-san told me the story, but I can’t say that Serge is not at fault.

Leaving aside the question of who is at fault, what is the cause of discrepancies?

“Why does he dislike his family so much?”

Marie is interested in my muttering.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s about Serge. If Alberg-san was a bad person and that’s why he was rebellious, I’d understand. But it’s Alberg-san, you know? He’s good enough from my point of view.”

“Your standards are unreliable, but it is definitely weird. I think he is too aggressive. Besides, in the game, he was strong enough to fight, but to lose by aniki’s one punch is so surprising.”

” ―― Oi, how low do your evaluation about me? How hard do you think we poor noble boys have been working?”

Even like this, I have shed tears of blood and worked hard in school.

It’s a monthly event, and I have to give the girls gifts.

The poor noble boys challenge the dungeon to earn money for gifts.

The deeper you go into the dungeon, the steeper and more dangerous it gets, but the more money you can get.

A group of poor noble boys works together to earn money by taking on dangerous dungeons.

It’s all about getting married! I’ve really bled and worked hard for it.

I feel like crying when I remember it.

Wiping the tears with my sleeve, Marie looked uninterested.

“But the girls were pawning off the gifts they got.”

“I know that, and my friends and I have shed many tears over it. Anyway, I’m not like Serge, I’m not an adventurer for fun!”

It’s not for fun. It’s for publicity and marriage!

―― My reasons for trying so hard are also terribly pathetic.

Marie didn’t seem too interested in what I was saying or doing, and she felt sorry for Serge.

“Still, isn’t it cruel, just by one punch? Men have trouble when their pride is broken. After all, they are a creature of pride.”

“Don’t you talk about a man”

“Ara? I’m more knowledgeable than aniki. All the guys had this weird sense of pride that makes them so easy to deal with.”

Has Marie forgotten that she was deceived by such a man?

I look at Marie, who makes a comment that pierces me, and I laugh at her.

Maybe she didn’t like that, so Marie glared at me.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just thought it would be nice to hear from a woman who thinks she knows men and has been hurt by them.”

“You said it, this coward!”

“――― I’ll cut down your living expenses.”

I was tired of arguing with Marie, so I brought up the topic of living expenses as a last resort.

Then Marie collapsed helplessly and got down on their knees.

“Intelligent, brave and wonderful onii-sama! Please don’t cut my living expenses! Please ―― I really can’t live. I don’t want to leave Kyle and Cara on the street, let alone that five! Help me, onii-chan!”

I can’t help but feel weak at the word “help”.

And Marie aside ―― I didn’t want to cause any trouble for Kyle or Cara.

Five idiots? They’re so tough, they’ll live on their own if you leave them alone.

“It seems you understand your position.”

Fufu, when I laughed at her, Marie made a frustrated face saying “Gunununu“.

Luxion, who had been watching our interaction, reacted as usual.

“As usual, Master has a soft spot for Marie.”

“I’m basically a kind person to everyone.”

“A kind person would not go so far as to break the pride of a defeated enemy. I’m sure Serge has a grudge against the Master. “

“It’s their fault to lose to me”

“It’s quite a feat to be able to say that with my help. Don’t you think it’s cowardly?”

“I don’t think so. Someone once told me this. Cowardice is a compliment.”

“When Master says that, the others hated you is something that can’t be helped.”

“Although I’m so kind!”

Marie’s face looks like saying “What are these guys talking about?”, But I ignored her.

We get off as the tram arrives at the station near our house.