After many incidents until recently, we somehow made it to the month of May.
The summer vacations are here and young people want to have fun at this time of the year.
That's what I, Rudel von Bradford, was thinking while finishing my exam.
I am currently living in this great country called Aster Supreme Kingdom, a world powerhouse of energy.
The sun was setting, the beautiful orange color illuminating the buildings.
I was fiddling with my pencil waiting for my other classmates to finish so that the last of the teachers would collect the exams.
The reason there are so many students giving multiple exams is because of what happened a few weeks ago.
A son of a bitch named Derrick picked a fight with me. In the end I kicked his ass, and as a result, I destroyed part of his family's territory.
Both the reason for kicking his ass and bulldozing his family territory was the reason we were here.
I am a transmigrator.
I died in a tragic way and ended up reincarnated in this world of fantasy and magic.
To my misfortune, it's not just a fantasy world like any other. It's that of a game, a filthy, repulsive RPG game.
The horrifying news doesn't end there. I was the villain on duty in the tutorial.
But that's not the worst of it, if not... That it's a world originally based on an otome game! A dating simulator for girls!
Something was wrong with this world and its developers no doubt.
I came to this country along with these idiots to get a weapon, which is an ally actually.
That's right, these idiots...
"The test was very easy."
That optimistic comment came from one of those guys.
An attractive young man with short platinum hair and intense purple eyes. His name was Liam von Altfode, the former crown prince of Altfode Kingdom and the spare protagonist of this game.
"It is as you say Your Highness. The test was relatively easy. We don't need to know the result since it's obvious the grade... although that's for some of us."
Said a tall slender boy with long green hair like his eyes, it was Frey van Nightray, another character in the game.
His look of disappointment was looking at a certain boy.
"What are you looking at me so much huh?"
A gorilla─ Chlust van Arses, a muscular and taller boy with fire-red hair and eyes just as strong as his aptitude answered him.
"Nothing worthwhile."
"Why do you avert your gaze from me then!"
"I'm doing it because your stupidity will rub off on me if I don't."
"Hah? You want to die!"
"You two, that's enough. You should be thinking about more important things."
The one who calmed the bouncer posing as a teenager was a boy with glasses and both his hair and eyes were a light blue. He looked very intelligent, or that' s what Warren von Gravel was supposed to be like.
"You should be thinking about what we're going to do on this vacation."
"I suggest we go on a trip on one of Aster's new cruise ships."
"I second that!"
The one who cheerfully answered that was a purple-eyed, purple-haired boy whose name was Clovis von Arkwright.
"For that reason..."
For some reason unknown to me, Clovis put his right arm around my shoulder. I could feel his hair hardened with gel on my cheek.
"Rudecchi~ help us with the costs, will you? We're best friends, aren't we?"
Clovis was an almost fiancé of my girlfriend.
That's right, I have a girlfriend, and not just one. Two in fact.
I forgave him for what he did to her months ago for a reason. He was a very disappointing man.
As a responsible adult that I am, I couldn't watch these idiots looking for crumbs of food in the cupboard or drawers of the mansion.
It is very sad to see them looking for food.
Also, I decided to give them money for their expenses.
To top it off, I am the prince's nanny, so I am looking out for the prince's safety whether he wants me to or not.
Clovis thought we were friends... personally, I don't know myself.
I mean, we are, aren't we?
Normally, my fist would be on his nose right now and then I'd be threatening to kill him.
But, after what happened with Derrick, we all started living together in the same mansion so I don't find these guys so unpleasant anymore.
They even become more tolerable to me, especially Liam, who is a jerk.
"We'll see..." I replied to Clovis to get his hand and hair out of my personal space.
His stupid face showed how pitiful he was.
"Did you hear that Erselica, we're going on a cruise!"
The five attractive young men looked in the same direction.
I did too.
We were looking at one specific girl.
Near her were two servants.
One of them was a brown-haired, scarlet-eyed brat, Allen, who for some reason was taking a test with us.
At the other end of the girl watching was a smaller girl, her skin was brown like cinnamon and her eyes like hair were black, her name was Cana and she was also giving an exam, but her eyes were looking at the same person we were all looking at.
A girl of small stature, orange hair with three antennas coming out of the center, she looked like a carrot. Her eyes were hazel and her chest was as, but as flat as a surfboard.
Her name was Erselica van Reinfield, and like me, she was a reincarnate. But that's not all about her, she was also my cousin from my previous life.
We all lived with her because this idiot pretended to be a saint, a very important existence for the Kingdom.
The idiot caused a lot of chaos and many people want her dead, that's why these guys and her came with me to be safe.
To top it off, these idiots are her boyfriends.
What a little slut she turned out to be, though.
Anyway, I was laughing a little watching Erselica touch her face when she heard that these idiots would be going on vacation.
That means expenses, money they don't have.
I gave her some for the financial compensation Derrick put me through, but before long these idiots spent it on frivolities.
I'm actually a little glad for her suffering, she wanted to kill me last year, so it's only fair that she pays a little for what she put me through.
This is your punishment for being a slut who sought to have a reverse harem.
Someone pinched my cheek as I looked at Erselica with a smile.
"It Jurts..."
"Sthop..."
It hurts. Stop. These are words I was saying to the person pinching my cheek.
Next to me was a beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair, it was pulled back in two fluffy, silky ponytails that rested on her shoulders.
Her face was very beautiful, but more beautiful were her amber eyes like the sunrise.
Her name was Lucy Algrand, and she is the person I came for.
But for strange reasons, there's trouble in that.
"Why are you smiling in such a nasty way?"
Despite that comment, she is a very nice and lovely girl who cares about others. She was telling me that not to make me feel bad, but to get me to change my attitude.
To me, a simple country boy, third son of a baronial household, with black hair and eyes who has bags under his eyes and a very scary face.
No doubt she's a wonderful girl for caring about someone like me, but I already have girlfriends, sorry.
"It's because it's so funny to see what happens when you aspire to have diverse people as your partner. isn't this funny? Really your situation is sad."
I was replying to Lucy who was looking at me with narrowed eyes.
"Your personality is really twisted."
Lucy showed an exasperated expression, but then her smile soon returned.
She brought her face close to mine, I could feel her breath.
"Hey, more importantly, what are your plans for the summer?"
Lucy sat down in a nearby seat and rested her breasts on my desk.
Her large breasts looked like marshmallows squishing from the pressure.
"Plans? I don't think so. I'm not one to go out much nor do I think I do anything besides lounge around─"
"Perfect!"
Lucy said quickly getting up. That bounce made both her pigtails and her big boobs bounce slightly from joy.
That prance made both her ponytails and her large breasts jump slightly from joy
"In that case, can you come with me to do some shopping?"
"What are you going to buy?"
"Food, clothes, and─"
Lucy cheerfully told me things that were normal for girls. I don't know about that, but you could tell how cheerful she was.
She was also living with us because of what happened with Derrick and someone else.
"By the way, how's your hand?"
Lucy seemed concerned about my right hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
My right hand was bandaged, the reason for that was because of something very upsetting that happened weeks ago.
◇
"Why is this on my hand!"
I was amazed at what my eyes were seeing.
A glowing green emblem appeared on the back of my right hand.
I was terrified.
Near me was a gray floating sphere with a red eye. It was Ixion, an artificial intelligence from ancient humanity.
"Fascinating, you have good taste in choosing Master as your choice."
"Choice?" I said aloud a little terrified.
"As the Guardian of the sapling. Master, congratulations. A man like you was chosen by the sapling to be the emblem bearer."
Aster emblems were a proof of being recognized by the sacred tree.
The sacred tree was a kind of deity worshipped by the people of the Aristocratic Kingdom.
It was bigger than a mountain.
Emblems were given by the sacred tree to great nobles and their relatives.
I am a foreigner.
Why would the sapling give something so important to me?
