The advanced class classroom.
The first-years had gathered around the seat of the person who was the biggest topic among this year's new students—the princess.
"Lady Erika, I'm from the Renoir Viscount house—"
"I'm from a count's house—"
"I-I'm the heir of a baron's house—"
Students were pitching themselves to Erika, who normally didn't appear in public much.
The biggest reason for this was the fact that Leon and Erika were engaged.
Erika alone was already quite popular, but on top of that came the man called the kingdom's strongest military power.
Many students were desperate to sell themselves to her.
The only two sitting alone together inside the classroom were Mia and Finn.
"The princess sure is popular, isn't she."
Even from far away, it was obvious she was a very beautiful princess.
Mia, being a girl too, looked up to Erika.
But Finn seemed even more on edge than usual.
"—Yeah. But there are way too many noble kids trying to pitch themselves to her."
Sitting apart from everyone else, besides themselves, was a single boy staring at Erika and the others with a complicated look on his face.
The chubby boy was sitting there looking lonely.
"Who's that?"
Finn took an interest in the boy keeping his distance alone, but he didn't seem to know who he was.
Mia let her gaze wander around the classroom.
(So I'll be studying here from today.)
While Mia was getting excited, Finn looked rather frantic.
"This is strange. The prince should be showing up around now."
Mia informed the worried Finn.
"Sir Knight, I heard the prince was sent to the disciplinary room."
"R-really?! Where did you hear that?"
When Finn pressed her—because he hadn't known—Mia couldn't say where she had heard it.
"U-um, well—on the way to the classroom."
A lie.
She had actually heard it in the girls' bathroom.
"I've been listening to the conversations around me for information too, but I never heard anything like that. But if that prince isn't going to show up, this becomes a pain."
Watching Finn be even more wary of his surroundings than usual, Mia just wished he would calm down.
◇
(Damn it! The prince getting sent straight to the disciplinary room? That's beyond unexpected!)
The reason Finn was panicking was the encounter event with a certain prince scheduled to happen after the entrance ceremony.
The encounter with the arrogant-type Jake was supposed to happen in the classroom.
And on top of that, it was supposed to involve the spiteful Erika—and her fiancé, the heir of a marquis house.
On the surface it would just be a greeting, but his way of speaking would be barbed.
Jake was supposed to appear there, but the problem was he wasn't even in the classroom to begin with.
(In that case, should I take Mia out of the classroom? No, but homeroom is about to start. Skipping class right off the bat would be bad, and Mia wouldn't go for it.)
He thought through various options, but there had been several strange things going on for a while now.
First, there were too many people around Erika.
At this rate, they couldn't approach her.
Next, her fiancé, [Eliya Rapha Frazer], was nowhere to be seen.
(Erika and Eliya—why'd they have to make the names so similar?)
Finn assumed the creators had just been lazy and made the names alike.
However, Eliya's appearance was completely different from Erika's.
An ugly, fat boy—that was Eliya.
And yet, he was nowhere to be found.
With his conspicuous appearance, he should have been impossible to miss—and yet, he was nowhere in sight.
(There are way too many unexpected things happening at once. I don't know how to deal with it all!)
Just as Finn felt like clutching his head—a single girl entered the classroom.
She was huffing and puffing in anger.
"Seriously?! After all my hopes were up, what's with 'the bro is better'?!"
Trying to calm Finley down was Oscar, who had a stern-looking face.
"Miss Finley, I'm sorry. I never imagined that His Highness would want a boy."
"—Lord Oscar, do you realize your own mistake?"
"M-mistake? Did I do something wrong?"
Saying some kind of incomprehensible things, the two of them sat down at their seats.
(What is this? Wait, is that tall guy Oscar? Why is he suddenly getting along with a girl who isn't Mia?)
Finn took a deep breath.
(Calm down. This isn't the game. Even if unexpected things happen, as long as I deal with them, there won't be a problem. Besides, the capture targets aren't just Jake and Oscar.)
Aside from the boys who were capture targets, there was Oscar besides Jake.
There should be one more capture target boy among their classmates.
Plus, one among the upperclassmen.
And next year, a younger boy would enroll as an underclassman.
(As long as she hooks up with one of those five, there won't be a problem. I just hope at least one of them is a man I can accept as Mia's partner.)
