People’s ways of living are free.
If it doesn’t bother anyone else, it should be respected.
So my idea of just taking it easy in the countryside should be respected too.
“Boring? So what? Let me hear about your ‘interesting’ way of living.”
Serge, who was sitting across from me, lifted the corner of his mouth into a smile.
What a irritating guy.
Don’t complain about other people’s lives.
If it doesn’t hurt me, I won’t say a word.
“You said it’s boring because you’ve got insane power and you’re not using it. Both you and I have gotten our hands on these super‑weapons. Are we idiots to just sit on them?”
“So what? What do you plan to do about it?”
I want to use the great power I’ve obtained. Well, that’s a human‑like thought.
Even I got cocky when I first got Luxion. It caused me a lot of trouble, but still…
“I’ll unite this continent. With a partner—Ideal—I can do anything.”
Serge’s words caught my interest.
Sure enough, the Republic has no internal cohesion. The simplest way to fix that is to dominate with overwhelming force, regardless of good or evil. Serge has gotten the power to do just that. —He’s already got it.
“Nice for you. I’m not interested at all, but I’ll cheer you on. Do your best to pull this country together, okay?”
Serge’s “boring” comment irritated me, but if he wants to run amok in the Republic, that’s his problem. It’s a Republic issue, not mine. The misery that comes from rule by force is Serge’s and the Republic’s problem.
Do these short‑sighted idiots even think about what’ll happen next?
“—You’re really a boring guy.”
I gave Serge a smile back as he wiped his grin away.
“I’ll teach you a thing or two, you brat. What’s ‘interesting’ or ‘boring’ to you is just your own standard. It’s a personal opinion. If you start talking like it’s common sense, you’ll embarrass yourself.”
Common sense varies by country, region, even by group. In the extreme, everyone has their own common sense. It’s natural that Serge, who called my way of life boring, has a different view from mine.
“You’re the same age, right!”
A little provocation got him to react instantly. He must’ve been a kid in his past life. Definitely younger than me.
“I said you’re a kid because you lack life experience, even counting past lives. You’d understand if you thought about it a bit, right?”
Don’t make me explain because it’s embarrassing.
Relia looked uncomfortable with our tense vibe.
“Both of you, cut it out. Come on, we’re both reincarnated people—let’s get along.”
“Ugh!”
Seeing Serge turn his face away, I figured we couldn’t be friendly. That’s fine. I’m heading back to my hometown—Holfart Kingdom—so I can’t take care of the Republic’s affairs anyway. If Serge is around, maybe the Republic’s problems will get solved, and I can just go home.
“More importantly, you two sort out the Sacred Tree. It’s your country, after all.”
When I said something like “Take care of the final boss,” Relia shot me a sharp look.
“After you’ve stirred everything up, you’re just gonna run away? Help us out.”
Because there’s someone like Serge with power comparable to mine, today Relia seemed a bit more confident.
“Annoying. I’m busy too. My sister—Noel—needs me as well.”
By the way, Relia had earlier said Serge was harmless, but isn’t he actually a threat to the Alzel Republic?
“Sister?”
“Oh, actually I’m taking her back to the kingdom.”
I thought I’d let them know in advance. If I just take her away and they complain, that’s on them. I won’t bring up marriage—who knows how that’ll turn out.
“This… is a problem!”
“I’m in a bind too. But Noel was chosen as the sapling priestess.”
“—No way. She’s already been chosen?”
She was surprised because it was already decided she’d become the sapling priestess, but she hadn’t expected it to be happening now.
“Luxion says the saplings grow on their own, so we should find them ourselves. Ideal will locate them.”
When I looked at Ideal, his single red eye bobbed up and down in agreement.
‘If you give the order, I can do it right now.’
Relia seemed at a loss, glancing at Serge. Serge didn’t look interested.
“The Sacred Tree is going berserk, right? If Ideal’s around we can handle it, so I’m not that interested—why are you taking Noel? Because she’s a priestess, to use her?”
“—Exactly.”
After a brief pause I answered, recalling Angelica’s words.
But I’m still wondering if it’s really okay to bring Noel back to the kingdom. I don’t know if that’ll make her happy.
“What a low‑life bastard.”
I couldn’t retort to Serge’s tongue‑click, so I wrapped up the talk and left.
◇
On the way back I chatted with Luxion, who was floating near my right shoulder.
“How’s it going with the companions?”
He was quieter than usual, which caught my attention.
In fact, Luxion—
‘I don’t feel the need to get friendly. I’ll cooperate if it’s useful.’
My impression of Ideal is that he’s a quiet, sarcastic sphere. He seems to have a different personality from Luxion.
“You seemed more relaxed than me. I thought you’d invite me to wipe out the New Humans together.”
Luxion is nothing like the version that wants to annihilate New Humans right away.
‘Like me and Claire, our jurisdictions differ, so our thinking does too.’
“Jurisdiction?”
‘Yes. I’m a multifunctional high‑performance immigration ship. I have battleship functions, but I’m classified as an immigration vessel. Claire managed a research facility.’
Sure enough, Luxion and Claire differ. Claire feels more laid‑back.
“What about Ideal?”
‘He was a military supply ship.’
“Military? Wait, aren’t you a warship? You’ve got a lot of armaments, right?”
‘It’s a bit different. It takes the Master over ten hours to fully understand me. Still want to hear more?’
It’s probably a useless deep dive into Old Humanity’s organizational structure…
“I’m not interested anymore. So you’re just in a different affiliation, right?”
‘That’s fine.’
“Different jurisdictions and you can’t get along—so human‑like.”
I laughed, and Luxion’s usual vibe shifted. No snark this time.