A seated girl stood up.
Her hair was violet with back pigtails, her eyes were amber and her breasts were small.
She, who was trembling in terror, was Lucy's younger sister, Diana Algrand, a reincarnate like us.
"Why did the Guardian's Emblem appear in this guy's hand!!!?"
Erselica was terrified, too.
All three of us were.
"Ixion, take this thing away from me!"
Having something like this would be problematic, the best option is to remove it.
"Are you sure, even if it involves cutting off your hand?"
"...!"
I was taken aback by that comment.
"I can't erase the emblem, according to my analysis. It's a tiny magic circle resting there, magic circles are not physical. They are similar to mathematical equations to make things work, but these are not tangible."
"I don't know how this happened, so, if you suggest I cut off your hand, I would gladly do so, but that would not guarantee it would disappear. Do you still wish me to do so Master?"
"You're a fucking sociopath!"
"I'm not. I am not a human being to have a psyche, therefore, I am not a sociopath."
"Your way of talking and reasoning is definitely one!"
"If we get technical like that. You are a very cowardly, crybaby man, apologize in the afterlife to everyone you made cry."
"Damn floating garbage dump!"
"Shut up already, this is serious!"
Diana shushed us, she was still shaking.
"Hey, you, sphere, why did the emblem appear on his hand? You know, don't you?"
Ixion stared at Diana for some reason.
"You're not Erselica for me to take the trouble to answer you out of politeness, only she's allowed to talk to me, and that's only because she's a very pitiful woman."
"That's the only reason you speak to me!"
"Ixion, answer what Diana said."
"... Well. I'm sure you don't know this, but humans have an aura that runs through their bodies. With my thermal vision I discovered that humans who possess magical power, have a blue aura on their bodies."
"That look is what they use as ´mana´, there are humans who don't have them, but, even so, their aura is still blue, but in a minuscule amount."
"Now, Aster people have a green aura, representing the emblems. But that's not all, humans like you transmigrators have a much different aura color than other humans."
I was listening to every word in amazement, the last thing he said really was a surprise.
"The color of your auras is a red color, I can't tell why it is that color. Ah, and your Master aura is the rarest of all."
Suddenly, Ixion named me. He told me that my aura was rare.
"Your aura is the only one that is gray. Your magic power is blue, but the gray aura around it prevents the magic power from circulating normally."
So that's why my magic power is inferior to everyone else's!
"But don't worry, it's nothing serious to your health, it just makes your body more strange. As expected from Master, it's always fascinating my desire to experiment with your body."
Wait... This bastard said he wanted to experiment with my body?
So, is that why I sometimes found my hair cut off and signs that they've taken blood from my arm!!?
"I need to do more research, but what's for sure is that won't go away. Consider it a permanent tattoo."
Ixion looked happy for some reason.
"Wait a second!"
But Diana would clearly be annoyed by that.
"The Guardian Emblem must appear on the destined person my sister chooses as her lover! That means─!"
"You're wrong." I replied to reassure her.
"Your sister and I are not lovers or anything."
Lucy and I are nothing more than friends, there's no point in saying something as nonsensical as that.
But for some reason, Erselica looked grumpy as she looked at me with a disappointed look on her face. Hey, what's wrong with you?
"Obviously my older sister doesn't have a thing for you! She has good taste in men, I know her well, she was always saying that such a guy was handsome and she'd like to go out with him!"
Her tone really annoyed me when she pointed out that I was ugly. But, I couldn't believe her since the Lucy I met is a girl who sermonized me because I labeled myself as a simpleton. This girl was lying.
"This wouldn't have happened if they hadn't messed with Derrick's event and let Jude and my sister─! W-Well...I guess that's a 'no' too."
Diana was in shock, that's because one of the capture targets of this cliché scenario was Jude. That boy... he wasn't normal.
His attitude bordered on that of a stalker.
No, he was already a criminal.
I threatened him since Lucy was at a psychological level where she was physically and mentally panicked and repulsed by the sight of him.
Lucy had to relate to Liam or one of the seven capture targets in order to avoid the bad end.
But.
"Ixion, tell us the status of the others."
"Understood."
"My research on the capture targets was as follows. Starting with Liam, it's impossible for him to get involved with Lucy, he loves Erselica and won't accept another woman."
Erselica blushed when she heard how Liam rejected another woman for her. Hey, you have four other boyfriends, you greedy little slut.
"Derrick's older brother is out of the question. I met him during my stay at Herring Household and I can certainly confirm that Lucy would never dare date him. Not even if you threatened her or the life of this country depended on it."
I couldn't say anything after seeing what his younger brother and father were like.
"About Linus, there's no point in talking about him, he's a man who works all day and has stood up potential marriage candidates. And then, regarding Thomas, a talk of their engagement is in progress at the moment. Lugh is already in a romantic relationship with you, so it's out of the question. In that case, the remaining candidates are Romeo and Zack. Their whereabouts are currently unknown, so information is lacking."
It wasn't because Ixion can't investigate, it was more of a resource problem.
He could find Zack if he seriously investigated his whereabouts.
But the problem was after we found him.
And about Romeo. Lucy was avoiding the subject of him. Instead of Romeo, she was avoiding the Rosenberg Household issue altogether. The chance of him becoming Lucy's lover was low.
"So, our best option is Zack."
"Zack..."
Diana turned her gaze away when Zack's name came up.
"Is something going on with him?"
Diana seemed evasive for some reason when I asked for an explanation.
"... Zack longs to be an adventurer, so he often skipped school. He's even had to repeat a school year."
"I heard about that."
Zack belonged to Wayne Household, I asked Professor Malcolm about him, they were related it seems. The professor told me that Zack became rebellious since he entered puberty. He wasn't like that before.
"Well, it's just that... even when I thought a backup was needed in case he failed with Jude, I reached out to Zack too."
Erselica cocked her head.
"So why were you obsessed with Jude, don't tell me, you failed with Zack too!!!?"
"Don't call him a failure! I-It's worse than that..."
That only worried me more.
Was it a failure or not, which one?
"What's the deal with this Zack guy?"
Diana gave up and talked about Zack.
"... First of all, I'd like to talk about Romeo first. My older sister met him once last year as Aster National University was having an open fair. She happened to go and met him by chance."
Too many coincidences no doubt.
"I asked her what she thought of her encounter with him? Said that even if he wasn't part of the Rosenberg Household, he still wouldn't stop being hateful. The kind of person who brags to you about his accomplishments and makes fun of you."
I was surprised to hear that.
"For that reason Romeo is ruled out."
Romeo was the son of the Acting Chairman of the Rosenberg Household─ his father was Randolf Ciel Rosenberg, the villain who was supposed to destroy his country at the end of the year.
"As for Zack, I met him last year also by chance. At first I just wanted to find out things about him and what I found out was the reason for desperately bringing my sister and Jude together."
Diana turned her eyes away.
"That boy is manic about adventures. He's in love with what you call, 'a man's romance'."
I understood that meaning, it's what the old ship's navigators said as they set sail and the weather was terrible.
The sea was his mistress or something, was that the reason for setting out in murderous waters.
"That's why I told you not to interfere! There's no one else who can take the role of the guardian other than Jude!"
Her attitude annoyed me.
"If it wasn't for us, right now Lucy would be dead or worse. Besides, I'm sure, if she spends time with Zack or Romeo something might happen, then we'll figure out how to get this thing off me."
I reassured them both as I looked down at my hand.
◇
Remembering that all that happened is actually very upsetting.
"So, what do you say?"
I looked at Erselica who was still lamenting about hearing her boyfriends.
Then I turned to look at Lucy.
"Sure. But, I'm hungry since it got dark. How about we go get something to eat first?"
"Yes!"
Lucy looked very happy when I invited her to eat. Eating with friends is something I always wanted.