As he was thinking it over, the teacher entered the classroom.
◇
The camera I had installed in the first-years' classroom had been broken.
"—That bastard, he actually did it."
Now I couldn't watch over Erika!
Just as I was fuming over this, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Mr. Leon, it's the middle of homeroom."
Reprimanded by Livia, who was sitting next to me, I straightened my posture and looked at the blackboard.
The teacher was talking about various things regarding the future.
"As the most senior students, you must serve as examples for the underclassmen. In particular, I want the students who represent their class to be especially mindful."
Since she kept glancing my way, I looked at Angie, who was sitting on the opposite side from Livia.
"Angie, you've got it tough too, huh."
"It's not me. Leon, it's you she's talking about."
"Huh? Why?"
"—You're not an heir, you're a genuine marquis. Even though you're still a student, your position is the real deal. Naturally, you're treated as higher-ranking than me."
When I turned my gaze toward Julius and the others sitting a little ways away, Angie shook her head.
"Don't bother. From the kingdom's perspective, Prince Julius as he is now doesn't have anywhere near your value."
Though Angie said such things about Julius, he was enjoying himself surrounding Marie with the other idiots.
"I want to go eat grilled skewers today."
"Julius, weren't you doing the food stall tour yesterday too?"
"Today I plan to hit different stalls. Marie, want to come?"
"You'll get sick of grilled skewers every day, you know."
"Will I? I don't get sick of them. The flavors differ from shop to shop, so even daily is no problem."
He had become possessed by grilled skewers, turning into a pitiful prince whose snack purchases were all grilled skewers.
The future of the Holfart Kingdom is bleak.
After all, Julius can no longer become king.
And the candidate for crown prince, Jake, is an embarrassing guy.
This country is done for.
Well, for Erika's sake, I'll just have to support it from the shadows.
Yes, for Erika's sake.
For the sake of Erika, who saw my parents through their final moments, I've decided to do everything I can.
I listened to the teacher's explanation.
"Third-years must decide your future paths. Please make good use of your remaining year."
To begin with, there are no universities, so third-years don't have entrance exams.
Though I guess instead of exams, there's job hunting.
And even that gets decided quickly if you have connections.
"What should I do?"
When I was seriously wracking my brain over this, Livia had a slightly surprised look on her face.
"Mr. Leon, are you actually thinking about it properly?"
"Yeah, I'm properly thinking about how I want to be a shut-in."
Angie grabbed my arm.
"Hey, think about it more seriously. Whether you'll become a feudal lord or serve at court—if you haven't even decided that, I can't help you either."
Even if I got land somewhere and became a feudal lord, given my position, I'm afraid they'd push some huge territory onto me.
Worst case, there's even the possibility of being stationed on the border.
But on the other hand, becoming a court noble has its own problems too.
If I became a court noble, I'd have to work under that Roland.
—I really don't want that.
The result is that I don't want either option.
"This is a tough problem."
"Decide quickly. Once you do, I can start moving on various things too. Also—Leon, you'd be better off not relying on my family too much. We're going to become independent as soon as possible."
"Huh, why?"
Angie muttered in a voice the people around couldn't hear.
"—Father and brother are planning something."
"Huh, seriously? But I'm meeting both of them tomorrow, you know? They summoned me."
"Hey, I didn't hear about that."
Angie was angry, and Livia covered her face with both hands—it seems the Duke's family is making some kind of move.
◇
Having gotten separated from Finn, Mia was getting flustered.
"Um, I came this way earlier I think—huh? Hm?"
She was supposed to be heading toward the girls' dorm, but somehow she had ended up in a completely different place.
—She had gotten lost.
"That's strange. It should be this way—nngh!"
Suddenly her chest started to hurt.
"I-it's happening again. It's been hurting a lot lately."
The intervals between her painful episodes had been getting shorter for some time now.
She realized something was wrong with her body, and it made her very anxious.
Getting lost made her feel helpless, and the pain in her chest made her panic even more.
Just then—a beautiful girl with black hair approached her.
(The princess?)
She reached out and supported Mia's body.
"Are you okay? Can you stand?"
Why was the princess alone in a place like this?
The two of them sat down on a nearby bench and started talking.
