Do you know about karma?
I think of it as something like fate or destiny. Sorry for the iffy knowledge, but anyway… karma, don’t you think it sounds kind of cool?
«Can I not escape the karma of a mob character?»
As if editing that line,
«Karma means ‘deed.’ Cause and effect—in the sense that an action brings a result? I believe your line is slightly off.»
Can you imagine how it feels when a line you tried to dress up gets corrected like that?
…It’s incredibly embarrassing.
«…Let’s pretend I never said that line.»
«As you wish.»
I was standing on the deck. Beneath the cold sky, alongside my partner were three airships of the duke’s house. And facing us—the airships of the count’s family, the patron house of the Wayne family. Armed airships, lined up in a fleet, facing us.
To put it simply, the count’s family was demanding we hand over the captured sky pirates. And the duke’s house was basically like: We came to help at the request of your dependents, so you telling us to hand them over—are you stupid? That was the attitude.
The count’s family was desperate to hide the fact they’d been in league with the sky pirates. But with the duke’s house now in the picture, they couldn’t just force the issue, so they were talking it out like this.
«More importantly, was it all right?»
«You mean leaving the negotiations to them? Do I look like I have high negotiation skills to you? Better to leave it to the duke’s house.»
I had them handle the negotiations. They’d probably take a handling fee, but… I had the armor and airships I’d taken from the sky pirates, and we’d captured every last one of them. …No problem at all.
«That’s not what I meant. I mean the glory. Why hand the credit over to
«If those two can return to their original positions, that’s good for me too. They’ll probably protect Olivia, won’t they? Even if that doesn’t happen, I’d be able to count on them in a pinch.»
The story had already veered way off course. Unless I corrected things a little, the future was scary. Well, even if they couldn’t return to their original standing, it’d be enough if they ended up a bit better off than they are now. Plus, those two really tried hard. I thought it’d be fine to do that much for them.
«So Master has settled his relationship with Olivia. Handed the credit to those two, and all that remains in your hands is a few small items… Did you at least break even?»
«More than enough. This is plenty for me. I’ve got you too, after all.»
If I thought about it, Luxion was the airship Olivia might have gotten. When I consider that I stole a cheat-class spaceship, a little labor or being disliked doesn’t even count as a cost. But saying that would make Luxion get full of himself, so I kept it to myself.
«You took quite the scolding from Angelica for making Olivia cry.»
«The princess is temperamental. A mob like me can’t handle her. I’ll just pray that someday a fitting prince will come for her.»
«So you’ll keep your distance from Angelica as well?»
«I’d say we were too close up until now, actually.»
There is such a thing as appropriate distance in all things.
As I waited on the deck, the count’s airship returned to its fleet. Then the fleet airships departed the area. …The talks were over.
◇ Inside Angelica’s personal quarters on the airship.
There, Livia sat hugging her knees.
After hearing her out, Angelica was dumbfounded.
«…Are you two children? Livia, you’re at fault, but
Angelica was one to talk, but Livia kept her head down.
«It’s my fault. He said I was a pet, and I took it seriously and took it out on him, so he hates me now.»
Angelica tried to console her. But the distance between them felt awkward. Angelica herself had an inkling. In fact, she’d been thinking a bit after hearing the same words. That maybe she had been treating Livia like a pet.
«…Rest for now. We’re heading back to the academy soon.»
Angelica didn’t know what to do either. Not a friend given to her, but a friend she’d gained herself… Livia was a commoner, and she didn’t know the right way to interact with her.
The relationship between the three of them was beginning to crumble.
◇ At the royal palace, Brad and Greg had been summoned.
The official standing before them was utterly at a loss. After all, they were once heirs of prestigious houses. Their status was different now, so the handling was like touching something fragile.
Brad slammed the desk.
«What exactly are you thinking— Ah, my arm hurts.»
He’d slammed the desk with his injured arm and now was in pain.
Greg was exasperated by Brad like that, but he glared steadily at the official.
«It’s not that I don’t get us being formally knighted. I can’t accept it, but it’s like battlefield achievements, right? But the sky pirate extermination isn’t our achievement. How could I accept a reward like that?»
Brad nodded along with tear-filled eyes.
The official was deeply troubled.