I looked at Erselica to ask if she wanted to go, the idiots will go because they are her faithful dogs.
"Erselica, do you want to come with us for lunch?"
I glanced sideways at Lucy to ask if it was okay to invite her to have more people... but her face looked disgruntled. What's more, she turned her eyes away from me and puffed out her cheeks.
They were as big and puffy as her breasts.
Erselica gave me a nasty look as she answered me.
"... No thanks, I don't want to be part of your trial."
Trial? What is this idiot talking about?
Not wanting to go, I now turned to Lucy.
"Looks like it will be the two of us. Oh, that's right, I heard there's a fancy hotel where they serve very finest Aster food, shall we go there?"
Lucy looked embarrassed as she ducked her gaze.
"... I-If you're okay with that."
Is she embarrassed to go to such a fancy place?
As the teacher finished collecting the exams, he left the classroom and then we did.
◇
When we came out, Lucy was called by a friend who was part of Derrick's cruelties. All of us inside were part of his cruelties.
Her friend took her down the hall to talk girl stuff.
I decided to wait for her near the hallway so she wouldn't think I was spying on her, that's where I ran into another of my acquaintances from this country.
Coming towards me, a beautiful girl with wavy yellowish blonde hair showed her upper class upbringing as she walked, her beautiful emerald green eyes staring at me.
This girl was the villainess daughter of the head of Rosenberg Household. Sara Ciel Rosenberg.
But having met her before, I know she's not a bad person.
Sara came up to me and greeted me with a charming smile.
"Good evening, Rudel."
"Good evening, Sara."
"What are you doing at the academy so late?" I asked her very curious since she was not part of the students affected by Derrick.
She placed her hands behind her back and in a very childish way answered me.
"I was bored at home for the vacations."
It was a very spoiled answer no doubt, but that wasn't all.
Her eyes got very bright and her cheeks red.
"Also, I wanted to see you."
A couple of weeks ago, when I went to lunch at the Rosenberg Household, I discovered some very shocking things.
I was similar, if not too identical, to her first love. Which was my cousin that I had never met and also his name was Rudel.
From that day on, every weekend or any free time I had, I would go to the Rosenbergs' territory to chat with her.
Sara is a very conceited girl.
That was not a bad thing. I would go to her house to drink tea or go horseback riding. Among other noble things like sports even.
I never did that in the Kingdom as my family was poor, but here I can afford those luxuries.
I did it mostly for one reason.
That reason was something that has been bothering me for a few days now.
They are truly huge.
My obsession with big breasts has gotten worse.
When Sara was coming, my eyes did not leave her breasts too big for a teenager. They were as big as they were firm.
Her jacket has buttons, but she can't close it because of those barrels on her body.
When she walks, she takes little hops, but being that size, the hop is small because of how heavy they must be.
As for Lucy it is similar. Hers are big and bounce like a basketball.
Lately I can't stop looking at women's breasts for some reason. I'm freaking out, I told Ixion to give me a pill in case I'm freaking out about being a virgin.
"Hey." Sara spoke to me.
"Stop looking at my breasts. Your stare is too intense."
I was startled when she noticed me staring fixedly at her mammary glands.
She moved a little closer to me, and playfully undid one of her buttons.
As she did so, her breasts sagged a little.
That made my eyes bloodshot.
Sara giggled.
"Hahaha, I can't believe you actually feel that much interest in these."
She said as she placed her hands under her breasts.
"They're just fat accumulated here. They don't really add anything."
She was talking to me about how big breasts are useless as she lightly made hers bounce up and down.
"Personally I wish they were small, you don't know how annoying it is to know they grow on you every day and even more so the amount of bras I have to send out for."
After stopping them, she gave me a light swat with them.
That made me flinch.
It was for a second, but I could feel them.
Because of the clothes, I couldn't tell if they were soft or hard, but definitely like holding a ball, they were heavy.
She continued to laugh at me.
"Hahaha, it really is amazing that something like this leaves you so shocked."
She moved closer and closer.
"Hey, do you want to touch them?"
My heart was beating like a locomotive.
My mouth wanted to move to say yes.
"Too~ bad~"
Sara covered her breasts with both hands.
"I won't let you touch them. The only one I can let you touch me is my future husband..."
Suddenly, her cheerful face became a little sad.
Her gaze drifted to the floor.
I think I know the reason.
"Is it official yet?"
Without raising her head, she replied."My father told me yesterday, I am officially Tom's fiancée. This engagement will mark a promising future for both houses."
Even if she was talking about a promising future. Her expression was very pained by it.
"I suppose we shall see little of each other now, eh? It would be odd to be seen with a man who is not your betrothed."
"... Yes, that's why I came."
Sara lifted her face and looked at me.
The wetness in her eyes and the way she looked at me made her look like a little girl.
"I really enjoyed what we spent together. It was very pleasing your presence, you really made me happy to see her face."
Sara kept thinking about her first love, it was obvious, but there were times where she told me she saw me when we talked about our childhoods.
I told her I have fiancées.
She got a little sad and said. "I feel a little jealous, I thought you were single and so, tell my father to name you as my fiancé." She said that as she placed her breasts on the table, to be more specific, on her plate.
Her jokes aside, it really is sad that she is not happy about who her future husband will be.
"I wish you the best for the future. And, truly may you be happy."
"Thank you. Your words fill me with joy. As compensation, how about if I invite you one last time to my house and show you my nicest underwear, how about it?"
She was clearly teasing me, so, I retaliated.
I leaned close to her ear and whispered.
"I would love that, Sara-chan."
Immediately, Sara's face turned red and her eyes were looking at my chest, she hid her face as she coyly said to me.
"... I-It was just a joke... but, i-if you're really interested in seeing her... I think I could make an exception."
Sara was touching her shoulders while hiding her breasts.
Her legs were rubbing together, it seemed my joke went too far.
I held up my hands to say.
"It was a joke, there's no way I would do that with an engaged girl."
The instant he heard me say that, he opened his eyes and then, his face from surprise changed to one of anger.
"You're an idiot and a coward."
She turned around and then left without saying goodbye.
What the hell did I do wrong?
◇◇◇
"... Huh, is this...?"
Lucy was having a conversation with a friend since they wouldn't be seeing each other again during the summer.
She noticed Sara's presence near Rudel. She pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to Lucy.
As she checked what it was, Lucy's face turned tomato red.
"I... I don't think this is..."
"It's a gift."
Lucy was embarrassed, it was because of what she was holding.
A condom.
She knew what it meant to have that in her hands.
Her friend pointed behind her.
Lucy turned and watched Sara chatting happily with Rudel.
During the duel with Derrick, Sara had supported him unconditionally in everything. Lucy didn't know why.
But what she did know was that Sara was a beautiful girl, of high status and the Acting Chairman's daughter.
A girl like that meant a promising future for anyone.
Plus, there was the fact that she had a nice body and bigger breasts than hers.
Lucy knew Rudel was a big-breasted maniac, she didn't mind him looking at her.
That was because Lucy was in love with him.
If the person she loved looked at her with desire, she would know she had a chance, even if he was a dense guy like Rudel.
Lucy returned her gaze to her friend.
"Is it that obvious that I like him?"
"I think only he hasn't noticed. But don't worry, lots of guys without ignorant in what they want. To get my boyfriend I had to give him a lot of hints for him to pick up on."
"That's why I give you this. He forgot it at my house after all, you do live together don't you? You never know when you might get jumped by your man."
Lucy looked embarrassed at her friend's gift.
"It's the summer vacations. I'm sure something will happen between you. Besides, it's best to be cautious. You don't want to leave the academy just because you got careless."
"Yes..."
"Well, in that case, I'll see you. Good luck and hopefully by the time we meet again, you can tell me if you are already─"
Her friend made a comical gesture between Lucy and Rudel as she left.
That only left her more embarrassed.
