"...I really don't like being shoved off to the countryside, you know."
"I saved your butt, and this is the thanks I get?"
I was talking to the complaining Marie because there were things I wanted to ask her.
About our parents.
...It was almost like I'd kept her alive just to hear about what happened after I died.
There was also the matter of our parents in our previous life being devastated.
Personally, I couldn't forgive any of it, and if I could get away with it, I'd love to beat up all five of those guys too. No, wait a second—could I get away with punching them now?
"I'm a woman who shines in the big city!"
"You're going to badmouth the territory I poured my heart and soul into developing?"
"Big brother, you're hopeless because you think so negatively—always going on about slow life and other backward ideas."
Slow life isn't negative or backward. Is she out of her mind? Actually, she'd been crazy from the start.
"The only good deed you ever did in your previous life was letting Mom and Dad hold their grandkid. Everything else was a net negative—poor them."
"You died before our parents too, you know!"
"My cause of death was your fault!"
"You were always grinning like an idiot at games with cute girls in them! There's no way you should've died from something like that!"
"You were the one grinning at games with guys in them!"
As we argued, the conversation gradually shifted to whose fault it really was.
"It's your fault!"
"No, it's yours!"
"Luxion, tell her it's her fault too! She was aiming for a reverse harem and almost met the worst possible end because of it!"
"And you keep a villainess and the heroine at your side, big brother!"
"Mine are purely platonic! Not some twisted relationship like yours!"
"You're just too cowardly and pathetic to make a move!"
"Luxion! Hurry up and tell her she's the one who's wrong and completely delusional!"
"You there, the round one—tell her which one of us is right! For the sake of this poor, hopeless big brother of mine!"
Luxion, looking at us alternately with his single eye,
"Then allow me to share my opinion. The ones who must have suffered the most... are the parents from your previous life who had children like the two of you, wouldn't you agree?"
...So he was actually going to say it. He actually said it.
As I went cold and guilt flooded my chest, Marie spoke up in a small voice.
"Hey, isn't he awful? Can he not read the room?"
"It cuts right to the heart, doesn't it? I really didn't need him saying that so calmly."
"Isn't it the truth? Besides, Marie—can you even face the daughter you had in your previous life?"
Marie clutched her chest, her gaze darting away.
"B-But she's not here... A-And, we did talk from time to time, but she wouldn't abandon me over something like this."
So she did have at least some awareness of being a mother, after all?
"She's a sweet girl who eats with me and worries, asking 'Mom, are you doing okay?'"
...I'd never even seen her face, but it seemed my niece had grown into a wonderful person.
As an uncle, it frustrated me that all I could do was wish for my niece's and my parents' happiness.
"...When she hears that her mother seduced six men and is living in a reverse harem, she'll surely cry."
I doubled over laughing as Marie crumpled to her knees.
"See! You really are the worst one here!"
"You're no better, Master."
"What!?"
Luxion started listing my faults.
"You're currently running away from confessions from two people. How about you just make up your mind already?"
...That day.
I was summoned by the two of them—
◇
The rooftop garden of the royal palace.
There I stood before the two of them, both visibly nervous.
Even I was starting to feel nervous.
There was no room in my mind to think about how beautiful the sunset was or anything like that.
"
She looked me straight in the eye and confessed.
...I swallowed hard.
"I wonder when it started. I've been spending more time thinking about you than I do about His Highness. Being with you has been enjoyable."
As I floundered, trying to find words,
"I love you."
My second confession in this lifetime.
And beside her stood
I awkwardly turned my head to look at Olivia, and she was smiling too.
...What do I do? I don't understand what's happening.
Why are they both smiling?
Should I ask Luxion for help? Thinking that, I looked around for him, and there was a white sphere—a fake Luxion.
"Who are you!?"
"I'm Clair. Long time no see."
Long time no see? The feminine electronic voice sounded familiar—it was the AI that managed the ruins in the elf village.
"Where's Luxion!?"
"He was being such a killjoy, so I asked him to step aside. When I told him you probably wouldn't want to be here without him, he practically skipped away."
...Wasn't his personality way too twisted?
"Leon."
"Y-Yes!"
I straightened my back and turned toward Olivia.
"I still love you more than anything, Leon. I believe my feelings are stronger than anyone else's."
"I-I see."
I said "I see," but this situation was nothing I'd ever anticipated.
Being confessed to by two women at the same time was never part of my life's plans.
"—So please, tell me. I want to hear your answer right here."