«You must accept it, or I’ll be in trouble. According to
The official was baffled facing the two who refused to accept the reward, despite it being offered. Normally, people want both credit and reward. That these two were refusing must have seemed unbelievable.
Greg folded his arms.
(That bastard, worrying about us for no reason…)
Taking a deep breath, Greg told the official everything.
«We just helped out. The one who crushed the sky pirate band and captured the wanted pirates was Bartfort. It’s his achievement.»
Brad nodded too.
«We didn’t do anything spectacular. So we can’t take a reward like this.»
Now the official sighed.
«…I was told not to mention this to you two, but Baron Bartfort has been approaching your families. He’s asking them to lift your disownment in light of this achievement.»
Both of their faces grew complicated.
«W-Why would he do that!»
Greg stood up, and Brad wore an equally disbelieving look.
«Y-Yeah. What reason could he possibly have to go that far?»
The official answered, meeting their eyes.
«I don’t understand the baron’s feelings, but a considerable amount of funds are moving within the palace. I hear that appropriate sums and goods have been sent to your families as well. Wouldn’t you simply accept it here? You can return the favor another time,» he said, and left the room.
◇ In the palace courtyard.
Sitting on a bench, the two couldn’t sort out their feelings. Greg looked irritated, Brad a little sad, both with heads bowed.
Then
«You two, I’ve heard!»
Apparently, he’d heard of their deeds and had been looking for them; Julius seemed delighted.
«Your Highness?»
When Brad lifted his head, Julius looked excited.
«I hear you defeated a notorious sky pirate. And right in front of that Bartfort! Isn’t this a victory for us? More importantly, it seems procedures to lift your disownment are underway. Your return as heirs might not be far off!»
To the overjoyed Julius, Greg said quietly.
«That’s wrong. We couldn’t beat that guy in anything. In strength, in spirit… and on top of that, we lost in magnanimity too.»
Brad couldn’t refute that.
«Your Highness… we’ve made a decision.»
«Both of you?»
Brad and Greg rose to their feet.
«I want to beat Bartfort. It’s not about defeating him out of spite. I want to beat him as a man.»
«Right. As things stand now, we’re not even competition. He’s an incredible knight. We were never even a match from the start.»
With Julius arriving, the two felt they couldn’t keep their heads down, so they immediately sprang into action.
Brad spoke.
«Your Highness, would it be possible to meet with Her Majesty the Queen?»
«My mother? What on earth are you planning?»
Greg, looking a bit embarrassed.
«After all he’s done for us—if we don’t repay the favor, we’re no better than dogs.»
◇ …By «repay the favor,» is this what they meant?
Back in the boys’ dorm, despite classes starting again tomorrow, I was trembling as I received the missive delivered from the royal palace.
«Brad… Greg… I see. You two hate me that much.»
The paper I held with trembling hands grew creased. The content written there was—like an after-the-fact notice—that promotion to Junior Fifth Rank Lower had been granted.
My court rank of Senior Sixth Rank Upper had gone up one step to Junior Fifth Rank Lower. The reason given was the sky pirate subjugation and assistance in lifting Brad and Greg’s disownment, and some other ridiculous reasons. …I thought it was a lie.
«Who pulled the strings behind this? This… there’s no way this kind of thing should be allowed. Junior Fifth Rank Lower? What is that! Even my father’s only Junior Sixth Rank Lower, and I’m suddenly two ranks above him—what am I supposed to do?!»
Normally, you’d be happy about a promotion?
No way. At least, I’m not happy. Getting promoted means that much more responsibility. I just want to hole up in my territory and take it easy—what am I doing getting promoted?! If I have a high court rank for no reason, I’ll get called into the palace all the time.
I supported those two because I didn’t want to get involved with the royal palace, and before I knew it, I was the one getting promoted.
You don’t normally get promoted just for taking out some sky pirates. You need to pile up more achievements to get promoted at the palace. They check your territory size and are strict about granting titles, but the palace is also strict about rank promotion. Furious at this unreasonable treatment, I was stewing when Luxion peered at the letter from behind me.
«…I never imagined you would get promoted. Master truly excels at exceeding my expectations in the worst ways.»
«What do you mean, ‘excels’?! I never thought I’d get promoted either! No matter how you look at it, this wasn’t a scenario for promotion! If anything, there are tons of guys who’d want to know how to get promoted!»