Lucy looked sheepishly at the small globe in her hands.
"Will something really happen to use this?"
◇◇◇
Lucy was being thrown against a bed.
"Kyah!"
It was a luxury hotel bed.
Rudel pushed her. He was close to Lucy, she had her eyes wet and her cheeks red.
"Rudel, I─"
She couldn't finish what she was going to say as Rudel, violently ripped the buttons off her shirt.
Her pink bra was exposed.
She felt embarrassed to show a man her body.
But, quickly that feeling was overshadowed by another.
"Mmh!"
It was because Rudel grabbed Lucy's chin, and thrust his tongue into her mouth.
Lucy couldn't resist the force with which she was being treated.
She didn't struggle, she just went with the flow and her tongue as Rudel's intertwined for a while.
It was their first kiss. And it was taken in a violent way.
But that didn't matter to her.
Rudel stuck out his tongue, Lucy wanted to follow since hers was out.
Then she realized what she was doing and quickly covered her face.
Rudel spoke to her in a very masculine way.
"That was your first kiss?"
Lucy replied in a low voice.
"... Yes."
"How nice, but not in my case."
Hearing that made Lucy show her face.
She was surprised to hear that.
"In the Kingdom there are many girls who are after me, I am a hero after all. It's only natural that I have many suitors. Even that popularity has reached the ears of the daughter of Rosenberg Household."
Lucy raised her arms and grabbed Rudel by the collar.
"I figured as much. After all, you're the kind of guy every girl would want on her side."
She pulled him closer and closer to her face.
"I will not give you to Sara. I won't let the Rosenberg Household take anything from me ever again."
Then she thrust her tongue inside Rudel.
They stayed like that for a while, they separated.
Lucy pulled out of her pocket the balloon she had.
"L-let's use this."
Rudel took it, then tossed it away.
Lucy wanted to ask. "Why?" But she knew the reason.
"If we don't use this, does that mean you're serious?"
"You've made me feel something no other hasn't. Lucy, I love you. I want to be with you forever."
Hearing that she was loved, Lucy smiled heartily.
Her pupils for some reason turned into hearts as she accepted Rudel's love.
Then.
"Lucy, shall we go to lunch?"
Her fantasy ended.
◇
Once Sara left, I went to Lucy who was alone.
She looked embarrassed when she saw me.
I called her to see if she was ready to go.
There was hardly anyone left at the academy.
She answered me anxiously. "Yes! I am!"
I went out first to see if I could find a cab to transport us to the hotel.
◇◇◇
Lucy felt like her heart was going to skip a beat as she walked to the exit.
She knew they would be going to a hotel for lunch... and possibly something would happen.
"If it really happens... I'm ready."
◇
We arrived at the hotel.
It was a huge building.
On the fourth floor was the restaurant.
Apparently rooms were available from floor five up.
The others were staff area such as the reception and kitchen.
The place was elegant and beautiful, what you would expect from a high class place that only rich nobles would attend.
But what do you know... I'm a noble and rich!
We sat at a table near the window.
We could see part of the city which was illuminated under the moonlight.
It was very beautiful.
I would like to show my fiancées something like this.
Lucy didn't know what to order, everything was so expensive.
I told her to order whatever she wanted, that I paid the financial remuneration Aster gave me.
She made a complicated smile.
For my part, I ordered a very meaty steak and a salad.
Lucy ordered lobster and oysters in cheese sauce.
For a drink, I said to the waiter striking a rich boy pose.
"Give me your most expensive drink."
The waiter looked startled.
"I-I'm very sorry, Mr. Customer, but our most expensive drink is sold out."
I was surprised that there really was that.
"I-In that case, I'd like a carbonated drink or juice."
"Understood. And for the lady?"
"Raspberry juice please."
The waiter picked up the menus and went straight to the kitchen.
◇
"The food was delicious, no doubt the expensive price is deserved."
I wiped my mouth with a napkin as I finished eating.
It was so delicious that I even had to repeat.
I looked at Lucy who was looking out the window with a melancholy face.
"Is something wrong?"
"No."
She said as she denied it, her pigtails swaying.
"It's just..."
She leaned back a little to get comfortable.
"I never thought I could live through the day to have a dinner like this. I really am happy to be able to exist and witness what I thought I'd never see since that day..."
Lucy didn't realize she said something that made me very uneasy.
That day.
The day that marked her destiny according to the game.
I am really very interested to know what happened, I want to know if Mr. Randolf was really responsible for that.
But I can't do that as it would be invading her privacy.
"It's okay, I'm sure you can see days like this any time."
Without turning to look at me, she said."Gosh, you really are very dense. But, it's not that I dislike that side of you."
Wait.
Me, dense? Impossible.
I hate dense characters, those idiots are like mentally retarded.
They ignore what's going on around them.
How the hell can someone that dumb exist?
"Rudel, I─"
Lucy wanted to say something to me, but was interrupted by footsteps approaching our table.
Turning to see who it was, I was a little surprised.
"Good evening."
It was Diana who was accompanied by a boy. He was tall, thin, his hair was turquoise and his eyes were brown. His face gave the feeling of being a gentle and nice guy.
He was her boyfriend, Lugh Eliol Lunor, heir to one of the great noble houses.
Diana looked at me coldly. She probably thought it was because the emblem that appeared on my hand implied that I was trying to make a move on Lucy.
I reassured her.
"We're not doing anything wrong."
"You better."
Her tone was hostile no doubt.
Lucy became angry.
"Diana, don't be rude. We're dating as friends, you shouldn't get mad. And even if it really was a couple's date, it's none of your business."
She clicked her tongue at the word couple.
"Of course it is."
She turned her annoyed gaze to my face.
"I hope you're really not up to anything. You know what that would mean, don't you?"
"I know. Don't worry."
She still looked irritated, but she left.
Lugh apologized to me.
"I'm sorry, a lot she's been feeling a little irritated lately."
He reminded me of those office clerks who apologized when a report was poorly written.
He ran off to find her.
Lucy apologized to me, too.
"I'm sorry."
I told him it was no problem.
But, I don't understand the reason why Diana was like that, I told her I'm harmless, right?
◇◇◇
Lugh caught up to Diana, he was really worried seeing her like this bad.
"Are you okay, Diana?"
"Yes."
However, she was not all right in her heart.
(What should I do? If Jude is impossible, Tom is no good, Lugh is no good either.... There's only him left, but Linus...)
Lugh changed the subject.
"I'm so sorry. I've been flitting around lately and we haven't been able to get together properly."
"You were busy, weren't you?"
"... Yes. In the case of the Herring Household. The Aristocratic Kingdom has to pay for a lot of repairs, but there are many other things to attend to besides that. This incident was caused by Derrick."
Losing to Rudel, they were defeated in defense. The Six Great Nobles who could not recognize him were Derrick's family.
The Herring Household protested, but the other five ignored their complaints.
By contrast, the Herring Household's punishment is considerably lighter when viewed from other countries.
It is the circumstances of a country that does not want to admit being defeated by another country, and a decision to convince the Herring Household not to bother.
Diana also thinks the outcome was a disaster.
Lugh keeps talking with a worried face.
"The problem is Derrick. He lost his emblem. He was abandoned by his fiancée and caused an accident of aggression against his older brother."
Derrick's fiancée offered to break off their engagement because he was no longer blessed with the emblem. The Herring Household also admitted this without blame. The lack of blessing tells how deadly Aster's aristocratic society was.
That's why where Diana is irritated.
(... The only boys who can capture my sister's heart are the hidden characters, Linus and ´He´ ...)
Diana was concerned about the development that the game didn't have.
◇
I returned with Lucy to Erselica's mansion after finishing lunch.
We brought some desserts for everyone since we stopped by a pastry shop earlier.
The idiots and Erselica went shopping for food, it was a lot.