Angelica pressed a hand to her chest,
"Me or Olivia... no, you're allowed to love someone other than us. Whichever you choose, I won't hold a grudge. You don't even have to choose at all. So... please tell me how you feel."
I'd been thinking of ways to dodge the question and escape, but seeing how serious they both looked, I steeled myself.
The season was warming up.
A breeze blew through—and both their hair swayed.
Bathed in the setting sun, the two of them looked almost divine.
I spread both my arms—
"I love you both!"
—And both of them smiled as they slapped my cheeks.
◇
—It was brutal.
The slapping too—right after Angelica smacked one cheek, Olivia's open palm came flying at the other. What a fantastic combination.
"How despicable."
"Look—having two beautiful girls confess to me at once was technically my second time, but it was still a first for me."
While I was making excuses, the woman who'd actually pulled off a reverse harem stared at me with open disgust.
"I can't believe you. Pathetic."
"What? What could a woman who was juggling six guys at once possibly have to say to me?"
When I prodded her, she looked bitter about it.
Then Marie bared her feelings.
"...I've reflected on it, you know. A reverse harem is nothing but exhausting—it's not fun at all. That's why I wanted it to end."
Her half-baked knowledge made sense now.
She'd only played the game up to the halfway point and had only seen images and videos. The amount of information we'd had from the start was completely different.
As a result, she became the saint, stirred everything up... and now six men were clinging to her.
"I can sympathize with that part at least."
Once Marie had had enough of the reverse harem, she tried to cut ties with the five men other than
But all five of them hit her with some sideways answer like "One day, I'll make you fall for me."
Having to support five men who were all but destined to be unemployed in the future—that was Marie's current situation.
Seriously... neither of us was any good.
"Well, hang in there. I'm getting out while I can."
"Hah?"
Marie looked genuinely shocked, but I felt I'd more than done my part.
"I've more than pulled my weight in this world. I never expected Heltrude to have a sister, and I had to deal with all the chaos you stirred up."
I'd done my share.
"Sister? You mean Heltrauda?"
"Yeah. And there are other small differences too. Is this one of those cases where I shouldn't have assumed it was exactly like the game world? Anyway... I saved the kingdom. I've done more than enough, so I'm checking out."
Could anything beyond this even happen? In gaming terms, this was a clear state.
The heroine, Olivia, hadn't ended up with anyone, and Marie had managed to tame six men.
It wasn't a bad ending, but it was undeniably a messy situation.
Still... I could only think of it as a successful clear.
Marie's eyes went wide.
After nodding several times as if convincing herself,
"—I don't think you know this, big brother,"
Marie said, and began telling me a truth about this world that I'd never known.
◇
A few days later. The cemetery in the royal capital.
A large crowd had gathered to mourn those who had died in battle.
Those who had lost family.
Those who had lost lovers.
Regardless, you were forced to see the underside of the story whether you liked it or not.
That winning didn't mean it was over—it was only the beginning.
I watched it all from inside the carriage.
"I'm sorry to your family, but I wanted to speak with you like this. I imagine you'd have preferred a younger woman, though."
The person sitting across from me was Milleune.
I'd been invited after the ceremony and was now riding in her carriage.
"That's a rather prickly thing to say. Are you upset?"
"You're always like this. You put on a carefree act for everyone else while bottling up all your problems on your own. You've got bags under your eyes."
I touched the area under my eyes. ...I hadn't been able to sleep the night before.
"You truly worked hard this time. There's only one ceremony left."
Victory banquets and various other ceremonies had kept us busy day after day.
"Is this about my dismissal and compensation?"
"Yes. Even if it was temporary, you did serve as Commander-in-Chief, so you'll be given appropriate treatment."
Officially, I was to receive a massive reward from the kingdom.
I'd actually given the kingdom far more than it was giving me, but it was important for appearances that I be seen receiving compensation. Otherwise, the kingdom would be in trouble.
They were welcome to be unhappy about it, but if resentment against the kingdom further exploded into rebellions or independence movements—basically, any kind of war would be a problem.
I wanted absolutely no part of it.
"You're the first to request a demotion as compensation. Well, once things settle down, I intend to formally strip you of your title and arrange things the way you want."
Even if it couldn't happen right away, over a few years, little by little...
"A Viscount at my level is too much for me. I've lost my territory too, so I suppose I'll just be an ordinary knight? Though I probably won't be of much use since I can't even use Partner or
Milleune looked troubled.