"Have you calmed down?"
"Y-yes. Thank you very much."
Gradually calming down, Mia thanked her and looked at Erika's face.
She was wearing a very gentle smile.
"I see, that's good."
"U-um, you're the princess, aren't you? Is it really okay for you to be talking with someone like me?"
Mia couldn't approach Erika, who normally had crowds of followers around her.
The surroundings also gave off a vibe of "don't come near."
So she hadn't approached her, but Erika didn't seem to mind at all.
"It's no problem. We're classmates, after all. I'd be happy if we got along."
"Yes! Um, my name is—"
"Mia, right? I know."
Realizing her name was known, Mia became happy and bashful.
But Erika was smiling just a little sadly.
"What's wrong, princess?"
"Erika is fine. And it's nothing."
When Erika said she could be called by her name without honorifics, Mia was moved—and then one girl came running over.
"Eriiiikaaa! So there you are! Why did you wander off?!"
Erika stood up with a wry smile.
"Sorry. Mo—I mean, Marie."
The blonde girl was out of breath, and when she saw Mia, her eyes widened in surprise.
"U-um—a friend?"
"Yes."
When Erika affirmed it, Marie said "I see—" and then greeted Mia.
"I'm Marie, a third-year. You're Mia, right?"
"Y-yes!"
(Huh? How does this person know my name? I guess exchange students do stand out after all.)
She had thought she was a classmate, but she was actually a third-year senior.
"Anyway, both of you, let's head to the girls' dorm. I'll guide you, so come with me."
Erika looked a little embarrassed.
◇
Inside the bushes.
Once Marie and the others disappeared, Finn revealed himself.
He had been observing them from earlier.
Then why hadn't he helped Mia?
There was a reason for that.
"Why don't you come out?"
Brave had bloodshot eyes, on maximum alert.
"Partner, just as I thought. —Those guys are dangerous."
Emerging from the bushes the same way as Finn was—Leon.
At his side, a metallic sphere with a red eye accompanied him.
(The same as Kurosuke? Is it a cheat item?)
Leon also seemed to be on guard, and the cheat item next to him looked excited.
"Exchange student—just what is your goal?"
"Master, those guys are dangerous. They are enemies who should be eliminated immediately!"
At the cheat item that had labeled them as enemies, Finn's wariness grew.
Brave said,
"You wreckage of a loser, don't get cocky! Partner, equip me right now!"
"Idiot! If I use you here, Mia will be in danger too!"
It was the same on the other side.
In the sky—something transparent was floating.
Seeing it, Brave's single eye widened and he spat out, "Damn it! It's just one step away from worst-case that's showing itself."
"Luxion, who told you to deploy your main body?"
"Master, that is a weapon of the New Humans. And it's a complete model at that."
"I told you not to go wild here!"
"The enemy won't wait for us."
From the situation, it was clear that Leon also didn't want to fight here.
Finn wiped his sweat.
(If even Kurosuke is this wary, this is seriously troublesome. I want to avoid fighting here if at all possible. In that case, might as well—)
While he was thinking that, the other side seemed to feel the same way.
Leon was the one who made the proposal.
"For now, let's talk. —Come with me for a bit."
"Master, it's dangerous! Permission to destroy them!"
"No good. —It depends on these guys."
Finn accepted the invitation as well.
"All right."
"Partner! Don't trust them. That guy—that weapon is dangerous!"
"Better than fighting here. —I'll at least hear what the other side has to say."
Each baring their wariness, they started walking while keeping a certain distance.
Both Brave—and Luxion—were extremely cautious of one another.
"Partner, that guy is a sub-unit of the warship waiting above. The main body is the warship up there."
"—I can't really see the whole thing."
The airship's form was concealed by optical camouflage, and if no one had pointed it out, he wouldn't have noticed.
"Brave, can you beat those guys?"
"I recommend killing that machine bastard's master right now. It's not that we can't win, but our side would also take considerable damage."
For Brave, a cheat item, to go this far.
Finn understood that the situation was genuinely dangerous.
(Well then—what's going to happen from here?)
Thinking that he wished he'd spoken with Mia one last time, Finn steeled his resolve.
(Worst case, I'll stop him even if it means we both go down.)