It just meant that they really have spent a lot.
And that means less money for Erselica.
Really, how pitiful it is.
After placing the desserts on the table, I noticed how she stared like a hungry dog at the post.
Lucy proceeded to give her hers.
She and Erselica have undoubtedly become closer.
But I think part of that is because she actually takes advantage of her kindness.
Erselica is a horrible woman, so something like that was normal for her.
I went outside to get some air.
Ixion stopped becoming invisible and floated on my right shoulder as I sat on a chair in the garden.
The night sky was beautiful.
I wished I could see this with them.
"Master, I brought new information."
"What is it about?"
"About the current situation between you and the Aster nobles."
"It seems they want to... Master, something important came up."
"What happened?"
Ixion stopped his explanation and notified me of some shocking information.
"An airship carrying Alisa and Airi is quickly approaching from the Kingdom to here. Bell is also on board. It appears to be an emergency."
"Emergency!!! Did something happen in the Kingdom?"
For those two to come to Aster in such a hurry, did a major incident happen? Damn.
Ixion's main body, the space airship was currently near here, hovering near Aster. That's why I couldn't receive news from the Kingdom in real time.
"When are they going to arrive?"
"They will arrive at the port tomorrow morning."
"H-Has something happened?"
"I don't know yet. There was no report from Bell."
What happened in the kingdom at this time?
My dear readers, now it's time for volume 5 of Rudel's story, unlike Razel, get ready to see how irritable and interesting a real "drama" and "romantic comedy" is and how obnoxious the dense protagonists are!!!
This happened before the summer vacations.
A great commotion occurred in Aster Aristocratic Kingdom. During that time there was a period when the people of the Altfode Kingdom did not understand the situation there because of the great distance between the two countries.
Panic covered the royal palace of Altfode.
Rudel's two fiancées were worried about him and others about the group that studied abroad where they were.
Rudel's future wife, a duke's daughter, Alisa─ Alicelotte von Bismarck was a strong-willed girl.
She requested permission to go to see her fiancé during the summer vacation.
But there were problems because of Derrick's case.
The palace denied her that permission.
But Alisa was a girl who would not be intimidated by others.
She told them by a letter.
"We will go to the Aristocratic Kingdom whether you want to or not."
The whole palace was startled when the duke's daughter threatened them.
That letter clearly rejected the order to stay at home.
Therefore, the royal palace had no choice but to grant them permission to go under the post of ambassadors.
A fleet of escorts, for them and the sent diplomats were approaching Aster.
The flagship of those aircraft was Aurora─ the Schwert second-class battleship.
Inside one of the rooms, attended by servants from Bismarck Household, was Alisa.
She was a beautiful girl with long golden blonde hair as golden as the sun. It was pulled back in a ponytail which until recently had been small, but was beginning to grow, now reaching her shoulders. Behind her ears she had a braid in the shape of a bow that reached the other end.
Her eyes were red like a rabbit.
She was sitting and sulking as she drank her cup of tea.
Next to her was Rudel's other fiancée, a girl who is both her best friend and her sister in name.
Irisdina─ Airi, a light blonde haired commoner girl with a bob cut style that went down to her neck.
Her beautiful crystal blue eyes reflected her sweet and pleasant personality.
But right now that sweetness was bitter.
Airi as well as Alisa, were making a face of discomfort.
They used their vacation to come see their fiancé, Rudel, who had not contacted them for several weeks.
Alisa and Airi were characters in the game, their roles were different. Alisa was the cruel villainess who annoyed the innocent commoner. While Airi was the future saint, an important existence for the religion of the Kingdom.
Alisa spoke to Airi.
Her arms were crossed under her large breasts. The index finger of her right hand kept tapping her own arm in irritation.
"When will the blissful inspection of them begin? They've kept us waiting for over an hour, don't you think it's irritating that we can't even move even though Aster is right before our eyes like this?"
Airi nodded and looked out the window.
"They're just getting closer, but it doesn't look like they were going to take any other action. Really, what could they be thinking?"
Aurora was the same type of airship as Schwert.
It had a distinctive horn on its bow.
The only difference it had with Schwert was only the color of the ship.
Its beautiful white deck looked dazzling due to the illumination of the sunlight.
Ixion was the one who created the design, but Bellion─ Bell, was the one who built the second ship without permission.
Like Ixion, its body was round and spherical about the size of a softball. Her color unlike her superior was white in color like Aurora and her one eye was bright green.
It was not only that, her personality was also really different from Ixion.
The electronic voice she used to speak also sounded feminine.
"I wonder if it's like that, maybe they are admiring Aurora's beauty?"
Alisa stood up from her chair at Bell's assumption. She was looking out the window with a cold stare.
"They're really relaxing if that's the case. Bell, connect me with the guards immediately. Tell them we'll force our way forward if they make us wait any longer than this."
"Oh, how extreme. Aren't you in too much of a hurry just because you want to meet with the Master quickly?"
Alisa smiled coldly.
"It's because I'm so bothered by Rudel's situation in Aster that I can't help it. That thing you picked up, 'message log', right? If there's something like 'Now you're cheating on them', then even I won't be able to keep my cool."
The two of them came to Aster on this summer vacation because they suspected that Rudel was cheating on them.
But these two had a different thought regarding this.
Although Alisa was angry, she could forgive Rudel.
"Good heavens, there's a chain order even if he wants to flirt around. What is he thinking doing as he pleases while leaving us behind?"
Alisa was born in a house of nobles─ a house of a duke. She knew perfectly well what the behavior of an upper-class lady was like when her partner was looking for mistresses.
To make her mental and physical state worse, she knew that Rudel was a man who liked to show off. He would always look for an opportunity to show off in front of women.
She didn't mind if he wanted to show off in front of them, but this desire to show off his hero accomplishments to other women irritated her a little.
Women would come like flies after him. After his fame and his technology; after the lost item in his possession.
She, as his future wife, wanted to avoid those dangers.
But with Airi it was different.
"I can't believe Rudel-san would do something like deceive us. I mean, he didn't even touch us! I knew he'd be after women even engaged, but isn't this too fast?"
Alisa looked at Airi with a worried expression.
"We know him better than anyone, we know how he feels about the Queen even if he tries to deny it, we didn't check that letter he sent her because it was an urgent matter, but if it wasn't, I would have snooped just to find out what kind of obscenities he was saying to Lecia-sama."
"B-But! It's really terrible of him to do that when he only groped us in our week together! I was ready for it every day, but he was just playing with us! I would be really offended that he just wanted to fiddle around."
They were born and raised in two different environments, their thinking differed as well.
Bell interrupted the two's conversation.
"Oh? The border guard is escaping."
Alisa and Airi tilted their heads when they heard that.
"What happened to the inspection?"
"It looks like it's okay for us to pass. It's really strange..."
◇◇◇
In the sky above Aster, an airship was turning around, the soldiers were confused.
"D-Don't fuck with me! Why is there another airship just like that one!"
"Captain, please calm down!"
The captain of the guard, who was in a hurry on the bridge, was confused when he noticed that the aircraft he planned to inspect was the same type as Schwert.
He used to be an admiral, but was demoted for allowing the Herring Household's territory to be razed on his watch.
Schwert─ a nightmare airship that ravaged part of Aster territory and defeated them in the impenetrable defense.
"I hadn't heard that there was another airship of the same archetype."
"It's simply similar in form! It's unthinkable that there are many such airships."
The captain is angered by the words of his subordinates.
"... If you have one, it wouldn't be strange to have a second! Is it simply similar? There are many similar aircraft on the side! And they ... what if they mass-produced it?"
The same type as Schwert, which crushed the pride of the Aristocratic Kingdom.
And, there are many aircraft with similar shapes.
The captain felt like he was living a nightmare.
"... Inspection is cancelled."
"Captain, then the Kingdom will underestimate us!"