When I told her it was payback for her earlier jab, she pouted and turned away.
What a cute woman in her thirties. I wanted to pin her down.
"Also, regarding that matter—it's been approved without any issues."
"That's good."
A favorable situation was beginning to take shape for me.
"What I'm curious about is your lost item. Do you think it can be repaired?"
"I recovered it, but it'll be difficult. It's being stored at my factory."
"...Truly, I've been relying on you for everything, Leon. If there's anything at all I can do for you, just say the word. I'll help however I can."
For a split second—just a split second—I had a dirty fantasy, but she was the queen consort. If I made a move, I'd lose my head.
"I'll keep that in mind. That sounds like it could be entertaining."
"I've racked up quite a few big favors, haven't I?"
As we continued talking, the royal palace came into view through the carriage window.
Well then—time to do my last bit of work.
◇
The antechamber.
With my family there, it was noisy and hectic.
"Is this right?"
"You've got your buttons wrong."
Mom was fixing up Dad's disheveled clothes, while elsewhere my brother was checking his outfit in a mirror.
Because of his participation in the war, Dad had been promoted to the sixth rank, upper grade.
"Why do I have to attend too? If Dad and Leon are going, there's no need for me."
I calmed my complaining brother.
"Aren't you the next baron? Your first battle was quite the spectacle."
"I didn't do anything, though. ...More importantly, what about Lutoart? Well, he wasn't really my brother, but what about his family?"
At Zora's estate, a flying ship had crashed during the defensive battle, destroying everything.
The royal capital itself was in ruins, and reconstruction work would keep everyone busy for a while.
But because they had power suits—
"They ran away, and I think Lutoart had his knight's title stripped? Besides, Zora is a noble's daughter but doesn't hold any title of her own, so she's been left alone. Lutoart is no longer a knight either, so he's treated as a commoner."
If she was abandoned by her father, Zora would have no choice but to return to her family's home.
But her family had also fled during this whole affair, and their estate was set to be dismantled.
A number of noble houses had been wiped out, and Zora's family was among them. That was all there was to it.
"You know a lot about this."
"I heard it from Milleune—the Queen."
My brother wore a very strange expression.
"Why are you so close with the Queen? ...I don't think so, but you haven't made a move on her, have you? Stop it! Seriously, stop! I don't want to get dragged into any more of your messes!"
How rude. Even I understood that she was off-limits.
"More importantly, what about our sister? I figured she'd be thrilled to attend a ceremony like this."
"
...Something told me she'd come out of her room right away if I bought her a new servant.
However, the
It seemed they were moving toward abolishing personal attendants.
This time, the right arm of the Armor (mecha) that had fallen into the Black Knight's hands had caused enormous damage—and since it had been stolen by a slave, they'd announced a ban.
A knock sounded at the antechamber door—it seemed it was time.
"Well then—time for the last job."
This would really be the last one.
◇
The audience chamber.
Kneeling on the red carpet leading to the throne, I listened to His Majesty's words.
It began with "Your service this time has been truly remarkable," and went on with theatrical lines as the surrounding nobles praised me as well.
Just as I was thinking "Could this please be over already," His Majesty spoke.
"Viscount Leon Fou Bartfort—no, Count. I hereby relieve you of your duties as Commander-in-Chief. Furthermore, I elevate you to Count and bestow upon you the rank of third, lower grade!"
The surrounding nobles erupted in murmurs.
I kept my head bowed but my eyes went wide.
...What the hell did this idiot just say?
"Y-Your Majesty. M-May I speak!"
I was flustered by this sudden development, but when I asked for permission to speak, His Majesty stroked his beard and looked down at me,
"You may."
"I'm grateful! But what does a countship and the third rank mean? I don't have territory befitting a count's household, nor a position appropriate for such a rank!"
Confused, I tried to convey that "A count is out of the question! Even with a rank like that, I won't be able to do anything!"
Everyone around me was thinking the same thing.
I could hear voices saying things like "A count at that age?" "His rise is unprecedented." "A count in a single generation is extraordinary." "Third rank—wasn't that practically the highest?"
Setting aside the countship for a moment, as for the third rank—he was essentially granting me minister-class status. In practical terms, I'd just been handed the highest position achievable in the kingdom.
I wasn't happy about getting a rank like that at all!
If you told a student "Starting tomorrow, you're a minister," they'd just go "Huh?" right? It'd be like being made an executive at a company. I couldn't handle the responsibility, and I certainly couldn't do the work!