Rank six, rank five—getting promoted in the first place is extremely difficult. There’s no way you get promoted for a single sky pirate subjugation. You’d need something like a major achievement on the battlefield, or years of service—big accomplishments like that. It’s not something you can achieve through personal effort!
As I was making a racket alone, I heard a knock.
When I opened the door, a nervous-looking staff member from the boys’ dorm was standing there. The staff member was a woman, and she bowed her head to me.
«Baron Bartfort. A l-letter and a gift have arrived.»
«A letter and a gift?»
«Y-Yes. They couldn’t be delivered to your room, so I have them outside.»
«Outside?»
Curious, I was guided by the staff member to go see the gift, and what was there was an airbike. A fairly luxurious and large one, too. An airbike that probably cost more than a shoddy suit of armor. The sender of the letter was the Atlee family.
I took the letter and read it.
«…Nngyaaaaaaaaahhhh!!»
When I screamed, the nearby staff member flinched, her shoulders jumping.
Written there was an apology to me. The missive from the Atlee family—
«It’s a lie. This has to be a lie. Everyone… does everyone really hate me that much?»
Seeing me crying, the staff member bowed her head, mumbled something, and fled.
Tears plopped onto the paper.
To put the content simply: «We were told to wait on promoting you further for a while, as immediately promoting you would be too much, so please wait until graduation for the promotion from Junior Fifth Rank Lower to Junior Fifth Rank Upper.»
The Atlee family is a count family of court nobles. Their household includes people on the level of ministers and other important figures. Perhaps out of gratitude for helping their daughter, they said they’d get me promoted. I would’ve been fine with just the airbike!
This was an apology because, having just been promoted to Junior Fifth Rank Lower, it was naturally too soon to do more, so they wanted me to wait until graduation for the promotion.
«Why! Why are you trying to promote me?! This is insane! You guys, you know it’ll make me furious, so you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you! How can you do something so cruel?! Are you even human?!»
Luxion, floating lightly, extended a cable and pierced it into the airbike.
«The engine is different from the one used in the athletic festival. The parts are also meticulously crafted—this is a very fine item.»
«What are you doing?»
«Modifying and seizing control.»
It looked like something terrible was being done to the airbike. Luxion looked like the bad guy.
I just stared at the airbike, collapsed on my knees.
«…That’s right. I’ll set out on a journey. A journey of adventure to some unknown land.»
«Classes start tomorrow, so that’s impossible.»
«I know! Damn it allll!»
Why does this kind of thing only happen to me? There are plenty of guys who want promotions! I never wanted to rise in rank!
◇
(Bartfort… why was he just sitting there slumped?)
Returning to the boys’ dorm, he had seen Leon sitting limply on the ground, but hadn’t called out.
When he got to his room, there was a letter. Picking up the letter from the floor, he saw it was from
Chris’s expression softened as he adjusted his glasses and read the letter.
«Marie went to a dungeon during the break? Is… is she all right?»
The letter said to meet once he was back, and Chris hurriedly got ready, practically leaping out of his room to head to Marie. The letter said she had something she wanted to show him. Forgetting about his family matters, Chris went to see Marie.
◇ The next day.
I was attending class with a face full of despair.
During the break, Daniel and Raymond came over.
«You look awful.»
«Couldn’t you be a little happier?»
The rumors must have already spread; Brad and Greg, who had taken out the sky pirates, were being fawned over by girls. Not a single enthusiastic cheer came my way. To put it plainly, Olivia and Angelica weren’t speaking to me either, so I was utterly bereft of female presence.
«I didn’t want a promotion for no good reason.»
Daniel laughed a bit awkwardly, in understanding.
«Well, yeah, that’s true. A high rank is a pain. Even without trying, your rank is at the level where, if you’re a feudal lord, you’d be expected to command a fleet, leading your vassals and retainers.»
If your rank is high, you’re expected to perform accordingly. As Daniel said, some baron around Junior Sixth Rank Lower just has to provide a single airship in war. But when your rank and title rise, you can’t get away with that. You incur an obligation to field appropriate military strength. Many nobles dislike promotions and title elevations precisely because of that. Conversely, nobles aiming for promotion and elevated titles will put on airs and gather enough airships.
Raymond glanced at some nearby girls. The expressions of the girls looking at me seemed very complicated.