"Then you do it! I absolutely won't do it!! I absolutely refuse!"
The captain's fear of Schwert's new model frightened him, he didn't want to get involved with that ship again.
There was no point in resisting.
Pride as a sailor in a presumptuous kingdom was sunk. But pride as a man was not. The captain would rather bite his lips than fight once more against that horned monster.
He was a coward.
His subordinates were ashore at the time, so they do not know Schwert's strength.
They have heard the explanation, but have not seen it with their own eyes.
Then, one of the subordinates looking at Aurora with binoculars shouted.
"Captain! They, they, have started to move!"
The captain was blue in the face, blew bubbles and fainted.
◇◇◇
The girls watched out the window as Aster's airships surrounded them and avoided contact with them.
"Now we can get into Aster without any trouble and find out once and for all if he really is being unfaithful to us."
Bell became concerned as he saw Airi's angry face.
"Are you really sure you didn't notify the Master that you were coming? I'm sure, if you had notified him earlier, it would be less of a problem for Ixion."
Alisa replied to Bell without changing her furtive look.
"Ixion will detect us regardless of whether or not we approach Aster, right? If we inform them of our arrival beforehand, it will give them more time to erase the evidence. It will be better if we have Rudel be the one to contact us, so we won't have to march to his home either."
Alisa's concern wasn't just about her boyfriend's possible deception. It also bothered her whether Rudel was just flirting or was seriously cheating on them, but more than that, she wanted to know who he was cheating with.
It would be unsafe if the woman was someone problematic.
She couldn't allow it if it was an evil woman who was manipulating him.
If that were really the case, she intended to cut off their relationship at any cost.
But, the worst case scenario would be if the woman was someone in authority.
It would be extremely problematic for the kingdom if Rudel had a relationship with an Aster noblewoman.
Still, it would be better if the woman was a noblewoman with low rank.
But it would be a big problem if the woman had a high status.
"Rudel, don't you dare to deceive us."
Cheating was unforgivable.
He was also the Hero of the Kingdom... even if he was deceiving them, with his status he had to be careful who he was doing it with.
Alisa was also concerned with a more dangerous possibility.
"I hope he's not cheating on us with Erselica."
The woman who trapped many young nobles, including Crown Prince Liam─ Erselica, the woman who pretended to be a saint and caused chaos in the Kingdom during the war.
Such an existence was right next to Rudel.
Alisa's mind was really frightened by that possibility. That her boyfriend would also enter the clutches of a woman who almost destroyed her family and Rudel himself.
Airi watched Alisa angrily.
She stepped outside to get some air.
Her hands rested on the railing, then she raised her head at a shadow passing over her.
It was the main body of Ixion, Schwartz. A gigantic black airship which was deflecting the light to go unnoticed.
Looking up at the sky, Airi's angry eyes changed to melancholic ones.
She muttered as she saw that airship that brought back memories of Brunhilde. An airship in which they spent joyful as well as sad moments and which went down in the war.
"Rudel-san... please don't betray us."
◇
I came to the port of Aster after buying some bouquets of flowers. Red and blue roses like their eyes.
I watched as the merchants and port staff gazed in amazement at the airships that anchored from the Kingdom.
All contradictory to the military and Aster officials who were nervous.
Everyone's eyes were focused on a single airship. The others were escorts and Kingdom staff descended from them.
That airship was similar to Schwert, which was red in color and gray in hull. It had a silver horn on the bow.
While this ship was totally pure white, a beautiful color that forged it into something celestial.
It also possessed a horn, but the difference between Schwert and this ship was the horn. Schwert looked like a narwhal with his, while the beautiful white battleship with its horn made it look like a unicorn.
It was very beautiful and feminine.
"Will there be any difference besides the color? What do you say Ixion─"
I looked at Ixion who was hovering on my right shoulder. He was analyzing this ship, he spat his name with revulsion as I watched him shiver.
Apparently it's called Aurora, a very pretty name as it represents its own pure color.
"Why are you doing whatever the hell you want without my permission, Bell!"
Is he angry, why?
"Huh, didn't you do it?"
"No and it's not just that! She did things she shouldn't have with the spare parts I had for Schwert!"
He really was angry about that, but was it really such a big deal that she touched his stuff without permission?
But, looking at the beautiful white aircraft, I didn't care.
"Does it really matter? I mean, as long as it's useful and can protect them, I don't care if they use it."
"It's not just that, she did things she shouldn't have. She modified her structure, the blueprints and took without my permission 'it'... if you'll excuse me, I'll go and lecture that girl very severely."
Ixion said that and flew away. But I'm surprised he treats Bell as a girl despite saying they have no gender.
I waved goodbye like a child waving his hand to a lion at the zoo.
A ramp descended from Aurora and the door opened to the outside.
I immediately ran to greet them.
It's been a long time since I've seen my girlfriends.
How are they doing?
Will they be happy to see me?
Will their breasts have grown bigger in my absence?
Which one of them will jump on me for a reunion kiss? Airi is the most likely, but Alisa is no slouch for the proud one she is.
A maid bringing down Alisa's things showed me where they were.
I went straight to that room and opened it.
"Girls, I'm so happy to see you again!"
I was greeted by my lovely girlfriends and their smiling smiles?
Huh?
They were certainly smiling.
But how to explain it?
For some reason their smiles... are scary.
Their faces show that they are happy to see me, but a strange shadow is reflected in them.
... Are they upset? Did I do something wrong?
Don't tell me!
Airi approached the point where our faces could feel each other's breath.
She smelled very nice, I could tell they used expensive perfume for when I saw them again, but her expression didn't reflect that charm.
"It's good to see you again, Rudel-san."
Airi greeted me with a smile, but then her expression immediately faded.
"Do you have something to tell us?"
"Something to tell you?"
"You know, a secret or something you're hiding."
There are so many things I have to tell them yet, that I haven't done, like that I am a reincarnated and that I still dream of seeing them in their yuri end.
Looking for help, I turned my gaze to Alisa.
She was smiling at me.
"I'm relieved to see you so cheerful. No, maybe you're too cheerful? Now, Rudel... I'm going to make you tell us everything."
Dangerous times like this is where I would need my trusty partner, but he went in to get Bell so I don't think he'll be back for a while.
I was asking him for help inside my heart.
Come on.
Get over here right now!
When are you going to help me if not now?
I'm begging you, save me Ixion!
I was trying to use the power of our hearts, but we were a lousy combination of master and servant.
I was a loving master and he was a despicable bastard who refused to follow my orders.
A master and servant whose hearts could not sense when the other was in danger was irrefutable evidence that something was wrong. Evidently it was not my fault but it was his.
Come back, you floating scrap.
The voice from my heart did not reach his.
Airi grabbed my arm.
Even though I would be able to shake her hands off if I wanted to, I felt as if my arm was gripped by a very strong mental power.
Also, her breasts were buried in my arm and I wouldn't want to pull it out.
"Rudel-san, let's go this instant to your house."
Alisa walked over and grabbed my other arm. Her breasts were also burying my arm.
She whispered in my ear. "We have postponed our duties at the academy because we wished to see our boyfriend. Don't think we'll let you go just like that."
What the hell did I do to make them so mad at me?!
Wait a minute...
Is it because I had fun humiliating the great nobles?
Mr. Randolf said he would take care of the problems so the Kingdom shouldn't be scared of anything.
Or. Why did I force Liam to wash the toilets and sometimes beat him up?
I'm so sorry, but he's an idiot!
No... don't tell me...
Did you find out that the letter I wrote to Leonis and the Queen contained personal stuff!
Like, "Miserable trash King" or, "Hahaha, your time has come for you to work something other than your lower half."
While to Queen Lecia I wrote a love letter containing all my worldly desires for her and her heavenly breasts.
But... it's not my fault!