When I raised my head, His Majesty—
"To properly reward your great accomplishments, the kingdom must grant you a fitting title and rank. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll eventually make contributions befitting a count and perform duties worthy of that rank."
Thanks for the high praise—I could puke!
He knew exactly what he was doing.
He knew I wouldn't want this, and he did it anyway.
Looking around, I could see the officials were just as confused.
Milleune's eyes were wide too—it seemed she hadn't been informed either.
...The bastard had promoted me on his own authority.
What a jerk.
Just as I was about to say something, Roland spoke first.
He put on that theatrical, over-the-top tone of his.
"If anyone has objections, speak up now."
No one did.
There might have been people who resented my promotion, but canceling it would be a problem for them. They knew that if I wasn't promoted, it would be harder to advance in the future even if I earned more achievements.
If my accomplishments became the benchmark for future promotions, a lot of people would find their careers blocked.
"Count Bartfort, I look forward to your future service."
"...I am truly honored."
If only I could scream "Drop dead!" right here.
My family was in this room too.
Depending on how I acted, my family could suffer for it.
Father and son, both causing me nothing but trouble.
Watching Roland grin, I made a silent vow.
...Someday, I'd get him back for this.
◇
When I returned to the room, I exploded.
"That bastard! I told him I didn't want to be promoted, and he deliberately made me a count!"
What I threw was a cushion that had been sitting on the sofa.
I was too scared to throw anything breakable.
Mom and Dad were whispering to each other while watching me.
"Hey, even though he's our son, should we use honorifics with Leon now that he's a count?"
"P-Probably? But I don't think he'd care about something like that."
"But he's a count. Third rank—someone beyond the clouds."
"...Then let's use honorifics."
I turned to the two of them,
"A count with no substance or territory is just ridiculous! This is nothing but palace bullying! Also, honorifics from my own parents is creepy—rejected!"
My brother spoke up as if suddenly remembering.
"Hey, here's an idea. If Dad gives the factory back to Leon, he'll have income."
"If it were that simple, I wouldn't be worrying!"
The factory's income was decent enough.
It was decent... but not enough.
A count was a significant rank.
Owning a single factory wasn't going to make it work.
Dad seemed to have an idea.
He slapped his fist into his palm and said "That's it!"
"Why not become a court noble? You'd get a pension from the palace. You'd be fine even without territory!"
"No way. Absolutely not! My rank is minister-class! I can't do minister-level work!"
"Yeah, you're right. If you were a minister or some other big shot, I'd think this country was done for."
I threw the cushion at my honest dad and stormed out of the room.
"I'm leaving this country!"
Mom called after me.
"Be home by dinner!"
...Yes, ma'am.
◇
As I walked through the palace corridors, someone called out to me.
"Hey!"
It was Angelica, gathering her skirt in both hands and running to keep from stepping on it.
She'd been at the audience chamber apparently—she was in a dress.
By the time she caught up, she was catching her breath.
She must have spotted me and hurried to catch up.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
"What was that all about earlier? Did you know about it?"
It must have been about the audience chamber. I shook my head weakly.
"His Majesty decided it on his own. I hadn't heard about it either."
"Well, they certainly couldn't demote you in front of everyone. Promoting you was convenient for the kingdom, but... even my father didn't know about it."
He really had decided without consulting anyone?
What a troublesome lineage.
Between His Highness
"What do I do? What do you think I should do? Becoming a count is a genuinely serious problem for me."
"Y-Yeah. Even with the title, you don't have the substance to back it up. Becoming a court noble would cause problems too... I think marrying into a family honestly would be the best option."
Marrying into a family?
As I tilted my head, Claris appeared, also dressed in a gown.
"Oh, you don't have to marry into a family. You could always establish a new one. Court nobility isn't your only option. Quite a few territorial lords' houses have disappeared, so there's plenty of territory available."
...The kingdom had wiped out a number of houses in this whole affair.
Those connected to the duchy, of course, but those who'd ignored requests for help were being unconditionally dismantled, stripped of their territories, and subjected to various other punishments.
"Claris, what brings you here?"
"If you marry into a family, there'll be all sorts of complications. A count marrying in would look bad publicly."
"Leon's case is the exception."
The two of them started bickering, but for me, as long as I could resolve the current situation, anything was fine.
"Marry into a family, or go independent..."
As I murmured this, I heard a cute little "Kyah!" and my feet naturally moved toward the sound—not because I was scared of Angelica and Claris fighting.