«But if you’re guaranteed Junior Fifth Rank Upper, won’t you have no trouble finding a bride?»
…Marriage. That’s right. That’s why we’re at the academy. Like searching for a diamond in a desert, I can’t just give up either.
«Ah, yeah. That’s certainly true… but it’s a pain.»
Raymond laughed.
«There’s the school trip too. Maybe some girl will approach you then. I’m jealous.»
A girl who only starts talking to me now is basically saying she’s after my status. Oops—no, wrong. This academy was full of girls like that.
Daniel looked a little glum.
«We’ll be in separate groups. That’s too bad.»
The school trip at this academy happens every year. All three grades go together, but there are three destinations. Each year you cycle through one destination, and Daniel, Raymond, and I each had different destinations. So we’d be riding different airships.
In the game, you’d head to the same destination as the guy you’re targeting and raise affection points. You could also pick up items that could only be obtained there. The place I was headed was a floating island that had an item I was after.
«You can count on me for souvenirs.»
At my words, both of them laughed and said, «We’ll be expecting them.»
…An unchanging daily life. I guess the reason I find this so precious is because I have memories of a previous life. Back in my student days, I never realized what a luxury this was.
Raymond looked at me.
«Come to think of it, the scholarship student and the duke’s daughter are on the same ship, right? Leon, it seems like things haven’t been going well lately. Maybe use this chance to apologize?»
«Why is it sounding like I’m the one who did something wrong?»
Daniel looked surprised.
«What? But the majority of the cause is you, Leon, right?»
«That’s right.»
Raymond agreed too. Those guys—I definitely need to have a serious talk with them and find out exactly how they’re looking at me.
◇ The day of the school trip.
The prepared airship was awfully luxurious. Boarding an airship that looked just like a luxury cruise liner, our destination was a warm floating island to the south. The seasons were different there—currently summer. It was a floating island popular as a school trip destination.
«Kind of like the northern and southern hemispheres? Still…»
It was called a school trip, but the students only seemed like they were playing around on a luxury liner.
I was roaming the casino with a senpai from the same bottom-tier group, a third-year: Lucul-senpai.
«They call it a school trip, but it’s just a little leisure outing. The floating island we’re heading to is a tourist spot, and there’s a festival this time of year.»
«A festival, huh.»
«It’s got an exotic atmosphere. The girls wear yukata and enjoy the festival. If a guy can escort them, the distance between them shrinks dramatically. This is the time to do your best, Leon-kun.»
…Right. If I’m going to get married, I’ve got to try hard here. Or so I thought. But the popular girls were already surrounded by guys. The other girls were being fawned over by their exclusive servants.
What caught my eye was—Angelica, talking at the counter. Her entourage, having lost her trust, was desperately attending to her, but she looked annoyed. Shifting my gaze elsewhere, I spotted Olivia heading outside, perhaps because the casino atmosphere didn’t sit well with her.
Lucul-senpai said to me.
«You’ve chosen difficult people.»
«What are you talking about? Neither of them is in a position I could ever aim for.»
«Yeah, that’s for the best. We have partners suited to us. And that’s the same for them. There are people who just aren’t a match. Ignoring that leads to getting badly burned. Well, I guess you get that even without me saying it? You have been watching His Highnesses and the others.»
Speaking of those Highnesses, they were all conspicuously separated. Julius and
Lucul-senpai spotted Chris.
«Oh, the great swordsman.»
Chris seemed to be playing poker, and though he’d won a match, he didn’t look happy. He left his seat and headed elsewhere.
«Chris is alone, huh.»
But he was swarmed by girls around him.
«Chris-sama, what shall we play next?»
«Would you like to swim together in the deck pool?»
«No, let’s have a meal together—»
The girls were making advances, but he sent them off with a single sigh. Despite that attitude, the girls looked overjoyed. If I sighed, I’d just get a vein bulging on my forehead and a glare.
Lucul-senpai invited me.
«Want to try roulette?»
«No, I’m a firm believer in not gambling.»
Lucul-senpai looked surprised.
«…Huh?»
His face looked like he wanted to say, «You’re kidding, right?» But I truly hate gambling. Fighting without knowing whether you’ll win or lose? That’s stupid. I’m a man who only takes on fights I can win.
◇ The school trip.