A woman like her deserves to be idolized as a goddess. I could spend hours waxing poetic about how beautiful and perfect she is from head to toe.
Is it a crime to tell a married woman that she's more beautiful when she's married?
No. I don't think they found out, if they did, I'd be covered in blood on the floor.
And if... did they find out about Ellen?
I don't think she told them about how we went shopping in different stores and how I bought several dresses for her.
It wasn't my fault!
She used her breasts and pressed them against my back. A healthy young virgin can't fight against that flesh.
No, she swore she wouldn't tell... so, that must be it.
Yes, that must be it.
They must have found out somehow that I was giving Erselica an allowance.
But, Erselica is a very pitiful woman.
She's like a puppy in the rain, only this puppy is an idiot who brought it on herself. I can't leave a stupid, innocent animal like that.
Alisa and Airi hated her since she humiliated them last year, it's impossible for them to feel pity or any non-hostile feelings against Erselica.
Damn, there are so many things that could be the cause of her discomfort, but I don't know what exactly it is?
"Rudel-san, get ready to receive your punishment as a bad boy."
"That's right, even I, who am sympathetic to the way you act. I'll get really angry if our suspicions are true. You won't get away with this."
They both dragged me outside to go home.
Seriously, what was it that upset them so much?
◇◇◇
There was a problem at Erselica's mansion.
Summer vacation came and she had to take care of her boyfriends.
She looked like a young single mother.
Allen and Cana were in the laundry so Erselica was preparing the food.
She was going to do everything alone since Rudel left early in the morning to pick up his girlfriends.
Erselica was afraid of them, she didn't want to see them, she would just clean the house a bit and leave lunch ready for them.
She was going to do it so Rudel would praise her and give her money.
The five boys who live here, eat like starving cattle.
"Because there's no food at all!"
She would check the shelves, refrigerator and even the bags from the market she brought in the morning.
Everything was gone.
Then, she found a note stuck in a cookie jar that couldn't be saved.
As she read it, her skin color changed to a pale one.
◇◇◇
A few hours before Rudel and Erselica left.
Liam summoned the other members of Erselica's reverse harem to an important meeting in the living room.
Allen and Cana were still in the mansion, reluctantly attending them.
"For what reason did you summon us, Your Highness?"
Frey asked very curious as to why they were all present.
He was seated near him, his hair was pulled back in a ponytail and well dressed as always.
Chlust was in sportswear stretching his legs.
Warren had a book in his hands and Clovis was devouring cookies from a jar.
Liam looked at them all.
It was the first time in his life where he was so serious about something.
"Guys, we've got problems. Serious ones."
"Trouble? Is it about the Kingdom?"
"It's worse than that. Not even a war alert or an island sinking compares to it."
The other four became serious on hearing such news, swallowed saliva, and it was Warren who asked the vital question.
"What's that problem then?"
Liam opened his mouth, and from it...
"It's about Bradford."
Words only an idiot like him would say.
"We must do something about how close he is to Erselica!"
The others opened their mouths in panic at what they heard.
"C-Certainly, the count has grown very close to her. They almost always go shopping together at the market..."
Frey was sweating as he remembered several things.
He wasn't the only one, the other three were also sweating cold.
"The other time he brought her a very expensive dessert and they ate it together."
"I remember a few days ago they went out to buy furniture and didn't come back until late at night."
"She hugged him when he gave her a brown envelope once!"
Fear flashed across their faces.
Liam nodded and told them.
"Guys, you have to remember that, since what happened at home, Bradford and Erselica have become close, and after the Derrick incident, it got worse because we all live together now."
"I have no problem with him being here. Unlike in the past, I don't dislike him that much anymore."
Frey replied to Liam, followed by Chlust.
"The count himself unlike his past self is different. Now we can have a chat with him without him being aggressive."
"It's true. Bradford really grows on you when you don't try to hate him."
Warren and Clovis didn't know Rudel well enough to understand him, but they recognized that Rudel is someone different than when they first met him.
They could have conversations with him without coming to blows or insults.
Liam stood up and clenched his fist tightly.
"For that reason I have a proposition for everyone! It's at the same time a bet."
"...!?"
The four of them watched him with interest, Liam said.
"Since his girlfriends will come today, it means that they will be together all this time and Erselica will be alone with us. I propose to have a contest."
"Contest? What exactly?"
Liam smiled at Warren and the others.
"Bradford is the one who was giving us money, but we don't possess wealth after denying our families. I propose we get a job and at the end of the month, let's show Erselica the best gift of all."
Everyone opened their mouths in surprise and amazement.
"Sounds good to me. I wish to buy Erselica something unique too. Besides, using our vacation to tease her about our love is a good way to make our relationship stronger. But, Your Highness, what's the bet?"
"Simple, Frey..."
"Whoever gets the best gift for Erselica will be the one to occupy everyone's time for a month."
The eyes of the four of them were alight with flames.
They were all friends and allies, they loved the same woman. Because of that, they were rivals and didn't want to lose to each other.
They all laughed in a sinister way and stood up.
They raised their hand and in unison said.
"The one who will win Erselica's heart, it will be me!"
And so the five decided to leave the mansion to show their resolve. They shouldn't have to do it, nor did they need to. They thought it was a very cool thing to show their resolve.
They looted the fridge and the money in the house for their daily expenses until the end of the month.
◇◇◇
Erselica was in a cold sweat.
After finishing reading the letter left by the five, she ran to her room straight to the secret drawer where she kept the money.
After opening it, she screamed.
There was nothing in it.
It was empty, even a butterfly came out of the drawer as Erselica collapsed on the floor crying.
Her tears were coming down like waterfalls.
"Stupid idiooooooooooooooots! They took all the food and money! They're such... big, big idiooooooooooooots!"
Erselica fell to her knees making a huge thump. Footsteps were rapidly approaching.
"Erselica-chan, did something happen!!!?"
It was Lucy.
Quickly Erselica looked up and screamed inwardly.
(Uuwaaah! What's Lucy still doing here? She said she was going home early today to visit Diana!)
Erselica didn't want Lucy to be present today. Since, Rudel went to the port to pick up Alisa and Airi, his girlfriends.
She knew about Lucy's feelings for Rudel. But Rudel himself didn't know.
That was because it was so dense.
He was so dense, they had to forcibly engage him.
Lucy held out her hand to Erselica. She took it.
As she stood up, she asked her.
"W-Why haven't you returned home yet?"
"Err... that's because of... this child."
"Yes! I wanted to give this little guy some sunshine!"
Lucy had under her arm a clear jar. In that jar was the sacred tree sapling.
It was an important item at this stage of the game.
It was what marked the birth of the future priestess and her mate, the guardian.
Lucy looked at the sapling with a loving gaze. She looked like a mother looking at her child.
Erselica knew that look spelled trouble.
Rudel gave Lucy the sapling because he didn't want to keep it, it was a very selfless act on his part. Time passed and Lucy, she considered that sapling in the jar to be very important to her.
She loved Rudel, therefore, the sapling in her care represented a token of her "love".
For that reason, Erselica did not want to see Lucy sad when she learned Rudel's sentimental truth.
"I-I understand. But you know, wouldn't it be troublesome for your sister if you didn't come back already? She must be wanting to spend time with you."
Lucy looked at Erselica and her eyes became a little sad as she averted her gaze.
"I know, but... I just wanted to be here a little longer."
Erselica was thinking of what to say to quickly get Lucy out of the mansion.
"Lucy, what if─!"
Being about to say something, Erselica was silenced due to a mysterious green glow.
Both of them, turned their gaze quickly to that greenish glow.
Their eyes widened in surprise.
On the back of Lucy's right hand, a light manifested, it was the same light that emanated from the sapling.
The light took shape and formed an emblem.
The Emblem of the Priestess.
Upon seeing it, Erselica screamed in panic inside.