Moving a short way down the corridor and turning a corner, there was Olivia in a dress.
She'd apparently stepped on the unfamiliar dress skirt and fallen.
One man was reaching down to offer her a hand.
"Are you alright, young lady?"
"Y-Yes."
"I'm glad to hear that. If you'd like, why don't we rest in that room over there?"
Olivia looked troubled and her gaze drifted—so I approached the guy. He was a pickup artist who'd hit on her, and he was exactly the kind of person I should have been furious with.
"Your Majesty, aren't you embarrassed hitting on women in your own palace?"
"You fool. Everyone does this—hm, it's you."
When he realized it was me, he turned around and broke into a remarkably cheerful grin.
"Well, well, Count. How does it feel to be promoted?"
"Terrible. What happened to the talk about demoting me? The plan was to keep the title as is since demoting me later would be too much trouble!"
"Ah, that? Yes, I did consider it. But it was rather troublesome. If word got out that I'd treated the kingdom's hero that way, my judgment would be questioned. After careful consideration, I decided to promote you instead."
"...You're going to demote me from here, right?"
"If you do something to warrant a demotion, sure. Although, someone who wanted to be demoted shouldn't have become Commander-in-Chief in the first place."
Because he knew things would fall apart otherwise!
If you all had your act together, I wouldn't have had to struggle so much.
"You broke your promise."
"Yes, I did. It pains me too. But... I don't like you, so I've decided never to do anything that would make you happy."
The bastard just told me to my face that he hated me.
While I was still processing, a pleased Roland added dramatic gestures to his speech.
"In that audience chamber, I couldn't stand how you upstaged me. What's this—'if His Majesty wishes it.' How cool is that? I can't allow that. That was supposed to be my moment. And if you continued to outshine me after that, I'd have nowhere to stand."
"Huh? That's your reason?"
Olivia couldn't seem to comprehend it—she'd gotten to her feet and was standing there dumbfounded.
She looked cute when she was confused.
But the real problem was the old man in front of me.
"That was supposed to be my only moment to shine. My plan was to tease you while you fumbled through your lines and show off my mature composure—but it's all ruined."
"So it's not because you beat up my son or hit on my wife or anything like that?"
Roland crossed his arms and looked me up and down from head to toe.
"You're scum. But if you get upset over something like that, you'll never survive palace life. My son getting beaten up was his own fault, and if someone tried to flirt with my wife now, I'd just shrug. Though if they actually made a move on a concubine, I'd have them executed."
...Wait? Wasn't this guy pretty scummy himself? Even scummier than me?
Roland turned back to Olivia, straightened his posture, and extended his hand.
"Come now, young lady. Let's make some memories to last the night."
Come to think of it, the queen had been an antagonist for the heroine in the game. But the king had been surprisingly reasonable—that was the scenario in the game.
I never expected the reason for that was because he was a lecherous old man who liked young girls.
If it's an otome game, at least give us a king who's more dreamy!
"...If I beat you up right here, would I get demoted?"
"Brat. It seems you want to be executed. Very well—I'll call the guards right now!"
Just as I was thinking how pathetic it was that he relied on guards,
"—Your Majesty."
Milleune was standing there with a retinue of servants.
When Roland turned around, he tried to make a run for it, so I grabbed his arm.
"L-Let go!"
"Where do you think you're going, Your Majesty~?"
I grinned and held his arm firmly. His expression was priceless—I nearly burst out laughing.
"Y-You! I'll really have you executed!"
"Milleune! His Majesty says he's going to have me executed. Help!"
"Seducing young women again! And to execute someone who merely spoke up against you—what is the meaning of this?! Leon—the Count is a benefactor and hero of this kingdom. I will not let this stand today!"
"N-No! This is a royal duty! Procreating is practically an obligation. What's wrong with pursuing young women?!"
"Just how many women have you taken in with that attitude?!"
Milleune dragged Roland off somewhere.
The low-level spat with Roland ended in my victory.
"...Evil has been vanquished."
Olivia was smiling wryly.
"U-Um, Leon. Um—"
"Hm? Oh, that dress suits you nicely."
"Thank you. I-It's not about that!"
Olivia pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath.
"It's about what happened before."
When I looked away, she took my hand.
"Why won't you give me a proper answer?"
Looking at Olivia with her upturned, glistening eyes, my thought was that having a wife like her would make me happy—a fantasy.
I wanted to agree too