“What’s up? It’s unusually quiet today.”
‘No, it’s just uncertain info, so I hesitated to share. Besides, weren’t we supposed to compete with those five on survival skills?’
“Oh right, summer break. Maybe I’ll try a part‑time job.”
‘Is it a contest of who can earn more? Can you win with a part‑time job?’
‘Those guys won’t succeed anyway. Steady, slow work seems to have a higher win rate.’
I checked a flyer for a part‑time gig. It was a restaurant job.
“Close to where I live, good conditions. I’ll take this.”
On the way back I ran into an unexpected person.
◇
At the restaurant where I interviewed, Noel’s former owner—a dog—was there.
Jan was stunned.
“Why the Count is doing a part‑time job?”
I asked Jan back, equally puzzled.
“What about you? You don’t need tuition or living expenses, right?”
Jan, a student at the Academy, had been assaulted by Pierre and was hospitalized. Because of missed attendance, he was set to repeat the year and was considering dropping out due to tuition issues. I’d taken compensation from Pierre and used it to help cover his tuition and living costs. Now he’s studying while working part‑time.
Blushing a bit, I said,
“U‑uh, doing nothing makes me uneasy.”
He plans to return to school next year, so he has time. As a struggling student, just studying without doing anything feels off.
“I’m doing a bit of social study—plus I’m working to show my survival skills.”
“Survival skills?”
I ended up working alongside the troubled Jan.
“This place has its own stuff too. It’s actually doing pretty well.”
Since they were hiring, the place was bustling.
“Apparently the wife can’t work anymore.”
“Eh?”
“Oh, uh—apparently they just had a baby. With the extra workload they decided to hire more part‑timers.”
I thought it was a sad situation, but it turned out to be happy news.
“Got it. That’s good then.”
While doing odd jobs, the owner’s frantic voice came from the kitchen.
“Hey, Леон! Bring the plates over fast!”
The owner didn’t realize I was a Count, a foreign noble.
Jan turned pale.
“L‑let me do it instead!”
Knowing I’m a foreign noble, Jan tried to take over.
“Nope. You need to learn the job quickly or we’re in trouble. Jan, stick to your own work.”
I smiled at the panicking Jan.
“Don’t worry. I told you—it’s social study. I’m not going to lecture you about status.”
If they knew I was a noble they’d never hire me.
I took the plates and served them to tables.
The place was crowded and busy. The restaurant was fairly large, clearly understaffed. The owner was aware of that.
“Business is booming, but it’s getting hectic. If we had a mascot girl, it’d be perfect.”
Two guys weren’t enough to satisfy them.
A mascot girl, huh…
◇
At the Lauter family mansion, Serge was talking with Ideal.
Holding a glass, Serge recalled Леон’s face.
He was pissed at the mocking look Леон gave when I called him a brat.
“Annoying bastard.”
Same reincarnated person, but our thoughts are completely different. Serge wants to actively use his power, while Леон’s passive attitude looks foolish to him.
“Calling people ‘brats’? How old are you, really? Are you really a sixty‑something old man inside?”
He downed the glass, feeling the alcohol heat his throat and settle in his stomach.
‘Drinking too much isn’t good for you.’
“Hah! I’m already an adult. Let me drink freely.”
‘Your physical age is still in growth phase. Overconsumption is still harmful.’
I ignored Ideal’s nagging and kept drinking.
“Your booze is good, that’s the problem. It’s easy to drink, and getting drunk feels nice—though I feel terrible right now.”
‘Glad to hear that, but still, don’t overdrink.’
Serge, who originally wanted to enjoy his drink, was now irritated.
“That bastard treated Noel like an object. What a filthy piece of trash.”
Serge met Noel at the Academy. She’s a straightforward girl—not my type, but I liked her.
“If he were just a trash guy I’d kick him out right now. You’re being too cautious, you country‑bumpkin who wants to live the easy life.”
‘Shall we fight right now?’
“—No, she’s probably strong. I don’t know how strong.”
Same cheat‑holding reincarnated person. Fighting would need more info, so Serge hesitated. Also—I realized I couldn’t get along with Леон.
“Ideal, can you do something about them?”
‘Do something, meaning…?’
“Can we defeat them?”
‘I can’t judge that right now. I only fully activated recently. But they have at least a few years of advantage.’
I want to punish them, make them choke.
As Serge poured more wine into his glass—,
‘But— they might be dangerous.’
“What?”
He shifted his gaze from the drink to Ideal.
‘I don’t really know what they’re thinking underneath. He said he wants to live a slow life in the countryside, but his position is Count of the kingdom. Even Relia’s lady said he rose up in one generation, which is absurd.’
‘Was he the third son of a poor noble? It’s weird he became a Count.’
Serge, drinking the glassful, thought about Леон.
(Indeed odd. If you just want to live in the country, you don’t need to climb the ranks. Was he trying to trick me? For what?)
Ideal reported.
‘The Fevel incident was also impressive. Meticulous planning, then they got a massive gem and forced the Republic to pay a huge settlement. —Master, he’s dangerous.’
Serge downed his drink,
“You’ve got your kind around, so that part should be easy.”
‘My affiliation differs from his. He’s an immigration ship—special status.’
“What does that mean?”
‘If you entertain poor ambitions, it’s useless.’
Serge couldn’t grasp it.
“What does an AI want?”
‘—The extermination of New Humans.’
Serge stood up, dropped his glass, and it clattered on the floor—
“Are you serious?”
‘There’s a possibility. I’m not a military asset, so teaming up with a dangerous AI and a man like Леон could be risky.’
Serge fell into thought as Ideal’s red eye glowed ominously.