(Uwaah! Why is the Priestess Emblem appearing on Lucy right now!!!? Wait, Lucy doesn't know that my brother has the Guardian's Emblem in his hand! That means that─!))
Her gaze focused on Lucy.
She had her eyes wide with surprise, but within seconds the glare was gone. An affectionate look showed, her cheeks blushed as well.
Lucy looked at the back of her hand fondly, as if she had been given the best news in the world.
She didn't realize she mumbled in front of Erselica unintentionally.
"So, this is the emblem. If he, if Rudel had the Guardian's Emblem, our love can be true."
Hearing that just made Erselica tremble like a hamster.
(Uwaah! This is bad! Really bad! If Lucy became the priestess, but my brother is the guardian... she doesn't know about those two either. Stupid brother, you're causing big trouble because of your cosmic density!)
She was thinking of what to say to hide it.
"Everyone, I'm back~"
But that died quickly.
Rudel had arrived.
Hearing his voice, Lucy quickly turned around to leave.
Erselica desperately grabbed the sleeve of her sweater.
"Lucy, wait, there's something I need─!"
But Lucy paid her no heed.
She abruptly ran out of the room.
Erselica fell to the floor, hitting her chin on the carpet.
She was crying.
"Guuh! I don't care what happens now, you, stupid dense brotheeeeeeeeeeer!"
◇◇◇
Lucy was running from Erselica's room into the long hallway.
A cheek-to-cheek smile was running across her face.
For the first time in her life, her heart was full of flowers and butterflies.
It was love.
True love.
In the old Vermillion Household, there was a tale, that tale spread throughout Aster.
The tale said that, one day, the hearts of the chosen lovers, will make them the priestess and the guardian.
For, as long as there is love, they will be able to conquer all.
Lucy always thought it was a children's story.
But, she also thought it would be nice if something like that was real.
She was always a girl who believed that "despite living in a world where there was magical power," it made no sense for something as fictional as love to be real.
Society functioned on political marriages.
Something like love was unreal.
She still remembered her grandmother telling her that she forced herself to love her husband, quite the opposite of her mother.
She fell in love with a commoner. But that happiness came at a cost.
Randolf, the current head of Rosenberg Household, was her mother's fiancé.
She left him and for that she took her revenge.
That's what Lucy remembers from the day they were taken from their home while their other relatives and parents lay in the mansion burning.
That thought of living in tranquility and fear of being discovered, was gradually erased when one day, he appeared.
Rudel, the mysterious and frivolous foreign student.
Rudel came from the Kingdom, a third-rate country. Branded by many countries as a black mark in business.
That boy, the same age as her, was very rude, showed a trait of superiority in front of others, looked obscenely at the bust of voluptuous women, but, above all, disrespected authority.
Such a person was bad company.
But at the same time, that boy was what she was always looking for.
Whenever he said something, he followed through.
If she was in danger, he would run to her rescue.
He was a very reliable existence.
He even stood up to the great nobles and ended up winning.
For Lucy, despite knowing him for months.
Rudel was a reliable existence.
One, of which she wanted to be by his side.
Lucy reached the stairs, coming down quickly, making her ponytails and breasts jump with joy as her face.
(Please! Little sapling, just this once. I want you to make my wish come true).
(If the mark appeared on him... it means that Rudel and I are─)
When she reached the first floor, she went around to meet him.
"Rudel, look─!"
But in doing so, he found an unpleasant surprise.
"Geez, you should have told us that as soon as we arrived and not on the way."
Rudel had arrived with two girls at his side.
One of them, on the left side, was a girl with an elegant appearance like her dress. She was beautiful, more so than Sara, she entwined her arms with him, their hands were clasped with each other very tightly.
Despite she was scolding him, that scolding was a very affectionate one like her gaze.
While the girl on the other end.
"It's true, Rudel-san! We were really worried about you, gosh!"
She was puffing out her cheeks like a balloon. She was another beautiful girl, but unlike the serious girl, this girl had a much softer aura, she was behaving in a very spoiled and pampered manner.
Her arms went completely around Rudel's arm.
While he...
"I'm so sorry girls, we were in trouble here and I forgot to write to you. I promise it won't happen again."
(... Huh?)
Seeing him surrounded by two beautiful, unknown girls, Lucy was petrified.
Rudel's face.
(... Why?)
It was what scared Lucy the most.
He was smiling, it was a totally different smile from the one he normally made.
This smile was affectionate, the one he was showing her was a gentle smile, but this smile showed his feelings.
Then, his eyes focused on the girls' hands.
Their ring fingers, rather.
There were two silver rings with a heart-shaped diamond on them.
A memory from weeks ago came to Lucy's mind.
One day when she was taking a walk in Schwert, she noticed Rudel with a ring just like it.
When she went over to ask him what it was.
He told her.
"In my birthplace, this is called an engagement ring. It's a way of showing your girl that you want something serious with her."
Lucy was embarrassed and apologized, she thought that ring was going to be for her hand.
She didn't ask about it again as she expected him to come and ask her one day.
But, what she saw just now... it was horrible enough to tear her apart.
Lucy's heart shattered, she could feel a dagger slowly and painfully piercing her.
Her face was beginning to disfigure from the pain as tears wanted to flow down.
(... I see, so all this time... the only one who was living a fantasy was me...)
As her mouth opened and closed, Alisa noticed her presence.
Then Airi and Rudel, he spoke to her in a way, that only tore her apart more.
"Hey Lucy, are you still here, aren't you going home today?"
(... He doesn't even care if they see me...)
Still having the stab in her heart, Lucy forced herself to smile.
She spoke to them in her usual friendly tone while inwardly feeling ashamed.
"I was just taking this little guy out to get some sun."
She approached with her eyes closed towards them, she closed them because they started to turn red and she didn't want them to see her.
Rudel, in a polite tone said to her.
"Lucy, let me introduce you to my fiancées."
Lucy's fist clenched so tightly, she began to gather magical power.
"I'm Alisa, nice to meet you. I heard you had trouble before with a boy, you were very brave during it."
Alisa was smiling at her in a very calm way. But Airi, she was looking at Lucy with a strange expression, her blue irises were black for a moment, but then they returned to their usual blue color.
"Nice to meet you, Lucy-san, I'm Airi, one of Rudel-san's girlfriends!"
Airi's tone was gentle, but the way she expressed that she was one of his women made her feel very miserable inside.
Deep down, she could feel a dark feeling growing, but she still forced herself to smile.
"Geez, Rudel-kun, why didn't you tell me you had cute fiancées? They'll think there's something weird having a girl living with you."
She approached Rudel, and in a very brusque, but gentle manner.
She handed him the sapling.
Rudel's stomach was hit with as much force as Lucy could bear.
"Now that there's nothing left to do, I'm leaving, goodbye~"
Lucy waved goodbye as she walked out with a big smile on her face.
As she carried several steps outside the mansion.
"... Aah..."
"... Aaah. Aaaaah..."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Lucy burst into tears as if she were a baby again.
She ran.
She ran so hard, so that the pain in her heart, the pain of her first love, would be erased.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"YOU BIG STUPID ASSHOLE!"
"I HATE YOU!"
"I HATE YOU SO MUCH, RUDEEEEL!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Lucy's legs ran so fast, she unknowingly ran all the way home.
Diana was there, ignored her, and ran to her room.
Diana knocked on the door to find out what was wrong.
But, there was no answer.
"Sister? Something happened! Sister, answer me!"
Lucy was crying buried in her sheets.
Rudel's face kept popping into her mind.
Now, the game could go on as it was meant to go on.
We begin the "drama" of this volume, also the parody on how irritating romantic comedies are.
Link to the illustration you want to see and didn't know: https://mega.nz/file/n1BSTBqB#zrP8OcjJf12eDHUP0QVbJTF65fKapDPhwxrikKuQAAM
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