Livia rented a yukata on the floating island they arrived at, then walked through the nighttime town. Normally it might have been dangerous, but today was the day of the festival on the floating island. Stalls lined the streets, and the light of red lanterns created a unique atmosphere.
«…So pretty.»
The sound of drums and flutes. And the voices of people enjoying themselves. So different from the festivals back home.
Feeling as though she’d touched a new culture, Livia walked through the festival alone. Since the sky pirate extermination, she hadn’t spoken with Leon. Angelica was hard to talk to as well, and before she knew it, distance had formed between them. Angelica had come to the festival surrounded by her entourage, and Livia couldn’t even find a chance to talk to her.
The scent of sweet-and-salty sauce. The scent of sweet treats. Shooting galleries, and many other stalls. She watched goldfish scooping and jumped at the bang of launched fireworks, then was moved by the scattered blossoms in the sky—but somewhere in her heart, she couldn’t fully enjoy it.
Her gaze wandered, searching for Angelica—and for Leon, but now she couldn’t find Angelica either. After that incident, she hadn’t felt like looking for friends either. The matter with
«…Do I really have the right to be here?»
She’d been happy back when Leon told her she could stay. Thinking of what horrible things she’d said to that same Leon made her ashamed and pathetic. (Why did I follow other people’s opinions over his?) She didn’t understand it herself, but lately nothing felt fun anymore.
As she wandered aimlessly, she had drifted away from the festival area. (Ah, I need to head back—) But what she heard was what sounded like a dispute.
«Just hand it over already!»
«N-No! I can’t give this away! I don’t care if you’re from the nobility—I won’t!»
Hearing that voice, Livia leaped out.
«U-Um—!»
«What is going on over there?!»
But she wasn’t the only one who leaped; Angelica, her yukata slightly disheveled, had also jumped in. The two faced each other in surprise, then awkwardly averted their eyes and turned to the person in trouble.
«…Leon-san?»
«…What on earth are you doing?»
But sadly, the one being threatened was a local person—and the one doing the threatening was Leon.
Leon’s eyes darted about.
«W-Well, this is, um…»
Then the local man clung to them in tears.
«P-Please help me! This noble is demanding I hand over everything I have!»
With the man clinging to them, the two looked at Leon. It looked exactly like a bad noble trying to forcibly take goods from someone in a weak position.
«N-No! I said I’d buy all of it, so hand it over! I’ve got money!»
The man shook his head.
«N-No! There are people who look forward to this! No matter how much money you have, I won’t let you steal everyone’s enjoyment!»
Looking at what the man was holding, it was a small something wrapped in plain white paper so you couldn’t see the contents.
Angelica asked the man.
«What is this?»
The man, perhaps happy at their interest, explained with a smile.
«Yes. They’re charms my granny made. They’re popular—they’re said to have divine blessings. You can’t see what’s inside because they’re all different types—it’s like a game of luck, you could say.»
Right behind the smiling man, Leon had drawn in close. He was holding a wad of bills.
«So sell it. I’ll buy it all. Fine, I’ll buy them at ten times the price.»
The persistent Leon had even prepared a large sum of money, saying he’d buy every last one. The man, conversely, was cowed.
«What is with you?! This isn’t a problem you solve with money! I’m doing this for the smiles of people!»
The man wouldn’t relent either; he was selling these charms at the festival to make people happy. Leon pulled out a pouch of gold coins from his breast pocket.
«Here, how about this? Gold coins. There are twenty in here. I’ll throw this in too.»
The man paused for a moment, but shook his head.
«Granny made these so that everyone would be happy! I won’t give in!»
Leon smiled meaningfully.
«You’ve got guts. In that case, it’s fine if I buy them, right? Here, I’ll buy them all at the regular price. Come on, hand everything over to me!»
«That’s why I’m saying no!»
Angelica grabbed Leon by the ear.
«Ow! Ow, Angelica-san!»
«Drop the ‘-san.’ Now, come along quickly. We’ll take care of things here.»
Then the man, clutching his precious goods, gave his thanks.
«Th-Thank you very much!»
He left that spot, and as he headed toward the festival area, the man was swallowed by the crowd. Leon, his ear still being pulled, stretched out his hand and lamented.
«Wait! My iteeeeeem!»
Unsure of what words to offer Leon like that, Livia just stood there.